Phases (Buffy the Vampire Slayer episode)
Encyclopedia
"Phases" is episode 15 of season two of Buffy the Vampire Slayer.
's increasing frustration that Oz shows no sign of wanting to get serious — not to mention physical — 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, it is revealed that at least two students have been bitten lately: Oz by a 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 — 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 the view of werewolf hunter Cain, whom Buffy
and Giles meet while looking for the animal in a part of the woods where Xander and Cordelia were making out: Cain is out for his twelfth pelt. Despite the contempt between Buffy and Cain, due largely to Cain's rampant male chauvinism
, Giles and Buffy do learn that the werewolf will be attracted by "sexual heat" to places where teenagers hang out.
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 bluntly 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
, leaving him with the impression that Xander is gay, too. 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. Buffy is left shaken by this and Xander comforts her, and it looks for a moment the two might kiss before they both regain control.
Cain busies himself casting silver bullets 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, Oz 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".
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."
Actor Jack Conley, who plays Cain in this episode, also portrays the recurring character Sahjhan in seasons three and five of Angel
.
The director, Bruce Seth Green, is no relation to the actor Seth Green (Oz).
Plot synopsis
"Phases" begins with WillowWillow Rosenberg
Willow Rosenberg is a fictional character created for the fantasy television series Buffy the Vampire Slayer . She was developed by Joss Whedon and portrayed throughout the TV series by Alyson Hannigan...
's increasing frustration that Oz shows no sign of wanting to get serious — not to mention physical — with her. Cordelia
Cordelia Chase
Cordelia Chase is a fictional character created by Joss Whedon for the television series Buffy the Vampire Slayer; she also appeared on Buffy's spin-off series Angel...
is frustrated with Xander
Xander Harris
Alexander LaVelle "Xander" Harris is a fictional character in the television series Buffy the Vampire Slayer, as well as in numerous items in the series Expanded Universe, such as comic books, tie-in novels and video games...
because he keeps talking about Willow, even while making out in Sunnydale
Sunnydale
Sunnydale, California is the fictional setting for the U.S. television drama Buffy the Vampire Slayer. Series creator Joss Whedon conceived the town as a representation of a generic California city, as well as a narrative parody of the all-too-serene towns typical in traditional horror...
'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
Rupert Giles
Rupert Giles is a fictional character created by Joss Whedon for the television series Buffy the Vampire Slayer. The character is portrayed by Anthony Stewart Head. He serves as Buffy Summers' mentor and surrogate father figure...
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, it is revealed that at least two students have been bitten lately: Oz by a 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 — 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 the view of werewolf hunter Cain, whom Buffy
Buffy Summers
Buffy Summers is a fictional character from Joss Whedon's Buffy the Vampire Slayer franchise. She first appeared in the 1992 film Buffy the Vampire Slayer before going on to appear in the television series and subsequent comic book of the same name...
and Giles meet while looking for the animal in a part of the woods where Xander and Cordelia were making out: Cain is out for his twelfth pelt. Despite the contempt between Buffy and Cain, due largely to Cain's rampant male chauvinism
Chauvinism
Chauvinism, in its original and primary meaning, is an exaggerated, bellicose patriotism and a belief in national superiority and glory. It is an eponym of a possibly fictional French soldier Nicolas Chauvin who was credited with many superhuman feats in the Napoleonic wars.By extension it has come...
, Giles and Buffy do learn that the werewolf will be attracted by "sexual heat" to places where teenagers hang out.
Buffy and Giles rush to The Bronze
The Bronze
The Bronze is a fictional nightclub in Sunnydale, the fictional setting for the television series Buffy the Vampire Slayer. Of 144 episodes of the series, 66 have at least one scene at the Bronze, not including its appearance in the unaired pilot....
, 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 bluntly 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
The Closet
The Closet may refer to:* The Closet , Chinese film* The Closet , French film* The closet, referring to undisclosed homosexuality- See also :* Closet* Closet * In the closet...
, leaving him with the impression that Xander is gay, too. 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. Buffy is left shaken by this and Xander comforts her, and it looks for a moment the two might kiss before they both regain control.
Cain busies himself casting silver bullets 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, Oz 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".
Themes
In an essay exploring the feminist ethicsFeminist ethics
Feminist ethics is an approach to ethics that builds on the belief that traditionally ethical theorising has under-valued and/or under-appreciated women's moral experience and it therefore chooses to reimagine ethics through a holistic feminist approach to transform it.-Concept:Feminist...
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."
Production details
This episode is considered the first in a "trilogy" about Willow and Oz, followed by "Wild at Heart" and "New Moon Rising".Actor Jack Conley, who plays Cain in this episode, also portrays the recurring character Sahjhan in seasons three and five of Angel
Angel (TV series)
Angel is an American television series, a spin-off of the television series Buffy the Vampire Slayer. The series was created by Buffys creator, Joss Whedon, in collaboration with David Greenwalt, and first aired on October 5, 1999...
.
The director, Bruce Seth Green, is no relation to the actor Seth Green (Oz).
Continuity
- Oz becomes a werewolf, a defining characteristic of his character for the remainder of the series; but his werewolf attributes change.
- In the beginning of the episode, Oz admires the cheerleading trophy that contains Amy MadisonAmy MadisonAmy Madison is a fictional character, a witch played by Elizabeth Anne Allen in the television series Buffy the Vampire Slayer and by Shay Astar in the Season 8 motion comics. She made appearances in every season of Buffy except Seasons Five .Amy is a witch...
's mother from the first season episode "WitchWitch (Buffy the Vampire Slayer episode)"Witch" is the third episode of the first season of the television series Buffy the Vampire Slayer . It serves as the show's first regular episode after the Pilot and originally aired in the United States on March 17, 1997, on The WB Television Network...
", remarking that its eyes "follow you wherever you go". - When speaking of the werewolf, Xander refers to his hyena possession experience from the first season episode "The Pack".
- In this episode the werewolf hunter states he hunts and kills werewolves for their pelts. In the Angel episode "Unleashed", werewolves are shown to revert to human form on death, and to eat werewolf one must butcher them alive.