Dawn isn't that bad!

[Chosen Enemy]

I agree I think she acts immature for her age... but I think the point they were trying to make with "the baby" was the baby of the family... not an actual baby.

Yeah I know that, but it seems they really mean she's weak, incapable, can't take care of her own, a baby. They actually saw her as a baby, just cause she's the youngest.

 

[Washburne]

I agree I think she acts immature for her age...

Can we blame the writers? It's easy to do when characters don't do what we want. "It's out of character. It's the writers fault." As if the characters has their own life but when they do something we don't like we blame the ones making their decisions. Dawn was supposed to be younger but Michelle did such a good job so they went with her anyway. Of course the writers should be able to change her character to fit her actual age but if others can blame the writers when they want I'm so playing that card now. 😀

 

[xaphania]

Wasn't the character originally going to be younger, like 10-12 years old? But then they cast MT in the role and had to make the character older. I think I read/heard that somewhere.

I don't hate Dawn. She's kind of annoying at the beginning but she does mature and become less so by the end of season 7. And I think fanon has softened me towards her--fic writers often write her very sympathetically and a lot more mature than in canon and I've come to like that characterisation, which in turn influences how I see canon-Dawn on-screen.

 

[zobothehobo]

Yeah I know that, but it seems they really mean she's weak, incapable, can't take care of her own, a baby. They actually saw her as a baby, just cause she's the youngest.

That's how my family views the youngest. The baby IS ALWAYS a baby. No matter how old they get, the baby of the family will ALWAYS be coddled. When my sister was 8, I still had to walk her to the bathroom at restaurants. When I was 8, I was walking her to the bathroom. That's what being the baby means... being a baby forever.


And it makes sense Dawn was supposed to be younger... but I do feel after they cast Michelle, they should have written her character to be 14... not 10.

 

[The Unspoken]

From BuffyWikia:

Dawn was originally conceived to be 12 years old, but after Trachtenberg was cast, the writers raised the character's age to 14. However, the first few scripts were still written in the voice of a 12-year-old.

They could've still kept her 12 and say that she hit puberty early. I do think casting Michelle was a wise decision, she's really talented. I find most other child/teen actors cringe-inducing.

I really don't get all the Dawn hate. In fact, I quite like how she's the annoying little sister in season 5, breaking stuff, inviting Harmony in, etc.
By the time her 'whinyness' is over (in season 7), she's essentially the same age as the Scoobies in season 1, so once again, I don't get the hate.

 

[PrincessBuffy16]

I think Dawn is acting a little immature for her age. I understand the whole teenage rage thing, but she wasn't just acting like a teenager, sometimes she was acting like a 6 years old. And that's how everybody was treating her. Calling her "the baby". She's 14 at season 5, for God's sake! They've always assigned a babysitter for her. She's 14! Old enough to be a babysitter, as she said. So I think the fact they've always treated her as a baby, made her a baby.

Exactly. Some people try to defend her with "She should act like that, she's a teen." Sorry, but I don't see so many teens acting like that.. there are some who have extra hormons in their body and freak every second of they day, but when I was 14 or 15 I never acted like she did. I'm not saying I wasn't a drama queen, but I had mine limits that were far from hers.

 

[saturn5]

Dawn rules! As the youngest in a family with 2 high achieving siblings I can relate to her. Most people do grow to love her by season 7 when she's finally a full Scooby as she's always wanted to be and given more to do than get rescued and give Buffy unconditional love And when MT has grown into a major (and legal) hottie🙂

 

[Nikkolas]

Let's look at Dawn's life.

-she discovers everything she knew was a lie.
-her mother dies.
-her sister dies protecting her life.
-her sort of adopted mother (Tara) dies and she is left alone with the body.

............

*cries*

How could anyone hate Dawn? In a world where practically everyone has a sob story, she could make anyone weep uncontrollably. Her life has sucked so much that the fact she whines is not only not annoying, it makes complete sense.

One of the very few good things to come out of Season 6 and 7 was her having a crush on Spike then, after learning what he did to Buffy, threatening to kill him if tired it again.

