Why the Tara Love?

[Tome]

I like her but I'm not a fan of her. Even though I'll probably get rocks thrown at me from various peoples I won't name, she was kind of a boring character. As said by some others in this thread, she'd be an amazing friend to have irl, but in a show like that, she needed more action, more development, more drama to go through, ect... I thought that quite often she was just in the background(like Oz).

She needed more focus on her! We only got Family that really focused on her character 🙁

 

[Flannen]

I don't think I could be classed as a Tara fan either. For most of the time she's on the show I am definitely indifferent to her. I think I'm largely in the minority here but I really do not like the Tillow relationship - I have serious issues with it so when they broke up I actually really liked Tara. She was this amazing, independent woman who was incredibly wise, empathic and strong in those few episodes but then she gets back with Willow and it all goes out the window. I find it incredibly hard to relate to the characters for the most part in the later seasons simply because I find it harder to relate to the show in general but Tara was never a character I really cared for until we had a glimpse of who she was without Willow and I was annoyed she went back to who she was before.

 

[msfantastico87]

I don't think I could be classed as a Tara fan either. For most of the time she's on the show I am definitely indifferent to her. I think I'm largely in the minority here but I really do not like the Tillow relationship - I have serious issues with it so when they broke up I actually really liked Tara. She was this amazing, independent woman who was incredibly wise, empathic and strong in those few episodes but then she gets back with Willow and it all goes out the window. I find it incredibly hard to relate to the characters for the most part in the later seasons simply because I find it harder to relate to the show in general but Tara was never a character I really cared for until we had a glimpse of who she was without Willow and I was annoyed she went back to who she was before.

I'm sorry you don't approve of their relationship. you are entitled to your own opinion. But I do want to point out a few things.

When we first see Tara, without Willow, she was this shy, reserved girl. Not able to voice out her opinions or really do anything for herself. Then we see her with Willow, and that slowly changes. Their relationship blossoms, both caring for one another. They start to protect each other. Then Willow goes crazy with the magicks and Tara warns Willow about it. If it hadn't been for Willow taking Tara out of her shell, who's to say that Tara would have said anything to Willow about using that much powerful magicks. Also, the reason she is the way she is after they break up, more confident, wise, etc, is mostly thanks to Willow. Had they not been together from the start, we would have never seen Tara blossom to the woman she became. Plus, how can you say that all of that went out the window if we only saw them together for a short period of time after they got together to then see her die?

 

[Flannen]

I'm sorry you don't approve of their relationship. you are entitled to your own opinion. But I do want to point out a few things.

When we first see Tara, without Willow, she was this shy, reserved girl. Not able to voice out her opinions or really do anything for herself. Then we see her with Willow, and that slowly changes. Their relationship blossoms, both caring for one another. They start to protect each other. Then Willow goes crazy with the magicks and Tara warns Willow about it. If it hadn't been for Willow taking Tara out of her shell, who's to say that Tara would have said anything to Willow about using that much powerful magicks. Also, the reason she is the way she is after they break up, more confident, wise, etc, is mostly thanks to Willow. Had they not been together from the start, we would have never seen Tara blossom to the woman she became. Plus, how can you say that all of that went out the window if we only saw them together for a short period of time after they got together to then see her die?

I see your point, I do. But I mainly meant Tara single in season 6 as opposed to season 4. While I do agree that may be she has Willow to thank for that, the way Willow treats her in season 6 is horrendous to me and despite how she treated her before and the way their relationship once was, does not justify what happens in season 6.

 

[msfantastico87]

I see your point, I do. But I mainly meant Tara single in season 6 as opposed to season 4. While I do agree that may be she has Willow to thank for that, the way Willow treats her in season 6 is horrendous to me and despite how she treated her before and the way their relationship once was, does not justify what happens in season 6.

Oh I totally agree with you about how nasty Willow treated her. I personally was waiting for Tara to back hand her lol However, I still firmly believe that had it not been for Willow, we would have never seen Tara talking to other people after they broke up, like in the halls when Willow saw her kissing a girl on the cheek. Tara would have never done that on her own.

 

[Flannen]

Oh I totally agree with you about how nasty Willow treated her. I personally was waiting for Tara to back hand her lol However, I still firmly believe that had it not been for Willow, we would have never seen Tara talking to other people after they broke up, like in the halls when Willow saw her kissing a girl on the cheek. Tara would have never done that on her own.

