BtVS - 3.15: Consequences

[wearing_tearing]

Original Air Date: February 16, 1999
Writer: Marti Noxon
Director: Michael Gershman

Buffy is haunted by the consequences of her and Faith's reckless behavior as she battles with Faith's apparent lack of remorse to keep her from continuing on her destructive path. Meanwhile, the new watcher Wesley overrides Giles' objections and instructs Buffy and Faith to get to the bottom of the recent murder, while the Mayor and Trick are thrilled by the possibility of imprisoning a slayer for the murder.

We start the episode with TRAUMA. Of course Buffy is going to be affected by what happened. It was messed up. Even more so as she’s keeping it a secret with Faith.

Oh hey! Things make more sense now. The dude was Deputy Mayor, something I had entirely deleted from my mind. As the audience, we know why he went after Buffy like that. However, neither Buffy nor Faith are aware that Mayor Wilkins is evil, which still begs the question: why aren’t they focusing on the fact the dude was hiding in the dark and grabbed Buffy like that??????

Gross, gross, gross the way Wesley suddenly acts with Cordelia. Thank you to Giles for pointing out she’s a student!

I do not like this conflict between Buffy and Faith the way it’s going. Again, no thoughts to question what the guy was doing and why. Just throwing guilt around until it sticks.

I’m also not a fan of the awkwardness between Buffy and Willow. If only people on this show communicated! But then we wouldn’t have the necessary angst and drama to keep things going.

Aaaahhhh, Angel lurking and putting some puzzle pieces together. Can vampires identify similarities in blood by sniffing it? I wonder…

Who else gets the ya-yas by using the paper shredder please raise your hand \o

We’re finally thinking thoughts! We’re investigating! We’re learning things!

“It does not mean we get to pass judgement on people, like we’re better than everybody.” SAYS BUFFY. WHILE JUDGING.

Controversial but: sometimes, people deal with difficult situations in different ways. We all respond differently to traumatic happenings and tend to fall back into what’s familiar to us. In Faith’s case, that’s obviously pretending everything is going to be fine and she’s okay/doesn’t really care about it. But it’s that sort of behavior that has kept her going thus far.

Best friends are the best thing in the entire world that is all.

Okay I have to skip this Giles-Buffy-Faith scene because it upsets me too fucking much. I do appreciate that Giles is able to tell Faith lied and reassure Buffy that accidents like this one have happened before. It’s an interesting part of Slayer history that sometimes accidental human deaths are dealt with.

Not really enjoying Giles referring to Faith as “unstable”. Good for acknowledging that she’s in denial instead of not at all bothered by what she did.

No secrets are kept in Sunnydale for long. Some are revealed immediately due to eavesdropping!

Everyone slowly realizing Xander and Faith slept together. Not awkward at all! I do and also don’t understand Willow looking so upset by this. Sigh. Glad to have confirmation that they’re looking into the Mayor’s connection to Mr. Trick and what that might mean to Sunnydale.

Okay well… that entire Xander and Faith scene is a whole ass mess. I love Xander going to check in on her because he thought that was the right thing to do. Faith, of course, did not respond kindly to that. But then the throwing him in bed when he wasn’t into it and trying to choke him up? Assault.

Go Angel for coming to the rescue!

Very big jump from accidentally staking someone to suddenly having a taste for murder, but okay???? Though there was the Xander scene… I’m not sure if Faith is, in some way, trying to reaffirm her control/power over life and death and so she decided to do that by wrapping her hands around Xander’s neck on purpose.

Angel and Faith scenes are really intriguing to watch since they haven’t interacted much, but do have things in common as Angel pointed out. I don’t like Wesley intervening because we know he’s quick to ruin things at this point in time.

Watchers Council showing, once again, their utter incompetence at dealing with Slayers. It’s not like they’ve been doing this for centuries and centuries or anything.

Willow does have a bit of a point here. And Buffy is also spot on regarding Wesley’s actions having probably destroyed Faith. She’s a cornered animal with seemingly no one to trust now. She’s spiraling.

