Was anyone else bothered by Buffy's behavior in The Gift?

[white avenger]

I disagree because even though Buffy says she would sacrifice Dawn in S7 or S6 can't remember, in the last episode or second last of the TV series she sends Dawn away with Xander. She didn't want Dawn in the fight and she didn't want to say goodbye to Dawn either in the last episode. Actions speak louder than words everyone. When it comes down to it, Buffy protects those she loves the most.

At the end of Season 7, when Buffy tries to send Dawn away, she is doing it, I believe, because she DIDN'T WANT TO HAVE TO make that decision again, knowing what her decision would by necessity be: an all out, total, quite possibly suicidal frontal assault on the First Evil's forces, resulting in the deaths of everyone there. Certainly, at the particular moment that she sent Dawn away, she didn't have her plans fully laid out, and she didn't know about the Scythe or the amulet at that time. Right then, if I can be excused for the analogy, Buffy saw herself and her little army as the defenders at the Alamo, vastly outnumbered, and almost certainly doomed, but serving as an obstacle, something that could slow down the opposing army until stronger forces could be gathered and prepared.

Quite likely, further along in that note that Dawn never bothered to read, there were instructions to get in touch wit Angel and have him prepare that second front that she mentioned before (remember, she met Angel in the Guardian's crypt only a short time later that evening. It wouldn't be too great a stretch of the imagination to believe that, if he hadn't shown up, she would have sent Xander out once more, once he was fully recovered from being tasered, even if alone, to send her message to Angel.)

Anyhow, above and beyond all of the Alamo conjecture, sending Dawn away to safety isn't the same thing as ignoring the impending destruction of the world just so "the last thing that she (Dawn) will see will be me defending her." Rather, it's sending her to safety before such a decision becomes necessary.

 

[TheVoid68]

I agree with you on the point that it did seem selfish/etc. of buffy. But keep in mind she's not a 'superhero' in the comicbook sense of the word (ala superman, highest moral ground, NEVER does wrong etc. etc.).

But one of the greatest things (i've found) about buffy is that even with her strength/other gifts as a slayer, she's still a human being, and can be as close minded, selfish, confused, compassionate, caring etc. as any of the rest of us can be given the circumstances.

And as has been stated above, it's her family, flesh and blood. I mean if someone gave you a gun and said 'ok kill your parents or I will kill your 5 friends' what would you do? I mean your friends are your friends but family is family. (yea a lil microcosim senario of the whole S5 buffy/end of the world thing). but still. If buffy had been able to just say 'well.. she's a spell and i really dont want the world to end so whatever c ya dawn' what? S5 would have lasted all of 5 episodes? lol. Had to draw it out somehow. 😛

I see your point, and I don't have any problem with Buffy's behaviour in The Gift. However it does point towards a trend with Buffy, where she makes excuses for those she cares about, and is all too quick to stab those she doesn't. I'm all for flawed heroes, I just don't want one of those flaws to be that they are unheroic.

 

[MergedLoki]

I see your point, and I don't have any problem with Buffy's behaviour in The Gift. However it does point towards a trend with Buffy, where she makes excuses for those she cares about, and is all too quick to stab those she doesn't. I'm all for flawed heroes, I just don't want one of those flaws to be that they are unheroic.

But it's not necessarily unheroic to want to help those one cares about BEFORE helping random strangers. That's just human nature. We're wired to WANT to assist (in general) those we have connections with than random passerby. I mean yes in a perfect world a hero would want to help everybody equally but we, and buffy 😛, don't live in perfect worlds. (and there are plenty of eps where she has risked her life to help total strangers, or at least people she didn't know well enough to term 'friends' just not on the scale of 'the gift').

 

[Tome]

I'm not totally sure about what to say here. I understood Buffy's point but at the same time it just isn't logical. If she doesn't kill Dawn, Dawn will die ANYWAY, except everyone else will too... I do not agree about sacrificing the whole world just for a principle. So i'm more with Giles on this. Even though I understand her reason.

 

[ElmoHasAGun]

I fully agreed with what Giles said until I actually fully thought about it. Now I have a sister and if I was ever in Buffy's situation then, and call me selfish, if it came down to killing my sister to save the world, well big sorry world, you're doomed because I'm selfish and care about my family more than anything. Yes, Dawn would have died anyway, but it's like Buffy said the last thing she would have seen was her big sister and only family dooming the world so she didn't have to do that to her. Raise you're hand if you've never wanted anyone to do that for you.

 

[This Year's Girl]

I think that is one of the most beautiful scenes ever! <3 And one of the things I love most about the series is that many of the characters let their emotions get the best of them. Spike - season 5 and foward, Willow in season 6 etc. Just like real people do. it's not always the most logical thing to do, but maybe the most human? 🙂

 

[laianna]

I think that is one of the most beautiful scenes ever! <3 And one of the things I love most about the series is that many of the characters let their emotions get the best of them. Spike - season 5 and foward, Willow in season 6 etc. Just like real people do. it's not always the most logical thing to do, but maybe the most human? 🙂

Well said, I agree.

I think that by season 7 though, we can all agree that Buffy was definately thinking more wide-scale, and about herself as a slayer, rather than in season 5 where the major theme of the season was the love she could feel for someone other than a boyfriend. The cast was broader, the scope of things even seemed larger somehow. In season 5 it was just them against the world, and Buffy was younger and more ruled by her emotions.

