Overall Rating: 7.95 Matt: 7.9 Eric: 8.0 Writer: Jane Espenson Director: Michael Lange Cast : Sarah Michelle Gellar as Buffy Summers, Nicholas Brendon as Xander Harris, Alyson Hannigan as Willow Rosenberg, James Marsters as Spike, Anthony Stewart Head as Rupert Giles. Main guest stars : David Boreanaz as Angel, Marc Blucas as Riley Finn, Mercedes McNab as Harmony Kendall, Bailey Chase as Graham, Leonard Robert as Forrest, Tod Thawley as Hus, the Chumash Spirit Original broadcast date : November 23, 1999 My one-line description: Hus the vengeance spirit, Angel the invisible shadow, Spike the neutered vampire… So what are they giving Thanks for, exactly? Buffy is fighting a vampire, who tells her she should go back where she came from – things were better before. Buffy dusts him, and looks around, feeling eerily watched. Actually, she is – Angel is watching her from the bushes. The next day, Buffy, Willow and Anya attend the groundbreaking ceremony for the new campus cultural center, since Xander is one of the construction workers (Anya thinks it’s quite sexy). The Professor of Anthropology in charge of the project makes a speech about all the cultures coming together into one culture, and how nice it is that the groundbreaking takes place just between Thanksgiving. However, Willow is less than impressed – Thanksgiving, she says, is a joke, pretending the Pilgrims ate maize with the natives when they actually massacred them and stole their land. Buffy agrees with Willow, and points out that she won’t be celebrating the holiday since her mom is out of town. Xander begins digging – as Anya lovingly watches on – and suddenly falls through a hole in the dirt. He finds himself in a strange crypt with drawings on the walls. That night, in her dorm room, Buffy anxiously hangs out near the window, as though she was feeling watched again – and indeed, Angel is watching her. Meanwhile, Willow informs the Slayer that the cave Xander fell into was actually the old Sunnydale Mission, presumed lost for years. The two then talk about the students who get to go home for Thanksgiving, and Buffy suddenly has a bright idea: why not organize a Scoobies Thanksgiving? Willow is sceptical at best, but Buffy convinces her, and even gets her to accept Anya being there. The Slayer is happy that everyone has a place to go… Except Spike. Looking terrible and covered in a blanket, the vampire runs in the woods, trying to escape Riley’s recovery squad. Forrest comments that at least Hostile 17 can’t eat, so isn’t much of a threat, but Riley argues that Spike knows about The Initiative, so is indeed a threat. Anya is worried (and disappointed) that Xander is not doing some digging, so she goes to his place – and finds him ill. She decides to take care of him, and for the first time, he refers to her as his girlfriend (but he could be delirious). On campus, a green haze emerging from the old Mission appears, and spreads into a room where the Professor of Anthropology is working. It materializes into a Native warrior, who grabs her and slits her throat. Buffy and Willow later investigate – looking into why an ear was cut off the body. They note that a Chumash knife is missing from the museum display. The next day, Buffy is at Giles’ place, preparing the Thankgiving dinner and filling him in on her investigation. After she leaves to get more stuff at the grocery store, Angel appears. The Watcher is not too happy that Angel is trying to help Buffy without letting her know he’s there, but the vampire is adamant that it’s the only way. He then recommends that Giles speak to Father Gabriel, a priest whose family has been in the region since missionary times, regarding the murder. Meanwhile, Spike is still wandering around in his blanket, looking quite dejected. He peers sadly through a window, where some vampires are… um, having lunch. Buffy and Willow are shopping downtown and talking Thanksgiving cooking when they run into Riley. Intent on giving them some private time, Willow wanders into a coffee shop. Unbeknownst to Buffy, the redhead runs into Angel, but he covers her mouth before she can say his name. For a second, she thinks he’s gone bad again, but he informs her that he’s secretly protecting Buffy. He then asks her – a bit jealously? – about the guy Buffy is talking to. Actually, Buffy is inviting Riley to her Thanksgiving dinner. He declines, saying that he’s going to visit some family in Iowa. A now starving Spike goes back to Harmony, begging her to take him in, but she rejects him, driving him out with