THE MUSICAL EPISODE THAT STARTED IT ALL... (Reacting to Buffy The Vampire Slayer Musical Episode)
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- Опубликовано: 17 июн 2021
- After seeing many of your recommendations, today I am reacting to Buffy The Vampire Slayer's Musical Episode "Once More With Feeling". The Buffy Musical Episode was one of the first musical episodes and it played a huge part in popularizing the genre. With songs like "going through the motions", "Under your spell" and "Rest in Peace" Joss Whedon really set the bar for every Musical Episode that followed. Aside from the many Broadway and Disney influences present in the songs, there were also some surprisingly strong vocal performances from the cast scoring this episode a top-tier position on the musical episodes tier list.
What musical episode would you like to see me react to next?
WATCH THE REST OF THE MUSICAL EPISODE REACTION SERIES:
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Actually Willow and Tara's relationship was one of the first ever lesbian relationships shown on regular TV
Makes me nuts, though, that so much of their intimacy had to be portrayed through innuendo and subtle allusions while we were already getting full on sex scenes with Buffy and her partners.
Not to mention their first kiss in "The Body" was the first kiss by a lesbian couple on a major cable network.
@@ellaphx I get the annoyance, but I actually enjoy the creativity that was forced on the show makers to tell their story around the restrictions… Tara’s levitation scene here is pretty explicit, as well as hilarious (“you make me comm … plete” indeed). There’s a couple of eps in Season 4 where Buffy and Riley have relatively explicit sex scenes that are completely uninteresting, while Willow and Tara perform “magic spells” that are the hottest sex scenes in the whole show.
It was not the first shown on tv although it was the first one with a main character that started with the show
@@TheMidwest Indeed. It was actually the first even shown in any drama series on a network show, that wasn't on a subscription cable channel (like HBO or Showtime; i.e., "The L Word"). There were a few lesbian relationships on network TV the 30 years before that, but it was always in comedies, only alluded to, and sort of there to laugh at. It was never made explicit, and it was just meant to make the audience laugh. This was the first serious attempt to have a mainstream television show address this.
You wouldn't be wasting your time reacting to Buffy the Vampire Slayer. It's considered by many to be one of the greatest shows ever produced.
Though having watched the SEVENTH EPISODE OF THE SIXTH SEASON out of seven seasons you've given yourself one heck of a spoiler...
I mean, Buffy fans will definitely show up for it
YES!
@@osnatashtaralevin8944 True, but I’d seen a couple of the later episodes, including this one, before I ever saw it all through from the beginning, and it was still so exciting, and there’s still so many surprises that happen, it would definitely still be worth it
I always saw comments like this and it made me so excited to watch Buffy. I finished the last episode yesterday and I was so… underwhelmed. I sort of get why people loved it at the time but idk. I found myself bored a lot.
P.S - you’re meant to hate that note. She’s singing in complete dissonance, to mirror the cognitive dissonance her friends are experiencing, realising they pulled her out of Heaven.
And the dancing to isn’t meant to be good. That’s the point - they’re not performers. The spell is just making them performers. That right there is the genius of the entire concept. It removes the need for talents the cast don’t possess, and keeps the entire thing in universe and within the existing bounds of the plot and existing world building.
^^^ What she said about the note (it also reflects Buffy's own alienation) and the dancing. The latter was meant to be frenetic and self-immolating, so beauty would defeat the point.
@@KingoftheJuice18 Yup yup yup. The LAYERS of storytelling in this episode, it is crazy.
@@reneepope-munro8115 "She needs backup..." 🤣
@@KingoftheJuice18 exactly. It's a suicide dance. It's supposed to look frantic and unnervingly apathetic. I mean, SMG isn't a dancer for sure, lol. ...but the fact that it looks forced and cringily choreographed works for the plot. I mean, she just finished singing an entire song about life being empty with no meaning, and pleading for the musical theatre demon to "give (her) something to sing about."
So basically, the character is forcing that dance as much as the actress is. Lol.
That note gives me shivers down my spine when I hear it, because of the context of it
"he seems kind of toxic"
she's onto us, folks
not only is this THE musical episode, it's a musical about depression. this musical is a tragedy in major keys, so it is designed to fool the audience and leave us with a sense of dissonance we can't put our fingers on. Buffy and Spike kissing at the end is on a huge ensemble flourish, but the act itself is a surrender to despair, depression, and self-harm.
Buffy is an amazing show, season six is an amazing season, and YOU have an amazing channel! :D
Firstly thank you so much! 🥰
Also no wonder the episode was so good! All the best musicals are about depression/depressing topics *cough* Next to Normal *cough* Dear Evan Hansen. I genuinely think most TV shows musical episodes hone in the cheese factor when in reality 90% of theatre shows will make you ugly cry
Yeah taking a step back, you can see how he can be a personification of someone you definitely wouldn't want a relationship with so I don't begrudge what she's saying but we all just love James Marsters and can't not fall for the tortured soul thing 🤣
@@xxSydneyFox also he is a bad guy trying to better himself. He got one of the biggest evolution of the show.
@@cepahreinholt8710 yeah you can always argue that it's necessary for his character to better itself along the way. Also, people put way too much stock in fictional characters seeing how we can't really interact with them to truly judge them in real life and all. I tend to just enjoy TV as recreation and not try to bring it in line with real life. Of I wanted that I would just stop watching stuff and go live it outside instead lol 🤣
No. It's not about depression, you're depressed and are projecting,.
Spike's redeeming quality is that he's Spike.
Quite possibly the most accurate comment ever posted.
He's also American
@@davidmonaghan26 No, he's not:
"Bloody hell. Sodding, blimey, shagging, knickers, bollocks. Oh, God. I’m English!"
@@pillmuncher67 I think he meant the actor
And he's EXTREMELY loyal and leads with his heart. Like all things considered he's not awful.
I love how pissed Spike looks when he realizes he’s going to have to sing. 🤣
And how he tries to get her to leave before he starts singing
@@CloudslnMyCoffee I remember when this first came out and I was telling my tv, yep he's totally about to burst into song about how much he loves Buffy
Which is funny, because James Marsters actually has a band.
@@rachaelknudsen8801yes he has singing experience! Just like Anthony!..
The Buffy musical episode is very unusual, in that (a) it's very plot-heavy, not a filler episode, and (b) the songs are original, with lyrics that actually drive the plot (the way it is in actual musicals). That's part of what makes it (IMO) the best musical episode there is, but it also means that it's really hard to appreciate properly out of context. This episode served as the climax of a number of really important plot threads / story arcs, revealed major secrets, etc., but there's no way for you to catch/understand all that. Thus, wondering why everyone's sad at the end, wondering why Buffy's last song had those tortured-sounding notes, wondering what Spike's deal was, etc.
Oh, also, the demon being the best vocalist does kinda make sense. After all, he's a one-episode guest star in a musical episode, not a series regular, so they cast him accordingly.
I'm glad you enjoyed the episode anyway, despite having no context! Thanks for sharing your take on it. :)
After watching the episode I wish I had done a bit more research because I agree the songs are really plot heavy and I couldn't really appreciate it fully. I definitely want to go watch the series as a whole now! That being said even if I dont understand fully what was happening I could still recognise that this musical episode was extremely well done and the fact that the songs played a massive part in the plot was one of the reasons it worked so well 😊
@@AmieMariah_ I definitely support your decision to watch the series, although the musical episode comes very very late (season 6 out of 7) so it's a bit of a commitment.
Also, the standard warning most people give when recommending that show: Season 1 is quite cheesy in places, and also had a pretty low budget, so it's definitely not everyone's cup of tea. Some people still adore S1, but most people agree that the show really comes into its own in the middle / second half of Season 2.
So, if you like the early episodes, perfect! But, if you don't, I'm sure people have made recap videos you could watch so that you could skip ahead without being lost.
Happy watching!
@@tehcoolemu Yes, the first season of Buffy is very "monster of the week" cheesy, but there are important character building moments in every episode. There's no short-cut to watching a TV show like this, you have to go through each episode to get the full character/world building that leads to Buffy the Vampire Slayer being a great show.
@@JohnDoe-ls2zu This is true. But, at the same time, the cheese factor of S1 is too much for some people, and it turns them off from the series entirely. If you watch/read a recap instead of actually watching S1, you'll miss a lot, but not nearly as much as if you don't watch the series at all. You miss lots of great character moments, but it's not like you won't still get to know the characters well. You just won't know *why* they are the way they are in certain ways, and you'll miss certain references (e.g., "are you sensing a hyena energy?"), but you won't be lost. Does that make sense?
