Buffy The Vampire Slayer 6x07 "Once More, with Feeling" Reaction
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- Опубликовано: 19 авг 2022
- Willow had Tara soaring…. flying 💀
+ EPISODE: S6 E10 (Buffy) IS OUT NOW!
+ EPISODE: S3 E09 (Angel) IS OUT NOW!
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I’m not good with musicals AT ALL, so pls don’t come for me 💀
im not either. the only part i watch is the towards the end whens he tells everybody she was in heaven and then i dip. i just cant lol
It’s my favorite episode of any tv show either. It’s so popular that you can find many many live productions of it on youtube if you look. There is also a ‘making of’ featurette on youtube done by the ‘they got the mustaaaaaard out!’ guy (one of the writers on the show, David Fury.). Also the parking ticket lady was Joss’ co-producer, Marti Nixon.
No worries , Naj. Your reaction was still fun😂
We would never come for you ❤️
I'm not that big a musical person either. Tho I do enjoy Sweeney Todd, and Little Shop of Horrors.
I agree, them using the 'you sing the truth about your thoughts and feelings' concept to advance the plot and basically make this the most important episode so far this season elevates it way beyond what a lot of modern shows do with their 'musical episodes'.
The idea of a musical episode itself wasn't what it is now when this was made, either. Buffy basically helped to popularise it.
I think another thing that helps it stand out from other musical episodes is that Buffy doesn't think it's too good for musicals. They make fun of musical tropes, sure, but it all comes from a place of deep understanding and love. Compare that to a lot of other meta jokes about musicals in musical episodes, where they basically begin and end with "wow, people are singing. Isn't that weird?"
Agreed. Mid-season, they had to finish setting up all the conflicts to be resolved in the back-half. Without a musical episode there would have been an awful lot of boring exposition and petty arguments to get all of the pieces in the right place on the board. It seems so obvious in retrospect, but it really wasn't at the time.
It's the same way they tried to use Hush to make a point about communication (although I personally find this one a lot more successful, honestly).
Another thing; most modern musical episodes don't tend to climax with the lead character trying to un-alive themselves 😅
There's an old adage in musical theatre:
By default, people speak.
When their emotions become to intense for speech, they burst into song.
When their emotions become too intense for song, they burst into dance.
When Sweet is in town, there's a new line:
When their emotions become to intense for dance, they burst into... flame.
I think of this episode as being a sort of sequel to "Hush", at least thematically. In 'Hush', no one was communicating properly until everyone STOPPED talking. In 'Once More With Feeling" everyone is forced to communicate their true feelings - but through song, and everyone's secrets are revealed.
A lot of people think of the musical episode this way. Like an overdue 2-parter to ‘Hush’.
Valid.
This episode, that episode, and "The Body" were all considered "Dare" episodes by Joss Whedon: 1 episode with no major dialogue, 1 with no music, 1 that's all musical.
Speaking of "The Body", I've always considered the follow-up episode "Forever" to be a direct sequel to that. Dawn trying to bring their mother back, but ultimately decides to scrap that.
Joss Whedon said that because Buffy would never tell her friends what they did to her, the only way she could tell them is in a musical where people may uncontrollably sing their feelings/secrets (as they established with Xander and Anya’s song).
The fact that you got to this point without being spoiled for this episode is amazing. A lot of shows that do musical episodes never get it right, and it offers very little to the plot. This however is the exception. Not only is this an innovative episode in term of plot and foreshadowing, it's a damn good 'musical'. The songs are really good and well structured, and just work so well in the episode. There is also great comedy in the episode with the lyrics. Of course the massive reveal for the group is Buffy telling them she was dragged out of Heaven, Spike already knew this of course. Spike getting fed up with singing is very funny towards the end, but what an ending when Buffy follows him. It was brilliantly done, and now with Buffy and Spike kissing, the whole direction of the show takes a strange turn with some brilliant, but disturbing episodes to follow. Love your WTF reaction to the intro to the episode!
For an episode that is so bright and flashy, holy hell it’s dark. So phenomenal.
It's really "Depression: The Musical" and I'm here for it. ^_^
I loooooooove Anya and Xander's number. It's literally their relationship in a nutshell, not just in the lyrics but in how it's structured. They both use sex and comedy to avoid talking about what's really bothering them (Anya's mortality and Xander's commitment issues), so when the secrets start coming out, Anya's all "HEY I'M DANCING CRAZY!!!" It's so genius.
It may only be short but the under your spell reprise by Amber and Anthony is one of the most beautiful things my ears have ever experienced.
Agreed
I love how Buffy was basically singing about wanting a reason to live and begged the demon to kill her in the end
This is probably one of the best musical episodes...EVER!!! This is still one of my favourite episodes of the entire series.
As you said, sometimes shows do musicals and they are just for fun.
The Buffy musical episode is different as it materially progresses the plot lines of each of the characters by using the musical concept that people sing out what they are truly feeling and keeping hidden.
Near the beginning you were wondering who the woman singing about getting a parking ticket in front of the fire hydrant. She is Marti Noxon, executive producer and a writer on the show.
Do you know how many channels I'm following watching Buffy, JUST so I can see them get to this episode?! Finally, someone made it, my life is complete. 😁 Najae 4 President!
