"Faith, you don't get it. You killed a man."
"No, you don't get it. I don't care."
This is a great episode, but then again it's a Season Three episode, so chances were that it would be. What's more interesting is how excellently this season is developing its themes throughout the episodes. Not only is this a serious(ish) arc episode, which follows a more light-hearted episode, which in turn follows a serious arc episode, thus helping to maintain a balance of light and dark (pause for breath…), it also looks at the themes from last episode in a new light. In The Zeppo Xander found himself mixed up with thuggery, gangs and, up to a point, crime. Here the same thing happens to Buffy, but it's much more serious.
We've had plenty of hints throughout the season that Faith is damaged, a little dangerous and, well, pretty much the juvenile delinquent type. Here things are revealed to be worse than we thought; she keeps throwing herself (and Buffy) into fights where they're vastly outnumbered, with no plan, for kicks. But it isn't, I think, just for kicks. I think Faith quite obviously has a death wish. Her self-esteem is obviously rock bottom. And so she tempts Buffy into her delinquent ways in which, like many teenagers, she thinks nothing of the consequences of her actions. So the two of them are seen dancing in a club to hardcore techno (in real life, a fairly common and healthy activity but, in drama, a sure sign of a bad 'un), flirting with the opposite sex in a When She Was Bad kind of way and, in Buffy's case, skiving from a chemistry exam!!! She's going off the rails, and it's all due to Faith's influence.
The metaphor is a) obvious and b) the same as last week. But these two are Slayers, and that raises the stakes a lot. The two of them get more and more out of control until we reach serious crimes such as burglary ("Want. Take. Have."), resisting arrest, crashing a police car into another car and not stopping to see if the cops are ok. It all culminates in Faith unintentionally, but carelessly, killing the mayor's underling, a flesh and blood person. And yes, morally, Buffy is an accessory. There are no two ways about it; Faith is by far the guiltier of the two, yes, but both of them deserve to go to prison. We can't have special rules for Slayers because, as Willow said to Cordelia long ago, that would mean a fascist society. Faith, of course, is in denial, but Buffy knows there must be consequences. Perhaps she's seen the title of the next episode.
It's very instructive, I think, that this should so soon after Giles is fired by the Watcher's Council, thereby semi-detaching the father figure from her life. The two of them are close- it's obvious in the body language here with the two of them united against Wesley- but Giles hasn't really got custody of his surrogate daughter. Instead, we're introduced to the useless, but highly amusing, Wesley Wyndham-Pryce. He's frighteningly young, arrogant (or trying to be), full of book-learning, and comically cowardly. What else can he be but a figure of fun? He and Giles make a fantastic double act and, incidentally, Giles suddenly looks very cool by comparison. When did he become so adept with a sword?
Oh, and we're finally on the main road towards the climax of this week's series arc: the mayor is moving towards his "Ascension", and in this episode he takes a major step towards that goal, becoming invincible with some rather neat CGI. I love the way he then proceeds to tick of "become invincible" from his otherwise mundane to-do list!
I love the mayor, and I love Harry Groener's performance. On a show full of metaphors he's perhaps the most satisfying metaphor of all: the politician who has literally sold his soul for power. His entire persona is slick, full of false cheer and ersatz bonhomie. There's nothing genuine about him at all. How could he not be demonic?
The other Scoobies aren't in this much, really, but I like the contrast early on between Willow's offers from Yale and Harvard and Xander, contemplating his future as a member of the working class. But the other Scoobies aren't in it much; perhaps their absence is a big part of why Buffy goes off the rails.
I love the way this is going. But I hope the consequences live up to what has been done.
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