Buffy ep by ep; NEW MOON RISING; goodbye oz!

[Saturn 5]

NEW MOON RISING

The Good;
Oz is back and not before time, it's all wonderful. No matter how big a Tara fan you are you've got to adore the Willow/Oz goodbye scene
The Bad;
The werewolf makeup still stupid, thankfully the last time we'll see it.
Best line;
Riley; "No sir, I'm an anarchist"
Women good/men bad;
Oz's jealousy of Willow/Tara brings out his more animal nature.
Jeez!;
The Initiative experimenting on Oz
Kinky dinky;
Riley has now acquired a double bed and Buffy now sleeps in one of his shirts. Buffy imagines that Willow and werewolf Oz have had sex?
Calling Captain Subtext;
Buffy's reaction to the news of Will and Tara is a little freaked, interesting that she'll later vent on Riley due to his anti-demon stance (hasn't told him about Angel yet). Compensating through guilt? Buffy remarks about the uncontrollable nature of love, pressaging her relationship with Spike. Spike notes that Buffy is a 'whiny little thing' but always wins. So what exactly do Willow and Tara get up to when the candle goes out? Only fanfic can tell! That said Willow never says to Oz 'We can't be together any more because I'm gay', in fact she seems to hold out the offer that they could possibly get back together if circumstances changed so more bi than gay. Xander obviously glad to see Oz back.
Guantanamo Bay;
Riley finally rebels against the Initiative
Scoobies to the ER;
Where's Dawn?
What's Dawn's attitude to Oz? I suspect she was a fan although she also loves Tara.
Missing scenes;
Apocalypses; 5,
Wheldon Cliches (with kind permission from Boo)

Scoobies in bondage: Oz tied up by the Initiative
Buffy: 8
Giles: 4
Cordy: 5
Will: 3
Jenny: 1
Angel: 4
Oz: 2
Faith: 3
Joyce: 1
Wes: 1

Scoobies knocked out: Oz againx2
Buffy: 15
Giles: 10
Cordy: 6
Xander: 8
Will: 5
Jenny: 2
Angel: 6
Oz: 5
Faith: 1
Joyce: 2
Wes: 1

Kills:
Buffy: 79 vamps, 27 demons, 6 monsters, 3 humans, 1 werewolf, 1 spirit warrior & a robot
Giles: 5 vamps, 1 demon
Cordy: 3 vamps, ½ a demon
Will: 4 vamps
Angel: 3 vamps, 1 demon, 1 human
Oz: 3 vamps, 1 zombie
Faith: 16 vamps, 5 demons, 3 humans
Xander: 5 vamps, 2 zombies, ½ a demon, ½ a demon
Anya: ½ a demon
Riley; 12 vamps + 6 demons

Scoobies go evil:
Giles: 1
Cordy: 1
Will: 2
Jenny: 1
Angel: 1
Oz: 1
Joyce: 1
Xander: 2

Alternate scoobies:
Buffy: 6
Giles: 3
Cordy: 1
Will: 2
Jenny: 2
Angel: 3
Oz: 2
Joyce: 2
Xander: 3

Recurring characters killed: 7
Jesse, Flutie, Jenny, Kendra, Larry, Snyder, Professor Walsh
Sunnydale Death toll; I figure must be around 60?

Total number of scoobies: 7
Giles, Xander, Willow, Buffy, Anya, Riley and Tara attending her first Scooby meeting

Xander demon magnet: 5
Preying Mantis Lady, Inca Mummy Girl, Drusilla, VampWillow, Anya (arguably Buffy & Faith with their demon essences?)

Scoobies shot: Riley is about to shoot Oz although unless it's loaded with silver bullets you wonder would his pistol affect him? The Initiative guys surround Riley and Oz, surely if they opened fire they'd kill each other too?
Giles: 2
Angel: 3
Oz: 4

Notches on Scooby bedpost: I think we should add Tara to the list for Willow especially as Oz notes Willow's scent is 'all over' Tara.
Giles: 2; Joyce & Olivia, possibly Jenny
Cordy: 1?
Buffy: 3; Angel, Parker, Riley
Angel: 1;Buffy
Joyce: 1;Giles, possibly Ted
Oz: 3; Groupie, Willow & Verucca
Faith:2 ;Xander, Riley
Xander: 2; Faith, Anya
Willow: 2;Oz and Tara
Questions and observations;
The entrance of Connor Farrell, a great actor from Sex and the City, From the Earth to the Moon and especially an obscure old series I used to enjoy called Dark Skies (anyone else remember it? they used to show it very late on C4, basically history from a UFO conspiracists POV). In case anyone doesn't know William Boroughs wrote surrealist novel The Naked Lunch and accidentally shot his wife through the head. Adam was a Boy Scout. So, a werewolf CAN control it's impulses? Maybe Buffy and co should tell Nina that on Angel? (wouldn't you love Oz to turn up in Angel S6/Buffy S8?) Now according to Keith Toppings book the events of 5x5 occur AFTER this ep. Willow and Tara discuss Miss Kitty. Last mention of Devon. Anya displays her computer skills for the first time. McNamara is the name of Kennedy's defence secretary who is widely blamed for the failure of the Vietnam War and who died just this week.
On my 2009 Buffy calender there's a great picture of Tara and Oz with Willow in the middle. Tara's holding Willow's arm and Will's looking at Oz who looks as if he's about to form an expression as if to say "Sorry babe, I'm with her". I don't think it's a scene from the show but it's a peach of pic.
Marks out of 10; 8/10

[Jaz ♀♀]

i loved this episode...i give it a 10/10

i'm a huge Willow/Tara fan and you are right about adoring Willow and Oz and their goodbye scene....i cried like a baby when i first saw that, and i still get teared up whenever i rewatch that scene.

i would love to see your 2009 Buffy calender pic of Tara/Willow/Oz....it sounds very awkwardly-interesting to see even if it wasn't an actual scene

[CourtneyDax]

I think this episode was well written. It did make Oz a mean guy or anything. It was just that Willow and Oz were not meant for eachother like they were before. I can't believe that some people didn't get that Willow and Tara were dating at this point (Joss said it in the season 4 finale commentary). The writers handled the transition fabulously. I'm not a big fan of Willoz(?) but my favorite quote was when Willow said "I think they're always be a part of me waiting for you." and that totally got me.

[Saturn 5]

I wouldn't rule out Willow never returning to Oz, especially when you see their relationship in the comics