Did anyone else hate Dawn in this season?

[GaviGrimm]

I understand the importance of Dawn but she annoyed me to no end. She had no respected for Buffy and always got in the way. Buffy went out of her way to protect her, take care of her, even gave her life for her while under so much stress and grief and in the end Dawn kicks her out because Buffy made a couple "bad" choices?

 

[GaviGrimm]

I understand the importance of Dawn but she annoyed me to no end. She had no respected for Buffy and always got in the way. Buffy went out of her way to protect her, take care of her, even gave her life for her while under so much stress and grief and in the end Dawn kicks her out because Buffy made a couple "bad" choices?

Maybe I am, but I still don't think she deserves that.

 

[Athene]

Dawn made it clear even in season 5 that she doesn't like to be coddled and treated like a baby so I can't hold it against her that she's not appreciative of Buffy enough because she's not obligated to appreciate something she doesn't want and didn't ask for. Yes Buffy did give her life for Dawn but all that left Dawn with was more grief and abandonment issues. So it's complicated and Dawn's her own person with her own frustrations and that's understandable especially considering how young she is.

 

[Honoria Dedlock]

The worst thing about Dawn in this season is that she is a contrivance. The show itself addresses this when Buffy finds out she's the key -- she even nearly turns against Dawn out of disgust. But she doesn't - my problem is that the love Buffy has for Dawn isnt really based on growing up with her, it's borne of duty. So in the finale when Buffy sacrifices herself for Dawn, I felt almost nothing. She's not her sister, just a glob of energy that hijacked Buffy's life. Buffy forcing herself to love a mystical being who's a relative stranger is not compelling TV, and it really damages season 5 ino. Luckily Dawn is a lot less annoying in seasons 6 and 7, and even she seems to think she's a redundant nobody.

 

[Puppet]

The worst thing about Dawn in this season is that she is a contrivance. The show itself addresses this when Buffy finds out she's the key -- she even nearly turns against Dawn out of disgust. But she doesn't - my problem is that the love Buffy has for Dawn isnt really based on growing up with her, it's borne of duty. So in the finale when Buffy sacrifices herself for Dawn, I felt almost nothing. She's not her sister, just a glob of energy that hijacked Buffy's life. Buffy forcing herself to love a mystical being who's a relative stranger is not compelling TV, and it really damages season 5 ino. Luckily Dawn is a lot less annoying in seasons 6 and 7, and even she seems to think she's a redundant nobody.

Except she did grow up with her. Memories maketh the man, and all that. While it might be annoying for the viewer that she sacrifices herself for a brand new, inserted, character, it's not, imo, Buffy forcing herself to do anything. Hell, there are evidence in the season that she struggles with trying to see her as just the Key but not being able to force herself to do that. I suppose I'm just different, cause I consider it brilliant writing. Then again, I adore Dawn

(Welcome to the boards, btw!)

 

[GaviGrimm]

Except she did grow up with her. Memories maketh the man, and all that. While it might be annoying for the viewer that she sacrifices herself for a brand new, inserted, character, it's not, imo, Buffy forcing herself to do anything. Hell, there are evidence in the season that she struggles with trying to see her as just the Key but not being able to force herself to do that. I suppose I'm just different, cause I consider it brilliant writing. Then again, I adore Dawn

(Welcome to the boards, btw!)

I'm not a Dawn fan but I agree. I always looked at it from Buffy's point of view instead of my own. I think the season worked itself out well.

 

[Honoria Dedlock]

Except she did grow up with her. Memories maketh the man, and all that. While it might be annoying for the viewer that she sacrifices herself for a brand new, inserted, character, it's not, imo, Buffy forcing herself to do anything. Hell, there are evidence in the season that she struggles with trying to see her as just the Key but not being able to force herself to do that. I suppose I'm just different, cause I consider it brilliant writing. Then again, I adore Dawn

(Welcome to the boards, btw!)

You're right. Memories do maketh the man (or woman)...which is why I think phony, magically conjured memories maketh an equally phony relationship. You could argue Buffy grew to love Dawn in the short time she actually knew her, and in fact I think she did...but Buffys sermons to Dawn and all that stuff seem to come from a place other than real love, I honestly think she does it because she feels she has to. And it shows, when Buffy is distant and sometimes resentful of the burden Dawn has become. I get you have a different opinion though...just my two cents!

Thanks for the welcome 😀

 

[thrasherpix]

I see Dawn as much a victim as Buffy. I do see Buffy as the victim of a spell rather than sisterly love, though I think it grows beyond that in later seasons (perhaps Buffy's sacrifice made Dawn "real" and not just a mere spell as flimsy as most magicks that tend to evaporate fast when destroyed).

 

[raatkirani]

I don’t hate Dawn but I hate the idea of her as a plot device.
Also I’m rewatching right now and the beginning of s5 seems a bit awkward and I think I transferred that onto Dawn.

 

[LemonBanana]

Yes I agree! I HATED S5 and S6 Dawn but S7 Dawn was great. I think at first she was super selfish, a major Klepto and just really annoying however, being on the boards I made a Dawn thread and I kinda get her more now. She had been through a lot and life really hasn’t been easy for her... that doesn’t give her the excuse to be a brat though! I totally get what your saying, and I don’t dislike Dawn but I do get what you are saying and agree that she was bratty, selfish and quick to blame Buffy for stuff AT FIRST. I did find it funny when Dark Willow told her that she moaned a lot 😂! However she grew as a person and in the end she was lovely! Love this thread! 😊 💕

 

[LeeJones41]

She was annoying as hell.. She was freaking 14! and was acting like a 3 years old brat! Just like how sometimes it pisses me off that parents don't do anything to discipline their bratty kids, I was annoyed that joyce or buffy didn't say anything to her if she was being a jerk or screaming.. or doing what she usually does. I was 14 once.. And I sure as hell didn't act like her.. In fact, even when i watched buffy back then I found her to be really annoying.. She would get pissed off when buffy's friends won't discuss things with her? Well of course they wouldn't! because they are HER friends! not yours! Could she not have made her own friends? Or did her childish behavior kept all the people away from her even who were her age.
Lol sorry if my post makes me sound like i have anger problems hehe.. I just watched a couple of episodes of season 5 and was totally annoyed by dawn!

