Bad Girls (Buffy the Vampire Slayer Episode)
From Iwe
| "Bad Girls" | |||
| Buffy the Vampire Slayer episode | |||
| Episode no. | Season 3 Episode 14 | ||
| Directed by | Michael Lange | ||
| Written by | Doug Petrie | ||
| Production code | 3ABB14 | ||
| Original air date | February 9, 1999 | ||
| Guest actors | |||
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| Episode chronology | |||
| ← Previous "The Zeppo" | Next → "Consequences" | ||
| List of Buffy the Vampire Slayer episodes | |||
"Bad Girls" is episode 14 of season 3 of the television series Buffy the Vampire Slayer. It is written by Doug Petrie and directed by Michael Lange, it was originally broadcast on February 9, 1999 on the WB network. In "Bad Girls", Buffy gets a new Watcher, and Faith lures Buffy into reckless abandon.
Contents |
Plot
Production
Writing
After Faith accidentally kills Allan, Buffy finds her in her hotel room obsessively scrubbing his blood from her shirt. As Richardson and Rabb note, this scene is reminiscent of Lady Macbeth’s "equally futile attempt to wash away guilt by washing away its physical signs." When Buffy reminds Faith that "you can shut off all the emotions that you want... but eventually, they’re gonna find a body," she is referring to the authorities’ finding Allan’s body; however the ambiguous grammar suggests that it is Faith's emotions of guilt and shame that will eventually find a body as well.
Continuity
- Faith follows Angel as a character who fought on Buffy's side but turns into a villain. While Angel's turn was sudden and caused by his curse, Faith's transformation is more gradual; the seeds were planted in her first appearance.
- When Buffy is attacked by the vampire while in the graveyard, Faith stakes it from behind. She will do this again in Season 4's episode Who Are You, but Buffy was in Faith's body at the time.
- Faith steals a long green compound bow, idly commenting that "this could be my new thing". Although her attempts to use it in this episode are inept, she does indeed become an ace, and ultimately uses the bow to infect Angel in Graduation Day (Part 1).
- Buffy's instantly antagonistic relationship with Wesley recalls her first meeting with Giles, highlighting how far they have come.
- Buffy comments that Xander's eye twitches every time she says Faiths name, foreshadowing the episode Dirty Girls in which Faith returns and Xander gets his eye poked out.
Arc significance
- This episode is the major turning point of season three. Faith has been a loose cannon with issues of trust, and she enjoys slaying a little too much, but she has been fighting for the right cause. She will not for much longer.
- Willow gives Buffy the protection spell she has been working on since "Gingerbread" in a lavender-scented pouch.
- This episode marks the first appearance of Wesley Wyndam-Pryce who goes on to become a prominent member of Angel Investigations in L.A.
Cultural references
- When the two Watchers are in front of Balthazar, Giles says, speaking about Wesley : "Look, tell you what, let Captain Courageous here go, and I'll tell you what you need to know.". This is a reference to 1897 novel Captains Courageous, by Kipling.
References
External links
| Buffy the Vampire Slayer | ||
|---|---|---|
| Canon • Index • Joss Whedon | ||
| Series | Film • Television • (Episodes • 1 • 2 • 3 • 4 • 5 • 6 • 7) • Comics (Season Eight • Season Nine) • Buffyverse canon | |
| Main characters | Buffy • Willow • Xander • Cordelia • Giles • Angel • Spike • Oz • Anya • Tara • Dawn • Riley | |
| Major villains | The Master • Drusilla • Angelus • The Mayor • Adam • Glory • The Trio • Dark Willow • The First | |
| Spin-offs | Angel • Fray • Tales of the Slayers • Tales of the Vampires • Buffy the Animated Series | |
| Expanded universe | Novels • Undeveloped productions • Video games | |
| Auxiliary | Academia • CCG • DVDs • Guidebooks • In popular culture • Magazines • Music • RPGs | |
| Universe | Big Bads • Hellmouth • Main characters • Minor characters • Monsters • • Scooby Gang • Sunnydale • Vampire | |
