Mark Watches ‘Buffy The Vampire Slayer’: S03E03 – Faith, Hope & Trick

In the third episode of the third season of Buffy The Vampire Slayer, IS THIS THE REAL LIFE? IS THIS JUST FANTASY? CAUGHT IN A LANDSLIDE, NO ESCAPE FROM REALITY. Intrigued? Then it’s time for Mark to watch Buffy.

OH MY GOD HOW IS THIS REAL!!!!!!!!!!!

Look, I totally forgot that when the Slayer dies, another one is called. That means for the foreseeable future, THERE WILL ALWAYS BE TWO SLAYERS ON THIS SHOW AT ONE TIME. oh my god OH MY GOD THIS IS SO COOL. 

Okay, first things first: Eliza Dushku is SO YOUNG here. It’s like distracting because I’m like LOOK AT YOU YOU ARE SO ADORABLE AND FULL OF HOPE.

Second thing: Willow, this might be my favorite episode of yours. You are pursuing magic and it’s just so endearing and you are totally happy with Oz and this whole episode makes me want to hug you forever.

Oh god, I need to stop doing this because there are so many things I could separate out. Let’s just start from the beginning: We are getting new characters. I love it when shows introduce new characters when they move into a new season. (Let me take the chance to recommend Fringe again because they are the only show in the world to introduce new characters in the way that they do. Oh my god I can’t spoil you, but season three and four’s “new” characters are so beautiful I could weep.) I actually expected that Kakistos would become the multi-episode antagonist and that Mr. Trick would day, so color me surprised that this would be reversed. While Mr. Trick isn’t around long in the episode, I do get a different sort of characterization about him that I really like: he’s a vampire who wants to be modern. He wants to bring vampirism into the digital age, to use the Internet to stay connected to other vampires, and to bring about feeding for his fellow vampire consorts. It’s interesting, then, that he’s paired with one of the oldest vampires still living, one so hold he still has cloven hooves. That contrast is a great dynamic that I sort of wish was explored further. At the end of the day, though, I am much more intrigued by Mr. Trick, so I’m happy that he escaped. HE’S TOTALLY COMING BACK, RIGHT? omg please I would consider forgiving you for Jenny Calendar, Whedon. Note I said “consider.” That is still going to be a long, protracted process. ALLOW ME TO HEAL.

We’re still dealing with a serial narrative, too, though it’s not a mythological element. We see Buffy’s attempt to integrate back into her life, and I really love that this is also a slow process for her. (God could I project myself any harder into this story I SWEAR.) She has to find a way back into school, which also gives us a scene where Buffy and Joyce burn Principal Snyder and then angels sang a beautiful chorus when this happened and a new savior was born somewhere because HOLY SHIT THAT WAS SO PERFECT. On top of that, “Faith, Hope & Trick” also addresses the idea that Buffy might want to date again, and how that conflicts with the lingering emotions she has for Angel. Scott is a pretty neat guy, and I certainly agree with Oz that he gets extra points for utilizing “mosey” in a sentence more than once. But I find it weird that Willow pushes Buffy to date to get over Angel. This is wholly a personal thing because I have the dating history of a child, I SWEAR. Like, after I stop dating or seeing someone, I go months without even thinking of a guy except in like that way where I think Ryan Gosling is adorable and I just want to be text message buddies with him? PLEASE TELL ME OTHER PEOPLE DO THIS. I have these weird platonic crushes on people where I find them so attractive but I would NEVER want to sleep with them and I just want to be friends with them. Like I want to be buddies with Amy Poehler so badly and I think she is gorgeous? But I just want to text her after a particularly good sandwich, that’s all. Or like FUCK I JUST TOLD SOMEONE TO PUT MY RECEIPT IN MY HOLE AND I MEANT MY GROCERY BAG WHAT DO I DO.

No? Just me? Well, this is embarrassing.

The point I’m trying to make is that my whole experience with dating is so atypical that when I see stuff like this, I just can’t relate to it. I’m like YOU JUST KILLED YOUR BOYFRIEND. Why don’t you wait a year or five like I would??? That’s totally sensible and normal, right?!?!?!?!?!? Still, I think that perhaps Willow understands that Buffy might need to be pushed towards dealing with her emotions of Angel, and we later find out that Giles thought the same thing. Though that’s kind of odd, now that I think of it? Like forcing someone to come to terms with an issue of theirs by tricking them? I don’t know that I personally would be averse to someone doing that to me, but I would understand if someone else thought that was presumptuous.

