12 days of Buffy : the pack

I have a great deal of affection for episode six of Buffy the Vampire Slayer, "The Pack". Indeed it's one of my favourites and I'd been looking forward to watching it since beginning this challenge. Let me tell you why.

I'm sure we can all recall "that group" at school. You know the one I mean. The group that thought they were so cool and took great pleasure in picking on those that were different/shy/socially awkward.

Well this episode takes the issue of classroom bullying and pack behaviour and then ups the stakes by not only literalising the subject with the pack being possessed by hyena spirits but by making Xander one of those that is possessed.

Yes, there is comedy in this episode mainly driven by the fact Xander's new behaviours are attributed to his being a hormonal (read sex obsessed) 16 year old boy. But there's also more sinister moments: when the pack eats the school mascot (Herbert the pig), when Xander tries to rape Buffy and when the rest of the pack eats the Principal (RIP Principal Flutie).

This combination of humour and drama is something that Buffy the Vampire Slayer always did very well and I think it's part of the reason why the whole programme resonated with me so much. If it had been more one than the other, I don't think the issues that it dealt with would have seemed quite as real. After all, life is never 100% comedy or drama.

But let me be honest. That's not the real reason why I love this episode. No. It's actually because I have a crush on possessed Xander and I don't think I've ever admitted that "out loud" before.

The hyena spirit initially imbues Xander with self-confidence; he walks taller, he makes strong eye contact, he seems more mysterious and that animal attraction is definitely there. Nicholas Brendon does a terrific job, in my opinion, of showing us the changes in Xander in quite a subtle way; enough that we recognise he's different but we can't quite put our fingers on why.

I'm sure I can't be the only person out there who finds themself responding to Xander in quite a lustful way can I? You'll be glad to hear the attraction wears off as the hyena spirit takes over and he becomes a small animal eating degenerate. I do have standards you know!

This has got me thinking, is there anyone out there that you wouldn't normally be attracted to but for some reason you can't quite fathom (or maybe you can), you find yourself salivating at the very thought of them? I'd love to hear your stories so please leave a comment and/or a link to a post you may have done on the subject so I can be nosey and visit!

Today, I've completed 1/2 of my Christmas shopping, which I'm really pleased about. I've listed everything else I need to buy but I couldn't 100% finish the shopping today, as I've got to upload lots of photos so I can have some photobooks of the kids made up and quite simply, I ran out of time. Never mind though, the fact I had a good go at tackling something on my to-do list makes today a success to me.

This is what's left for me to do:

• File away all the paperwork
• Put locks on all the "un-safe" drawers/cupboards
• Sort out the big box of books that's been sat in the conservatory for the last 3 years
• Tidy and organise my craft table so if I wanted to, I could actually use it
• Declutter the bedroom
• Put locks on the bedside drawers
• Make the boys some fleece trousers
• Do some batch cooking
• Finish the Christmas shopping

And the biggest one of all:

• Declutter and clean the spare bedroom before decorating it ready for the toddler to move into after his Boxing day birthday. The baby will then move into the nursery

Visit the rest of #teamBuffy?

To find out Nyssapod's thoughts on "the pack", head on over to minibreakmummy. She's also started to tackle her own to-do list and you can read all about it here.

Don't forget to visit Chapters of Claire to find out how Claire's getting on with her to-do list.

And after that, go and visit Made by Tamsin and support her in her endeavour to publish a post every day of the advent calendar.

Join In!

Finally, and as I've been saying every day so far, there's still time for you to join #teambuffy and jump into the 6 remaining days of this challenge. You don't have to be a fan of Buffy - you just have to have a desire to get rid of some of those jobs you've been putting off for a while. If I can do it so can you!

See you tomorrow x