Who's a better Slayer?

Who's a better Slayer?

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NotEvilAngel

NotEvilAngel

Townie
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Jan 24, 2021
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Kendra or Faith? Kendra wasn't a big character, but she was really devoted to Slaying, y'know what I mean? Faith... well, not so much, she did turn evil, don't forget that. What I'm trying to ask you is, who would win in a one-on-one? Kendra or Faith?


Kendra VS. Faith
 
I'm gonna go with Kendra on that, they're both really good slayers, it's just Kendra's more focused on the Save the world part, and Faith's more focused on the Kill! Kill! Kill! Part
 
From the Watcher's council perspective then Kendra for sure; demure, disciplined, obedient and entirely expendable.

Faith wasn't as controlled, in fact she was way too violence-happy and reckless...but then again she wasn't raised from childhood to be the ultimate monster-killer like Kendra was, similar to Buffy she was found by her Watcher much later and wasn't trained as rigorously.

Faith gets a bad rap though. She happily helped save the world in 'The Zeppo' and could go toe to toe with some of the baddest vampires out there. Overall she also seemed to be a much better fighter who realized that her emotions were 'total assets' in a fight.

Also longevity counts for a lot; Faith's still kicking.
 
Kendra just doesn't have that many fights under her belt especially compared to Faith who did slay quite a lot before she went evil and more after she got out of prison. I think Kendra never got to grow.
 
Voting Faith. I think her ability to improvie/think for herself is partly why she's stayed alive for as long as she has.
 
I chose Kendra. From what we saw she was a good fighter and had been trained very well. Buffy was barely able to best her when they fought in What’s My Line. Unfortunately Kendra was killed off before we could see what she would have become as a slayer and potential was lost. . Kendra needed more training, experience, and the maturity that comes with age.
 
Faith.

Like Buffy said to Kendra "My emotions give me power." Kendra was way too strict and "by the book." Faith had all of her past issues and pain to channel into her fighting.
 
I wonder if Kendra's fatal flaw is that she was too conditioned to obey by all her formal training, and that made her too vulnerable to Dru's hypnotic powers. That could've been her kryptonite. She seemed very competent otherwise, a match for Buffy, and therefore Faith (at the very least).

And I don't see her getting all jealous and insecure over Buffy the way Faith did and falling to the dark side (as long as she's not screwed over TOO badly by the Council, like that 18th birthday ritual that might've caused a radical change in her). Had she accidentally killed someone she'd have turned herself in to the Watchers and she'd probably be told to be more careful with a slap on the wrist, and not spiraling into darkness or digging herself in even deeper as Faith did.

But I think Spike sums up why Buffy lasted longer than any other Slayer: she has friends (a point Buffy makes herself to the Council "review" in season 5), rather than a Council that sees her as completely expendable, already planning on how to use the next Slayer even as they use the current one.
 
Probably Faith. She's still alive and has bags of experience and saving stuff slayer points. Deductions for trying to kill everyone etc.

Kendra was killed early in her career. Hypnosis is a bit of a low blow, can happen to the best of em. I suspect her lack of creativity probably would have got her killed eventually but who knows.
 
Nix said:
I agree, even though she went a bit evilish she found herself back to the good. She fought for those she cared for and came out on top in the end.
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I agree as well. Faith was a bad ass, and a damn good Slayer.
 
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Faith and Kendra were written as foils for Buffy. The intent was to let the viewer see what would happen if Buffy was more reckless (like Faith) or more hidebound (like Kendra). In turn, we get presented with Buffy as the Goldilocks choice - neither too reckless nor too regimented. In most cases, we see creativity is required and this is reinforced by having Kendra die early as a result of running into something that had not been covered in her studies, namely, hypnosis. We don't see Faith get that many kills but she does survive longer than Kendra so the narrative strongly hints that Faith would be a better slayer but neither are as good as Buffy.
 
Faith for me as well, even though she went rogue for a while, she had more wits about her than Kendra, also I find that she needs less regroup time when she takes a hit, even faster than Buffy. I think if she had Giles for a watcher early in her life she could have turned out very similar to Buffy, though after S7 I'm pretty sure she doesn't have the same natural leadership skills
 
I voted for Faith, largely because she is still alive. I do wonder how Faith would deal with hypnosis or Drusilla. I suspect, given how Faith doesn't mind taking the unexpected and dirty route to get a job done, that she would have been fine.

