Season 3, Episode 4 | Aired: 20 October 1998 | Written by: Marti Noxon | Directed by: James Whitmore Jr.
Sunnydale has a mauling problem — someone or something is killing students in the woods — and the suspects are Oz (who escaped his cage during the full moon), Pete (John Patrick White), a student who has been dosing himself with a Jekyll-and-Hyde compound to be stronger for his girlfriend, and Angel, who has returned from the Hell dimension, feral and barely human. The episode juggles all three with economy, and lands on Pete as the monster while saying something true about domestic violence along the way.
What Happens
Oz escapes his cage. Xander falls asleep on watch. The killings happen. Suspicion falls on Oz, but Buffy finds Angel in the woods — incoherent, feral, nearly unrecognisable — and hides him in the mansion. Pete’s girlfriend Debbie (Danielle Weeks) is covering for him, and the episode traces the logic of that cover-up with uncomfortable clarity. Pete finds Angel and attacks him. Angel, recovering faster than expected, kills Pete. Pete’s girlfriend dies from her injuries. Angel, still partly feral, holds Buffy at her name and weeps.
Key Moments
Angel’s return. He’s been in a Hell dimension that runs on different time — decades there, months here. What came back isn’t quite the Angel who left. The scene where he recognises Buffy — the moment the animal gives way to something more — is played quietly and is more disturbing for it.
Monster / Villain
Pete and his self-administered compound — the episode’s real monster. The show is explicit: Pete is an abuser. The potion just made him faster.
Notable Quote
“It’s all about control.” — Pete, which is exactly what abusers believe.
Where It Fits
Beauty and the Beasts brings Angel back and immediately refuses to make it a relief. He’s here, but he’s damaged, and Buffy is hiding him from everyone. The secrecy that begins here will cause problems for the rest of the season’s first half.