Once More, with Feeling” is the seventh episode of the 6th season of the supernatural drama television series Buffy the Vampire Slayer (1997–2003) and the only one in the series performed as a musical. It was written and directed by the show’s creator, Joss Whedon, and originally aired on UPN in the United States on November 6, 2001.
“Once More, with Feeling” explores changes in the relationships of the main characters, using the plot device that a demon—credited as “Sweet” but unnamed in the episode—compels the people of Sunnydale to break into song at random moments to express hidden truths. The title of the episode comes from a line sung by Sweet; once the characters have revealed their truths and face the consequences of hearing each other’s secrets, he challenges them to “say you’re happy now, once more, with feeling”.
All of the regular cast performed their own vocals, although two actors were given minimal singing at their request. “Once More, with Feeling” is the most technically complex episode in the series, as extra voice and dance training for the cast was interspersed with the production of four other Buffy episodes. It was Joss Whedon’s first attempt at writing music, and different styles—from 1950s sitcom theme music to rock opera—express the characters’ secrets in specific ways.
The episode was well received critically upon airing, specifically for containing the humor and wit to which fans had become accustomed. The musical format allowed characters to stay true to their natures while they struggled to overcome deceit and miscommunication, fitting with the sixth season’s themes of growing up and facing adult responsibilities. It is considered one of the most effective and popular episodes of the series, and—prior to a financial dispute in 2007—was shown in theaters with the audience invited to sing along.
The most complicated song, “Walk Through the Fire”, leads all the characters to the climax from different locations for different reasons, reminiscent of the “Tonight Quintet” from West Side Story. When they all sing the chorus at once to the line “We will walk through the fire / And let it — burn”, two fire trucks race behind the Scoobies as they proceed to the Bronze. Whedon called the shot the “single greatest thing we ever did”. Each of the singers in this song, which “marries soft rock to the function of a dirge”, connects musically to earlier songs while foreshadowing Buffy’s next number and the final chorus, providing an ominous anxiety.
Buffy’s numbers are the most complex, changing key and tempo when she begins to reveal the secrets she swore she never would. This appears specifically in “Something to Sing About”, which starts with uptempo platitudes: “We’ll sing a happy song / And you can sing along: / Where there’s life, there’s hope / Every day’s a gift / Wishes can come true / Whistle while you work …” While singing, she kills Sweet’s minions with a pool cue. Whedon attempted to make the song tuneful yet chaotic to express the main point of the episode. It transitions suddenly into her desire to be like normal girls, then changes again, slowing the tempo as she challenges Sweet not to give her a song, but “something to sing about”.
The episode nears the end with “Where Do We Go from Here?”, as the Scoobies stand dazed and disoriented, facing different directions. As they sing “Understand we’ll go hand in hand / But we’ll walk alone in fear”, they line up, hold hands, then fling each other’s hands away in a piece of what Whedon calls “literal choreography”. Each of the eight characters in this line wears a color in the visible spectrum, a conscious decision by the costume designer. The couples in the group wear opposite colors (Giles in green and Buffy in red, Anya in blue and Xander in orange, Tara in yellow and Willow in purple), and Rhonda Wilcox interprets the color-coding and choreography to represent the “tension between the individual and the group”. The characters as a chorus sing “The curtains close on a kiss, God knows / We can tell the end is near”, moments before Buffy runs out to kiss Spike and the show closes with actual curtains. As Spike and Buffy kiss, a swell of music accompanies them, similar to the ending of Gone with the Wind. Lyrics sung moments before, however, forecast the uncertainty of the relationship between Spike and Buffy, as well as their contrasting reasons for initiating any romance; Spike wants to feel love from Buffy, while she simply wants to feel.
