Rip My Heart Out and Step On It! // Buffy the Vampire Slayer Episode 5x16 Reaction // Sobbing!

[@seanmcmurphy4744]

The reason for the flashback to Christmas dinner at the beginning was that Whedon didn't want the credits to play over the dramatic scenes of Buffy trying to revive her mother

[@grkpektis]

People say that the vampire at the end was unnecessary in a completely grounded episode I 100% disagree. The vampire shows that this is a cruel world that goes on, it doesn't stop because of a sudden tragedy

[@liteflightify]

Who are “people”? I think I’ve only heard or read that opinion one time in my life.

[@grkpektis]

@@liteflightify reactors I’ve seen

[@scarlettmi]

@@grkpektis Any in particular?

[@h.p.chicken]

I have no idea how this episode did not win an Emmy. The way it explores the themes and questions around grief, without providing trite answers or getting preachy, is perfect. Putting Tara and Willow's first on-screen kiss in this episode meant that the kiss was special and meaningful without making a big deal of The Lesbian Kiss Scene, which it could so easily have been (at that time) in any other context. All of the acting is brilliant (but special mentions go out to SMG and Emma Caulfield), and the overall production makes this one of, if not THE, greatest episodes of television. Ever.

[@Itsjandz105]

I've always been amazed by that myself. Emmy voters are clueless.

[@sirmoonslosthismind]

awards are just popularity contests. _buffy_ was never cool with its contemporaries. everyone in hollywood today who cites _buffy_ as an influence is part of a younger generation that watched _buffy_ on tv.

[@grkpektis]

@@h.p.chicken The West Wing won that year, an overrated POS show no one talks about anymore

[@gehrehmee]

Emma Caulfield was so amazing in this.

[@rfresa]

"I wish that Joyce didn't die" has extra significance from a former vengeance demon who knows how dangerous wishes can be.

[@Buffy8Fan]

Most reaction viewers don't start this episode's reaction with a happy wave. That caught me off guard. Most start off sad and/or worried.

[@BenBanjo87]

Dawn is denial Willow is despair Xander is anger Anya is bargaining Tara is acceptance Buffy is humanity 💔💔

[@killianlpc]

Brooke, the fact that you go to this episode without being spoiled for it is amazing in itself. Many rate The Body as the best episode of BTVS ever, I don't personally, however The Body is one of the greatest episodes of tv drama ever shown. Whedon is a master at torturing the viewers. The fact that his episode has no music, and when Buffy opens the back door and hears the children playing it is so real, that even when a person has a personal tragedy life goes on as normal for all other people, it is all very human and ordinary, this is why it is so incredible. So many people watching The Body, myself included, have had an almost exact experience to this, this is why it is so brilliantly written and directed. SMG puts in an incredible performance here, and it is criminal that she was not awarded for this. This is why S5 is amazing. However I think there is one more episode in this Season which even surpasses this! Season 5 was a Zenith for the show.

[@Dunybrook]

Yep, this is the one that really sets this show apart as anything but just another teen drama if the previous seasons hadn't already. Take care.

[@sirmoonslosthismind]

greatest episode you'll never want to see again!

[@annaling4839]

That it's no music make the episode even better

[@trexinvert]

No music. Brooke speechless. Feels so real.

[@grkpektis]

I noticed that Anya talks a lot less about her demon days/ victims after this episode. I don’t think she’s as proud of what she’s done now that she’s seen death in a different way. In Wish she even hinted to Giles that she has murdered people by her own hands not just by wishes

[@seanmcmurphy4744]

Anya's journey from demon to human emotions is one of wonderful background stories this season. She has undoubtedly killed tens of thousands of men during her 1123 years as a demon, but without human mortality or emotions she had no interest in death or the grief of their loved ones so she doesn't know anything about funeral customs. Her speech shows this is her first confrontation with mortality.

[@grkpektis]

@@seanmcmurphy4744 she also had the power to bring people back from the dead like the Master so of course life and death meant nothing someone who could warp reality with a couple of words.

[@blacktronlego]

2:57 Particularly creepy because it is specifically a sex-bot Buffy. 12:27 Of course not, but Willow has to worry about something she can control as she can't process the feeling of what she can't control. I was fortunate that I never knew three of my grandparents as they died before I was born. My other grandma lived to be over 100 and I think she was happy to finally go, as hey body was gradually failing her, my parents are still alive so I have never had to deal with that kind of grief for someone close.

[@ShadowThundercat-u1e]

Web fan had a parent die very unexpectedly when he was i think 26, based a lot of the episode on that, hence the realism (except for the vampire, but that just makes it Buffy). Easily one of the best episodes ever made.

[@MathisChronicles]

I'm Gen X and loved watching Buffy and then Angel. Josh Whedon was awesome. I've watched the reruns over the years, and this is the one episode I cannot rewatch as I literally found my mother dead as well 🙏RIP mom, I miss you everyday

[@CURohrer]

12:49 I love how fast you caught this. ❤

[@Stuman57]

I have a theory: When Dawn did what she did to herself. Not knowing who she is. If she is even real?! The reason Buffy told her right there, to me is, the fact that she knew all of Dawn's classmates were watching her tell Dawn obviously devastating news, life changes news.This is when Dawn became a "real girl". Other people are actually watching me respond to this secret. But also Buffy telling Dawn, at school, even if it might be embarrassing to break down in front of her peers. It showed Dawn, and all her peers, that she is that important to Buffy, that she deserved to find out A.S.A.P. Does any of that make sense?

[@anthonycampos8057]

I hope you react to Sons of Anarchy.