Buffy the Vampire Slayer 6x07 "Once More with Feeling" Full Reaction

Liam Duke's reaction is wonderful, if you're looking for another one.

Raven Dark

I love reading the comments too. And ha, thanks. Some people get really pissed with me for my long ones. It gets upsetting sometimes, so it's nice to know some people like them. I made a mistake when I said this is the first show to do a musical, but I can't correct myself and say what did it first here, because of spoilers. When the time comes, I will correct my error.

Raven Dark

I adore your novelesque feedback. Half the fun of reactions for me is the insightful and educational comments. One of my favorite lines is at the end when they sing"the curtains close on a kiss God knows" right before the kiss. It is so clever. Love this episode.

Macca Fan

I know you watched this years ago, but when you were talking about how Buffy's kiss with Spike was going to start her on the right track and being able to feel something will help her start to heal...hoo boy, isn't hindsight something? It actually made me sad hearing you say that, knowing that she's heading for rock bottom and the season will get much darker before Buffy gets even remotely back on the right track!

Christine

Tara's song melts my heart everytime

ThatBasicChick

After finishing season six, PLEASE please please watch and react to the behind the scenes for this episode. It's soooo cool. I think you'd be really interested in it and I'd love to see your reaction and thought on it!!

Rachel Dechamplain

Joined Liam patreon for the full reaction to this episode. Definitely didn't dissapoint. Thanks Liam. Now to go back and watch full reactions to some of my favourite episodes 😊

Rewatching some of the reactions I've downloaded for this one and I just noticed a few things. I don't know if anyone else has noticed them. With regards to Tara literally being under Willow's spell. People have pointed out that what Willow did is especially cruel in light of what Glory did to her, but I also see another comparison. Tara's family controlled and manipulated her for her ENTIRE LIFE. And Willow KNEW. Yikes is right. The other thing, about when Buffy starts dancing herself to death and Spike stops her, essentially saving her. A lot of people interpret Buffy's dancing as her trying to kill herself, and I agree, but the demon could have also made her do that. He did say he wanted to see the Slayer burn, after all. Also, Liam, "Xander, you dummy." Haha, love it. And as much as I love Xander, it's absolutely right.

Raven Dark

I couldn’t wait for you to get to this on YouTube so I had to join your Patreon. I love seeing people’s reactions to this episode. The joy on your face when you realized it was a musical was worth it!

Cheryl

Wow! You're the first reaction channel who pointed out someone being dead now because of Xander's actions! That's what I love about your reactions. You always notice things others wave off.

Alexandra Wege

This is the one episode I really wanted to see you react to but I am a bit behide on your reactions I am on season 2 episode 15 so even though I want to watch this video right now I will have to wait until I catch up.

austin

Ive literally watched this all the way through, 3 times. Your reaction is exactly how id hoped a new fan would react. Ive seen a few reactions to OMWF and most of them haven't seemed as enthusiastic. You have even pointed out some undertones that i never have, very astute. Cant wait to see your reaction to the rest of the season, its quite a ride!

Wayne Adams

For me that "little touch" in a great line has always been Anya's completely straight "oh my God did it sing?" re: Dawn's pterodactyl offspring

Dan H

It is with a message "Come to the Merry Side of the Force" :)

Liam Catterson

Done so as a Christmas present :)

Liam Catterson

Came home tonight feeling exhausted after a 12 hour shift... logged on to Patreon and saw this (which I already watched earlier this week). I thought, "Yep! That's exactly what I want to do right now!" and I watched it again. I feel so much better now. Your joy is infectious, Liam! :D

Janel Davis

If you haven't already gotten the soundtrack feel free to share my copy. I collect Buffy stuff (comics, novels so I have the soundtrack). You can download it here https://drive.google.com/folderview?id=12GzZqXGpOSc1KGFZemaFtsQ8lioQQjGo

palisade

It was definitely sexual. "Lost in extacy, spread beneath my Willow tree". It really doesn't get more explicit than that.

palisade

I don't think it being first lessens the significance of OMWF in the slightest, this is still way way more influential. Joss had wanted to do it for a while, but I wouldn't say it was foreshadowed.

