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(well, soon anyway)

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I'm doing this in two parts due to the length.

Here is the "Wild Feed" summary for this Tuesday's episode.

The episode has no soundtrack. There is no voiceover for the "previously" spot. It is very realistic and the initial discovery is done in real time. There are a few POV camera angles that are odd, out of focus, or not focused on the action.

This is the best episode I have seen to date.

The Body Episode 5ABB16. Running time: 45:10

Previously on Buffy the Vampire Slayer: Giles' voice as the announcer is not heard. Buffy's entrance into the house, discovery of the flowers, questioning about Dawn, and discovery of her mother's body is shown from the end of the last episode.

Opening Credits No changes.

At the Summer's house, the entire Scooby gang is at Christmas Dinner. Giles, Joyce, and Buffy are clearing away the dishes while they talk of how good the dinner was it makes Xander want to barf, how Dawn may have inadvertantly gotten some of the rum-enhanced Nog, and what Dawn's getting from Santa. "Um… guys… Hello? Puberty? Sorta figured out the whole no Santa thing." Anya quickly debunks the whole "no myth-myth" thing, stating that there is in fact a Santa Claus. Its all true, except "… he doesn't traditionally bring presents so much as, you know… disembowel children, but otherwise…"

Buffy walks grabs some more dishes and walks out of the dining room, smirking at Anya's tale. Joyce and Giles clean up as Joyce takes a pie from the oven. Buffy makes a wise-ass remark about Joyce and Giles staying away from the Band Candy, which makes Giles walk off embarassed. Joyce and Buffy joke as Buffy goes to show her mom out to cut the pie, which is bumped and falls to the ground. Both the ladies go to pick it up.

Close up of Joyce's unmoving face on the couch.

This next scene is done without a break in one take, up to where Buffy stares at the phone. No cuts.

Buffy rushes forward, grabbing her mother by the shoulders and repeatedly saying "Mom" louder and louder as she shakes her. Buffy starts to cry and panic, rushes through the house as the camera follows her every move. She grabs a cordless phone and dials 911. The operater comes on and, by the book, the information is gathered. Buffy is upset but able to say her mom is not breathing and get the address out. The Ambulance on the way, the operator asks if Buffy knows CPR, to which she sobs "No, I don't remember…" The operator describes the proceedure as Buffy says "I remember…" She puts down the phone, tilts her Mother's head back to clear the airway, breathes into her mouth, and starts CPR.

During the second set of compressions, Buffy hears a loud "crunch." She stops and tells the operator, who assures her that it's OK, it was a rib breaking but it's not important. Saying the Ambulance is on it's way, the operator asks if she's breathing. Buffy says "no… She's cold." The operator says "The body is cold?" Buffy rebukes "NO, my MOM! Should I make her warm?" The operator tells Buffy the best thing to do is wait for the paramedics, but Buffy loses herself at the window.

Buffy stands and looks out the window by the couch. The daylight is extremely bright. She hears a car pass outside. A shocked look comes across Buffy's face as she raises the phone to her ear again. "I have to make a call" she says calmly and hangs up.

Extreme close up of Buffy's hand holding the phone, focusing in on the numbers for a long time, as if Buffy is staring at them in shock.

Buffy hits speed dial and Giles answers. In an almost emotionless, shocked tone, she says "Giles… you have to come… She's at the house." Buffy hangs up as she hears the Ambulance's sirens pull up outside. She opens the door and watches for a moment outside, then goes back in to look at her Mother. As she hears the paramedics start to come in, she notices Joyce's skirt is resting high on her thighs. Buffy walks over and pulls the skirt back down to cover her.

Two paramedics walk in with their equipment. They confirm that there is no pulse as Buffy watches everything they do, eyes unblinking. She still grips the phone. The paramedics move Joyce off the couch to the ground and start to ventilate as they ask Buffy about how long she's been unconscious, her health history, etc… They perform CPR.

Joyce coughs and her eyes blink. Buffy's eyes widen in surprise as the paramedics are amazed "My god, we got her!" Joyce looks over to Buffy as her daughter goes by her side. "Buffy" she says, dazed. "I'm here…" Buffy replies.

Inside the ambulance, a paramedic says "It's a miracle… a beautiful miracle…" as Buffy sits with her Mom.

"Good as new" says Joyce's doctor at her bedside, her daughters sitting on either side of her. Joyce looks up "Oh, Buffy… thank god you found me in ti…"

Buffy stares in shock in her home. She watches the paramedics work, sees the flatline of the monitor, and hears one of them say "She's cold… let's call it."

The paramedic stands and approaches Buffy. "I'm sorry, but I have to tell you that your Mother is dead." Buffy listens to the man, but is still in shock, not really looking at "him" but more his general area. (the camera focuses in on his chest). The paramedic guesses that it was probably an Aneurism or some clotting. The two men get an emergency call and prepare to leave. They say a coroner has been contacted but may take a while, and they suggest she have a glass of water and try not to disturb the body. They ask if there is someone she can call. "Someone's coming" says Buffy. The lead paramedic says "I'm very sorry for your loss" which Buffy thanks him for as he leaves. As they walk out, Buffy says unknowingly "good luck!"

Walking away from the open front door, Buffy walks in and stares at her mother, still clutching the phone. She walks into a small sun-lit den in the house, falls to her knees, and vomits.

She stands up and walks to the kitchen slowly, opening the back door and staring at the bright sunny day. A close up of her face reveals she's sweating and tired, still in shock. She walks back in, leaving the door open, grabs some paper towels, and walks into the den. She lays the paper towels to soak up the vomit. The camera focuses in on the paper towels getting saturated as a white noise fills the air. It is broken by Giles' voice.

