TVD 4x08 reasction post of RAGE
I almost wish I could say I'm done, but I know I'm not quite out the door yet, just halfway out.
TVD 4x08: Anger leads to hatred, but we're already suffering this shit
Okay, so I know this show is objectively stupid, borderline (and sometimes over it) offensive, mired in awful stories that it refuses to kill, while doing little to nothing to embrace the good story ideas they stumble into. I know it’s brain rotting fluff that has no sense of story logic or well passed narrative. I know there’s a good chance I would have been happier if I’d never started watching it (except for a few lj friends I’ve made through it).
But very rarely do I have to say that I HATE this show. I hate everything about this episode (okay maybe like one thing I...no even that was pretty bad). From the nauseating beginning to the differently but equally nauseating end it was STUPID, AWFUL, GROSS, and OFFENSIVE.
I can’t even talk about this show, so I’m going to talk about another show with what could be considered a similar narrative device: Legend of the Seeker. Now, LotS rarely went into how rapey the Confessors are with the men they do take as mates, but it was damned clear on one point: Confessors do not take men they love, preferably not even ones they respect, as mates because that is to remove their free will from the equation. Even consenting to be Confessed (which sort of happens) irrevocably changes the relationship into something that is no longer a relationship of equals. And for a Confessed person to say they’re cool with it while they’re Confessed mean NOTHING because they’re already Confessed so what else are they going to say?
Like I said LotS is far from perfect about its treatment of this kind of thing, but it’s about a billion times better than TVD right now.
So let me hit the high (or low) points of awful.
-The opening made me physically sick, and I never really recovered from it. Now if that was the goal because we were meant to think this is like the vilest thing ever the kudos, but somehow I have my doubts.
-Sure guys *don’t* tell Elena that she may be sired, that’s a super great thing for friends to do.
-So the odds of a sired vampire are conservatively 100 to 1 (I’m pretty sure the show gave higher ones, but I’ll use this), and Damon’s had two. I also doubt it’s nearly that rare that vampires turn people who have feelings for them (Lexi/Lexi’s boyfriend, Anna considering turning Jeremy, FREAKING DAMON/KATHERINE (seriously show, if you’re saying that’s a sired situation I’ll cut you, and if you’re saying it isn’t...HOW?)). Plus the fact that Charlotte was some whirlwind thing and Elena chose Stefan over him, how does this happen to Damon exactly? (Maybe he narrowly avoided being sired himself so he ends up siring others?)
-Oh hey Lexi, you continue to make no sense, to the point where I’m starting to regret ever liking you.
-This show has completely forgotten that Damon and Stefan were supposed to hate each other until the start of the show rolled around (and for several episodes after), all we ever see of them in flashbacks is them wanting to be bros again.
-So...the show remembers that Caroline slept with Damon, but not the fact that he abused her apparently? Elena’s sired to him so maybe she gets a pass for brushing it off as Caroline having “issues” with him, but I’m sorry show, Care has valid reasons for thinking Elena shouldn’t be in a relationship with him.
-Dear gods, they even tried to have Damon have the right view of things, wanting her not to be sired to him even if just for the selfish reason of wanting it to be real and while she’s sired to him it never can be real (and the other selfish reason of how annoying he came to see Charlotte as after a few weeks of their relationship post siring). But not having him stick to it and say that GOD DAMNED YES IT FELT WRONG IF SHE’S SAYING IT BECAUSE SHE’S SIRED TO HIM means that what happens from here on out he is culpable in.
-Oh let’s not ignore that the B-plot of the episode also had a woman being told to submit to the rule of a man. Classy TVD, especially when they all bow down to Tyler in the end so yeah, they broke their sire bond to Klaus to give control over to Tyler. Just...RAGE RAGE RAGE RAGE FOREVER.
-The girls’ night barely gave Bonnie anything to do, naturally her friendship with the other two is not very important anymore, when she was each of their BEST friend back in s1.
-And okay, I know I’ve been saying this since it happened, but this Elena as a vampire plot is the worst thing the show ever did. Because instead of using it to tell good stories about Elena they’ve completely stripped her of her own character and it’s all about what other people do to/”for” her. Sure it often was before but it KEEPS GETTING WORSE. And it shows no sign that it KNOWS what it’s doing...well I kind of feel like some people maybe do see that but any concerns that “Hmm maybe we should acknowledge that our main character is completely out of control of her own life” is so lost under the UTTER CRAP that is the dominant forces in the show.
I’m [this close] to throwing in the towel on this show once we get to the hiatus, rewatching the show up through...late s3 and going back to writing and pretending this season never happened because this show is just CRAP right now. Maybe wander back if some people I trust tell me it stops sucking. I’m not quite flounced yet, but I’m pretty close to it.
