Beauty and the Beasts

Written by: Marti Noxon Directed by : James Whitmore, Jr.

Cast : Sarah Michelle Gellar as Buffy Summers, Nicholas Brendon as Xander Harris, Alyson Hannigan as Willow Rosenberg, Charisma Carpenter as Cordelia Chase, Seth Green as Oz, Anthony Stewart Head as Rupert Giles.

Main guest stars : Kristine Sutherland as Joyce Summers, Eliza Dushku as Faith, Fab Filippo as Scott Hope, John Patrick White as Pete, Danielle Weeks as Debbie, Phill Lewis as Mr. Platt.

Original broadcast date : October 20, 1998

It¹s the full moon in Sunnydale, and that means werewolf time for Oz, who¹s locked up in the library cage as Willow stands guard, reading a book appropriately named “Call of the Wild”. Xander eventually shows up so she can take off and study, after which he promptly installs himself comfortablyŠ for a nap on the job. Meanwhile, Faith and Buffy are patrolling and discussing men. As Faith unsurprisingly turns the conversation towards the gutter, saying that all men are beasts inside, a young man, unseen by the two Slayers, runs terrified in the foliage, only to be caught and presumably mauled by a pursuing beastŠ

At school the next day, Buffy and Willow are hanging out with Oz and his friends Pete and Debbie, a couple who are also friends, incidentally, of Scott Hope, who happens to show up and join all of them. Buffy mentions that she has an appointment with the school psychologist, Mr. Platt. Debbie informs her that she, too, is seeing him, because she¹s flunking a bio class. As Oz, who aced the bio class, offers Debbie to lend her his notes, Buffy kisses Scott goodbye and leaves for her appointment.

In the library, a very agitated Giles tells Xander, Oz and Willow about the murder of young Jeff Walken, a friend of Oz found mauled to death in the forest. As Xander admits to having “rested his eyes” a few times during the night, and they notice that the window of the library cage was left open all night, all of them realize Oz may be the murdererŠ

Meanwhile, Buffy meets Mr. Platt, a cool, cheerful, cigarette-smoking guy who wants to know why she ran away. She vaguely talks about her life, telling him about the bad end of her last relationship and her subsequent fight with her mom. Having succeeded in avoiding to many questions, she goes back to the library and finds everyone still mulling over the possibility that Oz may have escaped and killed someone the previous night. An angry and hurt Oz tries to leave, but it¹s that time again, and into the cage he unhappily goes.

On patrol, Buffy finds something moving in the woods. She gives chase, it tackles herŠ it¹s Angel! They fight, and she manages to knock him out. She chains him up in the old mansion (where she fought him and Acathla), and when he wakes up, he doesn¹t recognize her; instead, he growls and tries to lunge at her, like an animal.

Meanwhile, Willow, Xander and Cordy go to the morgue to inspect Jeff¹s body. Willow musters up enough courage to get some samples of hairs from the horribly mauled bodyŠ and then faints.

In the library, werewolf-Oz roars in his cage as an unfazed Faith dances to the sound of her walkman. Buffy comes in and taps her on the shoulder; startled, Faith whirls around and punches her. Buffy relieves Faith and takes over Oz duty, spending the night going through the card catalogue, trying to find out why Angel is back. In the morning, Giles finds her asleep, piles of books about the Demon dimension and Acathla around her. Dancing around the truth, Buffy tells him that she had a dream where Angel came back; she asks him what ­ hypothetically ­ Angel would be like if he came back. He answers that anyone strong enough to survive the return to earth would be like an animalŠ

As Willow arrives with donuts and Oz wakes up, she tells them that the information she got from the body is inconclusive. However, Buffy is now afraid that the killer may be Angel. In the cafeteria, Buffy has lunch with Scott, Pete and Debbie, but it¹s clear she¹s not into conversation. After Scott¹s efforts to cheer her up fail, she heads back to the mansion and tries to make contact with Angel, but he just lunges and growls at her, scaring her off.

Upset and needing to speak to someone, Buffy goes to Mr. Platt¹s office and starts spilling out everything about Angel, while he sits silently, his back to her, seemingly listening. But when he doesn¹t answer, Buffy realizes his cigarette is burnt down to the filter, and finds out he¹s dead, horribly mauled the same way Jeff was.

In a storage room, Pete and Debbie are making out, when Pete discovers that one of his jars has been emptied. Debbie admits she got rid of the liquid because of what it was doing to Pete, and he gets quite angry, yelling at her. He turns into a monster, veins popping out on his face and neck, and hits her, saying that Mr. Platt won¹t be listening to her whining anymore. Then, realizing what he¹s doing, he goes back to normal and apologizes to her, telling her that she must remember never to make him angry.

In the library, the Scoobies are relieved to know that the fact that Mr. Platt was killed during the day claers Oz (and Angel, for that matter). But there is still a murderer on the looseŠ

When Oz meets Debbie to give her his bio notes as promised, he notices her black eye and lets her know he¹s there if she ever wants to talk about it. Pete is watching, and decides to get rid of Oz.

Oz makes his way to the library, learns that he¹s no longer a murder suspect, and realizes that Debbie is the link between both murders. As the Scoobies leave the library in search of Pete and Debbie, Oz prepares to go into his cage.

Buffy and Willow find Debbie and get her to admit that Pete is the murderer, but that she¹s to blame because she makes him angry. Meanwhile, Angel breaks free from his chains and escapes from the mansion. In the library, Pete finds Oz, turns into a monster and starts to beat him up; then Oz equalizes the odds by changing into werewolf. Buffy and the gang arrive, and she tries to subdue Oz with a tranquilizer gun. But Debbie deflects the gun and the dart hits Giles instead (teehee). As the monsters get away, the gang splits up: Buffy goes after Pete, and Willow and Faith go after Oz with the tranquilizer gun.

Faith manages to shoot Oz with a dart, but Buffy has a harder time with Pete. She follows his trail of blood to a storage room, but she¹s too late: he¹s just killed Debbie, and now he goes after her. They fight, and Buffy is saved in the nick of time from unlikely quarters: Anger arrives and violently snaps Pete¹s neck. Then, recognizing Buffy, he falls to his knees and holds her, crying and calling her name.

The next day, Buffy turns into support-o-gal, trying to comfort a grieving Scott, then going back to the mansion to watch over Angel¹s uneasy sleep.

Summary by OttsFiveByFive.

Episode Ratings

Mac - “When Giles got nailed with the tranquilizer dart, I cracked up big time. Funny, that’s about as good as this episode gets. Well, ok…the look on Buffy’s face when she sees Angel again is quite moving as well.”

DJ Angelus -

“Good message about the wrong kinds of relationships.”

Quotes

Key: B=Buffy, G=Giles, X=Xander, W=Willow, C=Cordelia, O=Oz, A=Angel, J=Joyce, PS=Principal Snyder, F=Faith, Sc=Scott, P=Pete, D=Debbie, MP=Mr. Platt

W: “He was sounding the deeps of his nature, and the parts of his nature that were deeper than he, going back into the wombs of time. The rabbit could not…” O: < snarl > W: Okay, uh, maybe we should try a less stimulating passage. X: Private Harris reporting for Oz-watch.

X: Ah, “Call of the Wild.” Aren’t we reading the Cliff’s Notes of this in English? W: Some of us are. Anyway, it’ll help you stay awake. It’s good, and very wolfy. It seems to sooth the savage beast. < whispers > Except for the part about rabbits. O: < growl > X: Rabbis?

X: No worries, I can handle the Oz full monty. I mean, not handle handle, like hands to flesh handle. W: Okay, well, it’s not for you. It’s for me, ’cause I’m still getting used to the half monty. X: Oh, good. Half? You and Oz? Which half? W: Wouldn1t you like to know?

F: Nice place. Do you ever catch kids doing the diddy out here?

F: Bet you and Scott have been up there kicking the gear shift.

F: But you like him, and when you think about him, you get that good down-low tickle, right? B: Yeah, I guess, but… how low? F: You tell me. B: How about not?

B: But he is… nice, and he’s funny. F: And quite a muffin. B: Blueberry. That crunchy, munchy stuff on top. But my most favorite thing so far is that he doesn’t seem to be any kind of hell beast. F: All men are beasts, Buffy. B: Okay, I was hoping to not get that cynical ’till I was at least forty. F: It’s not cynical. I mean, it’s realistic. Every guy, from Manimal to Mr. I-love-The-English-Patient has beast in him. And I don’t care how sensitive they act. They’re all still just in for the chase.

Sc: Hey, Buffy. That’s what I stopped you for, basically. Hey. B: Okay. Hey.

D: Hi, Oz. Hey, you’re not doing jazz band this year? O: Oh, can’t take the pressure. It’s not the music that’s hard, it’s the marching. B: We have a marching jazz band? O: Yeah, but, you know, since the best jazz is improvisational, we’d be going off in all directions, banging into floats. Scary. W: He’s just being Oz. O: Pretty much full-time.

Sc: Well, we’re not up to flowers. Are we? Up to flowers? Did I miss flowers? B: No. We’re pre-posy. Definitely.

D: But I’m flunking senior bio, and my teacher says I have “success issues.” O: Senior bio? I kind of aced that final. W: And how did you do that? Oh, right, you showed up.

G: Right. It’s good to see you. Um, no need to panic. O: Just a thought: Poker, not your game. W: What’s the deal, Giles? G: Now, bear in mind, most likely, there is no deal, but if – if there was a deal, then it would concern murder last night.

W: Wolf-you, not you-you.

X: Not to freak, I rested my eyes now and then, that’s all. G: How long, exactly, did you rest your eyes for? X: A little now, a little then.

B: Buffy Summers, reporting for sanity.

B: Not too crazy? Those are your credentials?

MP: Everybody has demons, right? B: Got to say I’m with you on that.

MP: Lots of people lose themselves in love. It’s no shame. They write songs about it. The hitch is, you can’t stay lost. Sooner or later, you have to get back to yourself. B: And if you can’t? MP: If you can’t… Well, love becomes your master, and you’re just its dog.

B: I’m afraid to ask. C: Oz ate someone last night. W: He did not! X: Oz does not eat people. It’s more werewolf play. You know, I bat you around a little bit, like a cat toy. I have harmless wolf fun. Is it Oz’s fault that, you know, side effect, people get cut to ribbons, and maybe then he’ll take a little nibble and… I’m not helping, am I?

G: We could ask Faith to watch over him. O: What, you’re having a Slayer watch me? Oh, good, we’re not overreacting.

O: Okay, you know that thing where you bail in the middle of an upsetting conversation? I have to do that. It’s kind of dramatic, I know, but… sometimes it’s a necessary guy thing. W: And I want you to do the guy thing, but…

X: We’re doing crime here. You don’t sneak up during crime.

C: Okay! Scarred for life. Oh god.

X: This guy is pretty barf-worthy. Can’t we be elsewhere?

W: There are a lot of incised wounds, but they could be from anything. C: Anything with big, sharp teeth, and vicious… X: Do you want to go back to the car and wait?

X: Okay, little too much excitement for the Willster here.

F: Buffy, are you okay? What are you doing here? B: Uh, bleeding internally, but I’ll live.

F: I was going kind of crazy in here, but I can get in a few stakings before sunrise. B: Knock yourself out. Not literally, though.

B: Oh, boy, Faith and her nutty books. G: “Exploring Demon Dimensions,” and “History of Acathla.” B: Yeah, and she still listens to heavy metal. Freaky-deaky.

B: This was vivid. Really vivid. Three-dimensional, sensurround, the hills are alive.

G: In my experience, there are two types of monster. The first can be redeemed, or more importantly, wants to be redeemed. B: And the second type? G: The second is void of humanity… cannot respond to reason or love.

W: Glazed or cake? It’s fun to watch them make them. They use this spritzy thing, and they drop the batter into this… B: Couldn’t sleep, huh? W: I’ve been at Mr. Donut since the tv did that snowy thing. How come you’re the wakey-girl? I mean, this time it’s not your boyfriend who’s the cold-blooded… Jelly donut?

Sc: I can’t back you on that lunch. Nutritional demerits. B: Oh, my stomach doesn’t want hard food today. But there’s fruit in it. Sc: Those are marshmallows.

D: He’ll make you start a dream journal. P: What’s that, like a Barbie thing? “Dear Dream Journal, how come Ken hasn’t come around since he got that earring?”

B: He definitely marches to the beat of his own drummer. Actually, I think he makes his own drums. Sc: My mom says that therapy can be completely helpful. P: Yeah, but your mom has the wattage of a Zippo lighter, Scott. Sc: I hope you realize I don’t actually know these people. I just, I thought you would like me better if I had friends, so I hired them.

P: Check out Scotty liking manic-depressive chick.

G: This creature is especially brutal. I believe the phrase coined by the coroner when describing Mr. Platt was “pureed.”

F: Which means that he was killed during the day. W: Yes! Sorry, I got… I’ve just been… It’s horrible, horrible.

G: Clearly, we’re looking for a depraved, sadistic animal. O: Present. Hey, I may be a cold-blooded jelly doughnut, but my timing is impeccable.

G: We have two victims… Jeff Orkin and now Platt. Maybe there’s something they had in common. F: Missing internal organs. G: Besides that.

G: Faith, you and I team. Willow, stick with Buffy. O: And I’ll… go lock myself in the cage.

B: It’s tricky, covering a fresh shiner like that. You know what works? D: What? B: Don’t get hit.

D: I didn’t ask for your help. W: Well, when are you going to? I mean, if Pete kills you, it’ll pretty much be too late.

O: This is kind of a bad time. P: Well, I guess you didn’t think about that when you put the moves on Debbie. O: We talked, yeah, but it was move-free.

O: I’m serious. Something’s gonna happen that you probably won’t believe. Or you might.

D: He does love me. He does love me. W: I think we broke her. B: I think she was broken before this.

O: Time’s up. Rules change.

G: Ow! B: Sorry! G: Oh, right. Bloody priceless.

W: It’s all over school what happened with Debbie and Pete. Except for the Pete-was-a-monster part. O: Yeah, a freshman told me that Pete had eight iced cafe mochas and just lost it. B: That’s better than the estrogen theory. I heard he took all of his mother’s birth-control pills. C: He didn’t? Pete was a monster? Where have I been? X: In your special place, Cor, which is why I adore you.

C: So it was a real killing? He wasn’t under the influence of anything? B: Just himself.

C: Great. Now I’m going to be stuck with serious thoughts all day.

Credit: The Sunnydale Slayers