Oh yeah, definitely. Willow did give her the confidence she needed to grow into the person she could become, I wouldn't take that away from their relationship. And I should have been more specific about the fact I don't dislike the whole Tillow relationship (season 4 and the development) but just where it went.

But it was in those episodes in season 6 without them together that I really enjoyed the Tara/Dawn dynamic and particularly when Tara goes to see Buffy. I found her much more interesting on her own, y'know? 🙂

 

[msfantastico87]

But it was in those episodes in season 6 without them together that I really enjoyed the Tara/Dawn dynamic and particularly when Tara goes to see Buffy. I found her much more interesting on her own, y'know? 🙂

Definitely. I loved how much she grew, matured really. The way she has these one-on-one conversations with Spike and Buffy, without Willow. After Joyce died. We all assumed that Willow and Tara were going to be like the adopted parents of Dawn, Unfortunately, Willow never delivered. It was only Tara that really spent any quality time with Dawn. This is another perfect example of why I would post the amazing video of Tara and Dawn's relationship made by BB member lonelyangel12. Tara was an amazing human being in season 6 when Willow wasn't trying to barricade her lol

 

[zobothehobo]

I just finished a season 6 re-watch and of course, I cried like a baby when Tara died. I love Tara because she's so full of light. If she had a dark side, the closest we saw to it was in Family when she did the spell to make it so the Scoobies wouldn't see her demon side. Other than that, she's the epitome of goodness. She's the light in the darkness... And I love her.

 

[Kana]

I love Tara.

As I think someone said, she's not the typical, brooding, funny, overly extroverted archtype. Out of all of the characters, she's the one who I'd actually like to hand out with and be friends with.

Witchcraft aside, (not really my thing) I'd love to be friends with her or even date her. She's so warm and sweet and as someone says she listens when you talk. From a narrative perspective, she doesn't come close to my beloved Faith, Angel or Wesley but IRL, I'd prefer her to any of them.

 

[This Year's Girl]

I have to agree with Mumrik, her character had a really kind and quiet personality that I could identify with to an extent. Because of that shyness though, it's easy to overlook her. We see her stand up to her entire family in "Family", she experiences (and totally recovers from) going all kinds of insane, she has the guts to not only stand up to Willow when she gets out of hand but she leaves her when the relationship turns toxic. Throughout the series we see all these little hints of her; scenes where she shows her loyalty or bravery and that's what I think I admired most about her character. She was written as an amazingly strong person in her own, very understated way.

YES. YES. YES. YES. Yes, I agree! 😀

 

[Nikkolas]

Tara is loved for many reasons but I think the key is as many have already said in here, that viewers can identify with her.

The fact is, as the series progresses, it became more and more fanciful. Pretty much everyone, while well-characterized, took on this larger-than-life quality to them.

Then here comes Tara in Season 4. A completely new character and while she's a witch, the magic part is so minor and is really forgotten (by fans and by the creators themselves it seems) in favor of showing her off as a person.

Tara wasn't going around fighting monsters or sitting around discussing about the next inevitable evil to strike Sunnydale. (at least initially) She was just this adorably shy friend of Willow. In many ways, I believe this is commented on or it's said to be intentional, she's much like Willow at the start of the series.

As Willow grew closer and felt safer in her little group, Tara found the same kind of security with first Willow and then the entire Scooby Gang. This helped her blossom out because she was totally a shrinking violet at first.

Therein lies the human element that attracts so many people. I know I personally can relate to feeling nervous and awkward around people for most of my life until I found the right group and that helped me "come out of my shell" as one of my high school teachers even commented on.

The relationship with Willow is of course another big reason to adore her I think. Discounting Season 6, the couple was pretty much the only one to escape the horrors of the sort of soap opera drama that plagued every other relationship in Buffy.

Don't get me wrong, I loved the relationships in Buffy and it's one reason I prefer it to Angel. But it was nice, after seeing so many depressing flops (Buffy/Angel etc..) and comic relief (Xander/Cordy.....), to have something that really looked beautiful and could very easily work out in the long term.

Not that I don't enjoy dynamic characterization. No relationship is flawless and the first hints of tension in Tough Love was a nice change of pace. (made all the more tragic by what happened) I just don't think it was handled all that well come Season 6. It seems a lot of people started calling Tara a hypocrite because of her actions in that season and since I flatly refuse to ever watch that tripe again, I can't say if they're right or not.

