Would Willow have stayed with Tara if she couldn't fix the damage Glory did?

[garfan]

Do you really believe though that Willow would quit school, and make the sacrifices necessary to care for Tara full-time long term? Or did Willow think all along that she could reverse the damage, and Tara would return to her former self?

There is a big difference in doing something difficult if one believes it is temporary then if one knows it's permanent.

I truly believe that if Willow couldn't have reversed the damage that Glory did, she would have called Tara's parents to help, and I'm assuming they would have put her in a home, or worse, an asylum.

Tara's mother is dead and Willow knows it and her father is a lying abusive misogynist. You think after Family, that Willow would ever have any contact with the MacLay's that's nonsense

Willow had already downgraded from internationally famous institutions or Ivy league to University of California for Buffy. She would move to some sort of online courses for Tara. Hell, she might drop out. I've always wondered if she actually bothered going back to college post season 7

 

[garfan]

. I always wondered why they weren't the ones who moved in instead of Willow and Tara in the first place; the Scoobies were trying to decide who should take care of Dawn and picked the unemployed dorm students instead of the engaged couple with jobs?

well, they didn't know they were engaged, but Willow is around to keep the Buffybot working. Remember, they are trying to make things seem semi normal

 

[ILLYRIAN]

She may have remained a carer for Tara while having a life of her own. A person would have been found to take care of Tara 24 hours a day Willow would have wanted to help. Well you can in this country, while I think America is a bit backward in the health department.

 

[hoponlilmama]

She may have remained a carer for Tara while having a life of her own. A person would have been found to take care of Tara 24 hours a day Willow would have wanted to help. Well you can in this country, while I think America is a bit backward in the health department.

I'm guessing she'd involve magic somehow to help care for Tara.

 

[ILLYRIAN]

Why would you choose to say that @hoponlilmama?
Just because making the impossible happen was so easy to come by, there is no reason to think that Willow would use magic to help her care for the woman she loved.
Why would Willow have wanted someone else to help her care for Tara when, as you say using the magic would have been so easy for her to do?

 

[hoponlilmama]

Why would you choose to say that @hoponlilmama?
Just because making the impossible happen was so easy to come by, there is no reason to think that Willow would use magic to help her care for the woman she loved.
Why would Willow have wanted someone else to help her care for Tara when, as you say using the magic would have been so easy for her to do?

Because if Willow is at school, helping Buffy, fighting Glory - she won't be able to keep an eye on Tara 100% of the time. And Tara needs someone to constantly keep an eye on her. She might put up a barrier to stop her from wandering off, for example.

 

[ILLYRIAN]

As I stated, someone to care for Tara was found.

 

[NotASlayer]

Because if Willow is at school, helping Buffy, fighting Glory - she won't be able to keep an eye on Tara 100% of the time. And Tara needs someone to constantly keep an eye on her. She might put up a barrier to stop her from wandering off, for example.

Also, once she discovered magic, Willow had a tendency to think it was useful for everything. The "if you have a hammer, the entire world looks like a nail" idea. Magic was Willow's hammer, and her first choice to fix anything, whether or not it was a good idea.

 

[hoponlilmama]

Also, once she discovered magic, Willow had a tendency to think it was useful for everything. The "if you have a hammer, the entire world looks like a nail" idea. Magic was Willow's hammer, and her first choice to fix anything, whether or not it was a good idea.

True - we witness it throughout the series.

 

[ILLYRIAN]

Okay, I agree with that but that does not mean she used magic to do everything. There may have been plenty of times Willow did stuff without magic and that is not open to yours or my presumption. Those times might have been when Willow was doing stuff just like any human.

 

[DeepBlueJoy]

Tara had no family to speak of. Her father would probably have NOT wanted custody of a vegetable with behavioural issues. In spite of her issues, Willow is an infinitely better choice than the McClays.

