BUFFY'S RISKIEST EPISODE MODERNIZED A CONTROVERSIAL TROPE

Buffy the Vampire Slayer is a highly influential fantasy show, maintaining a strong fan base even after 20 years off the air. Popularizing several tropes within its genre and in popular culture (even credited with originating "Google" as a verb), few single episodes of TV were as influential as Buffy the Vampire Slayer's Season 6, Episode 7, "Once More, With Feeling."

Buffy's musical episode set the standard for all following musical one-offs due to its obvious love for the genre. "Once More, With Feeling" does not just play its concept for laughs (though there is, of course, still a hefty amount of comedy and snark), it leans into the storytelling conventions of a true Broadway musical to create an episode full of sincerity that moves the plot forward for the rest of the season.

"Once More, With Feeling" is Wholly Original

Songs in "Once More, With Feeling"

Before Joss Whedon wrote his cult classic Dr. Horrible's Sing-Along Blog, "Once More, With Feeling" was his first professional foray into musical theater writing. All the episode's songs were originals, tailored specifically to the circumstances of the episode and the voice of the character singing. Other musical episodes, made primarily for gimmick, such as Grey's Anatomy Season 7, Episode 18, "Song Beneath the Song," play as jukebox musicals. Even fully musical shows like Glee that came in the years following featured covers of songs rather than original music. It makes sense for a TV show to choose this route, especially if it is for a single episode and the time and budget for musical numbers were not originally factored into the show. Even without the work of writing lyrics and composing music, a musical episode is a labor-intensive project, with choreography and vocal rehearsals adding to the prep time for episode filming.

However, some other TV shows take direct inspiration from Buffy and write their own music as well, like Star Trek: Strange New Worlds Season 2, Episode 9, "Subspace Rhapsody," and for good reason. The creation of an original score gives "Once More, With Feeling" and the episodes that followed in its footsteps more authenticity and heart. In genre shows especially, the top pop hits that are often used for jukebox musical shows don't cut it; the storylines are too specific. Anything other than original scores would lead to an episode full of half-relevant lyrics stretched to fit Buffy's beloved characters, and it would have fallen completely flat. Instead, numbers like "Walk Through the Fire" feature both deeply relevant character moments like Buffy's lament about her depressed feelings ("To save the day or maybe melt away / I guess it's all the same") as well as comedic lines like, "I think that this line's mostly filler." The original music allows these episodes to shine not just as spectacles but also as real foundational episodes for their shows.

"Once More, With Feeling" Fits in With the Rest of Buffy

The originality of its music also allows "Once More, With Feeling" to match the tone of the rest of the show. The lyrics, as mentioned, even feature comedic asides fitting the standard dialogue. More than that, though, the episode takes pains to make itself like any of the other monster-of-the-week, largely episodic stories that Buffy the Vampire Slayer is built on. As a fantasy show full of curses that affect the entire town (like Season 2, Episode 6, "Halloween" where everyone turns into their Halloween costumes), it doesn't take a crazy plot contrivance to make everyone have to sing, just a demon with a particular gimmick. This particular demon also has a stellar stage presence thanks to the Broadway acclaimed actor, Hinton Battle.

On top of that, all the actors performed their own songs, without voice doubles. Aside from a few standout members, like the guest-starring demon, Amber Benson as Tara, Anthony Stewart Head as Giles and James Marsters as Spike, the cast was not made up of particularly strong singers. Rather than detract from the episode, however, it contributed to the feeling of the episode. The characters were reluctant to sing, and in several cases, like Xander and Anya's duet "I'll Never Tell" and Buffy's "Something to Sing About," they were actively trying to keep the things they were singing secret. Spike even rolls his eyes when he is compelled to begin his song, "Rest in Peace." The sometimes weak vocals add to the feeling that the already beloved characters are being forced into the position of singing their feelings, with the roughness of Buffy's voice especially contributing to her vulnerability in this episode, a contrast to her usually resilient character. She feels every bit a wavering young woman, and a power belt wouldn't give that impression.

Buffy the Vampire Slayer Uses its Musical Episode to Full Effect

Most importantly, "Once More, With Feeling" is so influential on the trope of the musical episode because it used that trope for a purpose. The episode doesn't seem like it's trying to temper its theatricality, but takes full advantage of it to give character insights and plot points that wouldn't have happened otherwise. The relationship between Spike and Buffy, for example, greatly moves forward in this episode as a result of both characters revealing their complicated feelings for each other. Significantly, it is also where the reason for Buffy's strange behavior and malaise is revealed to the rest of the cast against her will. She is forced to reveal that when her friends brought her back to life, they pulled her from Heaven and the first actual peace she'd known.

All of this is only revealed because of the nature of a musical, where songs can be anything from arguments to monologues, but almost always come at pivotal parts of the story to establish characters' feelings or motivations. While normal dialogue in the show allows characters to joke, avoid and obfuscate their feelings, the musical format prevents that, making them face things head-on. Even in this episode, Buffy uses times when she is not singing to rescind feelings she has revealed. She discusses the sudden outbursts into songs with her friends after the first night and says she can't remember what her song "Going Through the Motions" was about. Because the demon's musical curse is inflicted on everyone, it's not just Buffy who gets character and relationship development in this episode, but every other character, too. Giles, Buffy's mentor and father figure, debates leaving Buffy, Tara and Willow are deeply in love and then Tara is deeply betrayed that Willow is erasing her memory, and Xander and Anya even show the flaws in their relationship. No opportunity is wasted to use musical conventions to enhance the episode.

Ultimately, it is the care that went into "Once More, With Feeling" that makes it so great. Its originality, plot relevance, and its perfect use of the musical episode trope all come from a clear love of the medium of the musical and the desire to make a great episode of TV. Both off-camera with the writers and directors and on-camera with the cast, the creators of the show wanted to ensure that this load-bearing episode delivered on all its necessary emotional beats. Whether or not every fan liked the episode (though it is widely well-regarded), it is undeniably not a throwaway episode that a watcher can just do away with; it is precisely that level of seriousness that made it more than a hokey gimmick episode, but a revitalization of a risky trope.

2024-07-17T12:51:38Z dg43tfdfdgfd