Line #154 Recap/BuffyTheVampireSlayerS6E7OnceMoreWithFeeling


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5	[-[[caption-width-right:284:''"...we will walk through the fire, the point of no return, and we will walk through the fire, and let it burn."'']]-]
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7	->'''Dawn:''' Oh my god! You will never believe what happened at school today.\
8	'''Buffy (without looking up):''' Everybody started singing and dancing?\
9	'''Dawn (miffed that everyone already knows):''' ...I ...gave birth to a pterodactyl.\
10	'''Anya:''' Oh my god! Did it sing?
11
12	Directed by Creator/JossWhedon
13
14	Written by Whedon, Creator/RebeccaKirshner, & Creator/StevenSDeKnight
15
16	Buffy is patrolling in a cemetery at night but notices something wrong with her and the demons and vamps she's fighting; they're all singing and dancing. Buffy sings about her life after returning to Earth and how she feels detached from it ('Going Through The Motions').
17
18	The next morning, the gang compare notes and find out they all felt compelled to perform musical numbers last night. They suddenly burst into song, first wondering what could be the cause ('I've Got A Theory/Bunnies') and then, guided by Buffy, affirm their ability to deal with any challenge together ('If We're Together'). They then learn that it's not just happening to them but the whole of Sunnydale are singing and dancing about their inner feelings ('The Mustard').
19
20	Later, Tara sings Willow a love song about the difference she's made in her life ('Under Your Spell'). Xander and Anya sing about things they would never have otherwise told each other, such as their worries over their upcoming marriage ('I'll Never Tell'). Spike sings to Buffy about the torturous nature of their relationship ('Rest In Peace').
21
22	Unfortunately, some people are singing and dancing so much that they spontaneously combust because of the dramatic release of their pent up emotions.
23
24	When Dawn gets home from school, Tara tells her that it looks like a demon is responsible for the forced singing in Sunnydale. Dawn mentions how glad she is Tara and Willow are over their recent argument about magic, but Tara doesn't remember anything about it. She suddenly begins to worry that Willow may have cast a spell on her and rushes off to find out if her hunch is true. Meanwhile, Dawn is left alone and goes through her secret stash of shoplifted things. She puts on a necklace stolen from the Magic Box but is kidnapped by minions of the demon, Sweet, who interrupt her song about not being noticed ('Dawn's Lament').
25
26	When she wakes up at the Bronze, Dawn engages in interpretive dance with Sweet as a means of escape. Sweet tap dances as he sings and explains that he thinks Dawn is the one who summoned him and he wants to take her home and make her his queen. He explains that if the melodies go on too long, people will explode from the release of emotions ('What You Feel'). Dawn tells him that her sister is the Slayer, which seems to please and not scare him. He tells his minions to bring Buffy to him so he can watch the Slayer burn.
27
28	Meanwhile, Buffy trains with Giles at the Magic Box in case she has to fight whatever is causing the singing. Giles asks if Buffy has spoken to Dawn about her misbehaviour on Halloween but Buffy replies that she thought he had sorted it. Giles realises that Buffy is dependent on him being around and sings (only heard to himself) that he cannot let Buffy rely on him for everything and that he will leave for England for good ('Standing').
29
30	Tara looks up information on the bramble she found in her bed that morning which confirms it's used in spells to alter memory. Devastated that Willow would do such a thing to her, Tara decides she needs to end their relationship. Giles and Tara's songs merge into a duet about them leaving. They sing about how much it hurts to leave but know that they can't stay ('Under Your Spell/Standing - Reprise').
31
32	However before either of them get the chance to bring the subject up with Buffy and Willow, Spike arrives having grabbed one of Sweet's minions, who reveals that Dawn has been kidnapped. Xander, Anya, Willow and Tara are eager to help Dawn but Giles insists Buffy must go alone. Spike dismisses Giles' stubbornness and wants to back Buffy up. Buffy questions why he'd do that if he asked her to leave him alone in his earlier song. Spike skulks away, humiliated, and tells Buffy that he hopes she and Dawn burn. Buffy leaves alone, once again singing about her inability to feel anything. Both a conflicted Spike and the Scoobies sing about their desire to fight alongside her ('Walk Through The Fire'). Arriving at the Bronze, Buffy sings and dances cynically about her current condition and the hardships of being a Slayer.
33
34	Buffy finally reveals to Sweet that, by resurrecting her, Buffy's friends had ripped her out of Heaven rather than rescue her from a hell dimension like they thought. The Scoobies react in horror, especially Willow, and once Buffy has vocalised her anger and despair, she dances to the point of smoking in a somewhat suicidal bid. Spike arrives and catches her, telling her to continue living ('Something To Sing About').
35
36	Applauding, Sweet prepares to leave with Dawn but it's revealed that it was Xander who summoned him - not aware of the consequences of his actions. This leads to Sweet telling Xander that he'll waive the clause of taking him to be his queen and he goes back to Hell ('How You Feel - Reprise'). As Sweet leaves, he points out that as they've revealed their hidden feelings, none of them can claim it ended well. The fractured group sing of the hollow victory they've achieved and what to do next ('Where Do We Go From Here?').
37
38	The episode ends with Spike and Buffy [[BigDamnKiss kissing as the curtains fall]], as predicted in the song's final verse.
39
40	----
41	!!This episode provides examples of:
42
43	* AcCENTUponTheWrongSylLABle: The episode cleverly exploits this for a {{double entendre}}. Imagine you're a censor reading a script in which a girl in bed with her lover sings the repeated line "you make me complete". Tame enough, right? Except that to fit the tune, the stress happens to fall on the first syllable of "complete"... This is also a musical example of [[CountryMatters Country Matters.]]
44	* ActionFashionista: Buffy assures Giles that she's not quaking in her [[StylishProtectionGear stylish yet affordable boots]] over this latest weirdness.
45	* AffablyEvil: Sweet. He never even engages in physical violence. On the other hand, he can cause people to catch on fire, bring whole cities to ruin, tries to marry 15-year-old Dawn -- and still has time to get a soft shoe in.
46	* AffectionateGestureToTheHead: [[ShipTease Spike strokes Buffy's hair]] during "Something To Sing About".
47	* AintTooProudToBeg: Buffy asks Sweet to ''[[DespairEventHorizon please, give me something to sing about!]]'' Sweet gleefully shakes his head in refusal. Buffy proceeds to dance wildly until she starts to burn up, only to be saved JustInTime by Spike.
48	* AllThereInTheScript: Sweet's name is never mentioned in the episode. When Buffy asks for his name, he pulls an IHaveManyNames but doesn't divulge a single one of them.
49	* AmbiguousSituation: "Something to Sing About" can be read as either Sweet forcing Buffy to dance to death (that is his entire schtick) or as Buffy trying to commit suicide-by-demon. Spike saving her by stopping ''Buffy'' rather than attacking Sweet suggests the latter.
50	* ArmorPiercingQuestion: "What did you sing about?" Although Buffy is only pierced for a moment before covering up again, she is noticeably shaken by Giles' question. (Her song, ''Going Through the Motions'', was about the meaninglessness of her life since returning to life. Naturally she doesn't want to explain it to her friends.)
51	* ArtShift: This is the only episode shown in the US in 16x9 widescreen.
