Buffy The Vampire Slayer 6x07 Once More With Feeling Reaction

[@julesreacts]

I adore this episode! It was brilliant and so much fun. It took me MANY tries to get this episode through KZbin's copyright system, so I had to edit it down a fair bit. I wanted to share my original edit with those that want to see it. I've uploaded to Patreon, and it has an extra 8 minutes of footage. This post is FREE to access, you don't need to be a Patreon member to view it. Enjoy! www.patreon.com/posts/110365655 (p.s. because of the Patreon post, I didn't schedule this release right on the dot of 6am Australian time. It all relied on me waking up and getting it done, so lucky for everyone I woke up at 5:57am 🤣 it's now 6:10am here for me, and you have your episode!)

[@ashleytuchin7693]

Thanks so much Jules, that's so kind of you! I knew this episode would be a real bugger for copyright, so ever since you started your Buffy reactions I'd been considering joining your Patreon just for this episode. Unfortunately though, I've had a lot of expenses these past few months so it didn't end up happening (maybe eventually though). I'm an early riser, so I was refreshing my KZbin feed constantly just waiting for it to drop. I was already bummed that I'd have to wait an extra hour because Daylight Savings has just started, but then when it took a little longer to go live I started to worry that the copyright bots were giving you grief. Sorry in advance for the essay I'm going to be dropping in the comments later when I get time. This is my favourite episode and I've spent months going over what I want to say in my head. 😂

[@chanceneck8072]

Thanks for posting! 😘 Of course I know all the songs by heart, when this episode originally aired, "Walk Through The Fire" climbed to #1 on the single charts in no time even here in Germany! 😅 I've contemplated so often, if I should make a video of me singing along with all the songs, but I have no good recording equipment other than my phone and I hate how I look. But if anyone would want to see that let me know, I can at least sing half decently. Some of my oldest videos are from some performances of me, back in the day, when my mother was still alive (or from my last gig two days after she died). Memories. It's the only reason I still have those uploaded... Only for the memories....

[@anonymes2884]

Oh what a lovely bonus, thanks for making this extended cut available to everyone Jules :).

[@johnmoreland6089]

Thank you so much, Jules! This get my vote for best episode of the entire series. ❤

[@bigdream_dreambig]

Thank you Jules. I was too eager and watched the whole KZbin vid before I noticed this comment . . . so I'll just make sure to circle back to Patreon in a few days to enjoy it all over again in its extended version!

[@RunicMike]

The Giles and Tara song is soul crushing every time

[@chanceneck8072]

@@RunicMike Same. Best two voices. And Tara has actually become my favorite character now.

[@RunicMike]

@@chanceneck8072 I like how because the actress chose not to become a series regular they didn't have to shoehorn her into every episode. So there's never any filler with her, every scene matters.

[@chanceneck8072]

@@RunicMike Right. And her singing here is SOO angelic... 🥹😍🥹

[@Smido83]

That duet isnt just heartcrushing in lyrics, its also incredibly well performed. There voices are brilliant on their own, but together they are perfectly supporting each other. The song is pretty much a perfect piece of art in any way or form.

[@ozfroggirl9221]

My favourite moment of the whole episode.

[@vannthybun2546]

“I was able to examine the body while police were taking witness arias” is the most underrated line in this episode, I still crack up every time I hear it

[@keshaponso2034]

same here. You're like the first person I've ever seen comment on it.

[@AnatoleVGC]

I didnt knew what arias was before so I never payed much attention to that line. Than you lol

[@colej.banning2419]

The way it doesn't bring attention to itself is what makes it great. It's so understated and deadpan.

[@leniloubettyboopbossyboots247]

Yes! Same. It's just slid in there so smoothly that it almost goes unnoticed.

[@jeffkoenig7402]

Agreed. I had actually forgotten about it because this was the first reaction I've seen that included it, and I have to admit I haven't done an actual rewatch in years because I've been watching about a dozen different reactors go through the show instead. I think I've seen every reaction to OMWF and The Body on KZbin lol

[@mscolli3]

I never laughed harder than when Giles says "she needs backup" and they join her as backup singers

[@mosty87]

And willows filler line ...

[@lionlyons]

I love how Spike and Buffy are both “Goddammit…” when Spike starts singing.

[@SKIP-yj3xp]

When I saw this episode in 2001, I was very impressed with the performance of Hinton Battle, who played the demon. He was an award winning actor, singer, dancer, and choreographer. After all these years in remembered him when I heard he died in January 2024.

[@frederiquem6725]

Oh no he died ?! That's se sad !!!

[@kathyastrom1315]

I was lucky enough to see him onstage in a national touring company production of Ragtime about the time this was broadcast. He was fantastic to watch!

[@Kap00rwith2os]

Fun fact: The "Grrr Arrrg" monster at the end of the credits also sings here 😁

[@robertmckenna3994]

I have never seen another show that pulled off a musical episode as perfectly as this one has. How this episode didn’t even get an Emmy nomination I will never know.👏👏👏

[@jcarterla]

Star Trek Strange New Worlds just did one last season that was equally as awesome.

[@shercahn]

Xena's is awesome (and was done before this one).

[@moriquendi32]

@@shercahndefinitely. ‘The Bitter Suite’ is an equally incredible episode.

[@Nexusofgeek]

The Emmy committee would not know quality if it bit them all in the rear. Bunch of old fogies who always picked cable and niche shows but never awarded great genre shows like Buffy back in the day

[@noahrobin1941]

Musical episodes are an odd beast. This one is also probably the best I’ve seen. I didn’t care for the one in Strange New Worlds myself. A little weirdly, although I don’t care for the Lucifer series, I did enjoy the musical moment (not a full episode at all) they did. For me, the SNW one felt a little forced, unlike this one which seems to flow just fine. I don’t want to get into spoiler territory with Lucifer; suffice it to say that the way they did it meant they basically sidestepped the “feeling forced” trap entirely, which is one of the reasons I like it.