Like many here, I think the fact that Kendra was killed off so early makes comparison difficult. Bearing that in mind, I'd like to make a small caveat to my choice. Early on, Faith did seem a bit sloppy and cowardly. If I'm basing both slayers on their first appearance, in a head to head battle, Kendra probably would have wiped the floor with Faith. However, Faith eventually got over her fears, and became as self-sacrificing as Buffy to accomplish her means. In some ways she's even more willing to sacrifice herself than Buffy. The new Faith seems to me to look at her life as expendable, and is more than happy to take the first choice that will bring her foe down with her.
 
Faith for one simple reason. She's unpredictable.

In terms of physical skills Buffy, Faith and Kendra all seem to have similar fighting styles.

Buffy however is the best of all three because Kendra is too by the book, whilst Faith is too unpredictable. Buffy is willing to do things her own way like have her friends help her when the Slayer is supposed to fight alone, yet can think for herself in a tight spot unlike Kendra who follows the Slayer handbook. Her fight against the Master demonstrates this perfectly. Her friends saved her the first time, the second she improvised and used her surroundings to kill him. She also didn't completely lose it in terms of anger when fighting him on the roof unlike Faith would have if it was a Vamp she had a personal grudge against.

Kendra meanwhile though competent when dealing with Vampires who play by the rules like the Aulerian Vamps is useless when she has to fight Vamps like Drusilla who is a lunatic with unpredictable powers.

Faith meanwhile similarly I reckon would probably surprise Kendra and catch her off guard. Who knows maybe Faith would make a mistake and be reckless, but I see Faith as being more likely to win.

Kendra was sadly just a run of the mill Slayer hence why she lasted a year. The ones who survive longer are the ones who break the rules, Buffy, Faith and Nikki Wood (who though dying eventually, still lived a lot longer than most, with even Spike saying she was like Buffy in terms of not playing by the rules. Kendra meanwhile was like the first Slayer Spike killed, IE sadly just a tool for the Watchers who fell victim to an unconventional Vamp like Spike.)
 
Let's bear in mind the respective slayer's first appearances in their debut episode:

In Kendra's first appearances:
- She knocks out an airport security guard.
- She handily kicked Angel's ass. Thinking he was Angelus, one of the deadliest vampires in existence, she...left him in flimsy cage to be killed in maybe 5 or six hours.
- She then attacks Buffy, by surprise, with a weapon, and barely scrapes a draw.

In Faith's first appearance:
- She demolishes that first vampire in the alley, although you have to wonder why she didn't have a stake on her (recklessness shown early on).
- Although she majorly freaks out when fighting Kakistos (an un-stakable ancient vampire who is clearly her version of 'The Master') she does eventually improvise enough to stake him, gaining much needed closure.

Both have their problems (people forget that Kendra happily beat up a hapless civilian) but Faith seems to have more skill, overall.
 
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No. Dru's psychic powers were enough to break Giles, who resisted Angelus for several hours, and who was probably trained to resist them. Kendra was out of her league.
 
Ethan Reigns said:
Faith and Kendra were written as foils for Buffy.
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Agree - and for this reason I wouldn't commit to an answer - it's a draw for me. To favour one above the other depends on context. Too much creativity results in recklessness; not enough in predictability. It's interesting that Kendra's name means "knowledge", while Faith's means...well "faith". Knowledge and Faith can be opposing terms - terms, I think, Buffy reconciles in S7.
 
T
thrasherpix
Same here, it's a draw for me. While I see some good counterpoints above, it's not enough to fully choose one over the other.
Spanky said:
Where do you see that? I see "the meaning of the name Kendra is: Prophetess or Water Baby"
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Meh...that's American (and Anglo Saxon). 😄 Seriously here (Below). I chose English because I am. That said, I could make an argument for it (based on Giles' nationality). Is Post English and does Kendra come from a British colony? I kinda like the fact that Lessons starts in the Ancient World then moves to the Old World (where Giles is wearing an "Australian" coat) and on to the New World. In fact, I could probably connect all the following (with enough coffee).

Anglo-Saxon Baby Names Meaning:
In Anglo-Saxon Baby Names the meaning of the name Kendra is: Prophetess.

English Baby Names Meaning:
In English Baby Names the meaning of the name Kendra is: Knowledge. Can also be a blend of Ken, meaning royal obligation;clear water, and Sandra, meaning: protector of man, or Andrea, meaning manly or masculine.

American Baby Names Meaning:
In American Baby Names the meaning of the name Kendra is: Prophetess.
 
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