Wild at Heart (Buffy episode)
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| “Wild at Heart” | |
|---|---|
| Buffy the Vampire Slayer episode | |
 |
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| Episode no. | Season 4 Episode 6 |
| Guest stars | Marc Blucas (Riley) Paige Moss (Veruca) James Marsters (Spike) Lindsay Crouse (Professor Maggie Walsh) |
| Written by | Marti Noxon |
| Directed by | David Grossman |
| Production no. | 4ABB06 |
| Original airdate | November 9, 1999 |
| Episode chronology | |
| ← Previous | Next → |
| "Beer Bad" | "The Initiative" |
"Wild at Heart" is the sixth episode of season 4 of the television show Buffy the Vampire Slayer. (See also List of Buffy the Vampire Slayer episodes.)
Contents |
[edit] Plot synopsis
[edit] Summary
Oz and Willow's relationship is tested when Oz is powerfully drawn to a mysterious female.
[edit] Expanded overview
Buffy is chased by a vampire, which she fights and then stakes. Her well-thought puns are not appreciated. Spike watches from a distance and promises trouble, but he is struck by tazers and carried off by the masked and heavily armed people lurking in the Sunnydale shadows. At the Bronze, the gang talks about college and why they're still hanging at the Bronze, and then to their surprise Giles joins them. Veruca's band, "Shy" starts to play and all the guys are mesmerized by her singing.
The next morning, Willow wakes up in Oz's bed and they talk about how they'll be apart for three nights while there's a full moon keeping Oz locked up, and a Wicca group is meeting on those three nights. At school, Buffy gets a great grade on a Psychology paper and Professor Walsh asks her to lead a discussion group on the topic. Willow is actually academically envious of Buffy. Veruca invites Oz to sit with her at lunch, which he accepts since there is room for Willow and they start talking amps. Willow arrives, and is lost by their terminology, leading everyone to flee the incredibly awkward situation. Buffy tells Willow not to worry about Oz.
That night, Oz locks himself into a cage in a crypt but he breaks free. As Professor Walsh is leaving the school that night, Oz jumps out at her. Another werewolf appears and while Professor Walsh runs and hides in the bushes, the two werewolves jump out and fight with each other. Oz wakes up the next morning to see that the other werewolf is Veruca. They sneak into the campus laundry room for clothes and Veruca appeals to the animal within him. Willow shows up at Oz's and instead of being welcomed with opened arms, Oz is closed off and so she leaves. Buffy informs Giles of the two werewolves being spotted on campus and later goes to Oz, but he says he doesn't remember anything about what happened when he got out. Desperate for a male perspective, Willow asks Xander about Oz and he suggests they talk and work it out.
Oz arranges for Veruca to meet him in the crypt that night. He wants her to lock herself in the cage with him so no one gets hurt, and finally gets her into the cage. The next morning, breakfast foods in hand, Willow arrives and is shocked to see Oz and Veruca curled up naked together. After Oz gets dressed and orders Veruca out, he tries to explain things to Willow, but she doesn't want to hear it. She asks him if he loved Veruca more than her in that animal way and finally leaves when he doesn't answer.
Walking home in a dazed state, Willow walks in front of an oncoming car, which Buffy can't save her from, but Riley happens to be there and does. Buffy takes Willow back to their dorm and then goes to take care of Veruca. Using Oz's heightened senses to lead the way, Buffy and Oz go looking for Veruca. They find her clothes and then come to the conclusion that she's gone after Willow. Willow is in one of the campus labs, conjuring a spell that will prove to be devastating revenge against Oz and Veruca. She can't complete the spell however, and Veruca then enters, locking the door with intent to kill Willow when the sun goes down and get her out of the way. Just in time, Oz breaks in and the two werewolves fight until Oz rips Veruca's throat out. Before he can attack Willow, Buffy arrives and tranquilizes him.
The next day, Buffy talks to Giles about a heavily armed guy she ran into while searching for Veruca who was dressed the same way as the guys they ran into on Halloween. Willow finds Oz in his room, packing. Unsure of what separates him from the wolf, he is leaving until he can figure it out. Oz tells Willow he only ever loved her and then walks out. After a brief hesitation, he drives off in his van.
[edit] Writing and acting
[edit] Cast and crew
- Sarah Michelle Gellar as Buffy Summers
- Nicholas Brendon as Xander Harris
- Seth Green as Oz
- Alyson Hannigan as Willow Rosenberg
- Anthony Stewart Head as Rupert Giles
- Marc Blucas as Riley Finn
- Lindsay Crouse as Maggie Walsh
- James Marsters as Spike
- Paige Moss as Veruca
- Written by: Marti Noxon
- Directed by: David Grossman
[edit] Production details
[edit] Music
[edit] Quotes and trivia
- Willow: (faking a dream) All Geminis to the raspberry hats."
- . . .
- Oz: You don't wanna find out what I am.
- Veruca: You're an animal. Animals kill.
- Oz: You're right. We kill.
