Buffy The Vampire Slayer - S06x07|♡Uncut Reaction &Review ♡

In every song they hear each other, except Giles’s to Buffy and then his and Tara’s duet. We are clued into the difference by the fact that Buffy is moving in slow motion (on her own time, in her own brain?), and then when she asks, “Did you say something?” As to why this is, I think it’s partially Giles’s “the cries around you, you don’t hear at all”. She is emotionally disconnected. I’ve seen it said that “the magic from the demon Sweet treats it as a private, unspoken thought rather than a public confession”. Sweet’s last song: “There's not a one who can say this ended well. All those secrets you've been concealing; say you're happy now, once more with feeling.” It shows he was privy to their songs and I assume had some power over them. (I’m guessing the night funeral was his doing, like the backup singers with Tara and Willow, for example.) The only flaw I see in the episode is Giles’s initial decision to not help Buffy with rescuing Dawn. The reason he is standing in her way seems to be an emotional thing – help with Dawn, not hearing the cries around her. There’s no real indication that he thinks she should fight physical battles purely on her own. If so, given the history of the show, Giles is an idiot. (I think the writers made one of their rare mistakes, in this, the greatest episode in the history of television.) I think you missed the line “The curtains close on a kiss, god knows”. I was kind of glad you missed it the first time around, so you’d be surprised. I kept hoping, though, when you replayed it, you’d see/hear it. I have been tempted to watch your reaction to this out of order, but I patiently waited until I got to it, in the proper order of things. You didn’t disappoint!

I might be tad late, and someone already might have pointed it out... but, No, they didn't change the intro song 😂 It's the exact same notes, just slower with different instruments.

YouTube finally got to this episode so I had to join to watch the uncut reaction. So worth it. Don't know if it has been mentioned before, but after this episode I recommend checking out some albums. Anthony Stewart Head released "Music For Elevators". It is different than anything he's sang on Buffy, but worth a listen. Also has Amber Benson with some guest vocals. But James Marsters has a band Ghost of the Robot. Their first album "Mad Brilliant" is amazing and contains my favorite song of all time (seriously) "Good Night Sweet Girl". I cannot recommend it enough.

Loved your reaction when you realised it was a musical episode. Seriously well done to everyone on here for not spoiling it for you. A couple of little bits of trivia. The mustard and the parking ticket songs were performed by David Fury and Marti Noxon, both writers on the show. Anya got the rock part about bunnies because on set Emma Caulfield used to make up heavy metal songs about Joss Whedon and sing them to him.

Whenever I’m waiting for new Buffy content I come back to this video way too often.❤️🤣

I know this was posted a while ago but I'm also playing catch up, and I couldn't not comment. This was BY FAR one of the most entertaining reaction videos I have ever seen! The episode itself is fantastic of course, but Sophie, your reaction is priceless. You are the one of most consistently enjoyable reactors out there. This was pure gold. I love how you knew knew almost right away that this was going to turn into an extra long reaction, but it flew by for me and I was almost sorry to see it end. I'll be watching this one again! You can count on it! It's too much fun!

I got emotionally overloaded and a little down watching the end of season 6 with you but this has been a perfect palate cleanser to come back and watch again - thank you for being such a great reactor!

I realize this is an older post at this point, but I'm playing catch up. I want to say how refreshing your reaction and just utter joy in response to the singing. I recently saw a so-called vocal coach react to this episode - had never seen the show before, didn't understand the context; didn't even really bother to listen to the lyrics to try and get context from the songs; and spent the entire reaction video ripping on the most absurd thing. Hinton Fucking Battle is singing his heart out as Sweet (the demonic "lord of the dance") and all she can focus on is his make-up and then says his song was dumb. And people seriously ripped her a new one in the comments, it was ridiculous.

I totally forgot that you're a singer, Sofie! This is by far my favorite reaction to this episode. I loved getting your perspective as a singer/musician! Thanks for sharing with us!

Same here :D I needed to see if someone was reacting to this as I did. And your reaction is like a recorded version of mine. Sending love <3

I became a patron yesterday because I could not wait to see this specific reaction:D

I had to skip ahead to this one, very impatient of me but worth it :D

I've thoroughly enjoyed watching all your reactions but especially this one! in the beginning you were nervous because you said you usually love or hate musical episodes, and I knew you would love it! such an absolute masterpiece. It's commonly considered the best musical episode of all time. Joss said he had the idea to make it because he used to have theater night over at his house and he would invite the cast and they would put on shows and songs. And he said that once he realized how great everyone's voices were (especially Anthony Steward Head, Amber Benson and James Marsters)... he knew he had to make a musical episode. This was such a delight to watch thank you for sharing your reaction with us <3 I started crying with you when Spike saves Buffy and starts singing to her about life and healing and moving forward.

