I think it's logical to suggest that it's the antagonism between Buffy and Faith that starts Faith's fall.
I don't see that as logical at all. Buffy and Kendra were antagonistic too. Didn't cause either of them to descend into the moral netherworld.
Faith's fall starts long before she gets to Sunnydale; her erratic behavior in FH&T is foreshadowing.
Faith fell because she had lousy self esteem and terrible judgment. She does not open up to Buffy or Giles who both her freedom to make choices, but follow Post and Wilkins who give her certainty in the form morally dubious orders. Faith believes the worst of herself upon failures - a more balanced person would look at what they'd need to recover from a mistake, whereas Faith sees it as a sign of inevitable doom. A rational actor would consider going to Giles to be an valid option, particularly after he proved his independence from the council. Regardless of Giles primary closeness to Buffy. Faith rejects this option, because she is unable to see herself as anything other than 'the bad one' as opposed to what she actually is - a young woman in trouble.
Buffy and Faith's antagonism isn't the 'start' of Faith's fall. It's a symptom.
Buffy and Kendra's contact lasted only several days. We don't know what would had happened if Kendra had stayed longer.
As to Faith's behavior in FHT, she may sound agressive because she feels inadequate. Her "erratic behavior" is typical for the situation of two leaders in the same community. Both try to get the upper hand, consciously or subconsciously. Faith didn't fall "because she had lousy self esteem and terrible judgment" until she met Buffy. It was their encounter that triggered the inevitable confrontation and Faith's fall.
The situation of diarchy is always danderous. The first time Buffy and Faith are forced to work together, it causes Faith's fall. The second time, in season 7, it causes Buffy's fall. (Of course, there are other factors, but the situation really gets out of hand only after Faith's arrival.)
The appearance of a new player who has big power destabilizes any community, any society. In season 7 Buffy finds the only solution for the problem - she empowers a lot of future leaders and thus the balance is restored on a new, higher level.
Back to season 3, if we dismiss the "plot necesssity" excuse and look at the situation from the characters' POW, Council's decision to keep Faith in SD looks terribly shortsighted or downright provocative. But that's another theme for exlporation.
Faith didn't fall "because she had lousy self esteem and terrible judgment" until she met Buffy. It was their encounter that triggered the inevitable confrontation and Faith's fall.
Faith arrives in Sunnydale, already fallen off the path. Her encounter with Buffy that saves her from dying anonymously, on the road, after perpetually running in fear from both Kakistos and herself.
As to Faith's behavior in FHT, she may sound agressive because she feels inadequate. Her "erratic behavior" is typical for the situation of two leaders in the same community.
Faith's first fall in that episode occurs, not because she has to work with Buffy, but because Kakistos shows up. Buffy saves Faith from a fall - Buffy helps Faith overcome blind panic and face down the monster that she'd been running from for months.
When they're in the middle of the fight on that first patrol, and Faith is just wailing on the one vampire over and over again while screaming about her mother, oblivious to the rest of her surroundings... I'm pretty sure that has almost nothing to do with 'leadership' or comparisons to Buffy, and everything to do with Faith's own issues.
Faith, in S3, is not a leader. She wants to be cool. She wants to be liked. But other than that, she is in no way a leader nor does she try to be. Indeed, what she wants most is to follow Buffy, and one of her big problems is that Buffy refuses to be what Faith wants to follow. (Namely, someone a lot less like Giles and a lot more like Gwen Post)
Come S4 on AtS and S7 BtVS, yes Faith's grown into a leader. But I'd be hard pressed to isolate leadership skills in S3.
The second time, in season 7, it causes Buffy's fall. (Of course, there are other factors, but the situation really gets out of hand only after Faith's arrival.)
