What was the saddest part of The Body? [Archive]

Joyce Summers

05-10-2008, 10:30 AM

Beside the whole episode being sad- every scene just seemed to hit home on an all too realistic level, the thing that most particularly made it sad/shocking for me is in the same vein as Xander's though process.

You know where he's trying to find a reason but there isn't any? There's no one to blame. I mean with Buffyverse death there's usually cause or reason- Jenny died because Angelus wished to torture Giles and Buffy, Angel 'died'(in Becoming) to stop Acathla, Buffy died to save the world and her sister, even Tara's death happened for a reason in the fact that it was at the hands of a maddened Warren. But with Joyce there was no one to blame and no reason for it. It just was. We/The characters couldn't go 'Oh well she died because of this' because there was no because it just happened and as I said before that's a reality we don't often see in Buffy, but we see all the time in our own lives. Hence uncomfortably sad.

But each of the characters different reactions were the saddest moments for me. Buffy became a child again- which was in a way making her want her Mom even more, Dawn just couldn't accept it, Willow worrying over the right clothes (and her obsession with wearing the 'blue one'), Xander demanding a reason, Anya not understanding how someone she knew is now gone. It was all just so...heart wrenching. And I don't think anyone who's ever dealt with death can say they didn't ask the questions Anya asked. You do and like Willow basically said, no one has an answer.

Oh! And Dawn's 'Where'd she go?' that made me cry. I remember thinking the exact same thing as I looked at my Grandmother's casket after she died. And I was in my 20s and I still asked that question. It just doesn't make sense that this person you loved and used to smile at you and be full of life is just suddenly empty like a shell. And Dawn asking that question really captured that feeling.

But everything about that episode- the camera direction, the writing, the acting, the mise-en-scene..all of it. Made up for one BIIIIG LOOOONG sad moment.

InsaneMystic

05-10-2008, 02:19 PM

As I've said before, I'm one of the tiny minority who don't get moved by that ep much, as I never liked Joyce at all and thus didn't feel a loss when she died (cruel thing to say, I know - but I'm just being honest here).

However, on recently rewatching the ep even I got a moment of sadness/pain seeing Willow totally go to tears over her failure of finding the "right" sweater (I just love Willow... and AH is one hell of a cryer, marvellous actress!), and of course the moment of bonding between Buffy and Tara was great.

Joyce Summers

05-10-2008, 04:47 PM

Yep- Alyson in sad scenes always make me weepy. She has this amazing ability to go 'YOU WILL CRY WITH ME. YOU WILL CRY WITH WILLOW'. I think Joss said he and the writers dubbed her 'Queen of Pain'

Crazy Flakes

05-10-2008, 10:43 PM

Yep- Alyson in sad scenes always make me weepy. She has this amazing ability to go 'YOU WILL CRY WITH ME. YOU WILL CRY WITH WILLOW'. I think Joss said he and the writers dubbed her 'Queen of Pain'

That is so true! And it's not just the horrible death scenes she's in. Even in Welcome to the Hellmouth, after Cordelia makes fun of her dress and she walks away and gives Buffy that look, your heart breaks. I think it's something in her eyes.

Anyway, the first time I watched The Body, I didn't actually start crying until Willow had her clothing problem. Like everyone has said, when she cries, you do, too.

Anya's speech is the runner-up, just because Emma's delivery was incredible. That line just made Joyce's death so much sadder and made death in general seem more confusing. It was nice to see that she could actually act as something other than the "dumb girl."

Joyce Summers

05-11-2008, 04:00 AM

It was nice to see that she could actually act as something other than the "dumb girl."

Too true. They use Anya so often as comic relief that it was nice to see her Emma in this very dramatic, serious and sad part. Very moving. I think throughout the episode Anya is like the role of the child. When someone dies in a family there are often children there and they are the ones who ask the same question Anya does- 'Are we going to see the body?' for example.
I remember when I was five and my grandfather (Mom's Father) died and I said to my Mother, who was obviously upset, can we go see him? My mother laughed despite the tragedy because she could hear her Dad saying 'Morbid child....'. But it's just the trying-to-comprehend attitude children tend to have.

