Buffy - S4E19

New Moon Rising
First Aired: Tuesday May 2, 2000

As the Scoobies contemplate what to do next about Adam, an unexpected guest shows up; Oz.

The episode begins with Willow taking Tara with her to Giles' home for a Scoobie meeting. Buffy and Giles are both becoming concerned since demon activity is down for Buffy but up a lot for the Initiative. As the meeting comes to a close, an unexpected guest arrives; it is Oz. Back in town, he wishes to talk with Willow. Riley and Buffy patrol and get into a fight when it is revealed that Oz is a werewolf, since Riley only sees Good and Evil. Buffy becomes angry because she still hasn't told Riley about Angel. Elsewhere, Oz shows up at Willows and takes her outside, showing her that he can control his changing now, since the moon is out. They then end up spending the night together talking. The next morning, while Willow goes to freshen up before breakfast, Tara comes to the door and Oz answers. Flustered, Tara leaves and when Oz tells Willow, one can see she is in conflict. Buffy and Riley wake up with her still mad at him, but this is stymied when word reaches Riley that a werewolf attacked Graham's group the night before. Buffy returns to her room and talks with Willow about the previous night she spent with Oz. She reveals that things are complicated because of Tara. Buffy becomes freaked a bit, but is ultimately understanding. Willow goes to Tara's to talk. As Tara goes to class then, Oz, who is signing up for classes again, smells Willow all over Tara and transforms after becoming upset there might be something going on. Before he can hurt her, Riley and the commandos show up and bag Oz. Tara goes to tell Buffy and the Scoobies devise a plan to infiltrate the Initiative. While they are doing this, Riley finds out the wolf is Oz and tries to help him escape, but doing so lands him in trouble. Spike, now recruited by Adam, helps Buffy and the others get into the complex. They spring both Riley and Oz. Riley is now on the run and is hiding out in the ruins of the old high school. It is during this time that Buffy decides to begin to tell him about Angel. Elsewhere, Willow and Oz have their final conversation before Oz leaves town for good. The episode ends with Willow going to Tara's room and finally telling her how she feels.

Well, this it it. This is the episode where Willow and Tara finally officially being their relationship. Having seen the whole series already (and knowing what happens), it was sweet to see the progression of the relationship before they became girlfriends. Of course, I feel bad for Oz because he did this all more or less for Willow. The ending was a neat little contrast to the other episode where Oz left; the two are juxtaposed, with Oz getting the most emotional and heartbroken. In the overall arc of the season, we see Spike being employed by Adam and start to see Adam's plan to overrun the Initiative. It was sad that Seth Green never returned, even near the end.

Score: 4 / 5