Buffy: Consequences (3.15)

It's not Allen Finch's death that marks the radical change in Faith's character, it's her reaction to it. What happened was a mistake. Yes, a man was killed, but it was an accident. Buffy and Faith got carried away in the heat of the moment, both of them stuck in this world of death and violence at that one unfortunate time that the deputy mayor was stalking around an alleyway. It was an awful thing that happened, but his death isn't the defining moment for her. Buffy experiences significant grief and guilt over what happened, arguing with herself what rights she has over a human's life, regardless of the fact that she's a slayer. Faith, on the other hand, is so casual about the whole thing that it becomes scary and twisted. She exhibits no guilt or fear, in the end becoming increasingly manipulative as she tries to twist the situation into her favor. It's a horrible thing to witness, a character becoming so corrupt and sinister, and arguably more sinister than Angelus last year.

And, unlike Angelus, there's an element of ambiguity with Faith. Deep down, she's a scared, vulnerable young woman with a troubled history, something we see all the time in everyday life. It's just unfortunate that in these circumstances Faith has been 'cursed' with the title of slayer. She sees herself as above the law, above mortals, and that method of thinking can only lead to destruction. In the Mayor she sees somebody she can work with. Buffy, Giles and the Scoobies are all so moral and righteous, in her eyes, while The Mayor, regardless of his intentions, is easier to be around. Like Angel said, he could have gotten through to her himself since they exhibit similar traits, but things didn't work out so easy.

Consequences features some wonderful character interplay. Faith sees Buffy as an annoying older sister so uptight despite having so much pent-up desire to be bad. Giles sees through Faith's lies. Faith views every man's offer of support as a lie to get in her pants. Willow is distraught at the news that Xander and Faith slept together. Wesley is head over heels for Cordelia. Only the last one was any fun. The rest were beautifully-observed and moving. You feel for everybody here, especially Faith. She's so damaged and yet you really want to help her. She's been an incredibly well-handled character so far, somebody so mysterious and ambiguous but undoubtedly likable. She's also crazy annoying at times, but equally hot and badass. I love the girl.

This episode was all about morals. It's not as simple as 'don't kill humans', even Giles comforts Buffy by telling her that sometimes terrible accidents are part of her job. "Is Giles saying it's okay to be a murderer?" It's an odd situation to be in, and Sarah Michelle Gellar completely sells it. This is a story of a young woman trying to find herself and her morals while trapped in such a violent world where so much of her life involves death. It's such a rich story, and ridiculously fascinating. Another hugely impressive triumpth for season three. A

Credits
Guest stars Kristine Sutherland (Joyce Summers); Harry Groener (Mayor Richard Wilkins III); K. Todd Freeman (Mr. Trick); Jack Plotnick (Allen Finch); Alexis Denisof (Wesley Wyndam-Pryce); James G. MacDonald (Detective Stein); Eliza Dushku (Faith)
Writer Marti Noxon Director Michael Gershman