Did I cry during Buffy 5x16, you ask?

I am sure you have seen Alex's (TorchwoodBoy) reaction to this? It wrecked him. He had just seen the movie "Logan", then came home and watched this. This episode wrecks me for so many reasons. Worst of them, I take care of my mother. She is in her 70's. I don't want to come home and... yeah. Your reaction was exactly what that bastard Joss intended LOL. But it is the one of the very best episodes of TV every made. Hands down. If you didn't cry, I would stop watching you, you heartless so and so :P j/k

KiwiJello

This is one of the best episodes of TV ever made and yet its one that I dread watching. Just a few of my favourite things about this episode (there are more, but these moments hit me hardest): - The simple line 'Mom? Mom? Mommy?' has the power to instantly break me - SMG performance is incredible. You feel Buffy's shock as she tries to function but isn't processing what is happening. And then the look of horror as she refers to her mother as 'the body' and reality hits her :'( - The little scenes inserted where Buffy is with Joyce when she becomes ill, or the paramedics are able to revive Joyce. Those flashes of 'what if' and Buffy desperately willing things to be different - Anya's whole speech. - Anya using the phrase 'I wish' - Willow and Tara's first kiss being so natural. Not hyped up, just a woman comforting the person she loves.

Danna

I’m so glad I’m not the only one who had been genuinely nervous about this. I’ve had a sense of dread ever since Liam’s reaction to Joyce’s illness.

Renee Pope-Munro

I know, we've all been there! *hugs you*

AngelicMouseGirl

Aw! Big hug Liam!

Bellatronics

Anya : "I wish Joyce didn't die..." - how Anya of all people saying that ruined me!

Scott Wilson

I'm sorry for your loss. My Mum passed on New Year's Day this year, this will be the first time for me rewatching the episode with my Mum not being alive. It might be cathartic. But yes this episode depicts the immediacy of grief so very well. My grandma died in front of me and my Mum when I was 8 (massive heart attack with myocardial rupture, her heart literally burst, it was pretty much instant), and so much of what is depicted in this episode is just so much like the reaction I had at the time. Watching it is really like watching a moving snapshot of my own experience, the shock, the desperation to do something, the strange calmness, the eventual breakdown of realisation, and so on. It's just an incredibly well crafted and realistic portrayal of what it's like to lose someone that suddenly.

Claire Eyles

Have you seen the ending to Six Feet Under, this is regarded as the best series finale to a show ever by many and one of the most realistic moments in television. I will warn you though, it is very likely you will cry if you watch it and it could be traumatizing for how morbid and realistic it is. It's a good show with Michael C Hall the same actor who played Dexter(also one of my favorite shows besides Angel and Buffy) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nECmBxSY760

Cameron Rayburn

My mom died last year. Just like with Joyce, it was sudden. So for obvious reasons I haven’t been able to fully come back to this episode. But even from revisiting this episode from moments in my head, as well as interviews with Joss afterwards, I can tell you that this is the most accurate depiction of the first 24 hours after the sudden death of a loved one I have ever seen. Unlike Buffy I didn’t discover the body- that misfortune fell on my dad- but I did get to my dads place right after the EMTs took the body, and we were told to wait in case the police had any questions (not that anyone really suspected foul play, but just to make sure) and that whole time waiting until we heard back from the police outside saying that they were done- I don’t know how long it was, it could have been 20 minutes, it could have been 90- it was surreal. I was less feeling sad and more feeling an out of body experience from the shock. So when Buffy walks around the house in a total daze, I know exactly what that’s about. Me, I coped with it by just spending time on my phone. The slow, drawn out moments of the episode, where everyone is just waiting and not really knowing what to do, that was the dominant feeling of the first several hours. And I love how they pan outside to that shot of the police or meter maid handing out a parking ticket- showing the world outside moving on unaffected. In my case I was struck by the disparity of hearing the worst, most world breaking news in my entire life and everyone in my youtube subscriptions going on like it was just another day. This is imo the best episode of the series, and because it’s so accurate in its depiction of the first few hours of mourning, I haven’t been able to come back to it. I think I’m ready now.

Arnold Kim

Ahhhh I’ve been dreading this.... I kinda am glad that we have gotten through the holidays before you watched this because I didn’t want you to feel this way during that. 😭 This next 3 waves of buffy really is torture.

Stephen Mintac

Emma and alyson's monologues in this episode are always heartbreaking. And for me this is where Sarah went from being great at playing Buffy, to being one of the best actresses of the time. (Certainly in tv) that performance was truly award worthy And the episode construction compliments it perfectly with the uncomfortable realism of it all.

Craig Mcdonald

Ah. The episode that wrecked me. And pretty much everyone else. I can't NOT cry over this one. Too real.

