The Body

If anyone ever asks if a show like Buffy the Vampire Slayer is capable of transcending not just its targeted demographic but just the possibilities of the medium of TV, you don't need to look too much further than the episode The Body. While there were a plethora of fantastic episodes in the first three seasons, four and five were a little more spotty and hit or miss. But when it hit- most often thanks to Joss Whedon's direct involvement in episodes Hush, Restless and this one- it really connected. In this case it's a true heartbreaker of an episode, and one that you shouldn't watch out of context of the season. The build-up leading in season five to what happens with this 'body' brings on an enormous gulf of pain and horror. But it's not of the supernatural. It's something so relatable it stings- a good sting, I suppose, but one that comes out of real art.

What Whedon taps into in his style here (what he calls the "physicality" of people in the first few hours after a loved one has passed) is the inability to cope with mortality. Every character has his or her own way of "dealing"- in quotes since it's a dealing that is about as heavy as one can not hope to imagine- and most significant is seeing Buffy's initial reaction at the start of the episode, of the same disillusionment that sends one into a state of shock (and, frankly, us too), and Anya, who up until now has been mildly or quite annoying as a 'comic-relief' only to provide as the once-demon persona on the show the most profound statement on death heard in a while. Only monologues spoken in Ingmar Bergman films dealing with the matter of life and death (and the incredible, impossible void left for us in the presence of nothingness) top this one for a cinematic depth of this situation.

It's great storytelling, superb and intimate acting, and with a final moment in a morgue that has a poetic flavor. Dare I say it, it's even better than Hush at conveying a breakdown of the human spirit.

My father passed away not too long ago. I started watching Buffy to pass the time when I visited my mother during a difficult time (it was streaming on Netflix, and I had really enjoyed Firefly). For those that have experienced the loss of a love one, especially a parent, this episode will be a shockingly realistic portrayal of it.

If art is the attempt to perfectly capture an emotion or an idea through a medium (whether it's music, prose, visual, etc.), then it would not be an exaggeration to say that this episode is a masterpiece. If art, and not entertainment, is the measure of quality television then I could, with certainty, say that this is the best hour of television ever produced. It may be the best thing ever filmed.

As a rather critical person, I realize how silly the praise above sounds. I think many people who haven't experienced the loss of a parent won't "get it." But those that have should come away with similar praise.

And still one of the best episodes of any series ever.

If anyone has gone through something like that (like me) this episode really cuts deep as it's so realistic.

And for the person in here saying: 'We don't watch Buffy for emotional crap, but for the humor and the action' - I don't know what series you have been watching but Buffy was just that. Humor, Action & a lot of emotional 'crap'. The beauty of this series is that you can laugh, scare and cry in one single scene. Whedon's trademark.

Emotional, heart-breaking, Emmy-deserving. This episode revolves around the sudden death of beloved Joyce Summers. One of the best moms on television. But the whole episode is a work of art. First Hush and Restless now The Body, Joss Whedon really shows me that this episode is different than the other ordinary teen dramas.

Now, i have to talk about the acting. Every single actor shines in this this episode. Emma Caulfield: i didn't know she could act this great. Her monologue about Joyce's death broke my heart and make me cry like a river. She was just outstanding. Alyson Hannigan: she did have some really good acting scenes but in this episode she is great. In the whole scene about looking for the blue shirt she made me think i really misjudged her. Amber Benson: even she did a great job in this scene with Buffy in waiting room she wasn't amazing like other but she showed she can act. And finally Sarah Michelle Gellar: Her acting developed through the seasons and in this episode she was so real and act like her own mother died, applause!

The biggest applause goes to Joss Whedon. He's genius and takes this series to higher level. 10/10.

What lajabless said is on the money. I too had lost my mother just weeks before this episode was broadcast. It was eerie how what I saw on the screen expressed how I was feeling at the time. I don't know if my appreciation of this episode is a reflection of what I was going through, or of just how good a show it actually was. I'm almost afraid to rewatch this episode. If it really is that good, will I relive that emotional turmoil? It's been nearly seven years. Maybe I can rewatch it objectively now. I have to put this in the Buffy top ten, maybe top five episodes. One of my best friends at the time was also a Buffy fan. Sadly, I wasn't able to talk with him about this episode as he had died suddenly only days earlier....