Angel
"Five by Five"

Airdate: April 25, 2000

I've been a fairly vocal opponent of Buffy characters on Angel. I'd rather see some original characters on the spin-off, and I'm not fond of the recycling of old characters, no matter how environmentally conscious it might be. When Wesley -- formerly of Buffy -- was brought on to replace Doyle, a great original character, I was dismayed that with so many opportunities for interesting new characters, they were bringing back old ones from the parent show.

Of course, I admit the flaws in my position. Sometimes I'm incredibly unhappy with the original characters on Angel and would rather see someone I've seen before. For instance, I'd rather watch Riley sit in a chair for an hour, blinking stupidly, than ever see Jheira doing anything ever again. Also, I can't complain when former Slayer Faith makes the journey from Sunnydale to Los Angeles.

Of course, this could have something to do with the fact that Faith is the coolest Slayer ever.

But, you say, what about Kendra? Or maybe you don't say that. Very few people seem to have liked her more than I did, and I didn't like her at all. Okay, you might argue, So Kendra sucked. But what about Buffy, for god's sake? Are you daft? I like Buffy, sure. She's not my favorite character, even if her show is named after her, but Buffy's fairly diggable. She's ass-kicking and all. She's got that doomed love thing going with Angel that I just can't resist. But let's face it: she just can't measure up to Faith.

On the goody-goody scale, Buffy's way too high up there. Faith, on the other hand, has a moral gas tank that's running pretty dry. Buffy's a good girl (mostly). Faith's decidedly not. Faith has sex a lot and beats people up. She's out of control, going crazy, and taking us along for the trip.

It's just no contest. Add to the mix actress Eliza Dushku as Faith, and you've got a winning combination for a character who's well-developed, sympathetic despite her crimes, and so powerfully acted that you get sucked right into Faith's story. And that, my friends, is why Faith is the superior Slayer.

In "Five by Five", she's landed in LA and is raising hell. After some general mayhem, Faith's noticed by Wolfram & Hart, and in a welcome return of the sinister firm, the lawyers hire her to assassinate Angel. Faith readily agrees, and before the episode is done, she's tried to kill Angel, knocked Cordelia out, kidnapped and tortured Wesley, and kicked the shit out of Angel again. She ends up crying in the vampire's arms, begging him to kill her for what she's done and offering a very real and frightening look into the psyche of a confused and unbalanced Slayer.

Dushku and Boreanaz play well against each other, and the scenes of torture really bring Wesley into his own, showcasing Alexis Denisof's talent, which was previously buried under a pile of weak lines and slapstick. The scared girl inside of Faith makes an appearance, and it'd be difficult not to feel for the character with the performance that Dushku delivers. All of this made the episode great, one of Angel's best.

-- Lisa Kincaid

Angel airs Tuesdays at 9pm EST on the WB.

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