The opening scene of The Body. It’s not the first time the show intentionally subverts its own identity, but it’s certainly the most powerful.
For a show that has by this point in season 5 shown it’s fair share of dead bodies, even just the unglamorous, undramatic image of Joyce’s body spilled across the couch is off-putting. Then the brief fantasy of Buffy imagining that she saves her mom’s life, and the stark transition of fantasy Joyce expressing relief at being saved snapping back to to a shot of her llifeless, expressionless face. The overstaurated color in the cinematography, the unnatural emphasis of atmospheric sound as Buffy’s senses short circuit under the mental strain of processing the moment. The childlike fear and uncertainty when she accidentally breaks Joyce’s rib administering CPR under the 911 operator’s instruction. It’s brutal reality manifested in a world that has trained it’s viewers to expect (quality) melodrama even at its most sincere.
It’s important to note that the episode follows one of the silliest episodes of the entire show (though not without its own gross implications), wherein a lifelike sex robot tears through Sunnydale looking for her creator. The first few seconds of The Body overlap with the last few seconds of the previous episode, intentionally creating a major tonal whiplash.
I think Drew Goddard once described The Body as 45 minutes of the best TV ever filmed and I still think that stands.
Edit: found a short clip on YouTube. Can’t believe I forgot about “Mom?..mom?..mommy?”
Buffy the Vampire Slayer spoilers.
The opening scene of The Body. It’s not the first time the show intentionally subverts its own identity, but it’s certainly the most powerful.
For a show that has by this point in season 5 shown it’s fair share of dead bodies, even just the unglamorous, undramatic image of Joyce’s body spilled across the couch is off-putting. Then the brief fantasy of Buffy imagining that she saves her mom’s life, and the stark transition of fantasy Joyce expressing relief at being saved snapping back to to a shot of her llifeless, expressionless face. The overstaurated color in the cinematography, the unnatural emphasis of atmospheric sound as Buffy’s senses short circuit under the mental strain of processing the moment. The childlike fear and uncertainty when she accidentally breaks Joyce’s rib administering CPR under the 911 operator’s instruction. It’s brutal reality manifested in a world that has trained it’s viewers to expect (quality) melodrama even at its most sincere.
It’s important to note that the episode follows one of the silliest episodes of the entire show (though not without its own gross implications), wherein a lifelike sex robot tears through Sunnydale looking for her creator. The first few seconds of The Body overlap with the last few seconds of the previous episode, intentionally creating a major tonal whiplash.
I think Drew Goddard once described The Body as 45 minutes of the best TV ever filmed and I still think that stands.
Edit: found a short clip on YouTube. Can’t believe I forgot about “Mom?..mom?..mommy?”