In this video I try to break down why I like Oz so much as a character and how he portrays the different aspects of masculinity #buffyverse #buffythevampireslayer
I liked the moment when the Scoobies are arguing over whether to trade the Box of Gavrok for Willow or destroy it. Oz doesn’t get drawn into the discussion at all, just walks over and smashes the tripod, removing the option that isn’t saving Willow. As a contrast to Xander’s insecurity, I don’t think Oz ever “seeks external approval”.
I loved Oz. It's a shame that we never really got to know his character outside of an extension of Willow. He was introduced as a love interest for her, and left the show when he could no longer be with her. I would have liked to see more of him as a stand-alone character, with his own friends and interests.
@@Twisted-View oh, yes, you're right about that. It's a shame too that it was such a recurring theme. They did a decent job of making Angel a person outside of Buffy, especially with the series that followed, but Riley was basically there as a rebound who was written out when their relationship lost its spark. They did tragedy, humour and melodrama so well, it's a pity that the basics of relationships weren't explored very much. Ironically, it was Xander who had the most normal relationship out of all of them and he had it with a demon.
Oz is a great character. Very atypical of modern males characters in entertainment now. His quiet strength was missed when he went, proving the show wasn't all about quips, and the other characters could have done with his stoic resolve.
Personally I find Oz interesting because of his perchant for silence. It’s both his charm and his flaw. The beast is not the flaw. It’s a condition but it’s not a flaw because Oz has no control over it. His flaw is not communicating about his condition. I’ve spoke about this before but I love the charactisation detail and consistency of where something will be a funny little quirk of the character one moment and then develop into their downfall the next. I think that’s very clever character writing. It can be something you find endearing about them one episode and then the next feel conflicted about them on. That’s good character-driven storytelling.
Oz's most endearing quality is his non-judgemental nature, combined with a firm sense of himself. He's not non-judgmental because he's trying to please everyone, but because he's really just a nice guy. It's the reason why he's friends with so many people and is generally thought of as cool.
I think you--and a lot of other people misinterpret the scene where Oz pulls Verucca into the cage. Oz gets a lot of flak here and I don't believe it's entirely deserved. First, Oz deliberately cages himself during every full moon, a practice Verucca deplores. She has embraced her killer instinct while Oz has, in her opinion, has denied his. Oz is in a terrible position in this case. If he leaves Verucca free she will kill someone, most likely her stated target--Willow. But the time for thinking is over. The moon is rising and the change is on them both. Oz has said many in many ways that when the wolf appears he, himself, is gone. Here he has no time to think--and it's just as well because his ability to use his brain on any but the most primal way is disappearing. What can he do--let Verucca hunt Willow or cage her, and the temptation she represents, with him. He chooses the second option. We hate him for it, you call it a "character assassination. Certainly, we are angry at him for "cheating" (i.e., acting like the animal side if himself which is currently in control.) But is it really cheating? We know that Oz's wolf also kills ("I'm oddly full.") Or is he acting in the best way he can to secure Willow's safety and keep Verucca from murdering some other innocent human. He has only the two options.
That's how I always saw it. And frankly what it showed was his real flaw in the process. Communication. There were several times he could have let Willow in let Buffy in, anyone. But he was so scared, of himself, of losing Willow for something that was completely out of his control the first time, he honestly didn't know how to ask for help. And that fits perfectly in his character arc. That was Oz from the beginning.
The case of Oz's wolf nature has always interested me. The common line of thinking about his Were side is that it allegorically represents repressed anger management problems and unmanaged male violence & libido responses (perhaps hormonal), which is thrown into relief by Oz's human form that exemplifies calm and stoical and gentle demeanour. It makes sense--Oz when we meet and know him doesn't want to accept that he unfortunately has a primal capacity to maim and kill people in a blind rage and without warning, or a desire to have animalistic emotionless sex, and it takes years of self-searching and emotional/spiritual work for him to come to a place where he can accept and also tame this so it doesn't ruin lives. It's a pity that we didn't see more of his journey to integration, likewise with Willow and her magic.
Pity that Tara met such a sad Fate, and that she never reconciled or became close to Oz, because they have very compatible personalities and could have bonded. The potential was there.
I just finished watching Buffy the first and for a character with such limited screen time he accomplished everything he needed to he acted as a healthy guide to Willow from girlhood to womanhood he was not perfect but he tried his best for him less was more.
