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Tara Maclay

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Template:Infobox Buffyverse Character

Tara Maclay is a fictional character created by Joss Whedon for the cult television series, Buffy the Vampire Slayer, portrayed by Amber Benson. Tara is introduced in the fourth season as a romantic interest for one of the show's leads, Willow, and is a recurring character until late in its sixth season. Like Willow, Tara is a witch who assists the series heroine Buffy Summers and her group of friends in fighting the forces of evil that reside in Sunnydale.

Benson is credited among the main cast in the show's opening titles only in the episode "Seeing Red", in which the character is suddenly killed. Tara's death was controversial. Some viewers and pundits felt that Whedon exploited clichés concerning lesbian characters either dying or becoming 'evil' (as Willow did, in response to Tara's death) in television and film. They also dispute Whedon's view that Tara's death was necessary for the "Dark Willow" storyline. Others felt the death was simply part of a larger pattern of painful relationships and heartbreaks to which Whedon subjects all his characters.

Character history

Tara is introduced in Season Four as a member of a campus Wicca group to which Willow Rosenberg also belongs. In many ways, the painfully shy and quiet Tara is reminiscent of Willow of seasons past. As Willow's romantic relationship with Oz caused her to bloom, it is through Tara that Willow becomes a powerful young woman, and through Willow that Tara's confidence grows. As the season progresses, it becomes increasingly clear the pair are destined for a romantic liaison. Willow realizes Tara is the person she loves, choosing Tara over her ex-boyfriend Oz. The two thus became one of the few lesbian couples on television and the first-ever prime-time lesbian couple which included a starring character. Magic came to serve as a metaphor for lesbianism and love.

Not much is known about Tara's past. She was born on October 16, 1980 (as seen in the Season Seven episode "Help"). Her family life was clearly traumatic, and she had not had many friends before meeting Willow. In the episode "The Body," Tara tells Buffy she lost her mother when she was 17, at which point she went through a brief rebellious period. The episode "Family" reveals that her father had told her at a young age that her mother – who also had magic talent – was of partial demon descent, and thus predisposed to evil. After she finds out this was merely a lie designed to keep control over her – confirmed when Spike punches Tara, his chip causing him pain and thus confirming her human status – Tara's ties with her family seem entirely severed, leaving Willow and the Scooby Gang her only remaining loved ones, her new family. In the episode "Tough Love", Willow points out Tara has been out longer than Willow has, perhaps implying Willow is not Tara's first girlfriend. It is also implied through a comment her brother made her family may have been abusive.

Although Tara is credited only as a recurring guest character, she plays an important role in the story on several occasions, primarily through her relationship with Willow. Near the end of Season Five, the evil hell-god Glory sucks her mind out, leaving her in a babbling, childlike state until Willow cures her. In Season Six of the series, Tara feels Willow's habitual use of magic (now becoming a metaphor for drug abuse) has become out of control, and leaves her.

In Season Six, we see Tara as a much more confident human being with great magical skills and knowledge. She is shown to be very friendly with a good sense of humor, getting along well even with Spike. When, in "Dead Things", Tara suspects Buffy might be in love with Spike, she tells her "it's okay if you love him" because, unlike some of the other Scoobies, she believes Spike truly loves Buffy.

By the beginning of Season Six, Tara and Willow have been surrogate parent figures to Dawn Summers since Buffy's death at the end of Season Five, and Tara remains devoted to Dawn even after she leaves the Summers house following her breakup with Willow. Inasmuch as Dawn was unaware of the plan by Willow and the others to resurrect Buffy, it would seem she expected to remain in Willow and Tara's guardianship until she turned 18, and her overjoyed reaction to their reconciliation in "Seeing Red" reflects her love for them. Tara is also supportive and understanding of Willow's efforts to deal with the pressure of leading the Scooby Gang, reminding her their bedroom is "the room where you don't have to be brave." She becomes very close to Dawn, who takes her death especially hard.

