Tara in "The Body" and "Forever"

[tkts]

Rewatching Season 5, it sort of came into focus for me that "The Body" and "Forever" are where the qualities in Tara that make me love the character really start to be showcased.

Even though the episodes aren't Tara-centric -- and even though we've had Tara-centric episodes before -- she still seemed to spend most of Season 5 as "Willow's girlfriend" and "the shy girl." But the events surrounding Joyce's death are where her wisdom, compassion and inner strength really start to show.

Watch Tara closely during the scene in Willow's room in "The Body." She didn't know Joyce as well as Willow and Xander did, so she's not reacting with the same shock and grief as they are, but you can tell, looking at her face, that her heart is breaking for them -- that there's nothing she wants more in that moment than to relieve their pain any way she can. She's not the one in crisis, but you can tell the depth of her empathy just by looking at her.



Then there's the look of understanding she gives Xander after he pulls his hand out of the wall and she says, "It hurts." She gets it, instantly, intuitively.



The scene at the hospital where she reaches out to Buffy tells us a little more about her backstory, but also shows that she has the wisdom and self-awareness to recognize what happened in her own mind after her mother's death, and the ability to recognize that she can use that to help Buffy.

"Forever," meanwhile, shows her strength. Willow can't resist the temptation to surreptitiously help Dawn in her quest to resurrect Joyce. It's Tara who -- as deeply as she feels Dawn's pain -- can summon the strength to resist what she knows to be wrong.

Thoughts?

[AngelFaith]

You've picked up on what sets Tara apart from the others - the fact that she is the only one in the group who seems to have reached adulthood properly. As you pointed out, she's strong and mature and doesn't judge, just empathises.

I love her in The Body and Forever. She doesn't impose on the others' grief, she just quietly offers support and empathy. She calms Willow down in a very gentle non-condescending way, and I love the way she gently tells Buffy what happened to her own mother - again, making sure she doesn't overshadow or impose on Buffy's grief (am I making sense? I feel like I'm rambling).

I have always loved Tara's empathy and the way she doesn't judge situations. Another example of her doing this is when Buffy confesses to her about sleeping with Spike. She refuses to condemn Buffy for it, simply offering support and quietly letting Buffy let out all her feelings.

Now, a question about the "It hurts" comment she makes to Xander in The Body. What do you think she means? I always interpreted it as one of two things. Either she's acknowledging that, despite the monumental grief that Xander is experiencing, he can still feel a different kind of pain OR she's acknowledging that Xander is grateful for the brief physical pain as it distracts him from the bigger pain.

(Oh, and *Karma* for the great post!)

[gumgnome]

I think that you're absolutely right when you say that Tara's empathy is one of the prime qualities she embodies and a great reason to love the character. Interestingly, I think there is one other character that really seems to have these strengths, even earlier than Tara, and that's Oz. He too has the measured approach to emotional issues, constantly analysing from the Other's point of view before giving his own (something we get to see first-hand in "Earshot"). This is best exemplified by his ability to re-connect with Willow after "Lovers Walk", an act of great maturity. Funny how both of Willow's longest relationships are with the two most empathetic characters on the show.

[tkts]

May 7, 2010 4:47:11 GMT -5 AngelFaith said:

Now, a question about the "It hurts" comment she makes to Xander in The Body. What do you think she means? I always interpreted it as one of two things. Either she's acknowledging that, despite the monumental grief that Xander is experiencing, he can still feel a different kind of pain OR she's acknowledging that Xander is grateful for the brief physical pain as it distracts him from the bigger pain.

I think she understands that Xander is grateful for the momentary distraction that the physical pain provides him.

Also, I'm glad you mentioned Buffy's confession to her in Season 6. I think the bond that starts to form in "The Body" -- as well as the character traits that we start to see in Tara around that time -- form the basis for why Buffy goes to her before anyone else. (Both about sleeping with Spike and about her concerns that she "came back wrong.")

