weird occurrences. How many times have you washed blood out of my clothing and you still haven't figured it out?" Joyce responds by trying to restrict Buffy again, then attempting to physically restrain her, at which point Buffy ends Joyce's ideas of parental authority by easily overpowering her and walking out the door. Despite her difficulty with understanding Buffy, Joyce frequently expresses her love for her daughter and supports her when other adults do not. The love Joyce expresses is interpreted by scholars as an attempt to compensate for having failed to understand intuitively that something was going on with her daughter before the revelation that Buffy is the Slayer. Following that revelation, Joyce makes many attempts to understand what a Slayer does. Many scenes showing Joyce giving love and support to Buffy take place in their home, establishing it as center of motherly devotion, stability, and safety. Shots are usually composed so that the two are not seen in the same frame, or are separated by objects such as tables, or placed in opposite sides of rooms, a visual representation of Joyce's inability to understand her daughter's responsibilities and powers. Seasons 3 and 4 The third season opens with Buffy returning home from Los Angeles at the end of "Anne". Joyce and Buffy are at first very ill at ease with each other during the next episode "Dead Man's Party", while Buffy starts to understand how difficult Joyce's time has been without her. Sutherland welcomed the change; she felt the relationship between Joyce and Buffy "became so much richer" after Joyce finally knew of and faced Buffy's role as the Slayer. The overt conflict of "Dead Man's Party" has Joyce bringing home a cursed mask that calls zombies to the house while a party is occurring, killing several people. Author Nikki Stafford sees the zombies at the party as symbolism for the utter confusion of dealing with Buffy's return. During the party, Buffy feels so uncomfortable around her family and friends she considers leaving again. Joyce and Buffy's best friend Willow Rosenberg (Alyson Hannigan) both angrily confront Buffy; Joyce admits that she does not know all the answers and that giving Buffy an ultimatum was a mistake. The episode marks Joyce's return as a parent; her recognition of her own shortcomings in the error of pushing Buffy away is a measure of nobility common among Joss Whedon's characters. Following