When was Dawn formed?

[Chasing Cordy]

We know she was not there at the end of the fourth season and when the fifth season starts, she's there.
I think I recall somebody saying that Dawn was created by the monks during the fifth season opener.

[SpikedBuffy]

In the episode "No Place Like Home" a scene is shown where the monks are transforming the energy. A time thing is put on the screen...but I can't remember exactly what it is. I think a couple of weeks, so that would put her being created around the fifth season beginning.

[nerd4hire]

Yeah, the title card says 2 months ago, and the air date of the episode was 10/24/00. No Place Like Home was the 5th episode of Season 5.

Hey this is interesting, I think. The creation scene takes place in the Czech Republic. Does that mean Dawn is Czechoslovakian? :)

[Chasing Cordy]

...two months earlier and Faith was hip to Dawn's arrival through dreams more than two years back? I'm guessing Glory was a problem back then, eh?

[Black Eye Guy]

That would be continuity, not to start an old debate, but it was a main point in allot of Shows vs Shows debates we had here... :)

[Lyri]

...two months earlier and Faith was hip to Dawn's arrival through dreams more than two years back? I'm guessing Glory was a problem back then, eh?

like it's been said MANY times before, we don't know if they were Faith's dreams or buffy's so we don't actually know where those warnings came from. yeah, it could be the Powers that Be getting Buffy ready for Dawn, but it could be something different eniterly. it's one of those questions that's left open to your own personal interpritation.

[Randy Giles]

OK I must have forgotten an important scene or something...what dreams are you guys talking about? I don't remember Dawn-related dreams.

[Lyri]

they occur in 'Graduation Day Part 2' and 'This Year's Girl' the dreams Buffy 'shares' with Faith. in the dream in 'Graduatin Day', Faith mentions 'Little Miss Muffet, counting down from 730' which is a direct reference to Dawn and to Buffy's death in 'The Gift' (730 is the toal number of days in 2 years)
then, in 'This Year's Girl' Faith says 'Little Sis coming' which is another Dawn reference.
the Little Miss Muffet thing was explained in the S5 ep 'Real Me' when the crazy guy calls Dawn 'Curds and Whey' there are also a lot of other Miss Muffet quotes referring to Dawn throughout S5.

[Randy Giles]

Oooh I remember that now! I thought it was really cool that they put in foreshadowing that early.

Weren't the dreams shared by Buffy and Faith though?

[Lyri]

like i said before, no one really knows who's mind those dreams took place in, it was never actually cleared up. Maybe the dreams were shared between Buffy and Faith. maybe it all took place in Buffy's head and the 'Faith' that appeared was only her mind's inturpretation of the rogue Slayer, and she was just connecting the dots between what she already knew. maybe the dreams were actually visions sent by the PTB's to warn Buffy of what was coming. no one knows for sure.

[watcher1006]

I wish there had been time in the series to explore the connection between Dawn and Faith. Unfortunately, after S4 "Who Are You" Faith herself didn't reappear on BtVS till late in the last season.

[mogwaid]

In Season 6 episode "Entropy" Buffy has a conversation with Dawn that goes like this:

Dawn: "No, you're not, it's not that, it's just... what if, instead of you hanging out with me? Maybe I could hang out with you... Why don't I come patrolling with you tonight?"
Buffy: "Oh. And then? Maybe we can invite over some strangers and ask them to feed you candy."
Dawn: "Well, you guys went out patrolling every night when you were my age."
Buffy: "True... but technically, you're one-and-a-half."
Buffy: "See, I thought a little levity might... but okay, also no."

One and a half, would yes, then mean start of season 5. Around October, which was the time the episode "Real Me" came out.

[Black Eye Guy]

I always took it, as she was actually made the few moments before Buffy said "I'm going out" cuz theres no mention of her up until then?

[VisionGuy]

I always took it, as she was actually made the few moments before Buffy said "I'm going out" cuz theres no mention of her up until then?