KT

Now that I watched the reaction, I loved all the little details there are that can be quite easy to miss on a first watch. Giles mentioning the police taking "witness arias" has always been funny to me. Anya pointing out during the beginning of that little convo (right after I'll Never Tell) that "it seemed like we were being watched. Like there was a wall missing in our apartment. Like there was only 3 walls and not a fourth one" is another gem, but because she's talking at the same time as Xander its hard to pick up on right away. And the last lines we hear of the group song that Spike and Buffy left was "The curtains close on a kiss/God knows we can tell the end is near". Then of course the final scene is Spike and Buffy in the alley, so how dare you put spoilers in your song Joss Whedon lol. I also appreciate that they didn't just have the group singing random top 40 songs or classics or whatever. Joss actually took the time to write songs/music that fit the characters as well as advanced the plot in several ways. Of course Spike got a rock song where he could be his overdramatic self, Tillow got the love ballad ,etc. Tara now knows that Willow has messed with her mind at least once and the group knows that they pulled Buffy from heaven. The singing was really good as well, I know somebody already mentioned above that James, Anthony and Amber all had prior singing experience so they all sound amazing, same with Hinton Battle (aka Sweets), who is/was a HUGE Broadway star, but the rest of the cast sounds fine. And they weren't autotuned to death or anything either, though there was a bit of it which is fine. Michelle and Allison weren't comfortable doing too much singing, which is why they didn't have solos, and Michelle got to show off her dance skills for her "solo" instead.

Nicole Iannone

It's a crime that it had to be edited. If I remember right, they took a piece out of Spike's song along with others.

Val

Just started the reaction, is that Darth Vader on your shirt with reindeer antlers or did I see that wrong? Kind of hard to see with you sitting down. If it is, I love it lol

Nicole Iannone

Hinton Battle is a bonafide Broadway legend. Trained at the American School of Ballet under George Balanchine, first to play the role of the Scarecrow in the Wiz (before Michael Jackson took it over for the movie production), three time Tony award winner, choreographer for stage, tv and film. Legend, bonafide stage legend.

Claire Eyles

In the version that was originally screened in Australia the full line was 'You make me com..." and that's where they cut it, so it was even more of a double entendre.

Claire Eyles

Joss Whedon wrote the music the lyrics and sang demo versions of the songs to present to the producers, hes pretty amazing

Stacey

You can buy the soundtrack and enjoy it anytime

TheyCallMeJeff

"Bitter Suite" aired in 1998, about mid season 2 Buffy.

FernWithy

Now after having watched it... Don't think for a second that you didn't give good reaction, Liam! Your enthusiasm is exactly what we love to see. and the joy on your face was so fun to watch :D Thank you for sharing!

Janel Davis

And Merry Christmas!

Glorie Bluestein

Oh soooooo worth the wait. I'm so happy that the theme wasnt spoiled for you. It made it even that more precious. It also really puts more into perspective why Giles is taking a step back here. And where the Buffy/Spike ship really took hold for me. The actors that play Giles, Tara, and Spike are all professional singers. (The actor that plays Spike even had his own band for awhile where he fronted as the singer) I still say you and Duke should do a special reaction to Repo the genetic opera (its gory) but it has Anthony Head as one of the singer/actors. He plays the main actresses father. Anyway some people replay songs and episodes, I sometimes replay reactors commentary and this will be 1 of them.

Glorie Bluestein

Perfect episode to watch on Christmas, thanks Liam. And love your jumper, it suits you so much!

Phoenix Dawn

I was hoping this would be a Christmas gift for all of us! 😃 You're the best! ❤️

Janel Davis

Check out the behind the scenes video: https://youtu.be/MNG4ra6F9Xw

I thought Xena did it right after? I thought Xena's musical episode followed immediately after this one? If it's true that Xena did it first, the writers on Xena must have heard this one was coming, because this one is foreshadowed in season 4, in restless (when Giles sings on stage in The Bronze). I love Xena's musical episode, but as good as it is, it doesn't hold a candle to this one.

Raven Dark

LMAO Love that line.

