In this episode Xander is turned into a manipulative, sociopathic rapist. I'm not sure that should really be described as 'cool', y'know. ;-) But it was very well-acted, which is why I ticked it.

I don't think Buffy committed a crime or anything by killing the zookeeper - it was clearly self-defence - but nor do I think that absolves her of responsibility for his death. She threw him into the pit of hyenas, and made no effort to drive them off or rescue him.

Also, why are you writing polls on Spring Break instead of, I don't know, getting drunk and flashing your bits at people? That's what popular culture tells me is supposed to happen during this odd American seasonal festivity...

Edited at 2010-03-16 04:41 pm (UTC)

I wouldn't exactly call hyena!Xander cool.

Question two should have had a 'my thoughts are too complex for your poll' option. I went with false, but I'd say it's more like mostly false...ish.

Snyder deserved it more...so I guess that makes it awesome. I just feel sorry for Flutie.

The zookeeper is like Buffy's version of Rack: the forgotten victim.

I think he's half right. She does like 'em dangerous. Strong fighters definitely are her cuppa. I don't think she necessarily likes 'em mean though. That casual cruelty is where hyena!Xander blows his chance, IMO.

The zookeeper thing has always bothered me. Seems out of character, as in why wouldn't she have just knocked him out and tossed him another direction rather than letting him get eaten by hyenas? It has always seemed weird to me that Faith accidentally killing someone later on was a huge deal, but this incident wasn't.

*fans self* Hot, hot, hot!!!!! *fans self again*

This episode was probably the second I ever watched of the show. When Xander turned around to smirk at Lance right when he got possessed???? He's the hottest badboy in the show *ducks from Spike and Ripper fans*

Whatever characters and fans claim, I don't believe for a SECOND that Buffy prefers mean, abusive men over good men. Buffy loved Angel, Riley, Spike and Xander because they were GOOD, she loved them for their humanity, NOT because they killed and tortured people for centuries.

Also, I've always been amused by Willow's "Xander and I weren't close" which shows that poor Will was the outsider when Jesse was alive, and now I think the outsider is Xander.

Nick Brendon does "menacing and evil" well, here and in "The Wish". I had to vote for soldier!Xander though. Soldier Xander is hot! And I just realized I need a Xander icon.

I'm disturbed Flutie is trailing Snyder in the awesome death poll. Flutie had cool slo-mo action from a pack of cool kids and was torn to shreds while seeing his death coming.

Snyder was gobbled up in mid-sentence by Mr Mayor!Snake, the uncoolest (though admittedly funniest) Big Bad ever.

Must we always go with the big budget special effects, people?

Technically, when Buffy threw the zookeeper into the hyena pen, he was no longer exactly human. The hyena essance had entered into him so he was stronger than he had been before. Also, I don't think she meant it - she rushes straight over to try and save him but it's too late. It's complicated though - I think it's partly that the show hadn't totally established its own rules at that point.

And Principal Snyder's death is EPIC! Going out yelling at the Mayor to behave himself? Beautiful.

I voted Flutie, because being ripped apart by your student's hyena-fied and yet still normal little human teeth is CREEPY. Also, I'd thought about hyena-guy's death before, too, and finally chalked her lack of woe up to a lack of maturity. It is so early on in the Buffy Saga that she's still half "ARGH! Bad Guys! (dangerous flail)" and so more likely to accidentally kill people and not notice that they're still human.

She gets a lot more guilty after she kills Angel and grows up a lot. And by the time the knights come around she's all calloused and worn out (poor Buffster.).

On #2. I haven't read the comments to this post yet so I'm not sure if anyone's pointed it out, but I've always thought that Xander telling Buffy that was an continuity error. The Pack was before the episode Angel, so Xander really had no way of knowing Buffy might possibly like guys who were "dangerous and mean".

1. Hyena!Xander, because Nicholas Brendon brings a seriously convincing menacing bastard and we got two episodes of that, two, and that was a serious waste. Evil Willow was cool and powerful, but Evil Xander scares the shit out of me.

2. OBVIOUSLY! Why else do you think she ditched Owen, HUH?! In seriousness, at that point he is working off of an information set of Angel, so I think it's a fair comment. Considering she goes onto Parker (mean and sexually belittling), Riley (bully on Hellmouth amphetamines), and evil!Spike....Xander really does see everything.

