Buffy The Vampire Slayer

I am not one of the many people who hated Dawn from the moment of her first appearance. For the most part, I was fairly neutral about her, leaning towards being positive. I thought that Dawn’s introduction in Season 5 provided the catalyst for some meaningful change in Buffy, as she took on the responsibilities and feelings of sisterhood and then motherhood. In Season 6, Dawn did become whiny and annoying, but not without cause. In "Bargaining", Dawn demonstrates how much she misses her sister by cuddling up beside the Buffybot for comfort. When Buffy returns and is apparently contemplating killing herself again, Dawn reveals how desperately she needs her sister and how hard it is has been to live without her. Buffy’s return gives Dawn the hope that she and her sister will be together again. Those hopes are painfully dashed, however, as Buffy’s own misery causes her to pull away from her friends, lose all interest in her sister, and embark on a path of self-destruction and degradation. At the same time, all the other people who love Dawn are also turning away from her, busily engaged in destroying their own lives. These rejections cause Dawn to become a kleptomaniac, in a cry for help and attention. At a time in her life when she needs to know that she is important and that she matters, Dawn is sent the message by her loved ones that she is worth neither their time or notice. (I am not blaming the others for this, just commenting on the effect their respective problems had on Dawn). The one exception to this is Tara, who tries to maintain her contact with Dawn and let her know that she loves her. Tara is murdered. Under these conditions, Dawn’s behavior, while annoying, is also perfectly understandable and believable. The lesson that Dawn is learning in her young life is that the people she loves will leave her or be taken from her, and that she is not important to most of them anyway. (Major trust issues and a giant therapy bill lie in this girl’s future). Still, Season 6 ends on an up-note for Dawn: she proves that she is a capable young woman, and her sister finally promises to help her discover her own potential and - most importantly - promises to be there for her as she grows into a powerful woman.

Season 7 begins with Buffy keeping this promise. She is training Dawn in how to fight and the two sisters seem closer than ever. Dawn is coming into her own. Then the First makes its appearance, and the Slayers-in-training arrive. This is where the real problems start. Buffy begins to spend her time training the SITs. Along the way - inexplicably - she also stops training Dawn. Buffy takes the SITs out on patrol - something that Dawn has always begged Buffy to do with her. Now, however, Dawn is deliberately left at home. In effect, her already tenuous position in the life of her sister - who is so deeply important to her - is usurped by a group of strange young women, each of whom is being indoctrinated in the idea that she is "special" and "chosen" - in contrast to the many who are not. I cannot imagine that Dawn can hear this and not conclude - at some level - that the reason that her sister is now ignoring her (once again) is because she is not special and chosen. This is probably a valid conclusion. (As an aside, as a political scientist, I find the idea that the fate of the world is dependent upon a divinely chosen elite to be very discomfiting. That’s a subject for another time).

When Dawn believes, briefly, that she is one of the "potentials" she is understandably upset. However, her friends also start paying attention to her and treating her very differently, as someone important. Moreover, Dawn comes to terms with her presumed power very quickly - one of the first things that she tries to do is test herself against a real vampire. I believe that, on balance, Dawn probably found the idea of being a potential to be absolutely thrilling. She would be someone who had power, someone who was special and chosen. Most important, being a potential would redefine her relationship with Buffy. As a SIT, Dawn would be trained by Buffy, she would go on patrol, she would matter once more to her big sister. (The notion that Buffy would have to die before Dawn becomes the Slayer is bizarre, and I will address that below). Her realization that it was all a mistake must have been devastating - all of her hopes of connecting with her sister would have been dashed, once again. At the end of the show, she tries to make herself useful by doing research, but it is almost certainly not enough to compensate for all that she has lost. Even Xander’s efforts, however valiant, ultimately cannot be enough to make Dawn see herself in a positive light. To Dawn, the one person who matters the most is Buffy and, however true Xander’s words may be, it is really only Buffy’s acknowledgement that can make a difference to her.

