| ā | Theo: "You know who you remind me of? [...] My sister. She was smarter than everyone, too. And a pain in the ass, like you. But she looked out for me-- the same way you look out for Scott. You know, I was the one that found her body. She'd fallen into a creek, broken her leg... They told us she would've been okay if it wasn't one of the coldest nights of the year... if it wasn't for the hypothermia. And when I found her, all I could think was that I should've known. That I should've been looking out for her." Stiles: "Why are you telling me this?" Theo: "I'm telling you because even if you don't trust me, and even if you don't like me, I'm still going to be looking out for you... the way I should have been looking out for her." |
ā |
Tara Raeken was a minor character who played a role in the plot of Season 5 and Season 6 of Teen Wolf. She was the human sister of Theo Raeken, who died prior to the start of the series but who still played a significant role in the later seasons through flashbacks.
She died in 2004 from hypothermia after she either accidentally fell or was intentionally pushed over the edge of the bridge in the Beacon Hills Preserve and landed in the cold creek, breaking her leg and preventing her from getting out of the water. It has yet to be confirmed if Theo played an active or passive role in Tara's death (i.e. whether he truly pushed her off the bridge or if he simply refused to give her aid after she fell on her own), but it is regardless referred to as Theo's first kill. She was first seen in flashbacks to the accident that caused her death in Season 5's Strange Frequencies.
Tara ultimately lived on in Theo, as her death allowed the Dread Doctors to use her heart in the heart transplant surgery they performed in order to make him a genetic chimera, paving the way so that he could ultimately be transformed into their first pseudo-supernatural Chimera, specifically a Werewolf-Werecoyote hybrid.
Upon Theo's return to Beacon Hills in autumn of 2012, he was immediately seen paying tribute to Tara on the bridge by dropping lilies into the water in her memory; however, it is unknown if Theo truly felt guilt regarding her death and his role in it, or if it was part of the role Theo was playing (that of a sad, newly turned Omega Werewolf mourning his dead sister and trying to find a place where he belonged) in order to win over the members of the McCall Pack, especially Stiles Stilinski and Liam Dunbar, whom he knew were suspicious of him.
Tara was seen again in a retrocognitive vision experienced by the Banshee Lydia Martin after undergoing trephination by Gabriel Valack, which is what revealed that Tara's heart was transplanted into Theo to make him a Chimera. She wasn't seen again until Season 5's Apotheosis, when her spirit was summoned by the Skinwalkers and Kira Yukimura in order to drag Theo into an underground prison.
During Theo's three months trapped in this prison, he was tortured by a single repeating vision of Tara chasing him through the Beacon Hills Memorial Hospital and ripping out the heart she believed he stole from her. Even after Theo was released from this prison, he continued to be haunted by memories of this torture, which seemed to play a large role in his redemption upon his return to the real world.
Tara was a member of the Raeken Family.
Throughout Teen Wolf[]
In Parasomnia, Tara was first mentioned by Stiles Stilinski when the young man went to the Beacon County Sheriff's Station to try to convince his father, Sheriff Stilinski, to do a background check on the Raeken Family; during Stiles' recap, he explained that what he did know about them was that the Raekens left Beacon Hills when Theo was nine or ten years old, and that his older sister died when he was eight.
Stiles made it clear that he did not trust Theo, citing the fact that he was a Werewolf as evidence to support it, which forced Stilinski to remind him that his best friend Scott McCall was a Werewolf, his then-girlfriend Malia Tate was a Werecoyote, and that he still did not quite understand Stiles' friend and packmate Kira Yukimura's Kitsune nature. When Stilinski insisted that he was not going to run a background check on the Raekens off a hunch, Stiles threatened to get Deputy Sheriff Jordan Parrish to do it instead, which is what ultimately ended up happening; much to Stiles' disappointment, all that came up on his record was a speeding ticket.
Not giving up on his investigation, even after he and Scott questioned Theo on his intentions for staying in Beacon Hills (which, according to Theo, was to join the McCall Pack and return to his hometown), Stiles enlisted his friend and packmate Liam Dunbar to help him keep tabs on Theo by following him around. This led the two to follow Theo into the Beacon Hills Preserve, where they were embarrassed to find that he was not doing something sinister, but instead was leaving lilies as a memorial for Tara's death at the spot where she had passed away. Before Stiles and Liam could leave the woods, they were caught by Scott, who correctly guessed that Theo was there to mourn the death of his older sister.
In The Last Chimera,
In Amplification,
In Lie Ability,
In Apotheosis,Personality[]
Not much was known about Tara's personality, aside from the fact that Theo stated that she was very smart and affectionately referred to her as a "pain in the ass;" according to Theo, she was very similar in temperament to Stiles Stilinski. Her spirit seemed to hold a grudge against Theo for what happened to her, but it is unknown if these were her true feelings or if the visions of her were meant to be this way in order to make Theo feel guilt for his role in her death.
Physical Appearance[]
Tara appeared to have light brown hair, brown eyes, and pale white skin. She was a young girl when she died, likely around eleven or twelve years old.
Appearances[]
| This article is missing an appearances section. Please feel free to add one. |
Trivia[]
- Tara's death was one of the many significant events to occur in or around 2004, including: the death of Claudia Stilinski; the car crash that killed Malia Tate's adoptive mother and sister, Evelyn and Kylie; the loss of Deucalion's eyesight that led to the creation of the Alpha Pack; and the mercy-killing of Paige Krasikeva by Derek Hale, which inadvertently gave power back to the Nemeton for the first time in years.
Gallery[]
| This gallery is missing something... You can help Teen Wolf Wiki by adding some images |
See also[]
- ā Stiles says in "Parasomnia" that Theo was 8 when Tara died. He has two birthdates shown "11/23/94" and "15/04/95". These are the dates he would have been 8 based on these birthdates.