The Unnoticed Tragedy of Dawn Summers
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 26 ส.ค. 2024
- Introduced mid-show with a familial and mystical ink to our heroine, presented as the bratty younger sister and initially given very little agency within the narrative, Dawn was initially loathed by the fandom and still attracts a decent amount of hate to this day. While there are definitely writing flaws within the character’s arc and initial characterisation which can be difficult to overlook, Dawn as a character essentially lives out a tragedy onscreen and we as an audience and the characters within the show barely notice. So let’s have a closer look at Dawn Summers, and explore the tragedy that is her existence.
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I heard a head-canon to help explain why Dawn acts less mature than 14.
She is NOT a 14 yo girl. She is what a bunch of monks THINKS of as a 14 yo girl.
I like this. Headcanon accepted.
@@Fayanora thank you. Wish I could take credit. Heard it on another youtube video. Can’t remember which one.
dude! that actually helps a lot, headcanon accepted
I like that headcanon. I don't personally think it's necessary though. She got created as the Slayer's little sister with both Buffy and Joyce being simultaneously very protective of her and very dismissive of her. A lot of what she does is a mix of cry for attention and cry for independence.
@@irrevenant3 that is also a good point.
I was an adult for all of Buffy, and I thought Dawn made perfect sense when you found out what she is as well as who she has been created to be. The whole "bratty" thing was functional because she was a brand new consciousness in a teen body and a world that she only partially understands. I don't understand why anyone would hate on the character. And the actress did an incredible job, given what the character is.
We couldn't stand her because she was annoying as hell. Simple as that. Yes, you're a new magical thing, but you don't have to use every opportunity to be more annoying than the last. Look at the part where they say Willow and Tara are separating, and Dawn leaves with the classic "upset American teen departure" (as I'd call it) lmao so dramatic, when she could walk away or even stay there and say nothing. She runs up the stairs like a diva. The situation was not about her, but now everybody has to care about her? Nah, bye.
I don’t think that being an adult had everything to do with your more thoughtful understanding of the character. I guess, on the surface, if it was only the veneer and the action and the storyline someone was watching for…..for the few and far between dawns of this world, the ones who have that role then… oh, f*ck, I don’t know what what I’m saying, or more so, I know *exactly* what I’m saying, I just don’t *how* to say it. But good job, good work, you are a good un, you see deeper than just what’s on the surface.
@@audyathome7515 oddly enough, this is how people behaved before social media. Back in the days when bratty younger teenaged siblings, and bullying older teenaged siblings who forgot that there younger siblings weren’t 5 anymore was the norm. When puberty/adolescence/hormonal changes and the new and hard to handle emotions that came with them, was a phase that teen-age girls went through *and then grew out of* as they better understood the world around them, to get a grip on their emotions and handle them better, and essentially to grow up, and to *mature* Young people don’t do that anymore, grow up and mature.. instead they are trapped in that immature, over-emotional, main character, anti-social state of being, where the *whole world* is expected to drop everything to cater to the needs of 20/30/40 year old me-centric drama queens who also need to be all up in everybody’s business and making it all about them…… a fictional teen-ager on a tv show behaving like a teen-ager bothers you? Well, let me tell you real life adults in the real world behaving like a bunch of horrific, immature and out of control teenagers bothers me a whole lot more..so, it’s nah to to Instagram and the Tik Tok and the henouns and the hernouns and the ‘ my skin is so thin, don’t even *breathe* near me or I’ll break’ look at me, I’m so different, I’m so special f*cken freaks, that *I’m* supposed to cater to 24/7 main characters for me.. and a a longing to return to a place in the not so distant past.. when things were more good than bad, and teenagers grew up.
@virginiaviola5097 wtf? A whole lotta nothing is all I saw. You complaining that real people are processing their emotions in a way that pisses you off is not my problem. I'm all for the change of culture about the ways we treat ours and others' emotions, so I suggest you ask yourself deeper questions about why you felt this need to rant so unnecessarily, but an annoying/boring fictional character can get the boot. Dawn doesn't get a pass because she's a teenager, that's too easy.
@@virginiaviola5097 Thank you. also have delusions of being a writer ... there's a fan fic where Spike and Dawn ran away after Joyce passed ... Not sure where that is these days. Probably just as well.
The episode where Dawn is ''inserted'' into the buffyverse was to me one of the most surreal TV experiences. You have no idea what's going on.
It was a brilliant idea, and kind of shows the viewer who they are. For me, Dawn's behaviour was understandable, because how would any spell designed to turn a magical force into a person be able to coalesce all the growth and experiences of a person seamlessly? Then once the explanation is given, wow, how on earth would a person deal with that.... Kudos to Michelle Trachtenberg for her portrayal.
@@disgruntledmum4916 To me it was that they were saving time & cost (episodes) to introduce her so they just put her in this way. Season 5 just ended on Fuse channel & they're on episode 4 of Season 6 & I have to say Dawn looks selfish & spoiIed & is very annoying with the trouble she brings that the group has to fix. Other times I feel compassion for her but ya she played her part well
I still remember the utter confusion I felt!
Agreed!
My sister and I both said “what?!” At the same time and just sat with our mouths hung open in silence.
The way she was brought into the series and the mystery behind her was absolutely brilliant! Although waiting until the fall when we found out who or what she was was torture lol, we actually took the time to rewatch every episode up until that point to see if we ever missed anything haha (we taped every episode on VHS 😂) and now I feel old and need to go lay down 😂
@@theresaclarkofficial lol ah yes! VHS!
"You sleep, right?"
"Yeah?"
"Ok, I know I can't take you in a fight, but if you ever hurt my sister again, you're going to wake up on fire."
she had some truly badass lines occasionally
as someone who had neglectful parents Dawn's actions always made sense to me, ESPECIALLY the shoplifting and I'm honestly disappointed they didn't go further w her rebelling for attention.
also love how when she's about to finally sing how she feels in the musical ep she gets kidnapped before she can, reaffirming her place as Buffy's damsel-in-distress little sister, a pawn to get to The Slayer
No, if they had gone any further in Dawn rebelling, it would have been predictable and boring.
Stuff like that did not last in the 90s. It was kind of a show killer.
The reason for that is that it was a heavily used plot in the 80s.
Especially on the Lifetime channel, so by the 90s people wanted to get away from that creative wise.
I was born in 78 so I've seen the arious shows throigh arious generations, wha plots were eavily used, etc as well as what they wanted to get away from.
So, you don't see a lot of the extreme girls gone too far.
Except in specific movies like Poison Ivy (1992 starring Drew Barrymore, then in part II it starred Alyssa Milano oh and there's a Poison Ivy Secret Society 2008)
Girl, Interrupted (starring Angelina Jolie)
Crush (starring Alicia Silvertone)
Thirteen
Plus, every damn lifetime movie ever made.
Specific movies were the target for that not tv shows anymore. People stopped watching.
But isn’t that just the writer lamp-shading the lazy way he chose to utilise the character as a damsel?
Well that was her part to be played
Protected and a damsel in distress
Otherwise she wouldn't need the slayer
She did sing in one if the episodes and is very good
She was kidnapped because she was wearing the demon's talisman which she stole from the magic shop. The demon didn't know she was the slayer's sister until she told him.
For being as young as she was at the time, Michelle Trachtenberg acted wonferfully. So much emotion.
Me in the 1990s : "Why is Dawn so annoying? No one acts like that! This is so unrealistic!"
