BEAUTY AND THE BEASTS
Created | Updated May 18, 2005
Simultaneously a nailbiting whodunnit, a tale about an abusive relationship and a piece of plot-advancing, Beauty and the Beasts has a lot to show and tell in barely 45 minutes. It pushes all our emotional buttons, feeds us red herrings as well as breathtaking revelations, and slaps us in the face when we think al might end well.
The first half is the Oz-incriminating detective-story: is he a killer, and what implications will that have? His guilt and confusement, Xander trying to talk himself out -don’t it just make you wanna slap him?- Giles’ justified anger, strangely enough followed by practically backing out (“I have some research materials at home I need to look up”), Willow, despite her desperation standing by her man all the way, determined to clear him and cheering when a second murder does just that.
Meanwhile, Buffy is taken up by other, more seasonal story-arc centered things. There’s her sessions with the school’s psychologist, making for some moments. MrPlatt is getting right to the core, without getting all of it. His metaphors are Buffy’s reality and for a while you wonder wether he is who he claims to be, cleverly tying him also to the whodunnit plot. I would have loved to see more of this dualism explored, but unfortunately he doesn’t make it to the end of even this episode and it won’t be ‘till season 6’s Normal Again Buffy’s mental health will be addressed once more.
Weaved through the previoustwo, are the stories of Pete and Debbie, a seemingly unimportant attachment to do with Scott at first, but eventually becoming the central plot-element. (For a moment, you even suspect her to be the killer.) and, most crucial for what’s to come, Buffy’s discovery of Angel and her struggle to deal with this. Again, this line is interwoven with both the psychology one and the whodunnit: desperate for someone to talk to pouring her heart out to the already dead MrPlatt, the question if Angel is responsible and she’s protecting a killer, and his eventual rescue of the slayer.
So, here we have a piece of incredibly clever storytelling centering on sanity: that of Buffy, that of Angel -how much of him is still in there?- and that of Pete. But it’s equally about communication and relationships -how far do you go and how much are you willing to give up for your partner? Willow has already been mentioned, Debbie sacrificed everything to Pete who in turn became a monster basically trying to impress her. And Buffy? She attempts to move on using Scott because he’s nice, funny, and, above all, normal. But the past catches up on her, literally throwing Angel back in her lap, broken by the torture she sent him to, yet in the end clinging to her like
Finally, there’s the title to consider: who are these beasts, if we assume Buffy to be the beauty? The obvious answer would be Oz, Pete and Angel, but is that all there is to it? Considering Faith’s remarks at the graveyard, Pete’s “You’re all the same” and the fact all perpetrators are men here, Marty appears to be making a pretty dark statement about the male nature. It may be softened by society or upbringing, but deep down lies a beast ready to be awakened by putting on pressure, applying torture or drinking a substance that takes away the shackles of civilization. Or it may be released by the natural powers of the moon. Is that the Call of the Wild?
HIGHLIGHTS
Buffy’s session with MrPlatt. Everything said and his character, a nice negation of MrTrick’s remark about there being no brothers in Sunnydale last week.
Buffy discovering Angel, suspecting him of murder and chaining him to the wall, reaching out to him and getting attacked.
The use of Call of the Wild as introduction and epilogue.
The marching jazz band, later hinted at by Buffy in her conversation with Pete and Debbie: ”MrPlatt definitely marches to the beat of his own drummer. Actually, I think he makes his own drums.”
Oz sneaking in that remark to show he overheard Willow with a little reference to the music-theme: “I may be a cold-blooded jelly donut, but my timing is impeccable.”
The tension when Buffy lectures Debbie about abusive relationships. Learned the hard way?
Buffy shooting Giles with the tranquilizer gun
The ”estrogen theory”; very funny explanation after all that “men are beasts”.
Buffy completely at her wit's end pouring her heart out to the already dead MrPlatt: “I need help. I just, I need to talk to someone. I’m so scared.”
Willow throughout: shocked, determined, relieved (“It’s a kill-in-the-day monster!”). Standing by Oz all the way except when she yanks his tail as he attacks Faith.