Tranquillity

05-11-2008, 04:16 AM

I have to go for the Anya scene as well because for me it gets to the core of death - you're there one minute, doing normal things and then you're not and you never do those things again. Ever. Emma does a beautiful job (even if she did need to pee at the time (as she said at the recent reunion)).

Fake Shemp

05-21-2008, 06:46 AM

EVERYTHING! nope maybe when the paramedics are about to come in and she pulls he moms skirt down a little, you know the bit i mean?

anya's speech gets me, and willows freak out, xander putting his hand through the wall.... little dawnie in the morgue eugh... okay im welling up now...

Buffy obsessed fan

05-21-2008, 11:15 AM

All of it. But the two saddest parts for me; Anya's speech and when Buffy imagines her Mom alive again, then just to cut back to her lying dead...That breaks my heart.

vampireczarina

05-21-2008, 03:13 PM

The Body was so brilliantly crafted that its hard to narrow things down. The episode is just so full of moments that tug at the heart. The whole atmosphere really reinforced the emotions of the episode for me. Against a silent backdrop with little distraction from the fulll weight of the situation, I just really felt myself being pulled into the moment.

horrorshock666

08-11-2008, 09:05 AM

For me this episode just gets right to the core. The whole first act where Buffy finds her mum and its one long shot of her panicking, very little cutting... its as if its just happening, very real. The whole 'Mummy' thing as well. I think its one of the first times i actually thought of Buffy as being a child once, because shes normally all 'lets-save-the-world-blah-blah-blah' (not meant to sound as if im taking the micky but i realise it does slightly so i apologise for that). Basically its her being a kid again, not knowing how to cope with a situation. Thats a moment.
Next i have to say the whole Willow scenes. As has been mentioned here many a time, Allison just has that thing that makes you cry, i dont know what it is... the eyes, the desperation, the geekyness... i dont know but she has something that everytime chokes me up.
The next is Anya... Up until that point i cried slightly, got a little choked up and a bit snotty if you know what i mean... but when Anya gives that speech... i broke down completally. I was watching it on DVD and i had to actually stop it because i couldnt see my eyes were so red and watery. I was heartbroken. Its like when your a kid and you ask things because you really dont understand and people get all annoyed at you for asking when really all you need is some kind of answer... i relate to that alot. Its very real i think, and up until that point Anya was the one who was funny and sometimes annoying but always sweet, and then we se her like that and it blows her character fully open and reveals a new side. I liked her a heck of a lot more after that.
Another thing is just seeing the body its-self. Its kind of creepy but at the same time beautiful because you know who this person has been and how she spent her last few weeks, and although she had hard times she had her family there and brings that point home. I dont know, the whole episode for me was really poignant.
Another thing was the Dawn thing... like when shes crying because that guy said that she was strange or whatever, and she thinks its the worse thing in the world, and then just moments later she finds out her mum is dead... i think it makes you see that small things are small and we can see them as big things until something really big comes along. Its also i think the point where she grows up and matures alot in herself, that moment when she turns around and sees Buffy.
Oh and another thing, i think it really hits home how important Giles is to Buffy. What with him being the first person she calls. I think he is really her father figure and i know the point came up before and since but it really sets it in stone i think and thats a sweet moment.

Gosh, i could on a lot longer but i think i have repetitive strain injury now and i really need a drink....
x

MozYa

08-11-2008, 09:49 AM

For me, the saddest part was the scene with Anya, Xander Willow and Tara in the dormitory. With Anya not understanding everything and Xander just feeling angry and upset. Willow crying about how she thinks her outfit might be offensive to Buffy and Tara trying to calm the situation down as much as she could.

For me it just showed the close connection between all the characters. The way it was done is just so amazing.

