Phases

Phases
Written by
Directed

Original Airdate: February 1998

Plot: A full moon brings a werewolf-like creature to town, as well as a group of hunters determined to hunt it down. Review

Warning: If exposure to a full moon of SPOILERS makes you turn into a werewolf, you would be advised to turn back now.

In short: Strong in spots.

"Phases" has a dubious honor--that of following what was a major Buffy event last week. And to be honest, I've got to admit that more often than not when a major, plot-hinging episode such as "Innocence" airs, my expectations of the show are raised so high that the next episode generally pales by comparison (one of the few shows I've found that bucks this trend on a regular basis is Babylon Five.) So, I came into "Phases" with hopes that Joss Whedon and company could keep the story-telling bar high again this week.

And they almost made it.

Don't get me wrong, "Phases" was an enjoyable episode in and of itself. And if it had aired anywhere else in the season, I might have enjoyed it more. "Phases" had a lot to recommend, but in some ways it feels like a bit of transition story, intended for us to step back and catch our breath after the mega-events of last week. And let's face it, we did need a bit of a breather.

After all, it was major stuff going down. And it was nice to see it having a direct impact on the characters here. Buffy is still hurting and Angel is still tryin to hurt her. His transforming of Jessica into a vampire with a message for Buffy was something that really caught me off guard and it worked. Because it made me go from thinking the whole scene with Angel was just an add-on to include him in the plot to showing how he is toying with Buffy to try and destroy her. In the midst of fighting off the various players who are concerned with the werewolf, she stil has to deal with the consequences of what occurred last week. A nice touch and one I'm glad was added.

As for the other major revelation of Oz being a werewolf, I wish I could say I had been surprised by that. But my own curiosity got the better of me on that one and I've pretty much known Oz is a werewolf since late December. It kind of ruined his tranformation from werewolf to Oz in the end of act 2, but that's what you get for not being patient! :-)

Overall, though, I think letting us know that Oz is the werewolf about halfway through was a good move. It allowed us to see his struggle as he comes to grips with what he is and how to deal with it. (One side note: Does anything phase this boy?!? Last week he finds out about vampires and takes it in stride, this week, he discovers he's a werewolf and also seems to take it in stride.) It also explains his distance from Willow in the first half of the show. Seth Green is just doing wonders with Oz. He's taken him from a character who occasionally was a blip on the Buffy radar to great addition to the Buffy team. His comments and very dry sense of humor are a great counterpoint to the Xander's sarcasm and self-depricating humor.

And I really like the strides that his relationship with Willow is taking. The scene where she tells Buffy that most guys get an F in Willow but she wants Oz to get an A was really well done. Also, seeing her become a bit more assertive and pursuing Oz was nicely done. OK, sure he changes into a nasty, slobbering beast, but then don't most of when we see Willow acting that cute! :-) (Sorry, had to throw that in there!)

Seriously, though, this is one of the better explored and realized relationships on the show and one I'd like to see develop. And I have to admit that the scene at the end when Willow still accepts and wants to date Oz, despite his being a slobbering beast was a nice touch. Her logica that she becomes a horrible beast three days a month as well was just hilarious. A nice point and it's nice to see Willow be willing to accept Oz for who he is just as he has accepted her.

And I was glad to see it, since it means we'll see more of Oz in future. Maybe even have our heroes try to find some kind of coure for him.

Before I leave the werewolf plot, I've got to say one thing. I didn't really like the poacher that much. Yes, he added a bit of dramatic tension but not enough to make him interesting. He seemed like such a one-note character (a rarity for Buffy since it usually takes conventions such as the evil poacher and turns them on their ear!) that he didn't really hold much interest for me.

In many ways, while this episode did feature some nice Buffy moments, it was a centerpiece for some of the supporting case. We had the discovery of Oz and the growth of his relationship with Willow. And we had the exploration of the whole Xander/Cordy thing. It was nice to see how Buffy and Willow reacted to this situation, finally. And I'm assuming the relationship has gone public since they were up at Sunnydale's version of Inspiration Point. I liked the banter the two had about Xander always being somewhere else. It happened with Wilow and now it's happening with Cordy--he doesn't appreciate what is right in front of him. He wants what he can't have or what is just beyond his reach. An interesting character development growth.

Xander also got featured in the subplot with the football player, that turned out pretty well. It was a classic misunderstading is funny type of moment you generally see on "Three's Company," but it still worked. I am not sure if I buy the fact that the football player was the magically transformed from simpering jerk to nice guy becasue he accepted the fact he was gay. It might have been better if we'd seen him periphally during the season and then had this come forward. Usually Buffy is very good about setting up things like this, but this time it didn't really work.

So, overall, this episode was pretty good. Not great, but not bad either.

Final Rating: 7.0 (out of 10.0)

Next up: A repeat of "Halloween," and then (hopefully) some more new episodes.

"Most guys get an F in Willow. I want Oz to get an A."

--Willow