even more Vampire Diaries I'm afraid
I'm sorry to keep spamming you with Vampire Diaries posts, but one of the comments I made to 12_12_12 in the previous post made me think. Specifically, she said that she didn't like the triangle, and I replied: "[T]he triangle isn't as triangly as you'd think (only in Damon's sad little mind)[.]"
And thinking about it, that's not quite it. Because there is a triangle, but it's not centered on Elena, not even in Damon's mind. He creates the tension with Elena as a way to gain power in the real triangle, the Stefan-centered one.
By which I don't mean sexual tension (though this is one of few fandoms where I'd totally read incest fics). I just mean the way the characters relate to each other.
Sure, Damon flirts with Elena all the time. He flirts with everyone all the time. With Elena, it's not until the end of the season that it actually has anything to do with her, his friendship with and affection for her. Before that, there's partly the notion that she could function as an ersatz Katherine, but Damon knows just as well as Stefan does that Elena =/= Katherine, and I think he's aware that it wouldn't be a very satisfying substitute. Rather, his behaviour aims to drive a wedge between Stefan and Elena just to torment Stefan - as payback for the Katherine thing, for Stefan convincing him to turn vampire and then dropping the ball on him, for any number of real and imagined annoyances - and because Damon just cannot let go of his brother.
And likewise, Stefan cannot let go of Damon. If there was any justice in the VD verse, Damon would be dead ten times over. Instead, Stefan tries to kill him exactly once and spends all the rest of the time trying to protect him. Out of guilt and hate-mixed love and a whole slew of reasons that'll probably grow even more complicated as the show progresses (knowing these writers). These two are tied together in a dysfunctional but unbreakable bond coming from family bonds twistened and hardened over a century.
Meanwhile, Stefan really does love Elena, and as he tells her, it's because she's the complete opposite of what Katherine ever was. Certainly, Stefan's semi-stalkerish behaviour can be discussed, and the question of to what extent he sees Elena as an embodiment of his second chance, but whatever his issues, the relationship itself is at least fairly healthy, and he can't let go of Elena any more than he could let go of Damon. In a choice between the two, I honestly don't know what he'd do.
And then there's Elena, who's a sharp enough cookie to figure out at least part of what's going on. She knows Damon is trying to manipulate her, she doesn't fall for it (for the most part), and to begin with, she tolerates Damon only as a favour to Stefan. As the season progresses, she does move towards actual friendship with Damon, though I'd say that he still rates lower than Stefan or her family, probably at about the same level as Caroline - annoying, but ours. (Obviously, though, there's a huge difference in that Caroline's greatest failing is her tendency to accidentally hurt people, while Damon's greatest failing is his tendency to deliberately kill people.)
The way her part is played is rather ambiguous, however - we don't always know what she's thinking, which is why the kiss at the end of the finale works so well; it seems odd that Elena would go along with it, but not inconceivable, mainly because of the cautious attitude that could be read as "What's this, then? What's his bottom line?" (In retrospect, of course, that attitude makes even more sense for Katherine, who obviously doesn't know how to play the situation.) So while there isn't really an Elena-centric triangle, the question of what will be is still unanswered.
Now, all of this is just my take on the dynamics, and based entirely on TV at that - but as I understand it, the TV show deviates from the books a great deal anyway, so I've got as good a chance to be right as anyone. :-P I say, bring on season two!
This entry was originally posted at http://katta.dreamwidth.org/510988.html and has
comments there.
And thinking about it, that's not quite it. Because there is a triangle, but it's not centered on Elena, not even in Damon's mind. He creates the tension with Elena as a way to gain power in the real triangle, the Stefan-centered one.
By which I don't mean sexual tension (though this is one of few fandoms where I'd totally read incest fics). I just mean the way the characters relate to each other.
Sure, Damon flirts with Elena all the time. He flirts with everyone all the time. With Elena, it's not until the end of the season that it actually has anything to do with her, his friendship with and affection for her. Before that, there's partly the notion that she could function as an ersatz Katherine, but Damon knows just as well as Stefan does that Elena =/= Katherine, and I think he's aware that it wouldn't be a very satisfying substitute. Rather, his behaviour aims to drive a wedge between Stefan and Elena just to torment Stefan - as payback for the Katherine thing, for Stefan convincing him to turn vampire and then dropping the ball on him, for any number of real and imagined annoyances - and because Damon just cannot let go of his brother.
And likewise, Stefan cannot let go of Damon. If there was any justice in the VD verse, Damon would be dead ten times over. Instead, Stefan tries to kill him exactly once and spends all the rest of the time trying to protect him. Out of guilt and hate-mixed love and a whole slew of reasons that'll probably grow even more complicated as the show progresses (knowing these writers). These two are tied together in a dysfunctional but unbreakable bond coming from family bonds twistened and hardened over a century.
Meanwhile, Stefan really does love Elena, and as he tells her, it's because she's the complete opposite of what Katherine ever was. Certainly, Stefan's semi-stalkerish behaviour can be discussed, and the question of to what extent he sees Elena as an embodiment of his second chance, but whatever his issues, the relationship itself is at least fairly healthy, and he can't let go of Elena any more than he could let go of Damon. In a choice between the two, I honestly don't know what he'd do.
And then there's Elena, who's a sharp enough cookie to figure out at least part of what's going on. She knows Damon is trying to manipulate her, she doesn't fall for it (for the most part), and to begin with, she tolerates Damon only as a favour to Stefan. As the season progresses, she does move towards actual friendship with Damon, though I'd say that he still rates lower than Stefan or her family, probably at about the same level as Caroline - annoying, but ours. (Obviously, though, there's a huge difference in that Caroline's greatest failing is her tendency to accidentally hurt people, while Damon's greatest failing is his tendency to deliberately kill people.)
The way her part is played is rather ambiguous, however - we don't always know what she's thinking, which is why the kiss at the end of the finale works so well; it seems odd that Elena would go along with it, but not inconceivable, mainly because of the cautious attitude that could be read as "What's this, then? What's his bottom line?" (In retrospect, of course, that attitude makes even more sense for Katherine, who obviously doesn't know how to play the situation.) So while there isn't really an Elena-centric triangle, the question of what will be is still unanswered.
Now, all of this is just my take on the dynamics, and based entirely on TV at that - but as I understand it, the TV show deviates from the books a great deal anyway, so I've got as good a chance to be right as anyone. :-P I say, bring on season two!
This entry was originally posted at http://katta.dreamwidth.org/510988.html and has
comments there.