Once More, With Feeling

Season 6, Episode 7
Written by Joss Whedon
Directed by Joss Whedon
Original Airdate: 5 November 2001

“Now that’s entertainment.”

Sweet

REGULAR CAST

Sarah Michelle Gellar as Buffy Summers
Nicholas Brendon as Xander Harris
Emma Caulfield as Anya Jenkins
Michelle Trachtenberg as Dawn Summers
James Marsters as Spike
Alyson Hannigan as Willow Rosenberg

SPECIAL GUEST STAR

Anthony Stewart Head as Rupert Giles

GUEST CAST

Hinton Battle as Sweet
Amber Benson as Tara Maclay

CO-STARRING

David Fury as Mustard Man
Marti Noxon as Parking Ticket Woman
Daniel Weaver as Handsome Young Man
Scot Zeller as Henchman
Zachary Woodlee as Demon Henchman
Timothy Anderson as Henchman
Alex Estronel as Henchman
Matt Sims as College Guy #1
Hunter Cochran as College Guy #2

SYNOPSIS

The ladies of the Summers house wake and go about their daily activities to prepare for a new day. Usual behaviour continues at the magic shop with wedding planning, training and research. Patrolling leads to Buffy slaying a demon and rescuing a man all the while singing about “Going Through the Motions.” The next day, when Buffy questions the gang about singing the night before, their similar experiences lead into another song where all of the gang sing their theories about the cause of their strange musical behaviour.

Buffy begins another song that describes the ability of the Slayer and the Scooby Gang to withstand anything as long as they’re with each other. When the singing stops, the gang question whether they’re the only ones affected, but a look outside confirms that all of Sunnydale, at the very least, is affected. Dawn returns from school to talk about her equally musical day. Willow and Tara rush off to research but really take some private time, leaving behind the gang and a pendant that Dawn secretly takes. In the park, Tara and Willow are playful with each other as Tara sings about her love to Willow. The singing continues as the two dance their way home to their bedroom where Willow makes Tara literally float off the bed.

At the magic shop, Willow and Tara’s non-researching activities are brought up by Xander. Meanwhile, out in an alley somewhere, a man is tap dancing frantically until he begins to smoke and eventually burst into flames as a result. A demon, Sweet, watches and enjoys the sight. The next morning, Xander and Anya lie in bed planning breakfast. This leads into a song and dance number of the two explaining their complaints about each other and worries about their upcoming marriage. Later, while walking with Giles, the two complain to Giles about the truth that resulted from their duet.

Buffy pays Spike a visit at his crypt, where he’s getting himself drunk. She wants information, but he has nothing to offer her… but a song. Spike shares his interpretation of her feelings for him, knowing she’s using him and wanting her to let him go. They move out into the cemetery, where Spike rudely interrupts a funeral, dancing and singing on the coffin. Buffy pulls him away from hurting the funeral attendees and they fall into the open grave which startles and confuses Buffy, so she runs away.

Tara finds Dawn and tries to explain the strange behaviour of the town in a non-frightening way. Dawn mentions Willow and Tara’s fighting which leads to Tara realizing that she’s forgotten and the dried flower she found earlier on the bed may have been involved. Alone, Dawn puts on the pendant she found earlier at the shop and as she sings, she’s kidnapped by a group of demons. She’s taken to Sweet who’s taken over the deserted Bronze and claims her as his new wife. After learning that the Slayer is Dawn’s sister, Sweet demands her presence so he can see her burn.

Buffy trains with Giles and talks about dealing with Dawn which Giles responds to in song. He sings how she’s not prepared for the world and how he’s holding her back by trying to be a father figure to her, but Buffy didn’t listen to a word he sang. Tara arrives at the magic shop in search of information about the spell she suspects Willow did. A duet between her and Giles begins as they both sing about planning to leave the people who hurt and use them: Willow and Buffy.

Spike presents one of Sweet’s minions to the gang at the shop, which informs Buffy and friends that Dawn is in trouble and she needs to go to her. When Giles says Buffy needs to go alone, Spike gets upset and eventually claims that he hopes both girls burn. Buffy sings as she goes to find Sweet and her sister while Spike sings along from a safe distance and soon Sweet joins in on the song as well. Buffy and Sweet sing about walking through fire and Buffy’s pull towards it as Spike sings about his confusing feelings for Buffy.

The whole Scooby Gang join in and it’s one big musical extravaganza. Spike and Tara sing about love, Buffy and Sweet sing about their upcoming encounter and Dawn’s rescue, and Giles and Willow sing about plans to defeat the demon. Buffy offers a deal to Sweet to exchange her life for Dawn’s and this, yet again, leads into a song and dance number. Buffy sings while taking out minion after minion then is backed up by Anya and Tara for more. She goes on to tell the truth about being in Heaven and taken from that which stuns everyone and brings Willow to tears. With her friends standing by, horrified by what she just revealed, Buffy begins to dance uncontrollably and smoke.