The only issue is that Willow has no legal standing as a non-spouse and non-relative. But again, not sure Mr. Maclay would not be happy to sign Tara over. Or that Willow might not have broken into some government computer systems and created fake paperwork.

As much as i detest Willow's utter wilfulness, i cannot believe she would abandon Tara. Remember Willow could have gone to university anywhere but chose to stay in Sunnydale out of loyalty to Buffy and the mission.

She has a lot of issues but she is loyal to a fault and loved Tara almost too much. Not saying she might not have made a dog's breakfast of being a carer but she is resourceful and more than capable of gaming the system. She (and the others) somehow managed to keep Dawn when Buffy was dead.

 

[AlphaFoxtrot]

Yes, I think she would use magic. I think Willow would struggle heroically to care for Tara for months, if not years, but ultimately would fail due to the burnout that comes with caring for an invalid.

 

[NotASlayer]

I don't think it would have got to the burnout stage because I think Willow would be willing to try absolutely anything before it reached that point. She might be successful; she might not.

Or, of course, Giles could actually remember he knows people in Devon who can help with this stuff. Though he might well wait until it is too late.

 

[Joan the Vampire Slayer]

She (and the others) somehow managed to keep Dawn when Buffy was dead.

Sure, but only because they used the Buffybot to imperonsate Buffy and make it appear as all was normal.

 

[CardboardGhost]

She may have remained a carer for Tara while having a life of her own. A person would have been found to take care of Tara 24 hours a day Willow would have wanted to help. Well you can in this country, while I think America is a bit backward in the health department.

This circles back to the completely incomprehensible financial situation of the Summers-Rosenberg-Maclay household. 24/7 care would be incredibly expensive even with health insurance. Tara and Willow would both still be covered under their parents' insurance because the way health insurance works in the US is that kids can continue to be covered by their parents' health insurance plan until they turn 26, but after that, you're on your own. In this scenario, Tara will never be able to work and therefore wouldn't have insurance through her job, and because she and Willow aren't legally married, she would probably be prevented from being covered by insurance Willow is able to get in the future. There's no way Willow is able to afford 24/7 care for her. She might be able to get help part-time, someone who comes in for a couple of hours a week, but more is probably out of the question.

I agree with @hoponlilmama that Willow would probably use magic extensively. Even apart from the financial barriers that rule the American healthcare system, I think Willow would have a hard time putting Tara's well-being in the hands of someone outside the Scoobies. She would want to do it all herself, because she is the one who loves Tara. She would have to get over this eventually, because it's literally just not possible for her to do this entirely on her own, but especially at the start, it would make her feel like a failure if she had to admit that this is too much for her to handle. She's an incredibly powerful witch, and that seems like a pretty self-explanatory solution to this problem.

Okay, I agree with that but that does not mean she used magic to do everything. There may have been plenty of times Willow did stuff without magic and that is not open to yours or my presumption. Those times might have been when Willow was doing stuff just like any human.

True, but season six in particular pushes Willow to start relying exclusively on magic (I don't remember which episode specifically, but at one point she is shown needing magic to do something as simple as getting ready in the morning), and a world where Tara doesn't recover after they defeat Glory would probably push her there faster.

 

[hoponlilmama]

Okay, I agree with that but that does not mean she used magic to do everything. There may have been plenty of times Willow did stuff without magic and that is not open to yours or my presumption. Those times might have been when Willow was doing stuff just like any human.

Admittedly I haven't read through every single reply in this thread, but this is about Tara specifically - not Willow relying on magic for day-to-day tasks.

This discussion is focused on s5, prior to Willow's magic addiction.

Willow I believe would definitely care for Tara - but I think she'd utilise magic in order to help keep Tara safe. Magic from a practical standpoint. Like I said earlier, maybe setting up a barrier for the times Willow can't be with Tara, to keep her from wandering away from the house.

