Season 4
Episode 15
THIS YEAR’S
GIRL: Turn, Turn, Turn
- Dreams – The importance of family
– Valuing and remembering others - A
place – A time – Internal
resources – Power & responsibility – Conclusion – Spicy extras for James Marsters fans -
Faith’s
back! And
she’s none too happy with the world that awaits her after her eight-month stint
in a coma. The Mayor has not ascended;
she doesn’t wake to find herself seated on the right hand side of The
Lord. She’s still Faith The Loser, and
everything still belongs to the Buffies of the world. Faith’s dreams show us her view of Buffy: A
scary figure, determined to hunt her down and snuff her out – to ruin her. Notice how Faith’s last dream ends,
though: It is Faith alone who emerges
from the grave.
In hindsight, and
accepting the much-discussed notion that Faith represents Buffy’s dark side,
Faith’s dreams are interesting indeed.
Buffy’s has a penchant, pre-death, to idealize, i.e., to see the world
in a child’s terms of black and white.
She ignores her dark side, tries to forget it, and single-mindedly
quashes any signs of it. After her
return from the grave, however, she will indulge that dark side (though she will
still hate that part of herself, and inner conflict will reign supreme in
Season 6).
But Faith isn’t just a representation of Buffy’s dark side – she’s a complex character in her own
right. And her dreams tell us about her
as well, particularly her dream of The Mayor as a benign and loving parent. We see that, for all her bravado, Faith still
wants what Buffy has: a loving,
supportive environment, family, and friends.
The
importance of family – of intimate connections - to the development of the self and
the happiness of human beings is emphasized by continual references to family:
·
In her
dream of making a bed with Buffy, Faith speaks of a little sister
(foreshadowing Dawn, certainly, but perhaps also a commentary on Faith’s
subconscious desire to be part of the Summer’s household).
·
Giles
is seen folding Xander’s skivvies and later, the gang gathers at Giles’ home –
very comfortable, intimate, familial and familiar.
·
During
the above-mentioned scene, Faith peers into Giles’ windows and her Girl Without A Family state is clearly underlined. She belongs no where, and her plight reminds
us strongly of Spike’s (who also peered into windows in Pangs, and currently finds himself alone and without a clear
identity). In Pangs, Spike was literally starving; figuratively, in this ep,
Faith is as well. She is a very hungry
girl.
·
The
Mayor, in his appearance in Faith’s dream and in the video, is very paternal.
·
Forrest,
attempting to pressure Riley into putting his military duty ahead of Buffy,
insists that The Initiative is “family.”
·
Faith’s
first target is Buffy’s mother.
It
is essential to our sense of identity that we connect to others. And it is essential to the development of our own
self-esteem, that
others value us. In this episode, the
importance of external validation of our own worth is represented by constant
reference to what and whom the characters remember. Forms of the words “remember” and “forget”
are used often. Here are some examples
of characters expressing their esteem for others, or their desire for the
approval of others, in this manner:
·
·
Buffy: “I’ve been looking for you.” Faith:
“I’ve been standing still for 8 months, B – how hard did you look?”
·
Faith
(to Buffy, about Buffy): “Not only has
she forgotten about the love of her life, but she’s forgotten all about the
chick she nearly killed for him.”
·
Spike
(to Giles & Xander): “Can’t anyone
of your damn little Scooby Club at least try to remember that I hate you
all??”
·
Demon-messenger: “Faith!
Your friend sent me. I got a
little remembrance from him.”
·
Faith
(to Joyce): “Nobody cares, nobody
remembers, especially not Buffy, fabulous superhero . . . too busy climbing
onto her new boytoy to give a single thought to the people that matter.”
Notice that both
our outcasts - Faith and Spike - express the feeling that they and their needs
have been forgotten. Joyce, however, is
certain that Buffy will arrive to help her – and she does.
Further
emphasizing the need to belong, to be valued by others,
is the frequent mention of “place” – having a place to be, or trying to find a
place in the world. Some examples:
·
Riley
(to Forrest): “He was in my way. I’ve got places to be.”
·
Young
woman (to Faith): “Excuse me. You know
how to get to third floor west?”
·
Giles: “What are you doing here?” Spike:
“I’m not the one who’s out of place here.”
·
Faith
has a fatalistic, pessimistic view of the world and of others: “It always seems
like it starts raining right about now,” says Faith to the Mayor (in her dream,
just as things seem idyllic). “No such
animal,” says Faith when Buffy mentions “innocent people.” Unfortunately playing right into Faith’s self-fulfilling
sour view, the Mayor says to her, in the video:
“The problem, Faith, is that there won’t be a place in the world for you
anymore.”
