User Reviews

For all his cute, goofy charm, a possessed Xander Harris can be a pretty scary guy. His eyes go flat, his smile takes on a hard edge and you just know that he's not going to be making any harmless wisecracks for a while. In this episode, a trip to the zoo leaves Xander and several popular students infected with the spirit of hyenas. Exhibiting pack like behavior, they begin terrorizing Sunnydale High. "The Pack" is one of the best episodes of the season. It centers around animal possession, but it is really talking about the cruelty of teenagers, especially when they're in groups. The hyena-people laugh at the weaker kids and terrorize anyone who crosses their path. They finally eat the school mascot and the principal, in a very creepy scene.

Eventually, Buffy locks Xander in the ever-useful library book cage, where he plays on Willow's feelings for him and tries to manipulate her into letting him out. (If it wasn't for that cage, the Scoobies would have a real hard time dealing with all the werewolves, evil Willows and assorted nasties that come their way in later seasons. I'm not sure why its in the library, but its a heck of a design feature.) The best Buffy episodes are character driven, and "The Pack" derives most of its drama from the fact that we know Xander. He loves Willow and Buffy so its disturbing to see what he's become. When he starts ridiculing Willow, you feel bad for both of them. Willow because she's heartbroken and Xander because he's truly not like that. It's really very well done.

I'm not sure I have any specific complaints about the episode, itself. But, I do wish that they had brought up Xander attempting to rape Buffy in "The Pack" after Spike tries to rape her in late season six. Clearly, Xander wasn't in control of himself in this episode. But, Spike had a demon in him, so was he really in control, either? Is that why Buffy forgave them both? Does that excuse them? It would have made for an interesting conversation, in any case.

My favorite part of the episode: The dodge ball scene. "God, this is a cruel sport."

Buffy takes a metaphorical look into adolescent pack mentality in one of the season's best episodes.

A class trip to the Zoo takes an odd turn when Xander tries to stop the school bullies from entering a restricted area with one of their prey. The pack of them return with a mouth-watering disposition. Xander does some regrettable things to Willow, Buffy and a certain school mascot, as the school's cool-quad become pack pals with him. With the whole town in danger, Buffy, Willow and Giles have to work against time to save Sunnydale and their absent partner.

This was the first episode I really liked from season one. Nicholas Brendon shows some impressive acting chops and Principal Bob Flutie has a couple of enjoyable scenes.

The third non-vampire episode of Buffy is one of the best in the entire series. Xander is possessed by the spirit of an animal, leading him to dis Willow, attempt to rape Buffy, eat the principal, and terrorize a family of four in their own car. This was the first episode that really showed just how nasty this show could be when it wanted to. This was the end for Ken Lerner's touchy feely Principal Flutie. This is also the first of many times that regulars walk on the wild side. Nickolas Brendon has a lot of fun, but the best one of his scenes may be after he is normal again. He feigns memory loss so that Willow and Buffy never have to speak of what happened again. The lovely Jennifer Sky has a cameo as one of the students who gets in touch with her inner beast. A fast and fun look at the jungle that is high school.

9 out of 10. Grr Argh.

Whilst at the zoo, Xander and some other students get possessed by a Hyena spirit. This spirit causes the kids to become aggressive even going as far as eating the school mascot (a pig). Xander is mean to Willow and very sexually aggressive around Buffy. The others actually kill Principal Flutie. Giles gets the zookeeper to help him stop Xander.

Why It's So Good - At times, an oddly effective metaphor for teenage hormones, and peer pressure. The episode is goofy, but hits the mark.

Watch Out For - Giles confronting Xander about his memory.

Quote - "It's devastating. He's turned into a sixteen-year-old boy. Course, you'll have to kill him." - Giles.

On a school field trip to the zoo, Kyle DuFor's gang bully a nice kid named Lance. They force Lance to head over to an area that is prohibited, because of some quarantined hyenas, till Xander tries to stop them. They get turned into hyenas themselves when they get affected by a magical stare. When Xander returns, he acts awfully strange towards Buffy and Willow. DuFor's gang is even worse to deal with now, thanks to being possessed by the hyenas. The pig mascot is devoured by DuFor's gang, even Principal Flutie is eaten alive. The possessed Xander joins the gang, breaks Willow's heart by ridiculing her to the point of tears, Buffy isn't able to convince Giles that something is seriously wrong. When Giles finally believes Buffy, it's up to Buffy, Willow, and Giles to save the day

