Central character per episode (The Vampire Diaries), part 1

[arabian]

Discussion came up in one of my Vampire Diaries posts about Damon being the central character in "The Descent", and crowandfog (whose username I will forever adore) came up with the idea of listing the central character from each episode to see how it played out. (You can see that list here.) Now, she wound up picking more than one character for certain

Comments

[marble_rose]

Ooh! This is really fascinating. I'm really interested in seeing what the final tally is once your done. *bounces*

[arabian]

LOL! Well, I can give you the tally for all but tonight's episode because I have the episodes/characters picked already.

What did you think of my choices so far? Agree/disagree?

[marble_rose]

Yay tally! I'm just really interested to see if the show really has shifted that much away from Stefan and onto Damon. It feels that way, but I don't know.

Yeah, so far I'm with you. I think you did a nice, objective job of following the criteria you set.

So. Tally? Lol.

[arabian]

Final tally (not including 2.16 obviously

[safetywords]

This is a very clever idea. I never would've thought of doing something like this, but it's very insightful. I definitely agree with your choices so far, and I can't wait to see what you have to say for the second half of season one. :)

[arabian]

Aww, I can't take credit. Like I said crowandfog did it first based off of my Damon's the central character in "The Descent" YAY!

I'll try and work on the second post tomorrow. I hope to have all three done before the weekend's over. *Hope* being the key word, LOL!

[crowandfog]

So this is definitely different from mine, but I admit that I knew it would be. ;) I'm really enjoying this.

Does your list account for POV? It seems from your explanation that you based your list a lot more on motivations and emotional resonance. That would explain some of the differences in our lists because I focused mostly on screen time and POV (although that can often translate into emotional resonance). It would also explain why you were able to narrow it down while I kept splitting episodes between characters. TVD does a decent good job of getting everyone in front of the camera, even if they don't all get a plot, lol.

[arabian]

Right, I didn't include POV specifically because someone may have the point of view, but the focus is on a different character. For instance, there was a lot of Stefan point of view in "Friday Night Bites," but most of his point of view was about Damon, therefore I gave the central character title to Damon. Stefan may have been doing all the talking, but he was talking ABOUT Damon. That's how I looked at. At the end of the episode, who did I learn the most about it? Which character was the focus of not just airtime, but of other characters

[butterfly]

Ooo, yes. I'm excited to see you going through and doing this. I definitely feel that the first half of S1 feels like it's the most Stefan-heavy part of the show so far, overall. Damon really starts to come into his own a little later on and then, in S2, Caroline.

And I agree that a lot of the problem is the flatness of Stefan's character. He can't carry storylines if he has no conflict. I think that the writers did his character a big disservice in 2x15 by making his transition from 'bad' to 'good' so easy and quick.

[arabian]

Ooo, yes. I'm excited to see you going through and doing this. I definitely feel that the first half of S1 feels like it's the most Stefan-heavy part of the show so far, overall. Damon really starts to come into his own a little later on and then, in S2, Caroline.

Well, Caroline had two episodes in season one (far apart), while she's had three in season two (admittedly with seven episodes left to go), but two of her episodes were at the beginning of the season when her story was hitting into high gear. She's definitely more prominent this season than last, but she's still on the lower end of "lead" characters. Right now, it's really only Damon and Elena who remain top of the list "leads." With my four points, Stefan actually falls more under supporting this season.

And I agree that a lot of the problem is the flatness of Stefan's character. He can't carry storylines if he has no conflict. I think that the writers did his character a big disservice in 2x15 by making his transition from 'bad' to 'good' so easy and quick.Yup,

[butterfly]

Well, Caroline had two episodes in season one (far apart), while she's had three in season two (admittedly with seven episodes left to go), but two of her episodes were at the beginning of the season when her story was hitting into high gear. She's definitely more prominent this season than last, but she's still on the lower end of "lead" characters. Right now, it's really only Damon and Elena who remain top of the list "leads." With my four points, Stefan actually falls more under supporting this season.

Yeah, I would agree that Elena and Damon are the lead characters of S2, at least so far. I suppose that things could undergo some kind of massive turn-around at the end of the season, though it's hard to picture.

I think this may be partly why I adore Stefan and Caroline so much. While he's still samey mcSamerson in terms of character, there's at least a lightness in their scenes and because of the nature of Caroline's character, she provokes him to react either in exasperation or amusement. Which brings out a different side to him

[arabian]

Yeah, I would agree that Elena and Damon are the lead characters of S2, at least so far. I suppose that things could undergo some kind of massive turn-around at the end of the season, though it's hard to picture.

Well, the Stefan on human blood arc didn't start until episode 17 and that was a good run through episode 20, so I will never count out this show's ability to spring huge character stuffies on us in the home stretch of the season.

Stefan's reactions to Caroline also feel more spontaneous and genuine, while there's always that planned-out feeling to his relationship with Elena.

Yes, it's like Stefan and Elena are following the rulebook on how to behave in a star-crossed "epic" romance, no deviation or spontaneity allowed. :Yawn:

...he hasn't changed in his relationship with Elena at all. He's doing the exact same pattern of 'lie until she figures it out herself' that has been his stand-by since 1x01. There's been zero growth in how Stefan relates to Elena. At least his relationship with Damon has evolved.Right. Nothing

[badboy_fangirl]

I think two things account for the shift from Stefan to Damon--a) Ian's popularity; and b) Damon's redemptive arc is WAY MORE INTERESTING than anything Stefan might do (particularly if he's just making phone calls, which he's been doing a lot--I had a good LOL at that picture up thar).

I think when they cast Damon to be the "villain" they didn't realize how nuanced he was going to be. Hopeful, sure, but come on. That's why I love episode 1x03 so much, because it's all there, everything that will come to be about Damon.

And Ian's just hot. Everybody wants him, from the writers to the lead actress to the viewers--and you gotta give the people what they want.

I love that you point out the Matt & Elena matching costumes in Haunted. That's one of my favorite details that they use to show what used to be, and I always thought it was so well executed. Zach always made me believe Matt had known Elena forever and he still just had that thing for her. Poor Matty

[arabian]

I think two things account for the shift from Stefan to Damon--a) Ian's popularity; and b) Damon's redemptive arc is WAY MORE INTERESTING than anything Stefan might do (particularly if he's just making phone calls, which he's been doing a lot--I had a good LOL at that picture up thar).

Yup. We go back to the fact that the studio didn't even want to hire Ian. Sure, he'd had Lost, but that was ages ago and he was basically known for being the pretty boy, not his talent or charisma. Despite being around for 10+ years, The Vampire Diaries really has been his break-out role.

And, sorry, Stefan, but LOL-ing forever to that "Stefan makes a phone call."

That's why I love episode 1x03 so much, because it's all there, everything that will come to be about Damon.

Very good point. We see so much of who Damon is (both good and bad) in that episode.

And Ian's just hot. Everybody wants him, from the writers to the lead actress to the viewers--and you gotta give the people what they want.

Sigh. SO! HOT!

love that you point out the Matt

[badboy_fangirl]

You're the best. I'll pick out some pics and link them here if that's cool? And if you don't have time to do it this weekend, I'm totally patient, and could wait as long as necessary.

I can't get over that Stefan making a phone call thing, either. It's SO FUNNY.

[arabian]

I hope you like what I come up with. I always worry about that when I do graphics for someone. Eek!