@@tehcoolemu No, I suppose you wouldn't be "lost" if you didn't watch season 1. If you are going to commit to watching 140+ episodes, why skip the first 12?? If you go into season 1 with the proper expectations, you can enjoy it knowing it sets up such a great show.
It's so tough for me to imagine watching this episode without seeing everything that came before it. This is an unusual TV musical episode in that it doesn't take "time out" of the season's plot points to be a special episode; instead, it builds upon the season's arcs and some of them even come to a head in this episode. So on one hand, really impossible episode to watch out of context. On the other hand, it's always great to see people who are very familiar with musical theater take on this episode and really get what the writers did, musically speaking. Glad you enjoyed!
Hello wonderful lady. I would have loved to see you watch buffy.
I definitely want to go and watch the series as a whole now so I can fully appreciate all the songs fully but even without the context I could still tell the songs held a lot of emotional weight which also helped the actors give amazing performances. The whole idea of a musical is that someone is so overwhelmed with emotion they don't have the words to explain it so they then start singing which is exactly why this episode worked so well.
@@AmieMariah_ 2 things; 1) i think the first musical TV episode might have been ‘The Operetta’ first season episode of I Love Lucy, from around 1950-1951. it’s my favorite episode of this classic TV comedy, just beating out ‘job switching’ from the following year (has the candy conveyor belt). It had a whole funny yet musical score written for it. Lucy even mentions some Broadway operetta composers in it.
2) everyone is so down at the end because a lot have found out horrible things: that they ‘rescued’ Buffy not from hell but from Heaven, that both xander and Anya (who was formerly bad, in her song she says she’s out of the biz) have qualms about their upcoming wedding. Tara finds out that she is actually under Willow’s memory altering spell, as Willow made her forget a fight the two of them were having in the previous episode. Lots of dark stuff. I highly recommend two things: one, watch the next episode Tabula Rasa (6-8) for how a lot of that starts to resolve. And for one more glorious song, and i mean it is glorious, watch ‘Selfless’ (7-5), for a flashback set during ‘Once More, With Feeling’ but with a new song. Both are kind of self contained episodes so i think you could enjoy both.
Fun to see you pop up here outside of your own patreon comments, but of course you did!
@@RLucas3000 There's a lot of spoilers in here, m'dude.
"The sexy British man is singing." Surprisingly, he's not even British. LOL.
Though by this point, he's had three years of practice getting his British accent down.
@@donsample1002 And with ASH guiding him too. lol
Wow you learn something new everyday. I didn't even know he wasn't British till I just looked it up and saw he was born in California.
Even better, Alexis Denisof who played Wesley is also American. His story arc is one of my favorite in the Buffyverse. Ya just gotta watch Angel.
@@chrisandersen5635 sad ending though :(
I really hoped those 2 would stay together in angel..
At the end the group was somber because Buffy's line about being pulled out of Heaven by her friends wasn't figurative. And because Tara, the one singing in the park, found out she was being mind controlled by her girlfriend, Xander and Anya found out their annoyances with each other before their wedding. The idea being everyone before this episode had secrets and under the musical spell they revealed their secrets. It's hard to appreciate without watching the show but this integrated with the plot in a way some other musical episodes don't.
When I listened to the songs back during editing this video I picked up on a lot more of the lyrics which helped me understand what was going on. The mind control with Tara and Willow went over my head and I felt like such a dumb ass when I realised it during editing 🤣
@@AmieMariah_ people who have watched the whole series up to this point still miss those same things the first time they watch it because they're so blown away by the whole thing.
I watched a reaction where after she finished she was like "ok I didnt get half the messages that episode was sending me because I was just enjoying it" and proceeded to watch the whole thing again
I've always seen this episode as a sort of sibling episode to "Hush." (For anyone not familiar, "Hush" was an episode in which everyone had their voices taken away - most of the episode is performed without any dialog.) So "Hush" is about people being unable to say things, and "Once More With Feeling" is about people being unable to shut up.
@@BarryDeutsch Hush was an amazing episode. One of the greatest episodes of the whole show, alongside this one
@@DavidGowers my son asked to rewatch Hush the other day. It really spoke to him. My oldest son decided to stop watching Buffy with us because it was too scary. We are currently rewatching the Gloria season with my middle son because he was away when I watched it with the youngest.
Giles and Tara have the indisputably best voices in this episode. Honorable mentions to everyone else except Dawn and Willow who specifically asked to sing as little as possible. Best. Leo.
Which is too bad, because Michelle Trachtenberg has a lovely voice!
@@paulfeist I love her dancing too
I think Michelle contributed in a way she felt more comfortable though. Alyson Hannigan kept it as minimal as possible. But singing is scary, so I can understand it.
As a Buffy fan it's actually incredibly difficult to judge this episode from an outside perspective. With five seasons worth of context it's an entirely different animal.
In its own right? All the songs being originals and sung by the cast themselves is an incredible achievement (I think Xena was dubbed). Amber Benson and Anthony Stewart Head (he's done plenty of stage work, most notably for The Rocky Horror Show) stand out as the best singers - that duet is one of those moments when they've realised they've got two greats and know how to stick them together. It's fun and funny, and in 2001 there wasn't much to compare it to. And not many musicals have the balls to challenge WHY they're a musical, so it definitely has that going for it.
I would add that while the songs being original is amazing... it actually progressed the plot which was new as most musicals were fillers. Also, because it progresses the plot, you really have to have seen previous episodes to appreciate how well that was done. What an emotional hit when buffy says she was in heaven.
Yeah and the intentional sour note when it is revealed a feeling of where she is and what she had
Okay firstly I NEED to find a video of Anthony Stewart Head's Frank N Furter ASAP!!! Also I know that I'm missing so much context which is why when I rank the shows I don't really factor in the plot beyond the reasoning as to why the characters are singing. I also love how the characters are questioning the singing and some of them hate it 😂 The Flash which was the other top tier musical episode on my list had the same dynamic which is why it also scored so high.
@@AmieMariah_ There is "One More with Feeling" and then there is everything else. I hate musicals as a whole, but I make an exception for this one because it is amazing in every way.
@@AmieMariah_ Augh, the Flash "musical" was garbage, sans "Put a Little Love in Your Heart," and "Come Running Home to You". Don't get me wrong, it was well performed by a talented cast, but I'd call it more of a "Glee" episode of the Flash (in more ways than one), rather than a musical episode. And that's not a compliment.
Asking the fan base if Spike is toxic or not? You’re inviting dissertation length responses 😂
They should just watch the show and find out for themselves. He has much character development
I don't think many people will disagree that Spike was toxic before he got his soul back (he tried to rape Buffy, for god's sake; he might have been an interesting character, but one you could still hate with a passion), and if we can recognize that Angel changed this much by having his soul, the same rules should apply to Spike.
@@lilia3944 Do you want a dissertation length response?
He was a toxic character before he got his soul back, however, I would argue, that with only 1 exception Angel is far more toxic WITH a soul.
@@NeuroticNicky87 You would argue that Angel is more toxic with a soul than without one? (Because that would be an absolutely absurd argument) Or that he's more toxic than Spike is when they both have souls? I'd disagree there because Spike still tried to possess Buffy even knowing he was bad for her. But personally, I think they are both toxic relationships and Buffy needs to find a partner that we never met, because all her relationships were toxic, tbh.
This is going to be lovely: one minor point: the name of the episode is not "One More Time With Feeling" but "Once More With Feeling", which is a traditional theatrical phrase, and is therefore important for the throughline of the episode (and for Sweet, too, who says the phrase in the episode).
Yes, the note Buffy sings is deliberately atonal to emphasize the bitterness of the lyrics she is singing: that she has been expelled from Heaven (this is a disadvantage you face as someone not at all familiar with the characters or the events previous to this episode. You are not supposed to "like" that note any more than Buffy is liking the confession or Willow (the redhead) is liking hearing the fact that Buffy was in Heaven). However, if you watch again, and follow the lyrics, you will hear the desperation implicit in several of the songs. Listening to the lyrics will enrich the fact that the last song is no a kumbaya moment, and Buffy will not benefit from staying there. The harmony is, indeed, wonderful, but you miss out by not locking in strongly on the lyrics. It is not a big, beautiful ensemble number. It's a lament.
