And when Buffy tells the Scoobies about Dawn, they immediately begin acting weird around her--which was exactly the reason Buffy didn't tell them back when she told Giles.
Spike really does have a thing for Summers women. He's admired and respected Joyce ever since she hit him over the head with an axe. He loves Buffy, or at the very least lusts after her. And he feels protective of Dawn.
oh my gosh, seriously the acting Michelle (Dawn) does in this episode, especially the moment they realize she's harmed herself and she questions "Am I real? Am I anything?" as she starts to cry....it gets me every single time, no matter how many times I've seen this episode ( which is A LOT, especially now that I'm getting into watching other people react ). I either cry or tear up everytime. this is such a good episode.
Still bizarre to me that Giles wrote Buffy's sister is the key in a book under the shop counter, where any of the slayer's enemies could find it if they came looking. "Thank you Buffy for trusting me with this crucial information, I'm going to go write it in a book and leave it around".
Even the purpose of writing down who/what the key is. That is their biggest secret that they are dead set to protect. I get that Giles way of working through things is writing things out (writing out the problems to solve them) and taking notes, but he can do that without specifiying who/what the key is since he knows. Leaving out secret details or writing in code has been a part of recorded history forever.
Show logic ^^ It had to happen for the episode to progress. I'm with Logan on adding a cipher at the very least... but the show has limited run time and they have to hit the plot beats. I'm totally okay suspending disbelief when these choices are made with purpose, even if it is fun to pick it all apart (and there are *plenty* of inconsistencies, contradictions and plot holes in Buffy, as good as it is :P)
Yeah, in terms of logic it doesn’t make much sense. Glory knows who Buffy’s associates are and that they hang around the Magic Shop a lot. If she wanted to, she could very easily have discovered the answer by now. But I get why they have to do it for plot reasons. My head canon is that Glory doesn’t think they would do something so careless as write down who the Key is and leave it lying around, so she hasn’t bothered to look.
When people complain about Dawn, and I'm always like 'Did you guys not watch Blood Ties? This girl is going through A LOT'. This episode is so exhausting, but so crucial. I love the sisterly bond between Buffy and Dawn.
Yeah, I’ve never understood the hate for Dawn. I mean, I was already a terrible teenager & I never had to deal with being a 6 month old key, with manufactured memories.
I'll explain it simply you can write a character to be flawed and troublesome without them being overtly annoying. Dawn in this season and the next is annoying it doesn't ingratiate people to her plight when she acts ungrateful and unapologetic to people who are constantly trying to help her. Dawn's life is rough, welcome to the club.
I think it's season 6 Dawn that a lot of people get frustrated with. It's realistic that she'd have a lot of issues, but that doesn't make it fun to watch. S5 I have no issues with her, though.
Fully agree. The hate doesn’t make sense to me and the sister relationship between Buffy & Dawn is one of the strongest and most relatable relationships on the show
Dakara (5.26) : "Did Williow just put a candle in her mouth?" ... I think she was licking the cake frosting off the end of the candle, after pulling it from the birthday cake. Me and my sister used to do that when we were kids.
Oh wow, I knew UA-cam was a bit behind but you filming this in January and releasing it a couple days before November is shocking. Never would have guessed.
Some brilliant dramatic scenes in this episode. The scene where Dawn cuts herself was so hard to watch, that coupled with the fact that she is realising that her life has been a lie, and she doesn't know her true belonging. Spike has always spoke the truth to Buffy, and is always the most perceptive all them all. Some light relief when he says to Buffy 'not only is she a blob of energy but also a 14 year old hormone bomb' The Ben/Glory reveal incredible at the time. Such a powerful scene at the end when Buffy joins hands with Dawn saying it was 'Summers Blood' prophetic words indeed. A truly amazing arc now building in the S5.
Thank you for an excellent reaction to another Buffy birthday full of drama, chaos, and disaster. I am glad that you talked about one of the great aspects of Buffy's character and why she was the Chosen One. She is not just a leader but can be a remarkable General in the war against evil. She makes a quick decision based on the available information. She then has faith and supports her directives but then does something few can even try. If her decision is wrong or not the best, she puts her pride aside, admits her error, and finds a better solution. That is leadership. Buffy has pride like anyone does, but she understands the mission is greater than her personal recognition. She cares about results and can live with the fallout if it is uncomfortable.
