Most of us know the drill by now... when one Slayer dies, the next is called; Buffy died for a minute or two in Prophecy Girl, and the next Slayer (Kendra) was called. And then there were two... But Kendra died in Becoming (by hypnotism, same as Buffy in Prophecy Girl... go figure)... and a Faith was called! Permanent glitch in the system? Apparently -- but as long as Faith's alive, even if she's incapacitated, a new Slayer will never be called to replace her.
Faith came to Sunnydale post the death of her Watcher (who, by the way, was the first female Watcher referred to on the show) at the hands of Kakistos. This all was in "Faith, Hope and Trick". In "Bad Girls", Faith began to lead Buffy astray into her dangerous but fun world of no responsibilities. Buffy seemed to be enjoying it up until the point when they killed someone.... coincidentally, (there are two things I don't believe in: coincidence and leprechauns) it turned out to be Alan, the Mayor's intern. In retribution, the Mayor sent Mr. Trick to kill Buffy and Faith, but Faith killed Mr Trick instead. And then, in a scenario that only The Great Tripping One could have come up with, Faith went to the Mayor to replace him at Mr. Trick's job.
Faith got quite a kick out of her new alliance. A wonderful apartment, the promise of power when the Mayor Ascends, a nintendo and everything. Even a father-figure, frightening as that is. Yes, the evil life seemed to suit Faith quite well, until of course "Enemies" when it was discovered by her former friends. We learned more about Faith in that one episode than in any other. Faith, along with having some mondo responsibility issues, is extremely (read: homocidally) jealous of Buffy for having everything -- family, Watcher, friends who will help her, cute vampire boyfriend (hell, I'M jealous of THAT). Faith apparently got a huge self-esteem boost from being the Slayer, from being someone better than anyone else. Having Buffy do the same things that Faith did, and better, was a huge blow to her psyche. So combining Faith's jealousy of Buffy, her irresponsibility, and her need to be special and unique, it kinda makes one wonder why she waited as long as she did to turn to the dark side. I'm really starting to think the "In Every Generation There Is Only One" system had its points after all.
Dictionary of Faithisms:
Five by five: "okay with it, not having any problems."
B: Faith's name for the original little blond Slayer.
Big Daddy: Someone who's extremely tough and powerful.
Defcon One: Presumably, somewhere out of the way of two angry Slayers.
Living entirely large: Having fun, living on the edge and fancy free. Somewhat related to five by five.
Quite a muffin: Hot stuff. Referring to boys.
The fam: the family. (Buffy's.)
Raise your hand anybody who thinks the name of the show should have been temporarily changed to "Buffy and Faith the Vampire Slayers"?
Read a very funny story about Buffy's reaction to that very question.
Kendra made her first appearence in "What's My Line I" and slowly grew less insufferable throughout "What's My Line II" until she became a likeable character. She reappeared in "Becoming I", to give Buffy a sword, moral support, and slaying backup, only to be hypnotized and killed by Drusilla at the end of the same episode. I truly regret Kendra's passing. She was focused and brave, and was developing something that was almost friendship with Buffy; she really understood what it was like to be the Slayer. Unlike Buffy, she never even tried to have a family, or a normal life; she was extremely shy around boys that she wasn't getting information from. When she died, the next Slayer, Faith, was called; I personally preferred Kendra.
Jenny, another dead person. Unhealthy trend.
Well. Despite her impromptu appearence in "Becoming II" and the ghost-demon-evil-whatever thingie that took her shape in "Amends" the woman known as Jenny Calender is pretty much gone for good. She had a great many fans, and a great many haters, and I personally think she was a good match for Giles. Rather irrelevant, but we can be sad anyway.
Buffy & the Slayerettes
Buffy ][ Xander ][ Willow ][ Oz ][ Giles ][ Spike & Dru
Gone But Not Forgotten
Angel ][ Angelus ][ Cordelia ][ Others