"Buffy, what is it? Is it Glory?" Giles stands at the front door, clearly out of breath and paniced. She looks at him with unblinking eyes, still in shock "I'm waiting. The coroner is coming. I have to tell Dawn. She's at school… I'll go there."

Giles looks at her puzzeled "I'm not sure…" He notices Joyce laying on the ground and rushes to her, saying "Joyce? Joyce?!?"

"No… no… don't… it's too late…" Buffy starts to get upset at Giles as she follows him into the living room. "The… They're coming for her no… no we're… We're not supposed to move the body!"

Buffy becomes quiet and her eyes widen. She is stunned by what she has just said. Giles rushes up and hugs her. She stares at her mother, on the verge of tears.

An overhead view of Joyce's face is seen off to the side with an oriental rug background where she lays.

Commercial break.

Joyce lays in a body bag as it is zipped up across her still staring face. The sound of the zipper is loud.

Dawn leans against a wall, sobbing. "Oh, God… I can't believe it." "It's not that bad" says a classmate as we hear a toilet flush. Dawn talks with her friend about another girl who called her a freak. Its not-so typical girl washroom talk, and Dawn's friend mentions how Dawn cut herself, to which Dawn takes offence, saying it was an accident. Dawn is worried about her appearance (because of the crying) before they head off to class.

In the hall, Dawn and her friend pass by "Kristy", the girl who badmouthed her earlier. They sneer at each other and exchange fake pleasantries. Dawn and her friend walk into art class.

At her easel, a cute boy starts small talk/flirting with Dawn as they sketch a nude greek statue that sits at the head of the class. (Her friend, opposite her, quickly writes "He wants you!" on her easel, out of his site. Dawn freaks at her for a second behind his back.) They start to talk about Kristy, "The bitch", as Buffy is seen through a window in the hall in the background behind Dawn.

Buffy walks in and talks briefly to the teacher as Dawn continues to talk to the boy. Buffy then approaches her sister very quietly. Her look is very serious, filled with an indescribable emotion. She surprises her "Dawn… I have to talk to you." Dawn knows immediately by the look that something is up.

The teacher stares at the two sisters, concerned. Dawn's friend looks worried.

The two walk out into the hall. Dawn's class can view them through the window.

Dawn: "What's going on? Something's going on?"

Buffy: "Let's go outsi…"

"NO tell me what's going on."

"It's bad news…"

A shot of Kristy and some girls looking uncomfortably at the two sisters.

"Well what is it? What happened?" Dawn crosses her arms, showing signs of nerviousness.

"It's bad… Please, can we…"

"Where's Mom?"

"Mom had an accident… or… um… something went wrong from the Tumor."

Dawn's friend walks up closer behind the window, looking concerned."

"is she OK? Is she… But she's OK… but it's… It's serious, but…" Dawn is now really worried, on the verge of tears.

From inside the classroom we see the student's POV, Dawn facing the Buffy, with Buffy's back against the window. We can barely hear them talking, but we see Dawn start to cry. She waves her sister off as she says some things and backs away a step or two. Dawn collapes to the ground in tears, wailing.

Buffy kneels to her sister as the camera pans around to show Dawn's sketch of the statue.

------------------

Sorry for my faults. I'm French.

-------------------------

Joyce lays on the Autopsy table with her shirt open as someone starts cutting her undergarments open with sissors

Tara looks straightfaced into the camera in silence. She looks at Willow who holds a shirt on a hanger, motionless.

Anya and Xander drive in silence. They pull up outside Willow and Tara's Dorm. Tara sees them pull up and says they're here. Xander asks if Anya wants to come up. Anya says he's double parked.

Willow goes through her closet, upset. She's trying to decide what to wear to see Buffy at the hospital morgue. Tara watches her love go through such indecision. Willow wonders where her blue sweater is. Tears start to stream down Willow's face as she comments on all the stupid things she has on her shirts. "Why can't I dress like a grown up? Can I be a grown up?"

Tara hushes Willow and calms her down, sweetly kissing her on the forehead, and then repeatedly on the lips.

Walking up the stairs, Anya asks "What do we do?" awkwardly. Xander answers that he doesn't know, but they'll talk to Giles. Outside of Willow and Tara's Dorm room, Anya again asks what the will be expected to do? Xander looks at her, not knowing how to answer. They knock and enter.

Xander hugs Willow. Willow says that she's afraid she's gonna cry again. Anya says "Xander cried at the apartment. It was weird…"

All four stand awkwardly, arms crossed, shuffling, when Anya asks what's going to happen? Willow says that they're going to meet at the mourge. Tara fills them all in on more details as Willow goes to change her shirt again.

Xander asks "What else did Giles say? Are they sure this is natural? I mean… Glory. But I mean, she said she was gonna come after Buffy's Family. I mean, she could have done it and and… covered her tracks…"

"Why would she? She'd want us to know" Willow answers.

"I'll tell you what it is, it's the frigging Doctors. Let you out with a clean bill of health, drill a hole in your head, here's a band aid, NEXT! They should have checked her over. They should have had her in! We don't have enough monsters in this town, the Doctors have to help them out?"

"Xander, I… I don't think it was… It just… happened."

"Things don't HAPPEN. I mean they don't JUST happen. Somebody… I mean, somebody's got to…"

"OK" Willow looks straight at Xander, puts up her fists as if to fight, and pouts her lips. "Let's go… come on… Just you and me… come on…"

Xander kisses her on the forehead "Naw… You know I can't take you"

"Damn Straight!"

"Are we gonna see the body?" Anya blurts out. Xander turns away, embarassed as Willow looks at Anya, disbelieving. Tara quickly changes the subject, saying that they should take up patrolling for a while. They all agree.

Willow goes back to the closet, looking for another shirt. She want's her blue sweater, because Joyce "Liked it so." Tara thinks Willow could have left it in the laundry room and Tara goes to check.

