The Dawn Of A New Day When you go about developing a story arc for Dawn, you have to first step back and take note of just how messed up her life really is. First comes the fact that she's not even supposed to exist. Every memory she has of her childhood is fake. The minds of everyone she loves have been altered. She is (was, and ever shall be) the mystical Key which can open a portal to unknown hell dimensions. This has to get to a person. At a young age, her father left her. At a slightly older age, her mother died. She's seen her sister die. Her surrogate father (Giles) come and go. She found the body of a close friend and semi-parental figure who had been shot to death. Every aspect of her life is overrun by demons and other dark forces. She has no idea what it's like to have a remotely normal existence because every problem she has eventually turns into a demon. Even Willow has tried to kill her. Her observations on romance can't be great. Ever since she was a child she hasn't seen a really healthy relationship. Her parents getting divorced was the high point of this learning experience… that has to say something. Between good again-bad again vampire relationships, witches with mind control issues, and whatever else I'm not listing, Dawn's point of view on this matter has to be slightly skewed. On top of all of that, she's the baby. The one that people will always have a hard time taking seriously as an adult. Taking all of this into account, I set out to write Dawn's role in season 8 as a young woman, growing into her role in the Scooby Gang. Finally finding her niche. It'll be a hard journey, but she will finally begin to understand her place in the world. Plus, I decided to give her a relationship. Mainly because I wanted a new character to interact with the group, and I didn't want to put Buffy into a relationship at all in season 8. The story for Dawn begins when she enters her new school and meets Ryan and Shelly. Shelly will be her new friend, clueless to the whole demon underworld. An aspect of the show that I'd missed in the later years of the series. Ryan would not only be another clueless friend, but he would also become Dawn's boss at her first job, and her first real boyfriend. These rolls are important in the Dawn arc because up to this point, Dawn's friends have pretty much been Buffy's friends. Her life has pretty much been Buffy's life. I wanted to let Dawn go out on her own sometimes and establish herself away from the group of friends that Buffy assembled. In her relationship with Ryan, some of Dawn's issues begin to bubble to the surface. At first, the two of them are good friends, hanging out and working together. No big deal. Ryan has a crush on Dawn, but she doesn't really notice it. Eventually, he builds up the nerve to ask her out. She isn't really sure about this. She's never really thought of him in that way, so she isn't all that interested in dating him. That is, until the two of them are attacked in an alley and Ryan attempts to protect Dawn. Though he doesn't do too great against the vampire, Dawn suddenly sees Ryan in a new light. Now, the fact that this battle and heroic act is what flips that switch in Dawn's head may not be healthy, but the relationship begins and will carry on throughout the rest of the season. Along the way, Dawn begins to notice something odd about Ryan. Strange behavior. He frequently has to rush off. He is obviously keeping something from her. When she finally does discover what his secret is, she doesn't handle it too well. She breaks up with him. The big reveal? He was hiding the fact that he once had cancer because he knows that the memory of what happened with her mother might make it a touchy subject with Dawn. And he was right. Though he is better now, Dawn can't seem to let go of the fact that her mother was supposed to have been cured too, and then died. She can't stand the thought of losing someone else like that. I decided to do this because I wanted that question of "is he evil" to turn into a completely normal, human subject. Dawn's not used to the normal world and so this is more alien to her than if he'd turned into a vampire or a giant demon that wanted to destroy the world. This is scarier in the context of Dawn's life. When the gang needs to head back to Sunnydale, Dawn doesn't know if she will return. She goes to see Ryan, and is annoyed that she can't tell him what's going on. She still has feelings for him and wants him to know that, but she can't go into details about why she is saying this big goodbye. This doesn't sit well with Ryan and they split on some not-so-great terms. Regretting this, Dawn leaves a mysterious note for Ryan before she heads off to Sunnydale, just in case she doesn't come back. What this note says, we can only assume. There is another side to the Dawn arc of season 8. Early in the season, we see a mysterious figure who seems to be stalking Dawn. Watching her from the shadows and following her. This man reveals himself to Buffy as Brother Luka. A monk who believes that he may be able to help Dawn tap into the energy that she was created from, and realize her true potential. Before he can actually do any of this, Brother Luka is killed, leaving Dawn's potential a mystery. Okay, I don't think I call him "Brother" Luka in my script, but that's who he is. For more info on him, see "Prophecy Girl". I realize that my small bits of continuity don't always make sense, but it's still fun. Dawn accepts the fact that this will remain a mystery better than one would expect. However, that is not the end of the story. In "Unlocked", Dawn is backed into a corner when she finds herself entered in her school's "Battle Of The Brains". She finds herself stressing out as the pressure is put on her to win this contest. As she pushes herself to win this, another load is dropped on her shoulders. An eerie voice begins to tell her that some very bad things will happen to those she loves if she loses the contest. She must win this, or the world as she knows it will end. No pressure or anything, right? Dawn continues to push herself, not telling anyone about this voice. She goes without food or sleep until she reaches her breaking point. At that point, she discovers that the voice never actually existed. It was something that her sleep deprived mind created. This was the manifestation of that point I made earlier about her life always coming back to demons. She expects it, and when it's not there, her tired mind creates it (well, depending on the version of the script you read. A slight mishap resulted in the wrong version being posted for quite a long time before I realized it. The real version is up now). As this all unfolds, Dawn also learns of the mysterious power that she holds within her. What is this power? Super strength, or the ability to hover slightly over the ground? Well, no. Her power is what she's been using for quite some time. Her mind. Her uncanny ability to absorb knowledge and put it to good use. This is something that we've always seen in Dawn, and it's a very human quality that's just taken a slight notch higher in her. This is her place in the world. To be smart. To put her brains to good use. Not all super powers are about the kung-fu grip. This theme is also used with Willow in a slightly different way. So what will happen with Dawn in the future? Well, we can't know for sure. She could use her skills to help battle the forces of darkness by taking over the Watchers Council, or she could decide to write a good book. She has a way to go on this journey of hers, but at least she is starting to understand her life a little bit better.