Comments
There's also a very poignant, palpable lesson that Joss uses this episode to deliver. Joss has stated that he's an existentialist, and one of the cornerstones of existentialism is that the universe is utterly indifferent to us. Hence, the children laughing in the background. Life goes on, it does not care that Buffy just lost her mom. Hence, Xander getting a parking ticket. The Universe does not care that he's dealing with Death and Grief. Hence, the vampire attacks Dawn in the morgue. Despite losing her mother only hours ago, despite the fact that her mother's body is inches away, Buffy is the Slayer, and so she must slay. The Universe doesn't care about what you're going through. It just keeps spinning.
RNR
2024-07-02 04:53:45 +0000 UTC(I always chuckle at the story dawn is telling the boy. I know what the punchline will be, and its funny, but of course nobody ever seems to pick up on it. Reminds me of a similar situation that happened to a girl in my class, excitedly putting her hand up and shouting the answer (which was organism), but instead using the a very similar, but very different word lol. Queue a room full of 9yr olds giggling (not quite knowing what she said but knowing it was a “naughty” kind of word, and a blushing teacher haha!!
Holi117
2023-04-27 22:22:50 +0000 UTCIn Dawn’s art class their assignment is to draw the negative space around a body. That is what this entire episode is about- focusing on the space around Joyce’s death, around the body. Dawn’s drawing even sort of looks like Joyce’s final position on the sofa.
StephanieB
2023-04-10 06:13:05 +0000 UTCI'm only just catching up on this reaction now bloody hell it's an extremely tough one to watch while also being so beautiful. It's one of my favourite episodes of the show's entire run and it's easy to see why. So much of this episode feels real from the children playing outside while Buffy's world stopped to Willow worrying about what to wear and Anya trying to make sense of everything. I also can't imagine what it must have been like for you watching this after losing your Dad but also sharing that with us. I'm so sorry to hear that genuinely. Sending massive hugs from Ireland.
Dino Reviews
2022-12-21 17:54:58 +0000 UTCThank you and same to you with your dad <3 plus you’re amazing
Andreas Prytz
2022-12-20 19:30:28 +0000 UTCthank you phoenix!! ♥️♥️
darciesnothere
2022-12-20 16:19:18 +0000 UTCit’s so tough! and interesting tidbit about the credits thank you for sharing!
darciesnothere
2022-12-20 16:18:49 +0000 UTCbeautifully horrible - exactly how i would describe it!
darciesnothere
2022-12-20 16:18:18 +0000 UTCagree about tara, your love for her always makes me smile cause same 🥺
darciesnothere
2022-12-20 16:17:49 +0000 UTClosing a parent is so tough, i’m so sorry ritchie ♥️ this episode really was perfect in regards to portraying all the emotions. sending you so much love!
darciesnothere
2022-12-20 16:17:09 +0000 UTCthank you darlin!! ♥️
darciesnothere
2022-12-20 16:15:15 +0000 UTCreally sorry to hear about your uncle ♥️
darciesnothere
2022-12-20 16:14:52 +0000 UTCyes, it got everything so right i still am in awe. sorry about your dad rhi, sending ya so many hugs ♥️♥️
darciesnothere
2022-12-20 16:14:33 +0000 UTCOn the Paramedics thing, it actually makes sense for them to leave the body. They aren't going to risk the life of another person who calls in for someone who has already passed. In the scene you can hear that they've been called for another emregency so calling for someone else to collect the body is the best they could do.
Conor
2022-12-17 11:00:17 +0000 UTCOh Darcy! Thanks for sharing that and I am so sorry for your loss! I can't imagine watching this episode with that kind of personal experience.
Phoenix Dawn
2022-12-16 07:42:28 +0000 UTCThe Christmas scene at the beginning is there so that there wouldn't be credits over the scene with Buffy trying to save Joyce. The total lack of music just makes it more real. The funniest joke never finished, never laughed at, is the story Dawn was telling Kevin about Kirsty. Everybody hates seeing Joyce at the beginning of every scene. I'm 60 years old, have seen this episode over 20 times, and it still makes me ball my eyes out.
Thom Purdy
2022-12-14 04:35:39 +0000 UTCSending all the hugs. This one is really painful to watch. And yet I have watched it multiple times - on my own and via reactors like yourself. There is something so beautifully horrible about it.
Harriet Loughnan
2022-12-14 03:52:38 +0000 UTCOh, crap. Hello, Darkness, my old friend. *deep breath* Diving in...
Raven Dark
2022-12-14 01:15:39 +0000 UTCParamedics are there for emergency situations. Taking the deceased the morgue is not an emergency and would actually cost the life of another individual who actually needed emergency services.
Rey Gallogo
2022-12-13 23:52:57 +0000 UTCSo, the paramedics actually left my mom's body right in the middle of my living room too. I thought it was something instated because of COVID but reading so many people's comments over the past two years and it seems to be something that happens more often than it should, even before COVID was a thing. I love Tara's conversation (you knew me mentioning Tara had to be coming) with Buffy at the hospital. It's the first time we've seen them really interact at all and it's on such a deep level. That sort of understanding that can only come from losing a parent. The rest of the Scoobies can all empathize and there's nothing wrong with that. But what Tara does is have that deeper connection to mourning a parent that nobody else can connect to. Something Buffy can kind of "take comfort in" for lack of a better term, knowing she's not exactly alone despite feeling it.
Ritchie
2022-12-13 22:30:20 +0000 UTCBefore I dive headfirst into this reaction and all of the emotions that come with it, I wanna make sure I leave a comment first. Only because I'm not sure I'll be able to afterwards. I lost my mom very suddenly back in August of 2020. This episode was already up there with how it portrayed immediate grief and loss. I'd already lost all of my grandparents so I was familiar. But losing a parent was different. And I feel like this episode truly highlighted a lot of those emotions. In all of those weird, random thoughts you get in the middle of processing grief, I actually thought back to this episode the day that my mom died and thought of just how accurate everything really was. And for that, I can't imagine ever appreciating another piece of media quite as much as this episode, or even this show.
Ritchie
2022-12-13 21:39:52 +0000 UTCSending you tons of love<3<3<3<3
Saga
2022-12-13 21:35:01 +0000 UTCJoss said he wrote the episode out of his own experience losing his own mother. And yes sometime they leave the body and people have to wait for the coroners exactly like they said. My uncle died last year and they left him for hours before the coroners came to pick him up.
Andreas Prytz
2022-12-13 19:16:16 +0000 UTCAnyas speech. Heartbreaking every damn time. I lost my dad last year and the realism of stages and variations of grief in this episode is crazy. Just knowing that it's ok to act strange and unpredictable in these situations, to feel lost and not know what's going on. ♡
x_Rhi_x
2022-12-13 19:01:26 +0000 UTC
