In PostMortem, Sarah Silverman’s new Netflix special that serves as her meditation on mortality, she divulges with a straight face that “death is really hard for me, and that’s what makes me unique.”

Even the passing of a simple housefly fills her with dread. The idea that she’d kill a small bug? Really difficult to process, and “almost impossible to make it look like a suicide.” She recently had a problem with too many houseflies buzzing her bedroom, and her partner, comedian Rory Albanese, offered to get rid of them. She reluctantly agreed, even though she knew the insects would be goners.

Silverman left the room and closed the door, listening to the sounds of Rory smacking them with some manner of swatter. Then, ever the considerate boyfriend, he opened a window and yelled loud enough for Silverman to hear, “Bye, guys! Fly safe!”

The episode reminded...