Dawn’s in trouble. Must be Tuesday.
A joke that broke the fourth wall in Buffy the Vampire Slayer became two phrases that encapsulated an entire character’s existence. Dawn Summers, the ball of mystical energy made manifest so Buffy could protect her “little sister”, who then didn’t get sacrificed and must learn to live (The hardest thing to do in this world is to live in it. – Dawn Summers, Once More With Feeling) was a career-defining character, much like Michelle Trachtenberg’s work in Gossip Girl. But for me, as much as I love Buffy, the actress will always be the Ice Princess.
I love ice skating. I haven’t done it for years, and only did it once, but I wrote a romance novel featuring an ice skater, watch it on television when I can, and the movie Ice Princess was perfectly made to hit all those nostalgia and feelings. Take one geeky, brainy girl (played by Michelle Trachtenberg) who wants nothing more than to be an ice skater. Her mother completely disagrees, but when the character uses spins as a way to complete a math project, one that launches her into the ice skating spotlight, things start to slide out of control. Ice Princess teaches us to get up when we fall, even if it means our dreams are crushed, and that we have to learn to be our own person, regardless of what our mother, or anyone close to us, wants us to be. It’s about having strength of will to go after those dreams, and defying a little gravity and some mean girls, along the way.
Sadly, Michelle Trachtenberg passed away this week. Gone too soon is such a cliche, and yet it is painfully, completely also the case. While she will be remembered as Dawn Summers and for her other work, I also sincerely hope she is remembered as the Ice Princess.