[@victorsixtythree]

6:19 - Giles: "I was able to examine the body while the police were taking witness arias." LOL

[@JhadeSagrav]

YES!!!! 😂😂😂😂

[@salyx]

One of my favorite jokes in the whole series!

[@lauraw2526]

Omg I could never tell what he said there cause of the background music, thanks! 😆

[@dayceem]

Yeah, thanks. All these years I never got it, but with several people mentioning it, I had to look up the definition of aria. Now my sides hurt from laughing so hard!

[@tonyberezowski7859]

Such a great line!! But, my favourite thing about that part is the difficult to hear portion of the No Parking song that Giles is speaking over!! When she tries to bride the cop singing, "There was no parking anywhere. I'm not wearing underwear." 😂😂😂😂

[@Logan_Baron]

James/Spike is also a professional singer, was in a band at the time. All the singing was really done by the actors. This came about from when Joss used to host Shakespeare nights at his house. He said eventually James started bringing his guitar and they'd sing some songs. He said he knew then that he had a cast talented enough to do a musical, which he'd always wanted to do. Apparently Emma/Anya, would occasionally break into heavy metal singing about silly stuff like that usually about what she was eating from craft services. So that's why he gave her that bit. Amber/Tara obviously had the perfect voice for a disneyesque song. Allyson/Willow asked not to sing anymore than she had to hence the filler line. Michelle/Dawn also asked not to sing but did want to dance as yes she had studied ballet, so she got her Swan Lake like moment. And Hinton Battle who played the demon Suite, is incredible. Sarah doesn't really have singing on her acting resume, but she did INCREDIBLE. She also did really well in a Princess Rap Battle.

[@meggo329]

He still is in a band

[@JhadeSagrav]

"Well, I sing." 😂 One of my favorite Spike lines. S2E21

[@ryanclark6402]

As a sound engineer, I must admit that I’ve bellowed “They got the mustard out!” more than once while testing mics on stage…

[@julesreacts]

PERFECT 🤣🤣

[@hollyvanwye9294]

😁

[@colleenmarin8907]

That is absolutely fantastic!

[@Keeshya6]

Hahaha! This made my day

[@cucublueberry8078]

I applaud you my good sir 😅👍

[@7bestthings]

Simply put - this is, perhaps, not only the best written episode of this show, but the best written episode of any show, ever. Joss Whedon not only wrote the script but all the songs for this episode, a process that took months. The songs are not interruptions, but revelations, with the characters all spilling their deepest secrets. Each character gets their own genre, which lines up with their personality. This episode blew me away when I watched it back in 2001, I had no idea what was coming. It only gets better every time I watch it. This is a true masterpiece of creativity and an amazing amount of work and rehearsals by the cast and by the crew. Television does not get better than this episode. Those of us who have been with you on this journey through Buffy from the beginning have all been waiting for you to watch this episode. Thank you for your heartfelt reaction.

[@tonyberezowski7859]

Well said. What I find to be the most amazing aspect of this episode is that he wrote these songs that are incredible on their own, as they actually progress the storyline of both this episode AND the overarching story of the season, but they also actually fit together into duets and chorus numbers seamlessly!!! Absolute brilliance. I have also stated that I feel this is the greatest episode of network television ever made.

[@7bestthings]

@@tonyberezowski7859 Yes, I agree with you. The music is especially written for the show and for these characters, and they fit their arcs perfectly. It would have been easy to have a bunch of cover versions from popular musicals that kind of fit each situation, but Josh turned his script into songs. And they each were unique, but blended perfectly with the other songs. Good point about the duets and chorus numbers as well.

[@russellward4624]

David Fury(executive producer) is the mustard guy and Marti Noxon(show runner) is the women that gets a ticket.

[@tonyberezowski7859]

I was so hoping she would catch the quieter lines at the end of No Parking!! Such a classic.

[@4u57inc0v3110]

And they came back as the newscasters in "Dr. Horrible" too.

[@HelloXrancidkitteh]

Joss and Marti also did all the demos for the songs too. I remember owning the CD soundtrack and it included some of the demos too.

[@nicholasgarratt5646]

James Marsters is lead singer and guitarist for Ghost of the Robot.

[@JhadeSagrav]

"I'm in a band, with Spike here." "....Well, I sing."

[@shortychronicles252]

I love how this episode wasn’t a musical episode for the sake of having one. So many things happened and so many secrets revealed. They could have had several episodes to address all of it, but instead, they wrapped it all up in one, in a unique and beautifully written and executed episode.

[@dereknolin5986]

It also plays off of the quintessential thing that musicals do best: they use music to reveal the inner thoughts and feelings of the characters, which is why it ties so perfectly into the theme of all the secrets being revealed. I think it's also about battling depression, and that numb feeling that all your senses are dulled, and so in a sense you secretly wish for the heightened version of reality found in musicals. Or something along those lines; I didn't really explain that well.

[@shortychronicles252]

I think you explained that really well and I completely agree-great point!

[@godmagnus]

The slow blink when Buffy started singing 😂😂

[@goldenageofdinosaurs7192]

Lol, I could actually picture the buffering🤣

[@CourtneyHyde-g9z]

This has got to be one of my favorite eoisodes of Buffy it's honestly one of the best ones at least I think an the cast members are amazing singers it has been helping me sleep during the night.

[@julesreacts]

It's one of mine, too!

[@leighbomaya]

This episode alone is why I decided to watch your channel when I saw how invested you got in the emotions of the stories. I wish I could watch every single minute of your reaction. Such a perfect episode. The best musical genre show ever. These songs have been stuck in my head ever since. To have you watch this and Vincent and the Doctor back to back - how have you coped?!

[@dees3179]

Good job it wasn’t Vincent and the Doctor and The Body at the same time. That would have been a spectacularly bad combination.