Post hoc ergo propter hoc. You are confusing correlation with causation. Those "other factors" are the primary cause, and Buffy's actions provide the Potentials the ground they look for to fire Buffy. If Faith never shows up, the potentials will still see Buffy's leadership as unsatisfactory. Faith provides them an alternate option they were previously unaware of - despite Faith herself having no desire for such a post or responsibility.
if we dismiss the "plot necesssity" excuse and look at the situation from the characters' POW, Council's decision to keep Faith in SD looks terribly shortsighted or downright provocative
It looks shortsighted to us, because we know the council to be corrupt and incompetent. Considering that the council deems itself competent, placing two slayers atop what may be considered the most dangerous town in the world makes quite a bit of sense from an economy of scale standpoint.
Were the council a credible organization - this is still a justifiable decision. With a credible and effective guide, there is reason to believe Faith will turn out well. Something Angel later proves to be the case.
Sorry, I'm a foreigner and I incorrectly understood your usage of the word "fall" in the context. I thought you meant "fall" as turning into a criminal, a killer. But in your most recent comment you equate "fall" to fear and lack of leadership qualities.
I'll try to explain differently.
Buffy and Faith are forced to do the same job and they know that everybody is comparing their skills and abilities. Have you ever been in the situation of constant latent competiton? The psychological stress in such situation is enormous. And they're just teenagers. Faith snaps first and it's quite understandable - she doesn't have Buffy's zone of psychological comfort with her mother and friends. She's left alone with her issues and insecurities.
As to season 7 situation - the "alternate option" is exactly what I was talking about when I said about diarchy. Imagine a season 1 Buffy who suddenly discovers that, besides Giles, there is another Watcher in Sunnydale - a Watcher who is eager to take her to Bronze and to dance all night long. :)
Let me try this one last time. One should not think that the straw that broke the camel's back did so on it's own. The bundle of straw broke the camel's back. The last straw is just the last straw.
Mostly, I'm talking about a Fall From Grace. I do not peg it just to Faith's decision to serve the Mayor. It's a multi-stage process from hero to villain and Faith's was already underway when she came to town.
Buffy and Faith are forced to do the same job and they know that everybody is comparing their skills and abilities. Have you ever been in the situation of constant latent competiton? The psychological stress in such situation is enormous.
That stress is enormous if you're weak. I've been in competitive situations. I focused on doing what I had to do, on what I had control over, on doing my job - I didn't worry about other things. I did fine. And in college, I counseled kids on the same...
Now Buffy and Faith are both performing the same tasks, but this is not a zero sum situation. This 'competition' is a construct... Faith is only in a competition with Buffy as long as she chooses to be. The idea that they can complement each other, rather than compete, seems to not occur to Faith.
People actually competing against each other do not necessarily have that choice. Faith's not going to get fired if she slays fewer vampires than Buffy.
That Faith judges herself harshly in comparison with Buffy - again - is not a cause of her later continuing fall. It is a symptom. In the absence of Buffy, she would find something else to measure herself inadequate in comparison to.
As long as Faith was measuring herself against others, instead of measuring herself against herself, whatever Buffy does is irrelevant to the larger picture.
Faith snaps first and it's quite understandable - she doesn't have Buffy's zone of psychological comfort with her mother and friends.
She certainly doesn't. But she also has a much weaker sense of moral responsibility. She has moral urges, but often does not follow them.
And where Buffy might have served as a source of comfort - taking away the pressure of having to be responsible for the whole world - Faith instead uses this as an excuse to fall even further. Since Buffy will continue to stay on the mostly straight and narrow, Faith can abdicate all of her responsibilities to her.
Hey, maybe if Faith spends 1999-2002 pulling her weight, maybe Buffy's not so stretched out, bitter, and cold come S6 and S7.
As to season 7 situation - the "alternate option" is exactly what I was talking about when I said about diarchy.
This doesn't make your argument less of a fallacy.
The presence of another Watcher other than Giles would not have a causal effect upon Buffy's attitude. It might give her an excuse to act on attitudes she already holds, but that is not the same thing. We already have the example of Buffy blowing off Giles to go Bronzing in S.105 "Never Kill a Boy on the First Date" and returning to listen to him of her own free will because she feels responsible for the consequences. The efforts of this hypothetical second watcher would not be much of a lure.
As to Faith taking the girls dancing... do you mean to tell me that Kennedy would have been less of an opportunist had Faith never left LA?
