Tara and Oz - who contributed more to the overall story?
- Thread starter YummySushiPJs
- Start date
YummySushiPJs
Scooby
- Joined
- Dec 16, 2011
- Messages
- 543
I don't really know how else to explain it other than the way I just did. Things happened to Tara (or involving her) in a lot of episodes whereas nothing really happened to Oz outside of being a werewolf.
thetopher
Member of the Church Of Faith
Yeah, I'm not sure where this impression comes from, Oz was quiet, sure, but I know more about his hobbies, quirks and likes than I do Tara's.
Things happened to him independant of Willow- not many things I'll admit, but they were there.
He seemed to have much more of a fully realised life outside of the Scoobies than Tara ever did. He was in a band, was kinda friends with Devon, didn't think much of his own music skills even though he was pretty good, etc.
The only things I know about Tara's like/dislikes is that she likes magic, like Willow, and likes riding horses- and only two of those are references more than once on the show. 🙂
Tara doesn't have anything going on besides Willow, until those few episodes in S6 where she's helping Buffy.
YummySushiPJs
Scooby
- Joined
- Dec 16, 2011
- Messages
- 543
That's not really the kind of things I meant. Damn, I don't know how else to explain it.
Knowing more about Oz's life outside the Scoobies makes him a more well-rounded character in a way, but that's not what I'm talking about.
EVIL UU
Scooby
- Joined
- Mar 7, 2011
- Messages
- 1,755
Witchcraft and a hero gig. Tara wants to use her power to help people and it isn't really about being Buffy's friend or Willow's girlfriend - she takes action in "Hush" already. That's heroism and speaking of heroism, her sacrifice in "Tough Love" is pretty damn heroic and of course ties to the mom thing with Dawn. There's friendship with Buffy - people underestimate it but come on, there are only two other scenes like the one in "Dead Things" with Tara - with Willow in season 3 and with Dawn in season 5. Buffy doesn't just cry like that with anybody, OK? One more thing. Tara brings in a different way of looking at magic and the supernatural - to Scoobies magic is mundane and they treat it in a very utilitarian fashion. Tara's take is more about mysticism and beliefs and philosophy. It's a craft versus religion kind of deal.
Fuffy Baith
2017 (and 2016) Cutest BB member
I think we're confused on what you mean by contribute. Tara gets her brain sucked by Glory, memory erased by Willow and then dies. These things definitely contribute to the overall plot of seasons 5 and 6. But those are things that happened to Tara, it was out of her control. So I can't really say that Tara as a person contributes anything, more like she was used as a plot device. Whereas Oz doesn't have an affect on the endings of S2 and 3. I guess I have to go back and watch the Tara episodes cause I don't remember her doing anything herself except a few episodes in s6.
Oz also had the van that helped the scoobies a few times, although Tara did help Willow and Xander with the tinkerbell light thing
YummySushiPJs
Scooby
- Joined
- Dec 16, 2011
- Messages
- 543
I guess that is what I meant, though. As I said in an earlier post, whether it's things happening TO tara, outside of her control, doesn't matter. She is used more. And it's not just getting brain sucked and dying. She was attacked in Season 4's Superstar. She was used heavily in Restless (Oz also appeared in this episode but not as importantly). She had the special connections to Dawn and later Buffy. When i say she contributed more, I don't just mean how she helped out like Oz having a van, I mean the writers used her more in an episode-by-episode basis, even if it was just as a plot device (if Tara wasn't around, the writers would simply have had Buffy open up to someone else. But the fact is she was around, and the writers used her).
But this isn't a comparison to say she was better than Oz. She wasn't. I just feel the writers utilised the fact she was around, even if it was just in plot-device ways.
EVIL UU
Yeah, I get that a lot :D
Even if were talking about the contribution as a person, I still don't see what Oz has above Tara in that category.
As for Tara in relation to the other Scoobies, I think she brought one very important key element, comfort. She's the only person in the series that is shown to be able to comfort people in this way. That's what she does, she helps people with their non-supernatural problems, she's the only one to do that. Even Buffy and Willow don't help each other much with personal stuff. Tara, she is shown to make a pretty big impact on Buffy, Willow and Dawn.
As for Tara in relation to the other Scoobies, I think she brought one very important key element, comfort. She's the only person in the series that is shown to be able to comfort people in this way. That's what she does, she helps people with their non-supernatural problems, she's the only one to do that. Even Buffy and Willow don't help each other much with personal stuff. Tara, she is shown to make a pretty big impact on Buffy, Willow and Dawn.
Fuffy Baith
2017 (and 2016) Cutest BB member
Ok so if that is what were talking about then yes, I agree. Oz was very under utilized. I think going into S4 Seth requested that Oz be more involved, but then he ended up leaving which sucks. But yea this is just her being used to serve the plot, which there is nothing wrong with that, but I still don't think she herself actually contributes anything more than Oz does. I guess it just depends on how you view the characters and what you see in them. Some people see different things in different people. I don't think there's a right or wrong answer. I just like reading every ones opinions, especially since I don't rememeber Tara a lot.