Faith: Herself and Angel
We were first introduced to Faith in the episode "Faith, Hope and Trick". She was dancing in the Bronze, and left the place with a vampire. The Scooby Gang followed, thinking that this girl didn't know what she was getting herself into. This was when they discovered, as Oz said, that "there's a new slayer in town".
Faith has only revealed small things about her past. We know that her watcher was tortured and killed by a vampire right before her. We don't know where she is originally from, only that she just turned up into Sunnydale.
Faith has let certain things slip about her mother (she has not revealed anything about her father), such as "it must be the mother in me" in the episode Five by Five. She also stated in "Enemies" that her mother drank a lot, and she was deprived of many things. Faith also stated that her mother is dead. We don't know much else about this relationship, only that she has never spoken kindly towards her.
Faith's reactions to situations leads me to believe that she was physically and mentally abused by her mother. Her lashing out at society and authority figures tends to lean towards that. People who have had a hard time find it hard to trust, which we know is one of Faith's major issues. During the time that she was torturing Wesley in "Five by Five", she stated that her actions 'must be the mother' coming out in her. If that doesn't say 'child abuse', I don't know what else does. She doesn't trust anyone, even those who try to help her. Faith believes that "all men are beasts", and she prefers work alone. When trust with Buffy was broken and she didn't want to follow Buffy, she turned to the Mayor, whom I think she believed she could start anew with, make her own way in the world. Faith isn't about following people, she's about stamping her own place in society. With the scooby gang, I think that she felt suffocated. She has a certain power and strength, and she wants to take advantage of that. Since she hasn't had the best role models (especially in her early years), she has, for some time, seen the 'bad' way as the only way. In "Sanctuary", we saw her change. She doesn't want to drown, which is what she was doing in the previous situation.
When Faith cried out to Angel to "kill her", I think that was her last cry. The girl has been fighting for so long, and there's only so much a person can do and take. She finally reached out for help, and to who I believe is the best person to help her: Angel.
Now we've lead to Angel. If you're here, I'm guessing that you already know about the story of Angel, so I won't repeat too many details. Angel is a tortured soul, and has gone down the path of 'destruction'. He has killed hundreds of people in his lifetime, and now knows the guilt for it. And he's trying to make up for it; to atone. He knows what it's like to hit bottom, and how hard it is to climb up. Hence why he's vital in Faith's life. He can't bull**** to her: he really does know.
When Faith fled to Los Angeles, I think that we all pretty much knew who she'd run into: Wolfram and Hart. We know how much trouble these guys really are, and we also know their feelings towards Angel (I have a personal vandetta against this firm, but that's a completely different website:P). Wolfram and Hart are dirty, and because of Angel, they feel threatened by him. So any chance they have to get rid of him, they'll jump on - especially that of a rogue slayer.
Faith had no qualms about killing Angel. Despite his attempts to help her in the past, I'd say it was his affiliation with Buffy that bothered Faith. So she attempted to kill him, kidnapping Wesley in the process, and then finally breaking in Angel's arms after a fight. He knows the path she's on too well, and wants to help her. Sometimes I think that if she hadn't broken down in Angel's arms, but by herself, she'd be pulling the knife on herself not too long.
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Faith: Buffy and the Mayor
Buffy was one of a few that attempted to welcome Faith in. At first Faith seemed to accept, and be accepted by the other slayer and slayerettes. Buffy started to get jealous with all the attention that the others were giving Faith, and that's where the tension started. The two clashed on some occasions.
Soon, however, Buffy got used to having Faith around, and they were soon enough doing everything together. Their fun eventually ended when they jumped a man, killing him. Faith stabbed him through the heart with her stake, mistaking him for a vampire. Buffy was ridden with guilt; Faith saw it as a mistake that goes with the jpb.
This brought more tension in their friendship, with Faith drawing away from Buffy. Buffy wanted to help Faith, though Faith kept insisting that nothing was wrong. Buffy wanted to tell someone about the stabbing, though Faith didn't see the use of it. In the end Faith told Giles, but blamed the killing on Buffy.
