OK, I’ve been reading all of these complaints about the killing of Tara, and it’s really starting to bug me. So I decided that, instead of airing my usual blah poetry, I’m going to spout off on my favorite show of all time (more favorite, even, than Twin Peaks!).

Everyone is complaining about killing off ‘the lesbian’, and how terrible it is that ME took the stereotypical path in regards to Tara and Willow. In that context, it may suck. I’ll grant you that. But here is what no one seems to want to address, even people who say they are longtime fans – Tara, as a character, was not of the same caliber as most of the other characters. If Tara were straight, would anyone care if she died (if she had been Xander’s girlfriend, for instance). I really don’t think so. People would be complaining about her the same way they complain about Dawn. ‘Why is she even on the show?’ ‘Is she ever going to DO anything?’ ‘She is sooo boring!’ ‘When are they going to kill her?’

Over the course of the years, I have come to expect a level of humor from every character – it’s part of the BtVS territory. I would have been much more miserable if what had happened to Tara had happened to Oz instead. Oz was funny, Tara wasn’t. You could say that is because the show just wasn’t all that funny in S6. The season wasn’t especially funny, you’re absolutely right, but Tara was introduced in S4. Even boring old Riley managed to get some good ones in here and there (on a side note, they really should have killed Riley off - it would have made people feel less cheated about Tara’s death, Straight Men Get Killed Too and all that, and I would have been thrilled because Riley was dull and needy).

Perhaps people could say that they see themselves in Tara, and that’s why she was so great, and relevant to the show. Well, what makes TV so addictive is that it is a distraction from our lives. We can see ourselves sometimes, but usually we want to see something better. I see a little of myself in Giles, for example. But Giles isn’t a reflection of me, Giles is what I want to be. These characters are bigger than life, they are there to be more interesting than our lives, or why are we even watching, instead of living for ourselves for that hour? TV is escapism. I’m glad Tara was sound and sturdy, but Giles was too, and he still managed to be funny and interesting.

Tara and Willow did have a really touching, sad relationship. That I loved. It was h-o-r-r-i-b-l-e when Tara got killed. I felt for Willow tremendously. I hated seeing someone that Willow loved so much be murdered. But the character on its own merit just wasn’t that interesting, and was below the quality I expect of Buffy the Vampire Slayer folk.

And one more argument I’d like to address, is the one floating about how Tara didn’t even get a hero’s death, but a pointless one, thus furthering the lesbian=punished/bad/etc. stereotype. I just want to point out that, had Tara been killed doing something heroic, then Willow would have been able to make sense of the death to some extent. The likelihood that Willow would turn evil over such a thing seems far-fethced to me. The fact that it was senseless, and something no one had any control over, seems to me the driving force behind Willow’s descent.

Anyway, after all my bitching, I’ll tell you what I did like about Tara. And I run the risk of sounding like I am contradicting myself, but no one’s perfect. They cast someone to play Tara who did not have a typical Hollywood body, and I am sooo grateful for that. It makes me immeasurably happy to see that people on Buffy are not being judged in pounds. I think it’s nice to see real bodies on TV. That says it’s ok to not look like you are a model, or an hourglass, or some cardboard thing. But I have to also say that I don’t think they were saying that it’s not ok to be gay.

I also liked, in the musical, when Tara had the scene with Willow when the boys were giving her the eye. If she had had that much vivacity from the get-go, maybe she wouldn’t have bored me so much. I know that is what they were trying to do with the character, but Tara was more boring than the people in my regular life. If all the characters on Buffy were that lacking, I would indeed be out living my real life for that hour.

I know I’ve run in about 50 different directions here, so let me just apologize right now (not that anyone is going to read this, anyway).

Stay tuned for my next rant, “Season 6 wasn’t as good because Giles wasn’t there”, followed by “Riley’s relationship with Buffy was more unhealthy than Spike’s”, then maybe “Why is Xander so damn self-righteous?”.

i'm throwing you few reader out there a curve, and doing a little writing about buffy, instead of the poetry, for now. when i have time, i may put up two seperate pages, one for buffy, one for poetry. i'm just not sure what's in the cards just yet. i'll probably keep writing about buffy until i get tired of it. it's summer, there's no new episodes for months. i have to keep busy somehow! anyway, stay tuned for my upcoming favorite quotes page, to be housed on iTHERON.com. and if you're bored, may i suggest going to the official buffy the vampire slayer website. or april skies, a jesus and mary chain website. if you still have a hankering to see some utah middle eastern dance sites, go see rebecca's page. that's all i have for now!

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