Spike jumps in and stops her before she bursts into flames, telling her the brutal truth about life. That musical number ended, Sweet still refuses to leave without Dawn, but Dawn knows she didn’t summon him, even though she found the pendant. Xander reveals himself to be the one who summoned Sweet, all because he wanted the tension gone and the truth out before the wedding. Fortunately for Xander, Sweet ignores the fact that Xander should be leaving as his “bride,” and leaves with a song.

With the truth out and Sweet gone, the gang sings “Where do we go from here?” Spike leaves, but Buffy follows, and the two sing to each other. More singing can be heard in the background as the two draw close and kiss intensely.

TRIVIA

Joss Whedon wrote the music and lyrics himself with help from Buffy composer Christophe Beck. This is the only episode of season six which Joss wrote or directed.

Buffy composer Christophe Beck spoke to the Bronze posting board about Joss Whedon’s talent: “[He] came up with lyrics, melodies, the underlying chords/harmony, as well as general stylistic direction for each of 16 musical numbers. The songs started out as four-track recordings Joss made himself. I co-arranged and co-produced the songs with Jesse Tobias of the band Splendid.”

Sarah Michelle Gellar said “I’m not a singer, and I hated every moment of it. It took something like 19 hours of singing and 17 hours of dancing in between shooting four other episodes.” Gellar originally wanted a voice double, but then realized she didn’t want someone else doing her what would be her big emotional turning point for the season. Alyson Hannigan hated her singing voice and asked not to have a song, or any major lines, of her own. In Nightmares, we see that Willow herself is terrified of singing in public.

Writer/producers Marti Noxon and David Fury both cameo in the episode. Marti plays the woman arguing over a parking ticket and Fury is the man singing about his dry cleaning. They both reappear in these roles, albeit offscreen in Selfless.

Joss Whedon says in his season six commentary that the two vampires, the demon, the street cleaners and Sweet’s henchmen are all played by the same people.

This episode originated from times when the cast and crew of both Buffy and Angel regularly visited Joss Whedon’s house on a Sunday to read Shakespeare plays together. The episode took four months in total to write, film, and produce. The episode also runs eight minutes longer than the average episode.

For the first time since the show began, the closing credit music is replaced. The dance of the road sweepers is played instead. This was also the first time the show aired in widescreen. The beginning credits are completely different to the way they usually are, but if you listen, the initial tune is a take on Nerf Herder’s own Buffy theme.

The Mutant Enemy Monster joins in the singing at the end of the episode.

The BBC promised to show the longer version of the musical episode in the UK but in fact showed the much shorter one. Finally, in the very late night slot the following evening they showed the full length one – after lots of complaints. However it was so late and not advertised – few people realised and therefore missed it.

The episode has two versions, the longer, uncut one and another version that runs on time. The following parts of the musical were cut from the original episode for the shorter version:

The opening scene when Tara finds the flower which Willow used to put an amnesia spell on her.
Some footage was cut from after Buffy finishes her song “Going Through The Motions”.
Dawn’s pterodactyl scene was cut.
“I’ve Got A Theory” was much shorter.
Several lines from the Magic Shop scene between Buffy, Xander and Dawn were cut.
Spike’s “Rest in Peace” song was slightly cut. Dawn’s dance with the puppets was removed entirely.
A line from “Walk Through the Fire” was cut.

CONTINUITY

While singing, Tara mentions that Willow knows she’s “been through Hell.” She’s referring to her brain-suck at the hands of Glory, which happened in Tough Love and was corrected via magic by Willow in The Gift.

Dawn continues her stealing, following on from the previous episode.

Anya’s bunny fear once again resurfaces, this time in song.

Buffy says that “Dawn’s in trouble. Must be Tuesday.” Tuesday was the day the show usually aired in the US.

Anya mentions that Xander was once infected by a Chumash tribe. This happened in Pangs.

Tara literally is under Willow’s spell, more specifically the forgetting spell that Willow did in the previous episode.

Dawn repeats Buffy’s words from The Gift. “The hardest thing in this world is to live in it.”

Anya refers to a song that she and Xander sang the night before. It’s referenced again in Selfless.

GOOFS

When Buffy falls, the sword is by her head but when she jumps up it is by her side.

When Xander and Anya are singing “I’ll Never Tell”, just before Anya sings, “he’s swell”, you can see both Anya and Xander just finishing sitting down. However as Anya is singing the line, they show her starting to sit again, without ever getting back up.

For one line in Dawn and Sweet’s song, Dawn’s lips don’t move but she’s still supposedly singing.

When Buffy is dancing at the end of “Something to Sing About”, the supposedly dead body of the puppet demon behind her keeps moving.

When Anya and Tara sing and dance with Buffy in “Life’s a Show”, Tara nearly runs into the pillar; you can see her straighten and brush off her clothing afterwards.

When Tara holds the flower beside the book, the flower is laid the same way as the book. When the camera cuts back to the flower, it is flipped in the other direction.

How did the puppet henchmen get into Buffy’s house without Tara seeing them?

WHERE DO WE GO FROM HERE?

EPISODE
All the Way / Tabula Rasa

STORY ORDER
All the Way / Tabula Rasa