Pangs
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| “Pangs” | |||||||
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| Buffy the Vampire Slayer episode | |||||||
| Episode no. | Season 4 Episode 8 |
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| Written by | Jane Espenson | ||||||
| Directed by | Michael Lange | ||||||
| Production no. | 4ABB08 | ||||||
| Original airdate | November 23, 1999 | ||||||
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| List of Buffy the Vampire Slayer episodes | |||||||
"Pangs" is the eighth episode of season 4 of the television show Buffy the Vampire Slayer.
Contents |
[edit] Plot synopsis
[edit] Summary
Angel secretly arrives in Sunnydale to protect Buffy, who is attempting a perfect Thanksgiving.
[edit] Expanded overview
Buffy tracks and kills a vampire while Angel watches her from behind some bushes. The college has a groundbreaking ceremony for the new Anthropology 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. We later find is the Old Sunnydale Mission. Buffy is upset that her Mom 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 the curator. Buffy and Willow later secretly investigate the murder, and wonder why the curator's body was missing an ear. They discover that a Chumash spear 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 come to Sunnydale due to his friend having a vision of Buffy in danger. He and Giles talk about watching over Buffy, and 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 after Willow asks (to her amusement) if it's true that Cordelia is now working for him, that he's just looking out for Buffy because she might be in trouble.
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 reaches the conclusion 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.
[edit] Writing and acting
- Not for the first time, stress brought on by holidays -- travel, family and preparations -- are metaphorically presented as attacks by spirits.
- Two views on America's history are presented by Willow, supporting Native Americans even when they killed people, and Giles and Spike, who champion the other side of the debate, Giles stressing the futility of symbolic revenge and Spike arguing the equal futility of guilt.
[edit] Acting
[edit] Starring
- Sarah Michelle Gellar as Buffy Summers
- Nicholas Brendon as Xander Harris
- Alyson Hannigan as Willow Rosenberg
- James Marsters as Spike
- and Anthony Stewart Head as Rupert Giles
[edit] Guest starring
- Marc Blucas as Riley Finn
- Mercedes McNab as Harmony Kendall
- Emma Caulfield as Anya
- Leonard Roberts as Forrest Gates
- Bailey Chase as Graham Miller
- Tod Thawley as Hus-The Chumash Spirit
- and David Boreanaz as Angel
[edit] Co-starring
- Mark Ankeny as Dean Guerrero
- William Vogt as Jamie
- Margaret Easley as Curator
[edit] Quotes and trivia
- Giles: "...It's very common for Indian spirits to change to animal form."
- Buffy: "Yeah, well it's plenty uncommon for me to freeze up during a fight. I mean, I had the guy, I was ready for the take down and I stopped. And Native American.
- Giles: "Sorry?"
- Buffy: "We don't say 'Indian.'
- Giles: "Oh, right. Yes, yes. Um, always behind on the terms. Still trying not to refer to you lot [Americans] as 'Bloody Colonials'."
- Buffy: "And the thing is, I like my evil like I like my men. Evil. You know, 'straight up, black hat, tied to the train tracks, soon my electro-ray will destroy Metropolis' bad. Not all mixed up with guilt and the destruction of an indigenous culture."
- David Boreanaz ("Angel") was a little apprehensive about working again with his former castmates, claiming, "I'm not really into reunions."
- This is the final episode where Nicholas Brendon and David Boreanaz share a scene together. This is also the only time Boreanaz and Emma Caulfield share a scene.
- The lyric "his penis got diseases from a Chumash tribe" in Once More, With Feeling refers to Xander contracting syphilis in this episode.
[edit] Translations
- Italian title: "Crampi" ("Cramps")
- German title: "Der Geist der Chumash" ("The spirit of the Chumash")
- French title: "L'esprit vengeur" ("The Vengeful Spirit")
- Spanish title: "Angustia" ("Anguish")
[edit] Continuity
[edit] Arc significance
- Crossover with Angel: After Doyle received a vision of Buffy in trouble ("Bachelor Party"), Angel arrived in Sunnydale in this episode. Buffy is angry that Angel did not inform her and confronts him in "I Will Remember You", aired immediately afterward.
