Buffy the Vampire Slayer Re-Watch: The Pack (Season 1 Episode 6)

Even more disturbing than the way that these hyena possessed teens are stealing hot dogs right off of kid’s plates at lunch, and then eating the school’s new pork chop of a mascot, Herbert (RIP), is the amount of slow motion montages with African tribal music playing in the background. We get it. The kids are possessed by mystical African hyenas. There’s no need to beat that drum so often. Literally.

The Lion King did not prepare us for hyenas properly, it seems, because what lovable Xander is becoming is NOT cool, at all.

He treats Willow like trash. Xander makes it clear to Willow that he knows she has a crush on him and he’s downright cruel to her about it. Buffy does her best to wipe away Willow’s tears, but Willow is convinced that there’s something wrong with her. Willow, the only thing wrong with you is that you’re stalking Xander’s blood pressure, and even then you never deserve to be spoken to in any manner other than respect, hyena or not.

That’s not the end of awful Xander. He zeroes in on the slayer, and practically tries to force himself on her. Good thing she’s a slayer, because otherwise, Xander really would have been the guy in a Lifetime movie.

While Xander is busy ruining his relationships with his friends, the other hyenas bullies, are busy eating the principal.

Yes, you read that correctly. Poor Principal Flutie, the guy who gives our heroine, Buffy, a chance to start fresh and the guy who seems so darn nice just straight up gets eaten. And the camera zooms in on his desk, which has a picture of himself on it. Why does the principal have a FRAMED PHOTO OF HIMSELF sitting on his own desk? It’s not like it’s him and his kids, or his wife. It’s just him. I don’t get it.

Predictably, the Zookeeper is the bad guy, and I still don’t quite understand why he needed the hyenas to take over the kids’ bodies, but for whatever reason he paints his face to look like this…

…and somehow everyone is back to normal, and the actual mystical hyenas eat the zookeeper.

The kids ate the principal. I have to go back to it. It’s never discussed again. We don’t get to see the bullies beyond this. What kind of PTSD must those kids have gone through after having their bodies hijacked by hyenas and then going full on cannibal? That’s something I wanted addressed before the episode’s end.

Which brings me to my biggest issue with this strange and cringeworthy installment of Buffy the Vampire Slayer. After all is said and done, everyone’s reaction is very, “LOL! Xander was a hyena! Let’s go get coffee!” (Not a quote from the show, just an illustration of their blasé attitudes.)

Xander was AWFUL to Willow. He basically attempted to rape Buffy. He ate a live pig. Shouldn’t there be some level of weirdness after all of that? Wouldn’t you think that SOMEONE would be a little put off by him? What’s worse is that it’s revealed that Xander remembers everything he did and Giles knows this information. Rather than try to council Xander, or offer an ear to him in case he needs to talk, Giles just smiles and laughs!

There’s a reason that “The Pack” is notorious for being on many “Buffy’s Worst Episodes” lists. This one is not the series’ finest moment. Thankfully though, we’re now past it and can move on to bigger and better episodes. I only wish this episode had featured Cordelia. She’d have put things into perspective very quickly with her Cordeliaisms.

Pop Into Pop Culture References:

• That zoo font look familiar? It’s the same font used in Jurassic Park.
• “Shiny and new” are lyrics from Madonna’s “Like a Virgin”
• “Scully me” is a direct reference to The X-Files
• Yanni is an easy listening musician
• “A bottle of chianti” references Silence of the Lambs.

Today’s Music Was Brought to You By:

• “Reluctant Man” by Sprung Monkey
• “All You Want” by Dashboard Prophet
• “Job’s Eyes” by Far

Stay tuned for the next installment of the Buffy the Vampire Slayer Re-Watch, when we finally discover all of Angel’s secrets!

Christine Laskodi

Christine is guilty of watching Hart of Dixie more times than the average human will in their lifetime. She's the host of Long Live the Hart: A Hart of Dixie Podcast (available on Apple Podcasts and Spotify!) as well as co-host on The Shipping Room, a podcast devoted to television's greatest relationships. You can find some of her older television reviews at TV Fanatic and IGN. Christine eagerly anticipates every cheesy holiday movie that networks can throw at her, and current favorite shows include The Good Place, The Resident, Shark Tank, and All Rise.