The Body

"The Body" is a season five episode wherein Buffy discovers that her mother, Joyce Summers, has died. This is the only time throughout the series wherein a main character died of natural causes. Written and directed by series creator Joss Whedon, this episode is known for two things separate from the actual dialog and context of the episode itself: there is no background music at any time throughout the episode, and every shot before and after the commercial breaks show Joyce's dead body to reinforce to the audience that she is, in fact, dead. The episode ends with Dawn about to touch Joyce's face but blacks out quickly before any contact is seen; because of this ending, the images of Joyce's dead body needed to be reinforced but, according to Whedon on the season five DVD commentary, this did not sway people from believing that the following episode would show Joyce alive because Dawn had touched her and would use her "Key powers." These two devices when combined separate this episode from any other show wherein a main character has died (other shows typically have somber music to tip the audience of the impending sadness; additionally, most other shows don't make it a point to consistently drive home the idea of death). The episode begins with Buffy finding her mother laying motionless on the couch and Buffy says, "Mom?" a few times before crying out, "Mommy?" After the credits and intro, there is a scene in which everyone is partaking in the setup of a Thanksgiving dinner and Buffy, Joyce, and Giles are talking in the kitchen. Joyce drops something in the kitchen and there's a quick cut back to Buffy in real-time trying to resuscitate her mother and calling 911. The central theme to "The Body" is the finality of death and how the simplest things to recovering from the aftermath of the death of a loved can impose an unbearable weight. When Buffy calls 911, the numbers on the phone are slightly blurry to her; when she throws up she stares absentmindedly at the paper towel soaking it up; when she walks outside for fresh air she is numb to the sound of nature all around her. The ultimate finality, for Buffy, comes when Giles arrives and walks over to Joyce's body after the EMS team has left and she yells at him that he's not to disturb the body. She then recoils in horror that she called her mother a body, rather than a living person--her mom. The idea of the unbearable weight of death is rendered amongst Xander, Willow, Anya, and Tara. In what is perhaps the most emotionally draining scene, Anya, who was a demon and has no conception of how death affects humans, tries to mimic Willow's inability to choose something to wear as a coping mechanism. Willow sees this as an unfeeling and rude gesture until Anya breaks down and yells that no one has explained what any of this means and why Joyce has died for seemingly no reason--"I was eating pudding this morning and then I realized Joyce will never get to eat pudding again and no one will explain to me why that is". The finality of Joyce's death for Dawn occurs at the morgue where she is determined to see it for herself. While in the morgue a newborn vampire rises and tries to attack Dawn. Buffy hears the commotion and ultimately kills him. Dawn sees her mother lying on the table and asks Buffy if her body is cold and Buffy replies that that's not their mother, it's just a body; their mother has gone to a better place. Dawn moves to touch her mother's body but the episode cuts to black.