52	* AwardBaitSong: {{Parodied}} when Anya complains that her retro-pastiche song with Xander will "never be a BreakawayPopHit". That would be reserved for Tara's "Under Your Spell".[[invoked]]
53	* BadassBoast: Sweet gets an underplayed one during "What You Feel":
54	-->"I can bring whole cities to ruin/And still have time to get a soft shoe in."
55	* BadBadActing: There's something a bit hammy about Xander's reaction to the news that everyone has started singing; it's only after TheReveal that he's behind it all that we discover why.
56	* TheBadGuyWins: Sweet comes to Sunnydale on Xander's invocation, burns a bunch of people, and gets away without Buffy laying a single blow on him. As he sarcastically sings, they "beat him" but he leaves in triumph.
57	* BalletEpisode: Dawn performs a short ballet with her captors as she tries to escape their grasp.
58	* BeCarefulWhatYouWishFor:
59	** Xander summons the demon hoping to get the gang to reconnect again and be reassured about his upcoming marriage. He's not.
60	** When Dawn puts on the talisman, her desire for attention and to be treated like an adult leads to her being offered the position of [[AndNowYouMustMarryMe Queen of Sweet's realm]].
61	* BeethovenWasAnAlienSpy: Sweet sings that he gave Nero his very first fiddle, implying that he's responsible for the Great Fire of Rome and the TemporalParadox caused by introducing a musical instrument centuries before it was invented.
62	* BigDamnHeroes: Spike interrupts Buffy just as she's starting to burn up, with his song on why she has to go on living. In fact [[TheBigDamnKiss what happens next]] could plausibly be called a RescueRomance.
63	* TheBigDamnKiss: Homaged with the kiss between Buffy and Spike, which, as it takes place at the end of a MusicalEpisode, is accompanied by swelling music and falling curtains. Lampshaded in the following episode:
64	-->'''Spike''': We kissed, you and me, all ''Film/GoneWithTheWind'' with the rising music and the rising… [[SomethingElseAlsoRises music]].
65	* BittersweetEnding: Dawn is safe and the demon has left Sunnydale, but all the Scoobies' dirty secrets are out in the open.
66	-->''The battle's done and we kind of won/so we sound our victory cheer/where do we go from here?''
67	* BlatantLies
68	** Buffy tells Giles she can't remember what she sung in the graveyard.
69	** Willow and Tara have to go [[GetARoom get the mmm-nnn-rmmmph report]].
70	** Dawn '[[StickyFingers found]]' the talisman on the floor while cleaning up.
71	* BlondeBrunetteRedhead: Sweet's three minions are a subtle type of this trope. One is blond, one is brown-haired (brunette) and while the third also has brown hair, he is literally a "red-head."
72	* BreadEggsBreadedEggs
73	-->'''Xander:''' It's a nightmare. It's a plague. It's like a nightmare ''about'' a plague!
74	* BreakingTheFourthWall: "Something To Sing About"
75	-->'''Buffy''': "It's alright if some things come out wrong / We'll sing a happy song" ([[AsideGlance looks at camera]]) "And you can sing along"
76	** Sweet also looks at the camera during his VillainSong, as does Buffy during "Walk Through the Fire".
77	** Willow's line in "Walk Through The Fire", "I think this line's mostly filler."
78	** Anya's blink-and-you'll-miss-it line "Like there were only three walls, and not a fourth wall."
79	* BuffySpeak: Willow and Tara have a get-a-roominess about them when they go looking for the volume-y text. Spike is acting all bad-moody.
80	* ButtDialingMordor: Xander brings the singing demon Sweet to Sunnydale through a talisman. He thought it was just a spell to bring "dances and songs," not realizing that Sweet would kill people.
81	* CallBack:
82	** Willow's theory, "Some kid is dreaming, and we're all stuck inside his wacky Broadway nightmare," is the plot of a [[Recap/BuffyTheVampireSlayerS1E10Nightmares much earlier episode]] if you leave out the "Broadway" part.
83	** "His penis got diseases from a Chumash tribe!" is from [[Recap/BuffyTheVampireSlayerS4E8Pangs "Pangs"]], when Xander was cursed with syphilis, and all the other diseases that Europeans gave to the Chumash, by a vengeful Native American spirit after falling into an old mission.
84	** Tara singing "You know I've been through hell" is a reference to Glory driving Tara insane with her MindRape in "Tough Love". It could also be a reference to Tara's {{gaslighting}} and [[AbusiveParent abusive family]] revealed in "Family".
85	** Dawn's statement "The hardest thing in this world is to live in it." It's the last thing Buffy said to her before [[Recap/BuffyTheVampireSlayerS5E22TheGift jumping to her death]], only now it's encouraging Buffy to live.
86	* CannotSpitItOut: {{Subverted}}. Several "Can't Spit It Out" plot threads that could have been milked for weeks, if not seasons, are dragged into the open by Sweet's musical curse.
87	* CantBelieveISaidThat:
88	-->'''Spike''': So that's it? You've just come to pump me for information?
89	-->'''Buffy''': What else would I want to pump you for? ''[{{beat}}]'' I really just said that, didn't I?
90	* CantLiveWithThemCantLiveWithoutThem: Spike re Buffy. "I hope she fries / I'm free if that bitch dies / I'd better help her out" and "First he'll kill her, then I'll save her / No, I'll save her, then I'll kill her!"
91	* CerebusSyndrome: Tara's "Everything is turning out so dark" verse in "Walk through the Fire".
92	* ChirpingCrickets: Heard during the Scooby Gang's silent response to Anya's theory that [[InsaneTrollLogic bunnies are responsible]].
93	* CluelessChickMagnet: Gender-inverted in Tara's case; her family kept putting her down so much that she doesn't realize she is pretty enough that some random guys would be checking her out.
94	* TheCoatsAreOff: Buffy slips off her coat for her final dance/battle with Sweet.
95	* ComicallyMissingThePoint
96	-->'''Dawn:''' [[PunctuatedForEmphasis Oh. My. God.]] You will never believe what happened at school today.
97	-->'''Buffy:''' Everybody started singing and dancing?
98	-->'''Dawn:''' ''(sourly)'' I gave birth to a pterodactyl.
99	-->'''Anya:''' Oh my God, did it sing?
100	* ContinuityNod:
101	** Buffy turns down the offer of a drink from Spike, remembering her hangover in [[Recap/BuffyTheVampireSlayerS6E5LifeSerial "Life Serial"]].
102	** Tara's DarkReprise of "Under Your Spell" after discovering that Willow altered her memory contains the line "You know I've been through hell", referencing when Glory ate her sanity (as she mentions next episode) and possibly her being abused and gaslighted by her family.
103	* ConversationCut: Tara and Willow in the middle of "Under Your Spell" move from the park to their bedroom.
104	* CostumePorn: The amazing dresses that Tara (with a ''corset'') and Willow are just wearing for no reason other than being Wiccans, and the ballgown Sweet gives Dawn. Anya's red lingerie (which comes with matching heeled slippers) may also count. Xander's taken to wearing flashy silk pajamas, too. Navy, with aqua piping.
105	* CounterpointDuet: The combination reprise of "Under Your Spell" and "Standing". Not to mention Spike and Buffy in the "Coda".
106	** The last few parts of "What You Feel".
107	* CowerPower: ''When things get rough, he / Just hides behind his Buffy''.
