Once More, With Feeling

No teaser, just hilarious 50's style opening credits, with a sweet, melodic version of the opening theme replacing the usual thrash band version. When we return from commercials, it's to Buffy's alarm going off. As she lays in bed, staring in disgust at the clock, the other members of the household get ready to face the day. (Overture) Tara finds a familiar branch of flowers under Willow's pillow and, smiling, takes them with her. A normal morning leads to a normal day, with Anya and Xander staring wide-eyed at a bridal magazine, Tara and Willow studying, and Giles taking magic books away from Dawn before making Buffy train. And that night, Buffy has a nice, normal patrol. At least, it's normal until she starts singing. (Going Through the Motions) She's still feeling disconnected from the world, unable to care about anything, even slaying. Two vampires and a demon (in the middle of a sacrifice) get into the act, singing backup and dancing, until Buffy slays them and wanders off, singing "I can't even see/If this is really me/And I just want to be/Alive" through the dust of the last vamp.

The next morning, she wanders into the Magic Box, finding none of the frantic activity she was expecting. Finally, she works up the nerve to ask, "Last night did anybody... burst into song?" Everyone stops dead, then suddenly everyone's talking at once about their Broadway moments the night before. The consensus is that it was like being in a musical -- harmonies, rhymes, duets about dueling mushrooms, "synchronized dancing from the room-service chaps", the whole thing. They're split on how they feel about it; Xander repeatedly states how disturbing it was, everyone else seems to have had a certain amount of fun with it, disturbance aside; it all seemed perfectly normal at the time. Buffy claims she doesn't remember what she sang about, and the gang starts trying to figure out what's happened. ("Do we have any books on this?" Tara asks.) As Xander starts the logic thing, Giles leans forward and begins singing. (I've Got a Theory/If We're Together Medley) A dancing demon, someone dreaming and pulling them in, evil witches (hastily retracted by Xander) and bunnies are the first ideas tossed out as they try to understand: "It's getting eerie/What's this cheery singing all about?" (Anya is particularly enthused with her bunny theory, and belts out quite the rock riff to support it.) Buffy brings the speculation home by singing, "I've got a theory/It doesn't matter/What can't we face if we're together." The rest of the gang joins the song, declaring "We have to try/We'll pay the price/It's do or die/(Buffy) Hey, I've died twice".

As they end the inspirational group sing (Giles contributing some kick-ass harmonies), Xander sits down heavily, with another declaration of, "That was disturbing." Willow smiles: "I thought it was kind of neat." But the consensus between Buffy and Giles is, fun or not, together or not, it's weird and needs to be figured out. "I'm not exactly quaking in my stylish, yet affordable boots," Buffy says, with a fairly good imitation of interest and involvement, "but there's definitely something unnatural going on here. And that doesn't usually lead to hugs and puppies." Anya points that they need to know if it's just them, which would indicate a spell; Buffy opens the front door, and the gang is treated to the wrap-up of a major production number, as a random man (PTB David Fury) celebrates that his dry cleaner "Got the mustard out!" As the note dies off and the cartwheelers finish, Buffy closes the door again. "It's not just us."

Dawn arrives a few hours later, when the research party has kicked into full gear. She's in a great mood -- seems her class burst into song. "What did you sing about?" Xander asks. She makes a face, her thunder stolen. "Math." Willow and Tara, meanwhile, have been giggling in each others' ears, and suddenly begin babbling about books they left at the house that they think could be important. Almost no one believes them but, as Giles says, "I'm a hair's-breadth from investigating bunnies at the moment, so I'm open to anything." They take off together; in the process, no one notices Dawn slipping a necklace off the store counter and hiding it in her pocket.

Outside, Willow and Tara celebrate their escape, since the books are nonexistent. Willow teases Tara about two passing guys checking her out ("Oh, my god. I'm cured!" Tara laughs. "I want the boys!"). They giggle some more, and Willow continues to tease, "And you can't imagine what they see in you." Tara says seriously, "I know exactly what they see in me. You." She begins singing in a gorgeous Disney-esque voice -- "I lived my life in shadow/Never the sun on my face" -- a love song to Willow (Under Your Spell) as they stroll through a gorgeous park. She's still singing ("You worked your charm so well/Finally I knew/Everything I dreamed was true/You make me believe") as they dance together into their bedroom in the Summers house and start doing, well, things that they're not supposed to be implying this much of on prime-time TV.

