Did Dawn have reason to complain?

[ticonderouga]

One of the things that I have noticed, is that the most common criticism about Dawn was that she whined a lot, and while I find this to get annoying myself at times its not as if she didn't have quite a lot to complain about.

I mean think about the things that she goes through in season 5 alone. She gets kidnapped by the Harmony Gang, her mom gets a a brain tumor and is in and out of the hospital, her sister gets stabbed showing Dawn, perhaps for the first time that what Buffy does is very dangerous. Her sister accuses her of causing their mother's illness, and denies that they are really sisters. Then she finds out that she was created and sent to Buffy to protect and that all of her memories were created by the monks. Then her mother dies. A little more than half way through the season and she has had nearly every single foundation of her life undermined in a very serious way. So while her whining does get a bit annoying at times, perhaps we should be happy that the BtVS writing staff didn't have her complain more then she did. After all, she did have a lot to complain about. If all these things had happened to you would you have complained a little?

 

[Bexieh]

I always thought this. I know lots of people that complain that she's too whiny, but I always thought she had good reason to be. She's a kid too. I don't think I've come across a kid who doesn't do irritating things sometimes around that age and that's without all the reasons Dawn had. I'd be more surprised if she wasn't having problems with what was going on. But I've always liked Dawn so perhaps she annoys me less than she might annoy someone who isn't a Dawn fan.

 

[nightshade]

I think the problem most people have with her is that she's 15 and complains about being forgotton or Buffy not spending time with her. She should be with her own friends on not hanging around with her older sister's friends.

 

[Marisa]

I look at it this way now after so many watches Dawn whines yes but Buffy whines just as much if not more. The difference I see is she is only what like 14? Dawn is a young girl who finds out all of these memories she has aren't true. She never really "existed" being a teenager is hard enough as it is but to find out your one big plot device is hard. I can see why she felt the way she did. It is like she has no purpose but for destruction and everything else is meaningless.

Then on top of that add the one person no matter what that didn't treat you different dying. I always feel bad that she is going through all of this and then her mother dies. That is bad enough as it is. Then she found Tara. That is sad on another level.

Lastly I don't think Buffy was always good to Dawn. She did yell at her and such but what Dawn needed was attention. Buffy didn't always provide that Joyce did. Joyce dies and not soon later Buffy. I think the scene with the Buffybot says it all. Dawn needed Buffy more than Buffy realized at times. Granted she was going through her problems but Dawn is the child of the house.

So yes Dawn has plenty of reason to complain. I can't ever hate her entirely because she is Harriet the spy 😛. Seriously though imo she does and I feel bad for the girl. She didn't have it easy poor thing.

I think the problem most people have with her is that she's 15 and complains about being forgotton or Buffy not spending time with her. She should be with her own friends on not hanging around with her older sister's friends.

That is true but we only got to see Dawn's friends once and look how that turned out. I blame Joss if he was going to introduce a character he should have thought of things better. I mean in season seven we see her make a few friends but not any real friends that can last her. Plus the scoobies are always around they basically lived with her a majority of the time I can see why she would hang around them all the time.

 

[Chosen Enemy]

She started complaining long before all the things that happened. You know, she was just (almost) a regular little sister. Notice that almost everything she complains about has something to do with her sister. She thought being the older one, the slayer, is much better. But Buffy saw the opposite. She complained because Dawn was the baby to her mother, the one without the slaying responsibility,etc. So I'd say Buffy has complained as much. But they both were right and they both were wrong. Every person complains, and I think Dawn had reasons to complain as much as we all do sometimes.

 

[zobothehobo]

In season 5, yes. In season 6, no. In season 5, I can tolerate and even like her. In season 6, she makes me so angry. In season 5, she's whining because of everything happening to and around her. In season 6, she's complaining because no one's paying attention to her.

 

[WileyDairyGnome]

I don't blame her for whining. She's only 15, and she was going through a lot. I mostly found her annoying because I'm not fond of Michelle's acting.

 

[wickedtiger86]

I actually don't think she whined too much. She was young and if she didn't have a bunch of crazy drama and freaking out, then she probably wouldn't have been that realistic. Mostly just can't handle the "Get Out!"'s. Actually, I usually fast forward.

