The Body hurts

"The Body" is an incredibly charged episode. It doesn't have action, it doesn't have intense fight scenes, it has intense character drama. The episode is packed with nonverbal loss and suffering, amplified by Whedon's excellent knowledge of camera techniques. The scene with Xander and Anya picking up Willow and Tara to go to the morgue and while talking Whedon sets up the scene magnificently. Alls of the characters are there, and they are talking to each other but they are all very much alone. each stands in a closed posture, arms hugging themselves, and there is significant space between them. Each character also displays a different kind of grief. Xander tries to find someone to blame, Willow is quiet and yells at Anya who disturbs her silence. Anya asks questions that children ask, wanting to know why; why Joyce can't get up, why she can't be alive. Anya's childishness is completely heartbreaking.