BLOOD TIES

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CAST
Sarah Michelle Gellar............Buffy Summers
Nicholas Brendon.................Xander Harris
Alyson Hannigan...............Willow Rosenberg
Emma Caulfield............................Anya
Michelle Trachtenberg.............Dawn Summers
James Marsters...........................Spike
Anthony Stewart Head.....................Giles

GUEST STARS
Kristine Sutherland..............Joyce Summers
Amber Benson..............................Tara
Claire Krammer...........................Glory

BLOOD TIES


After Buffy is told by the Council that Glory is not a demon but in fact a god, the Scooby Gang start to look into it. Giles tells the group that Glory is in fact one of the three Hell gods, that ruled over one of the most terrible Demon Dimensions out there. However even though she is a god she is in human form and can be killed. He also tells the group that she gets her power by sucking the energy from peoples brains. Xander brings up the matter of "The Key". Buffy tells them that the Key is not important, her and Giles know where it is. The others become angry as they were not told. Buffy knows this and she tells the group the truth about Dawn.
At a nearby Camp Site the knights come under attack from Glory's minnon's. The knights take out Glory's men easily but then Glory turns up and kills all but one of them...

OPENING CREDITS

Willow and Tara are putting an early warning system around the Magic Box and Buffy's home to tell them when Glory comes within 100 feet of those places. When Dawn shows up the two act weird around her. When Dawn goes inside, Xander and Anya act weird around her, after finding out that she is the Key. As Buffy, Dawn and Giles talk, Dawn notices that Giles has secretly put a book of his away.
Glory has kept one of the knights alive to torture him into giving her the information of where the Key is. After he doesn't tell her anything she sucks the energy from his brain.
At Buffy's 20th Birthday party, Dawn gives her a photo frame she made with Sea Shells she and Buffy picked years sgo. Everyone goes silent as they know that never happened. As they continue to act weird around Dawn, she picks up on it and makes a scene before storming upstairs to her room. She sneaks out of her room and bumps into Spike in her back garden. He has come to bring Buffy a present. Dawn tells him that she is about to break into the Magic Box. She asks Spike if he wants to come with her, which he does but the main reason is to protect her.
Once in the Magic Box, Dawn says she wants a book. She goes to where Giles was standing and finds it she and Spike sit down to read it. As she reads it she finally realises what she is. Spike continues to read on and discovers that Dawn is "The Key" and was placed with Buffy to be protected.
Back at Buffy's party, Dawn comes in covered in Blood, she has cut herself with a knife. She has done it to see if she bleeds and when she does she wants to know if the blood is real. The rest of the group leaves so that Dawn, Buffy and Joyce can talk. Dawn ask's how long has she been alive. Buffy tells her six months. Buffy and Joyce tell Dawn that they both love her and no matter what she is that will never change. Dawn does not acept that though and screams at them to get out.
At the Magic Box they begin to look into what the origins of the "Key" are so they can give Dawn answers. Giles question's how Dawn got into the Shop and how she found the book, then Anya finds a cigarette end... Buffy bursts into Spike's Crypt and begins to attack him saying how could he let her find out like that. Spike tells her that it isnt her fault, she had no right to keep that away from her, she can only blame herself for once and not blame someone else for her own mistakes to make herself better.
In the morning Joyce tells Dawn that she will be late for School. After an argument where Dawn tells Joyce that she isn't her mother she leaves for School. That night she is looking over The Dawn Chronicles thinking how could all this stuff ever have happened? As she goes downstairs to Buffy and her mum she overhears them speaking, gets the wrong end of the stick and runs back upstairs. She goes into her room and trashes the place. Burning the Dawn Chronicles she then makes a run for it.
At the Magic Box the group split up to deal with the different areas of Sunnydale. Dawn has gone to a park where she recalls memories of her Childhood with Buffy. As Spike and Buffy arrive there that tad too late she tells Spike he was right, this is all her fault. Spike talks to Buffy and says it could not be helped, she must not blame herself because she is not only dealing with a 1000 year old Entity but more importantly a 14 year old girl.
Dawn goes to the Hospital where one of the Mental patients tells her she is the "Key" and that by the will of God she must be killed. Dawn runs for it but bumps into Ben. The two sit down and talk about their sisters (Ben Sister is Glory.) As Ben tries to make Dawn feel better she just keeps telling him that she doesnt exist, that she is a thing. It is not until she says the monks sent her to Buffy that Ben reacts. He stands exclaiming that she is the "key", he tells her to run, that she can't let Glory get her. As Ben screams to her to run as Glory is here Dawn cannot believe her eyes when Ben turns into Glory right in front of her.
Glory tells Dawn that her and Ben are two different people but they get interupted by a guard who she kills. They go into a different room and Dawn tells Glory that she will tell her where the "Key" is, if she tells her what it is. Glory tells Dawn that the "Key" is not evil. But with Dawn asking so many questions Glory gets bored and goes to suck Dawns Brain energy.
Buffy bursts in and stops them. A huge fight erupts in which everyone plays a part, but just before Glory can do and real damage Willow and Tara do a spell and send her into the skies of Sunnydale. When Buffy asks Dawn if she is ok, she declares why should she care. Buffy explains that Dawn is her sister, they both have Summers blood and that is all that matters. The two hug after Dawn realises this and they both head for home.

out of 5. Five by Five!!!