Unlike say having Angel going bad for no reason, Willow having an affair with a snake demon, Warren popping up back from the dead to torture Willow because Amy managed to save him at the last minute, or Buffy suddenly discovering she has a thing for women and then maybe not, or wait, Buffy after having spacesex with Angel, fantasizing about doing it with Spike...or Angel or Riley or Xander having their man-pain...no, this isn't crazy soap opera writing. Guza's is far nuttier. LOL! (I always laugh at Buffy fans who tell me daytime soaps are beneath them. Folks, you do know that Whedon was an unabashed Passions, All My Children, and General Hospital fan - right? And Marti came from writing for the soaps. Buffy - is a soap opera. Although the soap fans are far worse. )

'm still rooting for Rahirah's and my idea of a 80s rock power ballad montage of emo... in print.

Personally, I was hoping she'd wake up from a dream and discover she's in the insane asylum in Normal Again. OR woken from just a really bad night out drinking with Dawn, Andrew, Spike, Angel, and the Immortal in Italy.
In short - it was all a dream, but I'm not sure how they'd get a S9 out of that.