I love the Dawn-Spike dynamics because while he is sometimes scarily insightful and wise, seeing things for how they are and speaking truth, other times he is closer to Dawn's mental age. "I'm badder than you". Really dude? You are a vampire who killed countless people and you still feel the need to compete with the 14 year-old running away from her sister's birthday party through her bedroom window? 😂
The episode's a great adoption metaphor. Dawn is as much a product of "being a kid" as Faith was at her reasons for "going to The Mayor." From Dawn's perspective, she wants to be involved in the life of a sister she loves and worships, and when she isn't involved, she gets involved the only way a fourteen year old would. From Faith's perspective she tried to get involved and become a part of the group, and when she realized everything Gwendolyn Post was saying about the "Faith and the Scoobies dynamic" was true, she started working for the mayor [this is a very condensed version of a long theory I have]. Dawn and Faith both ran away in some form, but Dawn had a support structure to come back to and Faith didn't. Faith only had a different one to run to (which happened to be the soulless mayor). I am not saying the group should have involved Dawn in the slayer related issues, but she should have known about herself before The Scoobies, who only contributed to Dawn's _what the &%#@ is going on_ curiosity of the situation. Because of how it went down, she had a right to be angry. Spike was right in what he said to Buffy while she was trying to act superior to him during their arguments about the situation. I'm glad that she eventually reached that acknowledgedment, as well. Willow's look of hurt upon realizing she doesn't know is wrong. This was a familymatter even more so than a Scooby matter. Willow doesn't have rights to know everything just because she's friends with Buffy. The group prove Buffy'S theory from _Family_ right in acting weird around Dawn once they know. It would have been better to wait in telling them until after Dawn and Joyce knew. What should have happened was Buffy should have told Dawn and Joyce at the same time she told Giles (although there is no reason Buffy couldn't have waited to tell Giles until after the monk gave her the information on his deathbed). From either of those situations, Buffy could have handled their reactions without having anyone leave in anger. Then it can be determined when the Scooby Gang should know. If they all agreed to say something in Family (I love the idea that the whole episode could have been a B storyline that tied thematically into Tara's story, but I digress on that idea). But if they don't tell them right away, then tell them Giles and Buffy know where the key is and strategically it is better if the fewer people who know the better, as that wouldn't even be a lie. What's sad is that the way character's should act, and what they should do, would be OOC. Buffy and Spike have an interesting relationship. She has to always remember that he's soulless. And yet he continually shows her that being so doesn't mean the lack of one instantly means a person will be Angelus. Spike cares about her and her family... as much as a soulless person with the memories of William can. It's not to say he doesn't care, more so to say Buffy should be just as weary of him as she should of been (but wasn't) with Angel. Spike cares bcause of who he was as William, but he's still soulless. A great and smaller example is after reading that Dawn's the key aloud he says to an emotionally distraught Dawn "Guess that's you Nibblett." Someone with a soul would try to comfort her. He puts Buffy in her place later, but there was no direct worry for Dawn's emotions because he only understands them to a point. He understands what he explains to Buffy later about teenagers, but emotional intricacies are too complex for soulless creatures. Spike has the right to put Buffy in her place when she tries to yell at him for Dawn sneaking out and her not saying anything to Dawn before The Scoobies. Everything he says is true. But watching over The Little Bit wasn't quite as important to him as Dawn bribing him with "steal[ing] stuff" if he didn't narc on her. It attracted Spike more than anything. The whole situation is very complex because, back to why Buffy needs to be careful, she denies a little to quickly and vehemenently, as well as not believably in any way, "He's not my boyfriend." She falling for him and in denial about it. This all goes back to Spke can start to seem decent, but he's still soulless and it is OOC for him to act differently, even when it seems he is helping. He's still soulless, even when doing good.
Great reaction to an ep where a few more layers of this supernatural onion are peeled back and we find out more about the relationship of Ben/Glory, and finally Dawn finds out the truth or her true nature and her role in the scheme of things... loved how the relationship between Buffy/Dawn was cemented as B claimed her as a blood relative and not just one from supernatural circumstance.. I really can't wait to watch you discover where things go from here.... Great stuff as always, D! a CTU for you and keep em coming!
~ 19:45- Dakara, have you not yet realized that we are each a collection of ancient energy, configured into human form, complete with memories that always feel real even though we could never prove them, all so the universe can use us as a portal to the world we seem to inhabit, until, perhaps, one day we are ended here, and become another portal, to a world beyond? 👻♥️
So given that Dawn was created and manifested rather than conceived and born, it did occur to me - does she have a birth date? If she does, they never show it. I would assume that would also be a fake memory. I mean technically she never had a childhood before the age of 13 (I think that’s how old she’s supposed to be in Season 5) and was just… there. That’s such an interesting idea to think about though. Like if all we have is memories of our lives, can we be sure that we actually lived that experience? It would be like the Mandela Effect playing havoc in our head. We can remember stuff that never happened. We remember who we were, what we looked like, what friends and social circles we had or didn’t have. But it’s because we remember them that they feel real to us. As if we actually experienced those moments. I mean technically the only moment we have is now. The past and future are theoretical. They don’t exist. But we sense them as if they did and as if they will. So a character like Dawn Summers represents that persistent feeling we get that we lived out these experiences which led to what and who we are today. But now they’re only just memories that are in our head. And to think that this is what “identity” is. The remembering of “self” in all its different incarnations. And the more we remember of it the more real it feels. The more recollection we have of it, the more we perform it and behave as if we are a specific “self” or “I” or “ego”. Whatever you want to call it. The THAT in the “I Am that I Am” awareness of everything there is. Not to go into full existential philosophy mode, as I so often do, but I think Dawn is an overlooked character. I mean she represents one of the most compelling themes and storylines in the whole damn show. The idea that we are what and who we are because