The First?

[TaraSpike]

I know Amber decided she didn't want to come back to the show in the final season so as not to hurt Tara's fans, and that we got an amazingly chilling moment from The First in the form of Cassie. But I still am constantly thinking about what a deep impact it would have had if Willow had actually come face to face with Tara only to find out she wasn't Tara at all. What do you all think? Would that have been too harsh, or would it have added to the introduction of The First as a very serious opponent? As a Tara lover, I know I personally can respect Amber's decision but would've found it to be very emotional in the sort of way that gives one shivers, if that makes any sense.

 

[Jodast]

I must admit that I never understood Amber's reasoning on that. Sure it would mean that Tara's last moments were slightly diminished by not being her last scenes in the show, but from a story point of view and an actor's standpoint, I would think that she would have been all for it. I certainly would have thought it was amazing.

I think it would have been powerful on the same level as 'Te Body' 'The Gift' or 'Becoming Part II' in the fans' eyes. Tara being my favourite character, for me it would probably have been the most powerful stuff in the whole series with Willow being mislead by the woman she loved and then finally figuring our what was going on and having to deny her by force of will. No matter how much she wanted to believe and hang on to Tara.

It would have given fans a real moment to latch on to, where they knew for sure that they despised The First and in effect made it more tangible rather than an ethereal entity or just a concept of evil. I know later on with Caleb it was given a physical conduit, but the writers would not have had to work so hard to get us invested in it had Amber come back as Tara/First even for just the one episode.

But I am biased 🙂

 

[Robb Stark]

It would have given fans a real moment to latch on to, where they knew for sure that they despised The First and in effect made it more tangible rather than an ethereal entity or just a concept of evil. I know later on with Caleb it was given a physical conduit, but the writers would not have had to work so hard to get us invested in it had Amber come back as Tara/First even for just the one episode.

I think this is a really great point. After the incredible character development Tara had over the sixth season, and the impact her death had on Willow, bringing her back, as the first person The...uh...First (ah, puns) poses as would have been a hell of a way to introduce the new big villain. The scene with First-Cassie was remarkable, really haunting, but having it be Tara, the ultimate nice character we'd grown to trust and rely on, would have been something else entirely.

Now, that being said, I don't mind that it didn't happen either. I'm not entirely sure why, storyline wise, The First couldn't pose as Tara (if there even is a reason), but for whatever reason it always added a degree of loss and longing for Willow because The First couldn't do it.

I'm not entirely sure the two parties couldn't make it happen. I've seen commentary episodes where Joss has stated that he had designed an episode where the real Tara would return after Buffy is granted one wish, for anything. She deliberates with Angel about making him human again before the two of them instead decide to bring Tara back to life (which would have been a classic Angel move). I'm not sure how they would have worked around a repeat of bringing someone back from heaven (I don't think there's anyway Tara isn't in heaven), but I would have liked to see that. I loved the fallout from Tara's death, Willow in S7 and I liked Kennedy, but that would have been a special moment.

 

[TaraSpike]

I must admit that I never understood Amber's reasoning on that. Sure it would mean that Tara's last moments were slightly diminished by not being her last scenes in the show, but from a story point of view and an actor's standpoint, I would think that she would have been all for it. I certainly would have thought it was amazing.

I think it would have been powerful on the same level as 'Te Body' 'The Gift' or 'Becoming Part II' in the fans' eyes. Tara being my favourite character, for me it would probably have been the most powerful stuff in the whole series with Willow being mislead by the woman she loved and then finally figuring our what was going on and having to deny her by force of will. No matter how much she wanted to believe and hang on to Tara.

It would have given fans a real moment to latch on to, where they knew for sure that they despised The First and in effect made it more tangible rather than an ethereal entity or just a concept of evil. I know later on with Caleb it was given a physical conduit, but the writers would not have had to work so hard to get us invested in it had Amber come back as Tara/First even for just the one episode.

