Buffy the Vampire Slayer - Phases - S02E15 Review

PHASES
SEASON 2 EPISODE 15

After the superbly dark past couple of episodes, we need a bit of a pick-me-up, and while this isn't the cheeriest episode, it is a BIT lighter than the last two. Open up at school with Willow walking up to Oz, who is looking at the cheerleading statue from Witch (which, if you recall, still has Katherine Madison inside it). It's a funny little callback, and we'll be seeing Amy Madison again soon enough. And the two's relationship is starting to form a little bit more, but there are still some awkward moments abound. But after Willow leaves, Oz is sort of confronted by Larry, the lunk from Halloween. He pretty much makes some sexist comments and questions Oz's relationship. And Willow is actually the one that's wanting to take the thing further, which is interesting. It seems like it's sort of suggesting that maybe she's just sort of jealous of Buffy and wants "smoochies" too.

Meanwhile Xander and Cordy are in a car making out and arguing, arguing and making out...when suddenly a werewolf tears through the roof of the car before Cordy gets the car started and speeds off. The next day they tell Giles and realize that werewolves might not actually follow the Lunar cycles as strictly as legends say. Giles is just a little too excited to be dealing with werewolves; his giddiness is always hilarious. In gym class, due to the heightened violence in Sunnydale, the class practices self-defense. Xander talks to Larry and he's that he has a huge dog bite on his arm and Oz relates with a story about how he got bitten by his little cousin. Could this be a classic misdirect? Larry also picks on a girl in their group named Theresa, until Buffy steps in.

At the library, Giles explains Lunar phases and in one of my favorite moments of the episode, actually cracks up at one of Xander's jokes. Giles's sense of humor is hilarious in itself. He explains that werewolves come out on the full moon, and the two nights surrounding it. They decide that they can't kill the werewolf, as it's still a human most of the time. So that night Buffy and Giles go on a non-fatal mission to bring wolfy in. Instead, Buffy's gets caught in a hunter named Kane's trap. Kane hunts werewolves and sells their pelts, collecting a tooth of each one he kills. He's the resident douchebag of the episode, naturally.

Meanwhile Theresa is walking home when she runs into Angel, who offers to walk her home. It's weird that Angel is shoehorned into this episode, but it's an interesting little subplot. They walk off and obviously things don't end up well for Theresa. At the Bronze, Willow and Cordy are talking about how much men suck before the Bronze is attacked by the werewolf. Buffy goes in once the Bronze clears out and faces the werewolf one-on-one but it gets away pretty easily. Notice the design of the werewolf, humanoid, walks upright, etc. This is the only time you'll see them on Buffy like this; after this season, the design becomes a more feral, doglike style (which is better...in theory). Kane gets there and says some sexist stuff; there's definitely a "men are evil" motif going on in this episode for some reason.

There's a weird stare down between Angel and the werewolf, which makes very little sense. But then Buffy hears of Theresa's death over the radio due to an 'animal attack', blaming the wolf. Then we see the wolf passed out in the forest at daybreak as it reverts into human form...of Oz! He calls his aunt afterwards to ask in the most casual way possible if his cousin is a werewolf, gets confirmation, and suddenly this has become the first Oz episode. Oz goes into the library to find Buffy planning to kill the werewolf since she feels responsible about letting it go. Xander also recalls when he was possessed by a hyena in The Pack, though Buffy points out that he said he didn't remember that experience, to which he...doesn't really have an answer. I love callbacks! Xander deduces that it has to be Larry, on account of his dog bite, so Xand goes to confront him, while Oz flakes on Willow and she thinks something's wrong.

In the locker room, Xander talks to Larry, who completely misreads the conversation and finally admits his homosexuality (mainly due to him thinking Xander is gay too). Also Larry is surprisingly deep for a meathead jock. Xander very defensively reports to Buffy that Larry's not the werewolf, who decide to check out Theresa's body at the funeral home, finding that she was killed by a vamp and not a werewolf. While there Theresa rises up, all vamped out, and fights Buffy. She mentions Angel which throws Buffy off her game and almost gets her killed, until Xander rams her through with a wooden easel thing. I think that's Xander's first kill of the series, actually; took long enough! The Xand man comforts Buffy and they even share a nice moment where there MIGHT be something there.

That night Oz gets some chains to tie himself up when Willow comes knocking at his door to "make her move", which really just consists of her yelling at him. Then he starts to change and the transitional effects don't look great. But it's brief, and soon Will's running. Kane heads out with his silver bullets while Buffy and Giles take a more subtle approach, bringing a tranquilizer gun. Willow shows up at the library, leading Giles and Buff to the wolf. Kane almost gets a shot at it, but Buffy intercepts, and Willow ends up making the saving shot, knocking him out. Buffy tells Kane to get out of town, and that's the last we'll ever see or hear from him.

The next day, Larry seems to be a better person, but Xander is embarrassed by the whole situation. Oz and Willow discuss how Willow is sorry for shooting and Oz is sorry for almost eating her. Oz tries to break it off with Willow so he doesn't put her in danger, and she's not having any of that. They share a kiss, and it's super adorable. And then we end with Oz's words, "a werewolf in love..."

This episode has a lot of great things in it, but it's a little too unfocused to be a really stellar episode. Still, there's a lot to like here, like the advancement of Willow and Oz's relationship, as well as establishing werewolves in the Buffy mythos (even if they DO change radically next season). It's a pretty good episode and a much needed breather after Surprise and Innocence.

***1/2