Phases

Phases
1/27/98
guest stars: Seth Green (Oz), Jack Conley (Kain), Larry Bagby III (Larry), Megahn Perry (Theresa), Camilla Griggs (gym teacher)
Writers: Rob Des Hotel, Dean Batali
Director: Bruce Seth Green

synopsis: In the school entrance way, Oz is examining the trophy of Catherine the great, noting how its eyes seem to follow him. Willow comes in and the two have a semi-awkward combination regarding their date from the night before, before Willow goes over to Buffy. As Willow and Buffy walk away, Larry remarks to Oz how he'd "love to get me some of that Buffy/Willow action." Larry then knock some books out of a girls hand so he can look up her skirt when she bends over to pick them up. Larry asks Oz about how far he's gone.
.......... Outside, Buffy and Willow discuss Willow's sex life. (Or lack thereof.) Willow complains that Oz isn't moving fast enough, and accidentally says how she "doesn't want to be the only girl in school without a real girlfriend," and immediately realizes her mistake as Buffy looks crestfallen, thinking of Angel. Willow then expresses a little bitterness about Xander and Cordelia's relationship.
.......... In Cordy's car, Xander and Cordy are making out but Xander can't seem to get his mind off Willow and Oz. Cordy is getting jealous and upset at all the attention Xander gives to them and doesn't focus enough on her. Outside the car, a werewolf growls. Xander breaks off the kiss, convinced he heard something, and at first Cordy is upset but realizes he is right when a werewolf jumps on the car and rips through the top.
.......... The next day, Buffy and Giles examines the car while Xander comforts Cordy. Giles reports of some dead animals, but no people were hurt and things should be safe for the month. Willow than informs them that last night was "the night before the full moon, traditionally known as...the night before the full moon." Giles, intrigued that the legend could be erroneous, ("or it could be a crock," offers Cordy), excitedly runs for a fun night with his books, prompting Buffy to comment "he needs to get a pet."
.......... In gym class, the gang is learning self defense. ("Move away from the Hellmouth," suggests Buffy.) Xander expresses more jealousy over Willow and Oz, leading Cordy to comment that he "sprayed on a little too much ‘obsession for dorks'." Larry is gleeful when he learns that he has to attack Theresa, but Buffy is in his group to. After Larry starts pawing Buffy, she flips him over her shoulder hard.
.......... In the Library, Giles is explaining how the moon, especially the full moon, brings out a persons darkest qualities. "And yet ironically, led to the invention of the moon pie," adds Xander, which provokes a rare Giles laugh. Giles reveals that a person becomes a werewolf for three night, the full moon and the two surrounding night, and is completely predatory and acting on instincts. "Typical male," offers Buffy, to which Xander and Giles protest for her jumping to conclusions. "I didn't jump, I took a tiny step and there conclusions were." Giles informs them that they cannot kill the werewolf because he is still a human being.
.......... As Giles and Buffy are hunting, Giles asks if she's seen anything and Buffy tells him some juicy gossip about which he doesn't care. Giles suggests knocking on a few windows, but Buffy doesn't think that would be a good idea. They continue to hunt, and Buffy is trapped in a net. As she calls for Giles, Kain, a werewolf hunter aims a gun at her. Realizing his mistake, he lets her down, and then compliments Giles on his "young fruit," angering Giles but Buffy blows him off and tells him that their hunting werewolves. Kain mocks them, and tells them that he's hunting them for their pelts. Not getting any info out of them, Kain heads off, and Buffy and Giles follow a hunch.
.......... As Theresa is walking home, she is frightened by the werewolf and begins to run, bumping into Angelus. Angelus gains her trust by asking if she knows Buffy, and then offers to walk her home.
.......... At the Bronze, Cordelia and Willow are bonding as they complain about Xander, because he can't see what is right in front of his face, ("Buffy, Buffy, Willow, Willow, it's like I don't even exist." Cordy complains.) and Oz, because he is moving so slow. ("What's his problem?" asks Cordy. "Oh, that's right, he's a guy.") The werewolf bursts in, followed shortly thereafter by Buffy. Buffy nearly manages to catch the werewolf with a chain but it escapes. Kain comes in again, and laughs at Buffy for trying to stop it. Giles strikes back by saying "this girl risked her life to try and capture a beast that you haven't as yet been able to find." "First they tell me I can't hunt an elephant for its ivory," mutters Kain, "Now I've got to deal with people for the ethical treatment of werewolves."
.......... In an alley, the werewolf smells some blood and follows the scent to Theresa's body. He is confronted by Angelus, who backs down.
