Dawn Yea? or Nay?

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ProphecyGirl

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I was talking about this with a few Buffy fans and it seems everyone has wavering opinions on Dawn. For me Dawn is the most annoying character in the entire Buffyverse. I believe Dawn was added to the lineup as a lame attempt to keep the "youth" demographic entertained and she barely grew as a character. Others seem to believe that where as she's annoying she completely redeemed herself in "The potential". Others believe that although she was decent in "the Potential" her later betrayal of Buffy means she's still an idiot and they wish for her death. So what does everyone think? Is Dawn great or Awful or just tolerable?
 
I thought that Dawn was incredibly annoying most of the time durning seasons 5 & 6... I never starting liking her until Season 7...
 
I actually always liked Dawn. Sure she could be a real whiney sometimes, and I would get annoyed with her from time to time. But I always looked at her as a little sister, and that always made her cute in my eyes. And also, I think that you can be like that when you're in that age. Beeing a teenager is hard enough without having a big sister that's the slayer and finding out that you are an ancient key.
 
Dawn never really bothered me too much. Sure she had her annoying bits, but for the most part I think her behaviour fit her circumstances. Overall I guess I'd have to say "Yay" 🙂
 
When I first watched season 5 and 6 I really hated Dawn. I thought she acted way younger than her age (for explainable reasons, but still) and was extremely annoying. But, when I had seen season 7 a couple of times I started finding Dawn pretty okay, I started thinking she was alright in the earlier seasons as well. And when I finally watched AtS and saw Connor.. Dawn seemed like the most wonderful character and not annoying at all compared to him. So, right now Dawn doesn't really bother me at all. I dont particularly like her, but she's okay..
 
I approach Dawn as I do with um other stuff, I look at it how I expect it to be and am not dissapointed. I expected her to be annoying, whiny, stroppy and a pain in the bottom because of past experiences with my brother, who is the same age. I know teens can be little bitcas, and Michelle played her well.

Dawn had a pretty rocky life, she found out she wasn't "real", her mom died, her sister died, her sister kind of ignored her and Willow went all magic-addict. She must have felt so lost and unsure what to do.
 
C
Cordelia
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I couldn't stand dawn all through s5 and 6 especially after she shouted spike when h was trying to save her from being bed so that guy turned and around and threw spike off the tower, that really p***** me off, also her constent moaning and whining was so annoying- i loved it when dark willow had a go at her, however in s7 i realy warmed up to her however i was a bit annoyed that she got the last line in the show, that should have well gone on to the original four!!!
 
I didn't mind her. I wasn't madly in love with her, but I felt sorry for her a lot of the time. Her mother dies, then her sister, and then everyone ignores her while other people's lives are showcased as much more important than hers. That's got to be quite a blow, especially if you already have issues over exactly *what* you are. I think she had potential to be more, but other storylines were more important so she wasn't fully explored.
 
When dawn first came into Buffy I hated her. She was sooo annoying. I couldn't get to like her. But she grew on me. I can't say i loved her but i did feel for her and cried when she cried. I think my opinion changed after the gift because i saw what buffy would give up for her and i thught hey she can't be that bad then.
 
I didn't mind her in S5 because she had a purpose, the series would have had to be completely different (and inevitably worse) without her. I guess after that they were a bit stuck with what to do with her, she couldn't just be ignored because Buffy was all she had left and they could hardly kill her off. So I think they handled her as best they could.
 
I liked her in season 5, hated her whiny "look at me, I'm in pain" stage in 6, and then loved her in 7. Overall 'Yea!'. I'm having a Michelle Trachtenberg obsession at the moment, too. So, yeah! 🙂
 
:hihi: there arn't many characters out there that you can rate by season 😛 but dawny has a different personality per episode lol, well she is a teenager lol. But I must say I didn't really like any of them, although I found s6 Dawn tolerable.
 
Dawn certainly was annoying in the early episodes of season five, but that was the point of course. She was there to be whiney and irritate Buffy in the same way that Xander was there to be the funny guy and Giles was there to explain what the hell was going on each week. All the characters served a purpose and Dawn's was to annoy everyone, at least to begin with.

