Top 5 Tara moments

[tkts]

In recognition of Amber Benson's birthday, Jarett Wieselman of the New York Post lists his five favorite Tara moments.

Here are my own nominations for the ...

Top 5 Tara moments in Buffy:

5. "Nobody messes with my girl." (Bargaining, Part 2.) Tara didn't get a chance to kick ass very often, but when she did, she didn't screw around.

4. "Hey -- you're gonna back off!" (Older and Far Away.) Tara standing up to Anya on Willow's behalf reminds us that easygoing, mild-mannered Tara has plenty of backbone when it really counts.

3. "Good God, that's a lot of shake." (Smashed.) Tara and Dawn's "movie and milkshake fun day" gave us a chance to see the bond between these two characters who got screen time together all too rarely. Also a revealing scene in terms of Tara's personality: she won't let breaking up with Willow interfere with her surrogate-mother love for Dawn.

2. "I think she was afraid of the look you'd get on your face. Kinda like the one you're wearing now." (Seeing Red.) The scene where Tara tells Willow about Buffy and Spike reminds us of her insightfulness and innate wisdom, and makes the end of the episode even more tragic.

1. "Under Your Spell." (OMWF.) The whole song is achingly beautiful, of course, but the effect is intensified by the haunting reprise (Tara's duet with Giles). And any moment that lets Amber sing is a recipe for win.

[thisyearsgirl91]

I don't have a top 5 right now, but I like:

Giles: And you're certain she was a robot?
Buffy: Absolutely.
Tara: Well, she practically had "Genuine Molded Plastic" stamped on her ass.

[joxerlives]

1. "Willow hand"

2. "Yours"

3. Saving everyone at the end of Normal Again

4. Consoling a weeping Buffy at the end of Dead Things

5. "Five?" in Checkpoint

[Jaz ♀♀]

1- "Under Your Spell". My absolute favorite song in OMWF.

2- "Do what makes you happy"...thank goddess Willow chose Tara! (New Moon Rising)

3- "I am you know...Yours". (Who Are You)

4- "Strong like an Amazon". Consoling Willow in the 'Body'.

5- Consoling Buffy at the end of 'Dead Things'.

[tkts]

What's interesting about these lists is that, for the most part, they don't include many of the ass-kicking "crowning moments of awesome" that you normally see from characters on an action show. Tara didn't make with the badassery very often; her strength came from her wisdom and her incredible depth of character, and her best moments tend to be the ones that showcase those traits.

[CourtneyDax]

Tara was definately the heart and wisdom of the show for the time she was around. Things went so much more smoothly when she was around. I think that I'd use tkts' list for mine. You just got all the great parts of her time of Buffy and everything that made her amazing.

[Zombierella]

"This Year's Girl"
Willow: Don't worry, we're sure to spot Faith first. She's liek this
cleavagy slut-bomb walking around "Ooh, check me out, I'm wicked-cool,
I'm five-by-five."

Tara: Five-by-five? Five what by five what?

Willow: See, that's the thing. No-one knows. Buffy can handle Faith
and you're plenty safe with me.

"Older And Faraway"
Tara:
You're gonna back off. Now. She
said no, and that's it, you're not
gonna make her do something she
doesn't want to.
And if you try, you'll have to go
through me first. Understood?

Tara:
TARA
How's that cramp, Spike? Still
bothering you?
SPIKE
What? Oh. Yeah...

TARA
(smiles)
Maybe you should put some ice on it.

[buffyfan21]

I can't really rank these in any particular order so I will just list them as they pop into my head.

1. The first time we see her on screen in Hush - because that was her first episode, duh! And little did we know what an important character she would become.

2. When Tara kisses Willow in "The Body." Their first on screen kiss, EPIC!

3. Tara choosing to leave Willow in S6 - I list this as a big moment for her because I think that deciding to break away from Willow ultimately resulted in Tara's own empowerment. She became a much stronger, self-assured, and independent woman as a result. Examples I can think of that support this include, standing up to both Anya and Spike. I don't know that the 'old" Tara would have necessarily had the guts to do this, but the new and improved Tara certainly found her voice. She definitely came a long way from the stuttering shy girl we met in "Hush." People tend to view Tara as one of the lesser developed characters, but I believe she also had her share of evolution and personal growth. Plus, side note, I love how she continues to hang out with Dawn after she and Willow Split. Those two are just so cute together. Definitely a metaphor there of divorced parents. Yes, the breakup was painful to watch, but I think, ultimately necessary for both. Tara really came into her own and became her own person separate from Willow. It was a beautiful transformation to watch.

4. Singing with Willow in Once More with Feeling. - Enough said. Tara/Amber has such a beautiful voice.

5. Consoling an emotionally distraught Buffy. This would actually be number one on my list. Best Tara moment ever!