Buffy The Vampire Slayer: 5 Times Joyce Was The Best Mom (5 ...

In the world of Buffy the Vampire Slayer, most parents aren't exactly present. Giles' parents would be back in the UK (assuming they are alive and in contact), Xander's parents seem to fight a lot and ignore him, Willow's parents just ignore her, and for obvious reasons, Angel or Spike don't exactly have parents in the picture! Which leaves Joyce Summers, the woman who raised a Slayer, and did her absolute best to keep her safe.

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Joyce was a Mom who tried hard, and was impressively understanding, given Buffy's situation. But she is only human, and there are definitely a few times that she really dropped the parenting ball.

Do Better: Ignoring Her For A Boyfriend

When Joyce met Ted, everything changed. At first, Ted just seemed like a nice man who wanted to date her, but Buffy realized that something was up... and soon discovered that Ted was sneaking into her room, threatening her, and going through her things. When she told her mother, Joyce refused to believe her, taking Ted's side. Now, while this is not ok, it's worth noting that Joyce was actually drugged throughout this, and wasn't herself. However, even at the start, she chose not to let Buffy know that she wanted to date, and that's something that absolutely should have happened.

Best: Cheerfully Moved To Give Buffy A Chance

One of the most impressive things about Joyce isn't how she behaved after she learned that Buffy was the slayer, but before. After Buffy was expelled for burning down a gym, Joyce upped and left, moving to California, finding a new job, and trying to give Buffy the best second chance she could. It takes a lot to uproot an entire life for the sake of a child, but Joyce didn't just do it, she did it with a smile, and tried her best to stay cheerful throughout.

Do Better: Slept With Giles

Much like her situation with Ted, Joyce isn't entirely to blame for this one - she ate the magically altered Band Candy that led her to start acting like a teenager, not like a parent.

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However, it's hard to overlook the fact that during this time she slept with Giles - Buffy's Watcher! Having a magic-induced wild night and hooking up with someone is one thing, but making that someone Buffy's boss (of sorts)? Yikes, Joyce.

Best: Attacked Spike With An Axe

After Spike was chipped (or had his soul back), Joyce was a real friend to him, and these two actually had an impressively close relationship. Before that, though, she had no compunction about taking out evil Spike - and that's just cool. She gets extra mom points for taking on a vampire with an axe to protect her daughter  - it's clearly not just Buffy who is willing to fight when the situation calls for it.

Do Better: Didn't Notice Her Teen Sneaking Out

As amazing as it is that Joyce was incredibly understanding and supportive of Buffy before she knew she was the Slayer, she really should have been paying a little more attention. Her daughter had just been expelled for burning down a gym, and yet Buffy was still able to sneak out virtually every night, not to mention have her grades slip, cut school, and have an adult man/vampire sneak into her room. Joyce may be busy, but she should really be paying a little more attention than this.

Best: Gets To Know All Buffy's Friends

Unlike all the other parents of the Scooby Gang, Joyce really does try to get to know everyone, and essentially become a surrogate mother figure for the whole gang. She has no issues with Willow and Xander hanging around all the time, she welcomes everyone in, she tries to throw birthday parties, all in all, she actually does an incredible job of being engaged with her daughter's social circle.

Do Better: Tried To Burn Them All As Witches

Once again, magic takes Joyce down. In this episode, she ends up convinced not only that there are witches, but that they have to be burned at the stake - bad news for the Scooby Gang.

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Admittedly, she was under a spell, and she didn't really know what she was doing... but still. This list simply wouldn't be complete without the 'tried to murder people' entry.

Best: Takes Dawn As Her Own

Dawn wasn't Buffy's 'real' sister, having been created as a human form of the Key in order to be protected by the Slayer. However, even after the whole family knew that Dawn hadn't been with them forever, and was actually magical energy that was bringing all kinds of god-level wrath down on them, Joyce didn't even consider treating her as anything less than her real daughter. It's this kind of moment that shows just how much Joyce really does care.

Do Better: Kicked Her Out Of The House

Of course, Joyce isn't exactly the best and most accepting mother all the time. When Buffy came out to her as the Slayer, Joyce essentially kicked her out (telling her never to come back). When Buffy didn't, she was accused of running away, and her friends were not quite as thrilled as she might hope to see her. No one seemed to really pay much attention, though, to the fact that she didn't just run away for fun, but her mother literally told her never to come home - an extreme, and unacceptable, reaction to finding out this kind of secret.

Best: Accepted Her Slayer Destiny

Bad initial reactions aside, Joyce did an incredible job being the mom of a Slayer. She eventually accepted it, tried to help Buffy, invited Faith into her home as another Slayer, and tried to find ways of supporting her daughter no matter what. She may have tried to lay down the law at times, and not tried quite hard enough at others, but at the end of the day, she made it clear that Buffy would always be loved (and always be her little girl), and that is worth everything else... even magic-induced attempted murder.

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