Friday, October 17, 2008

5.2 - Real Me


Buffy's sister Dawn causes all sorts of trouble. Wait, huh?

***

Whedon, you clever dude! Dropping a sister into the mix like she's been there all along and NEVER acknowledging that she's not supposed to be there save one line from a drunken hobo guy. "You don't belong here!" No she doesn't, but I'm glad she's here.

And this is why. In Buffy season 4 I think we only saw Buffy's house two or three times. She was always away at college, Riley's place, the Initiative, the Dorm, etc, but the place that was a home for the first three seasons was largely absent. Well, with Dawn around, we're finally going to get back to something I missed tremendously: the family dynamic.

Buffy, as a show, needs that dynamic. The core gang, they are family. Giles, Willow, Xander, everyone, they are just like a family now. Joyce, Dawn and Buffy are a family too. The show, really, is largely about this family. This group. People will come, and people will go, just like in a real family, but there will always be that core dynamic.

Something just feels right about having a young teenager on the show. I love it. I love Dawn. I love that she screws up so much but doesn't mean to. She's just a kid, and she makes the mistakes of a kid.

I think she's a great addition.

Some highlights of this episode:

-Giles going through a mid life crisis and getting the red convertible.

-Giles going through a mid life crisis and buying The Magic Shop.

-Harmony throwing the note through Buffy's window that says "come out and die" with the "i" dotted with a smiley face.

- Dawn's line in her diary about Tara and Willow. "They do spells and stuff, which is so much cooler than slaying. I told mom one time I wish they'd teach me some of the things they do together. She got real quiet and made me go upstairs."

Oh, I loved this one. As strange as it may sound after using the word family and home so many times, I have to say it. This episode feels like coming home.

Rating: 9/10

4 comments:

Anonymous said...

That hobo guy also calls Dawn curds and whey- a nice little call back to Faith's Little Miss Muffet foreshadowing last season. Again with the endless supply of money- Giles, an unemployed librarian buys a new convertible and a business??? Love the Magic Shop though- great centralized new location. Like how Xander knows harmony's minions too - "screw you Harris" funny. did you notice the one minion vamp, Cyrus, is none other than Andrew(forget the actors name) the 1/3 of the evil trio in season 6 and a big player in season 7? I like Dawn too- at least for now- she does whine alot in the future though. Michelle's kinda hot - not yet of course- but later in season 7. It's funny how this season college is kinda an afterthought- I often forget Buffy's still in school.

Heath Holland said...

Oh, yeah, I noticed that was the guy who plays Andrew.
And Michelle Trachtenberg is like..14 here. You're going to jail.
;p

I missed the curds and whey reference. I heard it, I just didn't get it.

Anonymous said...

That's why i said later...like 3 years later:)

Andres Salazar said...

I dont care for Dawn. I guess its ok.

Riley needs to die. Really he does.

I love Giles. period.

Harmony needs to die. I'm hoping that they jsut stake the character adn get it done. I understand she is played for laughs, and one of the things I like most about the show is the laughs, but I still want the Vampires to be more menacing and she needs to be taken out. One of the really great things I liked about Buffy was when Jenny Calendar got killed, it was then that you felt that anyone could get the axe, but not so...everyone since her is still around, even Faith, Harmony, Spike, all these characters, which really make no sense to being around other than the possiblity of another story with them.
Also, the Scooby gang is getting too big. We need deaths in the main characters.

I rate this one 3 out of 5