Today is the last day you can get Shiny Issue 2 for $1 all this week in celebration of Trent Jamieson's Aurealis Award win for Best Young Adult short story for "Cracks"!
It's ONE DOLLAR!! What better value??? Here's a sneak peek at Trent Jamieson's award winning story:
Cracks
The dark is the dark. The song is the song.
The shadows were boiling to midday when Lolly Robson found me by the river, my feet dangling over the bank, not touching earth so I could get some peace. He grinned, that crooked stunning smile, and spat a wasteful spit on the ground like it was a challenge, like everything for Lolly was a challenge to be spat out. “Jean. I got need of you.”
“Yes I see that,” I said in my old voice. The voice that isn’t mine, but that’s all me, which you’d understand if you had what I had, and maybe you do. “And don’t be all spitting and short with me, boy. Just because I was raised peculiar, don’t mean you have the right.”
Lolly looked almost abashed, but he didn’t say sorry. Robson boys don’t. They’re haughty. Pretty too.
“I like your dress,” he said, kind of charming.
I fixed him with a black stare. “Flattery, boy. Too hot for flattery.” Though I liked it. He was a Robson after all. Not that I’d show my pleasure. “What’s your need?”
We’d done our dance. Lolly understood, and took the direct path, and snatched back a bit of the old voice’s respect.
“Snake’s bit my mum.” He touched his bicep, then a point above his wrist, near where he would be cut when he came of age, like all the Robson boys were cut. "Here and here. She's dying."
Tuesday, February 3, 2009
Shiny Swancon Young Adult Short Story Competition
Shiny and Swancon 2009: Contact are proud to announce the 2009 Shiny Swancon Young Adult Short Story Competition.
Judging the competition will be Alisa Krasnostein and Tehani Wessely of Shiny along with a third, as yet unconfirmed, judge. Eligible stories should be both speculative fiction and young adult in nature, with a word limit of 3000 words.
Entry to this competition is free and open to those aged 16 and under, and participation certificates will be provided for all entrants.
Submissions for the competition are due by March 20th, 10pm WST time.
Please submit your entries electronically in .rtf format to: shinystories@gmail.com with the subject heading 'Swancon Young Adult Short Story Competition'.
1st Prize is $25, subscription to the Shiny 2009 series and the complete Shiny back issues.
Two runners up will be awarded Shiny 2009 series and the complete Shiny back issues.
Prizes will be awarded at the judges' discretion. All judges' decisions are final and winners will be notified by email and announced at the Swancon Awards Ceremony on Sunday April 12th 2009.
Information about this competition can also be found on the Swancon website
Judging the competition will be Alisa Krasnostein and Tehani Wessely of Shiny along with a third, as yet unconfirmed, judge. Eligible stories should be both speculative fiction and young adult in nature, with a word limit of 3000 words.
Entry to this competition is free and open to those aged 16 and under, and participation certificates will be provided for all entrants.
Submissions for the competition are due by March 20th, 10pm WST time.
Please submit your entries electronically in .rtf format to: shinystories@gmail.com with the subject heading 'Swancon Young Adult Short Story Competition'.
1st Prize is $25, subscription to the Shiny 2009 series and the complete Shiny back issues.
Two runners up will be awarded Shiny 2009 series and the complete Shiny back issues.
Prizes will be awarded at the judges' discretion. All judges' decisions are final and winners will be notified by email and announced at the Swancon Awards Ceremony on Sunday April 12th 2009.
Information about this competition can also be found on the Swancon website
Tuesday, January 27, 2009
Shiny Congratulates Trent Jamieson!
Shiny congratulates Trent Jamieson on his Aurealis Award win for "Cracks" which appeared in Shiny's Issue 2.
In celebration, we are offering the issue with the award winning story for just $1 for all this week.
We're also offering all Shiny back issues for free for subscriptions to the 2009 series, purchased this week. Already got all our back issues? Nominate a friend who you think would love to read them instead!
Both offers finish February 4, 2009.
Look out for more Shiny changes over here - coming soon!
In celebration, we are offering the issue with the award winning story for just $1 for all this week.
We're also offering all Shiny back issues for free for subscriptions to the 2009 series, purchased this week. Already got all our back issues? Nominate a friend who you think would love to read them instead!
Both offers finish February 4, 2009.
Look out for more Shiny changes over here - coming soon!
Monday, January 5, 2009
BtVS: 2.20 Go Fish
Rachel says:
For a monster of the week episode Go Fish is really well put together. Although the costumes were never very convincing due to their design (bipedal water monsters? Huh?). I like the way there's the swimmy/water/sea theme through it all. Even the drug is administered in a moist, and yes, clothing-minimal, environment.
