"Who Are You?" is the 16th episode of season 4 of the television show Buffy the Vampire Slayer. Written and directed by series creator Joss Whedon, it originally aired February 29, 2000 on The WB.
Note: Buffy's and Faith's names refer to their consciousnesses, rather than their bodies.
Buffy, in (Faith's body) is abducted by the Watchers Council's team. Meanwhile Faith, (in Buffy's body) gives herself a makeover and heads to The Bronze, where she has ruthless fun at the expense of Spike and Tara. Tara recognizes that something is wrong, and she and Willow perform a spell to find the real Buffy. Faith visits Riley and has sex with him while Buffy escapes the Council's team and heads back to Sunnydale in search of Giles and her friends.
Buffy convinces Giles of her identity with the help of Willow and Tara. Meanwhile, Adam convinces a group of vampires of their superiority and they attack a church. Faith tries to leave town, but after seeing what is happening on the news, goes to the church to help while Buffy does the same. Faith and Riley each kill one of the three gang members, but the leader overpowers Faith. Before he can kill her, Buffy stakes him from behind. They fight, and Buffy, with the help of Willow and Tara's conjured Draconian Katra device, restores herself and Faith to their rightful bodies. Faith subsequently escapes and leaves town, and Buffy discovers that Riley had sex with Faith during the body swap.
Productionedit
In a scene where Faith in Buffy's body tries to seduce Riley, the camera "cut[s] to a medium close-up shot of her leather-clad backside", ostensibly Riley's point-of-view shot. Jason Middleton notes that this is a rare case where the audience's gaze is "positioned in a highly fetishistic relation towards Buffy's body". However, Middleton notes, the show disavows this viewing position by reminding the audience that it is Faith's positioning the body, connoting its "look-at-me-ness"; Buffy herself is disconnected from this image of her body. Riley, with whom the viewer is identified, disavows the shot by appearing confused and taken aback rather than sexually predatory. Middleton concludes this covertly allows "a scopophilic position ... for the viewer, even as the show disavows this position".[1]
Analysisedit
Gregory Stevenson, in Televised Morality: The Case of Buffy the Vampire Slayer, finds it significant that Faith's moment where she "confesses the truth about herself and begins to experience the weight of moral responsibility" occurs in a church.[2]
In their book discussing existentialism in Buffy, Richardson and Rabb argue that this episode and the previous (intended or not) explore the impact of Sartre's Look - the outside view that causes a person to redefine themselves from the perspective of the Other. Faith can now literally see herself as Buffy sees her. When the real Buffy escapes from the Watchers' Council and challenges Faith, the two fight, and Faith (in Buffy's body) repeatedly punches her own face in a fit of self-loathing, shouting, "You're nothing! Disgusting, murderous bitch! You're nothing! You're disgusting!" According to Richardson and Rabb, "Faith is finally seeing herself as Buffy sees her and is even harder on herself than Buffy has ever been."[3]
Referencesedit
^Jason Middleton (2007). "Buffy as Femme Fatale: The Cult Heroine and the Male Spectator". In Elana Levine and Lisa Parks (ed.). Undead TV. Duke University Press. pp. 158–160. ISBN978-0-8223-4043-0.
