Buffy the Vampire Slayer/Headscratchers/Season 3: Difference between revisions

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* I really think Giles holds a lot of responsibility for how things went bad with Faith. He was officially her Watcher until he was fired, and it was his job to express concern for her well-being. He was basically paid to look after her, but he never did. This was a teenage girl who had seriously been through the ringer. Seeing her Watcher brutally murdered was just the tip of the iceberg in what was presumably her life of utter suckage. In Sunnydale she was lonely, unhappy, and living in a dingy motel room (and who knows how she got the money to pay for it), but we never see Giles make any effort to reach out to her, improve her situation, and provide her with some stability, direction, or even half the affection he showed Buffy. He could have at least asked the Council for some money to provide her with better living conditions. Gwen Post did more than Giles to reach out to Faith, even if she was just faking it for evil ulterior motives. And it was quite clear from Faith's interaction with Gwen and the Mayor that she wouldn't have been too proud to accept any help, attention, and approval Giles might have provided. In fact, evidence suggests the opposite: she would have soaked it up, and it would have made her more mentally stable. It's a shame that the only people who truly expressed an interest in Faith's well-being at this point in time were the bad guys. I think that Giles' neglect of Faith is a major oversight on his part as both her Watcher and, more generally, as an adult.
* I really think Giles holds a lot of responsibility for how things went bad with Faith. He was officially her Watcher until he was fired, and it was his job to express concern for her well-being. He was basically paid to look after her, but he never did. This was a teenage girl who had seriously been through the ringer. Seeing her Watcher brutally murdered was just the tip of the iceberg in what was presumably her life of utter suckage. In Sunnydale she was lonely, unhappy, and living in a dingy motel room (and who knows how she got the money to pay for it), but we never see Giles make any effort to reach out to her, improve her situation, and provide her with some stability, direction, or even half the affection he showed Buffy. He could have at least asked the Council for some money to provide her with better living conditions. Gwen Post did more than Giles to reach out to Faith, even if she was just faking it for evil ulterior motives. And it was quite clear from Faith's interaction with Gwen and the Mayor that she wouldn't have been too proud to accept any help, attention, and approval Giles might have provided. In fact, evidence suggests the opposite: she would have soaked it up, and it would have made her more mentally stable. It's a shame that the only people who truly expressed an interest in Faith's well-being at this point in time were the bad guys. I think that Giles' neglect of Faith is a major oversight on his part as both her Watcher and, more generally, as an adult.
** You do realize that the Watcher's job is to train the slayer to kill things and then point her at the things to be killed. It's not his job to keep her sane, comfortable or well adjusted. He's gone above and beyond with Buffy and that has tainted the view of what's expected. Notice how Giles' affection and indulgence of Buffy is considered a very bad thing by the Watchers. I'll grant you it's a failing on his part as an adult but he's not required to do anything for her benefit, Watcherwise.
** You do realize that the Watcher's job is to train the slayer to kill things and then point her at the things to be killed. It's not his job to keep her sane, comfortable or well adjusted. He's gone above and beyond with Buffy and that has tainted the view of what's expected. Notice how Giles' affection and indulgence of Buffy is considered a very bad thing by the Watchers. I'll grant you it's a failing on his part as an adult but he's not required to do anything for her benefit, Watcherwise.
*** It is, however, part of the Watcher's job to ensure that the Slayer has basic sustenance, instead of requiring herself to be fully self-supporting ''and'' with a full-time job of killing vampires. Buffy was an exception to this rule because she came prepackaged with an independent support system (her family, natch), and by the time she lost that Giles was just too used to it to change. But if you want an example of how a factory-standard Slayer works, we have Kendra. Does anybody here believe Mr. Zabuto ''wasn't'' making sure she had three hots and a cot, without making her scrounge for it herself? Can we even imagine Kendra having a normal job?
** If Giles had asked the Council for money to aid Faith's living conditions, they would've laughed in his face. The Coucil are a bunch of arrogant dicks. They don't give a damn about the slayers.
** If Giles had asked the Council for money to aid Faith's living conditions, they would've laughed in his face. The Coucil are a bunch of arrogant dicks. They don't give a damn about the slayers.