Me after raising two teenage girls: "Oh."
you're damn right dude 🙂
I'm currently watching buffy for the first time at 19 and I'd have to say if all of this happened to me I'd probably would have acted the same way just a few years ago lol
"A teenage girl acting like a 10 year old" That always irked me. I always though Dawn was 13 or 14 and I thought Dawn acted her age. I really liked Dawn when she was introduced. It maybe because she was Michelle Trachtenberg and Harriet the Spy and Inspector Gadget were two of my favorite movies as a kid but I was around 14 or 15 when I started my Buffy journey and when Dawn was introduced I loved her and I related to her so much more than I did with buffy almost as much as I related to Willow.
TV show's always tend to sexualize teenage girlhood. Its nice to have a navie kind hearted teens portrayed
I always thought she acted a little immature for her age because she wasn't REALLY a teenager and had only existed as a human for a few months, so at first, her behaviour was closer to how the Monks THOUGHT a teenage girl would behave.
@@seaztheday4418 that's an interesting way of perceiving things. I think that Dawn acts like a normal fourteen-year-old girl who's the youngest in their family. Fourteen is an age right when your in the middle of things it's just as close to 10 as it is to 18. All of Dawn's memories and the memories given to everyone that knows her is of her being sheltered and a little spoiled.
SAME, Harriet the Spy was one of my favorite movies as a kid. when that first episode aired with Michelle in it, I was so confused but EXCITED. I was like "it's Harriet!!" I thought it was so kool seeing her join Buffy, my favorite TV show at the time ( and still is ).
I once knew a 15-year-old whose behaviour was very bratty and unbearable. She was very immature. Unfortunately, she was also pregnant by an older man at the time. The baby had to go into care because she was too immature to care for it.
I NEVER thought Dawn acted 10. I worked in secondary schools for years - I know the difference between an 11-year-old Year 7 and a 14-year-old Year 10! When I first heard Dawn was originally supposed to be 10, my immediate thought was, 'Well, either Michelle Trachtenberg didn't WANT to play a younger character or had not had enough experience as an actress yet to do so, because she was obviously acting her age from the start.' Dawn was the ONLY character, apart from Cordelia, who I thought behaved like an actual teenager that I might meet in one of my classes. Buffy, Xander, Willow - were all far more university-student mentality in their independence, angst and disregard for authority.
Teenagers may FIGHT authority, but they have to accept it as part of their life to be dealt with nonetheless. University students and young professionals don't have to. Buffy's 'The Council is just oppressive and I will ignore them' was simply NOT how teenagers treat adult control systems even if they hate them.
I think the problem is people are used to seeing teenagers acted by early-twenties actors and so get a false idea of what REAL teenagerhood looks like. At nineteen, Sarah Michelle Gellar doubtless thought she was close enough to 16 still to just be herself in the role. The problem was it's not the year gap but a different social status that matters - a nineteen-year-old ADULT PROFESSIONAL is simply further removed in mentality from a 16-year-old MINOR STUDENT, than that 16-year-old even would be from a 10-year-old fellow student.
I think Charisma Carpenter was so bang on as Cordelia because she was in fact in her 30s: old enough to know she would have to act DIFFERENT to portray a teen, and with the years of acting experience to do so convincingly.
Just my thoughts on the subject. As a teacher, Buffy was a very thought-provoking show from an unusual angle!
I never understood the hate Dawn got. I’m an older sister that ended up having to parent my younger sibling. Buffy and Dawn’s relationship meant so much to me. It felt incredibly real and I felt seen in a way I hadn’t before. Most shows aren’t willing to go as far as Buffy did, and not show the real struggles that comes with it. And I understood where Dawn was coming from. I even understood some of her immaturity and brattiness because it was clear that she was being coddled by pretty much everyone close to her (who was older than she was) and she didn’t have many friends her own age she interacted with.
This was a great video and I enjoy these character analysis a lot. 😊
shie has 1 word coutries trouble nothing bad
@@karol-to8ir she was a total unnecessary addition to the show and came out of nowhere as an annoying screaming baby
@@karol-to8ir Losing a parent at 15 isn't a "1st world country" problem.
How coddled she was frustrated me. There's a scene in Season 7 where Buffy puts down the now-16-year-old Dawn's request to 'wear high heels more often.' In Season One, before Buffy's mother even knew Buffy was the Slayer, she NEVER controlled her wardrobe (much of which would not have been permitted at any school I ever worked at!) or going to the Bronze or dictated her movements at that age. The hypocrisy of Buffy treating Dawn like she was too young to do NORMAL girl things (not Slayer things) that she and Willow and Cordy and Harmony had been doing at the EXACT SAME AGE, really annoyed me!
@@cmm5542 Actually I feel Buffy being overbaring kind of fit the situation. Buffy is suddenly thrust into the motherhood role. She doesn't know what shes doing. She didn't raise her from baby, to child, to teen, she justs inherits a teenager when her brain itself isn't even finished growing. I feel like her at times being overbaring is a projection of what she thinks she *should* be doing as a parent. In the way that she couldn't understand her mothers rules for her. She doesn't know how to be a parent, at times she doesnt even know whats "normal" for herself, so she overcompensates.
That speech with Xander always brings me to tears - probably because so many of us wish someone would see us and as we are and think it magnificent.
That's where quite the bit of fanfic have Dawn and Xander be a couple.
@@kurtsnyder4752 they're also canonically on and off in the comics when Dawn is an adult
I teared up at the 'You're extraordinary' bit in this video so yeah...
That was my favorite Dawn episode.
@@catmintjulepsupposedly Joss Whedon created her character as a love interest specifically for Xander which squicks me out to no end as well
One aspect of Dawn's story I love is how quickly Buffy came to love Dawn as her sister. In 5x9 Listening To Fear, when Joyce is alone in her hospital room with Buffy, she tells Buffy that she had a feeling that Dawn wasn't hers. I love how Buffy embraces Dawn and loves her, even sacrificing her own life for Dawn. I feel like Dawn's arc is in a sense a window into Buffy's story also.
That scene with Joyce was really powerful.
When Joyce says that Dawn feels like she's hers even though she isn't and begs Buffy to protect her
One theory I have is Dawn being made from Buffy is she's Buffy's innocence. The version of her before she became the slayer. Buffy nearly says as much in "the gift " she says "she's a part of me , the only part I .." before stopping. Dawn Is Buffy without the super strength and Buffy treats her like her innocent child / teenage self. Trying to shield her from the horrors of the world but also keeping a distance between them as part of the cringe factor of looking back at your younger self. What Buffy can't recognise is that Dawn is experiencing everything she's going through, without the slayer abilities. They were inadvertently stunting Dawn's growth to protect her innocence. In "grave " we seen Dawn was more capable of defending herself than anyone thought possible, but she needed the belief in her to do so.
Dawn went through that whole 'mystical key' arc, which saw all of our characters focusing on Dawn's safety. Then, the danger passes, and suddenly all the characters showing concern for Dawn, and making sure she was okay, was done for the most part. They had other concerns. Imagine as a TEEN that you have all that attention on you, even if it was negative sometimes, and then it just stops. And, all those people couldn't give you the time of day anymore. Sometimes, they don't bother checking if you're safe. When they were just going to the ends of the earth to ensure that very thing..... So, yeah.. .I get it, she's whiny. I give her that.
I mean, after that like every 2nd-3rd episode was her getting into some sort of danger. So it's not like the gang protecting her completely went away, even in season 7 they still protect her in some ways(example; making her stay home and read books for them)
I just don't even see her as whiny when compared to BUFFY. Yes, Dawn complains about her struggles in life - but SO DOES BUFFY, CONSTANTLY!!!!
