Recap / Buffy the Vampire Slayer S3E3 "Faith, Hope & Trick"

"She's not playing with a full deck. She almost has no deck. She has a three."

— Buffy Summers

Directed by James A Contner

Written by David Greenwalt, Jane Espenson, & Douglas Petrie

We're introduced to Vampire Monarch Kakistos and his colleague, Mr. Trick, as their stretch limo pulls into Sunnydale. Trick shares his good impressions of the town and their exemplary death rate, despite being predominantly white. He's considering settling here, but his companion has other things on his mind. Trick knows the drill — "kill the Slayer".

Buffy and Joyce meet with Principal Snyder, who lays out the terms for Buffy's re-enrollment. Buffy sasses him for getting overruled by the school board. Joyce steps in to smooth things over:

"I think what my daughter's trying to say is: nyah nyah nyah nyah!"

Giles is working on a binding spell to ensure that Acathla doesn't wake up again. He needs precise litany of how Buffy defeated Angel. Buffy blinks at the mention of this memory, but is nonchalant as she walks Giles through a heavily shortened version of the events: Buffy impaling Angel against Acathla.

Evening. The gang is chilling out at The Bronze. Scott Hope, a boy who's been eying Buffy for some time, asks Buffy to dance, but she's not ready to date again. Scott proposes that he go wait by the dance floor and that, if Buffy feels inclined to dance she can just "mosey on over." Willow points out that he's charming and normal. Oz is impressed by Scott's use of the word mosey. Buffy's attention is called to a couple on the dance floor; she makes "Disco Dave" for a vampire and closes in, but is waylaid by Scott, who mistakenly thinks she's "moseying" and wants to dance. Buffy, flustered, apologizes for the mix-up and and leaves. The Scoobies follow Buffy outside, and just as they're all ready to pounce, they find the 'victim' kicking the stuffing out of her attacker. She casually introduces herself as Faith, borrows Buffy's stake then dusts the vamp. Oz observes that there's a new Slayer in town. Back inside, Cordelia works out that Faith was called to Slayerdom after Kendra bit the dust. Willow asks what brings Faith to Sunnydale, and Faith explains that she wasn't—but her Watcher went on a retreat in England, so she decided to go AWOL and meet the infamous Buffy.

Cut to the library, where everyone (including Giles) is enamored with the Boston beauty. Willow proposes that Faith hang out with her and Xander in the meantime. Giles thinks Faith has "zest," but at Buffy's glower, he changes the subject. He asks more questions about Acathla, but after a little of this, Buffy's had enough. She says the next time she kills Angel, she'll film it.

Faith gets the grand tour. She's amused by Xander and Willow, but confides that Buffy is a bit of a pill. Scott bumps into Faith, and the pair get mingly. Buffy chooses this moment to drop in, naturally. Willow thinks that maybe Faith and Scott make a good couple. Buffy grouses that she hadn't closed the door on Scott for all time. Willow convinces Buffy to invite Faith over for dinner, she accepts.

At the Summers residence, Joyce gets to know the new slayer, and is quickly enamored with her zest for the job, to Buffy's annoyance. In the kitchen, Joyce tries to get Buffy let Faith handle all the slaying duties from now on, and go somewhere from the Hellmouth for college. Buffy declines, saying that slaying is her destiny.

The girls are out patrolling, and Faith observes that they've already covered this area. Buffy snarks that vampires sometimes go down streets even after you've checked them. ("It's like they have no manners.") Faith shrugs that Buffy knows best, as she's been doing this the longest, going on to imply that perhaps she's over the hill. Faith brings up Angel, and Buffy gets in her face. They're about to start throwing punches, but they're rudely set upon by Kakistos' henchmen. Buffy tries to get Faith's help, but a couple other vamps tackle her. Faith continues to wail away on a lone hench vamp, who mentions that he serves Kakistos. Buffy overcomes her adversaries, then stakes the vamp Faith's been beating to a pulp for the past 5 minutes. Buffy realizes Faith enjoys her job a little too much. Faith sneers that she thought Buffy could handle herself, and leaves.

Buffy gives a scathing report to Giles, who thinks she's just being catty. Nevertheless, he agrees to phone Faith's Watcher. He asks about the vamps, and Buffy mentions that one of them said something about living for "kissing toast." Giles filters through the Buffy Speak and realizes she means Kakistos, which is the name of a vampire so old that his hands and feet are cloven. Buffy notes that Kakistos' arrival coincided with Faith's. Giles gets off the phone with some stark news: Faith's Watcher is dead.