3. I really respect the way Snyder clung to his denial to the bitter end. HEY YOU GIANT SNAKE! GET OFFA MY LAWN! Oh, Snyder.

4. I'd say no, because at this point he's choosing to make himself less human in with the specific intent of becoming more dangerous. He's morally more culpable than a vampire, who almost never (Darla excepted) chooses to become dangerous. This is also why I was never particularly bothered by Willow killing Warren, or whoever it was that killed Gwendolyn.

1. Hyena!Xander. I watched the show as it aired so there's some nostalgia involved. It's also the first and only time I found Xander hot. But whatever the reason, there's something to be said for the slo-mo walk with his posse and that slow turn around before he zeros in on Buffy on the balcony above.

2. True. Sort of. She likes some monster in her man. Like that scene in the Initiative - Spike wouldn't have hesitated biting and draining Willow, wasn't above taunting her about whether he'd make her like him, all classic monster behavior. But in the very next scene, when he can't bite her, and she wonders if it's her, he practically rushes to reassure her he'd bite her in an instant, comforting her (and reinforcing the vampire/bite as sexual penetration like whoa) - that's more human than a monster should be. So I think Buffy needs dangerous, but not mean. Spike was dangerous, but not mean. Hyena!Xander wasn't dangerous, he was just a dick. A mean dick who laughed when he made Willow cry.

3. I voted Snyder because Snyder deserved it. Flutie's was too much like murder. It happened so slowly and the poor man knew what was going on, knew what was going to happen and I hate how they cornered him, poking and taunting him. *shudders*

4. The zookeeper was playing with magic, trying to steal a predator's essence. He wouldn't have hesitated to cut Willow's throat and he would have thrown Buffy into that pit given the chance, and even though you can't try someone on what they would have done, I personally don't feel it's the same as Dead Things. Heck, even Faith's accidental killing in Bad Girls was understandable - it was her behavior in the aftermath that was so criminal.

5. Gave it four stars. I remember this was the first episode to really, really capture my attention and it's one of my favorites from the first season. And you're right - there's something pretty about it. I dunno.

Color me stupid. I thought you were asking in #2 if Xander actually said that, not if what he said was true. LOL! So I got it wrong and right acidentally.

I remember when I first saw this episode I didn't really like it because I didn't want my sweet Xander to be mean. Plus, I thought he looked kinda goofy trying to play the essence of a hyena. I guess I'm not into the dark, mean boy thing as much as the dorky guy thing.

As for Buffy, I put that she was responsible for his death. Legally, I think she could be convicted of manslaughter even though it was self defense. With her abilities she could have easily tossed him someplace else and while it was in the midst of a battle, a calm examination of the facts might lead a jury to convict her.

Re the knights, I never understood what they were. Were they human? I thought they were some kind of spirits of good/evil (depending on how you look at it). They were seriously human? Dressed up in knight gear walking around town? Or were they accountants during the day, and knights of the whatever at night? Huh.

Agreed, great S1 episode! I always get teary-eyed watching Willow during the dodge ball scene.

I can't think of Flutie's death as awesome. Poor Flutie. Then again, it gave us Snyder. And Snyder's death gave us Robin. Hee, I actually love all principles of Sunnydale High.

I don't know about hyena!Xander but hyena!girl was hot!

1) Totally Hyena!Xander, though I do like soldier!Xander, and that one has a big effect on the show's story. (Though this one does too, albeit a bit more subtly.)

2) Well, obviously it’s true that he said it. Xander is an unreliable narrator on Buffy’s love life, as he is throughout the series. And it definitely is a “nice guy” plea, and I’m ashamed to say I’ve been there myself. But he’s actually partly correct about Buffy: she does get off on the danger, for reasons she doesn’t quite realize, and when someone else accuses her of this, she puts her into a coma. (Faith, natch.) I think Buffy is attracted to the dark but can’t admit it, hence her attraction to...let’s say liminal figures, like Angel (vamp with a soul), Parker & Owen (broody humans), soldier-Riley (she likes the violence and danger and the sex, c.f. WTWTA), Spike (vamp who does good), Wood (who, when she goes out on the date, might be evil). She isn't attracted to black hats. She's attracted to grey hats, with the danger and mystery inherent there. I think as she accepts her darkness more, she's more and more inclined to be attracted to good people and less dangerous ones.

