The Pack

Hi Laurel here...This was a weird one.  Super good, but weird.

The episode starts out with a field trip to the zoo.  A pack of mean kids who pick on everybody break into a quarantined Hyena exhibit, dragging the school wimp with them.  Xander follows them in to save the wimp, and they all get possessed by Hyena spirits (except for the wimp who ironically escapes unscathed).  From there they all basically turn into human Hyenas - first feeding on a baby pig (the super cute school mascot) then progress to hunting humans.  And acting like huge assholes every chance they get.

The other kids were assholes to begin with so you don't care as much that they are acting like jerks, but Xander's transformation is pretty extreme.  He's so mean!  It was a great episode but I sort of hated it because Xander was such a dick.  He's especially mean to Willow which is sort of heartbreaking.  He tells her he's dropping geometry class so that he won't need her help with math anymore because he's sick of looking at her "pasty white face", then laughs with his hyena buddies and walks away.  Nicholas Brendon the actor who plays Xander does a really good job of being mean, which made the episode that much creepier.

The worst part is that the hyena kids EAT PRINCIPAL FLUTIE!  I'm bummed I was really getting into him, his character was starting to be really endearing and funny.

Mark here...I agree with Laurel, a very scary and good episode and creepy.  Xander's transformation here is really good.  We also get some development in the sort of love square going on...Willow likes Xander who likes Buffy who likes Angel.  Though Willow is the one with hurt feelings here.

There's a nice twist at the end in terms of who's orchestrating the animal transformations, although the whole thing is resolved a little too quickly.  The story does move the character dynamics on though, which is nice.  I'm still not sure the love dynamics all make sense, but I guess its high school so they don't need to.  In any case, there were some good scares.

The killing of the principal was a bit of a shock, a reminder I guess that Sunnydale is not the safest place!

Laurel here...In the end it turns out the zookeeper is behind it all, he wanted to become some kind of supreme Hyena human, but his plan is thwarted when Buffy throws him into the Hyena pit and he gets eaten by real Hyenas.  Ironic, no?

Never Kill A Boy On The First Date

Mark here...we're on to episode five of Buffy, "Never Kill A Boy On The First Date."  This episode's premise is the difficulty of balancing slaying and dating for Buffy.  She's simultaneously supposed to prevent the Master (the big bad guy) from raising "the anointed one" while making time to date Owen.  Buffy's smitten acting can be a bit annoying and the fact that no one can come up with a good excuse for Buffy to ditch her date.  Still the episode was entertaining.  In the end though, Owen has an exciting evening with Buffy and the gang...perhaps too exciting as he's attracted to the danger.  This leads Buffy to break things off as she can't be worrying about someone who's going to be reckless, as opposed to her friends who are more cautious.  It's a bit of a weak excuse, but Owen's a bit of a rube anyway.  And separately, the Master does succeed in raising the anointed one, who turns out, unexpectedly, to be a kid.  As far as big villains go, the Master is kind of dull.  He's ugly enough, but personality-wise he's pretty generic.  Cordelia actually is a more fun rival for Buffy as she stalks Owen for herself.

Laurel here...I agree with Mark, especially about the Master.  He's more snively and bitchy than he is scary.  I like my villains how I like my heroes.  Bad Ass.

I do feel bad for Buffy that she doesn't get to be a regular teenager at all.  Vampires don't take nights off for dating!

Teacher's Pet

Mark here... we're settled in for the next episode of Buffy the Vampire Slayer.  Laurel has made us Mahi Mahi tacos and a side of rice and beans, very delicious and a bit of a healthier option for us (for a change!).  This episode is called "Teacher's Pet" and it's a bit of a play on old B-movie monsters.  The writing nicely makes up for the cheap special effects, or at least makes them appropriate.  The new science teacher is a bit of a femme fatale, and all the boys, including Xander are smitten with her.  Turns out she's actually a giant preying mantis out for young virgin boys to mate with.  The concept is a fun twist on the old idea of a monster preying on young virgins, who usually are unsuspecting young girls. Another interesting thing is how young the characters look!  Angel and Xander look very boyish in these early episodes.  Buffy looks healthy and not too gaunt.  Willow's fashion is hurting, but I guess that's supposed to be the case so we can see how her style and personality develops through the series.

Laurel here...I really liked this episode, it was super fun.  I agree with Mark, the b-movie aspect was really fun, and made the shitty special effects seem appropriately cheesy instead of just bad.  I also was into how Buffy was battling a lady monster this time.  It's nice that the show every so often takes a break from the vampire fighting to incorporate other monsters.  There is one vampire in this episode, but he has a crazy claw like wolverine so he's a little more interesting than the usual ones.  Buffy kills him with a piece of picket fence.  Ah, Sunnydale.

Also Angel!  He's so super hot in these early episodes when he is still mysterious.  I find the boy version of him way more attractive than the man version.  The chemistry between him and Buffy really works.  If smoldering looks could get girls pregnant Angel would have totally knocked her up this episode.

I would also like to mention that Mark really came correct tonight...wearing a Buffy t-shirt.