BSV Forum - General - The Bloodshedpub

Spike and Dawn

Oct 19 2007 03:22 am   #1Guest

Who else besides me thought that the Spike and Dawn friendship was great in the show, and was pissed that the writers didn't allow some sort of reconcilation in season seven, and that it sort of drifted in season six? And on a odd sidenote, did anyone else ever notice in the season six photo promos, that Dawn's background, unlike the other scoobies, is Spike's crypt?

Oct 19 2007 03:33 am   #2Scarlet Ibis

Well, I have this feeling she spent a lot of time there before Buffy came back.  I wasn't surprised they screwed up their relationship--they managed to screw up pretty much everything else that season.  And Dawn being brainwashed by Xander, and Buffy playing along- also not a surprise.

"Just when the caterpillar thought the world was over, it became a butterfly."
https://www.facebook.com/FangirlNovel
Oct 19 2007 04:10 am   #3TammyDevil666

Yeah, one thing I wish would have happened in the 7th season was Spike and Dawn getting their friendship back.  They hardly even got to talk in that season.  The writers were just pure evil.

When I say, "I love you," it's not because I want you or because I can't have you. It has nothing to do with me. I love what you are, what you do, how you try. I've seen your kindness and your strength. I've seen the best and the worst of you, and I understand with perfect clarity exactly what you are. You're a hell of a woman. You're the one, Buffy.
Oct 19 2007 04:14 am   #4Scarlet Ibis

Besides threatening Spike, and commenting on his "second hand stinkiness," how many times did they actually interact in s7, cause that's all I can remember...

"Just when the caterpillar thought the world was over, it became a butterfly."
https://www.facebook.com/FangirlNovel
Oct 19 2007 04:37 am   #5SpikesKatMac

I absolutely love Dawn & Spike, and was very sorry to see limited interaction between the two of them in the latter half of S6 and practically nothing at all in S7.  I was waiting for a big emotional scene between the two of them, where D would finally get an explaination about what happened in the bathroom, and I never got it!  Wah!

Not sure where I read this, but I'm pretty sure I remember a quote from somebody on the show saying that the writers were concerned about the "chemistry" between Dawn and Spike; part of the reason they had such limited contact in S6 & S7 was to nip that in the bud.  Apparently the writers were worried that people would start thinking that D & S had a sexual relationship.  IMHO, I've never heard such a crock of shit in my life.  JM & MT had great screen chemistry, but aside from Dawn's schoolgirl crush on the sexy bad-boy who was always hanging around, there was never anything sexual about it; it very quickly became a brother-sister or best friend thing.  I think that the writers saw D & S's relationship as something that would humanize Spike, make it more difficult for Buffy to dismiss him or refuse to acknowledge his feelings as real; it's harder to say that a soulless demon can't love when he's right there in your face, loving your sister.

I think by separating D & S, they kept Spike in the "bad guy" category, leading to the whole S6 fiasco.  If they had allowed the friendship to continue naturally, I think a lot of the crap that came out in S6 wouldn't have happened, or would have happened very differently.   But apparently there was a "plan", and everyone knew where the show was "going", and everything worked out for the "best", and yes, I'm being sarcastic!!

A beautiful and ineffectual angel, beating in the void his luminous wings in vain - Matthew Arnold
Oct 19 2007 05:20 am   #6Scarlet Ibis

It was Marti Noxon's fault.  She oversaw s6 for the most part, right?  Maybe she saw "Bargaining 1&2," and thought Dawn looked a little too sexy in her skirt and gymshoes, sitting on the sofa across from Spike.  Or how it was too much sexual tension when she was holding onto Spike on the back of that motorcycle, with that oh so sexy helmet Spike demanded that she wear, which was clearly a metaphor for wearing condoms before you get on and ride.

And Spike threatening to rip Dawn's head off one handed and drink from her brain stem?  Oh, he totally wanted to kiss her then.

Yes.  This is sarcasm as well.

"Just when the caterpillar thought the world was over, it became a butterfly."
https://www.facebook.com/FangirlNovel
Oct 19 2007 05:26 am   #7Guest

Sexual tension? That's bullshit. The only thing I saw between Dawn and Spike was a older brother-younger sister relationship. Maybe if she had been older then fourteen-sixteen, like around twenty, maybe, but no, not in season six and seven. And not with him being in  love with her older sister.

Oct 19 2007 09:36 am   #8SpikeHot

I wish Spike had interacted with more characters than Buffy in season seven, it looked like he cared about no one but Buffy, and he didn't seem concerned about losing his friendship with Dawn. I don't blame Dawn for being angry, if someone tried to rape my sister, I will be twice as angry even if he was someone I liked. However, I wish the two of them tried to talk it out, but they don't seem to care. Spike was more interested in spending time with Buffy, and Dawn was more interested in spending time with the rest of the Scoobys.

Oct 19 2007 05:06 pm   #9Guest

Yeah, never resolving their relationship is a big missing gap for me, too. I would have been happier with just a line from Spike about understanding why she's angry and that he can't blame her, but he misses her. I know he kept his distance from her because he felt it's what he deserved, but on the surface, never having them interact after those initial scenes just made them both look really petty or self-absorbed. And part of "growing up" is facing people you've hurt, so....

Yeah, it was primarily Marti that had the idea that it might start to look inappropriate between Spike and Dawn...........which is totally ridiculous. Both onscreen and off, you look at the two of them, and they're so brother and sister. So what if Spike was Mr. Sexy? That doesn't mean he can't be platonic around a female!! Idiots....(another reason why I think the writers were socially stunted/warped)

I'f I'm writing a story where Dawn exists, then their friendship is definitely a part of it. She really helped round out Spike's character.

CM

Oct 19 2007 06:47 pm   #10goldenusagi

I was totally upset that the Spike and Dawn friendship was dropped after the first few eps of season 6.  The first sort of fanfic I started reading was 'Spike and Dawn during the post-Gift summer.'  Because from Bargaining, it seemed that Spike and Dawn had really bonded over the time Buffy was gone, and were closer than they were at the end of season 5.

I didn't really notice it the dropped friendship at first in season 6, until Dawn went into her 'deliquent' phase.  Hmm, maybe if she was still hanging with the Big Bad, she wouldn't have time for shoplifting.  And of course, season 7 was recovering from season 6, so we really didn't get anything besides that scene where she threatens him.  (On a side note, besides whatever else happened in the bathroom scene during SR, I thought it was incredibly annoying that Xander walked in, thereby putting in the means for EVERYONE else to know what happened between Spike and Buffy.)  Xander blabbing to Dawn certainly didn't help any remaining friendship that was there.

Oct 19 2007 10:06 pm   #11Guest

Does anyone remember that Dawn threatened to set Spike on fire early in season seven?  I do, and if I was a newly souled Spike, I might well be frightened of her.  

He even asks Buffy, "And just when did you sister get unbelievably scary?"  I think Spike stayed away from Dawn so that he could keep all his parts.

Dawn, as far as I'm concerned, shouldn't have left it that way with Spike.  It made her look like an ungrateful brat.  I mean, who else did she have during the summer before season six?  Nobody...:( Ungrateful brat.

FetchingMadScientist

Oct 19 2007 10:20 pm   #12SpikeHot

I won't say she was an ungrateful brat. The guy tried to rape her sister. Do you seriously expect her to welcome him with open arms? Her reaction was reasonable and understandable.

I think Dawn was really close to Tara in season six, probably much closer to Tara than she was with Spike. I guess with Tara and Willow playing mothers to her, she didn't spend the whole summer with Spike. I guess she was closer to Tara and Willow after Buffy died, and then we have Xander, Anya and Giles who played big roles in the summer to be there for Dawn. Anya's reaction to Dawn stealing her stuff showed that Anya had her share of babysitting Dawn in the summer. Giles' goodbye to Dawn showed how much he was there for her.

What I'm saying, maybe because the Scoobies were taking more care of Dawn than they had done in season five, she didn't need to seek Spike for comfort. Also once Buffy came back, she was the only thing Spike focused on. So that's probably why they didn't spend a lot of time together in season six.

Oct 19 2007 10:45 pm   #13Scarlet Ibis

But Dawn knew how incredibly biased Xander was in regards to Spike.  And we all know how inquisitive her mind was.  It made no sense for her to *not* confront Spike on the matter and demand his side of the events, as opposed to what was written--accepting Xander's side as the gospel.

And Dawn was closest to Tara and Spike hands down.  They were really the only ones who bothered to spend time with her outside of the realm of babysitting.

