Real Me

After meeting Dracula, Buffy commits with Giles to be her watcher and help her to find the origin of her powers. Joyce Summers asks Buffy to look after her sister Dawn, who feels shadowed being the little sister of a famous slayer and an outsider of her group. They go with Giles, Tara and Willow to Mr. Bogarty's Magic Box store and Willow stumbles in his dead body. They realize that a gang of vampires have killed the man. Sooner they find that Harmony has formed a group of vampire minions with the intention of destroying Buffy. When Dawn invites Harmony to get in her house, the upset Buffy decides to chase Harmony and her vampires.

In spite of having some funny moments, "Real Me" is one of the silliest episodes of this series. Buffy, who has always been shown as an only child along four seasons, surprisingly has a little sister of about fourteen or fifteen years old. Further, the envious girl is a complete moron, with the most stupid attitudes along the episode, and Buffy has to babysit the girl, in a totally inconsistent behavior for a "famous vampire slayer". I really did not like this dumb episode. My vote is six.

Title (Brazil): "Meu Verdadeiro Eu" ("My True I")

Bringing a little sister in to offer another perspective on the Scooby's ... Her perspective is stupid ...

After what I found to be a boring, uneventful and inconsistent season premiere, it was refreshing to watch this episode as it reminded me of the witty, cheerful and ridiculous show I fell in love with. Between the return of Harmony along with her "gang", Giles' fascination with and consequential ownership of the magic shop, and a classic voiceover by the sudden appearance of Buffy's apparent little sister, this second episode always hypes me up for what's to come. While I am a re-watcher of the series, I confidently recall that I enjoyed this episode even the first time around. What can I say, I love being confused. Accordingly, I'm always astonished when I read other peoples' reaction to Dawn and this episode as a whole; they sound almost as whiny and annoying as the character herself. Calm down, and trust the process. Understand that the writers meant to make Dawn just as frustrating as she is; it's not "bad character writing" as several other reviews deem it to be. In fact, I think the poor ratings of this episode only confirms just how well of a job the writers did.

In summary: Not a favorite by any means, but I like this episode! Remember, patience is key.

If the previous episode was awful, which it was, this is where the creative team went above and beyond scraping the bottom of the barrel. Or is that below?

I know the way series 5 unfolds, and I know who / what Dawn is. But to make her this annoying and obnoxious right out of the gate? She was introduced for Buffy to protect her and keep her safe. Every time she is on screen increases the viewer's instinct to throw her to the vampires and make them feed on her. Joss, was this your intention to make her instantly unlikeable? Or is this the scope of Michelle's acting ability that you do not want her to survive the episode?

Harmony siring her own gang of vampires is the only thing worth watching here. So far, 2 x 45 minute episodes can be distilled down to about 12 minutes of watchable television.

Hang on, don't flip out. No you didn't miss an episode. This is Mister Toads Wild Ride. Just enjoy the ride until you figure it out. This episode is best enjoyed after watching the whole season and then going back for a rewatch.