Buffy the Vampire Slayer (TV Series) This Year's Girl (2000) User Reviews

Faith wakes up from her coma

[katierose295 · 9/10 · 25 August 2006]

This is the first part of Faith's return. For four episodes, two on BTVS and two on "Angel," she will wake from her coma, face her darkness and try to find a way to go on with her life. Faith's character will play an important part of both shows in later seasons and this episode is vital to understanding her motivations and inner conflicts. It sets up her "switch" with Buffy that allows Faith finally confront her self-hatred and it helps her towards the road of her eventual redemption. If you're going to watch "Angel" season four or Buffy season seven, you shouldn't skip Faith's storyline this season.

"This Year's Girl" revolves around Faith waking up from her coma and finding Sunnydale a very un-friendly place to be. Buffy is happy and dating Riely instead of Angel, the Assension failed and the Mayor is dead, and now Faith is being hunted by the Council and the police. Lost and confused, Faith wanders around town trying to decide what to do. She confronts Buffy on campus and the two of them fight. Faith escapes, and the Scoobies start a search for her. Luckily, the Mayor left a present for his girl Faith. A little magical do-dad that will help her survive in the world without him. Meanwhile, Adam continues skulking around Sunnydale, killing things and trying to figure out how the work. Finally, Faith shows up at the Summer's house and takes Joyce hostage. Buffy arrives and saves her mother. But as the two Slayers fight, Faith pulls out the Mayor's magic gift and grasps Buffy's hand. Some flashy-y mojo happens and suddenly the two of the have switched bodies.

There are some good parts to this episode. I like Willow mocking Faith's "five by five" thing to Tara. Willow's snotty attitude towards Faith is always fun. And it's hilarious when Spike torments Giles and Xander. The more they try drag him over to the White Hats, the more he resists. "Can't anybody in you're little Scoobie gang remember that I hate you all?" Also, it's good to see Joyce again. She doesn't get enough screen time this season. And I'm glad that Faith is finally out of her coma, even if it will be a few more episodes before she starts down a road towards redemption. She's a interesting character, with more story to tell.

I also really love Faith's dream. She and the Mayor are having a Father-Daughter picnic, chatting happily. Faith is wearing a soft pastel dress, sort of like the one the Mayor bought for her in "Graduation Day Part One." The Mayor moves a grass snake away from the blanket, because the snake and all it implies, no longer has a place in Faith and the Mayor's world. To Faith, they are the "good guys" now. Then Buffy arrives. She stabs the Mayor and chases Faith down. Faith runs away, terrified. Buffy is the "bad guy" in the dream. But, she's also wielding Faith's knife and dressed like Faith usually looks. On some level, Faith sees her self as both the villain and victim in the dream. For the next several episodes, (both on BTVS and on "Angel") Faith will try to come to grips with her actions and try to find a way to forgive herself. The dream shows her conflicted feelings and I really enjoy it.

On the downside, it's a little harsh that Faith killed that demon who brought her the Mayor's tape. Considering the demon was just trying to help her. Also, the Adam stuff seems out of place here. Like they're just filling up time and reminding us that he's still around.

My favorite part of the episode: The Mayor's video message to Faith. His wistfulness as he talks about wanting her to wake up in a better world. Her teary smile as he jokes about "The Richard Wilkins Museum." They really did love each other and I'm glad that Faith got to see him one last time.

Faiths back and all is brilliant!

[Joxerlives · 9/10 · 15 March 2012]

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' (what I look for in a TV show). 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 (sexual?)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, maybe they have a special link just as Dawn and Buffy do?

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, especially 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 in the follow up story 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

Faith is back!

[Tweekums · 9/10 · 18 July 2019]

While Buffy and her friends are worrying about how they might deal with Adam and how to get Riley out of The Initiative a threat emerges from an unexpected direction... Faith wakes from her coma. Eight months have passed since Buffy put Faith into a coma and she is now out for revenge. Once awake she leaves hospital and receives a package from her late mentor, Mayor Wilkins. It contains a message and a device which appears to be some sort of weapon.

This episode is very much setting things up for future events but that doesn't mean it lacks action. We get a couple of impressive fights between Buffy and Faith as well as Faith dispatching a demon. Faith's reintroduction to the show is handled well; we see how during her coma she is haunted by dreams of being stabbed by Buffy before waking and showing that her time in a coma hasn't noticeably weakened her. As the episode approached its end I feared we might get a rushed conclusion... instead we get a very interesting 'to be continued', which I won't describe to avoid spoilers. As one would expect there is some humour; Spike's reaction to learning about Faith is priceless as is the gang's total lack of reaction to Xander getting shocked by an Initiative weapon he is trying to fix. The cast are on fine form; Eliza Dushku's return as Faith obviously being the most welcome. Overall a great episode which left me keen to learn what happens next.

The One Where Faith Wakes Up...

[taylorkingston · 10/10 · 5 April 2015]

I love this episode. It's so good. I love seeing Faith again. She was one of my favorite characters, and when she was put into a coma, I was actually really sad.

