Stew’s Buffy The Vampire Slayer Retrospective: Season 4, Episode 19 – 20

The College Season Not About College: A BTVS Retrospective, S4 E19-20

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Episode 19

Image Credit: 20th Century Fox TV

Willow and Tara start us off as they talk together about various goings-on, including their sudden desire to get a cat together. Which I am all for, unless it dies. This show could use a cat to spiffy it up. Again, unless it dies. Then I will be ever so unbelievably cross.

They make it to the Scooby meeting where Buffy says there has not been a lot of activity lately, and Giles thinks that Adam is preparing something and keeping things on the down low. Conversely, Riley reports, the Initiative has been super busy capturing demons out and about.

So… which is it? Nothing is going on, or a lot is going on? It’s not like Buffy and Riley go after distinctly different threats. This episode contradicted itself in record time this week.

As they continue to discuss things, though, Oz of all people walks in! He tells Willow he wants to talk to her, then heads back out of Giles’ place. Tara, clearly and justifiably feeling uncomfortable, leaves the meeting.

Later on, we see Buffy and Riley out on patrol, where they fight a demon, so yeah, I guess Buffy was hallucinating during her report in, and that things are actually busy, but who bloody knows with this damn show what I’m supposed to believe? They pretty easily subdue the demon and call in an Initiative retrieval team.

Buffy lets it slip that Oz is a werewolf, and Riley is shocked. He says he thinks that is very unlike the demure, quiet Willow to have dated a bad boy. Buffy flies off the handle, calls him a bigot, and demands they just patrol in silence the rest of the night.

Oz heads to Willow’s room to talk, and he invites her outside. He notes that since he left, she must have quit watching the calendar because it’s a full moon… but he isn’t changing! She is thrilled for him, and then they start playing the gender game, as he asks if she has “a new guy”, and she confirms that she does not have THAT. Oz, you see, wants her back!

Meanwhile, The Initiative is attacked by a werewolf-like demon who beats the hell out of few members and escapes.

But back at the main plot (for now!), Oz tells Willow about how he traveled the world. He’s been to Tibet, Romania, and other places. He discovered herbs, charms, and the like. It allows him to control his werewolf side.

I hope he shared this information with his nephew first before heading out to meet his ex! But little careless Oz nephew may have infected half his hometown by now. Oh, show; you thought I forgot a quick line you played for laughs, like, two seasons ago, but I DID NOT.

Willow conveniently heads to the bathroom just in time for Tara to come over and see Oz in her room, where he stayed all night. She stammers out some nothing when he recognizes her from the team meeting he walked in on, and then she leaves right before Willow returns.

I’d complain about the plot contrivance of it all, but honestly… not much would have changed if Willow had been in the room during this scene.

Buffy and Riley wake up together, but she is still super cold to him. He thinks all monsters are evil and has no time for nuance! Buffy starts debating him about this, but Forrest rushes in to report that Beta Team has been attacked!

Buffy heads to the dorm room she suddenly remembers she and Willow share together.

Hey, remember when this season was about college life for, like, the first four episodes? Good times. I miss those days. College is BARELY a backdrop for the last dozen or so episodes, man. We are no longer concerned about Buffy living on her own or classes or meal plans.

It just gives Mom a reason to not be around.

Wait.

So what am I complaining about?

Anyway, Buffy finds out that Willow is dating Tara, and her reaction is distinctly uncomfortable at first. She gets over it somewhat quickly, though.

Elsewhere, Adam approaches Spike in his tomb and gives the recruitment speech. He wants all-out war between the forces of humanity and monster, with many casualties on both sides, and he promises to take Spike’s chip out.

This actually happens over two extremely redundant scenes where he promises to take the chip out in each. Good writing as always, BTVS.

Willow is off to see Tara, so she can tell her girlfriend that she hasn’t decided whether she will dump her yet or not. Doormat Tara tells her they will still be friends no matter what. Grow a spine, Tara, damn. Willow cries a bit and acts conflicted; it’s the whole Allyson Hannigan Emmy Submission Scene treatment.

In a college building, Oz smells Willow, but when he turns, it is Tara. He mentions he is returning to school, but then realizes he can smell Willow all over Tara and loses his damn mind over it. He pieces together that they are a couple and starts changing into his wolf form. I know this is supposed to show us he is distraught that Willow deceived him, and maybe that he is broken hearted, but what it ACTUALLY does is make him look like a bigot and a possessive douchebag.

As he chases Tara, the Initiative gets involved and tranqs him to take him away.

Tara tells Willow what happens, and the team has a meeting where Riley is not responding to Buffy’s pages. Buffy, Willow, and Xander are planning to sneak into The Initiative when Spike shows up; he just knows everything going on and tells them he is aware of a back door he can sneak them in through.

Riley brings a naked Oz some clothes and tries to sneak him out of HQ, but Team Riley and an armed response team stops them. TEAM RILEY EXPLODES, BROTHER.

Riley ends up in Initiative Jail, which is much harder to escape from than Library Jail. The colonel shows up and dresses Riley down before informing him of an upcoming court martial.

Buffy and the others sneak into the HQ, and Buffy goes to the colonel and finds out that Riley is in the brig. She heads off and frees him. Riley has a character moment where he realizes that if he goes with Buffy and her friends, he is 100% out of The Initiative forever. Then he says he just needed to say that aloud and heads off with them.

Aww. I’m going to feel bad when he is written out of this show in a few episodes.

They then find and save Oz, who starts turning into a wolf when Willow approaches him. She backs off, and he gets it back under control.

Possessive.

Ex.

Boyfriend.

They aren’t painting Oz very flatteringly this episode, man.

The team kidnaps the colonel and takes him on the elevator to the frat house, and Riley coldcocks him one for good measure.