we have memory of it and that’s really it as of right now. And it’s something very interesting and odd to think about but ultimately is the truth to the way it really is. I mean I don’t believe humanity began as green balls of energy of anything like that. It is an evolutionary cycle how we came to be what and who we are today. But it’s just the idea that consciousness - which includes memory recall - is what gives us our most personal and visceral recollection of what passes by just as quick as it started. Which is faster than our brains can actually process it so has to slow it down. And that’s how we get a perceptive experience of it. Similar to the way they used to make animated films. By drawing stilled snapshots frame-by-frame and then playing them in a forward progression to give the illusion that there is movement happening on screen. Our brains do that but backwards when we recall events that happened. At least that’s what mine does. And I think what’s really interesting about Dawn’s character to emphasise on that is when Season 5 ends and Buffy takes the place of Dawn to stop all the dimensional gates to every dimension opening, that it doesn’t even matter anymore that Dawn is the Key to opening them all even though she still technically is. It also doesn’t even matter that she was created rather than born. It doesn’t even matter that her memories of her life and childhood are fake. It doesn’t even matter that she’s fundamentally not a human being. All that matters is that she and everyone around her that love and care for her FEEL like she’s one of them. And there’s my point. It’s real because it FEELS real. And nothing else matters but that feeling/sensing that anything that has happened happened. There’s no difference between whether it actually did or whether we remember that it did. Whether it was an external occurrence or whether it only occurred in our head. Not to quote J.K. Rowling but I really must given the significance of the post and the point I’m trying to get across with it in even mentioning Dawn Summers: HARRY: “Tell me one last thing. Is this real? Or has this been happening inside my head?” DUMBLEDORE: “Of course it is happening inside your head, Harry, but why on earth should that mean that it is not real?” Experience of any kind - no matter what it is or where it occurs - is real for the individual that experiences it. For the consciousness that has direct access to it. Even if it never happened externally or practically. Experientially, it is a real lived moment in our lives because… We feel it. We sense it. We remember it. And thus, Dawn Summers is really quite a profound character in the story of ‘Buffy the Vampire Slayer’. It’s not her fault that they didn’t carry on with her arc and continued to show exactly why she still matters passed Season 5. Or why she, as Xander put it in the closing out scene of ‘Potential’, is extraordinary. It’s not her fault that her character representation and development was just left by the wayside because, while she was still the Key, there was no Lock to fit her into anymore. And that there was no reason to treat her as anything more or less than how we treat the rest of the characters. Just an average normal girl who every once in awhile could be little frightening because her true nature was this all-powerful energy that was neither “good” or “evil” but just… there. It doesn’t matter that she, as “Dawn”, wasn’t always there because “always” isn’t a relative term. You can’t ever know an “always” to anything. Experience doesn’t work like that. At least not for human beings. All that matters is that she FEELS like she is “Dawn” and everyone around her also FEELS that she is too. Joyce FELT like Dawn was and is her daughter. Dawn FEELS like Joyce was and is her mother and that Buffy was and is her sister. All that matters is the FEELING that their fake memories are real to them. If we really think about it - that’s all that matters for us, as human beings in the “real world”, too. And it’s really profound to have a character in any form of art/entertainment whatsoever representing that for us. And I don’t know about you guys but this is the real reason why Season 5 hits so hard for me emotionally. They presented this random ass sister from nowhere and by the end of the season made us FEEL like she had always been apart of all that we love about ‘BtVS’. So the joke “Remember when Dawn” always works on viewers that have yet to learn how she really came in and why none of that even matters in the first place. And the entire season is written so well that what was once so fucking frustrating for us is all but forgotten. Maybe not for everyone. But for the majority of fans it matters not that they never really go into the details of how and why and just continue to develop on what is. And what is … is Dawn. Buffy’s little sister and source. It’s something I often say. A personal mantra of sorts: “It’s not what it is that matters. It’s how it feels.”
Posting my BUFFY REWATCH recap for ‘Blood Ties’. May contain spoilers. For this episode recap of ‘Blood Ties’, we’re going back to the theme of withholding information that we had in Season 4 with Willow withholding her romantic/sexual relationship with Tara from Buffy and the Gang, and Buffy withholding information of Riley being an Initiative Commando from Giles. But this time the reason to withhold information is much more serious as this is about Dawn’s true nature as the Key. Therefore, it would be information that would put the Scoobies in danger if they knew about her being it. Buffy only tells Giles this information as soon she finds out for herself, and they decide together that it’s for the best that no one else knows, lest they be targeted by Glory - who is looking for the Key to open a portal to get back to her Hell dimension. I wanted to address this withholding of information from the other Scoobies because “it’s too dangerous” to know it because it’s a common occurrence that Buffy uses the “it’s too dangerous” excuse when it comes to Willow and Xander. Knowing they’re willing volunteers in aiding her in the Slayage, she often worries about their safety when she’s really got a challenge on her hands. And I would say Glory is the biggest challenge she’s faced so far. As a Hell God, Glory is the strongest Big Bad Buffy has come across yet. She’s even stronger than Adam - so she probably thinks that the enjoining spell (where she, Willow, Xander and Giles combined their essences to defeat Adam when he was just too strong for Buffy to take on alone in the Season 4 climax) wouldn’t be helpful this time. So she and Giles figured that keeping them out-of-the-loop on the Key was the best thing to do to both keep Willow/Xander/Scooby Gang safe and protect Dawn. But see... the thing is, is they’re not going to take ‘no’ for an answer. Willow and Xander specifically (and Giles, to some degree, with officially being her assigned, and recently reinstated, Watcher) will always risk their lives not just because they’re the Slayer’s best friends - (and Watcher/Father figure) - but also because they’ve chosen their fate a long time ago. They were aware of the dangers and the risks and the consequences from pretty much the start of Buffy’s Slayer journey, and they chose to be willing participants in helping Buffy anyway. So now it doesn’t matter whether Buffy is around to fight evil as they’re going to