Buffy in The Gift

[VaderSpike24]

Part of why I think The Gift is one of the worst episodes of the series is because of Buffy's attitude toward her friends and about Dawn.

I thought her attitude of "We live only if Dawn lives." was not very good.

Especially this qoute unnerved me: "Remember, the ritual starts, we all die, and I'll kill anyone who comes near Dawn." So, if anyone who wants the world to go on, like Giles or Anya, tries to save everybody, Buffy will murder them for it? Just because it is Dawn? This doesn't sound like a heroine who's looking at the big picture, or someone who cares about the lives of her freinds. All she cares about is that Dawn lives.

Giles understood that for the greater good of humanity, sacrifices had to be made. Buffy herself knew that in season 2 when she had to kill Angel.

That's another thing: "I loved him more than I will ever love anything in this life" and yet she accepted that he had to die, but people she loved 'less' apparently (Dawn and Joyce, and Spike later) she wouldn't allow them to die if she had the choice. She contradicted herself.

So, my main question is, why was Buffy acting this way in The Gift? Does she really think it's worth letting the entire human race (Including all her friends) die just because she can't bring herself to let Dawn die before Glory's ritual started? Dawn herself understood this, she was going to jump herself, meaning Buffy would not have had to kill her at all. By dying instead, Buffy left a bad impression on me: She threatened the lives of her friends who wanted to save the world, committed suicide, and left the survived world vulnerable to demons because there was no more Slayer (Faith is still rehabilitating in jail, and only her death could have caused a new Slayer). I think Buffy was 'blinded by love' in her stratagy for this battle. Giles should have made more of an argument aganst her plan. The whole thing was just so scewed up.

 

[Blaze]

Do you have any sibling?

I would have done the same for my brother.

If I was Buffy and Dawn had to die, I would have done the same by killing myself first.

 

[white avenger]

Certainly a large part of Buffy's protectiveness of Dawn is sibling related, but, though there was never any mention of the fact, I have always believed that part of the monks' spell in making the Key human was a compulsion to protect her above and beyond all normal love or priorities. Her statement in Season 7 to Giles that, given the same circumstances at that time, if it became necessary, she would let Dawn die only strengthens that belief, since it was likely that sufficient time had past, as in, the time for Glory' return home spell was long past, that preserving the Key was no longer the priority that it formerly was.

(And, only speaking for myself, as much as I love my sister, if she ever threw one of those "Get out! Get out! GET OUT!!!" tantrums on me, her life would have been in definite jeopardy, and it wouldn't take any insane hell god to put it there)

 

[Joshua]

You clearly don't have a sibiling

 

[EVIL UU]

[MENTION=11943]VaderSpike24[/MENTION]

So, my main question is, why was Buffy acting this way in The Gift?

Because she is an idiot. Dawn is not her sister, they are not siblings, it's all a lie, an elaborate illusion. Bullshit. Buffy realizes that and she's still willing to die for an illusion. It's pathetic. Of course there's more to it. Buffy's done, she wants to die. Saving Dawn makes it that much more convenient.

@The Dark Avenger

You clearly don't have a sibling

I have a sibling. I love my brother dearly but I happen to love myself more.

 

[Joshua]

[MENTION=11943]VaderSpike24[/MENTION]


Because she is an idiot. Dawn is not her sister, they are not siblings, it's all a lie, an elaborate illusion. Bullshit. Buffy realizes that and she's still willing to die for an illusion. It's pathetic. Of course there's more to it. Buffy's done, she wants to die. Saving Dawn makes it that much more convenient.

@The Dark Avenger


I have a sibling. I love my brother dearly but I happen to love myself more.

It doesn't matter if Dawn wasn't her sister, Buffy still felt a connection regardless if it was a lie or not.

Why are you so negative all the time? everything you say about Buffy or the show itself is so negative get a grip

 

[SlayerPrincess]

Idk I see both points of view. That wasn't her sister but she still felt like it was. Thats like saying if you're adopted, thats not you're real family. She was talking crazy at the magic box but what do you expect. Imagine being told you have to kill your baby sister. Plus I think it was a little easier to kill Angel. Even though Angelous is supposidly a different person, he still just did all that evil stuff, plus he's a grown man...and a vampire. Dawns just a kid. I thought that was a beatuiful sacrifice she made jumping off the tower instead and I definatly would have done the same thing. (Especially cause my sisters only 4 lol) But whatever Buffy does theres always ganna be somebody that has a problem with it. Lol. Anyway what I wanna know is how did Buffy know Dawn was made from her and they had the same blood in the 1st place. I dont remember the monks saying that...

