It must have been cold in Buffy’s shadow, but Faith was never one to get all weepy listening to sappy Bette Midler ditties. From her rump-kickin’ feet to her face-bashin’ fists, she was strictly business when it came to slaying, and for a while there, business was good. Until she made a fatal mistake.

When she crossed the line and took a human life (even though the human was a scumbag), she also killed part of herself. Too hard to admit sorrow, too afraid to accept help, she did a Darth Vader and retreated down the easy path leading into the Dark Side.

It cost her everything. After hooking-up with the ultimate evil in the Mayor, she did despicable things and hurt many people along the way, but in the end, no one suffered more than herself.

"She’s really confident in a lot of senses," says Eliza Dushku, the actress who played the wayward Slayer. "She dresses in her own style, she talks her own talk, walks her own walk, [but] she has some insecurities – Faith’s a complicated little chick."

That might just be the understatement of the century.

It turned out that the girl who had to be tough as nails to survive on the mean streets of Boston and the even meaner streets of Sunnydale wasn’t strong enough to let her friends love her . . . until it was too late. Now as she lies in a coma (keeping any other Slayers from being activated), maybe only Buffy understands the torment Faith’s soul endured. The slayers made their peace in a dream state, and whether she eventually wakes or dies, she’ll know she came through in the end.

Should Faith eventually slip away into the big dirt nap and another Slayer is hatched to take her place, however, we've prepared a little checklist for Buffy to spot potential problems before they turn fatal. Here are 10 warning signs that your new Slayer friend might be losing her grip.

1. She doesn’t eat or want to. . do anything else after slaying.
2. She starts hanging out with soulless types, like politicians and vampires.
3. Instead of a stake, she starts carrying around a knife big enough to make Crocodile Dundee wet his pants.
4. She becomes withdrawn or despondent and then tires to kill you.
5. With no visible means of support, she moves into a plush new apartment. Then, instead of inviting you over for a housewarming party, she tries to kill your friends.
6. She tries to steal your boyfriend.
7. She begins stockpiling pints of blood in the fridge, bursts into flames on sunny days, or take extra long to get ready, because she has to brush her fangs.
8. She tattles on you to your Watcher after the two of you go on a mini-crime spree.
9. She seems more concerned with padding her state than helping the team win (also applies to major league baseball players).
10. She finally makes amends with you, but in a dream state.

Reprinted from The Official Buffy the Vampire Slayer Magazine - Issue #5 - Fall 1999