I love love LOVE musicals, so this is easily my favorite Buffy episode.
David furry was the mustard man
Marti noxen was the parking ticket lady
The writers in the show are very talented as well musically.
I think Marti Noxen was more than just a writer at this point when Joss was less involved with show running Buffy and busy with Angel
@@Nexusofgeek Oh yes, she became a co-producer in S3, supervising producer in S4 and executive producer for S6 and S7
I love it when a BTVS “Newbie” to the fandom (Still on their first watch thru) get to this episode! I’m posting this comment, as you’re giving your intro….. I’m soooooo freaking excited for you! Buckle up because the rest of this season is amazing! Of course in my opinion, EVERY season of Buffy is amazing! Lol! That’s why I’ve watched the entire series 493 times thru now. I might have an obsession but, I’m ok with that! Sending you love & positive vibes from the Coast of South Carolina! 💗💗💗🎉🎉🎉
12:23 that lady singing is Marti Noxon...I want to say the executive producer. Her name is almost always found under Joss Whedon's name in the credits...fun fact ☝️🤓
I was CERTAIN you were gonna cry finding out they ripped her out of heaven.
I was shocked because I truly didn’t expect it 😭
@@najreactions I didn’t either, but it was one of those things that always stuck out to me. I haven’t watched season 6 or 7 in 20 years since it first aired, but I will never forget that revelation.
@@najreactions but she told spike a couple episodes ago she was in heaven it's hard seeing the gang find out that way though
@@meggo329 yeah I know, I just didn’t think the reveal would be early in the season tbh.
The reaction the whole fan base waits for 💜
Girl I’m SO GLAD YOU FINALLY GOT HERE!!!!
Really delightful reaction to this episode, especially for someone who doesn’t like musicals. I think this is the best episode in the entire series. As you said, it doesn’t interrupt the plot for a standalone episode, but moves the story along in important ways and lays the groundwork for upcoming episodes. And didn’t take the easy road by using known pop songs, but had a completely original score. Quite an achievement.
it's really fantastic.
I’m glad no one spoiled you on this episode. It’s a good one. The demon’s voice is so amazing. I love it. Can’t imagine what it would feel like lip synching to his song with the chin prosthetic lol. & they just expect us to forget about Xander summoning the demon & causing that guy to dance himself up in flames?
This musical reaction is actually everything I need today
12:22 "Who is this?" It's Marti Noxon, my favorite writer from the series.
I hated this season when it came out because I was very young and didn’t understand. As an adult now that has gone through life experiences such as depression, addiction and toxic relationships I can honesty understand and appreciate this season more.
It is my favourite season of TV, ever.
It may be hard to tell sometimes since I’m constantly talking about her negatively, but I love Willow Rosenberg with my whole heart. I love what she represents - the good, the bad, the ugly and the beautiful. It’s all part of her wonderful evolution. And I will not ever think that what she goes through and overcomes in Season 6 is a breaking of her character.
After all, the trough becomes the peak eventually.
i always support buffy, but i don't always like her. i always like willow, but i can't always support her.
@@sirmoonslosthismind and that’s perfectly fine. That’s the relationship you should have with fictional characters. Honest and unbiased.
I still have the soundtrack to this on CD. I love this episode.
This episode Is my fav, I know every breath! Been with you since episode 1 and cried when you cried, thought you would be sad with the heaven reveal cuz it gets me every time haha. Great reaction as always naj and Thankyou for your time! This season is all about human error, your friend is so right. All those things you listed and with the geek trio being around it’s all about how hard it is on earth BEFORE you get to the demons and vampires. (Have you seen Avatar the Last Airbender!)
Oh yes! ATLA is my fav cartoon!
Haha the reactions when people don’t know it’s going to be a musical… always hilarious! 😁
The striking difference of ‘Under Your Spell’ being about how Willow helped Tara come out of her own shell and step into her own light juxtaposed with it also being about how Willow chooses to mind control Tara and take her ability to be who she really is away.
And the reprise of it with the line:
“Willow, don’t you see? They’ll be nothing left of me.”
PAIN. It just makes me wonder just how many times did Willow put a spell on Tara without her knowledge? And I don’t just mean memory or mind controlling spells. Love spells? Augmentation spells? How often did she alter or even erase Tara’s personhood?
And how often, once Tara learned the truth, did she think and worry about it? Because I know I certainly wouldn’t be able to trust Willow at all again. That would be a betrayal so deep to me I’d have to remove her from my life permanently because I couldn’t live my life plagued by the constant anxiety that the love of my life took my autonomy away from me and may still be doing so while they are still a part of it. Especially because my self-worth or self-value is grounded in my ability to assert myself as an individual. In being able to be ME in all that I am and do in every conscious waking moment of living. I place such an importance on my sense of self that if there was someone in my life that I loved and that claimed to love me back that actively attempted and successfully took that from me even just the once and I came into awareness of that betrayal of trust… they’d never be allowed to see me ever again.
How on Earth is Tara able to forgive Willow after that happens twice to her? Or however many times it does because we actually can’t be sure of that to be honest. I would hope those were the only times but given how she was just so quick to do it again the very next episode 😔 How can she possibly let her back in her life again? I couldn’t. For the life of me I couldn’t.