A Fleabag Motel. Buffy turns up in time to see Faith arguing with the manager and begins asking questions about Kakistos. At hearing the name, Faith immediately starts stuffing clothes into her suitcase. Somebody knocks; Faith peers through the peephole sees the manager again. She opens it to find that the manager is no longer among the living, and being held like a dummy by Kakistos. Buffy grabs Faith, and together they barrel out the bathroom window. In an abandoned building nearby, Faith (on the verge of tears) spills the story that she saw Kakistos kill her Watcher, and she ran. Buffy thinks they can take him, but Faith resumes her freak out when she realizes they've been railroaded into Kakistos's lair. Buffy fights off a couple of mooks, but Faith is frozen with fright in the presence of Kakistos. Mr. Trick arrives on the scene, and remarks to a hench vamp, "If we don't do something the Master could get killed. ...Well, our prayers are with him." They skedaddle. Buffy manages to drive a stake into Kakistos, but master vampire barely feels it. As he crows in triumph, suggesting Buffy needing a bigger stake, Faith picks up a giant pointed crossbeam and reams Kakistos with it. The battle over, Buffy asks Faith if she's hungry. "Starved," Faith replies.

The next day in the library, Buffy spills her Dark Secret: Willow's restoration spell cured Angel just moments before Buffy was forced to kill him. Willow and Giles stare dumbly. After she leaves, Willow asks for permission to help Giles with the binding spell, but he admits, "There is no spell." He exits, leaving Willow to contemplate what he did for Buffy, and why.

Buffy accosts Scott. She explains how "there used to be someone" but that it's all over now, and would love to go out with him if he's still interested. Scott answers without much conviction that he'll need to think about it. He walks a few paces, turns, and rushes back.

"You know what, I've thought about it and I'm in; when do you want to go?"

Buffy says she's got something to do tonight, but after that she's free. At nightfall, Buffy resolutely returns to the mansion, says her goodbyes to Angel, and lays her claddagh ring on the floor. Once she's gone, a bright light emanates from the ring, and in a flash, a naked, feral, twitching figure falls to the ground. It's Angel.

Tropes:

• Always Someone Better: Faith horning in on Buffy's circle. Within a day, she's already won Joyce's love, Giles' admiration, and even Xander and Willow's approval.
• Attention Deficit... Ooh, Shiny!: Faith asks Willow and Xander why Buffy is wound up so tight. As Willow is about to answer, Faith is immediately distracted by a water fountain.
• Armor-Piercing Question: Faith says she'll take care of her problems herself. Buffy replies, "Like you took care of your Watcher?"
• Bad Liar:
  • Scott says he doesn't like to lie, as it's "bad for the soul."
  • The recapper knew you would say that.
• Bad Vibrations: The claddagh ring begins to vibrate before Angel's Naked on Arrival appearance.
• Bait-and-Switch: The Slayer that Kakistos talks about killing in his introduction is not Buffy.
• Bait-and-Switch Comment:
  • After Willow and Xander have shown Faith all of the places in Sunnydale High where they've faced danger:
  Faith: You guys are a hoot and a half. If I'd had friends like you in high school, I... probably still would've dropped out. But I might've been sad about it, you know?
  • Joyce after Buffy starts sassing the principal it looks like she's starting to smooth things over but...
  Joyce: I think what my daughter's trying to say is: nyah nyah nyah nyah!
  • Buffy and Faith look like they're just about to fight.
  Faith: You think you can take me?
  Buffy: Yeah [looks over her shoulder] I just hope they can't! [Shoves Faith aside as vampire charges up behind her.]
• Barrier-Busting Blow: Buffy & Faith manages to shut the door on Kakistos, but he punches right through it.
• Batman Gambit: Giles pulls one on Buffy to get her to reveal what happened when she killed Angel back in "Becoming, Part 2". By asking her under the pretext of needing the information to create a binding spell to prevent Acathla from being re-awakened, Giles eventually gets her to admit the painful truth without questioning his motives in asking.
  Willow:...I really could help with that binding spell.
  Giles: There is no spell.
• Beard of Evil: Kakistos' goatee.
• The Berserker: Buffy realizes this new 'zesty' Slayer has some serious issues when she inflicts a No-Holds-Barred Beatdown on a vamp instead of staking it, completely ignoring Buffy's predicament.
  Buffy: Girl's not playing with a full deck, Giles. She has no deck. She has a 3.
• Big Eater: Faith helping herself to all the food in sight, including Buffy's. She lives in Perpetual Poverty after all, and probably fills up when she can.
• Big "NO!"/Freak Out: Faith is nine kinds of panicked when she sees Kakistos again.
  Buffy: Scream later! Escape now!
• Birds of a Feather: The two Summers women band together to snark at Snyder. On realizing Faith has her own traumatic past, Buffy bonds with her (and with the Brick Joke, acknowledges she shares some of Faith's primal impulses too).
• Blatant Lies: When Faith asks Buffy about her toughest kill, Buffy hesitates and says, "The Three". Who weren't killed by Buffy at all, but by Darla.
• Blood Knight: That Faith gets a lot more fun out of Slaying than Buffy is lampshaded by Joyce and Giles.
• Brand X: Trick orders a "medium diet soda" at a drive-thru window without actually specifying which soda.
• Brick Joke: Buffy mentioned being hungry after she killed the Master.
  • Faith and Buffy's exchange after dusting Kakistos:
  Buffy You hungry?
  Faith: Starved.
• The Brute: Kakistos comes more from the "Hulk Smash" school of approach.
• But I Digress: When Buffy complains about Faith nearly getting her killed when fighting vamps, Giles agrees to call the Watcher's Retreat to try and get ahold of Faith's Watcher:
  Giles: They're (the Watcher's Retreat) eight hours ahead now. I guess they're probably sitting down to a nightcap. I wonder if they still kayak. I used to love a good kayak. You see, t-they don't even consider...(Buffy gives him a Death Glare)...Sorry, I digress.
• Call-Back:
  • Buffy (and presumably Faith) spots a vampire by his out-of-date clothing and disco dancing.
  • Faith excessively pounding on a vampire because of her issues, as Buffy did in "Ted".
  • As when Kendra turned up in "What's My Line", Buffy gets sulky on discovering she's not the only Slayer.
• Continuity Nod: Giles' subplot revisits the events of "Becoming Pt. 2," which Buffy hasn't fully processed yet.
  • A reference to Kendra's death.
  • Faith asks if Buffy actually used a rocket launcher once. Buffy lights up (finally someone is interested in her), but is interrupted by Xander, who is much more interested in hearing Faith's stories (as there may be nudity).
  • When Joyce suggests that Buffy take early retirement, Buffy lets slip the fact that her death was what led to Faith being called. Joyce is plainly horrified. Buffy backpedals that "it was just for a few minutes." Le groan.
• Can't You Read the Sign?: Shortly after Faith is introduced and doing a tour of the school she stands in front of a poster, Campus Rape Starts Here. It's meant to be a warning on spiking drinks but depending on how you count them Faith would end up a multiple rapist.
• Casual Kink:
  • According to Faith, slaying really works up an appetite. Just wait until she explains all the alternative uses she's found for a stake.
  • Annoyed over how Xander is drooling over Faith, Cordelia suggests she dress up as a Slayer and hold a stake to his throat.
    Xander: Please, God, don't let that be sarcasm.
• Cleavage Window: Faith at the Bronze. She covers up later, but then (perhaps in response) Buffy wears her own cleavage-revealing top.
• Continuity Cavalcade: Xander and Willow showing Faith different spots in the school where they faced evil.:
  Willow: Over here, we have the cafeteria, where we were mauled by snakes!
  Xander: This is the spot where Angel tried to kill Willow.
  Willow: Over there in the lounge is where Spike and his gang nearly massacred us all on Parent-Teacher Night. And up those stairs, I was sucked into a muddy grave!
• Clothing Reflects Personality: Faith doing the Mating Dance in her Painted-On Pants.
• Cut His Heart Out with a Spoon: "I'm going to rip her spine from her body, and I'm going to eat her heart, and suck the marrow from her bones."
• Damned by Faint Praise: Willow congratulates Buffy on her warm-up chat with Scott. ...then makes the mistake asking the Scoobies if they agree. "He didn't try to slit our throats or anything," quips Cordelia. "It's progress."
• Dance of Romance: Buffy and Dream!Angel slow-dance in each other's arms at the Bronze as the Scoobies look on in silent disapproval.
• Dark Secret: Buffy and Faith both spill their own.
• Deadpan Snarker: Verging on Snark-to-Snark Combat at times, as you'd expect with two Slayers in the same room.
  • After dusting a vampire while Buffy just gapes, Faith says, "Thanks, B. Couldn't have done it without you."
  • "Next time I kill Angel, I'll video it."
• Decoy Damsel: Inverted with Faith and the disco vampire.
• Dissonant Serenity: Faith asks to borrow the stake from Buffy's hand, as though she were simply borrowing a screw driver to fix a lamp, and dusts the vampire before calmly walking back into the Bronze.
• Does This Remind You of Anything?: "I have tried to march in the Slayer Pride Parade..."
• Does Not Know Her Own Strength: Xander flinches in pain after Buffy punches him in the shoulder in response to a lewd comment. Then again, maybe she wasn't trying to pull her punches.
• Double Aesop: Buffy encourages Faith not to run away from her painful past. Taking heart from this, she then confronts her own.
• Dramatic Irony:
  • Willow's starting to doubt her aptitude as Wicca, recalling the ensoulment spell she tried out on Angel. "Guess that was a bust."
  • Buffy tries to apologize to Dream!Angel, who tells her to go to hell. After all, he did.
  • Just when Buffy decides she can move on from Angel's death, he's Back from the Dead.
• The Dreaded: Faith is nine kinds of panicked when she sees Kakistos again, with Buffy even mentioning in Buffy the Vampire Slayer: Chaos Bleeds that he was the one thing Faith was ever truly terrified of. Furthermore, his name literally means "the worst of the worst" and his reputation is such that Giles immediately recognizes his name when Buffy, being Buffy, misidentifies him as "Kissing Toast".
• Environmental Symbolism: Trick's limo roars past a Happy Burger statue as the fast food employee's legs flail outside the window.