Now s6 is a different discussion, where we did see Willow blatantly using magic for things she shouldn't. Like setting up decorations, or even closing a curtain. If she's using magic to do something as basic as drawing the curtains, one can assume she's leaning heavily on it. It's why she fought with Tara.

 

[Ethan Reigns]

The last time we see Willow using her computer skills is in "Gone" where even though Buffy is in danger of disintegrating like the traffic cone they can crunch with one hand, she uses only her computer because she knows she is a magic addict. At all other times, she uses magic and no one can say that staying away from magic in "Gone" was an improvement in safety. She would definitely use magic to take care of Tara because she can't be with her at all times. She even attacked Glory with magic, knowing she was a god. She would definitely use magic for all functions and it would reduce the amount of caregiver stress she would encounter.

 

[DeepBlueJoy]

Staying on parents health plan assumes the parents have health care. Rural jobs like farming dont always come with health insurance bc you have to buy it yourself, which can be very expensive.

Before obama care i dont think age 26 was a thing. Show ended before he was elected.

Realistically someone like Tara without family might have been eligible for medicaid care but even that can be complex to set up. The US is unique among first world re coverage for indigent people. Even many poorer countries have reasonable but basic indigent care because people are so poor.

Also i dont think parents are obligated to insure their non-minor kids. (not sure) pretty sure it costs an additional amount. I cant imagine Mr Maclay willingly paying for Tara's care even if such care was available.

This circles back to the completely incomprehensible financial situation of the Summers-Rosenberg-Maclay household. 24/7 care would be incredibly expensive even with health insurance. Tara and Willow would both still be covered under their parents' insurance because the way health insurance works in the US is that kids can continue to be covered by their parents' health insurance plan until they turn 26, but after that, you're on your own. In this scenario, Tara will never be able to work and therefore wouldn't have insurance through her job, and because she and Willow aren't legally married, she would probably be prevented from being covered by insurance Willow is able to get in the future. There's no way Willow is able to afford 24/7 care for her. She might be able to get help part-time, someone who comes in for a couple of hours a week, but more is probably out of the question.

I agree with @hoponlilmama that Willow would probably use magic extensively. Even apart from the financial barriers that rule the American healthcare system, I think Willow would have a hard time putting Tara's well-being in the hands of someone outside the Scoobies. She would want to do it all herself, because she is the one who loves Tara. She would have to get over this eventually, because it's literally just not possible for her to do this entirely on her own, but especially at the start, it would make her feel like a failure if she had to admit that this is too much for her to handle. She's an incredibly powerful witch, and that seems like a pretty self-explanatory solution to this problem.


True, but season six in particular pushes Willow to start relying exclusively on magic (I don't remember which episode specifically, but at one point she is shown needing magic to do something as simple as getting ready in the morning), and a world where Tara doesn't recover after they defeat Glory would probably push her there faster.

No. Health insurance is not guaranteed. Yes to magic overuse.

A lot of poorer people leave kids and elders with neighbors while they work. Not ideal, often unsafe.

Proper care in home (or in an institution) is seriously expensive and often not covered unless someone signed up for long term care, something i don't recall being available under my university health policy which was required bc i had no parents supporting me.

Best case is the hospital hooks her up with a social worker and she gets put in a nursing home (usually a crap one)

 

[ILLYRIAN]

I am concerned (if concerned is the right word) by members saying that Willow over used the magic.
How much magic did Willow do that members think is over use?
When Willow went overseas with Kennedy one example of magic would be to fund the carers for Tara. That might indicate that Willow used less and less magic by her own decision.

 

[NotASlayer]

One thing the show remained reasonably consistent on was that magic had consequences; Spike said something along those lines at one point, and though I can't remember his precise wording, he was right. Once you start using magic, never shown to be a particularly safe thing to be playing with, to do things like put up decorations and get dressed in the morning, you are overusing it. Just because you can do something with magic doesn't mean you should, and saving a few minutes of work is like using the rocket launcher to kill a fly.