Original Air Date: May 2nd, 2000

Written by Marti Noxon
Directed by James A. Contner

Summary

At a Scooby meeting, Buffy tells the gang that she's had nothing to slay while Riley says that the Initiative is overrun with demons. Suddenly Oz walks in Giles' door and everyone is stunned into silence. Everything's really awkward and Oz says that he'd like to speak to Willow later on tonight. Tara leaves abruptly with a flimsy excuse leaving a very confused Willow. That night, Buffy and Riley are in the cemetery and Buffy briefly explains Willow and Oz's breakup. She mentions that Oz is a werewolf and Riley thinks that going out with a demon is really bizarre. Buffy gets angry saying that they don't choose who they love. Over at Willow's dorm, Oz shows up and they head outside. Willow notices the full moon and is astounded to find that Oz hasn't changed to his werewolf state. Oz tells her that he's changed and that he's ready to be the person she needs him to be. Over in the woods, Graham's team is attacked by hairy demons that look suspiciously like werewolves. They get mauled pretty seriously. Still in Willow's dorm, Oz and Willow are talking as the sun comes up. Oz explains that he has to remain cool inside in order to not revert into a werewolf. They decide to go have breakfast but Willow heads to the washroom first. While she's in the washroom Tara shows up at her dorm and leaves immediately when Oz opens the door. Meanwhile Buffy and Riley wake up in bed to his alarm clock. Buffy acts snarky to Riley and after being prodded she tells him that not all demons are bad and that it bothered her what he said about Willow and Oz's relationship. Before they say anything else, Forrest shows up at the door and tells Riley about Graham's team getting hit and that they're going out on a hunt. Buffy returns to her dorm to find Willow sitting on her bed hugging a pillow. Willow tells her about Oz and the no-werewolf deal and explains that she's confused because she cares a great deal for Tara. Buffy's surprised at first but she still wants the best for Willow. She tells Willow that she has to be honest and that she'll have to tell Oz about her feelings for Tara eventually.

Adam locates Spike and asks for his help, Spike agrees so long as he gets the chip taken out of his head. For Adam's plan to work, Spike has to be on Buffy's side. Later, Willow visits Tara and reassures her that she and Oz had only been talking; nothing else. Willow gets tearful while telling Tara that she doesn't know what to do about Oz and Tara tells her to do what makes her happy. Later on campus during the day, Tara runs into Oz and he can smell Willow's scent all over Tara. He starts to lose his cool and demands to know whether they're involved and if they're in love. Oz suddenly transforms into a werewolf and starts running after Tara. He corners her in a classroom but before he can attack her Riley and his men appear and shoot Oz with a tranquilizer dart. They pack him up and take him off before Tara can stop them. Tara then finds Willow in the library and tells her what happened to Oz. Willow heads to Giles' where the gang has convened. They decide to make a plan without Riley because he isn't answering his pages.

Over at the Initiative's lab, Oz is locked up. Riley is about to shoot the werewolf in the head when he suddenly transforms back into Oz. They drug him and perform all kinds of tests on him. Riley tries to stop them, but he's ordered out of the testing area. Back at Giles', Buffy decides to infiltrate the Initiative again. Spike shows up and says he can help them get in. Back at the Initiative, Oz is locked up and shuddering in the corner of a white cell. Riley opens the door and tries to help Oz escape but they don't get too far. Riley is put in a cell for his betrayal. The Colonel shows up and tells him that he's an anarchist and will be expelled from the Initiative should he continue to act this way. Meanwhile, Spike leads Buffy, Willow and Xander to a back entrance of the Initiative. They enter and head to the colonel's sleeping quarters and pull him out of bed. Buffy heads to Riley's containment area and releases him. The whole gang then heads to Oz's containment area. Soldiers appear but retreat when Buffy threatens to kill the colonel. Oz is released and they head for the elevator. They get off at the top and Riley punches the colonel out telling him that he's now an anarchist.

Later, Buffy and Riley head to the broken down Sunnydale High School. Riley sets out his sleeping stuff, since he's now hiding from the Initiative, this is where he'll be staying. Riley apologizes to Buffy for judging Oz. Buffy then decides to tell him about her past. Meanwhile, Oz and Willow are sitting in his van. Oz apologizes for coming back and that he can't believe that Willow brings out the wolf in him by making him angry. She assures him that she's happy now but that she missed him so much and that she'll always have a part in her that will be waiting for him. They decide that now just isn't the time for them to be together. Oz decides to take off, but before he leaves they hold each other close. Later, Willow shows up at Tara's door and tells that Tara that she is with the person she loves.

Summary written by Nika

Quote of the Week

Colonel: You're a dead man Finn.
Riley: No sir, I'm an anarchist.

My Rating

4/5

Nika Summers' Review

Pretty good :) I don't really like where things are heading with the Willow and Tara relationship because I really liked Oz and Willow together but I do understand that they have to move forward with this show and they can't keep turning back to the past. Anyway, it was nice to see Oz back. I really have missed him on Buffy. Even though he isn't very loud he certainly has a presence and it has been missed on Buffy. Seth Green was great as Oz and it was nice to see that Oz has grown emotionally somewhat. It was really interesting to see his reaction to smelling Willow on Tara, he literally freaked out and that was completely uncharacteristic of him which made it interesting to watch. The thing that got me most about this episode though was the scene at the end where Willow and Oz are sitting in Oz's van and they know that they belong together but they realize that now just isn't the time for that. That really got to me. Especially when Willow said that she'd always feel like she'd be waiting for Oz, that was really bittersweet. As I was saying before about Tara and Willow; I honestly don't have a problem with gay relationships but I just don't see it for Willow. Maybe that's why this was done to make us think more. I don't really know... What I do like about the way they're protraying this relationship is that they're making it a loving relationship instead of your usual coming out of the closet relationships that are just there for show. And the less is more theory is certainly proving to be useful. Another thing that I was happy with was the fact that Buffy decided to tell Riley about her past with Angel. We'll have to wait and see how that affects their relationship...

Niki Bartl's Review

I've been waiting for this episode for a while now; I complained quite a bit about the hints we were getting from Willow and Tara. Suffice to say, I did not like this episode. I knew that in order for it to be resolved, Oz had to come back and that's where my problems lay. I love Oz, wait, no I LOVE Oz. He's the kind of guy every girl wishes she had, except for the wolf-cheating part. But he's geuninely sweet and caring and I loved it when he and Willow were together, but were then cruelly broken apart. So I really, really, wanted him to stay and be with Willow. Tara essentially annoys me. Her constant incoherent mumbling drive me nuts because I can't understand/hear what she's saying half the time. This is a huge step for TV lesbain/bisexual people and I love the fact that BtVS is open enough to put one of these relationships on their show, but I just love Oz to much not to be upset...... as a final note, I just wanted to say how cute Xander was when he was the first one to welcome Oz back.... so sweet.

Cast