I think it gets over pooed on, and people miss the underlying emotional depth of the episode because it's so easy to get lost in the mostly middling to poor singing.

But the musical episode did a great job at inverting musical tropes and conventions. And it did so while staying true to the Buffy "vibe". It was dark and ugly and an emotional roller coaster.

Like, the off key stinger of "I was in heaven", the way her voice broke and the droning behind that. Fucking genius.

Musicals tend to err on the side of pleasing the ear more than telling a story. OMWF does the opposite in a lot of ways, and that's why it sticks out in my memory more than all but a small handful of episodes.

Those people are wrong and should feel bad about it. Once more with feeling is brilliant, and I'd argue the best musical episode of a non-musical show ever made.

Great songs, balance of humour and serious elements, contributed to the overall plot pretty well, the musical conceit actually made sense, and involves Anthony Stewart Head's singing voice.

10/10, it's the most rewatched Buffy episode in my world.

Edit: Started listening to the album again, and woof - Where Do We Go From Here is not a great song to listen to for me at the moment...

And you are right, most people. Yet I still listen to their soundtrack in 2025.