 

[Lyri]

I can sort of see the point [MENTION=6758]white avenger[/MENTION] is making. There's clearly something more going on. The monks sent Dawn to Buffy so that she would protect her, that was part of the spell that the monks cast, and that went above and beyond anyone and anything as far as Buffy was concerned - up to and including the world.

She said it herself, if it all went sideways, then the last thing Dawn was going to see was Buffy protecting her sister t the bitter end.

As the eldest of three children, there is nothing - NOTHING - that I wouldn't do for my brother and sister. Even now that they're grown up, I would, without hesitation, gladly give up my life if it meant that they could live five minutes longer.

Of course, my brother would never let me, but that's not the point. I can completely understand Buffy's stance in this episode, and I love it all the more because of that. It's definitely one of my top 5 eps.

 

[Ethan Reigns]

What Glory was going to do to the world was even worse than what Willow almost did at the end of Season 6. This is a world of billions of people here, many of whom have more of a relationship than anything Buffy ever had. Even the risk that Buffy would be incapacitated as she almost was (and had been on every previous encounter with Glory) and unable to sacrifice herself was too much risk. The knights could have stopped this.

They never quite explained how Buffy could substitute herself for Dawn, so it seemed a little more like suicide for no reason that Buffy jumped. And the bit about Dawn being of the same blood or made from the same material? They are not genetically even close. Buffy is 5'3" and the younger sister is 5'7". They don't look remotely alike. No visible genetics says the monks made her from Buffy. The monks made her and sent her to Buffy to be protected in order to have interdimensional power, making them just as sociopathic as Willow at her worst.

 

[BuffyElevated]

Look at all that Buffy went through in Season 5. Not only did she get a sister, whom she found out wasn't really her sister, but some mystical key that the monks sent her to protect, she also had to watch her mom suffer and then die because of her anuerism. I think, at the time of "The Gift", Buffy was so emotionally scarred that she was clinging to Dawn as the last bit of family she had left. I also think [MENTION=6758]white avenger[/MENTION]'s theory about the monks instilling some sort of extra drive in Buffy to protect Dawn makes a lot of sense, too.
I think Buffy was blinded a lot in this situation by her emotions. With Angel, she was all about the mission. Not to mention I think she drew on the way he made her feel as Angelus, to give her the strength to drive that sword through his chest. With Dawn, she only saw a scared girl who had never done anything to bring that situation on. That, among other things that I've already mentioned, made it a lot harder on Buffy (I think) to do what was right by the rest of the world.

 

[Robb Stark]

I've of two minds on this.

For starters, even if Dawn is the product of an illusion, to Buffy, she's still her sister. I fully understand and agree with what she did to save Dawn at the end. I think that was one of the single most heroic and incredible acts of bravery we see. True, Buffy is spent, mentally and emotionally, and I think there was a part of her that was relieved to be able to let go, but I don't think that in any way diminishes what she did.

Conversely though, about killing Dawn to save the world...I don't know. I'd be very interested to see what Buffy would have done, had the solution at the end that they have the same blood or whatever hadn't presented itself, with the sky cracking open and hell merging with Earth, had Giles, Xander or whoever tried to kill Dawn at that point. She can say whatever she likes prior to, but the fact is, words are wind. Would she have acted on what she said? I'm not sure.

Buffy sacrificing herself I thought was amazing. Letting seven billion people, including Dawn, die, otherwise? Not so amazing. That has nothing to do with love at that point, it's just sheer irrationality, which, given everything Buffy has been through in S5, I understand. But remember, Dawn would have died too. Hell, she would have been one of the first to die. I have three siblings and a nephew, and I truly believe I would give me life for theirs if I had too. But would I give the lives of seven billion others, of the entire human race? I can't say. I'd have no issue with giving myself for them, for the world, if need be, but the other way? I don't know. That doesn't make me love my siblings any less, I do "get it". It's looking at what the situation is.