^Stevenson, Gregory (2003), Televised Morality: The Case of Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Oxford: University Press of America, p. 122, ISBN0-7618-2833-8
^Richardson, J. Michael; Rabb, J. Douglas (2007), , Slayage, 23, archived from the original on 2007-09-27, retrieved 2007-07-26
buffy, vampire, slayer, 16th, episode, season, television, show, buffy, vampire, slayer, written, directed, series, creator, joss, whedon, originally, aired, february, 2000, buffy, vampire, slayer, episodeepisode, season, 4episode, 16directed, byjoss, whedonwr. Who Are You is the 16th episode of season 4 of the television show Buffy the Vampire Slayer Written and directed by series creator Joss Whedon it originally aired February 29 2000 on The WB Who Are You Buffy the Vampire Slayer episodeEpisode no Season 4Episode 16Directed byJoss WhedonWritten byJoss WhedonProduction code4ABB16Original air dateFebruary 29 2000 2000 02 29 Guest appearancesKristine Sutherland as Joyce Summers Amber Benson as Tara Maclay Leonard Roberts as Forrest Gates George Hertzberg as Adam Chet Grissom as Detective Alastair Duncan as Collins Emma Caulfield as Anya Eliza Dushku as Buffy Faith Rick Stear as Boone Jeff Ricketts as Weatherby Kevin Owers as Smith Amy Powell as Reporter Rick Scarry as Sergeant Jennifer S Albright as DateEpisode chronology Previous This Year s Girl Next Superstar Buffy the Vampire Slayer season 4 List of episodes Contents 1 Plot 2 Production 3 Analysis 4 References 5 External linksPlot editNote Buffy s and Faith s names refer to their consciousnesses rather than their bodies Buffy in Faith s body is abducted by the Watchers Council s team Meanwhile Faith in Buffy s body gives herself a makeover and heads to The Bronze where she has ruthless fun at the expense of Spike and Tara Tara recognizes that something is wrong and she and Willow perform a spell to find the real Buffy Faith visits Riley and has sex with him while Buffy escapes the Council s team and heads back to Sunnydale in search of Giles and her friends Buffy convinces Giles of her identity with the help of Willow and Tara Meanwhile Adam convinces a group of vampires of their superiority and they attack a church Faith tries to leave town but after seeing what is happening on the news goes to the church to help while Buffy does the same Faith and Riley each kill one of the three gang members but the leader overpowers Faith Before he can kill her Buffy stakes him from behind They fight and Buffy with the help of Willow and Tara s conjured Draconian Katra device restores herself and Faith to their rightful bodies Faith subsequently escapes and leaves town and Buffy discovers that Riley had sex with Faith during the body swap Production editIn a scene where Faith in Buffy s body tries to seduce Riley the camera cut s to a medium close up shot of her leather clad backside ostensibly Riley s point of view shot Jason Middleton notes that this is a rare case where the audience s gaze is positioned in a highly fetishistic relation towards Buffy s body However Middleton notes the show disavows this viewing position by reminding the audience that it is Faith s positioning the body connoting its look at me ness Buffy herself is disconnected from this image of her body Riley with whom the viewer is identified disavows the shot by appearing confused and taken aback rather than sexually predatory Middleton concludes this covertly allows a scopophilic position for the viewer even as the show disavows this position 1 Analysis editGregory Stevenson in Televised Morality The Case of Buffy the Vampire Slayer finds it significant that Faith s moment where she confesses the truth about herself and begins to experience the weight of moral responsibility occurs in a church 2 In their book discussing existentialism in Buffy Richardson and Rabb argue that this episode and the previous intended or not explore the impact of Sartre s Look the outside view that causes a person to redefine themselves from the perspective of the Other Faith can now literally see herself as Buffy sees her When the real Buffy escapes from the Watchers Council and challenges Faith the two fight and Faith in Buffy s body repeatedly punches her own face in a fit of self loathing shouting You re nothing Disgusting murderous bitch You re nothing You re disgusting According to Richardson and Rabb Faith is finally seeing herself as Buffy sees her and is even harder on herself than Buffy has ever been 3 References edit Jason Middleton 2007 Buffy as Femme Fatale The Cult Heroine and the Male Spectator In Elana Levine and Lisa Parks ed Undead TV Duke University Press pp 158 160 ISBN 978 0 8223 4043 0 Stevenson Gregory 2003 Televised Morality The Case of Buffy the Vampire Slayer Oxford University Press of America p 122 ISBN 0 7618 2833 8 Richardson J Michael Rabb J Douglas 2007 Buffy Faith and Bad Faith Choosing to be the Chosen One Slayage 23 archived from the original on 2007 09 27 retrieved 2007 07 26External links edit nbsp Wikiquote has quotations related to Who Are You Who Are You at IMDb Who Are You at BuffyGuide com Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Who Are You 3F Buffy the Vampire Slayer amp oldid 1183935814, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
