This week on Buffy and the Art of Story: Phases (Season 2 Episode 15 of Buffy the Vampire Slayer):

This podcast episode covers (1) why Buffy is the protagonist despite this being a key episode for Oz and Willow; (2) using humor and character development to hide clues; and (3) who Buffy feels she is allowed to kill and why.

As always, the discussion is spoiler-free, except at the end (with plenty of warning).

Last Week: Innocence

Next Up: Bewitched, Bothered and Bewildered

Work On Your Story

Download a free 5-Point Story Structure Template

Become a patron and get (a) (at $5 level) a free copy of Super Simple Story Structure: A Quick Guide to Plotting And Writing Your Novel (also available to buy in ebook, audiobook, or workbook form) and (b) access to bonus episodes and content(all levels).

View articles on writing craft, publishing, and time management at WritingAsASecondCareer.com.

Writing a novel? The One-Year Novelist: A Week-By-Week Guide To Writing Your Novel In One Year can help. Available in ebook or workbook form.

More Episode Links

Buffy and the Art of Story Season One: Writing Better Fiction by Watching Buffy

Buffy the Vampire Slayer and Philosophy: Fear and Trembling in Sunnydale

Book 1 in Lisa M. Lilly's The Awakening Supernatural Thriller Series freeKindle, Kobo, Nook, GooglePlay, and AppleBooks.

Or download and listen from Audible.

Season 2 Buffy DVDs.

Buffy DVD Complete Box Set.

As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases made through this site, but that doesn’t change the purchase price to you as the buyer or influence my love for the Buffy DVDs and all things Buffy.

Episode Transcript for Phases

Hello and welcome to Buffy and the Art of Story Season Two. If you love Buffy the Vampire Slayer and you love creating stories – or just taking them apart to see how they work – you’re in the right place.

I am Lisa M Lilly, author of the Awakening supernatural thriller series and the Q.C. Davis mysteries and founder of WritingAsASecondCareer.com.

Today we're talking about Season Two episode fifteen Phases.

What’s Included

In particular, I'll cover:

why Buffy is still our protagonist despite that this is such a key episode for Willow and for Oz;

using humor and character development not just as an end in itself but to hide certain clues from the audience; and

more on the show's underlying philosophy and theme regarding violence and who Buffy believes that she is allowed to kill as the Slayer.

As always, there will be no Spoilers except at the end to talk about foreshadowing, but I'll give you plenty of warning.

Okay, let's dive into the Hellmouth.

Phases was written by Rob DesHotel and Dean Batali and directed by Bruce Seth Green. A listener asked about Seth Green the actor was the same person as the director. It is not. In fact, the two are not related.

Starting With A Call Back

Before we get to our opening conflict…. Which remember is that conflict that sometimes relates to our main plot and sometimes doesn't. It is meant to draw our audience member or reader in before we get to that Story Spark or Inciting Incident that sets off our main plot.

Sometimes the conflict relates to that Story Spark, and sometimes it does not.

Here, we’re going to have three opening conflicts and the Story Spark. All in that teaser part of the episode before the credits. (Also known as the cold open.)

What’s kind of amazing is even before we get to that, we have a short call back to The Witch. All of this in less than 5 minutes.

We start out and Oz is in the hallway. He’s looking at that cheerleader trophy. The one where in The Witch Amy's mom became trapped. Now, none of our characters know that, although they do know that that statue or trophy is of Amy's mom. We see Seth Green (Oz) standing in front of the trophy. He’s kind of moving from side to side.

Willow walks up, and he says something like,