*** What the above troper said. If Buffy or Giles had asked the Council to give Buffy a salary after her mother died they would have told him to sit on it, so they sure as hell weren't going to give Faith a salary when she could have gotten at least a part-time job (however crappy) during the day. She's unemployed, 17 years old, and a high school drop-out, yet she lives at the motel, travels around, feeds herself, and buys trashy outfits. Her philosophy of "Want. Take. Have." AKA stealing, could explain it, but I think she'd need a more reliable source of income for all that. It is true however that Faith's situation in early season 3 makes Giles look at best distracted by other concerns (Buffy's drama) and at worst callous. The obvious explanation for it is that the writer's didn't think "how come the only adult who has no other dependents doesn't at least visit Faith to see how she's doing?" therefore Giles doesn't think of it either. Probably if he dropped by her motel sometimes people would think he's her pimp or her john. As for Giles not showing her any affection, I give you her first interaction with Giles where she hits on him, when Xander saves her live she has sex with him, and she hugs the Mayor suggestively and calls him "Sugar Daddy" when he gives her a new apartment. Any man that's nice to her, clearly due to her bad experiences with men in the past, she interprets it as a ''quid pro quo'' situation and she responds the way she thinks they want her to. It isn't that Giles doesn't have the will power to gently turn her down, it's just that when someone's brain has been screwed with as spectacularly as Faith's was, it's very difficult to help them correct their thinking to what's healthy without some kind of therapy, and what therapist could Faith have possibly talked to? Giles openly giving an underprivileged, emotionally damaged, orphan teenager money, hugs and "private talks in his office" looks so much worse than when he does those things for Buffy, whose mother knows about their relationship. Faith might have felt like he thought she owed him something and grown resentful of this so-called debt. If he or Buffy pissed her off she likely would have turned on him on a dime, as she did to Buffy a quite a few times, even used his generosity against him to get him arrested (she IS kind of crazy and doesn't think of consequences). He had Buffy and the gang over at his place before they graduated high school because he trusted them as his friends. Giles didn't have Faith over at his house because he barely knew her and she had so many trust issues, and she betrayed them about four months after meeting them, not really enough time for him to let someone get close, let alone for Faith to let someone in. Yet Faith has a certain respect for Giles, if the "canon" Season 8 comics are included (I haven't read much of those because my walls can't take that kind of abuse but I know the general Giles and Faith storyline) along with the few interactions the two characters get in the show. She is ''pissed'' when she finds Giles critically injured in "Revelations". She appeared to want the kind of relationship with the Mayor that Buffy had with Giles, but she never blames Giles for what happened to her. She both verbally and physically lashes out at Buffy, Willow, Xander, Angel and Wesley, but never attacks Giles. Here is my fanwank, based on what we see of their relationship: it's possible that he was her source of income until she broke with the group for good, and all of their scenes were off-screen. If Giles has Buffy in the library to witness him handing over cash to Faith (so there's no paper trail), and Joyce knows about it (Joyce was the one after all who wanted Faith over for dinner more than once) he has people to back him up if something goes awry. In Season 1 of "Angel" she picks Wesley to torture over Cordelia because she has no personal grudge against Cordy - she blames her problems partially on Wesley for his failure as her Watcher and for turning her in to the Council:
*** What the above troper said. If Buffy or Giles had asked the Council to give Buffy a salary after her mother died they would have told him to sit on it, so they sure as hell weren't going to give Faith a salary when she could have gotten at least a part-time job (however crappy) during the day. She's unemployed, 17 years old, and a high school drop-out, yet she lives at the motel, travels around, feeds herself, and buys trashy outfits. Her philosophy of "Want. Take. Have." AKA stealing, could explain it, but I think she'd need a more reliable source of income for all that. It is true however that Faith's situation in early season 3 makes Giles look at best distracted by other concerns (Buffy's drama) and at worst callous. The obvious explanation for it is that the writer's didn't think "how come the only adult who has no other dependents doesn't at least visit Faith to see how she's doing?" therefore Giles doesn't think of it either. Probably if he dropped by her motel sometimes people would think he's her pimp or her john. As for Giles not showing her any affection, I give you her first interaction with Giles where she hits on him, when Xander saves her live she has sex with him, and she hugs the Mayor suggestively and calls him "Sugar Daddy" when he gives her a new apartment. Any man that's nice to her, clearly due to her bad experiences with men in the past, she interprets it as a ''quid pro quo'' situation and she responds the way she thinks they want her to. It isn't that Giles doesn't have the will power to gently turn her down, it's just that when someone's brain has been screwed with as spectacularly as Faith's was, it's very difficult to help them correct their thinking to what's healthy without some kind of therapy, and what therapist could Faith have possibly talked to? Giles openly giving an underprivileged, emotionally damaged, orphan teenager money, hugs and "private talks in his office" looks so much worse than when he does those things for Buffy, whose mother knows about their relationship. Faith might have felt like he thought she owed him something and grown resentful of this so-called debt. If he or Buffy pissed her off she likely would have turned on him on a dime, as she did to Buffy a quite a few times, even used his generosity against him to get him arrested (she IS kind of crazy and doesn't think of consequences). He had Buffy and the gang over at his place before they graduated high school because he trusted them as his friends. Giles didn't have Faith over at his house because he barely knew her and she had so many trust issues, and she betrayed