Anti-Dawn Rant (Long)

[Anya2012]

There are three characters I hate most in the BuffyVerse and Dawn is my number one.

I loath Dawn with a fiery vengeance. I'm trying to find something good to like about her...but there isn't. She's whiny, ungrateful, selfish and she kicked Buffy out of her own house...after Buffy sacrificing her life to save Dawn's. (and she didn't even thank Buffy for that either).

Ok, people will make excuses for Dawn, saying that she had a tough life finding out shes the Key...her mom and sister both died blah, blah blah. But after bringing Buffy back, Dawn's still the same. Perhaps even worse.

And no, I don't see any improvement in season 7.

Here's an example: in the episode Dead Things, Dawn goes off to have dinner with her friend Janice, in the next episode she's whinging about everybody not spending any time with her and whining how Buffy doesn't care. Hypocritical much? At least Buffy tried to spend time with her.

 

[Washburne]

I'll let you rant in peace (again). So rant away, but to get to Dawn you have to go through me first. 😀






"You" meant in the general sense. No wonder people too often feel attacked when it isn't intended. Stupid english language. 😉

 

[Anya2012]

I'll let you rant in peace (again). So rant away, but to get to Dawn you have to go through me first. 😀






"You" meant in the general sense. No wonder people too often feel attacked when it isn't intended. Stupid english language. 😉

I just had to get it off my chest after rewatching " Older and Far Away." she just annoyed the crap out of me.

 

[PrincessBuffy16]

Well, I can't call myself a Dawn fan, I'm far from that, but I don't hate her like you do.

Sure, she's annoying, very annoying, especially in season 5. In season 6 she's a little better but still bugs me. To be honest, I don't even pay any atention to her in season 7.. it's like she's not there.

 

[Lyri]

The thing about Dawn is...she's a teenager, a child. Pure and simple. She was SUPPOSED to be annoying. And I think that's one of the things I loved about her. She was real.

Every other teenager on the show, Buffy, Willow, Xander, Cordelia, and even Oz to a certain extent, were forced into this world where they had to fight monsters, where they put their lives on the line every single day to protect their town, and in a way that made them grow up LONG before they should have. They had to be selfless, and brave, and there was no time for them to just kick back.

Dawn didn't have that. She was allowed to be a child and be a 'normal' stroppy teenager, and it wasn't until she saw first hand what Buffy did every day, when Willow trapped them down that hole, that she started to grow up. It was her version of Xander killing Jesse. She might have known what Buffy did, but it wasn't until she experienced first hand fighting side-by-side with her that she started to understand the importance of it all.

Plus, Dawn was the younger sibling, and not only did she have to deal with living up to an older sister, she had to live up to the fact that her older sister was the Slayer, something no one else in her life can relate to, and she had just found out that she wasn't real.

Without Buffy, Dawn wouldn't even exist, and I think part of Dawn resents that, and probably always will.

You mentioned about Dawn kicking Buffy out of her house. At the time of that scene, Dawn had grown up a lot, and she'd come to the point where she realized that the greater good came before family, something S7 caused Buffy to realize, too, as she told Giles that if it had happened now, she would have sacrificed Dawn to stop Glory. Dawn was not happy about telling Buffy to leave, and that's obvious, but she thinks she's doing the right thing. Looking on it as a viewer, we know without question that Dawn is wrong, but we're outside observers with all the facts. To Dawn, all she can see is Buffy wanting to stop Caleb and The First, no matter the cost. Girls were dying, her friends were being gravely injured, and to Dawn, Buffy had lost all sense of reason, and she thought she was doing the right thing.

 

[zobothehobo]

I think what irritates me most about Dawn is Older and Far Away. She complains to no end that no one cares about her and no one's paying attention to her... in Dead Things when Buffy says she has to turn herself in, Dawn's not upset about Buffy going to jail, or even about the girl that's dead... she says "You can't even stand to be around me. You don't want to be here with me. You didn't want to come back. I know that. You were happier where you were. You want to go away again." I for the life of me do not get how Dawn got "I can't even stand to be around you" from "I have to turn myself in." I've said this before and I'll say it again, if either of my sisters died and then came back from EITHER heaven or hell (so pre OMWF or post OMWF), I'd try to do everything I possibly could to make it easier for them. I'd be asking them what they need... acting a lot like Dawn did in the beginning of After Life. Except the whole time until she felt better. We see Dawn is capable of maturity in After Life and again when she finds out about Buffy and Spike in Entropy... that really pisses me off because I don't understand why she can't be mature all the time. It'd be easier if she was consistently immature for her age (and yes, as someone who was a 16 year old just a few years ago and lives with a 16 year old, Dawn was immature for her age. Actually, my 16 year old sister... our therapist told me she acts more like a 14 year old... and Dawn is less mature than her. The "teenager" excuse, doesn't work.) because then I could just say "the writers have lost perspective on how a 16 year old girl acts." Which would be really unfortunate because the 16 year olds of season 1 were all really well written... and well... 16. But no, sometimes she does shine through with 16 year old moments and it pisses me off.

