calliopes_pen (![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
calliopes_pen) wrote2006-05-16 09:58 am
calliopes_pen) wrote2006-05-16 09:58 am
Entry tags:
Tara Maclay
Title: Her Insect Reflection
Fandom: Buffy the Vampire Slayer
Character: Tara Maclay
Author:calliopes_pen
E-Mail: julia_hoffman2003 at yahoo dot com
Spoilers: There are spoilers for seasons 4 through 7 of BtVS.
Notes: Thanks toseandc for beta reading. Written for idol_reflection.
Tara (attempting a joke): You learn her source, and we'll introduce her to her insect reflection. (The gang stares blankly at her.) Um...that, that was funny... if you um, if you studied Taglarin mythic rights... and are a complete dork.
--A joke goes right over everyone’s heads in Family.
Introduction
Tara Maclay--a person who went through a great deal within her short life. Within this essay, I will tell a bit of her past. What’s known of her past, at the very least. I will describe her life, her personality, her trials, and how her light was abruptly and cruelly extinguished by a sick twist of fate.
The History Of Tara Maclay Prior To Sunnydale
From what the audience knows of Tara’s early life and childhood, it was not the happiest of times. From everything that was told in Family, it is clear that she was abused by both her father and her brother; emotional abuse was used to control her as well. She was told by her family that she was a disgusting demon, and that she should be controlled by the males of her family.
During her 17th year, Tara’s mother lost a battle with cancer. In the aftermath of this tragedy, we know that Tara had a short-lived rebellious period (referenced in The Body)--this may have been the factor and added to her strength in her decision to leave her abusive home, venture to college, and try things that otherwise were forbidden to her.
Buffy: Everybody wants to help. (Tara looks at her) I don't even know if I'm ... here. (Tara looks away) I don't know what's going on. Never done this. (pauses) That's just an amazingly dumb thing to say. Obviously ... I've never done this before.
Tara: (softly) I have. My mother died when I was seventeen.
Buffy: Was it sudden?
Tara: What?
Buffy: Your mother.
Tara: No. And yes. It's always sudden.
Despite her shyness and stuttering, she still attempted to join a group of fellow Wiccans on the campus of UC Sunnydale. Sadly, they were only wanna-be-Wiccans who only cared about bake sales and clothes.
It was here that Tara met Willow for the first time. It seems that Tara recognized the power and magic within Willow, as Tara sought her out when The Gentlemen stole everyone’s voices. When they combined their powers, they were able to do more. In this case, throwing a vending machine across the room to block the door to the demons.
Beginning here, Tara’s life would never be the same. Sure, there was a bit of a supernatural element in her life already, but it obviously became stronger the day she met Willow.
Tara Maclay Through The Seasons
While Tara Maclay first appeared in season 4’s Hush, she didn’t seem to have much of a role in the show until New Moon Rising. Tara realized that Willow had to be with the person she loved--unbeknownst to her, that person wasn’t Oz. It was she herself that Willow loved more.
Tara: No, I-I understand. You have to be with the person you l-love.
Willow: (smiles) I am.
(Tara looks amazed.)
Tara: You mean...
Willow: I mean. (pause) Okay?
Tara: Oh, yes.
Willow: I feel horrible about everything I put you through. A-and I'm gonna make it up to you. Starting right now.
Tara: (starts to smile) Right now?
(Willow smiles and nods. Tara blows out the candle.)
Tara was the voice for The First Slayer in Restless. Through her, The First Slayer was able to make its needs known--albeit through strange riddles and dreams.
The audience didn’t truly find out much about the young woman’s past (and some thought she might actually be evil--I remember hearing the rumors at the time) until season 5’s Family. Here, it was learned that she considered herself to be evil, and a demon.
It was also quite evident that Tara had been abused by this “family.” What follows are quotes from the episode that say as much. They were either abusive, or encouraged the abuse to continue, as in the case of Tara’s cousin Beth.
Beth: You selfish b--
Tara: What?
Beth: You don't care the slightest bitty bit about your family, do you? Your dad's been worried sick about you every day since you've been gone. There's a house that needs taking care of. Donny and your dad having to do for themselves while you're down here living God knows what kind of lifestyle!
And also, the following was from her brother, of all people:
Donny: Tara, if you don't get in that car, I swear by God I will beat you down.
