"If you touch my sister, hurt her, you're gonna wake up on fire"

[Joshua]

When you heard that line from Dawn's mouth to Spike how did you react?

 

[Willow My Love]

I do believe the phrase, "Go, little Dawnie!" came to mind...

 

[Dagenspear]

How would she get gas and a lighter into the school basement?

 

[Taake]

Pretty much "Go Dawn!" I thought it was sweet that the protected turned protector (though it made me sad because I always enjoyed the Dawn/Spike friendship)

 

[Skytteflickan88]

I think that it's kind of laughable, but I guess Spike must have seen something in her eyes I didn't. I was just thinking "Look at the actress trying to act tough", but if I let myself be pulled into the scene, I see a teenager making a very serious and deadly treath to someone that can't defend himself. Sure, she did look like she was trying to hard to look bad, but the intent was there, so that would be enough to be scary to Spike. Not so scary he would call Dawn unbeliveably scary or whatever to Buffy later, but scary.

I also had a "Go Dawn" moment. It was so nice to see her not making excuses for Spike, that she was finally able to see Spike for what he was (or used to be pre-soul).

 

[xfivebyfive]

I was sad because I really liked Spike/Dawns friendship and it was over so it made me sad.

 

[Chosen Enemy]

Like @Skytterflickan88 I laughed at Dawn. Even with the chip and catching him off guard sleeping, she still wouldn't be able to pull this off. On the other hand, like [MENTION=10299]xfivebyfive[/MENTION] I felt sad that their relationship was ruined. And we never got to see if they made up. For the entire season, they didn't connect again, nothing to let us know if she forgave him.

 

[BuffyElevated]

I remember thinking "WOW!! Go Dawn!!". I didn't think Michelle played it as convincingly as she could have, but I loved Spike's reaction... The look on his face when he realized she wasn't kidding was classic. 🙂

 

[sisterofmercy]

It was the only time I ever liked Dawn but I agree that it wasn't very convincing acting.

 

[white avenger]

Mostly, I thought, "You stupid, ungrateful little twit!" and some other expletives not appropriate to be posted here. I fully realize the severity of what Spike had done, but if Buffy wanted to exact any sort of revenge on him in retaliation, that was her right, and nothing that Dawn should be either obligated or allowed to butt into. And before anyone here starts belaboring me for such an attitude, let me explain.

First of all, this was an issue entirely between Spike and Buffy, and Buffy was perfectly capable of extracting any sort and degree of revenge or restitution that she felt was appropriate. It didn't involve Dawn, Xander, Willow, Giles, or the guy with the cheese tray. This is not a case of a man overpowering some helpless woman. Both Buffy and Spike are super powered beings, as nearly equal in strength and skill as any two characters in the Buffyverse, which of itself is proof that Dawn, whatever her motivation might be, would be totally unable to carry out any such threat on a being who could hear her approaching from a city block away and smell her from the other side of town. Just about the only chance that she would have had against Spike would be to borrow Buffy's rocket launcher and take him out from long distance. And on top of everything else, she had warned him in advance. At best, he would be prepared for anything that she might try, and at the worst, he could have found her alone somewhere, and even with the chip firing, killed her so quickly that she wouldn't have any chance whatsoever to defend herself. That takes care of the stupid part.

Secondly, no matter what had happened between Buffy and Spike, it in no way negated the fact that he had been her friend, supporter, confidante, and defender practically from the first minute that she popped into existence in Sunnydale as a shallow, self centered, spoiled little brat. He had suffered for her and literally saved her life on more than one occasion, and had never hesitated a moment in doing so. All of that loyalty, pain, risk, and comfort should have earned him at the very least the opportunity to offer some sort of explanation for what he had done and what he was thinking at the time. But in actuality, that last part goes back to the part where what happened was entirely between Buffy and Spike, and none of Dawn's business, sister or not. That's the ungrateful part.

Now, I know that there are more than a few people here who are going to disagree with just about every word of this post and accuse me of blind support of one of my favorite characters in the Buffyverse, but that's the way that I see what happened. And as Buffy herself said later in the season, in the time and place where Dawn, Buffy, and Spike lived, there was no place for vendettas. The mission had to come first. With her new found maturity and insight, Dawn should have seen that quite clearly.

 

[Taake]

Yup, I disagree quite a lot WA 🙂

Mostly, I thought, "You stupid, ungrateful little twit!" and some other expletives not appropriate to be posted here. I fully realize the severity of what Spike had done, but if Buffy wanted to exact any sort of revenge on him in retaliation, that was her right, and nothing that Dawn should be either obligated or allowed to butt into. And before anyone here starts belaboring me for such an attitude, let me explain.

