Out of many standout episodes of Buffy the Vampire Slayer, there are many reasons why season 5, episode 16, "The Body" was the finest hour of the long-running TV show.

From the mind of Joss WhedonBuffy the Vampire Slayer made its television debut in 1997 after the 1992 movie, which starred Kristy Swanson in the titular role. With Sarah Michelle Gellar as Buffy Summers, the Joss Whedon run show ran for seven seasons and pitted the Slayer against numerous supernatural threats. The Slayer and her group of friends - known as the Scooby Gang - took down vampires, demons, Gods, and other ancient evils on the Hellmouth, set in fictional Sunnydale, California.

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Even with ample opportunity to carve hard-hitting life lessons into a fictional narrative that allows for safe exploration by the viewer in Buffy the Vampire Slayer, the most poignant episode dealt with a very real foe that nobody is capable of escaping or fighting forever: death itself. While the concept of death and even dying was nothing new for the series - Buffy technically died in season 1 - the sudden death of Buffy's mother, Joyce, brought a new discussion to the table and forced Buffy and her friends to deal with something more grim than anything they'd previously encountered: grief.

Why "The Body" Is Buffy The Vampire Slayer's Best Episode

Joss Whedon has said that "The Body" is the best thing he'll ever do. Fans hold the episode in extremely high regard not only because of its personal nature and how it contributes to Buffy's character development, but also because of the message. While the supernatural threats and elements of the show kept the plot interesting and allowed characters to explore aspects of themselves safely through fictional bad guys, an episode focused around the human experience was not only jarring, it was cathartic. Other teen dramas of the time, such as Beverly Hills, 90210 and Dawson's Creek explored realistic drama, but it was somewhat out of the ordinary for a show like Buffy the Vampire Slayer, which allowed character growth and development primarily through their encounters with fictional monsters.

In "The Body", there was no monster to fight, no vampire to slay, just Buffy being forced to come to terms with experiencing death in a personal way; any mention of or interaction with supernatural threats was secondary. The show often extrapolates that there's nothing Buffy and her friends can't face, and reflects this in a lyric during the musical episode, "Once More With Feeling", in season 6, but in this situation, death can't be faced. It can't be defeated; death can only be experienced, and grief affects everyone differently. This is shown through how not only Buffy deals with Joyce's completely natural death, but how her friends do.

From Willow struggling to find an outfit to wear to her funeral to Anya's "fruit punch" monologue, each member of the Scooby Gang responds differently to Joyce being gone, as she had always been an integral part of the family. "The Body" also added a powerful significance to Buffy's ultimate sacrifice in the season 5 finale of Buffy the Vampire Slayer where she willingly gave up her life to save not only the world, but her sister, Dawn, who Joyce always wanted her to protect.

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