When you think of "Buffy the Vampire Slayer", the first words forming in your head aren't likely "meaningful" or "insightful" or "subtle" and you could easily be forgiven for that.
The seven seasons of Buffy's vampire killin' exploits generally rock words like "fun", "silly", "sexy", "kick-ee", "punch-ee" and so on. Joss Whedon created a wonderfully silly and yet endearing superhero show that on third or fourth viewing holds up remarkably well. Aside from the often overbearing 90s angst-girl soundtrack, a genre a friend of mine once called "teen girl diaries set to music", the show still resonates with humour, horror and heart.
As fun and kick-ee, punch-ee as it is, Buffy's greatest moment for me was an episode that featured almost zero supernatural elements and a similarly slim amount of fighting. What little action that features is glaringly out of place for the tone of the episode and serves as a contrasting device that leads to the show's remarkably subtle final moment.
I'm speaking of the fifth season episode, The Body. Buffy arrives home to find her Mother dead. Not vampire killed, not magically attacked, just normal, natural, shitty death. What follows is 40 or so minutes of Buffy and her friends and family dealing with that. No spells, no demons, no supernatural crisis. Just a family navigating a normal, horrible part of human existence.
Having buried two parents, I usually skip this episode when it comes up in a Buffy rewatch. I often rewatch shows I love and this Buffy go-round is my 4th or 5th time through. This time it's part of my "watch everything I own" project, so I committed to sitting through it. The first time I saw it almost 20 years ago, it hit me like a ton of bricks and this was the first time I'd watched it since then.
It still hits. Maybe not quite as weepy, heart wrenchingly as the first time, but it still hits. Watching the Scooby gang navigate the unmapped territory of burying a loved one, I'm certain Joss Whedon has live these moments. The lost at sea feeling that I remember so well from the days following my parents' deaths came across as if I was reliving them. It was hard to watch and I don't recommend it for anyone who has suffered a recent loss.
The seemingly in poor taste title, "The Body" is actually a very insightful observation. I remember quite well how my "Dad" and my "Mom" suddenly and irrevocably became "the body" or "the remains". It seemed that everyone around me took this in stride and seemed to think it normal but I can recall being disturbed and disconcerted by the change. Whedon doesn't address it directly but early on in the episode he marks the change with some subtle camera work and a throwaway line from a minor guest star. Brilliant writing, brilliant acting and brilliantly directed.
The cast might not boast multi-Emmy or Oscar winners but for those 45 minutes they give a performance so real and raw that I put it up against ANY episode of any drama you care to name. Many, many "light" shows have attempted to do a real "drama" episode and it usually results in mediocre television at best. Buffy's "The Body" is the true exception.
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Ironically, I'm doing my first watchthrough of this series now and recently watched "The Body." I agree that while this episode had very little supernatural elements, it did an excellent job of doing a "real" drama episode. I admittedly was tearing up by the end of it! The use of no background music at all in this episode, with many scenes where characters aren't talking just being silent, was a true artistic touch and made the episode that much more dramatic. All of it felt very real and none of it felt acted. This episode was definitely a masterpiece.
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