 

[slayerfox]

Theres a thread for this wahoooo. I hate dawn, not as much as I used to but still i hate her. She is so annoying and whiney, i didnt mind her in season 7 but in season 5 and 6 I couldnt stand her and I dont like her in the comics either. I think they should kill her off, and bring Tara back 😀

 

[GrrArghx]

Forever and Normal Again was just it for me on ever liking Dawn.

I almost cheered when Buffy slapped her in Forever, lol.

& in Normal Again:

"It's your ideal reality and I'm not even apart of it."

Yes, because everyone would just love to be in a mental institution. How the hell is that ideal?!

She just makes everything about her and is a complete ungrateful, little brat. And, sorry, but I don't think she can have the excuse of acting like "every other teenager." I didn't act like that. The 14 year olds I know now definitely don't act like that.

Man... this girl just gets on my last nerve. I cannot stand her, lol.

 

[Connor Holtz]

I'll let you rant in peace (again). So rant away, but to get to Dawn you have to go through me first. 😀






"You" meant in the general sense. No wonder people too often feel attacked when it isn't intended. Stupid english language. 😉

This.

I don't agree with a single thing you said in the OP but like Washburne, I'll let you guys rant in peace.

And Washburne isn't the only one you have to go through to get to Dawn 😉

 

[The Unspoken]

I've never felt anything but sympathy for Dawn. Having her be as cool and witty as the Scoobies were in the earlier seasons would defeat the point entirely, since she's supposed to be the odd one out - and that's without taking the whole ball of energy thing into account. But if you REALLY dislike her, you could just chalk her personality up to those monks messing up their spell and failing in creating a genuine teenager.

I would've LOVED to have seen a season long story arc dealing with Dawn's remorse over killing Miss Kitty Fantastico.

 

[Lyri]

As far as the teenager thing goes. My sister is the same age now as Dawn was in S6 and she acts EXACTLY like Dawn. I don't know if it's because she's following Dawn's example of how to be a teenager, of if I was REALLY unlucky in the little sister departments, but I think this is why I never thought of Dawn as being any different than any other, normal, teenage girl. Because my sister was acting the same way.

 

[Anya2012]

Actually, my 16 year old sister... our therapist told me she acts more like a 14 year old... and Dawn is less mature than her. The "teenager" excuse, doesn't work.)

Totally agree. I also have a younger sister and she never acted like that when we were teens! She may be annoying but all younger sisters are. Its in their job description.

 

[zobothehobo]

Also something I forgot, I've seen a lot of people talk about how Dawn got better in season 7. How in the hell is doubting Buffy and believing that she'll turn on her better? As a sister, I could never ever believe in a crisis like that my sisters would turn on me. I would know in my heart that everything they do would be necessary. No one would die unless it was necessary and I would know my sister would never switch sides. I would believe in my sister. The entire time The First as Joyce was in the back of Dawn's head saying "When it's bad, Buffy won't choose you." JUST like The First wanted. As a sister, it's inexcusable to me to not believe in your sister at a time like that. She needed love, comfort, and to be believed in... but when Dawn wasn't thinking about how she wasn't special, she was thinking about how The First said Buffy's going to turn on them. As a sister, I would never.

 

[Lyri]

Dawn never thought Buffy would turn on her, that's not what her kicking Buffy out of the house was about. Dawn wasn't scared of Buffy hurting her, it had more to do with Buffy not listening to what Dawn thought was reason. All she could see was someone putting other peoples lives at risk to get what she wanted. Dawn wanted The First defeated just as much as Buffy did, but Dawn thought that there were better ways to go about it. Which we know is crap, but Dawn didn't.

