I adored Oz. From one of the first few lines we hear him say in Inca Mummy Girl 'Well it involves a feather boa and The Theme to A Summer Place. I can't discuss it here', I loved him. Plus he was the first person to realize the greatness that is Willow (While Xander remained entirely clueless till season three).
And he was just always shown as the sympathetic, warm, not afraid of his emotions guy that really, every girl wants just a little bit at least. I mean his Willow Kissage Speech in Innocence...did anyone else swoon at that? I thought Boy Who Cares Enough to Wait? Gimme!
And even though he was often quiet and so went unnoticed, any threats on Willow always brought him right to the fore which I always found amazing. Bewitched, Bothered and Bewildered where he hits Xander is one instance/ He doesn't know what Xander did but he knows he upset Willow so he had the 'uncontrollable urge to hit' him. Also in Enemies when everyone is arguing over exchanging Willow for the box and Wesley is insisting that 'We have the means to destroy this box!' and Oz just sends the 'means' crashing across the room, destroying it. Clearly saying, without any words at all, that nothing is worth risking Willow.
And I loved Oz's very dry, larconic sense of humor. It was genius and always got a laugh out of me. I think something that really summed up Oz's way of thinking and his humor was in Earshot where we hear his very complicated zen thoughts concluding with 'We think, therefore she is'. And all we hear out loud is a typical Oz-like 'Huh'. And Oz was never afraid to mock himself, which made him all the more funny and appealing:
Xander: Your sarcastic voice is a lot like your normal voice
Oz: I've been told that.
Xander: I thought you nearly had an expression.
Oz: Well, I felt one coming on I won't lie.
And I did have a twinge of missage for him in I was Made to Love You when Xander said 'I need more male friends. I miss Oz. He'd get it. He wouldn't say anything, but he'd get it.'.
HOWEVER, I do think the timing was right when he left. It upset me both the first and second time he left, but the second hurt me a lot less because well...I had fallen in love with Tara. I wanted them both around actually. Maybe there's an untapped threesome there: Tara/Oz/Willow. Unlike the concept of many other Buffyverse threesomes I can see that one being kinda sweet and very loving. You know, as long as Oz doesn't like wolf out midway or anything coz that would be, erm, bad.
Also, I think what made a great appeal for Oz, was he was definitely one of the most feminized males in the series. I think it mentions that in the book 'Sex and the Slayer', actually.
Wait...I'll find the quote from the book for you guys (Because I'm just that helpful.). Ah, here we go:
"Oz is figured primarily as a love interest of one of the main characters (generally a female role) and was seen by some viewers as a successful paradigm of new masculinity, combining both 'masculine' and 'feminine' characteristics. Oz is often identified by his role as rock guitarist and is described in The Watcher's Guide Vol 2 as 'the defininiton of cool and composed'- two major factors in his appeal. In one way his habitual silence is a part of this cool composure and can be read as a trait of the 'old masculinity' (the strong silent type) yet at the same time it can be identified as a passive 'feminine' characteristic. From the beginning Oz was presented as sensitive and thoughtful, refusing to allow his relationship with Willow to develop until they were both ready. Kristine Sutherland, who plays Joyce Summers, remarks on the attractions of this "It was the scene in the van where she asks him to kiss her and he says 'I don't want to kiss you until you want to kiss me'. That is the kind of man that every woman is looking for" Once again, a new man is one who appears to be sensitive to a young woman's anxieties about relationships.
The connection between Oz's wolf cycle and the female menstrual cycle is explicitly referred to in 'Phases' and further feminizes Oz. Oz also proves that is possible to be both a nerd and 'more or less cool' (Xander, The Zeppo) or that social success need not be dependent on particular versions of masculinity. Of all the primary male characters on Buffy only Oz is a dissimilar physical type and an atypical male lead in that he is short and slightly built. This allows the show to present variants of masculinity even in appearance. On the whole Oz appears "very much at ease with his masculinity" and seems adaptable and free of the anxieties that plague other characters"
In short, rock on Oz.
😉 Haha
