ishtar79

Day Twenty-Four: Favorite female romantic relationship: Willow/Tara

Because of the way it ended, it's sometimes easy to forget why I loved that relationship in the first place. Yes, the dynamic was certainly abusive by S6 and it ended in sheer tragedy, but that's just Joss not allowing any couple to have lasting happiness ever. But bitter aftertaste and sadness at Tara's end aside, I was beyond impressed in some aspects by how the whole relationship was handled. If other shows decided to have a major character discover they were gay, it would have been a Very Special Episode. Instead, what we got was a lovely, organic, convincing story where the shift in the dynamic from the two of them tentatively connecting over magic to the point where Willow chose Tara over Oz (and in a love triangle plot where all three parties came off as sympathetic) was so gradual, the audience was as caught by surprise as the characters were (including, it should be said, Willow herself).

For me, the best parts of the relationship was the growth both characters experienced through it, Tara in particular going from the extremely shy, stuttering girl of S4 to (and as much as I hated Willow's storyline in S6, Tara's character rocked. Until...well, you know) to someone who's strong enough to stand up to her abusive family, refuse to betray her friends even while tortured by a hellgod, and ultimately find the strength to leave that very relationship when it goes bad. And while I think the dark Willow storyline was poorly executed, I still get shivers were she went Dark Phoenix on Glory after Tara was brainsucked. And yay for a f/f relationship on TV that wasn't at all male gazey! I actually think Amber Benson is cute as hell, but she's hardly Hollywood's idea of 'hot' (and for some reason seemed to have pissed off the wardrobe people, given the unflattering garb they put her in), and I never got the impression a scene with them was there for titillation (except that bit from Xander's dream in restless, which is totally IC and hilarious. And hot).

Day One: Favorite lead female character
Day Two: Favorite supporting female character
Day Three: A female character you hated but grew to love
Day Four: A female character you relate to
Day Five: Favorite female character on a male-driven show
Day Six: Favorite female-driven show
Day Seven: A female character that needs more screen time
Day Eight: Favorite female character in a comedy show
Day Nine: Favorite female character in a drama show
Day Ten: Favorite female character in a scifi/supernatural show
Day Eleven: Favorite female character in a children’s show
Day Twelve: Favorite female character in a movie
Day Thirteen: Favorite female character in a book
Day Fourteen: Favorite older female character
Day Fifteen: Favorite female character growth arc
Day Sixteen: Favorite mother character
Day Seventeen: Favorite warrior female character
Day Eighteen: Favorite non-warrior female character
Day Nineteen: Favorite non-human female character
Day Twenty: Favorite female antagonist
Day Twenty-One: Favorite female character screwed over by canon
Day Twenty-Two: Favorite female character you love but everyone else hates
Day Twenty-Three: Favorite female platonic relationship
Day Twenty-Four: Favorite female romantic relationship
Day Twenty-Five: Favorite mother/daughter and/or sister relationship
Day Twenty-Six: Favorite classical female character (from pre-20th century literature or mythology or the like)
Day Twenty-Seven: A female character you have extensive personal canon for
Day Twenty-Eight: Favorite female writer (television, books, movies, etc.)
Day Twenty-Nine: A female-centric fic rec
Day Thirty: Whatever you'd like!