Episode 4.16: Who Are You? Original Airdate 2.29.00
"Having switched bodies with Buffy, Faith enjoys freedom. Meanwhile, Buffy finds herself at the mercy of the Watcher's Council."
Zelda's Thoughts:
- Yay! We're back!
- Also yay! This episode is awesome.
- Hey it's the deeply stupid Sunnydale police!
- SMG is really pretty good at imitating Eliza's inflection. Even saying "mighta" instead of "might have." Her physicality and facial expressions aren't quite as consistent, but not bad.
- And then as Faith pretending to be Buffy. Wheeeeeeeee. The levelllllllllllllllllllsssssssss.
- I totally forgot about the long shot of Faith!Buffy luxuriating in the bathtub. As she caresses her own leg, she helps further the lesbian undertones of their relationship. ---->
- Aw Tara's self esteem. The knowledge that she's still a secret from the Scoobies.
- I really wish I liked AB more as an actress. I really really wish I did. I've been reading all these other Buffy blogs where everyone adores Tara, and I keep questioning my own dismissiveness of her. I keep having to look past AB's performance to embrace the Tara I know so many in the fandom love. This has always been a problem for me, even before I was an actress though. I remember deeply distrusting Fred Haise in the Apollo 13 movie and realizing years later it's because Bill Paxton is just not a good actor. /tangent
- "I am, you know." // "What?" // "Yours." Like, you GUYSSSSSSS
- Faith!Buffy wears leather, kinked-out CaveSlayer hair, and pushes up her boobs. Accurate.
- I take it back, her physicality is so much looser and more expansive than as Buffy. The way she rolls her hips, fans her legs whenever she gets up or down from furniture. She just takes up more space. SMG is rocking this.
- "The Scooby gang's all here ... Willow, Xander, and [sees Anya] ... everybody."
- Wow she's even hit the aboats that Daniel's obsessed with.
- <----Anya what is your shirt.
- "I forgot how much you don't like Faith."
- I find it fascinating that Faith!Buffy covers for her desire to stab Willow by saying that she'd never let Faith hurt Willow. And she sounds like she means it. Protecting Willow from herself. The fractured parts of Faith being inside Buffy, the person she always envied, wanted to be and wanted vehemently not to be, whose life she wanted, whose life she now has, but she's forced to live inside the confines of who Buffy must be, at least while she's still in Sunnydale. I love love LOVE how many disparate elements are contained in almost every line when Faith is playing at Buffy. And of course it all comes to a beautiful head later when confronts the vampires in the church. But we'll get to that.
- Faith!Buffy, grinding on girls. Why be vague, show? Shout it from the rooftops!
- Spike sure is helpful with all the exposition he's giving Faith!Buffy.
- Oh man, JM is fantastic in this scene. So many different conflicting emotions he bounces through when Faith!Buffy plays him. Defensive, confused, turned on, angry, impotent, turned on.
- Do we think this was the first seed of his crush on Buffy? Because he looks pretty damn into this conversation. I'm going with yes.
- Hey that's a vampire of color! Way to be equal opportunity, Sunnydale!
- Ugh. Adam. You're so bad. You're just awful. Badly written, badly acted.
- Oh Buffy!Faith's conscious. Time to see how Eliza does at Buffyness.
- She's got the wide-eyed thing to emphasize points down. And the sort of vocal sound that preceded emphaticness. I don't know how to describe it. Sort of an "uh" vowel before the sentence.
- Willow and Tara holding haaaaaaaaaaands.
- It's interesting that Faith, who's remarkably un-self-aware about so much, immediately picks up on the relationship between Tara and Willow. Actual!Buffy didn't cotton on until Willow told her.
- This is our real clue it's not Buffy - she didn't pun while slaying!
- It's fascinating - one of the reasons Faith's always envied Buffy's life is the way people look at her, at her heroism. When the slaying victim thanks her, she doesn't know what to do with it, she's uncomfortable.
- So how did Faith!Buffy know where Riley lives? Just curious.
- Her face when she shows up in his room though. This is the revenge she was never able to extract with Angel.
- Props to Tara for realizing Buffy isn't Buffy (though she realized it through magical senses) when none of the Scoobies figured it out.
- "Passage to the nether-realm" so that's what they're calling it now?
- It's sexy magic time in the wicca dormroom! Made even clearer by the transition from spell to Faith!Buffy and Riley, post coitus.
- "Who are you? What do you want from h-her?" It's such a fascinating way to phrase it. She recognizes the love isn't for her but she's still freaking out about it. She doesn't see love (or sex) as real but as a tool to manipulate and she's so defensive against that manipulation (see: her near-murder of Xander in S3). Even when the love isn't for her, for Faith, it's for the person whose body she's stolen. What does he want from Buffy, she asks. From the person she isn't but is playing at being. I freaking love it. There's so much in such a simple sentence.
- Adam to random vamp "You are here to be my first." Me: "Is this gonna be our third sex scene?"
- Hurry, Faith! It's 8:25! You'll be late for you 10am flight out of the Sunnydale International Airport!
- "I am not a killer! I am the Slayer. And you don't know the first thing about me." // "You really care what I think?" // "No. I don't care. God, I don't care."
- Wow, this is the first time Faith!Buffy's tried to actually dress as Buffy, wearing a pastel blue top over a blue and white floral skirt.
- "All right, I didn't know what you were going to say, but that doesn't make you any less crazy."
- The pinky thing to push her hair back - that's actually not a Buffy thing, but it's totally an SMG thing. I've seen her do it in so many interviews.
- "Actually, I beg you to stop."
- Shenanigans! The TVs in airports have CNN, not local news.
