Dawn? [Archive] - Buffy-Boards

Edmund Blackadder

02-17-2008, 09:56 AM

SpikedBuffy

02-17-2008, 12:10 PM

I actually found it pretty clever how they worked Dawn into the show. I remember watching "Buffy vs. Dracula" and being so floored by the ending, and then having to watch "Real Me" and try to figure out where this character came from. It was pretty interesting.

Joyce Summers

02-17-2008, 12:40 PM

Initially Dawn annoyed me; she didn't fit, she didn't belong. But now I just love to bits. I mean she still has her annoying moments, but she's fourteen- it's one of the worst ages you can be. You're all over the place you're not a child anymore really but you're not an adult and you're not a full-on teenager, nothing seems to fit or look right; it's just a bad, bad age. And that was kinda tripled for Dawn through what she had to go through. But I just eventually fell in love with her. I think I started to see her in the same way Buffy sees her. That she is just a little girl who just remembers growing up with a loving family. And she's very quirky which always makes me smile.

A scene that always convinces me that I have gotten fully over my first anti-Dawn issues is in Blood Ties where she has just cut her arms. She looks so lost and hurt and all cryie face I just want to hug her. Also the scene with Spike in.....Tough Love. Where she says she believes she's just a lightening rod for hurt and pain and everyone around her dies because of her. It made me think 'God, this girl has just been through way too much' and technically she's only six months old so she has all this newness of a baby with the hormones of a fourteen year old and the terror and loss of being in the Slay and Key life. No wonder she went klepto.

I think with Dawn she is at first hard to accept, but you have to *let* yourself get used to her.

apocalypse

02-18-2008, 07:51 AM

Initially, I hated Dawn just about more than any other television character ever. However, after re-watching the series, I began to find her a little bit funny. I mean, she's still pretty irritating, but it's not like she's in Riley territory or anything.

Blondie Bear

02-18-2008, 07:55 AM

I just have to keep reminding myself through S5 & 6 that she's a TEENAGER and I probably wasn't a very fun teenager, either. Then in S7 she grew up a lot. And in S8 I just feel bad for her.

Vicariously

02-18-2008, 09:07 AM

I think that without Dawn alot of things wouldnt have happened. Particulary season 6 Buffy and Spike for all the Spuffy fans out there. The reason I say that is because the reason the two became so close is Buffy having died to save dawn and then being brought back to life.

Personally I was weary about Dawn when she first came on kinda just like woa where'd that come from but I think Dawn helped Buffy mature. I also think that Joss had to leave Buffy with family after Joyce, not just Giles and the Scooby gang. I think Dawn helped to make Joyce's death scenes more powerful. I think we got to see a diffrent side of Buffy because of Dawn. (especially the scene in the morgue) I think we got to see a diffrent side of the scoobies too, because they all took the roll of an older sibling to her.

I also think that Dawn gave Buffy more ties to normalcy. Sure she had a her friends but Dawn made Buffy commit to society. (Job ect) She had to actually push herself harder to appear normal for Dawn and because of that she grew up! Without Dawn I dont think Buffy would have progressed much from Season 4 Buffy. I think that adding her to the show just helped to give us 3 more terrific seasons of the show!

SMGfan17

03-16-2008, 09:52 AM

I really HATED Dawn. I found her to be incredibly annoying and worthless to the show. All she ever did was complain.

IdiotJed

03-22-2008, 07:10 PM

At first, it felt that she upset the balance of the whole show, even after it was explained. However, after a while you began to realize that the show wouldn't have been what it was without her.

BuffyBloke

03-22-2008, 07:34 PM

At first I thought the whole Buffy has sister thing was totally out of wack for the show, but since I bought season 5 at the time and never saw it, I watched it anyway. I must admit by the end of the season Dawn was an important part of the show - in terms of her own character development and her sister's own personal development/struggles. It was interesting to see how Dawn coped with finding out she was not even a real person, but she was the key and a goddess was after her. It was also great to test Dawn's emotions, with that and Joyce's death. I don't think it would have been the same if it had just been Buffy this season.

