This is the end of Faith and Buffy in their happy double-Slayer act. Not the end of their love, though, because you can't just turn your love for someone off. But we won't see anything resembling Bad Girls for a long time. Well, except for the killing part.

When Faith sees Buffy and Angel, she says "Check out the lust bunnies." She's joking but jealous. And when they leave, she tells Angel, "Just keeping her warm for you, big guy." She *is* keeping Buffy warm, but not really for him. Angel looks upset as they walk off arm in arm, because he knows he'll lose her to Faith. Angel is a sensitive subject with Buffy. She doesn't want to discuss him with Faith because she's guilty that she's ostentatiously with him and not with Faith. Or she's worried that things might go too far if they talk about her love life. Something like that, anyway.

So then Faith goes to Angel's mansion (where did he get it? How did he get it? Why does noone notice he's in it? Where is it? Why does no-one turn up and kick him out or ask him to pay rent?) to try and seduce him, turning him into Angelus again. I'm guessing this wasn't the Mayor's idea. He's not all that interested in Buffy-torture. Faith is though. She wants to hurt B emotionally, because everything they had has been spoiled and she's angry. Buffy could easily be killed, but that's not good enough for the rogue Slayer. After the seduction proves unsuccessful, she tells Angel "You're lucky." This is a hugely obvious comment, I'm surprised they put it in. Not "she's lucky", like you might expect, but "You're lucky". Lucky because he has Buffy and she wants Buffy. When the subject of the conversation arrives, she's pretty devastated that Faith's there seemingly kissing Angel. Note the camera following Faith, because it's her not Angel that B's concerned about.

Which is shown clearly in the talk she later has with Willow. "It's Faith," she says, not "It's Angel," because she's not so bothered about what he's doing. She tries to convince herself that "Faith would never do that." Again, she's not caring much about what Angel would or wouldn't do. Of course, Willow doesn't get this, and proceeds to destroy pretty much any faith Buffy had in Faith. "Comfort!" she reminds her, and Willow, still completely oblivious to the meaning of this conversation, starts going on about Angel. Whereupon Buffy remembers Willow doesn't know about her feelings for Faith and switches the direction of conversation. But it is all really about Faith - "There's so much (s)he doesn't tell me." Yeah, like working for the black hat Mayor for example. There's not actually much Angel doesn't tell her. I mean, what is there to tell? He broods, he loves Buffy, he sleeps, he laments at his terrible fate... and not much else. Anyway, back to the point - this whole conversation is actually about Faith.

Faith can't stop talking to Angel(us) about Buffy. This isn't about him, it's all about her. She can't have Buffy so she's taking everything Buffy has, because she wants Buffy to feel as lonely as she does. As in: "You hurt me, I hurt you. I'm just a little bit more *efficient*." She agrees when Angel(us) remarks on Buffy's cuteness while she's sleeping. And then B wakes up. "Bondage looks good on you, B." Now you don't say that kind of thing to just anyone. It has *very* strong implications of a former sexual or would-be sexual relationship, and is also very similar in tone to Angel(us)'s "All our time together, and we never tried chains." In fact, a lot of her remarks are very Angelus. The whole bondage scene is dripping with subtext - "If you're a screamer, feel free." Even while Faith has her chained and is about to torture her Buffy still tries to help her. "Angel's a killer." Although I'm not sure that counts, seeing as she knows Angel isn't.

Throughout the Faith-Angel(us)-Buffy scenes, Faith persists in kissing Angel. Why? It's payback for all the times she's had to watch Buffy kissing him. Buffy really is hurting during those scenes, because the woman she loves is kissing Angel, for real.

When Faith and Buffy are fighting, they end up with knives to each other's throats. That's a great scene. Neither of them can do it. And then Faith kisses Buffy. If that doesn't prove love, nothing will. (OK, there could be more obvious scenes, but not on network television...)It's love, but by now it's become tortured, passionate, unfulfilled, hating love.

The Mayor consoles Faith with "So you lost a few friends," and she replies "I wouldn;t exacly call them friends." Nor would I... she and Buffy have never been friends, it's always been something else. Talking to the gang, Buffy Says sadly "It was all an act." She;s thinking about Faith, and wondering whether the love between them was an act as well.