[@heather9857]

Every time you said "Where do we go from here?" during a reaction, it was all I could do to hold back! Jules, I'm so excited you know this episode

[@adoreandu-reactions-b5h]

Oh Jules, your reaction during the Tara/Giles duet broke my heart all over again

[@julesreacts]

That duet was amazing 😭😭

[@OzeroCa]

For me, the highlights are the joining for the Tara/Giles duet, and Willow’s expression when she hears the truth. Oh, and Spike’s solo of course.

[@Henrik_Holst]

Notice that not one of her friends gives Buffy a reply when she asks "give me something to sing about" (aka give me something to live about aka a desperate call for help when about to unalive herself).

[@interstellardave]

They’d have liked to but what can you say after that bombshell revelation? There’s no comeback for that… not right away, anyway.

[@Henrik_Holst]

@@interstellardave which if you think about it means that they didn't bring her back for her to live (since they had no reply to why she should live) and only for their own sake.

[@interstellardave]

@@Henrik_HolstVery true. They selfishly wanted her back and Willow had the “one solution for everything”: magic. Assuming Buffy went to hell was a justification based on nothing. No information. If only someone had thought positively regarding the “death is your gift” message from the first slayer they may have let her be.

[@Muirmaiden]

THE musical episode! It's brilliant, fun, and touching. Anthony Stewart Head, James Marsters, and Amber Benson are also professional singers. Everyone did very well. I adored the duet with Giles and Tara, heartbreaking that it was. Buffy was finally able to reveal that she'd been in Heaven. Spike saving her from burning, the kiss at the end - epic! Wonderful reaction again (I had feeling that you'd love this one, Jules!).

[@KthulhuXxx]

"Everyone did very well" And Alyson Hannigan was there too.

[@SeerMagicX]

This is not Whedon's only musical. You gotta react to Dr Horrible's Sing A Long Blog. It stars Neil Patrick Harris, Nathan Fillion and Felicia Day. It's amazing (and only about 45 minutes).

[@Emburbujada]

Yes! She really should!

[@mhorrighan]

yes, yes, yes. it's an absolute must

[@donsample1002]

And I personally think that _Commentary!_ the musical commentary track for _Dr Horrible,_ is even more brilliant.

[@LongandWeirdName]

Horrible got everything he ever wanted. And all it cost him was...

[@corvacks8924]

​@@LongandWeirdNamei saw what you did there

[@jessicapatton6523]

It is indeed all of the cast doing their own singing with nobody being dubbed here. I think they considered subbing Buffy at one point since she has by far the most singing to do, but Sarah Michelle Geller insisted on doing the extra vocal training and doing it herself. Especially when she realised the Heaven reveal was happening here- she thought it was really important that she delivered that reveal and not a singer dubbing over her. The only two people who weren’t confident with singing were Willow and Dawn’s actresses, which is why neither has a big number. They still did the few lines they had themselves and in Dawn’s case they changed her number to a dance one since Michelle Trantenburg is as you guessed a trained ballet dancer. I believe at the very least Anthony Head, Amber Benson and James Marsters were vocally trained before this- it might have been more of the cast, those are just the ones I know for certain. In James Marsters case he actually helped write the music for Spike’s song since he plays guitar in a band as well. As a side note, my boyfriend has just gone through several Once More With Feeling reaction videos in a row and after a couple asked me “Is Spike’s song just inherently attractive to women who like men? Because a lot of female reactors are really into it” He was quite pleased with my response of “Darling, why do you think I mysteriously appear every time you sing that one in the shower?”

[@julesreacts]

I am just so in awe at their talents!! All of them did an incredible job 🥰 I love that you have your very own Spike sing-along in the shower 😅 he's going to very quickly learn to always sing Rest In Peace to get your attention hehe 💜

[@corvus1970]

Anthony Head was indeed musically trained, as the younger brother of the musician, Murray Head, who is perhaps best known from his chart-topping single, "One Night in Bangkok" from the musical, "Chess" back in 1984. Anthony was in "Godspell", the musical, and did backing vocals for the band, 'Red Box', and so on. If you want more of Tony Head's singing, you can watch "Repo - The Genetic Opera", and he has two albums, "Music for Elevators" from 2002, and "Staring at the Sun" from 2014.

[@ernesthakey3396]

​​@@corvus1970 I love the music video for One Night In Bangkok, it's awesome! And my favorite ASH performance is as Frank-n-Furter from Rocky Horror. 🤣

[@dereknolin5986]

@@corvus1970 I first knew Murray Head as the orignal Judas on the original Jesus Christ Superstar concept album. He's excellent!

[@sharpeslass5452]

@@dereknolin5986 my sister and I used to roller skate to the OG JC Superstar album when we were kids (we were living in Italy and the downstairs was a huge unpolished marble floored room perfect for skating). We'd divvy up the parts and put on shows for my poor, suffering parents. My little sister had to be Jesus, and I was pretty much everyone else. But Head's Judas was my favorite.

[@Luca9595]

It's not only a fantastic episode, but also the most viewed episode overall of all the buffy the vampire slayer reaction videos on youtube. This episode, hush and the body are unique in their own way.

[@brianrussell463]

8:06 the song that Tara sings is call "Under your Spell" which is both figuratively mean that she is in love with Willow but that she is actually Under the forget spell that Willow cast on her from the previous episode.

[@spamfilter32]

Oh, thank you for the song at the end! that was such a fitting way to end the reaction to this episode!

[@flaviogleidson4675]

Last night, I watched this episode in Disney Plus. The Idea of a musical was amazing

[@gregoryladue2926]

The trio of dancers seen through out the episode are the same actors. Also the "Got the mustard out" singer is one of the producers.

[@andrewblanchard2398]

MARTI NOXON was the parking ticket woman

[@MichaelJohnson-kq7qg]

It's an episode that stands up to (many, many) repeat viewings - and it honestly just gets better and better as you notice more little tiny details... like Giles guessing what it is immediately, or the lyrics that play as scenes fade out - "the curtains close on a kiss, god knows you can tell the end is near". This one, Hush, and The Body are some of my favorite episodes of any show.

