Live Through This, Part Four is the fourth issue of the Angel & Faith comic book series. Written by Christos Gage and illustrated by Rebekah Isaacs, it was originally published on November 30, 2011, by Dark Horse Comics.
Synopsis[]
As Angel continues his quest to resurrect the dead by following leads he digs out of the Watcher's Files, Faith has second thoughts about supporting his seemingly impossible venture. A new ally warns her to weigh the consequences – good and bad – of Angel's endeavor. Meanwhile, amidst clubbing, mentoring, and slaying, Faith has her own concerns counseling a damaged and vengeance-seeking Slayer! There's pressure from all sides. Can Faith handle it?[1]
Summary[]
Pearl and Nash fight Angel and Faith. Nash says killing Faith will be boring after killing fifty Slayers. Angel attacks Pearl and bites her, and Nash stops fighting Faith to help his sister. Faith gets the chance and puts one of the two jars she held inside Nash's pocket, and she tells to the crowd that he has the last of the Mohra demon's blood. The crowd attacks the half-demon siblings, and Faith with Angel get the chance to escape the fight.
Faith notices that Fraser ran for the door instead, and she suggests Angel they do the same. Angel, however, smells something in the basement and decides this is the chance to see what more Fraser is keeping and hiding as a secret. As they head downstairs, Faith wonders if she could trust Angel, whether she should make him human right now using the jar she has in her hands, and what would happen if Pearl and Nash attack a human Angel. In the end, she makes the choice to use the Blood of Eternity to turn Angel human. But, right before Faith gets to do it, they find a room full of grotesque creatures.
Angel and Faith discover these creatures are the missing people who bought the Mohra blood and used it to heal themselves; due to the end of magic, the Blood of Eternity keeps on regenerating the cells, getting to its users like a cancer. Faith drops the last jar of blood and it breaks on the floor. One of the mutants says they hurt and their lives are a torture. They have been kept in the basement in search of a cure, but nothing has worked and it has only got worst. The mutant says they have tried to kill themselves and each other, but they keep on healing. They ask for Angel and Faith's help to end their misery. Angel asks for their help first.
Upstairs, Pearl and Nash are enjoying the fight and winning it. The mutants arrive telling everyone how the blood has worked, and the crowd lose their interest. Pearl and Nash leave when they realize they came for nothing, telling Angel this isn't over and they will be back. Faith thinks it is a trick and they will be back soon, but Angel believes the siblings wasted too much energy already. Angel discovers that separating the head from the body is the only thing that stops the mutants' regeneration. The mutants ask Angel and Faith to kill them and to do it fast. Afterward, among the mutants' beheaded corpses, Angel tells Faith he will keep on trying to find another way to bring back Giles.
Pearl and Nash arrive at Whistler's place. They inform him they found Angel, but they left because Faith put the jar inside Nash's pocket and they were afraid of breaking it. The siblings happily tell Whistler that things are much better than they imagined, since the Blood of Eternity is more lethal than anything right now.
Next morning, Faith meets Nadira in a park, telling her that Pearl and Nash are in England and she will make sure they will pay for what they did. Nadira happily hugs her, saying she will finally get a chance to make things right and get some peace after killing them and then Angel. As Faith leaves the park, Alasdair meets her again. He says he heard what happened with the Blood of Eternity and asks if she has considered what he told her. Faith gets angry and tells him that all she does is lie to people she cares about, just like she did in her past. Alasdair replies he knows nothing of Faith's past, but it is up to her judgment to dissuade Angel from his mad plan. As Faith leaves him, she mentions that it was her judgment that almost got Angel killed the previous night.
Faith returns home, finding Angel researching books. She comments on the fact that Angel is wearing glasses and she thought vampires didn't need them. Angel explains that, if you needed them before, you need them afterwards. He adds that he found another way to bring back the dead. A Sadhu in 1764 claimed he restored a physical body from its ashes. Faith tells Angel she is on his side, but one of the things even Giles made clear is that you can't bring someone back after a natural death. She warns Angel that, if he crosses the lines, she will stop him whatever it takes.