Jayna

A rite of passage. Congratulations on getting through one of the toughest episodes on TV ever.

Zoot!

😭😭

Chosen One Reactions

I'm always psyched to watch the turmoil of Innocence or Passion or Becoming (a lot of them in s2 I'm realizing) or even Wild at Heart, even though it hurts and I sometimes have to look away and just listen to parts of the reaction because it's just that hard. This is in my top 3 episodes of the series and I don't look forward to seeing people go through it. I'm forever grateful that there's a literal trigger warning at the end of IWMTLY, especially for viewers that are put on the spot emotionally like reactors are.

KT

Have been worried for you to see this ep. Now am curious what you thought of it. It has been hailed as one of the best TV show episodes to deal with this subject matter ever.

David Boyd

I feel the same! I'm ready. I already cried at April on the swing just knowing what was coming. 😭😭😭

RavenSteal

No matter how many times I've watched this one, I still come out of it a complete mess. But even though I dread the thought of it each time I feel it approaching, I keep subjecting myself to it because even after all these years, I've never seen a more powerful episode of television.

Amanda S

I've been worried for you to get to this episode. Oh boy, I'm ready to cry along with you. Let me go buy some tissues. Maybe 10 boxes should be enough 😭😭😭

Jenn Rose

Usually I revel in the idea that a reactor is going to get emotionally devastated by a TV show... cause let's be honest, we want to see people get as invested in the things we love as we do, especially the painful parts. But, knowing how you've been relating personally to the situation has slowly made me feel... sympathetic. Weird. You just seem like a good dude, and this episode is ROUGGHHHH, and I hope this doesn't leave a lasting pain for you. Still... can't wait to watch the reaction while I hold my hand up to the screen covering the episode every time they cut to Joyce

Bisibia

I was young when buffy was on tv but i watched as it aired and I can remember my first watch of quite a few episodes, especially season 5 but this is one of the only episodes that I can not recall anything about my first watch.

Shauni Livingstone

Since season 1 honestly. Even people that didn't like her can't handle this episode, and he liked her more than most.

KT

We know that feeling, we've all been there. You're not alone. <3

Claire Eyles

no one needed to ask..we knew *hugs*

CeNedra

Yep, this is a very difficult watch. IIRC, experts still see this as one of the best episodes of TV ever broadcast.

Salv Mancuso

Looking forward to crying along with you :)

Thomas Hansen

Well we knew it was coming for Liam. Hang in there. Definitely the most difficult episode of Buffy to watch.

Jarrod Wild

Oh, Liam. Bless you. I still cry my eyes out, no matter how many times I've seen it. And as your viewers, we couldn't even warn you! Hope you're okay (and also hoping you'll upload the reaction for this ASAp, too! Partly because I'm a horrible person who likes to see reactors overcome with any kind of emotions, but also because it's a masterfully directed episode in my opinion). Lotsa love, Liam x

Holi117

Oh Liam 😢 our hearts are with you. Hope you’re okay.

Christine Ester

Well... I'm glad I'm not the only one who worries about this one way ahead of time. Liam, watching 5x15 felt like watching the last of your innocence. "The Body" is the "Red Wedding" of the Buffy series.

UTU49

As sad as it is this episode was beautifully done and I think one of S. M. G.’s best performances in the series. I am fortunate to not know what it feels like to lose my mother (and am in no hurry too) but plenty of others have said this was extremely hard to watch due to it being so relatable.

Collector of Stuff

I've been a wreck the closer you've gotten to this one. 😭 We are all there with you Liam ❤️💕💙♥️❤️💕💙

RavenSteal

This is one of those episodes where it feels almost inappropriate to watch someone experience it. *(*HUGS*) I still can't watch the first 10 minutes without shaking.

Pam Nail

Both dreading and looking forward. I could use a good cry.

Rob Z

❤

Sending hugs, Liam. It’s a difficult episode for everyone. ❤️

Katherine Thoreson

Only a few episodes of Buffy make me nervous when I watch a reactor...this is one. Hope you are ok.

ChaosBleeds

God. Okay, now I'll say the thing I wanted to earlier: I'm so, so sorry. I practically moaned with pain every time you've worried over Joyce this season, and your relief when she got better -- any moment you mentioned how glad it made you -- made it even worse. Thinking many good thoughts and hugs in your direction. ❤❤

Bixgirl1

🧡

We are with you. That was hard to see you coming to this and all of us wanted to prepare you for this, but we could'nt. Sorry :(

Yeaaah. That is the hardest episode to get through. Hugs.

Shaun Stacy

Aww, Liam. Hope you're ok mate.

Briony Addey