be doing it anyway... because they’ve CHOSEN to do it. And that’s a very important word in the context of this subject because Buffy had no choice. I bring up Willow’s conversation with Buffy in the episode ‘Choices’ in telling her where she’ll be going to college after graduating from Sunnydale High School: Buffy: “I'm never getting out of here. I kept thinking if I stopped the Mayor or... but I was kidding myself. I mean, there is always going to be something. I'm a Sunnydale girl,... no other choice.” Willow: “Must be tough. I mean, here I am... I can do anything I want. I can go to any college in the country. Four or five in Europe if I want.” Buffy: “Please tell me you're going somewhere with this?” Willow: “No. *Hands Buffy a letter* I'm not going anywhere.” Buffy: *Reads the letter* “UC Sunnydale?” Willow: “I will be matriculating with Class of 2003.” Buffy: “Are you serious?” Willow: “Say,... isn't that where you're going?” *Buffy hugs her and they tumble onto the ground* Buffy: “I can't believe it! Are you serious?! Ah, wait, what am I saying? You can't.” Willow: “What do you mean, ‘I can't?’” Buffy: “I won't let you.” Willow: “Of the two people here, which is the boss of me?” Buffy: “There are better schools.” Willow: “Sunnydale's not bad. And I can design my own curriculum.” Buffy: “Okay, well, there are safer schools. There are safer prisons. I can't let you stay because of me.” Willow: "Actually, this isn't about you. Although I'm fond, don't get me wrong, of you. The other night, you know, being captured and all, facing off with Faith. Things just, kind of, got clear. I mean, you've been fighting evil here for three years, and I've helped some, and now we're supposed to decide what we want to do with our lives. And I just realized that that's what I want to do. Fight evil, help people. I mean, I think it's worth doing. And I don't think you do it because you have to. It's a good fight, Buffy, and I want in.” Buffy: “I kind of love you.” Willow: “And, besides, I have a shot at being a bad ass Wiccan, and what better place to learn?” It’s not about Buffy. It’s about fighting the good fight. Fighting against evil. Big Bad evil, the likes of Glory, especially. Maybe it makes some sense to play the whole “it’s too dangerous” card with Xander since he doesn’t have any physical/practical and/or mystical/magical powers... but it doesn’t make sense to play it with Willow. Willow now knows who she is and what she wants. Even if she doesn’t always believe in herself, she’s at least self-aware enough to know what it is that makes her tick. She wants to feel the heroicness of Buffy in helping the innocent for herself. Willow wants the power... and now she’s got the power... there is no reason why she shouldn’t be allowed to know information that would put her in danger or make her a target when she clearly shows, and does later prove when Glory targets Tara, that she’s the only one strong and powerful enough to hurt her and protect everyone, including Dawn, from Glory. “The Slayer thing really isn't about the violence. It's about the power.” It ultimately comes down to Buffy thinking she’s burdening her friends with having to take on the responsibility of Slayage. But she’s all wrong. Her friends - especially Willow - have CHOSEN this life. And it’s literally Giles’ job so... get a clue, Slayer. You’re better off when you have help. Your ties to the world do not weaken you. They make you stronger. There is always danger, there is always risk, there is always consequences. But someone’s CHOICE is all that matters. Just because YOU didn’t get a choice in the matter doesn’t mean you can “relieve” the Scoobies from theirs in the name of “it’s too dangerous" because it is also too dangerous for you to be without them too, Buffy.
I'm getting this vague impression that these episodes may have been recorded in advance. Probably just my imagination. Anyway enjoy the New Year. Happy 2023!
Plenty of viewers don't like Dawn. I was never in that camp, bc I was the little brother than loved hanging around with his big brother. I WAS Dawn, and my brother was equal parts loving and angry at me. Just like Buffy often is. I also think Michelle was *magnificent* in the role. She joined an experienced ensemble cast as a teenager and while her performances didn't ALWAYS hit the mark... MOST of them did. And this episode in particular pulls on the heartstrings HARD. Genuinely underrated and under appreciated. And the "you're not my mother" line definitely hits me too. I don't THINK I've ever said those words to my mother, but I've been damn close many times (I love her, but at times she has been incredibly difficult due to her own upbringing. I'm very proud of her for overcoming much of her trauma... but it is still there and it can come out as true venom) Thankfully I always had my dad to calm me and lecture me. She has trashed him more than once since his death, but I do not stand for it. Not once did he give anything but love and praise for her, no matter how upset or angry I was with her (they argued, obviously. Even both confided in me about marital issues by the time I hit my teens, as a precocious fellow. I just told them to deal with it or divorce, which solved it every time. But never once did he put her down) Without him drilling love and respect into me, I don't doubt I would have spoken in anger and hurt my mother more than she could bear. I'm glad I avoided it. Absolutely with you on character flaws and why it makes the show so special. They learn and grow, but are never perfect. And just like real life, it isn't a linear path. Buffy's abandonment issues and PTSD are subtle enough to miss most of the time, but apparent when looked for... and they don't just get magically resolved.
@@Logan_BaronExcept no that's not right if that was the case then there would be no birthrecords for her, she wouldn't be in pictures and so on. Her room would have had no furniture.
Ben and Glory a sort of the same person. They're distinct from each other, but share the same general form. There seems to be a spell of some sort that makes everyone forget that they are two halves of a whole. Btw you seem allergic to that frog, it made you tear up and start sniffling.
And when Buffy tells the Scoobies about Dawn, they immediately begin acting weird around her--which was exactly the reason Buffy didn't tell them back when she told Giles.
Spike really does have a thing for Summers women.
He's admired and respected Joyce ever since she hit him over the head with an axe.
He loves Buffy, or at the very least lusts after her.
And he feels protective of Dawn.
oh my gosh, seriously the acting Michelle (Dawn) does in this episode, especially the moment they realize she's harmed herself and she questions "Am I real? Am I anything?" as she starts to cry....it gets me every single time, no matter how many times I've seen this episode ( which is A LOT, especially now that I'm getting into watching other people react ). I either cry or tear up everytime. this is such a good episode.
Spike is the truth teller, as a story telling trope, hes the one that puts the hard facts on the table for other characters to have to face.
Spike is also evil and a villain. He uses the truth the same way he uses lies - to hurt others and to cum over the pain he causes.
6:00 He wasn't lurking, he was standing about. It's a whole different vibe.
He was just out for a walk...
