Tara Maclay
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Tara Maclay is a fictional character in the television show, Buffy the Vampire Slayer, played by Amber Benson.
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Tara was introduced in the popular episode "Hush", in the fourth season of the show. A member of Sunnydale University's Wicca group, she encountered Willow Rosenberg, herself a practicing witch since a child.
In many ways Tara is Willow. Shy, reserved, quiet she is the Willow of seasons past. As Oz. caused Willow to bloom, it is through Willow that Tara becomes a powerful young woman.
As the season progressed, it became increasingly clear that the pair were destined for a romantic liaison. Willow realised that Tara was the person she loved, choosing Tara over her ex-boyfriend Oz. The two thus became one of the few lesbian couples on television. Wicca/spells became to serve as a metaphor for lesbianism, and love.
Not so much is known about Tara. Her family life was clearly traumatic — in fact she was told at a young age that she was partially of demon descent. This transpired to be a lie told by her father to keep control over her. After this discovery in the episode "Family", Tara's ties with her family seemed entirely severed, with Willow and the Scooby Gang her only remaining loved ones.
Tara was not officially considered one of the main characters on the show, with Amber Benson's name not appearing in the main credits, except for one episode, her final. However, through her relationship with Willow, she did play an important role in the story on several occasions, such as at the end of the fifth season, when the evil goddess Glory sucked her mind out, leaving her in a childlike state until Willow cured her, or in season six, when Willow's magic addiction (by this time, magic had become a metaphor for drug use, a move annoying many fans) caused Tara to leave her.
Most important of all, Tara was killed, randomly, by a stray bullet aimed at Buffy by Warren, near the end of season six, in the episode "Seeing Red". As a result, Willow was propelled into a destructive fury, and soon attempted to destroy the world. According to her tombstone, seen in the episode "Help" (season 7), Tara was born on October 16, 1980, and died on May 7, 2002 (the air date of Seeing Red; Family, the episode dealing with the events surrounding Tara's 20th birthday, aired slightly out of time on November 7, 2000).
Thus the character of Tara ended, after approximately two and a half years on the show. After Tara's death, it was fiercely debated whether it constituted an example of a cliché in television that lesbian relationships usually turn out badly, often with one partner dying or turning out to be evil.
Amber Benson was originally going to return to the show in the Season 7 episode "Conversations with Dead People", where Tara would appear as one of the many forms of The First Evil, and attempt to coerce Willow into committing suicide. However, Amber decided that she didn't want to return, believing that appearing as a form of the season's villain would ruin the memory of Tara.