It was weird that she didn't spend more time over at Janice's but . . . if I was Dawn, I'd be hanging out at Spike's crypt as often as I could too. 😛

 

[Willow My Love]

I think the problem most people have with her is that she's 15 and complains about being forgotton or Buffy not spending time with her. She should be with her own friends on not hanging around with her older sister's friends.

That's one thing I always wondered about. Why didn't Dawn have more close friends? We saw Buffy's friends when she was 15, and she was always with them. I was that way as a 15 year old girl. We heard her talk about a few friends, but we never saw them, except for that once, and she never really hung out with them. And why didn't she date at all? One bad date with a vampire, and she's done?

I didn't have an older sister, but I had an older brother I was close to. We didn't spend a lot of time together, but when we did, it was fun. I didn't complain though. He had his life, I had mine. (We're not nearly as close anymore, but oh well.)

Dawn complained about stupid things too. "Do you really think I care you're the slayer?" That line always bothered me. Why would Buffy care if Dawn cared? It doesn't change anything.

It's her cries for attention that bother me. And the fact that she says nothing to Buffy about it. Not, "Hey, do you think we could find time to have a sister's night this week?" But instead, she steals things and gets all angry when she gets found out and stops everyone from leaving.

 

[JCoatsworth]

I think her complaining in Season 5 is totally justifiable, but she really annoys me in Season 6.

She's always complaining that nobody wants to hang out with her. I think there are at least two moments where Buffy wants to stay home and hang out with Dawn, but Dawn goes out or sleeps over at Janice's or something like that.

And in Dead Things Buffy wants to go to the police, because she thinks she killed Katrina. Dawn's all mad and that's understandable.
Then they find out that it was Warren and if I were Dawn, I would've been happy, but she's pissed again. What the heck?! 😕

 

[FetalPig]

I think Dawn is mostly justified, and occaisionally goes over the top - she has an inner strength with no outlet and gets verbally spiteful sometimes. It's the only way she can stand her ground. Seems realistic teenager to me (not all of them but not so unusual either).

If I have to explain (without going Meta and blaming the writers) then I think we don't get to see Dawn's friends because she isn't allowed to go see them much. It's alluded to but not outright part of the sub-text so it's me surmising that since Buffy and Joyce know exactly what Sunnydale is about then Dawn isn't given much freedom and this tends to make her resentful.

Buffy says to Riley that "just lately she is really starting to bug me" and i think we are seeing a clash of realities between what the monks set up ( a happy childhood loved by sister and mom) and what happens when that reality suddenly has to start dealing with the actualities of life in Sunnydale. That transition does everyone's head in I think.

 

[ticonderouga]

That is a good point and I agree somewhat that she is far more annoying in season 6. Yet I do think she had reasons, even if they were not completely justified, for much of her behavior even at its worst in season 6. First of all Dawn is dealing with very serious loss and abandonment issues in season 6. She loses both her mother and sister in the space of about three or four months, her father is nowhere to be seen. OK fast forward to season 6 and Buffy comes back from the grave. In the beginning of the season Dawn is overjoyed to have Buffy back, but then comes the bombshell in OMWF, where basically Buffy says that she was much happier being dead. That was the point at which Dawn truly begins having trouble with everything. However their is a turning point in her character that happens shortly after DMP when Dawn starts to realize just how much being the slayer limits Buffy's choices in life. So while she will still complain at times, her complaints become more relevant to her actual situation. As far as Buffy and Dawn complaining about each other, I think you can pretty much chalk that up to pure sibling rivalry. As far as Dawn spending time with her friends, I can think of two different reasons for this. One is that these friendships simply weren't particularly relevant to the plot so were just sort of glossed over and mentioned in passing whenever it was convenient. The second reason was that Dawn I think was supposed to be a little bit like Willow was during season 1 and 2. Kind of nerdy, with a small but close circle of friends, and socially awkward.

I think her complaining in Season 5 is totally justifiable, but she really annoys me in Season 6.

She's always complaining that nobody wants to hang out with her. I think there are at least two moments where Buffy wants to stay home and hang out with Dawn, but Dawn goes out or sleeps over at Janice's or something like that.

