In “Buffy,” 
Faith Lehane (Eliza Dushku) became a Slayer in late 1998 when Kendra by Drusilla at the end of Season 2 of “Buffy the Vampire Slayer.” Often termed “a rogue Slayer,” Faith went down a dark path and tried to balance her dark side with her desire to be redeemed, being sometimes a friend or enemy of the Scoobies and Angel Investigations, depending on the circumstances.
Faith’s Life Before Buffy
Faith was born on December 14, 1980 in South Boston, Massachusetts, to an alcoholic mother and abusive father.
After being suspended from school for fighting, Faith lived alone before her guidance counselor assigned her to a foster home. After attacking her prostitute mother’s former client, Faith was taken to Belmont Center in Massachusetts.
The future slayer was given into the custody of Professor Diana Dormer, a Watcher. Faith began training and was activated as the Slayer on May 12th, 1998.
In June of that year, Kakistos, an old, evil vampire, kidnapped Dormer and killed her by ripping her in two. Faith, though having been captured, still gave Kakistos an axe wound that cleaved his face in two and then escaped. She left Boston and eventually arrived in Sunnydale, Massachusetts.
Buffy & Faith Meet and Battle
In Sunnydale, Faith quickly became friends with Buffy and the Scoobies despite having feelings of isolation and loneliness even after Buffy had helped her to kill Kakistos, who had followed Faith to Sunnydale.
A new watcher for Faith, Gwendolyn Post, came to Sunnydale and manipulated Faith to plot an evil scheme, and the ordeal heightened Faith’s sense of abandonment. Later in Season 3, Faith accidentally killed Deputy Mayor Allan Finch, causing her to withdraw into denial and then blame Buffy for the deed. The Scoobies wanted to help Faith, so they sent Xander (with whom Faith had had sex) to talk to Faith. However, the Slayer almost raped and strangled him. Angel arrived, knocked Faith unconscious, and then and took her to his lair. Buffy and Faith’s new watcher, Wesley Wyndam-Pryce, brought a special-ops team to arrest Faith, but she late escaped and became even more isolated and bitter. Faith then joined with Sunnydale Mayor Richard Wilkins III, who had his own evil plans for the town and its high-school students.
In her service for the mayor, Faith shot Angel with a poisoned arrow whose only antidote was the blood of a Slayer. Buffy tried to kill Faith so that Angel could drink her blood, but Buffy only stabbed Faith, who then jumped from the apartment-building roof onto a moving truck and then fell into a coma. She was found and then stayed at Sunnydale Hospital for months.
After Faith woke up in Season 4, she was angry at Buffy’s actions and also devastated at learning what happened at the end of Season 3. Faith used a magical device to swap bodies with Buffy but was then was between her desires to escape and help a group of churchgoers who had been attacked by vampires. Eventually, the spell was reversed, and Faith fled to Los Angeles, where she took part in a two-part series in the first season of “Angel.”
Buffy & Faith in Los Angeles and Afterwards
In Los Angeles, Faith was hired by the evil law-firm Wolfram & Hart to kill Angel, and then the firm would work to have the murder charges against her in Sunnydale dropped. Faith kidnapped her former watcher, Wesley, and tortured him. When Angel and Faith fought, she demanded that he kill her because she was “bad.” Angel took Faith under his metaphorical wing, and after defeating a Watchers’ Council team that had been sent to kill her, Faith surrendered to the police and accepted the consequences — imprisonment — for her misdeeds.
In Season 7 of “Buffy,” after breaking out of jail to help to restore Angel’s soul again, Faith was attacked by a prisoner who was serving the First Evil. After Angel’s soul was returned, Faith returned to Sunnydale to help the Scoobies battle the First Evil.
Faith After the Series
The post-“Buffy” Faith story continued after “Buffy” Season 7. However, we do not want to spoil anyone on what happens. Instead, here are some resources at which you can continue Faith’s journey:
- The “Buffy Season 8” and “Buffy Season 9” comics resources
- The “Angel and Faith” comic-book series takes the reader into the fictional “present-day” and occurs at the same time as “Buffy Season 9”
Here is a nice video showing some of the, um, “violent” tendencies of Faith’s character: