Beauty and the Beasts

Plot

A full moon day brought news of a killing in the woods. Xander and Giles learned Xander had missed his watch over the werewolf Oz, and the library cage window stood open. Buffy started confiding in school psychologist Mr. Platt. That night, a feral Angel attacked her in the woods, but Buffy easily overpowered him and chained him in the mansion.

She noticed the floor where his ring had been left was scorched from his return. Willow, Xander, and Cordelia went to the morgue to take hair from the dead boy. Buffy told Giles about a vivid dream of Angel’s return; Giles said time flows differently in demon dimensions, so any escapee would likely become a monster. She wondered if Angel had committed the murder, but the hair samples gave no clear answer.

Back in Platt’s office to unburden herself, Buffy found him mauled to death. Elsewhere, classmates Pete and Debbie snuck into a room. Pete saw an empty chemistry jar and accused Debbie of drinking it. He yelled, then transformed into a monster, explaining he once needed the substance but now only needed anger.

He beat Debbie, blaming her, then changed back, and she forgave him. Oz was cleared because Platt died during daylight. He met Debbie and saw her black eye. Buffy and Willow tried reasoning with Debbie, but failed.

Angel broke his chains. Pete found Oz in the library, turned into a monster, and attacked him for talking to Debbie. At sunset, Oz became a werewolf, matching Pete’s strength, and they fought. Buffy aimed a tranquilizer at Oz, but Debbie knocked the gun aside, causing Buffy to shoot Giles. Buffy chased Pete while Willow and Faith went after Oz.

Themes

The episode condemns aggressive masculinity, showing a male student using a potion to appear more virile, resulting in a Jekyll and Hyde-style change and the physical and verbal abuse of his girlfriend. The abusive relationship is depicted with the abuser blaming the victim for his behavior and the victim making excuses. While watching over Oz in his cage, Buffy and Willow read passages from Jack London's 1903 novel The Call of the Wild, which concerns a domestic dog that survives abuse and eventually joins a wolf pack.

Reception

Reaction to the episode was mixed. Vox ranked it at #119 of all 144 episodes, noting that while the monster-of-the-week metaphor about abusive relationships is ham-fisted, the episode balances episodic material with the Willow/Oz and Buffy/Angel storylines and explores Buffy's grief and guilt over having killed Angel. Paste Magazine ranked it at #115, praising Seth Green's portrayal of Oz but finding the episode overstuffed. It was described as a serviceable but on-the-nose episode about domestic violence.

Roger Pocock observed that Faith supplies the metaphor "all men are beasts," though the metaphor does not ideally translate to Buffy's specific issue; he noted the traumatic aspects are balanced with humor and fantasy mash-ups, listing battles including Mr Hyde vs the Wolfman, Wolfman vs Slayer, Slayer vs Mr Hyde, and Mr Hyde vs Vampire. Mike Loschiavo enjoyed the call-outs to classic Universal Pictures films and stated that season three continues the emotional journey while still delivering clearly defined episodes.

Justin Carreiro argued that Scott, Pete, Debbie, and Mr. Platt should have been introduced earlier for emotional investment, and that the debate over Oz's transformation could have been answered with simple logic; he noted the glowing green liquid served as the answer for the Jekyll and Hyde curse, but praised the comedic chemistry of Cordelia, Xander and Willow.