3. Walk Through the Fire Buffy the Vampire Slayer (S6E7)
Buffy's musical episode, "Once More With Feeling," was a surprising move for show creator, Joss Whedon, but what was more surprising was the effectiveness with which it was executed and how well it was received by fans. Something which has always been a skill of Whedon's is his ability to make us wholly believe in the universes he creates and this is true of the explanation given for the characters bursting into song in "Once More With Feeling". A demon did it... Yes, okay, so it sounds pretty lame as explanations go but it feels appropriate in the moment and when given proper context. What also helped was the cast's reluctance to partake in Whedon's long-lived dream to do a musical episode, something that was apparently in the pipeline from the beginning but that no one had taken seriously. The fact that the stars were very adamant that they did not consider themselves amazing vocalists but still gave it their all, like Cobie Smulders in HIMYM, adds that extra admirable quality to their performances. There are many great songs, all written by Whedon himself, and what's especially remarkable is how each song has an immense significance to the overall story of season six, mostly through impressive lyrical composition. He sure loves his metaphors. No song combines skilled composition with emotive power as successfully as "Walk Through the Fire.' Having learned of Dawn's abduction, Buffy solemnly sets out to go and rescue her; Giles insists she must do it alone because he feels his support has made her weaker and so the stage is almost set for the giant climactic scene of the episode. There's just time for a power ballad, and what we're given is a flood of effective imagery that, for the first real time, articulates Buffy's psychological state at this point in the series. Through the course of the song, we learn that Buffy has lost her fire and is feeling indifferent towards her place in the world. As the chorus rings out 'let it burn', there's an eerie foreshadowing of the self-destruction she will soon attempt. The production of the song allows the tension to build and build with increasing instrumentation and by the time the demon utters the words 'show time' as Buffy kicks in his door, we've been aptly prepared for the finale.