May Beth's Synopsis

It's a typical evening on the UC-Sunnydale campus, students are milling about, blondes are streaking past the crowd and between buildings with a vampire in tow.... Not that anyone else notices. Once away from the crowds in a more secluded part of campus, Buffy squares off against her surprised attacker. This isn't going to be as easy as he thought. And it's much easier for Buffy than usual. In fact, she's quite disappointed that the vampire doesn't put up much of a fight and even more disappointed that he doesn't appreciate her Slayer's humor. I'll bet she'd even settle for a Gorch brother right about now. She wanders off muttering about the lack of a real challenge in her Slaying life these days. But high above, watching her, sits Spike. He's back in town and ready to stir up trouble. Unfortunately for him, trouble finds him first. Mid-rant, Spike is hit with an electrical shock. He falls stunned to the ground, and the mysterious commandos we've seen lurking about campus drag him off to parts unknown.

~*~*~*~

At the Bronze, Buffy, Willow, Oz, and Xander are enjoying their newfound status as "college patrons" of their familiar and comfy haunt. Their comfort is disturbed, however, when Giles joins the group. Buffy assumes something's up, but Giles assures her all is well. He just dropped by to demonstrate his woeful lack of a life, doing that discomfiting thing many parental figures do when they attempt to "hang" with their kids and their friends. He suffers some gentle (and not so gentle) ribbing from the gang, but then is saved when the evening's entertainment kicks in. It's Veruca's band Shy.

Willow is not very pleased, but she tries valiantly not to show it. Not that Oz would notice. He's listening raptly to Veruca. Buffy does notice and plays supportive friend. Willow attempts to be cool, and Oz is saying all the right things, but his actions belie a growing attraction to the sexy singer.

As dawn breaks the next morning, however, things seem to be back to normal. Willow and Oz are curled together in his bed, and Oz awakens to the sounds of Willow having a Willow-like bad dream (something about sandblasters). He pulls her close and sweetly questions her in her sleep. He reassures her it's just a dream and whispers in her ear, "Come back to me." She's caught on though. They cuddle some more, exchanging sweet nothings, but then Willow has to head to class. They plan to meet for lunch instead -- since that night is the night before the full moon and Willow is going to be meeting with a campus Wicca group.

Later, after psychology class, Buffy collects a paper from Professor Walsh -- and discovers that not only did she do well, but Walsh wants her to present on the subject. Willow is wowed by Buffy's performance -- envious but proud. They decide to meet up for a celebratory cookie (with Oz). Willow goes on ahead because Buffy has to meet with a TA to discuss her presentation.

At an outdoor cafe, Oz shows up and finds the only empty seats are with Veruca. He hesitates (for Willow's sake) but joins her anyway. Things are awkward at first, but they start discussing musician stuff -- various kinds of amps -- and a comfort settles in. Willow shows up and pauses upon seeing Oz's company. She bucks up though and joins them. Veruca is friendly, but there's a quiet tension. Oz continues the amp conversation, but Willow, unfamiliar with the terminology, tries unsuccessfully to join in. Oz clues her in, and Willow, embarrassed clams up. More quiet tension settles in until Oz remembers he has an elsewhere to be. He kisses Willow good bye and Veruca watches him leave. This last isn't lost on Willow. Veruca bails, too, with one last dig at Willow's outfit,just as Buffy arrives.

Willow's confidenc is shaken. She tells Buffy that she knows Oz is attracted to Veruca. Buffy tries to reassure her about Oz's faithfulness and loyalty. Willow is somewhat comforted by her friend's pep talk.

As dusk settles in, Oz arrive at his makeshift cage, located in a crypt in one of Sunnydale's cemeteries. He strips down and prepares for sunset. Sometime later that night, his werewolf, restless and eager manages to break free of his confinement. Oz roams free.

Professor Walsh prepares to head home that evening and notices a rustling in the bushes. She slows and calls out, but gets no response. Suddenly, Oz-wolf bursts toward her. She runs, throwing her briefcase at him and heads off the path.... where she encounters another werewolf -- this one with longer blonde hair. Caught between the two snarling wolves, Walsh waits until they both jump at her, and she dives out of their way. The wolves go for each other, however, and ignore their prey. As Walsh watches for a moment from the bushes. the wolves engage in a bloody battle.

The next morning, Oz wakes up naked in the woods. But he's hardly alone. Veruca, also naked, and obviously not at all surprised, wakes up beside him.

