This site is part of the superjer.com network

THE PACK (1x06)

A review by Mikelangelo "MikeJer" Marinaro

Writer(s):	Matt Kiene and Joe Reinkemeyer
Director:	Bruce Seth Green

Quick Links

Review
Minor Pros/Cons
Foreshadowing
Quotes

Score
Awards
Screencaps

Comments
Post a Comment

Review

There's a lot of stuff to admire here, but at the same time there's a lot that doesn't work for me. What I especially liked was the way the episode was shot. It's hard to say specifically what I liked so much, but the episode had a very solid feel to it while still being expansive. Also, the hyena possessed students were shot similar to how people shoot documentaries on violent animals. The video Willow was watching or her monitor about hyena eating habits looked a whole lot like the scene when the students ate the principal, which is really cool. I really like how smart Willow was when Xander was trying to convince her he was all of the sudden okay. She tests him and was ready to back off at any moment. When she says "now I know," it's like saying to the audience "now you know characters won't act dumb on this show."

All of that brings me to the fact the principal was eaten by students! Woah, I must admit I was a bit surprised when I saw this for the first time. Most shows would have found a way to keep him alive. This was the first time in this show that I got the feeling that at least minor important characters in the show could be killed off at any time. I also really enjoyed seeing the first training session between Giles and Buffy. These sessions, which happen in a handful of episodes, are always highly entertaining, very quick, and involve Giles getting a lot of bruises.

Unfortunately, not everything worked. The music was a bit on the obnoxious side, and just the idea of hyena spirits possessing students is far too ridiculous even for this show. Despite the plot, the acting was superb. The students really acted exactly like hyenas. All in all, this is just a passible episode for me.

Minor Pros/Cons (+/-)

+	Buffy is still wearing Angel's leather jacket he gave to her back in Teacher's Pet (1x04).
+	Willow's hurt reaction to Xander's hyena behavior.
-	How do all these random people know all about Buffy's history?
-	Giles, especially with what we learn about him in S2, should NOT have been incapacitated that easily by the crazy man.

Quotes

WILLOW:	Where were you?
BUFFY:	Uh, I was looking at the fishes.
WILLOW:	Was it cool?
BUFFY:	It was fishes.

XANDER:	Buffy, this isn't just about looking at a bunch of animals. This is about not being in class!
BUFFY:	(brightens) You know, you're right! Suddenly the animals look shiny and new.

BUFFY:	Giles, I'm serious.
GILES:	So am I. Except for the part about killing him. Testosterone is a great equalizer. It turns all men into morons. He will, however, get over it.
BUFFY:	(exasperated) I cannot believe that you, of all people, are trying to Scully me. There is something supernatural at work here. Get your books! Look stuff up!

Score

65 /100

Noticeably flawed. The main plot is likely poor and/or hokey, but some chunks of character development and relevance make it worth watching.

Screencaps

<< Never Kill a Boy on the First Date

Angel >>

Comments (17)

1.	Fallen Mar 31 2006
	The other thread reminded me about this review. It's one of my favorite episodes and your review for it just seemed so short and kinda glossed over a lot of what made the episode great. Also I can't believe you didn't like "Far - Job's Eyes" it's one of my favorite songs from all of Buffy. Very awesome. (PM/IM me if you want me to send it over) It was also the episode that turned the music line into a pattern (to take a phrase from Angel) You had the awesome Dashboard Prophets tracks in The Harvest which gave you a point, then you had the great music from NKABOTFD (Like Rubber and Kim Richy) which gives you the line...then comes The Pack with Far, Sprung Monkey, and another DB Prophets track and that was the point where I knew for sure that it was going to be awesome music throughout the series. The music is one of the biggest things for me, and anyone who heard a track on Buffy but doesn't have it/know what it was and wants it I probably have it on my HD...103 Buffy/Angel songs/scores so far....all the CDs including the UK import and the Angel CD (also UK version). Anyway, if you get time maybe go back and watch B1.6 again and try to flesh out that review...I think it's an episode worth more than a 65 and I think there's a lot going on in that's fantastic...not the least of which would be the great acting from SMG and NB in the pseudo-rape scene. I also don't agree about the plot being too campy or far-fetched...I think possession is something that works well with Buffy and it happens a good many more times in the series. It didn't seem forced and I actually really liked the whole "You allow them to get inside you when you do an act of violence in front of them" plot. Anyway, just one man's opinion.

