The Replacement

Xander-angst! Last season, Xander was a misfit. He wasn't in college, he couldn't keep a job, he was at loose ends and stagnating. This episode, right at the beginning of season 5, is a logical counterpart to Dawn's "Real Me." In both, the core issue is one of identity. "Real Me" introduces Dawn's search for identity; "The Replacement" makes Xander's struggle with finding his groove as an adult into an explicit theme.

So he's twins--grown-up, responsible Xander and goofy, unreliable Xander. The twist is they are both Xander, and the clearest evidence of that is that the reliable one is doing things--getting a promotion, getting a nice apartment--based on the actions of season 4 Xander, who must have quietly been doing some of the right things in order to have the opportunities he takes advantage of in this episode.

As happens in other places, most notably the yellow crayon speech, Xander calls on his history and relationship with Willow. Despite Oz, Tara, Anya, and Dark Willow--Xander and Willow's bond is deep...arguably deeper than his bond with Buffy despite his loyalty and infatuation with her (Note, I'm excluding the last couple episodes of the series when I say that--but it's worth mentioning that he takes the side Willow is on when they throw Buffy out). True Xander, deep down, Willow knows him.

Two bits of foreshadowing occur: first, somewhat jokingly, Joyce complains about a headache. Yep, that's going nowhere good. secondly, Riley has a revealing talk with "responsible" Xander explaining that he knows Buffy doesn't really love him. The clock is ticking on that relationship, we suspect, AND we see Xander doing something that he does even more once he embraces his grown up side: he is the confidante who sees more than most people, and who is willing to say the hard things.

The resolution is simple, and Xander is restored. The Scoobies reaffirm their partnership by working together to solve the problem, and the Magic Box is established as a home base. Season continues to build from here.

SEASON FIVE: Buffy vs. Dracula

Sure, it's a cute episode. Snappy dialogue, good characterization. And it makes sense that sooner or later, the Count himself would show up.

Here's what I noticed: First, when Dracula is trying to enthrall Buffy, to get her to consider joining his side, he says almost exactly the same thing Dream-Tara said in Restless: "You think you know what you are--what's to come--but you haven't even begun." In significant ways, that's the theme of the second half of the show, and very tied in with it is that Buffy's power is steeped in darkness; that is mentioned in Restless, and Spike (and others) comment on how drawn Buffy is to men who are more dark than light--she comments herself on it as she's beginning to be interested in Riley, that "something is missing." In season 7, she finds out in one episode that the Slayer's original power stemmed from harassing demons, and she rejects getting more demon-fueled-power. Her insistence on right/wrong (as noted by Faith when they switch bodies, and Willow and Xander when they call her "judgmental" during Yoko Factor)--does that stem from a fight within herself to not go to the dark side....? maybe.

Three other things that build throughout season five--because even though this is a light episode, it does establish the season's subtext: Dawn comes, literally. I can't imagine how confused the audience was as they waited week by week to understand how a new character shows up, accepted as canon in-world.

And, just as Giles was preparing to tell Buffy that he's leaving, she decides she needs a Watcher. She's going to accept the official (well, minus the council, so far) responsibilities and structure of Slayer-hood, training, listening, etc. The whole "should I stay or should I go" dance is static this season....he's needed.

Last..Xander, after being in thrall to Dracula, announces he's done being "everyone's butt-monkey." He decides it's time to grow up, to find a place in the adult world for himself. If I remember right, in just a couple episodes he has a defining moment, and is not the poor-little-victim...as often.

That's what I see, and more is coming. (Oh, and Riley was sure he was going to lose Buffy to Dracula, and Anya and Spike both have met him before--Anya seems quite smitten with the memory, too)

The Yoko Factor

Pivotal episode, in the "things that can't be unsaid" realm. The basic premise is simple: Adam will take care of Spike's chip if Spike helps deal with the Slayer. Getting her friends out of the way--and her distracted by the drama--is Spike's idea. In an insightful explanation, Spike explains that Yoko Ono didn't break up the Beatles, but they broke themselves up under the pressure of fame and time; that's his plan--plant a few seeds, and let them do the dirty work themselves.

It's been clear since season 2 that Spike understands psychology much more intuitively than the Scoobies realize; they discredit him because of his chosen image. But in the process of supplying them info about the Initiative--info which I think does turn out to be important, next episode, making him a double agent--he drops side comments to Giles, Xander and Willow that feed their basic insecurities and lead to a huge argument at the end of the episode, with Buffy walking out, implying that she can't count on Willow and Xander. Who is left? well...Riley--who ends the episode at Adam's lair, for purposes unclear (although avenging his friend Forrest's death seems likely).

