I remain baffled that fans liked this as a series finale. It was a bunch of contrived last-minute bullshit, nothing was explained, and it basically contradicted the whole fucking season (how the hell were there still girls all over the world being chosen? weren't they being wiped out all season?!)
Plus, in an episode that pays a lot of fake-ass lip service to women's agency, here's Buffy making the choice to activate every Slayer without asking their permission, once again being a massive hypocrite considering how often she complained about never having a choice in being called.
And what kills me all these years about this is that Faith gave her an out. Faith didn't want to be a slayer, she wanted to be THE Slayer. Buffy could've kept in shape and acted as backup when things get dicey. She could've had as close to a normal high school/college/adulthood as she wanted.
But did they though? Faith didn't go to school. The Scoobies did most of their planning between classes so she was essentially iced out 90% of the time.
If Buffy and Faith had a proper convo about Slaying as a permanent career and included her more in their brainstorming, maybe Faith wouldn't have gone to the Mayor for the affirmation she was looking for. Her first Watcher was an evil traitor and Wesley only ever saw her as a tool to one-up Giles with; he never cared about her as a human being so no wonder she clung on to the first person who cared about her likes/dislikes/well-being and blatantly refused to sexualize her. Whether he was sincere at the beginning or not, the Mayor did grow to love her as a daughter which is more than we can say about anyone in her life at that point.
It isn't their fault Faith chose the dark side. Should've Buffy or Giles have taken Faith in or at least show us the offer and her denying...YES.
But this was a new concept for Buffy to have another Slayer around full-time and that takes getting used to and coming around to the idea of relinquishing that responsibility to someone else full-time.
That's true. Kendra dropped in during Career week so it's hard to believe that it never crossed Buffy's mind. Granted, Kendra loved the little Slayer community they've set up so maybe sharing the burden of it came more naturally, especially since she didn't have a Watcher. Faith got along okay with everyone but it became pretty clear that the longer she was in Sunnydale, the more she felt like the odd person out. Willow didn't like her and Xander just wanted to bang her, and once Angel came back the chances of Faith and Buffy being on the same page was slim to none.
I'm more sympathetic to her because her bad choices made sense in context of everything going on at the time. I think Giles might have been too caught up in Wesley's dumb rivalry to realize how little regard Wesley had for Faith's well-being. Wesley certainly wasn't living in the same motel that Faith was.
i mean i guess but buffy's arc thru the series is "what is my identity outside being the slayer" so her not being capable of that conversation in s3 is like, central to her character
My read of that is with every potential active, then it doesn’t fall on one person and people could opt in full or part time. There’d always be someone to take the mantle.
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Plus, in an episode that pays a lot of fake-ass lip service to women's agency, here's Buffy making the choice to activate every Slayer without asking their permission, once again being a massive hypocrite considering how often she complained about never having a choice in being called.
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If Buffy and Faith had a proper convo about Slaying as a permanent career and included her more in their brainstorming, maybe Faith wouldn't have gone to the Mayor for the affirmation she was looking for. Her first Watcher was an evil traitor and Wesley only ever saw her as a tool to one-up Giles with; he never cared about her as a human being so no wonder she clung on to the first person who cared about her likes/dislikes/well-being and blatantly refused to sexualize her. Whether he was sincere at the beginning or not, the Mayor did grow to love her as a daughter which is more than we can say about anyone in her life at that point.
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But this was a new concept for Buffy to have another Slayer around full-time and that takes getting used to and coming around to the idea of relinquishing that responsibility to someone else full-time.
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I'm more sympathetic to her because her bad choices made sense in context of everything going on at the time. I think Giles might have been too caught up in Wesley's dumb rivalry to realize how little regard Wesley had for Faith's well-being. Wesley certainly wasn't living in the same motel that Faith was.
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and anya should have lived and xander should have died (and spike should have stayed dead)
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