108	* CrapsaccharineWorld: The World According to Buffy in "Give Me Something to Sing About":
109	-->'''Buffy:''' Where there's life there's hope / Every day's a gift / Wishes can come true / Whistle while you work / So hard all day
110	* CreatorCameo: Writer David Fury is the guy starring in "The Mustard Song", and writer Marti Noxon is the lady lamenting her parking ticket.
111	* CreditsGag: The episode opens with altered credits, with a peppy orchestral version of the theme tune playing over characters' faces appearing on the moon while their names appear underneath. Even the Creator/MutantEnemy monster [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XOyEyLiQ0dk&feature=related sings]].
112	* CreepyBallet: Dawn has to escape the musical-inducing demon through a contemporary ballet sequence. She fails, because they are that powerful.
113	* CrowdSong: Parodied. "They got...the mustaaard...oooooooouuuuut!"
114	* CueTheSun: Tara steps into the sunlight during her line, ''Now I'm bathed in light'' during "Under Your Spell".
115	* CureYourGays: {{Conversed}}. "Oh my God, I'm cured! I want the boys!"
116	* DanceBattler: Buffy fighting demons whenever she's singing. Dawn in her struggle to escape the puppet minions after waking up in the Bronze.
117	* DanceOfDespair: When she's asked by Sweet what she thinks about life, Buffy sings a pessimistic song about its meaning ("Something to Sing About"). Willow reacts with horror at finding out what she's done and what Buffy went through. Buffy stops singing and starts to dance so frenetically that she begins to smoke and nearly ignites and burns.
118	* DarkReprise: "Under Your Spell - Reprise". Parts of "Going Through the Motions" and "I've Got a Theory" can also be heard on "Walk Through The Fire".
119	* TheDayTheMusicLied: Spike hauls in one of Sweet's puppet minions and orders him to "[[{{Pun}} sing]]". There's a grand orchestral swell and the Scoobies wait for the minion to burst into song... then he just speaks in a monotone voice.
120	* DeathGlare: Anya and Xander do a lot after their duet. Tara can be seen glaring at Willow in the background:
121	-->'''Anya:''' Beady Eyes is right, we're needed! / Or we could just sit around and glare.
122	* DeathSeeker: Buffy nearly dies because of her indifference to life. In a moment of DramaticIrony, she's saved by Spike, who'd said in [[Recap/BuffyTheVampireSlayerS5E7FoolForLove "Fool for Love"]] that on the day her death wish outweighed her will to live, he'd be the one to kill her.
123	* DesignatedVictim: Lampshaded with the quotable line:
124	-->'''Buffy:''' Dawn's in trouble. Must be Tuesday.
125	** Which, since the show was broadcast on Tuesdays in the US, was also an example of LeaningOnTheFourthWall.
126	* DodgeTheBullet: During "Standing", Giles throws knives at Buffy during her training, [[SuperReflexes which she dodges or knocks out of the way]].
127	* DiegeticMusical: A demon's influence on the characters forces the characters to express their innermost feelings in song, all of which are InUniverse.
128	** Giles comments that when he was singing alone, there was accompanying backup music from an unidentifiable source, meaning that the music exists in universe, not just the singing.
129	* DistressedDude: {{Lampshaded}} in "Going Through the Motions", where Buffy rescues a tied-up young man with a distinct resemblance to Fabio, then brushes him off:
130	-->'''Buffy:''' Will I stay this way forever? Sleepwalk through my life's endeavor?\
131	'''Young Man:''' [[RescueRomance How can I repay]]--\
132	'''Buffy:''' [[NotDistractedByTheSexy Whatever.]]
133	* DoubleEntendre:
134	** The song with Xander and Anya have a few: "You're the cutest of the Scoobies with your lips as red as rubies and your firm yet supple... tight embrace!"
135	** "[Buffy] needs backup. Anya, Tara." They both hurry to take their places... as backup singers.
136	* DramaticIrony: "Under Your Spell" is a beautiful love song. The only problem? As the audience knows, Tara literally is under Willow's spell, so the whole song becomes rather uncomfortable. When Tara realises this, she sings the Dark Reprise.
137	* DramaticShattering: Spike hurling his bottle of booze against the wall during "Rest in Peace", causing Buffy to jump to her feet in alarm.
138	* DynamicEntry: Buffy kicks the door to the Bronze off its hinges, causing Sweet to quip, "I love a good entrance".
139	* EatingTheEyeCandy: When Xander confesses that he summoned Sweet and asks if he needs to be the latter's queen, Sweet takes a moment to study him. After gazing from top to bottom, Sweet admits that it's a tempting offer.
140	* TheElevenOClockNumber: In the last song "Something to Sing About", Buffy reveals that ever since she was forcibly brought back to life, she's felt empty inside.
141	* TheEnd: It goes with the curtains.
142	* EverybodyHatesMathematics:
143	-->'''Dawn:''' It seemed cooler when we were singing about it.
144	* EverythingsBetterWithSparkles: During "Under Your Spell", Tara produces a shower of magic sparkles, then when she sings of how much brighter Willow's power is, Willow produces a more elaborate shower of sparkles.
145	* EvilGloating: Sweet mockingly congratulates them on having "beat the bad guy" by saving Dawn, but then gloats about all the ugly secrets the Scoobies have been forced to reveal.
146	* FeetFirstIntroduction: When Sweet meets Dawn -- justified as the demon is wearing tap-dancing shoes which he puts to use right away.
147	* FindingJudas: What villain called up the unbeatable, lethal, musical demon, and what dark scheme were they plotting? Xander Harris, and he just wanted a musical-comedy ending to his marital woes and the tension eating away at the Scooby Gang.
148	* FlowerMotifs: Tara finds a sprig under her pillow and smiles at what [[FlowersOfRomance seems to be a romantic gesture]] from Willow. But she later looks up the plant after Dawn referencing an argument with Willow she doesn't remember makes her suspicious and finds it's called ''Lethe's Bramble'', used in spells of forgetting and mind control. In Greek mythology Lethe is the river of forgetfulness in Hades, and a bramble is known for its [[ControlFreak tangled, prickly stems]].
149	* ForbiddenFruit: During "Rest In Peace", Buffy looks guilty when Spike accuses her of toying with the idea of 'misbehaving' with him.
150	* {{Foreshadowing}}:
151	** In the TitleSequence all the Scoobies are smiling except for Dawn, the DamselInDistress for this episode.
152	** ''A dancing demon / No, something isn't right there.'' Sure about that, Giles?
153	** Sweet isn't afraid of the Slayer but does leave after Willow threatens him, sensing her power.
154	** The songs foretell Xander/Anya and Willow/Tara breaking up, Giles leaving, and the tumultuous Spike/Buffy relationship.
155	** ''The curtains close on a kiss, God knows / we can tell that the end is near''. The final scene is curtains closing on Spike and Buffy's [[TheBigDamnKiss Big Damn Kiss]]. Buffy sings just before, ''This isn't real / but I just want to feel'' which is a major problem in their upcoming DestructiveRomance; Buffy is suffering from the Hellmouth version of major depressive disorder, desperate to feel ''anything'', and the pain and lust and self-loathing she gets when she's with Spike is better than nothing.
156	** "Coda" itself tries to be a duet between two songs that don't fit together at all, lyrically or musically, also foreshadowing how bad Buffy and Spike are for each other.
157	* AFormYouAreComfortableWith: Buffy is trying to draw her vision of the afterlife/Heaven from when she was dead. However, her limited human perception only allows her to remember the classic "white light" surrounded by darkness.