And Buffy has superpowers to make the Slayer struggle easier for her. The others, including Dawn, are experiencing the same horrors without the natural protection of super-strength or the high status Buffy gets. Her whining about her loneliness (when she has all these loyal devoted friends and adoring suitors 🙄) annoyed me much more than Dawn complaining about how worthless she felt - considering the others, including Buffy, mostly DID just treat her like a worthless burden. Except for Spike.
@@cmm5542 thank you so very true, it use to wind me up with Buffy constant whining and how the others pandered to her at times, when Dawn was introduced, I loved how she came into being and not knowing what she was. I think the one thing I hated the most was when Tara was killed off in the show.
I miss the show one day I will buy the whole DVD collection for my library 😹😹 I found that in Australia they often skipped episodes which leave wondering what happened. Specially the last season.😼😼
@@Charlie-xu4fw Which I suspect was kind of the point. I suspect on some level she was engaging in risky behaviour to draw the attention of the others and reassure herself that they still cared. She was understandably insecure in a lot of ways.
Yeah, but most teenagers who go through trauma are more mature, not less. They act like they're 13 going on 50.
One of my favorite lines from the series is "Dawn's in trouble. Must be Tuesday." I think a lot of the hate stems from her less mature behavior, but people tend to forget that, aside from the psychological trauma she experiences, not only is she newly human, she is also a teenager, and who knows what those rampaging hormones can do when you add them to the mix.
I suspect part of the issue is that Dawn is quite a few years younger than the others. She actually doesn't behave that differently than Buffy did at the start of S1. But by the time Dawn comes along we've spent four years watching Buffy grow up and become more mature. Dawn is effectively an S1 character suddenly dropped into S5.
Also she has a *really* annoying shriek.
I like Dawn tons now, but it took me a while.
It was less of a comment on Dawn, and more of the fact that it's a weekly show... that aired on Tuesday. Dawn just became the person in trouble, because everyone else over time was shown to be able to handle themselves.
@@TheOJDrinker Yes I know the origin of the line. I still like it.
@@michaelolivero1626 I think the origin of the line is a playful reference to the film "If It's Tuesday, This Must Be Belgium".
@@paladin677 the show aired on Tuesday, so the joke was that if Dawn is in trouble the TV show must be on and thus it must be Tuesday
Love Dawn, always have. Her threatening to set Spike on fire if he tries hurting Buffy again is one of my favorite moments of the show. You try existing as an actual McGuffin some psycho demon created for your timeline and try being well-adjusted. And she manages to still grow. Atta girl.
This is such a GREAT scene.
Dawn isn't stupid 😂, younger Sisters are very observant and understand far more than others gives them credit for.
I adore that she sticks up for her older Sister and wants to protect her too.
Dawn was often misunderstood, and she was a teenager. Everyone needed to give her a break.
Spike knew that.
That's why I loved their bond too. Spike nearly died to protect Dawn countless times.
@@LarissaFay Oh, I love Spike and Dawn. That's why the scene I mentioned also has a tragic undercurrent. Quite frankly I liked them as quasi siblings much more than whatever Buffy and Spike had.
@@bespectacledheroine7292 So did I. I really didn't like Spike prioritizing a girl who didn't love him back before a devoted 'kid sister' who always had his back from the start; it seemed unfair to me.
Like the scene in Season 5 where Spike tells Buffy 'I know I'm a monster, but you treat me like a man' made me want to SCREAM! (Louder than I would if being attacked by Angelus 😅.) It was DAWN who saw Spike as more than a monster, and Joyce, and initially to some extent Willow before they dropped the ball on their relationship. Buffy only recognized it after Spike had proved himself multiple times; it was Dawn who believed in him even before he deserved it, and it bugged me that there was never a scene where he told HER how much he appreciated her for that - it was obvious he did from their rapport, but I would have liked an actual acknowledgement 🤷♀️
@@cmm5542 So here's the thing about Buffy's treatment of Spike. I don't blame her, Spike only stopped killing people because it was forced upon him, arguably only came to love Buffy because of this "taming." Buffy, as a slayer, understandably treats him how she does. But I do approve of how Dawn sees him too because if he's ever to be reformed (Which I do believe is possible with vamps in a way it isn't with human serial killers because the former had to feed), he needs someone like Dawn. I too wish he'd seen how the other Summers women cared about him infinitely more than Buffy, but the writers took crazy pills and something that started as a joke in Something Blue became something we're meant to take seriously later on. This show is dearer to me than most TV, but that Spuffy was ever a thing is deeply whack. Drusilla x Spike forever honestly. ❤🔥✨🩸😈
@@bespectacledheroine7292 Yes, I'll always be Sprusilla! ❤
Once I realised who Dawn was and the mystery was revealed I very much liked and enjoyed Dawn's journey. I didn't realise people were irritated by her character until well after the series ended - and it did surprise me. That conversation with Xander - where Dawn's realised she isn't one of the Chosen and it does hurt her to the core but she keeps it inside and just gets on with what needs to be done - that about ripped my heart out. I think I might have screamed if Xander hadn't validated her and showed her he'd seen her courage. Thank you, that was a fascinating video 😊
Yes, I feel exactly the same! 🙂
That moment with Xander was great, but it was also like two-and-a-half seasons after Dawn first appearance. I think most of the backlash was earlier in her run.
Yeah, the conversation with Xander was one of the top two most meaningful parts of the show, all seasons. The other was when Buffy goes off to fight Angel after telling Giles and co. that they were a burden to her, and then Angelous laughs at her and says not everything is about her.
There is this weird rift between being there at the right place at the right time and being called a hero for doing that... and the person who makes sure that right place and right time can happen and are known to the character. In a series with superpowered vamipre slayer girl, more powerfull than existence witch, a reformed demon from hell, the deckard cain standin with 1000 years of knowledge and metric tonnes of books.... there's Dawn.... and Xander. They're aren't special themselves but they make sure the special ones can be special. I loved the hellpriest pointed this out by adressing Xander as "the one who sees it all" and punishes him by gauging out an eye... just keep this in mind... Malachi simply killed other potentials with not as much as a second thought but he saw it fit to TORTURE Xander before trying to kill him.
Dawn and Xander are special in the fact that they aren't special but still do the things they do.... no superpowers required for them.
Being a teenager is difficult enough, imagine finding out that every memory you ever had, and every memory everyone you love has OF you was just a fabrication ... I found it very chilling. Then again, I was too young for Buffy during its original run, and didn't get into the show until college.
I’m a guy but I have a younger sister. Dawn was an amazing character and I always found her to be an amazing addition to the show. She’s so true to the type, and the fact she is annoying isn’t really her fault, but more of a negative loop caused by her elders/the fans, just like real life. Her kleptomania is her fault, however, and it does a good job layer the character. Instances where she is just a victim such as the body really bring out deep and genuine emotion.
Overall, I think the complexities of dawns character are very similar to a real life little sister: you have to learn where she’s being annoying and where she’s just responding to everyone being annoyed by her.
shie has 1 word coutries trouble nothing bad
@@karol-to8ir Losing your mother as a teenager is a "1 word coutries trouble" and "nothing bad"? Ok.
@ Karol 333: nothing tells people you have nothing worthwhile to say like posting the exact same comment multiple times in the comments to a sinfgle video.
@@danielschneider9312 Does anyone know what the comment means? I'm still trying to understand it.
I really enjoyed this video. I’m always amazed at the hate that Dawn gets. I’ve always felt that she was a tragic character who grows and matures so much, especially in the last season. The fact that she was willing to jump at the end of Season 5 shows how caring, strong and brave she is, and also how much she is like her sister.
shie has 1 word coutries trouble nothing bad
Buffy, by the end of the show, was hardly the most caring character. And while the writing for Dawn was never that great, she was less bratty by the end than her older sister.
