Although its excellent musical numbers certainly contribute to what makes the episode great, the real reason "Once More, With Feeling" is the gold standard for musical episodes is because the writers understood that musical numbers as a medium function as monologues that reveal a character’s true feelings. After all, the episode's soundtrack charted 49 on the Billboard 200in the US and received stellar reviews from critics. Musical episodes that have followed in its footsteps have mistakenly attributed its effectiveness to its catchy original songs, which is an understandable misconception. Musical episodes existed prior to Buffy the Vampire Slayer’s take on it, but Season 6, Episode 7 "Once More, With Feeling" arguably popularized the concept into trope status- and for good reason.
#Buffy the vampire slayer once more with feelings series#
While it may seem like an unusual choice, musical episodes have become a rite of passage for many popular TV shows, including The Simpsons, Community, and just about any CW series that lasts for a couple of seasons. Though given the strength of this flawless episode, that’s probably for the best.From avid television fans to casual watchers, most viewers are familiar with the concept of the musical episode. The show concluded after its seventh season, meaning the cast and crew never got a chance to do this once more, with feeling. And I think Alyson Hannigan makes it through the entire episode without singing more than one or two lines.īut in its sixth season, when too many television programs find themselves “Going Through the Motions,” Whedon elevated Buffy to its highest peak. Others, from Nicholas Brendon to Gellar, are adequate. And this cast wasn’t hired for their pipes, though regular co-stars Anthony Head, Amber Benson and Emma Caulfield actually are quite good. The plot involves the demon Sweet (stage star Hinton Battle) weaving a magic spell that forces everyone sing, so these are ordinary people prompted by dark powers to croon their feelings. And we believe them when, in the tearjerking “Where Do We Go From Here,” the gang laments, “Understand, we’ll go hand in hand, but we’ll walk alone in fear.” (Nice choreography as well, Joss.) (“And what’s with all the carrots? What do they need such good eyesight for anyways?”) They are unifying, as when group harmonizes, “What can’t we face if we’re together? What’s in this world that we can’t weather?” Better yet, they believe it. And yet, choice stanzas also capture everything we had come to appreciate about the series. The Xander-Anya relationship falters through the hilarious duet “I’ll Never Tell,” and the strenuous Spike-Buffy relationship settles in “Let Me Rest In Peace,” all without Whedon forcing his hand. “Under Your Spell” advances the Willow-Tara relationship (“spread beneath my Willow tree”).
Feeling isn’t a placeholder, like so many gimmicky musical episodes attempted by lesser programs.
The lyrics penned for Feeling expertly analyze some of the key issues plaguing Whedon’s Scooby gang, making me wonder how long before the musical episode the screenwriters had to start mapping out plot threads so that they could bring them to a head in this brilliant episode. Instead, everything he had done prior seemed to build to this musical episode, and Feeling was his exuberant release.
Hearing Gellar express this frustration – through song and clever lyric – signified that Whedon wasn’t just scratching a creative itch to work a musical into his popular program. I knew it would be special right away, when Gellar moped through the mid-tempo opening number, “Going Through the Motions.” Because up to that point in season 6, the resurrected character of Buffy had been doing just that, and fans were losing patience waiting for her to shake this malaise.
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