The antagonist or rival who serves as a dark mirror to the hero is a monumentally popular trope in popular culture, and Buffy the Vampire Slayer provided one of the crucial successful examples of this archetype with Faith Lehane, the dark counterpart to Buffy Summers. Faith has one among the strongest character arcs in all of the Buffyverse, together with her recurring and guest appearances in each BTVS and Angel painting a full picture of just how different she is from Buffy.
Even so, Faith still is not the darkest Slayer fans encounter within the franchise. That dubious honor goes to the oft-forgotten character of Dana, whose one-off appearance in Buffy is probably going why fans rarely bring her up over 20 years on. It is a shame, though, because she is a deeply troubled character whose thoroughly unheroic actions make her an interesting counterpart to not only Buffy and Faith, but additionally Angel and Spike.
Dana is Easily the Buffyverse’s Darkest And Most Dangerous Slayer
Dana Appeared in Angel Season 5, Episode 11, “Damage”
Because it aired after Buffy Season 7, Angel Season 5 had the unique opportunity to explore the unexpected ramifications of Buffy‘s explosive series finale, “Chosen,” which saw latest Slayers being activated across the globe. While the finale itself portrayed this as a completely positive event, the Angel episode “Damage” dared to explore what would occur if one among those young women who suddenly gained superpowers was much more dangerous and violent.
As a toddler, Dana became one among Walter Kindel’s targets, a serial killer who murdered her family after which kept her locked up in his basement for months before she was finally rescued. The incident understandably caused Dana deep emotional and psychological trauma, and she or he became vulnerable to bouts of utmost violence and rage. When she is chosen as a Slayer and imbued with super-strength, Dana breaks out of her psychiatric ward and goes on the run, killing multiple individuals along the best way.
While it is common for Slayers to receive psychic visions of past Slayers, Dana’s poor mental state unfortunately caused her own memories to blur with these visions. As such, she became convinced that Spike — who had executed two previous Slayers back during his evil days — was her kidnapper. Dana overpowers Spike and ties him up in the identical basement she was kept in as a toddler, even going to this point as to cut off his hands in order that “he” cannot hurt her anymore. Thankfully, Angel and friends arrive and are capable of knock Dana out with a tranquilizer dart. The sedated Dana is then taken into the care of a cameo-ing Andrew Wells, who has been tasked with retrieving the troubled Slayer by Buffy. What happened next to Dana is unknown.
Dana is Unique Because She is Each a Slayer and a Monster
With just one appearance in Buffy and Angel, Dana is not probably the most fleshed-out of Slayers, especially as “Damage” is usually told from Angel and Spike’s perspectives. Nevertheless, she stays a thoroughly intriguing character because she flips the everyday formula of the franchise on its head. Within the Buffyverse, the Slayers are the heroes, and the vampires are the villains. Except, on this episode, one traumatized Slayer takes an innocent vampire hostage, requiring one other vampire to save lots of him.
As a result of her horrific experiences as a toddler, it is easy for fans to sympathize with Dana. Still, by the tip of the episode, she has wholly stepped into the role of kidnapper, torturer, and murderer, and it becomes clear that whatever good there was in her has perhaps been burned out by her trauma. The thorny nature of her character is encapsulated perfectly by the episode’s final exchange between Angel and Spike, wherein the pair offer differing opinions on Dana’s nature. Spike believes that Dana is just too far gone and is now “one among us,” likely meaning a ‘monster’. Angel, meanwhile, maintains that Dana is merely an innocent victim, to which Spike retorts that so were they once.
The parallel between Angel, Spike, and Dana leaves “Damage” on an interesting and ambiguous note as fans are left to ponder what separates someone who’s justifiably damaged by evil and someone who is solely evil themselves. In that way, Dana parallels Faith as well. Like Faith, Dana never experienced the love and support of family and friends in the best way Buffy did, which is why each ended up using their Slayer powers in mostly selfish and destructive ways.
Dana’s Story Deserved To Be Continued
Unfortunately, “Damage” is Dana’s only appearance within the Buffyverse, as Angel was subsequently canceled after its fifth season and, even to at the present time, the franchise has never returned to screens. Surprisingly, although many plot threads and characters from Buffy and Angel have been further explored within the comic book continuations published by each Dark Horse Comics and BOOM! Studios, Dana has likewise never made any further appearances in spin-off media either.
It is a real wasted opportunity, as a return for Dana would only deepen the themes of her introductory episode, whichever way the writers decided to bring her back. On the one hand, she could have healed from her trauma somewhat and be taking the steps towards doing good. On the opposite, any attempts to rehabilitate her could have utterly failed, and she or he could remain a robust antagonist. If the previous route was taken, Dana’s return would complement Faith’s redemption arc and prove that being a Slayer comes with an inner strength and talent to beat adversity, in addition to an innate capability for heroism. If the latter, it will suggest that some trauma is solely too great to cure and even a victim can turn out to be a villain, very similar to Drusilla’s arc in Buffy.
Technically speaking, Dana could have caused less havoc than Faith on account of her small amount of screen time, but her character is way darker and more violent, meaning that she is the one who must be remembered as the last word “bad Slayer.” Dana was greater than only a dark mirror to Buffy — she also forced each Angel and Spike to take a protracted, hard take a look at themselves, too.