The return of Tara?

POSTED BY: Hjermsted
UPDATED: Friday, June 14, 2002 01:25
VIEWED: 8378
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HJERMSTED

Monday, June 10, 2002 4:14 PM

The rumormill is suggesting that Amber Benson will be back on Buffy for close to her usual number of episodes next season.

I doubt Whedon & Co. will bring her character Tara literally back from the dead. They've done that with too many characters in the show already. Of limits are the following methods of bringing Tara back (due to the been there, done that factor):

* resurrection by magic (Buffy season 6).
* crawling back out of Hell/wherever (Angel on BTVS season 3).
* Zombie (Joyce briefly season 5)
* CPR (Buffy, season 1)

However, there are several other sci-fi/fantasy/soap opera methods for bringing back Amber Benson next season:

* Tara as ghostly visitation or poltergeist.
* Tara/Willow communicating in dreams/meditation/phantom zone style.
* Tara shows up in Flashbacks/memories.
* Tara's past lives are explored in pre-Buffy historical sequences (ala Angel, Spike, Dru and Darla)
* Tara from another dimension comes to SunnyD.
* Tara -and all of the Scoobs- were cloned (by the Initiative before it was mothballed?).
* Tara has an evil twin.
* Prior to her death, Tara recorded a series of Wiccan info-mercials that are finally set to air posthumously on SunnyD public access.
* Could Tara have somehow been vamped after she was shot? (a stretch, I know)
* Tara never actually died, but merely went into a catatonic state that fooled everybody.
* Amber Benson could be playing an entirely new character in season 7 (in demon make up for example).

Whichever method lends itself best to the long-term presence of Tara in season 7 AND can be "logically" accepted by the audience is the one I'm betting the writers will be running with.

This is assuming the rumors of Amber's return are true.

mattro

ABBYNORMAL

Monday, June 10, 2002 6:01 PM

I'm really hoping for some claymation. A nice mooshy glob of tara-cotta would go over nicely... oooh! kinda like that episode of Red Dwarf with the very trippy claymation segment. It might just be a new arena for Joss & co. to explore...

Personally i think you're right on with the infomercials - nothing that SunnyD needs more than some great late-night QVC-isms from BTVS' answer to Billy Mays...

"why struggle with those messy creams and sticky painful sugarings, when with this simple exfoliation spell you can have the supple, smooth hairless skin of a human infant! the wanna-blessed-be system is perfect for the girl with occasional were-ish tendencies, or the she-demon looking for a fun night out without the worry of a menacing hair lip..."

that amber benson can sell me ANYTHING!

Abby

**Trained gorillas. Workable prototype jetpacks, and chicks, chicks, chicks. I know that's the action I signed on for. **

NOVAGRASS

Monday, June 10, 2002 6:17 PM

Quote:
Originally posted by Hjermsted:
The rumormill is suggesting that Amber Benson will be back on Buffy for close to her usual number of episodes next season.

I doubt Whedon & Co. will bring her character Tara literally back from the dead. They've done that with too many characters in the show already. Of limits are the following methods of bringing Tara back (due to the been there, done that factor):

* resurrection by magic (Buffy season 6).
* crawling back out of Hell/wherever (Angel on BTVS season 3).
* Zombie (Joyce briefly season 5)
* CPR (Buffy, season 1)

However, there are several other sci-fi/fantasy/soap opera methods for bringing back Amber Benson next season:

* Tara as ghostly visitation or poltergeist.
* Tara/Willow communicating in dreams/meditation/phantom zone style.
* Tara shows up in Flashbacks/memories.
* Tara's past lives are explored in pre-Buffy historical sequences (ala Angel, Spike, Dru and Darla)
* Tara from another dimension comes to SunnyD.
* Tara -and all of the Scoobs- were cloned (by the Initiative before it was mothballed?).
* Tara has an evil twin.
* Prior to her death, Tara recorded a series of Wiccan info-mercials that are finally set to air posthumously on SunnyD public access.
* Could Tara have somehow been vamped after she was shot? (a stretch, I know)
* Tara never actually died, but merely went into a catatonic state that fooled everybody.
* Amber Benson could be playing an entirely new character in season 7 (in demon make up for example).