- Stop monologuing, random vampire. It won't end well for you.
- I love love love that Faith!Buffy realizes she still has a duty to do. She's Buffy, and all the many things that means to her. And - to the best of her knowledge - the real Buffy is in chains and en route to England. Someone has to stand against the vampires, and it falls to her.
- "I'm Buffy! I have to do this." It's just. So fucking much is in that line.
- Wow, she changed into pants between the airport and the church. Okay, whatever.
- "You're the Slayer." // "The one and only."
- omfg Giles you are my FAVORITE. Tiny TINY babies! Like seriously one of his best moments ever.
- So many times different characters have said "Who are you?" this episode. We get it, show. That's the title.
- Uh oh. Buffy!Faith vs Faith!Buffy
- Man, when she's just smashing in her own face, calling her a disgusting murderous bitch. The self loathing is just heartbreaking.
- Daniel and I are still laughing like 12 year old boys at the Balls poster in Riley's room.
- "You slept with her." // "I slept with you."
- Faith's face, just dead and emotioness, as she rides the truck out of town. And it's sad because she still hasn't hit rock bottom, she's got farther to go, on her great Crossover Adventure and it will be awful and poor Faith and poor Wesley and just damn her story is sad and dark.
- But since we're not blogging about Angel, we're done with Faith for like three seasons. Bye Faith!
Daniel's Thoughts:
- And we start off exactly where we left off.
- Sarah is so good at being Faith!
- She’s got Faith’s mannerisms down pat. I think this has to be my favorite Sarah performance.
- I’m convinced that she took season 3 discs and studied all of Eliza’s scenes. [You mean VHS? - Z]
- “You can’t do that. It’s wrong!” heh.
- Tara: “They don’t even know I exist, right?” I mean that could be manipulative and passive-aggressive but I don’t see that coming from Tara. I think she’s really understanding of Willow’s journey.
- “I am you know. Yours.” Damn. Just, damn.
- Why does Buffy have so much mail? I didn't have that much mail when I came home from college.
- FAITH-IN-BUFFY SAID ABOAT. YES!
- The Faith-in-Buffy fantasy of killing Willow is kinda scary…
- It’s ok F-in-B – I kinda forgot about Adam too…
- “As soon as I get this chip out of my head-“ Yeah, way to exposition for Faith.
- Ok, I have to admit this F-in-B conversation with Spike is hilarious.
- This guy kinda looks like a vamp version of Xander. He’s also a wuss like Xander, too.
- I think Eliza does a decent job as Sarah/Buffy but I think Sarah does it a bit better. I think part of the reason is that Eliza has a lot of natural mannerisms that are easier to imitate.
- Faith can’t be the first slayer that’s gone rogue. I’d have loved to hear about others.
- Tara’s first time at the Bronze!
- Love this realization that F-in-B has.
- “Wicked obvious.” BOSTON!
- When the vamp’s victim thanks F-in-B – it’s a really nice moment…because being in Buffy’s skin, she realizes some of the humbleness that comes along with being Buffy. And then she runs off because she doesn't know what to do with it.
- Interesting that the only person who realizes that Buffy isn’t Buffy was someone who has never even met her before. I think it’s partly something to do with them all drifting apart this season.
- Hyena call back!
- Riley “My fantasies don’t involve a bunch of marines staring at me.”
- Daniel:
- Another humbling moment for Faith – sleeping with a respectable guy.
- The censors tell Joss, no gay stuff – Joss knows how to get by it!
 |
| I mean COME ON! |
- Oh man, this is such a good episode…she can’t fathom that Riley is just a good guy who loves Buffy; that there’s no ulterior motive.
- Ugh. Can we just skip the Adam parts?
- And it’s nice that F-in-B can tell Forrest exactly what Buffy always should have.
- Ok, this bit with Faith and Giles is the best that Eliza does as being Buffy.
- “Who is president?” “You’re checking for Buffy, not a concussion.”
- Buffy’s hair looks terrible in this episode. CaveBuffy hair, as Zelda said above.
- “I can do three.” “Not alone.” Umm…Riley, are you new? Buffy can handle three vampires in her sleep.
- Hey! See how fast that vamp burned in the sun? See Spike? SEE?
- Oh man, Buffy – I know it’s weird – but it’s not like he cheated on purpose. I’m glad she doesn’t belabor it past her initial shock.
- Bye, Faith! See you on Angel!
Crossfire!
Z: [Riley] looks good in a suit.
D: Mhmm. He looks good out of a suit too.
Favorite Lines:
Z: It's all about Tony Head's delivery, so:
D: Giles: "Who's president?" Buffy-in-Faith: "We're checking for Buffy, not a concussion."
Arc/Continuity Stuff:
- Recurring: Joyce, Fatih, Tara, fucking Adam, Tara's stutter, Forrest, and the Watchers' Council guys (Collins, Boone, and Weatherby)
- This is the first explicit acknowledgement that Tara's and Willow's relationship is romantic.
- Shoutout to The Pack and hyena possession!
- Also the most sexual the magic's been so we've decided this is when they consummate their relationship too. Because Willow totally orgasmed there.
- Riley tells Buffy he loves her for the first time. Except oops.
- Shoutouts to Ethan Rayne, Giles being a demon, Olivia, and Giles hooking up with Joyce
- Tara finally meets Buffy (in Faith's body)
Stats:
Anya's Hair - very short, honey-colored
Dead Humans - 0
Dead Undeads - 4
Giles Unconscious - 0
Giles Cleans His Glasses - 0
Buffy Breaks a Door - 1 (armored van door)
Evil Reveal - 0
Unevil Reveal - 0
Shenanigans Called - 1
Apocalypse Called - 0
