It was written by series story editors Rob Des Hotel and Dean Batali, and first broadcast on The WB on January 27, 1998.
This, however, is not the view of misogynist werewolf hunter Cain, who is out for his twelfth pelt and who condescendingly jeers at Buffy for trying to do a man's job.
The werewolf is distracted by a scent which Cain set as a trap, and Willow escapes and then finds Giles and Buffy, who are about to start the hunt for Oz with a tranquilizer gun.
Buffy bends Cain's shotgun with her bare hands using Slayer strength, and tells him to leave Sunnydale.
'"[1] After being given the episode's script by Joss Whedon, Seth Green was persuaded to continue working on the show in a larger role.
The theme is made explicit when Giles describes werewolves as "potent, extreme representation of our inborn, animalistic traits," predatory and aggressive with no conscience, and Buffy responds, "In other words, your typical male.
"[6] Reviewer Billie Doux, giving a rating of three and a half stakes out of four, observes that "there was a lot of opposite-sex bashing in this episode.
We have Cordelia and Willow at the Bronze commiserating about guy-related idiocy ("they grow body hair and they lose all ability to say what they really want"); and we have "mein furrier" insulting women right and left and saying how Buffy can't catch a werewolf because she's a girl.
"[7] Roger Pocock writes, "Werewolves might be used here as a metaphor for toxic male-dominated relationships, but if that's the case Oz breaks that mould.
"[9] Myles McNutt, reviewing the post-"Innocence" episodes, observes that "the changes are for the most part subtle rather than substantial.
While you could argue there is now more darkness in Buffy's world, that doesn't really change the tone of the series, nor does it dramatically alter the kinds of stories the show decides to tell.
Xander says to Oz, "I know what it's like to crave the taste of freshly killed meat, to be taken over by these uncontrollable urges..."[11] Thus, he inadvertently admits that he remembers being possessed by a hyena spirit in episode 6 of season 1, "The Pack".
Club writes that Oz's werewolf revelation "mirrors what's going on in Season Two's master-plot, and serves as a metaphor for the wild beast lurking within even the sweetest of young men.
Angel's turn to the dark side is only an episode old, and it's already having repercussions; the women of Sunnydale are learning that boys are no damn good.