Season Four, Episode Nineteen
"New Moon Rising"
This episode starts with Willow and Tara having an adorable conversation about cats. Willow says she's more of a dog person, but she doesn't want death to all cats. Tara continues pressing until she knows for certain that Willow isn't allergic or anything, because she wants her room to be "Willow friendly." Willow responds to her concern by holding Tara's hand:
Adorable Overload
They walk over and Tara experiences her first scooby meeting. Did you hear that guys, she lost her scoobyginity! Anyways everyone talks and basically I don't care what they're saying because Willow and Tara are adorable. However, Anya and Giles start arguing and who walks in through the door...
Holy Mother of WoW, it's Oz!
Willow is shocked and asked when he got back. He asks if they can meet later tonight to talk. She says okay and Anya states the obvious: "everyone's uncomfortable now." Adorably, Tara freaks the heck out and leaves; Willow has a sad =(
Riley is a lost kitten and feels he's missing something with Willow and Oz. Buffy starts explaining to him about their breakup and how it was rough and left Willow devasted. She casually mentions him being a werewolf and then this happens:
RILEY: Whoa. Back up there. Werewolf?
BUFFY: Right. Important detail. He got bit a couple of years back. Anyway -
RILEY: Oz is a werewolf and Willow was dating him?
BUFFY: Well, yeah. Hence the high emotion.
RILEY: Man. You're kidding me.
BUFFY: It wasn't like he was bad all the time. He only changed three nights a month. I mean, besides the wolf thing, Oz is a great guy.
RILEY: That's a big "besides," Buffy.Gotta say. I'm surprised. I didn't think Willow was that kind of girl.
BUFFY: What kind of girl?
RILEY: Into dangerous guys. She seems smarter than that.
BUFFY: Oz is not dangerous. Something happened to him that wasn't his fault. God, I never knew you were such a bigot.
BUFFY: Right. Important detail. He got bit a couple of years back. Anyway -
RILEY: Oz is a werewolf and Willow was dating him?
BUFFY: Well, yeah. Hence the high emotion.
RILEY: Man. You're kidding me.
BUFFY: It wasn't like he was bad all the time. He only changed three nights a month. I mean, besides the wolf thing, Oz is a great guy.
RILEY: That's a big "besides," Buffy.Gotta say. I'm surprised. I didn't think Willow was that kind of girl.
BUFFY: What kind of girl?
RILEY: Into dangerous guys. She seems smarter than that.
BUFFY: Oz is not dangerous. Something happened to him that wasn't his fault. God, I never knew you were such a bigot.
Awkward conversation is awkward.
Oz stops by Willow's place that night, as planned, and takes her outside to talk. She is still in shock and rambles on until Oz tells her to look up. It's a full moon. And Oz isn't transforming into a werewolf.
Anddddd this is when it gets awkward...
Oz tells her talked to Xander and he said she didn't have a new guy. Willow says that this is true; she doesn't have a new guy. He then goes on about how he's ready for her now and can be what she needs and shit just gets more awkward.
Back in the non-Willowness of the episode, the comandos are attacked by none other than:
Hey, do you guys think they might mistake this werewolf for Oz later on in the episode?
Willow and Oz talk all night and then Willow suggests that they go have some breakfast. Oz grabs her hand and says they could sleep for a while instead. Willow responds by saying she'll take the "less confusing waffles right now." And I say we just end the episode here. Willow doesn't need to choose between Tara and Oz, she can just date me. Is everyone okay with this? They are? Good. I'm sure we will both be very happy together. <3
Wait a minute, you're saying I can't marry a fictional character and Alyson Hannigan is already married to someone else who isn't me? *Sigh* fineeee, let's just continue with the episode and ignore my pain.
Willow goes to freshen up and, obviously, Tara chooses the moment she leaves to knock on her door and have Oz answer. Oz is nice to her, but Tara (rightfully so) says she can't come in and wait because seeing Willow with him is too painful. She doesn't actually tell him the second part, that would be awkward. And this episode has enough awkwardness as it is.
In other news, Riley is a freaking weirdo. He gets up out of bed and immediately starts doing push ups. Thank god Buffy is there to make fun of him: "And then you have your perfectly balanced breakfast and call your mother."
