elisi | Damn.

Current Mood: disappointed and fed up

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Damn.

So, yesterday I linked to the cover for issue 7 of S8, because it featured a very handsome Giles. I was however v. tired and didn't actually read the summary. (Didn't realise that it was supposed to be Faith next to him either...)

As you probably know, I've been clinging to the Faith-arc, because there was no way Joss could mess *her* up, right?

Faith’s out to kill a Slayer.

Lady Genevieve Savidge is one of the most dangerous women on the planet. If she’s left unstopped, the British heiress will usher in the apocalypse. Faith has accepted Giles’s offer of an early retirement package for this gig — but the wetworks will have to wait till she’s infiltrated Savidge’s mystically protected estate.

THE HELL?? Unless that is some very clever misdirection (which is possible of course and is the one straw I'm clinging to), then I honestly don't know what happened to the character I love. Faith has a PROBLEM with killing people - there was this whole 'going evil and then seeking redemption' thing, right? But I could cope with that - just - if she was doing it 'for the common good'... rogue Slayers are dangerous, Faith knows that better than anyone. There could be interesting things done with that. But doing it 'for early retirement'???? What Faith would that be? The one who loved knitting and dreamt of having a house full of rug rats?

I am so baffled that... well I don't have the words. Maybe it's my cue to just walk away althogether. Sorry S8 lovers, but there's only so much I can put up with.

Maybe Joss got brainsucked by Glory?

*deep sigh*

At least Doctor Who has suddenly become awesome and brilliant and full of layers and themes and stuff, exploring all sorts of fascinating issues. *goes back to SHINY show and CANON Buffy*

ETA: Ok, so maybe it will be more like follows:

Giles: I need a Slayer dead. Faith, I trust you can do it, you have killed before. Also you already have a criminal record.
Faith: 'Scuse me?
Giles: I have prepared a generous retirement package for you, as a thank you for services rendered. If however you decide to decline, the police might just discover where you've been hiding out...

Or, you know, something along those lines. Stupid comics.

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Well, I'm willing to give the Faith arc a go, if only on the principle that it couldn't possibly be as bad as the first arc, but I agree the story as precied there has a hell of a lot wrong with it. It'd be unfair to judge it without reading, though. Comics summaries are often a bit sensationalist.

Wish I could join you in the DW love but - nah. It's just a kids' program.

if only on the principle that it couldn't possibly be as bad as the first arc
Heh. :)

Comics summaries are often a bit sensationalist.
That's true. But I'm just tired of the whole thing really - it takes time and effort and I'm just not sure it's worth it.

Wish I could join you in the DW love but - nah.
And I have written just over 5000 words so far of my meta... DW is SHINY!

Didn't realise that it was supposed to be Faith next to him either...

Really? I recognised her straight away, despite the fact that she's obviously meant to be "in disguise" in that picture. As for the blurb - well, it's a blurb. It's a long-established tradition that they only bear a passing resemblance to the actual content of the story.

I mean, the blurb for 'Asylum' made it sound as if Spike genuinely wants to be healed of his aggressive tendencies and so checks into a legitimate rehab centre, but the other patients there want to be the one to kill him, and so - we assume - the story will consist of him begrudgingly having to return to his violent former ways in order to defeat the other patients...

As for what's going to happen in the Faith arc, I'm not going to speculate on a story that we won't actually be able to read for several months yet. I'll just say that the Faith who was discovering what it's like to take on responsibility and have a community behind her in season 7, and who was warily interested in Wood's offer to show her a different side to life than the one she'd always known, might well have developed, matured and grown just a little in the 18 months since we saw her last...

Really? I recognised her straight away, despite the fact that she's obviously meant to be "in disguise" in that picture.
Mostly I thought that Giles was obviously a very lucky man...