What you call character assassination might be part of what masculinity still has problems with in that we as men keep things bottled up. When Oz discovers he's a werewolf, he keeps it a secret despite knowing the Scoobies will help him and he does the same thing when he finds out who the other werewolf is so it's not out of character for him to lose control but a character flaw that is in all men
Largely good analysis. On the Bangel negative view of sex, it's there I suppose but that wasn't the point. Like Xandelia, which was stupid but highly entertaining and realistic to that age, Bangel was an unhealthy relationship that literally realizes all the unrealistic fantasies and worst fears of the first time. She fights growing up, wants it too badly and is thrust into it against her will through the show and there are ways that is displayed in the first time "then he changed, he got mean." -awesome therapist that died too early, S3. Love most of this though. Both sexes have their positive and negative sides. He largely captures a male maturity that I appreciated, while fortunately still imperfect.
Instead of then he changed, he got mean." -awesome therapist how about so why did you ignore the red flags that could be seen from space, he is older then you red flag, like old enough that him being in a relationship with you is illegal red flag, when you first met him he lied about who and what he is red flag, your parent(s) don't know about the relationship red flag, he told you he was a monster but didn't break off the relationship red flag, he pitted you against his ex red flag I could go on but this will be seen as victum blaming. Although why the f$%k giles let that relationship exist and A. just took angel word that he had been cursed with a soul and not check and B do any looking into how his curse works i.e anyone who watch's a disney movie knows curses can be broken is beyond me.
@@ronaldfasshauer4390 I don't recall her mentioning he was older to the therapist. They talked like two seconds. All things that addressed it on the show were fairly subtle. The fact that it ended in flames was one of those subtleties. As was episode 4 and the sadie Hawkins episode, tho romanticizing it at the same time. Even Angel leaving was framed as the responsible thing as she was too young to make the decision which implies he shouldn't have started it. It's like Spike, the writers have to constantly remind you he's a monster due to the lure of charisma inherent in the character. All the characters demand you look closer and judge more wisely and a lot of it is subtle.
They did mix in the wherewolf-mojo, and that pretty much explains that, one extra time, apart from writers doing what hey want and that, in fact defines the character. That said, Oz is a sweet role model. So kind and honest. Nice point about him seeing Willow in costume both times. I find him having some nice parallells with God, with the caring, the jeaolusy, the connections to the Wizard of Oz, et.c.
Oz is most definitely a sigma male, he has one of the rarest personality types there is. Thats why i liked him so much. Also because i might of found him very attractive in the beginning. All though, i do agree that by the end, his character got massacred by doing things out of character. I would've loved that they kept Seth Green in his role so we can see Oz's full potential in action. But he remains one of my top 3 characters from the buffy series. 😊
@@Twisted-View and I also never saw his basic instincts as aggressive. I actually related a lot to the way that, by my reading at least, he's one of the people who don't react to pain with anger, but with telling themselves to stay quiet until it's gone.
@@Twisted-View yeah, but he doesn't show many other "alpha" traits. I mean, he isn't vary dominant or aggressive. He found his niche and he's comfortable in it, and it doesn't really fit my defenition of alpha- which is pretty good actually, because this defenition kinda sucks, so...
> a-myg-DA-la The way I've most often heard it pronounced, the second syllable is stressed: a-MYG-da-la. Your location of it in the brain, although not high in precision, generally matches other diagrams I've seen. I rate your brain science 3.6 out of 5: not fantastic but not disastrous either.
Thanks... I'm aware I mispronounced it now, but it was too much effort to re-record As for brain understanding I would say very basic at best, defo not a brain surgeon!
I was never a fan of Willow x Tara despite loving both characters. I always felt it was too forced, too corny bonding over magic. Willow and Tara felt more natural and no I don't mean natural as in straight, since I'm gay too, I just always preferred her with Oz more than with Tara.
jajajaaj el tipo de hombre como oz simpre son menospreciados y subestimados por las mujeres, al final siempre terminan siendo los "solo amigos" o ellas los engañan y les son infiel. por ejemplo willow lo engaño en la serie dos veces a pesar que el siempre la respetó y trato con ternura. la hipocresia feminista, si una mujer engaña buscan alguna excusa para justificar el engaño....si un hombre engaña lo tildan de lo peor, lo insultan y atacan.
I liked the moment when the Scoobies are arguing over whether to trade the Box of Gavrok for Willow or destroy it. Oz doesn’t get drawn into the discussion at all, just walks over and smashes the tripod, removing the option that isn’t saving Willow. As a contrast to Xander’s insecurity, I don’t think Oz ever “seeks external approval”.
I loved Oz. It's a shame that we never really got to know his character outside of an extension of Willow. He was introduced as a love interest for her, and left the show when he could no longer be with her. I would have liked to see more of him as a stand-alone character, with his own friends and interests.
