Welcome to Rewatching Buffy, the part of the blog where I rewatch Buffy the Vampire Slayer. Each Tuesday evening, you’re invited to join me as I attempt to rediscover what made me love this show 21 years ago.

This Year’s Girl

• Buffy’s making her bed. Faith is helping.
• Seems like a pleasant dream.
• They talk about “little sis” coming. So much to do before she gets here.
• We call that foreshadowing. But we’ll cover that in season 5.
• The dream turns ugly when suddenly Buffy’s got Faith’s knife in Faith’s gut.
• Pretty sure it’s Faith’s dream, because the next thing we see is Faith in her coma.
• The gang is still hanging out in Xander’s basement.
• Buffy hasn’t heard from or seen Riley since he was taken away at the end of last week’s episode.
• Riley leaves his hospital room, probably against doctor’s orders.
• Then he gets in a friendly little argument with Forrest. Again. It’s about Buffy. Again.
• Faith’s dreaming again. She’s having a lovely picnic with the Mayor.
• Pre giant snake Mayor.
• Then Buffy comes up on the scene with Faith’s old knife and slaughters the Mayor.
• I can see how that would be a disturbing dream.
• Clearly, in Faith’s subconscious, Buffy is the bad guy.
• Buffy is on patrol with Willow and Xander when they come across a dead demon.
• It’s strung up in a tree. Looks like Hannibal Lecter had an hour with this thing.
• Back in the basement, Buffy starts planning an assault on the Initiative to bust Riley out.
• And then Riley shows up.
• Back in Faith’s dream, she’s running from horror movie serial killer Buffy.
• Faith falls into an open grave. It starts to rain pretty hard. Buffy jumps in for the kill.
• But Faith is the one who climbs out.
• Then she recreates the scene from The Shawshank Redemption where Andy finally made it out of the sewer.
• And in the real world, Faith wakes up.
• I’ve never understood why people in movies and TV shows just disconnect themselves from machines and IVs when they wake up in the hospital.
• But that’s what Faith does.
• She thinks it’s still Graduation Day. And when she asks a girl in the hallway for the date, she doesn’t love her answer.
• And then she really doesn’t like her answer for what happened on Graduation Day.
• We can probably assume Faith kills her, because we next see her walking out of the hospital wearing the girl’s clothes.
• But since we didn’t see a body or the act of the killing, I won’t add it to the body count.
• Let’s just say I’m assuming the best…
• Later, the police arrive at the hospital, they can’t believe Faith was left unguarded. She’s wanted for questioning in a series of murders.
• An orderly announces they’ve found the girl… unconscious and badly beaten.
• See? Assume the best.
• Oh… a nurse made a phone call and simply says, “It’s happened. Send the team.”
• Watchers’ Council, anyone?
• Faith walks around town. Probably confused as to why the Mayor didn’t eat everything in sight.
• She makes her way to Giles’ place. Watches the good guys as they talk about how to deal with Adam.
• Buffy gets a call at Giles’. She’s been alerted to Faith’s awakeness.
• Great. One more thing to worry about.
• What to do with Faith? Rehab? Solid butt-kicking?
• On campus the next day, Buffy and Willow talk about sharing Buffy’s past with Riley. Like, who’s Faith?
• And then, there’s Faith.
• Faith is automatically antagonistic.
• They fight a little, the cops show up, Faith runs away.
• Three leather-clad goons from the Watchers’ Council arrive by helicopter. Like that will convince us they’re not glorified librarians.
• A demon meets Faith in a dark alley and claims a friend sent him. She snaps his neck before he can deliver his package.
• Turns out, it’s a video from the Mayor. And he’s left a gift for her.
• She takes her gift to Buffy’s house. As soon as Joyce opens the door, she knocks her out.
• I like how, whenever Faith manages to have conversations with people, they show her that, no matter how dangerous she is, they’re not afraid to mouth off to her. No one’s really afraid of her.
• Faith is monologuing to Joyce. But she’s so rudely interrupted by Buffy crashing in through the bedroom window.
• They fight throughout the house, making their way downstairs.
• Across town, the trio of Watcher goons is waiting for Giles.
• The fight continues as the police arrive.
• Then Faith uses her little doohickey, but what did it do?
• Buffy then punches Faith, knocking her out. And she destroys the doohickey.
• But then Joyce comes in and asks if Buffy is okay. She replies, “Five by five.”
• This, of course, indicates that Buffy and Faith have switched bodies.
• To be continued…
• Body count: Demons – 2