Once More With Feeling
The classic-musical tone is set from the beginning, as we open with a marvellously cheesy (and very quick) opening credits sequence. Then it's on to a happy montage of everyone going about their day. Except for Buffy, who is kind of staring off, as usual.
Buffy's first musical number (Going Through the Motions), performed while she's on patrol, reveals why (as if we didn't already know). She's just "going through the motions," her heart isn't in it, she wishes she could feel alive again but doesn't know how.
The next day, Buffy goes to the magic shop, and cautiously asks if anyone suddenly burst into song the night before. They all admit that they did, and the next number starts (I've Got a Theory), with everyone venturing theories about what's happening (including Anya, who has a show-stopping bit about evil bunnies). Buffy then segues into a slower number, reminding everyone that they can face it together, regardless of what the danger is.
When they're through, Buffy steps outside to see if other people are being affected. She gets her answer from the one and only David Fury, who leads a brief chorus about the wonders of dry cleaning (They Got the Mustard Out).
Dawn comes in, laughing about how the kids at school were singing about math. She also swipes a necklace off the counter when no one is looking.
Willow and Tara make googly eyes at each other, and sneak out under the pretense of getting a book from the house.
As Willow and Tara walk through a park, Tara serenades Willow with a love song about being "under your spell," (I'm Under Your Spell), which takes on a rather unpleasant double meaning, given last week's events in All the Way .
Back at the shop, Dawn insists that what's happening is kind of neat. We see otherwise when the screen flashes to a man literally burns himself out tap-dancing (as in spontaneously combusts). A sharp dressed demon is watching him, thoroughly enjoying himself.
The next morning, Xander and Anya wake up to a '30s-style song-and-dance routine(I'll Never Tell), wherein they reveal their pet peeves about each other, their fears about their relationship.....and the depth of their love. Later, they consult Giles, who is frustrated at the lack of answers to their dilemma. .
That night, Buffy goes to Spike's, who claims to be immune to the singing spell. He's in an awfully big hurry to get rid of her, though, and we soon learn why - he revs up an angry, rockin' tune (Rest In Peace) telling her to stay away from him if she's just there because she can't deal with her friends.
He can't stand being around her if that's all there's ever going to be to their relationship. At the end of the song, she falls on top of him into an open grave, then leaps out and runs away.
At the Summers house, Dawn tells Tara she's glad the fight with Willow is over, which confuses Tara, of course. She begins to get suspicious and leaves, just for a few minutes.
Which is long enough for Dawn to look at her stash of stolen items and wonder in song (Dawn's Lament) whether anyone even notices her.
She's interrupted by the arrival of some extremely creepy human puppet-looking things, who kidnap her and take her to the Bronze. There, she goes into a Nutcracker-style ballet with the freaky minions, then lands at the feet of the demon who's behind all this. He does a bluesy number (That's What Its All About) about how all the energy released in people's songs will eventually kill them.
Since he thinks Dawn summoned him with that necklace, he'll take her to his hell dimension to be his queen. Dawn protests that her sister is the Slayer, and he really shouldn't piss her off. The demon likes the sound of this, and sends his lackeys to get Buffy. "I want to see the Slayer burn," he says gleefully.
At the shop, Buffy is training with Giles, still being distant and expecting him to handle things for her. While she continues her moves, he sings (Standing In the Way) about not knowing what to do, wanting to help her but feeling like his presence is keeping her from facing what's out there.
It's a very sad song, and it leads into a duet with Tara (Wish I Could Stay), who has figured out what Willow did to her memory. They both sing about having to leave someone they love, while Buffy and Willow remain completely oblivious.
Spike busts in with one of the demon's minions, who tells Buffy she has to go to the Bronze to rescue Dawn. Giles insists that she handle it alone, but Spike offers to go along. She rejects him saying "I thought you wanted me to stay away!" and he storms out, furious.
Buffy walks through town, singing again (Walk Through the Fire) about her sense of isolation. "I touch the fire and it freezes me," she sings. "I want the fire back." Before long, Spike has decided to follow her, and Giles, worried that Buffy might not even care enough to save Dawn, leads the others to the Bronze as well.
Buffy arrives at the Bronze and offers to go to hell with the demon in Dawn's place. She goes into her final big number (Life's a Show), which basically turns into a dare to "give me something to sing about." The music softens a bit, and she finally lets her friends in on the secret - she was in heaven. The routine gets more and more frenzied, and Buffy nearly burns up... until Spike grabs her. "Life isn't bliss," he sings. "Life is just this. It's living. You have to go on living. So one of us is living." Dawn reminds Buffy of her words from The Gift , "The hardest thing in this world is to live in it."
Buffy stops, and the demon prepares to take Dawn as his bride. Until it's revealed that she wasn't the one who summoned him, even though she's wearing his necklace. It was Xander, who just thought having a Musical Demon in town would make things more cheerful. The demon decides against taking a "queen" this time, and disappears after singing (Sweet's Reprise) about how glad he is that he managed to cause such an extreme lack of cheerfulness.
After he goes, the gang sings, a rather melancholy tune (Where Do We Go From Here) that makes their lack of a happy ending quite explicit.
Spike, fed up with the singing, goes outside. Buffy follows him, and they have a little duet. "This isn't real," she sings, "but I just want to feel..."
...and they kiss passionately.
The End
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