What happened to Tara's mother?

Anyanka Bunny Slayer

Anyanka Bunny Slayer

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Black Thorn
Her father says, "You're turning 20. It's the same age your mother was when she..."
And in The Body, Tara mentions her mother died.
Is it possible her father and brother killed the woman?

Thoughts?
 
Anything is possible, of course. But as empathic as Tara was, I'd think she'd know if they'd murdered her mother.
 
I think it is possible that Tara's father and brother killed her mother, but only in the sense that they perhaps drove her to suicide in some way. Maybe Tara's mum believed she was a demon and had to stop herself before she hurt others?
 
BUFFY: Was it sudden?
TARA: What?
BUFFY: Your mother.
TARA: No. (thinks) Yes. (pauses) It's always sudden.
- The Body

From that conversation, it makes me think that it was some kind of illness, possibly cancer.
 
My personal head canon is like that girl from The Sixth Sense; Mr. Maclay fed his wife poison to make her sick and it eventually killed her. But, that's just me...
 
Her mother didn't die at 20. It was just the age when she "activated" as a demon, a parallel with how girls are Potentials but then become Slayers, the Maclay men were the oppressive Watchers who raise the girls, inform there is something in her (demonic) that separates her from humanity, she can't tell the outside world, she's reliant on him for food and shelter, she has to live in the dark, and only he has the full knowledge of her lineage.

Maybe it was around that time her mom started showing magical abilities. Tara is at least a third generation witch. I bet it goes back even further. While she is a practitioner, it's probably like Practical Magic and Charmed, she has magic in her blood/genes that has been passed down through woman to woman, much like the Slayer line but with a direct familial link.

I'm pretty sure Tara said she was 17 when her mom died. Remember that was when she had to step up and act as her younger sibling's parent (much like Buffy after Joyce died) and it's why she began to rebel, staying out late and such.

The Maclay men tie in the demon with becoming a legal adult woman (no longer in her teens) while the Watchers Council tie in the demon with becoming a woman via puberty (early to late teens) and put her through the Cruciumentum when she is 18, a legal adult woman.
 
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I'd like to know where Tara's grandmother fits into all this. Tara being afraid of her father makes sense, Tara's mother being afraid of her husband makes sense, but why did Tara's grandmother not do anything? Why did she not call bullshit on claims that Maclay women turn into demons? She wouldn't be a Maclay, Tara's mother wouldn't be a Maclay, she would've had to marry in.

For the Maclay lie to flourish, there must be some intermarriage kind of thing going on amongst the Maclays otherwise Tara's grandmother would've called the lie since she was non Maclay. So if Tara's grandmother married a Maclay and was led to believe her power was demonic, then it explains why her daughter would think that and then why Tara would think that, but it would also mean Tara's mother who was a Maclay would then also have to marry another Maclay.

Intermarriage would then also explain Cousin Beth's appearance because the MAclays would be some kind of incestuous cult like family.
 
Ayko
Ayko
Interesting take. That's three times this month I agree with you. Weird. :p
DeadlyDuo said:
I'd like to know where Tara's grandmother fits into all this. Tara being afraid of her father makes sense, Tara's mother being afraid of her husband makes sense, but why did Tara's grandmother not do anything? Why did she not call bullshit on claims that Maclay women turn into demons? She wouldn't be a Maclay, Tara's mother wouldn't be a Maclay, she would've had to marry in.

For the Maclay lie to flourish, there must be some intermarriage kind of thing going on amongst the Maclays otherwise Tara's grandmother would've called the lie since she was non Maclay. So if Tara's grandmother married a Maclay and was led to believe her power was demonic, then it explains why her daughter would think that and then why Tara would think that, but it would also mean Tara's mother who was a Maclay would then also have to marry another Maclay.

Intermarriage would then also explain Cousin Beth's appearance because the MAclays would be some kind of incestuous cult like family.
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I get that Tara's grandmother was mentioned, due to the whole 'dolls eye crystal', but do we have any evidence that she was around? Like, maybe she died when Tara was really little and that's how she inherited the crystal? This is just an honest and curious question, btw, been a while since I watched the show 🙂
 
Puppet said:
I get that Tara's grandmother was mentioned, due to the whole 'dolls eye crystal', but do we have any evidence that she was around? Like, maybe she died when Tara was really little and that's how she inherited the crystal? This is just an honest and curious question, btw, been a while since I watched the show 🙂
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She must've seen her daughter marry Mr Maclay and at least been around for Tara's birth in order for Tara to inherit the Doll's eye crystal or at least until Tara started showing some magic tendencies. The way the lie was presented made it seem like the lie had been used for Generations. Mr Maclay doesn't seem like the type of person women would be lining up to marry. Maybe the Maclays are some Mormon type family?
 
