This Year's Girl (1)

Season 4, Episode 15, Aired
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Episode Summary

After eight months in a coma after her fight with Buffy, Faith awakens to seek revenge. After Faith is thwarted by both Buffy and the cops, Mayor Wilkins gives her a mysterious gift from beyond the grave. Armed with her secret weapon, Faith confronts Buffy in a climatic slayer-on-slayer battle...moreless
9.2
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Fan Episode Reviews (18)

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  • Hooray for Faith

    9.0
    "Superb"
    By joxerlives, Jan 20, 2012 Report Abuse
    The Good;
    Faith's dream sequences are all excellent, wonderful to see Harry Groener again, love the reveal of Faith at UCSD and great scenes with Joyce/Faith, the fight that follows one of the best in the show's history

    The Bad;
    Are you kidding, Faith is back, how could anything be bad?

    Best line;
    Faith; How do I look?
    Joyce; Psychotic?

    Character death;
    Thankfully not

    Knocked out;
    Buffy-as-Faith in the final scene plus the poor girl at the hospital

    Women good/men bad;
    Nope, female villain this time around

    Jeez!;
    Psycho-Buffy in Faith's dreams is scary indeed, great performance from SMG, love her vacant stare, steady walk and that little tilt of the head, give her a hockey mask and she's the villain in the slasher film. Check out Buffy's expression as she twists the knife in Faith's side. Plus Faith hits Joyce! Oh, that girl deserves SUCH a spanking! Plus Adam's Silence of the Lambs homage.

    Kinky dinky;
    As Petrie comments, 'Cleavage, demons and intrigue'. Faith also tells Buffy she has dreams about 'cigars and tunnels', Bill Clinton and Monica anyone? (a reference that would have been a lot more topical at the time). Willow refers to Faith as a 'cleavagey slutbomb'.

    Calling Captain Subtext;
    The grass snake intruding in the picnic needs no interpretation. It represents the Mayor's evil desires intruding on his and Faith's happiness. Doug Petrie comments on Jaith and I think he's right, actually Joyce and Faith love each other much the same as Buffy/Faith do. I remember reading a great fanfic called 'Forbidden' where Joyce is lying in bed feeling guilty about having sex with the naked Slayer lying beside her who calls her 'mommy'. Of course in the very last word of the story you realise that it's actually Faith rather than Buffy and it all makes perfect sense from both a narrative and character point of view.
    Buffy and Faith in dreams are still making the bed, Faith pleads for Buffy to take the knife out of her, does this signify a yearning for forgiveness?

    Scoobies to the ER;
    Buffy-as-Faith get's a hammering (one could argue that this is actually Faith self-harming?)

    Where's Dawn?
    Taken hostage by Faith alongside Joyce? It would certainly explain Dawn's antipathy towards her in season 7. Faith refers to 'Little sis coming'. Of course Dawn could just as easily have been Faith's sister if things had worked out differently.

    Missing scenes;
    The bit where Tara and Willow search for Faith is quite obviously an add in but is funny, especially Tara's idea of fighting.

    Apocalypses; 5,

    Questions and observations;
    Wonderful to have Faith back. You can't help but feel sorry for her when she's wandering the streets of Sunnydale having lost everything, ecspecially when she sees the happy daughter leading her father by the hand. One question, looking at the Mayor's video he seems to think that there will be a museum dedicated to him in Sunnydale and that he and Faith will bring 'order' to the town? By being a big snake?
    I always wondered what would happen if a Slayer was brainsucked by Glory? Read a fanfic once where that actually happens to Faith but then DarkWillow brainsucks Warren before killing him and uses his mental energy to cure her. Watching this I realise that if Slayer healing can restore Faith from her coma then Glory would be no big deal for her or Buffy. Tara asks what 'Five by five' means, about time someone did. Who calls the police for Faith at UCSD?

    Marks out of 10; 9/10
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  • is Year's Girl (1)

    10
    "Perfect"
    By TrueTvWatcher, Oct 23, 2010 Report Abuse
    is Year's Girl (1) was a perfectly fun episode of Buffy the Vampire Slayer. In this episode there was a lot going on with everyone! Buffy and Riley are still trying to find their footing after the unexpected death of Dr. Maggie Walsh. Now Adam is on the loose, and with Faith waking up there is surely trouble to follow. This episode did a great job of tying all these stories together, and this episode ended with Faith using a surprise gift from the Mayor. There was lots of action, intrigue, and character development. I like how in Faiths dream world that they used a lot of symbology. The little garden snake crawling across their picnic! This episode left me on the edge of my seat and I can't wait to find out how things play out!!!!!moreless

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  • Season 4, Episode 18.

    10
    "Perfect"
    By Wanted23, Jul 02, 2009 Report Abuse
    Faith awakens after spending eight months in a coma from Buffy stabbing her. She is seeking revenge on Buffy, and she receives a present from Mayor Wilkins from beyond the grave. After Faith holds Joyce hostage, she and Buffy have a slayer-on-slayer battle that results in the two switching bodies.

    I LOVE this episode. I love Eliza Dushku, and the character of Faith, so I was pretty excited with this episode. I liked the fight that she had with Buffy on the college campus, and then when they had the fight in the Summers home at the end. Great episode and YAY for the return of Faith. :)moreless

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  • Got Faith?

