Vampire Diaries | The House Guest brief thoughts...
So, I'm not even sure where to start with this...
I said this elsewhere, the more I watch this episode, the more I dislike it. That's never happened to me with TVD before. Usually, if I start off hating an episode, the re-watch will reveal a few things I missed and I'm able to make some sort of alchemy out of it. But this time, I simply can't. On a second watch and a third, I find every single character - and I do mean EVERY SINGLE CHARACTER - problematic and/or inconsistent with what I've heretofore understood them to be; disappointing, boring, and a number of them rather noxious.
Ramblings on Race, the Martins, and just how messed up this show can be...
Bonnie should seriously leave Mystic falls now. She is a woman, of color, and a frigging witch which means that she's basically marked for death in this universe. The sheer level of race-fail contained in this episode alone is just... BE BETTER, SHOW. Come on, now.
Luka did not deserve to die. Neither did Jonas. So far, men of color in MF have like a 98% mortality rate. Bonnie's dad is a leprechaun, so who knows if he's real and that grand-dad guy from season 1 - they are the only exceptions we know of. I can't even articulate how angry I am about this and some of the responses I've already seen in the fandom right now. This feels like Heroes all over again, Cana and Alta et al., we've talked about this. Except it's worse because this show is so much more explicitly dealing with race and history and slavery and yet it won't even name these things and I hate it.
I'll just add to what I said on Tumblr in response to the gleeful GIF of Luka burning to a crisp in front of his father, I can't be coherent or intelligent today. I pointed this out to someone on twitter but Caroline singing Eternal Flame right after this scene was so surreal and morbidly disturbing, like a cruel cosmic joke at the expense of Luka's cooling corpse. I honestly couldn’t even enjoy the moment - as much as I like cheesy romantic gestures of that nature. But seriously, show. Juxtaposition may have been a deliberate choice though, but I doubt it. And then finding out that Emily was burned alive in the exact same spot as her ancestors were slaughtered by the bloody Founding Families 100 years prior. Lord, Mystic Falls is steeped in the blood of witches past - it’s the reason why this town is such a hotbed for the supernatural. It’s their power that is the key to defeating Klaus - their magic, their blood, their deaths. Congrats, they’ve added two more witches to the mystical energy count.
Let's talk about Jonas Martin for a second. The characterization we've had of this man up until now is almost entirely at odds with what we saw in "The House Guest", why is that? You must remember episode 2 of this season when Bonnie struck out at Damon. Jonas striking out at the Scoobies and Elena follows a similar pattern - where they basically and conveniently delegitimize or radicalize the emotional positions, motivations and experiences of 'antagonists' , usually by painting them as irrational or 'evil' or irrationally dangerous threats, in order to somehow justify their deaths or suffering. Him pushing Luka to kill Katherine in that situation seemed so odd and careless for a guy that's come across as pretty meticulous about everything until now - so of course, it's his fault (the writing). Is the show implying that this is the way witches respond to emotional turmoil in general; do make that explicit. Luka's death was simply senseless. In every way. And brutal. It appears they weren't even going to go the doppelganger route, or did I watch it wrong? They were going to use the witch-magic to kill Klaus and Elijah doesn't seem to have ever intended to overturn the sun-and-moon curse. So all just a waste.
I'm sure I wasn't supposed to care about these characters since the show couldn't really be bothered to give them enough to work with and the main characters, our 'heroes' don't give an actual fuck. But sorry show, I can't, like Jeremy, sit there and say that Luka deserved to die. Just what even was that? And I'm sure the others don't care. So far there's a trail of bodies and no one is standing up to say, "Hang on, is all this worth it? Is our agenda really the only thing that matters? Perhaps we should think about what we're doing." Luka's sister, Greta, just isn't that important and he and his father's desperation to save her just isn't that important, they didn't fall in line and ally with the Scoobies (because who wouldn't jump at the chance to ally with them??) therefore, they have to die. I can't. At least Bonnie showed some remorse and is the only one, has always really been the only one, to have motivations that aren't entirely bound up in the group - as she should. She's a witch, I figure since the curse was made, they've been supernatural caretakers and protectors. I like that she stated: I don't know what to believe. I wish Grams was around because everything she said is true, witches ARE pulled down by vampire matters, and they pay for it with their lives.
Let's talk about Klaus, the same dude who's been exploiting and enslaving generations of witches in a bid to remove this sun-and-moon curse. Let's talk about Katherine who has similarly used and abused Bennett witches for generations apparently, and is responsible for Emily's death. I expect that of her, I expect her to be nonchalant and even self-satisfied about tying up her loose end but, yeah, done with that and she follows another Heroes mistake of letting villains or certain characters hang around past their expiry date because they're so 'badass' - frankly, she's in danger of becoming painfully redundant.