And, let's look at the facts. Buffy states freely in S7 that she'd kill Dawn if the world depended on it.

 

[Buffy Summers]

Why are you so negative all the time? everything you say about Buffy or the show itself is so negative get a grip

There is no place for comments like this here. There's no rule that says people have to only post things they like about the show. You yourself are not perfect, so keep your comments on other members to yourself.

 

[EVIL UU]

[MENTION=12297]SlayerPrincess[/MENTION]

That wasn't her sister but she still felt like it was.

Because the monks made her feel that way. In "Something Blue" Buffy felt like marrying Spike, she truly loved him and just as with Dawn, it wasn't real. Buffy was brainwashed. In season 5 she realizes it but she's not strong enough to face the reality, strong enough to endure and to live. I think this is Buffy at her absolute weakest.

I thought that was a beautiful sacrifice

I fail to see anything beautiful in what's a painful suicide. In my opinion suffering isn't ennobling, it's just disgusting.

 

[SlayerPrincess]

I fail to see anything beautiful in what's a painful suicide. In my opinion suffering isn't ennobling, it's just disgusting.

I mean like, once she saw the worlds bleeding into each other she could have just pushed Dawn off the tower. "The worlds ending, Oh no bitch, you gatta go" lmao 😀

 

[VaderSpike24]

Yes, I do have a younger sister, actually, and don't even think that I wouldn't care enough about her to have potentially done the same thing in a similar situation.
My main point was why Buffy was acting like Dawn's life was more important to her than her friends and the world. Like I said, the main thing that disturbed me was her saying that either everyone lives or everyone dies. She would rather have the whole world die rather than just Dawn dying, becuase if that blood-connection thingy didn't exist, those would have been her choices. I would have figured that if my sister would have to die in either option, the least I would do was make sure that no one else had to die as well.

 

[Lyri]

The monks wanted Buffy to protect the Key at all costs - that was why they made it human, why they turned it into a sister for Buffy, so that it was something tangible and real that Buffy needed to protect.

That was the whole crux of the monks idea - for Buffy to protect the Key, to put it above and beyond anything and everything else, including the world and the people in it.

For me, after we'd been told all season that it was Buffy's job to protect the Key first and foremost, if, in 'The Gift', she'd just turned around and said, "Yeah, okay, you've got a point, Giles. We'll just kill Dawn and save the world, that's fine', the whole season would have lost it's meaning. For Buffy to do everything she could all season to keep Dawn safe and then turn around in the finale and kill her or agree to stand back and watch her die, yeah, I would have been majorly upset.

It just makes sense to me that Buffy would have acted the way she did in 'The Gift', it's completely in character for how she was that season and how she related to Dawn.

 

[Joan the Vampire Slayer]

When it comes to Dawn, and to family, Buffy is only human. Remember what she said? She wasn't want to live in a world where she has to make those types of choices. She knew it made sense to let Dawn die, but she couldn't do it.

 

[EffieT1]

[MENTION=11943]VaderSpike24[/MENTION]


Because she is an idiot. Dawn is not her sister, they are not siblings, it's all a lie, an elaborate illusion. Bullshit. Buffy realizes that and she's still willing to die for an illusion. It's pathetic. Of course there's more to it. Buffy's done, she wants to die. Saving Dawn makes it that much more convenient.

@The Dark Avenger


I have a sibling. I love my brother dearly but I happen to love myself more.

I have a younger sister who although she royally pisses me off sometimes I would sacrifice myself for, so yes sometimes self-preservation flies out the window for the people we love

 

[heidiisablonde]

One of the things that mqkes Buffy so relatable, is that she makes mistakes.

 

[Yosso]

I do understand and sympathise with Buffy when she says that she won't allow Dawn to die at the beginning of "The Gift", she's human too and Dawn is her young, innocent sister. Like others have said, Angelus was different as there was a clear difference in identity. Plus, I think Buffy may have partly felt responsible for being part of the catalyst to bring Angelus back, so she felt it was her duty to undo his work.

But really if Buffy had never thought of sacrificing herself and if push came to shove..I think she would have killed Dawn.