Buffy - Season 4 impressions (episode 6)

[thalia_seawood]

Wild At Heart

Click here for a summary.


A *very* intense episode.

Willow and Oz are very cute together in the beginning when they are cuddling in bed, so it's especially tough when it all ends in misery and pain.

Veruka has a hypnotic personality and a beautiful voice. Her intensity is fuelled by her werewolf nature. (The actress who plays her really brings an animal grace to the part of Veruka. She's great in this role.)
It's easy to understand that Oz would be fascinated by Veruka. He might even have noticed her if she wasn't a werewolf, but it would not have gone beyond him taking notice of her.
However, the way things are they are both attracted to one another on an instinctual level.

I know Beer Bad is generally not seen as a very valuable episode, but it does already prepare the theme "acting on your instincts". You could even interpret it as the fluffy introduction to Wild At Heart.
This can also be tied to Spike who loses his ability to act on his instincts starting with this episode.

Oz has to make some very difficult decisions in this episode. What's interesting is that his big "cool-factor" (i.e. his stoicism and minimal use of words) are partly what triggers the tragedy. Things could have turned out diferently if he had opened up to Willow and/or Buffy and told them about Veruka or his conflicted emotions. But then he wouldn't have been Oz. :-)

Willow takes what she perceives as Oz's betrayal very hard: For her it feels partly like a punishment for the kiss she shared with Xander.
What has happened makes her feel powerless - and so she turns to magic. Interesting that her spell isn't designed to win Oz back, but to cause him a life-time of unhappiness. I was very relieved when she couldn't go through with it - not only because this isn't something Oz deserves, but because her revenge would have hurt Willow as well. It would have turned her into something she wouldn't have liked very much.


I noticed that in Buffy usually men make the decision when a relationship is over: Angel leaving Buffy, Spike leaving Harmony, Oz leaving Willow, Parker leaving Buffy. If men leave women it's either because they are bastards (Spike, Parker) or because they are noble (Angel, Oz).
The big exception here is Drusilla who leaves Spike and apparently could not be won back by him. (At least Harmony mentioned that Spike is still going on about Dru leaving him for some other demon.)
Cordelia doesn't end the relationship with Xander. For her it's broken when he cheats on her and she's too proud to ever be won back by him.
Not sure where I'm going with this line of thought, I'm just trying to figure out if there are any overall patterns. :-)


To close this on a lighter note: The beginning of this episode is hilarious with Buffy fighting a vampire and feeling that her smartass comments are underappreciated. In the moment where you realise that Spike would be the perfect opponent for her if she wants someone with whom to trade clever insults while fighting, Spike makes an appearance. Only it gets tragically cut short and he can never even conclude his threating speech from the sidelines.


Buffy : Thanks for the relocate. I perform better without an audience. (She starts beating the crap out of a vampire.) You were thinking, what, a little helpless coed before bed? You know very well, you eat this late... (She stakes him.) You're gonna get heartburn. Get it? Heartburn? (He dusts and gives no reaction.) That's it? That's all I get? One lame-ass vamp with no appreciation for my painstakingly thought-out puns. I don't think the forces of darkness are even trying. I mean, you could make a little effort here, you know? Give me something to work with.

Cut to Spike watching her from a distance.

Spike : Watch your mouth, little girl. You should know better than to tempt the fates that way. 'Cause the big bad is back, And this time, it's... (Suddenly he's being electrocuted.) Urrgh! Aaaahhh! (The commandos take him away.)

Comments

[likeadeuce.livejournal.com]

I like this episode -- it's not a favorite, because I do think the Oz characterization comes out of left field. We really haven't seen this side of him before at all, and in fact the thing about Oz being a werewolf has always been that it seems to go against his personality, rather than reflecting part of it.

To be fair, I believe that they didn't have much notice about Seth leaving the show, so they had to write around it pretty quickly (and also to be fair to Seth, if they had given Oz some more meaty plotlines like this, rather than just having him be Willow's woobie-boytoy, he might have been more inclined to stick around.)

[thalia-seawood.livejournal.com]

I agree: Oz was sadly underused. He's mostly just the stoic sidekick.

Didn't have much of a problem with Oz' characterisation. I thought that maybe he had repressed any animal instincts so far and that now they are breaking through. Also his werewolf part is not something he relishes in this episode: That's why he locks himself in the cage again, tries to hold back Veruka and even kills her when she threatens Willow.

[likeadeuce.livejournal.com]

Oz is definitely conflicted about being a wolf -- it just rang a little hollow for me that this aspect of his character had never been explored before. I'd say every other character who "goes dark" (which is most of them, at some point) has a hint of this potential in the past, and I really can't think of anything with Oz. So my complaint is more his prior characterization, than this episode.

[thalia-seawood.livejournal.com]

Yes, that makes sense. I can't think of any hints either. He's never violent when not in his wolf form.

The one thing that is foreshadowed is that he doesn't talk about his emotions and withdraws when he has to figure things out.

[the-dala.livejournal.com]

If you've got the DVD set with commentary, I really recommend the one for this episode. It's mostly Joss and Seth Green cutting up, with whomever wrote the ep (Marni Noxon, I think?) injecting a word here and there. Very entertaining, even though the ep itself is pretty dark.

[thalia-seawood.livejournal.com]

Thanks for the advice! I will check it out when I rewatch the episode.

[selenak.livejournal.com]

Yes, it was one of Marti Noxon's episodes. (One of her best, imo.) Very fittingly, she also wrote New Moon Rising later this season (but I can't yet mention why it is fitting to T.*g*).

[thalia-seawood.livejournal.com]

Very fittingly, she also wrote New Moon Rising later this season (but I can't yet mention why it is fitting to T.*g*).

With a title like New Moon Rising it's extremely hard to guess what the episode will be about and who will make an appearance. *g*

[selenak.livejournal.com]

Very intense indeed, and I like it very much.

It's easy to understand that Oz would be fascinated by Veruka. He might even have noticed her if she wasn't a werewolf, but it would not have gone beyond him taking notice of her.

That's the great thing, the ambiguity, about this, and also why it hurts Willow so much. If Veruka had been someone whom Oz would never have felt attracted to in any case, she could have told herself it was strictly the werewolf thing, but as it is, V. is a musician like Oz and has charisma. Though as you say Oz wouldn't have acted on it in another scenario.

Interesting that her spell isn't designed to win Oz back, but to cause him a life-time of unhappiness. I was very relieved when she couldn't go through with it - not only because this isn't something Oz deserves, but because her revenge would have hurt Willow as well. It would have turned her into something she wouldn't have liked very much.

Err, yes. And good point. Because it was an instinctual reaction on Willow's part. Remember the axe in Bewitched, Bothered and Bewildered?

[thalia-seawood.livejournal.com]

Err, yes. And good point. Because it was an instinctual reaction on Willow's part. Remember the axe in Bewitched, Bothered and Bewildered?

Seems she has a tendency to destroy someone she loves rather than seeing them leave her... - Not good at all.