10 Buffy The Vampire Slayer Moments That Shocked Us All
4. Tara's Death - Seeing Red (Season 6, Episode 19)
For many, this is the moment where the show lost them entirely, but to others, this was a very necessary evil that saw Willow's season-long struggle with magic addiction come full circle.
No matter your opinions on whether or not Tara should have perished, there's no denying that it's one of the most genuinely surprising and downright upsetting moments that the show has to offer.
It comes at a time when things finally seem to be going right for The Scooby Gang, with The Trio defeated and Willow and Tara rekindling their broken relationship. That's until Warren enters Buffy's back garden with a handgun and begins spraying bullets around the place. One bullet manages to strike Buffy, but another finds an unintended target in Tara when it flies through a window, killing her almost instantly.
With the simple pull of a trigger, Willow's entire world is shattered and she succumbs to the darkness within her and thus begins her transformation into Dark Willow. A being of pure malice and hatred that will stop at nothing to get revenge.
Fans have been highly critical of the writer's decision to kill Tara and in the eyes of many, it really was a step too far.