As a character, Buffy the Vampire Slayer He had few tougher adversaries than his fellow vampire hunter, Faith. When she entered the show's third season, Faith changed Buffy's story forever. Positioned as the evil antithesis of Buffy, Faith opposed Buffy during seasons 3 and 4 and then after a cameo in Angelshe was ready to turn over a new leaf, atoning for her sins.
In the comic series Buffy and Faith Season 10Faith tries to atone for the sins it committed in Buffy the Vampire Slayer season four episode, “Who Are You?” In this episode, Buffy and Faith switch bodies, and in an oft-forgotten moment, Faith sleeps with Buffy's boyfriend Riley Finn, with the special ops specialist completely unaware of Faith's deception.
The television show never delves into this moment, but in the Angel and Faith Season 10 comics, the Vampire Slayer is finally redeemed in a way the series couldn't do for her.
Faith tries to redeem herself after a forgotten Buffy moment
The “Lost and Found” arc begins in Angel and Faith Season 10 #6 by Victor Gischler, Will Conrad, Michelle Madsen, Richard Starkings and Jimmy Betancourt
After correcting Angel's regrettable mistake in killing Giles by helping to resurrect him, Faith receives a dossier from fellow Slayer, Kennedy, on Riley Finn's disappearance. Faith is immediately interested, and Kennedy's Deepscan (the legion of Slayer bodyguards she founded) embarks deep into the South American jungles inside a secret US military base to find him. Walt Zane of Zane Pharmaceuticals was leading an expedition into the South American jungles in search of new plants for medicinal research. The base lost contact with that team, prompting a tracking team led by Samantha Finn to go after him.
When that team also failed to return to base, her husband, Riley, went looking for her. With everyone missing, the Deepscan are hired as a last resort, and Faith especially takes an interest in the mission. She still feels bad about taking advantage of Riley, and so she thinks that rescuing him is how she can make up for it. The team finally finds Samantha, who mentions that Riley told her about what Faith did to him before they got married. Faith apologizes, but Samantha claims that whatever forgiveness and absolution Faith is seeking is not hers: it is Riley's.
After Riley is finally saved and a conspiracy surrounding a vampiric Zane is uncovered, Riley and Faith have time to get together for a talk. Faith offers her apologyand Riley has no problem accepting that. He says he felt “like an idiot” when he thought he had Buffy back, only to be a pawn in Faith's ploy, but he got over the feeling. He goes deeper, positing that although Faith thinks she needs to atone by receiving absolution, atonement begins from within. Riley tells Faith he hopes she figures this out before they part.
Faith successfully redeems itself in Buffy History?
The answer is more complicated than you might think
In a way, Faith does a good deed that makes up for the bad one she did to Riley the next day. Buffy the Vampire Slayer. Riley even says that after saving his skin, the least he can do is accept her apology. However, he also complicates Faith's redemption arc and attempted reconciliation here, expressing that atonement is more than apologizing and receiving acceptance from those she has offended. Riley's psychoanalysis puts a twist on Faith's ongoing redemption arc that began in the television series.
Faith needs to forgive herself and become the person who wouldn't make that decision again.
Faith has sought redemption, but it also needs this attempt at redemption to be validated to understand whether it has truly atoned for its sins. Riley suggests that forgiveness can only go so far, at least in comparison to producing real changes in someone's character. It doesn't matter if she's apologizing to Buffy or Riley; Faith needs to forgive herself and become the person who wouldn't make that decision again. Riley gets to the root of what it really means to seek redemption, and Faith completely gets the message.
Why is it important for Buffy Comics to revisit “Who Are You?”
They Expand on a Forgotten TV Moment
The biggest benefit of Buffy the Vampire Slayer and Angel post-show, comic continuations in continuity is like they expand on and follow up on past moments in history that even the biggest fans might overlook. The “Who are you?” The moment is easy to overlook in comparison to the bigger, more unforgivable things the show focuses on Faith's attempts to atone for (like killing people), but as small as it may seem, it's still a cruel act that needs atonement. Comics give time to moments that otherwise wouldn't get the same amount of screen time.
Meanwhile, the comics allow characters to expand on rarely explored redemption arcs, as well as actually give characters forgotten redemption arcs, among other story elements that the series failed to accomplish. Something like this seemingly small moment for Faith may have been considered too small an offense to be investigated in the series, but it's big enough to merit its own multi-issue arc for Faith in the comics. An episode of Buffy the Vampire Slayer which viewers may have forgotten turns into a huge turning point for the character of Faith.
All questions of Angel and Faith Season 10 are now available from Dark Horse Comics.