Buffy the Vampire Slayer (TV Series)

Dead Man's Party (1998)

Kristine Sutherland: Joyce Summers

Photos 

Quotes 

• Joyce Summers : Oh, look. It's, uh, Nigerian. We got a very exciting shipment in at the gallery. I, um, thought I'd hang a few pieces in here. It cheers up the room.

  Buffy Summers : It's angry at the room, Mom. It wants the room to suffer.

• Principal Snyder : Absolutely not. Under no circumstances.

  Joyce Summers : But... you can't keep her out of school. You don't have the right.

  Principal Snyder : I have not only the right, but also a nearly physical sensation of pleasure at the thought of keeping her out of school. I'd describe myself as tingly.

  Joyce Summers : Buffy was cleared of all those charges.

  Principal Snyder : Yes, and while she may live up to the not-a-murderer requirement for enrollment, she is a troublemaker, destructive to school property and the occasional student. And her grade point average is enough to... I'm sorry. Another tingle moment.

• Joyce Summers : You going out?

  Buffy Summers : Oh. Um... well, i-if it's okay. I, um... I'd like to find Willow and Xander.

  Joyce Summers : Will you be slaying?

  Buffy Summers : Only if they give me lip.

• Joyce Summers : Don't worry about school, honey. If we can't get you back into Sunnydale, maybe we can swing private school.

  Buffy Summers : Private school? You mean like jackets and kilts? You want me to get field hockey knees?

  Joyce Summers : It's not that bad.

  Buffy Summers : What about home schooling? You know, it's not just for scary religious people anymore.

  Joyce Summers : We'll work something out. Okay? Say hi to Willow?

• Joyce Summers : You now what? That's it. You and I are gonna have a talk.

  Buffy Summers : Mom, please.

  Joyce Summers : You know what? I don't care! I don't care what your friends think of me or you for that matter, because you put me through the ringer, Buffy. I mean it. And I've had schnapps. Do you have any idea what it's been like?

  Buffy Summers : Mom, this isn't the place...

  Joyce Summers : You can't imagine months of not knowing, not knowing whether you're lying dead in a ditch somewhere or, I don't know, living it up!

  Buffy Summers : But you told me! You're the one who said I should go! You said if I leave this house, don't come back! You found out who I really was and you couldn't deal! Don't you remember?

  Joyce Summers : [more angry]  Buffy, you didn't give me time! You just dump this thing on me and you expected me to get it? Well, guess what. Mom's not perfect, okay? I handled it badly! But that doesn't give you the right to punish me by running away!

  Buffy Summers : Punish you? I didn't do this to punish you.

  Xander Harris : Well, you did. You should've seen what you put her through.

  Buffy Summers : Great. Thanks. Anybody else want to weigh in here? How about you by the dip?

  Jonathan Levinson : No, thanks... I'm good.

  Xander Harris : You know, maybe you don't want to hear it, Buffy... but taking off like you did was incredibly selfish and stupid!

  Buffy Summers : Okay. Okay! I screwed up! I know this! But you have no idea! You have... you have no idea what happened to me or what I was feeling!

  Xander Harris : Did you even try talking to anybody?

  Buffy Summers : No. There was nothing anybody could do. Okay? I just had to deal with this on my own!

  Xander Harris : Yeah, and you see how well that one worked out. You can't just bury stuff, Buffy. It'll come right back up to get you.

• Joyce Summers : Uh, as for private schools, um, Miss Porter's accepts late admissions. I, uh, I wrote the information down for you.

  Buffy Summers : A girls' school...? So now it's jackets, kilts, and no boys? Care to throw in a little foot-binding?

• [first lines] 

  [Joyce hammering a nail into the wall as Buffy enters] 

  Buffy Summers : Mom?

  [startled she puts the hammer through the wall] 

  Joyce Summers : Oh! Buffy... Um...

  Buffy Summers : Sorry.

  Joyce Summers : No, no, no. Don't worry about it. I guess I just got used to all the quiet while you were gone.