As time went on, things weren't getting any easier. Their friendship was in shreds. On one night, Faith and Buffy were hit by Mr Trick, Faith saving Buffy's life just before Trick was about to kill her. There was some hopw in Faith yet, and Buffy didn't want to give up on her.
Faith showed the side where she was more interested in when she visited the Mayor's office after she had killed Mr Trick. She informed the mayor of Trick's death, and showed interest in taking Trick's place.
Faith continued to patrol with Buffy, though not imforming anyone of her alliance with the mayor. She wa moved into a nice apartment, and the mayor soon became a fathe figure for her.
On a night of patrolling, Buffy and Faith came across a demon who claimed to have the books of Ascension. Knowing the Mayor's plans, Faith tracked down the demon, killing hima and taking the books. Also during this time, the Mayor and Faith were planning on how to make Buffy weak, to kill or at least stop her from doing anything that would stop the mayor's ascension. Faith tried to seduce Angel, in an attempt to make him lose his soul, so he'd try to kill Buffy again. When that didn't work, the Mayor called apon a demon to rid Angel of his soul. It worked, or seemed to at least.
The Mayor informed Angelus of their plan, and soon they were heading towards Buffy's house. Once arriving at Angel's mansion, they knocked Buffy unconscious. She woke to find Angel tying her up.
Faith then informed Buffy of what she was planning on doing to her, now that she had Angel. The two brawled it out a bit, Faith revealing the date of the Ascension. It was after the information needed was revealed that Angel and Buffy turned on Faith, revealing that infact the demon's spell had not worked. They had gotten the information that they needed.
No that Faith's deception was revealed as well as the date of the ascension, more information was needed on the ascension itself. In an attempt to steal a box that was important to the ascension, Willow was kidnapped. Buffy had successfully stolen the box, but knew that a trade for Willow would have to be made using the box. The trade was made, but not before Willow had time to read over some of the books.
Faith wouldn't give up on trying to push Buffy down. Her next attack was again on Angel, this time shooting him with an arrow that was laced with poison; a poison that could not be healed unless the blood of a slayer was drunken. In an attempt to retrieve Faith's blood, the two fought, ending with Buffy stabbing Faith in the stomach. We next saw Faith lying in a hospital bed, a doctor informing the Mayor that they were not sure whether she would awake from it or not.
All was relatively quiet, until 8 months later when Faith woke up from her coma. She tracked down Buffy, and soom found that she had killed the Mayor. The Mayor had left Faith something behind, a small device. She later used it, which made her and Buffy switch bodies after they had clasped hands together, the device in Faith's hands. Now seeing herself as free, she messed with Buffy's life - sleeping with Riley, and even flirting with Spike. Soon all was restored to normal after Willow conjured a similar power with Tara. Faith, now returned to her former body, fled to Los Angeles.
I think it's quite safe to day that Buffy hates Faith, considering what the rogue slayer has done with the blonde's life. She messed with it any chance she got. Buffy was a friend that Faith had a chance to grasp at, but the falling of the friendship was not entirely Faith's fault, though in the end it was Buffy who was making an attempt to return things back to order. Faith, however, did not seem interested. Buffy had the life that Faith never had, and she was envious of that. Eventually, though, Faith thought that she could not fit into her life like a friend, so she did it the only way she knew how: as an enemy.
Faith turned to the Mayor after her friendship with Buffy died, and after she had killed his partner in crime, Mr Trick. Her relationship with the Mayor blossomed to that of a father-daughter relationship. He gave her the support and push that she needed, even though his intentions weren't good. He was very protective of her, and she respoded well to that. He was the sort of role-model she needed to give her self-esteem a boost, even if it was aiming in the wrong direction. The Mayor was the only person that Faith felt she could trust, and she respoded to that. I think that she was hurt a lot by Buffy, and Faith helped the mayor out of relatilation towards her, but moreso in the end because of how he treated her. He was a parental figure to her, and she needed that wisdom and guidance in her life. She was in a coma when he met his demise, but even after his death, he was still looking out for her. Though his bad habits never changed
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