Spike tweaks Giles by commenting on his uselessness and lack of control of Buffy--and, appropriately, Giles is singing Freebird when Spike finds him, foreshadowing not just what Spike talks about, but the season 6 song Standing and his ultimate leaving as Buffy's watcher. Giles spends the rest of the episode drunk, even giggling uproariously at the words "Fort Dix." Season four has been rough for Giles--no job, no standing, less than Batman's Alfred, he implies during the argument scene. Spike capitalizes on that.

In a masterful bit of triple-entrendre, Spike hints to Willow that her computer skills are weakening, that being a witch is laughable, and that being with Tara just a phase--because. like Faith, Spike realizes with only small hints that Willow and Tara are involved; something Buffy barely believes even when Willow told her, and Xander and Giles don't realize til the argument at the end of the episode. Willow falls for every one of the lines Spike throws, showing how vunerable to needing Buffy's approval she is. Again, the dialogue where Spike casually throws out those issues is intermixed with other content, making this just throw-away banter that hits home--amazing dialogue writing.

And Xander, who has been as much adrift as Giles this season, quickly believes that his friends think he should enlist. It's curious that no one asks why Spike was in conversations like that with other people--since when does Spike sit and chat? But he is integrated enough with the gang that they do all accept without question that Spike would know; his plan only works because they trust him. Again, they've forgotten that he's "evil." a point he's made repeatedly this season.

There's the whole Angel comes back, and Riley freaks because he thinks Buffy's leaving him for Angel subplot--important in the Riley/Buffy arc, maybe, because he now knows everything about Buffy and Angel (tying in well with Yoko, Xander spilled that by accident, thinking Buffy explained why Angel turned evil). That's as much finishing an arc from Angel as impacting this show, though--Buffy fans who also watched Angel had to see a semi-reconciliation after the serious break that happened on Angel when Angel gave Faith a second chance.

So what's it all about? Simple: in high school, they were without question a gang, committed to each other. Are they going to recommit, or are they going to float apart without regret as they grow up? Thus far in season 4, it seems that they are on a floating apart track--Riley doesn't really become a Scooby, Willow and Buffy don't like Anya, Xander feels like the others don't respect what he'd doing...which, in fairness, is nothing except hanging with Anya., and Willow is hiding her new relationship. Yep, they are going separate ways, to all appearances. All Spike did was tear the band-aid off the wounds.

And....to be continued....

Where the Wild Things Are

What does it mean to be human? This episode, a road bump on the path to the end of season 4, asks that in a sense...maybe. Adam--who isn't in this episode (or if he is, it's so brief that I've forgotten)--isn't human. He lacks passion. He can't love. And instead of having an Adam-centric episode now, there's one about passion. Simply: Buffy and Riley, because of the intense sexual energy they're conjured up, raise dormant spirits of orphans who lived in that house and were strictly punished for sexually-related behavior.

So, a party raises more Cain, and Buffy and Riley are hot-n-heavy for who knows how long, unaware that killer vines are surrounding them, that there's been an earthquake, that their friends are yelling for them. We get hints that Willow and Tara are involved, and Xander and Anya argue about sex--it's a theme.

Interestingly, Anya and Spike bond at the Bronze, having a conversation about how similar they are, both demons who can't hurt people. Spike is obviously ogling Anya, far more than previously, and Anya talks more freely and normally to him than she does usually. Their brief fling--10 minutes that changes their lives--in season 6 seems less random now; there's a backstory for it.

NOTE: season 4 must be where Joss has an itch to be an artist. As well as the ground-breaking Hush, this show features some artsy camera angles, pulling up on Riley and Buffy in bed until they are a little square of white floating in black. There was some other artsy thing, too, but I'm drawing a blank what it was.