Lindsey McDonald

08-11-2008, 10:57 AM

This entire episode is just so well done that I feel dreadful right from seeing the flowers. Two moments stand out in particular though. The first is where Buffy imagines Joyce being ressucitated, and you get all the flash cuts of her recovery, suddenly juxtaposed with the body. Having been in a very similar situation, I know exactly how that feels. I think it would probably seem a little silly or cliché to someone who hasn't been there, but it really hit home for me.

The second bit was Willow. Not so much her crying (although that is heartbreaking), but her frantic obsession over a tiny thing. It's those kind of small touches that have obviously been thought of by someone who has been there that really make this episode for me.

sk73

08-11-2008, 11:37 AM

The whole scene with Willow and her clothes is brilliant and is also my favorite.
- God, why do all my shirts have such stupid things on them?

Xanders fist in the wall, another favorite. That you don't get to see it makes it even better.
- Did I miss something?
- Xander decided that he blames the wall.

I also loves the forward flash where Joyce survives, and then it gets back to body.
Have never experienced anything like that (luckily) but it just seems so right and possible to me.

/SK

Fake Shemp

08-11-2008, 11:53 AM

im weepy again reading through this thread again, on a lighter note when i found out santa was real... but disembowels children...

kater

08-11-2008, 02:31 PM

The thing that hits the closest to home for me is Anya's speech. I think that even as adults, when its someone close to us we all revert to the confused "just get up" type attitude. Obviously Joyce was an alternate mom for Anya like Giles served as father. I personally have been there, where you're tempted to ask why the heck it's happened when it makes no sense. Plus they're all used to demons or something supernatural being responsible, where getting up and having fruit punch again are a very real possibility. I'd say this is likely Anya's first brush with a completely human death, one that can't be fixed so easily. And Emma makes me cry every single time.

DrusillaRox

08-12-2008, 10:12 PM

Okay.. I have a few, fist, the complete silence when she found her mum

- mom? mom? mommy

when she yells
- We're not supposed to move the body

Her telling dawn and us not being able to hear what is being said

Her moment with Tara

Also some willow/Tara/Xander/Anya moments

- God, why do all my shirts have such stupid things on them?
- Joyce loved the blue ashirt
- Xander decides he blames the wall

and when Anya admits to being confused as to why Joyce cant just get back in her body

Five

08-13-2008, 05:05 AM

OMG... Everything, I guess.

When Buffy's really silent and vomits and gets out and comes in again and takes some paper and watches the vomit getting absorbed...

When you see Dawn's discovery from her class' point of view...

The "Mom? Mom? ... Mommy?" part.
The fake flash forward.
The moment when the plate breaks and bam, here's dead Joyce again.

Of course the "Why" moment.
And the "Strong like an amazon" moment.
And the Tara/Buffy bonding.

The only part I really dislike is the fight with the vampire. I thought it was inappropriate and useless, just as if Joss had felt obligated cos hey, that's Buffy the VAMPIRE SLAYER... Sometimes I get the feeling they all seem obligated to put at least one fight per episode, and this one was just so useless...

Lindsey McDonald

08-13-2008, 05:14 AM

The only part I really dislike is the fight with the vampire. I thought it was inappropriate and useless, just as if Joss had felt obligated cos hey, that's Buffy the VAMPIRE SLAYER... Sometimes I get the feeling they all seem obligated to put at least one fight per episode, and this one was just so useless...

I hated that at first, but now I get it. It is more to do with the fact that life goes on, even when you are in your own isolated little world. Plus, the brutality of the fight was nice and symbolic of how Buffy was feeling. Plus, without it, we wouldn't have ended up with the girls on the floor, which makes for a great final scene.

definition of insane

08-13-2008, 07:58 AM

Gotta agree with Five by Five, the vampire attack was great symbolism for the fact that the world doensn't just stop when something tragic happens. In a way, it was necessary to have something supernatural happen, in only to bring you back the the overall idea of the show.