I made the same remarks about Tara. Think there is a common theme
@@Twisted-View oh, yes, you're right about that. It's a shame too that it was such a recurring theme. They did a decent job of making Angel a person outside of Buffy, especially with the series that followed, but Riley was basically there as a rebound who was written out when their relationship lost its spark. They did tragedy, humour and melodrama so well, it's a pity that the basics of relationships weren't explored very much. Ironically, it was Xander who had the most normal relationship out of all of them and he had it with a demon.
I absolutely agree. I think that Anya and cordy worked as their own characters and not just extensions of xander
Oz seemed like he would have been a good fit for Angel
Oz is a great character. Very atypical of modern males characters in entertainment now. His quiet strength was missed when he went, proving the show wasn't all about quips, and the other characters could have done with his stoic resolve.
Personally I find Oz interesting because of his perchant for silence. It’s both his charm and his flaw. The beast is not the flaw. It’s a condition but it’s not a flaw because Oz has no control over it. His flaw is not communicating about his condition.
I’ve spoke about this before but I love the charactisation detail and consistency of where something will be a funny little quirk of the character one moment and then develop into their downfall the next. I think that’s very clever character writing.
It can be something you find endearing about them one episode and then the next feel conflicted about them on. That’s good character-driven storytelling.
Oz is a sigma male. Always found his quiet demeanor attractive.
Oz's most endearing quality is his non-judgemental nature, combined with a firm sense of himself. He's not non-judgmental because he's trying to please everyone, but because he's really just a nice guy. It's the reason why he's friends with so many people and is generally thought of as cool.
I think you--and a lot of other people misinterpret the scene where Oz pulls Verucca into the cage. Oz gets a lot of flak here and I don't believe it's entirely deserved. First, Oz deliberately cages himself during every full moon, a practice Verucca deplores. She has embraced her killer instinct while Oz has, in her opinion, has denied his. Oz is in a terrible position in this case. If he leaves Verucca free she will kill someone, most likely her stated target--Willow. But the time for thinking is over. The moon is rising and the change is on them both. Oz has said many in many ways that when the wolf appears he, himself, is gone. Here he has no time to think--and it's just as well because his ability to use his brain on any but the most primal way is disappearing. What can he do--let Verucca hunt Willow or cage her, and the temptation she represents, with him. He chooses the second option.
We hate him for it, you call it a "character assassination. Certainly, we are angry at him for "cheating" (i.e., acting like the animal side if himself which is currently in control.) But is it really cheating? We know that Oz's wolf also kills ("I'm oddly full.") Or is he acting in the best way he can to secure Willow's safety and keep Verucca from murdering some other innocent human. He has only the two options.
That's how I always saw it. And frankly what it showed was his real flaw in the process. Communication. There were several times he could have let Willow in let Buffy in, anyone. But he was so scared, of himself, of losing Willow for something that was completely out of his control the first time, he honestly didn't know how to ask for help. And that fits perfectly in his character arc. That was Oz from the beginning.
Plus "Veruca" means foot warts. True.
The case of Oz's wolf nature has always interested me. The common line of thinking about his Were side is that it allegorically represents repressed anger management problems and unmanaged male violence & libido responses (perhaps hormonal), which is thrown into relief by Oz's human form that exemplifies calm and stoical and gentle demeanour.
It makes sense--Oz when we meet and know him doesn't want to accept that he unfortunately has a primal capacity to maim and kill people in a blind rage and without warning, or a desire to have animalistic emotionless sex, and it takes years of self-searching and emotional/spiritual work for him to come to a place where he can accept and also tame this so it doesn't ruin lives. It's a pity that we didn't see more of his journey to integration, likewise with Willow and her magic.
Pity that Tara met such a sad Fate, and that she never reconciled or became close to Oz, because they have very compatible personalities and could have bonded. The potential was there.
Watched New Moon Rising yesterday. It hurts to see the way they let him go
I just finished watching Buffy the first and for a character with such limited screen time he accomplished everything he needed to he acted as a healthy guide to Willow from girlhood to womanhood he was not perfect but he tried his best for him less was more.
What you call character assassination might be part of what masculinity still has problems with in that we as men keep things bottled up.
When Oz discovers he's a werewolf, he keeps it a secret despite knowing the Scoobies will help him and he does the same thing when he finds out who the other werewolf is so it's not out of character for him to lose control but a character flaw that is in all men
First! I just started re-watching Buffy and I'm excited about this channel!!
Largely good analysis. On the Bangel negative view of sex, it's there I suppose but that wasn't the point. Like Xandelia, which was stupid but highly entertaining and realistic to that age, Bangel was an unhealthy relationship that literally realizes all the unrealistic fantasies and worst fears of the first time. She fights growing up, wants it too badly and is thrust into it against her will through the show and there are ways that is displayed in the first time "then he changed, he got mean." -awesome therapist that died too early, S3.
