1.6 The Pack

Plot Synopsis (Hide)

On a school trip to the local zoo, Xander sees a gang of four bullies break into the cordoned off hyena house, and follows to see what they're up to. One of the hyenas moves forward, its eyes flashing green, and one by one we see the same flash appear in the eyes of the school kids, including Xander.

At the Bronze that evening, and at school the next day, the girls gradually notice Xander's behaviour changing. He picks on Willow, laughs with the bullies and seems even more interested in Buffy than usual. Willow finds this deeply upsetting, as she and Xander have always been close. Partway through the afternoon, Buffy catches a runaway piglet, the school mascot, in the hallway, and as she carries him back to his cage Xander happens to walk past. To Buffy's amazement, the pig reacts violently, squealing in fear and struggling to get away.

Buffy reports the situation to Giles, but he is initially skeptical that Xander is exhibiting anything other than normal teenage behaviour. Willow arrives with the news that the piglet has been killed and eaten, and Buffy manages to convince Giles that something is very wrong. Realising this all started after the trip to the hyena house, they conclude they're dealing with some kind of animal possession. Giles reads up on a sect of the Masai called Primals, who can draw the spirits of animals into themselves in a ritual involving a predatory act.

Knowing that the other four pack members had been seen near the pig just before it was killed, Principal Flutie hauls them into his office, where they attack him. Meanwhile, Buffy goes to find Xander, and although he gets rather violently amorous, she manages to overpower him, and locks him in a cage in the library.

Giles returns from an emergency staff meeting looking grim, and tells the girls that Principal Flutie has also been killed and eaten. Leaving Xander guarded by Willow, Buffy and Giles go to speak to the zookeeper in the hopes that he can help. He has heard of the Primal ritual, and says he thinks they can reverse the possession if they can get the pack back to the hyena house. He also tells them that if the pack is separated, it will track any missing pack members, and they realise Willow is in danger.

When Xander regains consciousness he tries to get Willow to release him, but she is unconvinced. The remaining pack members then crash in through the library windows, and break him out of the cage while Willow flees. Xander and his new buddies chase after her, but Buffy and Giles arrive in time to save her, and the pack leave in search of easier prey.

Giles and Willow return to the zoo, while Buffy goes to find the pack and lure them into chasing her there too. While Willow keeps watch, Giles goes into the hyena house and finds the zookeeper dressed in ceremonial Masai robes. Seeing the sacred circle already on the floor, Giles realises that the zookeeper must have originally intended to perform the possession ritual on himself, only the school kids got there first. He tries to run, but the zookeeper knocks him out.

Hearing Buffy arriving with the pack in hot pursuit, Willow dashes in to warn Giles. The zookeeper ties her hands and holds a knife to her throat, telling her he has to pretend to perform a predatory act. As the pack rush in, he shouts a ritual phrase, and we see the green flashes again as the animal spirit leaves the pack and goes into the zookeeper. Dropping the knife, he turns to attack Willow with his teeth, but Xander, back to his old self, rushes up to save her. Buffy joins the fray, and the zookeeper ends up falling into the hyena cage, where they waste no time in finishing him off.

Highlights

• Giles trying to convince Buffy that Xander is just behaving like a normal teenager, then having to radically change his opinion, and admit that she was right all along.
• When Xander reverts to normal, he immediately rushes to save his Willow. He may not be in love with her, but he cares deeply and shows it.

Firsts

First time anyone gets locked in the library cage.

Pop Culture References

Willow describes mating zebras as being "like the Heimlich with stripes"
The 'Heimlich Maneuver' is a well-known first aid technique for choking, which involves wrapping your arms round the victim from behind and pressing your fist into their upper abdomen with a quick thrust.

When the gang of bullies walks into the Bronze, Buffy refers to them as 'the winged monkeys'.
This is a reference to 'The Wizard of Oz', either the book by L. Frank Baum, or the 1939 film it inspired, starring Judy Garland. The winged monkeys were the pets and servants of the Wicked Witch of the West.

"Shouldn't you be hovering over the football stadium with 'Goodyear' written on you?"
A rather cruel reference to the famous helium-filled advertising balloons which traditionally hover above sports stadia, both in America and in the UK. Basically, as Xander puts it, "the kid's fat".

When Buffy suggests something strange is happening, Giles is initially unconvinced, and an exasperated Buffy retorts "I can't believe you, of all people, are trying to Scully me!"
This alludes to the cult TV series 'The X-Files' in which the sceptical Scully generally tries to propose rational scientific explanations for unexplained phenomena which her partner, Mulder, usually believes to have more supernatural causes.

Rationalising the Impossible

Students possessed by supernatural hyenas actually eat the school Principal, and the official story is that "wild dogs got into his office"??

Nitpicks

• WHY is there a cage in the school library??