Anyway, I feel like I’ve gone on a few hundred tangents. Let’s just talk about Faith. FAITH! Her introduction is just so sudden, so much different than Kendra. She just shows up, knows who Buffy is, stakes a vampire, then walks away, JUST LIKE THAT, leaving myself and all the Scoobies to just sort of sit there and wonder what the fuck just happened. We’re given a Slayer very much unlike both Buffy and Kendra. She’s far more brazen and excited about being a vampire slayer. There is one common denominator, and that’s Xander being attracted to a slayer. Writers, please stop doing this. It’s just boring at this point. I’m not even going to comment on it. Go back to being adorable with Cordelia.

It’s interesting that Faith is introduced at this point in the season because it definitely piggybacks on the emotions of “Dead Man’s Party.” Buffy had already dealt with feelings of inadequacy, and suddenly someone arrives in her life who can seemingly do everything she can do better, and all her friends and family are excited about this. I didn’t really feel like the show was repeating itself, though; it was more of an extension of what we’d seen before. I think my favorite aspect of this is Buffy’s conversation with her mother about the benefits of having a second slayer around. It’s why I’m glad that Faith survived the episode and appears to be staying. It really does add a new dynamic to the show that’s refreshing. Of course, it’s also during this conversation that Buffy accidentally reveals that she *may* have died at one point. AWKWARD. What we see here, though, is the attempt by both parties to work with one another by being honest. For a second, I was worried that this revelation might collapse everything these two had done. But even if it’s subtle, the two are willing to work things out in a way they never really could before.

Oh god, I just love Joyce Summers so much.

And you know what? I’m really fascinated by Faith as well. I love a good flawed character, and when the main flaw of Faith’s is revealed, she suddenly becomes such a better written character. IT’S SO INSTANTANEOUS. We see how Faith is not just ecstatic to be a Slayer; she has a penchant for extreme violence. Like holy crap, she beats the shit out of that vampire. (Bravo to Eliza Dushku, by the way, for making that scene seem so raw and brutal.) Even worse, she then insults Buffy after she’s called out for not helping Buffy.

Oh lord, this just got so good.

And really, there’s just so much that happens at this point. This reveal that Faith’s ego can be a dangerous thing is only made worse by a few things. I think Buffy’s biggest fear is not that she’s replaceable. I think it’s that her own suspicions are coming true. She is afraid that she really isn’t the best Slayer. She is afraid of inadequacy. I honestly think that you can read that subtext into the scene where Scott gives her the same friendship ring that Angel once gave her. Obviously, that is such a specific trigger for her, one that horrifies her so deeply that she starts crying immediately. But in the moments after it, I think it’s easy to imagine that she’s starting to worry that she really is inadequate after her experience with Angel. Even on a larger scale, I think a lot of us can relate to that feeling, can’t we? Have you ever just felt broken? As if your parts don’t match up and everyone else just seems to have it all together? Of course, this episode actively says that while someone (Faith) might seem to be perfect, we’ve all got issues and baggage under the surface that we have to deal with, and that’s okay that we do.

Whatever Faith and her now deceased Watcher went through isn’t told to us, and I wonder if we’ll ever find out now that Kakistos is dead. I imagine that whatever happened to her was so horrible that her Slayer lashed out in the way that she did. Honestly, it sounds like whatever Kakistos did was vicious and traumatic. I mean, look at how frightened Faith is when he arrives and when he attacks her in his temporary lair. (Again, major props to Dushku.) Something fucked up happened to her. What the hell was it?

Truthfully, Faith and Buffy really are a good fighting pair, and I think more than anything, I want to see this in the upcoming episodes.

Yet even after all of this, there are two huge reveals that have nothing to do with Faith at all. Given the way it was progressing, I honestly expected that Buffy would keep the info of the return of Angel’s soul to herself. That’s what I thought this was leading to, that in order for her to forgive herself, she would allow this one concession. Instead, she tells Giles and Willow, and it’s just such a heartbreaking scene. God, the guilt that spreads over Willow’s face when she realize what she inadvertently did to her best friend…FUCK. What a horrible thing to find out, especially because Willow was genuinely trying to do the best thing for Buffy, and it ironically ended up causing more pain.