It's not the only factor -- at the time, Willow's a basket case who can barely keep herself together, and Xander would react very badly to the Spike thing and doesn't have the magical knowledge to help her answer the other question -- but if it weren't for the groundwork laid for Tara in Season 5, Buffy probably would have just kept those things bottled up indefinitely.

This also makes it interesting to think about what role Tara could have played in Season 7 if she hadn't died. Throughout Season 7, Xander takes on the role of the emotional pillar, the person who holds the house together, both physically and metaphorically. Tara would have been an even stronger source of support and stability, and she probably could have done a lot to reduce the chaos and turmoil.

[swanstoon]

May 7, 2010 12:15:29 GMT -5 tkts said:

May 7, 2010 4:47:11 GMT -5 AngelFaith said:

Now, a question about the "It hurts" comment she makes to Xander in The Body. What do you think she means? I always interpreted it as one of two things. Either she's acknowledging that, despite the monumental grief that Xander is experiencing, he can still feel a different kind of pain OR she's acknowledging that Xander is grateful for the brief physical pain as it distracts him from the bigger pain.

I think she understands that Xander is grateful for the momentary distraction that the physical pain provides him.

Also, I'm glad you mentioned Buffy's confession to her in Season 6. I think the bond that starts to form in "The Body" -- as well as the character traits that we start to see in Tara around that time -- form the basis for why Buffy goes to her before anyone else. (Both about sleeping with Spike and about her concerns that she "came back wrong.")

It's not the only factor -- at the time, Willow's a basket case who can barely keep herself together, and Xander would react very badly to the Spike thing and doesn't have the magical knowledge to help her answer the other question -- but if it weren't for the groundwork laid for Tara in Season 5, Buffy probably would have just kept those things bottled up indefinitely.

This also makes it interesting to think about what role Tara could have played in Season 7 if she hadn't died. Throughout Season 7, Xander takes on the role of the emotional pillar, the person who holds the house together, both physically and metaphorically. Tara would have been an even stronger source of support and stability, and she probably could have done a lot to reduce the chaos and turmoil.

Your last paragraph is spot on. During one of Amber Benson's Q & A's at Moonlight Rising 2003 when asked if she'd watched Season 7,she said she hadn't because with both hers & Tony Head's characters no longer there there was no one to keep the Scoobies grounded or be the voice of calm & reason.

Tara's scene in 'The Body' while Willow is trying to find something suitable to wear is brilliant & yes,her empathy with the others is astonshing.

Tara really came into her own in Season 6.

[CourtneyDax]

May 7, 2010 4:47:11 GMT -5 AngelFaith said:

Now, a question about the "It hurts" comment she makes to Xander in The Body. What do you think she means?

I believe that Tara is acknowledging everything that you all have said and just a little bit more. The moment felt like Tara was telling him "Hey, it's alright to feel all this pain and anguish." As a guy, he had to be the source of strength for his girls, and thus, hide his own pain.

I have always thought that Tara was the heart and the quiet mediator of the Scoobies, when she was around. She was such a kind and caring person, when she came from such horrible family life, and really gave the Scoobies a true friend they could trust and get advice from.

[Inappropriate Starches]

I read a book about Buffy once that I definitely didn't like. Apart from many other opinions I didn't like one of them that outraged me is that the author (I really can't remember who) said that Tara was an awful character who had no depth and never grew in any way. I thought that was absolutely rediculous. The Body/Forever are great examples of her depth as a character, not to mention the whole of season 6.

She leaves Willow in season 6 and becomes completely her own person. She comes out of her shell so much and becomes the only person that Buffy confides in and in my opinion does a kick ass job of being her friend during that time.

She also is a good friend to Buffy and Dawn in The Body and Forever. She tries to teach Dawn how to deal with it properly (while Willow takes a different approach which in my opinion is the first big sign that Willow is slipping) and she offers Buffy a very real kind of comfort at the hospital.

In reference to the "it hurts" comment. Joss on the commentary talks about it being her acknowledgement that now they have a problem that they need to solve and they get to be the scoobies again and sort of reminded who they are and taken out of the grief a bit. However I always added the layer that CourtneyDax talked about because it always seemed like something that had more than one meaning.