Buffy the Vampire Slayer (TV Series) Wild at Heart (1999) User Reviews

Oz leaves town and we're back to the four main Scoobies again

[katierose295 · 7/10 · 5 August 2006]

This is the episode where Oz and Willow break-up. They're just about the cutest couple ever on BTVS and it's so sad to see Oz leave. BTVS is reinventing itself this season. With Angel, Cordy, Wes and now Oz gone, we're back to the four main Scoobies again. Buffy, Xander, Willow and Giles have to rebuild the show with a new supporting cast. Riley will soon be Buffy's new love interest. Anya is starting to appear more and more. By next episode, Spike will join the cast full-time. And Tara will be introduced in "Hush." The show is changing and "Wild at Heart" is one of the last episodes of the old regime.

The episode centers around Oz and Willow. Oz is still a werewolf, of course, and he's picking up on some weird vibes from the new girl Vercua. It turns out that she's a werewolf, too, and she's wants Oz. After Oz accidentally gets out of his cage during the full moon, he and Veruca sleep together. Oz wakes up in the forest, naked with her and is immediately scared that Willow will learn the truth. Willow, meanwhile, is suspicious of the way that Oz had been acting around Veruca. Especially after Oz refuses to sleep with Willow. (He doesn't want her to see the scratches that Veruca left on his back.) Willow goes to Xander for advice and he tells her to talk to Oz about her concerns.

When Willow tracks Oz down the next morning, he's in his werewolf cell... But Veruca is with him. Buffy has been tracking reports of werewolf attacks and Oz, afraid that she might find Veruca, drug Veruca into is cage with him. The two of them slept with each other again and now Willow is horrified to see them together. She and Oz argue, then she runs off to talk to Buffy. Buffy and Oz go looking for Veruca, that evening. But, she's not roaming the campus as a werewolf... She's going after Willow. She confronts Willow in the chemistry lab and tries to attack her. Oz arrives just in time to save Willow. After he kills Veruca, he decides to leave Sunnydale.

There are some good parts to this episode. The scene where Willow confronts Oz and Veruca is great. Especially, when Oz tries to defend himself with by bringing up Willow's kiss with Xander last season. And Willow dismisses that excuse, along with his "I was trying to stop Vercua from hurting people" rational. She's getting stronger and the argument just works really well. I also love the final talk between Oz and Willow. The way her voice breaks when she asks him, "Don't you love me?" And his face when he whispers, "In my whole life, I've never loved anything else." It's so beautiful. Have I mentioned that I adore them together? I also like that Willow nearly fried Oz and Veruca with her powers. She has a darkside to her that will be explored further in season six.

On the downside, I really hate Veruca. Just seeing her on screen annoys me. And I love Oz and Willow together so seeing them split-up is just heartbreaking. Nothing against Tara, but I wish Oz could have stayed. Also, I get they're trying to make me like Riley, but having him save Willow from a speeding car is just... Lame. And why would super-government-scientist Professor Walsh walk around talking about being attacked by "wild dogs" Doesn't she know supernatural happenings from a couple of strays? Finally, I wish that Xander had gotten a scene with Oz once the truth came out about Veruca. Xander is so protective of Willow, that I'd like to see him go tearing into Oz for hurting her.

My favorite part of the episode: Spike getting "zapped" by the Initative, right in the middle of his evil monologue.

Gets me every single time

[Nachmach · 9/10 · 18 January 2020]

I love this show and I've watched it over and over but it's quite hard to watch that episode.

Joss Whedon said it was « heartbreaking " to let Seth Green go and wanted everyone to feel this way, Willow, and us. They did it perfectly. My stomach aches and I have tears in my eyes when I watch the last scene even though I know the show by heart.

This is one of my favourite episodes and it's also one of the saddest.

Oz turns

[ossie85 · 8/10 · 15 August 2022]

The full moon is upon us and Oz escapes from his cage, he is then intercepted by another werewolf and the two wake up together. The other wolf turns out to be Veruca. Veruca doesn't care about her wolfness and forces her to get in the cage with him the next night. Willow finds them the next morning.

Why It's So Good - Oz has to deal with his very nature. Seth Green and Alyson Hannigan act some truly heartbreaking scenes. Men going bad is something this show does amazingly well.

Watch Out For - Spike's speech at the start.

Quote - "Oh, you moron. That dinette set should be mine." - Giles to the TV.