    9.2
    "Superb"
    By goodridd, Apr 28, 2009 Report Abuse
    I love this episode. Faith wakes up from her coma to cause some havok. She beats up a woman to take her clothes and heads straight for the scoobs. This episode has great action, great dream sequences, and great humor. Xander being paranoid about Faith coming after him due to their "history" comes to mind.

    Forrest is still getting on my nerves. I'm glad he gets what's coming to him later on in the season. It's also nice to see The Mayor back, if only just for an episode. He is one of those villains that I find likable, even if he is evil. A great character all around.moreless

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  • A brilliant episode; Faith wakes up from her coma and provides a much needed distraction from the uninteresting Initiative.

    9.5
    "Superb"
    By TwistedConverse, Oct 20, 2008 Report Abuse
    This Year's Girl is a fantastic episode in all respects; wonderful acting, writing and top-notch action sequences all the way throughout. It has the return of "cleavagey slutbomb" Faith and is a rollercoaster all the way throughout.

    We all knew Faith would return at some point. She's simply too amazing a character to not be brought back. Her return is everthing you could want; shocking, brutal and brilliant. Eliza Dushku is looking hotter than ever and completely steals the show all the way throughout. The opening sequence of the Buffy/Faith dream is a great teaser, one of the best. I so love these Slayer dreams as they contain a lot of hints about the next season and Dawn. It gives me goosebumps to hear Faith say "Little sis coming" as I know what will happen in later episodes. The dreams are brilliant all the way throughout and I love what they reveal on Faith's view of Buffy; menacing, cold blooded killer. Sarah looked positively terrifying as she stalked Faith through the cemeteries. It's interesting that according to Faith, Buffy is the villain and not her. It shows how damaged she is.

    However, when Faith does wake up, it's nothing short of spectacular. Learning everything that has happened while she's been in a coma was shocking for her. The scenes where she watches the Mayor's video is quite touching as you can see how much they truly cared for each other. A real highlight to see Harry Groener back as well; he's a fantastic actor and I'm glad he appeared another two times as The First in Season 7.

    When Buffy and Faith have their long awaited confrontation, it's very satisfactory. We get a taste at the college and it's definitely brilliant; tense is the word. The scenes with Joyce in Buffy's house are excellent as well; the first time Faith really opens up and ironically it's just as she's about to kill someone. Her rant about Buffy moving on and forgetting the people that matter is quite shocking and revealing; what Faith has always wanted is Buffy's acceptance and since she feels she can't have it, she decided she'll take her life. Literally.

    The fight scene at the house was exhilarating; the props used were fantastic and every blow felt important. The stunt work was brilliant all the way throughout and the music made it all the better; pulse-pounding and exciting.

    Willow was so completely hilarious all episode. I love Willow. Her rant about Faith- "She's like this cleavagey slutbomb walking around going 'Oh check me out I'm wicked cool, I'm five by five" is one of the funniest moments ever, thankfully due to Alyson's perfect delivery. She's such an outstanding actress, I'm glad she's getting recognition. Also, great to see her relationship with Tara getting stronger but I'll talk about that more next episode!

    The twist at the end was truly shocking; magnificently played by Sarah who captured Faith's psychotic streak with ease with the chilling line "Five by five". It was classic Buffy moment.

    This Year's Girl is nothing short of exceptional. Everything about it works. It's often overshadowed by it's (admittedly better) second half but is still an excellent episode and not one you will forget.moreless

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Trivia, Notes, Quotes and Allusions

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  • Trivia

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    • When Riley is talking with Forrest and the other guy, his shirt goes back and forth from being lined up straight in the close-ups, to being sloppily apart in the medium shots.

      Edit
    • In the opening dream scene, Faith tells Buffy that they're preparing because of "little sis coming." This foreshadows the arrival of Dawn in the first episode of the fifth season. Edit
    • When Buffy and Faith are fighting near the front door, it looks like theres a partition of the wall missing where the front door should go. Edit

  • Notes

    ADD NOTES
    • The running time of this episode was originally 9 minutes short. Scenes of Willow/Tara and Xander/Giles looking for Faith were added. Spike was not originally supposed to appear in this episode, but was included into the Giles and Xander scene. Edit
    • Christophe Beck (the composer) uses the same score from the inital fight between Buffy and Faith in Graduation Day Part I, as he does in this episode during the final fight scene. Additionally, the music from the dream sequences in both of these episodes are the same as well. Edit
    • The woman Faith meets in the hospital says that it is Feb 25th, meaning that it has been one month and six days since the beginning of episode 12, 'A New Man' (Buffy's birthday). Edit

  • Quotes

    ADD QUOTES
    • Willow: Thanks for coming with. Hunting for a psychopathic super-bitch is definitely in the above-and-beyond category. Tara: It's okay, really. So, what do we do if we find her? Willow: Run. Flee. Maybe skedaddle. Edit
    • Faith: Payback's a bitch. Willow: Look who's talking. Edit
    • Joyce: You're sure you're okay? Buffy: Five by five. Edit

  • Allusions

    ADD ALLUSIONS
    • Faith: So that's my dream. That and some stuff about cigars and a tunnel.
      Faith makes a Freudian kind of joke. Freud believed that things in our dreams where symbolic. Cigars and tunnels would be symbolic of sex. Edit
    • Buffy: Well, you haven't seen this Adam thing. He's the Terminator without the bashful charm.
      The title character from the movie The Terminator was far from being bashful or charming. Buffy uses the hyperbole to express just how dangerous Adam is. Edit

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