I'm catching up with Buffy.....🤣🤣🤣never laugh so much to a reaction @Sofie you are hilarious.

I have been downloading your reactions and binge watching them so I sometimes forget to go back to Patreon and comment. But I had to for this episode. I have seen this episode honestly more times than I can count and seeing someone new watch and love this show and particularly this episode makes me so incredibly happy. Thank you for your pure joy and light while watching this episode. Thank you again!

Sofie, at 22:30 of your reaction you say "I feel like like I've seen this before" listening to the mustard song. Have you seen How I Meet Your Mother ? This show has some references to Buffy and one of these is the mustard song. You can see this at this link (end of the video) : https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CiweaZQ8g5U

I don't like constant pausing usually (I just skip along a bit, I still love your reactions and insights, I just have a truly disastrous attention span.) BUT for this episode it is truly a joy. You did miss some pretty funny moments and cutaways, but hey you can always watch it again. It deserves the pauses. Pause away, I say! A great almost 2 hours xD Also want to add, I consider the ending of this episode a terrible tragedy. It's only downhill from here.

I love your passion with your reactions.

Don't worry about what anybody says about your reactions. You're great to watch.

I am SO sorry for this super long comment. I just have a lot of love for this episode. I actually love that you keep pausing and rewinding and, for this ep, replaying the songs cuz that was ME when I first watched this episode. I'm stunned that you were able to pick up on the Little Mermaid vibes for the very first song cuz that's what Joss Whedon intended. He even had her stake the last vamp in the song at that moment so that the vamp dust could mimic Ariel's infamous shot with the waves crashing behind her. The song itself makes me a bit emotional cuz this is the first time Buffy is acknowledging that she WANTS to live rather than focus on the heaven she'd been in before. It's a long road ahead but just admitting she wants to feel alive is a HUGE step. I actually LOVE Sarah's singing in this episode. It's clear who has singing backgrounds (Anthony and Amber) and who doesn't (Alyson and Nicholas) but I was really taken by Sarah's voice (the song Walk Through the Fire is my ultimate fav from this episode) and Anya's voice (the bunny verse and her duet with Xander are SO FUN). Sarah actually hated her voice here cuz she's a total perfectionist and apparently Joss didn't give them all enough time to prepare, at least not to her standards. But she's got a very sweet voice and I think they did a good job giving her songs that matched what she could do with it. I never really looked deep into the lyrics for Under Your Spell cuz I was just too entranced with Willow and Tara. I noticed the intention behind that last verse cuz it was pretty obvious lol but I never noticed how creepy the lyrics were when we KNOW that Willow literally put a spell on Tara. Everything has a double meaning to it and made the song sad despite what it was supposed to be. I think I only really noticed it now cuz you keep rewinding and replaying and focusing a lot on the lyrics. You're brilliant, Sofie! Tara realizing what the flower meant when Dawn said she was glad they weren't fighting anymore...man, I tear up every single time. This is her realizing that the one person she chose to build a life with was manipulating her. After escaping that same toxic environment with her birth family, after what she's been through with Glory...she thought she could trust Willow only to realize she was so wrong. It's HEARTBREAKING. If I'm not wrong, Dawn is trained in ballet in real life. That might have been why they gave her a ballet piece instead of a song. She wasn't musically trained but I did LOVE her sweet voice for the 2 lines she sang before she got kidnapped. The demon was played by an actual Broadway star. His voice is PHENOMENAL. Even the last line he sang as he disappeared "see you all in hell" sounded so wonderful. Giles' song always makes me cry cuz he is the father that Buffy deserves and yet he's right. She's giving into her depression instead of fighting back because she knows he's there as her safety net. Even for simple things like talking to Dawn. Buffy is doing a lot for someone her age. She's basically a mom to a teenager now. It's a lot of responsibility so of course it's hard but she's kind of shirking it. She wants to be back in that safe space when she was 16 and Giles was the grown up making all the calls. I get where he's coming from but I also think Buffy needs his support and his presence, considering what she's going through. Giles leaving was actually Anthony's doing - he wanted to spend more time in Britain with his family. Also, Buffy didn't hear Giles singing was intentionally different that the other songs cuz it shows how disconnected she is from the world around her. Walk Through the Fire will ALWAYS be iconic. The lyrics were spectacular, the music incredible, the metaphors alone were chilling...the fact that Joss had fire trucks driving past in the last verse was BRILLIANT. It's a freaking masterpiece. Buffy's quick exchange with the demon when she first arrived was so sad. Her depression was so real that she'd rather be taken hostage underworld as a demon's bride rather than live her life surrounded by her friends and loved ones. Even the demon thought her outlook was bleak. I just feel so sad for her and, at the same time, I empathize because I've been there. I think Buffy's depression is portrayed quite realistically, especially in a show where vampires are the norm. Something to Sing About was so wonderfully sad. Sarah can really portray depression well. It's in her eyes and her face when she sings about Heaven and how she just can't find anything good in life to sing about anymore. It's beautiful. Fun fact - the guy who sings about the mustard is David Fury, one of the series writer and producer, and the girl who sings about the parking ticket is Marti Noxon, another writer/producer for BTVS. The demon, named Sweet though they never say it in the episode itself, was played by Hinton Battle, a real Broadway star. He's incredible. His voice was perfect and his comedic timing was impeccable. I liked the way he said his lines during Xander's reveal that he was the one who summoned Sweet. There's a lot of controversy around Buffy/Spike, which mostly revolves around him being soulless. I wasn't even watching them kiss, I was watching you cuz I knew you were gonna freak out lol. I AM a Spuffy fan, but I do believe some things could have been done differently with them. I can't wait to see what your views are on them as we go along. The BEST thing out of this incredible masterpiece of an episode is Anya's bunny verse in I Got a Theory. Don't lie. You know it's true 🤣😍 Now I know you're gonna be joining the rest of us in having the Once More with Feeling album saved to your favs on Spotify 🤣🤣🤣