Spike is a conflicted character, who goes through many developments and regressions throughout his time on the show. The actor, James Marsters, is a Juilliard graduate, and an American, not an Englishman. He learned his very good accent from Anthony Stewart Head, the other English character in this show. Marsters is a singer, having been in a band, and is a generous, intelligent actor whose presence was mainly responsible for the longevity of the character of Spike.
When I edited this video and had to listen to the song back I picked up on so many lyrics that I missed the first time watching it. Paying closer attention to the words I actually got a much better understanding of what was going on in the episode and even I started getting frustrated with myself for being such a dumb ass and missing so muxh important stuff the first time around 🤦🏼♀️
@@AmieMariah_ it's ok. If you like this type of show I recommend trying the first couple of seasons. The first season is a little hard to get through but it has some pretty good episodes. By this season it's a well-oiled machine.
a little addition to the James Marsters/Spike journey is that, according to James himself, Joss cornered him at one point early in his run - when it was evident that Spike was an instant fan favourite character - and almost literally SCREAMED in his fact that he (James) wouldn't be around for long if he (Joss) had anything to say about it. Nevertheless, Joss obviously missed out there, thank God.
James didn't learn the English accent from Anthony. As the show went on however, Anthony helped him improve it. It is interesting that in real life, Anthony speaks more like Spike than Giles.
@@SarthorS Thanks very much for that correction.
This was so fun to watch, but this episode needs a boatload of context considering it’s 6 seasons into the show and in a season that is a breaking point for most of the characters. While not wanting to give you 6 seasons of spoilers, it’s just important to note that Buffy is real super depressed and spike being a vampire is the only person she allows in to see her darkness. At present, he’s the only one that understands her. And yeah, he’s occasionally toxic and problematic, but also has a lot of personality and charm. He struggles with the duality of being an evil vampire and his love for a girl who slays vampires so he tends to be very mercurial in his actions. Anyways, I do always find it fantastic that they sing the lyric “the curtains close on a kiss god knows, you can tell the end is near” and that’s what happens. Buffy and spike kiss, the the end screen pops up and the curtains close.
Oooh! I didn't pick up on that lyric! I love some good foreshadowing 👌🏻
The notes that you didn't like are diminished fifths. They have a built-in creep factor which is why they are there. Best. Leo.
So they where intentionally meant to make me uncomfortable! I can't believe this was Joss Whedons first time writing music, some of the stuff he did is so technical. It's crazy 🤯
@@AmieMariah_ I think he's a fan of musical theatre, so while he may not have known what things like diminished fourths were, he was familiar with its use.
Yeah, they were intentional. This is the moment where Buffy finally reveals she was actually in Heaven, not Hell like her friends believed. She sacrificed herself at the end of the previous season by jumping through a portal to close it and save the world, and then her friends did a spell to bring her back to life at the start of this season because they thought she was trapped in a Hell dimension. The note on "Hea-Ven" sounds intentionally harsh & cutting to reflect the pain she feels at just being alive again after experiencing Heaven.
Amie Mariah
Well, he also had Christophe Beck backing him up.
@@Mortigantoj And IMHO Buffy is also trying to sing "Hell" but the power of the spell forces her to speak the truth (all the songs are revealing of peoples inner truth) so she have to change to Heaven while pronounced the beginning of Hell.
Spike is without a second thought or even the slightest doubt in my mind… my favorite character in the entirety of the Buffyverse. James Marsters is a phenomenal singer, and one of the nicest people I’ve ever met. I’ve seen his band (Ghost of the Robot) person twice now. “Good Night, Sweet Girl” (written about Buffy) is my favorite. Closely followed by Dangerous (about Michelle Trachtenberg/Dawn’s crush on him when she’s too young..).. and Moonshot about his wife.
Also, look up Repo! The Genetic Opera. Tony Head is in it, and his voice is… wow.
who cares what this non relevant toxic fembo thinks
There are still many Buffy fans among us. In this episode, all the secrets they had been hiding from each other came out, because they had to sing the truth. It just about ruined every relationship that had taken years to build. Where do we go from here indeed. Spike was introduced in Season 2. He is now in the realm of iconic vampires. Buffy had been numbed down by a traumatic Season 5, and now was just 'going through the motions' of her job. She just wanted to be able to feel, even if it meant the pain of loving her former worst enemy. That final kiss was the climax of a long and strenuous relationship, much more important than finishing the musical number.
Thanks for doing this, it is indeed top pier material.
Haha knowing that I can imagine all the poor Buffy fans where screaming at me when I screwed my face up at the kiss 😅
@@AmieMariah_ that definitely was me xD
@@AmieMariah_ No. You were right to cringe. Just for different reasons. He IS toxic. That’s kind of the point. The kiss is Buffy choosing a path of self-destruction from this point forward. It’s also a representation of how women often choose “the bad guy,” while simultaneously shining a light on how doing so is often a horrible choice. It’s showing the “bad boy” romance without the rose-colored glasses which is really important. There’s actually a lot of domestic abuse season six, including the part where Willow places a spell upon Tara without her permission to strip her of her memories. It’s so manipulative.
"Why are they all so sad?" Okay, so, spoilers for the series up to this point! Previously on Buffy the Vampire Slayer: at the end of an emotionally devastating season in which she lost *a lot*, Buffy died saving the world. Because of the way she died, her friends thought she was trapped in a hell dimension, so they hatched a plan to resurrect her. They succeeded, though not without resorting to some very dark magic that had some serious consequences. Although Buffy seemed very disoriented at first, when the dust settled, she seemed to have come back to herself. She told her friends that she was in hell, and she thanked them for bringing her back. "You guys gave me the world," she said; "I can't tell you what that means to me." Then, she stepped outside, found Spike lurking there, and after a few moments revealed the truth to him in this powerful scene: ruclips.net/video/1mFYChlN4Ao/видео.html
Wherever she was, she was happy. Finally at peace, after years of struggle and loss. Until she was torn out of there by her friends. She could tell Spike this because 1) he wasn't involved in the plan to bring her back and 2) even if he had been, she didn't care enough about him to want to shield him from the truth. But when she left him, she did so with the clear message that the others "can never know. Never." And they never did--until the demon's spell forced her to reveal the truth to them at the end of this episode.
Omg thank you! That makes so much sense. It is probably why the notes when she was singing about heaven where so uncomfortable to listen to... it would of been painful for the characters to hear that and they wanted us to feel that pain. Oooooft 🤯
@@AmieMariah_ Yes, exactly! There are a lot of little, subtle things about this episode that stand out when you know about this too. For one example: in Spike's song, when he sings "you're scared, ashamed of what you feel" at first she rolls her eyes because she thinks he's back on his bullshit, trying to imply she has feelings for him. But her expression changes on the follow up: "and you can't tell the ones you love, you know they couldn't deal; a whisper in a dead man's ear doesn't make it real" because she realizes he's actually talking about her feelings about having been torn out of her "heaven". This is just scratching the surface of the layers this episode has!
Needless to say from how much I'm writing I highly recommend this show; it's one of my favorites of all time. Just be warned that it's a little cheesy at the beginning when it's first finding its feet (and its budget); the first season in particular is a lot more enjoyable if you find some degree of cheese amusing 😁 But ultimately I don't think I've ever seen a show able to juggle comedy, horror, drama, and gut-wrenching tragedy as well as this one.
@@ghostofdurruti You are talking to someone who is obsessed with Musicals... I'm clearly don't mind some cheesey-ness 😂
@@AmieMariah_ hahaha that bodes well, then!
@@AmieMariah_ This is why trying to watch a key episode without the background context is a bit of a non starter imo. Buffy is a series with a ongoing story with rich character development. Just dropping into it like this you can't possibly appreciate whats really going on sadly.
Willow and Terra are not a Gay Couple. They are THE Gay Couple😉
WE👏🏻STAN👏🏻LESBIAN👏🏻WITCHES👏🏻
They were certainly a very early gay couple for network television, the makers had to fight hard to get the network to accept a gay couple.
Tara* omg how can you spell her name wrong it's like spelling Giles Jiles
You will hate me
your shirt…
@robinschich4712 : Did you mean Tara ? :)
Sarah Michelle Gellar singing ‘Something to Sing About’ is absolutely stunning in context with the show and storyline. SMG deserved so many awards for this AND THE BODY! But the song portrays her insecurities yet her strength and her disbelief at what she’s gone through. For people who watched this, and waited week after week…this was a song that broke hearts.
Amie: Do we like him or is he toxic?
Buffy fans: Yes.
