**Spoilers Ahead** Buffy has pulled off one of the most horrifying hours of television
ever made and without the werewolves, 500 year old vampires, demon snakes or rogue
slayers. Creator Joss Whedon has always served as the master alchemist brilliantly
blending fun horror lore with the terror of everyday life. However, “The Body,” the
episode where Buffy discovers her mother’s (Joyce’s) dead body, telegraphs home the most
painful experience of life… the death of a loved one by natural causes.
Sara Michele Gellar deserves every Emmy they can send her way. This acting tour de force
left my mouth dry, my hands clammy and my heart sore. Gellar, Whedon and crew managed to
capture the shock of losing a loved one unexpectedly. Every emotion, every hope and the
jarring element of everyday life proceeding around you after a horrible loss were
captured.
Buffy stared at her mother’s dead body on the couch and, not surprisingly, didn’t know
what to do at first, but pull down Joyce’s skirt which had hiked up over her knees. This
quiet scene was heartbreaking and amazing at the same time. Her fantasies about the
paramedics reviving her mother, fond memories of their last Christmas together were road
maps inside the soul of anyone who lost someone close to them. The fact that they could
capture it for episodic television is akin to catching lightning in a bottle.
This episode also got inside the head of everyone around Buffy. Giles stepped in with his
paternal instinct that is always not far from the surface. Willow’s feelings of
inadequacy in grief (changing her clothes a thousand times) may foreshadow a big change
for her character beyond coping with Joyce’s death. Anya’s childlike confusion broke the
dam for anyone holding back tears. Emma Caulfield portrayed her bafflement in a sad
matter of fact way, ‘I was drinking fruit punch and thought Joyce will never drink fruit
punch or eat another egg.’
Michelle Trachtenberg, as Dawn- Buffy’s sister, showcased her incredible acting chops as
well. It was good seeing Dawn at school as she deals with her friend’s reactions to her
previous traumas at an age when blending in is everything. Gellar continued her incredible
job with her firm, sisterly voice asking Dawn to leave class because she has to tell her
something.
Creator Joss Whedon also resolved long-standing questions in fan’s minds. Would Willow
and Tara kiss? Would the WB Network let them? Should he do it as a big ratings grab?
How could he get the kiss under the radar of the network? When Willow freaks out and
weeps over Joyce’s death and rails on about her clothes, Tara steps forward with a
comforting kiss or two that was nonexploitive and almost an afterthought in an episode
with breathtaking moments. As it should be, fan discussions on-line barely mention the
kiss. Buffy fans are too busy reeling from this episode and contemplating where a street
should be named in Whedon’s honor.
Don’t miss this episode when it replays during the dog days of summer.
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"Natural Causes"