I loved this ep, it was all so incredibly sad. Buffy on the phone though, saying "She's cold"...and yeah, just her face after "we're not supposed to touch the body!" my heart just broke. Dawn breaking down, the Scoobs in dorm room...it was just so sad to watch.

horrorshock666

08-13-2008, 08:28 AM

I think i mentioned this elsewhere... but here goes.

Okay, the whole of the first act for me was sad!!! The line SMG delivers is great... the 'mom? mom? mummy?'... that got me right where it hurts (the heart incase anyone misinterprets it). And then actually seeing Joyce there... all lifeless and pale, it was disturbing, haunting and sad all at the same time. The eerieness of no music, it was uncomfortable but very real. I think Joss did a great job at getting the realness of the first few hours after the death of someone you love (personal experience can back that up). Also i think the point in which Buffy phones Giles is a real sad part too... she finaly acknowledged that after everything Giles is her father (although not biologically).

The act with Willow for me was the worse part though... i actually couldn't see though the tears. Ally did an amazing job. Ive said this before many a time... Ally has for me got to be one of the most emotional actresses i have ever had the honour of watching. She has it in her face... the awkwardness in the body language... the eyes! I also think the way she acts about the clothes, the whole focus on something so insignificant in the face of something major is very realistic. Also it was the first time on screen that Willow and Tara kissed... and placing it in an episode like this was the right thing to do i think. It was so understated and i think some people didn't realise until after... making it very special and comforting.

For me though the real tear part came when Anya gave her speach. My gosh did i cry. It was like when i lost my Uncle whom i loved dearly... i was about ten and i didn't understand it, and all around me people were upset but putting on brave faces, and i was kind of in a state of confusion... i didn't understand how he couldn't be back... where was he? What happened?
She delivered it perfectly! I think as well its the first time i really really liked her. I mean i had liked her but never really liked her, she was there but she was never in my heart... after that one scene she was! I think Anya needed something like that to make her less of an add on and more a part of the team.

The whole scene with Buffy and Dawn again made me go. I mean... Dawn grew up alot in that scene, and i think it was a turning point for the character. The whole scene was amazing. The way in which we dont hear Buffy tell her but see the reaction... We didnt need to hear it, but seeing the reaction was enough. I think Michelle did a great job.

Overall... theres not one sad part for me... and its hard to choose simply because for me its one of the best things i have seen. It could easily rival alot of the Blockbuster films out there... and beat them infact! I love the episode as you can tell. I cried about an hour after it and i was all sad for the rest of the day... it rarely happens!

x

edb

08-13-2008, 09:06 AM

Like quite a few of you the saddest part of this episode for me, and which never fails to make me tear up is Anya's speech. All that confusion and emotion that she she just doesn't know what to do with or how to behave - it gets me every time!

Lindsey McDonald

08-13-2008, 10:07 AM

I forgot to mention in my post, that there is another moment that just hits you. It's actually at the end of I Was Made Too Love You too. Just after Buffy walks in, she looks up the stairs. The first time you watch it, and you suddenly see Joyce lying sprawled, out of focus, and realise just what it means: that was such a sad and surprising moment.

sk73

08-13-2008, 11:11 AM

I have also felt that the vampire fight at the end perhaps was a bit unnecessary.
Like Joss felt that they had to have one fight because it is a Buffy episode after all.

But Five by Five has a very good point. Never thought about it that way myself.
I shall remember that when I see The Body next time.

On a side note, I always smile at Willow's - We panicked - comment when they comes back with all that candy and stuff in the hospital.
It's so lovely.