Xander: And I swear by your full and manly beard, you're gonna break something trying.
Thankfully, with a single punch to Tara’s nose, Spike proved her family to be wrong. They were the evil ones in this madness, not Tara. And the rest of the Scoobies banded together, proving they were Tara’s true family, not the Maclays.
In this episode, the young lady also cast a spell so nobody could see her (nonexistent) demon side. Eventually, she explains the reasons to Willow.
Tara: I was just afraid that if you saw the kind of people I came from, you wouldn't wanna be anywhere near me.
Willow: See, that's where you're a dummy. I think about what you grew up with, and then I look at what you are — it makes me proud. It makes me love you more.
Tara: Every time I'm... even when I'm at my worst, you always make me feel special. How do you do that?
Willow: Magic.
At the end of this episode, Tara finally celebrated her 20th birthday with her friends. She also tried to explain what "insect reflection" meant for Anya.
Tara: Your insect reflection represents your insignificance in terms of the karmic cycle.
Anya: It's still not funny.
The next pivotal episode for Tara was probably The Body. She helped comfort everyone when Joyce died, given that she knew exactly what Buffy and Dawn were going through. She went through it herself when her own Mother died. That empathy always helped with them, and she was always there with an ear or a hug if they needed it.
Of course, empathy has its limits. In Intervention, it seemed like Buffy had lost her mind and decided to start sleeping with Spike. In reality, it was the Buffybot. However, Tara’s reaction was classic.
Tara: Everyone, before we jump all over her, people do strange things when someone they love dies. When I lost my mother, I did some pretty dumb stuff like lying to my family and staying out all night.
Anya: Buffy's boinking Spike.
Willow: Oh. Tara's right. Grief can be powerful, and we shouldn't judge—
Tara: What, are you kidding? She's nuts!
In reflection about her home life, how would Tara have developed any empathy in such an environment? She obviously didn't get any sympathy from her siblings or father. The only possible answer is from her mother. Tara's mother seems to have attempted to instill goodness in her daughter. It also seems that she succeeded despite all expectations.
Later in the season (the episode Tough Love) came a horrific moment for Tara, as Glory sucked out her sanity. With all of Tara’s ramblings, she seemed lost to everyone. Possibly permanently. Willow showed the depths of her devotion while taking care of her, and making sure she didn’t hurt herself or anyone else. As a brief side note, it seemed that a lot of her rantings when she first went mad were about cats. I don’t know if that means anything, but it’s interesting.
Thankfully, after the latter half of the season saw her through a lot of Glory-inspired rants, she was finally fixed in The Gift. Willow managed to tear her sanity out of Glory, and restore her--albeit just in time for Tara to witness Buffy’s sacrifice. (Couldn’t Joss have let them celebrate Tara’s fixing first? Thought not.)
After resurrecting Buffy, the next moment that showed Tara’s strength was when she was forced to break up with Willow in Tabula Rasa. Despite loving her, she knew that she would only be blinded by that and not notice the problems Willow had. It was best if they broke up at that time.
Willow: Tara, I didn't mean to-
Tara: To what? Violate my mind like that? How could you, Willow? How could you after what Glory did to me?
Willow: Violate you? I... I-I didn't... mean anything like that, I-I, I just wanted us not to fight any more. I love you.
Tara: If you don't wanna fight, you don't fight. You don't use magic to make a fight disappear.
Willow: But I-I just wanted to make things better. Better for us.
Tara: But you don't get to decide what is better for us, Will. We're in a relationship, we are supposed to decide together.
Willow: Okay. I'm... I realize I, I did it wrong.
Tara: You did it the way you're doing everything. When things get rough, you... you don't even consider the options. You just... you just do a spell. It's not good for you, Willow. And it's not what magic is for.
Because of everything with Glory, the break-up, Buffy’s resurrection, and everything else, Tara had to learn to get strength from within herself, so that she could handle it all. Finally, when everyone was trapped in the Summers home (Dawn made a wish to a vengance demon--explains everything) and couldn’t get out, magic seemed the only solution. When Willow refused to use magic--and didn’t give into peer pressure--Tara was proud of her. She defended her and stood her ground. Even against Anya, who is known for going on tangents at the best of times.
