#1 -- Buffy, as usual, was right all along, and there is no reason that any of them have to know Dawn is the key.

No reason! It just endangers everyone. The weird acting, the torture, and they don't know that Glory doesn't have mind readers at her disposal. Buffy allows herself to get shamed into telling everyone and it backfires big time. Ultimately, it's how Glory finds out. (I think... I think it goes something like, Scoobies know, so Dawn knows, so Ben knows, and he betrays that knowledge to a minion.)

In fact, the best argument for having made the key Buffy's little sister -- because it means that all the Scoobies will go way out of their way to protect her WITHOUT knowing she's the key.

Clearly, only The Slayer and Her Watcher could ever be trusted with this information.

#2 -- The Knights (who say Key) -- I was still okay with the Knights in this episode because we don't know that much about who they are and where they come from, but by the end of Spiral, there's just too much about them that doesn't make any sense -- particularly their timeline. Actually, the whole Glory/Ben timeline doesn't make a lot of sense. The more explanation about The Beast and The Key that we get, the less sense it all makes.

#3 -- Anya, definitely. However, Anya is always kinda weird, so maybe she's not the one who makes Dawn most suspicious.

#4 -- Glory has psycho eyes. Anyway, on her own show, NOBODY is prettier than Buffy. Except maybe Evil Vampire Willow.

#5 -- Once again, obviously, no. Dawn knowing leads to Glory knowing.

#6 -- Interesting theme, here. Everybody thinks they should have been told earlier, yet events as they play out make it clear that no, in fact, they shouldn't have been told, ever.

#7 -- I'm pretty sure that Glory brain-sucking Dawn would have discovered she's the key, but who knows?

#8 -- Four stars for the "Is this blood?" scene.

Oh, right! I remember now. The Ben reveal is how she knows to look for a *person*. So, still unhelpful.

2. My big guess is that his parents don't know for the same reason that no other humans know until Weight of the World -- mojo keeps people from realizing. Though, maybe Ben doesn't have parents; we never hear him have a last name. I almost wonder if part of the spell that keeps Glory and Ben divided works as a shimmer to keep Ben from being outed, and he only gets fired in Tough Love when the magic is getting closer to wearing off? He does mention that he used to keep Glory submerged with drugs.

As it sounded like much magic went into keeping her trapped in her "prison of flesh and bone," I always got the impression that Glory wasn't able to muster enough to strength to be out long term until shortly before s5. I picture as she would appear sporadically throughout Ben's younger years. However frequent enough for 1) him to know something freaky was going on and 2) for Glory to at least gather minions/find out about the Key and the Knights. Also with Ben apparently keeping her suppressed with drugs, it makes [at least some] sense why her efforts to find the Key were often stalled.

Hmm...are there any fics out there about Ben's younger years?