**MY WEIRD OPINION..* Buffy the Vampire Slayer S4 Ep 16 "Who Are You?" Reaction: FIRST TIME WATCHING
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- Опубликовано: 29 мар 2023
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When Faith attacked Buffy in the church she was full on attacking her view of herself. It was an act of self-loathing for sure.
Faith: kills people
Us: I'm sure she can be redeemed
Faith: is rude to Tara
Us: There's no saving this one
Tara is very intuitive. Her magic is defensive, passive and empathic, while Willow's is more outgoing and powerful. Very Yin and Yang. They make a great team!!
Tara is definitely the Empath of the couple.
Willow is also a scientist, so her approach to magic is more scientific and utilitarian, whereas Tara sees it more mystically and religiously.
@@rfresa spot on
"So much for the change of heart, she goes right back to punching her"
Faith saw herself. She wasn't attacking Buffy, she was beating on Faith. Faith hates herself more than even Buffy hates her.
I like that you've picked up on how smart Tara is. So was Oz. Also quiet and sensitive. Willow definitely has a type.
Although her first type was Xander.
@@jp3813 enough to put her off for life 😂😂😂😂 no sorry just a joke. Love Xander.
@ThrottleVinnieModo Although more extroverted, Xander is intuitive and sensitive, but in a very different way than Oz & Tara. Same qualities, but arranged in different personality types. I wonder what each of their mbti personality types are...
Faith is one of my favorite characters, I love the complexity of her personality and how it was built. When she says "disgusting murderous bitch you are nothing" while hitting Buffy on her body, it is clear that she is talking about herself.
I was super-excited to see the reaction to that scene...🤩🤎so disappointing that it's been cut out!😭💔
@@Nicamon ME TOO!
No mention of it in his review. I don't think he realized the importance of that scene in regards to Faith's self loathing.
Nothing Like having your face cut off to disturb your sleep!
@@lawrencewestby9229 Faith's self-loathing is at the *core* of her whole character,I'm *so surprised* someone as Thor,who is usually pretty observant and good at analyzing people,would cut _that_ scene out!
SPOILER
I guess we'll have to wait for"5 by 5"for him to *_truly_* understand Faith...I mean,if he doesn't after _that_ ending,then he truly is hopeless...!!;"""-(((
"The one and only"
"She still has that competitive streak"
Now, my takeaway is that she was basically seeing herself as becoming Buffy, to erase all the bad things she'd done as Faith. Like when she said "I have to do this. I'm Buffy" was her literally trying to be Buffy. So when she said "The one and only" despite everything, Faith still saw Buffy as being the true slayer. Which I think caused a lot of her issues.
There's more. Like when she tells Forrest that she's not a killer, she's the Slayer. Except Faith is a killer. She knows it. She doesn't deny it. But there, she's not Faith, She's Buffy. She's not a killer, she's the Slayer, the one and only. She's very messed up.
Now she doesn't litterally think she is Buffy. But she is literally wanting to switch places with Buffy. Wanting to wipe away her sins, and thinks it's as simple as a body switch.
There was also talk on another channel about the lesbian questions of "Do I want to be with her, or do I want to be her" worship. With the suggestion that Faith is in Love with Buffy (her rant to Joyce seemed very much like a jilted lover) and now she literally becomes her.
Dushku and Gellar both deliver a stellar performance in this one. They hit each other's character's mannerisms so well. :D
Once the girls switched back with the magical item that Willow and Tara conjured up, Buffy grabbed her chest and looked taken aback.
The emotions of how much Faith hated herself by punching her own face, was still deep in her body. Once Buffy got her own body back, she could still feel the effects of that loathing.
Also when the Council guys had Buffy in Faith's body, Buffy got to experience some of what Faith felt like.
The way they talked to her, like she was garbage and spat on her...Buffy understood that part of Faith that had been used to being treated like that by her parents. And then... being the underdog to Buffy with friends and family just made her feel insecure and alone.
Even when Buffy tried to include her, she just couldn't drop her guard enough because she's damaged.
Eliza Dushku does a beautiful performance as Buffy. I think this episode does a great job of really showing us Faith’s psyche. I’ve always thought that Tara’s magic was more… natural? Like, shes been raised with magic her whole life and she’s more connected to nature, so of course she can sense that something unnatural has happened to Buffy. Also, I think when Faith in Buffy’s body says “The one and only,” I don’t even think she means it to be competitive. She truly thinks that Buffy in her body has been sent to London. She thinks she IS the only slayer.