Dawn was annoying and a bit of selfish. I wasn't this. I was a good boy. :) LOL.

LittleMissLikesToFight

03-22-2008, 08:25 PM

Dawn became bearable at the end of season 6 and season 7. but i hated her in 5. but i think that was the point, we were supposed to find her whiny and annoying. I hated her from the moment she ruined buffy's training by knocking over the crystals and saying "can we go now?" selfish and childish much? but i think we as an audience were supposed to feel that way.

Tranquillity

03-23-2008, 04:39 AM

I did initially find her annoying and confusing but i've gotten over that. The more i watch teh show the more i like Dawn as a character and important part of the show, especially what she does for Buffy and Spike as characters.

Hello Cutie

03-23-2008, 05:48 AM

Edmund Blackadder

03-23-2008, 06:59 AM

I LOATHED Dawn. All she did was whine, complain and get people into trouble. However, season 5 was ALL about Dawn, how could you have written the season without her?? And I acknowledge that she's supposed to be that irritating too- she's what, 14? She's supposed to piss everyone off!! It's what 14 year olds do! [Making her a very realistic and believable character].

I wouldn't have Season 5 any other way.

Ohhh nearly!?!?!?

I read your first line and thought let the bitching commence!

I liked Dawn because of what she brought to the show, thats not to say she didn't grind my gears (thank you Peter Griffin) along the way, but she was an important part of the show from when she joined.

Yay for Dawnage.

Now its time for me to 'GET OUT GET OUT GET OUT'...that stills annoys me

UlaGan

03-23-2008, 10:41 AM

Even she's important character in the show and etc, I still don't get why I should like her?
I realize and credit for her meaning and importance in the Buffyverse, but she'll never enter my top characters parade.

Primal Slayer

03-23-2008, 10:31 PM

As with most of the fans, I wasnt a big fan of Dawn when she first appeared but she grew on me.

But I think with Joyce dieing and had Buffy remained an only child, it wouldve been extremely hard on Buffy to deal with. Sure she has Willow/Xander/Giles but having no family with her at all I think wouldve made her go into major depression mode.

TabulaRasa

03-24-2008, 05:34 PM

Now its time for me to 'GET OUT GET OUT GET OUT'...that stills annoys me

I too hated Dawn in the beginning and truly hate what I quoted from BOTD.
But I love season 7 Dawn.
Season 8 Dawn seems to be back to her annoying self though. I hope something better gets written for her.

Jaded Wolf

03-25-2008, 09:45 AM

I love Dawn and it was on purpose that she didn't really 'fit' and was 'annoying'.

On top of that, if Dawn was not in the season/show then it wouldn't have been teh same.

Season 5 is ALL about Dawn. Without Dawn you totally rewrite the rest of the show. If people try to imagine the series without Dawn they are trying to imagine a completely different show.

Exactly. At first Dawn is annoying, and actually continues to be so in season 7. News flash though kiddos, she's a younger sister! She's supposed to be annoying. I like Dawn because of the tragedy of the character. She has all these memories of growing up only to find out that it was all a lie. That is just pure tragic writing right there. So I'm glad Dawn came to be.

Giants Rule 04

03-29-2008, 06:38 PM

Dawn makes parts of season five unwatchable. I understand that they portray her as a 15 year old, but still...I have a little sister, 4 years younger than I, and if she had every thrown a tantrum like Dawn does, I would have throttled her and it would have been the last time she did that.

Fireball

03-29-2008, 06:52 PM

Ive never really liked Dawn as a character, but she isnt one of my most hated either. At first I didnt like her in Season 5 at all, Like most people said, I found her really annoying. But re-watching Season 5 (Im up to "The Body") Dawn has grown on me a little especially squabbaling with Buffy, but when Dawn cries/whines though thats a whole differant story... That infamous "GET OUT" is just awfully irratating.

Hello Cutie

03-30-2008, 04:08 AM

I've just thought.. I was probably around the same age as Dawn was portrayed as when season 5 came out, so I can understand why people find her so irritating.. it's a teenager's prerogative!

