Hope, Faith, and Trick

Hope, Faith, and Trick
10/13/98
guest stars: Kristine Sutherland (Joyce), K. Todd Freeman (Trick), Fab Filippo (Scott Hope), Jeremy Roberts (Kikistos), Eliza Dushku (Faith) Armin Shimerman (Principal Snyder)
Writer: David Greenwalt
Director: James A. Contner

synopsis: later

review:   No pun intended, my faith in this series has been restored. Hope, Faith, and Trick, much like School Hard of last year, succeeds on nearly every level to, for all intents and purposes, open season three.
     First of all, I hated Kikistos. I thought he was worse than the master, and thought to myself "god, I hope he's not around long." I was not disappointed. Pleased was I that he bought it in this episode.
     I had my doubts about Mr. Trick the first time I heard of him last year. I guess Spike and Drusilla are a tough act to follow, and, from the descriptions I read, he sounded an awful lot like the ineffective Lothos from the movie. Wrong was I. Trick is cool. I'm liking Trick. I liked him from the first scene in the limousine. Granted, he may not be as cool as Spike. But he's still pretty damn cool. I have no idea what he has in store for Sunnydale, since he doesn't seem to interested in Buffy, but I'm expecting some pretty decent stuff from him. Freeman brings a totally different flavor to the series which is a welcome change to Angelus, Drusilla, and rollar boy.   I liked them, but the whole obsession angle was getting old. Trick is just...neat. I can't wait to see how he interacts with Spike.
     A few questions have been answered. Giles didn't know how into witchcraft Willow is, and he doesn't like it. There is such an entity as the watcher's counsel. And apparently it's a big clique since they have parties and don't bother to invite the most important watcher on the planet, the one whose actually guiding the current slayer. (The other thought I had was that they wouldn't invite the current watcher because that would be pulling him away from his slayer. However, Giles seemed a little hurt at his exclusion.
     Speaking of Giles, I'm more impressed with the way he's handled Buffy's return this week than last. I thought that whole spell thing was a little weird, at first. The whole "binding of Acathla." But I was thinking weird in a "let's make sure Angel never get's out of hell" way. I wasn't expecting that he was just trying to get Buffy to open up. It was pretty bril of him, actually. He knows her well enough to know that pushing wouldn't achieve anything, she'd just shut down. He let her do it in her own time, in her own way. I was impressed.
     Willow's involvement in the black arts is going to burn her. I'm calling it right now. Somewhere down the line, she's gonna get hurt.
     I'm still intrigued with Snyder and the mayor. He looked pretty terrified when he called. I think the reason Snyder backed down was because the mayor didn't want Giles stirring up trouble in the state and expose the whole hellmouth. I mean, he may have power in Sunnydale, but I'm sure the California government doesn't really care who he is. As an aside, I loved Joyce's whole "na na nana na na.
     Angel is back. I'm less than impressed. I was actually kinda digging the dream tonight. Angel's been getting steadily meaner in them. But I think they should let Buffy be semi-happy for at least one episode before they bring him back. Truthfully, I didn't want him to come back at all. I think that arc ended very well and should have stayed ended. Oh well. But they better explain exactly how that happened. I was kinda hoping for a big dilemma over whether to save Angel or not. On the other hand, Buffy did have to let go of him. Maybe that implies that they won't get back together. I really hope they don't, since this Scott fellow seems okay.
     Still, I'm wondering why Buffy can have a normal dating like now and she couldn't with Owen. I mean, things are a lot more freaky now then they were back in season one. Has she just conveniently forgotten the whole "vampires nearly killed my date thing?" The cast seems to be getting a little crowded since Innocence. Before then, we started out with 4, and then added Angel, Jenny, and Cordelia. Then Oz, but we lost Jenny and Angel. Now we've got Joyce, Faith, plus this Scott fellow, plus Angel's back into the mix. That's up to 10. I feel another thinning of the ranks coming on soon...
      Speaking of Joyce, I like the character. I think she's become cool. I felt for her in Innocence, Becoming and Passion, but now I actually like her. She's totally down with what Buffy's doing, and really supporting her. Her reaction on learning Buffy had died was very well played. It was fitting that they really seemed to bring up some past occurrences. Although I was having a different thought than Willow on the stairs. (Jenny Calendar ran up them right before Angelus snapped her neck.) If anyone is wondering, the references: the bazooka, Innoncence. The three: Angel. The grave on the stairs, IOHEFY. Angelus trying to kill Willow: Innocence. The lounge: School Hard.
     And while I'm on characters I like again, I like Buffy too. When I first started watching this show, I watched it for Buffy. Then, after Innocence, I started like Buffy less and less. While Sarah Michelle always gave terrific performances, I just didn't like Buffy's character all that much. Now that she's moving past the Angel angst, I'm starting to enjoy the character again. I'm pleased. The coming of Faith certainly helped her to start to move on. I think Buffy needs to stay on the upside for a while. If they need angst, I think Willow could use some. Or maybe Cordelia.
     I have a prediction. Xander+Faith=trouble. I'm sensing the end is near for Xander/Cordelia perhaps? I wouldn't mind. They're becoming entirely too...Buffy/Angel. They don't challenge each other anymore. It is nice to see that Xander's back to his normal self. He and Buffy seem to be on okay terms. But he was definitely intrigued with Faith...Cordy is definitely going to have some issues with her...
     I've covered Trick, I've covered Hope, time for Faith. I never liked the idea of a second slayer. I didn't really care for Kendra. But I love Faith. I liked Faith from her first scene. That dancing...wow. And let me tell you, I was about as intrigued as Xander with the whole "nude slaying" thing. Eliza Dushku did a fabulous job making us both like and feel for her. It's obvious she's got some issues, and I think we can forgive her for a lot of things she does based on the look of absolute terror on her face when she saw Kikistos. I think Faith is exactly what this show needed. None of the characters had much of an edge left. Cordy and Xander are all gaga over each other, Oz and Willow are fairly edgeless characters, they haven't explored Giles dark past all that much, and Buffy's been in depressive Angel mode. I was missing the witty banter of Xander and Cordelia, and, especially, the irreverant, friendly sarcasm of Jenny. Faith definitely had an edge. I hope she's around for a good long while, ‘cause she rocks my world. She's sexy, she's a smart ass, and she's carrying some serious baggage. And there's gonna be some steam. I can't wait.
     It says good things for a season when they introduce two new characters who totally rock. Hope has potential, I'm digging Trick, and Faith rocks my world. 9/10

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