Just like Castor Troy thought Sean Archer was trapped in that futuristic prison.
TIny babies!!!
always makes me giggle. Giles is the MAN!!!
I love that Sarah and Eliza got to have some fun acting like each other in this episode. This episode marks really just the beginning of Faith's journey so I hope you like her character!
I also, can't believe it took you this long to realize the sus british dudes in town were the Council. 😂 I picked up on that right away when they called Giles, Rupert.
Nothing Like having your face cut off to disturb your sleep!
I wish they gave Eliza more scenes though. This episode was mostly SMG since it's her show.
One of the things that people don't notice a lot is the stunt work. Props to the stunt people for faith and Buffy and the stunt coordinator, because they both have very different styles of fighting and moving, and they did a really good job of making Buffy fight like Faith and vice-versa.
These two episodes were the first I ever watched. Even without all the past context, it was a good couple of episodes. This one is probably in my top 5 favorite of the show.
It's an interesting moment when Willow has to remind her that her job is being a Slayer. She's so far removed from her calling that it's not her natural instinct to provide aid. Living as Buffy let her reconnect to the Slayer side of herself.
"Other evil bad organization people" LOL Yes, the Watchers.
I love this episode, it’s the catalyst for Faiths peak character arch! Whenever we get genuine emotion and vulnerability from a bad ass character, it’s such a treat.
I think you missed something here: When they are fighting in the church and Faith is wailing into Buffy on the floor, cussing her, she's not hitting and cursing Buffy ..... she's talking about and slamming herself ... who she was.
That's pretty much what this episode is leading up to.
I think my only problem with the theme of this episode is that Buffy doesn't learn from being in Faith's shoes, but Faith learns from being in Buffy's shoes. I just wish they had both learned from each other's shoes.
I feel like buffy knew a little what it would be like in faiths shoes, which is why throughout season 3 she says that faith had it rough and it could've been her had things been different, and why she kept trying to give faith the benefit of the doubt,like when she says i'm not giving up on her etc. SPOILERS...............
I feel like faith didnt really learn from buffys shoes much, she went dancing and wound spike up lol she did have sex with riley, so imo the only thing that seemed to affect her differently was the thanks she got from that girl and i guess someone saying i love you, but considering what she does after this in Angel it didn't really seem liked she had learned much. only in season 7 does faith says to buffy "I'm looking at you, everything you have, and, I don't know, jealous. Then there I am. Everybody's looking to me, trusting me to lead them, and I've never felt so alone in my entire life.And that's you every day, isn't it?"
...
I mean, I think Buffy's final line suggests that she HAS learned something from the experience: the way she says "yeah....fun...." suggests that she now realizes just how much pain, self-hatred, and loneliness Faith is dealing with. She understands better than before that Faith always lashes out and behaves cruelly because she's desperate to feel in control, to feel powerful, to feel like she MATTERS to the world - even if she matters in a bad way. NONE of this was "fun" for Faith.
@@dlweiss Interesting. I never considered that. I always looked at it as her issues and jealousy with Riley. I'll have to think on that a bit. Thanks.
@@paulinerobertson6836 SPOILERS FOR S1 OF AtS THE SERIES AND BtVS S7
And those moments (thanks she got from that girl and someone saying they love her) are learning from being in Buffy's shoes. Being in said shoes is Faith's transitioning moment so of course she starts of doing uncouth things, but she finishes it not having that attitude anymore. Doesn't mean digger herself out of the hole without help is easy either, so until she finds out W&H want her to kill Angel, she stays with what has been familiar. That's how much she hates herself at that point. Then uses Angel and the AI Team to get Angel to kill her, but he won't. I think the changes prove she did learn from being in Buffy's shoes. What you describe in S7 plays into what happens after S4 and prison, but doesn't mean she didn't learn from being in Buffy's shoes in S4. It's all Faith's giant arc of learning. She didn't just learn in a strategic moment or small seasonal arc. It took from _Faith, Hope and Trick_ (in seeing how different Buffy's life was to hers) through _End of Days_ (with her realization that she also can have what Buffy does, but realizing the consequences that come with it).
This episode is a reminder that you need to watch John Woo's Face/Off (1997) starring John Travolta & Nicolas Cage.
You might be missing the point - that probably isn't the first time Riley would have told Buffy he loved her. It's almost certainly the first time Faith has *heard it*, and likely the first time she experienced sex that was wholly oriented around expressing it.
