Buffy the Vampire Slayer
"Family"

Airdate: November 7, 2000

Finally, a little sweet satisfaction. "Family" is the sort of Buffy episode that, when it's over, makes you want to lean back, kick your feet up, have a smoke, and ask your viewing partners if it was as good for them as it was for you.

After quite a long stretch of mild tension over Tara -- wondering just what the hell she is, mostly -- all is revealed in this episode. I wouldn't say it was as enjoyable as some of the season's other offerings, like "The Replacement", but it's very nice to finally be in on Tara's secret, and see Amber Benson do a little meatier acting than before.

Buffy tells Giles about Dawn not really being her sister, but they decide not to share the information with the others, and Riley immediately picks up on the fact that she's keeping something from him. It becomes apparent that all is not well in Buffy-and-Riley-land as Riley retreats to Willie's bar for a drink. Tara's twentieth birthday is fast approaching, and things seem well and fine until suddenly her family shows up at the magic shop, looking for her. There's something Tara hasn't told her friends, and her father insists that she come home and be with her family again: he says her demon will begin to show itself at twenty, and she won't be able to hide it.

Upset and afraid of having to abandon her life, Tara casts a spell on the Scoobies so that they won't be able to see her demon side... but the plan backfires when they can't see any demons at all. When Glory -- the season's new villain -- sends a group of demons to take out the Slayer, Buffy and the gang don't even know they're there until the bad guys strike, and even then their attackers are invisible to them.

Meanwhile, Spike -- who's already spent the day shagging Harmony while thinking about fighting Buffy -- is sitting around staring at his mannequin Buffy-head, obviously deep in thought, when Harmony comes back from a shopping excursion. She tells him the gossip she acquired while she was out -- that there's some demons planning to kill Buffy -- and he makes a hasty exit, saying he wants ring-side seats to the slaughter. But when he arrives at the magic shop and finds Buffy at the mercy of a pair of attackers she can't see, he dives into the fray. Of course, since he's a demon, Buffy can't see him either, but Tara arrives and lifts the spell, allowing Buffy to put her foes down for good.

Tara's family members arrive to take her home, and the secret's out: demon blood runs in the veins of the females of her family. Tara doesn't want to leave, and it's Spike who finally puts an end to the heart-wrenching scene by punching the shy Wicca in the nose. The attack costs him because of the chip in his brain, but it proves that there's no demon in Tara at all. Spike reveals that the demon story fed to Tara by her family is nothing but a myth meant to keep the womenfolk in line, and Tara's real family -- the Scoobies -- stand up for her, preventing her father from taking her back with him. Tara's family leaves, and she's finally free to live without fear. Well, except fear of a horrible bloody death, because she does live on the Hellmouth.

There's a lot of goodness to this episode, starting with the relationship between Willow and Tara. I've always been happy that the relationship is generally treated like any other on the show (though perhaps with less gut-wrenching angst), despite the fact that both of the involved parties are women. The subject's handled with a particularly deft touch here, and we even get a scene of Tara and Willow having their bed-time snugglies, which was so cute and sweet I'm afraid it'll give me cavities. The episode also addresses the fans' own issues with Tara's character in a scene between Buffy and Xander, who are wondering what to get the other girl for her birthday. They point out repeatedly that she's nice, but also admit that they don't really know her, and that her only status is as "Willow's girlfriend", which has been my main complaint since the character showed up. This episode finally allows Tara to strike out on her own a bit, showing her as a more well-rounded character with deep fears and insecurities, which is all she really needed to become an interesting part of the group.

The guest starring roles are generally a little too heavy-handed for my taste, though. Steve Rankin does a good turn as Tara's father, and throughout the episode it's difficult to decide whether to see him as a concerned father or a threatening figure. Unfortunately the other roles aren't handled as well; Tara's brother, Donny, is played as a very dumb, ignorant hick, who mysteriously has some sort of backwoods accent, which nobody else in the family shares. And Tara's cousin, Beth, was interesting enough for awhile, as she seemed to be a character sympathetic to Tara's plight, but she quickly becomes a sneering harpy and loses her interesting qualities in the process.

One of the most intriguing points of the episode is the continuing changes we're seeing in Spike, as he develops some kind of love or fixation or what have you for Buffy. He's once again being drawn almost against his will into the group, fighting himself all the way, and his preoccupation with Buffy in this episode seems like a nice lead-in for next week's crossover flashback fest. Also, he was naked, and not only does that have to count for something, it counts for a lot.

-- Lisa Kincaid

Buffy the Vampire Slayer airs at 8/7c, Tuesdays on the WB.

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