WWDD: S2E3 “SCHOOOL HARD”

At the beginning of the episode, we see Dawn’s class at the unveiling of the new, hand painted by the Sunnydale Elementary 5th grade class, “Welcome to Sunnydale” sign at the edge of town. When Dawn gets home from school, she checks the mail, tossing a letter from Buffy’s school on the kitchen counter while she tears into Buffy’s new cream rinse she ordered from a catalogue (6-8 weeks ago, of course). Only planning to use a little, Dawn accidentally leaves the cap off and spills half of it, forcing her to cover her tracks by filling it up with water. Buffy comes home and Dawn hears the shower running, so she conspicuously shuts her door.

She overhears her mom scolding Buffy for getting kicked out of Hemery in LA, which makes Dawn wonder if it was because of Buffy’s vampire-fighting superpowers. She wonders for the first time if being a superhero might be lonely. Attempting to make her sister feel better, Dawn gives Buffy a lemonade recipe before they part for bed. Dawn has a weird nightmare where she can hear an English lady talking about cakes, but she can’t see anything.

The next day, Buffy and her mom pick up Dawn from Janice’s house after the parent-teacher conference and Joyce is practically gushing over Buffy and some gang at school on PCP (what’s PCP)?! When Joyce asks Buffy how she knew exactly what to do, Dawn quickly jumps in to say how she must have learned it from a movie she and Buffy recently watched together. Joyce seems blissfully content with the explanation while Buffy shares a grateful smile. The episode ends with Buffy telling Dawn about the #1 rule of vampire slaying: Don't invite bloodsucking dead people inside.