Episode 15 - Consequences
19 December 2011
Synopsis: Wesley asks Buffy and Faith to look into Allan's death. Buffy is overwhelmed by guilt while Faith is in denial. The police get close to the truth and in tears Buffy confesses all to Willow. When she goes to tell Giles Faith is there claiming that it was Buffy who did it. Xander goes to see Faith to try and get her to open up but instead she nearly kills him. Angel steps in and chains Faith up. Wesley then arrives with men from the Council to take her back to England. She escapes and Buffy finds her at the docks where they are attacked by Mr Trick and his men.
The Good: Although not advertised as such this was essentially part two of the story of how Faith turned to the dark side. It was typically solid and enjoyable.
The writing was good in covering all the plausible angles of her denial. Giles explains that centuries of slaying have naturally led to this moment before which makes sense. Faith makes good arguments too pointing out the potential for collateral damage, the uselessness of having a Slayer in jail, the double standards surrounding Angel and the sheer amount of lives they have saved. All those points definitely needed to be made so that we could watch Faith step past them and reveal the more unsettling thoughts she has below the surface.
Unlike Buffy, who is haunted by Allan's death, Faith is genuinely happy to get back to business as usual. When Buffy challenges her on what she has done Faith admits to thinking she is better than other people and so deserves special treatment. That line of thinking is a great super-hero storyline but it also very much relates to ideas surrounding soldiers v civilians. Xander then steps in to try and help in the key scene of the whole episode. He is a "nice boy" and assumed that there was some genuine affection between them after having sex. Instead she ends up demonstrating the truly horrible power that she has over regular people. She starts playing but perhaps would have ended up killing him just to see how far she could push things. In a show about female empowerment this scene was really important. Women may be the "weaker" sex but this storyline makes it explicit that humans with power can abuse those without regardless of gender.
Buffy confronts Faith at the docks and Faith makes it explicit that the wild life is one she likes living. She clearly isn't going to change anytime soon. She may save Buffy from Mr Trick but she then decides to stop running and seek official sanction for her lifestyle from the Mayor. It's a big twist and sets up our big bad guy with a most interesting and important partner.
Elsewhere...Buffy played her guilt well and her re-bonding with Willow was good. I thought Willow's reaction to the news about Xander and Faith was very well written. She has no rational argument for resenting what they did but emotionally it bothers her deeply. Buffy and Giles' relationship remains one of the best things about the show. For a second it seems like we will have to sit through a tiresome scene where she convinces him that Faith is lying but instead he instantly admits that he knows that. That is one of those small moments that Buffy does so well where the writers avoid television clichés and instead write for the characters in a way that feels true.
The Bad: I don't think we needed a flashback to last episodes Angel-Buffy scene. We would have worked out what Angel was thinking without it.
The Unknown: I'm not sure what Angel's long term plan was for chaining Faith up. Wow the Watcher's Council are incompetent aren't they? You would think Wesley would have whipped out some of those injections they gave Buffy (312).
Best Moment: Faith choking Xander really was a strong scene. The world of Buffy is built around the silliness and expendability of demons. When a human character is genuinely in peril the show makes it clear that this is something altogether different and serious.
The Bottom Line: A very solid episode. It's hard to relate to Faith's damaged psychology so I didn't have much of an emotional reaction to what's unfolding. However the storytelling and characterisation were very good.
Cordia's Second Look
Consequences
Season 3, Episode 15
Original airing: 2/16/1999
My Rating: 66
The Good: I love that we get an immediate follow-up from Bad Girls (S3E14). The death of Allan the Mayor's Aide was definitely not something which could be left hanging. Faith is still refusing to deal, but she goes even further here and blames the murder on Buffy. The plan of convincing Faith they all love her and want to help her by having Angel chain her to a wall is a bit confused, but I appreciate that Buffy doesn't want to give up on her.
The sequencing is very strong in this episode. Faith is resistant, Buffy is tortured, Faith blames everything on Buffy. It all makes a lot of sense after the wild behavior we saw from Faith in the last episode. I especially appreciate the twist of Faith going to Giles behind Buffy's back. Of course, Giles knows Buffy isn't the killer, but it's a very logical and yet a surprising moment. And in the end, it all drives Faith to the Mayor.
Wesley calling the Council made a lot of sense though. Yes, it's stupid of him to think he can chain up Faith with a pair of handcuffs and actually control her, but we already know he's extremely naïve when it comes to the actual dangers of Sunnydale. He thinks he's acting in everyone's best interests and it's perfectly understandable since we know he's completely devoted to the Council. And I really love the moment where they take out Angel, free Faith, and then immediately arrest her. Good times.
I also enjoyed the minor return of Detective Stein. It isn't made obvious that this is the same man who investigated the death of robot Ted (S2E11) and Kendra (S2E22), but it's a nice touch for those of us paying very close attention. The interlaced scenes of him interrogating Buffy and Faith were well played also. It's too bad nothing came of it (See The Bad).
The Bad: I'm not quite sure about the Mayor and Faith yet. Presumably, Faith feels betrayed after Wesley tried to pack her off to England, but why go against everyone trying to help her and turn to the man she knows nothing about aside from his dealings with vampires? Especially right after saving Buffy.It's a bit confused, but I can let it go since it is a cliff-hanger and all.
The harder thing to ignore is how close Detective Stein got to the truth. We know Buffy and Faith's stories didn't line up and yet he doesn't arrest or even fully question either of them. He already has ample reason to suspect Buffy could be involved after Ted and Kendra, but he never pops up again in the episode. Where did he go? Do the police just let their prime suspects run rampant like this?
Favorite Moment: We really see Faith crack when she starts to choke Xander. Up to this point, she's just in denial. But here she feels the power. As Angel says to her later, controlling someone else's life and snuffing it out with your own hands will make you feel like a god. He really does get what she's going through.
The Bottom Line: A strong follow-up to Bad Girls. No real conclusion to the murder side of that story, but an interesting look at Faith's lack of ability to deal.
Feedback
Add your comments on this episode below. They may be included in the weekly podcasts.
’)