Angel says he knows and this is the reason why he asked for Faith's help; he gets obsessed too often, and the last thing that Giles would want would be to bring him back by hurting other people. That was exactly what Angel didn't have as the masked Twilight: somebody who knows him, who have seen the best and worst of him and could tell him when he is going too far and crossing the lines. Somebody to stop him when he can't stop himself. Angel asks again for Faith's help, and she promises to watch his back. Faith heads to the kitchen and asks Angel if he wants some blood. Angel says he would prefer some tea. Faith mentions he sounded "just like him" and suspects something is going on.
Continuity[]
- Faith mentions she almost graduated high school, as first said in the episode "Faith, Hope & Trick."
- The Blood of Eternity has disastrous results due to the destruction of the Seed of Wonder and consequential end of magic in Last Gleaming, Part Four.
- Faith concludes that nothing good happens to her when she wear a dress, in reference to her mission in No Future for You, Part Two, which ended in Genevieve Savidge's accidental death (No Future for You, Part Four), and the dress Richard Wilkins gave her in the same day she fell into a coma in "Graduation Day, Part One."
Appearances[]
Individuals[]
- Angel
- Reggie Banks
- Alasdair Coames
- Sophronia Fairweather (Only in a photograph)
- Mal Fraser
- Rupert Giles (Only in a photograph)
- Nadira Kureishi
- Faith Lehane
- Nash
- Pearl
- Whistler
Organizations and titles[]
Species[]
Events[]
Locations[]
- London
- Hyde Park
- Giles residence
Objects[]
Death count[]
- Several demons, killed by Pearl and Nash.
- Reggie Banks, sacrificed by Angel.
- Several other mutated humans, sacrificed by Angel and Faith.
Behind the scenes[]
Collections[]
Pop culture references[]
- Pearl mentions the reality TV show Britain's Got Talent.
- Nash compares the infected Mohra blood humans to the "Elephant Man" Joseph Merrick.
Gallery[]
Covers[]
Cover artwork[]
Preview[]
Quotes[]
| Nash: "Hn. After about the fiftieth, killing Slayers just becomes a chore." |
| Faith: "Too bad. 'Cause I'm having a blast." |
| Angel: "You okay?" |
| Faith: "Nothing good ever happens when I wear a dress." |
| Angel: "It was what they wanted." |
| Faith: "I know. It's not... forget it." |
| Angel: "Faith. We've got enough on our conscience without worrying about things we almost did." |
| Faith: "W-What?" |
| Angel: "It bothers me too. That could've been Giles. We could've destroyed his body instead of restoring it. But we didn't. We'll find another way. I'm going to bring him back, Faith. I made a promise and there's no way I'm going back on it." |
| Nadira: "Hyde Park? Bit of a naff meeting place for Slayers, isn't it? You figure I can't start a brawl here? Think again. I see some hippies playing hacky sack whose faces I'd quite like to smash in." |
| Faith: "Nadira, shut up. I've got some good news." |
| Angel: "Why do you think I asked for your help? I know I can get a little... obsessed sometimes. And the last thing Giles would want is for me to bring him back by hurting people. What I didn't have as Twilight was someone I could trust. Someone who'd seen me at my best and my worst. Who knew me. Someone to tell me when I was going too far... and to stop me so I wouldn't stop myself. That's what I'm asking you to do, Faith. I know it's a lot. It's not your responsibility, and if you don't want it—" |
| Faith: "Hey. What'd I say before? I got your back. Don't make me put a stake through it." |
| Angel: "A spot of tea would be delightful, if it won't put you out." |
| Faith: "Hey, that was awesome! You sounded just like him!" |
| Angel: "Just like who?" |
| Faith: "Wh— You just... Never mind. Earl grey coming up." |