This episode for me is the turning point for Faiths character. She watched through the eyes of Buffy how much respect, love and support she never had. The ending was very powerful because she truly loathed herself for what she has done including the fact that Faith r@ped both Buffy and Riley.
An the other side Buffy watched how disgusting Faith was treated.
This is one of my favorite episodes ❤Sarah and Eliza play each other’s character so well……and I’m so glad you’re watching Angel too 😊
Makes me wonder how they collaborated on their characters. I get the impression they played their own characters so the other could pick up on all the mannerisms and intonation to build up the other’s performance.
@@zemoxian In Face/Off, Travolta & Cage were present at each other's shoot so that they could converse in-between takes about character consistency.
I think faith always took for granted buffy was the slayer and relied on buffy always being there to pick up the pieces as the slayer, almost like a big sister. When the girl thanked faith I think she had a realisation that if buffys not around the world going to need a slayer, probably the first time she ever felt the true burden of what being a slayer is.
importantly - giles was collecting mugs from upstairs probably incrementally gathered up there and my guess would be that they had tea in them
great acting by eliza in this episode. We sort of saw things from Faith's side in the previous episode. She does see herself as the hero in her own story, but this episode showed her what qualities she's lacking to be a real hero.
That's not what Faith thinks about herself. Didn't you notice what she said in the church fight? "You're disgusting" - that was not targeted at Buffy. That was pure self-hatred.
@@HH-hd7nd rewatch the previous episode. she totally thought that she was the hero of her own story and buffy was the villain. This episode revealed to her that she was wrong
@@mparantha I believe Faith has always had a good bunch of self-hatred,even in S3. Her dream,as her attitude while awake,is pure denial. BTW,you should know by now that dreams are not meant to be taken literally,not in real life and _definitely_ not in this show!;-P
@@mparantha No. That is a misunderstanding of the episodes on your part - she never thought about herself as a hero.
Castor Troy on the other hand had no illusions that he was a real bastard.
One of the best episodes in the history of television ❤
I really don’t get people who label Faith a villain. It’s pretty heavily implied she had a neglectful or even abusive family and probably zero friends before she came to Sunnydale. She’s clearly had to do whatever it took to take care of herself growing up, which explains a lot of her behavior in her budding friendship with Buffy in season 3.
Keep in mind, she’s gotta be about 15-16 years old in season 3. She lives in a skeezy motel by herself. Gwendolyn Post manipulates and lies to her. Wesley is useless. Giles and the Scoobies are kinda there for her sometimes, but you can definitely get the vibe they only reach out to Faith when they need her for something. She’s not a person with her own wants and needs, just an extra slayer on hand to help Buffy.
Then the murder of the deputy mayor happens. Despite how casual Faith is about it afterward, you can literally see how much it affects her to be responsible for that death in the moment. She’s a scared girl just looking out for her own preservation and sees no other way to protect herself than to try to blame Buffy for the death. Well now she’s burned her Scoobies and Co bridge and feels like she has nowhere to turn but the dark side. And the mayor gives her what she desperately wants, love and acceptance. He looks out for her and cares for her in a way likely no one has done for Faith before. She does the mayor’s dirty work not because she enjoys it, but because she feels she’s in too deep already and doesn’t want to lose the one person who cares about her.
No one probably ever *has* thanked Faith for her help. And you see how she freaks out when Riley says I love you - not because she feels the love and has a change of heart, but because in her mind, I love you is just a manipulative thing people say when they want something. She literally says “What do you want from her?” To Riley in response, thinking he’s trying to use Buffy.
And you kinda glossed over what happened at the church. All those things Faith said while she was fighting Buffy - you’re nothing, you’re disgusting, murderous b**** etc. Faith is saying those things to HERSELF. She’s drowning in her own guilt and self-loathing.
