Joyce Summers is a fictional character played by Kristine Sutherland on the television series Buffy the Vampire Slayer. In the episode "Band Candy" we learn that Joyce was rebellious as a teenager, and tended to follow the "cool" crowd. This is somewhat at odds with her having told Buffy she got popular only after working with a school yearbook earlier.

In Los Angeles, as Joyce experiences marital discord with her husband, Hank, their daughter, Buffy, informs them that she has been chosen as the Slayer, and that her destiny is to fight demons. Joyce and Hank, concerned about their daughter's mental health, place Buffy in a psych ward. Buffy is soon released, and the matter is never revisited.

Joyce's marital problems, however, continue, and Buffy later notes that she believes that her father was unfaithful. Buffy begins to get into more trouble, culminating in an event where Buffy burns down the Hemery High School gymnasium. Buffy is expelled from school, and Joyce moves with her to Sunnydale for a fresh start after she and Hank divorce.

In Sunnydale, Joyce owns an art gallery and maintains a close relationship with Buffy, although she has been disappointed by some of Buffy's behavior. Joyce is a protective and loving parent, and she also becomes a maternal presence in the lives of Buffy's friends Willow Rosenberg and Xander Harris. When vampires attack Sunnydale High School on Parent-Teacher Night, Joyce protects her daughter by attacking Spike with an axe after the other survivors flee the school.

She is concerned about Buffy's poor academic performance, but she is proud to realize that Buffy is a strong leader who can take care of herself. Joyce is disturbed when her daughter's boyfriend Angel turns into a stalker (after losing his soul and reverting to Angelus), and is even more upset to later learn that Buffy had lost her virginity to him. Joyce becomes increasingly frustrated with the distance between herself and her daughter.

Later, when police officers visit the house and inform her that Buffy is a murder suspect, Joyce fears the worst. She meets Buffy, who is accompanied by Spike, outside their house. Buffy initially tries to convince her mom that she and Spike are in a band, but when the three are attacked by a vampire, Buffy stakes him in front of her mom before leaving to save the world.

Joyce, stunned by this revelation, demands that Buffy make time to explain things to her: "If you walk out of this house right now, don't even think about coming back." Buffy, taking her at her word, leaves town and spends several months in Los Angeles trying to escape her destiny.

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