Mr. Trick! If only you had been paying attention.

It is a veeeeery veeeeeeeery compelling turn of events to have Faith offer herself to work for the Mayor. It opens up so many doors to trouble and it has so much potential to elevate things. It makes everything unpredictable and I love that for the show :D

Vampires Slayed: 3.
Series Total: 75.

Giles Taking Off/Putting On Glasses: 4.
Series Total: 75.

Episode Quote:
Angel: …to kill without remorse is to feel like a god.

Comments

[lokifan]

Controversial but: sometimes, people deal with difficult situations in different ways. We all respond differently to traumatic happenings and tend to fall back into what’s familiar to us. In Faith’s case, that’s obviously pretending everything is going to be fine and she’s okay/doesn’t really care about it. But it’s that sort of behavior that has kept her going thus far.

Spot on.

Everyone slowly realizing Xander and Faith slept together. Not awkward at all! I do and also don’t understand Willow looking so upset by this. Sigh.

It makes sense to me because Willow's dealing with Faith kind of taking her spot with both Buffy and Xander. And I think Faith really brings out Willow's insecurities, especially around sex.

Very big jump from accidentally staking someone to suddenly having a taste for murder, but okay???? Though there was the Xander scene… I’m not sure if Faith is, in some way, trying to reaffirm her control/power over life and death and so she decided to do that by wrapping her hands around Xander’s neck on purpose.

I think that's exactly what it is, yeah. And I think she feels judged, she's like 'oh god I am a murderer... okay FINE, I'm a murderer, I'm a bad guy'. More support from the adults/Council MUCH earlier on would've really helped imo, like why is this girl living in a motel room???

Angel and Faith scenes are really intriguing to watch since they haven’t interacted much, but do have things in common as Angel pointed out... And Buffy is also spot on regarding Wesley’s actions having probably destroyed Faith. She’s a cornered animal with seemingly no one to trust now. She’s spiraling.

Yeah, the Council is really what does for her, but I also think Angel's handling of it was really off. They play off each other really well, and the control thing is accurate, but like... Faith accidentally killed one guy and she's handling it badly because she was already in a very bad place, and Angel being like "yeah we're the same, you and I, because I killed and tortured countless people" is the opposite of helpful imo. Especially since we see how her redemption comes, later, through confessing and submitting to human forms of justice. Like even if they do have things in common, he's going about it in this way that Faith is gonna interpret as "like me, you are an inhuman monster."

[apachefirecat]

Very well put!

I don't think Faith really enjoyed what she did, or almost did, to Xander, but I just think she didn't see any other choice. She had to stop him some way. She had to stop everyone who knew the truth, and up until that point, she'd thought they'd bought her story that Buffy had done it. Had she succeeded with stopping/killing Xander, she probably would've continued on to the others until she was finally stopped.

And yes, there is a HUGE difference between Angel and Faith here, but even so, he's surely the one who can most relate to where she is currently except for maybe Giles with his past as Ripper -- but at this point, I'm sure he probably figures none of the kids would buy his true past.

Also, as much as none of the adults seem to be there for Faith at all, can we talk about just HOW she's managing to keep that hotel room? Having spent a Summer having to live in hotels myself, I KNOW how expensive they are! She may very well have already been having to do some things we don't want to consider -- things that they, and the Watcher's Council especially, should have stepped in to make sure didn't have to happen.

[wearing_tearing]

And I think Faith really brings out Willow's insecurities, especially around sex.
Damn, it would be so interesting to have them (be forced to) interact on the show more so we could see their personalities clashing/playing off each other.

Angel being like "yeah we're the same, you and I, because I killed and tortured countless people" is the opposite of helpful imo.
ISN'T IT LMAO He could have gone the way of knowing what it's like to struggle and have to only depend on yourself, but nope! Let's tell Faith she's a soulless demon, basically.