Wow! Talk about creativity. I don't think I've ever seen something done that involves evil hyenas. I loved it, thought it was quite cool. This episode borders on cruelty at times and I was loving every minute of it. It was neat to see Xander act so evil. He did a fantastic job at being possessed. If you've never seen this episode, he will certainly surprise you with some of the things he does. There is some really intense situations in this one. A good moment involves dodgeball, SMG sells the terror and shock perfectly. I also enjoyed a couple of the twists and turns. I predicted the one at the end, but it was still done extremely well. My only minor carp is that Giles refuting Buffy, about people acting weird seemed very out of character for him. The "Overactive hormones" explanation didn't really do it for me. This episode is tailor-made for Buffy fans. It's suspenseful, funny, even creepy at times. Xander steals the show by chewing up the scenery. I loved this episode

9.6/10

THE PACK

The Good; Love Buffy and Giles training, you get a genuine sense of menace when Willow is taken hostage for the first time. You' don't see the twist of the zookeeper, he seems so rational although I'm baffled as to what exact power he hoped to gain from the hyena spirits (then again I don't really understand why the Mayor wished to be this big snake?). Great acting from Nic Brendon showing the first of his range (in truth neither Nic nor David are that good actors in season 1 but they grow better)

The Bad; The story is pretty stupid, reminds me of an obscure old series called 'Big Wolf on Campus'

Best Line; Giles; "Xander is becoming a teenage boy, you'll have to kill him of course"

Questions and observations; The first time someone is imprisoned in the library book cage but by no means the last. Xander trying to force himself on Buffy is unusually disturbing, for a feminist symbol she seems to get sexually assaulted a lot (but maybe that's the point?). It's interesting to compare this with Nic Brendon's unsettlingly convincing performance as a rapist on Private Practice, nicest guy alive to nastiest. Another Buffy cliché is a Scooby going evil (by the end of season 7 I think the only character never to have gone bad was Tara?). Jennifer Sky plays one of the pack and she was very good as Amarice in Xena (so you can link Buffy to Xena in one if you're ever playing 'Six degrees of Bufferation'). No Cordy (there really isn't room for her) and no Angel. At this point of course he's not a fighter, he really is just cryptic warning guy but of course that really kicks in during the next ep. Byebye Flutie which shocked me, Buffy showing its' more serious side by starting its' long tradition of ruthlessly killing off regular/recurring characters. 6/10

The Pack is about Xander and some other students becoming possessed by the spirit of demonic hyenas, on a field trip.

An excellent more out of the norm episode, with good music again. The "Far - Job's Eyes" segment's quite effective, with the transition from the thunderous suffering to overhearing the gentleness of Willow and Buffy in the distance. A hilarious gym teacher as well, unaware of the circumstances, "God this game is brutal, I love it!" Though Cordy and Angel absent and there's less dialogue, with the four other possessed characters in some of the spotlight.

During a school trip to Sunnydale Zoo a quartet of bullies take another boy into the off limits hyena enclosure; Xander follows to see what they are up to. He finds then tormenting the boy, then something strange happens; the hyenas' eyes flash yellow quickly followed by those of the bullies and Xander. While this is going on Willow and Buffy are prevented from entering by a zoo keeper who tells them the hyenas are still in quarantine, he also mentions a Masai myth about hyena spirits possessing people. When Xander comes out he has changed somehow; he has a cruel side he didn't show before and starts hanging round with the bullies. As time progresses this gets worse and Buffy is convinced that something supernatural has happened to him. Later he and the quartet kill and eat the school mascot, a small pig, before going even further; Xander tries to force himself onto Buffy while the other four eat Principal Flutie! Buffy manages to capture Xander but Giles is unsure how to remove the curse so seeks the help of the zoo keeper… a move that may actually increase the danger.

This is one of my favourite episodes so far. The hyena possession was rather inventive and the tone was darker than usual; not because Xander became dangerous but because he became cruel. This is especially true in the way he started to treat Willow. The idea of the students eating their principal is pretty dark too; especially when it is revealed that those who were possessed remember what they did after the curse is lifted. This story gave Nicholas Brendon a chance to extend his range as he gives a fine performance as Xander as he becomes more and more feral. Alyson Hannigan also impresses as Willow; convincingly reacting as her long term friend turns on her. Flutie's death increases the sense of danger as he was an established character rather than the usual one episode victims. Overall an impressive episode with some good scares, plenty of tension and a shocking death.

I'm on the fence on this one- I'm having trouble deciding whether The Pack was a good episode. I've read that people think Buffy's first season was weak and The Pack is a highlight. But I actually don't think season 1 as a whole was bad. This one, though, was not great.

