Angel - S1E18

Five by Five
First Aired: Tuesday April 25, 2000

When Faith comes to Los Angeles, Angel has to deal with her after Wolfram and Hart contract her to kill Angel.

This episode begins with Angel killing some demons in order to save a latino gang member. At the same time, Faith is shown getting off of a bus in Los Angeles and mugging a mugger. Angel uses his *ahem* persusive manners to get the gang member to testify in a pivotal Wolfram and Hart case, headed by Lindsay. The senior partners are unhappy with Lindsay's results and he tries to figure out a way to kill Angel. It is brought to the attenion of Lyla and him that Faith, the rogue vampire slayer was in town. The make contact with her and offer her safe haven, as well as money, if she kill Angel, which she gladly accepts. She shows up and her first attempt is foiled, but Angel, Wesley, and Cordelia are shaken by the encounter. As the story progresses, Angel goes to Wolfram and Hart and confronts Lindsay, but leaves intact. Elsewhere, Faith is waiting in Cordelia's home and kidnaps Wesley. She tortures him until Angel shows up and they proceed to fight. In the closing scene, Angel isn't fighting back as he doesn't want to make it "easy" for Faith. She begins to lose composure and cry, begging Angel to kill her. It ends with him holding her as she cries and Wesley dropping a knife he brought with intent to kill her.

While I commented highly on Sara Michelle Gellar's acting in the two-parter where she "became" Faith, I was totally blow away by Eliza Dushku's acting in this. Going from the extreme pyschopath torturing Wesley to the broken woman begging to be killed, this was the best I could ever remember Dushku being Faith. I know that Faith comes back briefly in season four and then for the rest of season seven of Buffy, but I really wish she would have gotten her own series. Boreanz's acting, as well, can't be discounted. Overall, one of the best Fatih-centric episodes.

Overall: 5 / 5