The Gift: What would Giles' had done if...

[Abby27]

if it had come down to Giles and Dawn on the platform and she had already been cut? Do you think Giles would have killed her to save the world? What is Buffy showed up? Would Buffy and Giles fight? Would Giles back off Dawn if Buffy made it clear she wouldn't let him touch her? Your thoughts:

 

[BuffyElevated]

I think Giles would have killed her to save the world. It would have been hard for him to betray Buffy that way, but I think ultimately Giles was very clear on the big picture, whereas Buffy sometimes was not.

 

[InsaneMystic]

What Britt said. Which would have made a rift between Giles and Buffy (and quite possibly the rest of the Scoobies) that might have proven impossible to heal... resulting in a more believable and less unlikeable reason for Giles to leave the show in an alt!S6.

 

[TaylorSwift]

Giles would've killed Dawn...he's all about the big picture and doing what's right, especially since he's not a hero,he doesn't have that kind of burden on his shoulders...as stated in The Gift. This would've probably caused a big fight or no-talking from Buffy's part (kinda like in season 7) but at least they would've had more time to resolve it properly.

 

[Willow My Love]

I agree with the general consensus. Giles would have killed Dawn. What choice would he have had? Big picture or not, if he had tried to save Dawn, the whole world would end.

Let's say Willow didn't get Buffy out of the comatose state she was in after Dawn was taken. So there's no, "Come near her and I'll kill you," speech. Would Giles be justified in killing Dawn to save the world then? I think so.

 

[TaylorSwift]

Absolutely...he'd be completely justified in that sense...what other choice would they have? Giles would've done it also because his person brings a certain aura of wisdom and experiences with age and cynicism so he was the only one who could've actually killed Dawn if the situation required it.

 

[Abby27]

I feel like if that had been the case, Giles and Buffy never would have been able to be ok afterwards. He would have left Sunnydale because Buffy would no longer want anything to do with him.

 

[TeamSunnydale]

yeah, i think giles would have killed dawn. and then i think there would a an unhealable rift between buffy and giles. but buffy would still be alive. but as for the other characters...i don't know... they would probably feel awkward and would have to choose-giles or buffy.... interesting.... that could have made a good storyline 🙂

 

[Joan the Vampire Slayer]

I don't think I've ever seen this topic brought up before...kudos! I thought I had seen it all.

Personally, I think if it had been Giles and Dawn up there, he would have apologized, and then let her die. And Dawn would have agreed. Remember that Dawn tried to jump but Buffy wouldn't let her. Giles would have is the difference.

But it's all a moot point because Spike, who was also there, would have never let Dawn jump, or die for that matter. He promised to protect her until the end of the world. It it had been a showdown between Giles, Spike, and Dawn (say the Doctor has already left after cutting Dawn) Spike and Giles would have had to throw down, because Spike would rather kill or be killed then let anything happen to Dawn. He'd rather the world end.

So, are you asking if Giles would let Dawn die? Absolutely. No doubt. We've seen that Giles is capable of making the hard decisions, hence Ben/Glory.

What would Buffy had done if she had been too late and Giles had let Dawn die?

 

[PassionBecoming]

I do believe that Giles would have let Dawn die/killed her/let her jump. At that point, no one knew there was any other choice. Buffy figured it out at the last minute, so the only way for the portal to close was for Dawn to die. I feel like Buffy wouldn't blame Giles so much as she would blame herself for not stopping it or letting it happen. It would be interesting to see how it played into Season 6, since at this point Buffy wasn't really herself - she was in a dark, sad place where she had given up the fight. She couldn't go on giving up what she loved to save the world. She gets that back in Season 6, though, so maybe she would have either spiraled way down and hit complete rock bottom OR maybe she would have pulled out of it faster. *Shrug*

 

[Abby27]

Haha, thanks Joan!

Yea, I mean. They could have gone that way. ASH needed to leave the show so they could have very easily had Giles leave Sunnydale because Buffy no longer wanted him in her life because he let Dawn die/killed Dawn. And if Spike had been up there, there is no question, Spike and Giles would've throw down, and Spike would have won. Which would have been interesting: Buffy and Spike against Giles. A little foreshadowing for season 7.

 

[white avenger]

Giles wouldn't have killed Dawn, no matter what the consequences. But Ripper would have, and that's who fought in that final battle, and who killed Ben in cold blood. Ripper isn't a nice person, but he gets the job done, and the job, at that moment, would have been closing that interdimensional portal. To the best of his knowledge, Dawn was the only one who could achieve that, so he would have tossed her over the side.

 

[Hale Caesar]

I'm going to sound like a broken record but Giles would have killed Dawn. It's because he knows what the greater good is and is willing to do it. Giles is such a fascinating character, and I wish this dark side had become more significant to the story.

 

[Abby27]

@nightshade

Hmmm...I totally forgot...lolz, maybe stand to pain and do it for Buffy? I mean, he was willing to shoot her in Fool for Love and deal with the pain. Maybe he would have just pushed Giles off the tower and dealt with the pain. And I gotta be honest, as time went on and the show progressed, it got to the point where I think the chip was used more as a joke for, "Oh haha, Spike punched Buffy and now his head hurts!" than an actual tool to keep him from hurting people.

Also, instead of maybe fighting Giles, Spike would have just captured Dawn and bring her to safety.