And in Dead Things Buffy wants to go to the police, because she thinks she killed Katrina. Dawn's all mad and that's understandable.
Then they find out that it was Warren and if I were Dawn, I would've been happy, but she's pissed again. What the heck?! 😕

 

[prophecygrrl]

I think she's definitely justified both in Seasons 5 and 6. In Season 5, for obvious reasons. Everything is going horribly, she's having an identity crisis as age 15, her mother died, etc. I don't see it so much as 'complaining' though. It's more like a natural reaction to everything that's going on. In Season 6, I think Dawn is dealing with a lot of residual trauma from Season 5 and the fact that she's hurt that no one pays her any attention isn't really about attention at all. It's about being alone. And I think that's something a lot of us (me included) can relate to. That's why I like Dawn. 🙂

 

[PrincessBuffy16]

That girl was annoying long before any of her real problems started.

 

[Konoe]

WELL since I don't want to read all these posts I'll just post what I think.

Buffy has been complaining non-stop about her problems and how "It's not fair" and "I didn't ask for this" blah blah blah over and over again. Thing is though she still does it after saying she was "quitting" some 3-5 times or more in the show.

Unlike Buffy Dawn wasn't human or honestly didn't have a human form, or anything a human honestly has since it was also created.

No past, Memories, Emotions for the past memories and so forth.

So your all happy LA DI DA DI DA and then you find out "Oh yeaha guess what Your not real or honestly human and you were sent to us to be protected because your a key...Good day!"

Oh she whines it's annoying because why would she whine? She's what 14-15? Finds out it was all a lie and you can't deal with someone complain about themselves not being real?

That would be the worst thing someone could tell you. (And be true)

So if you want to throw Dawn under the bus Buffy needs to be thrown down under a train because all Buffy seemed to do was complain about everything that came her way. Good or Bad it was always a problem to her.

 

[Hale Caesar]

I think her complaining in Season 5 is totally justifiable, but she really annoys me in Season 6.

She's always complaining that nobody wants to hang out with her. I think there are at least two moments where Buffy wants to stay home and hang out with Dawn, but Dawn goes out or sleeps over at Janice's or something like that.

And in Dead Things Buffy wants to go to the police, because she thinks she killed Katrina. Dawn's all mad and that's understandable.
Then they find out that it was Warren and if I were Dawn, I would've been happy, but she's pissed again. What the heck?! 😕

Yup. Dawn in season 5 is understandable. Dawn in season 6 is why I hate her so much, she adds nothing to the story and just whines

 

[BuffyElevated]

I think Dawn had more than enough reasons to be more than a little whiny. I don't think she was nearly as bad as some people make her out to be...

 

[LadyLavinia]

I think Dawn had more than enough reasons to be more than a little whiny. I don't think she was nearly as bad as some people make her out to be...

I suspect that if Buffy had been the one complaining, instead of Dawn, everyone would be more sympathetic and less critical. And we would have been spared the "I Hate Dawn" comments. Come to think of it, fans rarely criticized when Buffy went into one of her rants or complaints.

 

[PassionBecoming]

I think every character on the show has reason to complain at some point. I tend to give Buffy a little more leeway with her whining because she does have an enormous amount of pressure and responsibility put on her. Dawn annoys me because she's older, has this "woe-is-me" attitude, and seems to think that the things going badly only effect HER. Yes, she has gone through some rough stuff, but everyone around her is experiencing it to. She needs to listen to her own advice, "The hardest thing about this world is living in it." Yeah, so shut your yap and get to it!!

 

[Marisa]

I think every character on the show has reason to complain at some point. I tend to give Buffy a little more leeway with her whining because she does have an enormous amount of pressure and responsibility put on her. Dawn annoys me because she's older, has this "woe-is-me" attitude, and seems to think that the things going badly only effect HER. Yes, she has gone through some rough stuff, but everyone around her is experiencing it to. She needs to listen to her own advice, "The hardest thing about this world is living in it." Yeah, so shut your yap and get to it!!

I am going to have to disagree how old is Dawn exactly? The who is me attitude is a teenager in general and some people still go through it into adulthood so that never really bugged me as much. I have not meet one teenager who didn't have some kind of identity crisis at one point in their life. Some hide it better than others.