Love most of this though. Both sexes have their positive and negative sides. He largely captures a male maturity that I appreciated, while fortunately still imperfect.
Instead of then he changed, he got mean." -awesome therapist how about so why did you ignore the red flags that could be seen from space, he is older then you red flag, like old enough that him being in a relationship with you is illegal red flag, when you first met him he lied about who and what he is red flag, your parent(s) don't know about the relationship red flag, he told you he was a monster but didn't break off the relationship red flag, he pitted you against his ex red flag I could go on but this will be seen as victum blaming. Although why the f$%k giles let that relationship exist and A. just took angel word that he had been cursed with a soul and not check and B do any looking into how his curse works i.e anyone who watch's a disney movie knows curses can be broken is beyond me.
@@ronaldfasshauer4390 She's a Child, of course she wasn't smart enough to notice this stuff. There's a Reason it's illegal to date a minor.
@@barbarabaker1457 Yes but that wasn't never really addressed on the show, even the awesome therapist didn't talk about the age gap.
@@ronaldfasshauer4390 I don't recall her mentioning he was older to the therapist. They talked like two seconds. All things that addressed it on the show were fairly subtle. The fact that it ended in flames was one of those subtleties. As was episode 4 and the sadie Hawkins episode, tho romanticizing it at the same time. Even Angel leaving was framed as the responsible thing as she was too young to make the decision which implies he shouldn't have started it. It's like Spike, the writers have to constantly remind you he's a monster due to the lure of charisma inherent in the character. All the characters demand you look closer and judge more wisely and a lot of it is subtle.
They did mix in the wherewolf-mojo, and that pretty much explains that, one extra time, apart from writers doing what hey want and that, in fact defines the character.
That said, Oz is a sweet role model. So kind and honest. Nice point about him seeing Willow in costume both times. I find him having some nice parallells with God, with the caring, the jeaolusy, the connections to the Wizard of Oz, et.c.
Oz is most definitely a sigma male, he has one of the rarest personality types there is. Thats why i liked him so much. Also because i might of found him very attractive in the beginning. All though, i do agree that by the end, his character got massacred by doing things out of character. I would've loved that they kept Seth Green in his role so we can see Oz's full potential in action. But he remains one of my top 3 characters from the buffy series. 😊
Love this video, subbed for more great content 🙂🙂 Always adored Oz
4:27 perfect inappropriate gif material
How did you manage to make a video about my favourite character in buffyverse and praise him for all the wrong reasons?
These were just observations. He is one of my fave characters too, maybe we just see different elements we admire?
@@Twisted-View probably. I just... Never saw Oz as a traditional male, or an alpha.
@@Twisted-View and I also never saw his basic instincts as aggressive. I actually related a lot to the way that, by my reading at least, he's one of the people who don't react to pain with anger, but with telling themselves to stay quiet until it's gone.
I think its his quiet confidence that makes me think of him as alpha. He doesn't need tell people o make a scene. He's just comfortable.
@@Twisted-View yeah, but he doesn't show many other "alpha" traits. I mean, he isn't vary dominant or aggressive. He found his niche and he's comfortable in it, and it doesn't really fit my defenition of alpha- which is pretty good actually, because this defenition kinda sucks, so...
Oz was a Gomez but, simply put, Willow wasnt his Morticia.
I disagree... but only because I feel that the writing behind his exit from the show was an excuse to get him out. Prior to that Oz was 100% loyal
> a-myg-DA-la
The way I've most often heard it pronounced, the second syllable is stressed: a-MYG-da-la.
Your location of it in the brain, although not high in precision, generally matches other diagrams I've seen.
I rate your brain science 3.6 out of 5: not fantastic but not disastrous either.
Thanks... I'm aware I mispronounced it now, but it was too much effort to re-record
As for brain understanding I would say very basic at best, defo not a brain surgeon!
I was never a fan of Willow x Tara despite loving both characters. I always felt it was too forced, too corny bonding over magic. Willow and Tara felt more natural and no I don't mean natural as in straight, since I'm gay too, I just always preferred her with Oz more than with Tara.
jajajaaj el tipo de hombre como oz simpre son menospreciados y subestimados por las mujeres, al final siempre terminan siendo los "solo amigos" o ellas los engañan y les son infiel.
por ejemplo willow lo engaño en la serie dos veces a pesar que el siempre la respetó y trato con ternura.
la hipocresia feminista, si una mujer engaña buscan alguna excusa para justificar el engaño....si un hombre engaña lo tildan de lo peor, lo insultan y atacan.
Your videos are good and give a good analysis but get rid of the eyes gimmick. You don't need a thing.