[@Nexusofgeek]

I agree except for Hush, I think it's overrated. Good episode but this one blows it away

[@MichaelJohnson-kq7qg]

@@Nexusofgeek I don't think Hush is overrated. Whether you like the episode or not, the concept about communication (and wanting to communicate but not being able to... And suddenly having nothing to say when you can communicate) is quite brilliant and unique, and the execution is perfect. I can understand why someone might not LIKE the episode, but it's a great episode even if you didn't like it.

[@davintarr]

"Nothing seems to penetrate my heart", sung as she stakes a vampire through the heart. So many little details!

[@MichaelJohnson-kq7qg]

@@davintarr and then she's left holding a stake like a microphone. One of my favourite details is Marti Noxon (executive producer) singing to the cop about parking in front of a hydrant. The song includes her saying she thinks the hydrant 'wasn't there', and then telling the cop 'hey, I'm not wearing underwear...' So many details going on in the background.

[@williambowman2326]

Yes, those 3 are not just great for the show but stack up against the best from other classics shows. I would add The Gift for not just killing the lead character but a class in storytelling that was slowly being revealed over 3 seasons.

[@killianlpc]

The fact that you got to this point without being spoiled for this episode is amazing in itself. A lot of shows that do musical episodes never get it right, and it offers very little to the plot. This however is the exception. Not only is this an innovative episode in term of plot and foreshadowing, it's a damn good 'musical'. The songs are really good and well structured, and just work so well in the episode. There is also great comedy in the episode with the lyrics. Of course the massive reveal for the group is Buffy telling them she was dragged out of Heaven, Spike already knew this of course, and then Dawn repeats to Buffy 'the hardest thing in this world is to live in it' the exact words Buffy said to Dawn in The Gift S5 Finale. Spike getting fed up with singing is very funny towards the end, but what an ending when Buffy follows him. It was brilliantly done, and now with Buffy and Spike kissing, the whole direction of the show takes a strange turn with some brilliant, but disturbing episodes to follow. Love the reaction again. This really was a brilliant episode, Lorne from Angel would have loved this.

[@keshaponso2034]

I thihk Lorne would have had a lot of problems with the off singing.

[@sirmoonslosthismind]

@@keshaponso2034 but lorne would have understood that sweet (the musical extravaganza demon) was responsible, because sweet forced everyone to channel their fears and secrets, their inner discord, in this unhealthy way, focusing on it rather than letting it out and letting it go.

[@cirrustate8674]

This episode, more than any other episode, us viewers MAKE SURE doesn't get spoiled for reactors. The look of confusion and wonder on the reactor's face when they realize what's going on is priceless, so we don't spoil this. We try not to spoil anything, but especially this.

[@jspettifer]

@@keshaponso2034Nah. He would have loved people singing what they truely are feeling inside

[@chanceneck8072]

*FINALLY!!!* 🥹😭😭😭 Can you imagine how hard that was? Not to spoil anything? 😫 All those many years of watching your reactions, we're finally here!! 😅🤭 But jokes aside, what an awesome episode was this? Easily top 3 for me. THIS is one of the reasons why I kept saying, season 6 is my favorite season. And we're far from done. Thank you so much for your reactions so far and much love to you and the whole community here! ❤🫶

[@Wannabe_Baby]

I've watched a lot of Buffy reactions to this episode and I think it's fair to say that yours is the best! There are so many reactors who seem to look down on this episode for being a musical or they don't listen to the lyrics, so they don't hear the important reveals. You really engaged with it and it was amazing to see some songs bring you to tears! Loved it!

[@artman2oo3]

Really?? Which reactors? Every reactor I’ve seen so far, except for one, absolutely loved this episode. But yeah Jules has one of the best reactions! But you can say that about any episode!

[@julesreacts]

Ahhh thank you!!! That means so much to me. I'm so glad you enjoyed 💜

[@seanmcmurphy4744]

Agree, I liked that too. This musical episode was better than a lot of other shows because it moved the plot along, with the reveals. Many reactors are used to other musical episodes in which the lyrics are funny but nothing really happens.

[@Nexusofgeek]

@@artman2oo3 agreed, every reactor except for one that I can think of (and no longer subscribe to) loved every minute of it, as we all do

[@artman2oo3]

@@Nexusofgeek I think the one I’m thinking of who didn’t hate it but also didn’t love it was EvilQK.

[@wutangkang]

Awesome video as always dude! been waiting for this one since you started buffy! and some how missed it when it came out oh well better late than never!

[@melskmelsk]

WE'RE HEEEERE! This is always my most anticipated episode when experiencing BTVS with reactors. THANK YOU for your wonderful reaction! I'm very glad you weren't spoiled. This episode gets me teary every time and it was lovely seeing you so moved by it too ❤

[@TalesoftheBoojum]

It's kind of cool to me that "Hush," the other episode that got creative with sound, also ended with a "where do we go from here?" between Buffy and Riley. On a personal note, I was in a script writing class with parking ticket lady Marti Noxon when we were both students at UC Santa Cruz. Years later, she took alumni on a tour of the Buffy set. What a great day that was! (Also, the residence houses at UC Sunnydale are named after the colleges at UC Santa Cruz. Buffy's dorm, Stevenson House, was named after my college. Porter House, the party dorm mentioned once or twice, was were Marti went.)

[@fiddiehacked]

Note that the phrase "where do we go from here" was previously uttered by Cordelia, just before she, Gunn & Wes sang karaoke together. That final kiss was done in private, in the last moments of the "musical truth" mysticism. Just pay attention to the disparate lyrics they sang before locking lips.

[@Nexusofgeek]

She is a great lady. She gave me and signed a copy of her Book (Number Nine) at a comic con I covered for work back in the day. Still have it in my book case, gotta read it one day lol

[@Diegocentric87]

I’m so glad I found this reaction. I haven’t seen any other reactor who just got what this episode was about like you did.