[apachefirecat]

We see several power plays here, and I have fully remembered now why I was never concerned with the human Faith killed as many other fans were. I GET that we're supposed to be upset that a good guy kills an innocent, BUT the think is I always saw either the Mayor or Trick setting up the Deputy Mayor to be there at the time he was. This episode pretty much, at least to me, cements that idea.

What I do NOT recall AT ALL is Faith almost killing Xander. Another thing I feel goes unnoticed is, just WHY did the Watcher's Council, which we all know are pretty downright evil themselves, NOT stake Angel when they had the chance? Yes, he's a good guy, but this is a Council full of men who don't care about killing or offering the life of a young, innocent girl. They have shown time and time again how little they care about their Slayers. WHY would they stop at staking ANY Vampire when they had a chance? It's not like they were planning on using Angel as a weapon for themselves -- if they had, they would have taken him with us.

Could Wesley have had a hand in this? It seems a little odd if that's the case, given how easy he still falls and how straight-laced a Watcher he remains. I just don't see him taking Angel's side or doing anything really to help him that wasn't absolutely required to keep Buffy off his back -- and honestly, at this point, he doesn't care about that either.

I remember finding it interesting that Cordy moved from Xander to Wes, and thinking that maybe she saw the opportunity with an older guy who she thought might have money or at least power. Power, yes. But here I feel like it's pretty obvious that she sees him as being her way to get back into the group, and possibly even to have a controlling presence over Buffy and friends.

It's no secret at all that there is to this day still a chunk of followers who like the whole Angelus/Buffy angle, but I never saw it before -- until rewatching this episode. Her reaction to Faith makes it perfectly clear that Faith is hitting every nerve spot on, and that she WAS attracted to Angelus and to danger and power even back then.

Speaking of moments that seem to speak volumes here of things to come, I can't help noticing that these big scenes are around the Sunnydale docks -- I wonder if that played any thought into where Connor's big scenes went down later on in Angel? And it seems to me to be pretty obvious, too, that Willow was starting to be pushed towards relying more and more on herself at this moment and desperately wanting a way to be as cool and powerful as the Slayers to keep both Buffy's and Xander's interest. She's never had any friends other than Amy and these two, and Amy's a rat now. And all this is happening when she's just beginning to really get into magic. I was never really a fan of Willow in the first run and especially not of her magick "addiction" -- but this is an angle I admit to find interesting.

Last but not least, we have Xander -- Xander, who volunteers to help Faith. Xander, who is obviously hurt by the others' reactions. (Speaking of, did anyone else get a kick out of Willow being the first to identify what he was referring to? And I LOVE Giles' expressions throughout their conversation here! Can't help thinking they chose to focus on Ash's facial expressions throughout it all because of just how superbly he acted in these moments! I'm sure he was FAR more expressive than Sarah or Alyson here! I'm also reminded of how many times I've heard James rave on about how great an actor Ash is and how much he helped him. <3)

To get back to the point -- Xander, who goes to Faith and takes the time and effort not only to try to help her but even to make sure she knows she's safe with him. <3 THIS! is why I used to love Xander. During the first watch, I WAS an Angel fan, but there WERE times I crushed on Xander back during the day and THIS! is exactly one of those moments! <3 NO powers at all, but he tries SO HARD to be a good guy and help the girls in his life, even knowing they'll never look at him in THAT way. Even here, he's accepted that he was just a toy for Faith, but he still wants so badly to help her. It isn't about him or his ego, as she understandably assumes (having been hurt, abused, and used, as we learn later, by so many starting at such an early age and long before her powers kick in) but about his desire to help a friend he knows is in trouble. <3

Just a few more notes here -- LOVE Trick's expression when he gets staked! I definitely get know why he kept so many fans! And I did NOT remember Faith going to the Mayor and offering to help him -- I'd always remembered, obviously wrongly, it as the Mayor duping Faith. But he DIDN'T. She was a scared kid on the run, and she saw a way to get a powerful, government official to help her when she had nowhere else to turn. It makes sense. It makes perfect, complete sense psychologically speaking. But I just did NOT remember it this way. <3

Looking forward to that next episode, and had to stop myself from watching ahead! LOL

[wearing_tearing]

I GET that we're supposed to be upset that a good guy kills an innocent, BUT the think is I always saw either the Mayor or Trick setting up the Deputy Mayor to be there at the time he was.
That's the thing! Deputy Mayor wasn't an innocent! He just happened to be human.