~*~*~*~

While Oz is disturbed by this latest development, Veruca is unshaken. Both are covered in scratches. Veruca seems to recall what went on, but Oz is once again in the dark. She's also known what Oz was since she first saw him, just as she insists he knew. She's acting quite possessive him, too -- kissing and stroking him. But Oz is stoic and distant.

At a dorm laundry room, they find some clothes to put on and continue to discuss their situation. Oz wants to find out how they got out of their cages. Veruca has been roaming free and is shocked that Oz lets himself be locked up -- calling him domesticated. But he tells her it's his choice. Still, she goads him about repressing his wolf nature. While Oz insists that he is only the wolf 3 days a month, Veruca thinks otherwise -- that the wolf is a part of him all the time. Veruca reminds him of their connection and tries again to seduce him. Oz, while at least a little tempted, pushes her away. She tries to get him to let her help him accept his wolf, but Oz pushes her away. He refuses to hurt people and admonishes Veruca for doing so. Even as Oz walks away, she's undeterred.

Later that morning, Professor Walsh is filling Riley in on her encounter the previous night. She tells him there were "two of them" and she feels lucky to have survived. Buffy interrupts and Walsh tells her to be careful on campus at night as she was attacked by wild dogs last night. Huge ones that were as big as gorillas. Buffy recognizes the description all to well.

At his place, Oz is checking the papers to be sure he and Veruca did no harm the night before when Willow arrives. She may say she's not feeling threatened by Veruca, but her wardrobe screams otherwise. She's wearing leather pants a low cut, sexy purple blouse --a bit of the Vamp Willow is creeping out. Oz is distracted and distant, despite Willow's best attempts to apologize for her behavior the day before and then to seduce her boyfriend. He pulls away from her and makes the excuse of being tired. Willow is hurt by his rebuff and makes a quick exit, leaving Oz alone.

Giles, meanwhile, is lazing about his home, watching game shows, making moussaka, and reading when Buffy arrives. He's excited by her appearance -- too excited actually. Buffy fills him in on Professor Walsh's encounter with the "wild dogs" -- under the light of the nearly full moon. Giles promises to research any news from the night before while Buffy heads off to question Oz.

A troubled Willow has gone to the best source on guys she knows -- Xander. She finds him in his basement abode, where he's currently on a rent strike because mom won't let him have a lock on his door. He senses Willow's unrest and she tells him that things with Oz are "weird." She wants his guy-like perspective. After a few fits and starts with being so candid about sex -- and with Xander no less -- Willow opens up that she's worried because she wanted to make love and Oz didn't. Xander admits it could be a bad sign -- unless Oz is legitmately too preoccupied to want to. Willow tells him that she's noticed Oz's attraction and interest in someone else and that the someone else is equally attracted. Xander advises her just as Willow advised Buffy way back in Enemies when Buffy was worried about Angel and Faith: talk it out.

In the cemetery, Buffy finds Oz welding his cage door back on. He admits to getting out and Buffy reassures him that she's not heard of anyone being hurt. She does tell him about someone seeing two wild dogs on campus. Oz plays coy -- well... as coy as he can. He tells Buffy that he doesn't remember anything that happens when he's wolfy. Buffy tells him she'll be on patrol that night and if she does find another wolf, he might have company. Before she goes, she asks Oz if he's okay -- he's being even more monosyllabic than usual. Oz lies and tells her he's okay.

That afternoon, Veruca rehearses with her band while Oz contemplates his options and Willow sits dejected and distracted in her Wicca orientation meeting. Oz comes to a decision and makes a phone call. At sunset, he's waiting in his cage, door open, when Veruca arrives. She mocks his "habitrail" and refuses to take his bait and join him in the cage. He doesn't want her out there, not just because he doesn't want her to hurt people but because he knows Buffy will be out there looking for her. She'll be safe there. As the change comes closer, the attraction between the two werewolves grows stronger, more powerful. Veruca taunts Oz, tempting him. She tells him she's wanted him since even before she ever saw him. Unable to resist the attraction -- and taking advantage of the opportunity to get her in the cage -- Oz grabs Veruca and pulls her to him, even as he slams the cage shut behind her. The kiss powerful, animally and fall to the floor as the change overtakes them.

The next morning, Willow arrives with breakfast in hand to find Oz and Veruca on the small dingy mattress -- naked, legs entwined.