Mutant Enemy’s decision to not make Dawn the newest potential was unexpected and quite courageous. It scotched the idea of "Dawn the Vampire Slayer" as a possible spin-off (probably to the relief of most people). However, this decision has made Dawn into a truly tragic figure. I think that she has become the poster-child for neglect and abandonment - which is a bit odd, since Joss Whedon said that in Season 7, people would stop abandoning Dawn. Dawn has handled herself remarkably well in Season 7 - most notably in her terrible battle with the demonic force in "Conversations with Dead People". She has shown that she is courageous and resourceful. In "Potential", she shows a level of maturity and judgment that is well beyond her years. The Dawn of Season 6, who stole and whined for attention is, apparently, long gone. Yet, I don’t know that this is necessarily a good thing. At the end of "Potential" what I see is a sad young woman who has stopped begging for attention because she knows that she will never get it. She is broken. She is resigned to the belief that she is not special, and that she is not worth her sister’s time. It would be nice to think that Xander’s words have given Dawn new hope and perspective on her life and her role in her sister’s life, but a few wise words cannot be enough to overcome being neglected for so long by the person who means the most to her. Of course, this is TV; in TV-land, it may be the case that such psychological pain can be easily overcome; in the real world, it’s not that easy, and I’m hopeful that Buffy’s writers have recognized this. (Though the litmus test of how sensitive the writers are will be how they handle the Willow-Kennedy mess- but I’ve said enough about that!)

Part of the tragedy of this situation is that Dawn is probably very important to whatever happens at the end of the season. Whether the figure of Joyce who appeared to Dawn is a true manifestation of her mother or a deception of the First, what is clear is that the First went to an awful lot of trouble to deal with Dawn. If it did stage the entire situation in "Conversations With Dead People" to deceive her, then it put far more energy and effort into the scheme than it has with anyone else. If it was, indeed, trying to keep Joyce from speaking to Dawn, then it still put great effort into attempting to prevent this contact. Either way, the First’s efforts indicate that Dawn is important. (Assuming it was the First involved in that situation - if it was not, then that adds a whole other dimension to the proceedings, but it doesn’t change the central point that Dawn is probably pivotal to whatever happens).

A bit of speculation: perhaps it is Dawn who will sacrifice herself for Buffy in the end. We now know that Buffy is the source of the disruption in the Slayer line; bringing her back to life caused some kind of mystical imbalance. Restoring that balance may require taking Buffy’s life again. It may be, however, that Dawn can take Buffy’s place in any magical ritual. If Buffy could give her life for Dawn in Season 5, and if the two sisters are still largely interchangeable (at least for mystical purposes) then this may make sense - or at least as much sense as Buffy being able to replace Dawn in S5. It might also explain why Buffy would be "against" Dawn - she certainly would not willingly let her sister sacrifice herself. Dawn’s death might also create a credible reason for Buffy to retire from the Slayer business and could explain her absence from any potential spinoff. In Season 5, Buffy said that she would quit if Dawn died; given the terrible way she has treated her sister for the past year, guilt could also contribute to convincing her to hang up her stake. Since Dawn is no longer a potential slayer, keeping her around for a spinoff does not seem that necessary anymore. At any rate, this is just wild speculation and I hope it’s wrong - as you can tell, I’m starting to like Dawn. It would be a tragedy for her to die after only a short, unhappy life and for the sake of a sister who looks right through her.

While it may be interesting to develop Dawn as an "ordinary" person, I don’t think that she is necessarily powerless. She is still the embodiment of potent mystical energy, a fact with which the writers have done remarkably little. It is odd that all that power can be so easily converted into the body of a young girl without having some possibility of being tapped. Finally, the shooting script for "Conversations" indicates that Dawn has received some training in magic from Willow - maybe magic is the path she should follow. One way or the other, the writers could do far more with Dawn, and it is unfortunate that they have not made more of an effort to flesh out the character.

On balance, I think that Buffy has failed Dawn badly. How many times now has she promised Dawn that "things are going to change" in regards to their relationship, then failed to deliver? In the real world, there are many examples of great people who neglect their families in order to serve the larger good. Buffy may fall into this category. On the other hand, Buffy surely has a responsibility towards her sister. These points can be argued both ways, but the one area in which Buffy’s negligence is inexcusable is in Dawn’s training. Why won’t Buffy teach her sister along with the SITs? Given the dangerous circumstances in which Dawn finds herself, knowing how to fight effectively is a matter of survival, and Buffy had been training her before the SITs arrived. So what has changed?

