Wild at Heart (Buffy episode)
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"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.)
Plot synopsis
Summary
Oz escapes from his cage while in wolf mode, runs across another werewolf (Veruca), and wakes up next to her naked in the wilderness the next morning. Veruca tells him that the wolf is part of him; he should just run free. Oz fixes up his cage, invites Veruca over, and locks her in with him. The two start kissing before the wolfiness even takes over, and Willow comes to the cage the next morning to find them naked together. She cries, they argue, Veruca tries to kill Willow, Oz-wolf kills Veruca, and Buffy stops him from attacking Willow. Oz realizes that he doesn't have control over the wolf, and the wolf is part of him. He leaves town to figure things out. Also, Spike gets zapped by the mysterious Commando guys.
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.
Extremely comprehensive synopsis
Writing and acting
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
- Written by: Marti Noxon
- Directed by: David Grossman
Production details
Music
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".
Continuity
Arc significance
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, glutonous 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. If we succumb to them too much they become self-destructive just as the physical manifestation of the wolf in Veruca shows us. The writers give us a good reason to try and suppress our primal urges when we see what happens to Veruca, who dies because of it.
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 stumbling a bit as he does it.
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: |
| L.A. 1999 | A1.01 City of (Angel episode)>City of |
| Sunnydale, 1999 | B4.01 The Freshman (Buffy episode)>The Freshman |
| Sunnydale, 1999 | B4.02 Living Conditions (Buffy episode)>Living Conditions |
| L.A. 1999 | |
| L.A. 1999 | A1.02 Lonely Hearts (Angel episode)>Lonely Hearts |
| L.A. 1999 | A1.00 Unaired Angel pilot |
| L.A. 1999 | Angel book: Not Forgotten (Angel novel)>Not Forgotten |
| Sunnydale, 1999 | B4.03 The Harsh Light of Day (Buffy episode)>The Harsh Light of Day |
| L.A. 1999 | A1.03 In the Dark (Angel episode)>In the Dark |
| Sunnydale, 1999 | B4.04 Fear Itself (Buffy episode)>Fear Itself |
| Sunnydale, 1999 | Buffy graphic novel: Blood of Carthage (Buffy comic)>Blood of Carthage |
| L.A. 1999 | Angel graphic novel: Surrogates (Angel comic)>Surrogates |
| L.A. 1999 | Angel comic: Strange Bedfellows (Angel comic)>Strange Bedfellows story, Angel #4 |
| Sunnydale, 1999 | Buffy video game: Buffy the Vampire Slayer (Game Boy Color) |
| Sunnydale, 1999 | |
| L.A. 1999 | A1.04 I Fall to Pieces (Angel episode)>I Fall to Pieces |
| Sunnydale, 1999 | B4.05 Beer Bad (Buffy episode)>Beer Bad |
| L.A. 1999 | A1.05 Rm w/a Vu (Angel episode)>Rm w/a Vu |
| Sunnydale, 1999 | Buffy books: Lost Slayer (Buffy novel)>Lost Slayer series |
| Sunnydale, 1999 | B4.06 Wild at Heart (Buffy episode)>Wild at Heart |
| Sunnydale, 1999 | Buffy graphic novel: Oz (Buffy comic)>Oz |
| Sunnydale, 1999 | Buffy book: |
| L.A. 1999 | A1.06 Sense & Sensitivity (Angel episode)>Sense & Sensitivity |
| Sunnydale, 1999 | B4.07 The Initiative (Buffy episode)>The Initiative |
| L.A. 1999 | A1.07 Bachelor Party (Angel episode)>Bachelor Party |
| L.A. 1999 | Angel book: Close to the Ground (Angel novel)>Close to the Ground |
| L.A. 1999 | Angel book: Soul Trade (Angel novel)>Soul Trade |
| L.A. 1999 | Angel graphic novel: Earthly Possessions (Angel comic)>Earthly Possessions |
| L.A. 1999 | Angel book: Redemption (Angel novel)>Redemption |
| L.A. 1999 | Angel book: Shakedown (Angel novel)>Shakedown |
| L.A. 1999 | Angel book: Hollywood Noir (Angel novel)>Hollywood Noir |
| L.A. 1999 | Angel book: Avatar (Angel novel)>Avatar |
| L.A. 1999 | Angel book: Bruja (Angel novel)>Bruja |
| L.A. 1999 | Angel book: The Summoned (Angel novel)>The Summoned |
| Sunnydale, 1999 | B4.08 Pangs (Buffy episode)>Pangs |
| L.A. 1999 | A1.08 I Will Remember You (Angel episode)>I Will Remember You |
| Sunnydale, 1999 | B4.09 Something Blue (Buffy episode)>Something Blue |
| L.A. 1999 | A1.09 Hero (Angel episode)>Hero |
| Sunnydale, 1999 | B4.10 Hush (Buffy episode)>Hush |
| L.A. 1999 | A1.10 Parting Gifts (Angel episode)>Parting Gifts |
| Sunnydale, 1999 | B4.11 Doomed (Buffy episode)>Doomed |
| L.A. 1999 | A1.11 Somnambulist (Angel episode)>Somnambulist |
External links
Reviews
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