In this episode, we sink our teeth into Buffy the Vampire Slayer’s “Never Kill a Boy on the First Date” (S1.E5) and “The Pack" (S1.E6), examining how masculinity plays out in early Sunnydale. In “Never Kill…,” Owen represents the allure of brooding, bookish masculinity—Buffy’s desire for normalcy colliding with a guy who romanticises danger but can’t handle the Slayer life. Meanwhile, The Master is once again up to no good in his quest for finding 'The Anointed One'.

“The Pack” takes a darker turn, exploring toxic masculinity as Xander and his possessed crew channel predatory behaviours—harassment, dominance, and cruelty—under the guise of supernatural influence. But is the hyena really to blame, or just an unmasking of impulses already there?

Join us as we unpack the show’s problematic use(s) of 'magpie' cultural references to signify the 'supernatural' and its early messages about what makes a man—especially in a world where Buffy’s the one saving the day.

**Trigger Warning: This episode mentions sexual assault.**

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Dr Alex Carabine: @decadence.and.dark.ages ; literatureunlocked.org

Dr Meaghan Allen: @morbid.mae

Website: damesmacabre.com

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SOURCES

For more on the Maasai people see: http://maasaiwilderness.org/maasai/

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For hyenas & their cultural history:

https://talkinghumanities.blogs.sas.ac.uk/2021/03/16/hyenas-and-humans-millennia-of-myths-misrepresentations-and-persecution/

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For more about Emily Dickinson:

https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poets/emily-dickinson#tab-poems

https://www.emilydickinsonmuseum.org/emily-dickinson/biography/

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For more on Buffy studies and scholarship, check out: http://www.buffystudies.org/

Check out our Bookshop Affiliate Page for books mentioned in our episodes: https://uk.bookshop.org/shop/damesmacabre