buffy the vampire slayer: part fifteen

Okay, here we go, Willow and Oz. Everything comes to a head far to painfully and rapidly in "Wild at Heart." Oz is forced to confront the wolf that is inside of him and his animalistic attraction to Veruca. While in wolf form he sleeps with Veruca - and feels horrible about it when he finds this out the next morning. Veruca goes out of her way to try and seduce him and make him embrace the wolf sans consequences - something Oz doesn't want. But instead of turning to his friends for help he tries to solve it on his own and save Veruca by locking himself up with her for the night of the full moon - knowing that he will sleep with her again. Of course it is Willow who finds them the next morning and of course Willow's infidelity is brought up. I do feel bad for Oz here but he made the worst possible decisions and should have confided in someone - at the very least Buffy or Giles if he felt he could not speak to Willow about this. I can forgive him sleeping with Veruca the first time but he should have said something to someone instead of deliberately sleeping with her again. Just how much Oz loves Willow is shown when Veruca attacks Willow - Oz kills her. But Oz's betrayal and the death of Veruca changes things between Willow and Oz. Unable to face everything Oz leaves to find answers on his own. This devastates Willow, but she assumes Oz will return eventually. Only he doesn't. Instead he drops out of school behind the scenes and then has his bandmates pack his stuff and ship it to him - all without saying a word to Willow. He will return for one final episode, but Willow and Oz are over and Willow is left without any closure to grieve alone. And her grief causes problems in "Something Blue" as she attempts to use magic to fix her problems - the beginnings of her eventual downfall.

As for Harmony and Spike, their unlikely partnership ended as quickly as it began. Spike's awful treatment of her from moment one (he really is just using her for companionship and sex as it is convenient for him - and while I don't like Harmony as she is shallow and vapid, no one deserves to be treated like that and underneath her shallowness is a scared girl who wants to be loved and wanted) climaxes in ripping the mystical ring off of her finger. After being taken by the covert commandos and rendered unable to attack people, he returns to Harmony who finally, for once, stands up for herself and kicks him out. Good on her.

Meanwhile Buffy and Riley start to figure out a relationship of their own and Buffy comes to realize she doesn't need dark and broody, that she can have love with stability and reliability. Buffy and Riley also discover each others secret. Giles and Xander continue to flounder in their new lives, however Xander starts to grow as he develops real feelings for Anya instead of just thinking about girls in terms of sex. This is especially shown in "Hush" when he becomes terrified that Spike attacked Anya - even though it is impossible for Spike to do so. But while "Hush" has a happy ending for Xander romantically, it does not for Giles. We will never see his girlfriend (outside of a dream) after this episode, showing just how much of his life is wrapped up in being a Watcher.

My favorite episode, hands down, is "Hush." However this is a bit of a given since it is one of the most popular episodes ever (alongside "Once More With Feeling") so I feel like this is a freebie. So instead I will focus on my other favorite episode, "Something Blue." This episode is powerful, raw, and devastating. Willow's grief almost destroys everyone's lives - and gets her a standing job offer as a vengeance demon, which is kinda cool. But more importantly, this episode is chock-full of foreshadowing. The next three seasons are spelled out in this one, single episode. Giles will be blind to Willow's dark path, Spike will fall in love with Buffy, Buffy will continue to protect Spike when she shouldn't - eventually falling in love with him in return, Xander will always make the wrong choices in regards to the women in his life, and Willow will be corrupted by the ease of magic. (More on Buffy and Spike soon - I don't want to get ahead of myself.)

The episodes:

Wild at Heart - Season 4, Episode 6

Synopsis - Torn between Willow and his werewolf side, Oz makes a choice that destroys everything.

The Initiative - Season 4, Episode 7

Synopsis - Spike is taken prisoner by a secret military organization. When he breaks free he realizes he cannot attack people.

Pangs - Season 4, Episode 8

Synopsis - Buffy tries to host Thanksgiving while a vengeful Chumash warrior spirit kills people for the crimes committed against his people.

Something Blue - Season 4, Episode 9

Synopsis - Deep in her grief, Willow accidentally curses all of her friends while trying to cure her own heartache with magic.

Hush - Season 4,  Episode 10

Synopsis - The Gentlemen come to town, taking everyone's voices away so they can collect seven hearts.