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she was a great (and under-valued) lady ... she could have been both powerful in her own right
I've read that originally she was introduced to take over Willow's role as "the damsel who needs to be saved" on the show, but if that's true it didn't turn out that way. She was actually powerful in her own right ; early on in S4 - Hush and WAY f.ex she's the far more knowledgeable one; she's Willow's mentor and guide into something more powerful (with magic as both metaphor for lesbian sexuality and as itself). They're more powerful together. The show had to rob her of her power (Glory's mindsuck) in order to make her a "damsel", and in any case they'd also introduced Dawn in the "damsel" role.
I think that got a bit lost in S5 & S6; they focused on Willow's growing power, and of course Tara was left incapacitated by Glory and then later killed. I think that's unfortunate. I get the idea that the student outgrows the teacher, but that shouldn't mean the teacher loses the ability they already have.
When Anya says in OAFA that Willow is the more powerful of the two, what does that even mean, really? Part of the problem is, as with many things in the Buffyverse, the lack of consistency and world-building. Is magic a scientific phenomenon or a spiritual one? Does someone have a natural tendency/inclination towards it, or is it a matter of application and practice? Both? So again, what does it mean to say Willow is "more powerful"? More willing to practice every day? To reach deeper into more difficult spells? More ambitious, more destructive?
She was certainly powerful even without magic, as we know!
I haven't really sussed this all out before. Hmmm....But I could talk about Tara all day!
and helped Willow to develop into a happier person.
I don't know that anyone could have, and in any case that wasn't her responsibility. Only Willow can do that. That's one of THE single biggest mistakes we make in relationships: "If I love this person enough I can save them/change them/make them happy" (and vice versa.) I've lived that in my own relationship, seen it in my mom and nearly everyone I know.
Something the show emphasizes over and over is what a mistake it is when any one character invests too much of themselves in another person: Buffy and Angel, Riley to Buffy, Anya to Xander; (and perhaps in a way Giles to Buffy, as much to the girl as to Slayer). Tara's statement in WAY "I am you know...your's" seems romantic on the surface but it's chilling in hindsight.
She made mistakes, as we see in her spell-gone-wrong
Oh yes, and the show underplays that because they don't take a lot of time with her character, so it's easy to forget that. (Someone in fandom had to remind me of her spell-gone-wrong in Family a year ago. I was still riding the "Saint tara" train back then. Thankfully I've hopped off since.)
I admit I had read that she was a "beloved" character when I watched the show last year and kept waiting to fall in love with her. As a lesbian I loved the depiction of her and Tara (which I think is still unmatched in US television?) even when it got dark - because lesbians do hurt and abuse their partners; and they do go back to abusive partners. This all real - lesbians aren't cute, fluffy and harmless, nor are we monsters. I appreciated that.
But I didn't fall in love with Tara for herself until S6 and then I fell HARD. I still love her getting mad at Willow in All the Way: "I would if I didn't love you so damn much!" or "God what is wrong with you?" in TR. I understand why fans were devastated ten years ago because I was devastated last year. Such a waste of a fantastic character.
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branchandroot
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Date: 2013-10-24 02:25 am (UTC)she was a great (and under-valued) lady ... she could have been both powerful in her own right
I've read that originally she was introduced to take over Willow's role as "the damsel who needs to be saved" on the show, but if that's true it didn't turn out that way. She was actually powerful in her own right ; early on in S4 - Hush and WAY f.ex she's the far more knowledgeable one; she's Willow's mentor and guide into something more powerful (with magic as both metaphor for lesbian sexuality and as itself). They're more powerful together. The show had to rob her of her power (Glory's mindsuck) in order to make her a "damsel", and in any case they'd also introduced Dawn in the "damsel" role.
I think that got a bit lost in S5 & S6; they focused on Willow's growing power, and of course Tara was left incapacitated by Glory and then later killed. I think that's unfortunate. I get the idea that the student outgrows the teacher, but that shouldn't mean the teacher loses the ability they already have.
When Anya says in OAFA that Willow is the more powerful of the two, what does that even mean, really? Part of the problem is, as with many things in the Buffyverse, the lack of consistency and world-building. Is magic a scientific phenomenon or a spiritual one? Does someone have a natural tendency/inclination towards it, or is it a matter of application and practice? Both? So again, what does it mean to say Willow is "more powerful"? More willing to practice every day? To reach deeper into more difficult spells? More ambitious, more destructive?
She was certainly powerful even without magic, as we know!
I haven't really sussed this all out before. Hmmm....But I could talk about Tara all day!
and helped Willow to develop into a happier person.
I don't know that anyone could have, and in any case that wasn't her responsibility. Only Willow can do that. That's one of THE single biggest mistakes we make in relationships: "If I love this person enough I can save them/change them/make them happy" (and vice versa.) I've lived that in my own relationship, seen it in my mom and nearly everyone I know.
Something the show emphasizes over and over is what a mistake it is when any one character invests too much of themselves in another person: Buffy and Angel, Riley to Buffy, Anya to Xander; (and perhaps in a way Giles to Buffy, as much to the girl as to Slayer). Tara's statement in WAY "I am you know...your's" seems romantic on the surface but it's chilling in hindsight.
She made mistakes, as we see in her spell-gone-wrong
Oh yes, and the show underplays that because they don't take a lot of time with her character, so it's easy to forget that. (Someone in fandom had to remind me of her spell-gone-wrong in Family a year ago. I was still riding the "Saint tara" train back then. Thankfully I've hopped off since.)
I admit I had read that she was a "beloved" character when I watched the show last year and kept waiting to fall in love with her. As a lesbian I loved the depiction of her and Tara (which I think is still unmatched in US television?) even when it got dark - because lesbians do hurt and abuse their partners; and they do go back to abusive partners. This all real - lesbians aren't cute, fluffy and harmless, nor are we monsters. I appreciated that.
But I didn't fall in love with Tara for herself until S6 and then I fell HARD. I still love her getting mad at Willow in All the Way: "I would if I didn't love you so damn much!" or "God what is wrong with you?" in TR. I understand why fans were devastated ten years ago because I was devastated last year. Such a waste of a fantastic character.
There needs to be more Tara fanfic - and not just W/T, pretty please! Did you read the story