158	* FunnyBackgroundEvent:
159	** People singing and dancing while Xander, Anya and Giles are walking down the street.
160	** A ThrowItIn moment is a nearly off-screen Tara bumping into a pillar during the SummonBackupDancers gag (It happens near the end of the line "and every single verse", and in the next shot, "can make it that much worse", you can see Creator/AmberBenson [[{{Corpsing}} starting to corpse]] and she ducks behind the pillar to get out of the shot.)
161	* GagEcho: During the "I'll Never Tell" number Xander sings "[Anya's] toes are kind of hairy" and Anya sings "his eyes are beady". In the next scene when ranting about the situation both of them shout at the same time [[ArsonMurderAndJaywalking "my eyes are not beady"/"my toes aren't hairy"]].
162	** And later on Anya says, "Beady Eyes is right!"
163	* GallowsHumor: From Buffy. "It's do or die" / "Hey, I've died twice." and "I'm pretty spry for a corpse."
164	* GenreRoulette: We get a jaunty '50s sitcom version of the theme song, the Creator/{{Disney}}-esque "Going Through the Motions", the hard-rock "Bunnies" and "Rest in Peace", the contemporary pop song "Under Your Spell", the classic musical pastiche "I'll Never Tell", the jazzy "What You Feel", the ballad "Standing", the soft rock "Walk Through the Fire", the genre shifting "Something to Sing About" and the classic Hollywood musical ending "Where Do We Go From Here".
165	* GrandStaircaseEntrance: A minor version -- Sweet's FeetFirstIntroduction on meeting Dawn has him dancing down a small set of steps leading from the Bronze stage.
166	* HairRaisingHare: Anya exposes the true nature of those twitchy-nosed terrors in "The Bunny Song".
167	* {{Hammerspace}}: Sweet seems to be able to bring scrolls and doors from nowhere; justified as [[AWizardDidIt he's using magic]].
168	* HelpingWouldBeKillStealing: Giles's song "Standing" is basically how he's been doing the opposite of this trope for too long, and now he needs to start playing it straight so Buffy can grow. Also the rationale behind him initially insisting that Buffy tackle Sweet on her own, although he's later convinced by Anya and Xander that the Scoobies should go back her up.
169	* HiddenDepths: Xander and Anya are revealed to be good dancers as they engage in a fast medley that ends in a slow waltz.
170	* HoldingHands: Subverted in "Where Do We Go From Here" when the Scoobies all join hands, then break apart, foreshadowing their BreakingTheFellowship later in the season.
171	-->''Understand we'll go hand in hand / But we'll walk alone in fear''
172	* HomoeroticSubtext: When Xander is revealed as the man who summoned Sweet, he fears that ''he'll'' be taken away as Sweet's queen. Sweet eyes him and sarcastically says, "It's tempting... but I think we'll waive that clause just this once."
173	* HongKongDub: Sometimes, the lip synching can be a bit off. Often, the singers may loudly belt out the lyrics, but the on screen actors' mouths don't move nearly as much as they should.
174	* HypocriticalHumor: Spike's "Rest in Peace" is all about how he wishes Buffy would get the hell away from him as his unrequited feelings for her are tearing him up. When Buffy flees at the end of the song, Spike calls out pitiably, "So, you're not staying then?"
175	* HypocriticalSinging: Anya and Xander's "I'll Never Tell." And Spike's "Rest In Peace" is a variation. He sings of wanting Buffy to leave him alone, but he wants the exact opposite of that.
176	* IAmSong: "What You Feel" is the this as well as being a VillainSong, since its an upbeat tune about how Sweet's a demon who destroys whole towns through cheery music.
177	* ICantBelieveAGuyLikeYouWouldNoticeMe: ''I'm under your spell / how else could it be / anyone would notice me?''
178	* IHaveManyNames: The MonsterOfTheWeek (unnamed in the episode, but called Sweet in the credits)
179	-->'''Buffy:''' "You got a name?"
180	-->'''Sweet:''' (shrugs) "I've got a hundred."
181	* IHaveYouNowMyPretty: Sweet plans to take Dawn away to the underworld and [[OldManMarryingAChild make her his Queen]].
182	* IHaveYourWife: I Have Your Little Sister. Sweet makes no secret that he's holding Dawn, even sending his minions to tell Buffy about it so she'll come and rescue her. For once, the VillainOfTheWeek's confidence is not misplaced.
183	* IdiotBall: It turns out that the whole reason people are stuck acting like they're in a musical, and worse, people are literally dancing themselves to death, is because Xander found Sweet's talisman and decided that what his emotional friends needed was a demon to come to town and force everyone to sing and dance. Xander summoned a demon to make everyone happy. While on one hand using magic to force everything to work out in the end is in keeping with the wedding-related anxieties Xander's been repressing throughout the season, on the other hand he's seen enough spells go awry to know better by now and it's painfully obvious that it only happened because Joss needed someone to do it, especially since the gang barely react to Xander being responsible and never bring it up in future episodes.
184	* IgnoreTheFanservice: Feeling apathetic at the beginning of the episode, Buffy [[OOCIsSeriousBusiness barely glances]] at the open-shirted hunk who's [[RescueSex eager to show his gratitude for Buffy saving his life]] from being a demonic sacrifice.
185	* IllNeverTellYouWhatImTellingYou: Heroic version. Anya and Xander's song "I'll Never Tell" is one long string of these, and Buffy is later forced to reveal she was in Heaven during her temporary death. This is the result of a demon compelling them to sing the truth.
186	* IncrediblyLongNote
187	-->They got / the mustard / ouuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuut!
188	* InstantCostumeChange: Sweet has this power, changing his clothes from red to blue in an instant, and Dawn's clothes to her ball gown.
189	* InternalReveal: Under Sweet's influence, Buffy confesses to the other Scoobies what the audience ([[TheConfidant and Spike]]) has known since "After Life": that they didn't save her from Hell, but [[UnwantedRevival pulled her out of Heaven]].
190	-->'''Buffy''': "There was no pain/No fear, no doubt/Till they pulled me out/Of Heaven/So that's my refrain/I live in Hell/'Cause I've been expelled/From Heaven/I think I was in Heaven/So give me something to sing about/Please give me something."
191	* InvisibleBackupBand: "That would explain the huge backing orchestra I couldn't see and the synchronised dancing from the room service chaps."
192	* InvoluntaryDance: Not only those singing, but people nearby are often caught up as backup dancers.
193	* IronicEcho:
194	** "What can't we face if we're together?"
195	** Dawn tells Buffy, "The hardest thing in this world is to live in it", a repeat of Buffy's line to Dawn in the previous season finale.
196	** "Let it burn" are the final words Buffy speaks in "[[Recap/BuffyTheVampireSlayerS2E14Innocence Innocence]]". Joyce tells her to blow out the candle and make a wish for her 17th birthday. Buffy, in despair over how her OneTrueLove has turned evil, replies, "I'll just let it burn."
197	* IWantSong: "Going Through the Motions". Joss even mentions it being the "I Want" Song in the DVDCommentary.
198	** Buffy actually gets TWO "I Wants": this one and "Something to Sing About".
199	** Spike's "Rest in Peace" is a subversion. What he wants is Buffy, but he goes through the entire song trying (badly) to convince us he doesn't want her to come around him anymore.