2.	mikejer Mar 31 2006
	I'll be honest with you Fallen. I think my S1 reviews are, more or less, pretty poor. I've had the intent for a while now to go back and rewrite most of those reviews. I plan on waiting until the rest of the series is finished though. While I don't think I'll ever be a huge fan of "The Pack" I do think I was far too hard on it. The music issue is another story. I'll just come out and say I really dislike modern music. I love mostly classical music. Anything with instruments that go beyond an electric guitar (which frankly makes my ears bleed when I listen to it) and drums is a big improvement to me. This is definately just a 'me' thing though, because I'm the only person in remotely my age group that feels this way about music. :/

3.	Grounded Mar 31 2006
	That was one major upside of S1/S2 for me - the music is awesome. In the later years they tend to go for more mainstream stuff. I always though it was great that Cordy was dancing to Dashboard Prophets in the pilot. :)

4.	Fallen Mar 31 2006
	Yeah, talk about some great songs. It was definately the springboard for Smallville to sell out every single episode. As far as going for more mainstream stuff, I never saw that as a bad thing at all. I <3 Michelle Branch and the song fits, I <3 Bush and the song fits...plus they did stuff like Aimee Mann and Angie Hart in S7. I think it worked out just fine.

5.	Grounded Mar 31 2006
	Strangely, they also had a song by one of my favourite bands in one Bronze scene. The track is Cemented Shoes by My Vitriol, which I was stunned to hear because, well, they're not exactly superstars. Funny story about Dashboard Prophets: after working out which songs they'd done on Buffy, my brother and I dled the songs and had them on the car stereo all the time. That year I decided to get hold of an import of the DP album Burning Out The Inside for my brother's Christmas - no small feat for me back then given that it was early days for the net in our household and that CD was never released over here. Anyway, I got hold of it and he was stunned when he opened it on Christmas Day. When he put it in the player, however, it turned out to be a misprint - all the artwork was correct on the case and CD, but the actual music was a different album entirely. So random, and annoying as hell after the effort I went through. Got another one eventually though, so all's well that ends well. ;)

6.	20questionsgenius Apr 01 2006
	I really like "The Pack", that is one of the few episodes from S1 that i would willingly watch again and i too thought it deserved better than a 65. I thought it was so cool, and i remember thinking the first time i saw this episode and the group ate Principal Flutie, that this was unlike any show i had ever seen and they weren't going to do the cliche thing all the time. About the music, I wasn't crazy about the music at first, it was all kind of obscure and strange, but then i realized that that was what made it so great. It was unknown and different and you weren't going to turn on the radio and hear those songs playing every half hour, that made the show even more special. Plus, I love how 99% of the time, the songs are not filler songs, chosen to give background noise soley for that purpose. The songs that are chosen have a meaning that relates to the story going on or the character and when you figure out what that meaning is its so awesome. One of the only times i can think of a song totally not going with the scene and it driving me crazy is in S7 "Him" during the part where Buffy takes R.J. into the classroom and Dawn is looking for him. They play Coldplay's "Warning Sign". Coldplay is one of my very favorite bands and "Warning Sign" is in my top five favorite songs of all time, and to me that song was so misplaced in that particular scene. I have tried and tried to think of what the meaning of it could be but honestly i can't think of anything. It sucks because thats a good song that would have fit in beautifully almost any other time in the show.

7.	fryrish Apr 01 2006
	I was looking at some of the first season review when I watch WTTH, The Harvest and The Witch during the week and it's funny how much the quality of your reviews have improved. Gotten a lot longer too. ;)

8.	Ângelo Gouveia Oct 13 2006
	In my opinion this episode should get the best metaphor in S1 award a bit higher score :) I really like it, its very stilysh and the message comes out pretty well. Great peace of acting from the part of Alyson Hannigan as well and Nicholas Brendon.