[@julesreacts]

Thank you!! So glad to hear that 💜

[@Scripture-Man]

What a week! "Once More With Feeling" AND "Vincent and the Doctor"! Truly, it doesn't get better than this. "Once More" is _the_ episode, so special, beloved by all (especially girls). It could have been just done as a joke with passable songs, instead they absolutely NAILED the music, the lyrics, the emotion. This show tears your heart out. I LOVE the bit with Dawn dancing, sad she didn't get to sing more as she has a beautiful voice. I know you like re-watching Buffy episodes Jules and I predict you'll be going back for your third watch very soon (if you're not already on your fourth LOL).

[@therealpbristow]

Back in the day there were sing-along parties, especially once the score book came out. =:o) I never got the book, but I do have the album on CD.

[@Scripture-Man]

@@therealpbristow Just a pity it wasn't a two-parter and then you could really make more of an event of it like a movie.

[@dustyb58]

I watched this a few days ago on patreon and I've still got the darn songs in my head!

[@julesreacts]

SAME 😂😂 yesterday, it was "Going Through the Motions" that lived in my head!

[@dustyb58]

@@julesreacts I’m just trying to sleep and Spike keeps ironically asking to rest in peace

[@julesreacts]

At least he's sorta helping?

[@youcantleavethisempty]

I can't see a pot of mustard without "They got the mustard out" springing to mind.

[@dematb]

20 y later, i still remember all the lyrics ( and english is not my 1st language)

[@artman2oo3]

21:51 Oh my yes. Tara’s song, and her duet with Giles, both bring me to tears.

[@anonymes2884]

What a truly wonderful reaction, even with the cuts - it's pretty common for people to love this one but this is the first time i've seen someone literally moved to (joyful) tears within minutes :). (and yep, totally agreed, one reason why even now this is among the best musical TV episodes IMO is that the songs work so well to _move the story forwards_ - none of them are there just "because it's a musical", they all advance the season and/or character arcs)

[@ChibiHoshiDragon]

Xena started this as it advanced the character arcs Buffy perfected it And The Flash and Strange New Worlds played in the same playground and advanced a couple of the characters with their attempts. All others are poor knock-offs (though Fringe did a decent episode I don't put it on this list since it really only expressed the feelings of one character.)

[@afry6400]

That Tera Giles duet was that thing we didn't know we needed here. The whole episode was brilliant.

[@andrewgrant6516]

"Hey, look at me, I'm dancing crazy!" is a quote from Bugsy Malone. The sailors dancing with brooms are from South Pacific. So many Easter eggs. And I love that even the grrr arrgh monster gets his own song at the end. And that close up on Buffy saying "and you can sing along" is spoken directly to the audience of future theatre showings. Hooray for audience participation!

[@julesreacts]

Ahhh I didn't know that about Anya's line, thank you!

[@hardybryan]

Gotta love that the musical theater demon is the only one not attracted to Xander.

[@GardenVVitch]

I'm pretty new to your channel (found you near the end of season 5) but I think it's a testament to your subscribers to see this episode was a complete surprise for you. I love your good vibes & your community are obviously good people too

[@ImBigDave79]

It's been a bumpy ride but that's kinda normal with us Buffy fans and reactors, sometimes we get too eager for certain big moments. I'm proud of us for keeping this under wraps

[@Scripture-Man]

Welcome to the party! :-) Jules is VERY strict about spoilers. She will not watch "next week" trailers and avoids reading episode titles. She also has a couple of moderators checking the comments. I think Jules has made an amazing reaction channel here, the only one I watch.

[@julesreacts]

Awww thank you!! I view spoiler comments in the same way if you're watching a movie with a friend, and they lean over to you just before it starts and say, "I still can't believe they killed Gary. Just be prepared!". No one ever wants to hear stuff like that 🤣 I'm very lucky to have two lovely people checking over the comments as well. The comments section can be a minefield at times! Either people are dropping spoilers, or just hate comments - but all the lovely people definitely make up for that 🥰

[@TheMacerica]

Thank you so much for a wonderful reaction! I've seen several people react to this episode and too many of them didn't seem to listen to the lyrics of the songs and just miss most of the plot of it. It was great to see you really taking them in and following what was going on!

[@julesreacts]

The lyrics and tone are SO important! I've watched it again fully, and a few times here and there since just for the songs (yesterday actually, because I uploaded this episode and was wanting to listen again!). It was honestly just SO well done 💜

[@grapeman63]

"Once More With Feeling" was voted #13 on a Channel Four poll of the 100 best musicals ever. I think that just underscores how good this episode really is.

[@julesreacts]

Yes, it's amazing!

[@BenBanjo87]

I love that, even though Tara is hurt and angry at what Willow did to her, she steps in to comfort Willow after Buffy's revelation ❤❤ That shows just what a wonderful heart she has!

[@xyex]

The episode everyone is waiting for every time a new reactor starts on Buffy. Some fun behind the scenes info: Alyson asked to not have to sing much, which is why Tara got the song about Willow's secret, even though she didn't actually know about it at the time. Michelle also asked not to have to sing much. That's why Dawn got cut off and then got that dance number. Michelle is a trained ballet dancer, so they worked that in for her. Sarah originally wasn't going to sing, they were going to dub her over with someone else because she didn't think she was good enough. But then she saw the plot, and she saw the reveal at the end, and she decided she HAD to sing it herself. That it was too big, too important, a moment not to do it herself. So she trained _extensively_ for the episode. This episode took the longest of any episode to film. Several weeks, multiple reshoots. Sometimes they'd be on set filming a completely different episode and see someone walking by in their OMWF attire because they were reshooting a song. This is also the longest episode of the entire show, running a full 8 minutes longer than normal. On original airing they simply had less commercials, but in syndication they cut entire scenes, even an entire song, from the episode. The version available on streaming services varies from service to service, but the home video releases have the full episode. And on a different note, I love how this episode makes a perfect trifecta of episodes being experimental with sound design. You have, of course, Hush which does away with spoken dialogue. Then you have The Body, which has no BGM. And finally, Once More With Feeling, which is a muscial.