Now Bonnie has her powers back and is once again a useful commodity for the main characters, she has worth, they can USE her as the magical negro they need her to be to serve their narratives. Yep, Stefan and co., you can go back to asking her to do the dirty work now that the Martins are BOTH dead. I will take comfort in the hope that perhaps a witch will kill Klaus, at least that small act will be cathartic.
On a Meta level, you would have to be deaf, dumb and blind to miss the implications of this - the writers cannot be this stupid or careless can they? Well, apparently, yes, they can. And - this all - ALL OF IT just leaves such a sour taste in my mouth.
Storytelling 101
This show also has a tendency to rely on the shock factor. This is not a terrible thing and with Kevin Williamson's history in thriller films, I imagine that this is a mode of storytelling he's very fond of. But I'm sorry, shock value cannot take the place of basic story development, character development and depth, and overall coherence. It's lazy. For example, Bonnie getting her powers taken last week. Shocking. Not getting to see her POV, to hear her articulate exactly what she's feeling because of that loss at ANY TIME THIS EPISODE is just stupid. I don't need to hear from Elena that Bonnie is 'freaking' over her powers when all I hear is Jeremy freaking out on her behalf or Bonnie sitting listlessly at the Gilbert table and not even talking about it and her friends not really asking her about how she feels. There's examples of this scattered all over this season but sadly Bonnie has been one of the worst victims of it and it's gotten old.
Random
+ I genuinely do not care about the quadrangle, I really don't.
+ Nina over-enunciates Katherine's words in comparison to some of the mumbling she does for Elena, sometimes both speech patterns can pull me right out of a performance.
+ Damon is hurt. He does some crazy eyes. Katherine doesn't love him. It'll always be Stefan. He has no one. Haven't we seen all this before?
Highlights:
+ Girls' night. - aw, my girls and Jenna, very sweet - too bad it was so short.
+ The first and last Bonnie/Jeremy scenes. The first because the cute was overwhelming. The last primarily because I'm hoping Bonnie will keep the details what she's learned to herself for a while. Fandom will have a hissy fit and it'll be season 1 all over again but I don't even know with these people anymore.
+ Jonas using his last breath to give Bonnie her powers back and the key to killing Klaus and hopefully rescuing his daughter.
+ Luka being the one to try make a bridge with the Scoobies, for all the good it did him, I think maybe his bond with Bonnie prompted him to do so.
+ Matt continuity - I thought his reaction to Caroline's revelation and immediately remembering Vicki's loss was well done. It's lovely when the show allows characters to react realistically to things. Of course, fandom hates them for it. But I had tears in my eyes for Matt for a second there. What are you even supposed to do with that kind of information?
+ Caroline living out her rock fantasy, mainly because it was so - Caroline except vamp!Caroline who's OTT tendencies are now magnified by 100. It was cheesy and silly but it was adorkable in all the right ways and welcome in such a dark episode.
+ Stefan and Elena were adorable in the beginning but that was kind of ruined for me when he started strangling her in a Katherine-rage, idek.
+ Tyler is still gone. (digging the bottom of the barrel apparently)
Okay, that's all for now, I guess.
Am I totally crazy?
I said this elsewhere, the more I watch this episode, the more I dislike it. That's never happened to me with TVD before. Usually, if I start off hating an episode, the re-watch will reveal a few things I missed and I'm able to make some sort of alchemy out of it. But this time, I simply can't. On a second watch and a third, I find every single character - and I do mean EVERY SINGLE CHARACTER - problematic and/or inconsistent with what I've heretofore understood them to be; disappointing, boring, and a number of them rather noxious.
Ramblings on Race, the Martins, and just how messed up this show can be...
Bonnie should seriously leave Mystic falls now. She is a woman, of color, and a frigging witch which means that she's basically marked for death in this universe. The sheer level of race-fail contained in this episode alone is just... BE BETTER, SHOW. Come on, now.
Luka did not deserve to die. Neither did Jonas. So far, men of color in MF have like a 98% mortality rate. Bonnie's dad is a leprechaun, so who knows if he's real and that grand-dad guy from season 1 - they are the only exceptions we know of. I can't even articulate how angry I am about this and some of the responses I've already seen in the fandom right now. This feels like Heroes all over again, Cana and Alta et al., we've talked about this. Except it's worse because this show is so much more explicitly dealing with race and history and slavery and yet it won't even name these things and I hate it.