But I am biased 🙂

I feel much the same way! I'm definitely just as biased, haha. As far as Amber's part in the decision goes, I'm not sure if she was shown exactly how she would've been incorporated. I believe in the quote I read she said she didn't want Tara to "come back evil" so maybe it wasn't clear. Still, I think like you said it would've been such a powerful moment and it's honestly a shame we never got that.

I think this is a really great point. After the incredible character development Tara had over the sixth season, and the impact her death had on Willow, bringing her back, as the first person The...uh...First (ah, puns) poses as would have been a hell of a way to introduce the new big villain. The scene with First-Cassie was remarkable, really haunting, but having it be Tara, the ultimate nice character we'd grown to trust and rely on, would have been something else entirely.

Now, that being said, I don't mind that it didn't happen either. I'm not entirely sure why, storyline wise, The First couldn't pose as Tara (if there even is a reason), but for whatever reason it always added a degree of loss and longing for Willow because The First couldn't do it.

I'm not entirely sure the two parties couldn't make it happen. I've seen commentary episodes where Joss has stated that he had designed an episode where the real Tara would return after Buffy is granted one wish, for anything. She deliberates with Angel about making him human again before the two of them instead decide to bring Tara back to life (which would have been a classic Angel move). I'm not sure how they would have worked around a repeat of bringing someone back from heaven (I don't think there's anyway Tara isn't in heaven), but I would have liked to see that. I loved the fallout from Tara's death, Willow in S7 and I liked Kennedy, but that would have been a special moment.

I agree! I think although it would have been pretty amazing, I'm okay with how they ended up doing it too. It's almost as though Tara was unreachable even for The First evil. I've heard about the other possibility too, where Tara is resurrected, so I'm not certain which is more founded. I think to me, as much as I love Tara, it would've seemed a bit odd to bring her back...but obviously I wouldn't have really complained about getting to see her again haha.

 

[WileyDairyGnome]

It's no question that I love Tara so much, so so so much! And I'm actually glad that The First never was Tara. I think Amber had good reasoning, it would have hurt Willow too much as well as the fans... Tara was just so good and pure, and I like that she is the only recurring character in the series that never went bad or appeared bad/possessed in any way. She is just too good to be like that.

And although I would have loved to see Tara come back, for the writing and the storyline's sake, I would have felt that her death and the end of Season 6 was cheated because she ended up coming back. And I also think that after everything that Buffy went through when she was resurrected, I feel that if Buffy made that wish to bring back Tara (who was in Heaven without a doubt), it's like she wouldn't have learned anything; they'd be pulling her out of Heaven just like what happened to Buffy, and it would have been heartbreaking...

 

[Summerlilly]

Yeah, I get that people didn't want to see Tara's character get corrupted.....but in some ways it could have been fun to see another dimension for Amber Benson to play. Many of the actors where able to do that with their characters at different points. I think Willow would have known anyway! She would never trust an evil Tara, right?!

 

[TheAnnointedOne]

I think it would have made the episode even more intense and heartbreaking! Its an excellent episode as it is but I agree with the earlier posts - something about having Tara there would have made it that more agonising and disturbing! Plus for me Amber is a better actress than the girl who plays Cassie - although I thought Cassie did well, she did start to grate on me :S

I understand why people wouldn't want to see Tara tainted by being a vessel for the First - but for drama purposes it would have been incredible!

🙂

 

[BuffyElevated]

I think it would have made the episode even more intense and heartbreaking! Its an excellent episode as it is but I agree with the earlier posts - something about having Tara there would have made it that more agonising and disturbing! Plus for me Amber is a better actress than the girl who plays Cassie - although I thought Cassie did well, she did start to grate on me :S

I understand why people wouldn't want to see Tara tainted by being a vessel for the First - but for drama purposes it would have been incredible!

🙂

I totally agree on this. Seeing The First as Cassie was emotional enough, knowing the sad circumstances of Cassie's death, but to see Amber playing The First as Tara would have made the scene much more emotional and made The First a lot scarier to me than seeing Cassie interacting with Willow.