"I really don’t get people who label Faith a Villain."She does some Villain material stuff but,personally,I've always seen her more as an Anti-Heroine.🤎
"Wesley is useless."Wesley is more than useless:he's DAMAGING.Everytime he gets close to Faith he manages to do and/or say something that makes things go worse than they were before.X-[ I can't stand that guy.(Yeah,I know,he has also done good things 🙄 but I can't stand him anyway and his attitude towards Faith is 1 of the reasons.💢)
"She’s not a person with her own wants and needs, just an extra Slayer on hand to help Buffy."So painfully true!Even Joyce wanted Buffy to"retire"and Faith to take her place as the only Slayer.Which translates in:"I'm fine with a teenage girl risking her life daily as long as it's not my daughter."How awful is that?!?!X-[
"She does the mayor’s dirty work not because she enjoys it"Maybe she also does,a little,at least at times....;-P
"but because she feels she’s in too deep already and doesn’t want to lose the one person who cares about her."But yeah,mostly _that._
"No one probably ever *has* thanked Faith for her help."Or if they did,they did it with _words_ but not with _actions._ For example,if Buffy ever thanked her for her assistance in patrolling...but right after that went meeting all her friends without inviting her...that wouldn't really solidify that gratitude,would it?;-(
"And you see how she freaks out when Riley says I love you - not because she feels the love and has a change of heart, but because in her mind, I love you is just a manipulative thing people say when they want something. She literally says: “What do you want from her?” to Riley in response, thinking he’s trying to use Buffy."Thank you for helping me to put that scene into focus...there was always something that slipped to me about that moment...now I think I understand it better.
"And you kinda glossed over what happened at the church."I'm *SO PISSED AND SAD* that he did!X-((( That's literally my favorite scene of the episode,my favorite Faith scene ever 🤎 and probably 1 of my favorite scenes of the entire show!And under my main comment someone's attacking me simply because I _dared_ yelling at Thor for cutting it while I was in shock about that,having it *_just_* discovered it.X-((( 💔
Your comment is so underrated. It should have many more Likes than just my own.❣
my only issue is that faith thinks if buffy tells giles about what happened then shes betraying her, and yet faith ends up doing just that? but as you said its self preservation. Whats funny is that she ends up being cleared after the councils investigation and continues to hang around with the scoobies being two faced. Its like she went nah you betrayed me(which again funny cause thats what she does) so yeah even though you actually helped me i'm done with you? i didn't like that part.
Been looking forward to this vid drop all day lol. Love this show, SMG...and Eliza Dushku so damn much!
You have missed every nuance Faith embodies. She isn't evil. She is an abused child who has had a lot of horrible things happen to her and has pulled an 'i don't care' attitude around ger like a security blanket. We saw with the last slayer that Buffy has so many advantages that no other slayer has. Buffy has love and friends and support. Faith is alone and always has been. The one person she could rely on was killed right in front of her (her watcher). She went to the mayor as a moment of teenage rebellion. She stayed with him and was loyal because he was the ONLY person to treat her like she mattered. Buffy lived in a loving home, Faith was in a dingy, shitty motel. Faith took Buffys body because she wants a fresh start. She desperately wants what Buffy has and resents Buffy for not realising how lucky she is. Faith hates herself. She sees herself as disgusting, which is what she screams at her body when fighting Buffy. You need to look more at the subtext
One of the most annoying things is when reactors don't realize the significance of Faith hitting herself and saying those things about herself. But not everyone gets it during the first watch.
Hey fun fact the church in this episode was used a few episodes of Charmed. It was also used in Heathers and Over her Dead Body. Both films had Buffy and Charmed cast in them.
Not relevent to the plot but fun bit of trivia.
This is one of my favorite episodes of the entire series. Awesome reaction! On your point about the Watcher's Council - it *is* kind of a running theme that the Watchers have very little regard for the Slayer. Besides that, they've never had a Slayer rebel like Buffy before, let alone one who's gone completely rogue like Faith. They might be underestimating the Slayer, but they've also never had to fight one before.
I don't know if it was ever stated, but I wouldn't be surprised if the Watchers council had killed Slayers in the past. A new Slayer would be immediately activated, so they probably wouldn't think twice.
@@DrLipkin I've always assumed the Watchers have murdered more Slayers than any vampire in history, but purely because of the Cruciamentum.
I love the acting from both Eliza Dushku and Sarah Michelle Gellar in this episode, of course. I also love the glimpse we get into Tara - she knew there was a problem with Buffy because she saw it with her magic, which means she must see magic all around her without having to do a spell. She must be a natural at it, as opposed to Willow, whose magic was "opened up" by whatever took her over when she gave Angel back his soul.
You can really see the difference living just that short time as Buffy made in Faith through two scenes: at first, she's practicing saying "because it's wrong" in the mirror, and it sounds forced and fake every time because she thinks it's a stupid thing Buffy says; but later on in the church when she says it to the vampires it comes out right because she really believes it now. And like the other comments have said, she's really expressing how she feels about herself when she's yelling at Buffy in her body.
