Keeping Buffy's death a secret...how?

[Tueuse de Vampires]

Okay, at the beginning of season 6, the gang lets the BuffyBot substitute for the real Buffy as we all know. What we also know is that they spend a lot of energy in actually hiding Buffy's death, they said it's important that the world (so both demons/vampires and human) think Buffy is still alive.
But here's the thing...how the hell did they manage that?
What I mean is, at the end of season5 we see Buffy's grave. First of all, wouldn't anyone notice that grave? Okay, from what we've seen it was pretty hidden, but surely SOMEBODY could've stumbled across it? Also, she had a gravestone that probably didn't just get there by chance, somebody had to make it. So really, how did they manage to keep Buffy's death a secret?

 

[Perny]

Who says the demon knows Buffy's name? no demon one ever referred to her by name...only called her "Slayer"

 

[Karol]

I can stand the demons not knowing she´s dead... they are kinda stupid.
What I don´t get is how can she start a job with a death certificate u.u

 

[Perny]

^Her job wasn't the most.... certificate craving one... I mean, to work on DMP all you should know is basicly: Don't ask question, and don't fry the fries with your hand

 

[Karol]

^Her job wasn't the most.... certificate craving one... I mean, to work on DMP all you should know is basicly: Don't ask question, and don't fry the fries with your hand

And what about the school? And the time she was at the bank? Social Services? lol

 

[Perny]

^ The school didn't take a certificate sincs Robin asked her to take the job.
And the two others... She blabbered away, and got the job if she would shut up

 

[white avenger]

If the Scoobies covered up Buffy's death, which they obviously did, and buried her in a secluded area that the witches somehow shielded so that no one outside the group would find it, there would never have been a death certificate, therefore no questions after the real Buffy came back.

 

[LittleMissLikesToFight]

But there are so many powerful witches and seers etc. couldn't they sense something as extraordinary as a death of a slayer?

 

[Karol]

Sure! She was dead, and they just took her body to the woods, made a deep hole.... then bought a beautiful coffin and made a LAPID? Doesn´t make any sense lol

 

[hannahfngrl26]

I would have to think considering there was a Buffy Bot in her place no one would have any idea that she was dead. As far as the grave stone maybe Xander commisioned it and they buried her together? Who knows but really with all of the mystical tools at their disposal I dont think it would be that hard to keep her death a secret.

 

[white avenger]

As weird as it might seem, coffins ARE sold for purposes other than to bury someone in, and in a place like Sunnydale? Probably downright common.

 

[Lindsey McDonald]

Ok, didn't we have this topic not too long ago? I distinctly remember arguing for waaaay too long for sane people with IM about the legitimacy of the Scoobs stealling a coffin from a funeral home.

 

[Spirit_Of_Fred]

the powers that be did it.

 

[caitaintdead]

Well as I remember posting about this quite recently I won't go into to much detail, but it has always bothered me that it wasn't explained very well.

I don't understand WHY Giles and Spike wanted to keep it covered up, obviously Giles wouldn't think that the Buffybot was going to be able to convince everyone/thing in Sunnydale that it was Buffy forever did they?

It's easy to use the Buffy get out of jail free card for everything that seems to be a plot hole in Buffy (magic) but I think in this case it is seriously messed up!

 

[fly on the wall]

Yeah, there was a topic similar to this not too long ago.

But anyway, the writers knew they were bringing Buffy back that episode, so the cover-up didn't need to make sense. 🙂

For the sake of the show making sense though, here's my theory:
- Willow conjured up a coffin and headstone using magic;
- No death certificate or government notification since the death was completely covered up...had there been a death certificate, autopsy, etc etc, Dawn would have most certainly been taken away and given to Mr. Summers, which obviously didn't happen. Besides, what reason would the Scoobies have given to why Buffy died? They could have lied, sure, but that would have been a) very fishy, and b) I think an autopsy would put a hole in whatever cover-up story they thought of;
- Buffy wasn't exactly THE Slayer anymore, Faith was, so mystically I don't think anyone would have known.

 

[BuffyElevated]

Maybe they just didn't want to have to try to make up some excuse for how/why she died, so they chose to keep it a secret. 🙂


As far as the headstone thing, maybe Xander had a buddy who made it, with him being in construction and everything? That would be one way to get around people asking questions. And I fully agree that in a town like Sunnydale it's gotta be hella easy to get ahold of a coffin without anyone finding out. 😉

 

[white avenger]

Another reason to cover up Buffy's death that hasn't been brought up so far would be to allow everybody's favorite brat/kid sister to remain there with people who really cared about her, rather than have to go and live with Buffy's wayward father and his new wife. Plus, I'm sure that Giles would have been at least a little cautious about Dawn, being the Key, being taken somewhere where he couldn't keep an eye on her, at least for a few months, to make sure that she wasn't going to accidentally open any dimensional portals.

 

[caitaintdead]

So does that mean that Willow and Tara were planning on looking after her forever? I can't see Giles wanting to just leave her in Sunnydale l like that. And I still can't get past the fact that they were trying to make people believe that Buffybot was Buffy. Maybe it is a short term solution, but there is just no possible way that the Buffybot would be able to live out Buffys life without anyone finding out.

Who did know that Buffy had died apart from the scoobs? I never saw the Angel episodes around that time so I don't know if they knew...

 

[white avenger]

So does that mean that Willow and Tara were planning on looking after her forever? I can't see Giles wanting to just leave her in Sunnydale l like that. And I still can't get past the fact that they were trying to make people believe that Buffybot was Buffy. Maybe it is a short term solution, but there is just no possible way that the Buffybot would be able to live out Buffys life without anyone finding out.

Who did know that Buffy had died apart from the scoobs? I never saw the Angel episodes around that time so I don't know if they knew...

They would only have had to look out for Dawn until she came of legal age (18 in California, I think), and if the Buffy Bot was kept more or less isolated from outsiders, as seemed to be the case except for the one time that she/it went to Parents' Day with Dawn, for that amount of time. After that, "Buffy" could have simply left town for whatever reason would seem logical at the time.

And, yes, Buffy's death was mentioned on "Angel", both at the end of Season 2 and the beginning of Season 3, though the exact details of his and the others there in LA who knew her were never mentioned.

 

[Spirit_Of_Fred]

Besides, what reason would the Scoobies have given to why Buffy died? They could have lied, sure, but that would have been a) very fishy

compared with the other things that happen in sunnydale? i think they might question it a little, but then would move on. maybe not even at all. think how many people must have died there from demons or other mystical circumstances. even if they figured it was weird or they were lying, including post autopsy, what could they do? to their knowledge, the scoobies would have no more knowledge of what mystical creature killed her than a sad set of parents whose daughter/son also got killed in sunnydale.

- Buffy wasn't exactly THE Slayer anymore, Faith was, so mystically I don't think anyone would have known.

well, buffy was still killing them all in sunnydale, and with her gone and faith in LA jail, it would make the hellmouth area open territory. so, if any demons or anything were keeping tabs on her, they would probably have known. not to mention that she clearly still has the slayer in her, or she wouldnt still be able to fight the way she does.