Guest Starring: 
     
 Amber Benson: 
 (Tara) 
   
 David Boreanaz: 
 (Angel) 
   
 Clare Kramer: 
 (Glory) 
   
 Charlie Weber: 
 (Ben) 
   
 Troy T Blendell: 
 (Jinx) 
   
 Joel Grey: 
 (Doc) 
   
 Todd Duffy: 
 (Murk) 
   
 
 
  17. Forever.  
   
  Joyce's funeral is held. Dawn cannot accept what has happened however, and tries to raise her mother from the dead.  
   
  Great quotes:  
   
 
    Joyce's funeral.
  • Buffy: "It's tomorrow that I'm worried about." Angel: "What's tomorrow?" Buffy: "That's exactly what I don't know."
  • Ben: "Tell Glory I'm tired of running into her 'Jawa' rejects."
  • Anya to Dawn: "Don't you watch television? I thought all children despise effort and enjoy cartoons."
  • Anya tells Xander that she understands sex better now, "... it's about making life." He responds by telling her "Right, when two people are much older and way richer, and far less stupid."
  
  Fantastic moments:  
   
 
    Angel and Buffy together again.
  • Bringing Angel back, even for just a couple of scenes, was sure to be a winner with the audience. He and Buffy kiss for a moment, but they agree that they should remain apart.
  • The demonic warlock 'Doc' is ever so creepy, "You keep in touch now." he tells Dawn, brilliantly played by Joel Grey.
  • In the scene where Tara realises that Dawn has the book on resurrection spells we get to see a little of the old Willow; defensively timid and cute in her hurried denials of doing anything wrong.
  
  Duff Bits:  
   
 
  • Don't you need 'power' to cast spells? That's what Tara is always going on about. How can little Dawn attempt cast such a massive spell if she's never even so much as levitated a pencil?
  • The 'Gora' demon is really scraping the SFX barrel. Plus, Spike bests the demon rather easily; it seems that this resurrection spell is quite easy to cast.
  
  Dean's comments:  
   
 
Dawn casts a spell to try to bring Joyce back.
Just to make sure we knew Joyce wouldn't be coming back by mystical means, we have 'Forever'. The idea of the episode is well-intentioned, but we know that Joyce isn't coming back (or else what was the point of the epic that is 'The Body') so it's a little hollow having an episode in which she might come back. The portrayal of death here is much closer to what one usually sees in TV and film drama, with suitably sombre music to signpost the sadness for the audience. Although no-where near the emotional outpourings of the previous episode, 'Forever' tries to say something about coping with death too. Anya makes a point about how death is necessary so that there can be new life, while Tara tells Dawn about coping with loss, "You make a place for her in your heart...". Willow, on the other hand, helps Dawn find a spell to resurrect Joyce. We get Spike's first reaction to Joyce's passing "She was decent, I liked her." after his absence from 'The Body'. The final scenes are packed with emotion, as it is Buffy who is desperate to see her mother again after she has just preached to Dawn about how it is wrong to bring her back unnaturally. Dawn is the one who breaks the spell then, tearing up the image of Joyce as Buffy opens their front door. Thus any possible re-union is stolen from Buffy and she breaks down in tears in her sister's arms.		 
   
 7/10 
 
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