I can see both sides of the argument but I have to say that I definately do not fault Buffy for not wanting her sister to have to die like that. Like everyone else has said, it's really human nature.

 

[dan k]

In terms of being bothered by her behaviour i'd have to say no. I suppose what she intended to do was selfish but i understood it and respected it.

You'd like to think you would have the strength to do what's right but you don't know how hard it is until your in that situation. That's why i admire the strength of Angel in terms of leaving Buffy. Something he desperately didn't want to do but he found the strength to do it because he knew it was the right thing.

 

[MergedLoki]

Random annoyance from 'the gift' (and it has NOTHING to do really with the buffy/dawn thing just something in the ep that bugged me).

When spike & buffy are at buffy's house gathering weapons etc. for the battle with glory spike says something along the lines of 'i know i'm a monster but you've treated me like a man' to buffy.

and this always bugged me for the simple fact that....

NO NO she hasn't. she repeatedly says in S4/S5/S6 all the way up to S7. 'your a killer, your a dead THING, your disgusting etc.'

that line would have been far more fitting in... well S7 when buffy started showing emotion besides 'me horny now' towards spike.

 

[Taake]

When spike & buffy are at buffy's house gathering weapons etc. for the battle with glory spike says something along the lines of 'i know i'm a monster but you've treated me like a man' to buffy.

and this always bugged me for the simple fact that....

NO NO she hasn't. she repeatedly says in S4/S5/S6 all the way up to S7. 'your a killer, your a dead THING, your disgusting etc.'

that line would have been far more fitting in... well S7 when buffy started showing emotion besides 'me horny now' towards spike.

Well I do believe it's in regards of the moment. She does invite him back into her house and she is trusting him to protect Dawn in case she fails. Since Dawn is what is most precious to her in the world at that point that is a pretty heavy responsiblity to hand over and quite an honor (in a way). Instead of treating him just as a vampire Buffy showed immense trust for him there.

And as for Buffy's behavior no, it doesn't bother me. I think someone mentioned the "would you save 1 sibling or 5 strangers earlier" and though I wish I could say that I would go for the five strangers I know that I would rather save any of my siblings, simply because I can't imagine living without them.
It may be wrong, but well... love makes you do the wacky

 

[Bungle Jerry]

An interesting comparison is with Angel in "A Hole in the World" - it's not an ideal comparison, in that Fred is not *technically* family (though it's well eastablished that Joss defines family in a different way). Angel can retore Fred, as the price of thousands of lives. Angel chooses not to - a decision my wife always condemns - not just because he balks at the price but because he doesn't want to emburden Fred witht he weight of all of those deaths. Buffy, who loves Dawn but doesn't tend to give much weight to Dawn's feelings or beliefs, never even considers this.

 

[Taake]

An interesting comparison is with Angel in "A Hole in the World" - it's not an ideal comparison, in that Fred is not *technically* family (though it's well eastablished that Joss defines family in a different way). Angel can retore Fred, as the price of thousands of lives. Angel chooses not to - a decision my wife always condemns - not just because he balks at the price but because he doesn't want to emburden Fred witht he weight of all of those deaths. Buffy, who loves Dawn but doesn't tend to give much weight to Dawn's feelings or beliefs, never even considers this.

I would credit this to Buffy's and Dawn's more mother/daugther relationship at this point. Our simply big sis/lil sis really.
In Buffy's eyes Dawn was a child and when you have a child you will lay down your life for them (I know I would for my pseudo-child, my little brother). Even if they don't want you to because them just living is so important.

Fred was an adult. She and Angel were close friends, family if you will, but their relationship was nowhere near the maternal/sister kind of relationship Buffy and Dawn had.

So yes, Angel sacrificed Fred for the sake of thousands of others. But though that was a tough decision to make I think it's hard to compare to the situation in "The Gift"

 

[Icarium]

Let's just say that Buffy's line "The ritual starts we all die" is the one line of hers I loathe the most and I pretty much hate all of season six and seven, so it's a tough competition. So yes, you could say I was bothered by her behaviour in The Gift. 🙂

It's one thing to be willing to die for Dawn or for whoever - it's Buffy's life, she can throw it away if she so desires. It's quite another thing to deliberately proclaim that your freaking friends need to die so that your (not really sister) will get a few minutes of life more. Oh, and the rest of the world will be literally going to hell too.

 

[DoughnutHole]

I have trouble siding with the idea that of course Buffy would risk everything for Dawn because she is her sister. Her blood. Because, let's face it, Dawn was a fabrication. And a character that I have never been fond of.

Of course, they endowed Buffy with a lifetime full of fake memories. So its natural that she should feel strongly about her.

As an outside viewer, who watched four seasons of the show before Dawn was even a thought... I find her behavior distressing. But viewing the situation as Buffy herself might, I guess I get it.

 

[Marisa]

I remember Joss saying that was going to be Buffy's love interest Dawn so I can understand how much she loved her do I agree to let the world end for her no but it might be different when you are right there faced with it.

I dont think it was right but I can understand but how it all turned out made that a most memorable moment to me so I like how it all came together.