Faith is not what sways the potentials to dump Buffy as boss. What matters is that they dislike Buffy's leadership. Having been told that they must follow the Slayer and that Buffy is the only one - they do not have much of option.
Faith's mere existence is all they need, so long as she not appear contemptible. She exercises no agency other than showing up. Again, you are conflating cause with opportunity.
I think "the last straw" situation could be avoided if Buffy and Faith weren't forced to work together. It wasn't just a competition. Both girls were conditioned that they're the One and Only Chosen. When they find another One and Only Chosen in each other, it's a hard blow for both of them.
On AtS Faith judges herself sharply in comparison with Angel, but this time her symptom leads to redemption.
One could argue that on BtVS Faith was used as a foil but on AtS she became one of Angel's "help the helpless" projects so writers rewrote her character accordingly :shrugs:
As to season 7 situation, people may dislike the leadership but endure it for a very long time - as long as they don't see the alternative. I lived in a totalitarian state the first half of my life and I know it firsthand.
On AtS Faith judges herself sharply in comparison with Angel, but this time her symptom leads to redemption.
Not quite. Faith looks at Angel and sees that he is unquestionably worse than she is, and yet has remade himself into a good and valuable person. If Angel can do so, it means that it can be possible for Faith - and that's revolutionary for her. She doesn't judge herself against him. She sees him as a as a role model - and unlike Buffy, a role model she can emulate.
so writers rewrote her character accordingly :shrugs:
Why the shrugs? Do you think this was a cheat? Her characterization on both shows is nigh impeccable.
As to season 7 situation, people may dislike the leadership but endure it for a very long time - as long as they don't see the alternative. I lived in a totalitarian state the first half of my life and I know it firsthand.
I understand. I would just wouldn't confuse that new alternative with a cause. Kerensky got appointed head of the provisional government, but no one would say that he caused the February Revolution.
Her characterization on both shows is nigh impeccable
I agree. But I don't think that Faith sees Angel as "unquestionably worse than she is" on AtS season 1. She hadn't met Angelus yet. She knows Angel as Buffy's perfect boyfriend.
So, when they meet, she sees a man whom she tried to kill (on BtVS); whose friends she has hurt and tortured; and who still wants to help her.
And I think that it's his nobility and the generosity of his soul that astounds her and makes her change.
Faith doesn't change because she wants to follow Angel's "from Big Bad to Champion" route. She doesn't think about emulating him because she hardly knows about his journey. She changes because for the first time in her life she sees an example of true greatness of spirit. And it becomes the moment of illumination.
The illumination she couldn't have in Sunnydale with Buffy.
Re season 7: there were prerequisites for a mutiny, but it was Faith's appearance that triggered the chain of events which resulted in Buffy's expulsion. Inadvertently Faith gave the girls the hope for another, more fun-filled life, thus becoming a populist leader (although it happened against her intentions).
I don't think that Faith sees Angel as "unquestionably worse than she is" on AtS season 1. She hadn't met Angelus yet. She knows Angel as Buffy's perfect boyfriend.
Before Faith knows him as "Buffy's perfect boyfriend" she knows him as the vampire who went psycho. The first time Faith sees Angel, she's on a mission to kill him. She may not have met him at his worst, but she knows what he is.
She changes because for the first time in her life she sees an example of true greatness of spirit.
She's already seen true greatness of spirit in Buffy - she sees it within the first week she meets Buffy, when Buffy challenges Faith to confront Kakistos instead of letting Faith run away and handling it for her.
The difference is that Angel has fallen and managed to get back up. Angel has killed good people and yet earned a seat at the table of heroes. It shows her that such a thing is possible. Whereas Faith sees Buffy as too good and too responsible to have failed in the way that Faith has.
They are both role models for Faith. She aspires to be like Buffy, but it is Angel to whom she can relate.
Faith gave the girls the hope for another, more fun-filled life, thus becoming a populist leader
Again, you are confusing correlation with a causation.
Remember, the potentials do not select Faith because she is fun. They see Buffy as autocratic and incompetent. They select Faith because she is NotBuffy.
