Pangs

"Pangs" is the eighth episode of the fourth season of Buffy the Vampire Slayer, and is the sixty-fourth episode altogether. It was written by Jane Espenson and directed by Michael Lange. It originally broadcast on November 23, 1999.

As Buffy attempts to put together a perfect Thanksgiving, Xander accidentally releases Hus, a Native American vengeance spirit. Angel secretly comes to Sunnydale to protect her from the spirit.

Synopsis


Buffy tracks and kills a vampire while Angel watches her from behind some bushes. The college has a groundbreaking ceremony for the new Cultural Center building, and Xander is one of the construction workers. Buffy, Willow, and Anya watch, and while Anya imagines sex with Xander, Buffy and Willow talk about the meaning of Thanksgiving. Xander begins to dig, the ground suddenly caves out under him and he drops into an old abandoned building, which turns out to be the Old Sunnydale Mission. Buffy is upset that her mother is going to be out of town for Thanksgiving, but then decides to cook her own Thanksgiving dinner and invite all their friends. Covered in a blanket and in terrible shape, Spike runs through the woods, trying to escape Riley and his team as they look for him. Anya arrives at Xander's to find him incredibly sick, and right away starts taking care of him. A green haze comes up from the old Mission and goes to the Cultural Center where some weapons are being kept. After the haze comes in contact with a spear, it turns into a large Native American man and kills Professor Gerhardt. Buffy and Willow later secretly investigate the murder, and wonder why the curator's body was missing an ear. They discover that a Chumash knife is missing. Buffy tells Giles about the murder while planning to have Thanksgiving at his place.

After Giles agrees to look up information on the Chumash Indians, and Buffy leaves, Angel appears from the back room, having travelled to Sunnydale due to his friend's vision of Buffy in danger. He and Giles talk about watching over Buffy. Angel tells him he doesn't want Buffy to know, though keeping a secret from Buffy is hard for both of them. Buffy and Willow talk about preparations for Thanksgiving and then Riley shows up. Buffy invites Riley to her Thanksgiving dinner, but he already has plans to visit family in Iowa. Willow goes to get coffee and runs into Angel. He tells her he's not evil, and that he's just looking out for Buffy because she might be in trouble. He quickly explains he's not here for personal reasons and only to keep Buffy safe, though contradicts that sentence when he asks who's that guy talking to Buffy, seemingly showing suspicion and slight jealousy.

Starving, Spike tries to get food from Harmony, but she threatens him with a stake and he leaves. Buffy goes to find Father Gabriel, a priest who may have information for them, but finds that a returning Chumash spirit has killed him. After the mission was uncovered, his spirit was released to reenact the wrongs that were done to his people. Buffy and Giles talk about it, while working on dinner and then Willow shows up with a stack of books on the Chumash. She explains that while they once were peaceful, the people of Sunnydale horribly mistreated them. Cutting off a victim's ear is a way to prove that the kill was successful. Willow and Giles argue about what happened between the Native Americans and the people who took their land and their lives. When Buffy goes to the kitchen, the two talk secretly about Angel's reappearance.



Anya practically carries Xander to Giles's place, and after some research, they determine that he probably has malaria, smallpox, and syphilis — some of the diseases that took a terrible toll when brought from Europe to a population without resistance.

With only a blanket to protect him from the sun, Spike shows up at Giles's place asking for help. Buffy is reluctant to give it, but after he offers inside information on the Initiative, and Willow helps him explain that he can't bite anyone anymore, they bring him inside and tie him to a chair.Everyone begins to argue about what they're going to do to stop the spirit. Willow doesn't want to kill him, but everyone else argues that that's the only way. While Willow, Anya and a weakened Xander go to find the Dean and warn him his life may be in danger, the spirit calls forth more spirits to help him get revenge for their people.

