Elisi, I'll try to explain here why I'm enjoying characterizations in this arc enourmously, and not just the story. I won;t try to convince you - jusr present my POV and may be you'll find something useful there, to explain away some sticky points and increase your enjoyment of this comic. :)
First of all - good point on comparing JR to #8 preview. I agree, they seem to play the same card here. I disagree that they are purposefully drawing this out - I'm sure it will be resolved in #8 and the only reason it feels drawn out is because you couldn't resist looking at the preview. :) Also we can't say that #8 handles it worse than JR - we don't know how they'll handle it yet. So far Faith was showing bonding with GiGi, listening to her - but not plotting against Buffy. Also - two gals in a hot tub, yeah. But after two naked guys in chains I really can't complain here. ;)
What I liked about this scene that it continues to play on Faith insecurities. She's thinking: "why can't I make it work with a good guy, make a friend with a good person? Why did it have to happen so btw Buffy and me?" Cue in the brilliant line from #7: "I gave everything. She gave a little". BKV again nails the character in one line. That's what started Faith problems with Buffy and that's what pushed her down in B3. That Buffy always meant so much more for Faith than vise versa. That she had Angel who meant more to her, and friends, and mom, etc. Buffy had other things and people in her life. Faith had nobody but Buffy, and even after she got friends - in Angel, and in Robin temporarily, Buffy still was huge in her life, still meant an awful lot. It's not Buffy's fault that she couldn't be for Faith the way Faith wanted - it's just - such is life. Faith came to accept it, to understand why Buffy's so cut off, in B7. She accepted that Buffy has her own life, that Buffy is indeed better than her. But that also came in a package with her own feelings of worthlessness and self-hatred, which weren't cured in B7. They couldn't be in such a short time. Faith accepted it, it doesn't matter she can't mourn it. That she can't regret it, that life turned out this way and she lost this chance of friendship. That's what I see in #7, in that flashback. And here in #8 again comes a bad person who cares about you, wants to be friends with you, thinks a world about you. Cue in Mayor Wilkins. Faith would be thinking - "What's wrong with me? I'm bad, bad, and wrong". Cue in self-hatred etc.
So yes, I too don't believe for a second that Faith will try to doublecross Buffy. And I agree that they put their issues behind them, forgived each other and reached an understanding. But they didn't become friends. They used have a unique bond - as the only two slayers out there. But Buffy went and made 2000 more, and now have other sister-slayers to hang out with. Faith is even less needed to Buffy than before. Heck, even Dawn complains to Buffy that she now has slayer sisters and doesn't need a real sister anymore. What chance can Faith stand? Since Chosen Buffy was too busy to become a friend. And Faith too unsure of herself. And Faith mourns it. Fair enough.
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First of all - good point on comparing JR to #8 preview. I agree, they seem to play the same card here. I disagree that they are purposefully drawing this out - I'm sure it will be resolved in #8 and the only reason it feels drawn out is because you couldn't resist looking at the preview. :)
Also we can't say that #8 handles it worse than JR - we don't know how they'll handle it yet. So far Faith was showing bonding with GiGi, listening to her - but not plotting against Buffy. Also - two gals in a hot tub, yeah. But after two naked guys in chains I really can't complain here. ;)
What I liked about this scene that it continues to play on Faith insecurities. She's thinking: "why can't I make it work with a good guy, make a friend with a good person? Why did it have to happen so btw Buffy and me?"
Cue in the brilliant line from #7: "I gave everything. She gave a little". BKV again nails the character in one line. That's what started Faith problems with Buffy and that's what pushed her down in B3. That Buffy always meant so much more for Faith than vise versa. That she had Angel who meant more to her, and friends, and mom, etc. Buffy had other things and people in her life. Faith had nobody but Buffy, and even after she got friends - in Angel, and in Robin temporarily, Buffy still was huge in her life, still meant an awful lot. It's not Buffy's fault that she couldn't be for Faith the way Faith wanted - it's just - such is life. Faith came to accept it, to understand why Buffy's so cut off, in B7. She accepted that Buffy has her own life, that Buffy is indeed better than her. But that also came in a package with her own feelings of worthlessness and self-hatred, which weren't cured in B7. They couldn't be in such a short time.
Faith accepted it, it doesn't matter she can't mourn it. That she can't regret it, that life turned out this way and she lost this chance of friendship.
That's what I see in #7, in that flashback.
And here in #8 again comes a bad person who cares about you, wants to be friends with you, thinks a world about you. Cue in Mayor Wilkins. Faith would be thinking - "What's wrong with me? I'm bad, bad, and wrong". Cue in self-hatred etc.
So yes, I too don't believe for a second that Faith will try to doublecross Buffy. And I agree that they put their issues behind them, forgived each other and reached an understanding. But they didn't become friends.
They used have a unique bond - as the only two slayers out there. But Buffy went and made 2000 more, and now have other sister-slayers to hang out with. Faith is even less needed to Buffy than before. Heck, even Dawn complains to Buffy that she now has slayer sisters and doesn't need a real sister anymore. What chance can Faith stand? Since Chosen Buffy was too busy to become a friend. And Faith too unsure of herself.
And Faith mourns it. Fair enough.