"Just when the caterpillar thought the world was over, it became a butterfly."
https://www.facebook.com/FangirlNovel
Oct 19 2007 10:51 pm   #14Guest

We can all go round and round about the bathroom scene- some see it one way,others see it another.  That's for another thread.

My point is, in season seven, Spike was scared of Dawn, so he stayed away from her.  If she wanted to make some kind of peace, I think it was up to her to make the first move, to offer an olive branch as it were.  She didn't.

I think the writers wasted an opportunity to really demonstrate the forgiveness theme that they said they were going for.  I think they really dropped the ball with that storyline, and it is very sad that they did.  

I think it would have been very powerful to see.

FetchingMadScientist

Oct 19 2007 11:03 pm   #15Eowyn315

Dawn, as far as I'm concerned, shouldn't have left it that way with Spike.  It made her look like an ungrateful brat.  I mean, who else did she have during the summer before season six?  Nobody...:( Ungrateful brat.

Well, um, she had Willow and Tara, who lived with her, presumably to take care of her. Yes, Spike spent time with Dawn over the summer - and then as soon as her sister came back, Spike completely ignored Dawn and spent all of his time having sex with Buffy. Great friendship, that. By the time the AR happened, they'd barely spoken in months. This isn't about her suddenly turning on her best friend just because Xander says so. This is about someone she thought was her friend neglecting her all year, trying to rape her sister, and then skipping town without a word. She's got every right to be pissed.

It made no sense for her to *not* confront Spike on the matter and demand his side of the events, as opposed to what was written--accepting Xander's side as the gospel.

You have to consider that Spike left town and wasn't around for her to ask. Once the crap with Willow died down, Dawn probably would've asked Buffy about it - and I honestly couldn't tell you what side Buffy would come down on at that point. But by the time she can actually ask Spike for his side, it's months later, and she's had plenty of time for her opinion to become entrenched. Add that to the abandonment issue, and I can see Dawn being pissed enough to not even want to hear his side of the story anymore.

Writing should feel easy, like a monkey driving a speed boat.
Oct 19 2007 11:25 pm   #16Scarlet Ibis

Not that I agree, but there seems to be a double standard, of sorts.  If you have a soul, it's all bygones, right?  That's how it was with Angel and Willow, but Spike recieved no second chance with Dawn, which is weird since Willow was going to *kill* her.  Angel didn't have a soul, so he gets a pass. But Willow was drunk on grief, so she gets a pass.  But Spike who willingly made changes without a soul, and who was also drunk on grief in that bathroom, didn't get a second chance.  And abandonment issues?  Come on, you don't have to leave town to abandon Dawn, hence the ep "Older and Far Away."  It seemed out of character, IMO, for Dawn to not even question why he did what he did, where'd he been, and why would he leave without saying anything.  She and Xander (and kinda Buffy) were a united front in those first few eps of s7, which was totally OOC, in my opinion.  Dawn always wants to know *why.*  She seemed to stop caring by then.

"Just when the caterpillar thought the world was over, it became a butterfly."
https://www.facebook.com/FangirlNovel
Oct 19 2007 11:47 pm   #17Guest

With the exclusion of the ep "Potential", Dawn was a brat the entire season. Suddenly she was 16 and knew better than everybody, even to throwing Buffy out of their house. It was OOC a lot of time, when she was even shown.....and I think Dawn has a lot of issues to settle post-Chosen with a lot of people.

Scarlet, maybe she didn't give Spike a free pass because he'd never really screwed up like that in her eyes before? I doubt she cared much about Angel, since I don't see her seeing him much, and Willow has a track record........but Spike was hers, and he totally crushed her hero worship of him (in her eyes).

I honestly don't think Buffy shared anything about her time with Spike, at least not specifics, over the summer he was gone. All Dawn has to go on is Xander's interpretation of events, and Buffy's silence. Xander hasn't done anything to Dawn.....has never hurt her, and he's the only one left who hasn't. I can see why she sided with him, as black and white as that was.

But man, it was obvious in Beneath You how little they trust Buffy's judgment now, with how they ganged up on her when Spike first arrived. Buffy didn't even get the benefit of the doubt of not wanting anything to do with Spike and just running into him by accident. That was pretty sick how they were practically expecting her to jump back into bed with her almost-rapist. No "Hey, are you okay, was that traumatic, are you sure it was him?" that normal people would ask a victim. What were the writers thinking again???

