I feel lucky to have been able to listen to actors and directors go off the record with what they might have wanted to do, in contrast to what we saw.
I can rail against someone's intentions when I can't see any way there was something material that got in the way of the decision (like you'll never convince me The Show didn't think Spike should try and rape Buffy), but there's a definite limit to me even knowing where to point the finger when something changes canon in a way that displeases me.
I have seen so much internet screaming and kvetching when I know more about why it went down that way, and they people they want to draw and quarter are the wrong people entirely. I try not to be hypocritical (I certainly don't succeed, it's impossible, but I try, and hard) knowing that.
I wonder, if Joss had sat down to write a book of the story of Buffy, where he would have gone. If he had no boundaries of cost or FX or acting limitations, what would we have gotten? And what would we have gotten without fan feedback, and amazing acting performances, and writer's room collaboration and killer stunt choreography...who even knows?