I can definitely see that. Joyce was never one of my favorite characters (not that I disliked her, I just didn't love her), but the way her death hits the gang, every one of them, is so incredibly moving. I don't know if it's the saddest death, but it is perhaps the death that feels the most
real. There are no vampires, demons, or ghosts, no magic curses or evil law firms. It's just something that happened, something that happens to people every day in the real world. I think that makes it so much harder to deal with emotionally.
Especially since I lost my own mother last year, I can't even watch "The Body" anymore. Though my mother's death was not sudden, I can relate to the feelings Buffy experiences: shock, denial and confusion about what to do and how to act.
I'm sorry to hear that, Joanie. Nothing to be said about it, I suppose, as nothing said can change anything, but I care. So there's that, whatever it's worth.🫂
Runner up goes to Fred. I'm not a huge fan of her character, but seeing how much it affects Wes is heartbreaking.
Fred's death wrecks me every time. It's twice as painful for me because (after Doyle's death, and not including Faith because she's technically a
Buffy character and never becomes a main character here, though "
Five by Five" and
"Sanctuary" are some of the best writing in the entire series) Wesley and Fred are my favorite characters, in that order, so I'm dealing with the death of poor Fred and the grief of Wesley at the same time. Like watching Spock die and dealing with Kirk's grief at the same time. It's heartbreaking. I admit it makes me cry with no shame.
Doyle's death is sad "is that it am I done" and is given extra tragedy given what happens to the actor in real life.
I loved Doyle. He was my favorite character in the series until his death (after which, it is Wesley.) It is sad but I think it has a strange note of hopefulness to it as well, being his redemption for his past mistakes, a heroic sacrifice, and one he's okay with. It's always sad when beloved characters die, but when they choose to die in order to save others, I think it softens the blow some (not to say it can't still be devastating) and allows us to also admire and celebrate what they have chosen for themselves.
I think Doyle's death is one of my favorite (as far as being well-written) deaths for a character in fiction. That
"Is that it? Am I done?" at the end just makes it hit so much harder. And Joss was absolutely right to refuse to allow him to be brought back.
Buffys death was also the perfect way to go, if they hadn't brought her back
Yes, she did have a perfect ending in sacrificing herself for Dawn, and for everyone else, the way that she did. Though I love a lot of episodes from the next two seasons (even if some parts of those seasons are handled really poorly), like
Once More With Feeling,
Tabula Rasa, and
Life Serial, it would have been a great point for a spin-off series, perhaps with the Scooby Gang on their own, or with Faith, I don't know. They could have figured something out.
Bit surprised no one's mentioned Jenny Calendar.
This is one of the first people I thought about when I read this question. Aside from Jesse in the pilot, Jenny is the first death of someone close to the main cast, someone we know and love, and it has a huge impact on them (as it did on me) -- Buffy's shock and guilt (over having not killed Angelus), Willow's breakdown, Xander's anger (
"...faster pussycat, kill, kill"), and Giles' desire for revenge. I think it's one of the stronger episodes of the season.
Another death I never hear discussed is Jonathan's. I get that he wasn't a main cast member, or even a main supporting character, but he was on the show since season two's "
Inca Mummy Girl," and appears in twenty-four episodes of the series overall, an entire season's worth. I personally find his death, as a guy we watched struggle with loneliness, depression, and a need for a sense of belonging for years, a guy who allowed himself to be made complicit in evil by Warren, who then realized what he had done and tried to do something right with his life, incredibly sad.
Jonathan: No, I'm serious. I really miss it. Time goes by, and everything drops away. All the cruelty, all the pain, all the humiliation. It all washes away. I miss my friends. I miss my enemies. I miss the people I talked to every day. I miss the people who never knew I existed. I miss 'em all... I wanna talk to them, you know? I wanna find out how they're doing. I - I wanna know what's going on in their lives.
Andrew: You know what? They don't wanna talk to you. All those people you just mentioned? Not
one of them is sitting around going, "I wonder what Jonathan's up to right now?" Not one of them cares about you.
Jonathan: Well, I still care about them. That's why I'm here.
