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Date Posted: 23:53:57 02/05/04 Thu
Author: firechilD
Author Host/IP: 203.48.107.226
Subject: The Essence of ...

I enjoyed thinking about these last week, and am going to try and knock one out every Friday.

Today ... Dawn.

Not a favourite character for so many, criticised for being too selfish and whiney. In my opinion, in giving her these traits, Joss kept the show grounded in reality in a way that, say, ‘7th Heaven’ is not (not bagging that show, and I enjoy seeing Ruthie give relationship advice to everyone else in her family, but come on now). I’m also not suggesting that all 14 year old girls, younger sister to a super hero, and raised by a single mother, would have a need to try and make themselves the centre of the Universe, but I think the Monks did their homework before creating Dawn. And so …

5.02 Real Me
An obvious one to start off with. The nice thing about introducing this character as an established member of the family, is that they had to fill in her back story pretty succinctly.

5.13 Blood Ties
Dawn discovers the truth. That she is, in a way, the centre of the Universe, and simultaneously, she is nothing at all. More importantly she learns how Joyce and Buffy feel about her, even though they know the truth. To quote The Great and Powerful Wizard of Oz as he presented the Tin Man with his Testimonial, “A heart is not judged by how much you love; but by how much you are loved by others.”

7.01 Lessons
Dawn’s first day at Sunnydale High, and she discovers that it’s everything her sister said it was. She shows that she can take care of herself, and also help others. I think this is the turning point in her maturing, which is explored again in 7.04 “Help” and culminates in...

7.12 Potential
She has ‘greatness’ thrust upon her, and when she realises that it’s mistake, she unselfishly gives it to it’s rightful owner. Having spent so long trying to show the Scoobies that she’s just as capable as them, she stands in the background during the final confrontation, knowing she needed to let Amanda take out the bad guys, so she could believe in herself, and accept her rightful place as a Potential Slayer. Sometimes the hardest thing to do, is to do nothing at all.

Love her story in “Conversations with Dead People”, and the heartbreak she goes through in "Forever". Lots of other fine moments as well, threating Spike in "Beneath You" and zapping Xander with the taser in “End of Days”, but the only other episode which came close to being included was 6.06 “All the Way”. I see it as her own summation of the first two Seasons of the show. She falls for a guy, has her first kiss, discovers he’s a vampire, and although conflicted, sends him to hell because it’s the right thing to do. Being compressed into a single evening, it's obviously not as weighty as Buffy's journey, but I think she grew alot that Halloween.

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Replies:

[> Re: The Essence of ... -- wwolfe, 12:48:13 02/06/04 Fri (161.149.63.106)

I like your take on "All the Way." That's been an underappreciated episode, in my judgement.

I'm curious to hear your feelings about Dawn's decision to evict Buffy from the Summers home at the end of "Empty Places."


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[> [> The end of "Empty Places" ... -- firecHild, 17:19:55 02/07/04 Sat (203.48.107.226)

I think it's a bit harsh to see it as Dawn's decision alone to evict Buffy. There was a long exchange leading up to it, where it was obvious that No-one was on Buffy's side, including Xander, who just the episode previously had given that stirring speech regarding Buffy's heart and commitment to the people she had to take care of. None of the Scoobies were on Buffy's side, and understandably, because of the casualties they had just suffered. In retrospect Buffy was right, but their confidence in her was leadership shaken. Then ...

BUFFY: I can't watch you just throw away everything that ... I can't stay here and watch her lead you into some disaster.
DAWN: Then you can't stay here. Buffy, I love you, but you were right. We have to be together on this. You can't be a part of it. So I need you to leave. I'm sorry, but this is my house, too.

And again, No-One jumps to Buffy's defence and says that Buffy has to stay. In that way, I think they all threw Buffy out, and to lay the blame solely at Dawn's feet is unfair.

Regarding Dawn actually saying the words, I think it took courage, and is the logical extension of the maturity that I was talking about. One of the hardest things to say in my life was telling my father, "I'm not going to vote for the same guy as you, and here's why ..." It's not an easy thing to disagree with a parent (which Buffy essentially was), but she did, because it was the right thing to do at the time. They had to be united, and if Buffy couldn't "follow" Faith, then there was no alternative.

Buffy, I think, also knew this, which was why she left, and gave Faith the pep talk on the front verandah (sorry, porch).


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