As for the blurb - well, it's a blurb.
I know, I know. Red herrings and all that. I just didn't think it was *possible* to make me not interested in Faith, but they did it. *sigh* I think what I'll do is wait for the whole arc to be finished before I read it.

might well have developed, matured and grown just a little in the 18 months since we saw her last...
I have read various fics where Faith retired - including a rather clever AU one where she got Spike to kill (and revive) her, so another Slayer would be called and she would be free. The idea never rang 100% true though... I think she'd be bored out of her mind living a 'normal life', and - unlike Buffy, who is very capable of deceiving herself - she'd know it and thus not try.

I was actually going to comment on that in the last post but figured I was alone in the WTF!?ness of it. That happens sometimes.

Faith wants early retirement? Umm... OK. But more to the point, we're to believe from the earlier issues that none of the Slayers are forced to help, that doesn't apply to Faith? Giles has to "relieve" her? Again WTF? Even if she feels some kind of obligation to the cause because of her part in the spell or maybe residual guilt for her evilness, how does getting the approval from Giles change anything?

I was actually warming to the others. Now...

I HATE Faith, so if it's got me scoffing, I can't help but think something is up somewhere.

but figured I was alone in the WTF!?ness of it. That happens sometimes.
Oh no, not alone.

beer_good_foamy was the one who made me go read the summary.

Giles has to "relieve" her? Again WTF?
Yes! My thoughts *exactly*! All I can think is that the blurb is misleading to the point of blatant lying...

I was actually warming to the others. Now...
Oh no. You'll make

aycheb cry...

I HATE Faith, so if it's got me scoffing, I can't help but think something is up somewhere.
How can you hate Faith? I mean, good point.

Personally I'm looking forward to the next issue of 'Shadow Puppets' and am praying that S6 will be brilliant! *is hopeful*

::goes back to Doctor Who meta::

Agree with

stormwreath that this is just a blurb and may be completely off-target, and I'll definitely give it a read, but still...

Last time we saw Faith, she was deeply sorry for what she'd done and deeply committed to atoning for it. IE: she wanted to do LESS bad and MORE good.

ANGEL: Faith, listen to me. You saw me drink. It doesn't get much lower than that. And I thought I could make up for it by disappearing.
FAITH: I did my time.
ANGEL: Our time is never up, Faith. We pay for everything.
FAITH: It hurts.
ANGEL: I know. I know.

Now, according to the blurb, she's being offered to do LESS good and the only thing she has to do is to do a little MORE bad first? I gotta say, as motivations go, "you'll get to kill people AND run away again! Yay!" doesn't seem to be at the top of her list. But hey, we'll have to see how correct that blurb is I guess...

And it would be a good chance for some Dark!Giles, I guess. The few glimpses of him that we've gotten so far seems to suggest that he's still the one making the hard - almost Wesley-like - decisions behind the scenes (and Buffy's back?)

this is just a blurb and may be completely off-target, and I'll definitely give it a read, but still...
As I said, it managed to turn my excitement into dread. Again proving that the less I think about S8 the happier I am.

Now, according to the blurb, she's being offered to do LESS good and the only thing she has to do is to do a little MORE bad first? I gotta say, as motivations go, "you'll get to kill people AND run away again! Yay!" doesn't seem to be at the top of her list.
You're very good at the nut-shell stuff!

And it would be a good chance for some Dark!Giles, I guess.
Oh yes! Ripper is always welcome. :)

Maybe they're trying to make one of the Slayer groups totalitarian, who knows. It's still dumb.

Mostly I thought that Giles was obviously a very lucky man...

It actually took me a few moments to notice that Giles was in the picture as well. :-)

I think she'd be bored out of her mind living a 'normal life'

Maybe. I think she's a fairly complex character, though. Most people associate Faith with wild partying on the dancefloor - partly, I think, because that's how Buffy, Xander and Willow thought of her. But if you think about it, there are also plenty of scenes of Faith sitting alone in her room reading comic books or watching TV, exercising by herself in a corner of the prison yard or out in Buffy's garden, going down to the basement to avoid the crowd of Potentials, and generally being self-sufficient. I think a lot of her wild girl attitude was an act - fooling herself as much as anyone else that she was tough and she Didn't Care; and after a lifetime of (presumed) misery and powerlessness she was revelling in her new Slayer strength and the apparent freedom from any consequences that it brought her.