• Establishing Character Moment:
  • Mr. Trick's opening monologue in the limo. We also learn that Kakistos' attention span isn't the greatest, as he's focused only on "the Slayer", but Trick gently encourages him to keep an open mind.
  • Faith as a Decoy Damsel, and nonchalance at borrowing Buffy's stake without permission. The dynamic here echoes the very first scene of the show (Darla pretending to be a slasher film blonde before vamping out), only in reverse.
• Evil Makes You Monstrous: Like the Master before him, Kaistos has grown past the curse of human features. Unlike the Master, he has cloven hooves in place of hands and feet.
• Eye Scream: Faith blinded Kakistos in the right eye.
• Face Framed in Shadow: Kakistos in the back of his limo; only his cloven hands are shown.
• Facial Horror: Dream!Angel turns ugly.
• Fate Worse than Death:
  • One mention of Faith's Watcher stops her in her tracks. Buffy asks if Kakistos killed her. Faith just stares and says, "They don't have a word for what he did to her."
  • The tie-in novel Go Ask Malice expands on Faith's memories of her Watcher, named Diana Dormer. Kakistos tore her in half right before Faith's eyes.
• Fake-Out Fade-Out: Buffy decides to get on with her life, placing the ring Angel gave her at the spot where she was forced to kill him and saying goodbye to The Lost Lenore. Fade to Black. Suddenly the ring is lit up and Angel falls naked through a blinding white hole in the blackness.
• Feet-First Introduction: Willow's happy feet tapping in anticipation at being able to leave the school grounds.
• Fish-Eye Lens: Faith looks through her peephole to see the manager staring dumbly back at her. Outside, Kakistos and his cronies are waiting, holding up the manager, who we now see is a corpse.
• Flashback Cut: To Angel's demise in "Becoming, Pt. 2"
• Foreshadowing:
  • Buffy and Joyce dismiss themselves from the Principal's office, and from an extremely put out Snyder. And his day's about to get better: the Mayor's on the phone, and would like a word.
  • Giles saying he's prepared a binding spell for Acathla, but he "doesn't want to bore [Buffy] with the details..."
  • Snyder sets a condition that Buffy has to be interviewed by the school psychologist, which happens in the following episode.
  • Faith and Buffy almost come to blows because Buffy doesn't want to discuss Angel. The consequences are far more serious in "Revelations".
  • Joyce says that Buffy's jealousy is because she's an only child, so she's not used to sharing the limelight. Cut to Season 5:and the Cosmic Ret Con of Buffy's little sister Dawn. Buffy even refers to Faith as her "bestest new little sister".
  • Giles stares wistfully at Willow when she gleefully relates her last diving into the wiccan arts. This will take on a far more sinister tone in season 6.
• Freak Out: Buffy's response to her gift. Faith's response to Kakistos turning up.
• Full-Frontal Assault: One of Faith's stories is about her fighting three vampires while completely naked.
  Faith: So, it's about 118 degrees and I'm sleeping without a stitch on. And all of the sudden I hear this screaming from outside, so I go tearing out, stark nude. And this church bus is broke down and there's these three vamps feasting on half the Baptists in south Boston, so I waste the vamps and the preacher comes up and he's hugging me like there's no tomorrow. When all of the sudden the cops pull up and they arrested us both!
  Xander: Wow, they should film that story and show it every Christmas.
• Good Old Ways: Kakistos is a traditionalist who does not approve of modern innovation such as the electric light, preferring to light his lair with candles instead. He has little interest in communications technology that would've allowed him to establish a power base with little effort and obtain prey through human trafficking. It was this short-sightedness that led Trick to abandon his Master to be dusted by the Slayers.
• Good Scars, Evil Scars: In return for killing her Watcher, Faith left Kakistos something to remember her by.
• Got Me Doing It:
  Willow: "You really do need to find the fun, B. (Buffy glares) --uffy."
  • Buffy in Sarcasm Mode.
  Faith: What are you getting so strung out for, B?
  Buffy: Why are your lips still moving, F?
• Grave-Marking Scene: Buffy returns to the derelict mansion and lays her claddagh ring on the floor, saying, "Goodbye."
• Hell-Bent for Leather: Faith's famous leather pants are introduced; in this case, the Red Leather Pants of Berserker Rage.
