Would you have died for Dawn?

[eunsoma]

I sort of got this idea when reading 'TabulaRasa's' thread; "If there was a portal, would you jump?"
If there was a portal, would you jump? - Buffy-Boards (http://www.buffy-boards.com/showthread.php?t=35160)
...which is great, by the way... But it made me wonder, if you were Buffy at the end of s5, would you have jumped off the tower and died so Dawn could live?
Or would you let her die for the good of the world (in the sense that Buffy didn't know she'd be resurrected a few months later and Sunnydale without Buffy was not a nice place =) Check out 'Bargaining' 1 & 2 or 'The Wish' if you've forgotten)
I think if it were me I would hav let Dawn die, even tho that sounds harsh, but I think that if you weighed up the pros and cons, it'd be the right thing to do (providing I didn't know I'd be resurrected of course, lol.)

[Buffy obsessed fan]

We're saying if I were Buffy, correct? Well, if I had all the memories of her as my little sister, even if I knew she wasn't really, I could never let her jump. Live with all that guilt for the rest of my life? No thanks. I would have jumped.

[Joyce Summers]

Good of the world or not, I could never let Dawn jump. She's an innocent, she's just fourteen, she's Buffy (In this scenario my) sister, I'm not going to let her jump. So many memories going all the way back to when your Mom and Dad brought her home...I just couldn't do it. I mean remembering all those 'memories' and then remembering everything that happened since she had come into my life. And at that point, she'd be my only family left. And family bonds are just so strong, I don't think I'd be able to bear seeing Dawn sacrifice herself. What's the point of saving the world if that's the price?

I'd definitely jump instead and like Buffy, I'd be happy in the fact that not only could I save Dawn, but I could save the world too. It would just feel like the right thing to do. [cue dramatic sacrifice-y music]

[Entiel]

If she was my sister I would have jumped for sure...

[Lyri]

Yes, absolutly. I could never stand back and watch while my little sister sacrificed herself, even if it was to save the world.

If I were Buffy, on that tower, knowing that the only way to save Dawn, to save my sister, and have her live and long and happy life, would be to jump into the portal, then I would have jumped with a smile on my face.

[Cangel]

Haha, I'm just thinking, if it was my real life brother and me we would probably argue about who is to jump and end up pushing each other down. Now don't think we don't get along well, cos we do, but we also like to dump our misery onto the other.
If I was Buffy, the slayer, and Dawn my little sister, I probably would've jumped.
Even if I wasn't her sister, I probably would've jumped as well, I often do good things for others I might later regret for myself, but it's kinda nice.

[Keanoite]

I have two sisters and my initial reaction to this question was OF COURSE!! I could not NOT jump and take their place. However, Buffy said to Giles I think?(really not sure about that) that if she could do it again she would let Dawn jump. I always assumed this was because she knew there was a heaven and believed Dawn would go there. If you held that knowledge when you were faced with this decision, what would you do? I honestly don't know.

[Starlet]

I would have jumped without hesitating.
I could never let my sister die...

[Joyce Summers]

If you held that knowledge when you were faced with this decision, what would you do? I honestly don't know.

Good point. If the sibling had come about my normal means which Dawn didn't. Jumping into the portal I think would have caused Dawn to turn back into the energy, possibly making her non-existant. I wouldn't want THAT! Haha. So I'd still jump even with that knowledge of heaven, because well, in Dawn's case you just can't be sure.

Actually, since Dawn is basically a ball of energy in human form will she ever go to heaven or when she dies will it just be like a battery running out? The energy is used up and so goes back into the ether, ceasing to be Dawn. I hope not...that's a depressing thought.

[eunsoma]

omg i just thort of something... imagine if Buffy had have jumped but her blood didn't close the portal, and it needed Dawn's specifically (like from her body)... that would suck - Dawn would hav had to jump too :S

[TabulaRasa]

I would have pushed her arse over the edge!!!
But not if she was my sister, or someone I as sworn to protect.

