3. Once More With Feeling 6x7
Joss Whedon's musical episode certainly seemed to challenge the actors. No dubbing, just their own voices- some tuneless and some others pleasant to the ear. Okay Sarah Michelle Gellar's (what a long name! henceforth will be referred to as SMG. Sorry I hate it when people do this but well.. too bad!) voice is a little whiny and thin. And out of all the actors it is Amber Benson who has the best voice- quite lovely actually. But all this is immaterial. This episode's strong point is that the actors sang in their own voices. I mean, think about it. If you were in your own musical wouldn't you like to sing in your own voice? Even if your voice made caterwauling cats go deaf? (In my secret musical-often performed in the dark where annoying, squidgy siblings can't reach you with their derisive laughter, I have been Jewel-ya right! and even Tori Amos which doesn't suit me one bit but who cares?) Anyway side stepping that rather long aside-the point of course is, it's your musical so it should be your voice.
What is most interesting is that Whedon chose to do this episode here. This is a pretty rough time for all the characters. So as a musical it is pretty depressing. And well from this episode onwards the characters start losing their grip on things. What happens here is the trigger for what happens later. The story:A demon enters Sunnydale to spread death and destruction(Umm.. duh.) and introduces a little song and dance in the bargain. Good thing? Only thing is, if you dance too long and too hard you burst into flames. Very unwillingly, the characters end up singing about things they would never speak about. Pandora's box opens and the hilarity lasts only as long as the song does. And in some cases not even that long.
I always used to wonder why they never made Alyson Hannigan sing in this episode. All she does is some back up here and there. Then I realised that out of all the characters, Willow is the happiest. Buffy sings about feeling apathetic and well dead to what's happening around her, Spike sings about unrequited love, Tara sings about Willow's betrayal, Giles about his concern for Buffy, Xander and Anya about their marriage related fears and Dawn, well Dawn sings about being a teenager which lets face it, is too complicated to address here. Willow's the only one who is not insecure. She's dabbling in magic she shouldn't be, she's also messing with Tara's head and is in blissful ignorance (rather arrogance) of the consequences to her actions. Actually her arrogance is what makes what happens later so tragic. She also gets her first blow when Buffy reveals that she was never in hell. Anyway definitely one of my favorite episodes. I loved the group song in the beginning. Anya's tirade about the evil bunnies (lol I am imagining innocent little bunnies blinking here) is probably my favorit-est song on this episode.
2. Hush 4x10
Wow! My respect for Whedon really went up (though it was pretty sky high already) when I watched this one. He definitely deserved the Emmy nomination for this one. He might have even deserved to win it. I made my sister watch it recently and she freaked out. How brilliantly brilliantly directed and definitely one of the creepiest episodes ever on the series. So the story is about the Gentlemen- wonderful wonderful make up. So very creepy. From their suits and the perpetually plastered smiles on their faces to the eloquent hand gestures and polite nods they are different from any of the creeps we see on this show. Like my sister said "Monsters should not be refined." So these Gentlemen arrive in Sunnydale to steal people's voices and more. As the rhyme goes:
"Can't even shout, Can't even cry
the gentlemen are coming by,
knocking on windows knocking on doors
they need to take 7 and they might take yours.
Can't call your mom, can't say a word,
You're gonna die screaming but you won't be heard."
the gentlemen are coming by,
knocking on windows knocking on doors
they need to take 7 and they might take yours.
Can't call your mom, can't say a word,
You're gonna die screaming but you won't be heard."
Most of this episode has no dialogue in it which is what makes it so brilliant. It is absolutely riveting to watch. The characters have lost their voices and the consequences range from hilarious to downright frightening. Take the moment when Xander calls Buffy and realises he can't talk or Buffy who picks up the phone and exasperatedly puts it down when nothing but air comes out of her mouth. Though there is no dialogue there is actually a lot of talking. Violent hand gestures, pithy messages and a hilarious presentation of the case by Giles. The background noise is supplied by dramatic music playing up to whatever is happening in the scene. The music therefore becomes the narration. Of course the scariest thing is that when you scream, no one hears you. I think my favourite parts of this episode have to be: when the characters first realise they are dumb, Xander's misunderstanding with Spike, The Gentlemen floating all over town as if part of some macabre musical and the last part. Definitely the last part. Buffy and Riley finally get to know about each others' identities but when they sit down to talk about it, words fail them as they face each other in what is actually the most silent part of the episode. I don't think I can say enough to do it credit. Watch it in order to understand not just mine but everybody's fascination with it.
1. The Body 5x16
My plan, initially was to have "Hush" top the list but then I watched The Body and I was incredibly moved. I going to try and not gush about this one. I feel like I would do grave insult to the episode by doing this.
This episode picks off from the end of the previous one where Buffy finds her mother lying dead on the couch. The episode is played out in Four Acts. The First Act is done in one long shot. It is a scene that is heartbreaking with its lack of drama (actually the entire episode is) and credit for this must go to SMG. Her initial denial, her regression to childlike behaviour on finding her mother, her panicked phone call to 911, her dazed walk through the house when she is first told her mother is dead to the final scene in the Act when she reacts with horror as she refers to her mother as "the body".
The Second Act relays Dawn's response to the event. While Buffy is put together with cracks showing up in places that hint of a delayed but more devastating breakdown, Dawn's reaction is immediate. She is a child, her mother is dead-her world just falls apart and everybody is there to witness it. I like that Whedon decided to keep the audience away from the dialogue that is going on between Buffy and Dawn when she first tells her what has happened. He allows you to place yourself in that space-what would you say what would your reaction be? Also it is almost like he is doing the decent thing by giving the characters their privacy.
The Third Act shows all their friends' reactions. Of these I find Willow's the most touching. Not only because Alyson Hannigan acts it brilliantly, she was the one I could most identify with. Her reactions: Not knowing what to say to your best friend, panicking about it, not wanting to face it and the endless heartbreaking compassion that one does not want to feel are all essayed brilliantly. This episode is famous for Anya's monologue. Following a spate of inappropriate questions the monologue addresses the confusion and shock we all face when death comes along. Though she is new to being human, Anya has never been anything but when she says she does not know what to do.
The Fourth Act is in the hospital. All the characters have gathered to hear about the cause of death. There is a devastating final scene in the morgue and it is perhaps one of my favourite Buffy endings along with "Hush".
In terms of technique this episode was handled exactly opposite to Hush. While Hush has minimal dialogue it is filled with a dramatic background score. The Body has no music. The only sounds present are everyday noises. So there is the sound of a distant car going by and the sound of wind chimes in the background but otherwise it is a very quiet episode. The technique highlights the fact that death happens suddenly and quickly. The lack of drama shows us how ordinary it really is. It treats the event like any of us might in life. There is no well chosen background music, maudlin speeches or any speeches for that matter or the shedding of manipulative tears designed to choke you. Even the light in the episode is warm and bright. It's so real it is frightening. You don't feel like it is happening in some alternate, unreal universe(which it could have been considering the supernatural theme of this show) it is in fact happening in someone's drawing room, that someone is wearing a red shirt and blue jeans. And it's all real. That is what this episode is saying-this could be you. And in a world of television where every experience is designed to numb you, pull you away from your reality, one that places it back in front of you has to be commended. Especially when done with sincerity and compassion.
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