9.	Barbara Mar 26 2007
	I kinda like this for the fact that we get to see more of Nicholas' acting ability, and we get to see a dark side of Xander, but I don't like it for the exact same reason. The dark side of Xander is a wake up call for everyone...we all have a dark side, some of us just have a easier time hiding it than others do.

10.	MrB Apr 7 2007
	Just one more comment on the music. The regular soundtrack score music in S1 pretty much stunk. Boring, not sure where they were going, cheap sounding, synth stuff. This episode was a departure in that it was the only episode of S1 for sure (and possibly the series) that completely created its' own vibe with the African drums and rythms. Personally, I'm glad this did not happen all the time, but it was interesting to hear. This demonstrates that in S1, they were really feeling their way around with what this show was going to be and do.

11.	Latoya May 1 2007
	I was shocked when a possessed Xander tried to rape Buffy. I found it hard to believe that he was completely without blame since he wasn't "himself". Yes, it was out of character to be mean to Willow but the things he was saying to Buffy in that classroom rang true for how Xander felt. I didn't like that after it was all over instead of apologizing to Willow and especially Buffy, he faked amnesia.

12.	Christine Sep 17 2007
	The pack is easily one of my favorite episodes and probably the best of the xander-centric one. He was so far off his usual self, the acting was wonderful. As far as the music, i found a lot of it (or just the placement of it at times) in season 1 is, like you said, a bit corny. But love the dark xander, that we don't get to see again until The Wish.

13.	buffyholic Oct 4 2007
	I´m not a big fan of this episode but this really entertains me. Seeing a dark, cruel Xander is really cool. I don´t have a problem with the students acting like hyenas, I think it´s a good premise. There are a lot of great stuff here: the scene where Xander tries to rape Buffy, the scene where they eat the principal (it´s amazing but everytime I see it, that schocks me) and my favourite scene of all, the dodgeball game. Very good dialogue, very good character interaction.

14.	Andrew Dec 26 2007
	This is my second favourite S1 episode (the best being Nightmares, which is just amazing). It also features the best line in the series, which unfortunately doesn't look very good on paper; one really needs to hear Alyson Hannigan saying it: "Why couldn't Xander have been possessed by a puppy... (pause)... or some ducks?" Incidently, you're quite wrong about classical music- that's what I listen to too. I tend not to even notice anything more modern (it just doesn't register), so I can't comment on the music for this, or any other episode.

15.	xander Jan 25 2008
	the pack is volgens mij 95 score

16.	XenaGuy Mar 23 2008
	I too think your 65 is quite low for this episode. The whole 'pack' metaphor is brilliant. After all, teens regularly form 'packs' in their lives. This episode runs with that idea. I think the acting was terrific. The hyena-teens were all really good, even Xander after he 'turned'. And the eating of Principal Flutie ... how great was that? It started a trend for Sunnydale principals, too! Also, the music was compelling, adding to the animalistic theme of the episode. It helped drive the emotions of the 'pack' throughout the episode. The zookeeper I agree was a weak character, and I knew at his first appearance that he would turn out to be a 'bad guy' by episode end. I loved the way the pack preyed on the weak kid even before they were possessed (just like real teens), and preyed more dramatically as they became more animalistic as the episode progressed. I didn't have a problem with the whole 'hyena possession' thing, as they were already acting as a 'pack' before the hyenas were introduced. The possession was a metaphor for teen 'cliques' if I ever saw one. All in all, I'd give it about 75-80.

17.	David Apr 19 2008
	One thing that I loved that hasn't been mentioned by anybody... Xander informs Buffy that he's "aware" on some level of Willow's infatuation with him while under the hyena scene. Even the attempted rape can be seen as another way for Xander to hurt Willow. He'd already done so verbally and by getting it on with Buffy, even under the spell, it'd be a mental hammer. That also really sets up nicely not only the brief fling in Season 3 but also the almost 'purposeful' veering away in Season 2 with girls like 'Ampata' and Cordelia.

Post a Comment

Name

(copy your comment in case of failure!)

Security Code

About Privacy Policy