Riley and Buffy discuss what they were talking about last night. She tries to explain to him that some demons aren't bad at all when he asks her to name one. And, once again, very awkward. Just as I'm sure Buffy is about to spill about her lover, Angel, Forrest opens the door and tells Riley that Graham was attacked last night. Buffy asks what kind of demon it was and Riley snaps "does it matter?" and storms off. Oh, Riley, you will learn soon that it does matter very much...
And now, ladies and gentlemen, comes the most awesomest of awesome scenes ever that I will never tire of. I'm not even going to summarize, we're just going to read the script word for word.
BUFFY: Hey.
WILLOW: Hey. You okay?
BUFFY: I just... don't really feel like talking about it. I want to hear about you and Oz. You saw him, right?
WILLOW: I was with him all night.
BUFFY: All night? Oh my God - (realizes) Wait. Last night was a wolf moon, wasn't it?
WILLOW: Yep.
BUFFY: So... You're about to tell me something incredibly kinky, or -
WILLOW: No kink. He didn't change, Buffy.He said he was going to find a cure, and he did. In Tibet.
BUFFY: Again - Oh my God! I can't believe it! (stops) Okay. I just noticed I'm all with the "woo hoo" - and you're not.
WILLOW: No - there's "woo" and "hoo". But there's also - "uh oh". And "why now?" And... it's complicated.
BUFFY: Why complicated? You got your boyfriend back. What?
WILLOW: It's complicated - because of Tara.
BUFFY: You mean Tara has a crush on Oz? (off Willow's look) No, not -(getting it) Oh. Ohh. Well... That's great too, right? I mean, she seems like a great girl, Will.
WILLOW: She is. And there's somethingbetween us... I wasn't lookingfor it, you know. It's just totally powerful. And it's totally different than what Oz and I had.
BUFFY: Well, there you go then. You have to follow your heart, Will. I mean, that's what's important, Will.
WILLOW: How come you keep saying my name like that?
BUFFY: Like what, Will?
WILLOW: Are you freaked?
BUFFY: What? No, Wi- No! Absolutely no to that question. I'm glad you told me. What did you say to Oz?
WILLOW: I was going to tell him... But then we hung out and I could feel everything coming back. He's Oz, you know.
BUFFY: Yeah. I do.
WILLOW: I don't want to hurt anybody, Buffy. I think of either of them and I can't stand it.
BUFFY: No matter what happens, somebody's going to get hurt. The main thing is, you have to be honest - or it'll be a lot worse.
WILLOW: Hey. You okay?
BUFFY: I just... don't really feel like talking about it. I want to hear about you and Oz. You saw him, right?
WILLOW: I was with him all night.
BUFFY: All night? Oh my God - (realizes) Wait. Last night was a wolf moon, wasn't it?
WILLOW: Yep.
BUFFY: So... You're about to tell me something incredibly kinky, or -
WILLOW: No kink. He didn't change, Buffy.He said he was going to find a cure, and he did. In Tibet.
BUFFY: Again - Oh my God! I can't believe it! (stops) Okay. I just noticed I'm all with the "woo hoo" - and you're not.
WILLOW: No - there's "woo" and "hoo". But there's also - "uh oh". And "why now?" And... it's complicated.
BUFFY: Why complicated? You got your boyfriend back. What?
WILLOW: It's complicated - because of Tara.
BUFFY: You mean Tara has a crush on Oz? (off Willow's look) No, not -(getting it) Oh. Ohh. Well... That's great too, right? I mean, she seems like a great girl, Will.
WILLOW: She is. And there's somethingbetween us... I wasn't lookingfor it, you know. It's just totally powerful. And it's totally different than what Oz and I had.
BUFFY: Well, there you go then. You have to follow your heart, Will. I mean, that's what's important, Will.
WILLOW: How come you keep saying my name like that?
BUFFY: Like what, Will?
WILLOW: Are you freaked?
BUFFY: What? No, Wi- No! Absolutely no to that question. I'm glad you told me. What did you say to Oz?
WILLOW: I was going to tell him... But then we hung out and I could feel everything coming back. He's Oz, you know.
BUFFY: Yeah. I do.
WILLOW: I don't want to hurt anybody, Buffy. I think of either of them and I can't stand it.
BUFFY: No matter what happens, somebody's going to get hurt. The main thing is, you have to be honest - or it'll be a lot worse.
