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The third season of Joss Whedon's
Buffy the Vampire Slayer was marked by the arrival in Sunnydale of renegade slayer Faith (Eliza Dushku), a moody loner who seemed to like her calling just a little bit
too much--she definitely got a pleasure out of staking vamps that went beyond mere job satisfaction. While Buffy (Sarah Michelle Gellar) was always wary of Faith, the two developed a deep friendship and appreciative rapport--that is, until the evil mayor of Sunnydale (Harry Groener) tapped into Faith's dark side and lured her into his plot to take over the world, first as a double agent spying on Buffy, then as out-and-out nemesis. And as the mayor's ascension approached--which happened to fall on Sunnydale High's graduation day--Buffy and Faith's battles got nastier and nastier, as Buffy attempted to wrestle with her dark side (literally and figuratively), save the world and her friends, and keep her lover Angel (David Boreanaz) out of Faith's evil clutches.
While Faith was around for a good deal of Buffy's third season, the six episodes of the Slayer Chronicles represent the highlights of her and Buffy's relationship. "Bad Girls" shows Buffy and Faith at their closest, going on a demon-killing rampage--until Faith accidentally kills a human being, and shows little regret for doing so. "Consequences" deals with the, well, consequences of the accidental murder, and also brings Buffy face-to-face with the mayor's evil plans for Sunnydale. "Enemies" details Faith's attempts to seduce Angel away from Buffy, by stealing both his body (hubba hubba!) and his soul. The controversial "Earshot" (pulled from its initial broadcast due to its similarities to the Columbine massacre) is one of Buffy's best episodes ever, mixing pathos, humor, and suspense as Buffy develops the ability to read minds, and discovers someone is thinking very seriously about mass murder at Sunnydale High. The Slayer Chronicles' pièce de résistance, though, is the two-parter "Graduation Day," wherein Faith tries to kill Angel, and the students of Sunnydale High prepare to do battle with a mutated mayor and his army of demons. Aside from the series' exceptional writing and acting, what makes the Slayer Chronicles so compelling are the performances of the consistently excellent Gellar (as Buffy) and Dushku as the complicated Faith, a girl you truly love to hate. By the end of these episodes, Faith will have cast a spell on you that you'll find very hard to shake off. --Mark Englehart
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