Tara is killed (on May 7, 2002, according to her gravestone) by a stray bullet when Warren shoots Buffy in their backyard in the episode "Seeing Red". As Willow holds Tara’s body, she calls upon Osiris to bring Tara back to life. However, it is revealed this is impossible because Tara died a natural death (“a human death by human means”) as opposed to mystical forces like Buffy died of allowing her to be resurrected. When Willow finds she cannot bring Tara back she is propelled into a destructive fury, and soon attempts to destroy the world to end humanity's pains.

After Tara's death, it was fiercely debated whether it constituted an example of a cliché in television, that lesbian relationships usually turn out badly[1] often with one partner dying or turning out to be evil. Joss Whedon later said Tara's death had nothing to do with her being a lesbian, but it was just another plot twist designed to further Willow's personality; allegedly, if Willow had still been involved with Oz in Season Six, he would have been killed instead – so Tara was doomed not for being a lesbian but for being Willow's lover. In particular, it had become a well-known cliché that any couples in the series tended to have their relationships brutally interrupted when they're at their closest.

Amber Benson was originally going to return to the show in the Season Seven episode "Conversations with Dead People," in which a false Tara would appear as one of the many forms of the First Evil and attempt to drive Willow to suicide.[2] However, Benson decided she didn't want to return, believing that appearing as a form of the season's villain, taunting Willow about her love for the real Tara, would ruin Tara's image and needlessly upset Tara's fans.[3] Instead, the First appeared to Willow as Cassie Newton, claiming to speak for Tara, explaining that Willow could not see Tara (unless she killed herself) as a consequence of her actions as Dark Willow.

While speaking at the Wizard World Chicago Convention in August 2004, Joss Whedon claimed he had planned to bring Tara back from the dead at the end of Season Seven. According to Whedon, the episode would have centered around Buffy being granted one "life-altering" wish. Buffy would have spent the whole episode trying to decide what she wanted to do with the wish (including, possibly, restoring Angel's humanity). The episode would have ended with Buffy telling Willow that she'd just gotten a great new pair of shoes, and when Willow asked her if she used up her wish on new shoes, Buffy would have said, "No, silly!" and stepped aside to reveal Tara. This plan was abandoned when Amber Benson was unavailable for filming. At the 2007 Comic-Con, he referred to this idea as well.[4]

Tara appeared within Buffy's dreamspace in the third issue of Season Eight, and was later discussed in #10 by Willow when explaining to Buffy and Kennedy she was keeping Kennedy and herself away from Buffy because of a sense of guilt: had she taken the opportunity of Buffy's death to retire from fighting supernatural evil and be with Tara in a safer environment, rather than resurrecting Buffy and returning to the struggle, Tara would not have been killed; and she did not want to repeat the same mistake with Kennedy. Tara appears in Dark Horse Presents #24, in a Season Eight tie-in. In Buffy's dream sequence, Buffy is marrying skinless Warren and Tara is by her side saying "I still blame you for my death."[5]

Most recently, an apparent manifestation of Tara's soul appeared in the Dark Horse One-Shot Wonders Willow issue, titled Goddesses and Monsters, as a potential guide on the path to wisdom offered to Willow by a group of elemental goddesses. Willow however rejected the selection of Tara, reasoning that although the goddesses had accurately recognised her desire for Tara to be her guide, that desire was in actuality simply to be reunited with her departed love. The selection of Tara would therefore constitute either merely an artificial illusion of Tara or a genuine disturbance of her peace in the afterlife, neither of which Willow truly desired. Willow instead chose Aluwyn, also known as Saga Vasuki, as her guide.[6]

Powers and abilities

Tara is a powerful witch and is shown to perform a wide range of spells during her time on the show. Tara also demonstrates telekinesis, which, when she is in physical contact with Willow, is stronger than it would otherwise be (i.e. she and Willow pool their power by concentrating on moving the same object). She displays unusual ability to know something is wrong with someone and to sense the use of mental powers, by "reading" a person's aura (such as when Buffy is possessed by Faith). This ability is one of very few Willow Rosenberg did not have during the show. In the Buffy the Vampire Slayer RPG this ability is known as "The Sight". Tara has a good knowledge of Latin and grew up riding horses. Tara is also shown in "Once More, With Feeling" to have a strong singing voice as she has an entire number to herself (Under Your Spell). She also sings a duet with Giles and sings back-up in "Walk Through the Fire".

