Buffy for Beginners 3.7: Revelations

By Sabrina Boyer

In my feminist studies, we oftentimes discuss the competitive nature of the patriarchal society in which we live, particularly for women as we are taught to compete against each other for men, jobs, attractiveness, etc. Because of this, we have a difficult time connecting and bonding, maintaining friendships and relationships with other women like ourselves. There’s, most of the time, that edge of competitiveness embedded in our everyday interactions with each other.  And I feel, at least for Faith, unlike her name suggests, has a difficult time in cementing relationships with other women due to this particular competitiveness, particularly as season three progresses and explores her relationship with Buffy, with herself, and with mega uber bitch watcher Gwendolyn Post . Here, I think, is Faith’s desire but ultimate inability to find a supportive and nurturing relationship with a woman like herself: strong, independent and bad frakin’ ass.

Episode opens at the Bronze with a question looming over Buffy’s relationship status; is she dating? Well, she’s dating Faith. In this episode, there’s a promising connection between the two slayers, and a pretty bitchin’ overt homoerotic theme happening as well. As the dynamic duo synchronize slaying, one Mrs. Gwendolyn Post pops in with her Britishness and bitchiness all in the same night. She’s Faith’s new watcher, and the only woman watcher that we are privy to at any length of time. Because of that, it’s unfortunate that she turns out to be out for her own power and betrays Faith’s trust, who, as Faith herself states, has “trouble with authority figures” and “Listen, Mary Poppins….” Of course, with her attitude Post brings along the 411 on Lagos, a demon, and we learn that he will be heading for a cemetery, one of twelve in Sunnydale’s city limits. The three musketeers are broken up for a time, and Buffy chipperly asks, “Can we kill her?”

Meanwhile, Buffy’s still hush hush about Angel’s return, and there’s definite confusion in slayland when they are training and almost kissing. “You think they make a patch for this?” Buffy asks. She vents hormonal angst against Lagos, who’s looking for a thingamabob, or, a glove. Giles is obviously perturbed by Post’s arrival, and this is evident in his British-like authority over Will and Xan. “Hey, you’re not the watcher of me!” Of course, this leads to a moment between Will and Xander who end up not almost kissing but actually kissing in the stacks. What is it about the stacks that make people do the wacky?

Faith and Buffy tell about their trips to Guyville, and Faith has accepted her destiny as a loser magnet. Not it’s “get some get gone.” She asks about Buffy’s Angel issues and attempts a moment of real sharing with Buffy, but Buff can’t deal with the sharing, etc. Here’s a moment when Faith tries to be a friend, to connect, only to be shot down. She goes off alone to slay and finds Lagos looking for that glove of his. She gets shot down; yet another testament to more the merrier is really, you know, merrier? As Xander goes off to look for the glove at yet another cemetery all hell breaks loose when he sees Angel taking the glove from the crypt. By all hell I mean an uh and an oh. Xander follows him back to his crypt only to see Buffy and Angel making out. The cat is out of the bag and it’s scratchin’ up the joint. Of course, Xander doesn’t know that he’s not evil, and what with his jonesing for Buffy, gets super and duper pissed. Angel gives the Glove of Myneghan to Buffy for safe protection. If you put it on, it can never be removed. Meanwhile, at Giles’ pad, Post insults him left and right and at this point, who doesn’t want to bitchslap her into oblivion?

Xander tells Giles about Angel’s return while Post butts her pointy nose right in. The group holds an intervention type thing complete with tragedy masks. They confront her about Angel’s existence and once again, Buffy’s love is treated like an addiction. I feel protective over her for sure, but the gang does have a point; she hid him from them instead of asking for help. “It was an accident!” Buffy proclaims. “What, you tripped and fell on his lips?” Xander quips. Xander pulls the Ms. Calendar card with Buffy’s past when she was unable to kill Angel when she should have. “Giles, no one’s doing the ‘I’ statements!” Willow worries.  We know, as viewers, that Angel is good again. But that doesn’t stop Giles for pulling the dad card and chastises Buffy’s actions, accusing her of not respecting him or his job. Also, he reminds her that Angel tortured him for hours, not to mention, Jenny Calendar. Ouch. Giles, don’t be mad!

Mrs. Gwendolyn Post visits Faith at her apartment, and spews crap about how she will make Faith the best slayer, and nurtures Faith’s already feelings of loneliness and otherness in her arm’s length from the Scoobies and Buffy in particular. Buffy is the princess, and Faith is the runner-up. That position never feels good. Faith runs into Xander at the Bronze, accuses him of talking behind her back, but instead, tells Faith Angel’s still alive and they agree to kill him. The crap as really hit the fan. Buffy takes in Xander’s jealous rhetoric and the irony here is this: if Buffy had confided in Faith would this be happening? The idea here is collaboration, sharing, and friendship. But that’s not what Faith is getting. Post visits Giles at the library only to hit him over the head after he confides in her that he has the glove. He tells her the whereabouts of the thingamabob, and she gleefully smacks him a good one with a wooden sculpture. “Good show Mr. Giles,” she says, “good show indeed!”

Willow goes with Buffy on slay duty complete with demon-a-phobia. Just as Willow is about to confide in Buffy over her own secret love affair with Xander, there’s a demon behind Buffy, Lagos. Xander and Faith think Angel knocked out Giles, not Post; more confusion. She gets to Angel’s pad as he’s destroying the glove; Assumptions make an ass out of you and me, and everyone doing that around here. “That’s what I love about this town. Everyone’s so helpful,” Post says after she’s also knocked out Angel. He puts his game face on to fight back and Faith walks in and assumes that another watcher of hers is being attacked by a scary vamp. Buffy stops Faith from killing Angel and they are put against each other because of a lack of intimacy between the two slayers. This isn’t entirely Faith’s fault and certainly isn’t the last time we see the dynamic duo at odds. Btw, they fight, they fall out of a glass door and break it; total foreshadowing for later in the season (I just love how you notice more and more fragments as you watch the show over and over). While the slayers are occupied, Post puts on the glove and gains a bunch of power. “Faith, a word of advice: you’re an idiot,” Post tells her. No, she’s just been manipulated by all those that she was supposed to be able to trust. Of course, Buffy cuts off Post’s arm and she becomes her own living flame. “Sounds like a lot of fun,” Oz says. “Then we’re telling it wrong,” Xander whines.

As long as Buffy and Angel don’t get pelvic, the gang subsides on their freak out over Angel. Buffy does more damage control and goes to visit Faith. There’s an obvious crack in Faith’s demeanor; ‘well, you can’t trust people. Should’ve learned that by now.” Buffy proclaims that Faith can trust her, but Faith isn’t buying it. Faith, ironically, has lost hers, and has been visibly shaken by Posts’ betrayal as well as Buffy’s. At this point, who can blame Faith for shutting down and drawing a line in the sand? Severe character development and understanding into Faith that makes me want to reach out and comfort her because we’ve all been where she lives.

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About Sabrina Boyer: As a kid my dad would sneak scary movies past my mom and let me indulge in his horror movie fetish. I grew up watching V, Alien Nation, The Thing, The Fog (all originals) and then, in 1992 when Buffy the movie came out, I became obsessed with vampires, girl power, and all things gothic. I once stayed home from school, faked sick, and watched BTVS: the movie 6 times in a row. I know the beginning cheerleading dance by heart (still). Currently, I’m obsessing over Laurell K. Hamilton novels, and dream about Anita Blake being my best friend.

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