First of all, this was an issue entirely between Spike and Buffy, and Buffy was perfectly capable of extracting any sort and degree of revenge or restitution that she felt was appropriate.


Secondly, no matter what had happened between Buffy and Spike, it in no way negated the fact that he had been her friend, supporter, confidante, and defender practically from the first minute that she popped into existence in Sunnydale as a shallow, self centered, spoiled little brat. He had suffered for her and literally saved her life on more than one occasion, and had never hesitated a moment in doing so. All of that loyalty, pain, risk, and comfort should have earned him at the very least the opportunity to offer some sort of explanation for what he had done and what he was thinking at the time. But in actuality, that last part goes back to the part where what happened was entirely between Buffy and Spike, and none of Dawn's business, sister or not. That's the ungrateful part.

Say what? So Dawn can't feel hurt that said confidant, supporter and friend had betrayed the person she loved the most in one of the most horrible ways imaginable?

Time for vendetta's or not (and I doubt Dawn would actually have gone through with her plan either way) she was speaking rash words out of hurt, more or less marking the end of her and Spike's relationship because the trust was gone and understandably so. Just because he held her hand and played cards with her doesn't give him the right to violate her sister with a get out of jail-free-card from everyone for it.

It didn't involve Dawn, Xander, Willow, Giles, or the guy with the cheese tray. This is not a case of a man overpowering some helpless woman. Both Buffy and Spike are super powered beings, as nearly equal in strength and skill as any two characters in the Buffyverse

If someone injures someone you love you take it personally, I find it hard to think that anyone wouldn't. And the fact that Buffy wasn't 'helpless' is a crappy excuse. It's like saying that she resisted to much or too little... like really somehow she deserved the situation she got into

To me the fact that Dawn lacks superpowers makes her threat all the more powerful, emotionally speaking, Dawn knows she can't hurt Spike physically, so she hurt him the way she could and as he did care for her I do believe he was hurt by her rejection of him thereafter. But not nearly as hurt as she was, she trusted him.. he ruined that

 

[Willow My Love]

[MENTION=6758]white avenger[/MENTION] So, if your sister were in the same situation as Buffy, you'd let her handle it because it's none of your business?! I know my brothers would do a lot more than just threaten. Dawn and Buffy were really close. Not to mention, Spike had more of Dawn's trust than a lot of the Scooby gang. He ruined that. And, if I remember correctly, he doesn't apologize.

I feel like Dawn was completely justified. I would have done a hell of a lot more if someone did that to my sister.

 

[Cast No Shadow]

I'm not particularly close to my little brother, we don't really get on (which is a shame) but if anyone hurt him, I'm only 5'2" and have a small frame, I'd unleash a world of hell haha, regardless of how much stronger and bigger they are than me.

 

[Kairos]

It was the first moment that I really loved Dawn. Now she's one of my favorite characters. That was an absolutely crucial step in her character development and I'm so glad they never tried to take it away from her by giving her a squishy moment with Spike or a "Guess-I-spoke-too-rashly" line with anyone else.

 

[Skytteflickan88]

It was the first moment that I really loved Dawn. Now she's one of my favorite characters. That was an absolutely crucial step in her character development and I'm so glad they never tried to take it away from her by giving her a squishy moment with Spike or a "Guess-I-spoke-too-rashly" line with anyone else.

I would actually have loved a squishy Spike moment when Dawn tells Spike that, while she hates that it happened, she doesn't blame him for any evil deeds he did without a soul. Maybe end with a "But if you ever lose your soul... you better leave town." We only got to see Buffy give Spike that forgiveness/trust, don't we?

 

[white avenger]

Well, I said that that there were people who would disagree with me...

Strangely, I have been in almost the exact same argument, on the opposite side, arguing about how Angel should be held answerable for Angelus' actions, only to be informed in no uncertain terms that Angel with a soul can be in no way held answerable for what Angelus might have done.

My opinion still stands. Dawn was trying to interfere in something that happened between Spike and Buffy, something that was for Spike and Buffy to work out, and she had no business interfering. Assuming that Spike was actually still evil, all that she would have been doing would have been adding to Buffy's, because she would, in addition to dealing with Spike, have to worry about baby sister getting caught in the crossfire.

Dawn wasn't a big brother trying to protect her helpless little sister from some evil brute, she was a totally normal teenaged girl, about as capable of harming Spike as anyone here would be of punching out an elephant. Her so called "threat" was as ineffective as a lap dog's bark. Furthermore, if she ever had any hope whatsoever of inflicting any sort of harm on Spike, it would have had to be by catching him by surprise, extremely difficult in itself. Totally impossible after warning him that she was planning something, putting him on alert. The only person in the town capable of actually harming Spike was Buffy, and she should have been the one left to handle the situation.

