Faith, Hope and Trick
Written by David Greenwalt
Directed by
Original Airdate: October 13, 1998
Plot: Faith, a new slayer arrives in Sunnydale and tries to unsurp
Buffy's position in the Scooby gang. As Buffy begins to question Faith's background, she discovers that
Faith might have brought more than just a chip on her should to Sunnydale...
Review
Warning: If hearing SPOILERS about the latest episode of Buffy, "Faith,
Hope and Trick," makes you so mad that you want to wrestle 'gators,
please turn back now. There are major, major SPOILERS just ahead....
In short: Everything it needed to be--and more.
I've got to admit that I was a bit nervous coming into the third
season of Buffy. It's usually the make it or break it year for some
shows--especially one like Buffy. After two years of being a dark horse
candidate for the best show on TV, it seems to be making the next step
upward. But, at times, increased popularity can lead to downturn in
overall quality and a decline of all the the things that made us love a
show so much to begin with.
So, I was a bit nervous going into the season.
Three episodes into the year, I'm not really worried anymore.
Joss Whedon, Marti Noxon, and this week David Greenwalt have all
stepped up to the plate and shown us that it's business as usual on Buffy.
And let's face it, business has been pretty darn good so far.
Of course, it won't be going too far out on a limb to say that
Faith, Hope and Trick is my favorite episode of the young season. Just as
last year at this time, School Hard was my favorite episode of the then
young season two. And it's interesting that both of these episodes come
from the same writer and director. I really think that just as episode
written and directedy by Joss has a certain flair, so do those written by
Greenwalt and directedy by James Whitmore, Jr. I can only hope this
dynamic duo will pair up at least once more this season because they offer
some of the most consistent, entertaining and riveting hours of Buffy
outside of the master, Joss Whedon.
As I said earlier, this episode did everything that it needed to
do and more. It built on some of the themes we've seen from last year and
early in season three, and it introduced some new friends and a new foe.
There was so much great stuff going on here, it's almost hard to
know where to begin. But I'll try...:-)
The first thing that really caught my attention was Faith. I've
go to admit that the only thing I'd ever seen Eliza Druhsku in until now
was True Lies and to be honest, that wasn't a great role. Her main role
in the movie was to serve as a plot device in an OK movie. So, going in,
I wasn't sure what to expect or what we'd get from her as Faith.
What I saw, I really liked. Faith certainly seems to have a bit
more attitude than Kendra did. And I guess that she would, considering
the fact that she's only been a Slayer for three or four months and has
had to face the death of her watcher and the pursuit of Trick and company.
Druhsku really was able to take a part that could have been played as
completely unlikeable and bring some compassion to it. Not that I love
Faith, mind you. But it's a character that I think I will enjoy not
liking. The best comparison I can come up with is Douglas Waumbaugh on
Picket Fences. There were times you just hated his character, but yet as
portrayed by Favish Finkle, he was utterly compelling and at times a great
suprise by his act of humanity. I have a feeling that after seeing Faith
in just one episode that this is what she'll be--an anti-hero of sorts. A
loose cannon in ways that Kendra wasn't. If anything, Faith at this
point feels like a cross of Buffy and Kendra. It was be interesting to
see how she reacts when she finds out Angel is a vampire.
And as with any good character, Faith comes with a lot of
questions surrounding her. Such as, where are her parents? Why did she
do battle so early with Trick and crew? Buffy didn't even get around to
battling the Master until late in season one so why did Faith take on
Kriskos so early in her slaying? Why did she drop out? Did she make any
other enemies along the way who are going to come to Sunnydale looking for
a pound of her flesh? Why come to Sunnydale at all? At first it seemed
as if she would enlist Buffy's help to take on the vamp crew that was
after her, but she was ready to bail at the first sign of trouble (an
interesting dichotomy has been set up with how both Slayers have run away
from home but how each of them has taken different actions when it comes
to resolving that issue--Buffy went home, Faith didn't feel the need to go
and has been "adopted" by the Scooby gang, at least for the time being)?
Did she think that the vamp crew would be fooled and take Buffy instead of
her?
I think there are a lot of questions here and very few answers.
Which, of course means that we'll have to watch all season long in hopes
of answers. And I'm sure along the way, we'll get one or two answers only
to have five more questions come up.
Faith is far more compelling to me than Kendra was. A large part
of this is probably due to the fact that Faith is a bit less of an open
book than Kendra was.