• Helpless Kicking: An unfortunate Burger Fool gets yanked out of a drive-thru window and into the window of a car which is being driven by a monster. We see the poor guy's legs sticking out and kicking as the monster in the driver's seat feeds on him.
• Hopeless with Tech: Kakistos prefers lighting his lairs with candles rather than electric lights, and had little interest in modern comforts that would easily enable him to establish a power base. This is the main reason Mr. Trick pulled a Screw This, I'm Outta Here when Buffy and Faith attacked.
• Hot for Teacher: Its a blink and you miss moment, but after Faith calls Giles handsome and both Buffy and Xander cringe, Willow just smiles.
• Improvised Weapon: In the junkyard fight, Faith slams a trashcan on top of a vamp's head, blinding him.
  • Buffy tosses Faith a crowbar, but she's too petrified with fear to effectively use it.
  • Faith picks up a large pointed crossbeam and drives it through Kakistos, dusting him.
• I Did What I Had to Do: Faced with a Dream!Angel outraged over Buffy killing him, Buffy can only whimper, "I had to."
• Inappropriate Hunger: In his limo, Kakistos goes on about ripping spines out, eating hearts, and sucking bone marrow. Mr. Trick has a Growling Gut from all the talk of entrails etc. He vamps out and grabs the take-out guy, and drives off while the employee's legs flail out the window.
• Interplay of Sex and Violence: In the middle of telling stores, Faith switches gears and asks if Buffy also gets horny after slaying.
  Faith: Isn't it crazy how slaying just always makes you hungry and horny?
  [The gang slowly and hilariously turn to look at Buffy.]
  Buffy: Well, sometimes I crave a non-fat yogurt afterwards.
  • This becomes a Brick Joke when, after defeating Kakistos, Buffy admits that she's famished. As the series continues, we discover the horny part is confirmed as well.
• I Resemble That Remark!: Snyder cites Buffy violent tendencies, then nervously removes the letter opener she's playing with from her hand.
• Ironic Echo:
  • "If I were, I would be making a strange clucking sound with my tongue."
  • Buffy has a new "zesty" Slayer to feed.
• Is That a Threat?: Faith does not take too kindly to Buffy's way of telling her to drop it in regards to Angel.
• It's a Long Story: Oz hesitantly wants to know Faith's stance on lycanthropes. "It's a long story," explains Buffy.
  Oz: I got bit.
  Buffy: Apparently not that long.
• It's Probably Nothing: Cordelia's initial reaction to exiting the Bronze in pursuit of Faith is that they're probably just making out. Cue sounds of a struggle.
• Jabba Table Manners: Faith pinches Buffy's fries and eats directly from the serving bowls with her fingers.
• Large and in Charge: Kakistos is a massive guy, as befitting someone of his legendary strength, and leads a number of vampires, including Trick.
• Let Me Get This Straight...: Buffy sassing Snyder.
• Letting the Air out of the Band: Buffy and Angel touch hands, and we see both of their claddagh rings. Buffy's slips off her finger and falls to the ground. Angel picks the ring up, and she flashes back to killing him. The music has changed from Third Eye Blind to Nine Kinds of Creepy.
• Lured into a Trap: The girls see a pile of bodies in the warehouse they've ducked into, and realize that they've been chased to Kakistos's lair.
• Magic Misfire: Willow says that next time she won't try making fire out of ice on her bed.
• Malaproper: Buffy mispronouncing Kakistos' name.
  Buffy: He lived for kissing toast.
  Giles: You mean 'Kakistos?'
  Buffy: Maybe it was taquitos. Maybe he lived for taquitos.
  • Or was it 'khaki trousers'?
• Man of Wealth and Taste: Kakistos and Trick are introduced in a black stretch limousine.
• Master of the Mixed Message: Buffy, toward Scott.
• The Matchmaker: Scott comes up to Buffy, and Willow in an all-too-loud, overeager voice asks him what he's doing there?
  Scott: You told me if I came after 8:00 I could run into Buffy.
  [Willow tries to crawl inside her cup, and Oz looks amused.]
• Meaningful Echo: Buffy tacitly admitting that Slaying does, indeed, gives you the munchies.
• Meaningful Name: Scott Hope. Though his first name should be Dash.
• Motivational Lie: Giles makes up a "binding spell" in order to get Buffy to open up over what happened with Angel.
• Mundane Made Awesome: Willow taking advantage of a school rule which allows seniors to leave campus for lunch. She waxes philosophical about it being a "senior moment", one that has to be savored.
• Must Be Invited: Kakistos gets round this by driving the two Slayers into his own hide-out. The motel Faith lives in is, of course, exempt anyway.
