Buffy The Vampire Slayer: Tara’s 10 Sweetest Lines About Love

While Buffy the Vampire Slayer is best known for its core Scooby gang, many other characters helped Buffy and her friends slay vampires and fight evil. An addition in the college years, Tara Maclay became the heart of the Scoobies. While Tara was initially quiet and shy, her broader knowledge of witchcraft helped shape Willow’s identity and she eventually became the love of Willow’s life.

Throughout her three seasons on the show, Tara served as a lover, counselor, sister, and friend. Though she met an untimely end, Tara’s legacy lives on in her words. Below are Tara’s 10 Sweetest Lines About Love.

10 “It’s Not That Simple.”

Even when Willow and Tara were apart, Tara maintained her relationships with the other Scoobies, namely Buffy and Dawn. After Buffy was brought back from the dead, she (understandably) engaged in some questionable behavior, including a secret, self-destructive affair with Spike.

Ashamed of herself, Buffy confided in Tara, expecting to be met with disgust. Instead, Tara was understanding and kind, telling Buffy that her choices weren’t that cut and dry. This moment proved that Tara was the best person for Buffy to confide in as her response was completely free of judgment.

9 “How Do You Do That?”

The first Tara-centric episode, “Family” reveals Tara was raised to believe that her magic is evil and caused her mother to die. At the end of the episode, after the Scoobies keep Tara from leaving, they celebrate Tara’s birthday at the Bronze.

Tara asks Willow, “Even when I’m at my worst you always make me feel special. How do you do that?” Willow responds, “Magic,” and the camera reveals they’re floating off the ground as they dance. It’s a beautiful moment that gives a visual interpretation of what love feels like.

8 “Yours.”

Willow and Tara’s romance did not have the smoothest start. In season four, Faith swaps bodies with Buffy as Willow and Tara start to take their relationship public. While in the body of Buffy, the Scoobies go for a night out at The Bronze where Willow introduces Tara to everyone for the first time.

However, Faith as Buffy doesn’t react appropriately, embarrassing the newly out couple. Thankfully, this doesn’t end the budding romance, leading to a sweet moment between the two later when Tara tells Willow, “I am, you know… Yours.”

7 “It’s Always Sudden.”

In what may be the most heartbreaking episode of the series, “The Body” follows Buffy, Dawn, and the Scoobies as they deal with the aftermath of Joyce’s death. While Giles handles all of the paperwork and logistics for Buffy, the others are at a loss.

However, it’s not new for Tara as she tries to comfort Buffy who asks her if it was sudden. “It’s always sudden,” Tara responds, with the most concise way of saying that no matter how much time someone has, the death of a loved one is never expected.

6 “I Want My Room To Be Willow-Friendly.”

In “New Moon Rising,” Oz comes back more zen after dealing with his wolfie half to discover Willow has moved on with Tara. It’s a heartbreaking episode as Willow has to choose to move on from her first love to her great love, but it’s helped by the sweet scene between Tara and Willow when Tara asks Willow about getting a secret dorm kitten.

Tara makes sure Willow is okay with the plan in order to keep her room “Willow-friendly.” It’s a big moment in their relationship, and also a sweet foil to Willow and Oz.

5 “People Do Strange Things When Someone They Love Dies.”

Foreshadowing Buffy’s season six arc, “Intervention” finds Willow and Xander having spotted Buffy in flagrant with Spike while on patrol. The Scoobies are horrified and decide Buffy needs an intervention to deal with her decisions. When they announce the plan to Tara, she at first responds with caution that they shouldn’t judge Buffy.

When they tell her the reason why they are worried, Tara then gets on board. It’s played for laughs, but it’s also another opportunity to show how different Tara is from the other Scoobies – her first instinct is to react with compassion.

4 “I Will Never Stop Loving You.”

One of Buffy the Vampire Slayer‘s sweetest relationships was between Tara and Dawn, as Willow and Tara acted as Dawn’s pseudo parents/big sisters after Buffy’s death. Once Willow and Tara broke up, though, it was another seismic shift for the teenager.

Tara, ever the empathetic soul, realized this and had a separate conversation with Dawnie, telling her that just because she and Willow had broken up didn’t mean their relationship had ended. Even though Dawn was angry with her and didn’t fully understand the situation, Tara’s sweetness and love were unwavering.

3 “That’s The Best Part.”

“Seeing Red” reunites Willow and Tara only for Tara to be shot down by a stray bullet meant for Buffy. Before she dies, though, she and Willow have the afterglow of their reunion to savor and see Buffy and Xander talking in the backyard.

Because the two friends had recently fought, Tara and Willow wonder whether they are making up. Tara responds that she hopes so as, “…that’s the best part.” It’s a beautiful moment, made all the more devastating when the reunion is cut forever short a few moments later.

2 “Can You Just Be Kissing Me Now?”

Before Willow turns dark in “Seeing Red,” her relationship with Tara gets back on somewhat even footing. After Willow has gotten her addiction with magic under control, proving so to Tara, they rekindle their friendship with platonic coffee dates.

Tara takes time to remind Willow that things will never be the same and that they have a lot of work they need to do. But at that moment, that wonderful, precious making-up moment, Tara holds all the cards and asks to fast-forward. It’s the reunion fans wanted and cherish based on what would happen next.

1 “I’m Under Your Spell.”

While “Once More With Feeling” delivered a beautiful love song, “Under Your Spell” is also bittersweet due to the fact that Willow had altered Tara’s memory before the events of the episode to make her forget the fight they had about her use of magic.

It’s still the top Tara moment, though, as they dance through a park, backup singers and dancers to boot, Tara sings about how Willow saved her. Once again, magic serves as an allegory for their love. By the end of the song, we’re under Willow and Tara’s spell, too.

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