To me, The Body is much more brutal than The Hunger Games. I sobbed like a baby during THG, but I was physically ill during The Body. (Then again, my mom had cancer when it aired and it wasn't going well at all.)
I know so many people who haven't been able to watch The Body again. It's just too gutting.
I find I can't summarise either of them without tearing up, but even though my mother is undergoing chemo (or, well not) at the moment, I still think they're of a quantum level of fuck-you-over.
I think I found THG far more disturbing than "The Body." But it could be a recency effect.
I too, sobbed like a baby during Hunger Games, but The Body felt like a person I loved had actually died. There was no distance for me at all.
My uncle, who hardly watches series TV came across The Body shortly after my grandma died and sat and watched the whole thing, so I don't even think the reaction is based on knowing the people in the Buffyverse and being invested.
I know so many people who haven't been able to watch The Body again. It's just too gutting.
raises hand
I'm one of 'em.
Mind you, I've been told that I shouldn't read Hunger Games for at least another year, so I can't make a comparison.
raises hnd too
I saw it once, and I think that will do for me for the forseeable future.
I sobbed at "The Body" and have avoided watching it since.
I also sobbed reading "The Book Thief" and Mark got through that. I think he'll be OK.
The clincher here is that he just seems SO much more invested in Joyce than most fans. I mean, I love Joyce. Lots of people did. But he obviously has a much deeper attachment than usual. He's gonna break.
"The Body" aired after my dad died. I don't really whether or not I cried, I assume I did. I remember the episode made me angry.
Monday it looks. We've got Phases and then Bewitched, etc. to finish out this week.
He should love Phases, then, since he's all about Oz, and about Willow/Oz. Yay!
I saw it once, and I think that will do for me for the forseeable future.
I watched it more than once, and it was sad, but acceptably so. Then Tim's mom died, and I'm pretty sure I can never watch it again. That and "Up."