@@DWG1983 ...bitch. Of course he wouldn't say that to Dawn, just Buffy.
hahahaha
Still bizarre to me that Giles wrote Buffy's sister is the key in a book under the shop counter, where any of the slayer's enemies could find it if they came looking. "Thank you Buffy for trusting me with this crucial information, I'm going to go write it in a book and leave it around".
Even the purpose of writing down who/what the key is. That is their biggest secret that they are dead set to protect. I get that Giles way of working through things is writing things out (writing out the problems to solve them) and taking notes, but he can do that without specifiying who/what the key is since he knows. Leaving out secret details or writing in code has been a part of recorded history forever.
Show logic ^^
It had to happen for the episode to progress.
I'm with Logan on adding a cipher at the very least... but the show has limited run time and they have to hit the plot beats.
I'm totally okay suspending disbelief when these choices are made with purpose, even if it is fun to pick it all apart (and there are *plenty* of inconsistencies, contradictions and plot holes in Buffy, as good as it is :P)
Yeah, in terms of logic it doesn’t make much sense. Glory knows who Buffy’s associates are and that they hang around the Magic Shop a lot. If she wanted to, she could very easily have discovered the answer by now. But I get why they have to do it for plot reasons. My head canon is that Glory doesn’t think they would do something so careless as write down who the Key is and leave it lying around, so she hasn’t bothered to look.
When people complain about Dawn, and I'm always like 'Did you guys not watch Blood Ties? This girl is going through A LOT'. This episode is so exhausting, but so crucial. I love the sisterly bond between Buffy and Dawn.
Yeah, I’ve never understood the hate for Dawn. I mean, I was already a terrible teenager & I never had to deal with being a 6 month old key, with manufactured memories.
I'll explain it simply you can write a character to be flawed and troublesome without them being overtly annoying. Dawn in this season and the next is annoying it doesn't ingratiate people to her plight when she acts ungrateful and unapologetic to people who are constantly trying to help her. Dawn's life is rough, welcome to the club.
I think it's season 6 Dawn that a lot of people get frustrated with. It's realistic that she'd have a lot of issues, but that doesn't make it fun to watch. S5 I have no issues with her, though.
Fully agree. The hate doesn’t make sense to me and the sister relationship between Buffy & Dawn is one of the strongest and most relatable relationships on the show
@@MrSupertallblackmanDawn's is never annoying. Viewers like you are annoying.
Christmas in October! Merry Christmas everyone!
🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣
hope you have a good one lol
Also Happy New Year 2023!!
Dakara (5.26) : "Did Williow just put a candle in her mouth?" ... I think she was licking the cake frosting off the end of the candle, after pulling it from the birthday cake. Me and my sister used to do that when we were kids.
Oh wow, I knew UA-cam was a bit behind but you filming this in January and releasing it a couple days before November is shocking. Never would have guessed.
Some brilliant dramatic scenes in this episode. The scene where Dawn cuts herself was so hard to watch, that coupled with the fact that she is realising that her life has been a lie, and she doesn't know her true belonging. Spike has always spoke the truth to Buffy, and is always the most perceptive all them all. Some light relief when he says to Buffy 'not only is she a blob of energy but also a 14 year old hormone bomb' The Ben/Glory reveal incredible at the time. Such a powerful scene at the end when Buffy joins hands with Dawn saying it was 'Summers Blood' prophetic words indeed. A truly amazing arc now building in the S5.
Dawn's ability to overhear only the worst parts of conversations is uncanny.
Thank you for an excellent reaction to another Buffy birthday full of drama, chaos, and disaster. I am glad that you talked about one of the great aspects of Buffy's character and why she was the Chosen One. She is not just a leader but can be a remarkable General in the war against evil. She makes a quick decision based on the available information. She then has faith and supports her directives but then does something few can even try. If her decision is wrong or not the best, she puts her pride aside, admits her error, and finds a better solution. That is leadership. Buffy has pride like anyone does, but she understands the mission is greater than her personal recognition. She cares about results and can live with the fallout if it is uncomfortable.
I love the Dawn-Spike dynamics because while he is sometimes scarily insightful and wise, seeing things for how they are and speaking truth, other times he is closer to Dawn's mental age. "I'm badder than you". Really dude? You are a vampire who killed countless people and you still feel the need to compete with the 14 year-old running away from her sister's birthday party through her bedroom window? 😂
I think glory and Ben have something in common 🤔😂
So are you saying... that Ben and Glory... are related in some way or form?!
@@Frank-Voight-Kampffmaybe they’re subletting?? Idk
Interesting theory, but what exactly?
Oh wow, that's a big reach 😅
9:09 Renegade Rebel for Life🤘 You already know 😂
It’s summers blood it’s just like mine
The episode's a great adoption metaphor.
Dawn is as much a product of "being a kid" as Faith was at her reasons for "going to The Mayor." From Dawn's perspective, she wants to be involved in the life of a sister she loves and worships, and when she isn't involved, she gets involved the only way a fourteen year old would. From Faith's perspective she tried to get involved and become a part of the group, and when she realized everything Gwendolyn Post was saying about the "Faith and the Scoobies dynamic" was true, she started working for the mayor [this is a very condensed version of a long theory I have]. Dawn and Faith both ran away in some form, but Dawn had a support structure to come back to and Faith didn't. Faith only had a different one to run to (which happened to be the soulless mayor). I am not saying the group should have involved Dawn in the slayer related issues, but she should have known about herself before The Scoobies, who only contributed to Dawn's _what the &%#@ is going on_ curiosity of the situation. Because of how it went down, she had a right to be angry. Spike was right in what he said to Buffy while she was trying to act superior to him during their arguments about the situation. I'm glad that she eventually reached that acknowledgedment, as well.