Dawn wasn't the only one to fall for The First's manipulations, and I'm still not convinced that Dawn realized that Joyce was The First. During The First's visit, Dawn casts a spell to get rid of the 'demon' who was stopping her from seeing her mother. It never entered Dawn's head that Joyce could be the bad guy. I can't remember exactly, but I don't think that Dawn told anyone what Joyce said when she saw her.

The argument in 'Empty Places', if taken from Dawn's perspective, could be construed as Buffy being against Dawn, because in Dawn's eyes, Buffy's not on her side of the argument.

And, as someone already mention, Dawn isn't supposed to represent every teenage girl. There are plenty of girls who would turn against their sister in the right, or wrong, situations. We can't know for sure that every single teenage girl would stand by their sister through everything, the same way we can't know that they wouldn't.

 

[Tome]

I'm more in the *middle* when it comes to Dawn. I don't hate her character, nor do I like her. What people considered to be very annoying, wasn't that much to me. Sure, she can be ungrateful sometimes, like in 'Empty Places' when she kicks Buffy out of her own house. But I think overall she was a good young sister for Buffy, and I liked her in the last season(which is surprising to me, considering I dislike most things in s7).

She's definitely not even close to being a *great* character(sorry B), but she's not bad either. She brought a whole new point of view to the audience once she joined the show in the fifth season.

I really liked some of her scenes. Like when she fights alongside Buffy at the end of 'Grave', or when she goes to find Willow with Clem in 'Two To Go'. She had some guts and wasn't always a whiny teen. 😛

 

[Misty]

I actually really like Dawn as a character because I get used to her more and more whenever I rewatch some episodes in the later seasons. She actually doesn't annoy me anymore like she did when I first watched season 5. Also, she does get better in season 7 because she's not really a young teenager anymore.

I am aware that this thread is called "Anti-Dawn Rant," and I won't try to debate with anyone. It seems as though she's disliked for being whiny and some people say she's like that because she's 14. I will agree with others that not all teenagers act like that and it's not really a good excuse. Even though I'm the baby of the family, my older sister is not much older than me, so she didn't act as extreme as Dawn when she was that age. I think that Dawn acted like whiny because she was going through hard stuff like her mother dying, finding out she's a key, having Glory after her, and her sister dying. She was just scared and upset, and didn't know how to deal with those things.


But she does develope throughout the later seasons because she starts off as a whiny young girl to a mature woman who defends herself more.

 

[Taake]

But she does develope throughout the later seasons because she starts off as a whiny young girl to a mature woman who defends herself more.

See for me I don't ever see that 'matureness' that others seem to suddenly see. Okay so but s7 she whines liess, but not by a lot, and less whining does not make for maturity. Even in the comics she still a little cry-Buffy so to speak to me, therefore my annoyance with Dawn seems unlikely to end any time soon. See I don't think her whining has anything to do with her being a teenager, it's just her personality, and that I can't stand.

 

[zobothehobo]

Big Damn Hero agrees: If you're refering to Empty Places, I think they were all right to kick Buffy out.

It's no secret I'm on Buffy's side in Empty Places so I was partially referring to that... but I was mainly referring to the whole season and Dawn's general attitude and thought process.

 

[Anya2012]

Also forgot to mention in my OP that whenever things are falling apart with the Scoobies, Dawn always manages to make things about her. When they were helping Willow get rid of the magic stuff, Dawn goes,
" Why do we always get rid of things I like," and in Normal Again, Dawn whines to Buffy, " Its your ideal reality...and I'm not even a part of it." and when Willow goes dark and Giles comes back Dawn says, " Giles is back? You never told me that."

God, Dawn its not always about you.

---------- Post added at 12:47 PM ---------- Previous post was at 12:26 PM ----------

Theres a thread for this wahoooo. I hate dawn, not as much as I used to but still i hate her. She is so annoying and whiney, i didnt mind her in season 7 but in season 5 and 6 I couldnt stand her and I dont like her in the comics either. I think they should kill her off, and bring Tara back 😀

I know there's a thread but I just needed to get it off my chest.

 

[AustCF]

Dawn does annoy me, but it's not so much the character as it is the actress. LOL.

---------- Post added at 11:00 PM ---------- Previous post was at 10:49 PM ----------

Yeah, I think if the acting was handled better, it wouldn't seem so much like she's whining all the time, but it's the way Michelle talks and acts, it was just terrible most of the time.