In this episode, Faith's secret desire to be "B" was realised - and she got her opportunity of making Buffy like "big sister".
Buffy's body with Faith's soul:
Hehehe, I'm sure SMG had a blast with this part - and boy did she do it well! Of particular laugh-worthiness:
- The Buffy impersonation in front of the mirror: "Because it's wrong!" Love the way this show can mock itself and still emerge respectable. ;0)
- Buffy-Spike interaction: oooh baby, smell that sexual tension! Was Spike getting a happy or what?! Dammit, I wanted Faith to take it all the way with him and live out her vampire fetish - sigh, maybe next time.
- Buffy-Riley: Haha! How uncomfy did Riles get when Faith (Buffy) started with the kinky?! SMG portrayed Faith's childishness pretty well here, eg. When Faith gets mad when she thinks Riley is rejecting her. I especially liked the scene where Riley said the three little words to Faith. The cinematography captured wonderfully Faith's sense of discomfort and disorientation: dark lighting, bumpy camera work, close ups, etc.
Joyce returns! Y'know, I kinda missed her annoyingness. Have to feel sorry for her now that Buffy's got a busy new life outta the nest. Oh well, next topic.
The whole Faith showing her good side thing was just a bit too much to take though. Make up your minds, writers! I had though that she would wake up a little nicer from that coma, but when she killed the teddy bear gal last ep, I figured they were giving her the stamp of evil. They can't just turn around now and make her good after a "thank you" (the girl she saved at the Bronze) and a "I love you" (Riley). And geez - how corny was the serious "because it's wrong" from Faith in the Church!?! The real Faith - thanks and luv yas aplenty - would never have discarded her freedom for a buncha people in a Church whom she could rationalise as having probably deserved to die anyway. But the key factor in any show of this kind takes precedence I guess - P L O T L I N E.
Faith's Body with Buffy's Soul:
It's always easier to exaggerate badness successfully than to emphasise goodness without coming off as cheesy. So although she didn't have the impact that Faith in Buffy did, Eliza pulled off a believable Buffy in Faith role.
Riley: He goes to church?! And the 'Maam' when Buffy (in Faith's body) ran up and hugged him in front of the church?! Puh-lease, can this guy get any more good boy-ish?! And hehe, looks like Riles is gonna be in a bit o trouble for his night with Faith…. Angel would never have mistaken his beloved….
Tara/Willow: Yet another long, unnecessary, and completely boring spell scene. Yes, we all get the connotations you're trying to convey, Joss. Can you just get on with it already! Overall I like the idea of Tara: quiet, unsure, insightful - the acting leaves a lot to be desired but oh well. I think Willow should start with the realisation though, cuz this tiptoeing around the issue is getting tiring.
No Faith, don't ride away! Come back! You could join forces with Spike and be evil and kill lotsa people and stuff. Come back!!!!….
WOO-HOO!!! Faith is back! Yay Faith, rah rah rah!!!! Anything with her is an automatic success; she always livens things up - and "Who Are You?" was no exception.
cf. : "You need me to tow the line because you're afraid you'll go over it, aren't you B? You can't handle watching me living my own life, having a blast, because it tempts you. You know I could be you." - Consequences (Faith)
and: "Nobody asked if you could be more like me." - Enemies (Faith)
Faith's treatment of Tara was particularly cruel, but I never realised that she was so quick on the uptake when it came to people. Wonder how long it will take anyone else on the show to figure out that there's more going on between the two witches than a bit of magic.
Faith/Buffy fights are always amazing, and the Church scene was yet another example of the stunning interaction between the two Slayers. It was quite stirring seeing Faith (in Buffy) let loose on herself like that when she did that psycho slapping girl routine. I liked the peek into her psyche there; the implication of self-hate within her hard exterior. Much preferable to the 'my mommy never loved me' scenes that the writers include to give a new meaning to the word self-explanatory.