One scene that I did find interesting was Faith's beating the
vampire to a pulp as Buffy called for help. It was an interesting
parallel to last year's scene in Ted with Buffy beating the vampire's
brains out as Giles announces that surely it must be staking time. It's
interesting to see how Buffy has grown in that year and to hear her saying
the words that Giles once offered to her.
Next up, you have Trick, the new villain for season three. And
while last year's School Hard really went to great lengths to set up Spike
and Dru, this year, we only got fleeting glimpses of Trick. But what I
saw so far, I liked. He was slippery, slimy, almost snake-like as he
slithered around, pulling strings behind the scenes. It will be
interesting to see just how he develops as the season goes on. I loved
his use of the Internet to get his victims. Sort of an interesting
counter-point to Willow's use of the 'Net as part of the Scooby gang.
Also, we see that Trick has no loyalites except to himself--allowing his
leader to be killed. That scene reminded me of an early Spike episode
when he videoed Buffy's fighting so he could learn how to defeat her. I
think Trick will spend a lot of time finding out how to defeat Buffy by
turning her strengths against her and exploiting her weaknesses. You get a
feeling that Trick is more chess player and at this point is sacrficing
pawns in the opening moves to lead Buffy into a trap. I can't wait to see
more of him in the future.
The other major plot thread we saw was the final stages of Buffy's
grieving for Angel. I like the facts that her dreams of Angel took on a
more ominious tone this week than the past two. Also, seeing the Scooby
gang there as she confronted Angel was a nice touch. It set up her
confession at the end of the episode. And I loved the way this plotline
revolved around the ring Angel gave her. As the only symbol of the past,
it was interesting to see Buffy "give it back" to Angel at the end as she
prepared to take a set forward and go out with Scott.
Who, so far, I really like. I think he's the same character who
asked Buffy to dance in BBB, but I'm not sure and didn't have time to
check my tape to be sure. But overall, I liked him. His nervousness, his
hestiancy around Buffy was great. Also, his total and complete honesty at
the Bronze was a scream. ("Willow said if I showed up around eight, I
might run into you," was a hoot and a half.) This plotline really served
as a good counterpoint to the darkness going on with Faith and Trick. And
it's interesting that Scott's last name is Hope (in the blink, you'll miss
it moment of the week!) to round out the title. Absolutely wonderfully
done by Greenwalt to slip that in and reward you for paying attention.
But in order to take a step forward, Buffy has to release the
past. Or as Cordy put it so eloquently last year, spank her inner moppet.
Her confession of the exact circumstances of sending Angel to hell was
nicely done and played very well by everyone involved. Sarah Michellle
Gellar continues to prove why she's one of the best actresses out there
today while Anthony Stewart Head shows that understated can be
brilliant. I think that fact that neither of them got nominated for an
Emmy was a crime. But maybe we can start making up for it at the Golden
Globes...
But seeing Buffy finally come clean about what happened was nice.
I am now really anxious to see how it will come out about Xander's role in
Angel's descent to hell. Will it come out that he mislead Buffy or hid
things from her? And how will it affect the delicate balance the Scooby
gang has achieved?
Speaking of Xander...what happened to Cordy? It seems as though
with Faith on the scene that suddenly Cordy is not getting her usual set
of biting, witty lines that made me really love her. I know that you can
scream character growth, but it seems a bit odd at times. At times she
and Xander seem a bit too mushy as if trying to convince each other
they're in love when maybe there are other distractions. I'm willing to
give this a few weeks to see where it goes and I've got to admit a
Xander/Faith kiss doesn't seem too far outside the realm of possibility at
this point, but we'll see.
Anyway, I am not going to let a minor point drop what was easily
the best episode of the season so far and easily an instant classic of
Buffy. A great effort and it did exactly what it needed to do--left me
anxious and eager for next week. Even without the preview...
So, that about wraps it up except for a few small things.
--The previews are back! Hallelujah! Of course, it didn't really
tell us anything we didn't know from the closing scenes....
--The new theme is growing on me. I guess being a Doctor Who fan I
am a bit used to theme changes and I like each one for different reasons.
Same here.
--Giles reaction to Willow's revelation of dabbling in witchcraft
was nicely done.
--The clucking sound. I feel off my couch laughing.
Well, that's about it for now. All in all, a solid episode that
was truly one of the most enjoyable hours of TV I've seen in quite some
time. I'm ready and eager for more...
My rating: 10.0 (out of 10.0)
Next up: Well, as the preview said, Angel is back...
"I think what my daughter is trying to say is 'Na na na nayah.'"
--Joyce
Review Copyright 1998 by Michael T. Hickerson. All Rights Reserved.
|Main Page|Season One|
Season Two|Season Three|
|