Why did she die?

[frankie]

I think Buffy did it because it should never have been Dawn's place to. Dawn didn't asked to be created, to be a danger to the world or to be the means of saving the world. It was something that was forced on her. Just like being a slayer was forced on Buffy. Dawn should never had to make that choice. To kill herself to save the world.
Ideally Buffy should never had to make that choice either, but she was strong enough to fulfill her calling. To protect the world. She knew how important that was, she had lived enough of her life to know she could do this. Dawn wasn't there yet. I think by season 7 Dawn knew how important the mission was, and Buffy realized she would be willing to give her life for it. So if she had to, she would let Dawn die.

 

[PrincessBuffy16]

I think Buffy did it because it should never have been Dawn's place to. Dawn didn't asked to be created, to be a danger to the world or to be the means of saving the world. It was something that was forced on her. Just like being a slayer was forced on Buffy. Dawn should never had to make that choice. To kill herself to save the world.
Ideally Buffy should never had to make that choice either, but she was strong enough to fulfill her calling. To protect the world. She knew how important that was, she had lived enough of her life to know she could do this. Dawn wasn't there yet. I think by season 7 Dawn knew how important the mission was, and Buffy realized she would be willing to give her life for it. So if she had to, she would let Dawn die.

And Buffy chose to be The Slayer, to fight demons and have no life she wanted. But she accepted her faith. I think Dawn should do the same. I mean Dawn found out she is The Key at the same time Buffy found out she is The Slayer - they were the same age.

 

[Kean]

Buffy jumped because she is the Slayer and it is her sacred duty to save the world and the people in it. No matter what scenario is cooked up to replace this scene there is no way that Buffy walks away from it alive. If killing Dawn had been the only option available to Buffy to save the world then Dawn would have died but it wasn't. Buffy found a way to save the world as she was supposed to; through her own sacrifice. Buffy has always done what she has to to get the job done. In this instance it was her own death that was what was needed.

 

[Lyri]

And Buffy chose to be The Slayer, to fight demons and have no life she wanted. But she accepted her faith. I think Dawn should do the same. I mean Dawn found out she is The Key at the same time Buffy found out she is The Slayer - they were the same age.

Buffy didn't choose to be the Slayer, it was something that was forced on her at a young age, but it was something that she ultimately she learned to accept and live with. She knew, from she was 15 years old, that it was her job to die to save the world and protect those she loved most. That's what the Slayer is, that's what the Slayer is created for.

Dawn had no such sacred duty. She was an innocent girl who just happened to have a power of some kind, and a dangerous one at that. She was, and is, Buffy's sister, and Buffy knew that, if it was in her power, she would die to keep her sister safe, and she found a way to do that.

There is no way Buffy would have been able to live with herself if she knew she had the power to save Dawn, but let her die anyway. Look at how broken she was when she had to kill Angel in S2, and she had no other choice at that point. There was a choice here, Buffy or Dawn, and if Buffy had allowed Dawn to die, knowing she had allowed that to happen when she could have stopped it, it would have ultimately killed her, mentally, spiritually, emotionally and physically.

As Kean said, there is not a single scenario that we could think of in which the outcome doesn't result in Buffy's death. It wouldn't matter if Angel was still around, or Joyce, or Riley or even Faith, Buffy had the choice of giving up her life to save her sister, and she took it.

 

[owa]

And Buffy chose to be The Slayer, to fight demons and have no life she wanted. But she accepted her faith. I think Dawn should do the same. I mean Dawn found out she is The Key at the same time Buffy found out she is The Slayer - they were the same age.

You're generalizing it way too much.

Buffy's role was to protect the world and defend against the supernatural. She also knew her life was generally short to begin with (being the Slayer and all). If she lived, she was going to live a hard life, but if she died, a new Slayer comes and perhaps Dawn and all of her friends can live normal lives again.

But still, Giles explains the difference between her and everyone else; which sets up the sacrifice amazingly.

 

[Buffy Lehane]

I think Buffy jumped because, she had just lost her mother, and from the memories the monks gave her, Dawn had been there for most of her life. So I don't think Buffy could knowingly let Dawn die, when she could have done something about it. Buffy's a hero, she always puts her life on the line for people she doesn't even know. Why wouldn't she do the same for her sister?

 

[Joan the Vampire Slayer]

Buffy jumped because she had too. At the end of the day, it's the mission that matters. As she said:

Buffy: Dawn, listen to me. Listen. I love you. I will *always* love you. But this is the work that I have to do. Tell Giles... tell Giles I figured it out. And, and I'm okay. And give my love to my friends. You have to take care of them now. You have to take care of each other. You have to be strong. Dawn, the hardest thing in this world... is to live in it. Be brave. Live. For me.

Buffy believed in Dawn's capacity to live on without her. Buffy had more faith in Dawn then she'll probably ever have in herself. On one level, Buffy knew she couldn't live with herself if she had allowed Dawn to die in her place. Buffy jumped to save her sister, her friends, and ultimately the world they lived in.

Why did she leave all her friends? She didn't. Not the way she saw it. She left them so they could live. That's how much she loved them.

Then why her? Why did she made that hard decision. Was it because she loved her sister so much and wanted her to live, or because she thought she doesn't have a reason to live?

Neither. Buffy jumped because it was her job. She made a sacrifice to save the people she'd sworn to protect, Dawn included. Death was her gift, right? That was the main theme of the season.

So if he didn't left, he would be with her, so would she do the same? Would she jump even if love of her life is by her side? What do you think, would it be Angel or Dawn? I will always remember Willow's tears and Xander's face. So, I don't understand why did she jumped? Only thing I knew back then my Buffy was gone.

Would Buffy had jumped if Angel had been around? Yes. Why would he have made any difference? It would have been that much harder for her. She has shown that she can make the hard decisions when it comes to him; she drove a sword through him to save the world before. Buffy's duty comes before all else. If Angel had been around, it wouldn't have made any difference, Buffy still wouldn't have let Dawn die for her. She couldn't.

I think a lot of us, myself included, do wonder what she was thinking when she jumped. I think, on some level, she embraced the idea of dying. She saw the opportunity to die saving her friends and she took it? Who knows. I'm not saying she attempted suicide, just that she welcomed an end to it all, and rightly so.

Buffy loves Angel, but Dawn is the love of her life. She'd kill anyone for Dawn.

 

[saturn5]

Dawn is the love of Buffy's life. Dawn can live without her but not the other way around. Buffy's the older sister and should die first, she couldn't live with the guilt if Dawn died and she can't break her promise to Joyce to take care of her

 

[thevikingsgirl]

Someone may have said this already; I haven't read the whole thread. But I just finished my 2nd time through season 5, and there's tons of foreshadowing that Buffy would die. I think she died because she was tired of everything. Spike said in Fool for Love that all Slayers have a bit of a death wish. I loved his little speech to her in that episode about wondering what it was like. And you just see her over the course of that season getting more and more tired of the fight. She could save Dawn, and she could finally be done. Sure, she's special, but she's not unique. Another Slayer would replace her & fight the fight. She could just rest. I think she wanted that. Then you see how she feels in season 6, like she's in hell. The way she describes where she was. It reinforces that to me.