# 25 Years Later, Buffy’s Riskiest Episode Is Still a Brilliant Masterpiece That Changed the Show Forever

- URL: https://talkfuse.com/story/25-years-later-buffys-riskiest-episode-is-still-a-brilliant-masterpiece-that-changed-the-show-forever/
- Published: 2026-11-06T12:00:17+00:00
- Updated: 2026-11-06T12:34:32+00:00
- Original publisher: Polygon
- Original article: https://www.polygon.com/buffy-vampire-slayer-once-more-with-feeling-musical-25-years-james-marsters/
- Topics: Celebrity, Entertainment

## Key points

- Buffy’s 2001 musical episode became a series highlight.
- A demon’s curse pushed the story forward through song.
- James Marsters remembers the cast’s initial alarm.

## Summary

On 6 November 2001, *Buffy the Vampire Slayer* aired “Once More, with Feeling”, an ambitious musical episode that became one of the series’ most celebrated instalments. Its songs did more than create a musical spectacle: a demon’s curse made Sunnydale residents sing their private feelings aloud, advancing the main story and changing relationships, including Buffy and Spike’s.

James Marsters recalls that the cast first learned of the musical through a cassette of creator Joss Whedon singing and playing the songs, which initially prompted panic. Marsters and Anthony Head had singing experience, but many cast members worried about performing outside their professional comfort zone. The episode’s lasting reputation rests on how it joined musical numbers to the show’s continuing plot, including the first real kiss between Buffy and Spike after their feelings were exposed.

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Summarised by TalkFuse (https://talkfuse.com/). Quote the original publisher for the reporting and link this page for the summary and discussion.