A supernatural death

[Skanky Vamp]

Was talking with a buff friend and a non-buffster today, and he (the non-buffster) could not accept Buffy coming back from the dead the second time. To which the buff friend, replied it was a "supernatural death"; as that was the whole catch phrase the following season. What made it a supernatural death?

Warren, who was skinned alive by a witch could have been called a supernatural death; in theory any victim of a vampire, demon or gentleman could have been called a supernatural death. Even Veruca could have been considered a supernatural death.

So if those are supernatural deaths as well, are we to believe that those people could have been brought back from the grave the same as Buffy? Or was it the fact that there was no one else invloved in Buffys death? That no one killed her but supernatural forces? I could see that point. However, if we use that basis, then could not Doyle have been brought back as well?

The only basis for argument is that with Buffy it was a sacrifice, but they never mentioned that, only the supernatural death.

 

[JenniferAlice]

I thought the same thing about Doyle when I was rewatching Angel s1. I'm not sure, like you say, Buffy's death was a sacrifice, but all Willow says is "supernatural forces killed her", and that's why the spell worked.

But yes, aren't most deaths in BtVS supernatural? They could bring the whole cast back from the dead.

 

[Joan the Vampire Slayer]

I think all they meant was that Buffy died a supernatural death because she jumped into this portal of energy. Whereas, Tara, for instance, was shot by a human. This is why she could not be ressurected.

 

[Urgent Power]

There is another catch. The Urn of Osiris. There is (was) only one.

And I don't think all the rest of Sunnydale's deaths were supernatural. If someone is being bitten by a vampire, this person will die because of blood lose, or ripping a vein. It's not supernatural. Buffy was killed by a supernatual energy. So it is supernatural, because the energy was supernatural.

edit: plus, you will need a very powerful witch (like Willow), not everyone has it.

 

[Skanky Vamp]

There is another catch. The Urn of Osiris. There is (was) only one. .

That was only a technicality, Willow was not even at her strongest when she summoned Osiris after Tara's death and she used no Urn for that.

 

[JenniferAlice]

That was only a technicality, Willow was not even at her strongest when she summoned Osiris after Tara's death and she used no Urn for that.

So basically, there was no need for the Urn?

 

[randiann]

That was only a technicality, Willow was not even at her strongest when she summoned Osiris after Tara's death and she used no Urn for that.

I'd argue that the grief Willow was feeling gave her the power to summon Osiris and that she was probably the strongest Witch in the world at that moment. The only way that a witch wouldn't need an urn is if they posessed a crazy amount of power like Willow did right then. She didn't have that when she brought Buffy back to life, therefore the urn was necessary, as it would be in 99.999% of all cases (you know, keeping in mind that this is a fictional show we are talking about).

Also, just wanted to say I agree about the point that Buffy was killed by a supernatural energy vs others being killed by a vampire (supernatural entity) but actually dying from blood loss...that's why Buffy's death was a supernatural death as opposed to other Sunnydale victims.

 

[Lindsey McDonald]

It was a portal. Buffy's soul was stripped from her body (which remained) by supernatural means. In all the other examples there is an actual physical reason for the death, making it natural. Doyle's body was burned away, causing death. Buffy's soul was simply removed from it - the main reason why they thought it was trapped in a hell dimension somewhere.

 

[ILLYRIAN]

Any one of the shows characters could have been brought back to life, but as this was a show primarily about Buffy and not about the ramifications of the craft, the excuse/reason ' it was or wasn't a supernatural death ' is used.

 

[Skanky Vamp]

Doyle's body was burned away, causing death. Buffy's soul was simply removed from it -

That is an assumption; never did it say the portal required the soul of the key but the blood. How do you know her soul was removed and not just she was supernaturally bled dry.
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Edit:
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Any one of the shows characters could have been brought back to life

Understanding that somehow cheapens the whole series in my eyes. But I believe you to be correct (especially since that is my assumption as well)

 

[wehappyfew]

After watching how addicted Willow became to the magicks...I always thought that it was almost like she was justifying the ressurection by saying "supernatural death" rather than that being such a big deal, ya know?

Willow knew that ressurections were not to be toyed with and they have dire consequences, so Buffy might not come back right. But she justified all this (grief btw) by terming it a "supernatural death." And therefore set apart from all the other vamp deaths.

Also the bit about vampire victims not dying from the actual bite but from blood loss and punctured arteries/veins and such...

Still, I think Willow was just rationalizing all weird as she descended into her addiction.

 

[Queen Mum]

Yeah, I agree with the happy few, as I think that especially Willow tried to justify her actions and give them some legitimation. In a way Buffy's death was just so supernatural, nothing to what we had seen beforehand with vampires and demons.

At the same time it also allowed the writers to bring characters back as they saw fit. Wasn't Angel basically brought back after season 2 and also obviously Spike later, so but I don't really mind here. It's not like in Heroes, where everybody gets killed regularly and comes back the next second to stab you in the back.

 

[Skanky Vamp]

After watching how addicted Willow became to the magicks...I always thought that it was almost like she was justifying the ressurection by saying "supernatural death" rather than that being such a big deal, ya know?

No, I dont know, as Willow was not the one that said supernatural death, but Osiris said it. What do you mean?

 

[AgentX7k]

I was fine with it - I'm very technical about stuff like this so when I heard about her resurrection I'm like 'There better be a good reason this can happen and an even better reason why it can't happen again'. But yeah I was happy with the whole mystical death and one urn left which broke thing.

And about the 'mystical death' thing I always took that as being killed by mystical energy or a spell, not exactly being killed by a being of supernatural origin. Although Osiris said 'human death by human means' and Willow conjured him without an urn so I'm not sure.

 

[Skanky Vamp]

Although Osiris said 'human death by human means' and Willow conjured him without an urn so I'm not sure.

Exactly, I think the writers blundered. That's why I said it would have worked better had it said sacrifice as opposed to death.