Dawn Lerner (TV Series)

"I thought you were weak. You've proved me wrong."

- Dawn to Beth.

Dawn Lerner is a survivor of the outbreak in AMC's The Walking Dead. She is the leader of Grady Memorial Hospital. She was killed by Daryl Dixon in Grady Memorial Hospital.

Description
Dawn is described as "A formidable woman. She is stern, focused and intensely pragmatic, but has a tendency to crack under pressure and lash out violently. Though she presents a stoic facade, she has a softer side that she feels the need to suppress in order to be an effective leader. She is charismatic with a vibrant energy…"

Atlanta, Georgia
Dawn was a police officer with the Atlanta Police Department. She worked closely with police sergeant Bob Lamson, as well their senior officer, Captain Hanson.

"Slabtown"
Dawn is first introduced when Beth Greene wakes up in Grady Memorial Hospital. Dawn tells her that Beth owes her officers for saving her.

She is later seen whisking in Gavin Trevitt, who fell from a second floor window. After she learns that Trevitt is a doctor, she urges their current physician, Dr. Steven Edwards, to save his life, despite his protests. When Dr. Steven tries to explain to Dawn that the man can't be saved, Dawn slaps Beth to motivate him, re-opening her sutured cheek.

She later forces Beth to help Dr. Steven amputate Joan's arm after she was bitten trying to escape. Joan tries to resist, but Dawn refuses to let her die and cuts her arm off.

Dawn brings Beth some food and Beth tells her she's not staying any longer than they make her. Dawn tries to sell her on staying at the hospital. She thinks that the world will return to normal and it's important to keep safety and order. "Try to look at the good we're doing." she tells Beth. Beth eats the food but doesn't seem to change her decision to leave.

When Gavin dies, Dawn demands to know what happened, Noah takes the blame, saying he accidentally unplugged the ventilator. Dawn tells an officer to take Noah to her office. When Beth tries to explain what happened to Dr. Edwards, he says, "You gave him Clonazepam (a different drug, a sedative), right?" Beth is confused and hears Noah being beaten in the other room.

Later, Dawn comes to Beth's room. She knows that Noah didn't unplug the ventilator. She says she had to beat Noah. She proceeds to tell Beth that she isn't the greater good and hence isn't keeping her worth. "The wards keep my officers happy. The happier my officers are the harder they work to keep us going." She is later seen patrolling the hospital and Beth tells her that Gorman and Joan are looking for her in her office. When she arrives, she is attacked by a zombified Joan and the officer with her is killed before she can kill Joan. She later puts both officers down before they can turn and meets with Beth after she is recaptured.

Dawn calls Beth out for having Gorman killed but is shocked when Beth retaliates with the fact that Gorman tried to rape her and Dawn let it happen. She tries to justify her actions and tells Beth that she believes government forces will eventually rescue everyone, but Beth is not very convinced by this. Dawn looks at the floor and sees a shattered picture of her and Hanson before lashing out at Beth again.

"Crossed"
At the hospital, Dawn is dealing with her officer’s inability to find Noah while Beth mops the floor and listens. When the conversation turns to Carol, and the officer wants to let Carol die, Beth interrupts on Carol’s behalf. Her outburst prompts Dawn to back the officer against Beth by telling the officer to pull the plug on Carol. When the officer leaves, Dawn explains this, and that she can't help Carol. She also give gives Beth a key to the drug locker and tells her to save Carol.

"Coda"
Dawn was shown exercising in the beginning, whilst talking to Beth. Later on, after a confrontation with , it ends with Beth killing him. After the exchange between Rick's group and the people of Grady Memorial Hospital, Dawn demands for Noah. After a quick confrontation with Beth, where Beth stabs her with a pair of scissors, Dawn shoots Beth, and gets shot by Daryl.

Killed Victims
This list shows the victims Dawn has killed:
 * Beth Greene (Accidental)
 * Hanson
 * Dying Man (Caused)
 * Gavin Trevitt (Before Reanimation)
 * Joan (Zombified)
 * Gorman (Before Reanimation)
 * Jefferies (Before Reanimation)
 * Numerous counts of Grady Memorial Hospital patients (Before Reanimation)
 * Numerous counts of zombies and unnamed people.

Beth Greene
Dawn and Beth are shown to have a strained relationship, the two of them not trusting each other. Dawn tells Beth she "owes them" because they saved her, though this seems to be something that all new arrivals are told. When Steven Edwards tells Dawn that Gavin Trevitt cannot be saved, Dawn angrily responds by slapping Beth on the cheek, causing her suture to reopen. After Trevitt died due to Beth accidentally administering the wrong drug, Noah takes the blame but Dawn knew Beth was the cause. She tells Beth that she is doing everything for the greater good and Beth isn't the greater good. After Beth is subdued by an officer when attempting to escape the hospital with Noah, she is brought to Dawn's office. Beth tells her nobody will come to save them, so everything Dawn is doing is useless. Dawn looks at a picture of her and Hanson, who she "dealt with" for the greater good before knocking Beth unconscious, straining their relationship further. By the time we get to "Crossed" her relationship with Beth, despite an escape attempt by Beth, appears to have improved to the point where she can talk to Beth without hitting her. She appears to help Carol by giving Beth the key to the drugs cabinet and telling her to go and treat her. It's unclear as to what her intentions are at this point.

Steven Edwards
"Only on her bad days...it's unfortunate for us that that's the only kind she has."

- Steven Edwards on the subject of Dawn's violent outburst.

Dawn and Dr. Edwards seem to have a good working relationship, however they often disagree on things and he seems quite wary of her. Dawn's persistence and ways of running the community seem to annoy Edwards.

Hanson
Hanson was her superior officer who was in charge of the hospital first. When Hanson began to become reckless and make bad choice she took it upon herself to have him "dealt with" and take over. She seemed to care about him as she kept a photo of him presenting an award to her in her office.

Gorman
"And maybe somebody in charge who ain't her."

- Gorman to Dr. Edwards about Dawn.

Dawn is his superior officer, who allows him and other officers to take advantage of the women at the hospital. He resents her, and implies that sooner or later she won't be the one in charge and he will be able to do what he wants.

Noah
"Noah's smart, probably my best worker. That story he told about the ventilator, boy's not much of a liar."

- Dawn to Beth.

Dawn and Noah are shown to have a stable relationship, with Dawn saying that Noah is one of her best workers in the hospital. Dawn, upon finding Noah in the outbreak, left his father injured, but saved Noah, taking him back to the hospital. It is shown that Dawn feels guilty for punishing Noah after he takes the blame for accidentally killing Gavin Trevitt, knowing that he lied to protect Beth. Any guilt she felt did not stop her from punishing him though. How she reacts to Noah escaping the hospital is currently unknown.

Joan
"We're not going to let you die; we are not going to let you turn."

- Dawn to Joan.

It is shown that Dawn cares about Joan's well-being, as after she escapes the hospital and is bit, Dawn brings her back in to amputate her arm, and when she resists Dawn tells her that she's not going to let her turn and die.

Season 5

 * "Slabtown"
 * "Crossed"
 * "Coda"

Trivia

 * This character was first introduced in the Comic Con 2014 trailer for Season 5, where Executive Producer Gale Anne Hurd confirmed the actress as Christine Woods.
 * The casting call for this character used the name Vivian Bishop.
 * Dawn is the first main female antagonist presented in the show.
 * It was confirmed on Talking Dead's Inside the Dead segment that she suffers from Obsessive Compulsive Disorder.
 * Presumably as a result of this, Dawn and the other officers in her group wear spotless police uniforms, which is supported based off of her conversation with Noah regarding her laundry.