I came here to say the same sort of thing. Buffy is undeniably a hero, but by the end of the series (I would argue by series 5), she's not really a great person, while Dawn goes from being a (fairly believably portrayed) annoying little sister to a very cool young woman.
Who hates her???
I think people are so used to seeing kids in tv shows reacting to horrible situations like tv characters that a lot of people find it uncomfortable to see them responding like a child actually would. It’s the same reason so many people hate Shinji Ikari for crying so much
I always really liked Dawn’s character and I love this video because somebody finally pointed out how tragic the character is.
I feel like you leaving out the relationship Spike and Dawn had after Buffy's death to be a bit odd considering everyone ignoring her stopped fully at him. He was the only one who never stopped caring. Even before Buffy's death he was always a watchful eye. Which is why when he did attack Buffy it was even more heartbreaking for her.
That always stuck out to me too, Spike promised Buffy to always protect Dawn and did so even after her death it was very heartwarming and showed a “human like” quality to spike and that turned a lot of fans in the buffyverse pro Spike I believe.
I remember being so confused when I was a teen watching Buffy and Dawn appeared. But then, the explanation blew my mind, I loved it so much
I always felt really protective of her character. I recognized the raw deal she got, and that she was basically exactly what Buffy AND the Scoobies needed to stay grounded in the save the innocent roll instead of growing jaded and disconnecting like the direction they were all sort of heading in.
Agreed.
I didn’t know that Dawn’s character got a lot of hate. Back when it aired I remember thinking it was really cool how they just dropped a big mystery into the dynamic of a show that we’d gotten to know, it gave us something fresher and new (especially how they just injected her into the narrative without explanation, it made the show more interesting) it also added to Buffy’s character by given her a family connection in the main group of characters, as well as expanding her character to having a “mothering” role, which only added to the importance of her role a slayer/everyone who’s lives depend on her.
Introducing a character this way could have been pretty disastrous for a show, but it was really well written and had great actors. Even Dawn being annoying at times worked well, she was the annoying little sister, and her brattiness was explainable for a child dealing with everything happening in her life. (I never personally got a sense that Dawn acted younger than her age)
I was thinking along the same lines. I'm only a slightly more than casual fan, but until seeing this video I've never heard of hate towards Dawn's character. I think some sort of citation or specific quotes from notable critics from the author here to back up this notion would be helpful. Also need to judge from the source whether this "hate" is just random trolling, something that was gaining momentum at around the time the episodes aired. It certainly isn't like when Joss Whedon decided to kill Tara... I remember clearly the controversy made it on the news. Even looking back on that decision, and while I recognize the risk they were taking and applaud the willingness to take such a risk, I still think he and the writing staff really missed the mark on Willow's story arc afterwards. That is the most heart wrenching tragedy - the director's failure to turn such a dramatic moment into something worth airing.
YES!!!
@@Kevin_Underhill I've seen a lot of hate for Dawn on BtVS fan channels, and never understood it.
I didn’t like her because I felt like there was a scooby gang and she was an interloper … it just seemed like an addition that was not really exciting but the death of a series to bring in something that was totally random and new - a step before when series start musical episodes and muppet episodes .. cartoon episodes … the zenith’s crest of a series’ end.
That's the importance of season 7, that season fixed the relationship between Dawn and Buffy, the show is really complex and dark at times, because seems to me that the plot tried to explain or be an example of, what happen when your sister is indeed your mother kind of way. Dawn was created with Buffy blood, she is more her daughter, than her sister, if we think more deep in this concept.
Thank you for giving Dawn her due.
I must comment though, that my 14 year old Great Niece and all the kids her age act as immaturely, and even moreso, than Dawn ever did.
As do my secondary school students! Dawn was comparatively MATURE based on my local average! 😆
Michelle is an underrated actress she is ethereal and pure
I always imagine the monks trying to assemble the false memories of everyone, and having to keep starting over because Dawn always gets killed in Season 2.
Is it because Angelus kills her in place of Jenny or after Jenny?
Buffy the show has really skilled cryers. Alyson Hannigan is one, Michelle Trachtenberg is another. They make their tears feel so real and full of pain, and they often spit out lines through bubbling tears which feels less like a pretty soap opera and more like a real person breaking down in front of you. Sarah is from soap operas so her crying is still a little too perfect to feel real. Hannigan’s real crying and acting crying are nearly identical
I think the two moments that come to mind where SMG's crying feels more "realistic" is that second after she realizes she killed Angel right at the end of season 2 and then again when she confesses to Tara that she's been sleeping with Spike, begging her not to be forgiven
There is a scene in Angel, where Buffy does a crossover. She is crying so realistically that Angel calls her Sarah. He broke character because she was so upset. It got left in the final scene, and it's heartbreaking. So I am going to have to disagree. SMG can make me cry with just a look.
@@randomlibrawhich episode is that?
@@AdonisAngeloLexiYanulis Season 1, episode 8.
"I Will Remember You"
Right before the last minute runs out, Buffy cries that she doesn't want to forget. It's heartbreaking.
@@randomlibra i just watched the episode and OMG…I have to calm myself down and collect my thoughts and emotions!
When she licks the peanut butter off of his chest! And she says it’s “a PERFECT moment” smiling and feeling “like a normal girl” while laying on his chest!
Not to mention the teary eyed, hurried final goodbye scene…”that’s NOT enough time…I’ll never forget” ugh…my Heart! 💔
Some of Sarah’s BESTEST acting ever, all episode long! And their chemistry…God Damn!
TV these days just doesn’t hit the same!!! 💘💘💘 Buffy & Angel FOREVAH!!! & yah Sarah can really cry genuinely and evoke that sad heartbreaking feeling in others JUST RIGHT! 💯💔🕊️
I always liked Dawn and felt bad about how she was treated by fans. I thought her character was very interesting and just gets stronger as the series goes on.
I've never been on the Dawn hate train, but did find her a bit annoying at times. I felt she was quite redeemed in most people's eyes by season 7. She also displayed some amazingly selfless/brave qualities since the beginning.
As if any of us can comprehend or even begin to understand Dawn's perspective on her S5 arc. Then to process her S6 arc. Poor girl has gone through a lot.
I think I actually had a fairly unique first experience of BtVS and of Dawn's introduction as a character in the series - the very first episode I happened to watch was episode 1 of season 5. And then I continued from there, going through season 5, 6, 7 only to then start at the beginning and watch 1, 2, 3, 4.This meant that I actually discovered that Dawn was "new" and not part of the buffyverse before season 5 at the same time as Buffy discovered it on the show.
So while I missed out on experiencing the show's gaslighting of its fandom by inserting a sister and just acting as if she'd always been there - which I personally think is an amazing experiment - I got another experience, which was also really fun. And it also meant that I never really felt that the insert of Dawn as a character was jarring in any way - I think instead I felt about her much like the scoobies did, that I understood intellectually that she hadn't always been there, but it still felt to me like she had. :D
As an older sister myself, to 3 younger brothers, I also felt Dawn to be a very believable portrait of a younger sibling. Her sometimes "bratty" response to constantly living in the admired and chosen Buffy's shadow seems more than understandable and something that I've seen more than a few times irl. And while that can definitely be irksome, I never felt that it was even close to how incredibly annoying I found the equally believable Xander's whole incel-vibey attitude and behaviour throughout the series.
The temper tantrums were my biggest problem with Dawn. Aside from that, I'd have bought her as slightly immature instead of very immature.