This moment is so beautifully done that I want to just hug Marti Noxon for creating it. I don't even think I can put into words how amazing this scene is. It's so real and Buffy's reaction is really awesome. Telling someone sucks because, unless you're like me and your sister calls her gay friends before talking to you because she already knows you're going to come out to her, the person you're telling doesn't know what you're going to say. I would say Buffy is a bit too busy to notice the small things that went on between Willow and Tara and didn't have any idea that this was coming. Obviously it was weird at first; she essentially learned that there was a huge part of her best friend that she didn't know about. But, what made it great was that she changed her attitude the second she realized what she was doing when Willow pointed it out.
Now that I am all happy with my awesome Willow scene, I guess they decided they needed to make Kali happy by throwing Spike in the next scene. He starts by showing off his awesome reflexes as Adam like a creeper stands over him while he sleeps. Adam asks Spike to come and Spike responds by punching him and then suffering intense pain. Ultimately, Adam wins after he promises to help Spike with his "problem."
Who's excited for Spike to get his chip out?
AND NOW BACK TO WILLOW AND TARA!!!
Willow goes to Tara's room and explains to her that nothing happened and her and Oz were just talking. Tara looks completely relieved I would be too. Tara lets Willow know that, no matter what happens, they'll still be friends. What she doesn't mention on screen is how she's be pissed off that she won't get the hottest girlfriend ever.
Willow has a sad over her confusion:
WILLOW: I don't know. It's just - life was starting to get so good again, and you're a big part of that. And here comes the thing I wanted most of all.And I don't know what to do. I want to know. But I don't.
And Tara, being the sweetest girl ever, puts her hand on Willow's cheek to comfort her and tells her to "do what makes [her] happy." And then they hug, because they are absolutely adorable. However, we all know what Tara is thinking:
And just when shit was getting less awkward, Tara runs into Oz in the hallway. He smells Willow and quickly realizes that it's not her, but Tara. They talk and Oz starts to understand life.
OZ: Is that Willow's?
TARA: I hope you'll be v-v-very -
OZ: You smell like her. She's all over you, you know that?
TARA: I can't. I can't talk about th- th..
OZ: But there's something to talk about - She's...involved? But she said -
TARA: I-I have to g-g-g-
OZ: We talked all night and she never said anything. Nothing. I -Stop! Is she in love with you? Talk to me! What is... what..*he transforms* Run.
TARA: I hope you'll be v-v-very -
OZ: You smell like her. She's all over you, you know that?
TARA: I can't. I can't talk about th- th..
OZ: But there's something to talk about - She's...involved? But she said -
TARA: I-I have to g-g-g-
OZ: We talked all night and she never said anything. Nothing. I -Stop! Is she in love with you? Talk to me! What is... what..*he transforms* Run.
He chases her in the one classroom this college apparently has until the commandos catch him. Tara tries to tell them that it's Oz but they just shut her up and tell her that she's in shock. Anyone else hate these commando guys yet?
Back to Spike and Adam now. Adam wants some humans being murdered up in here but he also wants himself some demons. He asks Spike to get Buffy to go to the Initiative during the battle so that their can be a pretty even number of human to demon deaths. Spike tells Adam that Buffy has a slight tendency to win. Adam tells him that he should be on her side then. *cough* season five *cough*
Tara runs to Willow to
"They probably haven't had time to eviscerate him yet."
They discuss how they need to make a plan without Riley, since he isn't calling, just before we see why exactly he isn't answering his pages. Seems as if he's too busy trying to shoot and kill Oz. He points his gun at the werewolf who then transforms back into Oz. The Initiative start doing tests on him while Riley tries to explain that he isn't a threat anymore and that Oz is a good guy, who he knows. They force him to leave while they have fun playing with their new toy. Kind of reminds me of Vamp Willow with "puppy" Angel.
Buffy decides on a plan and Willow demands that she comes along. As they begin discussing how to break in, Spike comes through the door telling them that they should try the back way. Hilarity ensues, as it always does when Spike has a conversation with Buffy and the scoobies.
And then we all get to see Oz, naked, in a cage. Fine, fine, I'll put a picture of it:
Happy now?
Riley opens up his cage and comes onto naked Oz. Erm, I mean offers him clothes and a way out. Now it makes sense why everyone hates Riley; he gave naked Oz clothes! What a jerk!
