The magic for me of OMWF is that Joss almost didn't sacrifice internal consistency and its place in canon to adopt the musical genre.

Such a clumsy asspull really eats into that.

If I'd wanted "just" a musical (not that I believe the unbelievable resolution is a requirement of the genre), I could get it elsewhere.

Some wacky ending pulled out of the air (or ass) that neatly ties up the story

A wacky ending doesn't quite fit, though, with everyone finding out they'd pulled Buffy out of heaven and Tara finding out Willow's been playing with her mind.

I'm impressed.

Thanks, but I didn't make that up. Someone else here suggested it at the time.

If I'd wanted "just" a musical

I agree that BtVS is best when it subverts the genre, not plays into it, but then the asspull didn't bother me as much as it seems to have bothered others.

Isn't that a common trope in musicals though? Some wacky ending pulled out of the air (or ass) that neatly ties up the story? I've always thought Joss was giving a tip-o-the-hat to that trope.

That's what I've always thought too. A little poorly executed deus-ex-machina as good fun.

The asspull bothers me because Xander spends so much of the early parts of the episode being seriously disturbed by the singing.

And yet I am large with the OMWF lurve.

It took me a minute with all the cut talk. I have the CD and have watched OMWF many times on DVD, and it always felt off, but in a good way. And yet, never until now did I realize that there had been cuts in the broadcast version. Stoopid networks. We need the whole thing! I lurve me some DVD OMWF, even with the ending. Really, it's kind of amazing that there is as much internal consistency as there is. I didn't expect as much as we got, even from Joss.

I'm listening to OMWF myself, "Standing," and I'm still going, "No, Giles, you're an idiot to leave!"

Now to listen to ASH and AB voices do that neat thing together.

Aw. I may have to dig out the CD now. I think I have it at work.

Now to listen to ASH and AB voices do that neat thing together.

That's one of my favorite parts, too.

Honestly, even the Xander Asspull doesn't bug me too much. When I think of the episode as a whole, I get shivery feelings and am in awe of how well it was put together.

And I hear the Coda, where Buffy and Spike clinch, and in a proper musical you'd go, "Oh, how wonderful"--but a Buffy fan goes, "Well, we know how that ends, don't we?"

I think I'll just let the curtain in my head close.