But the best part is Cordy's speech to the fish creature she thinks is Xander. The way her character grows in the last part of this season is great, and I think this is the first speech where she is entirely selfless. Gives us a peek at the woman she becomes in Angel.
Alisa says:
Poor Jonathan is the guy being picked on at the swim team post-meet party. Setting aside how funny it used to be able to spot "Random Guy" as we used to call him (always the same guy as random person), it must have really sucked to actually be Jonathan, considering his Sunnydale experience.
But this episode is pretty much all about the Xander in the Speedos right?
Am I wrong?
That, and stalling for what we know is coming ...
*girds loins for episodes 2.21 and 2.22*
For a monster of the week episode Go Fish is really well put together. Although the costumes were never very convincing due to their design (bipedal water monsters? Huh?). I like the way there's the swimmy/water/sea theme through it all. Even the drug is administered in a moist, and yes, clothing-minimal, environment.
But the best part is Cordy's speech to the fish creature she thinks is Xander. The way her character grows in the last part of this season is great, and I think this is the first speech where she is entirely selfless. Gives us a peek at the woman she becomes in Angel.
Alisa says:
Poor Jonathan is the guy being picked on at the swim team post-meet party. Setting aside how funny it used to be able to spot "Random Guy" as we used to call him (always the same guy as random person), it must have really sucked to actually be Jonathan, considering his Sunnydale experience.
But this episode is pretty much all about the Xander in the Speedos right?
Am I wrong?
That, and stalling for what we know is coming ...
*girds loins for episodes 2.21 and 2.22*
Friday, January 2, 2009
BtVS: 2.19 I Only Have Eyes For You
Alisa says:
I love the music in this episode. Actually, I love the music in pretty much all the episodes but the opening song to this one had me tracking down Angie Hart's new band of the time (Splendid) and fell in love with that whole album.
This episode marks the start of Willow's journey as a witch as she conveniently steps into the role of Miss Calendar by inheriting all her notes and files. And reveals that Principal Snyder is bad, as we suspected, and is in fact in with the bad guys. Not only that, but here we have the first foreshadowing if the Mayor also being on the side of, well, bad.
I have so much sympathy for Spike in this episode as Angelus constantly taunts him about being "Special Needs Guy" and keeps insinuating that he is sleeping with Drusilla and that Drusilla likes it. I find it a really interesting peek into that group's dynamics because it does look like Dru likes sleeping with Angelus, yet Spike clearly has a monogamous thing going for her from his perspective. It makes me wonder how icky things got back when they all used to hang out.
So for me, the awesome awesome awesome moment in this episode comes when Buffy and Aneglus relive the moment/tragedy of the killing because they get to go through their own love story using someone else's words and it's so heart-wrenching with the tenderness and the Buffy/Angel theme in the background. Also, Buffy gets to call Angelus a bitch, which is really funny. And then the scene moves from tender to hilarious when Angelus comes to and can't deal with the kissing and the love and has to go and have a long shower. He could have just as easily killed her where she was, especially as she is in a very vulnerable state. But he can't deal with love more than the wanting to kill her. It's really cool the themes that Joss Whedon is playing with here.
And the big Yay! as Spike is planning to fight back and betray Dru and Angelus - oooh! Dram-ah!
Rachel says:
This ep is very similar to "Out of sight, out of mind" with the music room and atmosphere and all.
But there are guns! Guns are bad.
Love is bad.
Angel is bad.
Any questions?
Oh come on, it's all about lurve and romance and the One True, um, One, what do you expect me to say?
I love the music in this episode. Actually, I love the music in pretty much all the episodes but the opening song to this one had me tracking down Angie Hart's new band of the time (Splendid) and fell in love with that whole album.
This episode marks the start of Willow's journey as a witch as she conveniently steps into the role of Miss Calendar by inheriting all her notes and files. And reveals that Principal Snyder is bad, as we suspected, and is in fact in with the bad guys. Not only that, but here we have the first foreshadowing if the Mayor also being on the side of, well, bad.
I have so much sympathy for Spike in this episode as Angelus constantly taunts him about being "Special Needs Guy" and keeps insinuating that he is sleeping with Drusilla and that Drusilla likes it. I find it a really interesting peek into that group's dynamics because it does look like Dru likes sleeping with Angelus, yet Spike clearly has a monogamous thing going for her from his perspective. It makes me wonder how icky things got back when they all used to hang out.