Willow's look of hurt upon realizing she doesn't know is wrong. This was a familymatter even more so than a Scooby matter. Willow doesn't have rights to know everything just because she's friends with Buffy. The group prove Buffy'S theory from _Family_ right in acting weird around Dawn once they know. It would have been better to wait in telling them until after Dawn and Joyce knew.
What should have happened was Buffy should have told Dawn and Joyce at the same time she told Giles (although there is no reason Buffy couldn't have waited to tell Giles until after the monk gave her the information on his deathbed). From either of those situations, Buffy could have handled their reactions without having anyone leave in anger. Then it can be determined when the Scooby Gang should know. If they all agreed to say something in Family (I love the idea that the whole episode could have been a B storyline that tied thematically into Tara's story, but I digress on that idea). But if they don't tell them right away, then tell them Giles and Buffy know where the key is and strategically it is better if the fewer people who know the better, as that wouldn't even be a lie.
What's sad is that the way character's should act, and what they should do, would be OOC.
Buffy and Spike have an interesting relationship. She has to always remember that he's soulless. And yet he continually shows her that being so doesn't mean the lack of one instantly means a person will be Angelus. Spike cares about her and her family... as much as a soulless person with the memories of William can. It's not to say he doesn't care, more so to say Buffy should be just as weary of him as she should of been (but wasn't) with Angel. Spike cares bcause of who he was as William, but he's still soulless. A great and smaller example is after reading that Dawn's the key aloud he says to an emotionally distraught Dawn "Guess that's you Nibblett." Someone with a soul would try to comfort her. He puts Buffy in her place later, but there was no direct worry for Dawn's emotions because he only understands them to a point. He understands what he explains to Buffy later about teenagers, but emotional intricacies are too complex for soulless creatures. Spike has the right to put Buffy in her place when she tries to yell at him for Dawn sneaking out and her not saying anything to Dawn before The Scoobies. Everything he says is true. But watching over The Little Bit wasn't quite as important to him as Dawn bribing him with "steal[ing] stuff" if he didn't narc on her. It attracted Spike more than anything. The whole situation is very complex because, back to why Buffy needs to be careful, she denies a little to quickly and vehemenently, as well as not believably in any way, "He's not my boyfriend." She falling for him and in denial about it. This all goes back to Spke can start to seem decent, but he's still soulless and it is OOC for him to act differently, even when it seems he is helping. He's still soulless, even when doing good.
Great reaction to an ep where a few more layers of this supernatural onion are peeled back and we find out more about the relationship of Ben/Glory, and finally Dawn finds out the truth or her true nature and her role in the scheme of things... loved how the relationship between Buffy/Dawn was cemented as B claimed her as a blood relative and not just one from supernatural circumstance.. I really can't wait to watch you discover where things go from here.... Great stuff as always, D! a CTU for you and keep em coming!
The way Michelle yells Get out just feels so real and authentic, she really plays the emotional side far too real
There were college courses and academic papers based upon this show. It was truly a phenomenon in its day.
Ben is Glory and Gloria is Ben. Ben is Benjamin, all the wile Glory is Glorificus.
I loved Passion. I would get suspended just so I could stay home and watch it.
No VCR?
"at least vampires just kill you" oof
I guess we can officially say that Ben and Glory are Gemini. 😂
😂 13:38 Ah Dakara I was looking forward to this...lol I love ya but .. come on lmao
~ 19:45- Dakara, have you not yet realized that we are each a collection of ancient energy, configured into human form, complete with memories that always feel real even though we could never prove them, all so the universe can use us as a portal to the world we seem to inhabit, until, perhaps, one day we are ended here, and become another portal, to a world beyond? 👻♥️
1:33 😮
So given that Dawn was created and manifested rather than conceived and born, it did occur to me - does she have a birth date? If she does, they never show it. I would assume that would also be a fake memory. I mean technically she never had a childhood before the age of 13 (I think that’s how old she’s supposed to be in Season 5) and was just… there.
That’s such an interesting idea to think about though. Like if all we have is memories of our lives, can we be sure that we actually lived that experience? It would be like the Mandela Effect playing havoc in our head. We can remember stuff that never happened. We remember who we were, what we looked like, what friends and social circles we had or didn’t have. But it’s because we remember them that they feel real to us. As if we actually experienced those moments. I mean technically the only moment we have is now. The past and future are theoretical. They don’t exist. But we sense them as if they did and as if they will. So a character like Dawn Summers represents that persistent feeling we get that we lived out these experiences which led to what and who we are today. But now they’re only just memories that are in our head. And to think that this is what “identity” is. The remembering of “self” in all its different incarnations. And the more we remember of it the more real it feels. The more recollection we have of it, the more we perform it and behave as if we are a specific “self” or “I” or “ego”. Whatever you want to call it. The THAT in the “I Am that I Am” awareness of everything there is.
Not to go into full existential philosophy mode, as I so often do, but I think Dawn is an overlooked character. I mean she represents one of the most compelling themes and storylines in the whole damn show. The idea that we are what and who we are because we have memory of it and that’s really it as of right now. And it’s something very interesting and odd to think about but ultimately is the truth to the way it really is. I mean I don’t believe humanity began as green balls of energy of anything like that. It is an evolutionary cycle how we came to be what and who we are today. But it’s just the idea that consciousness - which includes memory recall - is what gives us our most personal and visceral recollection of what passes by just as quick as it started. Which is faster than our brains can actually process it so has to slow it down. And that’s how we get a perceptive experience of it. Similar to the way they used to make animated films. By drawing stilled snapshots frame-by-frame and then playing them in a forward progression to give the illusion that there is movement happening on screen. Our brains do that but backwards when we recall events that happened. At least that’s what mine does.