However, I disagree that Buffy didn't learn anything about Faith during all this. Right after they switched back and Faith ran away, the look Buffy had as she watched Faith go showed that at least she realized how very troubled Faith is inside, and she didn't immediately jump up and go after her either. Buffy is angry and hurt later when she finds out that Faith slept with Riley, but that slow dissolve from Buffy to Faith is film-speak for two characters who are thinking about each other, so don't expect this to be the last we see of Faith.
Oh BTW - due to prejudice and censorship back then, Joss Whedon has stated they showed Willow and Tara doing spells together, in particular the ones with heavy breathing and sweating, as a metaphor for them having sex together. So it means that after Tara told Willow "I am, though, yours" was the first time they had sex. Just thought it is interesting to know in the progression of their relationship.
I find it genuinely uncomfortable to even watch the Faith/Riley scene. When it would come up while I was watching this ep in reruns, I would sometimes turn it off or switch channels. As others have pointed out, it's a rape scene, an especially perverse one since Riley isn't even aware of it.
yup, it's called rape by deception.
Sarah and Eliza's acting here was absolutely brilliant. As for the characters, what Faith was seeing, being in Buffy's place, was just how empty her own life was, this led to some introspection and the self loathing which led to the savage attack on her image of herself in her big fight with at the end and this caused her to realize some things about herself which, well, you'll see (actually, have seen given the timing on my comment here vs. when you watched the episodes).
One of my favorite things about the body swap was that the gals and the stunt team did a fabulous job making sure that SMG had Faith's fight style and Eliza had Buffy's style while swapped.
Also, it wasn't just a hand shake. Willow and Tara created a homemade version of the thing that Faith used to swap their bodies.
Unlike Giles, I drink my coffee one cup at a time! I'm surprised you didn't catch the wonderful visual callback to Faith (well, Buffy in her body this time) being revealed behind the vampire post-dusting. That is an echo of a scene from S3 where Faith (in her own body) had a moment of redemption that "didn't take". Thanks, Thor.
The one thing that I really _really_ don't like about this episode is how the show treats Riley having intercourse with Faith!Buffy. Because it does not treat it as the thing it is: Rape. Riley did not consent to sleeping with Faith, he was not fully aware of the circumstances he consented to. I know that the Idea of male rape is still very difficult for some people to process and I'm not saying I _expected_ it from a show that is ,ultiple decades old, but I still think it is important to call out that _Riley is not at fault here_ and Buffy treating him as such is definitly a bad thing to do on her end. I get that she is hurt, but so is he.
yeah I agree. the legal term is rape by deception. frustrating that they didn't treat it as the violation that it was.
Stevedore - It started as a phonetic spelling of estivador (Portuguese) or estibador (Spanish), meaning a man who loads ships and stows cargo, which was the original meaning of stevedore (though there is a secondary meaning of "a man who stuffs" in Spanish); compare Latin stīpāre meaning to stuff, as in to fill with stuffing.
Great reaction. Thanks!
Just go straight to Angel series now. Crossovers about to commence
I think it is pretty much agreed by the fandom that Riley was... to put it carefully r*** by Faith.
This is SUCH a fantastic episode.
Proximity, my one main weakness - The Watchers Council
Hey, one cup can only hold so much coffee/tea!
I usually enjoy your reviews and I enjoy your insights & reactions and find you very entertaining.
These last 2 episodes of Buffy
I think you should rewatch without distraction. I believe you missed out on a lot of the story telling and character information. Important clues about Faith and her true feelings about herself and Buffy. I realize the episodes are humorous but there are far funnier ones. These are special Faith shows and there's so much such I feel you missed.
I hope you take the time to enjoy them again. Try to let the jokes slide by and just pay attention to the story.
Any way, thanks for all the hard work. I will keep joining you
I always felt when faith in Buffy's body says she the one and only slayer she's admitting that Buffy is the one and only slayer because they are not the same faith realises she's been a killer this whole time not a slayer making bad decisions but truly the most evil version of herself. Buffy is the real slayer
I never thought Faith, once in Buffy's body, would be a threat to Joyce. Joyce, alive, provides her an actual home, something she may have never had. I figured Faith in Buffy's body planned to settle down and occupy Buffy's life, pretending to be Buffy as long as possible.
I think Faith's aware that she'll never be able to settle down as Buffy b/c the latter's friends will be able to pick up on the differences eventually. Plus, she's not attached to any of them. So she was gonna leave town until she saw the news.
