Oh, yeah, in case you didn't know? Once More With Feeling is the ever-famous musical episode of Buffy.
But this whole episode in general just filled me with glee. From Buffy's opening number which focuses on Buffy's current dilemma, which is that after having risen from the dead (being torn out of heaven by her friends who thought they were saving her from a hell dimension) she doesn't really have a purpose anymore... she's just kinda floating through life, surviving. Just Going Through the Motions, which is actually the name of the song. And it shows the concept beautifully, actually, while also including some great moments.
Demons: *singing* She's just going through the motions/Faking it somehow
One of the demons: *gets stabbed by Buffy* She's not even half the girl she..... ow. *falls over dead*
And also:
Buffy: *unties hot guy from the tree, rescuing him* Will I stay this way forever?/Sleepwalk through my life's endeavour?
Hot guy: How can I repay -
Buffy: *dismissing him* Whatever.
And it just gets better from there, from Anya's hard rock bit about the terrifying nature of bunnies, to Dawn starting to sing but being interrupted by scary kidnappers, to random citizens singing passionately about things like mustard stains getting washed out of their clothes and getting parking tickets.
But don't be fooled; this is not a happy-go-lucky musical where the only conflict is kinda superficial and we all know the guy and the girl will get together and live happily ever after. This isn't that. Actually, season six is known as one of the darkest seasons of the show, countered only by season seven, which I can't really talk about since I haven't seen it. The impending darkness of this season was kinda established in the third episode of the season, in which Buffy lies to her friends, telling them they rescued her from a hell dimension, and then confides in Spike (SPIKE of all people!) that in reality they had torn her out of heaven, and living in this dimension is basically hell now.
Yeah. Dark.
And they didn't just disregard that for the sake of having a happy musical. It's really rather grim. Tara discovers that Willow'd been using magic to alter her memory so that they wouldn't have to fight about something Willow didn't want to fight about and is rightfully upset, Giles decides that instead of helping Buffy he's impeding her growth and he should leave, Xander and Anya express terror at the idea of being married, Spike is really frustrated that Buffy is basically only talking to him because she doesn't feel she can talk to her friends anymore (she knows how he feels about her, so it's kind of a tease) and as a result Buffy ends up with no one left to help. So they didn't disregard the storyline to make this, is what I'm saying, and actually furthered the story arc.
And I'm impressed by that, actually, because this too easily could have been just a happy-go-lucky gimmick episode (and don't get me wrong, there were gimmicky pieces) but generally? It actually utilized the musical format. Because the point of having a musical is that music gets to your heart rather than your head, and so when you're singing you're singing your real feelings instead of lying to make other people feel better. Hence Buffy confessing to her friends that in reality she'd been in heaven and they'd ripped her out of there.
The episode is about communication. I mean, I don't know how they do musical episodes in other shows (do they do musical episodes in other shows? My friend told me they do, but I haven't seen any...), but in this one they're completely aware that they're bursting into song and saying things that will probably hurt other people around them, and it scares them and screws up their friendships. And I don't wanna say that's awesome because that sounds kinda cold-hearted, but I really liked that about the episode, because it kinda countered the (deliberate) cheesiness of some pieces.
Also, did I mention that it ends with Buffy and Spike kissing? I AM NOT ON BOARD WITH THIS. Don't get me wrong, I love Spike.... I ADORE Spike. Spike's the best character on the whole freakin' show. But Buffy and Spike....? Really Buffy? ANOTHER vampire? I mean, at least Spike has a personality (*coughcoughunlikeAngelcough*) and I will gladly concede that Spike and Buffy have a connection but I still find it hard to get behind the.... Spuffy. Maybe the rest of the season will change my mind. But I'm skeptical.
But that added to the episode, though, because needless to say after Spike leaving the Scoobies with a "Bugger this", and Spike's song demanding Buffy let him "rest in peace" (see it's clever 'cause he's dead), and his lines in Walk Through the Fire ("First he'll kill her then I'll save her.... No I'll save her, then I'LL kill her") it was unexpected. So maybe it's the surprise that's got me all mraaargh, cause it didn't feel completely unearned, but I dunno. Point is, the ending for the episode topped it off very well. So yeah.
So in conclusion, well done cast and crew of Buffy for this episode. It could have been bad. It wasn't. It was an unforgettable musical extravaganza Buffy style. It was awesome. Well. Freaking. Done.
So, without further ado, my favourite numbers from the episode:
Going Through The Motions. I've talked about that one already.
Rest in Peace. What can I say? I adore Spike, I love the way he visibly hates himself for bursting into song moments after bragging about how he seems to be immune, I love the end of the scene which I will not spoil but it's hilarious, and the song's just.... rockin'.
Standing In the Way. This scene is so moving. Anthony Stewart Head (Giles) is an amazing actor, and a very good singer. That is all.
Walk Through the Fire. Again, I've already talked about this one. Very pretty. Still got it on repeat.
The rest of it was awesome as well, I just really enjoyed these ones in particular. So..... this review's over.
And curtain.
P.S I just sent out for a book of sheet music for this episode. Thirty bucks, including shipping, 1-2 weeks. WORTH IT.
I'm not obsessed or anything.
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