BtVS' was pretty much 50% drama/socialization/characterization and 50% action. Tara was made for the former and it was there she flourished. So I don't really mind she had almost no presence in the action part.

So yeah, that's how I feel about her. I shall conclude with a picture.

^ this is all that is *adorable, agreeable, alluring, amiable, angelic, appealing, attractive, bewitching, captivating, charming, cuddly, delightful, desirable, enchanting, engaging, fetching, friendly, genial, lovely, lovesome, pleasing, sweet, winning, winsome
(thesaurus for the win)

 

[Willow My Love]

Tara's a lot like me. I used to be really shy. I even stutter... And then I met the right person, and came out of my shell. I became my own person. I'm just wayyy more sarcastic and cynical (now) than she ever could have been.

She's very sweet, and there's nothing really that bad to say about her. As for the people talking about she told Dawn no about Joyce, but then helped with Buffy, she also said that witches weren't meant to tamper with the natural order of things. I don't think that Buffy dying in a mystical portal of doom (!) was the "natural order"...

She's a very soft character in a harsh reality. It gave the show a more human element rather than just fighting demons.

 

[Litheran]

Personally, she just immediately shone as a Joyce like person to me. Mother hen to all these antsy little scoobies. I was actually not satisfied with where they took the character; I really thought at some point they were gonna reveal that she was just as strong in magic if not stronger than Willow; but that she self imposed limits on herself to resist abusing it.

Part of me feels like they never quite got her past being Willow's girlfriend and really finding her own place in the scoobies. Even with IMO the failings the creators and writers made in her journey; I still enjoy seeing her change and it breaks my heart every time I watch her final scene. I also adore Amber Benson so it's hard not to like any character she plays.

To this day I can never decide between Woz and Tillow; always hoping for a polygamous solution.

 

[goodbyetonight]

Tara was the most pure-hearted person on the entire show, and it's really a shame that she got not only killed off, but in such a crappy, random way. Not cool.

 

[Connor Holtz]

Tara was the most pure-hearted person on the entire show, and it's really a shame that she got not only killed off, but in such a crappy, random way. Not cool.

This.

TBH with you, I don't understand the dislike or disinterest she's shown by many fans. Tara was also the innocence, the pureness.... the heart, if you will, while she was on the show. It's a damn shame Joss had to write her out the way he did.

 

[Sommers Summers]

Tara was the most pure-hearted person on the entire show, and it's really a shame that she got not only killed off, but in such a crappy, random way. Not cool.

That's right.

Also, it's a tall-poppy thing: similar to Xander, she's not particularly "important" or "outstanding", but it is exactly because of that that people love her. She's not superpowered, she's not particularly special. But Tara took over Xander's mantle (partially) of being the "commoner" after Xander started to get more useful.

And the fact that she was used for purely plot purposes irks me quite a bit.

 

[Gotham]

I couldn't take to her at all at first, mainly because I felt that the storyline was poorly paced (Oz goes-Willow almost immediately starts this journey into finding her "true sexuality"-Oz returns a couple of episodes later but whoops too late, Willow's a full blown lesbian).

But I began to like her in the latter stages of Season 5. Then in Season 6, I LOVED her, she was like the glue keeping the scoobies together in the midst of all the madness of Season 6. As Litheran said, she really did take on a Joyce like role.

I grew to love Tara for the same reason I grew to love Xander: they both basically became the most relatable characters in the show. They were the most "real" to me.

 

[BuffyThoughts]

I did have a suspicion ..

This.

TBH with you, I don't understand the dislike or disinterest she's shown by many fans. Tara was also the innocence, the pureness.... the heart, if you will, while she was on the show. It's a damn shame Joss had to write her out the way he did.

I did love Tara, I think I know why Willow loved her, I miss her and always will. You say some fans are hostile or indifferent? Heavens, I don't think I've run into that attitude. Can you give me a direction to look?

I have a couple of reservations, though.

First, when she appeared, it seemed obvious right from the start that she was going to be an auxiliary to Willow, that she wouldn't have been on the show except that Willow needed a friend. It wasn't clear to me, at first, that the relationship would be romantic, but I wasn't that surprised when it turned out that way. Most people weren't created just to be a love interest for somebody else.