WHY would they stop at staking ANY Vampire when they had a chance?
So many great questions about the Council and how inconsistent they are at... everything! There's really no reason why they wouldn't take this opportunity to get rid off Angel? Especially since everyone's thoughts would probably go to Faith having been the one to do it. I guess the writers were still banking on the Angel/Buffy will-they-won't-they to even consider it.

that she WAS attracted to Angelus and to danger and power even back then.
This is one of the points that I love about Faith's introduction to the show: she isn't afraid to say what's on her mind and she's really good at reading Buffy during certain moments. This is one. It's really interesting that she uses this to hurt Buffy because she knows Buffy will feel guilty about it while Faith probably understands why Buffy felt that way with Angelus.

that Willow was starting to be pushed towards relying more and more on herself at this moment and desperately wanting a way to be as cool and powerful as the Slayers to keep both Buffy's and Xander's interest.
Y E S!!!! I would have really liked if this hadn't gone down a road of "addiction", but I still enjoy her character journey with the way Willow's insecurities start getting the better of her and she holds on to the one thing she believes might make her more powerful. I think making the magic something "addicting" works to downplay/dismiss how much of an active choice she had in walking down this path.

I do really like Xander in this episode with Faith. He does what he thinks is right instead of listening to the girls and that speaks a lot about the kind of guy he is.

[apachefirecat]

Could NOT agree more, especially with Xander! I find myself liking him more and more, rewatching these episodes...

[apachefirecat]

The Mayor really was kinda cute and definitely funny with the paper shredder. LOL

Love that Giles AND Faith both pointed out rather quickly to Wes NOT to get involved with Cordy. Especially love Faith's comment here: "One word. Jail. Two. Bait." Or something along those lines. It's both funny but also hints very heavily -- at least to me -- of some of the things that she had to deal with as a poor drunk's daughter.

Which brings me around to Angel's speech. I LOVE it! And it HITS on SO MANY levels! BUT what really moved me was the fact that whereas of course here he's dealing with the Supernatural and killing and all, much of what is said in his speech also very well comes back to families who are poor and/or have members who have fallen to drugs, or perhaps even sickness, and in trying to help them. There's FAR too many such families in my area, including my husband's, and for me, with him and I both having tried so hard for so long and sacrificed so much in trying to help his grandmother especially who's seriously addicted -- it just HIT HOME.

The world is full of Demons or monsters or simply addicts who take and use others and destroy lives. But there IS a hand full of good people in the world who genuinely just want to help. And too many of us get effed over for just trying to help, as is kinda happening to Faith here and which is what I'm sure she was used to with her background.

As for Faith choking Xander, I'd say it's much more than assault... She would've succeeded in killing him if Angel hadn't come racing to the rescue. (Although does he get any points for that? We already know better!) It also just goes to show that YES, sorry, society, but it IS possible for a guy to be raped...

[wearing_tearing]

The world is full of Demons or monsters or simply addicts who take and use others and destroy lives. But there IS a hand full of good people in the world who genuinely just want to help. And too many of us get effed over for just trying to help, as is kinda happening to Faith here and which is what I'm sure she was used to with her background.
Exaaaaactly <3

It also just goes to show that YES, sorry, society, but it IS possible for a guy to be raped...
iirc BtVS historically tries to say that's not true at all and men should be thankful women want them >:/

[apachefirecat]

Very true, but at the same time, they also give us PLENTY of examples of how it's NOT/ie. that men CAN be raped. And for some reason, they seem to very often, at least early on, center around poor Xander...