Faith, Hope and Trick

These snapshots may contain SPOILERS for the entire series, so if for some reason you haven't yet seen some of the episodes and do not want to know what is going on, read no further.
----------------------------recap-------------------------------
A new Slayer arrives in town. Faith, who was called after Kendra died,
seems like a fun-loving, wacky teenager who fits right in with the gang.
Buffy worries that Faith may be taking her place in her friends hearts,
and then begins to suspect that the new Slayer may be hiding something.
--------------------------end recap--------------------------

Faith: Ain't it crazy how slaying just always makes you hungry and horny?
[Xander, Cordy, Willow & Oz all look at Buffy for confirmation]
Buffy: Well... sometimes I crave a non-fat yogurt after.


Good character development, good dialogue and a good plot.

Buffy begins the process of getting over Angel here, and that's not going to be easy. When Willow tries to set her up with Scott Hope, a quite, nice guy, she's reluctant to go along. She's still dreaming about Angel. And she's got more problems as Faith shows up. There must be something about slayers that makes them dislike each other. First Kendra and now Faith immediately rub Buffy the wrong way. True, Buffy does establish a relationship with both of them, but in the beginning there is no love lost. For someone who outwardly claims to hate the role of Slayer, Buffy sure is eager to hold onto it, and keep it all to herself.

The Slayers seem to come in a variety of packages. Kendra was painfully shy. Faith is about as outgoing as you can get. All of which makes Buffy look pretty normal. She's managed to stay relatively balanced while holding down the role of Slayer. Something no one else we've seen seems capable of.

As a MOTW, Kakistos is a big let down. He's supposed to be an enormously powerful vampire, but it doesn't take much to stop him. But Kakistos only exists as a plot contrivance, so Faith can come to Sunnydale and she and Buffy can bond. It also gives Mrs. Summers a chance to meet another Slayer and learn that Buffy temporarily died, adding to her overall anxiety.

For all of her other problems, Buffy has avoided the two problems which Kendra and Faith have not. She didn't get killed (permanently) and she didn't panic. I guess Giles is doing a good job as her watcher. And caring for his charge is at the center of this episode. He persistently nags Buffy about what happened when she sent Angel to the demon dimension. As we learn by the end of the episode, there is no spell. Giles has been doing this only because he knew something was troubling Buffy. And it is only after unburdening herself that Buffy can finally let go of her guilt and of Angel. She says yes to Scott Hope and returns the ring that Angel gave her. If Buffy is a great slayer, it's because Giles is a great watcher. And like her, he feels a little left out - he doesn't get invited to the watcher retreat. But his success lies in treating Buffy as a complete person, worrying about her mental and emotional well being, as much as her physical training.


Buffy asks Faith if she's hungry after slaying Kakistos, indicating that they share similarities. This is confirmed in later seasons, when Dawn mentions that the first place Buffy goes after slaying is the refrigerator.

Buffy begins an ill fated relationship with Scott. This relationship ends in just two episodes, in "Homecoming", where Scott tells Buffy she isn't that exciting anymore. In "Conversations with Dead People," Holden Webster remarks that Scott "came out last year".



Foreshadowing
Xander's infatuation with Faith. - The Zeppo
Buffy feels as if Faith is taking her (Buffy's) life, a theme explored further in Season 7, particularly the episodes "Empty Places", and "Touched". It also foreshadows Season 4 episodes "This Year's Girl" and "Who Are You."




My views/status of characters;
Buffy - like
Willow - like
Xander - like
Giles - like
Cordelia - like
Spike - absent
Angel - neutral
Oz - like

Overall I consider this a good episode compared to the rest of the season.