[@dubiouswretch]

I knew most of that already except for what you said about Sarah, that's quite interesting. The reveal is definitely the pivotal moment of the episode from a story point of view. Except maybe Tara figuring out about the spell.

[@MsAriesQueen]

For any fans of Giles singing. Look to Repo the Genetic Opera. A goth punk rock horror musical

[@sandyhagen9155]

Hi Jules. Although I watch your Doctor Who reactions weekly, I don’t usually watch your Buffy reactions. Having said that, I just had to watch you covering “Once More With Feeling”. It is, by far, my favourite Buffy episode. I bought the soundtrack album as soon as it came out, and it’s played regularly. Love your work. Regards from a Scottish subscriber. 😊🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿

[@julesreacts]

Aww thank you!! I'm so glad you enjoyed this one. It's just brilliant!!

[@EKS511]

Someone may have already commented this but, the reason Dawn didn't have a song is the actress who played her didn't want to sing but she really liked dancing so they came up with that dance scene for her.

[@tomleonard830]

I mean you have to have a dream ballet.

[@Twiceborn_by_grace]

Idk if I said this before but I watched Buffy for the first time after Wanda Vision and when I saw Anya I was like, “Hey that’s Dottie!”

[@keshaponso2034]

So when I first watched Buffy back in the day, I knew Anya as "Brandon's Crazy Girlfriend". She was praised for her season arc in 90210. I never imagined someone would be watching them in another order.

[@Twiceborn_by_grace]

@@keshaponso2034 I never watched 90210.

[@JhadeSagrav]

When i watched WandaVision, i said, "Hey, THAT'S ANYA!!!"

[@teraxe]

Love this episode, it is my all time favorite episode of any show. That look on Willow's face when Buffy reveals they pulled her from Heaven. Incredible.

[@Pottsylird]

this episode is everything to me. it’s possibly my favourite episode of television ever released. the way this episode was so clearly produced by people who love and understand musicals. this wasn’t just a gimmick. the songs hold up. i still listen to them two decades later. the songs move storylines on and reveal things that further the overall seasons arc. the woman who plays dawn absolutely is classically trained in ballet. even the people who don’t have as good a singing voice as giles spike and tara are clearly putting their whole heart into these performances. it is absolutely astounding to me that this episode is on the level it is. my staple shower songs are under your spell and walk through the fire. when tara sings “god how can this be, playing with my memory? you know i’ve been through hell. willow don’t you see? there’ll be nothing left of me” in the under your spell/standing in the way reprise hits me so hard every time thinking of what glory did to her last season. i’m so happy you loved it i’ve been waiting for you to react to this for so long. i’m so glad you managed to not get spoiled because you got to experience it like i did when it first aired and i had no idea they were gunna rock my gay little teenager self’s life.

[@Nexusofgeek]

I like them too, so catchy although I enjoy the music on the Buffy soundtrack a bit more.

[@davintarr]

Not just Glory, her own family was gaslighting her about her mom and her family's history for her whole life.

[@menachemsalomon]

I've never noticed before: Spike's expression when he starts singing. He rolls his eyes, as if to say, "Not this again" or maybe "Not me, too." And then again, a moment later, till he shakes his head in frustration and resignation and just goes along with the program.

[@julesreacts]

Yes!! I adored that!

[@rookie1178]

Spike knew exactly what he was going to sing about, that's why he wanted Buffy to leave.

[@trafrellik]

This was always one of my favorite episodes - and I'm not a musical type. It was just so well done and different.

[@17nreid]

Yes, every voice you heard was everyone actually singing. This episode came about from cast members casually singing while hanging out at Joss Whedon's house. Anthony Stewart Head is musically trained as is Amber Benson. James Marsters was in a rock band. Allyson Hannigan begged not to have her own song because she didn't like her voice. Michelle Trachtenberg had laryngitis during recording but actually is a trained ballerina!

[@shakenfry]

I think the part that I loved most about this video is watching you have so much fun with this episode. I knew how that was going to turn around later, and I was already shedding a tear knowing what you were going to go through. Thank you for doing this episode justice.

[@julesreacts]

My pleasure!! I'm just so glad you enjoyed 💜

[@MRR-my2yl]

When buffy told them she was pulled out of heaven i cry everytime i love this episode laugh cry sing ❤

[@VolatileSupernova]

"I was able to examine the crime scene while police were taking witness arias." Always gets me so hard in the funny bone for such a one-off line.

[@janeavery9491]

I love this line! It's so funny but I think it gets overlooked by most.

[@MichaelHHHH]

I love when Tara does the jazz hands when Willow references Lucky 19 from Season 1.

[@Chestersgirl]

Your face at the end of the episode was brilliant! 🤣 Excellent editing with the zoom in

[@edwardthorne9875]

I was completely stunned by this episode when it first aired. I had tears in my eyes for 40 minutes because the show had just NAILED IT. I'm 70 now, and watching yur emotional reaction had me going right along with you. Possibly the best hour and 8 minutes television had ever broadcast.

[@julesreacts]

Aww thank you!! It was honestly WONDERFUL!

[@Anthlocke]

This episode is my favorite of the entire series. They wrote it so the musical aspect actually makes sense in their world. The songs are all performed by the cast with some special appearances (mustard stain guy and fire hydrant lady are writers). The lyrics push the plots forward in so many ways (Buffy's reveal about being in heaven, Giles concerns about Buffy, Tara being betrayed, Xander/Anya's cold feet, Spike and Buffy's... tension). This episode is widely cited as opening the doors for many other shows to try musical episodes as well. I've been waiting forever for this reaction and I'm glad you liked it!

[@Scripture-Man]

I didn't know other shows had done musical episodes. Seems like shamelessly copying this idea. I'm glad they didn't get too much into Willow's unpleasant side in this episode and everything was quite "normal" with her. It just lets us enjoy all these characters the way we love them, at their best.

[@Nexusofgeek]

@@Scripture-Man Actually I think Xena did it first if I am not mistaken, about three years prior to Buffy. Other shows that have done it include: Gray's Anatomy, Scrubs, Super Girl/Flash and most recently Star Trek Strange New Worlds. I think there might be others, but Buffy's is still tops to me

[@Scripture-Man]

@@Nexusofgeek Fascinating.

