New Moon Rising

"New Moon Rising" is the nineteenth episode of the fourth season of Buffy the Vampire Slayer and the seventy-fifth episode in the series. Written by Marti Noxon and directed by James A. Contner, it originally broadcast on May 2, 2000, on The WB network.

Synopsis[]

OZ COMES HOME TO WILLOW — Willow and her friends are stunned when Oz returns to Sunnydale claiming he still loves Willow and has his full moon frolics under control. Meanwhile, Willow tries to sort out her feelings for Oz and finally tells Buffy about her new relationship with Tara. But when the moon sets, a transformed Oz is captured by The Initiative and an unlikely source breaks his alliance to come to the rescue.^[1]

Summary[]

Willow and Tara talk about Tara getting a cat as a pet and later go to a Scooby Gang meeting in Giles's apartment. Buffy explains there is little going on, which Giles suspects has to do with Adam. On the other hand, Riley says the Initiative has been busy capturing demons like never before. Suddenly, Oz appears in the doorway and arranges to talk with Willow later. After Oz leaves, Anya remarks everyone is uncomfortable. Tara says she has a study group and leaves too.

That night, at the cemetery, Buffy and Riley capture a demon for the Initiative and Buffy tells him how Willow and Oz broke up. Riley is surprised that Oz is a werewolf and comments that Willow seems smarter than dating a dangerous guy. Buffy argues that love isn't rational and calls him a bigot. Riley assures Buffy he isn't talking about her, but she ends the subject.

Meanwhile, under the full moon, Oz shows Willow that he doesn't transform anymore. He explains he's learned to control the wolf inside while in Tibet, and now he wants to get back together with Willow.

Graham patrols with a team, and they are all attacked by a four-legged demon.

The next morning, Willow goes to the bathroom after talking with Oz all night. He answers when Tara knocks on the dorm's door, but she nervously decides to leave.

Buffy wakes up at Riley's, and he notices she is still bothered by their previous conversation. Buffy explains he sounded like he believed that demons are evil and people are good, but Riley sees nothing wrong with that interpretation. Forrest interrupts them with the news that one of the soldiers has died and Graham has been injured in a demon attack.

In their dorm, Willow surprises Buffy about Oz being able to control the wolf. Buffy is even more surprised as Willow mentions that things with Oz are complicated because of Tara. Getting over her initial reaction, Buffy supports her friend's feelings and advises her to be honest.

Adam goes to Spike and offers to get the chip out of his head in exchange for help against the Slayer.

Willow and Tara hug after clearing up that Willow and Oz only talked the night before. Afterward, Oz smells Willow on Tara and loses control after realizing they are involved. He starts to change into a werewolf as he tells her to run. Werewolf Oz chases Tara until Initiative commandos take him away. Tara can't stop them and tells Willow what happened.

Scientists perform tests on Oz, and he returns to his human form, surprising Riley. Riley recognizes him but is escorted out of the lab when he tries to argue against the experiments. Later, Riley returns and helps Oz escape, but they are caught. Colonel McNamara tells Riley that betraying the Initiative could land him in prison.

Spike shows up at Giles' place and offers to lead Buffy and the gang into the Initiative facilities. Dressed as commandos and scientists, the gang sneaks in through a backdoor. Adam uses a computer to shut down the power for most of the city, including the Initiative.

Holding the Colonel hostage, Buffy gets Riley and Oz free, and Riley leaves the Initiative for good. Now that his life is in danger, Riley camps out in the ruins of Sunnydale High School. He tells Buffy he was wrong about Oz, and Buffy says she needs to tell him something about his past.

In Oz's van, Willow and Oz say their goodbyes. He acknowledges that she is his weak spot, and they are safer never seeing each other again because this is no longer their time.

With the dorms still without power, Willow brings Tara a lit candle. Tara tells Willow that she should be with the person she loves. Willow replies that she is and will make up for everything she put Tara through. Tara blows out the candle.

Continuity[]

• Buffy explains to Riley about Willow and Oz's sudden break-up and his departure in "Wild at Heart."
• Oz mentions his time in Tibet, which he will tell the Scoobies about in more detail in Retreat, Part Two.
• Willow and Tara discuss getting a cat together, and Tara suggests the name Miss Kitty Fantastico. The cat will first appear in the next episode, "The Yoko Factor."
• Willow finally reveals to someone, namely Buffy, that she is dating Tara. She will tell Xander and Giles in "The Yoko Factor."
• Spike joins up with Adam, an alliance that will endure until Adam's impending defeat in "Primeval."
• Riley leaves the Initiative but will return to military service in "Into the Woods."
• This is the only time that Oz and Tara meet, although they do share a scene together in Willow's dream in "Restless."