😂
Buffy and Spike's involvement is not supposed to be romantic--it's intentionally a toxic relationship. For years, fans had been shipping Spuffy because they had a lot of chemistry. The way their relationship actually played out, it's like the writers were saying, "All right, you idiots. You want our strong, brilliant heroine dating this asshole? Here's what it would _really_ look like!" It really is a fantastic exploration of how/why people can end up in toxic relationships, and how self-destructive they can be.
I enjoyed your reaction! Thanks for sharing with us 😁
I'm so glad that everyone involved acknowledged that the relationship is toxic. If they where romantising this behaviour I would have some very strong words for Joss Whedon
Also I'm so glad you enjoyed the video! ❤
And by god didn't they f that up in an incredibly clumsy way! lol Didn't put the hard core fan base off though did it. :)
@@Silver-rx1mh im still a spuffy shipper and i’ll always go down with my ship lol
@@AmieMariah_ Ugh! #SpuffyForever
@@AmieMariah_ I mean, Joss Whedon already deserves some very strong words for being very abusive to some of his cast. There was a lot on the media on this just this year.
You should react to Dr horrible's sing-along blog!!
James Masters (Spike) is not actually British, but his accent is almost perfect.
This. He did get a lot of coaching from Antony Head though, the guy who played Jiles. That's a fun story worth looking up, lol!
@@afry6400 Who is this Antony Head guy, and Jiles character?
Sorry, but I had to comment =)
Spike is a vampire and a villain. His story is very complex and compelling. Vampires are essentially dead humans who have a demon take over their body and force them into evil. Spike has his ability to hurt humans removed which starts him on this journey of integrating with the good guys. Eventually he starts fighting back against his inner demons. But there's a lot of toxic stuff along the way. Which is really smart writing because often real life redemption stories aren't so clean. Anyway the writers know the kiss at the end is toxic and they are leaning into that.
Oh yeah! Also though, Buffy isn't going into it blind. She knows exactly what to expect from Spike at this point. Her line in their duet right before they kiss is "This isn't real... I just want to *feel*."
Ever since Willow brought her back to life/pulled her out of Heaven, Buffy's felt empty and dead inside. She is 100% using Spike in that moment, hoping that whatever crazy obsessive love Spike has for her might make her *feel* something again. She's purposefully "walking through that fire", so to say. They are both so toxic for each other. This kiss is a legit "holy sh*t!" -moment when watched in context.
Spike wasn't a great human, and he doesn't even play well with the other vamps. He's starting, by this time, to feel like Buffy and the Scoobies are the only place he might fit. (In fact, in the previous season, he took on a LOT of pain and punishment to protect Dawn and Buffy. Something Buffy was surprised and impressed by.)
@@williamivey5296 Spike as a human was a nice, feeling, romantic guy. Maybe even a bit of a loser. Becoming a vampire freed him in a sence. Angel as a human was a piece of shit.
@@williamivey5296 I totally disagree. 100 years ago, before Spike turned into a vampire, he was just an innocent poet who got made fun of. He even tried to save his mothers life. So he was fine as a human. In his debut episode in season 2, another vampire said “Spike! Help me out!” He was fine with other vamps (until he gradually started coming on the good side of course
@@rjenyawd in season 6 yes they were toxic but season 7 fixed it so I wish ppl would just move on
Anthony Stewart Head (the guy in glasses) actually sang the part of Dr. Frank N. Furter in the stage show "Rocky Horror Picture Show". This episode makes a lot more sense if you know the characters and their background. Willow and Tara are witches but after a fight last episode Willow cast a forget spell on Tara. Spike is a vampire who's in love with Buffy. That sour note Buffy sings is because she died last season, Willow brought her back from the dead with some dark magic, thinking she'd gone to Hell. Turns out she was wrong.
Frank N. Furter is one of my favourite Musical Thearte characters so that makes me love Anthony so much more now!
I gathered from the episode Buffy has been brought back from the dead but yiur friends thinking you had gone to hell is pretty rough 😂
@@AmieMariah_ In fairness to her friends, she died falling into a portal opened by a hell goddess to get home, so it's not an unreasonable assumption that she's trapped in hell.
@@AmieMariah_ Anthony Head also is in Repo: The Genetic Opera, another movie musical
@@mkitten13 love that movie!
Spike, also called William the Bloody(Bad Poet) was a "Percy Shelly-esque" romantic poet who was born 250 years earlier and turned into a vampire in his early twenties. He's spent the intervening time being a "bad-ass vampire," however over the previous five years of the show, Buffy and the Scoobies (as they are called) have repeatedly kicked his arse. In the previous season, Spike had been a subject of a military project that left him unable to hurt humans and as a result, he actually came to see the group as his friends (treating Dawn as a little sister and actually mourning Buffy's death as the season finale). Long story short, Spike's character arc is long, but he's worth having around in the end.
In case you didn't know, that was not the usual way that the credits were shown on the show. This episode was meant to be totally different from the others.
Of course we like him. Yes he's definitely kind of toxic. (Buffy beware) Many fans forgive him because he's such a hunk. Your observations are spot on. However, you're missing the context. This show really pioneered long form TV story telling. Most of the content of this episode depends on knowing the character arcs that have been going on for years. People often comment on how Willow has one of the greatest character arcs in TV history. Spike also has quite an arc and goes through many changes.
So what I'm learning from everyone's comments is Spike started off as a villian which I have to admit, makes me like him a lot more. I definitely need to know more about Willow and Tara!!! Clearly I'm going to have to go and watch the whole show now
@@AmieMariah_ Reacting to it from start to finish would bring the whole Buffyverse fandom to your channel (which this alone is already doing), and I'd personally love to see you review this episode again in context a few months or years from now (depending on how quickly Buffy's able to suck you into a reaction-frenzy).
@UCnwVXhPSiWLi3dxs_PExhuQ Sure, but I'd never try and stop anyone from this huge endeavour, since it's such a rewarding journey, I find.
@@AmieMariah_ Especially since you've already seen this episode, people would like to know what you think, but it's a huge endeavor. Worth it, though.
LOL, Spike. He's best showcased in Seasons 2 and 5. I always love how everyone automatically sits up and takes notice when they first see him on screen, regardless of their feelings about him afterwards. The actor is so great in the role.
I heard on the Internet that Sarah Michelle Gellar didn’t want to sing and they were going to have someone else sing for her but when she read the script and realized how pivotal it was to her character, she said she would do it. I saw an interview where Alyssa said she was wouldn’t sing (as the Tara song was suppose to be a duet) but afterwards regretted it because she didn’t realize that there was a bunch auto tuning that would have made her sounded good (but she may have been joking).
I was so surprised to learn Sarah was nervous about her singing, I thought she did really well! As for Alyson it's clear she isn't a strong singer but honestly Tara and Willow are so cute I feel like we would forgive her for subpar singing 🤷🏼♀️
When you realise how little of this episode’s brilliance will actually resonate because it’s all based on 6 seasons of character build up and story arc 😩
As a music theatre lifer, this episode is genuinely the perfect execution of the form.
If you haven't seen it already Anthony Stewart Head (aka Giles, aka the Brit throwing the knives at Buffy in the training segment) is in a rock musical movie called Repo: The Genetic Opera. This movie also features the beatifully talented opera singer Sarah Brightman.
Oooh! I've never actually heard of that musical before (which is a rare occurrence for me 🤣) I'm 100% going to have to check it out
@@AmieMariah_ It's a must! He was also Dr Frankinfurter!
ruclips.net/video/IKgVln8XmuE/видео.html
@@Gwenhwyfar7 OMG! It's freaking awesome! Him being free like that is amazing.
Repo! is easily one of my favorite movies of all time, and Anthony Stewart Head's performance is a huge part of that (he's the reason it even showed up on my radar in the first place).
I've probably listened to Legal Assassin 1000 times, and I STILL get chills every time he hits that first long note at the end of, "...the nightmare that she should fear, is the father you left alone..."
The entire movie, from beginning to end, is like one long, continuously shifting song that I've only grown to love more and more over the 13 years or so when I first heard it. For me, it's the ultimate hidden gem :-)
@@AmieMariah_ I loved that film. What surprised me is that my favorite song from Repo! features Paris Hilton of all people.
Anthony Stewart Head also has a music album called Music For Elevators that I do not hate.
Spike and Buffy had a long history since season 2 of Buffy. It’ll make more sense.
I cannot imagine having this be the first episode of Buffy to watch. Also, Amber Benson is a gift.