Animal attraction

[Tweekums · 9/10 · 17 April 2019]

In the previous episode Oz appeared to be showing more interest in Veruca, a singer, at the Bronze than Willow cared for; here it becomes apparent why. They have more than music in common; they are both werewolves! He discovers this the morning after escaping from his cage on the night before the full moon when the two of them wake up together. They talk and she is unimpressed that he cages the wolf side of himself. Later Willow's worries about their relationship grow. Veruca's desire to 'free' Oz puts Willow in real danger.

This was a really good episode. It got off the a great start with a teaser prologue which suggested an old enemy would be the episode's main bad guy only for him to be captured by the mysterious black clad figures moments later. It was nice to see Willow and Oz take centre stage in a story that proved to be surprisingly emotional; Alyson Hannigan did a brilliant job depicting the emotional effect of the events on Willow; Seth Green also impressed as the stoic Oz. Paige Moss was also solid as Veruca; a character who it was obviously hard to like as she was getting between two major characters. After many sightings of the men in black it was good that events brought them to Buffy's attention; no doubt we will soon get an explanation as to who they are; I look forward to finding out. Overall a top quality episode.

If you have tears prepare to shed them now.....

[Joxerlives · 8/10 · 7 March 2012]

Wild at Heart

The Good; If you have tears in your heart please prepare to shed them now, terrific performances from AH and SG. Spike is also fantastic.

The Bad; The werewolf makeup hasn't any got any better.

Best line; Willow; "Oz don't you love me?" Oz; "My whole life I've never loved anything else"

Character death; Buffy nails another vamp. Oz kills Veruca

Shot; Oz tranqulised again whilst Spike get's zapped by the Initiative.

Tied up; No but Oz and Veruca have cage sex.

Knocked out; Oz and Spike although he's not a Scooby for another couple of seasons.

Women good/men bad; Actually here we actually have 2 females fighting over their man. Note Willow can't go through with her spell. Willow asks Xander for some advice from the Y side of things but may regret it as he defines love as either 'Wild-monkey-love' or 'Tender-Sarah Machachlan love' (who provides some of the musisc for the series).

Kinky dinky; Werewolf sex! Plenty of backscratching there! Veruca even says 'I like it rough'. Also Veruca parading around in a black lace bra and Willow attempting to dress more rock chick. Xander's mum won't let him put a lock on the door in case he starts having 'The sex'. Too late! Even Giles considers Veruca 'Quite striking' as indeed does Xander to judge by his expression. Xander thinks there are only 7 minutes a year where a guy isn't thinking about sex. Buffy is sure that Oz is 'flogging and punishing himself'. Oz blushes behind the ears when he's attracted to someone.

Calling Captain Subtext; The scene with the speaker discussion is so laden with subtext, it might as well be Jane Austen, Willow feeling she's being frozen out. Buffy later tells Willow she loves her.

Where's Dawn? You wonder what Dawn's attitude to Oz was? To judge by the comics she loved him too

Questions and observations; Goodbye to Oz as a regular character which is a shame as he was terrific, he's sorely missed. But it does leave room for Tara. Buffy seems to be doing well in class, once again she's more than some superpowered bimbo. Is the stuff in Xander's basement salvaged from the vamp's house from 'The Freshman'? Oddly Prof Walsh doesn't recognise werewolves when she sees them. Giles' watches gameshows rather than PBS. All the Scoobies at one time or another have walked in on their beloved whilst they were cheating except for Giles who walked in on Jenny when she was dead. Buffy has often been accused of constantly falling for diversionary tactics but here she figures out Veruca's ruse.

Marks out of 10; 8/10

Animal Love

[claudio_carvalho · 9/10 · 31 July 2006]

When Oz feels a kind of attraction for the singer Veruca (Paige Moss), Willow becomes very jealous and insecure about their relationship. In the full moon, Oz escapes from his cage and while chasing Professor Maggie Walsh (Lindsay Crouse) in the campus, he meets with a female werewolf and they stay together along the night. On the next morning, Oz wakes up naked with Veruca and Willow is depressed trying to understand the feelings of Oz.

In "Wild at Heart", Oz and Willow lead the show with troubles in their relationship. The sexy Veruca makes Willow completely lost about the feelings of Oz. Paige Moss singing is another attraction, with a wonderful and sexy voice. My vote is nine.

Title (Brazil): "Corações Selvagens" ("Wild Hearts")

An undeniable highlight of the season.

