Episode 95 - Intentional Pigtails (Forever)

The grief of “The Body” doesn’t end when the episode does.

This week on The Sunnydale Diaries, Melanie and Sean discuss Buffy the Vampire Slayer Season 5, Episode 17, “Forever,” as Buffy and Dawn struggle with Joyce’s death in very different ways. Buffy throws herself into handling everything that needs to be done, while Dawn becomes increasingly desperate to find a way, any way, to bring her mother back.

We talk about the messy, nonlinear stages of grief, Buffy’s guilt and emotional walls, Dawn’s turn toward resurrection magic, and Willow making some increasingly questionable choices of her own. Plus, Spike shows a surprisingly sincere side, Giles quietly remembers Joyce, Angel returns at exactly the moment Buffy needs him, and Joel Grey shows up as the extremely mysterious andsomewhat unsettling Doc.

And when a knock finally comes at the Summers’ front door, Buffy and Dawn are forced to confront what they’ve both been avoiding.

Melanie also gives her prediction for “Intervention,” which apparently involves Giles, a gourd, and possibly a cult.