So for me, the awesome awesome awesome moment in this episode comes when Buffy and Aneglus relive the moment/tragedy of the killing because they get to go through their own love story using someone else's words and it's so heart-wrenching with the tenderness and the Buffy/Angel theme in the background. Also, Buffy gets to call Angelus a bitch, which is really funny. And then the scene moves from tender to hilarious when Angelus comes to and can't deal with the kissing and the love and has to go and have a long shower. He could have just as easily killed her where she was, especially as she is in a very vulnerable state. But he can't deal with love more than the wanting to kill her. It's really cool the themes that Joss Whedon is playing with here.
And the big Yay! as Spike is planning to fight back and betray Dru and Angelus - oooh! Dram-ah!
Rachel says:
This ep is very similar to "Out of sight, out of mind" with the music room and atmosphere and all.
But there are guns! Guns are bad.
Love is bad.
Angel is bad.
Any questions?
Oh come on, it's all about lurve and romance and the One True, um, One, what do you expect me to say?
Monday, December 8, 2008
BtVS: 2.18 Killed By Death
Alisa says:
Here we have another break in the intensity of the season arc with a Buffy Needs Some Rest episode. Buffy gets sick - which is a bit weird because she's the Slayer; she never gets sick. But, the break works because otherwise, Come On! Someone kill someone already! The fight scene in the beginning of the episode between Sick!Buffy and Angelus reminded me of how she didn't just kill him when she had the chance last episode.
I think though that I'm not the biggest fan of the break in intensity episodes. I noticed random things like the fact that the creepy music for the monster roaming around in the hospital is the music that use for the menu on the DVDs. I also noticed the great credit shot, right at the end after Buffy kills the monster.
This episode does have some awesome moments though. The confrontation between Xander and Angelus where Xander has no chance of stopping Angelus, if he really had to, but that fact doesn't get in the way of him trying to protect Buffy and will damn well go down trying. We see that Xander is a hero. Or a hero in the making.
Verdict: "Tact is just not saying true stuff."
Rachel says:
I dunno, there's something really horrible in the mundanity of Buffy having the flu. And as you may have gathered, I prefer these off-arc episodes. There's only so much you can do with Buffy vs Angelus given that they can never kill each other - otherwise the show would've had a much shorter run!
For this week's monster we get the Kinderstott who is just the right amount of yuck. He almost looks like an elderly person (surely the most terrifying real life thing that kids ever face) but then has the nasty teeth and eyes that eat you. Which is what old people threaten to do to kids. "Oh, you're so adorable I could just eat you up!" It really hits the buttons in what is scary for a kid. Not to mention that it's something the adults can't see and don't believe in.
Other neat scenes in this episode are Cordelia distracting the security guard, Willow's "Frogs! Frogs!" moment and the sequence where we get a little peek into Buffy's childhood. I know I had never thought of her as a little girl before this.
"I feel fine. I mean, the world's spinning a little bit, but I like it. It's like a ride."
Here we have another break in the intensity of the season arc with a Buffy Needs Some Rest episode. Buffy gets sick - which is a bit weird because she's the Slayer; she never gets sick. But, the break works because otherwise, Come On! Someone kill someone already! The fight scene in the beginning of the episode between Sick!Buffy and Angelus reminded me of how she didn't just kill him when she had the chance last episode.
I think though that I'm not the biggest fan of the break in intensity episodes. I noticed random things like the fact that the creepy music for the monster roaming around in the hospital is the music that use for the menu on the DVDs. I also noticed the great credit shot, right at the end after Buffy kills the monster.
This episode does have some awesome moments though. The confrontation between Xander and Angelus where Xander has no chance of stopping Angelus, if he really had to, but that fact doesn't get in the way of him trying to protect Buffy and will damn well go down trying. We see that Xander is a hero. Or a hero in the making.
Verdict: "Tact is just not saying true stuff."
Rachel says:
I dunno, there's something really horrible in the mundanity of Buffy having the flu. And as you may have gathered, I prefer these off-arc episodes. There's only so much you can do with Buffy vs Angelus given that they can never kill each other - otherwise the show would've had a much shorter run!
For this week's monster we get the Kinderstott who is just the right amount of yuck. He almost looks like an elderly person (surely the most terrifying real life thing that kids ever face) but then has the nasty teeth and eyes that eat you. Which is what old people threaten to do to kids. "Oh, you're so adorable I could just eat you up!" It really hits the buttons in what is scary for a kid. Not to mention that it's something the adults can't see and don't believe in.
