If you ever felt like you just showed up and everyone was uncomfortable with you being there or you just could’ve caught fire in a crowded room and no one would notice, and you just wanted your big sister to think you were cool - or anybody to think that.
Or if you felt left out, invisible, or stupid, like no one thought you could take care of yourself, or no one noticed what you did no matter if it was good or bad, and if you felt a sharp pain inside yourself because you knew you didn’t belong where you were, that’s who Dawn Summers is to Buffy the Vampire Slayer.
And at least for me, she was someone I deeply related to.
Imagine if your sister was the Chosen One and you…actually weren’t supposed to exist at all. But Michelle played the part pitch perfectly - she was silly, annoying, alien and alienated, but somehow endearing, and so reflective of so many of us trying to stand out from the shadows and make it in the Hellmouth.
It's easy to forget that Trachtenberg herself was also literally thrust into a well established cast and world to play the character who isn’t supposed to be there and literally threatens everyone else’s existence simply by breathing.
Michelle Trachtenberg, whose career might rarely be seen out from under the shadow of Buffy and Gossip Girl, was immensely talented, playing a wide variety of roles with the same careful nuance and expression, from ice skaters to high society bullies and everything in between.
She was there the whole time, doing a great job, bringing joy and life and depth to every character with an incredible vulnerability, able to put a face to a feeling that you’re never going to be “as good as” someone else at doing anything at all - but she was a rockstar.
And she will be missed.
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