/SK

fly on the wall

08-15-2008, 02:29 PM

The whole scene in Willow/Tara's dorm room. Willow crying, looking for the right sweater (God, Alyson always makes me want to weep whenever she gets going) and Anya's monologue, which usually has me in tears.

willow23

08-18-2008, 06:57 PM

The entire episode, but, mainly, the silence. Though, on the whole, I don't consider the episode as sad as it is jarring. Along those lines, I have to say that the most upsetting moment for me is Buffy's fantasy about everything going right, followed by the snap back to the bare, stark reality. Heartbreaking.

eveagain

08-18-2008, 09:09 PM

As many have already said, the *entire* episode is one huge heartbreak for me. The few moments that break me down every time though are Buffy's sudden vomit - anyone who has ever felt so deeply and so empty knows what it's like to suddenly have your body betray you like that - to feel so destroyed that you just can't handle it...

I also break during the few moments either right before or after (i can't recall which at this point) when Buffy opens the back door and we hear the wind-chimes and children's laughter. Oh wow, it that powerful. It, along with the vampire fight, to me perfectly embody that question we all must ask after an event so powerful: "how is it possible that life is continuing?"

Additionally, the lack of music in The Body is all the more powerful, in my opinion, because it imbues the episode with a dream-like quality that I have personally experienced in real life during traumatic events. Time passes in jolts and waves and so many things seem sudden even when they shouldn't. I could go on and on about this... but I won't. ;)

lollups

08-23-2008, 07:39 PM

GATEGOD

08-23-2008, 08:41 PM

Anya talking about Joyce and breaking down was the saddest and my favorite part of this episode

hazzard

08-25-2008, 05:17 PM

i don't find "the body" as sad as i do disturbing. the way it was filmed--the silence, the concentration on detail, the flashbacks and the fantasies and how they connect so abruptly with reality. i loved anya's speech and willow's struggle to find something to wear--those were the saddest elements to me.

MSchett

08-25-2008, 09:13 PM

I loved Anya's Fruit Punch breakdown!!

ItMustBeBunnies

08-25-2008, 10:50 PM

The whole episode is sad, but for me its the beginning part, the whole "Mom.......mommy?" thing. When I first brought season 5 on dvd my mum was going through some health troubles, she is fine now but at the time I was really scared and even though I knew this episode was coming I couldn't stop myself from watching it! and for some weird reason it actually made me feel better! lord knows why.....

Dlou444

08-25-2008, 10:54 PM

When she tells the 911 lady that she's cold and the lady says, "The body?" and she says, "No, my Mom"....totally clueless to what the lady was saying.
It always gets me.

SpoonsAreCool

08-27-2008, 12:54 PM

I think Anya trying to understand the human emotions of the death of someone close to you was really quite sad.
"..she'll never have eggs, or yawn, or brush her hair.."

Violette

08-28-2008, 09:43 AM

I think Anya trying to understand the human emotions of the death of someone close to you was really quite sad.
"..she'll never have eggs, or yawn, or brush her hair.."

Same here. The saddest part for me is during Anya's speech too. In the entire episode, Anya tried to understand mortal death and how she was supposed to act/mourn as human at a time like this, with Willow getting a bit frustrated at her not really showing sympathy. Until she broke down in tears in the Willow/Tara's dorm room.. that speech always gets me every time I watch the episode. I think Emma did a very good job on creating that tearjerker moment.

"...I don't understand why she just can't get back in it and not be dead anymore. It's stupid. It's mortal and stupid."

Another sad part for me would have to be when Buffy was imagining how it would be if she found her mother in time and the ambulance took Joyce to the hospital, while the paramedics were trying to do CPR on her.. only to be flashed to reality.

Lizzierainbow

08-31-2008, 10:04 AM

well when they are in the dorms and willow is looking for her blue sweater when willow says 'why dont i have any grown up clothes' thats what gets me but also when anya has her whole little outburst of 'i dont understand why she just cannot get back into her body'.
This episode i have to say was deffinatly one of the best pieces of drama i have seen and the whole episode really touches me, when i first watched it i cried and loads but the second time i was thinking what would i do if that had happened to me? Not a nice thing to think about but it does make you think.

palabravampiress

08-31-2008, 11:11 AM

Add me to the Anya club. Her monologue was just brilliant.

