1. The Death Of A Parent Leaves The Best Of Us Helpless
Episode: Season 5, Episode 16 - "The Body" There is no music in "The Body." Very little action. There is simply the most horrifying of prospects come reality for Buffy Summers to deal with: a parent who has died suddenly. Their body, discovered in the family home. And it leaves the best of us helpless. To clarify - Buffy first finds her mother's body at the very end of the previous episode, "I Was Made to Love You." Her calls for her mother upon discovering Joyce Summers unresponsive become more tragic every time. "Mom. Mom? Mommy?" "The Body" picks up at that very moment. It follows Buffy preforming CPR, and breaking a rib on her mother's body in the process. It covers the arrival of the paramedics, the confirmation of her mother's death, the shock, the surreal quality of everything, the feeling of helplessness. Buffy, who can fight any monster, slay any demon, cannot save her mother from an aneurysm. It follows the reactions of her friends to the death, of her sister, and of herself. The lone vampire in the episode is not nearly as scary as losing a parent, and that's the point: the worst fears are the realistic ones. Scary monsters aren't so bad, but losing a parent will leave the best of us helpless.
Primarily covering the sport of MMA from Ontario, Canada, Jay Anderson has been writing for various publications covering sports, technology, and pop culture since 2001. Jay holds an Honours Bachelor of Arts degree in English from the University of Guelph, and a Certificate in Leadership Skills from Humber College.