"I bet they're not even working," Xander declares, on a smash cut back to the magic shop. It's not like he has to tell anyone else that, but he's restrained from really going off on the topic by Dawn's presence, to her disgust. "It's all kind of romantic," she thinks aloud. "Come on, songs, dancing around -- what's gonna be wrong with that?" Enter Exhibit A, a three-piece suited man exhibiting some serious tap dancing down the darkened streets of Sunnydale. But he doesn't seem to be in control of it, judging from his pained expression -- it's like some kind of insane Red Shoes moment (the type that doesn't involve David Duchovny, diaries, and lovely yet highly improbable sex). Smoke begins rising around the man's furiously moving body, until he suddenly bursts into flame and falls at the feet of a red-suited demon. "That's entertainment," the demon declares smugly.

The next morning, Anya and Xander wake up together, and have the usual couple-y discussions about breakfast and work (Xander shut his crew down for the day due to construction workers beginning to dance around; "It's a flab thing.") As Xander talks, Anya begins to sing about how happy she is to be marrying him. (I'll Never Tell) Xander kicks in an equally appreciative verse, both asserting that they'll never tell about any of the problems they have with the other -- then they slip into a 40's-style number enumerating said faults ("He snores/She wheezes/Say housework and he freezes/She eats these skeezy cheeses that I can't describe..."). More importantly, in between dance breaks, they both reveal their serious issues regarding the entire concept of getting married ("I lied, I said it's easy/I've tried, but there's these fears I can't quell/Is she looking for a pot of gold?/Will I look good when I've gotten old?"), concluding together that "We could really raise the beam in/Making marriage a hell/So thank god I'll never tell." They collapse laughing--

--then run to tell Giles how horrible it all is. They stroll down the street doing exposition about the people catching on fire, as Sunnydale continues to act out several different musicals behind them (including more dancers, sweepers on the run from Mary Poppins, and co-executive producer Marti Noxon trying to sing her way out of a parking ticket). Giles, who examined one of the bodies and found it burned from inside, believes the singing and the burning incidents could be linked ("One more verse of our little ditty and I would have been looking for a gas can," Anya says in disgust), but it's impossible to know for sure. Buffy is supposed to be checking the local demon haunts for info. They pause for a moment of Buffy Worry (TM) and Mutual Buffy-Related Support.

Of course, for Buffy these days, checking underworld sources means showing up on Spike's doorstep, which she does. He's apparently spent the last two days alternately enjoying the show ("600-pound Chirago demon making like Yma Sumac -- that one'll stay with you.") and doing his damnedest to stay drunk enough that he won't participate. His cheerful mood falls as he realizes Buffy didn't drop by for chit-chat; she just wants information. He flatly tells her he hasn't got any, and tries to hustle her out. She obliviously refuses to be hustled even when he holds the door open for her, and he fights really, really hard against the song fighting equally hard to get out. And he finally gives in, with great disgust. (Rest in Peace) He accuses her of only coming to him because no one else can deal with her feelings, and he's not real enough to her to matter. ("That's great/But I don't want to play/'Cause being with you touches me/More than I can say/But since I'm only dead to you/I'm saying stay away/And let me rest in peace.") By the end of his half-bitter, half-desperate [and fully kick-ass; James-drooling has now officially hit an all-time high. Homina-homina-homina....] rock number, they've been transported to a cemetery, Spike's broken up a funeral, and they're sprawled together at the bottom of a grave. Buffy freaks and runs away, but her expression during Spike's number seems to indicate some of the point hit home.

Back at Maison de Summers, Tara and Dawn discuss the situation, and Tara tells her they've got a lead on the cause: "This demon that can be summoned -- some sort of lord of the dance. But not the scary one -- just a demon." Dawn responds that she's glad Willow and Tara aren't fighting anymore, since it makes her feels bad. Tara visibly starts feeling bad herself, since she doesn't remember any fight. She fingers the flowers she picked up from the bed that morning, and heads off to the Magic Box, leaving Dawn alone in the house. Dawn watches her go sadly, then opens a small jewelry box on her desk, filled with jewelry and lipsticks with the pricetags still on. She puts one necklace on and begins singing -- thankfully, her teen-angst ballad is cut off after two lines, when she turns around and finds a guy with exaggerated wooden features who practically screams 'minion' standing behind her. Dawn begins screaming as she's grabbed by the minion and his two buddies.

Dawn wakes on a pool table in the empty Bronze. As she springs to her feet, the minions appear and Dawn finds her attempts at escape turned into a deeply surreal ballet. Finally, she slides across the floor and ends up at the feet of Mr. Red-Suit himself, a demon named Sweet. (Which I don't think he ever says, but it seems to be the consensus, so I'll go with it.) Over the course of his beautiful song and dance exposition (Sweet's Song), we learn that he was summoned, by Dawn he claims, to bring singing and dancing to Sunnydale. Two catches: one, his music thrives on the deepest emotions. Eventually, it gets to be too much and the performance spins out of control -- ("Some customers just start combusting/That's the penalty/When life is but a song"). Catch number two: Since she summoned him, when Sunnydale is destroyed, Dawn will go back to the underworld with Sweet to be his queen. Dawn sings to convince him of the futility of this ("What I mean/I'm fifteen/So this queen thing's illegal"), finally telling him her sister's the Slayer. That stops Sweet mid-prance, and he sends his minions out to bring the Slayer to him. He wants to see Buffy burn.