- The season's main plot did not develop much in this episode. The Initiative is seen patrolling and still looking for Spike. They and Spike confirm that he has an implanted chip that prevents him from feeding on humans.
- Xander now refers to Anya as his girlfriend. Riley and Buffy are establishing a relationship as well.
- Willow foreshadows the nature of this season's "Big Bad", Adam, by hypothesizing a demon made out of parts when a victim is missing an ear.
[edit] Timing
- Stories that take place around the same time in the Buffyverse:
| Location, time (if known) |
Buffyverse chronology: Fall 1999 - December 1999 (non-canon = italic) |
|---|---|
| L.A. 1999 | Angel comic: Doyle: Spotlight |
| L.A. 1999 | A1.01 City of |
| Sunnydale, 1999 | B4.01 The Freshman |
| Sunnydale, 1999 | B4.02 Living Conditions |
| L.A. 1999 | |
| L.A. 1999 | A1.02 Lonely Hearts |
| L.A. 1999 | A1.00 Unaired Angel pilot |
| L.A. 1999 | Angel book: Not Forgotten |
| Sunnydale, 1999 | B4.03 The Harsh Light of Day |
| L.A. 1999 | A1.03 In the Dark |
| Sunnydale, 1999 | B4.04 Fear, Itself |
| Sunnydale, 1999 | Buffy graphic novel: Blood of Carthage |
| L.A. 1999 | Angel graphic novel: Surrogates |
| L.A. 1999 | Angel comic: Strange Bedfellows story, Angel #4 |
| Sunnydale, 1999 | Buffy video game: Buffy the Vampire Slayer (Game Boy Color) |
| Sunnydale, 1999 | Tales of the Slayer: All That You Do Comes Back.. |
| L.A. 1999 | A1.04 I Fall to Pieces |
| Sunnydale, 1999 | B4.05 Beer Bad |
| L.A. 1999 | A1.05 Rm w/a Vu |
| Sunnydale, 1999 | Buffy books: Lost Slayer series |
| Sunnydale, 1999 | B4.06 Wild at Heart |
| Sunnydale, 1999 | Buffy graphic novel: Oz |
| Sunnydale, 1999 | Buffy book: Oz: Into the Wild |
| L.A. 1999 | A1.06 Sense & Sensitivity |
| Sunnydale, 1999 | B4.07 The Initiative |
| L.A. 1999 | A1.07 Bachelor Party |
| L.A. 1999 | Angel book: Close to the Ground |
| L.A. 1999 | Angel book: Soul Trade |
| L.A. 1999 | Angel graphic novel: Earthly Possessions |
| L.A. 1999 | Angel book: Redemption |
| L.A. 1999 | Angel book: Shakedown |
| L.A. 1999 | Angel book: Hollywood Noir |
| L.A. 1999 | Angel book: Avatar |
| L.A. 1999 | Angel book: Bruja |
| L.A. 1999 | Angel book: The Summoned |
| Sunnydale, 1999 | B4.08 Pangs |
| L.A. 1999 | A1.08 I Will Remember You |
| Sunnydale, 1999 | B4.09 Something Blue |
| L.A. 1999 | A1.09 Hero |
| Sunnydale, 1999 | B4.10 Hush |
| L.A. 1999 | A1.10 Parting Gifts |
| Sunnydale, 1999 | B4.11 Doomed |
| L.A. 1999 | A1.11 Somnambulist |
[edit] External links
- "Pangs" at the Internet Movie Database
- "Pangs" at TV.com
[edit] Reviews
- Soulful Spike Society analysis of Pangs
- Peripheral Visions Review
- Section 31 Review
- Swing the Sickle Review
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