I don't hate Dawn... And here's why

[CordelliasHeart]

I love dawn myself...

First encountered her on "Normal again"

I watched the entire eries on Amazon instant video, I watched the ntirety of season 1, and part of season 2, then decided to look up that FAMOUS episode.

I found Dawn an annoyance all the way up to, the "Hiding from Buffy" scene where shes shouting out "You have to know that that is real"

 

[UndeadAmerican]

While I never hated Dawn at all, it wasn't until now that I actually find myself liking her. Currently doing a series rewatch with my mother and we just finished season five and I found myself defending Dawn to her quite a bit. I don't hate Dawn at all, I think she was a good edition to the cast.

Dawn's life is just kinda sucks. First you find out that you aren't real, all of your memories are fake. Then a little while later, your mom dies, then your sister dies. Kind of a crappy year, huh? So she's moody and a bit bratty, hey you know, I think it's understandable she flipped her lid a few times. I was moody for lesser reasons when I was younger.

That being said, I think the thing is there are a lot of times in s5 where Dawn is written as if she is younger than she is, but it's little things. Like the stuff she would say to Riley/Buffy's friends, the questions she would ask, etc. It really didn't seem like a 14 year old, and I'm pretty sure they intended for Dawn to be younger than that but chose MT, which I'm glad they did. I'm willing to look past these little things because to me, MT is great for the role and seems to mesh with the rest of the cast flawlessly, almost like she had really been there the entire time. Chemistry with SMG was fantastic and well as with everyone else; I really felt like she had a long relationship with everyone. MT just nailed it all of the time.

I love how the gang really treated her as if they were her little sister too. Made it even more of a family unit 🙂

Also, I loved her relationship with Willow and Tara too and wish we could have seen more of it. Add that to the list of problems for Dawn (the 2 people that were there for her after her mom and sister died...well Willow kinda goes nuts and Tara dies. Poor Dawn.)

Post s5, the other issues. Her not having many friends, she does, she references them. If my older sister and her friends were saving the world every other week when my friends were talking about highschool stuff, I'd probably hang around big sis too. In s7 she seems to have grown up alot and becomes a rather cool character and one of the few things I really enjoy about s7, if my memory serves (guess we'll find out when I hit it in the rewatch).

"Get out get out get out" aside, Dawn's not so bad to me.

I don't know why, but the scene where Dawn threatens Spike about hurting Buffy just popped up in my head, I had forgotten about that, and holy crap THAT is a great scene if my memory serves.

 

[bespangeled]

I love Dawn! I do kinda wish that they'd had a really good arc for her after Season 5, but that's something we can't change.

I agree completely - in fact that is my only problem with Dawn. This wonderful glowing ball of universal green energy....there must have been something more they could have done with er. Like Anya, a 1000 year old demon, and they used her mostly as a punch line.

Not sure if anyone here reads fanfic but Nan Dibble (wrote professionally under the name of Anson Dibble) wrote a rather long involved work many years ago. In it the PTB return Dawn to her energy state and remove the memories people have of her. Spike writes her name on his arm, as I recall, to make sure he remembers her, and they fight the PTB to get her back. Now that would have been a good season!

 

[VisionBoy]

I never hated Dawn, but she could be annoying. I think in season 7, she developed into a strong, mature, intelligent woman and I absolutely loved what the writers did with her. Just a shame she wasn't spotlighted more later on.

 

[Charmander]

I'm doing my rewatch right now so I may have to come back to this once I'm done with S7, but particularly in S5 I've never understood the complaints. Her sudden entrance is one of, if not the biggest moments of the show.
In S5, she's just a 14 year old kid. Her mom is dying, and she's frequently being put down by Buffy and told by strangers, and her own mother that she doesn't exist, or doesn't belong there. It brought forward an interesting sister dynamic where for once Buffy wasn't just caring about the man in her life. As an only child myself I usually hate it when the character suddenly gets a sibling (Artemis Fowl etc) but I loved the bond between Buffy and Dawn.

 

[Moonchild]

I think my favourite part of having Dawn on board was the way they used her to show how spike had truly evolved. He seemed to have a genuine affection for her and really want to look out for her. I loved all the little nicknames he gave her.

 

[GwenRaiden]

I didnt feel that at all. They didnt feel like siblings at all. MT & SMG you could kinda see it, though.

But is that maybe just because Simon and River were male/female (whereas Buffy and Dawn were both female)? A lot of people comment that their brother/sister relationship felt sexual at times. I didn't see that at all. Simon, I thought, acted very maternal towards River, even more so than their own mother (and father). He was always flustered and worried about her and put her safety and needs first before his own, or anyone elses. Maybe the actors just didn't jam aswell as SMG and MT.

The more I rewatch, the more I like Dawn. The first couple of episodes are always tough going but it gets better. I feel a lot more love towards Dawn and Connor while rewatching and the older I get (and also since having a kid).

 

[Slay me]

I really disliked Dawn the first time through the series, but after the awfulness that is Kennedy and most of the other potentials in season 7, she gets better and better. I actually am quite a Dawn fan at this point.

 

[sosa lola]

I love Dawn. She's one of my top five favorite characters. I find her a better role model for women because she's standing side by side with Buffy and Willow without superpowers to back her up. That's real courage and it's admirable.

 

[gite63]

I've always liked Dawn, since her first episode, including her tantrums late! And in the end, she turned out to be a beautiful woman. I liked her predicament in the comics, as well (S9).

 

[Slay me]

I've always liked Dawn, since her first episode, including her tantrums late! And in the end, she turned out to be a beautiful woman. I liked her predicament in the comics, as well (S9).

I've been afraid to dive into the comic books. As much as I love Joss for creating the Buffyverse, I don't trust him with the characters. I think at some point we all want the story to go in a general direction that suits our vision. There are certain TV episodes I disregard because I think the writers went against the spirit of the character they created(ie was Cordelia's storyline a punishment for the actress getting pregnant?).

 

[weaker slayer]

Dawn Summers is a interesting character. True, she does not really have any powers other then being the key. True, when you are told you were made to be human and the goal is your personal death is a problem for any teenage girl. And true, her storyline being the key ended very fast. Then it just became more natural to think of Dawn Summers as the biological sister to Buffy Summers. Wished they had a better backstory with Dawn Summers then being the key.

True, Dawn Summers was weak. She was not a slayer, she was not a witch, she was really never going to be a slayer. Or, was she a vampire, a demon, something evil. Just the key that after time was dropped from the writers themselves. She just became human, and a sister to a slayer.

Dawn and Tara, were the weakest female characters and I am not sure of the two women who was weaker then the other. They really never had one-on-one face time with each other. Still, they are both important in their own way.

 

[redruM]

I think my favourite part of having Dawn on board was the way they used her to show how spike had truly evolved. He seemed to have a genuine affection for her and really want to look out for her. I loved all the little nicknames he gave her.

Yeah, even without a soul Spike still developed a good relationship with Dawn. I think part of the reason why is that Dawn never judged him. She felt safe with him, and I think that gave him a sense of responsibility not to betray Buffy's trust.

Michelle Trachtenberg absolutely killed that role, dare I say her dancing was the best part of OMWF.