And I think what’s really interesting about Dawn’s character to emphasise on that is when Season 5 ends and Buffy takes the place of Dawn to stop all the dimensional gates to every dimension opening, that it doesn’t even matter anymore that Dawn is the Key to opening them all even though she still technically is. It also doesn’t even matter that she was created rather than born. It doesn’t even matter that her memories of her life and childhood are fake. It doesn’t even matter that she’s fundamentally not a human being.
All that matters is that she and everyone around her that love and care for her FEEL like she’s one of them. And there’s my point. It’s real because it FEELS real. And nothing else matters but that feeling/sensing that anything that has happened happened. There’s no difference between whether it actually did or whether we remember that it did. Whether it was an external occurrence or whether it only occurred in our head.
Not to quote J.K. Rowling but I really must given the significance of the post and the point I’m trying to get across with it in even mentioning Dawn Summers:
HARRY: “Tell me one last thing. Is this real? Or has this been happening inside my head?”
DUMBLEDORE: “Of course it is happening inside your head, Harry, but why on earth should that mean that it is not real?”
Experience of any kind - no matter what it is or where it occurs - is real for the individual that experiences it. For the consciousness that has direct access to it. Even if it never happened externally or practically. Experientially, it is a real lived moment in our lives because… We feel it. We sense it. We remember it. And thus, Dawn Summers is really quite a profound character in the story of ‘Buffy the Vampire Slayer’. It’s not her fault that they didn’t carry on with her arc and continued to show exactly why she still matters passed Season 5. Or why she, as Xander put it in the closing out scene of ‘Potential’, is extraordinary. It’s not her fault that her character representation and development was just left by the wayside because, while she was still the Key, there was no Lock to fit her into anymore. And that there was no reason to treat her as anything more or less than how we treat the rest of the characters. Just an average normal girl who every once in awhile could be little frightening because her true nature was this all-powerful energy that was neither “good” or “evil” but just… there. It doesn’t matter that she, as “Dawn”, wasn’t always there because “always” isn’t a relative term. You can’t ever know an “always” to anything. Experience doesn’t work like that. At least not for human beings. All that matters is that she FEELS like she is “Dawn” and everyone around her also FEELS that she is too. Joyce FELT like Dawn was and is her daughter. Dawn FEELS like Joyce was and is her mother and that Buffy was and is her sister. All that matters is the FEELING that their fake memories are real to them.
If we really think about it - that’s all that matters for us, as human beings in the “real world”, too. And it’s really profound to have a character in any form of art/entertainment whatsoever representing that for us. And I don’t know about you guys but this is the real reason why Season 5 hits so hard for me emotionally. They presented this random ass sister from nowhere and by the end of the season made us FEEL like she had always been apart of all that we love about ‘BtVS’. So the joke “Remember when Dawn” always works on viewers that have yet to learn how she really came in and why none of that even matters in the first place. And the entire season is written so well that what was once so fucking frustrating for us is all but forgotten. Maybe not for everyone. But for the majority of fans it matters not that they never really go into the details of how and why and just continue to develop on what is. And what is … is Dawn. Buffy’s little sister and source.
It’s something I often say. A personal mantra of sorts:
“It’s not what it is that matters. It’s how it feels.”
Posting my BUFFY REWATCH recap for ‘Blood Ties’. May contain spoilers.
For this episode recap of ‘Blood Ties’, we’re going back to the theme of withholding information that we had in Season 4 with Willow withholding her romantic/sexual relationship with Tara from Buffy and the Gang, and Buffy withholding information of Riley being an Initiative Commando from Giles. But this time the reason to withhold information is much more serious as this is about Dawn’s true nature as the Key. Therefore, it would be information that would put the Scoobies in danger if they knew about her being it. Buffy only tells Giles this information as soon she finds out for herself, and they decide together that it’s for the best that no one else knows, lest they be targeted by Glory - who is looking for the Key to open a portal to get back to her Hell dimension.
I wanted to address this withholding of information from the other Scoobies because “it’s too dangerous” to know it because it’s a common occurrence that Buffy uses the “it’s too dangerous” excuse when it comes to Willow and Xander. Knowing they’re willing volunteers in aiding her in the Slayage, she often worries about their safety when she’s really got a challenge on her hands. And I would say Glory is the biggest challenge she’s faced so far. As a Hell God, Glory is the strongest Big Bad Buffy has come across yet. She’s even stronger than Adam - so she probably thinks that the enjoining spell (where she, Willow, Xander and Giles combined their essences to defeat Adam when he was just too strong for Buffy to take on alone in the Season 4 climax) wouldn’t be helpful this time. So she and Giles figured that keeping them out-of-the-loop on the Key was the best thing to do to both keep Willow/Xander/Scooby Gang safe and protect Dawn.
But see... the thing is, is they’re not going to take ‘no’ for an answer. Willow and Xander specifically (and Giles, to some degree, with officially being her assigned, and recently reinstated, Watcher) will always risk their lives not just because they’re the Slayer’s best friends - (and Watcher/Father figure) - but also because they’ve chosen their fate a long time ago. They were aware of the dangers and the risks and the consequences from pretty much the start of Buffy’s Slayer journey, and they chose to be willing participants in helping Buffy anyway. So now it doesn’t matter whether Buffy is around to fight evil as they’re going to be doing it anyway... because they’ve CHOSEN to do it. And that’s a very important word in the context of this subject because Buffy had no choice.
I bring up Willow’s conversation with Buffy in the episode ‘Choices’ in telling her where she’ll be going to college after graduating from Sunnydale High School:
Buffy: “I'm never getting out of here. I kept thinking if I stopped the Mayor or... but I was kidding myself. I mean, there is always going to be something. I'm a Sunnydale girl,... no other choice.”