Instead, Buffy realizes that honesty – with herself, with Joyce, with Faith, with her friends – is really how she’s going to get better. And so she returns to the mansion where she killed Angel, and she sets his ring on the floor. She has to leave him behind in order to move forward. Oh, my heart nearly burst from how sad this was because –

HOLY FUCK WHAT THE FUCK WHY IS ANGEL NAKED WHERE DID HE COME FROM WOW HELL MUST BE REALLY HOT BECAUSE HE’S SO SWEATY AND THAT IS LEADING TO A LOT OF INAPPROPRIATE THOUGHTS SO LET ME JUST SAY THAT WHAT THE FUCK WHAT THE FUCK ANGEL IS BACK!!!!!!!!!!!

Dead People Count: 3. Three vampires killed, all by Faith. Why do I think this is wrong? Anyway, 9 total. I forgot to count one yesterday!

About Mark Oshiro

Perpetually unprepared since '09.
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524 Responses to Mark Watches ‘Buffy The Vampire Slayer’: S03E03 – Faith, Hope & Trick

  1. echinodermata says:

    I’ve been looking forward to getting to Faith’s character for quite a while now, and I’m pretty sad I knew in advance I would be late to this review.

    Anyway, thoughts, and I have somewhat a lot.

    Jvyybj’f snfpvangvba jvgu Ohssl’f ybir yvsr naq “gung guvat jvgu [ure] zbhgu gung oblf yvxr” znxrf zr yby naq nffhzr guvf vf ure univat na hanpxabjyrqtrq pehfu ba Ohssl.

    Buffy punches Xander! After he says “I saw that half-smile, you little slut.” THANK GOD, AND PLEASE DO THIS MORE OFTEN WHEN HE SAYS GROSS SHIT. But of course, Cordelia says ‘slut-o-rama’ in this episode and it goes unchecked. I feel like whenever there’s one step forward, the show makes sure it’ll take one step back.

    Hi Mr. Trick, hi! “I mean, admittedly, it’s not a haven for the brothers, you know, strictly the Caucasian Persuasion here in the Dale.” True words, that. I appreciate a character actually voicing this for once. Now don’t just lampshade this realization, show; please actually do something productive about it now that you acknowledge this is true.

    Probably more than any other character I can think of, I become irrational in my love of Faith. She’s my girl – she’s exactly the sort of character I feel compelled to watch and obsess over. She has such a great introduction and she’s bold and sassy and in-your-face and lives big and changes the group dynamic in interesting ways, and she’s really hot. She’s really, really hot, y’all. In as much as something can “turn” someone bisexual, Eliza Dushku as Faith did that for me. And made my love of Missy from Bring It On kind of hilarious in retrospect because I didn’t know back then (I watched Buffy sometime after Angel the Series ended, so years after this episode first aired even though it came out around the time of that movie) that my love of her character was because I had a crush on her.

    Faith is clearly Buffy’s foil – Buffy even says she’s getting “single-white-femaled” about Faith taking over her life, so Faith is directly meant to be compared to her. But Faith doesn’t have the privileges Buffy does: she doesn’t have the money or the family or the friends or even the supportive Watcher. Faith seems to do it alone, and so what she does is fight because that’s all she has. Being the Slayer gives her a life and gives her power that she’s probably been lacking before, so while Buffy resents the Slayer job and the responsibility that comes with it and how it robs her of the life she wants, Faith embraces the role since it makes her powerful and it lets her fight and have that mean something. Faith is no one if she’s not the Slayer. So Faith is sort of a tragic figure to me – she’s alone not really out of choice and independent because she’d die otherwise. She’s the Slayer, and that’s what defines her life – she really doesn’t have anything else to her but that role. Faith is Buffy without support. Faith has a harder exterior, but is actually more vulnerable than Buffy is. So basically, if I love Buffy and what she represents, I really love Faith because her story is sadder and just has more emotional weight behind it than Buffy’s life story has. Faith is obviously less fleshed out in one episode than Buffy is by this point, but just the general outline of Faith’s character means she was always likely to grip me immediately. And she did.