Oz, really shatterd for the first time since we know him. Telling Willow off when he’s about to wolf-out, and looking so sad “I’ll go lock myself in the cage”.
LETDOWNS
Oz’s new werewolf costume. A slight improvement on the season 2 version, allowing for some facial movement. But whoever came up with the term Monchicchi was spot-on.
Angel’s transformation from bestial wildman to saviour muttering the name of his beloved -and suddenly wearing pants!- seems really too quick after ages of torture in a hell-dimension.
Shame MrPlatt got killed. Would have loved to see more sessions with Buffy: how to open up without letting him in?
Xander’s attitude after failing to watch Oz. Just a little hint of guilt would have been nice, especially with his best friend devastated he let her down. Instead, he snaps at Giles:”Put it that way, MrTechnical.” Was this due to jealousy after Willow’s half-monty remark or just a question of not knowing what to to do with himself?
Being friends for a long time, Scott didn’t notice any behavioral changes in Pete?
INTRODUCING
Oz’s new wolf-suit
MrPlatt, Sunnydale High’s unconventional, black, smoking school psychologist, marching to the beat of his own drummer.
Debbie and Pete, doomed couple, longterm friends of Scott Hope. He started experimenting with chemical potions to impress her, but eventually the macho this brought forward became an uncontrollable beast. Now he Hulks out and goes after any guy she had contact with, abusing and eventually killing her. She tried to stop him by flushing the potions, but by then it was too late.
Two more of Giles’ books: Exploring Demon Dimensions and Mystery of Acathla. Consulted by Buffy in her nocturnal hours watching Oz.
FACTOIDS
From her words we can deduce normally Willow watches over Oz on his three days of the month. She also tells Xander the first and last are less intense than the one total full moon night, when "he's a real wolfer".
Buffy does research and questions Giles about Hell-dimensions after finding Angel, giving Faith the night off under the pretext of having to study for her French make-up test. We learn there's no record of anyone returning from a demon dimension once the gate was closed. (With Buffy, Chanterelle, and the other slaves in Anne, the gate only closed after they got out with the pool getting tiled and empty.) What is known from Acathla's dimension suggests a world of brutal torment where time moves different from the earthly one.
Observe, again, the contrast between the two slayers: Buffy with her nice and funny boyfriend, wearing a baby-blue top, her hair in braids, Faith with the loose curls, the hints at sex and the "All men are beasts".
Giles is the first to suggest the killings may be by "something else entirely" than a werewolf.
Giles reveals to Buffy he's had dreams of saving Jenny
There's a 'smooch spot' up by the woods where the Sunnydale youth makes out
Willow and Oz are down to the half-monty part now, while Buffy and Scott are not yet up to flowers
Buffy uses Jenny's "The hills are alive" in her conversation with Giles about dreaming of Angel
Sunnydale High has a jazz band, in which Debbie has played at least since last year, where she got to know Oz, who doesn't partake this year as he can't take the marching anymore
Buffy and Angel's theme plays when he's on his knees hugging her
Leaving in a hurry, Drusilla's dolls got left behind
Characteristically, Giles, who prefers tangible knowledge to the bits and bytes kind, keeps a card index. But this is still a highschool library, so one might expect there to be a digital version, too. Which would have been a more obvious choice for Buffy.
LINES TO KEEP
Giles: "In my experience ther are two kinds of monster. The first can be redeemed, or more importantly, wants to be redeemed. The second is void of humanity...cannot respond to reason or love"
MrPlatt: "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. [ ] If you can't...Well, love becomes your master,and you're just its dog"
Buffy: "Why are you protecting him? Anybody who really loved you couldn't do this to you"
Looking back, knowing what's in store for Buffy and, especially, that other vampire, you just can't help thinking how prophetic these lines were.
MrPlatt: "You have friends, I hope. Friends are a good thing. They like you, agree with you, tell you what you wanna hear. That's not what you need right now: [ ] a professional who will always give you his honest opinion."
