Come On, Tara Has To Come Back... Right?

On a daily basis, I oscillate back and forth between genuinely believing True Blood standby Tara Thornton is dead and gone for good and believing she'll come back. Yes, that sort of existence is as exhausting as it sounds, but I really cared about Tara. Besides being one of few people of color on True Blood, she was easy to connect with, which made losing her so brutally that much more difficult. But, after I wiped the look of shock from my face, I sat down and thought about the episode a little more deeply. Rutina Wesley admitted to being "dead" this season, but that doesn't honestly mean anything because she's a vampire, so she was already dead. There's still hope, technically.

When Tara "died" in the Season 7 premiere, there was no direct shot of her death. There was a cutaway from a fight Tara was engaged in with an infected vampire, then a shot of Tara's mother, Lettie Mae, hysterically crying covered in blood that we're lead to believe are Tara's explosive True Death remains. This, followed by a crowd reaction shot of pretty much every important character reacting to Tara being "dead," may have solidified in most people's minds that Tara Thornton was not coming back.

But it's hard to believe someone who was treated so terribly by this show, in terms of almost every storyline, would be killed off so abruptly and cruelly, never to be seen again. So I thought the situation over in my head and came up with some theories about why Tara isn't going to disappear from the show.

Pam is Tara's maker

They have, despite not knowing each other as long as Pam and Eric, an unbreakable bond. Pam can feel when Tara needs her. When Tara "died," there was no reaction shot from Pam. We don't see Pam at all in response to Tara passing, which confuses the situation for me.

Her Death Doesn't Make Sense

Tara is described on her Wikia page as "a strong-willed person who has had to deal with a multitude of abuses in her life." Talk about understatement of the decade. She was turned into the very thing she despises — a vampire — just last season. This fate and her bland death is an insult to the character and her determined spirit.

There's no closure on, like, 15 different levels

She never says goodbye to Sookie, her best friend since like forever — or anyone, for that matter. Tara has also been in a few different relationships on TB: an imaginary one with Jason Stackhouse, a purely sexual one with Sam Merlot (who may I add is literally a dog), and most importantly with Benedict "Eggs" Talley. Now Eggs was taken from Tara by Andy, who killed him and framed him for the murderous rampage Maryann committed. So, Tara essentially never found love, though she is one of the most deserving characters on the show.

She simply can't be gone, y'all. To prove it, I have four feasible theories for not only where Tara could be, but how she could return... if she returns:

LETTIE MAE IS RIGHT: TARA IS CAUGHT BETWEEN HEAVEN & HELL

We might be getting another seance out of Lafayette if Tara really is stuck between heaven and hell. Her body may be gone, but her spirit, according to Lettie Mae is trapped. Lettie Mae knows just as much as anyone else that if you need some black magic done, Lafayette is the girl to do it. So far he's been hesitant, but he could change his mind.

SHE'S COMING BACK, JESUS STYLE

While on V, Lettie Mae sees Tara on a large, white cross with a yellow snake wrapped around her. Tara appears to be speaking in tongues. Whether Tara is actually speaking in tongues, or Lettie Mae has a shaky understanding of language while tripping on the V, I'm not sure. Many myths have snakes representing wisdom, so if we're to adopt that meaning, Lettie Mae could be trying to find the answers, which means Tara has the answers, but couldn't be understood.

Tara's presence on the cross also calls back to someone else who was crucified, died, and came back. You all know who I'm talking about: In the Bible, Jesus returns after three days in 1 Corinthians 15:4. "He was buried, and that He was raised on the third day." Will Tara be resurrected during the third episode, or return in three days time? The first episode is titled "Jesus Gonna Be Here."

SHE, SOMEHOW, GOT INTO THE FAIRY REALM

Is it possible someone, or something, saved Tara at the last second, pulling her into the mystical fairy realm?

SHE ESCAPED

Any fan of True Blood knows, vampires are insanely, almost ridiculously, fast. Is it possible the blood Lettie Mae was covered in was the blood of the vampire Tara was fighting? If so, Tara could've seized an opportunity to quickly escape when the bell sounded and stopped the slaughter. The infected vampire could've exploded, or started to, leaving Tara time to run away. Lettie Mae was the only one present, which tells us next to nothing.

We won't know for sure what happens to Tara until the next couple of episodes unfold, but I'm holding out hope. Tara can't be gone; True Blood has to be using Lettie Mae to trick viewers. She's an addict, so of course people will discount 90 percent of everything she says. She's on V when she sees Tara, so who knows if it's just some drug-induced hallucination.

But this is Season 7, guys. True Blood is trying to go out with a bang. Honestly, I wouldn't be surprised if Tara just showed up one day a few episodes from now as if it was no big deal. Stranger things have happened...

Images: HBO (5); hotek95/tumblr