Whedons Finest Hours
Thursday, 29 October 2009 00:00
To celebrate the second season premiere of Dollhouse, Entertainment Weekly.com published its listing of the 25 best episodes from the Whedonverse. The fifth-season Buffy the Vampire Slayer episode titled “The Body,” in which Joyce Summers dies, ranked first. EW.com writes: “If there's any argument to be made for the short-sighted irrelevance of the Emmy Awards — which marginalized Buffy for the entirety of its run — this episode should be exhibit A. Expertly written and directed by Whedon, ‘The Body’ is all about the emotional devastation caused by the sudden, tragically natural death of Buffy's mother, Joyce (Kristine Sutherland). Deft and heartbreaking, ''The Body'' isn't just the best episode in the Whedonverse: It might be the best hour of television we've ever seen.”
Death also played a major role in the top-ranked Angel episode, “A Hole in the World,” which came in fourth overall. “Death comes often in the Whedonverse — but even when that death is devastating, it's usually quick,” EW.com wrote. “When Winifred Burkle (Amy Acker) was chosen to be the corporeal host of a god older than time, her demise was long, painful, and lingering. (And Acker astonishes as the girl who walks with heroes and still can't be saved by them.) As Spike stares, hopeless, at what should've been salvation, he sums it all up: ‘There’s a hole in the world. Feels like we ought to have known.’”