CM

Oct 19 2007 11:50 pm   #18Guest

That last bit is just from Xander and Dawn's POV, not mine. As mentioned elsewhere, I don't consider SR a rape attempt, as it wasn't Spike's intention.

Oct 20 2007 12:10 am   #19Guest

Agreed, CM.  I'm sure my fic "Criminal" made that more than obvious...

But I suppose you're right.  Dawn was just...yeah, all that stuff you mentioned, lol.  I suppose I should not have expected more from her.  Shame on me, two times.

Oct 20 2007 12:14 am   #20Guest

Well, I think Dawn as a person is definitely more capable than Dawn the Season 7 character. ;)

CM

Oct 20 2007 01:18 am   #21Unbridled_Brunette

Marti Noxon is an idiot, plain and simple. Her excuse for axing the Spike/Dawn friendship was that it didn't look appropriate for the two actors to have so many scenes alone together, given their age difference. She was the only one who seemed to see anything sexual about their interaction, so that makes her either a pervert or delusional, maybe both.

Personally, I think they ruined the Dawn character after early season six. She started out such a strong character with so much potential. I loved her in season five, particularly in the middle and latter part. For some reason, the writers seemed uncertain of what to do with her after the Key plotline wrapped up, so they just turned her into a two dimensional whiner who everyone hated. Nicely handled, ME. Maybe if Joss had stuck around to watch what you were doing, you wouldn't have ruined the character. And, eventually, the show.

Faithfully bowing at the altar that is Stephen Colbert
Oct 20 2007 01:50 am   #22SpikesKatMac

Eowyn brings up a good point; if Dawn and Spike were such good friends, why did he basically abandon her once he started sleeping with her sister? 

I think Spike's problem was threefold:  one, he's in love with (and sleeping with) a woman who acts like she despises him whenever anyone is around.  By the end of S6, Buffy acted like she despised him even when they were alone.   Two, Spike's best friend is a 16 year old girl who is intelligent, inquisitive, and always poking her nose into her older sister's business.  (Any younger sister's god given right, speaking as a younger sister, LOL!)  And three, every emotion and thought Spike has is right there on his face for anyone with a modicum of sense to pick up on. 

Spike's not stupid; he knows that if anyone will figure out that there's something going on between him and Buffy, it'll be Dawn.  So I think to protect all three of them, he avoids spending time with Dawn.  Also, doesn't Buffy warn Spike to stay away from Dawn at one point, right after "Wrecked"?  Or am I simply remembering a fic from someone?

Anyone who wants to read really well written Dawn/Spike (and NOT in a sexual way, because that just gives me the wiggins.... that was always something that gave me the creeps about Angel & Buffy; ok yeah, BIG age difference, but hello???  She was 15, you pedo!!!)  should try Niamh's Origin series, just about anything by DreamsofSpike, Mary's Journeys series (one of my personal faves) or Nan Dribble's Blood series (God rest her soul).  These are all mostly Spuffy in a big way (except for a couple of DoS) and the characters are just wonderful, but I especially love the way the Dawn/Spike relationship is handled.  The voices really ring true, and if Marti hadn't started seeing things through her pervert-tinted glasses that just weren't there, I could really see S6 playing out with a much happier Spike/Dawn arc.

A beautiful and ineffectual angel, beating in the void his luminous wings in vain - Matthew Arnold
Oct 20 2007 02:21 am   #23Guest

I don't know how anyone, at that stage in the show when Dawn was fifteen, could see anything sexual between Spike and Dawn. Dawn use to have a crush on him, yeah, but that was hero worship, just like her crush on Xander, and I didn't see anyone of the writer's trying to stamp out the Dawn and Xander interaction.

Plus, in an interview, or something like that, James Marsters even said that Spike was like the older brother figure for Dawn. I love fics where they fix or at least focus some of the Spike and Dawn friendship. I, honestly, couldn't see anything sexual between them unless Dawn was older.

Though, I did watch this cute Spike and Dawn friendship vid earlier. http://www.settiai.com/videos.html Called You'll Be In My Heart.

Oct 20 2007 02:23 am   #24Guest

I don't know how anyone, at that stage in the show when Dawn was fifteen, could see anything sexual between Spike and Dawn. Dawn use to have a crush on him, yeah, but that was hero worship, just like her crush on Xander, and I didn't see anyone of the writer's trying to stamp out the Dawn and Xander interaction.