    And once more through Joyce we get the show presenting slaying as a metaphor for being queer. Oh show, I honestly don’t think you have any specific narrative purpose to doing this so it’s sort of a hollow analogy, but I can’t help but respond to it all the same. Buffy being the Vampire Slayer is a metaphor for female empowerment and queerness. I can’t not enjoy that.

    “Buffy: You hungry?
    Faith: Starved.”

    And then they had sex together, because slaying makes one hungry and horny. Or maybe I will go out of my way to find reasons to ship it.

  2. _Bailey_ says:

    Am I the only one who finds the use of the word "cure" slightly odd in relation to Angel? I mean . . . . he wasn't sick. As far as vampires are natural, he had returned to his natural state — if anything, losing the soul should have been seen as the "cure." I don't know, it just struck me as a funny use of the word. It also seemed to . . . . ignore his actions as Angelus? Like a defendant using the insanity plea (I apologize in advance if this is an offensive use of the word, but I think that's what it's actually called?) to be declared "not guilty." Even if he regains his faculties (in this case his soul) the verdict will still stand as not guilty because he was not in his right mind at the time (which I think is the wrong way to handle his case)?

    Any thoughts? I'm still trying to sort this out myself, I'd love some input.

  3. UnstrungZero says:

    Have you ever just felt broken? As if your parts don’t match up and everyone else just seems to have it all together?

    Literally every minute of every day. I really am defective as a human being. The best days are when I can ignore it or distract from it, but I've never felt capable or equal to the human species, because I'm just not. Which is maybe why I love this show, and this blog, so much. <3

  4. not gonna lie, the happy burger statue looked like a Big Boy, and I had awesome fantasies of former evil managers being, um, taken by vampires

    /shallow comment

    • pica_scribit says:

      I've never eaten at Big Boy because their mascot fucking creeps me out. This is not good advertising, people. (However, he's nowhere near as creepy as the Burger King.)

  5. @Ivana2804 says:

    Let me first talk about something that I don't see anyone else mention… the fashion in this episode. It's really not a side issue, because:

    I cannon describe how much I HATE Buffy’s outfits in this episode. For some reason, she's changed her style completely and started dressing like a soccer mom – just because the show wanted a bigger contrast between her and Faith. Obb sbe tbbq tvey/onq tvey fgrerbglcrf gung ner nohaqnag va guvf frnfba.

    Now that I got this out of the way – this episode is solid, not great or anything but it’s pretty good in what it sets out to do – introduce new characters. Two very interesting new characters, and one dull and bland. Well, actually it also introduces Kakistos, so that's two interesting and too dull characters.

    First off, the main reason why this episode is important: FAITH. One of my favorite characters.

    Charismatic, confident, tough, sexy, loud, brash and open, Faith is the type of person who takes everyone by the storm the moment she bursts on the scene. If it’s comparable to something, it’s to the way Buffy immediately captured the attention of Xander, Willow and even Cordelia when she burst onto the scene of Sunnydale High in Welcome to the Hellmouth. But beneath all the bluster, there’s vulnerability and insecurity, as we see soon when Faith freezes when she has to confront Kakistos, which triggers a recent trauma.

    We’ve already learned a few big things about Faith’s background:

    – Dropped out of high school
    – Didn’t have any good friends in school
    – Comes from a poor background and lives in cheap hotels
    – Her mother is dead
    – Her mother used to beat her up
    – Her Watcher was killed is a gruesome way by Kakistos, and Faith still feels guilty for running away before she could kill him.

    Faith’s Watcher was a woman, and probably an older woman (since Faith implies that she didn’t know Watchers could be as young and cute as Giles). She might have been a much needed mother figure to Faith.

    If Kendra was a contrast to Buffy as a traditional, rule-abiding Slayer, Faith is on the opposite side of the spectrum, as a rebellious and fun-loving Slayer. But Kendra and Faith do have some things in common that separate them from Buffy: both unambiguously accept and love their calling, and both are alone, Faith more so since she’s lost her Watcher. But while Kendra was alone because of her future calling – she was separated from her family at an early age in order to train as a Potential – Faith’s life probably already sucked and things only got better for her when she became a Slayer.

