‘The Vampire Diaries’: Sheriff Forbes’ Death Paralleled a Tragic Death in ‘Buffy the Vampire Slayer’
The Vampire Diaries and Buffy the Vampire Slayer were both shows that featured supernatural beings. However, there might be more similarities than most viewers realize. Some of the storylines were eerily comparable.
It turns out that Sheriff Forbes’ death in The Vampire Diaries paralleled a tragic death in Buffy the Vampire Slayer.
The devastating death of Sheriff Forbes in ‘The Vampire Diaries’
Millions of fans were emotional when Sheriff Forbes died in The Vampire Diaries. Liz Forbes was a fan favorite as the sheriff of Mystic Falls and Caroline Forbes’ mother.
According to Fandom, Sheriff Forbes was adamant about helping the supernatural group in any way she could. Despite being initially shocked when finding out her daughter is a vampire, she eventually comes to terms with it and loves Caroline for who she is after learning more about the supernatural world.
It was in the season 6 episode titled “Stay” that Liz died of cancer, and it was heart-wrenching. She succumbed to an illness with no loophole cures, which were common in The Vampire Diaries, and given that she was not a member of the supernatural, there was no redemption.
According to The Hollywood Reporter, the show’s executive producer Julie Plec said they wanted Caroline to have a profound experience in the death of her beloved mother.
Plec said, “We wanted to tell a death that mattered. This is the first one since [the loss of the ability to communicate with] the other side. This death will be permanent and it will matter. And it’s so emotional. When we were shooting it, everybody was crying. It’s just beautiful.”
Joyce Summers sadly died in ‘Buffy the Vampire Slayer’
In one of the most tragic scenes featured in Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Joyce, Buffy’s mom, dies from complications while healing from a tumor.
Screenrant reports that in the shocking moment, Buffy comes home to find her mother unresponsive, with her eyes wide open, lying on the couch, which hit her pretty hard. Although Joyce had been fighting cancer for a year, she had been perfectly fine just that morning, leaving Buffy that much more shocked to find her dead.
After walking toward her mother and asking, “Mom?” then whispering, “Mommy?” Buffy attempts CPR and calls 911, but Joyce, sadly, is gone. She later learns from the doctor that her mother died painlessly from a brain aneurysm.
Sheriff Forbes’ death paralleled the death of Buffy’s mother
They are two different television shows, so how is it that Liz’s death actually paralleled the death of Joyce?
Well, both shows actually featured the deaths of quite a few characters. Still, as one would expect in any series about vampires, the deaths are typically embedded in the laws of the supernatural world. Many of the characters who died in both The Vampire Diaries and Buffy the Vampire Slayer came back to life. However, in the case of Liz and Joyce, this didn’t happen.
Anyone can see that the deaths are also similar in that both characters died from terminal illnesses. Still, they parallel each other even more so since both deaths actually ground the characters and audience in how normal and human they are. Neither one of them died in a way that might be expected in a vampire series, and according to Express, the deaths were a gentle reminder to everyone that no one is immortal.
