Review
Rob
Although it takes a much more traditional approach to death in fantasy TV than Joss Whedon's experiments with The Body, Marti Noxon's take on the death of Joyce is in no way a lesser piece.
Buffy isn't reality TV, and resurrection, however misguided it may be, is the first thing you would expect from the Scoobies under these circumstances.
It's interesting to note that Willow's approach to magic becomes much more cavalier from here on in. She means well, but doesn't have Tara's maturity when it comes to dabbling with the forces of darkness.
Good to see David Boreanaz back, albeit briefly. He seems so established on his own series now, that seeing him in Sunnydale feels rather odd. Make the most of it though, those pesky networks will be having none of that kind of thing from now on.
Kim
What happens if you won't let go? When you can't process the grief and accept someone's gone? You reanimate the stumbling corpse of your mother.
Grieving is important. Check. Colour me 'Point taken'.
This episode feels heavy-handed and overly metaphorical after The Body. The funeral scene is hackneyed: if you've seen To Die For, you'll understand why I was waiting for one of the girls to step forward with a tape recorder.
The Body very cleverly hid all of the significant action from us, handling death in an unconventional and thus powerful way. Here we're shown all of the funerary cinematic clichés that you could possibly roll out.
It could just be the contrast from last week's episode - maybe it was rushed after the strain of shooting The Body. Maybe the cast had acted themselves dry, or maybe it was just poor direction, but this has 'Could do better' all over it.