Not knowing Dawn is re-enacting her usual role as Girl Hostage, Buffy joins Giles for a workout in the back room of the Magic Box. She's cracking far too many jokes about death, and worried that "this whole session's going to turn into some training montage from an 80's movie." Giles reassures her, then asks if she's talked to Dawn about the Halloween debacle. She blows it off, saying casually that she thought he took care of it. "What would I do without you?" Giles nods very seriously, as he turns away to the weapons board and starts picking things to throw at her. He also starts singing. (Standing in the Way) To no one's surprise, he's seriously worried about Buffy's seeming lack of desire to deal, and he thinks he's nailed down the cause -- him. "The cries around you, you don't hear at all/'Cause you know I'm here to take that call/So you just lie there when you should be standing tall/But I.... /I'm just standing in the way." [ASH drooling also hit an all-time high during this number; golden pipes on that man.] He finally concludes that the only way he can help Buffy is to leave her, and force her to help herself.

During the song (which Buffy, by popular musical convention, didn't hear word one of), Tara rushed into the Magic Box, hiding her arrival from Willow. She pages frantically through the books on the upper level until she finds the flowers: Lethe's Bramble, used for augmenting spells of forgetting and mind control. Her response (Under Your Spell/ (Reprise)/Wish I Could Stay Medley) is heartbroken and heartbreaking: "I'm under your spell.../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." As she sings, still crouched on the ladder, Giles walks up beside her, and their voices blend (sorry, only way to describe it) in a duet about the two they love -- Giles wishing he could "play the father/And take you by the hand", Tara wishing she "could trust/That it was just this once" and both wishing they could stay, when they've both decided they can't.

As their song ends, the front door bursts open and Spike enters with Sweet's minion in his grasp. Everyone emerges to hear what's going on as Spike orders him to sing. The music swells, the minion opens his mouth... and, speaking in a very normal voice, informs Buffy that his master has Dawn hostage, will take her to the underworld at midnight, and wants Buffy to come get her. He breaks away from Spike and bolts (Spike: "Strong. Someday, he'll be a real boy."), leaving Buffy to go all resolute ("Dawn's in trouble. It must be Tuesday.") and ask the others what the plan is. As they begin to answer, Giles intervenes and stops them. "We're not going just stay here?" Willow demands. "Yes, we are," Giles replies. "Buffy's going alone." Buffy stares at him with disbelieving eyes, as Spike tells Giles not to be a stupid git. Willow offers a confusion spell and get soundly nixed by Tara, and Spike assures Buffy that, no matter what the others say, he's got her back. Buffy stares back at him expressionlessly. "Thought you wanted me to stay away from you. Isn't that what you sang?" Ignoring the peanut gallery behind him that is delighted at the concept of Spike singing, Spike's face gets the exact same hurt expression Buffy just had, then hardens. "Fine. I hope you dance till you burn. You and the little bit." He stalks out, leaving the others in silence, until Buffy half-asks them, "You're really not coming." Giles tells her, gently, "It's up to you, Buffy." Buffy: "What do you expect me to do." Giles: "Your best."

Buffy heads out alone through the streets of Sunnydale. There are still people dancing, but there's desperation to it now, and fires are burning everywhere. Buffy holds her hands out to one as she begins to sing (Walk Through the Fire and there's no way in hell I can justice to this): "I touch the fire and it freezes me/I look into it and it's black/Why can't I feel?/My skin should crack and peel/I want the fire back." All alone, she heads out to her sister, "To save the day/Or maybe melt away/I guess it's all the same..." In an alley a few blocks away, Spike sits smoking a cigarette, being all broody and bitter: "I hope she fries/I'm free if that bitch dies.../I'd better help her out," he concludes, throwing his cigarette away and heading for the Bronze. And at the magic shop, Giles fights his doubts: "Will this do a thing to change her?/Am I leaving Dawn in danger?/Is my Slayer too far gone to care?" Xander and Anya renew their objections, and the gang finally heads out: "We'll see it through/It's what we're always here to do/So we will walk through the fire..." Everyone converges on the Bronze -- to help, to rescue, and, for Buffy, to find something that will finally end it all. "And we are caught in the fire/The point of no return/So we will walk through the fire/And let it burn." Spike leaps the fence behind the Bronze, Buffy's kick breaks down the door, and Sweet smiles from his chair beside Dawn. "Showtime."