[Keanoite]

Good point. If the sibling had come about my normal means which Dawn didn't. Jumping into the portal I think would have caused Dawn to turn back into the energy, possibly making her non-existant. I wouldn't want THAT! Haha. So I'd still jump even with that knowledge of heaven, because well, in Dawn's case you just can't be sure.

Actually, since Dawn is basically a ball of energy in human form will she ever go to heaven or when she dies will it just be like a battery running out? The energy is used up and so goes back into the ether, ceasing to be Dawn. I hope not...that's a depressing thought.

I think they mentioned in season six that Dawn isn't the key anymore or if she is she doesn't open anything, I took that to mean that she is now completely human. If that is the case she has as a good a chance of seeing the Pearly Gates as anyone.

I was trying to think about what I would actually do in Buffy's shoes but I found it too unrealistic. So I thought about it in something that could actually happen, like being shot or something. If that was the case then yes, I would take as many bullets as they could put in me for my sisters.

[ILLYRIAN]

Let me see now, hmmm, eunsoma.
I'm imagining myself in that situation,..............right,

What a horrible thought, letting poor little Dawnie die like that, what a disgusting idea to contemplate, God that'd be as bad as me sleeping with some-one called Satsu, oh, oh dear.
Pat's Dawn on the back, "Have a nice trip dear".

[TheHeartist]

If I was in Buffy's shoes, I'd have jumped. But if I were in DAWN'S place, again, I'd have jumped. Having no Slayer on the Hellmouth just seems plain foolishness.

[caitaintdead]

I would let Dawn jump. I would not let my SISTER jump.

(Let me clear that up... I would do anything for the people I love. But I don't love Dawn.)

I like to keep my ideas simple!

[Xin Rong]

Would I hell, but thats mainly because I'd have thought about it rationally and would have worked out I was more important, which was true in this situation, although in hindsight it may have been the right thing to do

[InsaneMystic]

Hmm... I'm really a fatalistic stickler for "the way things were meant to be"... so, I guess, I would have jumped IF I had received the "Death is your Gift"-Vision; if not... "Well Dawnie you know I love you, but I'm afraid this is what you're here for" :grim: :crying2: ...and, in all likelihood, been a total psychic wreck for the next couple of months afterwards.

[palabravampiress]

I would have let Dawn jump. Seriously. Honestly, Dawn was the key. They needed her blood to close the portal. That was her *destiny.* She had a freakin' destiny -- the kind of Destiny that saves the world -- and Buffy had to take it. Dawn was so torn up over the whole key thing. Was she even real? Was her blood even real? Remember all that crap she went through? Dawn jumping would have resolved all of that. Dawn would have been a hero, too, not just a hero's little sister. Dawn was put on this Earth specifically to be the key. That was what made her special. And Buffy took that away. She took it away with the best of intentions, sure, but she still took it. If I were Dawn, I would have wanted my destiny… especially when the alternative was being orphaned at 14 and living with the survivors’ guilt.

Even so, that would be all well and good if it were just selfless sacrifice at work. But it wasn't. Buffy had a destiny, too. Buffy was the slayer. She was needed. Buffy sacrificing herself to save Dawn wasn't what was best for the world that she was duty-bound to protect; it was what was best for Buffy's feelings. It was selfish. She didn't want Dawn to die, the rest of the world be damned (perhaps quite literally).

I'm not saying that Buffy's sacrifice wasn't noble. It was very noble. It was also very human. I think most of us would like to think that we would take the fall for our siblings. Buffy's situation wasn't normal, though. By putting her sister's welfare above all else, I think Buffy sort of betrayed or failed her calling a little bit (and Dawn's calling, too). On one level, sacrificing yourself for another is sort of the epitome of "doing the right thing." On another level, though, it is sort of needlessly wasteful and, perhaps, not always in the best interest of the world at large when the one who is making the sacrifice has more to offer than the one who is being saved.