~*~*~*~

Shocked, appalled, Willow backs away from the cage, dropping the coffee and breakfast she had brought for Oz. Oz wakes and seeing Willow grabs his pants, calling to her, trying to explain. He fumbles with the lock and moves toward her. Veruca, meanwhile, stretches languidly and stands up, showing off her nakedness. She watches, bemused. He tells her that he had to lock her in with him, that Veruca is a wolf like him. As Oz moves toward her, Willow moves away, her eyes brimming with tears. Oz reaches out to her, but she pushes him away. He tries to tell Willow that he didn't have a choice. He didn't want Veruca to hurt somebody. But even as tears stream down her face, Willow is clear enough to argue. He could have told somebody, she says. Tried to come up with other solutions. Veruca, who has moved outside the cage to dress, pipes that Willow's got a point. Oz yells angrily at her to leave.

He turns back to Willow and apologizes. Willow is still appalled... that Oz knew all along and could lie to her that everything was fine. She compares it to what happened between her and Xander. Oz remembers. He remembers how it feels. So, she wonders, is this payback? She thought they'd gotten past that. And that what happened with Xander doesn't compare, especially with the intimate relationship she and Oz have had.

Oz admits he still doesn't know what he and Veruca have done -- that the wolf takes over. But Willow calls him on his attraction to her, even when he's regular Oz. He tries to explain it away, but he can't. Unable to continue, Willow runs off.

In town, she wanders the streets, lost in her tears and her thoughts. Buffy sees Willow from across the street just as she steps off a curb and into the path of a car. Buffy cries out, but can't get to her in time. Thankfully, Riley pulls Willow out of harm's way. Buffy knows immediately that something's terribly wrong. Riley tells Willow that whatever it is, it's not worth hurting herself. Buffy thanks him and takes Willow home.

Later, after a long talk and much comfort, Buffy tells Willow she has to head out. The sun's setting and she has to find Veruca and stop her. She wants to be sure Willow's okay though and offers to get her anything she needs -- kleenex... chocolate. Willow quietly tells her she doesn't need anything. Buffy tries to comfort her once more, telling Willow to put the blame where it belongs and not hurt herself. Willow assures Buffy that she'll be okay and Buffy heads out. Willow is left alone to remember Buffy's words: Put the blame where it belongs. She gets up and heads to her chest of magic supplies. This way lies badness.

Oz, meanwhile, is back at his room, phoning around looking for Veruca when Buffy shows up. Buffy is calm, but distant. She wants to find Veruca. Oz is ready. He tells Buffy he can lead Buffy to her by scent. He also tries to offer some explanation, but Buffy is all business. She has something to accomplish right now. Words come later. They head out.

In a lab on campus, Willow is heading into some deep dark territory. She's taking the vengeful woman scorned thing in a new direction as she conjures a spell, calling to the devil and other Very Bad Things to break Oz and Veruca's deceitful hearts. While Oz and Buffy search the woods for Veruca, Willow angrily call in the name of hell that Oz and Veruca find no love or solace or peace -- as her books and materials begin to float around her.

Buffy and Oz find only Veruca's clothes in the woods, left there to throw them off. Oz realizes Veruca's real target would be her competition: Willow. They head off, but Oz -- clearly a man on a mission, quickly out distances Buffy, who then runs headlong into one of the mysterious commandos. They both crash to the ground.

Back at the lab, Willow holds a picture of Oz over flames as she prepares to banish him to a life without love..... and then she hesitates. She throws the picture down on the counter and the floating materials crash back down. She couldn't go through with it. She jumps at the sound of Veruca's voice. The little bitch (and you can take that literally) was watching her. Veruca locks them into the lab and moves in on her prey. It's almost sunset.

~*~*~*~

In the woods, Buffy and the commando struggle briefly over Buffy's tranquilizer gun. Buffy knocks him down, though, and grabs the gun and heads after Oz and Willow while the commando watches her go then grabs his own gun and runs off in the opposite direction.

Veruca taunts Willow before reaching out and punching her. Willow goes flying to the ground, just as Oz smashes through the door. Oz tells Veruca to back off and never touch Willow again. Veruca asks if he's going to stop her? She does like it rough. As the two move in on each other, they begin their transformations. Oz tells Veruca she has to deal with him and leave Willow alone. But Veruca wants to destroy the reason that Oz is living in cages; she wants to set him free. He tells her she doesn't want to know what he really is.

"You're an animal," she tells him. "Animals kill."

Oz gives one last glance at Willow, then turns to Veruca, "You're right. We kill." He attacks, throwing Veruca to the ground, as they roll to the floor, their transformation completes. In full wolf mode, Oz quickly gains the upperhand and rips Veruca's throat out.

