by Chris Snellgrove
| Published
while Buffy the Vampire Slayer It was filled with many horrific deaths, none of which were as emotionally wrenching as the murder of Willow's friend Tara near the end of season six. This death motivated Willow to become the big villain. It also added salt to the wounds of fans who were reeling from a season that featured our main character dealing with everything from being snatched from Heaven to being raped by her vampire nemesis, Spike. As it turns out, the viewer Joss Whedon He actually wanted to revive the fan-favorite character in season seven but avoided doing so because actor Amber Benson didn't want that to happen.
How was Buffy going to get Tara back?
If you need a little Buffy As a refresher, Tara died at the hands of Warren, the homicidal maniac who wasn't even targeting her when he shot up Buffy's house. She died and could not be revived, prompting her friend Willow (who had become somewhat addicted to channeling dark magic) to turn into a black-eyed villain who skinned Warren alive. Later, she puts the world in danger before being brought back from the brink by childhood friend Xander.
Buffy Fans were outraged by Tara's death because it was senseless and because she was an LGBTQ+ icon. While Benson later confirmed that Whedon did not want to insult gay people communityShe also confirmed that she rejected his offer to revive her character. So, how was the showrunner going to revive a character who couldn't be brought back to life through magical means? In short, there was an aborted plot for Season 7 where Buffy would get the chance to grant any wish and, after severely weighing her options, bring Tara back to make Willow happy.
Amber Benson had a trust issue
On paper, BuffyOur fans would have been thrilled to see Tara back, so why did it never happen? According to Amber Benson's interview in the book In Every Generation A Slayer Is Born: How Buffy Tricked Our HeartsOne reason was her career: returning to Buffy Even briefly it would have prevented her from directing the 2003 TV series Ghosts of Albion: A Legacy. But what's even more interesting is that she also didn't want to come back because she didn't trust how Joss Whedon would handle her return.
In the same interview where she confirmed Buffy “He never meant to hurt the LGBTQ+ community, I didn't really trust what would happen to the character,” Tara's actor said. She claims that she spoke to other actors whose characters were brought to life by Whedon and that they told her “Yes, I came back…and then he did what he wanted.” To be more specific, Benson said that these unnamed actors confided in her that “even though he told me he wouldn't kill me this way, he killed me this way.”
Because of these beloved issues Buffy The star “didn't feel very confident in the situation” and refused to return as Tara. Elsewhere in the interview, she also mentioned that she had previously “had some issues with someone on the show” and that “it came to a head as I was getting ready to leave.” She never mentioned names, but it seemed like she was worried about facing drama from both the presenter and at least one of the show's main actors.
to Buffy Fans, these revelations add some crunchy complexity to Tara's problematic death… For all the blame Joss Whedon received for killing her, he seemed very eager to bring her back and avoided doing so solely because Amber Benson refused to return. But despite her thoughts on Whedon's motives, suspicions remain that he only wanted to bring the character back to silence the loudest critics of Tara's death. Unfortunately for Whedon, grudge fans are a bit like vampires: they refuse to die and always come back.