• My Grandma Can Do Better Than You: While fighting vampires, Faith taunts one by declaring "My dead mother hits harder than that!"
• Naked on Arrival/Fetal Position Rebirth: Angel drops out of hell naked and trembling.
• Naked People Are Funny: Faith's story about getting arrested after fighting three vampires in the buff. Xander gets distracted by the image.
  Faith: [telling another story, about wrestling alligators]]
  Xander: —So was this, um, ahem, also naked?
  Faith: Well, the gator was.
  Cordelia: Xander? Find a new theme.
• Names to Run Away from Really Fast: According to Giles, Kakistos translates to "Worst of the Worst."
• No-Holds-Barred Beatdown: Kakistos gets his mitts (er, hooves) on Faith, but instead of killing her, he just starts pummeling her.
• No-Sell: A stake just won't kill Kakistos; it takes something much bigger.
• Nothing Is Scarier: Faith has arrived in Sunnydale on the run from the vampire Kakistos, whom she blinded in one eye in response to his killing her Watcher right in front of her. It's never revealed exactly what happened: all Faith says about it is "they don't have a word for what he did to her."
• The Older Immortal: With the exception of the Master and the Ubervamps, Kakistos is probably the oldest vampire seen in the series.
• Ooh, Me Accent's Slipping: Faith show up with a thick Canadian accent, despite ostensibly being from Boston.
• Orphaned Punchline: Back in the Bronze, Faith holds court over the Scoobies. She shares some war stories, chock full of nudity, a Bus Full of Innocents, crocodiles, and priests — the first of which has caught Xander's attention (to Cordelia's consternation).
  Faith: ...and the preacher comes up, and he's hugging me like there's no tomorrow, when all of a sudden, the cops pull up and they arrested us both!
  Xander: [dreamily] They should film that story and show it every Christmas.
• Overly Narrow Superlative: Among Snyder's conditions for Buffy's reentry is a recommendation letter from a faculty member "who is not an English librarian."
• Person as Verb: Buffy gripes over how Faith is trying to Single White Female her.
• Persona Non Grata: When Xander greets Buffy, he declaims her "Banned from campus but not from our hearts."
• Pizza Boy Special Delivery: Not for sex, but for eating!
• Playing Hard to Get: Spoofed when Scott shows reluctance over accepting Buffy's offer, saying he'll have to think about it. He takes a few steps down the corridor, then comes back.
  Scott: Okay. You know what, I thought about it, and I'm in. When do you want to go?
• Pull the Thread: We learn at the end of the episode that this was Giles' motive all along.
• Pun-Based Title: The episode title is an obvious play on the three theological virtues of Faith, Hope, and Love.
• Punctuated Pounding: Long after the other mooks have fled the junkyard, Faith is still whaling on her vamp:
  Faith: You! Can't! Touch! Me!
• Remember When You Blew Up a Sun?:
  Faith: So, B, did you really use a rocket launcher one time?
• Right Behind Me:
  • In the empty library, Willow asks Buffy if she's noticed that, when Giles is mad, he makes a "weird cluck-cluck noise with his tongue." Cue Giles standing up from behind the check-out counter. "Oh, hi! Been there long?" Later, Willow asks him if he's mad at her. Giles answers, "Of course not. If I was, I'd be making a cluck-cluck noise."
  • Xander is gushing over Faith again when Cordelia walks up behind him.
• Roaring Rampage of Revenge: Kakistos chases Faith all the way to Sunnydale with the intent to kill her out of revenge for his eye.
• Rule of Threes: Scott makes two unsuccessful attempts to court Buffy, noting that a third would constitute stalking. So the third time, Buffy herself makes the invitation.
• Rule #1: According to Buffy the first rule of Slaying is "Don't die." Now if Buffy hadn't already broken this rule, Faith wouldn't exist, so...
• Running Gag: Mr. Trick has a taste for food service workers.
• Saying Too Much: An exasperated Buffy explains to Joyce that no one can "take over" for her until she snuffs it. Whoops. "When did you die? You never told me you died!"
• Sex Is Violence: On hearing Faith struggling with the vampire, Willow wonders if she should be making sounds like that when making out with Oz.
• Sexy Mentor: Faith comments on the hotness of Giles, getting an 'ew' reaction from Buffy.
