'Til death do us part

Death is always such a difficult topic to discuss, let alone face. Most people will face the death of a loved one at least once in their lives. As much as we are aware of this we are still unprepared when that time arrives. There are many different emotions that must be dealt with: Shock, denial, grief, devastation, anger. All emotions come at the right stage and at the right time for the person suffering the loss. Allowing these emotions to come freely in an atmosphere of non-judgement is crucial to moving forward. Remembering the loved one is how their spirit lives beyond the limitations of their physical body.

I believe that Joss Whedon did an excellent job covering all aspects of death in 'The Body'. He covered the affects of death from the beginning, when Buffy discovers the body of her mother, until the last scene when Dawn reaches out to touch her mother in the morgue. One moment that stuck out to me was when Buffy was on the phone with 9-1-1 and commented "She's cold" and the dispatcher asked "The body's cold?" and Buffy responded, "No, my mother". She was still her "mom" at that point. Then after rescue pronounced her dead and Giles arrived Buffy instructed him, "We're not supposed to move the body". It seemed the moment the words left her mouth she appeared shocked she had spoken them. I think the reality of what those words meant hit her hard because she knew then that what was left behind was not her "mom"... just her body.

Death affects every person in an individual, personal way. I love that Joss Whedon allowed each character in Buffy to express themselves individually in response to Joyce's death (ex//Xander punching a hole in the wall and Willow trying to find the right shirt to wear). Whedon displays successfully how life goes on around you even though it might feel as if it has stopped for you when a loved one dies. For me, this was a very depressing episode and one I don't think I'll ever have the desire to watch again.