Tara: She said no, and that's it. You're not gonna make her do something that she doesn't want to. And if you try...You're gonna have to go through me first. Understood?
- from "Older and Far Away"
Sadly, shortly after they reconciled, Tara was killed. She and Willow were standing in the bedroom, and a bullet went through the window, piercing Tara’s heart. “Your shirt” (because her blood splattered Willow’s white shirt) were her last words, sadly. Thus was Willow--the vengeance seeking missle--inspired to kill Warren.
Personally, I don’t think Tara would have wanted that at all. She would have wanted Willow to have justice done for her, not wholesale slaughter caused because of her.
Tara was mentioned again in Conversations with Dead People. The First Evil pretended to have a message for Willow, via Cassie’s ghost. All lies in an attempt to convince Willow to kill herself. Thankfully, neither was Tara’s memory was sullied, nor was Willow convinced to do the act.
May she rest in peace. She will be missed by everyone who watched the series.
Relationships
Throughout Tara’s stint on BtVS, her only romantic relationship was with Willow Rosenberg. The two had what could be considered the healthiest relationship in the Buffyverse--at least, until season 6. As previously mentioned, Willow wanted to fix things, but she caused a bigger mess in her relationship with Tara.
However, until the sudden and violent death of Tara—and before their relationship hit the rocks--they were very cute together. In the below quote from Checkpoint, you can see a hint of their sweetness even in a misunderstanding with a Watcher.
Nigel: I need to know a little bit more about the Slayer, and about the both of you. Your relationship, whatever you can tell me.
Tara: O-o-our relationship?
Willow: We're friends.
Tara: Good friends.
Willow: Girlfriends, actually.
Tara: Yes, we're girlfriends.
Willow: We're in love. We're... lovers. (puts hand on Tara's knee)
Willow: We're lesbian, gay-type lovers.
Nigel: I meant your relationship with the Slayer.
Tara: Um, just good friends.
In season 5, after Tara was reduced to madness by Glory, Willow took care of her. She made sure she was comfortable, even though she couldn’t tell her what she felt. In these days of their relationship, it was very obvious that Tara was loved by Willow. It was proven again and again as the years went by. During season 6 was when everything went wrong for them, however.
They decided (it was Tara’s choice) to reconcile, and Tara gave a beautiful, if short speech during Entropy.
Tara: Things fall apart, they fall apart so hard.
Willow: Tara?
Tara: You can't ever...put 'em back the way they were…
Willow: Are you okay?
Tara: I'm sorry, it's just... (sigh) you know it takes time. You can't just... have coffee and expect—
Willow: I know.
Tara: There's just so much to work through. Trust has to build again, on both sides...you have to learn if... if we're even the same people we were, if you can fit in each other's lives, it's a long and important process and... can we just skip it? Can you... can you just be kissing me now?
Sadly, it was just after a night of passion--just as they had decided to get back together--that Tara was struck down by a bullet from Warren’s gun.
Why Do I Like Tara? What Keeps Her Interesting?
Why do I like the character? Compared to the rest of the Buffyverse cast, Tara Maclay seems to be the least noticeable--at first, anyway. Behind the jarring wit of Buffy and the quirkiness of Willow, there she stands, in all her strangely lovely glory. Whether she told bizarre insect reflection jokes (which I actually got!) or helped out with intricate spells; whether she was dealing with day-to-day comforts or fighting villains, she was a great person.
She was basically the outsider in the group in season 4. However, once one warmed up to her offbeat spirit, one could see the fascinating person beneath. And you could see what a great influence she was on everyone--including Willow.
Tara tended to be the one left to pick up the pieces, starting in season 5. She became sort of a mother figure to everyone. For example, after Joyce’s death she would periodically take Dawn out to get ice cream, and just have a bit of girl talk.
After everything with Glory, and Buffy’s death and resurrection, Tara just seemed stronger than she did when the audience first saw her in season 4. Gone was nearly all of the stuttering, and shyness—in its place was a strong, confident woman.
She was one of my favorite characters--she still is, as you can probably tell just by the fact that I’m writing this essay at all!
Practically everyone loved Tara Maclay. I was one of the fans that did, even if it took a bit to warm up to her. Sure it took a bit of time, but the candle scene at the end of New Moon Rising made me realize just how much I adored this character. Her death was sad and shocking to all.