• Screw This, I'm Outta Here: Mr. Trick watches his master Kakistos getting a beatdown from Buffy, knowing that Faith (the other slayer) is there and that Buffy has already taken down many of the henchmen. Before exiting, he says to a female vampire next to him that the Master "could get killed... Well, our prayers are with them. This is why these vengeance crusades are out of style. You see the modern vampire? We get the big picture."
• Shadow Archetype: Faith as dark mirror to Buffy is established from the get-go with Faith sexy-dancing with a vampire, then killing him. In contrast to Kendra's staid personality, Faith is violent, flirtatious, irresponsible, inexperienced, and more comfortable with her Dark Side than Buffy.
• Shout-Out:
  • Willow taking her first breath of freedom. "Hey," she exclaims cheerfully, "we're walkin' here!"
  • Mr. Trick marvels at Sunnydale's death statistics and the townsfolk's' state of denial. "Makes D.C. look like Mayberry."
• Sickeningly Sweethearts: As they approach Buffy's picnic basket, the Scoobies decide not to flaunt their respective romances around her. Oz counts down: "Prepare to uncouple. Uncouple." They all release hands and switch places.
• Sinister Silhouettes: Kakistos in his limousine. His hands are plenty ugly enough.
• Sleeps in the Nude: Faith reveals she does this in one her stories. She also didn't bother putting them on when a fight started outside.
• Slobs Versus Snobs: An undertone of class warfare between Faith and Buffy. "What brings you to the poor side of town?"
• Slow-Motion Drop: Before Buffy can leave to confront Faith she bumps into Scott again. Scott says that he's bought her a present, and fishes a box out of his pocket. Buffy opens the box to find a claddagh ring identical to one Angel gave her. She drops it in shock. Scott has had just about enough of this wacko and walks off.
• Slut-Shaming: On first glimpsing Faith, Cordelia disparagingly comments: "check out Slut-a-Rama."
• Smash Cut: Joyce brightly asking, "Are you ready to face the beast?" Cut to said beast, Principal Snyder sitting behind his desk in shadow.
• Snub by Omission:
  • Giles has never been to the Watcher's Retreat himself, but he's heard it's a lot a fun; kayaking, very great honor to be invited and so on.
  • Buffy tells Giles that patrolling will have to wait until after dinner, as she promised her mom. Xander and Willow give her pointed looks, and she 'remembers' to invite Faith to dinner as well.
• Southies: Faith is from South Boston, MA.
• The Stoic: Buffy gibes Giles for his restrained reaction to her coming back to school, unaware that he had a lot to do with it.
• Stronger with Age: Kakistos is so old that the normal way to dispatch a vampire, a wooden stake to the heart, won't cut it with him. Faith actually has to impale him with a two-by-four to finish him off.
• Super Window Jump: Two time. Once with the Slayers somersaulting through a bathroom window, and later smashing their way into Kakistos' abandoned firehouse. At least the first time they throw something through the window first.
• Survivor's Guilt: Faith, for failing to avenge her Watcher's death.
• Suspiciously Apropos Music: When Scott is making himself known to Buffy at the Bronze, Darling Violetta is playing "Cure". Unfortunately, the actual lyrics are You will never be the cure.
• Suspiciously Specific Denial: Willow accidentally lets slip that she's been dabbling in magic again.
  Willow: Marnox Root... You know a smidge of this mixed with a virgin's saliva...
  Giles: ...
  Willow: ...does something I know nothing about.
• Tempting Fate:
  • Buffy's doing well with Kakistos, and manages to drive a stake into him. His torso is so thick, however, that the stake doesn't reach his heart. "I guess you need a bigger stake, Slayer!"
  • Earlier Buffy slams the door on Kakistos, saying she's bought them a little more (Kakistos punches through the door) time?
• Territorial Smurfette: This is Buffy's initial reaction to Faith's arrival. There are other female Scoobies, but none of them is a Slayer. To her credit Buffy gets over this issue quickly, which is just as well because Faith has some issues of her own.
• That Came Out Wrong: Willow sharing a few pointers on kindling a romance with Scott Hope, such as "make conversation" and "do that thing with your mouth that boys like." Buffy looks horrified, and Willow hurriedly explains that she meant Buffy's smile, before giving up and looking reproachfully at Oz: "You're supposed to stop me when I do that."
  Oz: I like it when you do that.
• There Are No Coincidences: There are two things Buffy doesn't believe in: coincidence, and leprechauns... Until Giles points out that it's entirely possible that Faith and Kakistos showed up simultaneously.

