Faith was gonna kill herself?
- Thread starter annistark
- Start date
-
- Tags
- faith lehane
Cohen
Hellhound
I saw it on instagram @btvsfacts + on buffy wiki site + on facebook group that Faith originally was gonna appear in five episodes and kill herself in ending of bad girls but Joss was so impressed by Eliza that he gave her bigger role. they also said that in s03 interview Eliza said that "enemies" and "graduation" scripts were so rushed that joss was giving her parts of scripts
HowiMetdaSlayer
𝕔𝕠𝕔𝕠𝕒 𝕒𝕕𝕕𝕚𝕔𝕥 ☕️
Skanky Vamp
Sniffin' the Slayer
- Joined
- Aug 12, 2008
- Messages
- 26,460
I remember hearing that a long time ago as well. It was spoken, I believe, by Whedon at the time. Think it was on a DVD extra or something. I think he said something about he fell in love with Eliza so decided to keep her. The same thing that pretty much happened with JM.
Last edited:
thetopher
Member of the Church Of Faith
That was the plan; Faith was only meant to be in 5 episodes, she's the slayer who gets too caught up in the fun of slaying and, after she accidentally kills Deputy Mayor- takes her own life.
The plot would've highlighted the perils that come from the dark power of the slayer and the instability that comes with it.
But Eliza- only 17 at the time- impressed Joss greatly so he changed things around a bit (this is why she isn't present in some episodes for some reason- 'Band Candy', 'Gingerbread', Helpless') and made her corrupted by the act instead.
He also added a lot of more specific dialogue to her scenes with the Mayor in Choices and GD; making that relationship more human/sympathetic and a parallel with Buffy/Giles. Its actually remarkably that it worked out as well as it did.
The plot would've highlighted the perils that come from the dark power of the slayer and the instability that comes with it.
But Eliza- only 17 at the time- impressed Joss greatly so he changed things around a bit (this is why she isn't present in some episodes for some reason- 'Band Candy', 'Gingerbread', Helpless') and made her corrupted by the act instead.
He also added a lot of more specific dialogue to her scenes with the Mayor in Choices and GD; making that relationship more human/sympathetic and a parallel with Buffy/Giles. Its actually remarkably that it worked out as well as it did.
Last Watcher
Yupp! That's what I've seen written about it too......
That.... would have been different. Yeah, it is impressive it worked out as well as it did, considering Joss was sometimes writing the script well they were filming it! there was broad outlines, no grand master plan, I mean, besides the broad strokes of the story he wanted to tell. Along the lines of being a hero as a metaphor for surviving High school. See this is why I am in favor the creator of a work being in command of adapting it to television or film. The singular vision of the creator is irreplaceable, it just is, its as important if not more then the technological know how of making sure it runs on time and under budget.
Imagine how different things would have been if Faith had committed suicide. It is dark, and as it turned out not necessary to chronicle the dark side of slaying and what it does to a person , but from Joss's perspective Angel did not have his own show yet a whole lot of stuff had not come, so I can see the genesis of the existential theme Joss was interested in exploring. I can imagine this development allowing the existential angle sort like in "Gingerbread" the why do we do it, of it all, as explored as a question on Angel to dominate this shows tragectory . Hmmm, knowing the speculation that Faith's namesake has origin in existential philosophy, really makes me wonder what would of come from the suicide because there is a point there somewhere.
Imagine how different things would have been if Faith had committed suicide. It is dark, and as it turned out not necessary to chronicle the dark side of slaying and what it does to a person , but from Joss's perspective Angel did not have his own show yet a whole lot of stuff had not come, so I can see the genesis of the existential theme Joss was interested in exploring. I can imagine this development allowing the existential angle sort like in "Gingerbread" the why do we do it, of it all, as explored as a question on Angel to dominate this shows tragectory . Hmmm, knowing the speculation that Faith's namesake has origin in existential philosophy, really makes me wonder what would of come from the suicide because there is a point there somewhere.
Last edited:
thetopher
Member of the Church Of Faith
Not really, its just referenced by writers and commentators; Joss had spoken of the plan in broad terms and Eliza has said something similar.
Like a lot of original story lines it was adapted because of outside influence; the writers couldn't get Dru back in S3 so Spike returns alone as a drunken, broken hearted mess, Seth Green wants to leave so Oz's S4 werewolf plot with Veruca gets heavily truncated, Anya's unvarnished truth is unpopular (plus a lot of the writers loved EC) so Xander begins a relationship with Anya- those last two cemented Willow as the character who's sexuality would be explored/changed going forward.
These things are more mentioned off-hand by writers and hinted at by actors; the show was a colaborative effort some if one thing/decision changes then that has a knock effect half the time; its just not that easy to spot.
DeadlyDuo
It's a shame we didn't get Dru in Season 3, I wonder how her presence would've changed Lovers Walk?
Oh yeah, I've a vague memory of hearing about how Buffy was originally supposed to find Faith (I think having hung herself) at the end of the episode. I'd forgotten about that. Wonder what the original plan for the rest of the season was without her.
I know the Buffyverse has tackled some dark subjects and other characters have been shown to be suicidal (and even attempted suicide, including Faith) but this just seems particularly dark, like, wow. Maybe because it was planned for Season 3, so early in the show's run and before the series got more dark/intense but Buffy finding Faith's lifeless body? Yikes. That leaves me feeling a little disturbed and kind of glad they didn't go down that path.
Cohen
Hellhound
I actually would have liked that arc. Showing how much weight is on a slayer’s shoulder. Maybe not in season 3, but maybe that would have been a better ending to her arc in season 4/AtS Season 1?
DeepBlueJoy
Lion Faced Kitteh
I have never heard of the suicide of Faith, though it actually does make sense, given what happened. I like what happened better. ED is fun and I think she levened the earnest goody two shoes vibe that SMG seemed to get all to often. I wonder if those words she said weren't partly a message from Joss/the other writers to 'loosen up'. Sometimes I felt as though SMG was channeling that horrid, prissy character she played from Scooby Doo, especially in the earlier seasons.
Anyway, to address the question: I've the box set, and I've watched it through dozens of times. Unless it's in one of the actual episode commentaries (I confess I have not watched each episode with its commentary turned on) I am 99% sure it is not in the extras/interviews. I've watched all of those at least once. Suicide, I think I'd remember.
Hmmm. I'm feeling a new watch through coming on.
Skanky Vamp
Sniffin' the Slayer
- Joined
- Aug 12, 2008
- Messages
- 26,460
Wouldn't it be the other way around? I certainly felt like she was channeling Buffy while playing Daphne.
DeepBlueJoy
Lion Faced Kitteh
I don't remember that, but maybe it's because any time she channeled her Buffy side, I think it improved her characters. 😎
Skanky Vamp
Sniffin' the Slayer
- Joined
- Aug 12, 2008
- Messages
- 26,460