Yep completely agree. And on how many times has Willow done a spell on Tara, well they've known each other for almost 2 years so pretty disgusting to think about.
Willow is a bad person and a food character. Like I stopped falling for her act after "Lovers Walk". Fandom is hated xander more for the indesgression and kinda let's willow slide for it but willow shows her true colors later on that season with Faith in "Choices".
I've said it before but Cordelia has clocked willows nasty character flaws early and I find it a little frustrating that fandom is so forgiving of her when shes mo better than Faith (who willow herself has given so much shit to).
And it's really fridge horror thinking of all the ways willow (may have) messed with Tara.
Like Faith is a r*pist but so is willow and an intimate partner abuser. Like its really gross.
@@jamie7398 It could have been every time they had an argument over Willow’s over-reliance on and abuse of magic for all we know because Tara never really is shown to be objecting to Willow’s use of magic up until Season 6 but their initial arguments about it seem to imply they’ve been fighting about it for a lot longer than that.
S06E06 - ‘All The Way’
TARA: “That’s not the point, Will.”
WILLOW: “Why are you being like this?”
TARA: “This isn’t about me!”
WILLOW: “This is so about you. You're always coming down on me for, for doing magic that couldn't harm a fly. What's your problem?”
TARA: “Willow, I j-just wish that you would stop and think about what you're-“
*Dawn interrupts*
DAWN:
*Nervous*
“Sorry. Just checking on the chips.”
WILLOW:
*Spitefully towards Tara*
“It’s okay. We’re done.”
And just the thought of that is sickening to me because I honestly would not put it passed her. She’s that emotionally abusive in her nature. She manipulates. She gaslights. She puts words in people’s mouths. And she doesn’t seem to be aware of any of it until someone calls her out for it. She has about as much emotional intelligence and self-awareness as a jelly fish. She stings and she does it with abandon. Clearly a Scorpio.
@@razycrandomgirl She has her good moments but yeah, I can’t argue with this.
@@mz6956 Willow is a gaslighter. Always was.
Jesus, Anya's bunny rock ballad...
“I think this line’s mostly filler” always gets me 💀
I was SOOOOOO waiting for you to get to this episode!!!😂. I wish we could have seen your full reaction to every moment of it. It was one for the books for sure. I bought the soundtrack when it came out, and I still have it. 😄
I love Buffy and just found your reactions and I’m so happy I did! You are awesome and so funny lol
11:36 - gotta love those "quick, pause the DVD!" moments :D
Though an internet video will do just fine.
nothing tops the mustard man. 😆
All Reactors: *get to this episode*
Me: "AHM DANCIN' CRAZY!! :D"
Parking ticket lady is marti noxon, one of the writers producer's of the show!
You laughing made me laugh. You should watch their bloopers for this episode. I’m sure it’s on RUclips ♥️ Also..wish Buffy could have told them in a more serious setting that she was pulled out of heaven. Dawn pissin me off even 15 years later lol
what do you have against dawn in this episode? her desperate cry for attention? cuz i mean, her father left, her mother died, her sister died... and no one ever paid that much attention to her in the first place. dawn has good reason to have issues.
Literally just watched this episode last night on the Comet channel (but they use the cut down version). All I was thinking about was the reactors, like Naj, who were getting close. So excited.
i feel like the existence of the cut down version is a crime, but that's mainly because i first saw the episode in its cut down version and didn't realize for years that there was more musical that i was missing.
Season 6 is usually the one I say is my favorite (but I sometimes waver a bit) but one of the reasons is this episode. It moves the plot and season (and series) arcs forward in many ways. Season 6 is also so much darker than those that have come before. In a good way.
Yes, a fellow season 6 appreciator! I don't know what it says about us, really 😅
@@caitlin329 It says you like the real deal. The heavy and the gritty. The honest and the vulnerable. It says you prefer to watch to learn and not to watch to be entertained. It also says you’re here to evolve and not to escape.
Respect! 🙌
Season 6 is very polarising and divisive but I think it comes down to what you’re here for and what you want to get out of watching it.
If you’re here for the shits and giggles only.
You’ll avoid it. You’ll complain about it.
This season requires you to look in the mirror and if you don’t like doing that you’re gonna have a negative reception to it. However, you could be the kind of person that doesn’t like to look in the mirror but still evolves and expands from what you see in it and therefore can come to appreciate the view instead of reject it. Season 6 gives you what you need over what you want. And it takes a certain kind of person to acknowledge and appreciate that. A person who looks in the mirror and becomes self-aware rather than falls into self-denial. This person can see their reflection as clear as day and has no urgency to look away. They learn.
Don’t have any shame about loving this season. It only proves you’re the real deal too.
@@caitlin329 Nothing really, just depends on what you like. Season 6 is my favorite season followed by 5. Personally, I love dark and more adult themes in television shows. That's why i love s6 and prefer the second half of Buffy 5-7 over the high school seasons 1-3. Of course there's nothing wrong with those who prefer the more fun, younger-viewer-oriented early seasons of Buffy.
I'm glad that you had fun with this one even though you don't like musicals. Yes, the good thing about this episode is that they kept the plot moving, and they found a good excuse to get Buffy to tell her friends what really happened. And if nothing else, it's always great to hear Giles sing ;)
12:24 It's marti noxon, executive producer of the show
An AMAZING episode. Was waiting for this!!
