Guest Starring: 
     
 Mercedes McNab: 
 (Harmony) 
   
 Emma Caulfield: 
 (Anya) 
   
 Leonard Roberts: 
 (Forrest) 
   
 Bailey Chase: 
 (Graham) 
   
 Tod Thawley: 
 (Hus) 
   
 David Boreanaz: 
 (Angel) 
   
 
 
  8. Pangs.  
   
  It's thanksgiving; Buffy just wants to cook dinner while the rest of the Scoobies argue over the morality of killing a vengeful Indian spirit.  
   
  Great quotes:  
   
 
Don't they make a lovely old couple?
  • Anya on Xander: "I'm imagining having sex with him right now." Buffy: "Imaginary Xander is quite the machine."
  • Anya, upon discovering Xander's illness: "We'll die together, it's romantic."
  • Buffy: "I'm a great cook in theory; I've eaten a lot."
  • Buffy: "... clueage ..."
  • Buffy: "I like my evil like I like my men, evil, you know. Straight-up, black hat, tied to the train tracks, 'soon my electroray will destroy metropolis' bad."
  • Willow on a p.c. rant: "The preferred term is 'Native American'." Giles: "I'm still trying not to refer to you lot as bloody colonials!"
  • Willow: "Mine is the level head and your's is the one things would roll off of!"
  
  Fantastic moments:  
   
 
Spike; the annoying neighbour 'Buffy' style.
  • The episode has lots of great little touches in the interplay between the Scoobies. One of my favourite scenes involves Buffy and Giles arguing like an old couple as they prepare for dinner, Giles claims that "... this [holding the dinner at his house] is in no way an elaborate means to stick me with the clean up?" while after Buffy tells him not to eat the food he remarks "Oh I'll try to restrain myself from eating uncooked potatoes and cranberries!"
  • The on-going argument between Giles and Willow about the meaning of Thanksgiving (see below) and its relation to their current plight is actually quite informative while at the same time being funny (Giles points out that "It's up to us to stop him [Hus]", to which Willow says "Don't you think we should be helping him?" Giles responds in his traditionally aloof manner "No I think perhaps we wont help the angry spirit with his rape and pillage and murder!"). Spike weighs in with a couple of good points "You exterminated his race, what could you possibly say that would make him feel better?"
  • When Angel collars Willow at the coffee shop he tells her about an imminent danger for Buffy. While Buffy stands nearby, obliviously chatting to Riley, Angel puts on his best 'serious' face and asks Willow: "Just tell me one thing; who's that guy?"
  
  Duff Bits:  
   
 
  • Yeah gods what is Buffy wearing on her head in the opening scene?! Are the wardrobe department playing some kind of unsubtle joke by putting her in a massive cowboy hat, or is it some not-so-subtle take on the Thanksgiving debate?
  • Buffy recovers from being shot in the arm rather quickly during the siege at 'Fort Giles'.
  
  Dean's comments:  
   
 
Angel's back!
My very British view on the meaning of the American feast of 'Thanksgiving' is that it appears to be some kind of harvest festival (common in many cultures). It is interesting how the celebration of a harvest is intrinsically linked with the destruction of the native Indian population of the North American continent, although I understand that this link has something to do with the poor treatment of the native peoples soon after the first successful harvest. As a Brit I feel (just like Giles) that I will never understand all this. What I can tell you is that this is simply one of the funniest episodes of BtVS and utterly brilliant. Buffy's obsession with making the perfect dinner, Willow's insistence upon championing the cause of the American Indians, Xander's desperation at being cursed and Giles' very British outlook on the whole thing all combine to look like a cross between 'MASH' and a debate on the issues of redistribution of land.		 
   
 9/10 
 
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