A quick comment on Xander: Xander’s speech at the end of "Potential" was great, and just what Dawn needed to hear. Xander’s status as the "ordinary guy", however, should not cause us to overlook his accomplishments. As I mentioned in my last article, Xander is the Scooby who has been most important in the series’ major battles the greatest number of times. A quick review: in S1, he performs CPR on Buffy and brings her back to life; in S2, he rescues Giles from Angel’s headquarters. In S2, it is also Xander who comes up with the plan and the rocket launcher to use against the Judge. In S3, Xander is "key guy", the one whose military expertise makes him the planner and leader of the armed student resistance to the Mayor and his minions; in S4, Xander and the other Scoobies are all equally important in creating Super-Buffy; in S5, Xander hits Glory with a wrecking ball, the single greatest blow delivered to Glory during the battle. More importantly, this action buys Buffy time to recover her troll hammer. Finally, in S6, Xander talks Willow down and saves the world. For the guy who fixes the windows, Xander has been an indispensable gear in the Scooby machine.

A Mid-Season Slump:

With "Potential", I think "Buffy" is now officially in a mid-season slump. I appreciate that there are many people who will disagree with me on this, but my personal view is that the past three episodes have not been particularly good. Each episode has had moments of expository power or compelling character development (particularly "Potential",as my preceding comments indicate) but, taken as a whole, each episode has managed to fritter away the momentum that started in "Conversations with Dead People". I appreciate that every episode cannot be "Conversations" - that was the best Buffy of the season, and a work of television brilliance. It blasted the main storyline for the season out of the starting blocks like a rocket. However, that is actually part of the problem. "Conversations" created the feeling that the rest of the season would be a roller-coaster of suspense, but the execution of the follow-up episodes has not fulfilled that promise. I think the main reason for this is the sense that the storyline itself is a bit thin right now. I have the impression that the last several episodes of the season will be where most of the meat of the story will be found. Right now, though, there is time to be filled. So, the events of the past few episodes have been stretched out. Contrast this situation to "Angel", where the story is remarkably suspenseful, involved, and just keeps getting better. There, the writers have material to make every show push forward the main storyline. So far, in Buffy, that has not seemed to be the case.

Beyond this, there are some elements that are not working. The Slayers in training, in particular, are an enormous drag on the show. These young women are too numerous and too new to be really interesting. Moreover, my sense is that they take up time that could be more productively used to show us things about the characters we really care about, or to develop the main mysteries of the season. For example, in "Potential" there was no discussion of what Anya and Giles discovered about Buffy, - instead, there was a remarkably senseless visit to a demon bar. Why waste our time with this drivel when there is so much more to explore? Perhaps the SITs will grow on me with time, but time is running out and, right now, I simply find that their presence - and everything associated with their training - sucks the energy right out of the proceedings. They may be necessary to the story, but I also think that they are a plot device that is failing badly. Personally, I’m hoping that they are all killed off as quickly as possible so that we can get back to the main gang, and so Buffy can stop making inspirational (and very annoying) speeches.

Giles’ lack of energy is also distracting, though in his case, this is probably part of a major plot development, so I can live with it. Still, Season 6 proved that Giles is absolutely fundamental to the dynamic of the show and the characters. His non-present presence right now is disconcerting; he is not acting as the stabilizing force that we have come to expect, and the effect is jarring.

I am not worried about the long-term, however. "Buffy" has gone through mid-season slumps before and usually finished on a high-note. My expectation is that the season will soon kick into high gear, as we count down to the end and the many different mysteries of the year are slowly revealed and resolved. I really have no clue as to what will happen, though I have faith (Ha! Another pun!) that it will be very good. I think it is fun to speculate on what will happen but, as I’ve said before, I don’t think that there is yet enough information available for us to put together a plausible guess as to the outcome.