DeadlyDuo said:
She must've seen her daughter marry Mr Maclay and at least been around for Tara's birth in order for Tara to inherit the Doll's eye crystal or at least until Tara started showing some magic tendencies. The way the lie was presented made it seem like the lie had been used for Generations. Mr Maclay doesn't seem like the type of person women would be lining up to marry. Maybe the Maclays are some Mormon type family?
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Or she died before Tara's mother met Mr. Maclay and she inherited the dolls eye crystal and then handed it down to her daughter later. There is really no way to know. Though I do agree that the writers left some holes in Tara's family history and I wished they would have filled those in before the show ended (or before Tara died, of course).
 
Puppet said:
Or she died before Tara's mother met Mr. Maclay and she inherited the dolls eye crystal and then handed it down to her daughter later. There is really no way to know. Though I do agree that the writers left some holes in Tara's family history and I wished they would have filled those in before the show ended (or before Tara died, of course).
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If Tara's grandmother died before Tara's mother met Mr Maclay, then Tara's mother would've been an adult before she got told the lie in which case she wouldn't think her powers were demonic and she did teach Tara magic, therefore why would Tara believe the lie?
 
Puppet
Puppet
See what I mean about holes ;)
You right there some holes . I thinking that Tara grandmother was on her mother side & could have been hiding it from the family . I bet Willow mother let it slip out to her husband & that why was afraid since her husband could have turned her in as a Witch .

I also think Tara grandmother died to young for her to say the truth to her . Any one think that a good reason ?
 
Nothing about Tara makes a lot of sense anyways. She's from a family of backwards hill people, but they were nice enough to send her to college. The Women in her father's family become demons, which she inherited from her Mother. This is also a lie created by the men in her family, who somehow benefit from it after marring off the women, Her Mother taught her magic, yet her Father and Brother hate magic. There's also a joke about casting a redhead as Lois Lane in there somewhere. She doesn't have any viable means of support, but is going to college from out of state. To make any of this make sense, I propose that Tara's Mom was killed in a magical accident. Mr.McClay decided to lie to his daughter, claiming she transformed into a demon, and you will too, if you practice magic. That explains why her brother hates magic as well, and her father transformed into a grump. He's also not upset he's losing a domestic servant, of course he knows Tara is smart and will be a great witch, he sent her to college after all, but he's afraid he'll lose her, and she's all he has left of his wife, and trying to keep her on the farm is the best way he knows (again, Lovecraftian hill person) to keep her from getting shot, or addicted to magic, or lost in a demon world. Is he still trying to stifle her out of fear? Sure, but at least he has a reason now, unlike casting a character who's been a brunette since 1938 as a red head. And you can use magic as a metaphor for feminine power, if you are into that kind of thing.
 
T
thrasherpix
"feminine power" or "drug addiction," what's the difference? Hardly any between "heroine" and "heroin."
I was wondering if Tara was there on a scholarship. There all kinds out there & that could be the reason.
 
Yeah, I definitely don't believe that her family paid for college; she ran away and attended, maybe on a full or partial scholarship, and her family tracked her down, which is why she was so upset (and surprised) to see them.
 
I assumed that her mother died of a longstanding illness (such as cancer) but the death felt sudden to her because it was never going to be enough time. I don't think her father/brothers killed her.

I don't think her father or brothers would support a girl in their family going to college, however I think her mother made provisions in her will for it; that's why Tara doesn't need a job or anything to support her college education.

Her father eventually tracks her down, but he didn't know where she was studying, otherwise he would have come sooner I expect.
 
I can see Tara mother doing that so Tara wouldn't get stuck there like she did . And since her family didn't have anything to do with it had to hunt for her .Who thinks they hired someone to find her & then showed up 😵
 
I thought that Tara's mother had died from cancer too. Was a shame that they never explored Tara's past into too much detail.
 
Would have liked to see how long have they thought that & if it was long why did Tara mother marry into that family then .
 
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