I'm curious if anyone that started on S6 wondered where Dawn was at upon watching the earlier seasons? People used to gas-light newbies in the news groups once in a while explaining where Dawn was at in various pre-Season 5 episodes.
@@mikechappell4156 I don't get why people consider temper as 'immature.' People who have hot tempers and fly into rages when life is unfair simply have different personalities than those who cry or withdraw. Some people are taught when young to control their emotional responses, whatever they are; but most are not and react the same way through life.
I find it very discriminatory and judgemental when people call anger a more 'immature' response than something like Buffy's entitlement. You'd think after seven years she would have realized that the existence of evil is simply how things are and having to deal with it in a manner you're especially equipped for isn't any greater burden than anyone else, so grow up and accept reality. By the end of the show, I found Buffy MUCH more immature than Dawn - her 'I HATE that evil exists' speech in Season 7 was just so naive; by now she should know that the existence of evil is simply a part of life she knows how to deal with, and stop whinging!
@@cmm5542 It's the people never learn to emotionally regulate that are deemed as immature. The fans likely expected Dawn to be able to emotionally regulate better at 13 than she did.
As the youngest sister in my family I always could empathize with Dawn despite some brattiness. I knew what it was like to be treated like a child but expected to be strong in what can be a very dark and serious world. I’m happy that she’s getting her flowers now 💝 💐
I'm the youngest and it wasn't like that for me 😅 I was the spoiled brat everyone loved, "loved," and treated like the most precious little thing more often. I'm in tye boat know, being 26, and it still sometimes feels like they don't take me seriously. Cause I'm the dumb youngest 😂 it's all working out though
I was so disappointed by the end of the show that she never ended up having any cool powers from being a key
Yeah, there was a huge missed opportunity with Dawn being the Key - an ancient mystical entity that's existed since the dawn of time - as well as being a teenage girl who's the younger sister of THE Slayer. Once Glory is dealt with, the Key thing comes up again during Willow's rampage, but otherwise is pretty much entirely forgotten - almost like it was just an excuse to add the character rather than an actual part of her conception.
Something similar happened in Doctor Who with the whole Impossible Girl thing - once the original story around it was wrapped up with the reveal of how and why Clara was the third version of the same person to turn up in the Doctor's life, the whole thing was dropped and we're left with just Clara - an ordinary human with no special insight or understanding from what she experienced...
I think the biggest problem with the show was that there seemed to be a contrived attempt to not let anyone outshine Buffy - even just on occasion. It ruined her character for me. Buffy was imperfect though heroic, and there SHOULD have been episodes where one of the many other cool characters took the lead.
Willow was the smart one - I was expecting their friendship to be a real equal partnership of 'brains-and-brawn' but she always remained Buffy's sidekick in her shadow - her attempt to be her equal was seen as 'evil.' Faith too was destroyed simply to keep her from being actual competition for Buffy. Dawn was not allowed to keep her superpower or have the teenage freedom Buffy had to actually accomplish something. Spike was the only one whose views occasionally took precedence over Buffy's by Season Six, and so they attempted to undermine his worth in Seeing Red.
I felt it was actually disrespectful to Buffy's character and Sarah Michelle's amazing portrayal to engage in such paranoid plot development. Buffy would not have ceased to be a beloved and emulated heroine even if they had shown other characters being better than her at SOME things - it actually would have made her more relatable, and taken some of the endless pressure off the character.
Her being the key ends after the portal and the time for Glory to go elapsed. After that she is really just a teenager. Her arc made perfect sense to me from the start to the end. I watched it when tit aired and remember all the hate and still see it. I don't get it and is sad they were hating on the actress not just he character.
The thing I keep thinking off with the portal is what happened to be Dragon that came through. Was it still flying around somewhere after season 5?
@@nicholasgarratt5646 Doesn't Willow see Dawn as glowy Key energy when she's high on magic during Season 6?
No idea whether it's the same dragon, but there's one that turns up at the end of Angel Season 5 three years after Glory was dealt with.
@@rmsgrey Yes she does (and ants to change her back to energy), but her purpose for being the key has ended. she is still just a teenager to everyone else with ny skills learned from Buffy (and no mystical key abilities).
I did think it might be the same dragon, still hate the ending to Angel. Both the final episodes really should been a 2 parter or at least an hour long. Angel should have had another bit after the cliffhanger. I didn't want to have to watch a comic just to find out what happened next.
I always liked Dawn. I liked the mystery of her when she was first introduced. Admittedly, I was confused and (it turned out) wrong about why she was there, as my initial thought was that she was "the new character adds new life to show" idea producers have constantly failed at. But for me, she was successful in that I quickly came to like her.
Yes, she was bratty. But that reminded me of myself, at her age, with my siblings. They were cool, and I wanted their attention. Of course, knowing her true origin, it makes even more sense that she "acted like a ten year old".
She didn't know it, but she was still new to the world. All the emotions and feelings that she would have grown into understanding, she was just learning.
Anyway, Rachel you did a wonderful job with this video. I feel like I understand & appreciate Dawn Summers, & by extension Michelle Trachtenberg, even more than I already did.
Thank you. 😊
I really liked her when I first watched the show. Sometimes I was annoyed at her but the twist of her not being ‘real’ and how much I was thrown when they first introduced her was just so interesting and like nothing I’d ever seen outside of an episode of Star Trek or twilight zone, but to have kept up the strangeness with 0 explanation for several episodes really blew my mind at the time.
Shows back then just didn’t do stuff like that and I thought it was so cool and different that it ended up building a lot of good will towards her. She’s a character I still remember fondly
Loved the video. For me I started warming up on dawn in season 6 during the shows original run and was very satisfied with her finally being allowed to come in to her own. I had no clue about the character being intended to be younger so it does help out those earlier episodes into perspective. Anywho I think this video does an amazing job at breaking down dawn as a character and her journey.
My favorite was gaslighting newer fans that Dawn was always there...
Excellent video. You said everything that needed to be said. Watching Buffy as a kid, I thought she was just annoying and useless as a character. Rewatching as an adult I’m like- wtf? Someone help this girl, I feel so bad for her. Which is weird because you’d have thought I would have liked her more when I was younger since she’d have been more relatable, maybe I just saw my own childish, bratty behaviour reflected in her and didn’t like it 😩. Must’ve been hard for Michelle too, imagine being cast in your favourite show only to be hated 😭 if I ever meet her I’m gonna hype her up and show her so much love ❤
The fact that Dawn has a character arc proves to me that she was always meant to be more than a bratty interruption.
How can they set up a character as an antagonist to Buffy and expect her to be liked? Then make her bratty instead of funny or charming? Was a recipe for disaster
I’ve always loved Dawn. The moments when the show brings me to tears even after many, many viewings are predominantly in Dawn’s reaction to events. Michelle Trachtenberg’s performance in the role is phenomenal. There is just something I find alluring about the innocence and vulnerability displayed in the character.
Nicely put. I've never been a fan of Dawn, but I'll view her with this in mind next time I watch. There's always something new to experience when rewatching this series!