"Are they going to cut the body open?" Anya blurts out again.

Willow gets a look of disgust on her face "Oh my GOD! Would you just… like, stop talking? Just… shut your mouth! Please…"

"What am I doing?"

"How can you act like that?"

"How should I be acting? Am I supposed to be changing my clothes a lot? Is that the helpful thing to do?"

"The way you behave…"

"Nobody will tell me"

Willow, still disgusted… "Because it's not ok for you to be asking these things!"

"But I don't understand! I don't understand how this all happened. How we go through this. I mean I knew her and then she … theres… there's just a body and I can't understand why she can't just get back in it and not be dead anymore and it's stupid. It's mortal and stupid. And Xander is crying and not talking and I was having fruit punch and I thought Joyce will never have any fruit punch ever and she'll never have eggs or yawn or brush her hair not ever, and no one will explain to me why!" Anya breaks down crying and frustraited. She sits down in a bean-bag chair as Willow says they don't know why or how it works.

Anya tries to make herself more comfortable. She feels underneath her and pulls out a blue sweater. Not knowing, she puts it aside in a drawer. She then hears a "CRRUNCH."

Xander stands, saying "sorry, sorry… some pent up…" , looking as if he's leaning up against a wall. The camera pans around to show that he in fact punched the wall. He stands there calmly as he says it's stuck. Willow and Anya help him to get free as Tara walks in. "Did I miss something?"

Anya turns "Xander decided that he blames the wall."

Xander pulls his fist out. It is covered in blood. He washes it off as they all decide they should go to help Buffy, "That's what we do… we help Buffy." They exit the room and the door closes behind them. The door whips open as Willow runs in, grabs her coat sitting on the window sill, and leaves. The camera pans up outside the window to show Xander's car getting ticketed.

Commercial Break.

Joyce lays on the Autopsy table. The mortician peels off his gloves, covers the body, turns out the light, and heads out down a long hall. He views the group standing in the waiting room from a distance.

Buffy hugs Xander, Tara embraces Dawn, Xander hugs Giles, all is quiet and loving (even a "diving" hug from Anya to Giles, which he smiles at and comforts her.). Giles notices the Doctor, who walks up. Buffy, Giles and Dawn approach. Dawn asks if she can see her Mother's body. Buffy says not now and turns her attention to the Doctor. The doctor tells that her mother did have what looks like was an aneurism. He tells that there are signs that it was very sudden, and that there was probably no great pain, but even if someone was there, it probably wouldn't have made a difference.

Buffy rushes forward to her mom who sits on the couch and says "My head…"

Joyce sits up in a hospital bed with Dawn and Buffy smiling nearby.

Buffy stares at the Doctor. Giles asks what has to be done now, and the Doctor tells of making arrangements and some release forms, which Giles agrees to handle. Buffy thanks Giles.

Buffy and Dawn walk back up to the group as Buffy sits, saying that Giles is handling everything. Dawn asks "what about…." And trails off. She then says she has to go and pee and walks off. Buffy confides to the others that she doesn't think Dawn believes her.

Anya breaks the silence "I wish that Joyce didn't die… because she was nice… and now we all hurt." She realizes it was an awkward thing to say, but Buffy looks at her and smiles, knowing what she meant. "Thank you."

Willow, Anya, and Xander go off to get some things to eat, leaving Buffy and Tara alone on a couch in the waiting room. Buffy is drained emotionally and physically. She starts to babble about how she's never 'done this before.' Tara says that she has done this before… her mother died when she was 17. Tara confides of her mixed emotions at the time, and the two understand each other and grow close.

Buffy looks at her: "Was it sudden?"

"What?" Tara looks up.

"Your mother…"

"No…. yes… It's always sudden."

Dawn walks out of the washroom and starts to head for Buffy and Tara, but sees the long hallway towards the morgue and heads off in that direction. She peers in tentatively through the windows to the inner doors, walks in, closes and locks them behind her. It is dark, a blue-ish light envelopes everything. She approaches her mother's covered body on the autopsy table. She stands silently and starts to reach out to touch or grab the sheet, but hesitates.

It is completely silent.

Behind her, in the distance, a sheet rises into sitting position off of another table. It is pulled off to show a nude male vampire just awakening. He turns, notices Dawn, and starts walking up behind her just as she turns.

Willow, Anya, and Xander walk up with TONS of food and drinks. They ask where Dawn is. Buffy thinks she's still in the bathroom and goes to check. She notices the hallway to the morgue and gets suspicous. She walks faster as she hears signs of a struggle. Through the window she sees Dawn getting attacked by the vampire!

Buffy breaks through the locked door and forces the two apart, sending Dawn flying into the side of Joyce's autopsy table. The sheet slips off of their Mother's body.

Buffy fights with the vampire, sending tables crashing, and tools flying, but its mainly a struggle/wrestling match.

Laying on the floor, Dawn slowly looks up at the table. She can see her Mother's hair.

Buffy struggles some more and gets a large saw. She forces it down onto the vampire's neck, which decapitates and dusts it.

"Dawn…" Buffy says, collecting herself a little and rolling over to see her sister staring at the table above. Dawn slowly rises and the camera pans up with her to show Joyce's face.

Dawn looks at her Mother with a blank expression. "Is she cold?"

"It's not her… it's not her… she's gone."

"Where'd she go?" Dawn slowly reaches a hand out towards her mother's face…

Grrr… Arrrg…

Leoff
------------------

i actually haven't read the summary (just did a word check to look for tara or willow mentions/scenes) but i have seen reactions to the summary and it sounds like a really sad episode but tara calls willow DARLING and THEY KISS and pardon me if i don't really care about joyce right now.*sigh*

QoD

[edited to correct spelling and to add the following rant...]
darn you joss for putting the kiss in a really sad episode where we're supposed to be mourning. now i feel guilty for being so happy and ecstatic.

