Classic Moments: The death of Buffy's mother

This week, Cult Spy takes a look at the shockingly sudden demise of Buffy Summers’ mother Joyce at the end of the ‘I Was Made To Love You’ episode. Killing off supporting characters is nothing new to cult shows, particularly ones with a body count as high as Buffy The Vampire Slayer. But the manner in which the death and feeling of loss was conveyed led to some serious lumpage in the throat.

The Context

Joyce Summers had been a recurring character throughout almost five seasons of Buffy, often a constant figure of stability around the Hellmouth-related turmoil in Sunnydale. However, in the fifth season she is diagnosed with a brain tumour and her health deteriorates, causing much stress for Buffy and her new daughter Dawn. Joyce has successful surgery on the tumour and is on the road to a full recovery, but on one ill-fated day Buffy returns home to make a shocking discovery…

The Moment

Buffy returns home with a call of “hi mum” and we soon see Joyce’s out-of-focus figure in the background of the shot, lying motionless on the couch. When Buffy sees her, she moves closer, as does the viewer, and we jarringly see that he eyes are wide open. “Mum… mum… mummy?” says Buffy to her unresponsive parent, as the gravity of the situation sinks in, heightened by the stillness of the camerawork and lack of any diegetic music.

The Aftermath

It is revealed that Joyce died of a brain aneurysm, but the most startling effects can be found in the treatment of her death in the subsequent episode ‘The Body’. Stripped down both visually and sonically, with mainly extended single-take shots and no non-diegetic music, the harrowing aftermath of the tragedy is felt by the viewers alongside the grieving daughters.

Later, Dawn manages to resurrect her mother with help from Spike and a demon called Doc. But after becoming aware that Joyce may be a disturbing shadow of her former self, Dawn breaks the spell before she can enter the house.