As I was trying to decide what to write for this post I was having a hard time coming up with something unique. When I say unique I mean an idea that we did not talk about in class, since I was trying to be smart I wanted to come up with a POW! (Buffy punch!) idea. Nothing that was coming to mind fit that category, so I have decided to talk about the one aspect of the episode that I found to standout more than any other.
The shock buffy suffered when she found her mom dead.
As I watched this episode I realized how well Sarah Michelle Gellar acted. Buffy was in real shock from the trauma of her mother dying. I could not think of another TV show or film that had a character react this way. Yes, most of them have the characters cry or drop to their knees and scream to the heavens, but Buffy literally broke away from reality for those minutes. When she is on the phone to the 911 operator she loses it and hangs up saying she has to go. Buffy's wide eyes show that she has lost it.
I found this to be very effective and maybe the most realistic version of someone coping with death that I have seen.
3 comments:
I agree. Gellar did a very convincing job, especially with how "well-rounded" her depiction of shock is in the episode. For example, first she's just stunned, and then her physical reaction follows.
A crucial moment to me during the discovery/realization scene is how she even goes to clean up her own vomit -- something so mundane that somehow, despite her shock, she knows she needs to do. Also, I felt her cleaning up the mess symbolized how she'll have to take on more of those kinds of tasks since she's now the "adult" woman of the house.
I agree with your post. I was taken aback by the abnormal "TV reaction" to her mother's death. Since I have experienced the death of a parent, I'm familiar with the stoic shock that occurs upon realization. I think Whedon and Gellar both did an amazing job with the subject matter of this episode.
Spot on observation, Adam. I noticed and appreciated Gellar's depiction of a person in shock. And I can sympathize with your struggle to find something new to say. I have a hard time with that too, especially with this episode. There were too many aspects and too much emotion to try and attempt to put in words.
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