Edit: Spike is an amazingly developed character played by an unbelievably charismatic actor, but he is extremely problematic.
To some people, but not everybody.......lol
Also, played by an amercian (fooled ya! didn't he? Ha Ha!)
"Problematic" is the dumbest and most overused Millennial word ever. It's basically become the SJW mating call.
Spike has done a lot of awful things. As has Angel(us). Neither of them are problematic, they're just COMPLEX characters.
@@masterelmstreet5886 how’s the view up there on your soap box, you alt-right troll?
It was the first episode me and my siblings saw because our dad wanted us to see the characters we were (or were almost) named after, but it was the only episode we had at the time. Luckily we've since been able to watch the whole show.
Also, their kiss was never meant to portray a happyend - it is toxic and that is why Buffy, at that part of her life, goes for it. "This isn´t real, but I just want to feel" is what she sang - she was depressed and just wanted to feel anything. And the show never portrayed this as healthy.
To be fair it’s not like her relationship with Angel wasn’t 100% healthy either. Not sure why all the hate spotlight has to go on Spike/Buffy all the time. Prior to Spike getting his soul back, it’s true him and Buffy would never be successful until that happened. But it DID happen in season 7. So I don’t care what some showrunners (or other ppl) say. In season 7 the relationship was improved and in the comics, they become canon. So Spuffy wins in the end. Take that haters
This was a delight. The episode is absolutely not a stand-alone story - it features colossal revelations and plot points for practically every character in the series and shapes the rest of the season - the final scene is pivotal to the story as a whole, hence the cut away from the 'finale'.
Exactly. :)
I did a dramatic *gasp* because i was so excited.
Aww, I love that! I hope you enjoyed the video 🥰
Hilarious: the ONE PERSON who doesn’t cheer for the kiss at the end XD
It's lovely to see someone appreciate the villain's song! As this episode is all about the main characters unburdening themselves of secret feelings that have been building up all season, there's A LOT of love for the other songs, and his performance as a one-off villain who's never seen again sometimes gets ignored. But he had the hard task of taking up screen time in an episode where all the fans are desperate to see their faves sing and dance, and he did an INCREDIBLE job.
Also, I recommend avoiding the comments here if you ever plan to watch the whole show! Buffy fans unfortunately love to drop spoilers.
The fact that his song is underrated is just criminal!!! I would happily go to hell and be his Queen any day 😂
He is fabulous! Absolutely! And FAN. Here the shows been out how long now? 😳lol
A lot of people miss the final ensemble number the lyric "the curtains close on a kiss, God knows..."
and the final scene is indeed them kissing as the curtain closes on them.
I know Spike's and Buffy's relationship in season 6 is toxic af, but that's kind of the point though. But that doesn't make me hate them together or hate Spike (he's actually my favorite character), despite some very disturbing stuff that they do to each other later on in the season. But the reason I don't hate it is because it's just such an interesting theme to explore. It's compelling storytelling. And amazing acting. And their toxicity isn't glamorized in any way. And Spike is just such a complex character. The point is for us to see him struggle between the demon side of him that is selfish and violent (traits that all soulless creatures have), and the human side of him that truly wants to be a better person for Buffy. He's a very tragic character, but he's also a very funny character. That makes him entertaining and captivating to watch. And the point is also for us to see Buffy deal with her depression and self destructive behavior, trying to find her place in the world after being torn down from heaven. So she seeks comfort in the darkness, even though it's killing her. It's some really heavy stuff. And I really do appreciate it because I hate seeing tv shows or movies that unrealistically try to represent these darker aspects of life. I think this show got it really right. And they also managed to show a kind of "healing process" in season 7, if you could call it that, for at least 3 of the characters. And seeing that happen after the darkness of season 6 really gives me a comforting sense of hope. Which I love. I just really appreciate it because I've been through some tough stuff, and I find comfort in the last two seasons for exactly these reasons; I know I'm not the only one who has been in the dark and I know that it will get better. That there is always hope.
Yes! Beautiful comment! Spuffy is my fav ship and yah prior to season 7, there were many ups and downs. Some of it I won’t be rewatching lol. But I’m glad it ended well
So yes, spike was a villain at first, and through the seasons goes through a redemption arc where he can be quite toxic sometimes. At this point, spike was very toxic and the writers acknowledge that. However, there was another vampire in the show who also did awful things sometimes, but it feels like the show excuses it more because there were moments where Angel, the other vampire, didn’t have a soul and when he did. Spike goes through all this toxic redemption stuff without a soul, even for a while after this episode, and there is actually a point where he hits a hard enough low to go out and get his soul back. Once he gets his soul, the toxicity dies off a bit more, but it’s all just part of his redemption arc. However, I feel like people give Angel more of a pass for the things he did because he didn’t have a soul than for Spike, and if you’re going to excuse the behavior in one then it’s not fair to really punish the other too much. If “spike is toxic and made too many mistakes,” it should be equal with Angel too. Whichever opinion, it should be equal on both of them. However, there is something to say about the fact that Spike actively went out to get his soul back, while Angel was cursed into having one because of the awful things he was doing.
we love spike
Quick question: do you think Spike would've fought for his soul if he'd known what it meant?
@@sergioaccioly5219 honestly, I do because it was the rock bottom at the end of season 6 that made him want to take those steps, and to me, it seemed that his desire to not hit that point again was stronger than the pain from the trials he had to face.
Your comment RULES! You made such a great point about ppl giving a free pass to Angel just because of his curse. Thing about Angel is, while being Angelus, he was 100% bad. But before Spike got his soul, despite some toxicness, he still did genuine unselfish things like watching Dawn while Buffy was gone. Spikes complex character is amazing
You should watch the entire series then react to this video after you’re done 😂
This was such a great reaction! Your comments about Spike were not only accurate AF but hilarious. Yes we all love him. He’s a great character but also toxic AF at this point. Yes lots of missing context to make some of those number hit home- the song you said you liked the least “Something to Sing About” is probably the most important of the bunch. Despite its peppy beat it’s really talking about Buffy’s depression and why it’s happening. The sour note is intentional because it’s revealing a hard truth to the rest of the group.
If you decide to binge watch the series. It’s be fun to see a re-reaction to this episode after you’ve had the context and see if your opinion changes. It’s a really great show- full of humor, action, and heartbreak.
I think you are spot on about the uncomfy notes! I also picked up on a lot of lyrics I missed the first time around when I was editing that made me get a better understanding of what was happening.
I feel like I have to watch the whole season at this point, a re-reaction is actually a really interesting idea!
To be fair Buffy was also toxic to him, their whole relationship was. And in the end Spike redeemed himself and deserved a better ending imo. To me his character was way stronger than Angel's character since he sought redemption on his own WITHOUT his soul, can't say the same for Angelus.
@@AmieMariah_Only if you start with season 6 to get the context for this episode, you'll be left in the dark about how we got *there* and need to watch season 5 to get the context for season 6. Then, of course... Well, you see where this is going, surely. Best to admit defeat and start with episode 1x01.
@@AlineBooneMusic yes! Thanks for defending Spike. Yes he was guilty but he FIXED it and like no one cares about that part. He certainly went further than Angel
To be fair Spike was a lot more toxic in seasons 2 and 3 when he was full villian. Be fair please
14:36 - "I feel like he's kinda toxic." You have NO idea...
When you inevitably start watching the entire Buffy-show, please do reaction video's for it. You do some great reacting!
Best show ever, spike has the best song, his accent isn’t real he is that good of an actor, I have met him and he is a cool person. A lot of actors threatened laryngitis because the didn’t want to sing. We love spike for his growth threw out the Buffy and angel series. Spikes a vampire without a soul in this episode,with a chip that shocks him when he attacks people though, it’s like his a rabid dog on a leash trying to be better but still no soul.
Haha comparing him to a Rabid Dog definitely doesn't help me like the character anymore 😂 I read after filming this episode that Sarah Michelle Geller hated having to sing and had break downs on set about it which was surprising to me because I honestly didn't think she did that bad 🤷🏼♀️
His accent gets him on most lists of "best fake accents". He also ended up in the BBC on the Doctor Who spinoff Torchwood.
@@AmieMariah_ I always assumed she'd sung before since she did such a wonderful job. And had so many songs.
She did fantastic if this was her first singing role.