Second, and I know I'm in a minority here, I always felt and still feel that there was something not healthy about their relationship. Both partners were a little too needy, maybe? Consider this. When Tara dies, Willow mourns. That's natural. She also threatens suicide (ending the world is a metaphor). That's a little beyond natural. But it was believable, and that disturbed me.

 

[msfantastico87]

First, when she appeared, it seemed obvious right from the start that she was going to be an auxiliary to Willow, that she wouldn't have been on the show except that Willow needed a friend. It wasn't clear to me, at first, that the relationship would be romantic, but I wasn't that surprised when it turned out that way. Most people weren't created just to be a love interest for somebody else.

Really? I knew almost immediately that Willow and Tara's relationship would be a bit more than friends. 😉 I'm horrible at remembering episode names, but there's no denying that it was going to happen sooner or later with the obvious signs (Gay Lesbian Alliance anyone?). If not with Tara then with someone else.

Second, and I know I'm in a minority here, I always felt and still feel that there was something not healthy about their relationship. Both partners were a little too needy, maybe? Consider this. When Tara dies, Willow mourns. That's natural. She also threatens suicide (ending the world is a metaphor). That's a little beyond natural. But it was believable, and that disturbed me.

I can see how people can think this. For me, the only thing that makes this relationship "unnatural", is Willow. Tara had been a lesbian long before Willow. To be honest I really wanted to smack Willow for saying "Sorry I didn't build up my lesbo-street cred". This is new to Willow. She had never been with a woman. So experiencing something new and exciting, that she likes, is of course going to make her feel needy all the time. The only thing I think Tara was ever "unnaturally" guilty of, was being reserved and looking to Willow to be able to, erm, reach out? To be able to come out of her shell. Know what I mean? Tara had never had what Willow had(friends, family, etc.). So spending all this time with Willow, she was able to learn to grow and become less needy than when they first got together. Which is good and bad in a way. Good, because she was finally introduced to the scoobies, her stutter went away for the most part, and she was able to (in the end) stand up for her family. Had she not been with Willow, I don't think she would have been that courageous. Now on the other hand, it's also bad, because she was able to finally stand up to Willow herself and tell her she's been abusing magicks and what not. People who are too needy of their partner, would normally look right through the stuff that could hurt the relationship, causing blindness and making it harder for the relationship to grow. Both ends of the relationship end up needing each other for nothing. Tara was able to grow out of that.

When Willow started going behind Tara's back and using magicks, that's when the stuff really goes down.Her unhealthy addiction to the magicks pushed Tara away. That's when Tara's "blinding forcefield" was shattered and she was able to see Willow for who she really was. She wasn't a bad person, but she was leading a bad life. As much as she wanted to help Willow, it was up to Will to it on her own. She had been warned several times about the magicks, and in the end, she kept going, causing Tara to have no other choice but to do something drastic-break up with her. Not having Tara in her life anymore romantically killed her. She realized just how weak she was and just how much she needed Tara, NOT the other way around. When Tara dies, she feels this all over again. She had already felt the depression of losing her lover once, so feeling it again, permanently, her depression was doubled, maybe even tripled. If you look at real life relationships, most people who lose someone once, then lose it again, do in fact attempt to commit suicide. Such case is with Willow. Of course, it was only metaphorical, but you are correct.

Erm, I wrote more than I intended but here is a summary:

I do not think that this relationship was unnaturally unhealthy. It was just as unhealthy as any of the other ships on the show. Actually, I take that back. It was the least unnaturally healthy ship on the show. It's not because of both ends of the relationship, it's because of Willow. Willow dug her own grave in this relationship. She took someone as caring, amazing, loving, sweet, and wholesome as Tara, and jeopardized the relationship. Tara did nothing wrong.

Also, I still think that if Giles had asked who was the finest of them all in the end of s6, I whole heartdly believe that Tara was, indeed, the finest of all the scoobies. Think what you will, but this is true.

 

[mckee]

Everything! I love everything about Tara (and believe me I loved Oz too).

Let's see;

1. Dawn's favourite aunt
2. Cat lover
3. Her cleavage🙂
4. Great singer
5. Friend for Anya who wasn't a hardcore scooby
6. One of xanders three favourite girls
7. Friend and confidant for Buffy in later half of season 6
8. Naked lesbian sex😀
9. Comforts Buffy and Dawn after they lose Joyce
10. Protects Willow from a panicked Anya
11. Protects Buffy from a lustful Spike
12. Grounds Willow's magic

Excellent list, and well put 😀