8.14 - 'It's Been A Hell Of A Ride' (The Vampire Diaries)

[arabian]

This took a few days longer because (a) I was sooo sick last week (the flu *and* two ear infections-fear not, I am on the mend now, yay! antibiotics!) and (b) well, this is a loooong post (a wee bit over 9,000 words, the third longest TVD post so far!) so, yeah, it took a bit of time. Hope you enjoy!

Comments

Re: 8.14 / part I

[arabian]

“Kai is ALL black, but in his evil, little heart, his pain is real.” - That’s true. It’s awesome how TVD villains, even the most evil ones, have those shades to them. Even if the shades are highly subjective or don’t change the overall perception of them, they are still there, and they always make the characters more layered and interesting.

Exactly. I really can never say enough about how well written the characters are on this show (except alas for Jo, damnit. I don't know why they fell down so hard on the job with regards to her). The one-timers, the recurring, the supporting and leads have so much depth, are so real even amidst the supernatural chaos.

“I think the reason that I've been saying Kai is because I've never really just thought of Katherine as a villain.” - I realized the same thing!

Yeah, that just really struck me when writing this.

“I imagine if we had had a full season with Elena after waking up (or if Dobrev had stuck around with the show) that we would see more differences between the human and vampire versions of the brothers.” - I think that you’re right and that this would have been the case. Alas, there was no time for that (maybe there could’ve been if the finale was 2-hour long).

Ugh, if only had Nina been available for more than one episode and if only... if only we'd had a 2-hour finale. We so should have. Oh well.

“However, there was this one specific mention of her that I really loved. It was when Cade said that Elena had a beautiful soul (and he would know).” - Yes, I liked that too. As for Elena’s diminished presence, I wonder if this could be to keep us on pins and needles in regard to her come back? Maybe they wanted us to fear that if they’re mentioning her less, it may mean that she won’t wake up or that something will happen to her?

I don't think so. All the press promoted her return, and only the dimmest of people and anyone who has never watched TV before wouldn't realize that Elena wasn't going to show up.

“we got a re-introduction to the triangle that drove the show for at least half of its run, but this time in the very best way possible. "I choose me" is normally about being selfish for the good of yourself; it's about putting yourself first because your happiness matters too. I thought it was brilliantly used in this context as a subversion of that usual selfish trope.” - There are no words that could express just how much I loved that! The whole thing was so beautiful and brilliant, it made me literally cry from joy.

I KNOW, RIGHT?!?!? My God, how I loved it so.