Joyce Summers

03-30-2008, 05:26 AM

so I can understand why people find her so irritating.. it's a teenager's prerogative!

Exactly!

Didn't Anya and Xander basically say the same thing in Older and Far Away

Anya: I think she's posessed
Xander: She's a teenager.

It's *just* the way it goes. And Dawn was no exception. Plus Dawn was technically a newborn so double the attention-seeking curiosity and pesterness.

LittleMissLikesToFight

03-30-2008, 10:48 AM

i dunno, some of her tantrums seemed that of a 10 year old, not a 14 year old. and i thik thats what bugged me a bit, that she acted a little TOO young sometimes. because at 14, i was over tantrums and more into the ignoring what my parents said stage, and the rolling of the eyes (which Dawn got that down lol).

I still don't like her, and prob never will, but she is bearable in season 7.

Bangelxx

03-30-2008, 12:09 PM

Well, season 5 sort of revolved around dawn, so I can't really imagine that season without her....although I did find Dawn sort of annoying, but I got used to her:) She is just a teenager and some of her behavior is just typical. I can understand a lot.

Eloise

03-30-2008, 10:35 PM

When I first watched Season 5, I HATED Dawn. I thought she was so annoying, and like LMLTF said, I sometimes thought some of her tantrums are that of a 10 year old. However, the circumstances were definately different for her, especially when she found out she was the Key and all. She was a teenager and a little sister. I mean, how many little sisters aren't annoying?

And, she was what Season 5 was all about. She needed to be there. I agree with a previous poster; however much she annoyed me, I wouldn't have it any other way.

Anyway, once I rewatched the season, she grew on me, like other posters have said. Honestly, I don't think I'll ever particularly like her as a character, especially in that season, though I didn't mind her in Season 7. But, she's necessary, she provides a lot and is great for some of the other characters, developing them a lot. The most obvious example is Buffy,but there was a lot of impact on Spike and some of the other characters too.

And, again like others have mentioned, it's great for Buffy to have some real family after Joyce dies, and Dawn does a lot for the episode 'The Body'.

bradlee

04-04-2008, 02:55 PM

I loved Dawn. I just watched Blood Ties and I have to say, trachtenberg did an amazing job. Dawn had such tragedy in her life, you have to give her a little room to wiggle. I guess it's because I was 14 when she came on in season 5 so I was in her shoes the whole time. I understood her through her entire run.

hidden

04-20-2008, 03:01 AM

you know initially i hated dawn but now......... i still hate her

my oppinion is the worst things you can do to a show

1. rewrite history
2. time travel
3. skip a couple of years and pick back up with no explanation of what happened

josh wanted season 5 to be about family but i still think he could have found a better way to do it

Aethra

04-20-2008, 10:07 PM

I thought the idea of the character was really cool, and the fact that everything I'd just watched (discovered the show on DVD) had been altered was, though a bit annoying, different, and so I gave it a chance. I never really liked Dawn that much, because she was so annoying. I totally understand that the character had to be that way though. Dunno if it was the performance or the character itself that I didn't like, but there was something. Although, Dawn did see to get a lot more tolerable, at least to me, in season seven. Maybe because season five was so much about her, all her annoying qualities, combined with the suddenness and frequency of her presence, made her seem much worse than when she wasn't as big a player in the later seasons, or maybe the character just matured a bit. I'd have to go back and rewatch to decide.

day walker

04-20-2008, 11:05 PM

i did not hate dawn she acted like any younger sibling.

TheHeartist

04-21-2008, 12:44 PM

I disliked her quite a bit. I understand the need to have her as irritating because she's a younger sister, that's what they're supposed to do, but sometimes her logic was jt downright retarded and selfish. Example: Older and Far Away, she's all upset cos no-one will spend time with her, even though she KNOWS everyone's got their own stuff to deal with, Xander and Anya has wedding plans, Willow was on her cold turkey program, Buffy had Slayer duties AND work...it's like, even when I was fourteen, I would have know that all that stuff was too important, I would have UNDERSTOOD. Not thrown a wobbler just because nobody was around. Ergh, I'm done. :)