------------------

Sorry for my faults. I'm French.

-------------------------

------------------

Sorry for my faults. I'm French.

-------------------------

Only for the most hard core spoiler ho -- you can watch the whole episode very fast with no sound with the links below (once they are working). If you use ctrl-P or the space bar, you can move frame by frame through the show. Once you move into this world, you've basically moved into the crack version of spoiler hodom. You've been warned.

• Teaser
  
• Act 1
  
• Act 2
  
• Act 3
  
• Act 4
  
• Closed Caption
  

Let's keep the links here. We don't want the place shut down. If they get on the big boards like the cross and stake then we run the risk of exposing this site. We love our Sunday crack, may it last forever!

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whew! i hope i did that right.

QoD

oh and xita, i second that

AAAAH!

BLOODY HELL!

It seems to me that Willow has always been the scoobie most close to buffy, yet the past couple of eppies xander seems to be the one close to buffy and giving her advice and comfort. Did willow and buffy hug ? I would have thought willow would have sat with buffy while tara went for food. But nice to see tara and buffy bonding.

oh my, this episode sounds so sad, but the willow/tara kiss sounds so sweet. Poor everyone! especially Buffy and Dawn.

****ing

time....

And she calls her darling....anyone who's ever used that name to someone they love can understand why I'm just in bits right about now...

Xita, thanks for the transcript of that scene between Willow and Tara. Such intense sorrow and loving concern...

If someone raises a word, a single word against Willow and Tara this week on another board, I go to war. I won't have it. Not a word.

silly reply just to check my new signature.

wow.

QoD

p.s.
eep! no crack?! grr..arrgh!

[edited to say...I am posting too much on this thread...must.stop. obsessesing.about.kiss. NOW.]

*grin*

looks like that grammy interview was just in time...

joss is god.

*big, cheesy grin*

Sorry guys. I loved Joyce.

Xita the dialogue is wonderful! It takes willow from a place of pain and being alone, to a knowledge and acceptance that she is part of "we", she isn't going through it alone, she has tara's support, they are going through it together. That's a major step for their
relationship.

That pic WOW its so beautiful, so moving.
I'm thinking amber is referring to this in her recent radio interview when talking about the characters getting more intimate and physical

Tara very much comes off as the adult in this eppie. She has been alone, been through this and is able and willing to help her lover and friends through it. and again she has real concern for dawn
skip this portion of the post if you want to remain free of spoilery stuff besides the kiss

3

2

1

T: I'M SORRY YOU HAVE
TO GO THROUGH ALL OF THIS.

B: YOU DON'T HAVE
TO WORRY ABOUT ME.

EVERYBODY
WANTS TO HELP.

I DON'T EVEN KNOW
IF I'M HERE.

I DON'T KNOW
WHAT'S GOING ON.

NEVER DONE THIS.
THAT'S JUST AN AMAZINGLY
DUMB THING TO SAY.
OBVIOUSLY, I'VE
NEVER DONE THIS BEFORE.

T: I HAVE.
MY MOTHER DIED
WHEN I WAS 17.

B: I DIDN'T KNOW.
I'M SORRY.

T: NO, NO,
I DIDN'T MEAN TO--
I'M ONLY TELLING YOU
THIS BECAUSE--
I KNOW IT'S
NOT MY PLACE, BUT...
THERE'S THINGS...
THOUGHTS
AND REACTIONS I HAD
THAT I COULDN'T
UNDERSTAND
OR EVEN TRY
TO EXPLAIN
TO ANYONE ELSE.
THOUGHTS THAT
MADE ME FEEL LIKE
I WAS LOSING IT,
OR LIKE
I WAS SOME KIND
OF HORRIBLE PERSON.
I KNOW IT'S
DIFFERENT FOR YOU...
BECAUSE IT'S
ALWAYS DIFFERENT,
BUT
IF YOU EVER NEED...

B: WAS IT SUDDEN?

T: WHAT?

B: YOUR MOTHER.

T: NO.
AND YES.
IT'S
ALWAYS SUDDEN.

Tara's dialogue with buffy about her reactions and thoughts to her own moms death, her feelings and self blame, make it clear she has been to he// and back and I'm even more convinced there is a heart breaking story there we will hear at some point. It also makes her finding happiness, finally, with willow and the scoobies even more poignant. That ear to ear grin in Family in response to her cousins "are you happy" takes on new meaning now.

by the way in the X-mas flash back,

HOW YOU DOING THERE,
WILL?

ARE YOU IN
THE VOMIT CLUB, TOO?

I HAD TOO MUCH NOG.

OH, BABY. WANT ME
TO RUB YOUR TUMMY?

SHE LIKES IT
WHEN I--
UH, STOP
EXPLAINING THINGS.

please please tell me it was tara saying willow liked her stomach rubbed that would be sooo cute !

and did anyone else see a bit of foreshadowing in dawns desire to be able to use her minds energy to explode the head of her cordellia like nemisis

I think dawn may indeed have powers of her own and be the key to destroying glory. willow and tara need more energy to teleport glory home and dawn has that energy

anyway,I just noticed that tara has all these pet names for willow. There's Honey and Darling and Baby(if that's her in the flashback) and Vixen *sigh* but we haven't heard anything from willow.

...but then again, willow's the one who gets all touchy and everything...

ok, superficial observation done.