Willow: “Must be tough. I mean, here I am... I can do anything I want. I can go to any college in the country. Four or five in Europe if I want.”
Buffy: “Please tell me you're going somewhere with this?”
Willow: “No.
*Hands Buffy a letter*
I'm not going anywhere.”
Buffy:
*Reads the letter*
“UC Sunnydale?”
Willow: “I will be matriculating with Class of 2003.”
Buffy: “Are you serious?”
Willow: “Say,... isn't that where you're going?”
*Buffy hugs her and they tumble onto the ground*
Buffy: “I can't believe it! Are you serious?! Ah, wait, what am I saying? You can't.”
Willow: “What do you mean, ‘I can't?’”
Buffy: “I won't let you.”
Willow: “Of the two people here, which is the boss of me?”
Buffy: “There are better schools.”
Willow: “Sunnydale's not bad. And I can design my own curriculum.”
Buffy: “Okay, well, there are safer schools. There are safer prisons. I can't let you stay because of me.”
Willow: "Actually, this isn't about you. Although I'm fond, don't get me wrong, of you. The other night, you know, being captured and all, facing off with Faith. Things just, kind of, got clear. I mean, you've been fighting evil here for three years, and I've helped some, and now we're supposed to decide what we want to do with our lives. And I just realized that that's what I want to do. Fight evil, help people. I mean, I think it's worth doing. And I don't think you do it because you have to. It's a good fight, Buffy, and I want in.”
Buffy: “I kind of love you.”
Willow: “And, besides, I have a shot at being a bad ass Wiccan, and what better place to learn?”
It’s not about Buffy. It’s about fighting the good fight. Fighting against evil. Big Bad evil, the likes of Glory, especially. Maybe it makes some sense to play the whole “it’s too dangerous” card with Xander since he doesn’t have any physical/practical and/or mystical/magical powers... but it doesn’t make sense to play it with Willow. Willow now knows who she is and what she wants. Even if she doesn’t always believe in herself, she’s at least self-aware enough to know what it is that makes her tick. She wants to feel the heroicness of Buffy in helping the innocent for herself. Willow wants the power... and now she’s got the power... there is no reason why she shouldn’t be allowed to know information that would put her in danger or make her a target when she clearly shows, and does later prove when Glory targets Tara, that she’s the only one strong and powerful enough to hurt her and protect everyone, including Dawn, from Glory.
“The Slayer thing really isn't about the violence. It's about the power.”
It ultimately comes down to Buffy thinking she’s burdening her friends with having to take on the responsibility of Slayage. But she’s all wrong. Her friends - especially Willow - have CHOSEN this life. And it’s literally Giles’ job so... get a clue, Slayer. You’re better off when you have help. Your ties to the world do not weaken you. They make you stronger. There is always danger, there is always risk, there is always consequences. But someone’s CHOICE is all that matters. Just because YOU didn’t get a choice in the matter doesn’t mean you can “relieve” the Scoobies from theirs in the name of “it’s too dangerous" because it is also too dangerous for you to be without them too, Buffy.
I think Glory & Ben are like Dr. Jekyll and Mrs. Hyde.
I've always enjoyed Spawn... Dike... yeah, there's no good name for the criminal duo of Spike and Dawn but they're fun together.
I'm getting this vague impression that these episodes may have been recorded in advance. Probably just my imagination. Anyway enjoy the New Year. Happy 2023!
Plenty of viewers don't like Dawn.
I was never in that camp, bc I was the little brother than loved hanging around with his big brother. I WAS Dawn, and my brother was equal parts loving and angry at me. Just like Buffy often is.
I also think Michelle was *magnificent* in the role.
She joined an experienced ensemble cast as a teenager and while her performances didn't ALWAYS hit the mark... MOST of them did. And this episode in particular pulls on the heartstrings HARD.
Genuinely underrated and under appreciated.
And the "you're not my mother" line definitely hits me too.
I don't THINK I've ever said those words to my mother, but I've been damn close many times (I love her, but at times she has been incredibly difficult due to her own upbringing. I'm very proud of her for overcoming much of her trauma... but it is still there and it can come out as true venom)
Thankfully I always had my dad to calm me and lecture me. She has trashed him more than once since his death, but I do not stand for it. Not once did he give anything but love and praise for her, no matter how upset or angry I was with her (they argued, obviously. Even both confided in me about marital issues by the time I hit my teens, as a precocious fellow. I just told them to deal with it or divorce, which solved it every time. But never once did he put her down)
Without him drilling love and respect into me, I don't doubt I would have spoken in anger and hurt my mother more than she could bear. I'm glad I avoided it.
Absolutely with you on character flaws and why it makes the show so special.
They learn and grow, but are never perfect. And just like real life, it isn't a linear path.
Buffy's abandonment issues and PTSD are subtle enough to miss most of the time, but apparent when looked for... and they don't just get magically resolved.
You didn’t remember Ben is Glory.
😂
11:15 I mean these things happened, it's just that someone 6 months ago retroactively changed the past.
Not really. ONLY the memories of those things were implanted. The actual events were not changed.
@@Logan_BaronExcept no that's not right if that was the case then there would be no birthrecords for her, she wouldn't be in pictures and so on. Her room would have had no furniture.
Ben and Glory a sort of the same person. They're distinct from each other, but share the same general form. There seems to be a spell of some sort that makes everyone forget that they are two halves of a whole. Btw you seem allergic to that frog, it made you tear up and start sniffling.
There seems to be some kind of connection between Glory and Ben?