Buffy was actually the first show to do a musical episode, along with the best one of them. And really aside from Anya's awesome bunny song, all the rest were really related to the ongoing plot. I adore this episode, happy that you seem to like it, too.
I love it but can't rewatch it often because the songs are so catchy they literally get stuck in my head for days lol
I can think of at least one show that did a musical episode earlier
Buffy was definitely not the first to do a musical episode but it surely popularised it.
I can think of two in non-musical non-kids shows
Incorrect. Xena actually did it first with ‘The Bitter Suite’ in 1998. But both are staples of the musical genre being used in TV show art/entertainment and both did it the best.
Oh yeah fun fact: this was the first episode of Buffy I ever saw any of. You can imagine it was quite a ride 😂
This was me with The Bitter Suite in ‘Xena: Warrior Princess’. I was only 5 years old.
I never liked musicals, but I love this one. I watched it few times. Always with closed captioning. Lyrics are crucial here. Also, songs are quite catchy.
You when Willow and Tara sing their song: 🤩🥰🥹
You when Buffy and Spike kiss at the end: 😐
I was patiently waiting for your reaction to once more with feeling lol
I kinda love that you dont like musicals, I dont like them either. But this is my favorite show and I love THIS musical, hehe :)
9:24 David Fury
12:25 Marti Noxon
One of the best episodes ever, well written, the songs are perfect and the storyline moves forward. This season is more audacious, creative, the adult age is so well portrayed and this is a season you love definitely as adult with time.
i wouldn't call it perfect, but it's definitely my favorite hour of television.
@@sirmoonslosthismind to me it is perfect
@@alooncnej4696
whedon himself readily admits that the line "will i look good when i've gotten old" should really have been something like "will he love me when i've gotten old", and that dawn's line "so this queen thing's illegal" is badly edited so that it sounds like "so this queen thing's legal".
Both ‘The Bitter Suite’ and ‘Once More, With Feeling’ are really unprecedented for their time in TV. Even though Xena’s musical episode came first in 1998, both Buffy and Xena take the credit for musical episodes becoming pop culture in TV. But they also did the unthinkable by cleverly, not only coincide with the plot, but further it along in that they both have the characters spill secrets and make confessions which aid to evolve respective character arcs and tell a story that has them begin again in new and interesting ways.
In ‘Once More, With Feeling’ Buffy confesses she was pulled out of heaven by her friends. Forcing the Scooby Gang, Willow in particular, to process this information and grapple with the seriousness of it. In ‘The Bitter Suite’ Xena confesses that she killed Ming Tien. Forcing Xena to beg for forgiveness from Gabrielle so she can pass through the waterfall. Thereby reconciling and reuniting them, making their relationship stronger so they can battle the real enemy.
All of this is done in song. Cheesy? Sure. But clever at the same time. The creators knew that talking about these subjects and themes would be heavy on the audience watching and listening, so addressing them in music was a way of making what was heavy subject material much lighter. And at the same time, they also knew that music is meant for honest expression. So really, how else would or could it work? They ultimately made the right decision. As cheesy or silly as it may look on the surface, they achieved what few have… Going deeper without drowning. This is why these two musical episodes remain staples in TV history. It is not just because they’re musicals. It’s because they’re musicals with depth. They could have just been some silly entertainment for the cast to have fun with and show off their talent and nothing more. Instead they were much, much, much more than that. They were artistic genius. They were performance art. And you will find it difficult to truly understand either of these shows without them.
As my soul brother Sweet put it: “Now, we’re partying. That’s what it’s all about.”
Your enthusiasm is appreciable, but maybe you shouldn't discuss that non-Buffy show in case some folks get their wish and she actually ends up watching it?
@@LordHyena I’m required to avoid spoilers about this show. Not of other shows. It was important for me to talk about both shows and their respective musical episodes together because they both play a part in the TV culture we have today with the quantity and quality of musical episodes in TV shows. It was necessary to express myself on both ‘Once More… With Feeling’ and ‘The Bitter Suite’ for this reason. They’re not just the staple for it, they’re the foundation too. It was done first and the best through both Buffy and Xena.
Considering Naj pinned a comment saying, "I’m not good with musicals AT ALL, so pls don’t come for me," I was looking forward to the opening credits and Buffy's opening "Every single night..." line of singing a lot. And as long as she didn't just dis the episode as a whole for it, I was good. It got a little hard watching the 🙄 & 🤦♀ every song, but some people just don't like musicals for some reason.
The guy singing about mustard and the woman singing about parking tickets are two of the writers: David Fury and Marti Noxon.
_Under Your Spell_ has such a dark meaning behind it, that making it a lighthearted song will always be odd. And as long as Tara doesn't remember she is actually angry with Willow, Willow's actions of sleeping with her at the end of the song are wrong morally and illegally in the worst ways imaginable aka Willow rapes Tara. It could even be argued it happened just after the spell was enacted, as well.
"What I mean, I'm 15, so this queen thing's illegal." Angel and Buffy should pay attention as they didn't care about the statutory factor of their relationship. Or perhaps Dawn leaned from Buffy's mistakes. Either way, good on Dawn. Bad on Buffy and Angel.