Spike and Gile's actors do have a background in singing. I thought Buffy's voice was pretty spectacular for a non singing background, especially that song at the end where she's like I touch the fire and it freezes me, i look into and it's black, why cant i feel, my skin should crack and peel, i want the fire back. this ruclips.net/video/Ws0tykxDHUs/видео.html was my introduction to Evanescence whenever they first blew up when the show was still airing live, i was legitimately one of the first people to ever hear that band because of this video.
Can you edit the comment about what you said about Angel? Not everyone knows about that spoiler. Technically it won't matter on a video like this but if people who never saw either show end up watching later because of this video it's kinda s spoiler that doesn't need to be spoiled
This is a very plot heavy and character dynamics focused episode. And yes, there are creepy things here. This is a show that has horror/thriller/supernatural elements. This episode was not only “the musical episode”, it’s a fairly pivotal episode in the season. There are elements to appreciate if you’ve never watched any episodes (the clever, funny songs and some of the filmmaking), but it’s impossible to get the emotional weight of it or understand most of the references without knowing the series and characters.
I definitely want to go back an watch the series as a whole now!
@@AmieMariah_ If you make reaction videos to this series, I am here for it!!
I would also watch reaction videos to the series, although unfortunately it looks like you've had quite a few things spoiled in the comments lol. It looks like some fans were assuming you'd never want to watch the show in its entirety.
@@stevenalexander6713 The fact that this episode is over 100 episodes into the series, even knowing the general plot points happening now shouldn't really spoil the journey getting here.
I would add that the supernatural elements are deliberately used as metaphors for real-life situations that many people encounter in ordinary life as teens and young adults. So the toxic boyfriend is a vampire, the various predatory opportunists are monsters, the person struggling with addiction is a witch who has been using too much magic, etc.
Probably the most complex musical television episode, that just watching it on it's own doesn't do it justice. This is definitely SS Tier for me. Also, Spike is the best character.
Complexity personified.
Spike is a vampire and so quite literally (and figuratively) has no soul, but is also a hilarious badass who’s madly in love with Buffy so… it’s complicated.
His no soul was temporary. He got it back in season 7 remember?
@@lessismore8533 Yes, but this is season 6, so he hasn't got it back yet! He just has the chip for now, which is of course another complication that would take a while to explain...
So, for me the thing that makes this episode so amazing is not the fact that it's a musical but how much is revealed about all the characters. I mean the music is fun and enjoyable but this classic episode from a classic show is far from "merely" fun and enjoyable. I realize if you haven't seen the rest of the show you would have no way of fully appreciating how significant (and dark!) the developments are that happen in the episode. Basically, all the characters have dark secrets that they are unable or unwilling to reveal but their secrets are revealed through their songs.
I agree with the others that say this episode can't be fairly judged without understanding 5 years of plot and character development. The songs at the end that you did not care for were critical for the show’s plot. None of the actors were hired for their singing and dancing ability, so as far as the fans are concerned, it is OK if they are not Broadway caliber singers or dancers.
Just for context, vampires in the Buffyverse don’t have a soul and they are incapable of guilt or remorse. They are monsters. BTW, the sexy British man playing Spike is from California. I think this was the first TV show that just inserted a musical episode. BTW, Tara and Willow are witches and I believe they were the first gay couple on TV.
You should try watching the first episode of Galavant. It's a whole musical series but even one episode is great on it's own.
Oooh! I've never heard of it before
Yes! That would be a good video, such an underated show.
Excellent suggestion.
Definitely do Galavant! Just discoveted it and it's the best show ever!
Another point,folks haven't mentioned. At one point the producers were planning to dub Buffy's voice in that last song, because the song was too difficult for her. But the actress didn't want someone else handling it, because that song is actually the most important emotional moment of the whole season for her character (arguably one of the most important in the whole show)
I believe that the very first live action musical episode was from Xena: Warrior Princess ("The Bitter Suite").
Also, it's interesting that audiences generally dislike a conflicted good person being toxic while liking a conflicted bad person being toxic.
Unfortunately it did follow a trending trope for homosexual/lesbian relationships (trying not to give a spoiler if you haven't watched the full series)
@@MystryssCrymsyn98 Perhaps you replied to the wrong comment?
@@jp3813 ya, i.meant the one commenting on Willow & Tara's relationship portrayed on television
@@MystryssCrymsyn98 Willow and Tara were the only well adjusted couple in that show. Possibly ever. Of course they were destined for a tragic ending. It's a Joss Whedon show, after all.
Honestly one of the greatest episodes of television in history. Not just Musical television, but television in general. It's just perfection.
As for Spike being toxic, yeah he was toxic for so much of the middle section of the series. He started out as one of the best villains but slowly grew into a hero role while trying to figure out what that actually entailed. Not that I'm defending the character at all, because he IS super toxic for so long but I feel like, story-wise, it's because he just doesn't know at this point how NOT to be toxic. Also, the actor is actually American, and had a pretty respectable music career of his own before the show.
Fun fact: Anthony Stewart Head, the older guy who you said feels more pop than theatre, he actually filled in for a while for Tim Curry in the Rocky Horror Show. He was also a fairly well established recording artist before this AND is the brother of Murray Head of One Night In Bangkok/CHESS fame
8:25 that's not his real accent he's just that good at faking it, he was also on the DR Who Spin off torchwood with real British people and you couldn't tell even with side by side comparison. the actors name is James Marsters.
Clearly he is an incredibly talented actor! I feel like people who know about singing typically are very good with accents because they understand how and manipulate the muscles in their mouth and tongue aswell as the placement of their voice
The character in _Torchwood_ (Captain John) wasn't British, and he had an accent similar to Captain Jack's "American" one.
They're sad because they found out that they ripped Buffy out of Heaven for their own selfish ends. They had thought they were saving her from hell, but they were wrong.
Spike is definitely toxic (at least at this point), but he's also a fan favorite because he's kind of awesome.
Don't hate on Spike, he's my favourite character 😅 and their kiss was LOOOOONG awaited for!!!!
YES THANKYOU!
Her song on the stage is a lot more impactful when you know earlier in the show she died jumping through a portal to a hell dimension. Her friends thought that meant she was stuck in it, so they used magic to resurrect her.. after her funeral. She woke up from heaven, in a coffin, six feet under the ground...
^^^^ this. She described her worse nightmare in an earlier episode as waking up in a coffin and finding out she was a vampire.. So her nightmare came half true 💔
We love Spike for one reason.
He is Spike
This was SO enjoyable to watch with your enthusiasm, cluelessness about the show and knowledge on musical stuff! :D
Every fan knows the words to every song in this episode. And.to reiterate what some people have said in the comments. This episode can't be judged as a stand alone as there was a lot of stuff that happened leading up to the episode.
Anthony Head, the older guy, he is a stage actor.
I've never been so happy to be wrong, learning he played Frank N. Furter has now made me love him so much more!
I've seen the video of him on youtube as Frank N Furter. He pulls it of pretty Damn good. He also did nescafe commercials in the UK many years ago. You'll find them on youtube as well.
He also splendidly played Arthur's father, the king, on Merlin
@@sebastianwittmeier1274 OMG he did too!!! How did I not pick up on that, I loved that show!
Aside from the excellent songs, production and general talent - what really sets this apart from most other show's musical episodes is that it is all part of the ongoing plot, so many story lines built up to this episode with the release of the songs uncovering hidden truths and buried emotions it meant that what follows is because of the events in this episode. So many shows have a musical episode that you can just skip over and not miss a beat, but here every number was packed with 'OMG' that the final song of 'where do we go from here' really hits home.
It difficult to feel that without the context, so the fact it's still a good experience without context speaks volumes of how good a production it was.
spike arc is: mama boy turned > vampire > chaotic evil vampire > domesticated vampire > good domesticated vampire > good vampire > champion> angel's little brother
This has been the best reaction video to this episode thanks for having an open mind and going through the whole episode.
To be honest Buffy treated Spike far worse than he ever treater her.
Yes thankyou! Only time Spike was worse is his debut in season 2 when he was full on villian. By season 6 he’s not completely fixed but way better than season 2 or 3
It didn't start musical episodes so much as redefine and popularize them.
True, but that's a bit trickier to put in a video title 😅 I'm also very well aware this wasn't the first show to do a musical episode
I could be mistaken, but I think this was the first musical episode of a TV show that actually used entirely original songs AND advanced the show's plot. A regular viewer who skipped this episode would have missed A LOT of character and plot development. Previous shows who did musical episodes - and many who did them after - used them as out-of-universe one-offs that didn't depend on the show's overarching themes. Thus, they could be skipped without missing any story. Not so for "Once More With Feeling"; if you skipped this episode, there would be a huge gap in your knowledge of the story so far. Like most Episode 7s of Buffy, it is essential viewing. And THAT is what set it apart from other musical episodes of the day.