I've truly come to appreciate your reaction style. Instead of talking over the episode and missing important lines, you stop and react. It works beautifully, and was perfect for this episode! Your enthusiasm, joy, and delight are contagious! I love you! I'm glad you weren't spoiled about it, but, when it originally aired, it was promoted from the beginning of the season. Since it's about 10 minutes longer than the average episode, it only aired once in its entirety. Subsequent reruns were edited to fit into a one hour time slot. Fortunately, I had taped it, and watched it about 30 times until I got the DVD. Truly, my favorite episode!!

I love that you realized the underlying creepiness of Under Your Spell. It really did such a great job at not just being a random musical episode but moving the plot along ad letting us understand the characters in ways we may not have otherwise. I love and write musicals and this episode is wonderful. Sweet's voice is insane. James is in a band btw. Buffy's portrayal of depression is one of the reasons this is one of my favorite seasons. It's darker but it's relatable and the characters are growing up dealing with complex issues and I love it.

I love that no one spoiled this for you. Your genuine surprise and amazement is what makes reactions so great!

Sometimes a music reactor will react to this episode with no understanding of the deeper meaning behind the songs, because they had not watched the rest of the series and what things had happened to bring the characters to this pivotal point. Without that knowledge they are just reacting to the individual voices, And that is less than half the value in each song. You gave a marvelous reaction to this episode. And with your pauses and replays, you really got to the bottom of all the songs, and how they wove into the fabric of the series.

Yes!! This episode is absolutely a masterpiece. I joined just to see your reaction to this particular episode. I have watched it many times with many reactors. That is how good that I think this episode is. Every time a new reactor starts reacting to Buffy, I just hope that they make it all the way to this episode so I can watch it again with them.