His mouth bloody, he snarls at Willow, who calls uncertainly to him. But the humanity is gone and he heads for her next. Buffy arrives just in time, though, to yank Oz back and kick him out of the way before shooting him with the tranquilizer gun.

She drops it and runs to Willow who falls sobbing into her best friend's arms.

~*~*~*~

The next afternoon, Buffy fills Giles in on the commando she encountered in the woods. She remembers seeing guys dressed like that on Halloween, but thinking they were costumes. She's determined to find out more about them -- the guy got in her way and almost prevented her from getting to Oz in time. As it was, she tells Giles, it still wasn't soon enough. She may have saved Willow, she's never seen Willow in such pain. Giles reminds her that she's been experienced that pain as well, and got through it. Yeah, Buffy tells him, but she isn't exactly the model Willow should follow. She's worried about her friend.

Willow arrives at Oz's room and finds him packing his bags. He tells her he's leaving. Willow's put off. "Don't I get any say in this," she asks? "No." She's putting on a brave face. Oz tells her that Veruca was right about one thing, the wolf is inside him all the time. The line between him and it is blurring. It's something he needs to stop ignoring and deal with and he can't be around people right now -- including Willow.

"Don't you love me?" she through sobs.

"My whole life," he insists, "I've never loved anything else."

Mary Beth's Review

How much do I adore Marti Noxon's writing? I can't even count the ways. She has such an amazing grasp of all the characters and has a gift for enriching them even further. And she comes only second to Joss in her ability to hit where it hurts. And in an episode that required the producers to create a plausible excuse for Oz to leave in light of Seth Green's (hopefully temporary) exit to make a movie, Noxon took advantage of werewolf lore and made it work.

Chris Beck's fabulous music, as always, really helps punctuate the beautifully poignant moments between Oz and Willow.

Characters
While mostly a showcase for Oz and Willow, this episode does have some important elements for the rest of the gang.

Buffy is finally past the Parker issue and back to the business of Slaying -- even though things are quiet. Too quiet. She's also doing well academically -- especially in psychology class. But most important, her friendship with Willow is as strong as ever. And she can finally put some of what she learned in her relationship with Angel to good use supporting her best friend.

Giles' second childhood is still in full swing, only now instead of just the audience knowing how very badly he needs some focus, he knows it too. This is especially telling in his excitement when Buffy shows up to tell him about the werewolves. I'm sure he's even more thrilled to have the commando activity to look into, too.

Xander has very little to do, but his conversation with Willow demonstrates his surprising growth in maturity.

Willow does her best to believe in Oz and remain strong, but in the face of the obvious attraction between him and Veruca, she's fighting a lost cause. She may be the rock of the Scooby Gang, but we're reminded that she's just as young and just as naive and lost when it comes to relationships as Buffy has been. As such, she fails to follow the advice she gave Buffy back in Enemies when Buffy was worried about Angel and Faith. Communication is key to a successful relationship, or so I hear. But perhaps Willow realized that Oz would only tell her what she didn't want to hear. Oz's "trademark stoicism" -- usually humorous and charming -- acts as a deterrent here. Instead of confronting the issues head on, Willow resorts to dressing more like Veruca and trying to seduce Oz. Sadly, these are only band-aids on a larger problem, though, and Oz doesn't take the bait.

Unfortunately, Willow is up against something for which she really has no defense. And that has to hurt most of all. Oz is as loyal and loving to her as ever. But when faced with a female wolf, and one who is specifically open and accepting of her wolfieness, he's forced to confront something he's been avoiding since he discovered his own wolf status. Veruca calls him "domesticated." He's not, he's just a conscientious human being. But in the process of protecting others from his status, he's be ignoring something that is a big part of him now, whether he likes it or not. He's a man in conflict here over his deep love for Willow and his animal attraction to Veruca. And Veruca forces the issue. He's forced to confront his animalistic nature head on. He makes the choice to kill Veruca and save Willow... but at a costly price. Oz -- who obviously holds life of all kinds dear --has to come to terms with the fact that there's a killer in him. And he can't continue to hide from it all but 3 days of the month. He would do very well to stop by Los Angeles and have a long talk with Angel while on his journey of discovery.

Relationships
Nary a Parker mention. Thank goodness.

Xander and Willow finally have a moment worthy of their lifetime friendship. As much as I'm going to miss Oz and hurt for Willow, I do hope that his absence provides the opportunity for Willow and Xander to mend the broken bonds between them.

The one stable, "sure" relationship on the show is left in dire straits as Oz heads off for parts unknown, leaving Willow with the thought that he loves her very much, but just can't be with her now.