"Beady eyes" is a call-back to Anya insulting Xander in their song when they were both insulting each other.
Xander: I didn't know what was gonna happen." He's only been a Scooby for nearly five years. 🙄 Also, to me, the theory that Xander covers for Dawn doesn't work because Xander just got cold feet in the last episode and wants to see about that happy ending he is worried about. Whereas Dawn didn't have the medallion until after the spell was enacted.
Dawn started the song because Sweet - the demon sang as he left, "Say you're happy now - once more with feeling." The line, "once more with feeling" is Sweet ordering them to sing one more song - with feeling. Spike just comes out of it first, or thinks he does because he and Buffy get the final moment between themselves.
On the surface this episode is no different than _Superstar._ A spell has been cast and the audience hasn't seen that, and is therefore as confused as the characters.
The last episode was Dawn-centric because the actress didn't want to sing. She preferred the dancing side of things. Alyson Hannigan also didn't wish to sing, so she did little of it.
That off-screen sex scene between Willow and Tara was absolutely date-rape. There’s people that have argued that it’s not because Willow never intended to have sex with Tara when she put the spell on her. But no means no period and if Tara isn’t able to give full consent at any point,… then what does it matter what Willow intended? She did it even when she knew Tara was under the spell! So there’s no difference between what the purpose of the spell was and how the spell was used to what happened while the spell was functioning and the choice made to perform on Tara when Willow was absolutely aware it still was.
Willow took advantage of Tara not having full information about her own emotions towards her. That’s why it is rape/sexual assault. It’s not about the spell. It’s what’s taken away because of the spell. It’s not just memory. It’s also autonomy because your memory comes with your entire emotional spectrum. Tara asked Willow for sex, yes. But she wasn’t aware that she wouldn’t ask or even wouldn’t be willing to have sex if she knew that she was supposed to be still angry with her
@@Girl4Music Totally agree. You just described way better than I ever could.
@@Buffy8Fan How I define "rape" and "sexual assault"
Rape = Nonconsensual sexual intercourse. (i.e. penetrated without full approval from party that is penetrated - including orally)
Sexual assault = Nonconsensual sexual stimulation or touching (i.e sexual harassment and foreplay)
There are several things needed in sexual situations to be said to have been given full consent by all parties in my opinion:
1. Full information (including information that would affect or change either party's willingness or acceptance to perform or recieve)
2. Full awareness (must be awake, alert, conscious and knowing fully what is going on in their immediate surroundings)
3. Trust (absence of fear or guilt)
4. Mental and emotional stability (drugs and intoxicants affect this the most and therefore shouldn't be present unless all parties fully agree to it beforehand)
5. Reciprocated desire (both must want it all throughout the experience)
6. (This is the BIG One) - Informed decision (all parties must be able to decide when, where, why, how, what for and who with. Taking any of this decision-making away from anyone performing or recieving is flat out a human violation. Meaning: absolutely no "surprises". Even if it's said to make it more "romantic". FLAT OUT NO!
Willow took Tara's memory away for the one incident that made Tara angry with Willow, then chose to perform cunnilingus on Tara while she was under the affects of the spell that made her compliant and subservient to Willow's emotional and sexual needs as she can't remember that she was angry with her for abusing magic and therefore would never be willing for Willow to sexually stimulate her at any point in any way until they resolved the fight and her anger dissipated naturally. She essentially erased Tara's autonomy.
This is what made it rape/sexual assault.
Tara did not have full information. If she did, that would have changed or negated her informed decision to have sex. She would not have asked for sex and she would not have given consent if Willow asked for sex instead. What Willow does to Tara is the magic-equivalent of drug-induced date-rape. It's Joss Whedon's fantasy of lesbians "getting it on" without knowing or caring about the implications behind it. It's inexcusable and has to be called out for what it is. So I am doing that.
Yeah, there was no informed consent. She wouldn't have consented if Willow hadn't messed with her brain. (Magical equivalent I suppose of drugging her ?)
@@caitlin329 Exactly. If they had resolved their fight naturally and Tara either forgave Willow or they had some type of angry break-up sex… that would have been fine. But the whole point was for Tara to forget being angry at Willow. That was the intention of the spell. It wasn’t so Willow could have sex with her but Willow realized that would be a benefit of putting her under the spell. That her emotional and sexual needs would be met all the while using magic on Tara and Tara would be nonethewiser either way. Which makes me wonder if this really was the first time she used that spell on her or any spell that erased something about Tara’s personhood because she didn’t hesitate.
14:10 lol We need more Naj solo improvs haha
I don't like musicals but this episode an exception for me because each song means something about each character. And some of the songs are catchy ahaha.
for me all of the songs are catchy but my favorites are the opening song and "Into the Fire"
YES I'M SO GLAD THERE'S ANOTHER REACTION TO THIS EPISODE! I honestly think it's one of the few episodes along with The Body that can be truly called perfect. Like there is not one single flaw, everything flows together so well and the reveals come naturally, the pacing, the acting, the songs are catchy, it's just a joy to watch.
Also I'm pretty sure one of the demon's minion dancers went on to become a choreographer on Glee. But we don't talk about that...
