Sarah Michelle Gellar just dropped an emotional tribute to her Buffy the Vampire Slayer co-star Michelle Trachtenberg, and honestly, we’re not okay. Someone pass the tissues… and maybe a vampire-slaying stake for emotional support.
Michelle, best known as Dawn “I-was-magically-inserted-into-this-family” Summers, was found dead on Wednesday (February 26) at the age of 39. Reports indicate she had recently undergone an organ transplant.
In true Buffy fashion, Sarah Michelle took to Instagram to express her grief with a slightly tweaked but still soul-crushing quote from the show.
She wrote, “Michelle, listen to me. Listen. I love you. I will always love you. The hardest thing in this world, is to live in it. I will be brave. I will live… for you” 💔💔💔🗝️.
If that quote sounds familiar, it’s because it’s a version of Buffy’s iconic season five finale speech—you know, the one that made us all sob uncontrollably and reevaluate our entire existence. Back then, Buffy was saying it to Dawn, Michelle’s character, in one of the most gut-wrenching moments in TV history. And now? Well, now we’re crying all over again.
RIP, Michelle. You will always be the Key. 💔