@@jp3813 sure, yeah, she probably couldn't settle down in the long run, but in the meantime, there's no need to harm Joyce, it would lead to too many complications. And hadn't she found out that Buffy-in-Faith's-body had escaped from the Watchers' team? I forget, but if she'd found out, that may have been why she was leaving; if Buffy-in-Faith's-body had been carted off to England, she might have stuck around a while longer.
@@ernesthakey3396 I believe that the Watchers couldn't care less about informing anyone in Sunnydale of their screw-up.
Eliza really nailed SMG’s mannerisms and way of speaking in this episode. Sarah’s Faith was a little over the top but I still loved it. I also loved the revelation that Faith hated herself for who she had become. Her redemption is one of my favorite arcs of the series.
It wasn't simply a hand clasp that switched them. It was the device that Willow and Tara brought her. A duplicate of the device Faith used to switch them in the first place. Grasping her hand while holding the device in both events.
How you gonna cut out the hottest speech lmao XD Faith as Buffy was too good
Such a fun episode to revisit. So many changes.
SMG gets most of the credit for her acting in this episode (and it's well deserved of course) but Eliza Dushku deserves some credit here too. Buffy is much harder to play because she's far more buttoned down than Faith.
It's also interesting to note that when this episode came out, the fanbase really didn't make the "Faith raped Riley AND Buffy" connection right away. Shows you how much cultural norms have changed since 2000.
At the end where buffy says "yeah...fun..." the way buffy looks, shes realising what is was like to be inside faiths head and the complexity of her emotions. Where you said "Fun for faith is hurting people" I don't think that's true. I think buffy really had an insight into how faith *really* felt about things
Tara is one of the most solid and trustworthy characters of the show, and wise----where Willow can be reckless...
No weird opinions here! Hopefully the comments don’t spoil anything for you!
The "Face/Off" episode.
Faith tried to escape her past and herself by inhabiting the body of her polar opposite. In the end, she found out it wasn't that easy. Likewise, Buffy got an inside perspective of Faith's pain. In a dramatic way, it made them bond.
they did a great acting job in this one. at the end where he says she had her fun and buffy says yeah i always took that as her understanding now that faith isnt having fun. this episode is sad. seeing how unhappy, alone, uncared about faith is and how much she hates herself. i understand buffy being upset about riley. first off she would want her boyfriend to be able to tell its not her. to look in her eyes and know like she was saying to giles, or to see how very different she was acting. but he didnt notice at all. plus faith used her body to have sex with her boyfriend. and in general the idea that she used her body to have sex without either of their consent. the whole thing is very violating.
Did you notice the makeup switched when they did
Speaking of parallels to ‘Doppelgängland’.
WILLOW: “And I think I’m kinda gay.”
I always felt like Buffy and Faith were paralleled with Willow and Vampire Willow in that they were also doppelgängers of each other. It’s just the way Whedon wrote it. He has a knack for tying all the different narratives and character arcs together so they that they fit with the thematic storytelling of that particular episode.
That’s why all of Whedon’s episodes flow really well compared Noxon or Espensen. Who also write really great episodes too but there’s just something really special about Whedon’s work. As a writer, he knows how to make every small piece belong within the larger framework of the story without contriving it. I just love watching the episodes where he had full creative control in the writing and directing.
i love Noxon and Espensen but yes there is definitely a difference when Whedon does it.
My favorite scene in this is Faith beating up her body screaming about how evil and disgusting she is. Just... she feels guilt, but she's still deeply deeply fracked up and doesn't know how to deal with it. Plus existing in a world with no rules or consequences because there's no one who can stop her.
And, though this is very much low key, the knowledge that Slayers all die young. She's handling it much worse than Buffy, which is understandable since she never had the friends or family and she saw her watcher tortured to death.
FORREST:
“Yeah, you’re a killer.”
FAITH:
“I am not a killer! I am the Slayer. And you don’t know the first thing about me!”
FORREST:
“You really care what I think?”
FAITH:
*Pauses*
“No. I don’t care.
*Thinks. Tries to process her thoughts. Gets distressed. Finally turns around and walks away*
God, I don’t care!”
That’s SO Faith. That’s what her reaction would be entirely!
All I see is Faith here. I see no Buffy even though it’s Buffy’s body. That’s how good of an actress Gellar is. The way Gellar played that. Reacted to him in a way she knows Buffy never would have reacted to him. The way the eyebrows move and the creases in the forehead show up. He clearly hit a nerve in her and rather than spend the time to figure out why that is, she just shuts out her emotions. Even in somebody else’s body she’s still uncomfortable and unsatisfied with who she is.