[m-47826 · 9/10 · 29 June 2021]

The issue of breaking up, was addressed countless times on the show, already. But not in a way it has been done in « Wild at Heart ». It's the most mature one to date, and that's probably why it hurts so much. It completely destroys one of the most genuine love story of the Buffyverse. And at the same time, is unavoidable, when we realize who these characters are. He's older and more independent, and she's young and needy. It was bound to clash at one point. And it did in the most down to earth way. Because break ups usually are. One minute you're laughing and kissing, and the next you're arguing and parting ways. Personally I don't blame Oz, or think it was out of character of him to cheat. It was his animal instinct kicking in, and once certain beasts find their mate, it's hard for them to resist. I guess you can put Buffy episodes, into two different categories. Funny and scary, and sad and scary. This one is the latter. And is another wonderful tear jerker, that still pushes the right buttons, with its less idealistic approach.

Breaking up is hard to do

[Realrockerhalloween · 2 October 2016]

A very sad episode of Buffy as Oz becomes infatuated with a new singer at the bronz. Meanwhile a big dog resembling a werewolf is stalking the campus and scarfing the locals. It was sad to watch Willow feel like Oz isn't attracted to her anymore and has feelings for another girl knowing the feelings are mural. The betrayal becoming to much to take as she finds them sharing common interests in music and sleep together After a night in wold form. Your heart breaking as he leaves town, the years pouring down her face knowing he'll never be back. Oz still has an alibi as he is trying to stop Veruca from killing yet there should've been other ways to do that as he's seen to be a deep thinker instead of resorting to infidelity. In a way it makes me lose a little respect for him as he's not the type to stray yet hurts the woman he claims to love. I feel as though he should've been honest about the situation or killed her like he ended up doing anyway when she dropped hints she likes being the big bad wold.

Another aspect is Buffy & Oz run into military soldiers in the woods. They seem to be roaming the campus for unknown purposes. Are they aware of supernatural activity since graduation and want to study or stop it will be interesting to unravel in this growing mystery.

The One Where Oz Cheats On Willow...

[taylorkingston · 6/10 · 18 June 2015]

I enjoy this episode, but every single time I watch it, I want to punch Veruca in the face. She's such a bitch. And to bring Oz down with her, that's just cruel.

In this episode, Oz discovers another werewolf, Veruca. And she corrupts him, big-time. Oz distracts her so he can get her into his cage, as she is happy to run free and kill people when she turns. But then they sleep together, and Willow walks in on them the next morning. Willow is devastated, as she should be. Eventually, Oz, whilst in his werewolf form, has to kill Veruca, who is in her werewolf form, as she was going to kill Willow. At the end, Oz decides he needs to leave town to sort himself out.

Overall, I give this episode a 6 out of 10, which in my ratings book is: Good.

One of the most dimensional BtVS eps ever

[skay_baltimore · 10/10 · 26 July 2010]

For me, this episode exemplifies the best of what BtVS is -- and could have been across the board. The complexity of the characters' struggles simply eclipses all other TV shows, and even most other episodes of BtVS. The contrast between the animal and the noble absolutely exploded in "Wild At Heart". The internal battle within Oz is matched perfectly against the backdrop of his connection/attraction to Veruca. The tension is so palpable, strong, brilliant, and searing -- I honestly don't know that I've ever witnessed anything this powerful in a TV show or movie. It was truly one of the best acted eps of BtVS; nothing cutesy, cheap, or sentimental here. Rarely do I ever give anything a 10; but this one really knocked it out of the park. Even the music was in perfect sync with the drama and the action. And it's because of shows like this that I'm so critical of the shows that fall short of the mark. I realize every show can't be a 10 -- but this is how the rest of the series could/should have been.

Worst Buffy episode

[saraohlms · 1/10 · 6 February 2007]

In this episode, Oz has feelings for a singer at the Bronze named Veruca. He ends up breaking out of his cage as a werewolf and waking up next to her in the forest. Then he locks her in his cage with him so that she doesn't hurt anybody. Willow finds them naked in the morning and is upset. Oz leaves town to find a "cure" for his werewolf problem. I hated this episode. I hated it for many reasons. 1. Oz is good as a minor character, but I don't care to see a whole episode about him. 2. Veruca. She was ugly and her singing made me want to duct tape my ears shut. She was an assault on the senses. 3. Nothing that Oz did was his fault. Veruca raped his werewolf self. 4. Has Willow forgotten a little thing that Oz did called forgiving her when she kissed Xander? All of the other episodes of Buffy are so great, and there just has to be one big stinker. Well, this is it.