Such a great video, as always! Your character analyses are always so insightful. I've never quite understood the level of hate that Dawn's character gets... Maybe it's because I'm a younger millennial, so I was closer to Dawn's age when first watching the series, but some people really seem to hate her character and I just don't get it. Yes, she was annoying and bratty (especially at first), but I think that's kind of the point. Even though Michelle Trachtenberg was like 14 in season 5, her child-like babydoll features read even younger to me, even to this day. Even if Dawn was originally envisioned as a 10 year old, I thought Michelle played a believable 12 year old at least (until she was noticeably taller than Buffy in Season 6 lol), but age 10 and 12 tend to be a lot closer in mannerisms and behavior than age 12 and 14... At least in my mind and life experiences... It also actually makes sense that she'd be naive and childish at first, since she didnt have any REAL experiences to learn and grow from when she was introduced, It was just whatever the monks put in everybody's head, and that could be anything since they only really knew about Buffy. There are also plenty of 14 year olds who still act like literal "children" (people seem to forget that children and teenagers are a lot closer in behavior and age than most teenagers and adults... I mean, have you ever hung out with an 18y/o while in your mid to late 20s? Omg, they're unbearably immature sometimes). Idk, I'm rambling, but my point is that even though I've never LOVED her character, I never hated her, and never really had too much of an issue with the way she was written (and Michelle Trachtenberg acted what she was given beautifully).
Glad you're still working on these video essays, quality analysis as always and appreciate your perspective on Dawn's character, it's a failing of the show that she is not easier to empathise with, given her circumstances.
People who hate Dawn delude themselves into believing they'd be badass like Buffy. Dawn acts like an actual, real world teenager.
Exactly. I was surprised to find so many fans identified themselves with Buffy. I never did - I don't have superpowers and am not going to be able to simply destroy any evil that comes my way. I will have to DEAL with it continuing to exist to spite me, like Dawn.
Buffy “fans” have a long history of seemingly hating every character on the show except Buffy and Spike and disregarding the perspective, struggle and honestly entire story of any character but those two. Sometimes you wonder if some even really like the show.
I know; it surprises me.
I though it was just me because while I do like Spike, I couldn't identify with Buffy's character very much and probably wouldn't have got on with her in real life - though I did admire some of her qualities. So I thought it was just because I wasn't a 'real' Buffy fan that I liked the other characters.
But I'm seeing on here that plenty of genuine Buffy fans agree that you should like the other characters even though they like Buffy herself more completely than I do!
Willow was biphobic, Xander lied to Buffy and never got over her and left anya at the altar, oz cheated on willow BEFORE he turned into a wolf… I mean the hate is just. People do like Tara and Anya. Some people are torn on spike due to very obvious reasons
@@xragdoll5662 Willow was never biphobic.
I never understood the Dawn hate on Buffy. Unlike a lot of people, I saw her very much as a young teen, not an immature brat. At fourteen and in the middle of puberty, emotions can run towards insane. Add monsters and death in the mix, and wow!!! To me, when I think back to the introduction of Buffy, and Joyce's attitude towards her, it is the same dynamic. Joyce thought Buffy was immature, thoughtless and didn't understand about Buffy's mystical destiny. She only saw Buffy as her daughter. Buffy saw Dawn through the same lens. And it was wrong. As you stated, Dawn had enough loss and trauma to drive a regular person nuts, yet she handled it. Hell, Willow didn't even have half of Dawn's trauma, and she went straight for the addiction route. I think it was disgraceful that Buffy and Dawn and everyone had to deal with that. I would have liked to see more of Dawn's arch. In the end she was caring, compassionate, and had a different and needed perspective on the magic world.
Yeah, but Willow's parents neglected her, which is why she had a problem with addiction. Buffy neglected Dawn, so she turned towards theft. Both are dealing with traumas in an unhealthy way.
Ĺjk
Dawn was always in danger, remember the phrase "Dawn is in danger, must be tuesday", that gag was real, that happen all the time, media said Buffy the show jumped the shark with Dawn, in a sort of way, but also somehow turned Buffy in a mother, she actually grow up more with Dawn by her side.
As somebody, who was a bratty little sister to a cool older sister right around the time when Dawn appeared on the show, I always related to her. I never felt her annoying or bratty. And now I can also see the trauma side, and the incredible acting from Michelle.
I always sympathized with Dawn and never got the hate, but then again I was in my late 30s at the time, so I was significanyly older, and hopefully more mature, than most of the Fandom then. Twenty plus years later, the Fandom has matured, now being a little older than I was at the time, so they can appreciate the pain Dawn went through. Many have adolecents of their own now, and so can understand from that prospective as well.
When they first introduced her I was so confused. I thought I had missed an episode. So I am not sure how I felt about her at the very first. I did always like her and that scene where Xander talks to her about being normal like him, I always loved. One of the highlights of the series for me. Her acting was great and I never minded the brattiness because it always made her seem younger then the scoobies.
"Dawn's in trouble. Must be Tuesday" - Buffy Summers
Honestly, I don't think Jos knew what he wanted to do with Dawn. I think it would have been better to have a perspective shift after Buffy's sacrifice and make Dawn our prominent character to see more of her inner life.
Agreed, agreed, agreed!
I thought that was Spike’s line!!!😂😂
Buffy also had some very “immature” moments in reaction to severe trauma in earlier seasons. Children react to trauma in childish ways.
This is a fantastic video of all the things I've been saying for years. I don't understand why people hate Dawn so much, to the point they completely refuse to acknowledge how traumatic all the things she goes through. Especially having lost her mother and sister, and then having the robot version of her dead sister walking around. That's horrific.
I also like the theory that she's a bit immature because she''s not an actual 14 year old upon introduction, but what a bunch of male, childless, celibate monks think a 14 year old girl is.
But then again the "bratty tantrumy" behaviour, I'm not onboard with dishing out too much criticism for. This is a girl that is dealing with a lot (going from seemingly cosy living doted on by loving mother to season 5, sister always in danger, sick mother, loss, trauma, guilt, on top of who is she, what is she, is she even real? and so on), while being a teenager with puberty hormones already going wild. Emotional outbursts are gonna happen.
A friend of mine in high school was adopted. Her mother said to her, "A natural parent doesn't choose to love their child. They are compelled to love them by evolution. Parents who didn't love their children did not pass their genes to the next generation.
Adoptive parents *CHOOSE* to love their children.
I actually loved her character. I never once was annoyed or disturbed by her. I loved the direction her story took.
I never felt or thought of all these negative feelings this essay portrays.
My family started watching Buffy in season 4 (after my mom started watching Angel and realizing it was a spin off) and I and my siblings were around Dawn's age (Harriet the spy!) So we really loved Dawn.
I also remember reading an anime article at the time who compared Dawn to Chibi-Usa from Sailor Moon and I loved that.
Viewers need to remember that Dawn was created by older men, monks in particular, who very likey did not spend much time outside of their monastery interacting with people, specifically teenage girls. The monks made Dawn behave in the way they thought a 14 year old girl would be like at that age, which for the viewer came across as immature and childish. It feels like she was intentionally written that way for exactly that reason.
You'd think if they had that much control over her personality they'd make her more obedient to buffy lol
@@annabellehe4307 lol if that were the case then there wouldn't be any drama. I suppose it's similar to that of parents being responsible for shaping a child's personality but there's only so much that they can really do, people grow older, they change with time and become different for better or for worse. I see it as the monks built her the basics, she developed the rest. After all, she isn't just an object anymore, but a sentient being capable of sculpting her own character and personality. She was placed in the world with false memories and this forces her to confront and question the reality of her own existence. She experienced a tremendous amount of trauma in such a short span of time, and as Spike once said "she's not just a blob of energy, she's also a 14 year old hormone bomb".
Thank you. Beautifully written, and so insightful.
Personally, I liked Dawn's response to Tara's death more than any other character's: Stay with the body until it is taken care of. It is the most respectful way to treat a person who has passed on.
And of course, Xander's "You're not special. You're extraordinary" brings tears to my eyes, and Michelle Trachtenberg's onscreen reaction to that line is, indeed, extraordinary.