them about four months after meeting them, not really enough time for him to let someone get close, let alone for Faith to let someone in. Yet Faith has a certain respect for Giles, if the "canon" Season 8 comics are included (I haven't read much of those because my walls can't take that kind of abuse but I know the general Giles and Faith storyline) along with the few interactions the two characters get in the show. She is ''pissed'' when she finds Giles critically injured in "Revelations". She appeared to want the kind of relationship with the Mayor that Buffy had with Giles, but she never blames Giles for what happened to her. She both verbally and physically lashes out at Buffy, Willow, Xander, Angel and Wesley, but never attacks Giles. Here is my fanwank, based on what we see of their relationship: it's possible that he was her source of income until she broke with the group for good, and all of their scenes were off-screen. If Giles has Buffy in the library to witness him handing over cash to Faith (so there's no paper trail), and Joyce knows about it (Joyce was the one after all who wanted Faith over for dinner more than once) he has people to back him up if something goes awry. In Season 1 of "Angel" she picks Wesley to torture over Cordelia because she has no personal grudge against Cordy - she blames her problems partially on Wesley for his failure as her Watcher and for turning her in to the Council:
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* Actually, Buffy is also pretty responsible as well. Faith was clearly desperate for a family and to be included, but Buffy is, as mentioned above, selfish, possessive, and jealous. We're meant to sympathize with Buffy feeling like Faith is pushing her out, but how petty was Buffy really being? Faith was making friends with her friends, and getting attention from her Watcher (who, let's not forget ''really was'' Faith's Watcher too). Buffy's reaction was "Oh no, Faith's taking the spotlight away from me!" I would argue that Faith was just being a little sister and trying to be a part of Buffy's life, but Buffy has never been the best big sister (even with Dawn, she was never very sisterly for long--note the episode "Potential" for proof long after the whole Key business/back-from-Heaven depression has worn off). If Buffy had tried harder to make Faith be part of the family, maybe Faith would have started following Buffy's example instead of being the bad influence on Buffy.
* Actually, Buffy is also pretty responsible as well. Faith was clearly desperate for a family and to be included, but Buffy is, as mentioned above, selfish, possessive, and jealous. We're meant to sympathize with Buffy feeling like Faith is pushing her out, but how petty was Buffy really being? Faith was making friends with her friends, and getting attention from her Watcher (who, let's not forget ''really was'' Faith's Watcher too). Buffy's reaction was "Oh no, Faith's taking the spotlight away from me!" I would argue that Faith was just being a little sister and trying to be a part of Buffy's life, but Buffy has never been the best big sister (even with Dawn, she was never very sisterly for long--note the episode "Potential" for proof long after the whole Key business/back-from-Heaven depression has worn off). If Buffy had tried harder to make Faith be part of the family, maybe Faith would have started following Buffy's example instead of being the bad influence on Buffy.
* I'm rewatching the show recently, and I've noticed there are a lot of forgettable lines in season three about Faith shrugging off everyone, going missing for day/weeks on end, and being generally antagonistic towards Buffy and Giles' attempts to reach her. She is starved for attention and love, but she's also traumatized into a "I don't need anyone but myself" attitude and openly pushed back against attempts to reach her with words and kindness. For example, her initial blowoff of Buffy's christmas invitation through the bs excuse of "I have this big party I'm invited to," because she (correctly, in this particular example) assumes Buffy's just being nice out of obligation. People who have been through the kind of trauma Faith's been implied to have had, tend to see everyone around them as a potential threat. Faith reacts negatively to Buffy and Faith's attempts to reach out to her because she sees it as, "What's in it for you? You're not doing this because you care about me, so where is your gain?" If there is no clear answer to that, then she perceives it as either a trick or something they're being forced to do, and has no desire to be a part of either. With the Mayor, there was a more clear-cut, "You do this, this, and this for me. In return, I give you money, a home, and the affection you desire." It was never presented as a wholly selfless desire to help her, and that made her more comfortable opening up to him, because she didn't have to look at him with paranoid thoughts of "What are you REALLY after?"
* I'm rewatching the show recently, and I've noticed there are a lot of forgettable lines in season three about Faith shrugging off everyone, going missing for day/weeks on end, and being generally antagonistic towards Buffy and Giles' attempts to reach her. She is starved for attention and love, but she's also traumatized into a "I don't need anyone but myself" attitude and openly pushed back against attempts to reach her with words and kindness. For example, her initial blowoff of Buffy's christmas invitation through the bs excuse of "I have this big party I'm invited to," because she (correctly, in this particular example) assumes Buffy's just being nice out of obligation. People who have been through the kind of trauma Faith's been implied to have had, tend to see everyone around them as a potential threat. Faith reacts negatively to Buffy and Faith's attempts to reach out to her because she sees it as, "What's in it for you? You're not doing this because you care about me, so where is your gain?" If there is no clear answer to that, then she perceives it as either a trick or something they're being forced to do, and has no desire to be a part of either. With the Mayor, there was a more clear-cut, "You do this, this, and this for me. In return, I give you money, a home, and the affection you desire." It was never presented as a wholly selfless desire to help her, and that made her more comfortable opening up to him, because she didn't have to look at him with paranoid thoughts of "What are you REALLY after?"



== Spike's Invitation to Buffy' Home ==
== Spike's Invitation to Buffy' Home ==
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