The spirits attack Buffy, Giles and Spike with arrows. Helplessly tied to a chair, all Spike can do is try to move out of the way as he gets hit with arrows. Willow, Xander and Anya encounter Angel on their way back and they determine that the Chumash went after Buffy. Buffy tries to go for more weapons, but gets an arrow in the arm. After riding over on bicycles, the Scooby Gang tries to attack the Chumash spirits as best they can with shovels. Angel shows up and helps them out. Buffy cuts one of the Chumash with his own knife and discovers that their own weapons can kill them. The spirit turns into a large black bear, which Spike desperately tries to get away from and ends up knocking the chair over. Buffy struggles with the bear and then stabs it. All the spirits disappear.

Angel walks away without being seen by Buffy, and later, the gang sits down to Thanksgiving dinner. Still tied to a chair, Spike sits with them and whines that he still hasn't been fed. Xander accidentally lets it slip that Angel was in town.

Continuity

 * This episode is immediately preceded by Doyle receiving a vision of Buffy in trouble. Buffy then followed Angel back to Los Angeles.


 * After his job at the campus pub in "Beer Bad", Xander worked at Hot Dog on a Stick according to a comment by Willow at the beginning of the episode, leading to his taking a construction job just before this episode. Construction would be a career path he would stick with for the rest of the series.


 * Xander now refers to Anya as his girlfriend. Riley and Buffy are establishing a relationship as well.
 * Joyce is referred to as being out of town visiting Aunt Arlene and her family for Thanksgiving. This suggests that Arlene is Joyce's rather than Hank's sister.


 * Willow makes mention to what else could be buried in Sunnydale, foreshadowing her raising the buried Temple of Proserpexa.
 * Harmony threatened to kill Spike with a stake, reminding him that he had done the same to her in "The Harsh Light of Day".
 * It is confirmed that 'Asian Joe', a recurring extra from Sunnydale High survived the events of 'The Harsh Light of Day', we see him sitting in the stands at the opening ceremony.

Body Count

 * One vampire, dusted by Buffy
 * unidentified man, drained by a vampire group
 * Professor Gerhardt, killed by Hus with a knife
 * Father Gabriel, hanged and his ear cut off by Hus.
 * Hus, destroyed in the form of a black bear when Buffy stabbed him in the neck with his own knife
 * his followers, automatically destroyed after

Production

 * Writer Jane Espenson did a fair amount of research on the actual Chumash Indian tribe, which was entrenched along the California Central Coast - including around modern Santa Barbara, the probable real-life counterpart to Sunnydale - and numbered as many as 20,000 people before contact with Europeans. The tribe survives today as the Santa Ynez Band of Chumash, which has U.S. recognition as a Native American tribe and controls a reservation and casino in Santa Ynez, California.


 * In an early draft of the script, Spike was invited into Giles's apartment by Buffy. However the scene didn't make it to air and the invitation occurs between acts. This was a year before it was established, in "Real Me" that only an actual resident could invite a vampire into a domicile.

Deleted Scenes

 * This exchange was cut due to length:
 * Xander: "I didn't mean - you're an EX-vengeance demon. It's totally different."
 * Anya: "Sure. It's okay."

Pop Culture Reference

 * Willow made a connection between ear-cutting and Vincent van Gogh.
 * Riley mentions Grant Wood, an American painter, when talking about where he grew up.
 * Buffy references Metropolis, the city from the DC Universe and where Superman lives.

Music

 * Christophe Beck - original score

Goofs, Bloopers & Continuity Errors

 * Anya acted as if she met Angel for the first time. However, they were both present during the rite to send back Vamp Willow in the Wishverse.

Other

 * This is the first of only three episodes of the show to feature Buffy's three primary love interests (Angel, Spike, and Riley). The other two are "The Yoko Factor" and "Fool for Love".


 * This episode marks the only on screen meeting of Angel and Anya, though they do not actually speak to each other.
 * This episode is the first time Angel sees Riley, seemingly suspicious of him talking to Buffy.