What’s Up with the Slayer Line?

Numerous people have pointed out the apparent inconsistency over Buffy and Dawn expressing the belief that Buffy’s death will bring the next Slayer, When Buffy first made a comment implying this belief ( "Bring on the Night") I attributed it to conceit and maybe a bit of confusion. When she asserted that her death would lead to the rise of a new slayer in "Potential", I thought she was trying to add gravity to her words by telling a white lie. A more interesting possibility also presented itself: perhaps Buffy was deliberately misleading the SITs. Perhaps she did not want to admit that Faith exists and is the "true" Slayer (in a technical sense) because that would undermine Buffy’s own claims to being unique and special. However, Dawn’s later assertion of the same idea - that only Buffy’s death would allow her to achieve her potential as a Slayer (as she believed at the time) - leads to the conclusion that the Scooby gang, at least, believes this. Now, the argument could be made that the Scoobies don’t know that the line only runs through Faith - we know this because the writers have told us, but Buffy and company don’t have recourse to that source of information. Maybe they think that the death of either slayer will bring forth a new one. However, this argument does not stand up at all. Buffy was dead for four months. If her death leads to the rise of a new slayer, then there should be a new slayer out there and the Scoobies should have found her long ago. After all, if they can find potentials, then finding a true slayer should be unproblematic. And even if that slayer was already killed by the Bringers, the power would still be moving on to the next girl, and the next, etc. So, by this logic, there would have to be three active slayers right now. Now, clearly, this is not what is happening. The Scoobies appear to assume that there are only two active slayers; they certainly aren’t searching for a third. So, what is going on here? Why did Buffy and Dawn make this assertion? Is this a case of really bad writing and a massive slip in continuity? Are the Scoobies just really, really stupid for not noticing that there was no new slayer called after Buffy’s death and not drawing the logical conclusions? Or, has Buffy’s resurrection somehow restored her place in the Slayer line of succession? If so, how do the Scoobies know this? These are important points of continuity and, as should be clear by now, I’m pretty big on continuity. So far this season, we’ve had to endure way too many cases of sloppy - or at least questionable - consistency.. (Anyone for drowning Spike, the vampire who doesn’t breathe? In the latest episode, why on earth would a school classroom hold a vampire - particularly when one wall is covered with windows? Why didn’t the Bringers find Amanda long ago?) If this present development just turns out to be a mistake on the part of Mutant Enemy, then they had better correct it very quickly, or we will start to head into "X-Files" territory in terms of things just not adding up. Admittedly, another possibility is that there is a third slayer out there, who has somehow been concealed from the First and the coven; but that still would not explain why the Scoobies are not looking for her, or have not mentioned her.

A Final Comment on the Season’s Mysteries:

In conclusion, a quick review of the season’s mysteries: what has happened to Giles? What is happening with Principal Wood? What does the First really want? My favourite: does it have a connection to the Slayers and what is that connection? Is the Joyce who is appearing to Buffy and Dawn real or a manifestation of the First and, either way, are her words meaningful? How has Buffy’s return disrupted the Slayer line and how can it be fixed? What on earth does Willow see in Kennedy? (OK, I just threw that one in, but I think it’s a valid question). One mystery that I am not sure is a mystery: what does the First want with Spike? It went to a lot of trouble to kidnap him, yet Spike’s blood really wasn’t necessary to free the Turok-Han - it seems that anyone’s blood could have worked. After that, the torture of Spike seemed pointless - even if the First could get Spike to say that he would join it, why should it trust his promise? If it was genuinely concerned about Spike being a powerful ally to Buffy, why not just kill him? Besides all of this, why on earth is there any reason to think that Spike is cured of his sleeper function? If the First appears and starts singing "Early One Morning" (otherwise known as the "Friendly Giant" theme up here in Canada) why wouldn’t Spike turn into a rabid killer vampire? I hope that there is a purpose to all of this that turns out to be relevant later. If so, I will be effusive in my praise of the writers. For now, however, I have the feeling that the Spike kidnap-torture plot was really just another way to fill up time and get James Marsters to take off his shirt.