I was waiting for your comment to this reaction 😄
@@Girl4Music Lol I adore this episode it's the one I constantly rewatch reactions of
@@faithvictoria9014 Some may say that ‘Once More, With Feeling’ is the only reason why Season 6 is successful given the show was done and dusted when The WB ended it with Season 5 and it was picked up again by UPN not 5 months later. But what is it about this one-off musical episode that captures people so much? Well, in my personal opinion, it’s the exact same reason why ‘Restless’, ‘Hush’ and ‘The Body’ capture me so much. I mean what do all of these Buffy episodes have in common besides the fact they’re all Joss Whedon directed and written? They’re CHARACTER STUDIES.
What do I mean by that? Well, a character study is a piece of written art/entertainment that focuses on the characterization, representation and development of the characters. The main characters in particular. A character study addresses narratives and arcs that the main characters are going through within the season, or sometimes even throughout the whole show. The intention with a character study is to look into who these characters are, what they care about, who they love, why they behave the way they do etc… Sometimes going deeply internal and analyzing their characteristics and personality traits such as what they fear or what they’re insecure about like ‘Restless’.
With ‘Once More, With Feeling’ there is an external plot going on that’s made obvious to us as we watch it. A dancing demon named Sweet has been summoned by a magical talisman and all of Sunnydale is effected by way of being forced to spontaneously and randomly burst into song and dance to express their repressed thoughts and feelings. However, what makes it a character study is essentially that the “bad” in this episode isn’t the dancing demon at all. It’s all the secrets that the main characters have been hiding from one another that have finally been involuntarily confessed or unintentionally exposed. So when they defeat Sweet, it doesn’t feel like a ‘win’ because so much damage has been done that cannot be taken back. Most notably the information Buffy has kept from everyone except Spike that she was in Heaven and not in any kind of Hell dimension like the rest of the Scoobies assumed. That was a big reveal which creates devastating implications for everyone going forward in the season. Especially for Buffy.
‘Once More, With Feeling’ is a one-of-a-kind piece of written art/entertainment because it doesn’t just merely acknowledge the seasonal arc but actually drives it along dramatically and meaningfully through internal character struggles. And that’s something you would not expect a one-off musical in a TV show to do as it takes a remarkable amount of artistic skill and talent to pull off and to translate to the audience through the screen so that it feels as serious as it is and not just a cliché with cringey show-tunes. I mean, yeah, the songs are still somewhat cringey but they’re extremely clever at the same time. They work because the writing and acting makes them work and the external plot is delivered in such a way that you’re just like “Okay, yeah. It makes sense”. It could have just been done for laughs, for the fun of it, to show off the main cast’s talent… it could have just been there to be there. It’s not. And I really really fucking appreciate it.
As I’ve mentioned before… there’s only one other musical episode in a TV show I can compare it to for its artistic cleverness. That is ‘The Bitter Suite’ in ‘Xena: Warrior Princess’. Which not coincidentally is my most favourite episode of Xena and the very first episode of the show I ever watched from way back when I was 5 years old. I haven’t been with Buffy anywhere near as long but I can still say that ‘Once More, With Feeling’ matches up to the majesty of ‘The Bitter Suite’. Coming from me, that’s saying a hell of a lot of my love for it. I think it’s absolute genius.
@@Girl4Music I'd be very interested to know your top ten episodes of Buffy if you have that sort of list
@@faithvictoria9014 My TOP 10 favourite episodes of ‘Buffy the Vampire Slayer’. Don’t read this if you want to avoid spoilers.
I’ve done a TOP 10 before with ‘Xena: Warrior Princess’ but since ‘Buffy the Vampire Slayer’ is my new obsession show and I’ve watched the whole thing twice over now... I thought I would do a TOP 10 for this show too as I have been pleasantly surprised by how much I’ve enjoyed watching this show given I was never particularly interested in it as a child - at the same time I was watching Xena. I believe the main reasons for this to be because of many similar themes, a similar way of writing, producing, directing, and incredible characterization, representation and development for the main cast. But also because I can understand all of that better as an adult than I ever did as a child. I mean neither Buffy nor Xena are children’s shows. Children can watch it. But it’s not meant for children to watch. It’s meant for people who are going through the transition of childhood-to-adulthood. It’s meant for adolescents. With Buffy in particular - it’s also meant for people who are into supernatural horror because Buffy is a supernatural horror show. As I’ve said before - it gets away with far too much for it to not be one. And once again, it’s so odd to me that I wasn’t into it as a child because I loved supernatural horror - or just horror in general - as a child. I still do. That part of who I am has always remained consistent. But like I said, despite that being true, I definetly understand it more as an adult. That’s why I think Buffy has struck a chord with me now as opposed to back then. I want to write about my TOP 10 favourite episodes to explain why I love this show.
1. Restless
‘Restless' is without a doubt my absolute favourite episode of the whole show. What it reveals about the main characters in nuanced expression, artistic interpretation and visual poetry is remarkable. You have to watch it many times to even get a sense of how much characterization is in this episode. It focuses on the CORE four Scooby Gang, That of Buffy, Willow, Xander and Giles. Although the dreams are down to interpretation for the most part, you learn a lot about what these characters fear, worry over and are insecure about. You learn about their personal anxieties and struggles. You learn about their internal selves. All of which they don’t really show to the audience in any other episodes because it’s all of the subconscious and subliminal That of which the characters themselves are not aware of. Hence why it has to be interpreted rather than just watched to understand it. You have to be good at interpreting and analyzing symbolic imagery and themes. And fortunately for me - that’s where I live. So ‘Restless’ is a very interesting and important episode to me for that reason. I don’t like straight-forward TV art/entertainment. I can watch it but I won’t be passionate about it. It won’t strike me or capture me in any real worthwhile way. And that’s honestly because I love to learn from the media I observe and listen to. I’m not here for the pleasure principle. I’m not here to be entertained. And it is very rare for me to come across a piece of TV art/entertainment like ‘Restless’.
