WWDD: S1E5 “NEVER KILL A BOY ON THE FIRST DATE”

It’s the middle of the night and Dawn is roused from sleep by the now-familiar sound of her sister’s bedroom window opening followed by the sound of her big feet hitting the floor. Dawn is angry that Buffy is doing all the same things she did before she got kicked out of school and they had to move away. The next day, Buffy tells Dawn that she’s having friends over and tells Dawn not to embarrass her and to leave them alone. Dawn, now very upset with her sister, plans to do exactly the opposite. As soon as Willow and Xander arrive to help Buffy get ready for/discourage her from her date with Owen, Dawn is on the staircase ready to do what 10-year-old sisters do best. When she sees Willow’s braided pigtails, cool shirt, and gentle demeanor, she immediately likes her. When she sees Xander, she freezes, her face turns red, and she runs back upstairs unable to exact her plans. Once they get to Buffy’s room, Dawn stands just outside with her ear pressed against the door and listens to their conversation, wondering how Buffy got friends who are so much cooler than her.

Another unexpected knock at the door startles Dawn and she quickly runs back to her room, only daring to step out when she can hear that everyone is downstairs. This is where Dawn sees Mr. Giles—Buffy’s librarian—for the first time. She doesn’t understand why he would come to their house for library business, but her 10-year-old self just attributes it to him being so…old. By the time Owen arrives, Dawn zips back into her room and waits for everyone to leave. When she’s sure it’s safe, she sneaks into Buffy’s room and pulls her brown leather jacket (recently replaced by her new, black leather jacket) from her closet and puts it on. A few minutes of modeling results in clumsy Dawn spilling nail polish all over the jacket, resulting in a series wrap for Buffy’s brown leather jacket from “The Harvest”.