[Joyce Summers]

On one level, sacrificing yourself for another is sort of the epitome of "doing the right thing." On another level, though, it is sort of needlessly wasteful and, perhaps, not always in the best interest of the world at large when the one who is making the sacrifice has more to offer than the one who is being saved.

It's like that famous question 'A building is burning down and everyone's trapped inside, who do you save? Five strangers or one sibling?'.
The right answer is 'five strangers'- to sacrifice the need of one (be it your sibling's needs or yours) for the good of the many. Five people's lives are worth more than one theoretically but when you actually think about that question, like really think and if you don't have siblings replace it with friend, parent, child, or any relative at all...and what's your answer? Deep down inside you know you could never let that person you love go just so you save a group people you've never met and in all honesty don't really care about.
Buffy was faced with that question in a very real way and her answer was, as you said Palabra, to hell with the world- I want my sister to live. I don't think she was taking her destiny away and I don't think Dawn felt she was either, because like her big sister Dawn didn't want a destiny or a higher calling, she just wanted to be a normal teenager with normal problems. She wanted to jump because she thought doing so would save the world, and therfore save her sister. The priority for both siblings was to save the other. And the fact that when this all went down they were up on the tower, alone together, isolated from the rest of the world, emphasized that the final decision was all about them. Not the world, not their friends, not the grand design but just them.

Buffy eventually being the one to jump- which Dawn doesn't stop happening, only mourns what she knows is coming- is because she's the older one. To paraphrase Dean on Supernatural She's the big sister meaning she's always right, always the one in charge and will never stop caring about her lil sis. Like any older sibling or parent (as theoretically that is what Buffy is to Dawn. There was a line cut from The Gift in which Buffy says 'She's more than my sister, more than my daughter'. This quote did confuse Xander in the original script....) she has to take care of her, and go to any lengths to make sure she survives, she's giving her the chance to live. And Dawn realized that. She didn't want Buffy to die, she didn't want her to jump to save her, but I think by the way she only stands there and cries and doesn't protest further shows she understood Buffy's actions and was deep down thankful for the gift that Buffy gave her. At least that's what I gather from Dawn's expression at the very end when she has come down from the tower and sees Buffy's body. She's all resolvey, serious and determined 'Live. For me' after all.
It's a paradox; by Buffy being selfish in not wanting her sister to die, she was selfless in the act of giving her sister the chance to live and the world a chance to survive.

And I think Death wasn't just a gift to Dawn, but the final gift to Buffy too as it finally gave her peace. So maybe it was never Dawn's destiny to jump, maybe it was always Buffy's. Just a theory. Hehe

[ILLYRIAN]

Uummm yes! ( does that mean Buffy didn't get to pat her sister on the back? )

On a brighter note, had Buffy and Dawn jumped from the tower at the same time, what would their score have been at the olympics ?

[Dancing man]

It wasnt a hard choice, you jump in and save your sister. Thats just what hero's and heroines do.

[sk8rj04]

I always thought that if Dawn had jumped, the memories the scoobies were given of a life with dawn would have been erased, as if she were never there. I swear I heard that somewhere on the show..

[Xin Rong]

I always thought that if Dawn had jumped, the memories the scoobies were given of a life with dawn would have been erased, as if she were never there. I swear I heard that somewhere on the show..

Really don't think it was on the show lol

[caitaintdead]

Really don't think it was on the show lol

Maybe just wishful thinking?

[willow23]

Yes. In a word yes. I totally relate to Buffy's love of Dawn and, were I in her shoes I would have jumped without question.

That being said, I think that The Gift is one of the most moving episodes of Buffy.

[littlewilly]

I wouldve thrown Dawn of myself

[LorneyTunes]

Yes in so many ways , Buffy saves the world and Dawn its so
right, Buffy is like a lament so the evil can go away x