Dawn is essentially Buffy's childhood and what that represents....innocence....and it was perfectly encapsulated in the S5 finale when Buffy made the sacrifice to protect her innocence,her childhood as that's what the show is essentially about...Buffy growing up and becoming an adult and leaving her childhood behind
I never though of it that way! Like this interpretation!
The video’s great and illustrates Dawn’s trauma in a really interesting way.
I’d suggest building a few more Dawn-centric episodes to give a look at how they were using Dawn within the show in general from a writing perspective too.
People’s dislike of Dawn (not that I have any myself, I think she’s amazing!) is rooted in a lot of things rather than just the infant version of her from early S5. Her character suffers from various poor writing decisions such as asking Buffy to move out of her own house in S7 and with little cache within the show to fall back on, leaves a lasting negative impact.
Incredible video! I watched buffy when I was way young and tbh I kind of hated dawn. Looking back, much older, and as a school counselor- I can very clearly see this girl was in pain and needed help and support- and was acting JUST like a normal teenager would in circumstances a fraction as serious as Dawns. Great work here! Subscribed!
I like Dawn. I was happy to see her growth in the show and how she turned out through the comics.
She marries Xander in the comics. I hate that for her.
@@AirQuotes Well... That's your opinion. I love that for her. Xander's a great match for her and an all round great guy.
@@AirQuotes 😮 No ... words ..
@@biceinvice6752 I never quite could see Dawn and Xander as a couple, probably because I belong to the lunatic fringe group that steadfastly shipped Buffy herself with Xander (😂), but I agree Xander was great. And Dawn deserved great. 🙂
I always loved her and Spike together, they were so funny and great pals.
They were my favourite part of the show - I would have given my right arm for a spin-off of the two of them travelling the country on Spike's motorcycle a few years after the end of Angel, fighting random evil together and checking in with Buffy Central occasionally. 😁
As the younger sister that trouped around after an older sibling I always liked Dawn. And every now and than got the reminder through her, 'hey sometimes you can be a bit bratty, but when they have that attitude towards you instead, maybe they've got something going on."
People may say Dawn acted like a much younger girl but in reality? She acted like the baby of the family. Mrs. Summers couldn't protect Buffy from her fate (or in her mind from being a problem child) so she went overboard with affection and attention on Dawn who in her mind, didn't get into trouble and so deserved to be rewarded with extra mom-time. Dawn was written by the monks as someone sweet and innocent who the world would be inclined to care for and support. What 14 year old girl wouldn't react to all that love, and act bratty when her seemingly jealous older sister didn't give the affection she was used to receiving?
When all that fell away with the death of her mother, Dawn reacted admirably. Just like Buffy she was forced to grow up fast and alone. Unlike Buffy, she didn't have a whole gang of friends to support her. Believe me, pity from your older sister's friends isn't the same as comfort from your own group. Dawn had no group, just the occasional pity from adults who once the world was saved and Dawn no longer in need of rescue, did indeed neglect to consider her feelings and needs. Many people fail to fault the scooby gang, but I do. They still had a responsibility to Dawn, and they came very close to failing her. If Dawn hadn't had her outbursts and demanded to be noticed, she may indeed have had no support at all.
I completely agree with this.
I get that this was Buffy's show, but considering they had had room initially to show Cordy's arc and separate friend group, I felt they dropped the ball by not giving Dawn the same sort of friend group, social life and romantic interests the Scoobies had all had in Season One. It would have been more interesting to see a 'next generation' survive high school, rather than keeping Dawn a perpetual child. She never even went to the Bronze with her schoolmates!
They mentioned sleepovers with her friend Janice, but that's about it. Dawn never seemed to have a life of her own.
This show was incredibly underrated.
First time watcher and I gotta say that I'm very impressed that they not only were bold enough to try this plot, but pull it off effectively.
I was the same age as her when it aired and I identified so heavily because I wasn't my mother's favourite daughter and I kinda got forgotten.
Thank you!
It is startling, even among fans of such a good show full of so many genuinely human characters, tackling so many real issues, a chunk of fandom reacted exactly like the most shallow high schoolers.
I always felt for Dawn, very deeply.
Great to see you posting again and loved the content. I'm guilty of Dawn hate - when the show was happening she drove me crazy - but age and videos like this helped me see sense. Great video and all excellent points.
I never disliked Dawn. I always thought it was pretty well handled and ballsy the way they introduced her character
Love the video. I would love to you dona video analysis on Cordelia from her character development to her tragic end.
That's a great idea
Yes! By the end of Angel, Cordy was hands down the character I admired most. 🙂 Such an amazing development arc!
Your breakdown of characters is brilliant. Really enjoy these videos. They are well written, well edited and full of information content. Very impressive and looking forward to watching more of your videos.
I liked the mysterious addition and that you couldn't be quite sure what Dawn was or wanted to begin with. The shrill voice when she screamed was a bit much for my ears, but she added an interesting dynamic.
Great, perceptive video. I never really considered all the trauma she experienced in season 6.
I think part of the dislike can be chalked up simply to the influence of first impressions. She is introduced as an annoying kid sister. Michelle Trachtenberg did a wonderful job of playing the part. The screaming really went through my head. So the opinion we fans formed lasted the rest of the series. The continuing hate is kind of a compliment to her acting ability. Excellent job, Ms. Trachtenberg.
I've always said that most Buffy fans only view the show through Buffy's POV so they find some characters hateable. Dawn and Xander for ex. I've been watching the show for Years and I like to view it from the others perspective too. It allows for much deeper conversations
I'm the opposite of the average fan - I couldn't relate to Buffy so always viewed situations from other characters' POV and then was absolutely thrown by the hate they got - but I think my criticisms of Buffy herself were even more shocking to the other fans! It took a lot of TH-cam conversations (and arguments 😂) before I could get Buffy's POV at all. I still don't like her the best.
Remember going to Buffy Sing-a-long at conventions, and people screaming "Shut up Dawn" whenever Dawn spoke on screen? Hated that, those fans were so terribly annoying.
Wow, that's awful. I would have felt so uncomfortable at the convention after that.
Despite her flaws, I've grown to deeply love Dawn. Especially since she's one of the only characters that never got a power up (as Xander so beautifully stated), I think she was such a compelling character. Thanks for a great video.
Am I the only one that actually liked Dawn? Haha, thanks for sticking up for her with this video. I started watching Buffy when I was 15 and by then I could watch them all on DVD. So I was watching Season 5 as a 15 year old and I really identified with Dawn's character. I don't think she's unrealistically immature either. I was still pulling major temper tantrums at this age too. It's actually refreshing to see a teenage character that isn't painted like an adult. So often the teenage characters are given the lives and mindsets of adults in TV series.
I felt the same way. I saw Buffy the first time in lockdown - not as a teen, but a 30-something secondary school cover teacher. While I enjoyed the show and character development, most of the main characters came across as university-age and mentality and problems - not proper teens. I was so excited by Dawn's character and thought 'FINALLY, a character who displays genuine teen attitude and behaviour! Who is this amazing actress . . . oh, she was actually 14 at the time; that explains a lot' 😁
Excellent video essay!
I loved Dawn as a character. The way she was introduced was different for the time, but also necessary. Dawn was intriguing and I become invested because I needed to know why she was there. Back then, we had to wait an entire week for a new episode which gave time to speculate and anticipate what the show would reveal. Dawn was a constant curveball. I agree there were some writing problems, but that happens with many characters. Watching Dawn develop was a joy, and I'm so glad they didn't "erase" her once her key function was fulfilled at the end of season 5.
