DVD Caps
Quotes
Icons Five By Five 
Break Down
This episode is awesome. Not only in writing but also acting. Eliza really puts her all into Faith. She's vulnerable, psychotic, alluring and playful.
So let's start from the opening. It's like a mini version of the episode. The gang member is saved from himself thanks to Angel. The only difference is that 'Marquez's' demons are the physical 3D kind. Faiths are buried deep inside. Her own self loathing and misery. Her loss of will to live.
From the moment Faith steps of the bus, she doesn't care about much. She's in LA for the same reason Buffy went. No one knows her. She knows no one will care about her. Ironically, she knows she can take care of herself. But she's numb and lost in her own little world. The club scene highlights this. Nothing is 'real' so-to-speak. She can do what she wants and not get caught. Her acting out is quite deliberate. She wants to be noticed so someone will take her on, and quite possibly, even kill her in the process. But by the same token, she doesn't quite believe anyone can hurt/kill her. So, to be able to 'feel' and break free from herself, she causes mayhem wherever she goes. The mayhem gives her a rush and for a brief moment, she feels alive.
Of course, it's a whole new ball game when Lilah contacts her. She figures the one person who can kill her, is Angel. Her constant reference to 'the game' is how she refers to her life, e.g.: 'Get into the game' as in 'Life's a game-My life's a game'. She clearly doesn't feel Angel takes her seriously as a threat. Hence her involving Cordy and Wesley. She feels she must die and the only way to get Angel to kill her, is to go after the people he cares about (Another parallel with Angel. He constantly used the Scooby Gang, Giles and Joyce to get to Buffy).
Perhaps a little part of her wants to kill Angel after his rejection of her in Enemies, but really, what she wants is for Angel to kill her. The 'game' is actually how long and just what will it take for him to do it? This is actually not unlike Enemies. Angel
played her in that episode. In this one...he plays her to save her.
We get another glimpse into Faith's childhood in the tortune scene with Wesley. As she rubs his bruises hard enough to make him moan, she says: "All these little cuts and bruises - just bring out the mother in me." But she doesn't say it in a caring way, as if the cuts and bruises make her want to take care of him. She's hurting him even more as she says it, and she clearly means that the cuts and bruises bring out HER mother, who abused Faith and hurt her, sort of like she's hurting Wesley now.
A common thread, as I usually always note with Faith, is her saying only what she wants to say. Her dialogue with Angel in the final act is another highlight. She answers the surface questions only. Angel states that he knows what she's 'after'. She doesn't reply. Most people would've said 'Yeah, what?'. Instead Faith continues with the facade. Her reply to the double pronged 'Payback for what...I thought you were happy/How much am I worth dusted' question only speaks to the 'dusted' part. No reply about how 'happy' she is. Instead, she turns the tables: 'I'm young, willing to work my way up'. Angel turns the tables again, asking her if she feels young. Again...Faith ignores the question and doesn't have time for a retort, as that's when Wesley makes his move.
If Wesley had a clue though, he'd see through Faith's 'do you believe in destiny' spiel. She clearly (and always has) thought about her life compared to Buffy's. It was what drove her in third season! She even voiced it in Enemies: "I'm more owed than owing." Faith thinks about her life a lot. And, sadly, she always comes to the conclusion that it's worth nothing.
Again, still with the Faith we all know and love, while she's sitting on the windowsill, you can tell she's a million miles from happy. One of the things that makes Eliza SO good at playing her, is her ability for us to be able to see what she's thinking. The scene on the sill is amazing!
Faith likes cutting to the chase. I like how that also remains part of her character. From Beauty and the Beasts "They were screwing?" to "Who do you want me to kill?" in this episode. No beating around the bush. Again of note, she's still not embarrassed (nor should she be) about not knowing certain words. Her simple 'Huh?' to the arrogant Lee's 'remuneration' is refreshing.
Getting back to Faith only saying what she wants to say...even though Angel is onto her wanting to die, clearly Faith won't say so until he's worn her down after their mega fight. She finally says it because she simply can't hide the fact any more. She hates herself, she wants to die and she wants Angel to do it. Our first clue into the fact was with the 'Russian roulette' with the gun.
Noteworthy is Faith (in Buffy's body - WAY) telling her own image that she's 'disgusting'. Darla makes the same remark to Angel in this episode.
The wonderful parallel drawn between both Angel when he first regains his soul/humanity, to Faith's current state of mind is a masterstroke.
- First we have Angel and his wild days with Darla. Faith's back story begins at the end of Bad Girls and continues with the Mayor for the rest of third season.
- Angel didn't have a soul. Faith FELT like she'd lost hers.
- Angel's realization comes with the curse. Faith's came with 'magic' (ironically thanks to Mayor Wilkens and her stint in Buffy's body).
- Angel, desperately hungry, believes he can fight his humanity and revert back to his days with Darla, hence him trying to feed of the woman in Borsa. Faith's desperation comes once she's transferred back into her own body in Who Are You and carries through to this episode. She believes she can hurt anyone and not care.
- Angel realizes he simply can't go through with hurting another living being (again...the woman in Borsa). Faith realizes she just can't go on hurting people full stop. Hence her plan for Angel to kill her...and at the end of the ep, begging for him to kill her.
I also love the fact that this is (when you think about it) a lot like Faith, Hope and Trick. In her debut, Faith was in 
trouble, running from demons both real and inner-self. She goes to Sunnydale, having thought everything through, to get Buffy to help her.
In this episode, Faith is again in 'trouble', running from inner demons again. Once she learns that Angel is in LA, she thinks of a way for him to 'help' her without him knowing. Only difference is, Faith didn't expect him to care. Thank God he did/does.
One more noteworthy thing. As you may or may not know, water, especially rain, signifies rebirth (that's why I was so glad to see it in TYG and here). Interestingly, even though Jim Kouf DID write in the downpour, the production ballooned and rain was problematic at best. Mercifully, (and obviously) the week of the shoot, it rained for real. Big time! So we were able to witness Faith's rebirth after all.