Continuity
Giles and Buffy both comment or demonstrate the complete lack of badness in Sunnydale these days. Thankfully, that looks to be changing next week.

Spike is back in town, but before he can stir up trouble, he's grabbed by the commandos.

Buffy finally runs into one of the commandos (Riley, perhaps?) at a key moment. She's on to them now.... but does that go both ways?

Professor Walsh is attacked by Oz and sees him fighting Veruca, but she tells Buffy that she saw "wild dogs." But is that a cover story?

Veruca is history. Good riddance.

Giles points out Buffy's own experience with heartache and pain. She hopes Willow won't follow her own example of running away from the pain.

Xander's still whiling away the hours in is parents' basement. We get a mom mention -- he's having landlord tenant issues with her. No sign of Anya. Where'd she get to?

Best Moments
* Buffy's punning and disappointment in her foe's lack of appreciation for said puns as well as her lamentations of the lack of a real challenge these days. (She's so not alone). Only to be followed by....

* Spike starting in on a reprise of his threats to Angel in "In the Dark" only to be cut short by the real baddies -- the commandos. A brilliant ruse... and mean MEAN MEAN.

* Giles trying to hang with the gang and his later demonstration of his trivia expertise.

* Oz and Willow cuddling in bed -- "Come back to me." How can you not love and root for such an adorable, sweet couple!?

* Willow's combination of jealousy and pride over Buffy's academic success.

* Willow going to Xander for help. I want more Willow/Xander moments! These two used to be best friends!

* Seth Green. The whole way through, but especially when he yelled for Veruca to leave him and Willow alone. Whoa!

* Buffy being there for Willow -- especially offering her chocolate.

* When Willow didn't go through with the spell. Thank Joss!!!

* Oz's declaration of love in the midst of his good-bye. One last twist of the knife.

SunSpeak

"Not much to really say except that when Willow cries, the whole world weeps with her. Oh she breaks my heart, poor thing." -- Deb

"Buffy gets an A...on school work. At first I was as surprised as Willow (Not that Buffy isn't smart...she's just um...often distracted). I mean, it's unusual. Then it occurred to me - maybe it was a paper on the id. She has recent first hand knowledge of id-ness." -- Deb

"As we saw more and more of she, a silent introduction seemed appropriate: Verucca, meet Faith. Faith, meet Verucca." -- Deb

"So.... do you think Riley got bruised when Buffy knocked him down in the woods? *evil grin* I'm *so* not buying his and Prof. Walsh's "two wild dogs" innocent act. Nope. Not one bit."
"They didn't seem to blink and change gears when Buffy approached them, and I was lulled for a moment that maybe they really only were discussing wild dogs. But I don't think so. And I agree with everyone who thinks Buffy ran into Riley. Which means that Riley has now seen Buffy charging around with a gun looking like she knows how to use it."
"Not that I think they haven't been doing it that long, but they probably have just been more intelligent about it, using "*wild dogs*" anytime they're not completely alone. After all, you'll note that Buffy never said "werewolf" to Giles, but he got it just fine.... I'm just waiting for them to start calling vamps "Czechloslavakians"..." -- Mary Beth, Lizbet and Dianne

"By the end of Wild at Heart, I didn't think anything could make me stop crying. This episode was so beautifully and brutally painful. Alyson and Seth were amazing in this episode, and when Oz nearly lost it in the van, I stopped breathing. This episode hurt...REALLY HURT.... Oh, and a glimpse of Spike... I love to thud on Tuesdays." -- Leslie

"Yes, but Joss is a cruel, cruel man! Just a glimpse of Spike and that's it??!! I was waiting for him to show back up, and after a while it was obvious he wasn't going to. What a mean man, to taunt us like that!" -- Rastro

"Seeing Willow and Oz in pain, for me, is much harder to deal with than Buffy and Angel in pain. I mean...it's Willow and Oz! They're my mostly normal, supposed to be happy, very sweet lovable-goodness couple. < sigh > Joss is mean. Mean. Mean. Mean. I'm taking away his Scooby snacks." -- Leslie

"You'd think that he'd learn.... Hubris leads to hot burning sensations." -- Mary Beth on Spike

"I said before he so needs a life. But you know, we see now that the poor guy really does *know* that. " -- Mary Beth on Giles

"But bloody hysterical. "Look, it's the big bad vampire, back in Sunnydale, here to make your life miserable... ZAP!"
"*snerk* And hard on the heels of calling *Buffy* on jinxing herself...that's what made it truly priceless." -- Lizbet and Val on Spike