This does not make Faith a leader - this makes her the figurehead. (How does one lead a revolution one opposes.)
Kennedy is a leader - it is their revolution, not Faith's, and they don't particularly intend to follow her. Faith does not become a leader of the potentials until after the revolution has happened - when she seizes control of the post-Buffy meeting - a meeting Faith did not herself call.
I don't think Faith sees Angel as a monster when she arrives in LA. She knows he's a vampire but I don't think she takes her mission to kill him a year earlier into consideration.
And I don't think that Buffy challenging Faith to confront Kakistos in FHT demonstrates the same greatness of spirit Angel showed in 5 by 5 and Sanctuary. Buffy was helping her ally and giving her survival tips. Angel fought for the soul of a person who tried to kill him and tortured his friend. It's hardly the same level of spirituality.
As to season 7 - yes, the Potentials select Faith because she is NotBuffy - but they don't select Giles or Willow or Xander or Kennedy. They select another person who represent the power. When two persons with the enormous power are in the same place volatile situation becomes even more volatile.
Buffy was helping her ally and giving her survival tips.
Buffy has already seen Faith act, and knows Faith's problems run much deeper than poor battlefield tactics. When Buffy tells Faith "if you run now, you'll be running for the rest of your life" she means it as much more than a professional tip.
When two persons with the enormous power are in the same place volatile situation becomes even more volatile.
I think you are unnecessarily reducing this to banalities, and thus missing some insight.
The potentials do not select Giles or Willow (or kennedy for that matter) because they have been repeatedly told that they must follow a slayer. They choose Faith because she has the required label "Slayer" and not for any traits intrinsic to Faith. She later proves able to command, as she did in LA, but her leadership ability did not get her the post. Kennedy's leadership ability is what got Faith the post. This is not an insignificant detail.
Someday, they might discard this idea. But, in S7 they don't. Indeed - they switch back to following Buffy after Faith's first setback.
I think you are unnecessarily reducing this to a very facile level.
When Buffy tells Faith "if you run now, you'll be running for the rest of your life" it's more than a professional tip but still doesn't equals Angel's self-sacrifice and grandeur of his soul. It's not even close.
And, yes, the Potentials has been told to follow the slayer, but young people rarely do what they're told. The girls sounded as irreverent as Buffy sounded in season 1. Granted, they followed Buffy when she gave them shelter, food and taught them survival skills. But they also hoped that she could defend them. Because she has the power, she has killed the Ubervamp. They instinctively saw her as their protector. With Faith's arrival they have got the possibility to choose another protector. Faith arrival disbalanced the dynamics within the community and led to mutiny.
I think it's logical to suggest that it's the antagonism between Buffy and Faith that starts Faith's fall.
I don't see that as logical at all. Buffy and Kendra were antagonistic too. Didn't cause either of them to descend into the moral netherworld.
Faith's fall starts long before she gets to Sunnydale; her erratic behavior in FH&T is foreshadowing.
Faith fell because she had lousy self esteem and terrible judgment. She does not open up to Buffy or Giles who both her freedom to make choices, but follow Post and Wilkins who give her certainty in the form morally dubious orders. Faith believes the worst of herself upon failures - a more balanced person would look at what they'd need to recover from a mistake, whereas Faith sees it as a sign of inevitable doom. A rational actor would consider going to Giles to be an valid option, particularly after he proved his independence from the council. Regardless of Giles primary closeness to Buffy. Faith rejects this option, because she is unable to see herself as anything other than 'the bad one' as opposed to what she actually is - a young woman in trouble.
Buffy and Faith's antagonism isn't the 'start' of Faith's fall. It's a symptom.
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Buffy and Kendra's contact lasted only several days. We don't know what would had happened if Kendra had stayed longer.
As to Faith's behavior in FHT, she may sound agressive because she feels inadequate. Her "erratic behavior" is typical for the situation of two leaders in the same community. Both try to get the upper hand, consciously or subconsciously.