That's exactly what I was thinking. Nobody mentioned her until then. I also took it as Buffy not knowing who Dawn was when she said, "What are you doing here?" at the end of the ep. Maybe in those few seconds they finished the spell or whatever and put all the memories into Buffy's head.

[Randy Giles]

That's exactly what I was thinking. Nobody mentioned her until then. I also took it as Buffy not knowing who Dawn was when she said, "What are you doing here?" at the end of the ep. Maybe in those few seconds they finished the spell or whatever and put all the memories into Buffy's head.

Good point, and I do recall thinking that before, but I forgot I thought it...but it's a good and believable theory.

[Buffy Summers]

That's exactly what I was thinking. Nobody mentioned her until then. I also took it as Buffy not knowing who Dawn was when she said, "What are you doing here?" at the end of the ep. Maybe in those few seconds they finished the spell or whatever and put all the memories into Buffy's head.
I took that as older sister telling younger sister "get out of my room" :D

[Randy Giles]

I took that as older sister telling younger sister "get out of my room" :D

There was also a look of confusion on her face, like either she felt something was wrong or she didn't know who Dawn was.

[watcher1006]

It could be interpreted either way. Yes, maybe in those few seconds the spell finished taking hold over the household. In any case "What are you doing here" is exactly what one (annoyed) sister might say to another, but to us the audience it feels like it should have a different meaning when Buffy says it, because this unknown girl has suddenly dropped into the picture out of nowhere.

[Buffy Summers]

It has that feeling because we didn't at that time know who she was talking to, who Dawn was.

[nerd4hire]

It's the same writer's trick you see in the Angel episode Just Rewards. Spike comes to Angel's bedroom late at night and the conversation winds up here.

SPIKE
I can't live like this, Angel. Being useless.
(sighs)
Being nothing. I want it to end.

We think Spike is wanting to die, and he's offering to martyr himself in Angel's cause, but no, as it turns out he isn't saying he wants it to end, so much as he's saying he wants to stop being usesless.

[RockManic]

There is actually a scene in Buffy vs Dracula that pretty much guarantees that Dawn was only created in the late moments of that episode.

Buffy: Thanks, Mom. Everything was yummy.
Joyce: Hey, you up for dessert? We could, uh, take a drive, get some ice cream.
Buffy: (stands) You know, I, I would, but I kinda have to get out on patrol.
Joyce: Now? It's 8:30.
Buffy: Well, vamps don't really care what time it is. You know, dark equals dinner bell.
Joyce: Right, of course. (Look around empty table) You know, I'm gonna have to get used to this place without you again. It gets so quiet.
Buffy: You know, maybe we should make a regular date of this, when school starts.
Joyce: (nods) Mm.
Buffy: I'm sorry. Duty calls. It's a total drag.

Now granted you could just assume that Dawn was out or up in her room but the mood of the scene and Joyce's words make it pretty clear that she is living on her own at that point.

Besides, can you imagine the house being quiet if Dawn really was living there already? ;)

[Your Creamy Coolness]

I always took it, as she was actually made the few moments before Buffy said "I'm going out" cuz theres no mention of her up until then?

I agree. I figured Dawn was formed and the spell was finished just as Buffy is leaving in Buffy Vs Dracula!

[Chasing Cordy]

like it's been said MANY times before, we don't know if they were Faith's dreams or buffy's so we don't actually know where those warnings came from.

I wonder why Faith would get dreams about something so tightly connected to Buffy?
This tells me that the dreams must be Buffy's

[Edmund Blackadder]

I wonder why Faith would get dreams about something so tightly connected to Buffy?
This tells me that the dreams must be Buffy's


Thats not an assumption that can be easily made.

Dawn is made from Buffy's blood, but within that blood lay the Slayer essence. When you factor that in, you could argue that Dawn is also linked to the line(though not as a Slayer) which means she could be connected to all Slayers, including Faith.

This was something I expected after Blood Ties, yet it never really got mentioned then in Potential it was hinted at but nothing. Still, you never know with the future how this works.