And Giles sings, guitar in hand and earring in place, at a coffee shop. He's trying to find himself, and is still oddly misplaced. Appropriately, the following scene is in a library or something similar, researching; gotta reinforce the Giles image right after the crooning. The song he sings, Behind Blue Eyes by the Who, is symbolic too:

best-song-lyrics.com No one knows what it's like To be the bad man To be the sad man Behind blue eyes No one knows what it's like To be hated To be fated To telling only lies But my dreams They aren't as empty As my conscience seems to be I have hours, only lonely My love is vengeance That's never free No one knows what it's like To feel these feelings Like I do And I blame you No one bites back as hard On their anger None of my pain and woe Can show through But my dreams They aren't as empty As my conscience seems to be I have hours, only lonely My love is vengeance That's never free When my fist clenches, crack it open Before I use it and lose my cool When I smile, tell me some bad news Before I laugh and act like a fool If I swallow anything evil Put your finger down my throat If I shiver, please give me a blanket Keep me warm, let me wear your coat No one knows what it's like To be the bad man To be the sad man Behind blue eyes

Goodbye, Iowa

This is Riley's coming of age, his coming to a crisis point. As Buffy puts it at the end, the underpinings of his world have fallen apart, and he's left with nothing...but she's wrong; he's got her scarf (or whatever the piece of fabric from her was). The end foreshadows that Riley has come to terms with Maggie's betrayal by choosing to align with Buffy. Even though he stalwartly defends Maggie through most of the episode, to the point of accusing Buffy of killing her, when he's faced not merely with the fact of Adam, but Adam's statements about how he and Riley are brothers, "Mother's two favorite sons," Riley rejects being one of Maggie's creations--which continues as we (and he) discover that, like Spike, he has an implant that Maggie used to "improve" him as well.

Is this Joss' updating of Frankenstein? Is Maggie the modern Dr. F? The parallels are obvious, especailly with the killing of the child. It's been a long time since I've read Shelley's classic, so maybe I need to along with this season....free ebooks, here I come!

If part of the subtext of Buffy is to explore what it means to be female, then by extension, this season is a more overt exploration of what it means to be human (via Adam) and male (via Riley and Initiative? Thinking about that.) Riley is more "All American Ken Doll" than any other character, something Buffy knew and chose; he was supposed to be the "boring boyfriend" than Anya told her she needed....even though it was in a comic, sentimental scene, with Anya emphasizing that Buffy couldn't have Xander, and Buffy confessing how crazy about Riley she was, even though he turned out to be G.I. Joe instead of Ken Doll.

Riley's a pysch grad student, yet his moments of introspection and analysis are very limited. It's becoming more clear that Riley is a man of action, a man who follows orders and doesn't question--but when the questioning comes, he deals with it quickly and without a lot of emo (bit change from Spike, and Angel, and...yea). If he's the ideal man, I need to watch for what that means.

And on the Willow front: maybe she hasn't had sex with Tara yet after all, but she did spend the night "doing magic." Willow emphasizes to Tara that she really likes being with her and isn't just using her like Capt. Planet---"by our powers combined.." Interesting: when Willow wants Tara to help with a spell that Tara is uncomfortable with, Tara obviously (to us) undercuts it; even here at the beginning, when it's fun and flirty and helpful magic, Tara questions if Willow is using magic appropriately. Foreshadowing.

The I in Team

I've procrastinated about writing about this episode....not because it's so seminal or baffling, just....there's a lot going on, but it's mainly plot level. This episode is more soap opera structure, multiple storylines that only tangentially impact each other at this point, but all building towards further plot complications. Nothing is resolved in this episode; there's no satisfying "win" for the Scoobies, but the promise of more Big Bad action is clear--and this is the episode where the season metaplot really starts. All the players are in place, and they've introduced and established the Initiative, Riley, Oz's departure, Anya, Maggie, even Adam. We're pretty fair into the season for the big picture to just be emerging, but that becomes more the modus operandi in the later seasons (Willow isn't revealed as the Big Bad until the last couple episodes in season six; season 7, it seems like the Bringers, then Caleb, then....underlying Big Bad.).

The title for this episode is an onion: obvious, Buffy joins the Initiative (Note, it starts with an I, and is a Team), but it's clear that she is not good at being a Team Member--there's too much "I" in her makeup (which ties in with Giles' insistence to Kendra and the Council that Buffy can't be treated like the other slayers, that she doesn't fit the subservient pattern). A couple brief conversations with Riley where it's clear that he doesn't question, he does what "the team," usually Maggie, tell him because he's a team player just emphasizes Buffy's difference as well as setting up Riley's loss of innocence.