 

[xaphania]

Let's look at Dawn's life.

-she discovers everything she knew was a lie.
-her mother dies.
-her sister dies protecting her life.
-her sort of adopted mother (Tara) dies and she is left alone with the body.

............

*cries*

How could anyone hate Dawn? In a world where practically everyone has a sob story, she could make anyone weep uncontrollably. Her life has sucked so much that the fact she whines is not only not annoying, it makes complete sense.

I completely agree. She has to cope with more than a normal teenager, it's no wonder she breaks down at times.

It's like when people say Buffy is selfish, or whiny - she has the weight of the world on her shoulders, I think she's allowed to complain a bit.

 

[zobothehobo]

For me having a hard life doesn't justify acting like a brat. And she acts like a brat before she knows her life has been a lie. I'm sorry, that's just no excuse. Sooner or later people have to be held responsible for their actions, I don't care how young or what kind of awful life you've had. That's the way it works. It's like with the stealing... if she was caught and they called mall security... do you think the police officers would say "Oh, she's young and she's had a hard life. It's not her fault she stole all this junk!" No. They wouldn't. Because it doesn't matter. Plenty of young people have had hard lives... not all of them are bratty. And having a hard life doesn't mean you get to be a brat. It just means you've got a lot to overcome.

 

[Joamna]

Dawn is whiny, in the beginning at least, but I don't think it's that bad and I've always kinda loved her, like a little sister, that I want to defend from everything bad in the world.

 

[saturn5]

Dawn is whiny, in the beginning at least, but I don't think it's that bad and I've always kinda loved her, like a little sister, that I want to defend from everything bad in the world.[/QUOTE

Which is EXACTLY why the monks made the Key into Dawn, she was the little sister, the little girl, the precious thing which the world loves beyond all else, the person whom everyone would gladly give their lives to save as indeed Buffy does.

Who would not gladly sacrifice their life for their little sister? Who would not rather die than let her suffer?

 

[Washburne]

I'm curious. If you hate Dawn what are your feelings for Buffy? Isn't Dawn pretty much a Buffy junior except from the slayer part?

For me having a hard life doesn't justify acting like a brat.

To me it doesn't justify (the way I see justify but maybe my english skills are lacking again). It might be a part of why someone is acting like they do. People react and handle things differently.

 

[zobothehobo]

I'm curious. If you hate Dawn what are your feelings for Buffy? Isn't Dawn pretty much a Buffy junior except from the slayer part?

Buffy in the first few seasons kind of bothers me. I think she gets much better when she leaves high school and Angel leaves. I'm not sure which one inspired the change in her... but I like her better like that. And I don't think Dawn is a Buffy junior. Buffy was a bit of a brat in seasons 1-3 but not like Dawn. And she didn't whine all the time like Dawn.

To me it doesn't justify (the way I see justify but maybe my english skills are lacking again). It might be a part of why someone is acting like they do. People react and handle things differently.

Oh no doubt her hard life contributed to her behavior...

 

[Washburne]

I don't think Dawn is a Buffy junior. Buffy was a bit of a brat in seasons 1-3 but not like Dawn. And she didn't whine all the time like Dawn.

I meant it more like what Dawn is made of/from.

The only age we really can compare Buffy and Dawn is the first and last season don't you think?

 

[Icarium]

Which is EXACTLY why the monks made the Key into Dawn, she was the little sister, the little girl, the precious thing which the world loves beyond all else, the person whom everyone would gladly give their lives to save as indeed Buffy does.

Everyone would gladly give their lives? Exaggeration much?

Not to mention that the Monks idea is for Buffy to protect Dawn, not kill herself for Dawn. The monks didn't seem to have the slightest idea that Buffy magically became a spare key as a result of Dawn's creation (probably because that didn't make a lick of sense but let's not digress). In most other cases it would be much better for Dawn if Buffy ran away from Glory, instead of sacrificing herself for Dawn, only so that Glory could capture Dawn a second later.

