Like any dedicated fanbase, Buffy the Vampire Slayer enthusiasts may not agree on everything. There is plenty of diverse discourse surrounding topics like the best or worst villain from the series. However, when it comes to ranking the most poignant episode, there is little debate regarding which series installment best fits the bill. Almost any fan of the show will tell you that distinction belongs to Season 5, Episode 16, “The Body.” In addition to serving as the most devastating, this one is also universally regarded as the best episode of the series. That’s thanks in no small part to standout performances, top-notch writing and direction, realistic depictions of grief, and stylistic differences that set this episode apart from every other installment in the canon.
Series creator Joss Whedon wrote and directed this episode, which is grounded and stripped back, allowing the heavy themes to take center stage. Instead of fantastical setups and things that go bump in the night, Buffy (Sarah Michelle Gellar) and her pals are faced with the impermanence of human life following Buffy’s mother Joyce’s (Kristine Sutherland) sudden passing.
“The Body” Is Hands Down the Saddest Episode of Buffy the Vampire Slayer
The episode, which first aired in 2001, opens with Buffy finding Joyce deceased on the couch in the Summers home. The eventual revelation that she’s really gone hits especially hard considering that the nurturing matriarch previously had a brain tumor excised, leading Buffy, Dawn (Michelle Trachtenberg), and their pals to believe that Joyce was out of the woods. That false sense of security makes the ultimate reveal that she is dead of an aneurism all the more tragic and unexpected. Even though Joyce’s passing is foreshadowed at the end of the previous episode, many fans held out hope for an innocuous explanation when Buffy found her unresponsive. Sadly, there is none to be had. Joyce is really dead and the entire cast is left struggling to cope with the impermanence of human life.
Whedon’s script effectively speaks to the unpredictable ways in which humans process trauma. We see each of the characters trying, and often failing, to cope with this unexpected loss. Willow (Alyson Hannigan), for instance, loses her cool and panics over picking out an outfit for the somber occasion. Dawn, on the other hand, acts out. Grief hits us all differently.
The cinematography and editing work to enhance our discomfort as well as draw attention to the devastation the core characters are going through. The takes are longer than usual and the shots don’t cut away when things get heavy, making the episode a lot to take in. The viewer must exist with the core cast as they desperately try to collect themselves and make sense of this shocking tragedy. Further, there is no score, ensuring that we have plenty of time to connect with the episode’s heavy themes without the benefit of musical cues to direct our responses.
The episode further creates a somber atmosphere through the absence of the type of playful banter and sarcastic quips for which the series is so well known. With so much of what we know and love about the show stripped away, we are rendered almost as helpless as the core characters.
Also conspicuously absent from the bulk of the episode is the supernatural component around which the series is built. “The Body” doesn’t really feature a core antagonist, aside from death, of course. Familiar themes are all but forgotten until a vampire briefly appears near the end of the episode. That distinction effectively speaks to the way we often feel like the world has stopped when we lose a loved one. The eventual appearance of a supernatural presence, of course, drives home the point that the world never completely stops for the Slayer.
Despite how utterly devastating this episode is, fans and critics alike regard it as the undisputed best of the series. Some film scholars have even posited that “The Body” is one of the best television episodes ever produced. Case in point: Rolling Stone placed the series installment at #22 in their top 100 television episodes of all time feature. That puts this episode in great company, but it more than earns its place.
Perhaps it’s somewhat unorthodox that this series installment stands out as the best of the bunch, considering that it eschews almost all of the core elements that made us fall in love with the show. That’s a radical approach, but Whedon knows exactly what he is doing here. He renders the viewer completely and utterly dumbfounded by killing off a character that the audience likely assumed would be around for the long haul. In doing so, he gives us all pause to meditate on the impermanence of human life.
All in all, “The Body” is undoubtedly the saddest episode of Buffy the Vampire Slayer. It’s also the best, most artistically rendered of the bunch. It’s no wonder we’re still devastated by this poignant effort 24 years on from broadcast.
If you’re keen to revisit the series, you can stream Buffy the Vampire Slayer on Hulu. Better yet, the platform is also working on a reboot that will see Gellar returning as a recurring guest star!
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