Faith didn't fall "because she had lousy self esteem and terrible judgment" until she met Buffy. It was their encounter that triggered the inevitable confrontation and Faith's fall.
The situation of diarchy is always danderous. The first time Buffy and Faith are forced to work together, it causes Faith's fall. The second time, in season 7, it causes Buffy's fall. (Of course, there are other factors, but the situation really gets out of hand only after Faith's arrival.)
The appearance of a new player who has big power destabilizes any community, any society. In season 7 Buffy finds the only solution for the problem - she empowers a lot of future leaders and thus the balance is restored on a new, higher level.
Back to season 3, if we dismiss the "plot necesssity" excuse and look at the situation from the characters' POW, Council's decision to keep Faith in SD looks terribly shortsighted or downright provocative. But that's another theme for exlporation.
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Faith arrives in Sunnydale, already fallen off the path. Her encounter with Buffy that saves her from dying anonymously, on the road, after perpetually running in fear from both Kakistos and herself.
As to Faith's behavior in FHT, she may sound agressive because she feels inadequate. Her "erratic behavior" is typical for the situation of two leaders in the same community.
Faith's first fall in that episode occurs, not because she has to work with Buffy, but because Kakistos shows up. Buffy saves Faith from a fall - Buffy helps Faith overcome blind panic and face down the monster that she'd been running from for months.
When they're in the middle of the fight on that first patrol, and Faith is just wailing on the one vampire over and over again while screaming about her mother, oblivious to the rest of her surroundings... I'm pretty sure that has almost nothing to do with 'leadership' or comparisons to Buffy, and everything to do with Faith's own issues.
Faith, in S3, is not a leader. She wants to be cool. She wants to be liked. But other than that, she is in no way a leader nor does she try to be. Indeed, what she wants most is to follow Buffy, and one of her big problems is that Buffy refuses to be what Faith wants to follow. (Namely, someone a lot less like Giles and a lot more like Gwen Post)
Come S4 on AtS and S7 BtVS, yes Faith's grown into a leader. But I'd be hard pressed to isolate leadership skills in S3.
The second time, in season 7, it causes Buffy's fall. (Of course, there are other factors, but the situation really gets out of hand only after Faith's arrival.)
Post hoc ergo propter hoc. You are confusing correlation with causation. Those "other factors" are the primary cause, and Buffy's actions provide the Potentials the ground they look for to fire Buffy. If Faith never shows up, the potentials will still see Buffy's leadership as unsatisfactory. Faith provides them an alternate option they were previously unaware of - despite Faith herself having no desire for such a post or responsibility.
if we dismiss the "plot necesssity" excuse and look at the situation from the characters' POW, Council's decision to keep Faith in SD looks terribly shortsighted or downright provocative
It looks shortsighted to us, because we know the council to be corrupt and incompetent. Considering that the council deems itself competent, placing two slayers atop what may be considered the most dangerous town in the world makes quite a bit of sense from an economy of scale standpoint.
Were the council a credible organization - this is still a justifiable decision. With a credible and effective guide, there is reason to believe Faith will turn out well. Something Angel later proves to be the case.
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I'll try to explain differently.
Buffy and Faith are forced to do the same job and they know that everybody is comparing their skills and abilities. Have you ever been in the situation of constant latent competiton? The psychological stress in such situation is enormous. And they're just teenagers. Faith snaps first and it's quite understandable - she doesn't have Buffy's zone of psychological comfort with her mother and friends. She's left alone with her issues and insecurities.
As to season 7 situation - the "alternate option" is exactly what I was talking about when I said about diarchy. Imagine a season 1 Buffy who suddenly discovers that, besides Giles, there is another Watcher in Sunnydale - a Watcher who is eager to take her to Bronze and to dance all night long. :)
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Let me try this one last time. One should not think that the straw that broke the camel's back did so on it's own. The bundle of straw broke the camel's back. The last straw is just the last straw.
Mostly, I'm talking about a Fall From Grace. I do not peg it just to Faith's decision to serve the Mayor. It's a multi-stage process from hero to villain and Faith's was already underway when she came to town.