This is THE musical episode. Many shows have tried this over the years, after this episode aired - but nothing has ever- and will ever top this one. Also, I love how you just *GET* this show. It's refreshing to see someone react to everything the way you do ♥

I mean, when Dancing Demon said in song: "Once more with feeling!", this starting last song "Where Do We Go From Here" and kiss Spike and Buffy. Literally - once more (but) with feeling, not "going trought the motions" like in first song :)

Can you name your top 3 or top 5 favorite songs from this episode? 😍

Yay .. you got to my fav episode .. I have other favourites of course but this is the one I never skip any part of .. and yes it feels x10 times better when you can sing along with every song (ps. There is a full playlist on youtube) ... loved the entire reaction .. for the "this isn't real but I just wanna feel" part, this is how I interpreted it when I first heard it .. through out S6 and since Buffy came back she has been developing a bond with Spike, she has been developing actual feelings for him that she hides from everyone because everyone looks down at Spike as the soulless vampire with a chip .. and we all saw hiw they reacted when the thought Buffy was sleeping with Spike in "intervention" which turned out to be the Buffy bot eventually but the point is, Buffy is trying to live up to her friends expectations, she has been pretending since she got back ... hiding everything she feels from them including her new attraction/feelings for the evil soulless vamp .. in thisbepisode they've been all under a spell, forcibly showing their feelings .. so how I see that is Buffy gave her self a break for a second .. "If I do this now, it's the spell not me .. I would never kiss Spike, but I am under a spell now so this doesn't count as real" .. but she needs to act on this feeling to see if it'll strike a spark in her, give her the fire back, stir some feelings .. this isn't real, but I just wanna feel

Man, can you please just binge the rest of the show, like, tomorrow? I can’t wait to finish this series out with you - best Buffy reactions, period. (And just so you know, James sings quite often, including Rest In Peace again a few years ago - check it out on YouTube!).

"You can skip this part if you like." You know none of us skipped a second of this reaction! I discovered you through your Floor/Nightwish reactions and I knew you love music so much. So, I wasn't sure how you were going to be when two of your favourite things collide in this way. Fantastic reaction Soph, you took us along on an emotional ride. Thank you. I don't like musicals but even I like this episode because how much it reveals about the characters and the plot. It really is a masterpiece and really fun to sing along to. So, somewhere down the line, you might want to do a sing-along video hehe.

this made me SO happy to watch. One of my all time favourite reactions by anyone to date, for sure <3

This might be the best reaction that I’ve seen to this episode, even better then After Show Reactions, who for the longest time was my favorite.

This reaction is so good. Best reaction i seen from anyone!

I LOVE that you pause and replay multiple times! It’s my favorite thing about your reactions. This was my favorite reaction to this episode by far. Love you ❤️

Watch the beginning of the part where buffy sings her hopeful song about how the gang can beat anything again - she is actually saying something super depressed about how none of it matters, but she’s overheard so she makes it sound like she’s being positive

I really enjoyed your review SoFie! Re-lived, re-enjoyed the episode along with you after many years :) Did not mind the pauses at all, I think we can all admit we have paused and seen this episode so many times!!! :D Thank you !

I was trying to save money this month... but I knew this alone would be worth paying for, and I was NOT wrong. TAKE MY MONEY! Best reaction ever.

Crazy that this wasn't spoiled, the musical episode is probably one of the spoilers that fans can't help but spill out. Great episode and definitely a fun one to sing along to, if another TV show tries a musical episode, it will now automatically fail in comparison

Loved your reaction, I'll rewatch it several times I'm sure.

Last season SoFie asks “will we ever get back to episodes that are fun” (or something close to that)? All of us: Thinking 🤔 (Just hold out for Once More With Feeling…but cannot mention it or even allude to it. No spoilers.) “We are on this ride with you SoFie 🫶🏼.” We finally arrived and got to OMWF 🫶🏼🫶🏼🫶🏼. And SoFie did not disappoint. 🙂😺😺.

Sofie always raising the bar in reaction videos! This is the best one I've seen for this episode and that's saying something.

1. Sure someone already told you but the women signing about parking is marti noxon. 2. You’re adorable!!

😂 watch me rewind Sofies reactions while she’s rewinding all the scenes.. we’ll be here for days 🤣🤣🧡🧡

“This is gonna take so long I’m sorry” - Sofie, we knew 😉 we warned you to bring some water and a snack 😂 WE LOVE IT!!

I was like „imma comment first!!” 😂 but I was sleeping it was 3am haha I can’t wait to watch all that good stuff cuz we all held our tongues soooo much

An hardcore bangel shipper here, i love spuffy too even tho they're fckin toxic together 😅🤷🏼‍♀️

AAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHH! Your reaction was even better than I expected! The music, the writing, the singing, dancing, the Spuffy kiss, the big reveals....*chef's kiss* and you picked up on Buffy's line before kissing Spike so it will be interesting to see how their relationship develops from here. Buffy's love life is never gonna be a smooth ride!