He's caught in the act and punished for giving Oz clothes. The commandos decide to lock him in a cage, fully clothed because everyone would much rather just see Oz naked.
Anyways, Spike helps the gang get in with a little help from Adam. Anya and Giles are at his place trying to hack the system when everything shuts down. And when I say everything, I mean everything.
lulz
Next, in the least secret agency way possible, the main commando moron is woken up by Buffy who asks him to "lead her to him." He tells her that Riley is staying there because he tried to save Oz and she is confused. He then realizes that he's a moron and that Buffy was after the werewolf. Well, duh she's after the werewolf! Buffy likes her some demons, dude. She forces him to get dressed so that way he can lead them to their two for one sale.
RILEY: How did you-
BUFFY: Talk, later. Stealth-y escape now.
RILEY: Buffy, I leave now, I can't ever come back.Just wanted to hear it out loud.
BUFFY: Talk, later. Stealth-y escape now.
RILEY: Buffy, I leave now, I can't ever come back.Just wanted to hear it out loud.
lulz
BUFFY: Stay back or I'll do a William Burroughs on your leader here!
XANDER: You'll...bore him to death with free prose?
BUFFY: Was I the only one awake in English that day?(to the Commandos) I'll kill him!
double lulz
They all save Oz and Riley and then take a page out of Jo Rowling's book and decide to have a camping trip. Riley tells Buffy that she was wrong about Oz and Buffy apologizes by telling him exactly what she wants to be telling herself: "No you weren't. You were thrown. You found out Willow was in kind of an unconventional relationship and it gave you a momentary wiggins. It happens."
After, Buffy decides to come clean to him about her past.
And next we get a lesson in irony from Oz: apparently Willow is the one thing that brings the wolf out in him. They both talk about Willow tells him that she's happy and he beats himself up over the fact that he let such an amazing girl go. She's so sweet and tells Oz that he's apart of her and he tells her that now is just not that time. They finish their conversation and Oz tells her he's going to take off "pretty much now." Damn, I'm gonna miss Oz but not as much as I'm going to love what's coming next.
Everyone ready for shit to get adorable? Okay!
Tara, alone, has been crying in the dark. A knock takes her to the door. Willow stands in her threshold, holding a lit candle.
WILLOW: No candles? Well I brought one --it's extra flamey.
Tara, I have to tell you that --
TARA: I understand. You have to be with the person you l-love.
WILLOW: I am.
TARA: You mean --
WILLOW: I mean. Okay?
TARA: Oh yes.
WILLOW: I feel horrible about everything I put you through. I'm gonna make it up, too. Starting right now.
TARA: Right now?
Aaaand this is the moment where Sarah dies
P.S. I've been waiting for this episode to post this picture! If any of you have a tumblr, you'll know that there was this "bitches love" meme going around. This one in particular cracked me up and I printed it and put it up on my bulletin board because it's so funny. Enjoy!
Kali's Notes:
- Isn't Tara one of the most amazing girlfriends ever? I really love her in this episode because she was not only willing to give Willow up if that's what made her happy, but she was attacked by Willow's ex and actively worked toward saving him from the commandos. She's so awesome.
- I'm glad that Joss brought Oz back for this one episode. This way he can show that Oz leaving Willow didn't force her to date Tara or that Tara was a rebound from Oz. Willow chose to date Tara and now she makes that choice again, not because of anything Oz did but because that's who she loves. Aww.
- I also really love how Joss has Buffy call Riley a bigot for finding it strange that Willow was dating a werewolf, but then have Buffy react semi-poorly to Willow having a girlfriend. Buffy understands Willow dating Oz because Buffy herself dated someone from the demon/vampire/supernatural world, but Willow dating Tara is very different since Buffy has never had any experience with homosexuality.
- I'm gonna talk about how awesome Riley is for a second. We've seen him start to think for himself over the season, but now he really makes a choice to do what he thinks is right, even if that goes against everyone else that he works with/for. In order to save Oz, Riley has to pretty much turn his back on everything that he has spent his life building and believing in.
- Timeline wise, it's between this episode and the next one (The Yoko Factor) that Buffy goes to L.A. to visit Angel about Faith, which is very fitting since she just came clean to Riley about her past with Angel. So you know what that means- someone's coming back to Sunnydale...
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