Buffy and Riley are hiding out in a a rundown shack together, and Riley admits to having been wrong about Oz. Buffy relates to Riley because, hey! She was momentarily bigoted about Willow’s choices in partners earlier this episode, too! She decides to tell Riley about her past.

Willow and Oz finally and officially break up for good in Oz’ van, and he decides NOT to return to UC SunnyDale on account of the military organization running around that would very much like to run tests on him and lock him up. So he leaves again.

Willow then goes off to tell Tara that she completes her.

Episode 20

Image Credit: 20th Century Fox TV

We kick off episode 20 with a teleconference at The Initiative. But nothing really of note happens there, so MOVING ON…

We cut to Adam and Spike, with Spike telling Adam he is underestimating Buffy. He has killed TWO slayers, but even he has had trouble with Buffy. After Adam ONCE AGAIN promises to take Spike’s chip out, Spike mentions Buffy wins because of her team. Adam and he plan to take the team from her.

Which, you know, if Adam could remove the chip, could be really easily done given that Spike has unfettered access to their homes. Actually, hell, why doesn’t he just tell Adam where her friends live and have HIM go kill them?

But no, we’re going to spready nasty rumors or whatever instead. This show loves giving its big bads a -5 to their INT rolls.

In Riley’s shack, Xander brings him some bad clothes. You know, Xander never looks great because he looks like Xander, but every time someone else wears his clothes, they get the weirdest things costuming can dig up.

To be fair (to XANDER of all people), I remember what I wore at 19 years old and when this show was airing. And it wasn’t great! Green corduroys. That’s actually true. I had a paid of green corduroys. But I also changed my pants a lot more often then than I do now.

Anyway, apparently Buffy was over on Angel’s show for an episode that I missed. Xander, assuming Buffy told Riley EVERYTHING, spills the beans that it was their having sex that turned Angel villainous previously.

Now that Giles has sung once, he must ALWAYS sing, so we get a full minute or so of his singing Freebird here before he finally gets interrupted by Spike. Spike says he has info, but it’s for Buffy, not Buffy’s washed-up, unemployed librarian watcher that she never listened to.

Willow and Tara have a kitten! It’s the best and I love it instantly. I don’t care about any characters on this show, but I will die for this kitten. Willow laments that rooming with Buffy isn’t what she thought it would be. Well that’s because the writers stopped caring about the college aspect of the show, Willow. So we don’t see your day-to-day lives anymore. And if the viewers don’t see it, it must not be happening. I’ve yet to see you or Buffy attend a single class this semester! Or even talk about one!

Riley heads to Buffy’s room, and I am immediately wondering if he is TRYING to get caught. He hand-waves that concern away with having a radio so he can hear their plans. Sigh, sure, whatever. Just get on with this scene, I guess. Buffy says Angel upset her, but she won’t tell Riley (or me!) why or how. Riley kind of jokes off about having to leave. Because Xander’s pants are HILARIOUS.

Xandr brings Spike some army gear, and we find out Spike can’t even aim a gun at human beings—even when the gun is fake (though he thought it was real, so that’s got to be why the chip shocked him. Please don’t tell me the chip knew the gun was fake, because I can’t even begin to piece that rationale together in my head).

Spike tells Xander that the other members of the team joke that he should join the military to actually be useful.

A patrolling Buffy runs into Forrest, and they reluctantly decide to explore a cave together since they are both there. Once inside, they find ADAM! And he just straight up murders the fuck out of Forrest. And just when he thought there ain’t no stopping him, no.

He smacks Buffy around and sends her running, and she falls down a hill and KO’s herself. Adam just… stays in his cave.

-5, guys. Minus. Five.

Spike runs into Giles’ house, pretending he just escaped from Initiative HQ with some discs. Giles is just drinking away as Willow tries to… to… dis-encrypt? De-encrypt? Decrypt? Whatever the word is… bypass the encryption on the discs. She is struggling. Spike drops that the others think she has abandoned her computer skills for her trendy Wicca phase.

Riley hears over his Initiative FM that there is a mayday request for help and two members are down. He heads to the scene and finds Angel is the cause.

Here’s where things get weird.

See, this episode was written by someone named Douglas Petrie, but Whedon clearly cribbed this guy’s notebook because the whole Riley/Angel encounter sees Riley inexplicably talking like Mal from Firefly. Saying things like “Did you go and lose that pesky soul of yours” and “Oh, I surely do”. You can just HEAR Nathan Fillion wanting to recite those lines.

Anyway, Angel beats his ass for ripping off the vastly superior Whedon property that didn’t exist yet, then runs away. Riley recovers and follows.

A beaten and battered Buffy enters her dorm, and it’s not long before Angel joins her. Then Riley. Buffy separates and threatens them. She and Angel speak in private out in the hall. Angel apologizes for whatever happened in LA. They leave on good terms. She then talks to Riley, who thinks she is about to dump him, but she isn’t! They are in love! They hug! It’s sweet, I guess?

Buffy kills the mood by telling him about Forrest, and he gets distressed and leaves.

At Giles’ place, the whole team is together, and Willow still has not… broken that encryption! They all start bickering over the venom Spike spewed all episode (while poor Tara and Anya hide in the bathroom). Blah blah blah, everyone is mad at everyone, Buffy storms out. I’m sure there are many lasting repercussions here that won’t be solved by the halfway point of next episode.

And right before we get a To Be Continued ending, we see Riley show up at Adam’s lair. This could mean… a couple of things, with many of them being more stupid than others! The biggest issue is that Riley knew where the lair is, so we have to jump straight to the stupidest ones: Professor Walsh has him under some sort of programming or something, right? Something about Forrest dying kicked in a program, and now he’s being controlled by Adam or The Initiative somehow.

WHOOF. Stupid.