"Admittedly, it's not a haven for the brothers. Strictly the Caucasian persuasion here today."
That quote is obviously an admission by Whedon & co; there haven't exactly been… well, any significant black characters in Buffy so far, and that's more than a little awkward. So at least it's nice that the attempt to start making amends for this is considered important enough to be worth a little breakage of the old fourth wall.
Trick is very much a character in the mould of Spike: quirky, individual, unusually modern for a vampire, intelligent, and with little respect for boring, traditional vampiric hierarchy. His abandonment of Kakistos is a direct parallel with Spike's abandonment of the Annoying One.
But of course the more significant new character to be introduced here is Faith. She's a fantastic, charismatic yet nuanced character from the very start. Plus, Eliza Dushku is extremely hot, which is, er, a plus. She has all the attractive qualities you'd expect from a "bad girl"- she's very friendly, fun to be with, has great stories, and she gets "hungry and horny" after a bit of slayage. Five by five.
But Buffy feels as though she's been replaced by someone who threatens to be cooler than her. Everyone likes Faith, even her mother, and they even end up competing, sort of, over a boy. This isn't quite Kendra Mark II; Faith is confident, flirty and tattooed.
Except that it soon becomes clear that there's something dark behind the over-the-top cheeriness. Faith is running away from the traumatic sight of seeing her Watcher being killed by Kakistos after he did some unspecified but unspeakable things to her, and she's genuinely terrified; Dushku is superb at showing this. Far from being the confident "bad girl" that we see on the surface, Faith is clearly shell-shocked and running away from her demons, and not just the literal kind. Worryingly, everyone acts as though, with Kakistos dead, she'll be fine. But she clearly isn't.
Still, Faith's newly revealed vulnerable side allows her and Buffy to bond a little, and the conflict between them abates somewhat. It's obvious that the situation isn't permanent, though. It's very noticeable that the Scoobies are portrayed as a tightly knit bunch until Faith arrived. This is obviously intended as contrast for the dissent to be spread by this cuckoo in the nest. There will be more.
Oh, and both Faith and Dushku are from Boston, right? I thought I knew what a Boston accent sounded like, but she pronounces "about" rather Scottishly. I thought that was just a Canadian thing?
Faith faces her demons, and Buffy now feels able to do what she needs to do, too. She finally admits to Willow and Giles that it was Angel, not Angelus, that she sent to Hell. That needed to be said. And at last she feels able to symbolically get rid of the clanagh ring. She has closure, of sorts. So, naturally, Angel chooses now to suddenly return, and he's all naked too.
It's a strong episode, if perhaps a little arc-y to be properly considered in its own right. There are some nice touches to further the season; Snyder briefly shows apprehension at the prospect of speaking to the mysterious Mayor. Giles hints that Willow's dabbling in magic may not be entirely healthy. It's a brilliant episode for Joyce, too, perhaps above all else. She's a wonderful mother. She gets a fab scene of Snyder-mockery ("I think what my daughter is trying to say is… nah nah nah nah nah!"), to show us firmly that the troll has lost his bite. But her tears at the prospect that her daughter might die are heartbreakingly real.
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