I don't know what kind of person watches this episode wose first and only reaction is to whine that it doesn't push the story forward, as if a final season is completely forbidden from being introspective and giving certain overlooked characters their flowers.
I have never hated Dawn and I think the people that do need to do some serious soul-searching about what they expect from literal children and how they are portrayed, especially in a setting rife with trauma and terrifying monsters. On top of that this is probably the episode where Dawn is at her most mature and fluid, quickly understanding her wish fulfilment needs to be traded in for resourcefulness and championing the girl who kind of steals her thunder. This episode actually made me wish we got more Dawn-centric plots because it established the potential (heh) for her character to be such an interesting opposite to her sister.
The speech at the end, of course, is one of the best emotional beats of the season.
I have never hated Dawn and I think the people that do need to do some serious soul-searching about what they expect from literal children and how they are portrayed, especially in a setting rife with trauma and terrifying monsters. On top of that this is probably the episode where Dawn is at her most mature and fluid, quickly understanding her wish fulfilment needs to be traded in for resourcefulness and championing the girl who kind of steals her thunder. This episode actually made me wish we got more Dawn-centric plots because it established the potential (heh) for her character to be such an interesting opposite to her sister.
The speech at the end, of course, is one of the best emotional beats of the season.