Other neat scenes in this episode are Cordelia distracting the security guard, Willow's "Frogs! Frogs!" moment and the sequence where we get a little peek into Buffy's childhood. I know I had never thought of her as a little girl before this.
"I feel fine. I mean, the world's spinning a little bit, but I like it. It's like a ride."
Thursday, December 4, 2008
BtVS: 2.17 Passion
Rachel says:
This was the first Buffy episode to make me cry, and it turns out, it still does. Not Jenny's death per se, but Buffy and Willow's response. So heartbreaking. The other standout sequence is the chase between Angelus and Jenny. The camera angles, editing and low lighting all create a superbly creepy and scary run through the school culminating in the horrible neck snap.
The scene in Giles apartment, where he thinks Jenny is waiting for him upstairs (and I suppose she is) is brilliantly portrayed by Giles, almost to the point where you think there has been some mistake and Jenny really is waiting for him. *sob*
"You know, I think there may be a valuable lesson for you gals here about inviting strange men into your bedrooms."
Alisa says:
I think this episode raises the stakes for the audience. It's here, at the climax of this episode, we learn that all the rules don't apply in Jossverse and that all bets are off - anyone can die, even a main player. And so too, Angelus kills Jenny in an almost anticlimatic, off-hand way, such that I think it becomes all the more shocking and heartbreaking. He doesn't break a sweat. He doesn't stalk and play with her (much). He just does it. Dramatically and with a gorgeous backdrop of the night, framed in that window. And he glorifies in it too but more so because of the anticipated effect on Buffy than for the kill itself.
This episode is about passion and the bookend narration is by Angelus. I think this works beautifully to use the change in POV to show that we, the viewers, should expect the unexpected. That this is not all going to go the way we want it to go. Evil, Angelus may be, but as Willow points out, he is still obsessed with Buffy. Sort of the dark to the lightness that went before.
Even having watched this episode many times before, I still cried in that moment that Giles calls Buffy to tell her what has happened. And it works well. Despite watching it from afar, removed, with Angelus looking through the window, it's still very powerful and desperately sad. And there is a really great shot of Buffy as she sinks down to the ground, absorbing the enormity of what has happened and you can see the realisation dawn to her that this is *real*.
I want to finish by saying how rightly it depicts how CREEPY it is for one's Vampire to sit and watch one sleep. (*cough* Bella Swan *cough*)
This was the first Buffy episode to make me cry, and it turns out, it still does. Not Jenny's death per se, but Buffy and Willow's response. So heartbreaking. The other standout sequence is the chase between Angelus and Jenny. The camera angles, editing and low lighting all create a superbly creepy and scary run through the school culminating in the horrible neck snap.
The scene in Giles apartment, where he thinks Jenny is waiting for him upstairs (and I suppose she is) is brilliantly portrayed by Giles, almost to the point where you think there has been some mistake and Jenny really is waiting for him. *sob*
"You know, I think there may be a valuable lesson for you gals here about inviting strange men into your bedrooms."
Alisa says:
I think this episode raises the stakes for the audience. It's here, at the climax of this episode, we learn that all the rules don't apply in Jossverse and that all bets are off - anyone can die, even a main player. And so too, Angelus kills Jenny in an almost anticlimatic, off-hand way, such that I think it becomes all the more shocking and heartbreaking. He doesn't break a sweat. He doesn't stalk and play with her (much). He just does it. Dramatically and with a gorgeous backdrop of the night, framed in that window. And he glorifies in it too but more so because of the anticipated effect on Buffy than for the kill itself.
This episode is about passion and the bookend narration is by Angelus. I think this works beautifully to use the change in POV to show that we, the viewers, should expect the unexpected. That this is not all going to go the way we want it to go. Evil, Angelus may be, but as Willow points out, he is still obsessed with Buffy. Sort of the dark to the lightness that went before.
Even having watched this episode many times before, I still cried in that moment that Giles calls Buffy to tell her what has happened. And it works well. Despite watching it from afar, removed, with Angelus looking through the window, it's still very powerful and desperately sad. And there is a really great shot of Buffy as she sinks down to the ground, absorbing the enormity of what has happened and you can see the realisation dawn to her that this is *real*.
I want to finish by saying how rightly it depicts how CREEPY it is for one's Vampire to sit and watch one sleep. (*cough* Bella Swan *cough*)
Tuesday, December 2, 2008
Shiny Issue 4
The Fix have given Shiny 4 are really great review. Thanks for the heads up.