  Buffy: Okay, but I was right about the leprechauns, right?
  Giles: As far as I know, yes.

  • This becomes a Running Gag in the series and its spin-off, Angel.
• Tragic Keepsake: After her Angel dream, Buffy takes out the claddagh ring he gave her in "Surprise", which she now keeps on a neck chain.
• Try Not to Die: Buffy throws Faith a crowbar, repeating the number one rule of slaying, "Don't die!"
• Villain Ball: "I guess you need a bigger stake, Slayer!" (Evil Laugh and no attempt to dodge the huge log coming at him)
• Villainous Demotivator: It's the Mayor on Line 1.
• Waxing Lyrical: Trick trying (and failing) to interest Kakistos in his technobabble. His line about Sunnydale ("where the humans are jumpin' and the cotton is high") is a reference to "Summertime" from Porgy and Bess.
• Why Are You Not My Daughter?: Joyce is pleased to meet a Slayer who is "open" about her experiences. Faith gives Buffy a sideways glance and brags that she loves the feeling of being in the moment—knowing that she'll win and they'll lose. Buffy sourly adds that it beats the dead feeling you get when they win and you lose, but Faith dismisses that as "negative" thinking. Joyce is down with that, and with Faith in general. She adds that Buffy "can be very negative sometimes."
• White Shirt of Death: Angel's not wearing black, so you know it's a dream sequence. Blood starts to pool out from the spot where Buffy stabbed him.
• With This Ring: The dual purpose of a claddagh ring is subverted when Scott gives one to Buffy as a friendship gift.
• You Won't Feel a Thing!: A vampire takes a girl he's met at the Bronze into an alley and tries to eat her, saying; "Stop struggling, this won't hurt." Nope, but the pounding and staking she gives him sure does. Meet Faith, the Vampire Slayer.

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