QoD

Kajun Spice

She rocks and I will love her forever.

nice to see willow looking at tara with such affection

hand holding above the table, real comfort level and acceptance there with the family!

and like whoa !!! tara at the xmas table in that red top ! no wonder willow is holding on to her for dear life

Hmm, these are mostly Tara, one w/t.

on the other hand i think,that joss put the much awaited kiss in this episode coz it demonstrate that Willow n Tara r in a serious,n loving relationship...cant wait to c this ep!!
luv,
VaL

OMG OMG OMG OMG OMG OMG OMG OMG OMG OMG OMG OMG....

dear god. wow. oh my god. i can't believe that we're ACTUALLY GETTING A KISS!!!!

xita, kajun spice, thank you so much for these screen caps! i have to admit that i wasn't sure i could believe my eyes when i read it as a spoiler, but seeing is believing. wow! i cannot deal!!!

this is going to be such a sweet, sad scene and a horribly sad ep. tara sounds (and looks) like she's going to be amazing in it. not only comforting willow (like *that*), but comforting buffy too...showing she understands like no one else can.

I knew without seeing the wildfeed summary that it would be emotional, so I had decided after seeing the ending of 'I Was Made To Love You' I would skip this one. Main reason, Buffy's been too angsty lately and that's just not my thing. I don't mind a little angst, but I don't like being buried in it. But they just had to go and throw in THE W/T kiss (see seeing SPOILERS can cause one to watch an episode they might not otherwise), and now (unless something major happens) I cannot miss this episode.

oh n off topic im new here n i just loove your board!!,u all r very cool!!

LuV
VaL

Tyche, I think there's more to Tara's mom. I don't think that's finished.

And, sportychick, I think you are totally right about the timing. This is a serious relationship that when the chips are down they turn to each other, cause they love each other. I am so down with this.

BTW, sportychick,if you get a chance post us an intro over at the Introduction Thread

I concur with Joyce being the only normal parent any one of them have ever had. Cordelia's parents were criminals, Xander's are abusive drunks, Willow's don't oay attention to her, and Tara's parents tell her she's not human in order to control her. Even
Angel came from a dysfunctional family situation. Oz is the only one we don't know about (I only mention Angel because he was integrated as part of the Scoobies at least marginally for a bit).

I never cared for Joyce but I feel for Buffy and Dawn terribly.

------------------
"I tried to be unlovable/why couldn't you do the same?"

-(jewel)

You have no idea how difficult it has been to navigate this thread. I don't want to get spoiled by anything else but I did want to see if there were W/T smoochies. OK, so now I have to go away.

Tara = love, tenderness, compassion, intellegence, understanding, selflessness, bad taste in clothes, great taste in girlfriends, pitching in when the going gets rough and suggesting they take the rounds for Buffy and oh so many more things.

I feel as Len does, very conflicted 'cause I have so many different emotions going on at the same time.

And That picture of the KISS, OH MAN!!!
My heart stoped again and then started beating so hard. This is my new wallpaper.

In Joss we trust.
I love Joss W. I love Amber and her wonderful character Tara. I love Aly and Willow. I love BTVS!!!

OH and April I am so looking forward to the FF you will be writing, seeing that you lost your bet.

------------------
Paula
--------
Amber FanGirl #1a
May the Amber Force be with you.

The W:t "we" will get through this definitly puts the girls relationship beyond dating and on to the way committed to each other level. rereading leoffs spoiler JW not only gives us a kiss, he gives us multiple kisses. Its going to be hard to wait until tuesday!

I can't believe that after all this time we're *finally* going to see a kiss! Too bad i still have to wait a few months till the episode airs over here!!! grrr. If my VCR fails me that night i will be close to suicide!

She told me to tell you thanks for being so nice! And i of course told her that she is the best!!

Ok More WT

quote:

---

Originally posted by Catwoman:
Too bad i still have to wait a few months till the episode airs over here!!! grrr. If my VCR fails me that night i will be close to suicide!

---

even though the machine I'm borrowing doesn't download these pic. threads completely the few pics I can get are wonderful!!!!!

I can't wait till tuesday!!!!

oh and I was looking at leoff's comments over at the BC&S board. One of the posts leoff put up made me stop and think about just how much JW does indeed love the tara character and trusts the actress playing her. Enough to make tara a pivotal part of this very important episode

Leoff wrote:
Sunday, 25-Feb-01 10:07:49
157.178.1.101
"What surprises me most is the effective way Tara and Anya are used. "

"Tara is the strongest one in the episode. This is her moment to shine. Forgetting how close she and Joyce may or may not have been, she is comforting to everyone on many levels and realizes that her past experience with her own mother's death can only help her to understand how others will react and that allows her to help them cope and grieve."

I'm so glad JW gave us Tara and AB brought her to life.

we understand that you will have to wait a long time to see this amazing kiss air in your home countries. and we feel your pain.

to that end, we just formed a "tape tree" of sorts in chat to make CDs of this ep to distribute to people overseas who won't be able to see it on tuesday. there are several of us who will download the ep from USEnet/EFnet and burn it onto CDs that can be viewed on the computer.

if you live somewhere that is NOT going to air "the body" for quite some time, and you're interested in obtaining this CD, email me at cyber_apple@hotmail.com with your name and mailing address. i'll divide up all the requests i get among the people who are making CDs, and they will get in touch with you to talk about reimbursement for blanks and postage.

this is a humanitarian effort, people! no kitty should be deprived of seeing this historic TV moment!

sigh, maybe you shouldn't email me. i'm so technologically pathetic that i can't even get my email link to work! where would i be with out a moderator fantastico to rescue me...

[This message has been edited by xita (edited February 25, 2001).]

ohmigawdohmigawdohmigawd

*insert repeated shrieks here*

*cough* My body temperature is now back to normal, and coherent thought may now resume.

Okay, I haven't taken my turn to say something about this episode because... well because I'm breathless from it and also have been running around to other websites posting about it.