Because right now, I HATE this show and everything about it.
TVD 4x08: Anger leads to hatred, but we're already suffering this shit
Okay, so I know this show is objectively stupid, borderline (and sometimes over it) offensive, mired in awful stories that it refuses to kill, while doing little to nothing to embrace the good story ideas they stumble into. I know it’s brain rotting fluff that has no sense of story logic or well passed narrative. I know there’s a good chance I would have been happier if I’d never started watching it (except for a few lj friends I’ve made through it).
But very rarely do I have to say that I HATE this show. I hate everything about this episode (okay maybe like one thing I...no even that was pretty bad). From the nauseating beginning to the differently but equally nauseating end it was STUPID, AWFUL, GROSS, and OFFENSIVE.
I can’t even talk about this show, so I’m going to talk about another show with what could be considered a similar narrative device: Legend of the Seeker. Now, LotS rarely went into how rapey the Confessors are with the men they do take as mates, but it was damned clear on one point: Confessors do not take men they love, preferably not even ones they respect, as mates because that is to remove their free will from the equation. Even consenting to be Confessed (which sort of happens) irrevocably changes the relationship into something that is no longer a relationship of equals. And for a Confessed person to say they’re cool with it while they’re Confessed mean NOTHING because they’re already Confessed so what else are they going to say?
Like I said LotS is far from perfect about its treatment of this kind of thing, but it’s about a billion times better than TVD right now.
So let me hit the high (or low) points of awful.
-The opening made me physically sick, and I never really recovered from it. Now if that was the goal because we were meant to think this is like the vilest thing ever the kudos, but somehow I have my doubts.
-Sure guys *don’t* tell Elena that she may be sired, that’s a super great thing for friends to do.
-So the odds of a sired vampire are conservatively 100 to 1 (I’m pretty sure the show gave higher ones, but I’ll use this), and Damon’s had two. I also doubt it’s nearly that rare that vampires turn people who have feelings for them (Lexi/Lexi’s boyfriend, Anna considering turning Jeremy, FREAKING DAMON/KATHERINE (seriously show, if you’re saying that’s a sired situation I’ll cut you, and if you’re saying it isn’t...HOW?)). Plus the fact that Charlotte was some whirlwind thing and Elena chose Stefan over him, how does this happen to Damon exactly? (Maybe he narrowly avoided being sired himself so he ends up siring others?)
-Oh hey Lexi, you continue to make no sense, to the point where I’m starting to regret ever liking you.
-This show has completely forgotten that Damon and Stefan were supposed to hate each other until the start of the show rolled around (and for several episodes after), all we ever see of them in flashbacks is them wanting to be bros again.
-So...the show remembers that Caroline slept with Damon, but not the fact that he abused her apparently? Elena’s sired to him so maybe she gets a pass for brushing it off as Caroline having “issues” with him, but I’m sorry show, Care has valid reasons for thinking Elena shouldn’t be in a relationship with him.
-Dear gods, they even tried to have Damon have the right view of things, wanting her not to be sired to him even if just for the selfish reason of wanting it to be real and while she’s sired to him it never can be real (and the other selfish reason of how annoying he came to see Charlotte as after a few weeks of their relationship post siring). But not having him stick to it and say that GOD DAMNED YES IT FELT WRONG IF SHE’S SAYING IT BECAUSE SHE’S SIRED TO HIM means that what happens from here on out he is culpable in.
-Oh let’s not ignore that the B-plot of the episode also had a woman being told to submit to the rule of a man. Classy TVD, especially when they all bow down to Tyler in the end so yeah, they broke their sire bond to Klaus to give control over to Tyler. Just...RAGE RAGE RAGE RAGE FOREVER.
-The girls’ night barely gave Bonnie anything to do, naturally her friendship with the other two is not very important anymore, when she was each of their BEST friend back in s1.
-And okay, I know I’ve been saying this since it happened, but this Elena as a vampire plot is the worst thing the show ever did. Because instead of using it to tell good stories about Elena they’ve completely stripped her of her own character and it’s all about what other people do to/”for” her. Sure it often was before but it KEEPS GETTING WORSE. And it shows no sign that it KNOWS what it’s doing...well I kind of feel like some people maybe do see that but any concerns that “Hmm maybe we should acknowledge that our main character is completely out of control of her own life” is so lost under the UTTER CRAP that is the dominant forces in the show.
I’m [this close] to throwing in the towel on this show once we get to the hiatus, rewatching the show up through...late s3 and going back to writing and pretending this season never happened because this show is just CRAP right now. Maybe wander back if some people I trust tell me it stops sucking. I’m not quite flounced yet, but I’m pretty close to it.
Because right now, I HATE this show and everything about it.