Bad Girls

"Bad Girls" is Episode 14 of Season 3 of the TV series Buffy the Vampire Slayer. Written by Douglas 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.

Plot

While patrolling, Faith asks Buffy if she's ever had sex with Xander, and Buffy says they're just friends. They slay a vampire wielding a short blade and long blade. The next day at school, the gang is looking into college and they discuss future plans. Wesley Wyndam-Pryce, Buffy's stuffy new Watcher, annoys Giles in the library while both Slayers attempt to ignore him. Buffy is instructed to go retrieve an amulet that once belonged to a demon named Balthazar, who led a cult of swordsman vampires before he was killed. Faith expresses to Buffy her belief that as the Slayers, they can do what they want, and enjoy it. Buffy is skeptical, but Faith firmly believes Buffy gets off on slaying as much as she does.

That night, Buffy finds the amulet but a group of Balthazar's vampires enter before she can take it. Faith arrives and the two slay some of the vampires before retrieving the amulet. After handing over the amulet to Wesley, Buffy leaves to take a necessary chemistry test, but she can't stop talking through the whole test about the previous night and how much she ended up enjoying it. Faith shows up at the window and she and Buffy leave to destroy a vampire nest. The two go dancing afterwards at the Bronze where Buffy meets up with Angel. She's acting very strange and he tries to ignore it and tells her that Balthazar isn't dead and he's looking for his amulet. When Wesley comes looking for Buffy, she takes the amulet from him and gives it to Angel.

Buffy and Faith go out and find Balthazar, an obese and ugly demon that must live in a large pool of water and constantly be kept wet. At a loss for weapons against a large group of vampires, they break into a sporting goods store and steal some. Faith continues to expound on her philosophy of being a Slayer to Buffy. "Life as a Slayer is very simple. Want, take, have." The police arrive and arrest them, but in the car, the two Slayers kick down the metal gate separating them from the cops, causing the car to crash and the cops to be injured. The following morning, Buffy checks the local newspaper for any news regarding the accident, but finds nothing. The Mayor is attacked by one of Balthazar's vampires, who is foiled by Mr. Trick and imprisoned.

Balthazar demands his minions bring him the Watchers and kill the Slayers. No matter the cost, he must have his amulet. The enemy who crippled him is about to gain ultimate power and he refuses to let this come to pass. Willow presents Buffy with a protection spell talisman and is ready to go slaying that night, but Buffy tells her that it's too dangerous and that she's going with Faith instead. This leaves Willow feeling hurt, with her amulet essentially rejected. The two run into several vampires and stake them, then Allan, the Mayor's secretary walks out and Faith accidentally stakes him, too. He dies before anything can be done and both Slayers flee the scene of the crime in separate directions. Buffy runs into Angel and he tells her about Balthazar taking Giles while Faith returns to the scene where Allan is and just stares at the body.

With the two Watchers in his possession, Balthazar searches for answers as to who has his amulet. Wesley is cowardly willing to give up anything in exchange for his life, whereas Giles keeps his, admittedly cynical, calm. Angel shows up with Buffy, frees Giles and everyone fights. When Balthazar captures Angel, Buffy tosses a live wire into his tub of water, electrocuting him. With his dying breath, Balthazar warns them of his enemy. "When he rises, you'll wish I'd killed you all." In his office that night, the Mayor performs a ritual in front of Mr. Trick and the captured vampire. Once it is finished, the Mayor orders that the vampire has his weapon returned to him and be released. Mr. Trick is confused, but does as he's told and releases the vampire. The vampire immediately attacks the Mayor by slicing his head in half...however the head promptly repairs itself with no ill effect on the Mayor and Mr. Trick stakes the surprised vampire. The Mayor tells his right-hand man that the hundred days before the Ascension has begun and that during that period he is completely invincible. Buffy confronts Faith about Allan's death but Faith doesn't want to talk about it.

Buffy is aghast. "Faith, you don't get it. You killed a man."

Faith's reply: "No, you don't get it. I don't care."

Writing

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.

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.^[1]

Buffy's instantly antagonistic relationship with Wesley recalls her first meeting with Giles, revealing how far they have come.

Acting

Starring

• Sarah Michelle Gellar as Buffy Summers
• Nicholas Brendon as Xander Harris
• Alyson Hannigan as Willow Rosenberg
• Charisma Carpenter as Cordelia Chase
• David Boreanaz as Angel
• Seth Green as Oz
• Anthony Stewart Head as Rupert Giles

Guest starring

• Kristine Sutherland as Joyce Summers
• Harry Groener as Mayor Richard Wilkins
• K. Todd Freeman as Mr. Trick
• Jack Plotnick as Deputy Mayor Allan Finch
• Alexis Denisof as Wesley Wyndam-Pryce
• Christian Clemenson as Balthazar
• Eliza Dushku as Faith

Co-starring

• Alex Skuby as Vincent
• Wendy Clifford as Mrs. Taggert
• Ron Roggé as Cop

Production details

Music

• Curve - "Chinese Burn". - Plays whilst Faith and Buffy dance in the Bronze.

Quotes and trivia

Lists of miscellaneous information should be avoided. Please relocate any relevant information into appropriate sections or articles. (December 2007)

Wikiquote has a collection of quotations related to: Buffy the Vampire Slayer#Bad Girls

Buffy: (sarcastically to Wesley) "Whenever Giles sends me on a mission, he always says 'please.' And afterwards I get a cookie."

• The song playing during Faith and Buffy's dance at the Bronze is also the song playing during the opening sequence of the Season 3 DVDs.

• In this episode, Oz wears a T-shirt for the early English punk band Eater.

• Alyson Hannigan first met future-husband Alexis Denisof on the set of this episode. While Alyson was immediately attracted to Alexis and asked him out, he declined saying that he didn't date coworkers. The two remained friends for over a year before they started dating. They married in September 2003.

• When Buffy tells Faith, "I hate it when they drown me," it's an allusion to the season one finale in which the Master drowns Buffy (she was revived by CPR).

• The Mayor's list of things to do included; Greet Scouts, Plumber Union Reschedule, Call Temp Agency, Become Invincible, Meeting With PTA, and Haircut.

Translations

• Italian title: "Balthzar" ("Balthazar" with an "a" missing)
• German title: "Der neue Wächter" ("The new watcher")
• French title: "El Eliminati"
• Japanese title: "バッドガールズ" ("Baddo Gāruzu" - "Bad Girls")
• Spanish title: "Chicas malas" ("Bad girls")

Continuity

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. The Mayor's plan becomes clearer, and Wesley has arrived and will bug the Scoobies until the end.

• 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.

• 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.

External links

• "Bad Girls" at the Internet Movie Database
• "Bad Girls" at TV.com

Reviews

• Peripheral Visions Review
• Swing the Sickle Review

References