What an episode this is going to be! It sounds absolutely spectacular, with outstanding performances by everyone!

Have you noticed, though, that there doesn't seem to be any Spike in it anywhere? And he's a regular!

Anyway, thanks so much to Kajun Spice and Xita for getting those pics up so quickly. The kiss is perfect in every respect. It's the perfect time and the perfect context to show a first W/T kiss, really, when no one can argue that it's for gratuitous sexual titillation (although it apparently still gives the episode an "explicit sexual situations" warning ).

I'm also very glad to see Tara once again finding a common bond with Buffy. Buffy-bonding is a good way for a character to stick around on this show (unless it's a romantic bond, of course), so this is definitely of the good. And it keeps the question of Tara's mother alive for future exploration (although at this point I don't think they'd take time out to do a Tara's-mom episode until early Season 6).

BTW, I'm hoping to have a video clip of the kiss scene ready to put online somewhere by the end of the week. Wish me luck!

Oh, and has anyone ever commented on how cute it looks when Amber tucks her hair behind her left ear?

What great news!

Sigh.

I feel stupid now for not checking the board earlier in the day.....because this is as I said ....wow

I mean heck...I've been sitting here chewing on a towel since I've been reading an looking at this stuff due to having no other sane option...

Anywayz...I suppose thatz it ...LoL

Oh my God those pictures, woo hoo!

I'm so happy, you totally made my day, thank you so much for posting them!

You know looking at them for about the 100th time, it occured to me just how beautiful they are, I mean here we have two people who are just totally in love with eachother, we have Willow who is in so much pain and we have Tara who just wants to kiss her pain away.

I know there has been a lot of negativity towards the W/T relationship, but the way this appears to have been handled,shows that they are in a totally loving, committed and caring relationship, just like any other couple, the only difference is they happen to be 2 women!

Joss, as ever you rock, God I love this show!!

------------------
Zarjaz....

I'm upset though cuz I can't see the fast-moving spoiler

I can't wait until Tuesday. I bringing my port-a-t.v. to work- I don't car what my boss says. Those pics rocked!

But it also is very sad, too. Joyce will be missed.

Tuesday Tuesday Ahh Hurry

Xita, wasn't there a bet about the kiss?

I think it is a great thing that this kiss is hidden in this overwhelmingly traumatic episode. I cant think of a better way to have shown their first kiss. I am much happier that this kiss is about love and support and understanding and cannot possibly be mistaken for "sexual titillations" and was sneaked in without warning to avoid cries of a ratings ploy. In Joss we Trust and he has not let us down.

And a big woo hoo for WB who many of us thought would never let this through.

Their has not been much mention of Amber not appearing in the credits. Is this confirmed?

I should still have been at work now, but one of my dear sweet colleagues was willing to work the night for me.

So then I go online, log in to Yahoo *before* I come to the board, and I instantly get bombarded by dozens of IM's (by only three people I might add) who are absolutely freaking out, screaming at me to check out this thread.

Imagine my "surprise" at finding Willow and Tara kissing here. Imagine the joy I feel and imagine the dreams I am going to have.

Paula you said it all so well. But I would like to applaud Shazza here for pointing out the sexual content warning for this ep, which started the speculation and which probably saved my life. Already, I really believed this was going to happen.

I was prepared, my heart could take it now, barely, but still I am even *more* deeply affected and moved by this, than I ever could have imagined. This is how it was meant to be, it is perfect. I will comment more on the rest of the spoilers and this kiss once I have awoken from this dream.

April and all the others willing to help us all, you are too kind, I will build another little shrine now.

I am so excited people. I will start a countdown!!!!

And none of us will ever forget it =P

Shazza...Kittens of the world unite and support one another! No W/T fan will be without The Ep! Kitten Distro in the house!

[This message has been edited by Utena (edited February 25, 2001).]

LIP EATING!!!

So perhaps JW will be on the linear tue.

Shazza, I can clearly picture you there, very funny...

Ohhhhh Raaaayyyynnnnneeee...

w/t kiss! joyce's death!

happy! sad!

grrrr! argh!

I doubt we're going to see a Willow/Tara sexathon any time soon (which will be good news for the Emergency Rooms near several of our board members... ), but we probably will see some more casual physical affection in the future.

i encourage everyone to write to them and let them know what a groundbreaking TV moment this will be! we want to make sure GLAAD gives this the attention it deserves!

Hello GLAAD folks!

Just in case you don't already know, I wanted to give you a heads up that this Tuesday, February 27, Buffy the Vampire Slayer will air a landmark lesbian kiss between two main characters on the show, wiccan lovers Willow and Tara. The two girls have been a couple on the show for quite some time now, and as far as I can tell this is the first same-sex kiss on network TV that will actually involve two people in a serious relationship. (As opposed to one of the people being straight, or not interested, or having switched bodies with someone of the opposite sex, and all of that nonsense).

Anyway, I just wanted to let you know to make sure that GLAAD tunes in for this historic TV moment. And you don't have to take my word for it - the following website has several pictures from the upcoming scene on Tuesday (taken by someone who gets the early Sunday sattellite feed). http://www.geocities.com/xita/pics/wt.html

Thanks for all the great work you do! Enjoy watching Buffy on Tuesday!

i never felt so unconfortable for having to wait for so long to see an episode!

*swoon*

OK, I hereby renounce all others deities to worship Joss as the One True God!

Perfect, perfect, perfect...

I think this will open the door to other "normal" couple-y demonstrations of love for W/T.

Maybe by seasons end, we'll actually see as much PDA as W/O or X/A.

1. The "strong like an Amazon" line in the kissing scene. Wow!!! We are *absolutely* livin' on the Isle of Lesbos now!

2. With the Kajun Spice/Xita caps of the kissing/comfort scene, if you place the mouse cursor at the bottom of the scroll thingy and click rapidly it looks animated!

