I was a Buffy scoffer for 12 years, thinking that BtVS, which I had never seen a single frame of, was nothing more than silly kid stuff. In the summer of 2009 I put my (previously) silly notions about BtVS aside and, with The Slayer as my guide, embarked on a long overdue journey.

So far, season 5 is my favourite. I loved the whole Dawn-is-The-Key storyline as I thought it set up some incredibly touching situations and new relationships.

A couple of thoughts about Dawn and Spike that I recently wrote on someone else's blog:

*"I love Dawn and I feel for her in her predicament as a 6 month old 'creation' that Gods and Demons would stop at nothing to kill. I think she fits in well and she brings out an amazing quality in Buffy, who knows the truth about Dawn's origins but still loves her so much that she's willing to sacrifice herself to give her kid 'sister' a chance to live some kind of a life, free of the threat of ritual killings and the like. I think that swapping Joyce for Dawn breathed new life into Buffy’s family dynamic and allowed Buffy to shine as a big sister and even later as a surrogate mom. Without Dawn, we lose some wonderful setups that allow us to experience searing, gut-wrenching pain, without any of those nasty real life consequences. A prime example being Buffy breaking the news to Dawn about Joyce’s death. I wouldn’t have wanted to miss out on that. Imagine having to feel that sense of heart-breaking loss when you're still trying to come to terms with not being human and knowing that you've been packaged for a reason that you may never understand.

*Spike really is an iconic TV character, but I'm not opposed to his transition from ruthless vampire to something better. By the time S5 rolls around, Spike doesn't have much to look forward to in his miserable existence, what with the tech in his head and his beloved Dru long gone. He's shunned by his own kind because they’re all he can safely kill now, and he’s barely tolerated by the Scoobies, which leaves him not only eternal, but isolated. I haven't seen seasons 6 or 7 yet, but I gather there are better days ahead for Spike, and I'm looking forward to seeing him try to navigate the road to some sort of redemption.

I love the tenderness of the Dawn/Spike relationship. They take care of each other. Spike vows to protect her "till the end of the world" and endures some horrific treatment at the hands of Glory and Doc, and when Spike grabs the business end of the sword coming through the roof of the motor home, it's Dawn who steps up to bandage his shredded hands.

Another of my favourite moments of season 5 is the scene in "Family" when Buffy, quickly seconded by Dawn and backed up by Giles and Xander, informs Mr. Maclay that he can take Tara away against her will, but he'll have to go through her to do it. This is such a beautiful scene. We can see Tara's life flash before her eyes as she envisions losing everything in that moment. And then Buffy, showing true leadership and compassion, steps up, WITHOUT EVEN WAITING to find out if Tara really is a demon, and gives the soft spoken Tara the Scooby seal of approval. Tara gains so much confidence from this endorsement and it transforms her. Every time I watch that scene, I weep like a fire hydrant.

And, of course, season 5 has "The Gift", which is simply a thing of beauty all by itself. The Scoobies all perform heroically, including Spike. And how about little Dawnie, ready to hurl herself off the tower to end the evil madness and save the world. Maybe Buffy was right when she said the Monks made Dawn out of her. That scene on top of the tower was stunning. Listen to Dawn's voice break when she says "until the blood stops flowing, it'll never stop". Look at the pain in her face just after she say's "it has to have the blood". It's such a joy to watch this scene over and over.

I really think there was much to love about S5. Viewers certainly don't want to get hung up on details because details always take a beating on Buffy. If details mattered, Spike, who was unaffected by Glory's deceptive spell because he was 'less than human', should also have been unaffected by the Monks' spell and therefore should have known immediately that Dawn was a fake branch of the Summers family tree.

BTW, I also came to Buffy via "Firefly". I watched and loved FF, watched and didn't love the first season of "Dollhouse", and so needed a Joss Whedon tiebreaker, which is where Buffy came in. I'm now watching Buffy and "Angel" together to get the full treatment in "real time". I still have 2 seasons of Buffy and 3 of "Angel".

Mediocre Season? No freaking way. It towers (no pun intended) over the rest of BTVS.

I know that Christopher Golden writes Tara's character very sympathetically and I do intend to get round to reading Dark Congress one day but I can't really get into the Buffy novels - nothing I have read is anything as good as the best fan fiction out there.

Oh, darkpoole, thank you so much for delurking and saying hi and paying me those compliments. I totally enjoy writing these recaps and it is a relief that others are enjoying them too.