Dawn was originally meant to be 10 years old but SMG convinced everyone to cast MT (I'm not sure if they were already friends at the time), but the writers, for some reason, had a hard time making the switch, so some of her characterization early on is a little child-like. MT had to convince them to make Dawn's characterization more age-appropriate, so in S7 she's much more mature and even elegant (I love Dawn in S7, except for the one episode *ahem*).
I can see your point about a baby but I wouldn't have liked that. Dawn at that age provides such an excellent mirror of who Buffy was or might have been if she hadn't been the Chosen One, and their sisterly vibe together, the way they bicker and sass and protect each other is oftentimes damn near perfect IMO. I have read a fanfic - will have to find a link - which was an AU version of S5: Joyce doesn't die (so she's on the run with everyone else in the Winnabago, for instance); but most importantly, the monks mess up their spell:
[SPOILER] so when the Monk says to Buffy "your sister" she says "I don't have a sister" - and becomes pregnant. The rest is dealing with being on the run and fighting off Glory etc [/END SPOILER]
If I find a link I'll send it, I'm sure you'd like it very much.
I wonder if Joyce ever explained her divorce to her daughters. It seems that Buffy's role is not only to protect, but also to explain, to share, to make things more easy for the youngest.
There's the scene in - is it Fool For Love? Buffy walks into Joyce's bedroom to find Joyce packing her suitcase, asks what's up, and Joyce says, "Oh dear, I'd hoped to save this for later". And then tells Buffy that she's going into the hospital the next day, I believe, for diagnostic exams. In other words, Joyce was trying to "protect" her daughters by keeping the truth from them as long as possible. Which is really I think a way of protecting herself as well from the unpleasantness of the situation, as well meaning as she may be. So I'm sure that's been a pattern for a long time - and lies and secrecy are certainly very much a part of dysfunctional family dynamics. I think it's why lying to her mom about being a Slayer comes so easily to Buffy in S1-2: it's something she's already used to doing because that's part of the dysfunction - not communicating, not facing hard truths, and trying to protect oneself and each other in ways that are ultimately more damaging than not.
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I can see your point about a baby but I wouldn't have liked that. Dawn at that age provides such an excellent mirror of who Buffy was or might have been if she hadn't been the Chosen One, and their sisterly vibe together, the way they bicker and sass and protect each other is oftentimes damn near perfect IMO. I have read a fanfic - will have to find a link - which was an AU version of S5: Joyce doesn't die (so she's on the run with everyone else in the Winnabago, for instance); but most importantly, the monks mess up their spell:
[SPOILER] so when the Monk says to Buffy "your sister" she says "I don't have a sister" - and becomes pregnant. The rest is dealing with being on the run and fighting off Glory etc [/END SPOILER]
If I find a link I'll send it, I'm sure you'd like it very much.
I wonder if Joyce ever explained her divorce to her daughters. It seems that Buffy's role is not only to protect, but also to explain, to share, to make things more easy for the youngest.
There's the scene in - is it Fool For Love? Buffy walks into Joyce's bedroom to find Joyce packing her suitcase, asks what's up, and Joyce says, "Oh dear, I'd hoped to save this for later". And then tells Buffy that she's going into the hospital the next day, I believe, for diagnostic exams. In other words, Joyce was trying to "protect" her daughters by keeping the truth from them as long as possible. Which is really I think a way of protecting herself as well from the unpleasantness of the situation, as well meaning as she may be. So I'm sure that's been a pattern for a long time - and lies and secrecy are certainly very much a part of dysfunctional family dynamics. I think it's why lying to her mom about being a Slayer comes so easily to Buffy in S1-2: it's something she's already used to doing because that's part of the dysfunction - not communicating, not facing hard truths, and trying to protect oneself and each other in ways that are ultimately more damaging than not.