Geez, between this and "X-Files", it's just one upper after another!

Spoilers for "The Body", written and directed by Joss Whedon.

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We see a repeat of the last scene from "I Was Made to Love You".  That's it for
the teaser.

[credits]

Flash back to Christmas, with everyone having dinner at the Summers home.  It's
a happy scene, with Buffy and Joyce teasing each other and basically making us
all weep.

Buffy tries to wake Joyce up, then calls 911.  The operator talks her through a
CPR attempt, which only results in a cracked rib.  When Buffy says that her
mother is cold, the operator goes silent for a moment, then tells her to just
wait for the paramedics.

Buffy immediately calls Giles, giving him the impression that Glory is or was
there (I'm not sure if Buffy really thinks this or not).  The ambulance
arrives, and Buffy sees a vision of her mother coming to and recovering
completely.  It's just a fantasy, though - in reality, nothing works.  They
think it might have been an aneurysm, and there's nothing anyone could have
done.  One of the guys tells Buffy that he'll call the coroner, and she
shouldn't disturb the body.  The paramedics have to go on another call, leaving
Buffy alone in the house.

Buffy wanders around, pausing briefly to throw up on the floor.  She's trying
to clean it up when Giles arrives, panicked at the thought that Glory has
attacked. He sees Joyce and goes over to her, and it takes him about a
nanosecond to figure out what's happened, especially after Buffy yells at him,
"We're not supposed to move the body!".  He puts his arms around Buffy, who
just stands there with her hand over her mouth, staring.

Dawn is in the restroom at school, crying, but not over Joyce (yet).  She's
upset because some of the kids were picking on her, and one of her friends is
trying to help her pull herself together.  They go to art class, and Dawn gets
to flirt with a cute guy (who sort of looks like Ben's younger brother).  Buffy
arrives and takes her into the hallway.  She wants to go outside, but Dawn
makes her tell what's wrong now.  Buffy breaks the news, and Dawn starts
screaming and crying, then collapses.

Xander and Anya drive in silence to the college to pick up Willow and Tara.
Willow is obsessing over what shirt to wear, pouring all her pain and
frustration into finding this one blue sweater that Joyce really liked.  Tara
kisses (that's right, *kisses*) her and tries to offer comfort.

Anya and Xander arrive, and they all stand around, not sure what to do next.
Xander wants someone to blame - Glory, the doctors, anybody - but soon realizes
it's useless.  Willow changes clothes again, and Tara goes to the laundry room
to look for the blue sweater.  While she's gone, Anya starts asking extremely
inappropriate questions, which pisses Willow off.  Anya starts to cry - she's
just trying to understand what's happening and what she can do to help.  This
is all tremendously upsetting to someone who isn't used to mortality.  She sits
down (right on Will's blue sweater, which nobody notices, even after Anya
absent-mindedly puts it in a drawer).

Suddenly, there's a loud noise, and the girls jump.  Xander has just let out
his pent-up anger by running his fist through the dorm's cheap drywall.  Tara
comes back just as he gets it unstuck - it's all bloody, and he really doesn't
feel better. They decide to get it together and go to the morgue to meet Buffy,
Dawn, and Giles.  They need to be there for their friend, and that's really the
only thing they can do right now.

When they get there, it's hugs all around (including Xander and Giles).  Dr.
Kriegel comes out of the morgue and confirms the paramedics' theory.  It was,
indeed, an aneurysm, something they couldn't really detect ahead of time,
although Joyce knew about the possibility.  He assures Buffy that her mother
didn't suffer.

He also says there are forms to fill out and decisions to make.  Giles offers
to handle as much of that as he can, and goes with the doctor.  Dawn heads for
the restroom, while Xander, Willow, and Anya go to find food for everyone.

Buffy and Tara are left alone, and Tara tells Buffy about her own mother's
death. Tara was 17 at the time, and had thoughts and reactions that were
totally unexpected and irrational.  She wants Buffy to know that this is OK,
and she'll be there for her.  It's very sweet.

Dawn sees the morgue entrance and sneaks in.  She walks up to Joyce's body and
starts to lift the cover, then hesitates.

On the other side of the room, a man gets up.  Vampire!  Dawn turns around just
as he starts toward her.

The gang returns with armloads of snacks (Willow:  "We panicked.")  Buffy
realizes Dawn's been gone a while, and quickly figures out where she is.  She
gets there in time to catch the vampire, although she's so exhausted and off
her game, she has a hard time fighting him.

In the ensuing chaos, the cover accidentally gets pulled off Joyce's body.
 After Buffy dusts the vamp, she and Dawn sit on the floor, looking up at their
mother's lifeless form.  Dawn stands up and slowly reaches over to touch her
face.

The End.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------
----------------

Well, that was fun.  I think I'll go watch something relatively cheerful now,
like "Schindler's List".

I got the feeling this episode took place in real-time, or very close to it.
 It certainly conveyed the feeling that anyone who has ever suddenly lost a
loved one knows all too well - that numb, slow-motion blankness, where you're
consciously aware of what's just happened, but aren't even close to fully
comprehending it yet.  Buffy is in this state more than anyone right now, for
obvious reasons.  She's the responsible one, the one who takes care of
everything, and she's trying to fulfill that role as best she can.  But the
grief is overwhelming, and she looks like she could collapse at any moment.

The way Joyce died could both make things harder and easier for Buffy.  I've
always liked the cancer storyline because, far from being trite and soap
opera-ish, it provides something Buffy has never really had to deal with before
- a threat to her family that she can't do anything about.  There's no Cancer
Demon to go beat up, no spell to make everything better.  She can't even get
revenge.  There's a part of her that's going to be devastated by this
knowledge, and frustrated by the helplessness of it, especially since it's cost
her the one person she's probably most protective of.  But she will also,
eventually, realize that any feelings of guilt are entirely misplaced, which
wasn't the case when, say, Jenny died.  That might help her heal a teeny, tiny
bit faster.