The plot? Buffy and her class go to the zoo on a field trip and Xander and a group of teenage bullies are possessed by vicious hyenas... Okay, let's stop right there. I don't usually think of hyenas when I imagine a supernatural threat. It seems kind of silly. Later, it's explained that animal possession is something practiced by a group called the Primals. Maybe the episode would have been easier to swallow if we knew about them from the beginning, if we had started with a flashback to them doing their thing. Instead, we jump right to the possession scene, complete with fake-looking hyenas. The possession is indicated by the hyenas' and the teens' eyes flashing green, a poor effect and not very subtle. For extra measure, the zoo keeper tells Buffy and Willow that hyenas can understand English and will call people by name to lure them into their traps. This is an actual belief, and while admittedly I thought it was a little creepy, on second thought I realized it was ridiculous.

Anyway, Buffy and Willow notice Xander acting strangely and he hangs out with the bullies. He insults Willow, calling her pasty-looking in a cutting joke, with Alyson Hannigan looking effectively hurt. A concerned Buffy tells this to Giles but Giles dismisses this as typical teenage behaviour. This leads to a cute joke about Buffy having to kill Xander because he's becoming a 16-year-old. However, Giles is convinced something is going on when the kids eat a live pig. Then, with the exception of Xander, they eat the principal.

Wait. They eat the principal? All right, maybe this was a little freaky, and maybe he deserved it a little- he wasn't the greatest actor- but is eating a live man even possible for a group of humans? I've talked to some people who've said it's not because we couldn't digest the meat like a predator would. Granted, Hannibal Lecter bit live people and probably swallowed, but I doubt he ever had a full meal that way. This development isn't developed much afterwards- Giles merely says the "official theory" is that wild dogs did it, implying some secretly think people might be responsible. In a later episode, the new principal says the last principal was eaten because his methods were too lenient. Why would he think the last principal's methods had anything to do with his demise unless it was suspected students were responsible? But that leads to some messy questions the writers probably preferred not to deal with, such as, if it was suspected students were responsible, was there a police investigation? What did they find out?

But, I digress. Eventually the possessed teens come after Willow, calling out her name like the zoo keeper said they would, which I admit, was kind of creepy. After some fighting, the possession is reversed, and while Xander fakes amnesia, Giles knows Xander can actually remember what happened. Which means the other teens will have to live with the knowledge that they ate the principal alive.

Obviously, not a pleasant episode, and not a perfect episode either. But, as I said, it could be creepy or freaky in places. So, you can decide for yourself whether this is a worthy episode.

Taking a break from vampirism, in this episode of the series, Buffy, Willow, and Giles must uncover a way to help Xander, who has become possessed by an evil hyena(!). Xander was attempting to thwart the menacing shenanigans of a group of annoying high school hoodlums(..four obnoxious troublemakers with a reputation for picking on and ridiculing the weaker students)when he, and they, look into the eyes of a hyena, quarantined by a zoologist, becoming possessed by it. Becoming more and more primal, Xander and the pack are a dangerous brood who could turn cannibalistic at anytime..and do, first chowing on a baby pig mascot(..and, absent Xander, who was attempting to conquest Buffy)eat the principal! Buffy, Willow, and Giles will need to find a way to "transpossess" them before many other humans lie in wait of being lunch meat.

While I certainly don't mind mixing things up from time to time, as The X Files did, this premise of being possessed by the evil spirit of a hyena I couldn't take seriously at all, it was just too ridiculous. That, and if the possessed kids had eaten the principal, there would've been blood and flesh meat all over their faces and clothes. This episode does show that Willow is head-over-heels for Xander and adds an interesting conflict when he, against his will, turns aggressively(..and violently or antagonistically)towards them. The method for the evil transference is hinted at by a camera shot from above those possessed when they stand in a painted ritualistic symbol near the hyena cage. And, for suspense, we see Willow endangered when it is discovered, through research, that the pack return for whoever of theirs is missing(..attempting to molest Buffy, she cold-cocks Xander, dragging his unconscious body to a cage for safe keeping with Willow guarding as she and Giles went to talk with the zoologist, who seems to know quite a bit about the subject of animal possession). This was a wonderful opportunity for Nicholas Brendon to evoke the dark nature of man in a more savage state, though. As always Hannigan, who feels rejected by Xander, is such a sympathetic figure as a young woman in love feeling hurt by someone she cares about.The pack of this episode are quite unlike bullies we are accustomed to..clean-cut kids who look like fashion models for a Tommy Hilfiger add.

I really love this episode of Buffy The Vampire Slayer. It's really interesting and unusual. Even though Buffy goes through so many different magical and mystery things in her life, this would not be one that I'd imagine.

