She’s the spark. The first domino. If you’ve played through Telltale Games’ gritty noir masterpiece, you know exactly who I’m talking about, even if she’s technically only on screen for a few minutes before her head ends up on a doorstep. Faith in The Wolf Among Us isn't just a victim or a plot point; she is the gravitational center of a narrative that still has fans arguing on Reddit over a decade after the first episode dropped. Honestly, the way Telltale handled her character—and the identity crisis that follows—is a masterclass in "show, don't tell" storytelling.
It starts with a donkey skin coat and a black eye.
Bigby Wolf meets her in a run-down apartment building, taking a beating from a drunk and disgruntled Woodsman. She’s tough. She’s cynical. She’s wearing a ribbon that looks like it’s holding her together by a thread. Little do we know, it literally is. When her head appears later on the steps of the Woodlands, it sets off a powder keg of Fabletown politics, class warfare, and a deep-seated conspiracy that goes all the way to the Crooked Man’s doorstep. But the thing is, "Faith" might not actually be the girl we think she is.
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The Identity Crisis That Broke the Fandom
Most players walk away from the final episode of Season 1 with their jaws on the floor because of that one final conversation with Nerissa. If you remember the ending, Nerissa says something that sounds exactly like what Faith said in the opening scene: "You're not as bad as everyone says you are."
Wait.
The community has been split on this for years. Is Nerissa actually Faith? Or was the girl who died in the first episode actually Nerissa? It's a classic noir trope—the switcheroo—but it works so well here because of the magic involved. In the Fables universe (the comics by Bill Willingham that the game is based on), "glamour" is a magical spell that lets Fables look like someone else. It’s expensive, it’s regulated, and in the hands of the working-class Fables, it’s a tool for survival.
Basically, the theory goes that Faith used a glamour to swap places with Nerissa to escape the pimping ring run by Georgie Porthos. Or maybe Nerissa glamoured herself as Faith to get Bigby's attention because she knew Faith was already dead. It’s messy. It’s confusing. It’s exactly why the game is a cult classic.
Why Faith Matters More Than Just a MacGuffin
In screenwriting, a MacGuffin is an object or person that triggers the plot but doesn't have much depth. Faith starts that way, but she evolves into a symbol of the "unmentionables." These are the Fables who don't have the luxury of King Cole’s protection or Snow White’s organized bureaucracy.
- She represents the failure of the Fabletown government.
- She shows the desperation of the "working class" magical creatures.
- Her ribbon—that iconic, thin purple strand—is a literal gag order.
Think about the horror of that. You can't speak your truth because a magical curse will literally decapitate you. It’s a brutal metaphor for the silence imposed on victims of trafficking and exploitation, which gives the game a layer of social commentary that most people didn't expect from a "choice-based adventure" in 2013.
Telltale’s writers, including Pierre Shorette, leaned hard into this. They didn't want a "save the princess" story. They wanted a "the princess is dead and nobody cared until she bled on the Sheriff's porch" story.
The Symbolism of the Donkeyskin Girl
Faith is based on the Charles Perrault fairy tale Donkeyskin. If you haven't read the original, it's dark. Darker than the game, believe it or not. It involves a king who wants to marry his own daughter, and she flees by hiding under the skin of a donkey. In the game, Faith’s "donkeyskin" is her coat, which she uses to hide her identity.
This backstory is crucial because it explains her resilience. She’s been running her whole life. When Bigby meets her, she isn't a damsel. She’s a survivor who is currently "between a rock and a hard place," as she puts it. The irony is that even in death—or whatever happened to her—she manages to manipulate the most powerful man in Fabletown (Bigby) into cleaning up the streets.
Whether she’s dead or hiding in plain sight as Nerissa, she won. She took down the Crooked Man. She broke the cycle of abuse that was killing the girls at the Pudding & Pie.
Technical Mastery in Character Design
The visual design of Faith in The Wolf Among Us is intentional in every pixel. The neon lighting of the game—that signature 80s synth-wave aesthetic—often hits her at angles that obscure her eyes. It creates a sense of distrust immediately. You want to help her, but you don't know if you can trust her.
And the voice acting? Genevieve Buechner absolutely nails the "exhausted but defiant" vibe. It’s a performance that lingers. Even though she has the least amount of lines among the main cast, her delivery of the line "These lips are sealed" became the defining catchphrase of the entire series.
What We Often Get Wrong About the Ending
A lot of people think the ending is a "gotcha" moment just for the sake of a cliffhanger. It’s not. It’s a thematic payoff. If Nerissa is Faith, it means Bigby—the great detective—was played from the start. It means the "Big Bad Wolf" isn't the smartest guy in the room; he’s just the strongest.
It also highlights the moral ambiguity of the world. If Faith lied to Bigby to get him to solve the murders, is she a hero or a manipulator? Does it matter? In Fabletown, morality is a luxury. Most characters are just trying to pay their rent and keep their heads attached to their necks.
Actionable Steps for Your Next Playthrough
If you’re heading back into the neon-soaked streets of Fabletown to prep for the (finally) upcoming sequel, keep these things in mind to catch the clues you missed the first time:
Look at the Mirror
In the first episode, ask the Magic Mirror about Faith’s father. The Mirror’s response is a massive hint about her current state. It says, "These lips are sealed," which usually happens when a spell prevents the Mirror from showing someone. This implies she’s either dead or under a very specific type of concealment magic.
Watch the Cigarettes
Pay attention to the brand of cigarettes Faith smokes versus the ones Nerissa has. Telltale loves using small environmental cues to hint at character overlaps.
The Ribbon Choice
In your dialogue options, try to be sympathetic but firm. The game tracks how "Bigby-like" you are. If you treat Faith with genuine respect in that first scene, the final "reveal" feels much more personal and stinging.
Check the Fable Entries
Read the in-game encyclopedia entries as they unlock. They provide the "real" lore of the characters, which often contradicts how they act in the game, highlighting how much the "real world" has corrupted these classic figures.
Faith remains one of the most compelling characters in modern gaming because she is an enigma. She is the victim, the catalyst, and potentially the mastermind. She proves that in a world of monsters and magic, the most powerful thing you can have is a secret.
As we look toward the future of the franchise, her legacy is the blueprint. Any mystery Bigby faces in the sequel will have to live up to the standard set by the girl in the donkeyskin coat. She taught us that in Fabletown, nobody is who they seem, and some lips are better left sealed.