I don't actually have much to say, beyond talking about Faith. Faith comes back for two episodes - "This Year's Girl" and "Who Are You?" While in a coma Faith and Buffy dream. Faith again mentions that Buffy's sister is on the way. When she wakes from her coma she is determined to take her revenge on Buffy for almost killing her over some guy (Angel) - some guy who she isn't even with anymore. She refuses to acknowledge her own part in the situation (you know, the part where she poisoned Angel) and places all of the blame solely on Buffy. This leads to her swapping bodies with Buffy. Buffy is arrested by the cops and eventually abducted by the Watcher's Council while Faith goes around pretending to be Buffy - offending Tara and sleeping with Riley. All while she is pretending to be Buffy she has a hard time with Buffy's life. When Joyce hugs her it upsets her. When Willow tells her that a girl is about to be attacked by a vampire a begrudging Faith goes to save her. When she saves the girl from the vampire the girl's profuse gratitude makes her uncomfortable. When Riley tells her he loves her she freaks out and demands to know what Riley's intentions are with Buffy.
Everywhere she looks she is confronted with Buffy's perfect life and just how not perfect her own is. Yet, at the same time, she is protective of Buffy which is shown when she confronted Riley. And in the midst of skipping town when Faith hears about a church taken over by vampires she does the right thing and races there - so too does Buffy. After the vampires are gone Buffy and Faith get into a huge fight and Faith gets the upper hand on Buffy, punching her over and over while unleashing all her pent up hurt and rage at herself. Buffy switches bodies back and Faith runs. When Riley comments that Faith had her fun and left town Buffy is not so sure. She begins to realize that Faith might not actually hate her, just herself. Faith's actions do put a damper on Buffy and Riley's relationship, but with Jonathan's (of all people) help they are able to move past Faith.
Faith really is a dark reflection of Buffy and I think both girls realize this. Faith is a path that Buffy could have gone down if she didn't have people firmly determined to keep her in the light - a bit like the Buffy of Cordelia's alternate universe. Instead Buffy is the type to seek out the good in people, or, alternately, not kick them for the sake of kicking them (like how she treats Spike). Faith, on the other hand, sees only the bad in people and truly believes that everyone will betray her in the end.
Favorite episode? "Superstar" - an entire episode dedicated to how awesome Jonathan is? Giles owning the swimsuit calendar? Jonathan staring in The Matrix? Xander collecting Jonathan cards? The whole episode is AWESOME.
The four episodes:
This Year's Girl - Season 4, Episode 15
Synopsis - Faith wakes up from her coma determined to exact revenge on Buffy.
Who Are You? - Season 4, Episode 16
Synopsis - Faith swaps bodies with Buffy.
Superstar - Season 4, Episode 17
Synopsis - Everyone lives in a world dominated by how incredible Jonathan is.
Where the Wild Things Are - Season 4, Episode 18
Synopsis - Buffy and Riley accidentally unleash poltergeist activity at Riley's dorm.
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