Long may she live in fanfic. A place where she surely thrives, if you look around to all the ficathons and archives.
Recommended Reading
Seven Seasons of Buffy: Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers Discuss Their Favorite Show, edited by Glenn Yeffeth. This is a wonderful essay book devoted to all things related to Buffy the Vampire Slayer. Included within its pages are quite a few mentions of Tara—including an essay devoted to her. Pages of relevance include: 41-47; 79; 103-108; 165-166; and 170-171.
Links
Fanlistings
Beautiful Tragedy: The Tara Maclay Fanlisting.
Entranced: The Amber Benson Fanlisting.
The Essence Of Amber.
My Always: Willow And Tara Fanlisting.
A Spell Gone Awry: The Tabula Rasa Fanlisting.
Tara Related Groups
amber_daily
amberbenson
strongamazon
willotaraicons
BuffyFemSlashers.
Tara_Maclay.
TarasCoven.
willtara.
Non-fiction: The Discussion of Tara In Other Places
Wikipedia Entry For Tara.
Tara Maclay For Champions.
Whedon’s World: Tara Maclay.
Dust Til Dawn: BTVS Quotes. Includes many quotes from Tara.
The Iron Fist in the Velvet Glove. A very well-written essay on how Tara will be remembered.
Sparrow’s Nest: Willow/Tara Quotes.
Fan fiction That’s Worth A Look
Décor, written bydoyle_sb4. A beautiful story showing how Tara struggled to learn magic, and discovered she wasn’t like the other girls. I highly recommend this one. Rated PG.
Report Cards, written bysharp_thorns. Tara is a shy, quiet person, and wants to be more. My summary doesn’t do it justice. Rated PG-13.
Nine Months, written bypwproductions. In just 9 months, Tara’s life goes downhill. Set during season 6, and rated G. Other Tara related fanfic by this author can be found here.
Pianissimo, written bympoetess. A vignette set during Once More With Feeling--Tara reflects on her life, and her time with Willow. Hints of her having suspicions about Willow’s spell that took her memory of an argument. Rated PG.
Together, Dreams, written byelinora. Set shortly after Family; Tara is still in shock that she isn’t a demon, and Willow helps her heal. Not rated, but it would probably be PG-13.
Fandom: Buffy the Vampire Slayer
Character: Tara Maclay
Author:
calliopes_penE-Mail: julia_hoffman2003 at yahoo dot com
Spoilers: There are spoilers for seasons 4 through 7 of BtVS.
Notes: Thanks to
seandc for beta reading. Written for idol_reflection.Tara (attempting a joke): You learn her source, and we'll introduce her to her insect reflection. (The gang stares blankly at her.) Um...that, that was funny... if you um, if you studied Taglarin mythic rights... and are a complete dork.
--A joke goes right over everyone’s heads in Family.
Introduction
Tara Maclay--a person who went through a great deal within her short life. Within this essay, I will tell a bit of her past. What’s known of her past, at the very least. I will describe her life, her personality, her trials, and how her light was abruptly and cruelly extinguished by a sick twist of fate.
The History Of Tara Maclay Prior To Sunnydale
From what the audience knows of Tara’s early life and childhood, it was not the happiest of times. From everything that was told in Family, it is clear that she was abused by both her father and her brother; emotional abuse was used to control her as well. She was told by her family that she was a disgusting demon, and that she should be controlled by the males of her family.
During her 17th year, Tara’s mother lost a battle with cancer. In the aftermath of this tragedy, we know that Tara had a short-lived rebellious period (referenced in The Body)--this may have been the factor and added to her strength in her decision to leave her abusive home, venture to college, and try things that otherwise were forbidden to her.
Buffy: Everybody wants to help. (Tara looks at her) I don't even know if I'm ... here. (Tara looks away) I don't know what's going on. Never done this. (pauses) That's just an amazingly dumb thing to say. Obviously ... I've never done this before.
Tara: (softly) I have. My mother died when I was seventeen.
Buffy: Was it sudden?
Tara: What?
Buffy: Your mother.
Tara: No. And yes. It's always sudden.
Despite her shyness and stuttering, she still attempted to join a group of fellow Wiccans on the campus of UC Sunnydale. Sadly, they were only wanna-be-Wiccans who only cared about bake sales and clothes.