Buffy and Faith are forced to do the same job and they know that everybody is comparing their skills and abilities. Have you ever been in the situation of constant latent competiton? The psychological stress in such situation is enormous.
That stress is enormous if you're weak. I've been in competitive situations. I focused on doing what I had to do, on what I had control over, on doing my job - I didn't worry about other things. I did fine. And in college, I counseled kids on the same...
Now Buffy and Faith are both performing the same tasks, but this is not a zero sum situation. This 'competition' is a construct... Faith is only in a competition with Buffy as long as she chooses to be. The idea that they can complement each other, rather than compete, seems to not occur to Faith.
People actually competing against each other do not necessarily have that choice. Faith's not going to get fired if she slays fewer vampires than Buffy.
That Faith judges herself harshly in comparison with Buffy - again - is not a cause of her later continuing fall. It is a symptom. In the absence of Buffy, she would find something else to measure herself inadequate in comparison to.
As long as Faith was measuring herself against others, instead of measuring herself against herself, whatever Buffy does is irrelevant to the larger picture.
Faith snaps first and it's quite understandable - she doesn't have Buffy's zone of psychological comfort with her mother and friends.
She certainly doesn't. But she also has a much weaker sense of moral responsibility. She has moral urges, but often does not follow them.
And where Buffy might have served as a source of comfort - taking away the pressure of having to be responsible for the whole world - Faith instead uses this as an excuse to fall even further. Since Buffy will continue to stay on the mostly straight and narrow, Faith can abdicate all of her responsibilities to her.
Hey, maybe if Faith spends 1999-2002 pulling her weight, maybe Buffy's not so stretched out, bitter, and cold come S6 and S7.
As to season 7 situation - the "alternate option" is exactly what I was talking about when I said about diarchy.
This doesn't make your argument less of a fallacy.
The presence of another Watcher other than Giles would not have a causal effect upon Buffy's attitude. It might give her an excuse to act on attitudes she already holds, but that is not the same thing. We already have the example of Buffy blowing off Giles to go Bronzing in S.105 "Never Kill a Boy on the First Date" and returning to listen to him of her own free will because she feels responsible for the consequences. The efforts of this hypothetical second watcher would not be much of a lure.
As to Faith taking the girls dancing... do you mean to tell me that Kennedy would have been less of an opportunist had Faith never left LA?
Faith is not what sways the potentials to dump Buffy as boss. What matters is that they dislike Buffy's leadership. Having been told that they must follow the Slayer and that Buffy is the only one - they do not have much of option.
Faith's mere existence is all they need, so long as she not appear contemptible. She exercises no agency other than showing up. Again, you are conflating cause with opportunity.
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On AtS Faith judges herself sharply in comparison with Angel, but this time her symptom leads to redemption.
One could argue that on BtVS Faith was used as a foil but on AtS she became one of Angel's "help the helpless" projects so writers rewrote her character accordingly :shrugs:
As to season 7 situation, people may dislike the leadership but endure it for a very long time - as long as they don't see the alternative. I lived in a totalitarian state the first half of my life and I know it firsthand.
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Not quite. Faith looks at Angel and sees that he is unquestionably worse than she is, and yet has remade himself into a good and valuable person. If Angel can do so, it means that it can be possible for Faith - and that's revolutionary for her. She doesn't judge herself against him. She sees him as a as a role model - and unlike Buffy, a role model she can emulate.
so writers rewrote her character accordingly :shrugs:
Why the shrugs? Do you think this was a cheat? Her characterization on both shows is nigh impeccable.
As to season 7 situation, people may dislike the leadership but endure it for a very long time - as long as they don't see the alternative. I lived in a totalitarian state the first half of my life and I know it firsthand.
I understand. I would just wouldn't confuse that new alternative with a cause. Kerensky got appointed head of the provisional government, but no one would say that he caused the February Revolution.
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I agree. But I don't think that Faith sees Angel as "unquestionably worse than she is" on AtS season 1. She hadn't met Angelus yet. She knows Angel as Buffy's perfect boyfriend.