Raven Dark

I am REALLY glad she never. Especially her vocalisation in Something to Sing About. Her vocals killed it

Liam Catterson

No worries, happy to offer the spirit with this amazing episode :)

Liam Catterson

There was a musical episode trend for a while, but when Buffy nailed it and did it exactly right, there was just no reason for anyone else to do more. :P Just the way it worked with the plot, the way the lyrics were a natural outgrowth of everyone's speech patterns, the choreography, the way they played to the casts' strengths and covered up any weaknesses (Alyson Hanigan requested not to sing a lot because she was insecure, though she's since said she was surprised at how good she sounded). "Restless" is my favorite because I'm a sucker for dream sequences, but damn, this one is good. (And just a random observation, I think the "Something to Sing About" number was the most beautiful Sarah ever looked in this show.)

FernWithy

I'm glad I'm not the only one with the commute soundtrack... :D

FernWithy

Hilton Battle... I love his name.

Raven Dark

Also, it was a huge thing to get Broadway legend Hinton Battle to play "Sweet"!

Thom Purdy

When this episode first aired, UPN promoted it out the wazoo. There were commercials about it starting the beginning of the season. Most of the promotional clips were from the last song(Where Do We Go). So we were all prepared for the musical. Also, it is 10 minutes longer than a regular ep, so it was aired in its entirety only once. All reruns and showings in syndication have been edited down. I had the original airing on VHS and watched it about a hundred times. I do hope you will watch it again for fun. I get something new out of it every time I see it! It wasn't until the 3rd or 4th time that I heard Giles line about "witness arias. LOL

Thom Purdy

I mean if it helps anyone who wants to make gifs, I use Instagiffer at times so feel free to gif me. I'd be honoured xD

Liam Catterson

Oh I am definitely getting the soundtrack. Been replaying Something to Sing About most the day xD

Liam Catterson

Not going to lie, there was one moment where my mind slightly thought they were doing something close to that nature with your last point because of the camera positioning so I'm glad that it seems my initial thoughts weren't misleading.

Liam Catterson

Sarah was gonna get someone to sing for her initially until she heard the songs and realized she had to do it herself and I am really glad she did as you can really feel the pain in her voice during her numbers.

Shell Reilly

That's true. We original viewers who saw this episode during its original airing have the best of both worlds now. When we first saw it, we had the excitement of knowing it was coming, but reactors usually have no idea, so we get to see their surprise when it happens. I love when reactors are really into this one. I hope they treasure this first experience in watching Buffy as a whole. They only get to feel this way once. For those of us who watch reactions, this is as close as we will ever get to recapturing the feeling we experienced the first time we went through our Buffy journey.

Raven Dark

On one hand, I"m glad when Liam or other reactors get surprised by the format but in another way, we broadcast viewers were the lucky ones. We knew weeks, several episodes in advance, that the musical was coming. We didn't know the *plot*, but it even had its own special trailer (Buffy's "you can sing along" quasi-4th wall break was a centerpiece of it) and it was kinda great knowing what you were sitting down for even if you didn't know what it would be *about*