You are so right about why this works. It's because of the character and story progression. It isn't just some wacky one-off episode in a vacuum. The songs aren't there just to cover up the story. My fav song? Walk through the fire :)

Amazing reaction! As usual, you are so perceptive and impress me with how much you understand on the first viewing. I love how much you love this show and your appreciation of this episode didn’t disappoint. ❤️ A couple of things; I always assumed the reason Buffy and Willow didn’t hear Giles and Tara singing is either they weren’t ready to hear the messages yet. Or Giles and Tara weren’t ready to tell them. Whereas with The rest rest of the songs they were ready to share and hear. Even if the messages were uncomfortable or painful. Second, the ‘they got the mustard out’ is David Fury, one of the writers and producers on Buffy. Someone else already mentioned parking ticket lady is Marti Nixon. Looking forward to your sing-along re-watch of this episode 😉

10/10 reaction. You picked up on so much the first time through. Rest in Peace and the reprise with Tara and Giles are my favorites and I'm so glad you liked them. Your reaction to the reprise was everything. 😁 Sweet always gets my vote for best monster of the week.

Literally the best reaction of this episode I’ve ever seen. This episode is phenomenal and you’re really took the time to digest it and I’m so appreciative of that. The more you rewound it the happier I got cuz I knew that meant you loved it too! Thanks so much Sophie!

NOW instead of the next episode perhaps review the Buffy 6x7 "Behind the Scenes of Once More With Feeling"...someone has it posted on Youtube.

Literally best reaction ever, Sofie! (Not an exaggeration) You delivered, you understood the assignment. I know you've gotten shit for pausing and rewinding on videos before (I always love it) but when it comes to Buffy you NEVER have to apologize. The fandom has seen it so much and we are watching it again with you, there is never too much! ESPECIALLY WITH THIS EPISODE!!! There is so much happening in one episode, no one is waiting for one specific part, I feel like. There's the shock around every corner. I love you!

AMAZING reaction. I was so, so excited for you to see this one, and you did NOT disappoint! I loved getting to see you notice and appreciate things, and also loved hearing your thoughts on the characters and arcs. 💖

I stayed up past my bedtime for this, and you did not disappoint! You are absolutely correct about Amber, James, and Anthony. They were already singers before this. Also, one more tidbit to make you appreciate SMG a little more… she didn’t want to sing. She was going to have someone else do the singing. But when she found out she would be revealing that she was in heaven, she knew she had to be the one to sing, so she took a few singing lessons to prepare!

This is the best Buffy episode and reaction I have ever watched, absolute PERFECTION. Years of waiting for this and it was SO worth it!!!!

Watching you start reacting: "I am either going to love it or hate it"... me thinking to myself: don't worry, you're going to LOVE it :)

"His voice is like sex covered in chocolate". Never change, Sofie lol :)

Was at Comic Con back in 09 when one could get tickets. Went to a sing along for this with 2 friends. Such a great moment. Great reaction. I called it on discord reaction time would be 90 minutes

Best … Episode / Reaction … ever. So you’re going to watch it 30 times – so you can sing along with it? Fine, but you have to record all 30 times so we can sing along with you. :D Absolutely awesome, you were! So was the episode :)

Some parts were so cringe and some were good I remembered the first time I watched this episode I skipped most of the parts

The demon, Sweet, is played by Hinton Battle. He's won three Tony's 💯💯💯

Yes Lorne was robbed of this experience 😤😤

YES TO THE SING ALONG SESSION 😭😭😭🙏🏽🙏🏽

AHHHHH YESSSS

I got so excited to see this was posted. I have been waiting all season for this! I couldn’t wait to get home to watch it!!

who's singing at 39:30 you ask? it's none other than Marti Noxon, the showrunner of this season 😃

YAY! Been waiting a long time for this!! Woo hoo!

Oh my gosh I cannot wait to get home form work and watch this. This is one of the “major” episodes of the show. Definitely spawned all the tv musical episodes of other shows.

Guys I think we broke her. Worth the wait though.

Wow, an hour and 44 minutes? This is the best night of my life!

not Sofie thinking she's gonna hate it 😭😭😭 ahahah I love that for you

YAY!

Eeeeeeeek! Welcome to the Hush/The Body/OMWF club. :D

Literally dropped everything I’m doing to watch this reaction 😂

YES YES YES YES YES!!!!!!!!