Joyce Summers

Joyce Summers (1958-2001) is mother to Buffy and Dawn Summers. She was portrayed by Kristine Sutherland''.

Early Life
Joyce has at least two sisters named Arlene (who lives in Illinois) and Lolly (who made the curtains hanging in their Sunnydale house). One of her sisters was the mother of the deceased Celia, whom Buffy was very close to. In high school, Joyce had a Gidget haircut and did Yearbook. Joyce met Hank Summers at prom during her freshman year of college. Joyce didn't have a date and Hank did.

In Los Angeles, Hank and Joyce's relationship eventually deteriorated and Hank had an affair with his secretary. Hank and Joyce's arguments included those about Buffy when she came home after her first slay. Joyce, early on, appeared to have a slight alcoholism problem that is referenced with Grueller getting into Joyce's blueberry schnapps and luging on her at Buffy's 15th birthday party, as well as being told by her daughter to "have another drink" in Becoming, Part Two. While Hank was more authoritarian about Buffy's behavior, Joyce was the more lenient, although disappointed parent. Hank and Joyce placed Buffy in an asylum after she was expelled for burning down the gym and had returned home from Las Vegas. Neither Hank or Joyce believed that Buffy was a vampire Slayer.

Sunnydale
In Sunnydale, Joyce owned an art gallery and maintained a close relationship with Buffy, although she has been disappointed by some of Buffy's behavior. Joyce was a protective and loving parent; she also became a maternal presence in the lives of Buffy's friends Willow Rosenberg and Xander Harris. When vampires attacked Sunnydale High School on Parent-Teacher Night, Joyce protected her daughter by attacking Spike with an axe after the other survivors fled the school. She is concerned about Buffy's poor academic performance, but she was proud to discover that Buffy is a strong leader who can take care of herself. Unlike the Harrises and Rosenbergs, Joyce is a constant presence in shows.She is shown as warm and loving to all even "Spike" with whom she formed a friendship in season five.She exhibits a sarcastic streak and strong personality clearly inherited by her daughters.Joyce eventually accepted buffy's duty as the Slayer and has since shown support and concern for Buffy.

Joyce was disturbed when Angel turned into a stalker (after losing his soul and returning to Angelus), and is even more upset when she learned that Buffy had lost her virginity to him. Joyce became increasingly frustrated with the distance between herself and her daughter. When police officers visited the house and informed her that Buffy was a murder suspect, Joyce feared the worst. She met Buffy, who was accompanied by Spike, outside their house. Buffy initially tried to convince her mom that she and Spike were in a band, but when the three are attacked by a vampire, Buffy staked him in front of her mom before leaving to save the world. Joyce, stunned by this revelation, demanded that Buffy take time to explain things to her: "If you walk out of this house right now, don't even think about coming back." Buffy, took Joyce at her word, left town and spent several months in Los Angeles trying to escape her destiny.

While Buffy was gone, Joyce worked with Giles and the Scooby Gang to locate her. She developed a close friendship with Pat, a woman from her book club who was soon killed by zombies. Joyce was relieved when Buffy returned and wanted things to go back to normal. She tried to support Buffy's extracurricular activities while also encouraging her to think about her future. After accompanying Buffy on patrol, Joyce fell under a demon's spell that drove her to lead Sunnydale on a witch hunt. She and others attempted to burn Buffy, Willow, and Amy Madison at the stake, and was later horrified at her actions. Spike stopped by the Summers' home when he returned to Sunnydale where Joyce lent a sympathetic ear as he related the details of his recent break-up, which earned his perpetual gratitude.

Joyce's only biological child was Buffy. However, in Season Five, a new daughter named Dawn mystically appeared in her home; her existence was interwoven into the memories of all the characters. Joyce's health deteriorated as the season progressed and she was diagnosed with a brain tumor. Pressure from the tumor interfered with her mind and she temporarily lost mental clarity. At that time, Joyce recognized Dawn's anomalous nature and confirmed with Buffy that Dawn is not her daughter by birth. She loved and accepted Dawn as a member of the family and urged Buffy to do everything in her power to protect Dawn.

Later years and Death
Joyce's health improved after a successful surgery, although her life was soon in danger again. Glory, a hell-god, sought a mystical key that could open interdimensional portals. Although Glory does not realize that the key is, in fact, Dawn, she knew that Buffy protected it. She threatened Buffy's family, which forced Joyce and Dawn to temporarily stay with Spike for protection. She continued her friendly relationship with Spike and they watch a soap opera together. Soon afterwards, Joyce suddenly died from a brain aneurysm in the end of I Was Made to Love You. Her death had a devastating effect on the gang who all missed her deeply, even Spike, who claimed "she was the only one who treated him decently", which is indeed true, though relations between Spike and the Scoobies begin to improve when they discovered that he was more than willing to allow Glory to kill him in order to protect Buffy and Dawn. Most of all, her death left Buffy in a lasting state of depression that lasted from the episode of Joyce's death to the sixth season finale.

Afterlife
In "Forever", Dawn, devastated by Joyce's death to the point of irrationality and feeling abandoned by Buffy, resorts to necromancy despite Willow and Tara's warnings and, with help from Spike and Doc, apparently reanimates Joyce's body as a zombie. However, Dawn realizes the inherent dangers of what she has done and breaks the spell before Joyce can enter the house.

Post-mortem, Joyce appeared in Buffy's dreams on several occasions. Interestingly, the First never appeared as Joyce to anyone - Rather, Joyce's spirit appears to be protecting her daughters, both from the First's assault on Dawn directly and by warning Buffy of the dangers to come and attempting to bolster her confidence. It is possible that Joyce's statement that Buffy "would not choose" Dawn was a statement of the First, but more likely, it's foreshadowing to the rift that forms between Buffy and Dawn.

Appearances
She appeared in a total of 58 episodes, at least once per season, making her the only person outside of the core cast (of Buffy, Xander, Willow and Giles) to do so.