It was here that Tara met Willow for the first time. It seems that Tara recognized the power and magic within Willow, as Tara sought her out when The Gentlemen stole everyone’s voices. When they combined their powers, they were able to do more. In this case, throwing a vending machine across the room to block the door to the demons.
Beginning here, Tara’s life would never be the same. Sure, there was a bit of a supernatural element in her life already, but it obviously became stronger the day she met Willow.
Tara Maclay Through The Seasons
While Tara Maclay first appeared in season 4’s Hush, she didn’t seem to have much of a role in the show until New Moon Rising. Tara realized that Willow had to be with the person she loved--unbeknownst to her, that person wasn’t Oz. It was she herself that Willow loved more.
Tara: No, I-I understand. You have to be with the person you l-love.
Willow: (smiles) I am.
(Tara looks amazed.)
Tara: You mean...
Willow: I mean. (pause) Okay?
Tara: Oh, yes.
Willow: I feel horrible about everything I put you through. A-and I'm gonna make it up to you. Starting right now.
Tara: (starts to smile) Right now?
(Willow smiles and nods. Tara blows out the candle.)
Tara was the voice for The First Slayer in Restless. Through her, The First Slayer was able to make its needs known--albeit through strange riddles and dreams.
The audience didn’t truly find out much about the young woman’s past (and some thought she might actually be evil--I remember hearing the rumors at the time) until season 5’s Family. Here, it was learned that she considered herself to be evil, and a demon.
It was also quite evident that Tara had been abused by this “family.” What follows are quotes from the episode that say as much. They were either abusive, or encouraged the abuse to continue, as in the case of Tara’s cousin Beth.
Beth: You selfish b--
Tara: What?
Beth: You don't care the slightest bitty bit about your family, do you? Your dad's been worried sick about you every day since you've been gone. There's a house that needs taking care of. Donny and your dad having to do for themselves while you're down here living God knows what kind of lifestyle!
And also, the following was from her brother, of all people:
Donny: Tara, if you don't get in that car, I swear by God I will beat you down.
Xander: And I swear by your full and manly beard, you're gonna break something trying.
Thankfully, with a single punch to Tara’s nose, Spike proved her family to be wrong. They were the evil ones in this madness, not Tara. And the rest of the Scoobies banded together, proving they were Tara’s true family, not the Maclays.
In this episode, the young lady also cast a spell so nobody could see her (nonexistent) demon side. Eventually, she explains the reasons to Willow.
Tara: I was just afraid that if you saw the kind of people I came from, you wouldn't wanna be anywhere near me.
Willow: See, that's where you're a dummy. I think about what you grew up with, and then I look at what you are — it makes me proud. It makes me love you more.
Tara: Every time I'm... even when I'm at my worst, you always make me feel special. How do you do that?
Willow: Magic.
At the end of this episode, Tara finally celebrated her 20th birthday with her friends. She also tried to explain what "insect reflection" meant for Anya.
Tara: Your insect reflection represents your insignificance in terms of the karmic cycle.
Anya: It's still not funny.
The next pivotal episode for Tara was probably The Body. She helped comfort everyone when Joyce died, given that she knew exactly what Buffy and Dawn were going through. She went through it herself when her own Mother died. That empathy always helped with them, and she was always there with an ear or a hug if they needed it.
Of course, empathy has its limits. In Intervention, it seemed like Buffy had lost her mind and decided to start sleeping with Spike. In reality, it was the Buffybot. However, Tara’s reaction was classic.
Tara: Everyone, before we jump all over her, people do strange things when someone they love dies. When I lost my mother, I did some pretty dumb stuff like lying to my family and staying out all night.
Anya: Buffy's boinking Spike.
Willow: Oh. Tara's right. Grief can be powerful, and we shouldn't judge—
Tara: What, are you kidding? She's nuts!
In reflection about her home life, how would Tara have developed any empathy in such an environment? She obviously didn't get any sympathy from her siblings or father. The only possible answer is from her mother. Tara's mother seems to have attempted to instill goodness in her daughter. It also seems that she succeeded despite all expectations.