No. I never disliked Dawn. I found the Scoobies - Buffy included- just as annoying as her at times.

 

[Oromous]

All this talk about Dawn being a bratty teen just raises my anticipation of her character. It's a teen drama, so I'm pretty used to the amount of whining and self-pity already abundant in other characters.

 

[SpikeOrAngel]

Weren't we supposed to be frustrated at Dawn crying, screaming, having Joyce take her side, and getting into trouble all the time? And we the audience knows she doesn't even belong? The true question is if we wound up caring about her by the finale and subsequent seasons. I feel she finally matured in Season 7, becoming a researcher and low level spellcaster. But she was definitely and obviously written in Season 5 to be disliked, or at least to have Buffy reap in bad karma for being a brat when she was younger.

 

[Oromous]

If I find out that I'm not even human and isn't really related to my family by blood (AKA being told "You're adopted"), I think I would throw just a teensy little tantrum as well. Considering how most teenagers would deal with this by either running away from home or shunning their parents entirely, how Dawn reacted feels perfectly natural.

 

[ChaseRules]

If I find out that I'm not even human and isn't really related to my family by blood (AKA being told "You're adopted"), I think I would throw just a teensy little tantrum as well. Considering how most teenagers would deal with this by either running away from home or shunning their parents entirely, how Dawn reacted feels perfectly natural.

Same thing I thought . Being told that you were you were never wanted & that you were pushed into a family would have been very rough .
Plus Dawn only friend Janice Penshaw was seen in just one esp . What Dawn really needed was her own friends . What she did was perfectly normal .

 

[Faded90]

Weren't we supposed to be frustrated at Dawn crying, screaming, having Joyce take her side, and getting into trouble all the time? And we the audience knows she doesn't even belong? The true question is if we wound up caring about her by the finale and subsequent seasons. I feel she finally matured in Season 7, becoming a researcher and low level spellcaster. But she was definitely and obviously written in Season 5 to be disliked, or at least to have Buffy reap in bad karma for being a brat when she was younger.

I agree with this, even before we know she’s the key we’re supposed to cheer at Buffy’s ‘you’re not my sister’ moment. Season 6 is when I struggle big time because particularly in Older and Far Away I think we’re supposed to have endless sympathy for her but really I just want someone to explain to her that grown ups can’t always drop everything and suggest she spend some time with friends her own age

Plus I find her behavious genuinely appalling in Gone, parts of Grave and Dead Things. I’m just hoping someone will eventually say ‘you know it’s not ALL about you’ just a tiny bit of empathy for other people at times would be nice

she’s great for a lot of S7 until they go back down the ‘Buffy’s leaving me out’ routine again. Even Michelle has said she got sick of the same thing over and over

 

[Athene]

really I just want someone to explain to her that grown ups can’t always drop everything and suggest she spend some time with friends her own age

Dawn doesn't seem to have close friends, apart from Janice and that girl she's in the bathroom with in The Body.

 

[IndianaSolo221]

Like most others, I was more surprised at Dawn's sudden appearance than anything, and I didn't want it to take away from the relationship Buffy already had with Joyce and the Scoobies.

I actually really like Dawn, and I think part of it is because I see a little of my younger self in her. I'd like to write some Dawn-centered fanfiction in the future, as we never really got to see all the moments, or false memories, that each character might have had with her.

 

[Btvs fan]

Like most others, I was more surprised at Dawn's sudden appearance than anything, and I didn't want it to take away from the relationship Buffy already had with Joyce and the Scoobies.

I actually really like Dawn, and I think part of it is because I see a little of my younger self in her. I'd like to write some Dawn-centered fanfiction in the future, as we never really got to see all the moments, or false memories, that each character might have had with her.

I think with Dawn its a number of factors they should have changed .
1 Changing the scripts when they cast an older actress, so it's not a 14 Yr old acting like an 10 year old. The whole thing with the cereal and stethoscope in OOMN yikes
2 Giving back Buffy her original memories. They did this with Connor and Wesley in Ats S5 and they should've done the same here.
3 Have Dawn have a relevance to the plot post S5. That was a problem, she was a regular and hanging around the gang but had no real reason for doing so. In the end she just became the plot device for Buffy to rescue. The writers are even aware of this "Dawn's in trouble must be Tuesday" but still carried on with it

 

[Moggin]

I think the excessively younger behavior still can happen at 14, though I certainly didn't smear ice cream on my face at 14, but I do remember some kids doing stupid stuff like that. It is a problem, though, when adults try to write children, especially adults who don't have kids that age to remind them how that age is supposed to act.

As for the rest of Dawn, though, I really like her, all three seasons she is in. Like Buffy, she isn't perfect, but she has a sweetness about her that Buffy doesn't have. As a younger sibling, she fits the bill, and as an older sister myself, I can see why Buffy would have so easily accepted her fate/memories with her. It feels like a natural sibling relationship to me, even if she does sometimes annoy you, but, hey, that's what younger siblings are supposed to do. You still love them all the same, and once you've had them in your life, you can't imagine them not being there.