[@paulfeist]

And NOW, dear Jules... NOW you see. Now you understand. This was one of those pivotal episodes I alluded to so many months ago. :-) In a series with so many amazing episodes, "Once More, With Feeling" might just be my favorite. I mean, I bought the SOUNDTRACK to the episode! I was in the emergency room most of today (I'm OK now...), but all I could think of was "I'm missing Jules premier of Once More With Feeling!". The Tara and Giles duet was the most heartbreaking, with Buffy's at the end being very close - and look of shocked horror on Willow's face... Ooof! That hurt! And what more can you say about Let me Rest In Peace?

[@julesreacts]

Paul! I'm so glad to hear you're okay. Not a great way to spend a weekend 😕 at least this episode left you with a smile and hopefully cheered you up a little!

[@paulfeist]

@@julesreacts I give kidney stones a thumbs down, zero stars, do not recommend... But once I got home from the ER, I had to watch!

[@louquine]

What makes the Willow/Tara situation worse is that Tara had already had her mind messed with, by Glory.

[@keshaponso2034]

100%

[@estoy1001]

Not to mention her family situation- made her think she was a demon.

[@lionlyons]

“I mean, I’m 15, so this queen thing’s illegal” LMAO 😂

[@victorsixtythree]

If you haven't seen it, there's an excellent "making of" feature on this episode. "They got the mustard out" was show writer/producer David Fury. Parking ticket lady was show writer/producer Marti Noxon.

[@julesreacts]

I haven't seen any bloopers or makings of as I need to remain spoiler free and can't risk it! I cannot wait to binge it all when I am done!!

[@Holy_Waffles]

The trio of broom guys that got a giggle are the creepy puppet servants for the Dancin' Demon.

[@victorsixtythree]

@@Holy_Waffles …and (I think) the three demons in the graveyard at the beginning.

[@andrewgrant6516]

There was a huge trend in the 90s for shows to do a musical episode. This was, far and away, the most innovative and coherent of the lot, using the songs to move forward so many plot threads and character arcs. So, so rewatchable. The soundtrack album is available.

[@bobapjok4241]

Walk through the Fire is just epic. and man, Giles and Tara's song merge was just great too

[@danielbutler8103]

Tara only found out about that forgetting spell because Dawn happened to overhear it, So she'd be wondering if they've had other fight and she forgot all of them to.

[@danwiesdamageinc]

2:42 David Fury (writer) 6:06 Marti Noxon (writer, producer)

[@DigiRangerScott]

It’s the muscular episode! It really packs a punch and hits the bars!

[@therealpbristow]

Heh! =:o}

[@elodie3135]

Thank you so much for your reaction. And also for the longer version.❤ I've Seen so many reactors who didn't pay attention to the lyrics when they are so important. I think I was like you 20 years ago : laughing, crying, impressed. I bought the CD and I still know the lyrics by Heart. 😊 The 50's Vibe was on propose : you Can see the wavy hair, red lipstick and some outfit. And the filter. The light is different. It's an important episode where you can see how depressed Buffy is. She doesn't get up and stay in bed. She sings that she feels empty and cold and at the end let herself go dancing. It's exactly what depression looks like : acting normal but it's impossible to feel, to care. Everything is distant and nothing really matters. And it feels easy to quit. It's also a good image to represent how hard it is for Buffy or anyone to be a real adult. And it's an important episode because it sets so many important details for the rest of the season.

[@seanmcmurphy4744]

No matter how many times I see it, when Xander and Anya crawl out on that _glass tabletop_ my heart is in my mouth

[@Kap00rwith2os]

Jules is so adorable I can't stand iiiiiiit 🎶 🥰

[@jspettifer]

What makes this musical special is how it takes the concept of being able to fully express your emotions and underlying desires in song and utilises that to drive all of the character arcs forward significantly. Often musical episodes are one offs that are incidental to the story but here we fully expose Xander and Anya’s problems, Buffy now knowing how much she means to Buffy, Giles expressing his fears that he is holding Buffy back, Tara learning that her gf is manipulating her memory for her own benefit (including sexually assaulting her) and Dawn’s kleptomania.

[@meltorme-ntor2933]

You have NO idea how long I have wanted you to get to this episode!!! I knew you would absolutely love it! Now my only complaint is that this video was not longer. 🙂 Keep enjoying the show. I'll be here next week!

[@johncampbell756]

I have issues with musicas where people who can't sing, sing. Amber and Tony are the best. I used to see James play a lot of solo acoustic shows. Somehow, I never saw his band Ghost of the Robot. There is a fun making of video. Writer David Fury sang the mustard song. Wtiter Marti Noxon was getting the parking ticket and sang the final line. "I'm not wearing underwear." It drives me nuts when people refer to Tara's song to Willow as a duet with Willow. Aly does not sing. This episode is tied with Hush and The Body at 9.7 out of 10 on the IMDB as the top rated episodes of the show. While Buffy wasn't the first show to do a musical episode, a whole lot of shows followed. Lisa Lassek was an Assistant Editor on S1&2. Her office was about 20 feet from my desk. On possibly my last day (it's my final memory) on Angel, she came downstairs from the Buffy offices. Joss promoted her to a Buffy Editor. She edited every episode he directed. She moved to Firefly and got the title of Associate Producer as she was somehow involved in the look of the show. She went on to edit Joss' films, including co-editing Avengers and Avengers Age of Ultron. The Avengers was briefly the second highest grossing film of all time. At the junker for A Walk to Remember, Adam Shankman talked about how he hoped musicals were going to make a comeback, but that they were flourishing on TV. Afterwards, I ran into him and asked him about Buffy. I later learned, he actually choreographed this episode. LOL

[@lamat5five]

I have never noticed that when Buffy walks out of the final number the group is singing " And the curtains close on a kiss, god knows. " and then the episode finishes with the episode ending with curtains closing after a kiss. Man, I still am finding new stuff to love about this episode 20 years later. I saw this one when it aired and I bought the soundtrack. In case no one else has mentioned it, the guy singing about the mustard was one of the writers: David Fury. The woman with the parking ticket cop song was Marti Noxon, another writer!