 

[Flannen]

Dawn wasn't a big brother trying to protect her helpless little sister from some evil brute, she was a totally normal teenaged girl, about as capable of harming Spike as anyone here would be of punching out an elephant. Her so called "threat" was as ineffective as a lap dog's bark. Furthermore, if she ever had any hope whatsoever of inflicting any sort of harm on Spike, it would have had to be by catching him by surprise, extremely difficult in itself. Totally impossible after warning him that she was planning something, putting him on alert. The only person in the town capable of actually harming Spike was Buffy, and she should have been the one left to handle the situation.

You'd have felt differently about it if the character had actually been Dan, Buffy's older brother and it was him saying it? Why is it any different because it's a female saying it? The (justified) anger and the hurt behind those words remain the same.

In terms of my own response, a big arm waving dance! I've never thought about whether it was as convincing as it could have been but I still love the line. For me, though, it was more of a "woo, someone who isn't just going to forgive him" kind of dance 😉 In all seriousness, like others have said, it was a truly human moment that reflects the bond between loved ones.

 

[white avenger]

You'd have felt differently about it if the character had actually been Dan, Buffy's older brother and it was him saying it? Why is it any different because it's a female saying it? The (justified) anger and the hurt behind those words remain the same.

I'm not trying to deny the fact that Dawn had every reason to be angry and hurt about what happened to her sister, my point was that, like that lap dog's bark that I referred to, Dawn's threat was, at the very best, both idle and totally impossible to deliver on, and both she and Spike knew it.

And we're not talking about any imaginary big brother defending his little sister from another normal human, but to use your analogy, let's say that brother Dan was a normal high school student with virtually no fighting experience whatsoever, and Buffy's attacker was a 6 foot, 6 inch, 260 pound Navy Seal in top physical condition. Dan wouldn't stand a snowball's chance in hell of harming him, especially after warning him in advance of what his plans were. What he could, and SHOULD do, would be to report the offender to the proper authorities, people both trained and equipped to handle him. Well, guess what. In Dawn's case, the one trained and equipped to handle Spike, assuming that it became necessary, was Buffy. Hence, this was a matter for Buffy and Spike to settle between themselves, without any outside interference.

 

[Skytteflickan88]

Dawn wasn't a big brother trying to protect her helpless little sister from some evil brute, she was a totally normal teenaged girl, about as capable of harming Spike as anyone here would be of punching out an elephant. Her so called "threat" was as ineffective as a lap dog's bark. Furthermore, if she ever had any hope whatsoever of inflicting any sort of harm on Spike, it would have had to be by catching him by surprise, extremely difficult in itself. Totally impossible after warning him that she was planning something, putting him on alert. The only person in the town capable of actually harming Spike was Buffy, and she should have been the one left to handle the situation.

I actually see this a bit differently. I think Dawn knew it would be hard to kill Spike, specially after warning him. But she might have been so desperate to make a difference, that she needed to at least tell him that she would be there, trying to kill him. I mean, for all Dawn knew, he would try again. Then she would stand there, thinking "Maybe if I had threatened him, just done something, not standing there blind again, I could have made him not do it". While that isn't entirely rational, since a threat probably wouldn't have stopped the rape, that's what I would be thinking if something bad happened.

To sum up;It could be that Dawn simply wanted to make sure she helped Buffy a little bit.

And most importantly, it's a gesture of love. To stand up for someone you love, because you're worried about them AND want to show both the loved one and the bad guy that you cared and was angry and hurt on the loved ones behalf, would mean the world.

---------- Post added at 08:35 PM ---------- Previous post was at 08:27 PM ----------

[MENTION=6758]white avenger[/MENTION]

agrees: That is probably the most sensible thing that Dawn could have done, but then, nobody ever said anything about her being sensible.

I do, I do!

I had to, I'm a Dawn fan. And she did start to make sense in late season 5.

 

[white avenger]

Comments on this post
Skytteflickan88 agrees: I think a gun in Dan's case and a flamethrower in Dawn's case would even out the odds enough for them to do some damage.

Neither one of those responses would be likely to achieve the desired results. At best, the first wold have resulted in a brother in jail for murder or a sister in the same jail for attempting to steal and utilize restricted military munitions, and at worst would have the death of a brother or sister. Neither scenario would have accomplished anything except add to Buffy's already nearly overwhelming load of responsibilities.