.......... Buffy, returning to Giles car, is worried because Giles isn't in it, but he is just asleep. As she gets in, she hears of Theresa's death over the radio. In the woods, at dawn, the sleeping werewolf transforms back into a human–it is Oz. Later, Oz calls his aunt who confirms that his cousin who bit him was a werewolf. As he comes into school, he walks through the hall in kind of a haze, and then Oz comes in and learns that Theresa was killed. Buffy promises to kill it that night, and Xander recalls the time he was possessed by a hyena, revealing that he did, in fact, remember that experience. Xander, while trying to "get an affinity" with the werewolf, discovers that it must be Larry and goes off to question him. Buffy and Giles make a plan of there own, leaving Willow alone with Oz. Willow asks him to help her look up stuff, but he runs out, leaving Willow upset and confused.
.......... Xander confronts Larry in the locker room, telling him "I know your secret big guy, I know what you've been doing at night." At first Larry is violent, and then offers Xander money, but Xander says that he knows what Larry is going through. Xander eventually forces the convention out of Larry, but not the one he expected–Larry is gay. Larry thanks Xander, thinking that he's gay too, and promises to keep his secret.
.......... In the library, Buffy asks Willow if they have any other suspects. Willow replies just one, "aggressive behavior, run ins with authority, about a screen full of violent incidents," which prompts Buffy to immediately defend herself. Willow complains how Oz is so hot and cold with her, and Buffy suggests making the first move. They commiserate about how guys can't express what they want. Xander comes up to them and Buffy asks him how it went with Larry after Willow leaves. Xander is very defensive, only saying that he's not the werewolf. Buffy realizes they have no leads, and when Xander tries to comfort her by telling her "you're not boned, your Buffy, eradicator of evil, defender of...things that need defending." Buffy responds that she wasn't able to defend Theresa from being mauled, which leads her to realize that Theresa wasn't mauled. They go see her body which reveals that Theresa was killed by a vampire. As Buffy laments how she couldn't save Theresa, Xander comforts her by telling her a lot more people would die if not for her, including himself and Willow, at which point Theresa awakens and attacks Buffy. Buffy almost slays her, but Theresa says "Angels sends his love," which gives her the upper hand. It doesn't last long, as she is staked from behind by Xander. Xander and Buffy share a tender, brief moment, before Buffy rushes and out and Xander comments, "no, my life's not too complicated.
.......... That night, as Kain prepares some silver bullets, while Oz prepares to chain himself up. Willow comes in to confront him. She tells him that she doesn't understand what is up with him, and when he protests that he's going through some changes, she responds that so does everyone, and then she sees the chains. Before Oz can explain, he changes into the werewolf. He chases her through the park, but before he can eat her he is distracted and Willow escapes.
.......... Giles prepares the tranquilizer gun for the werewolf, and Buffy tells him about Theresa. Giles offers his condolences, but Buffy tells him "not now, Giles. We can all have ourselves a good cry after we bag ourselves a werewolf. Willow bursts in with the news that Oz is the werewolf. "He said he was going through all these changes and then, he went through all these...changes!" They go off to find the werewolf.
.......... The werewolf has found some raw meat, (a trap by Kain,) but before he can shoot it he is kicked by Buffy. Buffy throws Kain away and then fights the werewolf, who throws her into Willow and Giles. Willow picks up the tranquilizer gun and shoots the werewolf, who falls unconscious.
.......... Kain mocks the other by saying "No wonder this town's overrun with monsters. No one here's man enough to kill them." Buffy responds by saying "I wouldn't be so sure about that," bending his gun, and then throwing it back at him while she tells him "how about you let the door hit you in the ass on your way out of town." Giles comforts Willow, telling her that, apart from being a little sore in the morning, "he'll be Oz."
.......... The next day, Buffy and Xander wonder how they'll treat him now that his secrets out. Of course, they are talking about two different people. (Xander about Larry and Buffy about Oz.) Xander won't tell Buffy what he's talking about, though. A few guys knock the books out of a girls hand so they can look up her skirt, but Larry picks them up for her, and thanks Xander again. Buffy says that it was weird, and Xander gets all defensive again, but Buffy says its just weird that Larry didn't try to look up her skirt. They segue to Willow and Oz, and Xander is still uncomfortable, saying "if it were up to me..." Buffy interrupts him, saying "Xander, it's not up to you."
.......... Willow and Oz talk, and Oz says that Giles said he'd be okay, just need to lock himself up around the full moon, "only he used more words than that...and a globe." Oz says he understands if Willow wants to avoid him, but Willow still wants to date, and Oz does to. They decide to stay together, and then Willow leaves, but return and gives him a long, sweet kiss on the lips, prompting Oz to comment "a werewolf in love."

