Sessile Traveler
Salvatore Graziano
Hated Dawn. It's even worse when you find out that Michelle Trachtenberg only got on the show because she consistently whined to her agent about getting her on. She's just so extremely pointless. She offers nothing to the series as a character, or an actor. They could have just as easily had some unimportant person be the key. Would have had the same general effect, and they still could have gone ahead with the whole Glory/Ben bit.
Also, not too sure I'm clear on what you're asking for. Buffy continues canonically through comics, Season 8 has already been completed. Season 9 is being released as they complete it. What sort of things are you looking for?
Dawn was also the medium through which Spike first earned Buffy's trust. He risked his life to save Dawn, then promises Buffy that he would protect Dawn with his life. Even after Buffy dies, Spike continues protecting her sister, saying that he had once promised Buffy to do so. This really lets us see Spike's nobler side. Earned my respect for him, at least.
Dawn also represents the typical sister that feels inferior in the face of a "more competent", "more privileged" sister. I think this is a common experience among many people who grow up with siblings. Dawn is a relatable person. And although most people are probably irritated by her "whining" and overall insufferable attitude, those traits are real. Real people can be like that. I don't think just because a character has some irritating and persistent flaws, she automatically deserves the boot for being real. Sisters, especially, view each other as this annoying. And how can anyone blame her attitude if she was raised by a single parent and overshadowed by Buffy all her life? Not to mention that people around her are always leaving or dying and that her entire past never really existed.
I think Dawn does very well considering her circumstances. She has flaws, but she genuinely cares about everyone around her. You can tell by the way she gets so attached to all of Buffy's friends and boyfriends. She does what's right, as illustrated by that scene where she easily surrenders her brief glory as a supposed potential slayer (something she has always dreamt of being) to the person who deserves it.
Dawn also gives us the chance to hear that little inspirational speech by Xander. He reveals to Dawn his feelings of how it is like to spend 7 years with Buffy as the sidekick who watches as all his friends grow strong and he remains as just the guy who fixes the windows. He expresses how difficult it is to live so close to the spotlight all the while knowing that he would never be in it. But he sees something extraordinary in Dawn (he saw her courage and her willingness to forfeit power) even though she does not have the power and strength that make Buffy special.
Who else to share this intimate confession than with someone who is going through the same?
From that encounter, we're reminded of how sensitive Xander is, the way he sees things others don't (remember when he saw through Buffy and Riley's relationship?). He is in tune with how others feel and is always the one to comfort others. This also leads to one of the central messages of Buffy: that everyone has a role to play, whether in the spotlight or behind-the-scenes. We are all important. Buffy would not have made the decisions she has or been the person she is today if it wasn't for her family and friends.
I guess my point is that not everyone has to be likeable, not everyone has to make major contributions. In reality, there are people that are considered pointless, so why should this be any different in a T.V. show that aims to be believable? In this case, I think Dawn plays an important role though. She definitely helps propel the plotline as well as add to the character development of others, like Spike, Buffy, and Xander.
I have to admit, at first, I was totally not going to respond to this at all. However, after further thought I have decided to do just that. First and foremost, none of what you said, refutes my idea of the key being replaced by some other character who didn't stick around. I'm going to address things as they come to me, so bear with me.
First, Spike. Spike happens to be a favorite character of mine through the Buffyverse canon. All of Spike's integral character changes are centered around Buffy. Only Buffy. Before the incident on the tower when Spike addresses Buffy about protecting Dawn while he is gone, he takes all of Glory's abuse and never gives Dawn up. Buffy undertakes the guise of 'roboBuffy' to feel Spike out, and finds out that he didn't give her up. This is the first time Buffy voluntarily kisses Spike, this is the first time Buffy truly looks at Spike like he has the ability to be something else. This event alone is enough to build off of to make Spike travel to Africa to get himself his soul. WHICH, I might add, was not his original intention. He meant to go to Africa to get the chip removed, so he could harm Buffy for 'wronging' him. Of course, Whedon had always planned for that moment to be Spike getting his soul, but James Marsters played it as if he was getting the chip removed, because that's what he was told.
So, realistically, Dawn/Michelle Trachtenberg was not necessary for Spikes crucial development.
Also, I should take this time to clarify that it's mostly Michelle Trachtenberg I can't stand, I feel if the character was played by someone else I may not feel the same way I do. Or, at least, perhaps not as strongly as I feel about it.
Onward.
With Buffy's Batman mentality when it comes to humans no matter who the key was, she wouldn't have allowed said person to be sacrificed. The whole blood thing is circumstantial to the character being related to Buffy, they could have done something different and still had the same effect.
Now, for my key point. The First wouldn't have had a chance to manifest? I hope this was a joke. The First first manifests in Season 3 when Angel comes back from the hell dimension that Acathla sucks him into. It uses Jennifer Calender as its first manifestation, and uses her most consistently. The First, according to the Buffyverse, has existed since the dawn of time, so it could have realistically manifested whenever the hell it felt like.