Buffy saunters across the dance floor towards the stage where Sweet and her sister are seated. "I love a good entrance," Sweet approves. Buffy shoots back, "How are you with death scenes?" but Sweet isn't impressed. After a little more banter, Buffy offers Sweet a deal: if she can't kill him, he'll take her to the underworld instead of Dawn. "What if I kill you?" Sweet returns. Buffy shrugs. "Trust me... won't help." Sweet: "That's gloomy." Buffy: "That's life." Sweet leans back in his chair, cheerful and smug. "Tell me, is that what you really feel? Isn't life a miraculous thing?" He knows the answer to that, of course; Buffy starts singing anyway. (Life's a Show) Taking off her jacket in quite the G-rated strip-tease, she delivers a nice, upbeat, hugely sarcastic take on singing one's way through life for Sweet's enjoyment. ("Life's a show and we all play our parts/And when the music starts/We open up our hearts/It's all right if some things come out wrong/We'll sing a happy song/And you can sing along...") The Scoobies arrive in the middle of this, and Giles immediately sends Tara and Anya over as backup -- singers, rather. Buffy demands that Sweet -- or her friends -- give her something to sing about ("Still my friends/Don't know why I ignore/The million things or more/I should be dancing for....") and the irony is darn neat thick enough to see. As she makes it to the stage, Sweet smiles confidently, and she finally gives in to the song she's been holding back for weeks (Heaven): "There was no pain/No fear, no doubt/Til they pulled me out/Of Heaven." The Scoobies stumble back, shock and horror beginning to spread over their faces, and when Buffy demands again that they give her something to sing about, none of them can. She finally dives off the stage and begins dancing, the kind of desperate dance that burns people alive in their own emotions. Smoke begins to rise around her as she spins and jumps and the music keeps speeding up, the smoke beginning to envelop her--

--Until Spike's hands reach out and grab her, holding her in place. As she stares at him in shock, he sings the answer no one else could give: "Life's not a song/Life isn't bliss/Life is just this/It's living..." He keeps going, as she stares up at him in some of the first honest emotion she's felt since she came back: "You'll get along/The pain that you feel/You only can heal by living..." From the stage behind them, Dawn steps forward, echoing her sister's words from the tower: "The hardest thing in this world is to live in it."

When the music ends, Spike and Buffy are still standing together and Willow is gulping back tears, as Sweet begins applauding. "That was a show-stopping number. Not quite the fireworks I was looking for..." Willow orders him to "Get out of here," power in every word, and Sweet is mildly impressed. "I guess the little missus and I should be on our way," he says, standing and walking towards Dawn. It's the rules, he tells them; Dawn summoned him, Dawn has to do with him. When Dawn maintains, as she has all along, that she didn't summon him, he points to the necklace she's wearing -- his talisman. She fumblingly claims she found it in the store while cleaning, but didn't summon him. Giles looks around, realizing one of them must have done it... and Xander sheepishly raises his hand. "Well, I didn't know what was gonna happen! I just thought there was gonna be dances and songs. I just wanted to make sure we'd work out," he tells Anya. "Get a happy ending."

Sweet seems genuinely amused by the whole thing, and smirkingly agrees to waive the clause for Xander. "Big smile, everyone. You beat the bad guy," he says, as he starts his final number (Sweet's Song (Reprise)): "All those secrets you've been concealing/Say you're happy now/ Once more with feeling/Now I gotta run, see you all/In hell". He vanishes in a fireworks show all his own, leaving the Slayerettes stare at each other in a victory that doesn't feel like it, and a horribly uncomfortable silence. Dawn breaks it as she begins to sing (Where Do We Go), making her way down from the stage as she asks, "Where do we go from here?" Spike and Buffy join in, trying not to look at each other, then the others gradually join in two-by-two. "Understand we'll go hand in hand/But we'll walk alone in fear/Tell me/Where do we go from here?" As the singing continues, Spike suddenly realizes what he's doing; with a disgusted "Bugger this," he stops mid-choreography and leaves the Bronze.

As he stalks into the alley, the singing continues behind him ("The curtains close/On a kiss -- God knows/You can tell the end is near"), but Buffy follows him into the alley. Spike tells her to go back inside, and Buffy responds, somewhat confused, that she doesn't want to. Spike, finally caught at the 'laugh or cry' stage, tells her, "The day you suss out what you do want, there'll probably be a parade. Seventy-six bloody trombones." But even as he tells her she doesn't have to say anything, she starts to sing (Finale), moving towards him. He sings in return and their voices join ("This isn't real, but I just want to feel--/But you can make me feel--"). They both get closer and closer, then finally lunge into a passionate liplock of the grandest cinematic tradition. Cue swell of dramatic finale chorus, cue big ol' red "The End". [Cue the wild screams/shrieks/swoons of Buffy/Spike 'shippers everywhere. Everyone else can go collapse now. Oh, except wait for the operatic GrrArg.]