"And, for me at least, one of the problems with this season is that we're not even privy to his lack of a life. He's not really interacting with the gang, he's not sharing info, they have no meeting place, they're not a *team*, and I miss that. I like the show as an ensemble much better than this" -- Amy on Giles

"I've been assuming, as folks here have said, that Riley is probably the guy from Halloween as well as this guy in the woods, but it didn't occur to me that he would have noticed *Buffy* and maybe have wondered what she's doing with said gun since she's not in his group. I wonder if the group knew before this Buffy-encounter that there are others around campus/Sunnydale who were fighting things or behaving oddly." -- Amy

"Of course, it really bothered me that she would not only think about casting such a spell, but that she would be moments from *finishing* it. Not a good thing. And I am not convinced that we've seen much that would support such behaviour from Willow. However, one of my *huge* problems with this ep was that Buffy, who's terribly worried about Willow, leaves to go do Slayer things. Understandable. She has to. But does she call Xander to sit with Willow? No. Does she call Giles to sit with Willow? No. Does she do *anything* about that "I have a plan and am just waiting for you to leave" too-calm look on Willow's face? No. I really think that this is one example of a way in which the writers were sloppy to crank up the angst factor. I don't think it makes *sense* to leave Willow alone. I would have accepted it if they'd written Buffy asking if they should call someone over, but they just left it as if no one thought of it." -- Amy

"I'm just fed up with the continual upping of the ante re: angst. Cuz, you know, we'd all stop watching if anyone had a moment of happiness; or if the regular characters, who are friends with each other, were to stop hurting each other terribly badly; or if the show were to be *fun* rather than *painful* to watch. If I wanted to watch things go from bad to worse and continue to get worse with little or no relief, I'd watch soap operas regularly, or listen to people talk about their real lives.... I'm especially disappointed because I was really thinking it looked cheerier from the spoilers we got this summer, and instead the show has just been dreary and, in my opinion, pretty mediocre for its usual. I'm just angry with them. This is *NOT* the show I signed on to watch. The show I started watching was fun. It was enjoyable to watch. This show is not enjoyable for me anymore. It's well-written and well-acted, but it's not fun. The great irony here is that, so far, I *have* found "Angel" fun to watch and enjoyable." -- Amy

"I like angst, but not as a steady diet. I find it's far more effective if it's well spaced out with other things, like humor. The contrast makes both better. The problem is that Joss & the writers seem to be subscribing to a more monoemotional...no, we have moping, make that biemotional way. The order seems to be: 'mope, mope, angst, mope, angst, angst, mope, giggle, ANGST, mope, mope...' you get the idea. Their play on those emotional 'buttons' have been getting fairly heavy-handed and I think Joss & crew have forgotten something important: press the button too many times and it stops working." -- Julie

"Veruca told him that she gradually became more wolfy and also more aware when wolfy as time went on. Suppose she was as moral in her thinking as Oz when she began, but the werewolfness eventually and slowly changed her. That the change is both mental and physical. I think this possibility is occuring to Oz and he's getting really freaked. He's already killed someone. Yes, it was in defense of a loved one, but it's a first step in a direction he was terrified of going in. He's leaving because he's running scared. Literally. He's frightened that he's not going to be himself any longer and that who or what he becomes will hurt of kill those he holds dearest. Until he figures out how to get a handle on this, he is quite possibly as dangerous as he fears." -- Julie

"Obviously, the Buffy/Angel relationship has a huge problem in that respect, from any way you look at it. And the series has been showing that sex has consequences, both emotional and otherwise. However, it's the attitude that the characters should sleep together because they're young and attractive and healthy and it's the natural thing to do--that's what bothers me. It's not *what* they do, it's *why* they do it. That's one thing that appealed to me about Oz when he turned down Willow's first attempt at seducing him way back when. It's not the act, it's the reasoning behind it and the framework of the relationship in which it's based. Okay, so maybe I'm hopelessly old-fashioned, but I know I'm not the only one. And I like to see sparks fly as much as the next person. It just offends me somewhat when it's simply assumed that *of course* young people have sex with those they're attracted to. That was never my intention when I was in college, and I don't appreciate being lumped together with people who make different lifestyle choices. It's sort of like--you're fully entitled to decide for yourself that you like jazz music, for example, and if that makes you happy then go for it--but I wouldn't want it assumed that *everyone* likes jazz music so that it becomes the only theme." -- Amparo (responding to Marti on the BB)