'The Vampire Diaries' Wrap-up Thoughts... 7A/8 -- 25/50 Best Episodes
It hasn't been a century... it's just the next year! Anyhoo, here is the next section of my Vampire Diaries wrap-up. This is a two-parter: What I consider the best episodes of the series. You'll find the first 25 here listed in chronological order. In the second post, I will list my absolute favorites (no specific number, just the ones that I put
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Uh. I don't really play favourites, but I'll have a go. My list would probably be the episodes I go back to the most, rather than the best ones, because I don't usually like all the plots (for example. I hate all the bits with Matt in, obviously) and all the episodes are good, I don’t think there are any truly duff ones, even if some annoy me (I Was Feeling Epic being the main one). Therefore taking the whole of the episodes into account, I think the best is probably Masqerade (as opposed to The Return being my actual favourite) as I like 100% of it - it's such a great ensemble ep with everyone working together (I feel season 2 has some of the strongest episodes, but I think the plot, especially around the middle of the season is a bit weak (or more truthfully, just not of interest to me) - I don't mind the werewolves, but yeah, their plot isn't all that).
So my top 15 of seasons 1-4, in no particular order are:
Masquerade
The Return - obviously
As I Lay Dying - ditto
Heart of Darkness - I’ll give you one guess why
Because the Night - I think you know my feelings on this, but it all one I go back to a lot.
Bloodlines - I like it less than I used to, but there is still a lot in it I like
Bad Moon Rising - It’s a lot of fun, but more or less everything at the waterhole is skippable
Growing Pains - I love Damon’s anger in it.
My Brother's Keeper - obviously for the sexy stuff, but I like a lot of it.
We'll Always Have Bourbon Street - ditto
Unpleasantville - another episode I just think is fun
O Come, All Ye Faithful - The sadness and the frustration of the sire bond is at it’s peak here and I really love angst.
The End of the Affair - Despite Stefan being unpleasant in that way that makes me not like him very much, as opposed to Rebekah, who is unpleasant in a way that does, everything else really good.
The Descent - I do love an episode with Damon falling to bits.
Ordinary People - I remember this being good? Maybe I should have picked Memory Lane or Kill or be Killed instead, I watch both them quite a lot, even though they aren’t the very best episodes.
As for why disagreed with some of yours:
Haunted - it’s good, just not a favourite. Vicki gets on my tits.
Children of the Damned - I don’t find any of the 1864 flashbacks particularly gripping, although this is the best one, I agree. Pearl helps with that.
Fool Me Once - this could have made my list, but just I don’t go back to it all that often.
Let the Right One In - I never got the hype.
Miss Mystic Falls - It’s just not my thing.
Isobel - I just never watch this one.
The Sacrifice - Luka, bleugh.
The House Guest - I care not for the silly singing, although I like the Katherine bits.
The Sun Also Rises - it’s probably too much of an action episode for my tastes.
The Reckoning - Matt didn’t drown.
Homecoming - it came close to making my list, but didn’t quite get there. Bonnie walking in on Damon and Tyler’s fight always amuses me as she looks like a mummy in that dress with her arms outstretched.
The New Deal - it has the kiss, but that’s about it.
Our Town - I can never remember what happens in this one.
All My Children - I just don’t care about the Originals that much, which would be why I still have got through their own show.
We all go a little mad sometimes - This could have made my list, but I don’t watch it much. I am still not over the perfect hair and make up when Elena wakes up and I never will be. He would have got her home and got her out of her wet clothes at a push (though the implications of that make me feel that he just wouldn’t have gone there at that point in their relationship, however well-intentioned). He would not have re-applied her make up and got in a hair stylist.
Into the Wild, Stand by Me and Pictures of You - I like all of these, but again I don’t watch any of them often.
Hmmm, I didn’t realise that our lists would be this different, even though you picked more of them!
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Ah, see at this point, I don't go back and watch any episodes, just certain scenes or rewatch seasons. I may do that once I'm done doing my rewatch-repost after this series of posts, though. I think because I wrote such detailed posts on every episodes and kept lists, constantly updating of what I thought were the best episodes, that was how I based it, on the whole plot of the specific episode, the characters, whether it really worked.
all the episodes are good, I don’t think there are any truly duff ones
I agree.
even if some annoy me (I Was Feeling Epic being the main one)
Really? I didn't know that you felt. Yeah, looking at my ridiculous 2-part massive post on it, I see that you didn't comment.
Therefore taking the whole of the episodes into account, I think the best is probably Masqerade (as opposed to The Return being my actual favourite) as I like 100% of it - it's such a great ensemble ep with everyone working together (I feel season 2 has some of the strongest episodes, but I think the plot, especially around the middle of the season is a bit weak (or more truthfully, just not of interest to me) - I don't mind the werewolves, but yeah, their plot isn't all that).
The middle of season 02 is pretty weak, I agree. I do love "Masquerade," and it's probably in my top 10.
Because the Night - I think you know my feelings on this, but it all one I go back to a lot.
This one actually was close to making the cut. It is a fantastic episode. But when trying to cut it down to 50, that is when personal preference came into play, and well, you know how much I loathe Lexi so... yeah.