Buffy wouldn’t talk like that. Wouldn’t move her body or face like that. Likely wouldn’t even answer to Forrest’s comment at all. In fact Buffy wouldn’t have given a shit what Forrest thought. The most she would have done in reaction to his comment would be to scoff then turn around and walk away.
But that just shows how well Gellar has got Faith’s mannerisms down. Facial expressions and everything. Tone, vibe. Her entire energy. It’s just spot on Faith’s reaction every bit of this performance. She’s fucking incredible in this episode as Faith. She’s so damn convincing portraying Faith that she makes Faith’s portrayal of Buffy seem so damn unconvincing. And therefore shows just how much Faith doesn’t know herself and doesn’t understand her own feelings. Has 0 self-awareness and self-security. It’s bloody brilliant. Figures Faith would only come to terms with just how much she hates herself while she’s escaping from it. And as soon as she’s back in her own body, she doesn’t know what to do with herself but just rinse and repeat. If she can’t face the trauma and the pain what else can she do but purposefully self-destruct? That’s what she’s always done.
It takes a lot of self-reflection to truly know one’s self and become at peace with being it. Faith never gives herself the time, patience or opportunity to truly learn who she is. She’s always too busy crawling into someone else’s skin in effort to distract herself from it. And as disturbing as it is, I really do think it’s genius writing how Faith takes advantage of Riley while in Buffy’s body. Therefore taking advantage of the BOTH of Riley and Buffy. Because it doesn’t matter whether she’s wearing somebody else’s body or thrusting herself on top of it or even all at the same time, the whole point is that she doesn’t have to see herself. Doesn’t have to face herself. Because then that means self-reflection. And she wants to avoid doing that at all costs because she’s afraid of what she will reveal.
And Gellar 100% knows how to portray that complex in her. Knows that that’s what the character Faith would do. Instead of self-reflect, deflect and then self-destruct.
Faith’s the kinda girl to wear 25 different faces all at once and not a single one of them is her own. Yet because of that, you can see right through her. Then you look at somebody like Tara,… and while she also harbour insecurities about herself… every single time, the face that reacts when they’re brought to the surface is always her own because she’s always self-reflecting. Faith is more like Willow. Shows you who she wants you to see rather than who she actually is. It’s always a performance. It’s always a way to escape from or avoid self-reflection, and therefore self-growth. The only real difference is Faith chooses offence instead of defence. She prefers to act out rather than cover up. To attack rather than hide away. But it’s all the same to someone like me who has played both sides of the chessboard of identity and came up the loser no matter what strategy I tried to win the game with. Whether it be internalizing or externalizing, it doesn’t matter. Neither works. Neither are a solution or fix. Reflection is the way to go. It’s hard and it’s gruelling but it’s fucking necessary. It has to be done. It is much more worth it to do the hard work required and to meet the pain and the trauma head on rather than waste time and energy trying to escape from or avoid it because all that tends to do is just make it so much worse.
People try relentlessly to either be somebody that they’re not or distract themselves from themselves. But you can’t escape from or avoid being yourself. It is relatively impossible. And lying does you no good either. Better to be honest. With yourself as well as everybody else because it’s you that has to face yourself no matter what in the end. Delaying the process only ensures one thing. That it’s much more difficult to do everything else. Faith believes letting loose and going wild is the easy way out of her pain and trauma. But it only makes it harder to handle the next time something bad happens. She’s making things much more difficult to deal with in the long run by escaping and avoiding dealing with it now.
And the fact that that’s only realized while in somebody else’s body is storytelling poetry.
Yeah. At this point in her journey, Faith clearly hates herself. I don't think any of this was about having fun for her.
I want you to watch one thing again and talk about it please when they're in the church fighting listen to it please
Sarah Michelle Gellar did an excellent job playing Faith but Faith did not do an excellent job playing Buffy. I know that was the point… but still. And it really does go to show how little attention people pay to Buffy that a god damn random ass girl that has never even met her - a stranger (a very perceptive stranger but a stranger nonetheless) figured out that Buffy wasn’t Buffy when neither the Scoobies or Riley did.
Especially considering Faith’s act was that bad. I think it says a lot that none of them know Buffy that well that they’re able to tell that it’s definitely not Buffy. You could say it speaks to the theme of the season. The Scoobies losing contact and communication with each other. Too much going on in their individual lives. Too much focus on their own respective endeavours. But even so… these people (sans Riley) have known Buffy since as long as we have known her following the show. They’re familiar with the supernatural and magic and weird shit happening all the time in Sunnydale and (again, sans Riley), they know Faith.