She also has the rest of her "family", and they're rallying around her in every
way they can.  Xander and Willow are taking it especially hard, since Joyce was
practically a surrogate mom to both of them, too.  Xander is bottling things up
a bit, still dealing by not really dealing, and having sudden outbursts of
anger that are completely illogical, yet make perfect sense. Willow, for her
part, is constantly on the verge of a meltdown.  Her fussing over what shirt to
wear is such a perfect, realistic touch - those meaningless little things
become *so* important when you're projecting your grief onto them.

Giles is currently doing the best job of holding it together, at least for the
time being.  As the only remaining adult and parental figure, he's using that
British reserve of his to remain an anchor for all the kids, especially Buffy.
 It was particularly nice the way he offered to take care of as much of the
paperwork and arrangements as he could.  I think he truly liked and admired
Joyce, and considered her a friend, plus watching Buffy suffer like this has
got to just stab him in the heart. But he can't fall apart.  Not now.

Tara could actually be the person who helps Buffy the most, at least
emotionally. She lost her mother too, and she knows all the horrible thoughts
and feelings that go through a person's head after something like this.  She's
honest and compassionate at the same time, and says exactly what Buffy needs to
hear.

Ooh, and we finally got the Willow/Tara kiss!  It was handled in a perfectly
natural, no-big-deal way, which was absolutely ingenious.  No need to make an
Afterschool Special out of it - just slip it in there at an appropriate time,
when nobody in the audience expects anything.  Beautiful.

And, bless her heart, there's Anya, who hasn't been mortal for over a thousand
years, and just can't grasp the sadness and finality of death.  She's trying so
hard to understand, and she truly wants to be supportive, but it's just beyond
her.  In her fumbling way, though, she does express her condolences, and Buffy
clearly appreciates it.

Poor Dawn.  Not only is she dealing with the loss of her mother at the age of
14, she's still got this whole Key thing going on.  She *feels* that Joyce was
her mom, and the pain is as real and terrible as it would be for anyone.  But
she knows it's an illusion, and that's bound to hit her at some point.

No Spike in this episode at all, which works, actually.  There's no reason for
him to find out about Joyce's death this soon, and inserting him into the
episode just to have him there would have been too awkward.  He'll get the news
eventually, and it will certainly upset him.  Joyce was nice to him - made him
hot chocolate and everything - and he has to respect a woman who wasn't afraid
to bean him with an axe to protect her daughter.  He may make some attempt to
console Buffy, although he's pretty pissed off at her right now.  The next
scene between them should be mighty interesting.

On top of everything, there's still the whole Glory threat to worry about.  If
the gang thought fighting her was tough before, doing it through a haze of
grief is going to make it damn near impossible.

This episode confirmed Joyce's demise, but that's about it.  We still haven't
really seen anyone deal with this at all yet - it's still too fresh.  There are
a lot of loose ends to tie up, and it's going to be a long process.  And we
have to wait at least a few weeks to find out what happens next (thanks,
Joss!).

Whedon certainly got the emotional tone right, even doing the episode without a
music soundtrack, which heightens the somberness and realism of it.  As usual,
there's no cop-out, either - Joyce is actually dead, no question about it, and
I expect her to stay that way.  Not that she won't be seen again (this show is
renowned for its post-mortem guest appearances), but it will never really be
*her*, alive and well.

And, damn, that makes me sad.  Joyce has been there from the beginning (54
episodes if you count this one), doing all she could to love and support her
daughter and cope with the utter strangeness that surrounds them.  She faced
her cancer with humor and dignity, and actually seemed to be getting better.
 And she was Buffy's last remaining link to the "normal" world, the one person
she could come home to and talk about something besides demons and vampires.

Now she's gone.  A moment of silence.

Joss did his semi-experimental thing with this one, and it doesn't entirely
work. Instead of trying to pack two episodes into one, which happens frequently
on "Buffy", he basically stretched half an episode out to full-length.  The
result is unquestionably moving and gives Joyce a proper "farewell" episode,
but it's also slow as molasses. Too much time is spent on artsy touches that
stretch things out much longer than necessary, with very little apparent point
(do we *really* need endless scenes of people walking down hallways?).

So I have mixed feelings about it.  I felt what I was supposed to feel, without
the sense of being played or manipulated. But I was also squirming a lot,
waiting for *something* to happen. That'll have to wait until next time, I
guess.

I'm honestly not sure what kind of ranking to give this.  A 9 for content, a 7
for execution.

Guess that makes it a solid 8 out of 10.

Loey

Line of the Week: "Xander decided that he blames the wall." - Anya, with the
only funny line of the night.

Early-Bird Reviews and more at -

quote:

---

Originally posted by shazza:
I think it is a great thing that this kiss is hidden in this overwhelmingly traumatic episode. I cant think of a better way to have shown their first kiss. I am much happier that this kiss is about love and support and understanding and cannot possibly be mistaken for "sexual titillations" and was sneaked in without warning to avoid cries of a ratings ploy.

---

I couldn't have said it better myself . I love the fact that it's such a tender kiss and totally in character with the tender/loving relationship of W/T.

------------------

Sorry for my faults. I'm French.

-------------------------

And with Buffy vomiting, and Xander punching the wall, i don't know...i think i am going to need mass quantities of chocolate after this episode.

actually, my post-buffy/angel ritual is to go to the diner with my boyfriend, so we can discuss the eps, looks like i'll be crying in his french fries on Tuesday

(moved here by hugin)