- While filming a scene where Oz and Veruca have supposedly just woken up from mating as werewolves, Seth Green talked about being naked except for a "man-thong". He stated that this was incredibly uncomfortable since Paige Moss, the actress playing "Veruca", had her boyfriend visiting the set.
- During the portion of the episode where Oz is supposed to be turning into a werewolf, Joss Whedon wrote a special direction to Seth Green in the script. He told him to imagine he was "about to come onto acid."
- Lindsay Crouse, the actress playing Professor Maggie Walsh, once played Seth Green's mother in an after school special. In this episode Oz (as a werewolf) attacks and tries to kill Maggie. Seth Green laughingly called it "the circle of life".
[edit] Translations
[edit] Continuity
[edit] Arc significance
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This article or section may contain original research or unattributed claims. Please help Wikipedia by adding references. See the talk page for details. |
The existence of the primal, savage wolf in Oz and Veruca is a metaphor the fundamental, primal urges felt by all of us. These can be natural urges taken to a destructive, gluttonous level; the desire to accumulate wealth for one's comfort at the expense of others, sexual desires, perhaps substance abuse/addiction.
Veruca embraces the raw nature, the do-anything feeling the wolf gives her and doesn't understand why Oz would try to suppress it. The suppression of the wolf nature by Oz is symbolic of the struggle people have to contain their fundamental urges in check.
The pairing of Oz and Veruca parallels the pairing of Buffy and Faith during Season 3. In both instances, the audience is shown how destructive the powers of the Scoobies might be if they had less or no self control.
Buffy is now interested in the commandos she keeps seeing. This is building the plotline of the Initiative. The audience yet has not heard of this group, but soon will.
Giles showing up in the Bronze, watching TV, and happy to see Buffy talking about supernatural happenings in town is important to Giles' story in this season's plotline. Since he's no longer officially Buffy's watcher, we see he struggles with his new life as well as our college-bound freshmen. He too has to find his place in this new world and is stumbling a bit as he does so.
[edit] Timing
- Stories that take place around the same time in the Buffyverse:
| Location, time (if known) |
Buffyverse chronology: Fall 1999 - December 1999 (non-canon = italic) |
|---|---|
| L.A. 1999 | Angel comic: Doyle: Spotlight |
| L.A. 1999 | A1.01 City of |
| Sunnydale, 1999 | B4.01 The Freshman |
| Sunnydale, 1999 | B4.02 Living Conditions |
| L.A. 1999 | |
| L.A. 1999 | A1.02 Lonely Hearts |
| L.A. 1999 | A1.00 Unaired Angel pilot |
| L.A. 1999 | Angel book: Not Forgotten |
| Sunnydale, 1999 | B4.03 The Harsh Light of Day |
| L.A. 1999 | A1.03 In the Dark |
| Sunnydale, 1999 | B4.04 Fear, Itself |
| Sunnydale, 1999 | Buffy graphic novel: Blood of Carthage |
| L.A. 1999 | Angel graphic novel: Surrogates |
| L.A. 1999 | Angel comic: Strange Bedfellows story, Angel #4 |
| Sunnydale, 1999 | Buffy video game: Buffy the Vampire Slayer (Game Boy Color) |
| Sunnydale, 1999 | Tales of the Slayer: All That You Do Comes Back.. |
| L.A. 1999 | A1.04 I Fall to Pieces |
| Sunnydale, 1999 | B4.05 Beer Bad |
| L.A. 1999 | A1.05 Rm w/a Vu |
| Sunnydale, 1999 | Buffy books: Lost Slayer series |
| Sunnydale, 1999 | B4.06 Wild at Heart |
| Sunnydale, 1999 | Buffy graphic novel: Oz |
| Sunnydale, 1999 | Buffy book: Oz: Into the Wild |
| L.A. 1999 | A1.06 Sense & Sensitivity |
| Sunnydale, 1999 | B4.07 The Initiative |
| L.A. 1999 | A1.07 Bachelor Party |
| L.A. 1999 | Angel book: Close to the Ground |
| L.A. 1999 | Angel book: Soul Trade |
| L.A. 1999 | Angel graphic novel: Earthly Possessions |
| L.A. 1999 | Angel book: Redemption |
| L.A. 1999 | Angel book: Shakedown |
| L.A. 1999 | Angel book: Hollywood Noir |
| L.A. 1999 | Angel book: Avatar |
| L.A. 1999 | Angel book: Bruja |
| L.A. 1999 | Angel book: The Summoned |
| Sunnydale, 1999 | B4.08 Pangs |
| L.A. 1999 | A1.08 I Will Remember You |
| Sunnydale, 1999 | B4.09 Something Blue |
| L.A. 1999 | A1.09 Hero |
| Sunnydale, 1999 | B4.10 Hush |
| L.A. 1999 | A1.10 Parting Gifts |
| Sunnydale, 1999 | B4.11 Doomed |
| L.A. 1999 | A1.11 Somnambulist |
