AS SEEN ON TV: TARA THORNTON

There were big changes for the character this season  (SPOILERS!!!).....

TARA MAE THORNTON

CREATED BY:

Charlaine Harris

PORTRAYED BY:

Rutina Wesley

AS SEEN IN:

'True Blood'

TV DIMENSION:

Earth Prime-Time

(Original timeline)

From Wikipedia:

Tara Mae Thornton is a fictional character in Charlaine Harris's "The Southern Vampire Mysteries" and their television adaptation, HBO's 'True Blood'.

Tara Thornton is a twenty-something Louisiana native and life-long friend of the main protagonist, Sookie Stackhouse. Compiling a description of her character is a complex task because quite a few facts about her changed when her character was brought from page to screen.

The fact that Tara had a neglected childhood is one fact that remains the same, but in the books, we read that both of her parents were abusive alcoholics; on True Blood, the only parent we see and hear about is her mother. The television show also expands Tara's family to include the spared Lafayette Reynolds and his mother, Ruby Jean Reynolds.

Here are the main differences between the Tara of BookWorld and the one seen in Toobworld....

TARA OF BOOKWORLD
Tara has two siblings, a brother and a sister. They both left Bon Temps and Tara behind as soon as they were able. In Living Dead in Dallas, Tara is engaged to "Eggs" Benedict Talley, but this relationship ends when a secret sex party they attend ends badly. She then opens up a clothing store called Tara's Togs, and then briefly dates the vampire Franklin Mott. He soon dumps her and gives her to the vampire Mickey who turns out to be a sadist. The situation with Mickey gets so bad, Sookie and the vampire Eric Northman must take steps to rescue her.

After owning and operating her own business for a few years, Tara becomes ready to settle down. During the events of All Together Dead, she and JB du Rone elope. Tara is currently pregnant with JB's twins. She confides this to Sookie, telling her that she did not plan on having a baby, but felt she should try her best and be the great mother that she herself never had. It is Claude who reveals that Tara is having twins, a boy and a girl.

TARA OF TOOBWORLD
Sam Merlotte, Tara's boss, and Tara explore the possibilities of a romantic relationship, but it never establishes, and before they can give it another try, Tara meets "Eggs" Benedict Talley. "Eggs" also lives with Maryann and it is at the "social worker's" house that the two meet. Sensing that something is not quite right with the mysterious lady, Tara resists the temptation to live with them permanently and moves in with Sookie. However, Sookie goes to Dallas, Texas and leaves Tara alone. A vulnerable Tara succumbs to the draw of Maryann and Eggs, but instead of moving in with them, Tara invites the pair to move into Sookie's. Tara and Eggs use this opportunity to get to know each other, and Tara even falls in love with him despite his questionable past. The relationship ends when Eggs is killed by Jason Stackhouse.

Tara then crosses paths with the sociopathic vampire Franklin Mott. Franklin glamours and bites her, kidnaps her and holds her bound in a bathroom and takes her to the Mississippi mansion of Russell Edgington. Franklin mixes romantic talk and the prospect of turning her into a vampire with coercive actions, while Tara attempts to soothe him with compliant words, while plotting her own escape. She escapes him on her second attempt, and makes it back to Bon Temps, where she seeks help in a rape survivors' group. Franklin confronts her once more in the parking lot of Merlotte's a few nights later. Franklin is also killed by Jason Stackhouse.

Jason, the object of Tara's affection since she was a little girl, takes her back to his house to recover. They kiss, but then Jason confesses to being the one who shot Eggs. Tara leaves his place and goes back to Merlotte's where she finds a very angry-at-the-world Sam. The two end up spending another night together, and in the morning Tara feels a little less frayed around the edges. The feeling does not last, however, as Sam decides to reveal his shape-shifting secret to her. She leaves his house and goes back to her mother's house where she finds Lettie Mae in an intimate situation with the Reverend Daniels. It is all too much for Tara, and she leaves Bon Temps for destinations unknown.

In season 4, Tara has changed her name to Toni, and moved to New Orleans, working as a cage fighter. Tara is seen dating another female fighter, Naomi. In the final minutes of the season finale, she is seen pushing Sookie Stackhouse out of the way of a shotgun blast but the buckshot hits her in the side and back of the head and neck.

In season 5, she's turned into a vampire by Pam at the behest of Lafayette and Sookie after her murder by Debbie and attacks Sookie when she awakens. It is uncertain if Tara will be good or evil.

BCnU!