Dan H

This comment keeps disappearing. I hope the other ones I posted don't come back and you end up with doubles. Wow. This is, hands down, my favorite reaction to this episode. When I started watching your reactions, I wasn't sure if you'd like this one. But when I saw you react to Giles singing in Where the Wild Things Are and then again in Restless, I knew. I knew then that you'd love this one, and I'd been waiting to see this reaction since. And oh man, did you deliver. So, before I get into what is apt to be a very long comment, I just gotta point something out. You do realize this is the only episode where you hummed at the start? Seriously, until I saw your wft face at the start, I thought you were messing with us. Your reaction when the episode started was so great, I started laughing so hard my hubby must have thought I was losing it. Haha. As much as I love reactions to this episode, this is the only time I literally rewound it and watched it twice, back to back. Some of that had to do with your reaction, and some of that had to do with the episode itself. This is in my top five for the entire series. I love every second of it. I'm not sure how familiar you are with theatrical stuff, but the title, Once More With Feeling, is an old phrase used in theatrical production. When actors would say lines without the proper affect, directors of musicals and plays would say to them, "Once more with feeling." Every time I see reactions to this and the title comes up at the start, or when I know reactors are aware of the title before they reach it, I always worry they'll figure it out before the songs begin, but they never do. It's interesting. And wonderful that the title doesn't spoil. It's also interesting that you said you were getting Hush vibes near the start of this one. You aren't the only one, and what makes it funny is that it's sort of the opposite. Liam Duke calls this one "The Anti-Hush." His reaction to this is also great, btw. There is a hint in season 4 that this one is coming. In Restless, there is a part in Giles' dream where he gets up on stage at The Bronze and starts singing. That's the third time he's sang in the show, each time only for a minute or so, but in Restless specifically, listen to what he sings. He isn't singing anything that comes up here, but the words he sings are very musical-episode-esque. "Xander, help Willow... Look through the Chronicles for legends on some kind of warrior beast... and try not to bleed on my couch, I just had it steam-cleaned." One of the things I love about the way this episode was done is that they gave a good reason for why it happened. As I think you mentioned, people didn't just sing out of nowhere. They didn't do a musical episode for the heck of it. It also advanced the plot, layering it in a million different ways. A lot of other shows have done musicals, but few of them bother to ground it in reality in any way. This show did it first, and it's one of the few that did it well. All others are imitators, and they never would have dared try it if this show hadn't done it first. Similar to Halloween and The Body, there is another callback to Xena Warrior Princess, the show that I think I mentioned ran right after Buffy and Angel when this show was on air. In Halloween, when everything was going to hell and Buffy as the eighteenth-century girl was freaking out, Willow said, "She couldn't have dressed up like Xena?" In The Body, when Willow was crying about Joyce, Tara said something about being strong, and Willow said, "Strong like an Amazon?" Xena was a show about a female warrior set in the time of Greek gods. The Amazons play a large part in the story. The show aired right after Buffy and Angel, and had a lot of the same viewers, so the writers knew viewers would "get it." The Greek myths formed the backbone of the whole series. it was common for the characters on that show to exclaim, "Merciful Zues!" So when Xander says, "Merciful Zues!" before everyone in the Magic Shop starts singing, it's another Xena callback. I've heard people say that that remark is out of place, but actually, it fits very well. Willow's comment in Halloween suggests that the characters on this show are aware of Xena as a show. Xander's comment in this one suggests that not only is he aware of the show, but that he may actually watch it, because you'd have to actually watch the show to know to say that phrase. So he watches it the same way Spike watches Passions. Tara's song is wonderful, but it's also heartbreaking. "I'm under your spell..." It's sad, because, as you seemed to see, she literally is, but she has no idea. Oh, and there was some rather naughty references in Tara's song. I think you got the last one where the song happens to cut off just as Tara says "You make me come..." But there are two more. LOL Before that, she says, "I can feel you inside," and then, "Spread beneath my willow tree..." I'm amazed (and thrilled) that the writers got away with that. Oh, and I keep forgetting to mention this. A lot of reactors ask about or comment on Tara's dress in this episode, wondering why she's dressed like that. You didn't, but I thought I'd mention, I think that was supposed to be a Disney joke. She was dressed like a fairy tale princess from a Disney film. Which, come to think of it, makes what she sings even more hilarious, considering that they are children's films. *Giggles* It's hilarious when in the Magic Shop, Giles sings, "I've got a theory, it's a demon, a dancing demon..." He was right. My favorite voice in this episode is Giles, but all of them were good. I did notice that Willow didn't sing much, and I heard that she didn't want to sing at all. That's why she either didn't sing, they had her sing in such a way where she blended with the others and you hardly heard her, or, twice, they had her say a line that was deliberately off-key for laughs. I also think that there was some slight auto-tune being used in this episode, but they managed to use it well, only polishing the voices without making them sound fake or taking away from the real voices. Giles was the only one they didn't auto-tune I think. It's interesting, because they set the songs up so that no one sounded like they were too good. No one sounded so professional that it felt unnatural. Well, Giles sounded very polished, but that worked, because we've seen him sing professionally before, so we expect him to sound that way. That's the trick with doing anything theatrical in a non-theatrical show. If the dancing and singing is too good, sometimes it makes it feel too fake, especially when a whole crowd starts doing it. It has to be choreographed, but without feeling too much so, and I think they did that really well here. Michelle Trachtenberg's dancing scene was used to showcase her actual dancing skills. She is professionally trained in dance. Similar to the scene in season two's What's My Line, where Buffy ice skates, showing off SMG's professional ice skating skills. I love how grounded in reality this episode feels. For all that it's a musical episode and it could have come off incredibly silly, it feels very natural to me. One of the reasons for this is that they chose to use this episode for one of the major reveals to the other people in the show when Buffy tells the others she was in heaven. I didn't see that coming, and it broke my heart, especially seeing Willow's reaction. I also adore that, even after she knows what Willow did to her, Tara still tried to comfort her. Oh, yeah, and in that same scene, did you notice thee flub that Amber Benson made? There's a part in the episode where she's dancing and she smacks right into a wall. LOL Someone pointed that out on another reaction, and I had to go back and rewatch to catch it. "He's got hot moves." Oh, Liam, why? LMAO In case you're curious, the demon's name in this episode is "Sweet." Suite? Get it? :D Don't hate me for this, but I hated Xander and Anya's song the first time I saw this. It was just the style, it's not my thing. But the thing is , now I love it. Spike's song is also a favorite for me. And I love how he was trying to kick Buffy out of his crypt before he started crowing like a rock star, belting out his feelings for her. Oh! I nearly forgot something else. The guy near the start that sang, "They got the mustard out," was David Fury, I think. And the woman who sang about the parking ticket was Marti Noxon. Both are writers on the show. Marti Noxon's voice is gorgeous, too. My favorite song here is probably Giles' song. Every tome that man sings, I get chills. It always makes my stomach sink, though, listening to what he's saying. "I thought the bloody puppet from season one was coming back." Ha, yes. We miss Sid so much. It's interesting how everyone freaks out at the puppets. I do too. They weird me out. Favorite parts of this reaction: -Your look of utter shock when Buffy began singing at the start, when you clicked into what this was. -Your joy over the second song in The Magic Shop. -Your scream at the end when Buffy and Spike kissed. Perhaps the most profound thing about this episode though, is that, while none of it should have worked, all of it did, and so, so well. Not only that, but, for a lot of people, it's one of the most iconic episodes, not just for this show, but for all of television. It's right up there with The Body, and Hush. This whole thing is a masterpiece, and your reaction only made it better. Thank you so much for this perfect Christmas gift. Happy Holidays, Liam.

