Phases

"Phases" is episode 15 of season 2 of Buffy the Vampire Slayer.

Plot synopsis
"Phases" begins with Willow's increasing frustration that Oz shows no sign of wanting to get serious &mdash; not to mention physical &mdash; with her. Cordelia is frustrated with Xander because he keeps talking about Willow, even while making out in Sunnydale's lover's lane under a beautiful full moon. They are attacked by a werewolf that rips a hole in the car's roof. Giles points out that there have been quite a number of other attacks, though so far only animals have been killed. During high school gym class, we learn that at least two students have been recently bitten: Oz by a young cousin who doesn't like to be tickled, and school macho Larry by a dog.

After some research, Giles finds out that a werewolf is a wolf for three nights &mdash; the coming night would be the second. Since the werewolf is human the rest of the month, it would be wrong to kill him. This, however, is not what werewolf hunter Cain thinks, whom Buffy and Giles meet while looking for the animal in woods where Xander and Cordelia were making out: Cain is out for his twelfth pelt. Though the two groups do not get along, mainly because Cain is a rampant chauvinist, Giles and Buffy do learn that the werewolf will be attracted to places were teenagers hang out &mdash; it is the "sexual heat" that draws it.

Buffy and Giles rush to the Bronze, where Cordelia and Willow are busy complaining to each other about their men when the werewolf crashes the party. Buffy tries to catch it with a chain but fails. Cain joins them and points out that it will be Buffy's fault if the werewolf kills anybody. A body does turn up the next morning: Theresa, one of the students that Larry was tormenting. Buffy is not the only one to have feelings of guilt. Oz wakes up in the forest, naked and confused after changing back from his wolf state before the viewers eyes. Recalling the bite he got, he calls his Aunt Maureen, and casually asks if his cousin is a werewolf. The answer is yes.

Xander figures that Larry is the most obvious suspect because of the dog bite, aggressiveness and "excessive back hair". When he confronts Larry alone in the gym locker room, it turns out that he really is hiding something -- his homosexuality. Xander unwittingly helps Larry out of the closet. Larry is then left with the impression that Xander is also gay (when he really isn't). Back in the library, Buffy suggests to Willow that she might have to make the first move if she wants to speed things up with Oz.

Buffy realizes that the reports of Theresa's body didn't mention any mauling. She and Xander get to the funeral home in time to watch her rise as a vampire. Theresa passes along greetings from Angelus before Xander stakes her.

Cain busies himself casting silver bullets in preparation for the hunt. Willow takes Buffy's advice and visits Oz right before sundown. Oz is about to chain himself up but lets Willow in the house. Her rant about the mixed signals he is sending is interrupted by him changing into a werewolf. She flees the house screaming, the werewolf in pursuit. Cain hears the wolf's cry and joins the hunt. The werewolf is distracted by a scent which Cain set as a trap, and Willow escapes and then finds Giles and Buffy, who are about to start the hunt for Oz with a tranquilizer gun. All parties meet in a clearing in the forest, and in the scuffle, it is Willow who shoots Oz, saving everybody. Buffy bends Cain's gun with her bare hands using Slayer strength, and tells him to leave Sunnydale.

At school the next morning, Larry thanks Xander, and Willow seeks out Oz to talk. She points out that she is not fun to be around three days out of the month either. Oz and Willow share their first kiss, leaving Oz a "werewolf in love".

Starring

 * Sarah Michelle Gellar as Buffy Summers
 * Nicholas Brendon as Xander Harris
 * Alyson Hannigan as Willow Rosenberg
 * Charisma Carpenter as Cordelia Chase
 * David Boreanaz as Angelus
 * Anthony Stewart Head as Rupert Giles

Guest Starring

 * Seth Green as Oz
 * Camila Griggs as Miss Litto
 * Jack Conley as Cain

Co-Starring

 * Larry Bagby as Larry Blaisdell (as Larry Bagby, III)
 * Megahn Perry as Theresa
 * Keith Campbell as Werewolf

Production Information

 * During self-defense class this exchange was cut:
 * Xander: (to Cordelia) "Be gentle with me."


 * Cordelia: (to Willow) "You're first. I wouldn't want to be accused of taking your place in line."


 * Willow: "Oh, I think you pushed your way to the front long before this."


 * Cordelia: "Hey, I can't help it if I get the spotlight just because some people blend into the background."


 * Willow: "Well, maybe some people could see better if you weren't standing on the auction block, shaking your wares."


 * Cordelia: "Sorry, we haven't all perfected that phony 'girl next door' bit."


 * Willow: "You could be the girl next door, too. If Xander lived next to a brothel!"

Other Information

 * In an essay exploring the feminist ethics of Buffy, Shannon Craigo-Snell uses this episode as an example of how the series examines the threat of sexual violence facing women and girls as a "problematic background against which women attempt to have satisfying relationships with men." Craigo-Snell points out that this threat is embodied by the character of Larry, who sexually harasses Buffy (and other girls) during a gym class focused on self-defense, and the werewolf-hunter Cain, who says Buffy's failure to capture the werewolf is "what happens when a woman tries to do a man’s job." This theme is made explicit when Giles describes werewolves as "potent, extreme representation of our inborn, animalistic traits", predatory and aggressive with no conscience, and Buffy responds, "In other words, your typical male."


 * Marti Noxon states in the DVD commentary that this episode is viewed as the first in a "Willow/Oz Trilogy." "Wild at Heart" is the second, with "New Moon Rising" as the last with the final actual appearance of Oz (his official last appearance is in "Restless," though he is only in a dream).


 * Actor Jack Conley, who plays Cain in this episode, also portrays the recurring character Sahjhan in seasons three and five of Angel.

Quotes
Giles - Let's not jump to any conclusions Buffy - I didn't jump, I took a tiny step, and there conclusions were. Giles - Werewolves! One of the classics! I'm sure my books and I are in for a fascinating afternoon. Buffy - He needs to get a pet.

Continuity

 * In the opening scene, Oz remarks on the moving eyes of the cheerleader statue, a reference to Amy's evil mother, who was a former cheerleader, and was trapped in that statue in "Witch".


 * Oz becomes a werewolf in this episode, a defining characteristic of his character for the remainder of the series.


 * After a chase through many episodes, Willow and Oz finally become a couple, their love strong enough to withstand the discovery of Oz's condition. The Scooby Gang have their own special powers and problems that will be explored in later episodes. Xander remains obsessed with Willow, though, setting the stage for "Lovers Walk". Angelus continues to torment Buffy, strengthening her resolve to kill him.


 * In the pilot, "Welcome to the Hellmouth", Buffy is able to tell from the briefest of glances that the vampire victim will not "rise again," in Giles' words. But in the funeral home, Buffy has no idea that Theresa has been turned into a vampire until she actually rises, despite getting a good, long look at the body.


 * The background character of Larry is seen again. This is his second appearance; he will reappear a few times until the Season 3 finale.


 * Though Larry's homosexuality is used more as humorous plot device, he does prepare the way for a gay main character.
 * Xander says, to Oz, "I know what it's like to crave the taste of freshly killed meat. To be taken over by these uncontrollable urges --."  Thus he inadvertently admits that he remembers being possessed by a hyena spirit (The Pack, Season 1, episode 4).  Buffy calls him on it, and he admits "I said I didn't remember anything about that," but Buffy fails to pursue it.

Music

 * Lotion - "Blind for now"