Later in the season (the episode Tough Love) came a horrific moment for Tara, as Glory sucked out her sanity. With all of Tara’s ramblings, she seemed lost to everyone. Possibly permanently. Willow showed the depths of her devotion while taking care of her, and making sure she didn’t hurt herself or anyone else. As a brief side note, it seemed that a lot of her rantings when she first went mad were about cats. I don’t know if that means anything, but it’s interesting.
Thankfully, after the latter half of the season saw her through a lot of Glory-inspired rants, she was finally fixed in The Gift. Willow managed to tear her sanity out of Glory, and restore her--albeit just in time for Tara to witness Buffy’s sacrifice. (Couldn’t Joss have let them celebrate Tara’s fixing first? Thought not.)
After resurrecting Buffy, the next moment that showed Tara’s strength was when she was forced to break up with Willow in Tabula Rasa. Despite loving her, she knew that she would only be blinded by that and not notice the problems Willow had. It was best if they broke up at that time.
Willow: Tara, I didn't mean to-
Tara: To what? Violate my mind like that? How could you, Willow? How could you after what Glory did to me?
Willow: Violate you? I... I-I didn't... mean anything like that, I-I, I just wanted us not to fight any more. I love you.
Tara: If you don't wanna fight, you don't fight. You don't use magic to make a fight disappear.
Willow: But I-I just wanted to make things better. Better for us.
Tara: But you don't get to decide what is better for us, Will. We're in a relationship, we are supposed to decide together.
Willow: Okay. I'm... I realize I, I did it wrong.
Tara: You did it the way you're doing everything. When things get rough, you... you don't even consider the options. You just... you just do a spell. It's not good for you, Willow. And it's not what magic is for.
Because of everything with Glory, the break-up, Buffy’s resurrection, and everything else, Tara had to learn to get strength from within herself, so that she could handle it all. Finally, when everyone was trapped in the Summers home (Dawn made a wish to a vengance demon--explains everything) and couldn’t get out, magic seemed the only solution. When Willow refused to use magic--and didn’t give into peer pressure--Tara was proud of her. She defended her and stood her ground. Even against Anya, who is known for going on tangents at the best of times.
Tara: She said no, and that's it. You're not gonna make her do something that she doesn't want to. And if you try...You're gonna have to go through me first. Understood?
- from "Older and Far Away"
Sadly, shortly after they reconciled, Tara was killed. She and Willow were standing in the bedroom, and a bullet went through the window, piercing Tara’s heart. “Your shirt” (because her blood splattered Willow’s white shirt) were her last words, sadly. Thus was Willow--the vengeance seeking missle--inspired to kill Warren.
Personally, I don’t think Tara would have wanted that at all. She would have wanted Willow to have justice done for her, not wholesale slaughter caused because of her.
Tara was mentioned again in Conversations with Dead People. The First Evil pretended to have a message for Willow, via Cassie’s ghost. All lies in an attempt to convince Willow to kill herself. Thankfully, neither was Tara’s memory was sullied, nor was Willow convinced to do the act.
May she rest in peace. She will be missed by everyone who watched the series.
Relationships
Throughout Tara’s stint on BtVS, her only romantic relationship was with Willow Rosenberg. The two had what could be considered the healthiest relationship in the Buffyverse--at least, until season 6. As previously mentioned, Willow wanted to fix things, but she caused a bigger mess in her relationship with Tara.
However, until the sudden and violent death of Tara—and before their relationship hit the rocks--they were very cute together. In the below quote from Checkpoint, you can see a hint of their sweetness even in a misunderstanding with a Watcher.
Nigel: I need to know a little bit more about the Slayer, and about the both of you. Your relationship, whatever you can tell me.
Tara: O-o-our relationship?
Willow: We're friends.
Tara: Good friends.
Willow: Girlfriends, actually.
Tara: Yes, we're girlfriends.
Willow: We're in love. We're... lovers. (puts hand on Tara's knee)
Willow: We're lesbian, gay-type lovers.
Nigel: I meant your relationship with the Slayer.
Tara: Um, just good friends.
In season 5, after Tara was reduced to madness by Glory, Willow took care of her. She made sure she was comfortable, even though she couldn’t tell her what she felt. In these days of their relationship, it was very obvious that Tara was loved by Willow. It was proven again and again as the years went by. During season 6 was when everything went wrong for them, however.
They decided (it was Tara’s choice) to reconcile, and Tara gave a beautiful, if short speech during Entropy.