I can't really understand what people have against Dawn simply for being the character Joss needed her to be to further the story. It is one thing to recognise and accept the fact that Dawn was a brat but another to let it bother you in any way and personally dislike her because of it. That was her character and Michelle played it very well. There are characters on television shows that i dislike because i think they are badly written or badly acted but none because of the intended traits of the character itself.

Personally i never disliked her and by the end of the show i had come to like Dawn a great deal.
 
I think that Dawn was VERY annoying, especially in season five when they introduced her. She just over reacted too much, (like screaming) and that's not how ALL teenagers are. She just wasn't my favorite character at all, but I do think that Michelle Trachtenburg is a good actress, I just didnt' care for her character!!
 
Drusilla's_Evil said:
I think that Dawn was VERY annoying, especially in season five when they introduced her. She just over reacted too much, (like screaming) and that's not how ALL teenagers are. She just wasn't my favorite character at all, but I do think that Michelle Trachtenburg is a good actress, I just didnt' care for her character!!
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But then again most guys don't crack as many jokes as Xander did and most girls don't slay as many vamps as Buffy. The point is that Dawn was a character that was intentionally being written as an irritating brat little sister. That may not be how all teens actually are but some do turn out that way, Dawn was just written as one that did and, again, that was the whole point.
 
I disagree Prophecy Girl.

I think The Watcher makes a very valid point.

It's possible to dislike a character's personality, yet at the same time understand her or his reason to be, in the sense of their importance to the story.

Also I don't think disliking the character is necessarily a good arguement for labelling the actor "bad" as some do.

And I guess I have to come clean. I like Dawn. I think she has some of the wittiest dialogue in the series, and even in Season 5 I've met enough bratty teenagers like that, that I can look past it, and find redeeming qualities.
 
Pfft

Regardless of the way a character is written does not mean that a character should be liked or disliked. Writers write these characters to be a certain way--yes.

I don't recall anyone in this topic (though to be honest I've barely kept up with it or the board for that matter) bringing up that they dislike Michelle due to Dawn's character. I recall Michelle from Harriet the Spy and Inspector Gadget and I liked her in those roles but that has no bearing on the fact I dislike the character of Dawn.

We can understand her involvement in certain story lines and respectfully disagree that they could have been handled in a different way. Was Dawn's extreme brat behavior needed to evolve the show? I can't see that. I can see them introducing a character that is a teenager who reaches a demographic that they had lost.

I'm guessing we're all referring to Season 5 as the big story line that Dawn took part in. At which time did Dawn being annoying move the story along? I don't recall that. I can't even think of an episode in which I felt her behavior was justified and I think the writers really lost touch as much as they were trying to reach that demographic. And honestly after Buffy died and came back from the dead Dawn exhibited some of her worse behavior. Her sister DIED for her and she's running off with vampires, stealing things, and kicking Buffy out of the house. Even when we go back to a not so nice character --Cordelia in high school. She even understood that Buffy was the Slayer and her plan (graduation) was the right one to follow but Cordelia wasn't Buffy's own sister. Buffy didn't die for Cordelia. I can understand their belief that she should have acted in a certain way and I certainly know that they coulda have done a better job, went another way, respected what they had created and not thrown this silly character in to reach a demographic and anyone who says they didn't add her with that idea in mind....is just bs.

They made a choice and I believe it to be fundamentally wrong. There are times I still turn the channel when Dawn is on screen and I'll prolly never watch any Dawn heavy episodes ever again. It was a horrible character; the idea of a sister was great the execution was flawed.
:usa2:
 
Going back to what The Watcher said. It's even possible to enjoy a character and not like them.

I mean I get some of my biggest kicks out of characters like Snyder and the Mayor, but I don't think I'd like to hang out with either of them.

A Dawnless Season 5 wouldn't interest me. For example what would that killer final Scene on the platform be without Dawn. It meant something that all the brattiness of Dawn, and the hard feelings between the 2 of them was peeled away, and all you saw was the undeniable connection between the 2 sisters.

And personally I think Dawn did grow as a character. Season 7 Dawn was easier to warm to than Season 5 Dawn, I thought.
 
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