How Michelle Trachtenberg Made ‘Buffy’ Even Better

The world of great fantasy has lost a legend. .

There are a number of ways to get around this. You could try to write around it, stretching the in-universe time. You could attempt a soft reboot and revitalize the narrative. You could even cut your losses and end your show on a high note. But 25 years ago, Buffy the Vampire Slayer tried something else entirely — and it ended up being the show’s best decision.

Even though she’s a core member of the Summers family, Dawn was actually a late addition to the series. By Season 5, Buffy’s signature monster-of-the-week formula was wearing thin: the characters had graduated high school and fully started adulthood. So showrunner Joss Whedon had a wild idea: introduce a sister for Buffy and insist that she had been there the entire time.

Dawn lent the series some well-needed teenage energy and gave Buffy someone to take care of now she had moved out of her mother’s home. In the role, Michelle Trachtenberg’s delicate and precocious performance paired well with Sarah Michelle Gellar’s sheer power as Buffy, something that’s especially on display in the hallmark episode “The Body,” as the Summers sisters deal with the tragic loss of their mother.

But Dawn had a greater purpose: the gaslighting of the audience into thinking Dawn has always existed wasn’t just Whedon’s attempt to brute-force a youth angle. In fact, Dawn’s existence was a key plot point. She herself as a character served as the central mystery for Season 5. Her character may have faced derision from fans, but by the Season 5 finale, it’s hard not to feel for her.

In that episode, Buffy is about to sacrifice herself to save the world but has a final moment with her little sister. “Dawn, listen to me, listen. I love you. I will always love you, this is the work I have to do,” she says. “You have to be strong. Dawn, the hardest thing in this world, is to live in it.”

Dawn may have started as a rug pull for fans to get upset at, but in that moment, she was just a scared little sister losing all that was left of her family. It’s thanks to Michelle Trachtenberg’s masterful performance that such a risk actually paid off.

Buffy the Vampire Slayer is now streaming on Hulu.