Of Bren MacDibble's "Being Bella Wang", Smith writes: In this short tale, MacDibble expertly evokes an exotic locale full of magic, as well as vivid, interesting characters with a strong bond.
Of Michael Merriam's "All the Leaves Your Bed”, she says: Merriam deftly skirts the well of sentiment that could so easily have drowned this story, and takes it to surprising places. There is an image near the end that is simply breathtaking.
And of Rhonda Parrish’s “Skitter Skitter,” - Parrish does a great job with teen exasperation as Chloe describes their progress, often talking in the purple clichés of teen writing... The rest will please readers who like the illogic of go-for-the-grue horror.
Take advantage of our special promo and purchase Issues 4 and 5 for the special price of $5 and get Issue 4 in your inbox now and Issue 5 very very soon.
Of Bren MacDibble's "Being Bella Wang", Smith writes: In this short tale, MacDibble expertly evokes an exotic locale full of magic, as well as vivid, interesting characters with a strong bond.
Of Michael Merriam's "All the Leaves Your Bed”, she says: Merriam deftly skirts the well of sentiment that could so easily have drowned this story, and takes it to surprising places. There is an image near the end that is simply breathtaking.
And of Rhonda Parrish’s “Skitter Skitter,” - Parrish does a great job with teen exasperation as Chloe describes their progress, often talking in the purple clichés of teen writing... The rest will please readers who like the illogic of go-for-the-grue horror.
Take advantage of our special promo and purchase Issues 4 and 5 for the special price of $5 and get Issue 4 in your inbox now and Issue 5 very very soon.
Sunday, November 30, 2008
BtVS: 2.16 Bewitched, Bothered and Bewildered
Alisa says:
For a very long time I used to say this was my least favourite episode of the whole series. Hated it even. But having just rewatched it twice in recent weeks (let's not talk about bad notetaking), I think in truth, it's quite a fun little episode. We have Xander subverting the gender stereotype and being the lovelorn teenager who convinces Amy to cast a love spell to get Cordelia to love him (and take back the breakup which she so heartlessly delivers on Valentines Day). Course, as is a must in Jossverse, the spell goes horribly wrong and every girl but Cordelia, including Buffy, Willow, Drusilla, Joyce, Miss Calendar and even Amy, comes after Xander with lovelust. I love the moment that Cordelia finds out he cast the spell for her -
"Would've worked fine, except your hide's so thick, not even magic can penetrate it!"
It's funny because it's true - you can always rely on Cordelia to avoid the glamour and see the world as it is and not for how others want her to. So often the spells miss her - like the one on the previous Halloween with Ethan's spell on the costumes for example. And she proves her true colours at the end of the episode when she tells Harmony where to stick it and stalks off after Xander. Yay!
I think my favourite bit (apart from Buffy's, "I seem to have a slight case of nudity here") is where Oz comes up to hit Xander because Oz had listened to Willow cry for an hour on the phone the night before ... over Xander. But that's just cause I have the Oz Love.
So why did I hate this episode for so long? I think it's because Buffy is hardly in it. She was guesting on Saturday Night Live the week they taped it and so they did all her bits on the Monday and she took off. In retrospect, she actually appears for a good half of the episode, and these days I am less Buffy obsessed so it didn't bother me as much. Though I will say that it's a very distinct break in the Angel-goes-psycho plot-line and for me I think I always felt jarred by the standalone nature of this episode after so much season arc.
Rachel says:
Just plain fun. They went all out with this, ramping up the absurd to hilarious levels. It's never scary - even with all the chasing and the axes and the kitchen knives - because it is just so crazy. Although it's painful watching Buffy debase herself in such a way, mega points to Xander for coming through.
I love that Angel gets chased away from Xander by Drusilla and it's good to see Amy again- she's starting to turn bad!! A real cheer-er upper which is refreshing after all the arc-heavy angst of recent episodes. We even discover that Oz's band's name is Dingoes Ate My Baby - suitably wrong but a little thrill for us Australian fans.
"And you know what? I'll date whoever the hell I wanna date. No matter how lame he is."
For a very long time I used to say this was my least favourite episode of the whole series. Hated it even. But having just rewatched it twice in recent weeks (let's not talk about bad notetaking), I think in truth, it's quite a fun little episode. We have Xander subverting the gender stereotype and being the lovelorn teenager who convinces Amy to cast a love spell to get Cordelia to love him (and take back the breakup which she so heartlessly delivers on Valentines Day). Course, as is a must in Jossverse, the spell goes horribly wrong and every girl but Cordelia, including Buffy, Willow, Drusilla, Joyce, Miss Calendar and even Amy, comes after Xander with lovelust. I love the moment that Cordelia finds out he cast the spell for her -
"Would've worked fine, except your hide's so thick, not even magic can penetrate it!"