Plus, in an interview, or something like that, James Marsters even said that Spike was like the older brother figure for Dawn. I love fics where they fix or at least focus some of the Spike and Dawn friendship. I, honestly, couldn't see anything sexual between them unless Dawn was older.

Though, I did watch this cute Spike and Dawn friendship vid earlier. http://www.settiai.com/videos.html Called You'll Be In My Heart.

Oct 20 2007 04:23 am   #25Eowyn315

She and Xander (and kinda Buffy) were a united front in those first few eps of s7, which was totally OOC, in my opinion. 

I don't think that's really out of character. It'd have been nicer if we could have seen it develop, but given the way season 6 ended (with those three being the only ones left of the group), it makes sense that they'd band together over the summer. And I agree with CM - Dawn's hero worship of Spike has been crushed, whereas Xander has never hurt her. It seems like a natural reaction to trust Xander's judgment and be angry at Spike.

That was pretty sick how they were practically expecting her to jump back into bed with her almost-rapist. No "Hey, are you okay, was that traumatic, are you sure it was him?" that normal people would ask a victim.

Do you think maybe that has to do with Angel? Xander, at least, would remember being lied to when Angel came back from hell. The last thing the Scoobies knew was that Angelus had been evil, killed Jenny, and tried to destroy the world. Then, all of a sudden, Buffy's resuming a relationship with him, as though all the bad things he did never happened. And obviously, she thought it was wrong, or she wouldn't have kept it a secret from her friends. Maybe they expect the same thing from her with Spike.

Spike's not stupid; he knows that if anyone will figure out that there's something going on between him and Buffy, it'll be Dawn.  So I think to protect all three of them, he avoids spending time with Dawn. 

I think that's a pretty reasonable argument. I don't know of anything in particular on the show that suggests Spike felt that way, but it's as good a fanwank as any. :) It's certainly much nicer than thinking that Spike and his sex-addled brain just forgot all about everything except Buffy.

Also, doesn't Buffy warn Spike to stay away from Dawn at one point, right after "Wrecked"?  Or am I simply remembering a fic from someone?

I don't remember that. She actually leaves Dawn with Spike at the end of Wrecked, after the car accident. Spike takes Dawn away while Buffy chews out Willow. I do remember reading a s6 fic where Buffy told Spike to stay away from Dawn, so maybe that's it?

Writing should feel easy, like a monkey driving a speed boat.
Oct 20 2007 07:54 am   #26Scarlet Ibis

Buffy telling Dawn to stay away from Spike?  This is after they're trapped in the caves/tunnels, fighting those dirt monsters while Willow tried to destroy the world.  Dawn mentions that maybe one of the tunnels lead to the one that went to Spike's crypt, and Buffy gives some flippant answer about how they should stay away from him, which is retarded considering several hours before, she was bringing Dawn over to his place so that he could protect her. 

And, just because the cameras stopped rolling...doesn't mean that Spike and Dawn stopped hanging out in season six.  In fact, Dawn's remarks about how Xander didn't measure up to Spike, about how Spike would stay and fight instead of turning tail, suggests to me that they still had a bond and still hung out, and we just didn't get to see it (cause that idiot Noxon didn't want us to).  Dawn snuck over to his crypt often, and whenever she felt like it.  It's not like he could hide from her (she sneaks over before going to a friend's- at night, to see him in SR, and that was only because she was the most convenient character to go say "shame on you for hurting Buffy, Spike" at the time).  And Spike wouldn't just 100% forget about Dawn, even if he was spending more time with Buffy.  I think we're misinterpreting, now that I've pondered it...maybe not as much quality time as the summer permitted in Buffy's absence, but definitely still some quality time.

"Just when the caterpillar thought the world was over, it became a butterfly."
https://www.facebook.com/FangirlNovel
Oct 20 2007 01:18 pm   #27SpikeHot

This debate made me watch Beneath You, and I discovered something. Xander has matured a lot! Seriously I never expected to find more clues to his maturity, but then when Spike appeared and Buffy revealed she had known Spike was back. It was Dawn who had accused Buffy of hiding stuff from them, Xander was very understanding about it. It's really remarkable.

I won't call Buffy, Xander and Dawn growing closer in the summer out of character. They were already friends in the past, not just friends, a family. It was only natural that they would grow closer as a family when they spent the summer toegther alone. The father/mother vibe Buffy and Xander held toward Dawn played out throughout season seven.