.......... review: All together now...Awww! I have to admit, I wasn't expecting much for the episode following Innocence, but this one was pretty good. I had already known about the Oz/werewolf thing, and to be quite honest I didn't think that it was a good idea, though. After seeing the Ep., though, I thought that is was a very well done plot twist which could possibly hold some future implications.
.......... The throwbacks to some of the earlier episodes were great, but not so important that those who hadn't seen them would be lost. For example, I hadn't seen the witch so I missed the trophy thing, but I liked the reference to the pack which was one of the first shows I saw. The continuity of this show is excellent.
.......... I thought it was interesting that the show focused on a non-main cast character. Not since Angel has this been done, so it seems that Seth Green will be made a regular next year. (Robia LaMorte and Kristine Sutherland have never had episodes focused on them, by way of contrast.) I thought Seth Green gave a terrific performance. I was glad to see that he was unaware of his affliction, and he gave a sympathetic performance as he found out. You had to feel for the guy when he thought that he killed Theresa, and when he was trying to protect Willow right before he became the wolf. All of his lines are delivered in dead pan perfection, he always seems to know what to say, and he has unbelievable chemistry with Alyson Hannigan. Their scene at the end was so cute, their kiss was tasteful, and his closing line was very heartfelt.
.......... And what about Aly Hannigan? (Insert generic Aly review here.) She is brilliant, she exudes cuteness, and she is exceptional in every scene that she is in. I'm not even going to attempt to try and write everything I liked about her performance in this episode so I'll just sum it up and say everything. This episode featured Aly and showcased her amazingness. I was glad to see she finally got some "smoochies," Willow deserves them.
.......... Sarah Michelle Gellar gave yet another stellar performance. She was strong, yet very vulnerable, and she pulled both off with aplomb. She definitely has her edge back, I am happy to see. The ending scene, when she bends Kain's gun, was just about the baddest I've ever seen her. (How about you let the door hit you in the ass on the way out of town.) Also, in the library, when she tells Giles about Angel's message, and then refuses his sympathy because of her job. She is all business, and I think that works well with her character. However, she is still a 17 year old girl. The scene with Xander in the funeral parlor was one of her most emotional, and just for a minute, we got to see Buffy with her emotional defenses down.
.......... Nicholas Brendon played well against all of his co-stars here. His humor was on, he was appropriately jealous of Willow, and, as usual, his scenes with Charisma Carpenter were great. The scene in the locker room with Larry was handled perfectly, exactly as any other teenage boy would. However, his best work was opposite Sarah, and the chemistry between those two is exceptional. He is becoming very much more mature, as shown be his support of Buffy in the funeral parlor. He is always there for Buffy, and not just because of his crush on her, but because she is his friend.
.......... Charisma Carpenter shows more of Cordelia's depth every episode. She was so jealous of how close Xander is with both Willow and Buffy, and didn't even try to mask it. I thought it was well deserved, too, Xander was kinda being a jerk. I think it was interesting how she bonded with Willow in the Bronze while complaining about Xander, although it didn't seem to make much sense since Willow and Cordy have never gotten along. A cut scene explains this, where Willow and Cordelia insult each other and then kinda bond while beating on Xander during self-defense class. Still, as usual, I enjoyed Cordy's presence in the episode, and Charisma did a great job of making us feel for her.
.......... Giles seemed almost insanely happy in this episode, and I'm not sure why. He was just so darn happy to be researching werewolves, and he actually laughed at a dumb Xander joke. His reaction when Kain thought he was sleeping with Buffy was hilarious.
.......... Angelus was used sparingly here, which was good. David Boreanaz almost made me believe that Angel was back, he was so nice to Theresa. But I could still tell he was Angelus, he had a spark in his eye that Angel the brooder doesn't have. I thought that it was interesting how he backed down to Oz/werewolf, I would bet money that that will be important for future episodes.
.......... The Larry thing totally took me be surprise. I had just commented to my friend that day that "Buffy" needed a gay character, and what do you know, I got one. The scene was played wonderfully, although as soon as Xander went in the locker room I knew what was going to happen. I'm wondering where Joss will go with this, because I doubt he put it in for it's own sake. Still, It was handled very tastefully, and both Nick and Larry did a great job with it.
.......... All in all, this was a great episode. Not superior, like Innocence, not excellent, like Halloween, but a very enjoyable outing, and I liked it. It was not without substance, but appropriately light enough to follow Innocence. Plus, it had Willow kissage. 8/10

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