Whichever method lends itself best to the long-term presence of Tara in season 7 AND can be "logically" accepted by the audience is the one I'm betting the writers will be running with.

This is assuming the rumors of Amber's return are true.

mattro

Or... she could come back as Tara's identical cousin... wait a second... that sounds familiar

I'm placing money on the flashback idea. And just because she's signed for that number of episodes doesn't mean she has to be in that many... it's only so ME have the option to use her whenever they want.

--Dylan Palmer, aka NoVaGrAsS--

... I guess it's a Joss thing...

ROGUE

Monday, June 10, 2002 7:02 PM

An evil demon comes and impersonates tara to infiltrate the scoobies, or better yet, a vamp drains her dead body and somehow she turns :)

Who do you serve and who do you trust?

BOBKNAPTOR

Monday, June 10, 2002 7:17 PM

Quote:
* Tara never actually died, but merely went into a catatonic state that fooled everybody.

This was kind of done already too... with Ted in Season two.

I have to say I'm right there with Ms. Abby on the infomercials. I'd buy anything she's sellin. hehe.

As a psyche major I'm qualified to go "Hmmm"

ZICSOFT

Monday, June 10, 2002 7:58 PM

She's not dead! She was just lying there, pining for the fjords!

BOBKNAPTOR

Monday, June 10, 2002 8:15 PM

Unfortunately, I think she is an ex-Tara.

That'll put marzipan in your pie plate, bingo

NIGHTFLY

Monday, June 10, 2002 8:19 PM

Like other fans one can never really be sure of Joss Whedon's vision or direction regarding the characters.

I think he is very clever in how over six seasons he always leaves some critical question(s) unanswered or unresolved surrounding the Scoobies or other players, including the ones he kills off.

In a show where imagination reigns and all things are possible I believe the death of Tara is not the end but rather the beginning development of another very powerful "ally" to the Scooby gang. Tara's powers and more importantly her character was never fully explained or explored in depth.

Since her introduction in season four there have been curious tidbits -who knows if they were intentional or not - dropped about her history.

In past episodes Tara has been referred to as a powerful witch and that she is the progeny of possibly two very powerful witches (her mother and grandmother). Yet, the development of Tara's character was very restrained, relegated as Willow's lover/partner/sidekick.

There have been hints dropped about about Tara's past that she may have more knowledge of majick than she was letting on and that there is some "secret" about Tara that has not been been revealed to the Scoobies. It remains to be seen if even Willow knows as much aboout Tara as she thinks.

I think the issue of Willow's struggle or addiction to magick has been thought provoking. Some fans and critics of the show think that Tara'a and Willow's exploration of magick together was also an a way for Joss Whedon to safely allude to their sexual intimacy - at times intense and all involving.

But as a writer myself I think the story line also served another purpose. While fans were busy watching Willow center stage; the true story of power was on our periphery (Tara).

Joss Whedon has said in interviews that season six was about the gang growing up. True to his words for better or worst the gang was their own worst enemy. He has said that season seven will refocus on the core group, more like season 1; albeit hopefully better people personally than they were in season 6.

There have been other characters who have had a major play/impact on the show (Oz, Angel, faith etc.) But they had to go, because there was no way to develop those characters more fully and intergrate them with Buffy and the Scoobies. But Tara's character is a perfect fit for an ensemble cast such AS BTVS.

I think because Tara's character has such powerful potential for development and contribution to the show it is almost impossible for him not to be tempted to bring her back.

"When you see a worthy man emulate him. When you see an unworthy man examine thy self" Confucius

ZICSOFT

Monday, June 10, 2002 9:55 PM

Quote:
Originally posted by bobknaptor:
Unfortunately, I think she is an ex-Tara.

That'll put marzipan in your pie plate, bingo

That's it! Was it conincidence that the Buffybot was obsessesed with almond paste? I think not!

PANDORA

Monday, June 10, 2002 10:36 PM

Despite how much I liked Tara as a character (and oh, but I did), I think it would be downright, for lack of a better word, cheesy.

You can't just bring people back from the dead every time you kill them off. I think it far more likely that flashbacks be used, or ghostly apparitions- I think a living, breathing, back-to-the-Scoobies Tara would cheapen her death.

Pandora

"Logic is a wonderful thing, but it doesn't beat actual thought." -Terry Pratchett, the Last Continent

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