3) Flutie by a landslide. I like Snyder as a character more, and his death scene is appropriate, but Flutie being eaten alive by his students is such a perfect metaphor, and the first "I can't believe they did that" moment. Jesse in the pilot? Not remarkable--people die in pilots all the time, and Jesse never being mentioned again doesn't help mark the series as anything special. A recurring character dying not even because of long-running monsters but the creatures of the week is a big deal. And the pan down to the dopey picture of him smiling rips my heart out--the guy doesn't even have any family to remember him, and keeps a picture of himself on his own desk. It's so tragic.

4) Not responsible - it was in the middle of a fight. I agree that it's a bit of an oversight in the general Buffy-doesn't-kill-humans rule, but not that big of one.

5) ****. My second-favourite season one episode, after "Prophesy Girl." This was the first episode to make me feel queasy the next day...I couldn't get it out of my mind. And the moment where Willow goes over to the cage with Xander, and her keys are practically falling out of her pocket, and then he lunges for them and she bounces back, and says, "Now I know"--is one of the defining moments in the show for me. The show is, most of the time, smarter than us (at least on a first viewing). WILLOW is smarter than us. As great as this is as a Xander episode, I think it's also the best ep for Willow in season one. (Do not anticipate four stars for "I Robot - You Jane"....:P) Still, only 4 stars, because the show gets so much better and I want to save the five stars for my top twenty or so. (This might crack the top 30.)

User vamp_squirrel referenced to your post from Buffy 1.06 The Pack saying: [...] some of 's poll questions about the episode here http://gabrielleabelle.livejournal.com/204058.html [...]

1. In this episode, Xander gets possessed by a hyena spirit and is rendered temporarily cool. In Halloween, Xander turns into an army guy and is, again, rendered temporarily cool. Which do you prefer?

I'm not gonna lie, soldier!Xander (just for a second) makes me feel very uncomfortable in my heterosexuality! :) Plus I think it's cool that a loser like Xander has some degree of brave soldierness inside him. Hyena!Xander would be cool enough too if it weren't for his attempted rape of Buffy and his pure meanness to the adorable, pasty S1 Willow.

2. hyena!Xander tells Buffy that she likes men who are "dangerous and mean". True or false?

I'll go with true. But I think it's more of a subconscious thing. I think she just wants a stable boyfriend like Riley but can't help being turned on by the bad boys like Angel and Spike.

3. Principal Flutie is eaten by a group of students. Principal Snyder is eaten by a giant snake. Which death is more awesome?

Okay, Principal Flutie was too nice a man to be eaten and Snyder annoyed us (in a funny way, of course) for two and a half seasons so you could say that it was more fun to see grumpy old Snyder get his comeuppance (yes I'm a sick person thinking an annoying principal deserved to get eaten by a giant, badly computer generated snake - shoot me!) but I'd have to go with Principal Flutie! His death was more horrific - but it was all the more shocking!

4. In the final fight, the zookeeper charges at Buffy, but she ducks and throws him behind her and into the hyena enclosure. He's ripped apart by the hyenas. Does this count as "Buffy killing a human" a la Ted, Bad Girls, and Dead Things?

Yes, she was responsible for his death, she tossed him into the pit and post S1 Buffy would probably brood over killing him for a few episodes. But this is S1 and every episode ends with a rockin' "everything's okay, we solved the mystery, now Core Four, let's walk off into the sunlight, say something snarky to Giles, laughing as if we don't have a care in the World" theme.

5. Pretend you're a movie reviewer and give this episode a star rating.

Screw it! I'm gonna give it 4 stars. It's nowhere near the quality of other 4 star episodes and puppet!hyena should really bring it down but I find this episode creepy, shocking and also rather funny. Plus it turns one of our main characters temporarily bad (a trope continued on this show), allows NB to show off more of his acting traits, it kills of the school principal, a recurring character, in a gory way and shows us that Willow is smart in more ways than just being a computer genius. There's actually many standout moments in this episode such as the dark nature of Buffy's near rape, the 'Pack' waking up, growling and snarling at that mother and her kid and the cool tribal score. Good episode!