And once again with the hindsight: just think of Buffy's one on one with in Conversations with Dead People
MrPlatt: "Any person who claims to be totally sane is eiter lying or not very bright. I mean, everyone has problems. Everybody has demons, right?"
Normal Again, anyone?
The first half is the Oz-incriminating detective-story: is he a killer, and what implications will that have? His guilt and confusement, Xander trying to talk himself out -don’t it just make you wanna slap him?- Giles’ justified anger, strangely enough followed by practically backing out (“I have some research materials at home I need to look up”), Willow, despite her desperation standing by her man all the way, determined to clear him and cheering when a second murder does just that.
Meanwhile, Buffy is taken up by other, more seasonal story-arc centered things. There’s her sessions with the school’s psychologist, making for some moments. MrPlatt is getting right to the core, without getting all of it. His metaphors are Buffy’s reality and for a while you wonder wether he is who he claims to be, cleverly tying him also to the whodunnit plot. I would have loved to see more of this dualism explored, but unfortunately he doesn’t make it to the end of even this episode and it won’t be ‘till season 6’s Normal Again Buffy’s mental health will be addressed once more.
Weaved through the previoustwo, are the stories of Pete and Debbie, a seemingly unimportant attachment to do with Scott at first, but eventually becoming the central plot-element. (For a moment, you even suspect her to be the killer.) and, most crucial for what’s to come, Buffy’s discovery of Angel and her struggle to deal with this. Again, this line is interwoven with both the psychology one and the whodunnit: desperate for someone to talk to pouring her heart out to the already dead MrPlatt, the question if Angel is responsible and she’s protecting a killer, and his eventual rescue of the slayer.
So, here we have a piece of incredibly clever storytelling centering on sanity: that of Buffy, that of Angel -how much of him is still in there?- and that of Pete. But it’s equally about communication and relationships -how far do you go and how much are you willing to give up for your partner? Willow has already been mentioned, Debbie sacrificed everything to Pete who in turn became a monster basically trying to impress her. And Buffy? She attempts to move on using Scott because he’s nice, funny, and, above all, normal. But the past catches up on her, literally throwing Angel back in her lap, broken by the torture she sent him to, yet in the end clinging to her like
Finally, there’s the title to consider: who are these beasts, if we assume Buffy to be the beauty? The obvious answer would be Oz, Pete and Angel, but is that all there is to it? Considering Faith’s remarks at the graveyard, Pete’s “You’re all the same” and the fact all perpetrators are men here, Marty appears to be making a pretty dark statement about the male nature. It may be softened by society or upbringing, but deep down lies a beast ready to be awakened by putting on pressure, applying torture or drinking a substance that takes away the shackles of civilization. Or it may be released by the natural powers of the moon. Is that the Call of the Wild?
HIGHLIGHTS
Buffy’s session with MrPlatt. Everything said and his character, a nice negation of MrTrick’s remark about there being no brothers in Sunnydale last week.
Buffy discovering Angel, suspecting him of murder and chaining him to the wall, reaching out to him and getting attacked.
The use of Call of the Wild as introduction and epilogue.
The marching jazz band, later hinted at by Buffy in her conversation with Pete and Debbie: ”MrPlatt definitely marches to the beat of his own drummer. Actually, I think he makes his own drums.”
Oz sneaking in that remark to show he overheard Willow with a little reference to the music-theme: “I may be a cold-blooded jelly donut, but my timing is impeccable.”
The tension when Buffy lectures Debbie about abusive relationships. Learned the hard way?
Buffy shooting Giles with the tranquilizer gun
The ”estrogen theory”; very funny explanation after all that “men are beasts”.
Buffy completely at her wit's end pouring her heart out to the already dead MrPlatt: “I need help. I just, I need to talk to someone. I’m so scared.”
Willow throughout: shocked, determined, relieved (“It’s a kill-in-the-day monster!”). Standing by Oz all the way except when she yanks his tail as he attacks Faith.
Oz, really shatterd for the first time since we know him. Telling Willow off when he’s about to wolf-out, and looking so sad “I’ll go lock myself in the cage”.