Riley knows he is part of the good guys, and he trusts without question that his leaders--Maggie--are doing everything for the greater good. Hence, he doesn't need to question. Just act. In Maggie and Riley's eyes, Giles is wrong for fostering the collaborative approach that he has permitted with Buffy (and the Scoobies--note that slayers are NOT team creatures, usually--flashback to Kendra's amazement about Buffy having friends and help).

So....Buffy, who has been the core of the Scooby team, has left that affilation (or so it seems based on her lack of connection emotionally and in daily ways with the others) in favor of Riley...not the first time she's chosen a man over her friends, notice. Season three had large helpings of Angel-secretiveness and pulling away, too.

But everyone is, in some manner, exploring connection and team:

• Spike starts off the episode by declaring that he's bad, and he will not come running if "teen witches' spells go wonky" or "Xander cuts a new tooth," cutting ties with the group even as Giles is there in the background trying to offer Spike status and involvement. What exactly Giles was intending is never made clear, as Spike is rude and dismissive, closing all discussion....until, of course, Spike is shot with a "tracer" and shows up at Giles door for help. A smidgen of Giles' hardass background--a hint of Ripper--comes through as he neogotiates with Spike about why Giles should help him. (The chemistry between those two characters is interesting; I wish Joss did a bit more with it...well, the whole season 7 Giles plotting to kill Spike excepted, I guess.) This episode makes it clear that although Spike refuses to fit into the Scooby team, he is part of the gang in more than a peripheral manner.
  
• Willow's turned gay--she's left the Scooby team with her own secret, and it's only later that the significance of this episode is clear. Tara, a stuttering, shy misfit, has been in most of the season, but just as "a witchy friend," filling a gap for Willow because Tara has more background in ways. But the scene where Buffy, after spending the night with Riley in one of the more graphically sexual scenes in the series, comes back to the room only to find that Willow has been out all night too. Buffy is so keyed into herself that she misses Willow's evasiveness and unease about saying where she was; Buffy isn't a Scooby at that point, isn't thinking as Willow's best friend. When Giles calls Willow for help with Spike's tracer, it's an affirmation that Giles is still assuming the Scoobies exist and function, but based on Willow and Buffy....that's shortsighted.
  
• Xander is floundering, and because he has no job, no Scooby imperative--Anya is with him constantly, and he hangs out with Giles, who is equally at loose ends. Xander's foray into selling the granola/power bars--which no one likes, and he justifies by explaining that he needs to buy pretty things for Anya (who embraces capitalism with a vengeance...so to speak!) Xander can't hold onto the sense of gang that they had; it's too clear that Willow and Buffy have other interests (and, as the poker game makes clear, Willow feels left out from the Anya/Xander vibe, too--making her relationship with Tara more likely, as well. Tara needs her friendship; Buffy and Xander don't)

BUT--pesto chango. The point of this episode may be to shake up Riley and make it clear that the Initiative (read: Maggie) has spawned the Big Bad: Adam, the cyborg-demon-human that Maggie has created and Riley has inadvertently helped with by supplying parts, never questioning what he was doing. Maggie reveals herself as evil--as not really being part of the Team, in once sense--when Riley finds that she has set up Buffy to get killed. The farm boy's world is rocked, and he's questioning everything. Buffy--who had been enthusiastic about the Initiative, barely considering the ramifications of that for the Scooby gang, is now Maggie's sworn enemy--and Maggie is dead...but by Adam. not Buffy.

One other curious thing: during a big fight scene, the graphic sex scene with Riley and Buffy is intercut. That's a technique that is unique to this episode, I think....I can think of times that things which we happening simulataneously are intercut, but the fighting and the sex couldn't be simulataneious--in fact, when Buffy asks Riley at the end of the fight, "what now," the audience knows exactly where they end up--and that conclusion of that sequence of events is when we find out that Buffy spent the night with Riley. Why they chose to juxtapose the action of the two scenes is curious. In a later season---five or six---Spike needles Buffy about the sexual thrill of battleing demons, declaring that it just primes the pump, or something similar--and Buffy vehemently denies it. The filming here may be the first exploration of that idea, which is pivotal in parts of season six....maybe.

The most important point: they have been losing the "team" experience and "team" feel this season, and the barely interlocking plots are designed to emphasize that; the end-of=-season melding that requires all their gifts to beat Adam also reaffirms that they are still a "team," not just the "I."

Now, on to the next episode, which continues the soap opera feel, if I remember right.

