Real Me

Prior to the role of Dawn being cast, Sarah Michelle Gellar suggested they take a look at Michelle Trachtenberg. Dawn was originally conceived to be 12 years old, but after Trachtenberg was cast, the writers raised the character's age to 14. However, the first few scripts were still written in the voice of a 12-year-old. Before being cast, Trachtenberg, a fan of the show, had written a letter to Real Me (2000) that suggested how she could become a character on Buffy. The character of Dawn was also originally intended to have the power to speak to the dead, or to be able to move objects with her mind. These powers were later dropped.

At the beginning, Buffy and Giles are training in a room, which is later shown to be the back room of the magic shop, however at this point Giles doesn't own the shop, so it doesn't make sense that they would have been training there at that time.

Featured in Buffy the Vampire Slayer: The Gift (2001)