Great video, now I need to rewatch buffy again
Thank you for making a video like this. I've always been a Dawn supporter. Whilst I totally understand people finding her annoying, the sheer lack of understanding and empathy her character gets has always baffled me. She's a teenage girl who has been through so much. In my opinion, season 7 Dawn (the same age as season 1 Buffy) is actually more mature than Buffy was, yet people overlook this because of her 'Get out Get out GET OUT' moments in season 5 and 6. She was a literal CHILD. I've seen people wish death on her which always concerned me too. There's literal murderous vampires, ex demons, a witch who tried to end the world, but a teenage girl who is a little bratty? Pfff off with her head I guess. Anyways, I loved this video. It highlights a character arc I largely think is underrated.
One thing that surprised me on the Buffy fandom, is the huge slew of fans who take this 'Buffy good, every other character evil' approach. Buffy was very flawed. The show's pretty clear that we are supposed to critique and question her as much as the others. It surprised me when I would defend a character only to be told 'but they went against Buffy in x situation!' Um - Buffy was in the wrong sometimes? And having a disagreement with a friend doesn't always even mean EITHER of you are in the wrong, Dawn and Buffy should have been able to disagree like normal sisters and still both be liked. I actually started liking Buffy LESS because I was so tired of hearing her idolized so excessively and other characters so trashed presumably on her behalf. I have to go back and watch clips to remember what I liked about the REAL Buffy, and that she wouldn't have agreed herself with what these fans say about the people SHE loved!
Yeah. I noticed how the supposedly feminist fandom of this show seemed to rise up to say both:
"Spike tried to Grape Buffy, but he's just a boy! His hardships! He's just a lil lad!"
But also
"Dawn is so annoying. She's such a brat. Why is she so bratty and annoying. I hate her. I wish she would have died. Tween girls are so bratty and annoying. I hate them."
People are out here telling on themselves, that's all I'm saying.
Spike's defenders are also quick to blame Angel for Angelus when these two are very clearly separate entities, but the Spike who tries that with Buffy is and always was and will continue to be, the Spike we know.
As someone who watched Buffy when it was airing, I remember Dawn's introduction to be quite perplexing. At the time, I was in junior high school, and so my own immaturity made me not understand her and dislike her from the get go lol. I remember not liking her at all as the series went on. As you described it so well here, we fans are much older now and can look back at things like in retrospect and realize the brilliance of it all. It was definitely hard to grasp back then week to week, but with a different eye, it paralleled so many well-thought out things.
On another note, I have been watching your Charmed videos, as well, since I recently discovered you through my binging of all things Charmed (thanks nostalgia lol), and you have been so captivating and delivering such amazing insight in your videos. Keep up the great work!
Thank you for making this episode. I have often thought that this character required a trauma-informed lens.
thanks for this! i loved the dawn character and the way she was introduced was very unique. the seasons with her and buffy interacting are my favourites :)
Hate? For Dawn? I did a rewatch of the show not too long ago and started with season five just because I wanted Dawn to be part of my rewatch. 🤗
When the series came out (1990's), general attitudes were so different to how they are nowadays... Children in general back in the 80s and 90s were often overlooked, neglected and ignored, and were forced to grow up by themselves... Whereas nowadays attitudes towards nurturing people have become such a bigger focus. I think for many fans, re-watching Buffy with a fresh set of eyes and adjusted mindset gives people the opportunity to truly understand Dawn and all that she went through... I have a teenage daughter myself, and have briefly imagined if she went through the struggles Dawn had, how things wouldn't be so much different. Michelle Trachenberg is a wonderful actress who portrayed Dawn beautifully!
Brilliant! You've really helped me to empathize with and appreciate this character more.
Buffy was a huge part of my teen angst outlet and Dawn was bang on the age I was at when she was introduced so I think I had a bit of a different experience as she did very much also encapsulate that uncertainty of self you get in puberty. Feeling like a stranger on the outside looking in resonated hugely with me in that time in my life so she quickly became one of my favourite characters. Can't unsee the writing issues now with an older mind though haha!
Also, when Buffy walks in on her in her room, she was only hours, maybe even minutes old. And everything she does is for the very first time. She may know chocolate cereal is her favourite, but she's never tasted it before. She knows how to put herself to bed but she's never slept before. She knows her mother has hugged her repeatedly her whole life, but she's never been held in her mother's arms before. The sensory overload must be overwhelming 🤓
I actually never hated her or found her annoying. Of course I was confused when she was introduced but I learned to love her pretty quickly. Plus Michelle was so good.
It was actually hella bold of the writing team to spread out the mystery of where Dawn came from over multiple episodes, instead of revealing it by the end of her first full ep (and props to the wb execs for allowing it).
I was about thirteenish when I first watched Buffy, and well yes Dawn was a bit bratty at times, I always related to her, because even without all the trauma Dawn went through, being a 13-15 year old girl is a nightmare. There were a lot of times I lashed out at my parents for no reason, but I would always feel guilty afterwards, because why did I do that? I didn't need to yell. But being at an age where you are starting to feel like an adult but still having those childish urges(?) is confusing and stressful, and all the hormones are going crazy. Now add the existential crisis of realizing that you've only existed for a few months and that all of your memories are fake, yeah I'd probably be an emotional wreck too. Anyways I love Dawn, if Dawn has one fan thats me, if Dawn has no fans I'm dead.
I actually liked the mystery that first surrounded her. In some ways, the overdone brattiness seemed natural to me because that's how many spoiled youngest children are when they become teenagers. It WAS very annoying, and immature, but I've raised teenage girls. No matter what age they are, they'll pull up temper tantrums almost as bad as a 2 year old sometimes. Other times they can wise beyond their years.
Watching the journey of the way Dawn grew up emotionally over the last three years the show was on, was very interesting to me... because everything that she went through, from the moment she found out she was the key, to the moment she handed that wooden flagpole staff to Amanda in the 7th season because Dawn realized that Amanda was the real potential slayer, showed just how mature she'd become. Whereas, despite her destiny as the slayer, Buffy didn't truly get more mature until her mother got sick.
❤❤❤❤ despite some writing issues I've always loved Dawn. Glad I'm not the only one
BtVS was one of the most well written television shows of all time. Even revisiting this show all these years later here still reminds me of all the ways this show literally taught me how to THINK like as a viewer. Some of the concepts introduced in season 5 might have been my first introduction as a television audience member into the world of meta-irony. What an incredible, timeless work of genius.
As I've gotten older and more rewatches i do, the more i understand and appreciate her character. Now Connor? That'll never be a character i like 🙄
I have always loved Dawn and thought the way she was introduced was genius. I loved her story. It was such a twist on the trope.
I was like 10 when Dawn first appeared and I don't recall ever being confused 😂 I knew they'd explain it at one point
Loved this video! I think her arc personally extends even past the episode potential to even the end of season 7, especially when Buffy disrespects Dawn's autonomy by making Xander choloroform her and take her away from the fight. Where she then CHOOSES once again to go back and risk her life in a fight where they needed every soldier they could get, but that more so gets played off as her acting like a brat by Buffy. Another example is when Xander loses an eye, Buffy's, Willow's and Anya's pain is prioritized over hers, and she gets called a kid by Faith when she just wants to know if Xander will be alright, a person she cares deeply about. Dawn also helps massively in helping keep the potentials calm, and does a lot behind the scenes. While she gets a lot of hate for kicking Buffy out the house, she helped keep unity in the resistance against the first which was the bigger picture at that point in time (Buffy's idea was a huge gamble and she did get lucky that she was right, and even admits it later). Dawn even shows how resourceful she is in combat throughout season 7 without having any special abilities. Dawn does a lot more than most of the potentials all throughout the season and gets no credit for it, she truly is extraordinary as a character and a perfect support type character to the ones that do actually have combat powers.