In an essay published in Salon, Stephanie Zacharek argued "gentle and sensible" Tara - more than any other character on Buffy - quietly and sympathetically stood for the right of all people to choose their own path and make their own mistakes. Zacherek writes, "Her soft, pearlescent voice and shy, doelike eyes didn't contrast with her resolve; they were a huge part of it."[7]

Notable spells and incidents

In Season Four, Tara is the only character to notice Faith's spirit occupying Buffy's body, and she is also central in sending Willow to the "nether-world" in order to discover how they can reverse the soul-switching (cf. "Who Are You"). "Superstar" shows Tara cast a defensive spell which fends off a demon by conjuring a magical "fog of protection". In the episode "Where the Wild Things Are", Tara aids Giles and Willow in an attempt to reach, and reason with, residual spiritual manifestations of numerous abused children who are plaguing a fraternity house.

In Season Four's "Restless" Tara is 'borrowed' out of time and space in order to speak for the First Slayer who is a primitive without speech. From Tara's mouth is first heard the prophetic line later repeated (almost verbatim) by Dracula in "Buffy vs. Dracula", "You think you know, what's to come, what you are. You haven't even begun."

In the Season Five episode "Family", Tara casts a spell to stop the Scooby Gang from being able to see demons so she can hide her supposed demon side. This spell almost gets the entire gang killed, but Tara reverses it in time. Tara is also seen casting more offensive spells in combat situations.

In Season Six, Tara also uses effective combat spells and once again she is the only one who sees Buffy for what she is after she returns from the dead. For example, during the two-part Season Six premiere "Bargaining", Tara casts a spell creating a "ball of energy" that strikes a demon biker attempting to kidnap Anya, thus freeing her friend. During the second part of "Bargaining", Tara magically conjures a jet of flame in an attempt to intimidate the bikers' leader. In the episode "Older and Far Away", she casts a spell to free the trapped party goers in Buffy's house, but the spell instead frees a demon from a sword. "Normal Again" shows Tara cast a spell which instantly unties her friends' bonds, and another spell making a big shelf fly through the room and hit a demon.

It is also during "Bargaining" Tara makes her first demon kill. She axes a demon in the back as he tries to strangle Willow.

Family

Tara's mother died some time before Tara attended UC Sunnydale. She had practiced witchcraft with her mother starting when she was very young, and states that her mother's power was comparable to Willow's. When her mother died, Tara went through a brief rebellious period, during which she stayed out late and lied to her family.

She has at least one older brother, Donny, who is hinted to be physically abusive towards her. Her cousin Beth also appears in "Family." Both are extremely hostile towards witchcraft, and like her father, quick to turn on her when she decides to stay with the Scoobies. Her father is hinted to be a strongly religious man, and is against witchcraft to the point of trying to pull Tara out of college and away from her friends because she practices it.[8]

Appearances

Canonical Appearances

Buffy the Vampire Slayer
Tara appeared in 47 episodes overall. Amber Benson is credited as a member of the main cast in the episode "Seeing Red," in which Tara dies.

Non-Canonical Appearances

Tara also appears in Buffy expanded universe. She appears in a few Buffy novels/comics, notably in the mini-series Willow & Tara. She also makes an appearance in the 2003 video game, Buffy the Vampire Slayer: Chaos Bleeds, in which she is playable in Multiplayer only.

