Buffy Logo 'Pangs'
Story Code '4ABB08'

by Jane Espenson
Buffy

As Buffy stakes a vampire she has the feeling that she is being watched; she is - Angel is hiding in the bushes. The next day, Buffy, Willow and Anya look on as Xander begins his new construction job as part of the crew working on the new campus Cultural Centre. On hearing th curator's a speech on Thanksgiving Willow gets upset; she believes the festival to be a farce, because the American Indians were actually massacred and their land stolen. Xander begins digging, but the ground gives way beneath him and he falls into a cavern lined with drawings on the walls. That evening, Angel is spying on Buffy once more, this time from outside her dorm room. Inside, Willow tells Buffy that Xander fell into the old Sunnydale Mission which was thought to be lost; Buffy decides to cook Thanksgiving dinner for all of her friends. Spike wanders aimlessly around the area, feeling cold and hungry because he is no longer able to feed; elsewhere, Riley and his commandos are out looking for him, perceiving his knowledge of the Initiative to be a threat, as he can blow Riley and everyone else’s secret identities. Anya visits Xander, only to find him extremely sick, and now calling her his girlfriend. At the University, a mysterious Indian man kills the anthropology teacher; when Buffy and Willow later investigate the murder, Buffy notices that a knife is missing from a display case. The next day, Buffy prepares the Thanksgiving dinner at Giles’ house; after she leaves to pick up some groceries, Angel appears, hoping to talk to Giles. The ex-Watcher is unhappy that Angel is keeping his presence in Sunnydale a secret from Buffy, but Angel claims it is the only way he can help her, remarking that they should speak to Father Gabriel, a priest whose family has been in Sunnydale since missionary times, and who may be of some help. Angel then leaves to keep watch on Buffy. Elsewhere, Buffy and Willow are on their way to the store when they bump into Riley; when Willow enters the coffee shop so the two of them can be alone, she meets Angel, who explains that he is there to protect Buffy, but that she must not know. Spike attempts a reconciliation with Harmony, but she chases him out brandishing a stake. Buffy arrives at the church to talk to Father Gabriel, only to discover that he has been killed by the Indian man, who taunts her with claims that she cannot stop him - he is vengeance, the avenging spirit sent by his people to obtain justice. The two fight, but the Indian transforms into a flock of ravens and escapes. The next day, Giles, Buffy and Willow argue over how to stop the Indian, unaware that a coyote is watching them through a window; just as Willow and Giles realise they have both seen Angel, Anya arrives with an gravely ill Xander, whose symptoms do not make any sense, until Willow points out that they are all connected to the Indian, as the native Americans were killed by diseases brought from overseas, such as smallpox, malaria and syphilis. As the argument continues, Spike arrives pleading for shelter, promising in return to tell them all he knows about the Initiative. Meanwhile, the Indian summons more warriors to aid him in his revenge. While Buffy ties Spike to a chair, Giles surmises that the Indian is targeting authority-figures; believing that University Dean may be next, he despatches Anya, Willow and Xander to warn him. Arrows suddenly break through Giles’ windows, and as he and Buffy seek cover, Spike is left as a target in the middle of the room. Xander, Willow and Anya are returning from the Dean’s house when they run into Angel, and together conclude that the spirit is after Buffy. After being hit in the arm by an arrow, Buffy and Giles try to hold off the Indians using crossbows. Arriving back at Giles’, Angel, Xander, Willow and Anya begin a battle with the spirits, but a few of them break into the house. Buffy realises that their attackers can only be killed by their own weapons; the leader becomes a giant bear, but Buffy stabs him with his own knife, causing him and his warriors to become green mist which then dissipates. Seeing that the danger to Buffy has passed, Angel leaves. Now that all of Xander’s symptoms have disappeared, the gang all sit down to Buffy’s Thanksgiving dinner. When Willow points out it was like old times with them all working together, Xander agrees - especially as Angel was helping them. Buffy just stares at him in amazement.

Sarah Michelle Gellar (Buffy Summers), Nicholas Brendon (Xander Harris), Alyson Hannigan (Willow Rosenberg), James Marsters (Spike), Anthony Stewart Head (Rupert Giles), David Boreanaz (Angel), Emma Caulfield (Anya), Marc Blucas (Riley Finn), Mercedes McNab (Harmony Kendall), Leonard Roberts (Forrest), Bailey Chase (Graham), Tod Thawley (Hus, the Chumash spirit), Margaret Easley (Curator/Anthropology Professor), William Vogt (Jamie, the vamp at the beginning), Mark Ankeny (Dean Guerrero)
Directed by Michael Lange

TX (US): 23rd November 1999
TX (UK - Sky One): 25th February 2000
TX (UK - BBC): 23rd November 2000

Notes:
*Featuring Buffy, Xander, Willow, Giles and Reily

*This story is a cross-over with the 'Angel' episode 'I Will Remember You'