Tara Abbott

Tara Abbott
Biographical Information
Appearances	Saw VI, 3D
Status	Alive
Role	Supporting Character
Reason Tested	William Easton not Providing health insurance for her ill husband
Relationships	Harold Abbott (husband)† Brent Abbott (son) William Easton (enemy)† Mark Hoffman (abductor)
Portrayed by	Shauna MacDonald

“	The only reason I'm doing this isn't because I can't forgive you for what you did to me. The reason I'm doing this is because I couldn't forgive myself for what you might do to someone else.	”
	— Tara, about to kill William

Tara Abbott is a fictional character from the Saw franchise as well as a supporting character in Saw VI. She was portrayed by Shauna MacDonald.

Biography

Early Life

Harold tells his family about William's decision

Tara Abbott was the wife of Harold Abbott and mother of Brent Abbott. Harold was a client of the Umbrella Health insurance company. At one point in his life, he began to suffer from a cardiac disease and asked Umbrella to bear his treatment costs. The company however denied the coverage. Therefore, Harold and his family went to the office of William Easton, the senior vice president of Umbrella's department for membership and claims which was responsible for the dismissal. While Brent and Tara waited outside, Harold talked to William and asked him for the reason of the denial as he had been a client of the company for ten years. To his surprise, William told him that during the review of Harold's claim, one of his associates had found out about a previous condition which Harold didn't tell them about. This condition was in fact an oral surgery 30 years earlier, during which a cyst was removed from his jaw. William explained to him that any type of oral surgery would leave scar tissue, which could lead to gum disease, which in return could cause heart diseases. Angered by this, Harold yelled at him and reminded him that he had a family. William however interrupted him and merely told him that this situation was his own fault. Shocked by William's cold and arrogant attitude, he told him that he had just given him a death sentence before he left the office and told his family, who was just as shocked as him, about William's decision. (Saw VI)

Legal Charges

As Harold was financially unable to bear the treatment costs himself, his cardiac disease worsened and eventually resulted in his death, leaving his wife as a widow. Following his death, Tara and Brent tried to sue Umbrella Health. Unknown to them, they were targeted by John Kramer, better known as the Jigsaw Killer, for their connection to William, as John had been one of William's clients as well. (Saw VI)

Captivity

One day, they were abducted by Detective Mark Hoffman, the successor of John Kramer after the latter's death. After subduing them, Hoffman took the Abbotts to the abandoned Rowan Zoological Institute, where he locked them up in one of the former animal enclosures.

Tara wakes up

Shortly afterwards, Tara was shaken awake by her panicked son. Initially confused, she asked him where they were. Brent couldn't answer her question, but instead told her to take a look at a TV standing outside the enclosure. After managing to compose herself, she was shocked when she saw two men one the screen, who were both trapped in two large, vise-like contraptions. One of them was William Easton. The other one was Hank, the janitor of Umbrella Health. Both of them had to participate in a brutal game, while being watched by Brent and Tara. In the end, William managed to survive and was therefore released from his trap, while Hank died when the giant vise crushed his chest.

Tara realizes the reason for her and Brent's abduction

After witnessing the gruesome events, Tara started to panic and desperately screamed for help. Meanwhile, Brent was distressed when he noticed a panel with a lever with the words "Live" written above and "Die" below it. Furthermore, there was a large tank with the formula "HF" written on it. Thereby, Brent realized that it contained hydrofluoric acid, which could dissolve human flesh in a matter of seconds, and saw that it was connected to a device, which in return seemed to be connected to some sprinklers above their heads. When Tara asked him what to do, he immediately wanted to set the lever to "Live", but Tara held him back when she saw a timer on a wall, concluding that the lever and the timer had something to do with each other. While thinking about a way out, Brent stated that he didn't know why they were even there. Tara however was sure that they had been chosen because of Harold's death and their connection with William Easton.

As the timer went on, Tara and Brent were able to observe another game on the TV screen, which resulted in the death of Allen, William's file clerk. While Tara saw the leaking acid dropping from the tank, she figured that they might be able to use the acid to dissolve the metal grid surrounding them. Brent however immediately reminded her that they had nothing to divert or transport the acid without harming themselves. Moments later, she suddenly noticed how Brent suspiciously looked at a big mirror on the wall outside the enclosure. When she asked him what he was looking at, he told her that someone was watching them from behind the glass. Realizing they were observed the entire time, Tara frantically yelled at the mirror and demanded to know why their abductor did this to them.