Buffy the Vampire Slayer RPG

Willow and Tara were prominently showcased in the first published adventure for the Buffy the Vampire Slayer RPG, The Dark Druid. The adventure features Fionn mac Cumhaill as a protagonist and ally. His battle with the druid Fer Doirich continues into the modern age and posits Willow and Tara are the reincarnations of his fosters Bodhmall and Liath respectively. [9]

  • Official Buffy RPG character sheets for Willow and Tara

Writing and acting

  • Joss Whedon originally wanted an actress with a smaller, less voluptuous frame, but Marti Noxon saw the vulnerability in Amber Benson's portrayal of Tara and called her back after her audition.[10]
  • Benson described her character in an interview, "She's quiet. It's mostly because she is shy, I think. I can identify with it in a sense, because I can be very shy too. It's almost like acting is an outlet for me that helps me to not be shy. I feel like Tara's the same way; her witchcraft empowers her and it forces her out of her shell."[11]
  • Hannigan was asked how Whedon planned the Willow-Tara relationship, "I don't know if he had any idea that was going to develop the relationship the way he did. He was very hands-on in the Willow and Tara scenes... he only does that when he really cares. But then we started reading the stuff and it's like 'OK, this is clearly going beyond the subtext here.' And he tried to stick to the 'No, no, it's just subtext' defense. Finally it was like 'Oh come on, hit-yourself-over-the-head-with-the-it' text."[12]
  • Amber Benson was usually credited as a guest on Buffy the Vampire Slayer, despite appearing in more episodes than other regulars Oz and Riley. The only time she was credited as a cast member was for the episode "Seeing Red," the episode in which Tara was killed. As Joss Whedon said in his commentary for "Welcome to the Hellmouth," this was something he had wanted to do from the start: kill a character listed as a regular in one of their first appearances as such. Whedon had considered listing Eric Balfour (who played Jesse) in the two-part pilot as a regular, only to surprise the audience by killing him off, but his budget did not allow for a special set of titles.
  • At the event Comic-Con, Whedon has spoken about his intention to have filmed an episode in season 7 of the series in which Buffy is granted a wish, which she ultimately decides to use to bring Tara back to life.[13]

Notes and references

  1. ^ The Lesbian Cliche FAQ
  2. ^ Conversations with dead people: Alternative dialogue between Willow and Tara
  3. ^ Ten Minutes with Amber Benson by von Metzke, Ross, Lesbianation, March 30, 2007. [1]
  4. ^ http://comicbookresources.com/news/newsitem.cgi?id=11422 {{citation}}: Missing or empty |title= (help)
  5. ^ "Always Darkest" Dark Horse Presents, no. 24, p. 2–5 (July 1, 2009). Dark Horse Comics.
  6. ^ "Goddesses and Monsters" Willow, no. 1, p. 18-25 (December 23, 2009). Dark Horse Comics.
  7. ^ Zacharek, Stephanie (May 22, 2002), "Willow, destroyer of worlds", Salon, retrieved 2007-08-30
  8. ^ Joss Whedon (2000-11-07). "Family". Buffy the Vampire Slayer. Season 5. Episode 6. WB. {{cite episode}}: Unknown parameter |episodelink= ignored (|episode-link= suggested) (help); Unknown parameter |serieslink= ignored (|series-link= suggested) (help)
  9. ^ The Dark Druid by Brannan, Timothy S., Games Unplugged, July 2002, p.25. [2]
  10. ^ http://www.pukkie.org/video/castingt.wmv]
  11. ^ Springer, Matt, "Every Little Thing She Does", from Buffy the Vampire Slayer magazine #16 (UK, January 2001), pages 8-12.
  12. ^ Eden, Martin, "Alyson Wonderland", from Buffy the Vampire Slayer magazine #15 (UK, December 2000), page 8-14.
  13. ^ CCI XTRA: Joss Whedon on "Buffy" and Beyond. Comic Book Resources.
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