What gives? It’s actually quite sad to be honest.
Posting my BUFFY REWATCH recap for ‘Who Are You?’. May contain spoilers.
This is such a beautiful little scene. It’s not the big reveal for everyone that they’re in a romantic relationship just yet but it does definetly allude to the audience watching that that’s where the writing is heading. A big reveal.
Willow finally tells Tara why she hasn’t been introduced to the friends she talks about non-stop to her yet. It’s not because she’s ashamed of her or that she wants to hide her from her friends. It’s because she wants to keep her to herself for a little while longer. Not have her be a part of the “Scooby Slayage” responsibilities just yet.
A little later in the scene, Willow is ready to introduce Tara to Buffy when they see her in the Bronze - or so she believes at the time - but she’s not ready to confess that they’re lovers to her. Not just yet, anyway. However, as Buffy and Faith have swapped bodies, it ends up being Faith that is the first one to know. I mean, she really only guesses - but Tara’s very bad at playing poker face when she brings up Oz. Tara figures out that that was not really Buffy and got worried.
Willow and Tara go back to Tara’s dorm room and Tara explains what she knows and gives an idea as to how to potentially switch Buffy and Faith’s energies back into the right bodies again... which then has them performing a ritual to contact the Nether Realm (very clever name by the way, writers) through magic that is ...er... for lack of a better phrase... intensely sexual. Especially considering they mix and mash it with Faith’s attempt raping of Riley while in Buffy’s body. And honestly, my thoughts on that whole montage are ... too much to talk about. I am aware that Whedon went for the metaphorical sex approach... but was that really necessary?
Anyway, they eventually meet up with the real Buffy, who is at the time in Faith’s body, and explains that they have the solution to the problem. All is well again because of two insanely compatible witches. They save the day without fighting but by having some sweaty spell fun. Lovely suggestive writing indeed.
Attempt???🤨
@@Nicamon good point. Successful raping.
I don't know what it is but I just can't stand seeing Buffy and Riley kiss 🤢
*I-LOVE-THIS-EPISODE!!!!!* 💛🤎 And the MAIN reason is *THIS* scene 19:23 - 19:30 AKA the BEST Faith scene *EVER* and the 1st scene I think of anytime I think of Faith!!!(Watches the scene to find the time stamp)...AND YOU CUT IT???!!!😱You literally cut *the most meaningful part of the whole episode* in which Faith yells _to herself_ that she's a disgusting murderous bitch?!?!?!WTH IS WRONG WITH YOU???!!! I hope it was a copyright problem because otherwise it makes no goddamn sense to cut that part!!!X-O
Apart from that,I *LOVE* Buffy talking to Giles while looking like Faith 😄 and of course every scene with Willow&Tara.💞(And _of course_ I hate the"Spuffy"scene and Faith raping Riley.)I also like the vampire leader that was"freed"by Adam. I'm sorry the poor guy died so soon after his mystical awakening!;-3
07:14 - 07:15 *THIS!>^
Did Faith rape Riley or did Riley rape Buffy. Riley, although thinking he was with buffy did it willingly, Riley has sex with Buffy's body against her will.
Do you want to maybe take a moment to breathe and not be so horrible about this? He saw it. He understood what happened. Your reaction to it being edited out for RUclips is wildly unnecessary.
@@deanna9808 I was super-excited for that scene since the last reaction(you can see that in my comment there)and I went straight checking for that moment and finding it cut was a huge disappointment so I wrote what I thought and felt in the moment. I don't think there's anything wrong with that. It's not even like it's my 1st time under Thor's videos...he has"known"me for a while now,I believe he can understand I have nothing against _him_ personally,I'm simply a passionate person who writes out what he feels exactly the way he feels it...I trust him to be mature enough to understand it.
Apart from this...RUclips says there are 2 replies to my original comment,but I'm only seeing yours...what's up with that?🤨❓
@@Nicamon You can be a passionate person and not write 'WTH IS WRONG WITH YOU???!!!" at a reaction. If you don't have anything against him personally, maybe don't make your negativity personally about him?
@@deanna9808 Again,I trust Thor to be more smart and mature than you and all the people who are putting Likes to your comments.And I'm still wondering why there seems to be an "invisible"comment...