    Faith has no qualms about admitting that she enjoys her powers and slaying for other reasons than just the satisfaction of doing good, and openly mentions that “Slaying makes you hungry and horny”. Buffy admits at least the former, when she proposes that the two of them have something to eat after they’ve killed Kakistos – as for the latter, she genuinely doesn’t seem to have thought about it, but we’ve seen hints of that when she got closer to Angel in Angel after they fought the Three, kissed him after killing the Order of Taraka assassin in What’s My Line I, and had sex after running from the Judge.

    When Buffy helps Faith work through her trauma and they fight Kakistos together, with Faith being the one to dust him, the two girls finally start bonding, and Buffy goes on to work through her own trauma. The irony is that the two of them wouldn’t have seemed so different in other circumstances, and if Faith had met Buffy last year, before Innocence, she would have met someone a lot more open, bubbly and fun. Nf vg vf, Snvgu jvyy trg gur vzcerffvba gung Ohssl vf hcgvtug naq jvgu ab frafr bs sha.

    • @Ivana2804 says:

      Kakistos is introduced as a red herring Big Bad in the season 1 vein, but is really quite cliché and doesn’t have any of the presence or dark humor of the Master; he’s more like the new Luke, a big strong scary vampire who’ll get disposed of very soon. Mr. Trick, on the other hand, is really interesting – funny, stylish, pragmatic and manipulative, wears designer suits and thinks that vampires should get on with the times and use the opportunities presented by Internet. His introduction on the show is one of the best, and he presents an opportunity for the writers address their own failing to have more ethnic diversity on the show, by having him note that Sunnydale is an overwhelmingly white town. When he mentioned the incredible death rate, comparing it to Washington D.C., and mentioned it could be haven for the "brothers", it seemed like the show was intentionally playing with the audience's expectations and stereotypes ('Of course, he's talking about vampires. Did you think something else?')

      Ybbxvat ng gur frnfba nf n jubyr, Ze. Gevpx’f ebyr vf jung Fcvxr’f ebyr va frnfba 2 jnf vavgvnyyl zrnag gb or: gb or n sha, vagrerfgvat, hapbairagvbany ivyynva hagvy ur vf xvyyrq unysjnl guebhtu gur frnfba gb znxr jnl sbe gur erny znva nagntbavfg naq gur orgenlny ol n punenpgre pybfr gb Ohssl. Nygubhtu vg znl abg unir orra cynaarq nf fhpu vavgvnyyl, fvapr npgbe X. Gbqq Serrzna unf fnvq gung ur jnf fhccbfrq gb or va whfg bar rcvfbqr naq gung gurl jebgr uvz va 5 zber orpnhfr gurl yvxrq uvz.

      The bland one out of the 3 titular characters is obviously Scott, and if he's supposed to represent "hope" for Buffy… oh boy. So, his main qualities seem to be that he’s presumably not a mass-murdering demon and that he seems to be into Buffy because he keeps looking at her. Those are rather low standards, Buffy and Willow. Buffy doesn’t even seem to be all that into the guy but seems to think this is what she should do to “move on”. The Scoobies apparently believe that being single is not an option and that the only way to move on from a romantic relationship that ended tragically is to immediately jump into a new relationship with anyone single that fancies you and that you don’t find abhorrent. Has it ever occurred to them that it's perfectly OK to be single, and in fact, much better than trying to make yourself worked up about a relationship that you aren't ready for and don't even want that much?

      (About the ring: in the original script, it’s made clear that he didn’t actually buy her a Claddagh ring, which would’ve been really creepy, but an ordinary plastic ring, and it just looked like a Claddagh ring to Buffy for a moment; but buying presents like this is still really weird in that stage of “relationship”. The guy is trying too hard. Gur eriryngvba (jryy, npghnyyl ergpba) sebz frnfba 7 gung ur jnf tnl pnfgf na vagrerfgvat yvtug ba uvf orunivbe – vg qbrf znxr frafr gung ur jnf gelvat gb uneq gb trg vagrerfgrq va gur eryngvbafuvc, whfg yvxr Ohssl jnf. )

      Some really bad lines?

      Cordelia: Oh, you mean 'cause of how the only guy that ever liked her turned into a vicious killer and had to be put down like a dog?

      Uh, Cordy, “the only guy that ever liked her”?! That’s very inaccurate, did she just forget about her boyfriend Xander’s huge and annoying crush on Buffy? Not to mention Owen, another guy Cordy seemed to fancy. And that swimmer guy. And all the guys who liked Buffy before she came to Sunnydale. It’s hardly a question of Buffy not having had any options, it’s about how she was in love with, methinks.

