Xander has a new job as a barman, thanks to a dodgy fake ID, and Buffy is still smarting over Parker's use of her, even daydreaming about him begging for forgiveness.

Willow has her own problems, as Oz is becoming preoccupied with sexy lead singer of local band Shy, Veruca. Buffy succumbs to the dubious charms of a gang of students at Xander's bar, and they get hammered on Black Frost beer. Xander sends Buffy home, and the guys turn into animals. Literally. They devolve into cavemen, as does Buffy the next day, and terrorise the campus. Willow confronts Parker about his behaviour, and his eloquent defence becomes a subtle play for her, which she susses. He's busted! Bar owner Jack doctored the Black Frost beer, but assures Xander the effects wear off within a couple of days. The cave guys set fire to the rec room, but the grunty Buffy helps everyone escape. The concluding scene has Parker apologising to her, just like her daydream, and Buffy whacking him with a big stick. Again.

Review:
The Parker plot-thread feels artificially stretched out, and the fact that his apology to Buffy is triggered by her hitting him with a stick is a strange message to send out there. The central issue of id vs ego, acting on animal impulses etc has been done before in season one's The Pack. It doesn't help that the usually clever dialogue is largely replaced by wanky sociological techno-babble and grunts, either. A rare, missable episode.

Best line: Xander: “Well excuse me, Mr. ‘I spent the Sixties in an electric-Kool-Aid-funky-Satan-groove.’” (Xander to Giles re his Ripper days.)

Bloopers: In California, you have to be 21 to serve beer behind a bar. This is why Xander needed that fake ID, although Nicholas Brendon should look old enough - he was 28!

Trivia: At one point Buffy watches the music video for Luscious Jackson's "Lady Fingers". Joss Whedon knew Luscious Jackson singer Jill Cunniff as a child.