It's funny because it's true - you can always rely on Cordelia to avoid the glamour and see the world as it is and not for how others want her to. So often the spells miss her - like the one on the previous Halloween with Ethan's spell on the costumes for example. And she proves her true colours at the end of the episode when she tells Harmony where to stick it and stalks off after Xander. Yay!
I think my favourite bit (apart from Buffy's, "I seem to have a slight case of nudity here") is where Oz comes up to hit Xander because Oz had listened to Willow cry for an hour on the phone the night before ... over Xander. But that's just cause I have the Oz Love.
So why did I hate this episode for so long? I think it's because Buffy is hardly in it. She was guesting on Saturday Night Live the week they taped it and so they did all her bits on the Monday and she took off. In retrospect, she actually appears for a good half of the episode, and these days I am less Buffy obsessed so it didn't bother me as much. Though I will say that it's a very distinct break in the Angel-goes-psycho plot-line and for me I think I always felt jarred by the standalone nature of this episode after so much season arc.
Rachel says:
Just plain fun. They went all out with this, ramping up the absurd to hilarious levels. It's never scary - even with all the chasing and the axes and the kitchen knives - because it is just so crazy. Although it's painful watching Buffy debase herself in such a way, mega points to Xander for coming through.
I love that Angel gets chased away from Xander by Drusilla and it's good to see Amy again- she's starting to turn bad!! A real cheer-er upper which is refreshing after all the arc-heavy angst of recent episodes. We even discover that Oz's band's name is Dingoes Ate My Baby - suitably wrong but a little thrill for us Australian fans.
"And you know what? I'll date whoever the hell I wanna date. No matter how lame he is."
Thursday, November 27, 2008
BtVS: 2.15 Phases
Rachel says:
This episode works on every level for me. Oz has the horrible discovery that he's a werewolf, and it's a genuine surprise to the rest of us too. The fake out with Larry is wonderful, I just love his speech to Xander in the change room.
Buffy is clearly still cut up by Angel, but is able to (or the writers were able to) put it aside long enough to get on with the job. Saves us all dying of boredom, which is a real danger when characters rant and wail endlessly.
The werewolf costume still looks great, so many years later. I guess we've reached the pinnacle in dog suit technology (furry joke not intended). The Oz-wolf morph is also worth a mention, although the tech used is obvious, it's convincing.
"Welcome to the mystery that is men. I think it goes something like, they grow body hair, they lose all ability to tell you what they really want."
Alisa says:
One of the things I love about Buffy is the constant self-referential and in-jokes. This episode opens with Oz looking at the cheerleading trophy that has Amy's mum, the witch, trapped inside it - her eyes follow you where ever you go. There's also a really cool foreshadowing moment for the rewatcher when Oz defends Willow to the bullies by saying she is an evil mastermind. Uh-huh. If only you knew.
This is an okay episode that brings Oz into Buffy's circle in his own right. I like how nonchalantly he finds out and deals with being a werewolf - almost but not quite like it's not a big deal.
This episode works on every level for me. Oz has the horrible discovery that he's a werewolf, and it's a genuine surprise to the rest of us too. The fake out with Larry is wonderful, I just love his speech to Xander in the change room.
Buffy is clearly still cut up by Angel, but is able to (or the writers were able to) put it aside long enough to get on with the job. Saves us all dying of boredom, which is a real danger when characters rant and wail endlessly.
The werewolf costume still looks great, so many years later. I guess we've reached the pinnacle in dog suit technology (furry joke not intended). The Oz-wolf morph is also worth a mention, although the tech used is obvious, it's convincing.
"Welcome to the mystery that is men. I think it goes something like, they grow body hair, they lose all ability to tell you what they really want."
Alisa says:
One of the things I love about Buffy is the constant self-referential and in-jokes. This episode opens with Oz looking at the cheerleading trophy that has Amy's mum, the witch, trapped inside it - her eyes follow you where ever you go. There's also a really cool foreshadowing moment for the rewatcher when Oz defends Willow to the bullies by saying she is an evil mastermind. Uh-huh. If only you knew.
This is an okay episode that brings Oz into Buffy's circle in his own right. I like how nonchalantly he finds out and deals with being a werewolf - almost but not quite like it's not a big deal.
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