The only thing I think was missing from Joyce's death was a moment of forgetfulness. For example, a few months after my Granny died, I went back to my parents' neck of the woods for a trip. We were having a family reunion and I automatically asked "Will Granny be there?" Shocked silence followed by a renewed sense of silence ensued. Sometimes, as you move on, you forget that someone's gone. I think it would have been nice if one of the Scoobies had brought that up in a later episode.

hannahfngrl26

10-11-2008, 11:26 AM

Okay I cried alot through out this episode but for me that saddest parts break down into two categories. First, Willow with Tara and the whole blue shirt escipade. Willow and crying equals me and crying. She really knows how to stab you in the heart :) Secondly, it was sad how surreal Joss made everything feel. I have a lost a close family member and he really captured how monotonous everything is when you are in the moment.

itsxpaperdoll

10-13-2008, 06:07 PM

I didn't really cried during the episode (probably because I never really liked Joyce and I was sort of glad she was gone) But Anyas outburst almost made me cry. It just sums up everything that is disturbing about a loved one dying. And yeah, the silence during the whole episode was also, dunno, great in a way cos usually episodes like this are all violins and everything. It makes it just so real, everything.

Darling

10-16-2008, 02:19 PM

0:00:00 to 0:40:00 =P

The first images, when all the good possibilities happens in Buffy´s mind and then the camera back to reality.. it was so true, that´s what you think.. you just start dreaming.

And Anya´s speech, that was terrible sad.

pernilleborup

10-16-2008, 02:23 PM

Buffy pukeing on the nice floor... poor floor

Blackloliita

10-16-2008, 02:46 PM

Hard question... I think the part Buffy says "mommy" in the beginning.
The hug of Xander & Willow really gets me too, it's not sad but it's just so sweet...

Blaze

10-16-2008, 04:25 PM

There wasn't really a scene that I loved better, they were all great. One of the thing that I loved the most tho was the actor's performance. They were just so great. Joyce was never one of my favorite character (I did enjoy her being there though) and I still cried through the whole episode.

I just love how you get the feeling that Buffy's world is faling apart. I love the Willow/Tara seen and the seen in the hallway and Anya's speech and everything else...

-Blaze-

BASBritt

10-16-2008, 10:12 PM

I can't decide. The whole episode breaks my heart so much... When Buffy says "We're not supposed to move the body!" and then she covers her mouth and is in shock, I cried so hard then, but also when Anya gave her little speech. It was so Anya but it completly summed up a lot about how people feel when a loved one dies. I know I felt that way when my Grandma died last year... I was going through a rough time about a month after she passed and had an Anya moment. I had my phone, dialing Gran's number and then realized "I can never talk to her again." :(

wiccianslayer

10-17-2008, 10:15 AM

There are a lot of sad moments in this episode. The moments that got to me most have to be.

Dawn's reaction i don't care if you don't like her you have gt to be heartless not to feel for her when she knows and her knees buckle and she's just crying.

Another is most defiantly Anya's speech.

First of all i had the same reaction as willow when she was asking the questions wanting her to shut up. But then she started in to her speech and your heart went out to her. I realized Oh she's not being insensitive she's just not used to death. She has been around many demons and other things that are immortal of course she isn't used to people she cares about dying.

I can't remember whether its in this episode or forever where Giles is listening to that song he and Joyce listened to in band candy. That was the moment when i thought there was defiantly more feelings for her then just friendship.

That is all I'm saying now because i am actually starting to well up again because i mostly avoid this episode and i switched Buffy on cause it was on FX and the episode was I was made to love you. So that's kind of still fresh from seeing Joyce dead on the couch.

BASBritt

10-17-2008, 11:53 AM

Oooooh, I completely agree about watching Dawn's reaction. I love how they showed it through the eyes of her teacher and classmates, and all you can pretty much see is her mouthing the word 'No' and then breaking down. It was heartwrenching. :(

Fusions2

11-11-2008, 02:20 PM

There are just too many sad moments in The Body but the few that had me welling up was when Buffy called Joyce "The Body" when she told Giles not to move her. Buffy's reaction at what she said just had me in tears, another was like everyone elses Anya's desperation to know how grief and death works in a human way, that was just gut wrenching to watch.