      And this bit of dialogue doesn’t make sense:

      Buffy: Mom, no one can take over for me.
      Joyce: But you're going to college next year. I think it would be…
      Buffy: Mom, the only way you get a new Slayer is when the old Slayer dies.

      What does that have to do with Buffy letting Faith take over? Buffy has already died and that’s how Kendra and Faith came to be Slayers. Buffy is actually in the perfect position to retire, if that’s what she wants to do. She doesn’t really seem to want to and feels threatened by Faith, which says a lot.

      This is also the first mention of the Council of Watchers – and they're portrayed as being very English upper middle class and old-fashioned (retreats in England, with lectures and kayaking…).

      Xander is being annoying again.

      We get another sex joke about Xander/Cordy's yet non-existent sex life.

      “Does anyone think that’s her real hair color” – the writer’s private joke at the expense of Sarah Michelle Gellar and Alyson Hannigan?

      Fbzr (cebonoyl havagragvbany?) sberfunqbjvat:
      – Ohssl’f „yvggyr fvfgre“ pbzzrag naq Wblpr’f yvar gung vg’f sbeghangr Ohssl vf gur bayl puvyq
      – Xnxvfgbf’ yvar „V qba’g pner vs gurer ner uhaqerqf bs Fynlref…“

      Ohssl vf orvat cnenabvq gung Snvgu vf gnxvat bire ure yvsr. Snvgu jvyy va snpg yvgrenyyl gel gb gnxr bire Ohssl’f yvsr va Jub Ner Lbh?

      • I think maybe Buffy was referring to her own personal feelings on slaying? Like she feels it's a duty, and no matter how many opportunities she gets to get away from it, she self-identifies as Slayer first, so even with Faith there, Buffy could never stop?

    • RoseFyre says:

      And Faith is having trouble coming up with the $18/day for the motel.

      Also, she's eating everything in sight at the Summers household, which, while it may partly be the hungry and horny thing – if she has a bigger appetite – she may also be underfed.

  6. DktrAgonizer says:

    I'm sure everybody else has touched on everything else so nicely, so…

    "I have these weird platonic crushes on people where I find them so attractive but I would NEVER want to sleep with them and I just want to be friends with them"

    According to the Internet, this is called a "squish"! It's kind of a cute term. I've had them too, I think (like on you, for instance, hahaha HI)

  7. arctic_hare says:

    Faith: Hot, hot, and HOT. Do want. <3 So much love. L'NYY V NZ FB OVGGRE FGVYY GUNG FUR RAQRQ HC BA OHSSL FRNFBA FRIRA. FUR JNF ORGGRE BSS BA NATRY. Naq jung gur shpx jnf gung abafrafr va "Becurhf" (juvpu V jvyy enag ncyragl nobhg jura Znex trgf gurer, GREEVOYR RCVFBQR nfvqr sebz gur Snvgu naq Natryhf Pbzrql Ubhe) nobhg ure orvat arrqrq zber va Fhaalqnyr? Lrnu ab.

    Hope: When he's not being Sir Blandy McBlanderson of the Blandonian Peninsula, he's being a creeper. WHAT ARE YOU DOING, THIS IS NOT WHAT BEYONCE MEANT WHEN SHE SAID TO PUT A RING ON IT.

    Trick: ONE OF MY FAVORITE VAMPIRES IN THE WHOLE SHOW. <3 A truly modern vampire, forward-thinking, stylish, quippy… yes, I like this in a villain.

    Xander: Can please go away any time soon. Cordelia, please stop letting him rub off on you, YOU ARE BETTER THAN THAT.

    Giles: Forever awesome.

    Willow: Should stop pushing Buffy to date again so soon, because what she needs is time alone to heal, not to jump into something new. Nyfb fubhyq'ir orra fgbccrq evtug urer naq abj ol Tvyrf, orsber fur ernyyl fgnegrq gb pnpxyr, gb hfr Qvfpjbeyq grezvabybtl.

    Also, I've had like… one real romantic relationship, and that ended back in 2008. Have been disinterested in getting another one. (Also fairly certain that if I DO date anyone seriously again, I don't want it to be a guy. Though I wouldn't be opposed to one night stands with certain ones.)