Tara looks at the mirror

After a while, Tara managed to calm down again. When she asked why someone would do this, Brent concluded that whoever abducted them did it to see which decision they'd made and immediately grabbed the lever. Tara however tried to convince him once again not to pull the lever as it was too risky for them to do it without knowing what it might cause. Brent initially hesitated, but ultimately let go off the lever, while screaming in anger.

However, when there were only two minutes left on the timer, Brent grabbed the lever once again and told his mother to go away from the sprinklers as far as possible. Tara reminded him that they didn't know what would happen if he pulled the lever, but Brent told her that they finally had to make a decision as they didn't have much time left. Therefore, Tara finally gave in and told her son to pull the lever. She also told him that she loved him, to which he responded that he loved her as well. Tara than went into a corner of the enclosure and after some hesitation, Brent finally set the lever up to "Live." To his surprise, nothing happened and he began to scream in anger and despair, before he sat down and started to cry. At this moment, Tara approached him and calmly stroked his head. After that, she set the lever back to its original position, stating that she finally knew what it was for. (Saw VI)

Test

Brent and Tara upon William's arrival

Shortly afterwards, William finally reached the last room of his game, with only one second left on the timer. Thinking he had won, he yelled in triumph, when suddenly, two enclosures to his left and his right were opened. Thereby, he was shocked to see Brent and Tara in one of them. However, one moment later he noticed his sister, Pamela Jenkins, who was trapped in the second enclosure. Upon seeing her, he immediately went to her cage and asked her if she was okay, which she affirmed. William angrily yelled that their abductor should let her go as he had followed his rules and finished his test. Meanwhile, Tara and Brent glared at him in hate and disgust.

Tara and Brent witness William's death

Moments later, the TV in their enclosure turned on, showing a video of John Kramer, who told Tara about the sacrifices William had made to save his sister, but also reminded her that he had been responsible for the death of her husband. Therefore, it was now up to her to decide whether William should live or die. Shocked by this, William approached her cell and thereby stepped on a pressure plate on the ground, which activated the panel with the lever. William and Pamela desperately begged Tara for mercy and tried to convince her to forgive William, but due to her anger, Tara still wanted to kill him, claiming that it wasn't because of what William had done to her but because she didn't want him to do it to anyone else. However in the end, she couldn't bring herself to pull the lever. Therefore, Brent grabbed the lever and, despite the protests of his mother, pulled it down. Moments later, a large metal constructions with needles attached to it swung down from the ceiling and pressed William against the grid of the enclosure. Seconds later, the hydrofluoric acid was pumped through several tubes connected to the nail bed and was thereby injected in William's body. While William was slowly and painfully dissolved by the acid from the inside, Tara embraced her son, who began to cry when he realized what he had done. (Saw VI)

Rescue

The zoo was eventually found by the Metropolitan Police Department later that day, leading to Pamela and the Abbotts being released from their imprisonment. Shortly afterwards, the news channels reported the incident to the public, thereby mentioning that up to seven people might have survived the massacre. (Saw 3D)

Survivor Group

Tara attends the group's meeting

Following the events at the zoo, Tara joined a self-help group of Jigsaw survivors who met in a local church. Therefore, she was also present when Bobby Dagen, another supposed Jigsaw survivor, who had earned much fame and wealth by publishing his story of surviving one of Jigsaw's traps, told them about his own experience and encouraged them not to feel ashamed for what they had gone through. After Bobby's dramatic speech, another survivor, Dr. Lawrence Gordon, stood up and sarcastically mocked him and his "remarkable" ability to get something positive out of his horrifying experiences. Bobby however tried to act confident and thanked him. Therefore, Gordon and the other confused members of the group applauded him, showing their gratefulness of being part of his story. (3D)

Personality

Tara Abbott was a loving and beloved mother and wife. She shared a strong bond with her son, especially after Harold's death. Therefore, she deeply cared for her son and did her best to be there for him. However, she was filled with grief and anger due to her husband's death and tried to bring William to justice. However, when she was faced with the decision whether to save William or to sentence him to death, she couldn't bring herself to kill him and was shocked when her son made this decision for her and killed Willian right in front of her eyes.

Appearances and References

Films
Saw	Saw II	Saw III	Saw IV	Saw V	Saw VI	Saw 3D	Jigsaw	Spiral	Saw X
Absent	Absent	Absent	Absent	Absent	Appears	Appears	Absent	Absent	Absent