The entire episode together is just one of the best, the no background music thing always makes me think of all the deaths I've experience. Its a very eerie and poetic episode all rolled in to one, I love it.

AgentX7k

11-11-2008, 08:51 PM

Doctor: Good as new
Joyce: Oh Buffy thank God you found me in ti ..
*Quick cut to Buffy watching her mother get CPR next to a flat-line*

Dawn: Is she okay? Is she ... but she's okay? But ... it's, it's serious, but...
Buffy: Dawn...
Dawn: (faintly, through glass) No ... No, it's not true. No, you're a liar, she's fine!

Anya: I don't understand how this all happens. How we go through this. I mean, I knew her, and then she's, there's just a body, and I don't understand why she just can't get back in it and not be dead anymore. It's stupid. It's mortal and stupid. And, and Xander's crying and not talking, and, and I was having fruit punch, and I thought, well, Joyce will never have any more fruit punch ever, and she'll never have eggs, or yawn or brush her hair, not ever, and no one will explain to me why.

Da Letter Jay

11-17-2008, 04:39 PM

BUFFY: Are you sure...that there wasn't a lot of pain?
DR. KRIEGEL: Absolutely. (I have to lie to make you feel better.)

That part tugged me a little.. =\

luckystar

11-17-2008, 05:00 PM

the mom..mom..mommy just brings the tears straight away its buffy turning into a child again wanting her mom and its heart breaking, also the end when buffy comes out of her little vision and its starting to become clear whats really happening, and finally willow with the blue sweater hunting my god how great is ally in this scene and i remember from listening to the commentary that joss said a similar thing happened to him when someone close to him died and he spent all day looking for a black tie its very true and realistic, overall a heartbreaking episode

RazzTheKid

11-17-2008, 06:34 PM

The part where she tells Dawn gets me everytime. I could never imagine having to say something like that to my younger sisters. Also at the begining where Buffy says "Mum, mum, mummy" is really upsetting.

LittleMissLikesToFight

11-17-2008, 09:18 PM

the part with the dreaming of them saving her and then snapping to reality... i lost my mom in Feb of 07 an i wasnt home when she was taken to the hospital nor was i at the hospital when she passed, i was home just assuming she'd be coming back home with my dad... but since then i have, so many times, day dreamed of her being saved or just walking in the door any minute now. its just a thing you involuntarily do. so when i see that part, i bawl. That and Anya's speech, which is also something i have questioned myself... why does it have to happen?

The episode, while of course ive seen before my mom's passing, has hit me now on such a personal level i think the whole thing pretty much makes me cry all the way through.

OH! and when she says "we're not supposed to move the body!" and she realizes she called her mom the body and breaks down. that gets me sooo bad.

MichelleBFT

11-25-2008, 11:49 AM

this episode is definately one of my favourites from the show's entire run, when i watched it recently it made me cry for the first time in about 4 years, which is a credit to how emotionally powerful it really is. as for the saddest part, for me it is anya's speech, in particular when she say's "why" and breaks down. amazing.

Bingo. This is the big moment for me. The whole ep, of course, is heart wrenching. But the big moment is the beginning of Anya's speech, especially the way Emma delivered the line, "But I don't understand." When her voice cracks on understand I just crack apart. And then at the end of the speech, "No one will explain to me why..." and I can't do anything but sit on the couch and sob like a little girl.

There are other moments in The Body that are wonderful for other reasons: Xander's reaction to Buffy's reaction to Anya's "I'm sorry Joyce died," bit. The look of wonder and admiration on his face when Buffy calmly accepts Anya's heartfelt, if weird, expression of condolence. That, to me, is a truly beautiful moment in BtVS.