Author Nikki Stafford saw the season seven episode "Potential" as an example of Dawn's growing maturity. She praises the character for taking charge and accepting the possibility she might be a Potential Slayer, and for quietly stepping back when she turns out to be wrong, without revealing how disappointed she really is. Stafford states, "Dawn has come a long way from the annoying adolescent she was in season five, and the screechy, difficult teen she was in season six ('get out, Get Out, GET OUT!'). She is a mature young woman, the same age as Buffy was in season one, but she is handling her problems with even more grace and acceptance than her older sister did."