@@BoboftheOldeWays Xena's first musical episode -which preceded this - also used original songs and greatly advanced the story and character arc of the season it took place in.
Many of the things in this episode are about things earlier in the series. Anya was a 'vengeance demon' cursing men who were unfaithful, she is just getting to grips with being human and has a rabbit phobia. Buffy died at the end of last season to save her sister, Not knowing she had gone to heaven, Willow brought her back. Willow and Tara are a lesbian couple and they are also both witches, but Tara thinks Willow is using too much magic and when they had an argument about it Willow cast a spell to make Tara forget it. Many people have posted about Spike,
Michelle Trachtenberg did not want to sing, and does not sing much, but she is a trained dancer and it shows in the scene with the masked minions just before the demon appears, where she does a lot of dance moves. ASH as an actor was probably trained in many areas of performance including singing he sings and plays guitar in an earlier episode.
I always have to watch when someone reacts to this episode. Truly one of my favorite hours of television ever! I'm just sad for you that you started with it. The spoilage! I enjoyed your reaction but at the same time I kept thinking 'you have NO IDEA!' I'm glad you're going to watch the whole series, even if you don't post reactions. It's a series everyone should watch. I sincerely hope you didn't read all the comments because some people need a smack upside the head for what they spoiled. Seriously people! Why would you want to ruin anything for a first time watcher?
Yeah I definitely got some spoilers but seeing as the show is 20 years old, it's really shame on me for waiting this long to start watching 🤦🏼♀️
In the context of the show this is an important episode. It pushes multiple plotlines forward. The Spike/Buffy kiss is meant to be a cheering moment for the audience. Yes, Spike is toxic. But most of the characters are imperfect in some way. Their journeys to becoming better people, Spike included, is what the show is all about. It's what makes this show different. The show's writers aren't afraid to show us the bad side of our favorite characters. In some way, Spike is the least toxic because he's a vampire without a soul. He literally has a hard time with the concept of right and wrong. The others have no excuse. Without spoilers I can say this about the Buffy/Spike relationship in the coming episodes after this one; There will be very low moments and very high moments. And they will both be at fault at one time or another, not just Spike. Spike is a very complex character and it really takes watching the entire series to fully understand his unique psychology.
The "British man"-Spike-is played by American actor James Marsters🎩
That note does exactly what it's meant to. That is the emotional climax of the whole series! Willow's face shows it all and that is the moment that seals her fate in that season.
One of the joys of Buffy is that the characters are multi-layered, and they all develop in positive and negative ways in reaction to their experiences, which are often very real in a supernatural world. Spike's relationship with Buffy demonstrates the reality of toxic 'love' and his back story is pivotal to understanding how he is a victim too, while not down-playing his abusive behaviors. His character has the most fascinating character arc.
I've been waiting for this one!
Oh yay! I hope you enjoyed the video 😊
"did not see that coming..."
That's half the show.
It was actually Xena Warrior Princess that did the 1st musical episode
I was going to post the same thing. It was an amazing episode.
"She needs backup. Anya, Tara." so underrated
Iirc, Whedon heard several of the cast members sing at a party. He then realized that he basis for a musical episode. Marsters (Spike), Benson (Tara), and Head (Giles) all have pretty darned good singing chops. Trachtenberg (Dawn) really wanted to dance - and did a darned good job of it.
And yes, Spike is toxic. He's vampire. He's evil. He is a complete dick. And, at this point in Buffy's (3rd) life he's the only with whom she feels *anything*. Season 6 explores this relationship to its depths.
If you watch the season all the way to the end, you’ll see that Spike, eventually, makes good.
*Series, not season.
Xena’s The Bitter Suite started the musical episode thing for me 😂
This episode is a gift for the fans. It's intersections for every arc. To really enjoy this mountain view you have to climb it first. 😅
thank you i really loved your review 🙏
So their relationship is actually *not* romanticized, it is an exploration of abusive relationships. Buffy had died and been ripped out of heaven and was suffering from severe depression and PTSD. At the time Spike was a soulless vampire with an obsession of her. You'd have to watch the entire series to get a full grasp on their rollercoaster ride of their relationship from beginning to end, which is absolutely fantastic. And you'd also need to watch the show to understand the soulless vs ensouled vampire dynamics. But those two actors actually have the best on screen chemistry I've ever seen, whether they're enemies, allies, friends or lovers.
To help you catch up:
Buffy is a regular girl chosen to become a super powered warrior tasked with battling Vampires and Demons.
Spike is a 100+year old Vampire and was introduced as one of the baddest villians of the series, but who currently can't hurt anybody due to a chip a government agency put in his head. He does go through a redemption arc, but is generally reviled by most of the other characters.
The actor is in fact a professional singer. He is also American, and learned his English Accent from Giles, the guy with glasses.
Giles, who is British, does have a musical theater background. At one time he took over the part of Dr. Frank-N-Furter when Tim Curry stepped down from his run in the Rocky Horror Picture show in London (before it became a move).
Anya, who did the rock song, is a thousand year old ex demon who is trapped as a human and has attached herself to Buffy's crew. Her fear of rabbits is a running gag in the show.
Willow and Tara, who sang the 'Under Your Spell Song' are, in fact both witches in a lesbian relationship. Willow is the more powerful of the pair and is slipping into the dark side of magic.
Dawn, the young girl who danced with the dummies and the demon, is Buffy's sister, in a way, though she did not show up in the series until season 5. She didn't like to sing, but had some dance experience which the choreographers took advantage of.
The composer, Joss Whedon, was the producer and creator of the show, who also wrote this and many other episodes. He also was responsible for the first Avengers movie and another show you might react to, "Dr. Horrible's Sing-Along Blog". While not part of a series, it was created on a shoestring by Whedon during a writer's strike to show what could be done if talented people get together. The web based 3 episode mini series featured many TV notables, including Neil Patrick Harris, Nathen Fillion, and and Felicia Day. Definitely worth a watch.
I don't know if anyone has mentioned it yet (soooo many comments and they're all great!) but Joss Whedon also did an internet based musical called 'Dr. Horrible's Sing-Along Blog'. About 45 minutes long (in 3 15-minute acts). Worth seeing at least once.
As someone who grew up on Buffy and can sing all these songs backwards. It was so cool to see someone just listen and watch and still love the songs, pickup who are singers amongst the cast (mostly) and see how many things you picked up and gave props too with no context. Loved it all. New sub here.
I can't even imagine what I would think of this episode if I had not seen the entire show first. You should really start over and watch the series. We will watch it with you! Glad you like the songs! They really are epic.
And yes, Spike is the definition of toxic, that's kind of the point. But we still love him because he tries to be good even though he's naturally evil, you have to see the whole context. Plus he's comic relief throughout the series. He's been in love with Buffy for years and gave up being evil for her, and she just finally kissed him, so it's kind of a big deal ;)
I watched this episode with some family that were not Buffy fans but they had me to fill in some of the context, and they had seen a couple early episodes back in the day. I could only imagine anyone without at least someone to fill them in would not be confused for a lo of it.
I just watched your review of the How I Met Your Mother musical episode. Did you notice that Willow on Buffy is played by the same actress that played Lily on How I Met Your Mother?
Great reaction! A lot of fun to see someone experience this episode out of context.
I know this was a year ago, but to give a little context:
Buffy's initial song about "Going through the motions" is pretty explicitly saying that she's not handling her depression well. At the end of the previous season, she sacrificed herself, jumping into a portal to a hell dimension and giving her life and her blood to seal it off. Her friends were worried about their best friend having to spend an eternity in that hell dimension, so did some powerful and dark magic to bring her back. She's been depressed for (seemingly) obvious reasons ever since. She's trying to keep up the act so that her friends and 'family' don't notice how upset she is. But as much as she tries, she can't keep it hidden forever
Anya's and Xander's song about their relationship serves a few purposes. Firstly it gives context to their relationship and their concerns. The two had recently gotten engaged and Xander is still quite young. It shows that they still have questions and concerns. Secondly, just like the Mustard song, it shows that these songs are happening about real life, day-to-day events and not just related to the plot. You seemed worried that Anya was evil, so to clarify that: She was a witch who cursed an ex and then became a retribution demon. Styling herself as a vengeance demon, she specifically sought out spurned women and 'helped' them to get vengeance on their exes. But by this point in the story, she had lost her powers and was just an ordinary human again.
