Having returned to Sunnydale after a long hiatus, it was great to get a chance to revisit one of the most inventive episodes in all of television history: the musical episode of Buffy the Vampire Slayer. Now Joss Whedon has done other noteworthy "special" episodes (the silent Buffy, the puppet-Angel) but "Once More With Feeling" towers above those all both in terms of vision and storytelling.
This episode, the seventh in Season six, perfectly balances and utilizes the novelty of concept and the various storylines already in motion. It's not a one-off, like so many concept episodes of other shows: a dream sequence or the old "What if?" fantasy episode that ignores a show's continuity (Friends had one of these). Buffy is still depressed after being resurrected from a blissful, peaceful paradise by her friends; Willow's addiction to magic is straining her relationship with Tara; Giles is unsure of his role now that his slayer has returned from the dead. And Spike? Well, Spike broods.
The real strengths of this episode are how creator Joss Whedon both uses his universe to his advantage and uses/subverts conventions. Rather than having people sing and dance for no good reason (which is one of the reason I detest most musicals), Whedon offers an explanation -a musical demon named Sweet- and draws attention to the fact that this behaviour isn't normal, even in Sunnydale. There are references to the "fourth wall," implied audience and lines being filler which all function as meta-theatrical commentaries on the constructed (false) conventions of the musical genre. For example, one of the most moving moment of the whole show is the final group number, "Where Do We Go From Here?" The song is really a metaphysical search for an ending that doesn't come: we've done everything we're supposed to do, we've defeated the demon, but things aren't wrapping up nicely. Things are supposed to be resolved at the end of musicals, all the plots tied together nicely. But things don't wrap up nicely in this musical. Various characters have revealed secrets through their songs that will alter the group dynamic; some secrets are minor (Xander and Anya's prenuptial anxieties), some are major (Buffy's confession that she was in heaven). When the ending of the show comes, Whedon gives us the expected kiss and the expected orchestral swell, but this too is a false ending. The kiss doesn’t bring closure; it only invited more questions and more problems. This ending does not resolve plots, it only introduces new narratives. What will happen next? Where do we go from here?
I could tell you, but you should really watch for yourself.
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