Would Glory have been stopped sooner if Tara's mind was all there?

[buffffy]

Another one of those "would this of happened if this happened?" questions, that I'll probably become famous for on this board. This time, would Glory have been stopped sooner if Tara's mind was all there?

Tara was probably one of the smartests of the scoobies, besides Willow and Giles; do you think she would of devised a plan that would have worked against Glory if her mind was around at the time (because as we know, Glory fed on her brain at the multicultural festival thing)

 

[Lyri]

Killing Dawn or killing Ben were really the only ways of stopping Glory, and it's already been established that Buffy just wouldn't have been able to do either of those things. Ben might not have been completely innocent, especially towards the end of the season, but he wasn't anywhere near the level of Glory's evilness.

Even with Tara there, in her right mind, that still would have been the only way to stop Glory. Even if it was suggested, by Spike, Giles, whoever, that Ben be killed, I still think Buffy would have dismissed it in the same way she dismissed killing Dawn. She just can't bring herself to do something like that.

Plus, Willow restoring Tara's mind was one of the things that weakened Glory enough for Buffy to get the upper hand and beat her down enough for Giles to finish Ben off. Since there would have been no one else they knew who would brain-sucked, having Tara in her right mind might have actually hindered the fight rather than helped it.

 

[buffffy]

Let me rephrase this question. Would things have ended sooner? Would Tara of been able to devise some way to kill Ben before it even got to the point where Dawn was captured and the dimensional portal was opened.

 

[Lyri]

Let me rephrase this question. Would things have ended sooner? Would Tara of been able to devise some way to kill Ben before it even got to the point where Dawn was captured and the dimensional portal was opened.

Even with Tara there, in her right mind, that [killing Ben or Dawn] still would have been the only way to stop Glory. Even if it was suggested, by Spike, Giles, whoever, that Ben be killed, I still think Buffy would have dismissed it in the same way she dismissed killing Dawn. She just can't bring herself to do something like that.

Plus, Tara was one of the most peaceful souls in BtVS, I don't actually think she's capable of suggesting that a human be killed, even if it was to save the world.

 

[white avenger]

I can't imagine Tara actually harming Glory. What we know about Glory's durability, however, does offer some possibilities that the combined power of Willow and Tara could have attempted. We already know that Willow can teleport Glory some distance from her current location, so with Tara's help, all that they would have had to do was to have her someplace else when the crucial moment occurred (Antarctica comes to mind immediately, or the bottom of the Marianas Trench, or even better, the moon) If she's not on top of that tower, Dawn's blood wouldn't have been spilled and the portal between dimensions wouldn't have been opened.

Alternatively, they could have opened their own dimensional portal, maybe to the hell dimension that Angel created in Season 2, and get her in there. With the Key in Sunnydale and the Hell God in hell, the danger could have been averted.

As far as all that goes, why couldn't Willow have simply put a force field around the motor home the same as she did around the abandoned service station? It might not have stopped Glory, but it would have stopped the Knights of Byzantium, without whose interference Giles wouldn't have been speared, the motor home wouldn't have been wrecked, Ben wouldn't have been called, and the gang, Dawn included, could have found a good hiding place to wait out the trouble.

 

[The Chosen]

As far as all that goes, why couldn't Willow have simply put a force field around the motor home the same as she did around the abandoned service station? It might not have stopped Glory, but it would have stopped the Knights of Byzantium, without whose interference Giles wouldn't have been speared, the motor home wouldn't have been wrecked, Ben wouldn't have been called, and the gang, Dawn included, could have found a good hiding place to wait out the trouble.

Interesting point!

Though I imagine that it would be even more difficult to keep a force field up around a rapidly moving object. But with Tara at full strength, maybe she and Willow could have pulled it off.

 

[Xin Rong]

Interesting point!

Though I imagine that it would be even more difficult to keep a force field up around a rapidly moving object. But with Tara at full strength, maybe she and Willow could have pulled it off.

Good point, I'm sure they mention that, in either Buffy/Angel, that it's not possible to have a forcefield around a moving thing? Or am I imagining it?

 

[Blaze]

I believe the only true advantage that they would have with Tara's mind still intact is that Glory would have never known that Dawn was the key, or at least wouldn't have known for a while longer, and maybe this would have given the edge to Buffy. Aside from that, I agree with [MENTION=6332]Lyri[/MENTION] entirely, and it's true that Tara's mind being altered was actually a deciding factor in helping them defeat Glory, and it's in own way, it caused them to win.

 

[ILLYRIAN]

Let's see, putting up a force field around the motor home would have been easy as it wasn't moving. The movement of the transmission caused the wheels to rotate on the ground which propelled the vehicle forwards. Did the people in the motor home itself have to run? No, therefore the internal structure of the motor home was not in motion so it could have had a force field around it.

So what might have happened if Tara hadn't been got at by Glory? Why did Glory go after Tara, could it be she wanted to send a message to Buffy? If Tara hadn't been picked as a target it might have been Willow. Which could well have increased Dawn's chances of being got at.
If Willow was got at by Glory Tara wouldn't have been much good for anything, unless she'd have gone all dark Tara, that might have been interesting.

 

[The Chosen]

Let's see, putting up a force field around the motor home would have been easy as it wasn't moving. The movement of the transmission caused the wheels to rotate on the ground which propelled the vehicle forwards. Did the people in the motor home itself have to run? No, therefore the internal structure of the motor home was not in motion so it could have had a force field around it.

Well, actually, yeah -- physically speaking, every part of the Winnebago was "in motion" and going just as fast as every other part. Buffy and the gang were also moving! I think. (Yeah, high school physics! I got a C+. 😛)

This raises an interesting question though...would something like a force field have to abide by the laws of physics? Or is magic so outside the realm of sciencey law stuff that it's not even worth considering?

Hmmm.

 

[Blaze]

So what might have happened if Tara hadn't been got at by Glory? Why did Glory go after Tara, could it be she wanted to send a message to Buffy? If Tara hadn't been picked as a target it might have been Willow. Which could well have increased Dawn's chances of being got at.
If Willow was got at by Glory Tara wouldn't have been much good for anything, unless she'd have gone all dark Tara, that might have been interesting.

I don't think she would have gone for Willow, the reason she went for Tara was because she thought she was the key.

Aside from that, completely agree about the moving vehicle, from the inside, there is technically no movement.

 

[white avenger]

As an alternative to the force field surrounding the motor home, Willow could simply have strengthened its walls, roof, floor, tires, and windows to the point that the Knights' primitive weapons couldn't penetrate them. That would accomplish basically the same goal without defying the laws of science.

 

[TotallySpiked]

I think it's also relevant to point out that none of this could have happened if Dawn wasn't at the tower either. Maybe Willow and Tara could have teleported her away from there or perhaps even make her invisible. Something along those lines so they could have avoided having Dawn there. Probably a much easier option than trying to get close to Glory.