    • notemily says:

      Sir Blandy McBlanderson of the Blandonian Peninsula

      LOL this is 100% accurate

    • misterbernie says:

      THIS IS NOT WHAT BEYONCE MEANT WHEN SHE SAID TO PUT A RING ON IT.
      …goddammit why do you people keep making me have that song stuck in my head i don't even like it that much, also why don't i own a black onesie

      Your thoughts on Xander are my thoughts on Xander. Quite literally so, including the "rubbing off" choice of words.

      Tvyrf fubhyqa'g unir fgbccrq ure, ohg znlor gnxra ure haqre uvf jvatf be fbzrguvat. Ohg V qb jnag Jvyybj'f yrfovna zntvp naq ~*~!!!Gnen!!!~*~, whfg abg gur yrfovna penpx zntvp bs fvk.

  8. MMT says:

    Mr. Trick is my favorite character introduction. Oh! and Faith and Trick are linked… hadn't really thought of that before.

  9. Shelby says:

    jubal early in firefly = trick in buffy.

    don't know if someone already mentioned that.

    also – does anyone else find giles completely attractive and adorable?!

  10. RoseFyre says:

    Random comment: we learned in Anne that Giles went off to Oakland chasing a rumor of a girl killing vampires. It's not stated explicitly here – and the rumor didn't pan out – but it's possible that that could have been Faith, and then she left before Giles could catch up with her.

    So Mark, you may have had Faith in your neighborhood as well as Giles's quick visit!

    • John says:

      Giles said later in that same episode that they weren't vampires, just members of a rock band. Or some other joke, I don't remember exactly.

      • RoseFyre says:

        The line is:

        Giles: Thank you. (slowly walks into the living room) I've, uh, just
        come back from Oakland. A friend of mine called with a lead. Stories
        about someone fighting vampires. (takes off his glasses) It, uh, didn't
        pan out, I'm afraid. (starts to clean them)

        Joyce: (sighs) No Buffy.

        Giles: No vampires. Bunch of school kids in heavy mascara listening to
        extremely silly music.

        So no vampires, no. But it's still possible that there WERE vampires, that Faith killed them (possibly while hanging out with the school kids in heavy mascara and their silly music), and then she left.

  11. bookworm67 says:

    "But I just want to text her after a particularly good sandwich, that’s all."

    Mark, Mark, you made a typo – clearly you meant that you wanted to go out for texting and scones!

  12. piratejennie says:

    I don't get the urge to date someone new within 2 weeks thing either, but I'm a bit similar to you in that I'm gay and was a virgin until I was almost 20.

  13. Smurphy says:

    I forgot how much I don't like Faith… it's like she walks onto the screen and I'm just not interested. At all. Go away. Now.

    V qba'g pner jub va gur shgher fur qbrf be qbrf abg fnir be jul fur qbrf vg… fur'f frevbhfyl whfg… naablvat.

  14. Lani says:

    Hey mark, been reading this one from the start as a long time BtVS fan and its just made me so happy watching you discover this series as a brand new viewer. Anyway I wanted to say that I have the exact same dating life deal thing and also Faith is my girl. Cant wait to see what you think of the rest of this season!

  15. Bobbwin says:

    "I'm five by five, living ENTIRELY large." – Faith

  16. FuTeffla says:

    So Mark, it must be nice for you to be involved with a vampire series where, when a person of colour is turned into a vampire, they don't automatically turn into a white person? I want Mr Trick to show up in Forks and ruin everyone's shit FOREVER.

  17. cait0716 says:

    This is how I interpreted that, too

  18. Don Sample says:

    Your dead people count is way off:
    Drive through window guy — Happy Burger — Killed by Mr. Trick
    “Disco Dave” vampire — Alley beside the Bronze — Staked by Faith
    Pizza delivery guy — Kakistos’ warehouse — Killed by Mr. Trick
    Vampire 1 — Construction site — Staked by Buffy
    Vampire 2 — Construction site — Staked by Buffy
    Vampire 3 — Construction site — Staked by Buffy
    Motel manager — Downtown Apartments Motel — Killed by Kakistos
    Vampire 4 — Kakistos’ warehouse — Staked by Buffy
    Kakistos — Kakistos’ warehouse — Staked by Faith

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