LETDOWNS
Oz’s new werewolf costume. A slight improvement on the season 2 version, allowing for some facial movement. But whoever came up with the term Monchicchi was spot-on.
Angel’s transformation from bestial wildman to saviour muttering the name of his beloved -and suddenly wearing pants!- seems really too quick after ages of torture in a hell-dimension.
Shame MrPlatt got killed. Would have loved to see more sessions with Buffy: how to open up without letting him in?
Xander’s attitude after failing to watch Oz. Just a little hint of guilt would have been nice, especially with his best friend devastated he let her down. Instead, he snaps at Giles:”Put it that way, MrTechnical.” Was this due to jealousy after Willow’s half-monty remark or just a question of not knowing what to to do with himself?
Being friends for a long time, Scott didn’t notice any behavioral changes in Pete?
INTRODUCING
Oz’s new wolf-suit
MrPlatt, Sunnydale High’s unconventional, black, smoking school psychologist, marching to the beat of his own drummer.
Debbie and Pete, doomed couple, longterm friends of Scott Hope. He started experimenting with chemical potions to impress her, but eventually the macho this brought forward became an uncontrollable beast. Now he Hulks out and goes after any guy she had contact with, abusing and eventually killing her. She tried to stop him by flushing the potions, but by then it was too late.
Two more of Giles’ books: Exploring Demon Dimensions and Mystery of Acathla. Consulted by Buffy in her nocturnal hours watching Oz.
FACTOIDS
From her words we can deduce normally Willow watches over Oz on his three days of the month. She also tells Xander the first and last are less intense than the one total full moon night, when "he's a real wolfer".
Buffy does research and questions Giles about Hell-dimensions after finding Angel, giving Faith the night off under the pretext of having to study for her French make-up test. We learn there's no record of anyone returning from a demon dimension once the gate was closed. (With Buffy, Chanterelle, and the other slaves in Anne, the gate only closed after they got out with the pool getting tiled and empty.) What is known from Acathla's dimension suggests a world of brutal torment where time moves different from the earthly one.
Observe, again, the contrast between the two slayers: Buffy with her nice and funny boyfriend, wearing a baby-blue top, her hair in braids, Faith with the loose curls, the hints at sex and the "All men are beasts".
Giles is the first to suggest the killings may be by "something else entirely" than a werewolf.
Giles reveals to Buffy he's had dreams of saving Jenny
There's a 'smooch spot' up by the woods where the Sunnydale youth makes out
Willow and Oz are down to the half-monty part now, while Buffy and Scott are not yet up to flowers
Buffy uses Jenny's "The hills are alive" in her conversation with Giles about dreaming of Angel
Sunnydale High has a jazz band, in which Debbie has played at least since last year, where she got to know Oz, who doesn't partake this year as he can't take the marching anymore
Buffy and Angel's theme plays when he's on his knees hugging her
Leaving in a hurry, Drusilla's dolls got left behind
Characteristically, Giles, who prefers tangible knowledge to the bits and bytes kind, keeps a card index. But this is still a highschool library, so one might expect there to be a digital version, too. Which would have been a more obvious choice for Buffy.
LINES TO KEEP
Giles: "In my experience ther are two kinds of monster. The first can be redeemed, or more importantly, wants to be redeemed. The second is void of humanity...cannot respond to reason or love"
MrPlatt: "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. [ ] If you can't...Well, love becomes your master,and you're just its dog"
Buffy: "Why are you protecting him? Anybody who really loved you couldn't do this to you"
Looking back, knowing what's in store for Buffy and, especially, that other vampire, you just can't help thinking how prophetic these lines were.
MrPlatt: "You have friends, I hope. Friends are a good thing. They like you, agree with you, tell you what you wanna hear. That's not what you need right now: [ ] a professional who will always give you his honest opinion."
And once again with the hindsight: just think of Buffy's one on one with in Conversations with Dead People
MrPlatt: "Any person who claims to be totally sane is eiter lying or not very bright. I mean, everyone has problems. Everybody has demons, right?"
Normal Again, anyone?