2. Doppelgängland
I love ‘Doppelgängland’ just based on it’s standout foreshadowing alone. Just what the episode contains in it and can be picked up on when watching it back after seeing the whole show is enough to have it on the list of my TOP 10. But that aside - the remarkable acting performances from Alyson Hannigan as Willow/Vampire Willow/Willow as Vampire Willow/Vampire Willow as Willow is only comparable to the acting performances in another doppelgänger episode I adore in Xena; titled ‘Warrior...Priestess...Tramp’, where Lucy Lawless manages to excellently portray three characters that look exactly like each other but are nothing alike in personality and interchange between them to fool the other characters. That’s not exactly the case with ‘Doppelgängland’ because, to me, the writers are intentionally showing you the two different sides of Willow Rosenberg rather than point out the differences between Willow and Vampire Willow. And the foreshadowing to Dark Willow in Season 6 confirms this. It is Hannigan’s acting performances as both sides of Willow as well as all the foreshadowing to the climax of the character’s shows-long arc that make this episode so fantastic and rank no. 2 on my TOP 10 list. I just fucking love it!
3. Becoming (Part 1)
It might be confusing to you guys why this episode is no. 3 in my TOP 10 list when it’s an Angel-centric episode and I don’t particularly like Angel. First of all - I have said before that the main reason why I don’t like Angel is to do with his “broodiness” when he is a protagonist/hero character. I actually don’t mind Angel as an antagonist/villain. I think Angelus is quite funny and he gets shit done when he is “evil” compared to when he is “good”. Now I haven’t seen any of ‘Angel The Series’, so I can’t judge the character too harshly with this but from what I’ve seen in ‘BtVS’, he is extremely boring to watch when he is a “good” character. And I just think it’s not right to only like the character when he is causing so much pain, destruction and torment to my favourite characters. So I just put it down to that I don’t like the character in general. But given he is mostly “evil” in this episode, it doesn’t bother me to watch him. It doesn’t make me think any less of the episode for all the reasons why I do love to watch it - which are many: Cinematography: creative and emotive directive shots such as when Buffy is running slow motion through the school halls in determination to get to her friends or the homage to the Evil Dead series with the shaky cam first-person perspective chase scenes (they pay homage to Evil Dead in ‘After Life’ too.); Music: the score with the quiet suspenseful ominous vibe and then the dramatic build up at the right times *chef’s kiss*; Characterization and development: Willow’s descent into dark magick, Xander’s need and courage in calling the Gang out over restoring Angel’s soul, Buffy’s choice to face Angelus one-on-one despite being afraid, Kendra’s subsequent return and then her unpredictable death. I could go on and on. There’s so much to love about the first part to the finale of Season 2 compared to the second part. It just flows.
4. Family
‘Family’ is one of those feel-good episodes where you ultimately feel that everything’s going to be alright after you’ve watched it. It’s a TOP 10 favourite for several reasons but mostly just because of the fact that it’s the only Tara-centric episode. Amber Benson is not apart of the main cast, (although she should be for as much as she’s in the show), so the unusual decision to write a storyline that centers around her character is very welcoming to me given I absolutely love Tara Maclay. What she represents as an individual character and as a romantic relationship dynamic with Willow Rosenberg, who is a main cast character. ‘Family’ is my favourite episode of Season 5 and Season 5 is my favourite season of the show. So it stands out a lot to me for it’s difficult and serious themes and messages of domestic abuse and found family VS blood-kin relationships and it has my favourite Willow and Tara moment of all of the show.
5. Wild At Heart
‘Wild At Heart’ is incredibly well-written and thought-provoking storytelling through and through. Alyson Hannigan and Seth Green’s performed interactions as their respective characters going through the ups and downs in their relationship really shine through in this episode. This is a very heavy episode for Willow and Oz. Heavily-centric to their romance. I don’t even think Buffy had anything to do in this episode besides help out with the situation of Oz and Veruca going absolutely feral with each other. She’s left by the wayside in this one and I couldn’t have been happier about it since she’s not the only main character so Gellar shouldn’t always have the most screen-time. It’s an ensemble main cast and this is one of the few episodes in the show that make that clear. I just love the story in this episode. How complex and compelling it is to watch. You’re really pulled into the rollercoaster ride that is Willow and Oz’s relationship becoming fragile and breaking down due to unforeseen and uncontrollable circumstances. What I love most about it is that you ultimately can’t blame anybody for what happens in it. Not even Veruca because even Veruca has a point and a purpose that isn’t necessarily wrong. She adamantly argues that the Werewolf is who she and Oz are. That it’s their true nature and their human form is the falsity. She’s not evil for attempting to liberate Oz from his domesticity and convince him that it’s in his nature to kill. Selfish, maybe. But not evil. And Oz eventually realizes this when he kills her to save Willow’s life. The complexity of that alone is compelling enough to drive my passion for it. There are few storylines in the show that I find as thought-provoking as this one. As for the shipping - even though I could see how deeply in love they were, I could tell that Willow and Oz weren’t meant to be. They were better off friends.