Something Blue

Time for a fan fav because it's just so fun--as Willow tries to magically zap the pain of Oz leaving, she causes mayhem for everyone around her...which ends up comic, no harm done. BUT...this is far more than just a detour from the season's Big Bad. In significant ways, this episode foreshadows huge shifts in the characters and the series as a whole, especially later seasons when the whole vibe is much darker.

Here's a question: who's journey is the focus of "Buffy, the Vampire Slayer?" Based on the title, it's reasonable to say that Buffy's evolution and actions are the crux of the show, but...not so fast. Because she's "the chosen," because her prime directive can't change and her course is predestined, there are some pretty clear parameters. Yes, they play with "Buffy should go away to college" and "When Buffy gets married and has kids...." but really? Those violate the universe that Buffy exists in--and yea, I know at the end of the series, we can discuss if Buffy has found a way to beat the system, pulling a Kobayashi Maru. We're several seasons away from that discussion, though, so the question stands: who is the series really tracking?

Willow. I can make a serious argument that Willow's journey and evolution are in significant ways what gives the series depth and momentum. The clearest images of the episode may be Spike and Buffy getting engaged, making out non-stop as magically blinded Giles tells them that he can hear the smacking of their lips. But why is Buffy sitting on Spike's lap? Willow felt jealous and rejected, and---oops--magic happened. Xander, Amy, Anya, Spike, Giles, Buffy--they all feel the ricochet of Willow's inability to deal with negative emotions and reliance on magic as a mystical band aid.

D'Hoffern, the boss of vengence demons, tries to recruit Willow--that's not a wake up call to Willow that she has issues dealing with negative emotion, but it foreshadows to the audience that Willow's issues are not solved by the handing out of fresh chocolate chip cookies, which she's sweetly and humbly doing as penance at the end: "Eat a cookie, ease my pain" with the wistful little-girl, how-can-you-be-mad smile. Buffy's comment about possibly wanting a forgetting spell to erase her feelings for Spike is especially pointed; Willow loses Tara, then turns completely dark, because of the sequence of events from using forgetting spells. For every Scoobie character, this episode is a template of what happens in some significant ways in the next few seasons.

Giles is blind--yep, his solo in "Once More With Feeling" echos that sentiment; because he loves Buffy, he's blinded to what he needs to do to let her grow up. And, more immediately, he's not seeing clearly about his role since he left the high school.

Xander is a demon magnet--again, significant points are made about he and Anya's relationship, which is still in a fledgling stage. And although the yellow crayon is not referenced (the touching speech he gave to Willow when she went evil, ultimately saving her...and the world, of course), Xander is the one who tries to reach out to Willow in her pain, before anyone realized that she was inadvertently casting spells.

Spike and Buffy, well--they are crazy in love, planning their wedding--and arguing, not really liking each other, but still incredibly connected...sound familiar? When they do start a "relationship," Buffy doesn't like him, they argue constantly, she admits she's using him, yet the connection is strong. Pretty much a mirror image of the show, down to the intensity of the physical relationship.

And the short bit where Buffy talks to Riley about being engaged, then later explains it away? We see her with a "nice, normal guy" and get to imagine what if that would work...the idea of Buffy settling down in a suburb with a mini-van and a hunky husband is appealing, and this episode juxtaposes life as a Slayer--and a vamp boyfriend--with the "what if" image we get from Riley...so far.

The title is interesting. Obviously, the wedding is referenced: something old, something new, something borrowed, something blue. But...D'Hoffern is blue--the underlying point of the episode could be that connection between Willow and the potential she has for evil as symbolized by D'Hoffern. And blue can be shadowy, dark--this episode seems innocuous, but really, it's also shadowy and dark, simmering beneath the surface.

I like this episode. The dialogue is snappy and fun, the out-of-character actions work thanks to both strong writing and good acting, and overall, the structure is tight. But the more I think about it, the deeper it is, and even little lines have a great deal of significance in the context of the series as a whole. I suspect I'll reference this one again.

Pangs

This is a popular episode--funny, good lines, and quirky. Even though the plot looks like a stand-alone, not strongly related to the season's Big Bad, this episode has undercurrents that resonate throughout the rest of the series.

Two intertwined plots: Buffy wants an old-fashioned, family Thanksgiving, but with her mom away, Willow, Giles and Xander are the family she wants to be with. Second, an ancient Chumash warrior spirit has come back, and is seeking revenge for what the European settlers did to his culture. Appropriate for the holiday, and fodder for theoretial arguments between Willow and everyone else. The twist: Angel (who is in season one of his own show) has been warned that Buffy is in danger, and sneaks around trying to protect her without her knowledge.