And of course, she had a poisonous envy of exactly the kind of normal life she thought Buffy had and she didn't - and alternated between jealousy of Buffy and self-hatred for 'not being worthy' of such a lifestyle herself. Redeemed Faith might well be ready to accept that she does deserve a normal life, after all.

So I can imagine a scenario where she's now fed up with the killing and danger, but Giles offers her a devil's bargain of One Last Job. It's one of the classic stories, after all. But I said I wouldn't speculate, so I'll stop there...

Oh yes! Ripper is always welcome. :)

Agreed, and it would be so easy to make me more interested in this, to have a lot of Ripper AND Faith angst. All it takes is one little change:

Faith has accepted Giles’s offer to not have to take an early retirement package in exchange for this gig.

Giles telling her that she doesn't fit in, but that if she does this, he'll make sure her police records are NOT accidentally leaked or somesuch... Now THAT'S a plot bunny. Let's hope it's Joss's, too.

The 18 months between is a good point, but still, it would be nice if not EVERY SINGLE character arc depended on "well, stuff happened between 'Chosen' and 'Long Way Home' that we're not telling you about." Because at some point, everyone will just start to look OOC if we don't get a good explanation. And after the Amy/Warren thing, I'm not really trusting them to explain stuff.

none of the Slayers are forced to help, that doesn't apply to Faith? Giles has to "relieve" her? Again WTF? Even if she feels some kind of obligation to the cause because of her part in the spell or maybe residual guilt for her evilness, how does getting the approval from Giles change anything?

Where does it say she needs Giles' approval to do anything? What the blurb actually says is that Giles has offered her "an early retirement package" - in other words, money. And the fact that Faith is dirt-poor has been a common theme all through the series. I imagine that the Slayers who actually work for Buffy's new organisation get paid, or at least have their living expenses met; but I can't imagine that the ones who choose to do their own thing get any money or support.

So for Faith, the options are 1) Become a loyal little worker in Buffy's team ("Screw that", as I imagine Faith would say) 2) Get a minimum-wage job flipping burgers 3) Accept Giles' offer of enough money to retire on, if she accepts an incredibly dangerous final mission. Given that the story seems to involve her pretending to be incredibly wealthy in order to infiltrate her target's mansion, I can imagine the hook is "We'll give you the money, the dresses, the breast enhancement ~~surgery~~magic, the car, etc to let you do the job - and if you succeed, you can keep them."

You do realize that is entirely fanwank, don't you?

I like to think that Faith has changed just a *tad* since 'Five by Five'...

Also who says she has to be a 'loyal little worker'? The Slayers are in *charge* now, isn't that the point? I sincerely doubt Buffy is going to let Giles hold anyone hostage in that sense - if Faith wants solo missions, then I'm sure that could be done.

There is of course the matter of her criminal record, which is a far better motivator - 'cause I just can't see Faith becoming a hired killer. Again. Would she call Giles 'Daddy'?

*steps out of lurkdom*
I'm intrigued by the whole thing, and also, I wonder if something in the previous issue (the first one of the Faith arc) sparks this need for early retirement. Heck in the spirit of all the other speculation going on, maybe she wants to retire from the Council not from being good. She might have gotten wind of how they treated her very good friend and mentor Angel. Especially since a part of her has to wonder if they'd do the same thing to her.
*pets her wankish speculation. Gives the plot bunnies in the corner a dirty look*
Or maybe I just need more coffee.

Given Faith's arc - wouldn't it be awesome if she was the one to reach out and help redeem a rogue slayer? Since when did killing humans (wetworks - feh) become a solution?