Here it is.
I've always found it hard to believe that XANDER would summon a demon to Sunnydale. It would have made more sense to me if it were Dawn.
Edit: With Giles he is Buffy's Watcher so him not wanting to help her seems odd to me. I like the idea of the episode but I don't know if I actually like the episode, I know that's going to annoy a lot of people.
it's a call back to last season, Giles has been having doubts about his usefulness
@@Nexusofgeek he also has unresolved guilt over killing Ben but they cut out the interaction of him addressing this.
I think it's less that he doesn't want to help and more that he doesn't know if what he's doing is helping or making things worse. If he deals with Dawn is that him giving Buffy the time and space to deal with her issues or is he just helping her distance herself and avoid her responsibilities?
I laugh because technically Giles is right
❤️🎼
I know you said you don't like musicals, but sometimes it is fun to give them a chance. In fact, you should watch Team StarKids' horror/comedy musical callrd The Guy Who Didn't Like Musicals because it makes fun of musicals even though it is one. I know it is a lot, nut it would be fun to see you watch and react to it because the main charatcer also doesn't like musicals and the whole show kind of shows it. I don't know. Think about it. It would be perfect for Halloween month, just saying.
Mi favorite was willow of Alison Hannigan. ❤❤
So you know xander loses an eye. cool.
Your face when they kiss. Priceless.
10:54 - 11:00 needs to be made into a short asap! 🤣🥰
I'm so excited to see another reactor reach Once More With Feeling! It was watching videos of the songs on RUclips that got me into watching reaction videos in the first place, when RUclips recommended After Show Reactions response to this episode.
lol i'm glad i aint the only one that feels that way about musicals-that being said this is probably one of my favorites of the few musicals iseen
I can't believe you went into the musical episode without knowing what you were getting into 🤣
It may have been a bit less bizarre if you'd had a bit of a lead up, lol. I remember this episode airing, it definitely had a big lead up. And it's probably one of the most talked about, critically acclaimed episodes of the whole series.
I can't imagine stumbling into this weirdness without any warning, your face was priceless, ngl 😂
I don’t get why you hate spike 🤣🤣🤣
I always felt the same way about Spike. I always thought his character was decent and entertaining but I never shipped Spuffy. I feel like Buffy would never have gone there in my opinion, heaven or no heaven 🤷♂️
i loved this season when i first watched it but now it's just so hard for me to get through. it seems like every episode has something painful in it, even when it's serving laughs. still, there are some really great episodes here. i especially love the next ep, tabula rasa. sending you hugs and support for the ride that is the rest of season 6 💜
I would say that’s the point to it. The characters are in pain so the audience feels that from them. You can’t really have a growing arc without pain. It’s part of the process of life. And that’s what this season is all about. Life.
@@Girl4Music i’m sure it is the point. it’s not a bad season, it’s just a harder season for me personally than any of the seasons. some people find other seasons harder to get through. they really did a good job giving all of the characters in buffy a season to explore the often harsh realities of adulthood and depression. it was an interesting space for them to explore in such a real way.
@@laura-327 agreed
Can you figure out why dawns a clepto. Not many reactors figure it out
spike has good reason to complain about buffy. their relationship up until this point is very one-sided. she takes what she needs or wants from him, and gives him nothing but abuse in return. she has no respect for him, and treats him as a convenience rather than a person. the problem is that he always comes back for more.
Why would she respect someone who is soulless, created a sex robot to abuse that looked exactly like her, stole her underwear and stalked her constantly, including while she was having sex with her boyfriend. Oh yeah and tried to kill and tied her up. Should have been staked long ago.
I love musicals but unlike a lot of Buffy fans I have some problems with this episode. The flip side of that coin is that there are some truly wonderful moments about this episode.
this is my favorite hour of television ever. there are probably things i could nitpick, but do they really rise to the level of "problems"?
@@sirmoonslosthismind yes, the glossed over rape/sexual assault of Tara is certainly a problem and rape/sexual assault whether on-screen or off-screen is a recurring problem throughout the entire show.
It’s the number one thing I do not like about it.
Spuffy in the musical episode? 🎼🎶🎵The kiss before the curtain closes.
You don't like musicals? So you must hate all Disney animated movies since all of them are musicals - Snow White, Cinderella, The Lion King, Frozen, Moana, Pinocchio, 101 Dalmatians, Mulan, etc etc etc.
...It's not homophobic to not be attracted to men
This was the first Lesbian sex scene on network television im pretty sure
i mean, i'm sure they told the network censor it was nothing of the sort, but clearly they knew very well what they were doing. "you make me cum... plete"
spuffy 4ever in ultra deluxe 5k
Great episode as the songs drive the plot with lots of humour. But I'm sorry that kiss with Spike and Buffy gives me the ick, just looks so unnatural and forced.
Haha the reactions when people don’t know it’s going to be a musical… always hilarious! 😁