200	*** Also spoofed with Dawn, a character who seems tailor-made for this type of song since she's a wistfully angsty teenage girl who's half an orphan (in the vein of most animated Disney heroines). She gets through the first two lines of her song before it's interrupted by {{mooks}} who promptly kidnap her.
201	* JailBaitTaboo:
202	-->'''Dawn:''' What I mean / I'm fifteen / So this "queen" thing's illegal!
203	* KarmaHoudini: The MonsterOfTheWeek comes to town, kills several people through spontaneous combustion, makes the Scoobies reveal a bunch of secrets about themselves, nearly kills Buffy and leaves town without getting a scratch on him. The only reason he's even "beaten" is that he learns it was Xander, not Dawn, who summoned him and he doesn't fancy making Xander his queen, so he just up and leaves; Buffy never defeats or even engages him in combat.
204	** Also, Xander, who caused the entire thing through ignorance about musical demons.
205	* KilledMidSentence: The demon Buffy kills during "Going Through the Motions" dies this way.
206	-->'''Demon:''' She's not even half the girl she...''(looks down at wound)'' OW...''(collapses)''
207	* LampshadedDoubleEntendre: Tara gives Willow a coy look while singing "I can feel you inside".
208	* LargeHam: Most of the cast release their inner hams during their musical numbers (except Creator/AlysonHannigan, who spends most of the episode looking profoundly uncomfortable, as she was apparently less than enthused by the musical idea - which would explain why she's the only one who doesn't get a solo number or a duet). Creator/JamesMarsters in particular appears to be having way too much fun.
209	** FridgeBrilliance, of course; Willow was established as having chronic stage fright and being uncomfortable with singing as early as the first season. On the other hand: When Alyson mimed to the "mustard song" between takes, she definitely hammed up to eleven.
210	* LastSecondWordSwap:
211	-->'''Xander:''' Willow and Tara? You see the way they were with each other? The [[GetARoom get-a-roominess]] of them? I'll bet they're ''(realises Dawn is there)'' ... singing. They're probably singing right now.
212	* LetsDuet: Xander and Anya in "I'll Never Tell".
213	* LonelyPianoPiece: The bridge of "Something To Sing About".
214	* LingerieScene: Anya in red underwear for "I'll Never Tell".
215	* LipstickLesbian: {{Lampshaded}} by Willow when Tara pretends she's interested in boys now.
216	-->"Do I have to fight to keep you? 'Cause I'm not large with the {{butch\|Lesbian}}."
217	* LoopholeAbuse: Sweet was going to take Dawn as his queen since he assumed that she summoned him to town. Xander then reveals that he did it, and asks if Sweet is going to make him queen. Sweet considers for a moment but lets it slide on the grounds that Xander is a guy.
218	* LoveCannotOvercome: Tara still loves Willow, but is horrified on realizing that Willow wiped her memory, and doesn't know if her girlfriend has done it before. She says, "I can't adjust to this disgust; we're done!"
219	* LoveConfession: Tara's song to Willow "Under Your Spell". Also subverted in that Tara is unaware that she is literally under Willow's spell, and that her discovery of this fact will cause them to break up.
220	* LyricalDissonance: "I'll Never Tell". And "Under Your Spell" is a sneaky example - the lyrics are just as happy as the tune, but Tara doesn't know she is ''literally'' under Willow's spell.
221	** Also, subtly, at the end of "I've Got A Theory"; Buffy is singing about how it doesn't matter, and she doesn't care, while making it sound like a rallying cry for the group.
222	* MagicMusic: Sweet causes life in the entire town to be a musical. Doesn't seem too bad, until it's revealed you uncontrollably spill your deepest secrets in songs sooner or later. And sooner or later, you will dance and sing yourself into a fiery death when you run out of lyrics (the demon is stopped before more than a handful of Sunnydalians burn). Relatedly, the demon claims to have given a certain Roman emperor "his very first fiddle", thus also dovetailing with the trope.
223	* ManOfWealthAndTaste: Sweet wears a snazzy zoot suit.
224	* MassiveMultiplayerEnsembleNumber: "Walk Through the Fire" and "Where Do We Go From Here?"
225	* MelancholyMusicalNumber:
226	** "Dawn's Lament" is about her lamenting about her sadness because nobody is noticing her and the things she has been doing (shoplifting), but the song is cut short as she is kidnapped by the [[TheMusicMeister demon Sweet]]'s henchmen.
227	** In "Under Your Spell/Standing", Tara is singing about Willow using a spell to erase the memory about the fight they had about Willow using too much magic, and Giles is singing about having to leave Buffy, but he wants to still be her watcher, and the two don't want to leave but have to, and are both upset about it.
228	* MinisculeRocking: "They Got the Mustard Out".
229	* TheModestOrgasm: Tara becoming "complete".
230	* MoodWhiplash:
231	** Dawn points out that technically singing isn't harmful. Then we see some people spontaneously combust.
232	** PlayedForLaughs when the exuberance of the Mustard song is cut off by Buffy shutting the door on them.
233	** Events in Tara and Willow's bedroom SmashCut to the Magic Box before [[SexyDiscretionShot it all gets too raunchy for television]].
234	** Dawn starts to sing [[MirrorMonologue in front of the mirror]], then suddenly has a BagOfKidnapping thrown over her head by Sweet's minions.
235	** Buffy is dancing madly, on the verge of bursting into flame, when Spike suddenly grabs her out of nowhere, gently finishing the song she was singing earlier with his own lyrics.
236	* MundaneMadeAwesome: "[[MinorCharacterMajorSong The Mustard]]" is about someone glad that the drycleaners cleaned the mustard he dropped on his shirt, and "The Parking Ticket" is about a woman's excuses why she shouldn't get a parking ticket.
237	* MusicalEpisode: The episode bizarrely sends up the musical genre (and its respective subgenres) as a whole, musical and dance genres from rock to ballet, and (in typical Creator/JossWhedon fashion) the series itself with wicked glee, yet also manages to fit plot and CharacterDevelopment in as well and come up with a plausible (for ''Buffy'') explanation for why everyone's singing.
238	* MusicalisInterruptus:
239	** "Dawn's Lament" gets cut off after two lines when she's shoved into a BagOfKidnapping.
240	** Sweet's VillainSong stops literally in mid-dance (with one leg raised in a high-step) when Dawn reveals her sister is the Slayer.
241	** Sweet's minion gets a big instrumental intro -- and then [[BaitAndSwitch he speaks rather than sings]].
242	** Anya interrupts Xander (during "I'll Never Tell") and Tara (during "I've Got A Theory" to sing "The Bunny Song").
243	* MusicForCourage: "If We're Together" -- subverted as Buffy is actually singing of her indifference to what happens.
244	* TheMusicMeister: Upon Sweet's arrival in Sunnydale, everyone in town begins breaking into musical numbers. While this seems harmless enough, the songs are always brutally honest ones that reveal people's deepest secrets, which sows discord among the populace. They also cause certain victims to spontaneously combust if it gets to be too much for them.
245	* MusicalAssassin: Sweet can use his singing to make people dance to the point where they caught fire.
246	* MyEyesAreUpHere: The "I'll Never Tell" number has Anya in a bra and petticoat, where Xander says he loves her "firm yet supple...tight embrace" and takes his eyes off her chest after a stern look.