Tara's "I'm under your spell" is both a love song from Tara to Willow, but also an ominous song from the audiences perspective. The running theme throughout the episode is that pretty much everything *should* be written in minor keys based off traditional musical theory. Although Tara doesn't know it until half way through this episode, Willow used magic to manipulate her emotions and memories to brush off an error and get a level of forgiveness that she didn't earn. "I'm under your spell" is a very literal statement from someone who doesn't consciously know that she can't trust her partner
Spike's "Let me rest in peace" has a lot of backstory to it. Basically, Spike has confessed his love to Buffy before and she's shot him down. However due to the show being what it is, the plot always throws them together and Spike is still always one of the first places Buffy turns to whenever she needs something. He's expressing a desire for space so that he can try to move on from her, but also recognizes that he's the only one she feels safe to open up to because he's 'evil' and she doesn't have to worry about sparing his emotions the way that she does with everyone else. Buffy is using Spike and Spike is obsessed with her to an unhelpful degree. It's a very unhealthy relationship, but at this point in the plot, neither is able to move past it
Gile's song is one of my favourites, but also unfortunately one of the ones that gets the most overlooked in these sorts of reactions, because it's the most dependent on background information. Ever since Buffy's return, she's been more and more dependent on Giles. Giles has been her surrogate father figure since season 1. They both know it to some degree, but recently Buffy even asked Giles to take care of talking to Dawn after she got in trouble. (Again, more context. Dawn is Buffy's little sister, but after their mother died, Buffy became her legal guardian) He worries that as long as he's around and doing things like that for her, that she'll never be able to go back to her old, assertive, confident, self-reliant self and thinks that she may benefit (in the long term) from him distancing himself
"I will walk through the fire" goes on to show, just how disconnected and at odds everyone is. Buffy thinks she's alone and has resigned herself to continue to be the sacrifice of the group. She doesn't feel the heat, the passion the love or the life that she's always known, but "Where else can I turn". Spike is wrestling with his emotions where he knows Buffy will never love him back and wants to stop loving her in kind. But he knows that she needs him and he knows that he could never live with himself if he didn't help her. The rest of the group are all rushing to Buffy's aid, but have wildly different perspectives on what's going on. From Giles thinking he may have to leave the country, to Tara thinking she will have to leave Willow to Willow herself singing "I think this line is mostly filler" because she doesn't know there's anything wrong
The part where you said it may not be your favourite song where Buffy was talking about all the good things in life, but didn't sound convincing was because she doesn't believe them. She's saying all the things she knows she should say, but her depression means that she can't see the good things around her. The whole sequence of "Give me something to sing about" is all about Buffy trying and failing to see anything worth living for. The dissonant note you didn't like was meant to make you highly uncomfortable and is the first time most of the cast are learning that far from rescuing her from a hell dimension, like they thought they were, they literally pulled her out of heaven to be here. And so all she can see around her are the aches and pains and trivialities of life that she didn't have to deal with before. Give me something to sing about" because all I see around me is the pain and suffering that I thought I had had my lot of and was rid of, until you bought me back. But I know you were only trying to help, so I can't even be mad at you, but without the good feelings, without the anger I'm just left with nothing
The part where she starts dancing faster and faster was actually a suicide attempt. The demon's aura/effect is to make you dance faster and faster until you spontaneously combust as we saw in the alley, so presumably she and everyone else has been holding back. But now that she's given up her secret. Now that she can see the look of pain and regret on the faces of her friends that she'd been doing her best to protect. Now she has nothing. She stops holding back. She doesn't need to dance well, she just needs to dance fast and it will all be over
And finally, the kiss being played over the big ensemble finish is another example of what should be a sad moment being played in major tones. As has been apparent throughout the episode, Buffy and Spike are not good for each other right now. Neither is handling their emotions well and their relationship would inevitably be toxic. Their kiss is purely a matter of "I know this isn't good for me, but it's the only thing that can make me feel anything at all" it's a tragic moment of her giving into despair. Not quite to the point of another suicide attempt. But to the point of committing to a toxic relationship because it's better than just feeling nothing.
Love it that you focused on the singing and the reprise done by Tara and Giles. ❤️ What is cool about this musical is that it plays a heavy role in the series arch and isn’t just a one-off episode.
They definitely know how to utilise their strongest singers to create something magical (pun intended 😉)
Yeah, Spike was built up over 3 seasons and the Buffy/Spike attraction built up over 1 1/2 seasons. That kiss at the end was worked up to and earned.
Yes thank you!
LOL the Buffy and Spike thing is literally COMPLICATED. It's hard to explain without seven years of context.
I've seen so many "music experts" to react to this episode and yours is by far the best. Love it!
toxic? He's a vampire that has killed a lot. Like, a lot. She's a vampire slayer. Like, this is one of the best love arcs ever.
Also, pretty sure the first kiss between the two witches was THE first on screen lesbian kiss.
Except that Star Trek Deep Space 9 did it nearly six years earlier with "Rejoined".
@@paulfeist Oh, yes, you're right, I forgot about that.
@@TheHestya Everyone forgets that one.... :-)
Yes! THANKYOU. There were ups and downs for both him and Buffy but they got through it
Joss Whedon is a writer/director who created Buffy as well as wrote and directed The Avengers (along with a lot more). He also wrote Doctor Horrible's Sing-a-long Blog that you should check out. It's kind of funny that you like James Marsters/Spike's accent as it's fake and he's really from Texas. A lot of the songs and relationships make more sense if you've watched the series. Buffy was dead and Williow resurrected her but she's isn't happy because they tore her out of heaven.. I think that is why her last song is kind of off-key, as a reflection of her trauma and no longer being in harmony with life.
Loved your reaction ! Without giving away too much just in case you watch the show, everyone was going through crisis and not communicating very well. Spike is a vampire without a soul. He is struggling with his feeling of what he feels is love against his vampire instincts to kill her( and it’s even more complicated than that). Buffy is going through major crisis. All the characters fears are revealed through song. As great as the songs are, once you know the background it’s even better. The show is groundbreaking and stands up to today .
What made this episode even better was that many musical episodes are throw aways, a break in the ongoing story, but in this episode every character has to face important issues that furthered the story line i significant ways. Anya and Xander dealing with their wedding jitters, Dawn's cry for help kleptomania, the episode before Willow and Tara had a few fight over Willow's abuse of magic and Willow's solution was to put Tara "under her spell" and make her forget the fight and most importantly Buffy died at the end of the last season and Willow brought her back and ever since then she hasn't quite been right. Here we finally get confirmation as to why. As for Spike, his character has an amazing evolution over the course of the show. He very much started out as a villain and this is the middle of his transition into something more. Taken out of context it is easy to see why you wouldn't like him, much of the fandom still hates him at this point as well, but you can see what he's trying to go and in future episodes you see how much he is willing to sacrifice to do it.
5:59 - Yes, "lesbian witches." And I STILL don't know how they got that floating bit past the censors! And the lyric "You make me COME-plete! You make me COME-plete!" Yow!
OMG! I didn't even pick up on that 🤣
@@AmieMariah_ And, that's after singing about being "spread beneath my "Willow" tree. Quite possibly the sexiest song segment ever on TV, and many people seem to overlook it as they're caught up in Amber Benson's lovely vocals as her body literally floats above the bed. Spread beneath her willow tree, indeed!
Amie, please consider reacting to this series. I think you'd be a natural. While you obviously could not know the context of so many of the songs, you still managed to grasp the overall tenor of the episode. I think you'd be a natural for this one.
How it got by the censors..because it's season 6. They'd changed networks to a new one starting this season, I think to UPN, so there really weren't any.
Must have been hard for the members of the cast with no Singing experience to do this.
''I'm Under Your Spell'' Is my favourate song.
But then Willow and Tara are my favourate couple from the Series.
From what I'm learning quite a few of them had a background in singing. I was most surprised to find out Sarah Michelle Geller really didn't want to do the episode. Seeing as she isn't a singer I thought she did really well!
@@AmieMariah_ I love when I found this out about Sarah Michelle Gellar. The fact that she had intended on having her voice dubbed for the singing, but decided to do it herself when she found out she would be revealing where she had been speak volumes to her acting!
Sorry! I didn’t mean for that to be such a long run-on sentence, but hopefully, you get the gist of it! Also, if you decide to react to Buffy, I’m also here for it! It will definitely boost your channel!