In this episode, Faith wakes up and realizes that it's been months since she was stabbed and thrown onto a truck by Buffy. She finds out that the Mayor has died and the high school has been destroyed. Graduation Day didn't go well for her side. She finds Buffy at the college and they have a big confrontation. Buffy is surprised about how much Faith hasn't changed. Come on, she was never going to change. Well, maybe later in the series, wink, wink. Faith finds a video that the Mayor left for her. It tells her that she has a very special present that she must use. At the end of the episode, Faith breaks into the Summers' home and waits for Buffy to come save her mother. When Buffy gets there, her and Faith have a huge fight and Faith uses that very special present. It swapped their bodies. Faith is now Buffy and Buffy is now Faith. No one knows this, no one notices this, not even Joyce. So, cops come and take "Faith" away and everything will be huge in the following episode.

Overall, I give this episode a 10 out of 10.

The world moves on

[ossie85 · 9/10 · 17 August 2022]

Faith has awoken from her coma and she is out for vengeance. The gang and The Initiative are still busy trying to handle the Adam situation and a rogue slayer is the last thing they need. The Mayor has left Faith a weapon to use against Buffy. The Watcher's Council has arrived looking for Faith .

Why It's So Good - Eliza Dushku's Faith is an iconic character, and she certainly shakes things up. Faith seeing Buffy move on from the life she almost killed her for is too much to bare, as Faith wonders if she is truly alone in the world.

Watch Out For - The Mayor's video is, true to character, touching and evil at the same time.

Quote - "Oooh! I have an idea! Beat the crap out of her!" - Willow.

Faith's First Dream

[davidalan528 · 6/10 · 29 December 2006]

The fourth season of Buffy is, by far, my least favorite. The big bad isn't all that easily identifiable - or, really, all that bad, when compared to the Master, Angelus, the Mayor, or any of the truly top notch villains that follow this season. Whether you consider Prof. Walsh, or Adam, or the Initiative itself to be the BB, they're all just weak sisters in my estimation.

Which makes the episodes featuring Faith a high point in the season.

In "This Year's Girl," Faith is troubled by nightmares during her coma, while the Scoobies are troubled by the Initiative's version of the waking variety: Adam. About halfway through some meandering plot that can be summed up in the questions "what's his endgame? What does he want? Why is he leaving eviscerated demons all over Sunnydale?" Faith wakes up, beats up some chick for her clothes and heads straight for Buffy and vengeance. SlayerFight '00 is exciting, but not quite as entertaining as SlayerQuipFest '00. After the witty banter and rapid-fire martial arts battle, Faith bails from UC SunnyD and arrives at Joyce's house having received a little posthumous gift from her father figure, the Mayor. Having lured Buffy into the trap, Faith uses Wilkins's gift to switch bodies with the one true Slayer, and hi-jinks ensue.

While I'll never give any episode of Buffy less than a five out of ten, I'm also not likely to give any episode of this season more than six. This gets a six, and it's really just for one small part, that has precious little to do with this season at all: Faith's First Dream.

Faith and Buffy are in B's bedroom, and after Faith's given Buffy a little gentle ribbing for leaving her in a coma for the past months, we get the following exchange. B: "I wish I could stay, but--" F: "No, you have to go." B: "It's just with..." F: "Little sis coming. I know. So much to do before she gets here." That's Joss Whedon for you. He's not anywhere near done with Season Four's story arc, and he's already presaging Season Five. This is the first mention of Dawn, just a quick little little line, cleverly disguised as a reference to Faith herself.

Another great moment: Spike zinging Xander and Giles: "Tell you what I'll do then. I'll head out, find this girl...tell her exactly where all of you are, and then watch, as she kills you.....Can't any one of your damned little Scooby club at least try to remember that I hate you all?"

Faith Is Back Seeking for Revenge

[claudio_carvalho · 6/10 · 15 August 2006]

Faith wakes up from a long and deep coma having nightmares with Buffy. She goes to Sunnydale looking for revenge. Meanwhile, Riley leaves the facility and meets Buffy. While trying to find Adam, Buffy, Xander and Willow find a demon dissected by him in the woods. Faith arrests Joyce, and Buffy fights with Faith to save her mother. In the end, Faith uses a charm in her hand and they switch bodies.

I like the character Faith a lot, but this episode is very weak and limited to the nightmares of Faith. The stunts make a good job in the battle between the strong slayers, destroying Joyce's house. The sequel seems to be interesting. My vote is six.

Title (Brazil): "A Garota Deste Ano" ("This Year's Girl")

Faith is the worst part of the show!

[sadhappy-76037 · 1/10 · 12 May 2020]

Faith is the worst part of the show! Oh no I'm an EMO murderer but that's ok cause I had a rough childhood. Almost ruined the show.

Faith's back

[Realrockerhalloween · 3 October 2016]

Faith awakens from her coma to find the world has moved on. The council, police and Buffy are on her trail before she can cause damage like last year. I find this to be the best episode of season four as Faith has psychic dreams of picnics with the Mayor and he picks up a snake before Buffy crashes the party letting her know stubbly that the plan failed and its time to wake up. Just like vamp Willow she walks the streets to see people happy instead of living in fear and that he really cared for her like a father leaving behind a tape attached with a gift. Meanwhile Buffy really seems to want a fresh start with her fellow slayer, which I find big of her, wanting to forget the past and welcome her back into the fold only to be spat on for her troubles.

Another aspect is The past coming back to haunt is when we least expect it. Buffy has a new boyfriend, friends, in college and here comes Faith to remind her of last year. No matter where you to or change the past makes us who we are and forms the person we become. Faith feels like she ruined her life making her evil and now she can change that by becoming the object of her affection Ms. Summers herself.