Appearances[]

Individuals[]

• Adam
• Dragomir (Only mentioned)
• Riley Finn
• Forrest Gates
• Rupert Giles
• Alexander Harris
• Anya Jenkins
• Tara Maclay
• Devon MacLeish (Only mentioned)
• McNamara
• Graham Miller
• Miss Kitty Fantastico (Only mentioned)
• Daniel Osbourne
• Willow Rosenberg
• Spike
• Buffy Summers
• Willis

Organizations and titles[]

• Initiative
• Scooby Gang
• Slayer
• Witch

Species[]

• Bio-mechanical demonoid
• Demon
• Human
  • Werewolf
• Vampire

Locations[]

• Istanbul (Only mentioned)
• Sunnydale
  • Initiative facilities
  • Rupert Giles's apartment
  • Restfield Cemetery
    • Hawley mausoleum
  • Sunnydale High School
  • University of California, Sunnydale
    • Lowell House
    • Stevenson Hall
    • UC Sunnydale library
• Tibet (Only mentioned)

Objects[]

• 21DW407
• Behavior-modification circuitry (Only mentioned)
• Spike's duster
• Taser blaster

Death count[]

• Willis, bitten by an unidentified demon.

Behind the scenes[]

Production[]

• Marti Noxon states in the audio commentaries of the episode "Wild at Heart" that she sees a "Willow/Oz Trilogy" in the episodes "Phases," "Wild at Heart," and "New Moon Rising."

Broadcast[]

• "New Moon Rising" had an audience of 2.9 million households upon its original airing.^[2]

Deleted scenes[]

• A scene between Jape and Adam was cut from this episode. Nevertheless, he remained credited. The scene in question reveals that the demons shown in the episode were unleashed by Adam as a test against the Initiative soldiers. Though deadly, Adam believes that they are "not enough" for his plans.^[3]

Pop culture references[]

• Oz says that he traded a Radiohead record to a woman in Tibet.
• Oz looks at a poster for the band The String Cheese Incident on the poster board at the college.
• In an exchange between Spike and Adam, they reference the Boy Scouts.
• Buffy says she'll "pull a William Burroughs on your leader," referring to the accidental shooting death of Joan Vollmer in 1951.

Goofs[]

• When one of the soldiers is thrown against the trunk of a tree, it wobbles in a way that makes it obvious it is a prop and not a real tree.
• As the opening scene transitions from Giles's apartment to the cemetery where Buffy and Riley are supposed to be on a walk/patrolling, Buffy can be clearly seen standing still on the right side of the screen.
• When Buffy and Riley wake up, the bed is lying crooked, but when they stand up, the bed is straight again.
• When Willow and Oz hug in the van towards the end of the episode, Willow leans forward, and the wireless transmitter becomes visible on her lower back.
• After Oz says "Pretty much now" in the van and the shot shifts to Willow, after a few seconds, we can see Oz leaning in for a hug. When the shot switches to Oz the next second, he's leaning back again, then leans in for a hug again after a few seconds.
• 25:56 minutes in, when the gang is sitting in Giles's living room, the poles from the lighting equipment are visible to the right of the screen.

Music[]

• Christophe Beck — original score

Awards[]

• The episode was nominated for the Hollywood Makeup Artist and Hair Stylist Guild Awards in the category Best Special Makeup Effects in a Series.^[4]

International titles[]

• Armenian: "Երիտասարդ Լուսնի ծագումը" (The Origin of the New Moon)
• Czech: "Nový úplněk" (New Moon)
• Finnish: "Kuutamolla" (Moonlight)
• French: "Un Amour de Pleine Lune" (A Love of Full Moon)
• German: "Abschiede" (Farewells)
• Hungarian: "Az újhold" (New Moon)
• Italian: "Luna Nuova" (New Moon)
• Japanese: "新しい月が昇るとき" (When the New Moon Rises)
• Polish: "Księżyc w nowiu" (New Moon)
• Portuguese (Brazil): "A Ascensão da Lua Nova" (The Rise of the New Moon)
• Romanian: "Lună nouă" (New Moon)
• Russian: "Восход молодой Луны" (New Moon Rising)
• Spanish (Latin America): "El Nacimiento de la Luna Llena" (The Birth of the New Moon)
• Spanish (Spain): "Luna Nueva" (New Moon)

Adaptations[]

• This episode is included in The Slayer Collection: Willow DVD.
• A Buffy the Vampire Slayer action figure of Tara was produced based on this episode.

Gallery[]

Promotional stills[]

Advertisement[]

"New Moon Rising" promo

"Oz returns for the woman he loves only to find… an unexpected rival."

Quotes[]

References[]