Plus, I find the idea that Buffy would protect the Key with her life only if the Key is in the form of her (not really) little sister incredibly offensive for Buffy. By protecting the Key she is protecting the lives of everyone on Earth. If the only way for her to fathom this is by putting a bunch of fake memories into her head...then Buffy isn't the same girl who went to fight the Master, staked Ford, sent Angel to hell and is always putting her life on the line for the greater good. In fact, by telling her friends "if the ritual starts we all die" in The Gift Buffy betrays her sacred Calling big time, not to mention her friends.

For me having a hard life doesn't justify acting like a brat.

It doesn't justify it but it makes it more understandable. Personally, it really bugs me that the tough life excuse is very often applied only to Buffy. I have lost count of the times I have seen her actions in Dead Man's Party, Revelations, Empty Places, The Gift, etc excused with the words "she is depressed", "she is under a lot of pressure" and so on. And don't get me wrong, I often agree with such interpretations. Buffy is incredibly tough mentally but everyone has a breaking point. I just think it's unfair when the same justifications are rarely applied to other characters. Just because Buffy's burden is generally bigger than Dawn's or Giles's or Willow's doesn't mean we should dismiss their problems. Dawn's mistakes never led to anyone's death which is more than I can say for Buffy, Willow, Xander, Giles, Spike, Angel, etc.

 

[BananaBuffy]

Although I am not the BIGGEST Dawn fan I really don't have a problem with her. The only time she really irritated me was during 'Older and Far Away' but I got over that by thinking "Oh my God. Michelle Trachtenberg is such an amazing actress". Then I was fine. But, yes. I know she is whiny and somewhat ungrateful about things but I find I can understand her somehow. I'm not sure how but yeah.

She is a teenage girl. A lot of us teenage girls act that way sometimes even without realizing it because most of us think our lives are horrible even if we're not. Almost every single teenager I've met has been whiny and Dawn-like at one point in their lives, mostly towards the people close to them. That's what it is with Dawn except exaggerated because she has had problems and her life isn't really what it should be because she's...not exactly 'real'. 🙂. I agree with Joss' opinion on Season Six in that Dawn has been abandoned a lot as of recently and she's just having problems with that. While I am a big fan of Buffy and everyone I can understand why Dawn felt the way she did. Sure, she could have been a bit nicer about it but still.

To me, Dawn is a realistic character. I loved seeing into her mind in 'The Real Me' and getting to know a little about her. She's trusting when others aren't, such as with Spike in Crush and such. When nobody else would give Spike the time of day...Dawn feels safe with him and enjoys his company, even before Buffy turns to him. And yet, although she has a 'crush' on Spike, she mentions his feelings for Buffy to her sister. She's not a bad person...really.

 

[Nikkolas]

For those talking about how whiny and immature Dawn was at the start, I'm listening to Geekshow's Buffcast and they mention Dawn was originally written to be 12, not 14, according to episode commentary.

They say this is probably the reason she's the way she is at the start of Season 5. It makes sense to me.

 

[Taake]

For those talking about how whiny and immature Dawn was at the start, I'm listening to Geekshow's Buffcast and they mention Dawn was originally written to be 12, not 14, according to episode commentary.

They say this is probably the reason she's the way she is at the start of Season 5. It makes sense to me.

Makes sense but still makes her annoying as heck I have to say.

 

[Misty]

Exactly. Some people try to defend her with "She should act like that, she's a teen." Sorry, but I don't see so many teens acting like that.. there are some who have extra hormons in their body and freak every second of they day, but when I was 14 or 15 I never acted like she did. I'm not saying I wasn't a drama queen, but I had mine limits that were far from hers.

Exactly. I love Dawn and all, but I don't think that her age is an excuse for her behavior. I think she whines when she's sad and scared with all the things going on in her life and it's not mostly because she's a teen. I do think that people tend to be whiny and dramatic in their teen years because I did and so did my sister, but no teenager I've met acted that whiny. But when I rewatch the later seasons, I love her more and more because she doesn't bother me anymore and she grew up in season 7.