Buffy the Vampire Slayer legacy star learned about a major character's death 20 years later

Buffy the Vampire Slayer is a pop-culture phenomenon today, with over two decades of loyal fans, but sometimes even longtime actors can overlook huge moments. Charisma Carpenter, the actress who played Cordelia Chase in Buffy the Vampire Slayer and its spin-off series Angel, recently shared a startling revelation: she was unaware that one of the most iconic moments in the series for the longest time, that being the death of Joyce Summers in the episode titled “The Body,” had actually occurred on screen.

Carpenter narrated the story in a podcast by Katee Sackhoff. She said that she discovered the scene only after one of the other cast members told her about it at a fan panel. She laughed at the very late “spoiler.”

The news was then picked up by entertainment sites after the podcast clip went viral on the internet. Carpenter later claimed that she is in the process of rewatching the Buffy the Vampire Slayer and Angel episodes for her own rewatch podcast, where she can catch up on everything she had missed.

How did Charisma Carpenter find out about Joyce’s on-screen death?

Charisma Carpenter’s revelation is adorable since it feels so real. Actors do not necessarily watch every episode that they do not appear in, and hectic television schedules have a way of distorting the recollection.

Carpenter gave one amusing anecdote during an interview with Katee Sackhoff: she sat on a panel next to Kristine Sutherland, who portrayed Buffy’s mom, Joyce Summers, in Buffy the Vampire Slayer, when she leaned forward and asked in disbelief, "You die?!” Everybody laughed at the surprise, and Sackhoff made a joke that it was a spoiler too soon for her.

“I had no idea that Joyce, Buffy's mom, died! I was on a panel with [Kristine Sutherland] in Portland, two years ago, and she's like talking, and I leaned over and go, 'You die?!' And she goes, 'Yeah.'”

Charisma Carpenter admitted.

Carpenter quit Buffy the Vampire Slayer after the third season to join Angel; hence, she did not see the subsequent Buffy plot development when they were broadcast. The big arc of Joyce’s on-screen death occurs in Season 5, Episode 16, long after she left.

Carpenter is now playing catch-up by viewing the Buffy and Angel episodes in their original air sequence. It is not so much about forgetting as it is about rediscovery of old favorites, and it is a sweet moment, not a scandalous one.

Why Joyce’s death in Buffy the Vampire Slayer still stings

The death of Kristine Sutherland’s character, Joyce Summers, in Season 5, Episode 16 (The Body) of Buffy the Vampire Slayer, was a shock to the audience as they witnessed real grief in a strange way. The episode, written and directed by creator Joss Whedon, has no music, disturbing camera shots, and plenty of silent moments, to demonstrate how a family is confronting an unexpected, natural death, an aneurysm, as opposed to the monster attacks so popular in Buffy.

This switch of tone intensified the feelings. Today, critics and fans continue referring to "The Body” as one of the finest episodes of Buffy the Vampire Slayer and a watershed in TV drama. The impact of the episode could not be missed, even when actress Charisma Carpenter was not present when it first aired.

So when one of the cast members responds with “You die?” it is both funny and sad at the same time. It is a reminder that Buffy did not just focus on fighting supernatural beings, it was also able to depict the suffering of ordinary human loss.

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