So, when they meet, she sees a man whom she tried to kill (on BtVS); whose friends she has hurt and tortured; and who still wants to help her.
And I think that it's his nobility and the generosity of his soul that astounds her and makes her change.
Faith doesn't change because she wants to follow Angel's "from Big Bad to Champion" route. She doesn't think about emulating him because she hardly knows about his journey. She changes because for the first time in her life she sees an example of true greatness of spirit. And it becomes the moment of illumination.
The illumination she couldn't have in Sunnydale with Buffy.
Re season 7: there were prerequisites for a mutiny, but it was Faith's appearance that triggered the chain of events which resulted in Buffy's expulsion. Inadvertently Faith gave the girls the hope for another, more fun-filled life, thus becoming a populist leader (although it happened against her intentions).
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Before Faith knows him as "Buffy's perfect boyfriend" she knows him as the vampire who went psycho. The first time Faith sees Angel, she's on a mission to kill him. She may not have met him at his worst, but she knows what he is.
She changes because for the first time in her life she sees an example of true greatness of spirit.
She's already seen true greatness of spirit in Buffy - she sees it within the first week she meets Buffy, when Buffy challenges Faith to confront Kakistos instead of letting Faith run away and handling it for her.
The difference is that Angel has fallen and managed to get back up. Angel has killed good people and yet earned a seat at the table of heroes. It shows her that such a thing is possible. Whereas Faith sees Buffy as too good and too responsible to have failed in the way that Faith has.
They are both role models for Faith. She aspires to be like Buffy, but it is Angel to whom she can relate.
Faith gave the girls the hope for another, more fun-filled life, thus becoming a populist leader
Again, you are confusing correlation with a causation.
Remember, the potentials do not select Faith because she is fun. They see Buffy as autocratic and incompetent. They select Faith because she is NotBuffy.
This does not make Faith a leader - this makes her the figurehead. (How does one lead a revolution one opposes.)
Kennedy is a leader - it is their revolution, not Faith's, and they don't particularly intend to follow her. Faith does not become a leader of the potentials until after the revolution has happened - when she seizes control of the post-Buffy meeting - a meeting Faith did not herself call.
And certainly, she was never a populist.
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And I don't think that Buffy challenging Faith to confront Kakistos in FHT demonstrates the same greatness of spirit Angel showed in 5 by 5 and Sanctuary. Buffy was helping her ally and giving her survival tips. Angel fought for the soul of a person who tried to kill him and tortured his friend. It's hardly the same level of spirituality.
As to season 7 - yes, the Potentials select Faith because she is NotBuffy - but they don't select Giles or Willow or Xander or Kennedy. They select another person who represent the power. When two persons with the enormous power are in the same place volatile situation becomes even more volatile.
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Buffy has already seen Faith act, and knows Faith's problems run much deeper than poor battlefield tactics. When Buffy tells Faith "if you run now, you'll be running for the rest of your life" she means it as much more than a professional tip.
When two persons with the enormous power are in the same place volatile situation becomes even more volatile.
I think you are unnecessarily reducing this to banalities, and thus missing some insight.
The potentials do not select Giles or Willow (or kennedy for that matter) because they have been repeatedly told that they must follow a slayer. They choose Faith because she has the required label "Slayer" and not for any traits intrinsic to Faith. She later proves able to command, as she did in LA, but her leadership ability did not get her the post. Kennedy's leadership ability is what got Faith the post. This is not an insignificant detail.
Someday, they might discard this idea. But, in S7 they don't. Indeed - they switch back to following Buffy after Faith's first setback.
I think you are unnecessarily reducing this to a very facile level.
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And, yes, the Potentials has been told to follow the slayer, but young people rarely do what they're told. The girls sounded as irreverent as Buffy sounded in season 1. Granted, they followed Buffy when she gave them shelter, food and taught them survival skills. But they also hoped that she could defend them. Because she has the power, she has killed the Ubervamp. They instinctively saw her as their protector. With Faith's arrival they have got the possibility to choose another protector. Faith arrival disbalanced the dynamics within the community and led to mutiny.
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