Bloodlines - I like it less than I used to, but there is still a lot in it I like
I only really love the Damon/Elena and Alaric/Isobel storylines in it, Anna with Jeremy and Stefan being seen as all noble by Grams is just 'ok, whatever' so the episode as a whole just never did it for me.
Bad Moon Rising - It’s a lot of fun, but more or less everything at the waterhole is skippable
Other than Damon, Elena and Alaric being, well, Damon, Elena and Alaric, and Stefan/Caroline at the watering hole, this one isn't one of the best, thus why it's not on my list.
Growing Pains - I love Damon’s anger in it.
Yeah, but I felt there were so many missed opportunities. And Jeremy not being happy that Elena was still around just felt SO OFF to me. Overall, the episode just wasn't as strong as I felt it could have been.
We'll Always Have Bourbon Street - ditto
This one barely didn't make the cut. It was just a matter of me preferring a couple of other episodes more, but I do adore this one.
Unpleasantville - another episode I just think is fun
I agree that it's a great episode. It's another one that just didn't quite make the cut. (There were SO many that just didn't quite make the cut, LOL!)
The Descent - I do love an episode with Damon falling to bits.
Damon/Alaric is about the only thing I like about this episode. It's one of the weaker episodes of the series, imo. Elena's interaction with him makes no sense (when did she forgive him for killing Jeremy?!). Stefan was randomly a total, unfeeling asshole. I know you have issues with him, but when he acts that way, there is generally a reason behind it. Lauren Cohan was off and on in her performance. The dream/death with Damon/Rose was lovely, but it was just unearned because the "relationship" with Damon/Rose was not even remotely built up enough. That final scene with Damon/Jessica *is* still one of my all-time favorite Damon and TVD scenes period, though. But, yeah, I had issues with the episode.
Ordinary People - I remember this being good? Maybe I should have picked Memory Lane or Kill or be Killed instead, I watch both them quite a lot, even though they aren’t the very best episodes.
AMAZING EPISODE! This had the Originals origin, Rebekah/Elena, Damon freeing Stefan from being chained up, Stefan finding a loophole in Klaus' compulsion to save Mikael from ripping Damon's heart out, Damon and Elena in her bedroom on her bed, talking about how it would be Stefan's love for Damon that would save him. *sigh*
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Oh, I'm not a Vicki fan, either. But, she DIES in this episode, and it was just so more than anything beforehand and showed everything TVD could be.
Children of the Damned - I don’t find any of the 1864 flashbacks particularly gripping, although this is the best one, I agree. Pearl helps with that.
Fair enough. I liked the fact that we got to know Damon more and his relationship with his father, and Stefan back then, plus seeing Damon (the supposed "bad boy") interacting with Elena's family in a way that Stefan never had was awesome.
Miss Mystic Falls - It’s just not my thing.
Oh, blasphemy! LOL! Until "My Brother's Keeper" this was my favorite episode. I just love everything about it.
The Sacrifice - Luka, bleugh.
I don't like Luka, no, but the episode overall is so good.
The House Guest - I care not for the silly singing, although I like the Katherine bits.
But that's just one small part of the episode, everything else is soooo good. And that silly singing is the light-hearted frivolity that sets up the horror that follows.
The Sun Also Rises - it’s probably too much of an action episode for my tastes.
See, I had to think of what you meant and realized the part with Bonnie and Klaus, but that's just all at the end. The rest is just great character stuff. There's really no more action than a regular TVD episode. And it's SUCH a great Damon episode.
The New Deal - it has the kiss, but that’s about it.
Every Damon and Elena scene is pure gold. And it has the family stuff with Damon, Elena, Alaric and Jeremy. Plus, Damon being all pissy (and awesome) with the witches.
Our Town - I can never remember what happens in this one.
Stefan threatens to turn Elena into a vampire on Wickery Bridge. Caroline's birthday, and they celebrate her dying. It's a really beautiful episode where the teens of the show pretty much accept what their lives are now. And has the awesome "It's right. It's just not right now" from Damon to Elena on the porch.
All My Children - I just don’t care about the Originals that much, which would be why I still have got through their own show.
I don't either, this one also had great stuff on Elena, and Elena/Damon, Damon/Stefan, and Bonnie. That's what I love about TVD. It was never one thing, the themes and arcs pinged on each other.
We all go a little mad sometimes - This could have made my list, but I don’t watch it much. I am still not over the perfect hair and make up when Elena wakes up and I never will be.
I just disagree. First behind the scenes logistics. Nina Dobrev has naturally curly hair. They had to re-straighten her hair once it was wet, period. It would have started to re-curl otherwise. (I know that, I have the same kind of hair she does.) But on the show, Damon and Caroline are the only two who would have taken care of Elena like that. There's no way that Damon (or Caroline) would have not had put Elena in a change of clothes. And no way he (or Caroline) would have looked at her hair and not thought that's gonna be a rat's nest if it's not brushed because they are both vain and shallow enough to think that way, and thus brushed it. As for perfect make-up, she didn't have full make-up on. She had light make-up on which is par for the course for a teenage drama. Any other character besides Damon (or Caroline), and I'd agree, no way, she'd look like that... but since it was Damon, totally made sense. (And, of course! Damon would take the opportunity to sneak a peak! How would he know he'd be boinking her the next episode?!)
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