. . . .The Buffy the Vampire Slayer episode, "Pangs". from season 4, the Thanksgiving episode, of course. Watched it last night after our really successful dinner a deux. Moroccan Lamb Pilaf will have to become a permanent part of the meal repetoire.
“Pangs” has been one of my favorite Buffy episodes all
along. It still remains very good – and, making it all the more pertinent watching this Thanksgiving, "Pangs" includes ‘plague.’ Or
syphilis. Something microbial that kills released by the Native sorcerer
who was executed by Spaniards of California's Mission era. Of course the character infected is perennial butt, Xander. But it does get in history, which is another reason this has always been one of my favorite episodes.
The episode gets in everything that people dream to be the Traditional Family Thanksgiving they want it to be, to how Thanksgiving generally works in reality, when it is family-centered: the insufferable instruction from the newly clued in kid home from college for the holiday, political arguments about history, while Mom, determined to save her perfect Thanksgiving with all the people at the table behaving just
as she wants them to. Which means she manages to find a place for the unexpected guest but squeezes a place for that guest at the table anyway.
This is the Buffy family, so Things Untoward Happen. But what's always been most notable for me in this episode, which is ultimately about family, was who wasn’t present at this meal. Riley, who’d gone home to Iowa for his Saturday Evening Post cover traditional country Thanksgiving with great big family.
Thus it is equally notable as to who was there, for Buffy's Thanksgiving. Spike – who had nothing to eat on this day of
gorging. But he was there, as he was even through the very
end, and on into the Angel universe. Gads Marsters plays his character so very
well throughout all his permutations. What's even more impressive is at this time no one involved with the series could know there was a season 6, much less what was going to happen in season 6 -- or season 7. To me this has been a turning point episode in the Buffy verse.
This is also, in spite of Big Matters, one of the funnier episodes, with Buffy as Mom who is going to have Thanksgiving as she pictures it or kill everyone trying, and Giles as reluctant Dad who has no choice but to go down before Bulldozer Thanksgiving Buffy. Marsters contributes a great deal to the comedy.
I haven't watched any Buffy in years, but I easily could get sucked back into the Buffy verse. I have the complete boxed set of seasons sitting right here, to hand, by the dvd player.
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