Daniel "Oz" Osbourne
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 Seth Green as Oz |
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Daniel "Oz" Osbourne (born 1980 in Sunnydale, California) is a fictional character created by Joss Whedon for the cult television series Buffy the Vampire Slayer and Angel. The character is portrayed by Seth Green.
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[edit] Biography
[edit] Character history
A taciturn, guitar-playing teen, and eventually Willow's boyfriend, Oz first appears in the episode "Inca Mummy Girl," becoming a recurring character throughout the second and third seasons. In the fourth season, he leaves Sunnydale, heading off on his own to seek control over his werewolf side. He is last seen in Willow's dream in the episode "Restless." He is last mentioned in the season 7 episode "Potential".
His most outstanding trait is his detached, ironic approach to life, masking a deeply philosophical interior. He is also the lead guitarist for the band Dingoes Ate My Baby, which performs frequently at The Bronze. A high school senior, one year above Willow and the rest of the group, he "tests well" but his only real ambition lies in his music.
He notices Willow in spite of (or perhaps because of) her eskimo costume at a dance at The Bronze, and seemed to be interested in her at first sight. It would take several episodes for the two to actually meet in person (his first line to her being "Canapé?"). They went into, according to Willow, "some sort of holding pattern, except without the holding or... anything else", even though they had several dates, on one of which he witnesses a vampire being dusted by Buffy for the first time, and thus becoming a member of the Scooby Gang. He is not shocked to learn that vampires exist and remarks that it "explains a lot". He and Willow eventually share their first kiss and become a couple at the end of episode 2.15 "Phases".
The episode Phases was also the episode where he finds that he has become a werewolf[1], turning into a monster on the three nights around a full moon, having been bitten on his finger by his pre-adolescent cousin Jordy during a bit of horseplay (Interestingly, when Oz calls Jordy's mother, his Aunt Maureen, to ask if Jordy is a werewolf, Maureen is apparently unfazed by the question and readily confirms Jordy's condition, indicating that Oz is not the only exceptionally laid-back member of his family.). On his third night as a wolf, Oz is nearly killed by a hunter for his pelt, but saved by Buffy Summers and the Scooby Gang, with whose help he quickly finds a way to minimize the danger posed by the wolf: he locks himself into a cage for the appropriate nights, watched over by the Scoobies in shifts.
Even though he is intelligent (so much so that he, along with Willow, was tracked for a time by "the world's leading software concern") he does not manage to graduate that year, due to several incompletes and failing to attend summer school. He repeats his senior year, now being in the same year as the rest of the gang, and graduates simultaneously with them. During this year, his relationship with Willow goes through rough water as he and Cordelia catch a kissing Xander and Willow. They break up, but get back together again after Oz confesses he misses her ("Amends").
After graduation, he attends the university of UC Sunnydale, together with Buffy and Willow, and is seen taking 'Introduction to Psychology' by Professor Walsh along with them. Unlike the other two, he does not have a dorm room, but stays in a house off campus along with the rest of the band. Because the cage he used to lock himself up on the nights around the full moon was destroyed (along with the rest of the library and Sunnydale High) during the fight against the mayor, he now locks himself up into a cage in a crypt at a local cemetery.
However, gradually, the wolf personality seems to contaminate Oz's human side, and although in love with Willow, he is irresistibly drawn to another werewolf, Veruca, a fellow student at UC Sunnydale, who, unlike Oz, considers the wolf to be her true self. After spending a night in the cage with Veruca, and killing her at the following sunset to protect Willow[2], Oz resolves to leave Sunnydale so as not to endanger his friends further.
Some months later, Oz returns to Sunnydale, believing that his lycanthropy is now under control through techniques learned in Tibet[3]. Although the moon no longer affects him, he can still transform into the werewolf when faced with strong emotion, such as anger, fear, or pain, as he discovers when he finds that Tara Maclay has replaced him in Willow's affections, and when The Initiative seizes him for its experiments. This transformation can occur during the day.
After that discovery, Oz leaves Sunnydale for good (reflecting Seth Green's decision to move on and pursue his film career). He is last seen in Willow's dream in the episode "Restless," as she meets him in college. Oz is not seen again for the remainder of the series' run. His current whereabouts are unknown.
[edit] Powers & abilities
Oz is a werewolf, meaning that he has the potential to transform into a berserk, lupine creature with enhanced strength, speed, and sense of smell. From "Phases" to "Wild at Heart", he, like most werewolves, must change into animal form on the night of a full moon, the night preceding it, and the night following it. After "Wild at Heart," Oz acquires some level of control over his form by traveling around the world and learning about herbs, meditative techniques, and other forms of little-known treatment for his little-known condition. He prefers to stay human, and only changes under great emotional stress (compare to The Incredible Hulk).
Oz also has a highly enhanced sense of smell when in human form. During the episode "Lovers Walk", he is able to smell Willow from great distance although she "doesn't even wear perfume." Oz can also tell that she is scared from this scent, mimicking the ability apocryphally attributed to many animals, especially canines.
He also demonstrates that werewolves can exert influence on their actions in bestial form. When Oz transforms for his battle with Veruca, he instantly attacks her until she's dead, completely ignoring Willow until killing Veruca.
Oz is also a skilled musician, specializing in electric guitar.
[edit] Trivia
- Oz was originally going to be killed off by Angelus in the episode "Passion." However, his character received such a positive reaction that Joss Whedon decided that Jenny Calendar would die instead.[citation needed]
- He makes an appearance in the follow-up novel, Queen of the Slayers, by Nancy Holder - the canonical status of these novels is unclear, however. The story takes place immediately after the Buffy series finale, "Chosen." When the gang needs the assistance of the Golden One, they soon find out that their old friend Oz is in Tibet. Oz is 1/10th of a group of Werewolf guardians of the Golden One, the same monk who taught Oz how to control his transformation. When Willow sees Oz for the first time, in a very long time, they catch up on old times and Willow is pleased to hear that Oz has a completely different life than she would have imagined. He's not only learned to control his transformation, but he also appears to efficiently hunt/fight in a controlled pack of werewolves. The werewolf guardians, which never had a formal name/title in the novel, all serve the Golden One and are seen wearing modified helmets, which appear to have muzzles attached.
- His real name, Daniel Osbourne, is not revealed until episode 4.07 "The Initiative", more than two years after he was introduced, and after he had left the show as a regular character.
- He is based on a student Buffy-creator Joss Whedon went to college with. [citation needed]
- In several episodes during season 4, he can be seen wearing a sheepskin jacket.
[edit] Romantic relationships
[edit] Appearances
Oz has appeared in:
- Buffy the Vampire Slayer
- Oz became a series regular in the show's third and fourth seasons, although he did not appear in "Consequences". After "Wild at Heart", Oz disappeared from the opening credits. He appeared in 39 episodes in all, including guest appearances in:
- Season 2 (1997 - 1998) - "Inca Mummy Girl"; "Halloween"; "What's My Line, Part One" and "Part Two"; "Surprise"; "Innocence"; "Phases"; "Bewitched, Bothered and Bewildered"; "Becoming, Part One" and "Part Two"
- Season 4 (1999 - 2000) - "New Moon Rising"; "Restless" (dream)
- Angel
- Oz appeared as a guest in one episode:
- Season 1 (1999 - 2000) - "In the Dark"
The character Oz also made major appearances in the trade paperback, Oz, and the novel Oz: Into the Wild.
[edit] References
- ^ Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Season 2, episode 15, Phases
- ^ Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Season 4, episode 6, Wild at Heart
- ^ Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Season 4, episode 19, New Moon Rising