247	* MyGodWhatHaveIDone: The look on Willow's face when she found out Buffy was pulled out of Heaven.
248	* MySignificanceSenseIsTingling: Some of ''Under Your Spell's'' lyrics imply that Tara is aware that what she's feeling is unnatural, she's just powerless against it.
249	* MythologyGag: Giles throwing knives at Buffy in the training room - a ShoutOut to how Merrick showed her she was the Slayer in TheMovie.
250	* NiceJobBreakingItHero: As it turns out, Xander was the one who summoned Sweet to Sunnydale, seeking a musical-comedy ending to his marital woes and the tension eating away at the Scooby Gang.
251	* NoFourthWall: Stated as a joke by Anya: "It was like we were being watched. Like there was a wall missing from our apartment. Like there were only three walls, and not a fourth wall."
252	* NoSongForTheWicked: There are some fans who would undoubtedly have loved a VillainSong by the Trio. The writers surely could have come up with something good, and of course, the actors were all guest stars who were probably completely available for an episode that season. No doubt, though, it would have been too difficult and involved sacrificing too much of the screen time used for other stuff, to rewrite the episode in such a way that it included the Trio. But the magical effect that caused everyone to burst into song was operating throughout Sunnydale, so of course, there must have been some such song that happened off-screen, which was not recorded by the TV show — but that's exactly the kind of thing FanFiction is for...
253	* NoodleIncident: There were a lot of singing incidents that never got explained.
254	** And this:
255	-->'''Anya''': I've seen some of these Underworld child bride deals and they never turn out well. (pause) Maybe once.
256	* NotHimself: Buffy wonders why Spike is trying to hustle her out of his crypt. Then he starts singing.
257	* OffscreenMomentOfAwesome: Willow and Tara's duet about dishwashing, Xander and Anya's dance with coconuts and Giles singing and playing his guitar in the hotel. The room service chaps joined in on that one.
258	* OhCrap:
259	** Subverted when Dawn tries to frighten Sweet by telling him her sister is [[NamesToRunAwayFromReallyFast The Slayer]]. There's an immediate MusicalisInterruptus, but Sweet is eager to see Buffy burn, causing Dawn to have the OhCrap moment instead.
260	** Spike when he starts singing to Buffy.
261	** Minor version: While singing his part of "Walk Through the Fire," Spike jumps a fence, into a blind alley.
262	** Buffy sings that, instead of pulling her out of Hell, Willow and the gang pulled her out of ''Heaven''. Cue look on Willow's face when she realizes this.
263	* OhMyGods: Xander exclaims, "Merciful Zeus!" when he's pretending to be surprised at what's happening. Then again, he might really be surprised, if he thought the spell would only affect him and Anya.
264	* OfCorsetsSexy: Tara. No wonder [[BuxomBeautyStandard those boys were checking her out]].
265	* TheOner: The filming of the song "The Parking Ticket" was done in a single shot. The camera starts on Giles, Xander and Anya, then pans over to Marti Noxon singing before rejoining the Scoobies' conversation.
266	* OohMeAccentsSlipping: Creator/AnthonyStewartHead's standard Giles accent (which is Received Pronunciation, aka RP, Posh or "Queen's English") drains away throughout his line "That would explain the huge backing orchestra I couldn't see and the synchronised dancing from the room service chaps," leaving only his real, London accent when he asks Buffy "What did you sing about?"
267	* OpenTheDoorAndSeeAllThePeople: Subverted when Buffy has an [[DeadpanDoorShut entirely deadpan reaction]] to the CrowdSong outside.
268	* ParentalSubstitute: In "Standing In Your Way" Giles acknowledges that he wants to take on this role re Buffy, but rejects it because he's become her LivingEmotionalCrutch.
269	* PeekABooCorpse: During the VillainSong, Sweet opens a door that magically appears from above, and the charred remains of one of his victims falls out.
270	* PetTheDog: The only decent thing Sweet does is waive the clause about Xander having to be his queen and stay with him forever in the Underworld, despite Sweet admitting "It's tempting".
271	* PlayAlongPrisoner: The puppet minion Spike captures easily breaks free of his grip after delivering Sweet's message to Buffy.
272	* PottyEmergency: In the opening scene, Dawn [[PottyDance hops desperately from foot to foot]] outside the toilet and knocks on the door until Willow comes out, showing one of the downsides of four women living in a house with apparently only one bathroom.
273	* ThePowerOfFriendship: "If We're Together".
274	* ThePowerOfRock: Everything happens according to the Power of Showtunes.
275	* PrecisionFStrike: From 15-year old Dawn, no less.
276	-->She'll get pissed / If I'm missed / See, my sister's the Slayer.
277	* {{Pun}}: Plenty -- "Nothing seems to penetrate my heart" (as Buffy stakes a vamp), "It's do or die / Hey [[NotQuiteDead I've died twice]]." "I guarantee you a great big smile" (Sweet removes his mouth and offers it to Dawn). "I'm here strictly by your {{invocation}}." "She came from the grave much graver." "[[SummonBackupDancers She needs backup!]]" "Not quite the [[SpontaneousHumanCombustion fireworks I was looking for]]."
278	* PunctuatedForEmphasis: "They got. The mustard. OOOOOOOOOUUUUUUUUUT!" The musical cadence and crescendo forced him into it, but it counts.
279	* PunctuatedPounding: Buffy killing Sweet's puppet minions.
280	-->Where there's life ''[grabs pool cue from minion, hits him]'' There's hope / Every day's ''[elbows second minion]'' A gift / Wishes can ''[kick]'' Come true / Whistle while ''[punch]'' / You work ''[blow with pool cue]'' / So hard ''[blow]'' All day ''[throws pool cue, impales third minion]''
281	* PyrrhicVictory: Sweet leaves of his own accord, so the killings stop. He also leaves the Scoobies a divided mess, leading to the breakups of all the couples in the group and to Giles' departure. Spike may have saved the day with a [[TheBigDamnKiss Big Damn Kiss]] reward, but he and Buffy are still no more in a better place to be starting a physical relationship than they were before.
282	* RapeIsASpecialKindOfEvil: While never directly brought up, Willow modifying Tara's memory does bring up questions about the latter's ability to consent to their sex scene
283	* RealityWarper: Sweet's ability to make everyone in a large radius behave as in a musical, the alterations of wardrobe, the instant door, can all be explained if this his actual ability.
284	* TheReasonYouSuckSpeech: Xander and Anya alternate giving each other these during "I'll Never Tell".
285	-->'''Anya''': He snores.\
286	'''Xander''': She wheezes.\
287	'''Anya''': Say housework and he freezes.\
288	'''Xander''': She eats these skeezy cheeses that I can't describe.\
289	'''Anya''': I talk, he breezes.\
290	'''Xander''': She doesn't know what "please" is.\
291	'''Anya''': His penis got diseases from a Chumash tribe!\
292	[...]\
293	'''Anya''': When things get rough, he/Just hides behind his Buffy/Now see he's getting huffy 'cause he knows that I know\
294	'''Xander''': She clings, she's needy/She's also really greedyShe ne-\
295	'''Anya''': His eyes are [[BeadyEyedLoser beady!]]\
296	'''Xander''': This is my verse, hello?
297	* {{Retraux}}: The TitleSequence and TheEnd.
298	* RescueSex: Spoofed during Buffy's "Going Through the Motions" song.