I haven't seen the comics - I've been relying on your analysis - but I think I will just stick to fan fiction and meta.

Yes, as is any comment on an arc that isn't due to start until September. But at least it's fanwank that's read the available text. Offering a retirement *package* is very different from offering retirement, it's only the latter which implies that Giles has final say over whether Faith does Slayer work or not.

I'm also hoping it's a misdirect, and the arc will be about Faith attempting to redeem this slayer as she was redeemed. But, then, I've always made up my own pretty little S8 world....

OK so last I remember it was all “woe is Buffy,” stuck in castle McSlayage instead of getting time off to shop and sex her way around Rome. Now it’s all “woe is Faith” being offered the cash to do exactly the same or anything else she wants. Suddenly her possibilities are as infinite as the varieties of ‘normal’ life” and that’s a bad thing?

As far as I remember Faith was atoning for her sins by doing time not by more killing. She was only persuaded into leaving jail a few decades early by the threat of Angelus and then of the First. Once that was over she was the one to raise the whole living like a person issue to Buffy. Surely there are lots of ways to live like a good person that don’t involve constantly killing things with your bare hands.

Which parts of what I said do you disagree with, exactly? Which parts do you think are unsupported by any evidence?

From the Dark Horse website's preview of #6:
The fugitive Slayer is given the assignment that could change her life... if Giles's specialized training doesn't make her want to end it first.
It seems the fact that she's still a fugitive will indeed be relevant.

As for the "Slayers being in charge", it's pretty clear from 'The Long Way Home' that Buffy is in charge of the Slayers. Sure, Faith might now have some insight herself into what that means, and sympathise with Buffy's position; doesn't mean she'll be happy taking orders the way Satsu, Leah and Rowena have to. Or that she'll necessarily be happy spending her entire life fighting and killing. Like you said, she's not the same person she was in 'Five By Five': she doesn't have a blatant deathwish any more, for starters.

I just can't see Faith becoming a hired killer. Again.
So if Giles told her that this English heiress was about to end the world unless stopped, and Faith was the best person to try and stop her - you think Faith would turn her back on him and say "I don't kill people any more"?

And the point is conceded as a (possible) misread.

However the resultant paragraph is nothing but speculation to support said theory, which may or may not be an accurate interpretation. And yes, I'm aware that mine is not any more than that, either. Of course it is impossible to argue points yet to made, which is why I don't see the point in it.

I think perhaps that came off as more sharply than intended.

Anyway, I'm not saying it's not a possibility, but what evidence is there of Slayers doing work in the field of world saving wouldn't be compensated for it? The Slayers in the squads would of course be given housing, clothing and an allowance, but I don't really think Giles and company (certainly not Buffy, but it's unclear just how much of a role she plays in that area) wouldn't pay now that they control the purse. Everything else is based on that, which may or may not be the storyline. Since we don't *know* much and things are almost always misleading in teasers/previews, to argue is only shadowboxing, right?

What Faith would that be? The one who loved knitting and dreamt of having a house full of rug rats?

::snerk::
Hey if anything the S8 is helping us to develop even more sarcasm skills.

I still say I'd be fun to actually see ED as Faith in a dress acting up all elegantand uncomfortable, I don't find it that amusing on a cartoon though. But I'm gonna give it a shot at least until the underground Slayer arc is Up.

Now it’s all “woe is Faith” being offered the cash to do exactly the same or anything else she wants.
Heh. I think my point isn't the 'what', it's the 'why'. I *still* don't know why Buffy chose to go live in that castle. And I find it near impossible to imagine a scenario in which Faith would be happy to 'retire'.

Surely there are lots of ways to live like a good person that don’t involve constantly killing things with your bare hands.
Oh absolutely. But Faith always embraced her calling with far more gusto than Buffy. I get that her experiences might have changed her, but...

It all just rubs me up the wrong way. And Faith as My Fair Lady? Guess we'll see...

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