Buffy Changed Everything About the Franchise Lore With 1 Episode, And It Became Crucial for the Show’s Ending

After two seasons of Buffy Summers fighting all sorts of monsters in Sunnydale, things changed drastically when a new character joined the show in Buffy the Vampire Slayer Season 3. The episode was the third of the season, titled “Faith, Hope & Trick,” and as is evident from the title, this was the episode that introduced both Faith Lehane and Mr. Trick to the Buffyverse (as well as failed love interest Scott Hope). Mr. Trick was a recurring villain in the third season, played by K. Todd Freeman. However, a much more important character who appeared was Faith, played by Eliza Dushku, and her debut on the show changed everything about Buffy’s world.

When Faith arrived in Buffy the Vampire Slayer, it proved that Buffy wasn’t the only active Slayer. Faith was also important in showing that Buffy was not typical of other Slayers, and this all played into the final season of the show when Buffy was surrounded by Slayer Potentials, and Faith was there to help lead the way.

Buffy the Vampire Slayer Introduced Faith & It Changed Everything

“Faith, Hope & Trick” remains one of the best episodes in Buffy the Vampire Slayer history, and it is only partially because it introduces Faith to the Buffyverse. The third season was a tough one for Buffy to start because she had to kill Angel at the end of Season 2, and she was trying to recover from that along with her senior year of high school, as this was the season that was leading to “Graduation Day” and the ultimate battle with the Mayor. This also included the Mayor’s ally, Faith, although that wouldn’t come until a few episodes after Buffy’s first confrontation with her fellow Slayer.

Faith showed up while Buffy and her friends were at the Bronze. They thought she was a victim who a vampire was stalking, but when Faith killed the vampire, she then introduced herself as the new Slayer. When Buffy died at the end of Season 1, Kendra showed up in Season 2, and when Drusilla killed Kendra in Season 2, it activated Faith. It showed that every Slayer’s death activated the next one, and this also meant that Buffy would never be the only Slayer again because even if Faith died, a new Slayer would be activated again.

This episode had Buffy and Faith reluctantly working together, even though Buffy didn’t trust Faith, and they had to team up when a vampire named Kakistos showed up alongside Mr. Trick. Faith said that Kakistos was the vampire who killed Faith’s Watcher, and Faith disfigured the vampire with an axe. She was now willing to kill vampires and work as a Slayer, but she seemed to have an intense fear of Kakistos. By the end, Buffy and Faith seemed to work things out, but that was not how their relationship would end in Season 3.

Faith Played Into the Buffy the Vampire Slayer Finale

Faith tried to fit in with Buffy and the Scooby Gang, but she struggled and began to isolate herself. After Faith accidentally killed a human who she believed was a vampire, she refused to accept the blame and finally betrayed Buffy to the Mayor, and the two of them teamed up to torment Buffy and her friends. She even tried to kill Angel, who had come back to life, but when Buffy and Faith fought, Buffy actually tried to kill Faith but only left her in a coma, and Faith disappeared and then returned to seek revenge, before finally leaving for a supporting role on Angel.

However, Faith was a lot more important than just a foil for Buffy Summers. As a Slayer, she had a destiny too and was just as much a Chosen One as Buffy herself. Faith returned to Buffy the Vampire Slayer for the final season and joined in the battle against the First Evil. By this time, there were Potentials who were in line to become Slayers, and many of them gravitated to Faith rather than Buffy, although Faith was in no way equipped to lead these young women. When she almost got them all killed, she finally made peace with Buffy, and this led to the final battle for Sunnydale.

Faith was easily the most important addition to Buffy the Vampire Slayer in the third season, and she ranks only second behind Spike when it comes to characters who joined the show after the first season. She was the anti-Buffy when it came to Slayers, but she was just as important and powerful as her rival. She went from ally to enemy to rival to friend over the course of five seasons and played a considerable role in the ending of the series. It all started in “Faith, Hope & Trick,” and Buffy the Vampire Slayer was never the same after Faith arrived.

What are your best memories of Faith from Buffy the Vampire Slayer? Let us know what you think makes Faith great in the comments below.