299	-->'''Buffy''': Will I stay this way forever. Sleep walk through my life's endeavour...''[frees a hot guy who was tied to a tree by demons]''
300	-->'''Sexy Open Shirt Bystander''': How can I repay—
301	-->'''Buffy''': ''[walks away uninterested]'' Whatever...
302	* RiddleForTheAges: What Tara's theory was going to be in "I've Got a Theory" before Anya interrupted her by performing "Bunnies".
303	* RingRingCRUNCH: Averted; Buffy is so filled with ennui she just picks up her alarm clock and stares at it, letting it ring.
304	* RuleOfSymbolism: In the opening sequence Buffy is sketching, filling in the entire pad with black. Depressed, anyone? She might be trying to sketch out what she saw in Heaven (a white light in a field of black), but [[YouCannotGraspTheTrueForm can only express it in a human perceivable way]].
305	* RuleOfCool: A funeral is being held at night so we can have a scene with Spike rocking on top of a coffin.
306	* SarcasmFailure: Dawn says that she gave birth to a pterodactyl at school. Anya takes it seriously (and in this town, why shouldn't she).
307	* SayingTooMuch: Dawn tells Tara that she is glad Willow and Tara made up after their fight, which Tara doesn't remember having. After Dawn's insistence, Tara begins to suspect what the flower under Willow's pillow meant: Willow performed magic ''on her.''
308	* ScrewTheWarWerePartying: Inspired by the lovely weather and all the singing and dancing, Willow and Tara make an excuse to GetARoom.
309	* ScrewThisImOuttaHere: When all of the Scoobies are sequence-dancing their "victory cheer" after Sweet's departure, Spike breaks off exclaiming "Bugger this!" and leaves.
310	* SealedWithAKiss: The episode ends on Buffy and Spike kissing.
311	* SeeYouInHell: Sweet does this through song as he returns to the underworld.
312	-->''What a lot of fun / You guys have been real swell / And there's not a one / Who can say this ended well.''\
313	''All those secrets you've been concealing / Say you're happy now / [[TitleDrop Once more with feeling]].''\
314	''Now I gotta run / See you all...'' (turns into a ball of light that swirls around their heads, leaving a sparkly trail) ''...in heeeeeeell!''
315	* SelectiveObliviousness: Giles sings "Standing" to Buffy, but she doesn't hear a word of it.
316	* SerenadeYourLover: "Under Your Spell", subverted in that the audience knows Tara literally is under Willow's spell. "Rest in Peace" starts off this way, causing Buffy to [[CharacterTics roll her eyes]] in anticipation, but it's averted when Spike instead sings of his frustration with Buffy's MasterOfTheMixedMessage response to his feelings. Ironically, Spike is giving off equally mixed messages in the song.
317	* ShoutOut: To a number of musicals, appropriately.
318	--> '''Everyone:''' "We are caught in the fire / [[Theatre/ThePhantomOfTheOpera the point of no return . . .]]"
319	--> '''Spike:''' "The day you suss out what you do want, there'll probably be a parade. [[Theatre/TheMusicMan Seventy-six bloody trombones.]]"
320	** Also, that shot through the vampire dust during "Going Through the Motions" is lifted right out of [[WesternAnimation/TheLittleMermaid1989 "Part of Your World"]].
321	** At the end of "I'll Never Tell", Xander and Anya [[Film/SinginInTheRain collapse onto a couch laughing]].
322	** Sweet [[BondOneLiner quips]] [[Film/TheBandWagon "That's entertainment!"]] after watching someone dance himself to death.
323	** The consequences of concealing truth, spontaneous combustion, is an allusion to ''Literature/BleakHouse'', where characters also face immolation for being deceitful.
324	* ShuttingUpNow:
325	-->'''Xander''': ''It could be witches, some evil witches'' [DeathGlare from Willow & Tara] ''Which is ridiculous 'cause witches they were persecuted / Wicca good and love the earth and women power and I'll be over here.''
326	* SilenceYouFool
327	-->'''Giles:''' Spike, if I want your opinion... ''(looks at him in contempt)'' [[OnSecondThought I'll never want your opinion.]]
328	* SlouchOfVillainy: Sweet and Dawn are seated on comfy chairs on the stage when Buffy enters the Bronze. Sweet is slouching with a leg over the armrest, while Dawn is upright next to him in the mock 'Queen' position.
329	* SmashCut:
330	** From Tara singing, "You make me--" to Xander wondering [[SexyDiscretionShot what Tara/Willow are up to]].
331	** Happens literally when we cut from Sweet's VillainSong to a closeup of Buffy smashing a board during martial arts training.
332	* SomethingElseAlsoRises: The end of "Under your Spell". Also implied by Spike in the next episode when referring to TheBigDamnKiss.
333	-->"We kissed, you and me, all ''Gone With the Wind'' with the rising music and the rising...[[LastSecondWordSwap music]]."
334	* TheSongBeforeTheStorm: "Walk Through the Fire" as the Scoobies approach the final confrontation with Sweet.
335	* SuspiciouslySpecificDenial: The headlines of Xander's newspaper.
336	-->MAYHEM CAUSED. MONSTERS CERTAINLY NOT INVOLVED, OFFICIALS SAY.
337	* SpecialEditionTitle: A mellowed version of the theme song playing over a shot of the night sky, with each actor's face appearing on the moon as he or she was listed in standard credits order.
338	* SpontaneousChoreography
339	* SpontaneousHumanCombustion: A side-effect of Sweet's power, and what he hopes will happen to Buffy.
340	* StringingTheHopelessSuitorAlong: Spike's song "(Let Me) Rest in Peace" is about his suspicions that Buffy is only stringing him along, exploiting his feelings for her so that she can feel desired.
341	* SubvertedRhymeEveryOccasion: There's an intentional example in "Walk Through The Fire", where the line "and let it burn" is always cut off before "burn" until the last verse.
342	-->So I will walk through the fire
343	-->'Cause where else can I turn?
344	-->I will walk through the fire, and let it--
345	* SuggestiveCollision: At the end of Spike's "Rest in Peace" song, Buffy hauls him off a priest he attacks and they fall into an open grave. Buffy [[UnresolvedSexualTension lies on top of Spike wide-eyed]] before getting to her feet and fleeing.
346	* SummonBackupDancers
347	** While singing "Under Your Spell" Tara passes near two other girls resting by the pond who are compelled to rise to their feet and start dancing behind her.
348	** Parodied in "Something to Sing About."
349	---> '''Giles:''' "She needs backup. Anya, Tara." (Anya and Tara get behind Buffy and start dancing and humming as a backup chorus)
350	* TakeMeInstead:
351	** Buffy offers herself in Dawn's stead. Not quite the HeroicSacrifice as Buffy doesn't care any more if she dies.
352	-->'''Buffy:''' Deal's this. I can't kill you, you take me to Hellsville in her place.\
353	'''Sweet:''' (scoffs) What if I kill you?\
354	'''Buffy:''' (deadpan) Trust me. [[DeathIsCheap Won't help.]]
355	** Likewise, Xander fesses up that he summoned Sweet so that Dawn won't have to go with the demon. He seems nervous if willing to go in her place, though Sweet waives the clause.
356	* TalkToTheFist: Buffy stabs a demon halfway through his line, coincidentally making it rhyme.
357	-->''Going through the motions / faking it somehow.''