Raven Dark

I can't name my favorite song from this episode, because it changes over time and even based on my mood at any given moment. Luckily, there's a song for pretty much any state of mind or life phase.

Superplin

Finally we have arrived!

Ashley

This is the best Christmas Gift <3 Thank you soooo much for that reaction. It brought me back the joy that I had, when I watched this episode for the first time. Thank you :D

Nicologik

Someone needs to make gifs from this reaction that we can use to express joy. Plenty of moments to choose from here! And since it doesn't look like anyone's pointed it out yet...the Mustard Man and Parking Ticket Lady were cameos from David Fury and Marti Noxon.

Yesmydog

Something To Sing About is my favorite too! And Rest In Peace is my 2nd favorite! The songs are like Buffy seasons: almost every one has a large pool of people who have it as their favorite. Buffy just continues to blow my mind with its ingenuity and ability to deliver a specific type of excellence that many have attempted to copy but none have succeeded for some reason. And I've been watching this show since I was 7, I forced my little brother to perform this with me on many occasion growing up and could recite the whole episode (dialogue and all) in my sleep—and yes, I'm still blown away by it. Some miscellaneous notes: —It's easy to miss, but I love that Tara still comforted Willow over finding out Buffy was in heaven. Tara is the purest soul. —Watching the brilliance of the lyrics punch you in the gut was so satisfying. Rest In Peace especially has me clasping my hand over my heart at how poignant and poetic the lyrics are, which is appropriate for Spike. I also like how Spike is eager not to sing in front of Buffy, but then completely leans into it once he starts. That switch is his whole character in a nutshell. —Even though Willow abuse of Tara is vile and devastating... I really appreciate them getting an actual storyline together. Angst is what makes the characters and relationships grow, and Tillow just hasn't had very much of that thus far. Relationships don't *need* to be *this* fraught to be interesting, but this seminal queer relationship needed more layers.

KT

Yep. Xena was technically the first instance apparently, but this was the 2nd and is primarily responsible for the whole trope. Which, not gonna lie, is kind of unfortunate since no one can seem to get anywhere near Buffy in terms of quality, but it's still a point of pride for Buffy fans.