[@keshaponso2034]

Just so you're aware, the final kiss with the curtains closing is a HUGE oversused music-theatre trope. Which is why it is so brilliant utilized the way it was here.

[@goldenageofdinosaurs7192]

The full lyrics are: The curtains close on a kiss, God knows we can tell the end is near Where do we go from here

[@asthargf]

This episode is glorious 😁💖 And when you said at the beginning that you were loving this I started sobbing, I empathised with your emotions and had my heart filled with warmness. 🥺💖 Thank you for being you.

[@julesreacts]

🥰🥰 thank you for enjoying this so much with me!!

[@beccarosewriter]

Yep, that was Spike. James Marsters was in a band... not sure if they still do stuff but I went to their concert once.

[@julesreacts]

I didn't realise James Marsters could sing until this episode 😅

[@fanmagicks]

Thanks for giving us your extended cut. I've been WAITING for your reaction to this one 😍😁

[@julesreacts]

I'm so glad you enjoyed it 😊

[@spamfilter32]

Sarah Michelle Gellar really has done such a tremendous job portraying what it is like to live with depression throughout the entire run of the show. It is why I have been able to identify with Buffy so well for all this time.

[@corvus1970]

Just so you know, there's a large contingent of fans who tend to cough *POPPYCOCK* (using less kind words) when Xander owns up to summoning the demon, Sweet. Xander's a fool, but his being responsible after the events of "Bothered, Bewitched, and Bewildered" is a plot-contrivance that flies in the face of Xander's growing sense of responsibility. Our head-canon? Dawn did it, Xander's taking the blame to protect her. Now, apart from that, this episode is PERFECT and is arguably the best example of a TV series doing a musical episode. Xena did one back in 1998 with "The Bitter Suite", and the obscure sci-fi series LEXX did one called "Brigadoom" in 1999. You should buy the soundtrack album to the episode if you haven't already. ;)

[@julesreacts]

I've listened to a few of the songs on Spotify when out on my walks and it is just SO, SO good 💜💜

[@corvus1970]

@@julesreacts Isn't it just wonderful? I used to play it in my car a lot, and some of the songs are on my Sportify and KZbin playlists. I've long since committed them all to memory and used to participate in the "Buffy Horror Picture Show" at DragonCon, back when there was a Buffy/Whedon program track. Good times.

[@dustyb58]

Dawn just finds the amulet lying on the counter after the singing has started, so somebody took it out the previous night and left it there. When we see all of them in the Magic Box in the first scene (the day before), Xander is with Anya behind the counter looking at a bridal magazine and Dawn is over looking at books.

[@reneeg9406]

I have seen a lot of people comment that they are not fans of musical episodes. But this one was done right. And for those of us who are fans of musicals, it was amazing

[@ericsanford536]

Spike was an actual punk rock singer before he was an actor. And i think Tara also has some singing creds.

[@thomasbeauchamp3781]

Yay! You're finally here!😃

[@kathyastrom1315]

The same three actors were the three demons/vampires in the opening number, the three street cleaners when Giles, Anya, and Xander were talking, and Sweet’s three dancing minions.

[@stpetie7686]

I've been waiting for this episode for a while now. I'm glad you liked it, Jules. It's one of my favorite episodes of television.

[@trollloool1307]

Spike is in a band and Tara was a theatre kid and has an album. Fun fact the actress that played willow absolutely hated having to sing hence her minimal singing

[@TheUltrahypnotoad]

And Dawn had laryngitis, hence the dance number.

[@trollloool1307]

@@TheUltrahypnotoad didn't know that I just thought it was a funny joke that even Sweet's minions didn't care about her song

[@1matrix9]

37 pages left in the book of Buffy and Juliette fills our hearts with song! ❤🎶 Thank you for sharing your Patreon version as well.

[@michaelrosenblum4170]

So glad you enjoyed this episode. Been a bit down as my cat has been diagnosed with feline diabetes, this was needed to lift my mood. Thank you

[@ernesthakey3396]

Hugs regarding your feline friend. ❤️‍🩹

[@therealpbristow]

Wishing health and strength for your feline overload, and peace to you.

[@julesreacts]

Michael, I am so sorry to hear that. I hope it is manageable, and your little friend continues to live a long life with your help 💜 these little furballs mean so much to us, don't they. All the best for you both x

[@thorstensteffen8422]

Ur face at the end says everything 😂❤..now u knows what i meen ..one of the best Episodes ever ❤

[@elfboy29]

Can't tell you how precious it to see a perfectly genuine reaction to this. Wonderful. You will return to this episode aplenty.

[@julesreacts]

Thank you!!! I'm so glad you enjoyed this one. I've already rewatched the songs many times. I love it so much 🥰

[@elfboy29]

@@julesreacts The songs are amazing, and not just bunged in; most of them proper drive the plot forward.

[@yassstitch6011]

Best reaction to this episode I've ever seen 🎉🎉

[@julesreacts]

AHHH no way, thank you!!!

[@bigdream_dreambig]

19:23 "But the thing that I think I loved most of all was the truth that came out." YES! I once saw a reactor watch this episode by itself rather than viewing the whole series, and her response was "Meh." I was flabbergasted. Couldn't believe it, not even a little. I eventually realized that, while the songs and music are great fun, what makes this episode masterful is how it so expertly weaves together a musical tapestry of its characters -- but if you don't go into it already knowing the intricacies of the characters and their interactions, you have no way to properly appreciate it. In my opinion, this is one of the best hours of television ever produced -- but it can't be watched in isolation.

[@Aldebaron-fp3ef]

I love how much you love this 🎼😎

[@julesreacts]

It was such a great episode! Everyone was so talented!!