358	-->''She's not even half the girl she--owww...''
359	* TemptingFate: It's Dawn's turn to violate this principle.
360	-->"Songs, dancing around...[[WhatCouldPossiblyGoWrong what's gonna be wrong with that?]]" ''(DescriptionCut to ManOnFire)''
361	-->"Yes, the fifteen year-old can spend half an hour alone in her locked house." ''(Cue abduction by Puppet Minions)''
362	** Spike says that happily, he remains unaffected. Moments later, he starts singing.
363	* ThatCameOutWrong / CantBelieveISaidThat
364	-->'''Spike''': "Oh, so, that's all. You've just come to pump me for information."
365	-->'''Buffy''': "What else would I wanna pump you for?" (beat) "I really just said that, didn't I?"
366	* ThinkNothingOfIt: Spike saves Buffy's life. Buffy runs after him, so Spike says she doesn't have to say anything. As they're in a MusicalEpisode, she sings it instead. Followed by The Big Damn Kiss.
367	* ThisIsSomethingHesGotToDoHimself: Giles insists that Buffy save Dawn on her own as she is becoming too dependent on his support. Buffy however [[DramaticallyMissingThePoint just sees herself as being abandoned by the others]], and Giles later changes his mind anyway.
368	* TitleDrop: Keep in mind that this and "Conversations With Dead People" are the only BTVS episodes where the title is shown in the opening. [[note]]"Bargaining" has the title in the post-intro credits because its two parts had different writers, but no other episodes are named within the episode.[[/note]]
369	-->'''Demon''': ''All those secrets you've been concealing / Say you're happy now / Once more with feeling''.
370	* TooAnnoyedToBeAfraid: Buffy, still feeling depressed [[spoiler: after being forcefully pulled from heaven at the start of the season]], treats fighting vampires as "going through the motions". When her beloved sister Dawn [[spoiler: who she sacrificed her life for in the first place]] gets kidnapped by the VillainOfTheWeek, she dully remarks, "Dawn's in danger. Must be a Tuesday."
371	* TooDumbToLive: {{Lampshaded}} when Xander reads a newspaper with the headline "Mayhem Caused: Monsters certainly not involved, officials say."
372	* TrainingMontage: Lampshaded when Buffy and Giles are training (averted when Giles sings "Standing" - a classic rock ballad - instead).
373	-->'''Buffy:''' I'm just worried this whole session's gonna turn into some training montage from an '80s movie.
374	-->'''Giles:''' Well, if we hear any inspirational power chords, we'll just lie down until they go away.
375	* TrashcanBonfire: During the "Walk Through the Fire" song, Buffy holds her hand up to a trashcan bonfire when singing "I touch the fire and it freezes me."
376	* TheTroubleWithTickets: A [[FunnyBackgroundEvent Funny Foreground Event]] is a lady (played by [[CreatorCameo Marti Noxon]]) singing her excuses to a traffic cop.
377	-->It isn't right, it isn't fair / There was no parking anywhere / I think [[ImplausibleDeniability that hydrant wasn't there]].
378	* TheUnreveal: We'll never know what Tara's theory was because Anya starts singing about "Bunnies".
379	* ThisIsUnforgivable: Tara's reaction when she finds Willow has been tampering with her memories. Apart from bringing back memories of Glory's MindRape, she has no way of knowing if this was only a one-off occurrence.
380	* TheUnfought: By the end the Scoobies are united against Sweet, and a threat from Willow seems to give him a moment of SensingYouAreOutmatched. But more importantly, his only goal in coming to Sunnydale was to sow chaos ForTheEvulz. By the time the heroes are ready to face him, he has done everything he wanted and had fun doing it. After a smug reprise of "What You Feel", the show's over, so (like the performer he is) he decides to bow out. He applauds them for "winning" this PyrrhicVictory and is never seen again.
381	-->'''Sweet''': Big smiles, everyone! ''[sarcastically]'' You beat the bad guy!
382	* UnusuallyUninterestingSight:
383	** Anya, Xander and Giles ignoring the Parking Ticket Lady and the bystanders dancing while they WalkAndTalk. Buffy's deadpan response to "The Mustard Song".
384	** PlayedForDrama when Giles sings "Standing" and Buffy [[RuleOfSymbolism doesn't hear a word of it]]. Likewise Willow and Buffy don't hear the Giles/Tara duet.
385	* VillainSong: "What You Feel".
386	* VillainRevealsTheSecret: Or in this case, uses his powers to make everyone else do so.
387	* VillainTeleportation: The moment Dawn puts on the talisman she stole from the Magic Shop, Sweet's minions appear in her bedroom and abduct her.
388	* ViolenceIsTheOnlyOption: Disturbed over the effect this singing is having on his relationship with Anya, Xander demands Giles give him an axe and show him a demon to use it on.
389	* VisualPun: The fire trucks rushing past as the Scoobies sing, "Let it burn".
390	* VolleyingInsults / HeyThatsMyLine: In "I'll Never Tell"
391	-->'''Xander:''' She clings / She's needy / She's also really greedy / She never --\
392	'''Anya''' [interrupting] [[LameComeback His eyes are beady!]]\
393	'''Xander:''' This is ''my'' verse, hello!
394	* WhamEpisode: There's a big moment about pretty much every character. Giles decides to leave, Dawn is becoming a kleptomaniac, Buffy reveals that she was in Heaven, Tara learns that Willow erased her memory of an argument to avoid fighting about her over-reliance on magic (thus proving her point), Buffy and Spike kiss, and Xander and Anya start to express fears about getting married.
395	* WhatMeasureIsANonHuman: Spike's "Rest in Peace" song claims that [[TheConfidant Buffy only talks to him]] because confessing to a "dead man" isn't real to her. Buffy looks away guiltily, confirming his accusation.
396	* WhatNowEnding: "Where Do We Go From Here?"
397	* WhatTheHellHero:
398	** Giles tries to ask Buffy about how her parenting Dawn is working out, and Buffy brushes him aside. This worries Giles that he's coddling her.
399	** Tara calls out Willow in song for using magic on her and erasing her memory, after what happened with Glory.
400	* WickedWitch: During "I've Got a Theory", Xander says that evil witches might be responsible, only to backtrack rapidly when Willow and Tara give him the hairy eyeball.
401	* WomanScorned: When Giles tells the Scoobies not to go with Buffy, Spike offers to go in their stead.
402	-->'''Buffy:''' I thought you wanted me to stay away from you. Isn't that what you sang?
403	-->'''Spike:''' ''(DeathGlare)'' Fine. I hope you dance till you burn. You [[AndYourLittleDogToo and the little bit]].
404	* WrongGenreSavvy: Xander explains that he only attempted to make a singing spell because musicals have a happy ending and perfect romances. Sweet laughs on hearing this, as he knows that he's not a good demon.
405	* ZeroGSpot / PowerPerversionPotential: It's strongly implied that Tara is using her [[LoveFloats levitation powers]] so Willow can perform oral sex on her. The other possibility is that she loses control of her telekinetic abilities as she's about to orgasm.
406	* YouAreWorthHell: Despite Buffy taking him for granted and mistreating him, Spike is willing to hold her as she's combusting to keep her from dying. Not to mention he was willing to face an all-powerful demon that made him sing his heart out.

Context Recap / BuffyTheVampireSlayerS6E7OnceMoreWithFeeling