Death Becomes Her

As season 5 begins to wind down, we see a change in the tone of BtVS. Always dark and usually sardonic, the show takes an even darker turn with the death of Buffy's mother, Joyce. Though her mother has played a smaller role since Buffy left for college, she is still a steadying presence in Buffy's life. Never the all-wise counselor, her mother was at least a source of unconditional love ("Becoming Part 2," 2.22 notwithstanding). Season 4 may have ended with a solid affirmation of the Scoobies' union ("Restless"), but the addition of Dawn and the loss of Joyce in season 5 seem to point to a more isolated Buffy. She may be surrounded by friends, but ultimately, she is alone in her destiny. None of her friends are linked by fate to the eternal battle of good versus evil in the way that Buffy is (the only possible exceptions being Giles and Spike, if you count him as a friend.) Whatever is coming is in the end of the season (and by now, I'm sure we all know what that is), she will have to face it alone.

In "I Was Made To Love You," Buffy is reminded of her solitary status in her discussion with Warren and her final conversation with April, the love robot. Buffy relates to Warren's confusion when he didn't love the "perfect" mate. She understands April's frustration that Warren abandoned her without giving her an opportunity to "fix" whatever was wrong. Her failed relationship with Riley and the recognition that perhaps all her relationships are doomed to fail are underlying themes punctuated at the end of the episode with the death of Joyce. Buffy's loneliness is emphasized when she finds her mother while alone in the house. This continues in the next episode, "The Body," where Buffy must deal with the death of her mother alone. She has to call the paramedics, and in a scene that stretched my credibility more than some of the vampire stuff, she is left alone in the house with the body until the coroner arrives. Only when Giles arrives does she finally have some support, but even then, she seems very separate from Giles and her friends. When she tells Dawn of their mother's death, Dawn doesn't believe her, and Buffy is even more alone in her grief.

The death of Joyce also seems to mark the end of Buffy's childhood. She alone is now responsible for Dawn, whereas before, she carried the burden of Dawn's safety, while Joyce maintained Dawn's emotional support. As things get hairier with Glory and the Key, Buffy will go further into herself and ultimately face her destiny alone.

As Buffy becomes more isolated, she also becomes more independent. While Giles does come and promise to take care of the necessary paperwork so that Buffy may grieve, it is still Buffy alone who must deal with the real dirty work, such as saving Dawn from the undead guy in the morgue. As I mentioned in a previous blog, Whedon saw Dawn as Buffy's love interest in season 5, and Dawn certainly seems like a catalyst in Buffy's transformation into an independent, free-thinking Slayer. Buffy may learn in "Intervention" that her gift is death, but without Dawn to protect, she would never have had anyone on whom to bestow her gift.