KT

This is probably one of my favorite Buffy episodes. I totally agree that it is not only a great episode, but also works to move the plot along nicely. I definitely recommend listening to the soundtrack of this episode. You catch so many lines. Thank you for the great reaction as always Liam. Can't wait for more!!

Shakia

Buffy done an amazing job with this episode. It not only brought the musical episode idea, but concept episodes in general. I'm sure it influenced some future shows like Supernatural to fully immerse into the concept for that episode. I loved Liam's reaction, especially the kiss, he's been wanting that for ages. I do feel the end of Tara's song flew over his head 'you make me complete.... you make me...'. It's very sexual! Probably the closest to a lesbian sex scene on TV at that time!

Sharon Owen

I was literally about to type that haha

Sharon Owen

Liam- I am guessing you will buy or download the OMwF soundtrack now? I played that cd in my car for like 2 months straight gong to and from work! I was OMwF's slave. So many fave songs, I think my top are I Got a Theory, I'll Never Tell, the Giles/Tara duet is always amazing. I just checked the price of the cd on Amazon, holy crap one was $30. I guess because it's not being made anymore? they are some prices better on ebay but I'm glad I got mine back in the day for $12.99. :)

Val

Best Christmas present ever!

Kimberlee

I found this channel at the start of season 4, and have been waiting for this episode ever since

Matthew Proctor

Totally agree KiwiJello- Also- That's what so brilliant and original about the ep, it advances the plot and it's not just the characters singing songs for a musical's sake! And that's what I was missing the first time I watched not being a BtVS viewer, I didn't know about the storylines or characters or even inside call backs/jokes(his penis got diseases from a Chumash tribe!) :)

Val

Definitely my favorite episode of the whole show, the amount of story progression they packed into it alongside the musical elements was amazing.

Erik Nilsson

You not only do have a musical episode of Buffy, you also have the thing every other show that ever decided to do a concept musical episode was ripping off. You may also have accidentally even gotten "Glee".

Dan H

Alright Catterson. You won. :P Hands down the best reaction I have seen to this. You were SO IN IT. Caught so much. And you were just in a state of Joy the entire time. And oh boy did it advance the plot. Buckle up!

KiwiJello

I've always thought "I'll Never Tell" evoked Cole Porter, in the way that "Going Through the Motions" was Disneyesque

Eric Hunter

Liam's whole WTF is going on even before the first note was great too. I wasn't sure if he had known about the musical as some newbies do but I was so happy to see he had no clue. Made me giddy watching this. I don't think I've seen any newbie reactors in particular know about it, but I have known others first time watchers who do and that's always a bummer. Man, I can't imagine what my reactions would be if I didn't know about this ep back in the day, because at the time I wasn't a fan but had read about the upcoming ep,so I was curious to watch anyway. First time viewing not a fan, but after the second viewing, mega fan. I had to get the cd right away too!

Val

Dramatic.... “this is the best Christmas ever!!!”

Meredith

Omgomgomfg 🙏😍😘😘

CeNedra

It's always such a long wait for a reactor to get to this absolutely iconic episode but its always worth the wait. And everyone's WTF face once the episode starts is always hilarious lol

Chess Red Eagle

I kept my subscription going for months specifically to see your response to this. SO HAPPYYY!!

Ryan Moore

Thank you so much for this early Christmas gift!! And a safe and Merry Christmas to you

Val

*Fist pump*

Raven Dark

No you're not. LMAO

Raven Dark

Sorrrrrry ahaha

Liam Catterson

Needs to get ready for work........dammit liam!

Glorie Bluestein

Oh, I cannot wait to watch this! Have been eagerly anticipating your reaction. You can see why your followers went nuts when you announced you'd be watching this on Christmas Eve: the best holiday gift of all to BtVS fans!

Superplin

I’m saving this for tonight. So thankful to have something fun to watch! I’ll be having a rather lonely Christmas as I won’t be seeing any family and I live alone. Really looking forward to watching this with you Liam! Thanks for spending your time with us!

Miss Timi Fantastico

Oh, yes! Let's go :)

Ida Eriksson