Child Support For Buffy and Dawn

white avenger

white avenger

white avenger
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Something that I've been wondering about. Could it possibly be that Hank never paid any child support for Dawn simply because he didn't even know that she existed? We've been assuming that the Monks altered the minds of everyone who might possibly have been expected to know about her, which would, logically include Angel, Wes, Cordy, and Faith, because they had ties to Sunnydale and the Summers life there, but Hank would have been around si infrequently, and never at all after Season 2, that there wouldn't have actually been any reason for him to know about Dawn, therefore would have no reason to provide anything toward her support. Also, by the time that Joyce died, Buffy would be 18, which might have been the cut off for anything that he would have to pay for her. The fact that he doesn't stay in regular contact with her, especially in the time of email and cellphones, is deplorable, but, possibly, as far as he knew, everything was going along fine for his daughter.
 
There's a lot of clues that tells us the writers didn't go that route. First off, Dawn is now in all of the family pictures, but I guess sure that could have been modified just for Joyce and Buffy. But then were shown those flashbacks of Buffy when Dawn gets home. Hank is very much there. Again, could be just Buffy's memories that were altered, but that would be very stupid for the monks to do. I mean, what happens when Joyce or Buffy gives dad a call and they talk about memories for which he has no recollection. Oops, cover blown. Hank had to have know, they really couldn't build Dawn's life without it. Dawn needed a dad, she needed those memories, and in the events that she contacted that dad, dad had to know. And in one of the later seasons, doesn't Dawn or Buffy contact him? And that's when we get the whole gone with his secretary thing. But by the sounds of it, if the girls still call him, then he needs to know about Dawn.
 
I always thought they must've given Hank memories of Dawn, just in case.
You've got to ask yourself which scenario is more likely; that Dawn would meet her father, who just happens to drop byone day to see his ex-wife and daughters, or that Dawn would meet Faith again, who was in jail voluntarily serving a 25 year sentence and not likely to see Dawn, or any of the Summer's women, for a long time to come, if at all.

The fact that Faith dropped by the house and clearly recognised Dawn, but Hank didn't is beside the point- it was far more likely (to the monks at least) that Dawn would interact with Hank and not Faith. Therefore they gave Hank memories of his two daughters, because it seems logical that they would.
 
I think the monks did give Hank some memories because what if one day Hank just happens to return to SunnyDale to visit his daughters, see's Dawn thinks, "What?" The Monks clearly didn't want anybody finding out about their cover and not altering Hank's memories would have been a risk.
 
It's almost a shame that we got to see Buffy's dad at all because he just ends up being this giant douchebag because there's no real space or desire for him on the show.

I do think he's aware of Dawn, as thetopher mentioned it would have been very risky not to include him. Besides - the majority of Buffy's and Dawn's young lives have at this point been lived with Hank. Creating memories with Hank for them that he's unaware of seems unnecessarily complicated.

Also even if the monks knew that Buffy was estranged from her father it's not like they could guarantee that it would stay that way. They obviously made Dawn human to make Buffy protect her with her life and clearly - if everything went well - Dawn would just go on living, like a normal human, meaning she would stay Buffy's sister forever. What if Hank would have showed up, for whatever reason, and the whole thing would have unraveled in the most untimely of fashions? No, Hank has to know... and because he has to know he is by necessity a douche for not being around. Poor guy.
 
Didn't Buffy have memories of Joyce and Hank bringing Dawn home? If the monks implanted Hank into their memories it would seem only logical that they would implant the same memories into Hank. 
Taake said:
he is by necessity a douche for not being around. Poor guy.
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He died. That's why he was never around or mentioned. That birthday in season 2 where he 'called to cancel' he was really on his death bed dying. Thats why he was never mentioned after that.
 
Mr. Pole said:
Didn't Buffy have memories of Joyce and Hank bringing Dawn home? If the monks implanted Hank into their memories it would seem only logical that they would implant the same memories into Hank. 

He died. That's why he was never around or mentioned. That birthday in season 2 where he 'called to cancel' he was really on his death bed dying. Thats why he was never mentioned after that.
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But they mention him in later seasons. Something about him being off with his secretary...
 
Taake said:
But they mention him in later seasons. Something about him being off with his secretary...
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That's just a codeword. Like a "fishing trip". He had a heat attack whilst in the bed of his secretary (kept it fam friendly there). Hence the phrase, 'out with the secretary' whenever his death is mentioned.

You cannot shatter my reality.
 
Taake
Taake
haha, okay man, you stay where you are *pats your head*
In the S6 opener, in the kitchen, there's this:

The phone rings. BuffyBot looks excited.

BUFFYBOT: I'll get it!
WILLOW/TARA/DAWN: No! (all move to intercept her)
DAWN: Um ... it could be my dad. (to Willow) He said he'd call today.

And while Willow is the one to actually answer the phone, the fact that Dawn thinks that Hank will call suggests that they've been in contact previously. So he knows about Dawn.
 
Mr. Pole said:
He died. That's why he was never around or mentioned. That birthday in season 2 where he 'called to cancel' he was really on his death bed dying. Thats why he was never mentioned after that.
Click to expand...

Taake said:
But they mention him in later seasons. Something about him being off with his secretary...
Click to expand...

Mr. Pole said:
That's just a codeword. Like a "fishing trip". He had a heat attack whilst in the bed of his secretary (kept it fam friendly there). Hence the phrase, 'out with the secretary' whenever his death is mentioned.

You cannot shatter my reality.
Click to expand...

thetopher said:
I think your Hank explanation belongs in the 'conspiricy theory' thead. 😉
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Mr. Pole said:
I think I belong in the guldarn conspiracy theory thread.
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He actually COULD be dead, especially if the secretary was the kind of conniving b***h who would conceal the fact that Hank had any family other than herself, so that she could collect all of the life insurance money. Maybe she even murdered him to get the insurance.

Lyri said:
In the S6 opener, in the kitchen, there's this:

The phone rings. BuffyBot looks excited.

BUFFYBOT: I'll get it!
WILLOW/TARA/DAWN: No! (all move to intercept her)
DAWN: Um ... it could be my dad. (to Willow) He said he'd call today.

And while Willow is the one to actually answer the phone, the fact that Dawn thinks that Hank will call suggests that they've been in contact previously. So he knows about Dawn.
Click to expand...

That's all part of the conspiracy mentioned. The murdering secretary hired a voice double to pretend to be Hank so that Buffy and Dawn wouldn't get suspicious that anything was wrong.

I like it.
 
I think the writers wanted to humiliate Buffy by having have to work at the double meat palace so the writers ignored any other ways of Buffy could get money so they could pull that off. Why weren't Willow and Tara paying rent? Why wasn't Hank paying child support? Why didn't Anya, who tippled her own earnings by day trading do that for Buffy? Why didn't Buffy still own her Mother's gallery and just hire a manager? Why didn't they all ask Giles how Slayers previously supported themselves through out history? Why didn't Buffy get a waitress job at a diner in town like she did in LA? The answer to all of these IMO is because the writers choose to ignore all of this so they could pull off the DMP storyline, and truly humiliate Buffy at the height of her depression.
 
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