Tara: Things fall apart, they fall apart so hard.
Willow: Tara?
Tara: You can't ever...put 'em back the way they were…
Willow: Are you okay?
Tara: I'm sorry, it's just... (sigh) you know it takes time. You can't just... have coffee and expect—
Willow: I know.
Tara: There's just so much to work through. Trust has to build again, on both sides...you have to learn if... if we're even the same people we were, if you can fit in each other's lives, it's a long and important process and... can we just skip it? Can you... can you just be kissing me now?
Sadly, it was just after a night of passion--just as they had decided to get back together--that Tara was struck down by a bullet from Warren’s gun.
Why Do I Like Tara? What Keeps Her Interesting?
Why do I like the character? Compared to the rest of the Buffyverse cast, Tara Maclay seems to be the least noticeable--at first, anyway. Behind the jarring wit of Buffy and the quirkiness of Willow, there she stands, in all her strangely lovely glory. Whether she told bizarre insect reflection jokes (which I actually got!) or helped out with intricate spells; whether she was dealing with day-to-day comforts or fighting villains, she was a great person.
She was basically the outsider in the group in season 4. However, once one warmed up to her offbeat spirit, one could see the fascinating person beneath. And you could see what a great influence she was on everyone--including Willow.
Tara tended to be the one left to pick up the pieces, starting in season 5. She became sort of a mother figure to everyone. For example, after Joyce’s death she would periodically take Dawn out to get ice cream, and just have a bit of girl talk.
After everything with Glory, and Buffy’s death and resurrection, Tara just seemed stronger than she did when the audience first saw her in season 4. Gone was nearly all of the stuttering, and shyness—in its place was a strong, confident woman.
She was one of my favorite characters--she still is, as you can probably tell just by the fact that I’m writing this essay at all!
Practically everyone loved Tara Maclay. I was one of the fans that did, even if it took a bit to warm up to her. Sure it took a bit of time, but the candle scene at the end of New Moon Rising made me realize just how much I adored this character. Her death was sad and shocking to all.
Long may she live in fanfic. A place where she surely thrives, if you look around to all the ficathons and archives.
Recommended Reading
Seven Seasons of Buffy: Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers Discuss Their Favorite Show, edited by Glenn Yeffeth. This is a wonderful essay book devoted to all things related to Buffy the Vampire Slayer. Included within its pages are quite a few mentions of Tara—including an essay devoted to her. Pages of relevance include: 41-47; 79; 103-108; 165-166; and 170-171.
Links
Fanlistings
Beautiful Tragedy: The Tara Maclay Fanlisting.
Entranced: The Amber Benson Fanlisting.
The Essence Of Amber.
My Always: Willow And Tara Fanlisting.
A Spell Gone Awry: The Tabula Rasa Fanlisting.
Tara Related Groups
amber_dailyamberbensonstrongamazonwillotaraiconsBuffyFemSlashers.
Tara_Maclay.
TarasCoven.
willtara.
Non-fiction: The Discussion of Tara In Other Places
Wikipedia Entry For Tara.
Tara Maclay For Champions.
Whedon’s World: Tara Maclay.
Dust Til Dawn: BTVS Quotes. Includes many quotes from Tara.
The Iron Fist in the Velvet Glove. A very well-written essay on how Tara will be remembered.
Sparrow’s Nest: Willow/Tara Quotes.
Fan fiction That’s Worth A Look
Décor, written by
doyle_sb4. A beautiful story showing how Tara struggled to learn magic, and discovered she wasn’t like the other girls. I highly recommend this one. Rated PG.Report Cards, written by
sharp_thorns. Tara is a shy, quiet person, and wants to be more. My summary doesn’t do it justice. Rated PG-13.Nine Months, written by
pwproductions. In just 9 months, Tara’s life goes downhill. Set during season 6, and rated G. Other Tara related fanfic by this author can be found here.Pianissimo, written by
mpoetess. A vignette set during Once More With Feeling--Tara reflects on her life, and her time with Willow. Hints of her having suspicions about Willow’s spell that took her memory of an argument. Rated PG.Together, Dreams, written by
elinora. Set shortly after Family; Tara is still in shock that she isn’t a demon, and Willow helps her heal. Not rated, but it would probably be PG-13.