Faith (Buffy The Vampire Slayer) - Concept and Creation

Concept and Creation

"I I know Faith's not going to be on the cover of Sanity Fair, but... she had it rough. Different circumstances, that could be me."

—Buffy empathizes with Faith in "Doppelgangland", echoing the intended parallels between the two Slayers.

The initial concept for Faith's character was "the road not taken", a Slayer who makes the wrong choices in life. She is intended to be a reflection of Buffy, and what Buffy could have become were it not for her support system of friends and family. The question the writers wanted to answer was, despite being made from the same "raw materials," how would upbringing and environment affect the type of people they would become later in life? Joss Whedon describes her as everything Buffy would never let herself become; although Buffy is tempted by Faith's approach to slaying, she ultimately decides not to make the same choices herself. Some fans argued that the show developed a lesbian subtext between Faith and Buffy; Jane Espenson states that Joss says he didn't intend this, but admitted it was there after he had it pointed out to him, jokingly attributing this to his subconscious.

With Faith, the writers explored the nature of power, and the boundaries and consequences of its use. They wanted to address the issue that, whether the creatures a Slayer kills are good or evil, she is still a professional killer. Co-executive producer Doug Petrie, and writer of Faith-centric episodes such as "Revelations" and "Bad Girls", says one of the things he loves about the character is that Faith is not wrong in describing herself and Buffy as killers. He goes on to discuss a Slayer's rights and responsibilities, and how Faith believes her contributions to society relieve her of any legal or moral responsibilities, a view which Buffy does not share. When writing Faith, Petrie looked to Frank Miller's violent Marvel Comics character Elektra Natchios for inspiration, claiming, "In a different, teen, punkier context, Faith is so much like Elektra."

Known only as "Faith" during the television series; she was not given a surname until 2005, seven years after her first appearance. Joss Whedon was approached by Eden Studios to create surnames for Faith and Kendra to use in a Buffy the Vampire Slayer role-playing game, and chose "Lehane" for Faith, because he wanted something "southie".