The family theme is important. Giles and Xander have been marginalized this season thus far, and Willow is floundering due to Oz's departure. The Scooby Gang is growing up, and it looks as it they are losing their sense of "us." The meal, and the symbolism of the holiday, are a re-affirming of their "tribe," in an ironic sense considering the other plot. Even the arguing with Willow about whether the Native spirit should be killed fits with the family squabbling that is often part of the family ritual, as is the discussion where Willow admits that she'd like to not invite Anya (foreshadowing the issues they will have as part of the undercurrent over the next several seasons). Also, Spike's showing up, as desperate as any Dicken's character, begging Giles to take him in after Harmony refuses to let him stay (juxtaposed against another character's observation that home is where you go because they have to take you in. Like it or not, Buffy and co. are Spike's home.) The shot where Angel looks in the window, watching Buffy as she prepares the dinner for her "family," is poiniant. Angel is on the outside now...and Buffy's frequent staring out of the windows, looking for something but not sure what, underscores that she senses him, is connected to him, but he chooses to stay just out of reach. Spike is never exactly one of the gang--something made painfully clear in season 7--but he's at the table, part of the family. Angel isn't, by his own choice.

The Chumash tribe theme, while appropriate for the holiday, in ways is not about the Native Americans. Sure, there's some interesting controversy where Spike is the voice of reason, in ways, pointing out that the Europeans won, that's what conquerors do, so can the guilt. And Giles gets to mumble some hilarious lines about the Colonies. But the essence of the argument Willow makes, in ways, harkens back to the whole werewolf/human dilemma. Was Oz wrong to kill Veruca? Was she human? Should Oz be considered human--or not? When is mercy appropriate? Willow sees the spirit as human and wants to treat him thus, suggesting amends and reparations. Failing negotiations, she turns to magickal remedies, again trying to avoid an unpleasant situation via magick. Giles and Buffy both insist that magick is not the answer. Xander, sick from the Chumash warrior's curse, says it's a vengence demon, and vengence demons should be killed, which is not Anya's view at all. Until the war party attacks, Willow continues her argument.

The episode ends with the meal, one of the few times a sit-down meal is featured in the series. The symbolic value of breaking bread is important in the Buffyverse, and not done lightly. The episode ends with comments about how good it is to be together, like old times, affirming the family...and Xander slips, mentioning that Angel was there. Everyone looks at Buffy, cut to black. Oops.

Fear, Itself

I've been procrastinating about writing this one. Even had to watch the show again because I wasn't sure I remembered it well. On the surface, it's a fairly light show, doing a bit of relationship and character-building. Underneath, it's foreshadowing character traits that will ultimately threaten their relationships and all of Sunnydale.

The Anya/Xander relationship becomes an ongoing feature, and based on how it begins, Buffy's reaction early in season 5 when she accuses Xander of just letting Anya hang around so he's not alone seems true. Even though the relationship rarely takes front stage and Anya is often merely a plot device, the genesis and evolution is fun to watch.

More importantly, though, we see what each character fears most, and we see what happens to their friendships when they are under stress. Willow turns petulant and uses magic indiscriminately, just to prove she can--and she can't control it. The slight jealousy she feels about Buffy's importance overtly surfaces. Oz fights for control of his werewolf side, and abandons Willow as he deals with that. Buffy decides to take charge, alone, and closes her heart and ears to others' input. And Xander, who is totally marginalized by his non-college status (which is emphasized a couple times early in the episode), becomes invisible.

If the major foreshadowing department, when the demon is revealed in a trickster-twist, he tells Buffy as she kills him, "They're all going to abandon you, you know." She says, "yea, yea," as she stomps him. He wins, though. All their fears come true, even though it's the very end of the series when Buffy is abandoned and it's season 6 before Willow completely loses herself in her magic. The seeds are planted this early for us to know that those are possibilities.

As for Oz...it's not long before the wolf wins, and Xander is dealing with his metaphorical invisibility even in the last season as he tells Dawn about the challenge of not being special.

Giles rescues them, but throughout this episode and much of season 4, he's clearly at a loss as a character. He's comic relief in this episode, wearing a huge sombero and wielding a chainsaw. Getting his credibility back is his struggle this season, and this episode clearly shows his current lost-puppy status.