Real Me

"Real Me" is the second episode of the fifth season of Buffy the Vampire Slayer, and is the eightieth episode altogether. It was written by David Fury and directed by David Grossman. It originally broadcast on October 3, 2000.

Synopsis
A day in the life of Buffy's sister Dawn, as transcribed into her diary. To Dawn, it's tough to live with a Slayer as an older sister. To Buffy, it's tough to live with a sister who's constantly getting in trouble -- like when Harmony returns to town with a gang and kidnaps Dawn.

Summary
Buffy trains and works on her strength with the help of Giles and some crystals. She practices a handstand on a block of wood, but falls when her sister, Dawn, knocks over the crystals. In the morning, Dawn continues annoying Buffy by emptying the milk carton. Joyce asks Buffy to take Dawn shopping for school supplies, but Riley reminds her they had already made plans. Buffy has to cancel so she can go work with Giles.

Giles drives the sisters on their errands, having trouble with the automatic transmission in his new BMW convertible. They spot Willow and Tara heading for the Magic Box, and Buffy tells Willow that she's dropping Drama in favor of more Slayer training. At the shop, the gang finds the owner dead, killed by vampires. Buffy sends Dawn outside where she encounters a deranged man. He seems to recognize her, saying, "You don't belong here." She is upset until Tara comes to keep her company.

The gang realizes that a pack of vampires raided the shop for books on how to defeat the Slayer, under Harmony's leadership. Giles admires the shop and its profit potential.

That night, Dawn is happy to have Xander as her babysitter, until she discovers Anya is coming too. Harmony arrives to challenge Buffy but is disappointed when she's not there. Xander taunts Harmony and her minions from the safety of the house until Dawn mistakenly invites the vampire inside. After Harmony puts up a fight, Xander kicks her out of the house. Harmony later encounters Spike in the graveyard, and the two talk about Harmony's plans to kill the Slayer. While unpacking in their new place, Tara and Willow discuss how Dawn is having a hard time as the outsider of the Scooby Gang. Tara reveals that she has similar feelings as an outsider.

On patrol, Buffy is fuming about the lecture she received from her mother about allowing Dawn to see a dead body. Riley tries to talk some sense into her, pointing out she and Dawn resent each other for similar reasons. When they return home, Xander tells Buffy about Harmony and - after the Slayer stops laughing - she gets angry that Dawn invited Harmony inside. Buffy complains to Riley and Xander about the trouble Dawn causes and how she can't always be there to protect her; Dawn listens from the hall and runs outside in tears. Before Anya can bring Dawn back inside, Harmony's vampire minions capture Dawn and attack Anya. Buffy then runs out to find her sister leaving Xander and Riley to take care of Anya, who requires hospitalization.

Harmony explains to her minions that Dawn is bait, meaning they can't eat her. Harmony complains to Dawn about her problems until her mutinous minions attempt to kill them both. Buffy - who had threatened Spike until he revealed Harmony's location - arrives and easily kills most of the minions as Harmony escapes. The Slayer frees her sister and when they get home, they agree not to tell their mother. The next day, Buffy and Giles talk about his decision to take over the Magic Box, while Dawn writes in her journal that Buffy still thinks she's a nobody, but she's going to be in for a surprise.

Quotes and trivia

 * Dawn: [about Tara] She and Willow are both witches. 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. And-and then she got really quiet and made me go upstairs.


 * Giles: I'm just not used to this automatic transmission. I-I loathe this sitting here, not contributing. No, no, no. It's not working out.
 * Buffy: Giles, are you breaking up with your car?
 * Giles: Well, it did seduce me, all red and sporty.
 * Buffy: Little two-door tramp.


 * Giles: "I bet the death rate keeps the rent down." [referring to the unfortunate prior shopkeepers]


 * Giles: "I was a librarian for years. This is the same except this time people pay for the things they never return."


 * Buffy: How bored were you last year?
 * Giles: I watched Passions with Spike. Let us never speak of it.


 * Riley: "I'm here to violate your firstborn"... never really goes over that well with parents. I don't know why...


 * Buffy: We're going to the magic shop. No school supplies there.
 * Dawn: Yeah, Mom, I'm not going to Hogwarts. [Buffy stares at her blankly] Jeez, crack a book sometime.
 * -- a reference to Harry Potter.


 * Buffy: Giles, are you sure about this?
 * Giles: Why wouldn't I be?
 * Buffy: Well, aside from the fact that most magic shop owners in Sunnydale have the life expectancy of a Spinal Tap drummer, have you ever run a store before?
 * - a reference to This is Spinal Tap.


 * The crazy man who scares Dawn outside the Magic Box says, "I know you. Curds and whey." This is a reference to the nursery rhyme Little Miss Muffet, which Faith quotes from in "Graduation Day, Part Two" when she is foreshadowing Dawn's arrival: "Little Ms. Muffet counting down from 7-3-0".


 * Joss Whedon and the writers deliberately dropped the audience into this new situation without explaining where Dawn suddenly came from. As far as Buffy and the other characters know, Dawn has always been there; only the audience is aware that something is amiss. The writers wanted the audience to be curious about this mystery for several episodes. More information about Dawn is learned in "No Place Like Home".


 * Prior to the role of Dawn being cast, Sarah Michelle Gellar suggested they take a look at Michelle Trachtenberg. Dawn was originally conceived to be 12 years old, but after Trachtenberg was cast, the writers raised the character's age to 14. However, the first few scripts were still written in the voice of a 12-year-old. Before being cast, Trachtenberg, a fan of the show, had written a letter to Joss Whedon that suggested how she could become a character on Buffy.  The character of Dawn was also originally intended to have the power to speak to the dead to be able to move objects with her mind. These powers were later dropped.


 * The role of Cyrus, one of Harmony's gang, is played by Tom Lenk. This was Lenk's first appearance on the show, but he later portrayed Andrew Wells.


 * In her second appearance, (her first was in "Buffy vs. Dracula", and only for a moment at the end) Michelle Trachtenberg appears in the opening credits.

Music

 * Edvard Grieg - "Holberg Suite Prelude"