Buffy the Vampire Slayer/Beauty and the Beasts

Beauty and the Beasts
Season 3, Episode 4
Airdate	October 20, 1998
Production Number	3ABB04
Written by	Marti Noxon
Directed by	James Whitmore Jr.
← 3x03 Faith, Hope and Trick	3x05 → Homecoming
Buffy the Vampire Slayer — Season Three

Beauty and the Beasts is the fourth episode of the third season of Buffy the Vampire Slayer, and the thirty-eighth episode overall. People are dying in Sunnydale, and the Squad thinks it might be Oz's werewolf state, until they learn about the temper of an acquaintance.

Sarah Michelle Gellar (Buffy Summers), Nicholas Brendon (Xander Harris), Alyson Hannigan (Willow Rosenberg), Charisma Carpenter (Cordelia Chase), David Boreanaz (Angel), Seth Green (Oz)

and Anthony Stewart Head (Giles)

Guest Starring: Fab Filippo (Scott Hope), John Patrick White (Pete Clarner), Danielle Weeks (Debbie), Phill Lewis (Mr. Platt), Eliza Dushku (Faith)

Plot Overview

Someone died in the woods in Sunnydale, and Giles is afraid that Oz might be behind it, especially when he learns that Xander was sleeping while he was supposed to be watching Oz in the cage. Buffy discovers that Angel is back, but now he is different; more like an animal, and she suspects that perhaps it is him. However a third option emerges: Pete, a guy who has created a potion that gives him super strength, but only when he becomes extremely angry. As the crew scrambles to figure out who is behind the killings, Buffy deals with the emotions she is facing; on the one hand Angel is back, but that brings up the memories of her killing him and how he has changed. On the other hand she has just started to get close to Scott.

Notes

Monster of the Week

Pete Clarner is a senior at Sunnydale High School who has devised some kind of bright green potion which transforms him into a veined monster with super strength and talons at the end of each finger. Although at one time he apparently used the potion to instigate the transformation, the change is now spurred by jealousy or anger.

The inspiration for Pete is Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde by Robert Louis Stevenson, which Willow directly references after Pete is killed by Angel. The novella vividly describes Dr. Jekyll's split personality disorder, which stems from taking a potion himself. The story is at the root of many "alter-ego" stories, including The Hulk. In this case the story is also combined with abusive relationships.

Body Count

#	Whom	By Whom	How	Where
1	Jeff Walken	Pete Clarner	Mauled	Woods
2	Mr. Platt	Pete Clarner	Mauled	His Office
3	Debbie	Pete Clarner	Strangled	Basement
4	Pete Clarner	Angel	Strangled	Basement

Arc Advancement

Happenings

• Werewolves: The mannerisms and look of Oz as the werewolf have changed significantly since he first appeared. Now, instead of being bipedal with a large wolf head on his body, his face is more human and he tends to walk on all fours.

Characters

• Angel: Although Angel has returned from beyond the veil, he is not the rational being that he once was. Giles tells Buffy that there is no record of anyone returning from a "demon dimension", but if Angel were to return it would have been after a comparative several hundred years of torture. He posits that it would take a being of "extraordinary character" to survive that while retaining some semblance of self. His rationality seems to return to him after killing Pete.

Trivia

Behind the Scenes

• International: Buffy the Vampire Slayer has been dubbed into many different languages and the title translated for each different international version. Some international translations of this episode's title are:
  • French: "Les belles et les bêtes" ("Beauties and the Beasts")
  • Italian: "La bella e le bestie" ("The beauty and the Beasts")
  • German: "Dr. Jekyll und Mr. Hyde" ("Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde")
  • Japanese: "美女と野獣" ("Bijo to Yajuu" - "Beauty and the Beast")
  • Spanish: "La bella y las bestias" ("The Beauty and the Beasts")

Allusions and References

• Call of the Wild: The story that Willow reads Oz while he's locked in the cage is The Call of the Wild by Jack London. The novel tells the story of Buck, a domesticated dog whose instincts return to him when placed in a team of sled dogs. In the end, Buck becomes a wild animal and the pack leader for a group of wolves he encountered after his master's death.

Quotes

• Giles: How long... exactly did you... rest your eyes for?

Xander: A little now, uh, a little then. But I never heard Oz leave, and he was here in the morning when I, um... when I...

Giles: Woke up!

Xander: You could put it that way if you want to, Mr. Technical.

• Debbie: He does love me.

Willow: Come on.

Debbie: He does love me.

Willow: I think we broke her.

Buffy: I think she was broken before this.

• Cordelia: Great. Now I'm going to be stuck with serious thoughts all day.