a stake without even giving him something to eat. Buffy goes to meet Father Gabriel, but finds him dead. A large Indian male, who introduces himself as Hus, claims he did it, and tells her she can’t stop him – for he is vengeance, sent by his people to get justice. He was awakened by the discovery of the old Mission. Buffy starts beating him up, and he gives her a guilt-trip by remarking that she killed her people, and will now kill their spirit. She relents, and he escapes as a flock of birds. The next day, Buffy reports all this to Giles as the prepare Thanksgiving dinner. Willow arrives with a pile of books on the Chumash; she explains that the tribe was peaceful until the Europeans came, spreading disease, massacring them and cutting off their ears (charming). She thinks that they should find a way to help Hus, but Giles just wants him dead. Outside, a coyote watches as the two argue. Giles takes Willow aside, and they realize they both know that Angel is in town. Then someone knocks at the door, and in comes Anya with a very sick Xander. On campus, Hus is once again going through the Anthropology department, looking for some artefacts. Xander explains that the doctors don’t know what’s wrong with him – he has a variety of symptoms which don’t connect to one particular disease. However, as Willow explains, they do connect to various illnesses the Chumash had, including malaria and syphilis. Hearing about that last disease, Xander wonders why they haven’t slain Hus yet; he comments that you don’t talk to vengeance demons, you kill them. This, of course, makes Anya angry, and the gang starts to argue. Buffy decides to go back to the kitchen to make pie, and Giles follows, intent on making her see reason regarding Hus. Suddenly, there’s another knock on the door, and Buffy goes to answer it. It’s Spike, shaking in his tattered blanket, asking for help. She’s not interested in helping him or even letting him in, and neither is Giles. But the vampire reveals that he’s "been to the vet, and now he doesn’t chase other puppies any more". Willow confirms that Spike can’t bite, and the vampire offers to give them information on the Initiative in exchange for their help. Finally, they let him in, but tie him to a chair. Then they go back to the matter at hand – Giles ventures that Hus must be after authority figures, so the Dean of UC Sunnydale could be in danger. Willow and Buffy start arguing again about whether to kill Hus, but Spike downright laughs at them, noting that conquering nations conquer people. Xander and Giles admit he has a point. Willow, Anya and Xander volunteer to go to the Dean’s office to warn him. Left alone with Giles and Buffy, Spike asks when he gets fed. She asks him to stop whining, and just then an arrow shatters a window and flies into the table centerpiece. They see Hus outside, with some company – he’s conjured up Chumash warriors to help him get vengeance. Buffy tries to offer apologies to Hus, but the arrows start flying. Giles and Buffy duck, leaving Spike as sole target. An arrow does pierce him good and true – "Hey! Watch the heart!" he angrily shouts. Willow, Xander and Anya are coming back from the Dean’s office when they run into Angel. Willow tells the vampire their theory about Hus looking to take down leaders, but Angel points out that for the Indian, the leader is the strongest warrior – hence, Buffy is in trouble. In the midst of flying arrows, Giles gets a warning call from Angel regarding what they’ve found out. Spike is still acting as an arrow cushion, and Buffy gets one in the arm. She and Giles try to fire their crossbows, but miss. As Angel, Willow, Xander and Anya arrive outside, some warrior make it into the house. A general fight ensues, but the Scoobies find that the warriors can only be killed with their own weapons… Before Buffy can put the information to good use, however, Hus turns into a big bear. Spike screams for her to undo it, and she finally manages to stab it. Hus and the other warriors disappear into a green mist. Outside, Angel takes in the scene, and sneaks away. That evening, Buffy gets her Thanksgiving dinner, complete with Spike still tied to a chair. Willow is a bit displeased at having tried to kill the Chumash, but then the Gang comment that it wasn’t so bad – they got through it. Willow muses that it was just like old times; "Yeah, especially with Angel being here and everything", Xander chimes in. Buffy stares at him, and the gang stares at her. A spoon clanks noisily in a plate. Summary by OttsFiveByFive.