But as the Biblical book of Ecclesiastes
tells us it’s not just about finding your place, it’s about finding
your Season. It’s a famous and rather
lengthy passage, but worth repeating:
“To every thing
there is a Season, and a time to every purpose under the heaven. A time to be born, and a time to die; a time
to plant, and a time to pluck up that which is planted. A time to kill, and a time to heal; a time to
break down, and a time to build up. A
time to weep, and a time to laugh; a time to mourn, and a time to dance. A time to cast away stones, and a time to
gather stones together; a time to embrace, and a time to refrain from embracing. A time to get, and a time to lose; a time to
keep, and a time to cast away. A time to
rend, and a time to sew; a time to keep silence, and a time to speak. A time to love, and a time to hate; a time of
war, and a time of peace. “
Many, many references
to timing and the passage of time emphasize the message, from Ecclesiastes, that
timing is as crucial as placement – a few examples:
·
Buffy
(to Giles, about Adam): “There’s a demonoid
killing machine out there, Giles. It
doesn’t work only the night shift.”
·
Nurse
(about Faith’s escape): “I don’t
know. I came to check the monitors like
I always do at
·
Xander
(about Faith’s arrival): “I’d say it
qualifies for The Worst Timing Ever Award.”
·
Riley: “I’m from
·
Faith
(This Year’s Girl – to Joyce, about
lipstick): “Now, normally, I wouldn’t be
going for something this dark. But I
read in some magazine that eight months in a coma will damage a girl’s natural
skin tone. Good thing pale is in this
year. Or was it last year?”
Faith has just
recovered from an 8 month coma and she is out of step - out of place, and
out of sync. The Mayor in the video
tells her not only that there is no place for her, but also that “once I’m
gone, your days are just plain numbered.”
Faith is utterly alone, completely without resources – a total outcast. Joyce, Giles and The Scoobies are not her
family. They’re Buffy’s. Sunnydale is not her town. It’s Buffy’s. It is not her Season. It’s Buffy’s.
Without
the external resources of familial support, or a time and a place to just be and belong, a
person must rely on internal resources to establish herself anew. But Faith has had a difficult past, and has
always lacked the external sustenance which allows internal fortitude to
develop. The importance of what’s inside
is underlined by the image of Adam’s gruesome split-demon display, and by
comments about the internal (Giles – to Riley about being in The
Initiative: “I must admit, a man on the
inside would be . . .”; The Mayor – on the video: “But the realist in me tends to doubt it.”;
Forrest – to Riley: “The shish kebab
that walks like man.”).
Lacking a strong support
system or sense of self, Faith has known only one method for making her way in
the world: her fists. In this episode, we hear many references to
two particular methods for establishing and preserving the self: ass-kicking and hiding. Note that Buffy says, about entering The
Initiative: “No, we tried sneaking in.
This time, we’re gonna use force.”
Some examples of mention of the two methods:
ASS-KICKING (using
physical force)
·
Buffy
(about Adam): “He’s deadly, and the last
time we met, he kicked my ass.”
·
Riley
(about The Initiative trying to stop his departure): “I told them they couldn’t keep me without a
major ass-kicking.”
·
HIDING (sneaking
in)
·
Xander
(to Buffy): “Question. Will hiding in a cavern with stockpiled
chocolate goods be part of this plan?”
·
Faith’s
Nurse is actually a Watcher’s Council spy, who has been hiding beneath her
nurse’s uniform.
·
Buffy
(to
·
Ass-kicking is no
longer much of an option for our Faith.
She’s being hunted by the police, the Council, and Buffy. She’s badly outnumbered. But The Mayor provides her a means by which
to use her own Plan B – hiding:
“By now I bet
you’re feeling very much alone. But
you’re never alone. You’ll always have
me. (The Mayor picks up a box containing
a gizmo with which Faith can switch bodies with Buffy.) And you’ll always have this . . . Just
because it’s over for my Faith, doesn’t mean she can’t go out with a bang.”
Without support
and with a victim-view of herself, Faith feels powerless – and is tempted
beyond measure by the Mayor’s invitation to help herself to Buffy’s life (Riley
– to Buffy, about Faith: “Never seen
anyone get under your skin this way before.”)
But Faith has never had power beyond what
is in her fists – she’s never won friends or influenced people. With power comes responsibility. This
Year’s Girl is full of mention of power and/or responsibility:
·
Giles
(about pushing buttons to see what the blaster gun will do): “I’d like to veto that.”
Xander: “Second.
It’s called a blaster, Will . . . I blow a hole in my mom’s azalea
patch, then the neighbors will not be pleased.”
·
Forrest: “Absolutely.
Riley here was about to explain why he’s leaving us so very quickly.”
Riley: “I don’t explain because I don’t have
to. I’m the one in charge.”
·
Buffy: “There’s no way around it. Faith is back and whether I like it or not,
she’s my responsibility.”
·
·
Xander
(to Giles, about his past liaison with Faith):
“ I can’t be held responsible for the effect I have on women.”
Will Faith recognize, and accept, and
handle the responsibility that comes with having family and friends that love you and
trust you – and whom you can therefore strongly influence? To whom you can bring both great joy and great
pain? Whom you have to think of (as Xander thinks of his mom and neighbors)
before you act? To what extent will a more supportive external structure help
Faith internally, and to what extent will a weaker internal structure damage
Buffy’s life and relationships?
Human beings are
creatures of their environments, yet their environments are their own
creations. Go figure. Or better yet, let’s watch part 2 of Faith’s
return, and see if Joss & Co have figured it out for us.