In this episode, whilst at the zoo on a school field trip, Xander and other classmates get infused with hyena souls. So they're basically a human shell with all the animal instincts inside. Willow and Buffy don't know what is going on with Xander, just that he's acting usual and not like himself. He's being rude and obnoxious. And you know Xander. He is never rude or obnoxious. He and the other hyena-people are causing mayhem across the high school campus. They eat their new school mascot, a live pig. Ew, and awww. Poor piggy. Then they get in trouble and called to the principles office. That does not go well for Principle Flutie. They eat him. Yeah, ew. So, eventually they get turned back into normal people, but Xander is very devastated about the mayhem he had caused.

Overall, I give this episode a 9 out of 10.

SPOILER WARNING This episode made up for the previous episode and got the series back on track for me. It was a surprise to lose a character again so soon, but showed us we can't get to attached to any small character. I liked the idea of the possession and I think that all the actors and especially Nicholas Brendon did an amazing job at portraying the hyena. I like the fact that again the words at the end of the episode come back later on in a future episode, which shows again the need to watch every episode, so as not to miss anything, because otherwise it will make no sense in the future. I love the use of the pig. I like the use of the music too, whenever the bands play at the Bronze, the music always sets the scene very well.

I am making my way through all of the Buffy seasons and episodes and so far this is my favorite episode. I found Xander so sexy in this episode and how close he came to getting with Buffy was fun.

I saw the end of the episode coming and most of the twists and turns, so it was mostly the way that Xander acted in the episode that was fun. I knew that he was going to still be lovable Xander in the end because he was credited for the whole series on IMDb, but knowing that he could also be a bad boy that was rough was fun.

I didn't enjoy the teasing of people that happened in the episode but that aside I felt like Xander wasn't like those other kids taken over in his pack, he was still good at heart and still had something true in himself, otherwise he wouldn't have wanted Buffy still.

I enjoyed it immensely for being different showing the animal kingdom was infected by demons themselves and very creepy in hyena's can possess humans. It really invested in the lore showing its happened before driving the hosts mad and played in the downfall of civilizations. To see the pack going to school seeking out the strong from the weak during dodge leaving Buffy for another on their team, attacking a family in their car or eating Principal Flutie really lived up to the legend. Nicholas Brandon was very sexy, dark and if I'm not mistaken insane by his facial expressions showing he's found his cliché for acting.

The caretaker at the zoo seems to turn immediately leaving the question of how long it takes to go from normal to feral and what powers are actually gained from such a possession. I liked he got a satisfying ending, but still it seems up in the air from what he would've benefited from it since most aren't even in control of their body.

Went from decent to bad-camp. Eating a pig, progressing to almost-rape, and eating the principal is so far out of the normal/abnormal world mechanics, it isn't even the same kind of show. Add to it the 'African' stereotype music. In this one, Willow also becomes a total doormat. Oh, btw, real hyenas are matriarchal.

To even use the term far fetched for a show like this would be ludicrous. Once we accept that the earth is filled with an array of evil critters and vampires, I guess anything goes. The hyenas are out there, the most evil of all mammals (according to The Lion King). They are mostly scavengers but they do hunt in packs. So take a bunch of bullies who by force of number make life miserable for everyone, put the soul of a hyena in them, and let them hunt as a pack, and you have this episode. Buffy is bored with disintegrating vampires and so the plot needs some new villains. Also, why not pull a beloved character into the mix. Xander is often a dork because he never knows when to shut up, but his heart is in the right place. Because he was looking out for another guy who was victimized, he, himself ends up running with the pack. His sexual being is also brought out and this is a bit disturbing. But mostly, he ends up with his new pals eating the school mascot, a cute little pig, and eventually the principal. That really surprised me. Anyway, I promise never to use "far fetched" to describe this show.

I found this to be a very disappointing episode was very surprised to learn J. Whedon considers this to one of his favorite episodes. Using such a cheap plot point like killing the mascot to illicit an emotional response is embarrassing. It's understandable (if not even forgivable) that young writers, early in their career, would resort to something like this because they haven't yet developed their skills but, to hold onto any level of affection after so many years is kinda sad. This is the kind of episode that "real" writers look back on and cringe. Embarrassed that they ever resorted to such elementary plot development. "How can we show that this character, that fans know is a good guy, has suddenly turned? I know! We'll introduce a mascot that nobody has ever seen. We'll make him cute and then our character can kill it!" You can find half a dozen similar stories at any community college creative writing class across the country. I realize that it's just one episode and, in the grand scheme of things, doesn't really matter but, it makes me wonder: could a better writer have kept a show like Firefly on the air for more than half a season?