AfterEllen.com - Killing Tara: the Demise of an Exceptional Lesbian Relationship on Buffy

This relationship is the culmination of two seasons of an on-again, off-again romance between college students (and witches) Willow (Alyson Hannigan) and Tara (Amber Benson) that remained fairly physically restrained until things suddenly heated up between them at the end of Season Six.

Tara and her relationship with Willow didn't start off in Season Four as interesting (or passionate) as they both were by the end of Season Six. Although the writers have never sufficiently devoted enough time to developing Tara's character or their relationship, they have both evolved despite this limited attention.

Tara was a unique character from the beginning because she was gentle, kind, and not always sure of herself. Shy women are in short supply on television (despite their abundance in real life) and this is even more true on Buffy. On a personal note, I also found it refreshing to see a crunchy-granola-type of lesbian on TV for a change (and I mean that in a good way), as they are a highly underrepresented group on TV.

Over the course of the last two seasons, however, as Tara became more integrated with the Scooby Gang and Willow, her character began to change. She became more willing to draw boundaries with Willow, and she developed relationships with others in the group besides Willow. Because of these changes, she became more self-confidant, in her own, quiet way.

Yes, the lack of physical intimacy onscreen between Willow and Tara (until recently) was a double standard and a little paranoid on the writers/producers part. But in some ways those restraints were good, for they forced the writers to come up with more creative ways to develop the relationship between the two women, as even Buffy creator Joss Whedon has admitted.

Too many television shows have resorted to steamy sex scenes instead of developing the subtle, nuanced verbal foreplay that is such a part of so many relationships because it's just easier to show the characters in bed. Since the Buffy writers/producers eliminated this option for so long, Willow and Tara's relationship was allowed to develop at a more leisurely and sensual pace.

Which is not to say I'm lamenting the sexual turn their relationship took in the last few episodes...quite the opposite. But it is nice to see a relationship develop slowly over time, even if it is for the wrong reasons.

But the fact that the "Buffy" writers killed Tara off just when the relationship (and her character) was getting really good is frustrating, disappointing, and even downright mean. Why bother getting our hopes up if you're just going to dash them? In the same episode even?

On the other hand, that is pretty much the formula on television. Viewers get bored if you actually show them what they want to see, or so the adage goes. But most shows just create a little drama to shake things up again, they don't outright kill their characters.

Why is it that in this case, though, I get the feeling it was the writers who were bored? Especially since they never cared enough about Tara in the past to to fully develop her character except when it supported another plot line.

This isn't exactly your average show. People die every week on Buffy. It's just that usually they're vampires or demons, not lesbians (even though some people on the Far Right get us confused occasionally).

Maybe in all this slaying, Buffy has forgotten that when a television show starts being careless with its viewers attachments and emotions, it starts to lose them. That would be a shame, since lesbian/bisexual fans have been some of the show's biggest supporters.

After killing Tara, Buffy is going to have to work very hard to keep my loyalty.