I'm shocked to read that only Spike and Tara bothered to care about Dawn. I think all the Scoobys did. Giles' talk to Dawn before he left, Willow playing mother to Dawn, Anya's reaction to Dawn stealing her things, Xander hugging Dawn to him as they watched Giles leave. All these events showed how much the Scoobys cared. But Tara was truely the closest one to Dawn in season six.

Oct 20 2007 05:45 pm   #28Eowyn315

Buffy telling Dawn to stay away from Spike?  This is after they're trapped in the caves/tunnels, fighting those dirt monsters while Willow tried to destroy the world.

What Buffy actually says is that Spike's crypt is "the last place on Earth we need to be." Which doesn't even make sense, since she already knows Spike's not there and isn't coming back. But that's not what we were referring to. SpikesKatMac was looking for something Buffy said early in season 6 which would explain why Spike and Dawn didn't hang out anymore. This line - which doesn't prohibit Dawn from seeing him, just says it's a bad idea to go to the crypt he doesn't live in anymore - comes way too late to be an explanation.

And, just because the cameras stopped rolling...doesn't mean that Spike and Dawn stopped hanging out in season six.

Well, you can fanwank whatever you want to, I guess, but the fact that we don't get ANY scenes of them hanging out once Buffy comes back would indicate that it's supposed to be a shift in the relationship. We don't even see them being friendly when they're together in a group. Older and Far Away - they're trapped in that house for days... does Spike even talk to Dawn once? Or does he just pester Buffy about sex and be a jerk to what's-his-name (Buffy's "date")? Does he talk to her at Xander and Anya's wedding, other than to show off his date? 

Xander has matured a lot!

Yes, he really has. He's very mature throughout season 7, but I think that some people just decided they hate him, and stopped paying attention to his character development after season 6. I guess it's no fun to hate him if he's a nice guy.

Writing should feel easy, like a monkey driving a speed boat.
Oct 20 2007 07:02 pm   #29Enisy

Well, in "Entropy", after Spike slept with Anya, Dawn stopped by his crypt and asked him "You're not gonna be coming around anymore, are you?" which could support the theory that they hung out offscreen in S6.


Oct 20 2007 08:29 pm   #30Scarlet Ibis

Cool observation, Enisy. "Anymore" makes all the difference.  If he truly stopped hanging with Dawn, she would've added something snide like "Like you've been around all that much to begin with." No, I think the writers were just adhering to Marti's retarded plan of keeping the two off screen together and alone as much as humanly possible.

And, yeah, Xander matured.  I mean, he let Spike live with him so that he could get better...He could have been a dick and said no.  And, he wasn't on the Spike hating band wagon after the first few eps- he sided with Buffy (and I suppose Willow) on keeping Spike around and helping him (whereas Dawn and Anya did not).

"Just when the caterpillar thought the world was over, it became a butterfly."
https://www.facebook.com/FangirlNovel
Oct 20 2007 09:01 pm   #31TammyDevil666

Yeah, and let's not forget that Xander was the one who came up with the idea that Spike had a trigger, instead of just saying he's back to killing again, so he should be destroyed.  I definitely liked Xander a lot more in the last season.

When I say, "I love you," it's not because I want you or because I can't have you. It has nothing to do with me. I love what you are, what you do, how you try. I've seen your kindness and your strength. I've seen the best and the worst of you, and I understand with perfect clarity exactly what you are. You're a hell of a woman. You're the one, Buffy.
Oct 23 2007 06:59 pm   #32Guest

ok i watched the commantary for barginning right and marti noxon said


"i was watching tis scene and realised michelle is really devoloping her own beauty and attractiveness maybe her and james shouldn't have so many scenes in the future"


see she's evil; wa need a vampire slayer in here stat come on move it people!! hehe

Oct 24 2007 07:09 pm   #33smlcspike

S7 is not a fav of mine, but Spike did seem to stay way from Dawn and alot of people in s7, I don't remember Dawn actively seeking him out to fix what was broke.

I liked the Dawn and Spike interaction in S5 and again in S6, but he only saw her a sister, believe he said that once.

Dawn was of normal age as they said she had a crush on Xander too. She also wasn't blind and knew what her sister and Spike had. and didn't have in alot of the time, after all she was the one that told Buffy Spike was in love with her.