I'll just add to what I said on Tumblr in response to the gleeful GIF of Luka burning to a crisp in front of his father, I can't be coherent or intelligent today. I pointed this out to someone on twitter but Caroline singing Eternal Flame right after this scene was so surreal and morbidly disturbing, like a cruel cosmic joke at the expense of Luka's cooling corpse. I honestly couldn’t even enjoy the moment - as much as I like cheesy romantic gestures of that nature. But seriously, show. Juxtaposition may have been a deliberate choice though, but I doubt it. And then finding out that Emily was burned alive in the exact same spot as her ancestors were slaughtered by the bloody Founding Families 100 years prior. Lord, Mystic Falls is steeped in the blood of witches past - it’s the reason why this town is such a hotbed for the supernatural. It’s their power that is the key to defeating Klaus - their magic, their blood, their deaths. Congrats, they’ve added two more witches to the mystical energy count.
Let's talk about Jonas Martin for a second. The characterization we've had of this man up until now is almost entirely at odds with what we saw in "The House Guest", why is that? You must remember episode 2 of this season when Bonnie struck out at Damon. Jonas striking out at the Scoobies and Elena follows a similar pattern - where they basically and conveniently delegitimize or radicalize the emotional positions, motivations and experiences of 'antagonists' , usually by painting them as irrational or 'evil' or irrationally dangerous threats, in order to somehow justify their deaths or suffering. Him pushing Luka to kill Katherine in that situation seemed so odd and careless for a guy that's come across as pretty meticulous about everything until now - so of course, it's his fault (the writing). Is the show implying that this is the way witches respond to emotional turmoil in general; do make that explicit. Luka's death was simply senseless. In every way. And brutal. It appears they weren't even going to go the doppelganger route, or did I watch it wrong? They were going to use the witch-magic to kill Klaus and Elijah doesn't seem to have ever intended to overturn the sun-and-moon curse. So all just a waste.
I'm sure I wasn't supposed to care about these characters since the show couldn't really be bothered to give them enough to work with and the main characters, our 'heroes' don't give an actual fuck. But sorry show, I can't, like Jeremy, sit there and say that Luka deserved to die. Just what even was that? And I'm sure the others don't care. So far there's a trail of bodies and no one is standing up to say, "Hang on, is all this worth it? Is our agenda really the only thing that matters? Perhaps we should think about what we're doing." Luka's sister, Greta, just isn't that important and he and his father's desperation to save her just isn't that important, they didn't fall in line and ally with the Scoobies (because who wouldn't jump at the chance to ally with them??) therefore, they have to die. I can't. At least Bonnie showed some remorse and is the only one, has always really been the only one, to have motivations that aren't entirely bound up in the group - as she should. She's a witch, I figure since the curse was made, they've been supernatural caretakers and protectors. I like that she stated: I don't know what to believe. I wish Grams was around because everything she said is true, witches ARE pulled down by vampire matters, and they pay for it with their lives.
Let's talk about Klaus, the same dude who's been exploiting and enslaving generations of witches in a bid to remove this sun-and-moon curse. Let's talk about Katherine who has similarly used and abused Bennett witches for generations apparently, and is responsible for Emily's death. I expect that of her, I expect her to be nonchalant and even self-satisfied about tying up her loose end but, yeah, done with that and she follows another Heroes mistake of letting villains or certain characters hang around past their expiry date because they're so 'badass' - frankly, she's in danger of becoming painfully redundant.
Now Bonnie has her powers back and is once again a useful commodity for the main characters, she has worth, they can USE her as the magical negro they need her to be to serve their narratives. Yep, Stefan and co., you can go back to asking her to do the dirty work now that the Martins are BOTH dead. I will take comfort in the hope that perhaps a witch will kill Klaus, at least that small act will be cathartic.
On a Meta level, you would have to be deaf, dumb and blind to miss the implications of this - the writers cannot be this stupid or careless can they? Well, apparently, yes, they can. And - this all - ALL OF IT just leaves such a sour taste in my mouth.
Storytelling 101
This show also has a tendency to rely on the shock factor. This is not a terrible thing and with Kevin Williamson's history in thriller films, I imagine that this is a mode of storytelling he's very fond of. But I'm sorry, shock value cannot take the place of basic story development, character development and depth, and overall coherence. It's lazy. For example, Bonnie getting her powers taken last week. Shocking. Not getting to see her POV, to hear her articulate exactly what she's feeling because of that loss at ANY TIME THIS EPISODE is just stupid. I don't need to hear from Elena that Bonnie is 'freaking' over her powers when all I hear is Jeremy freaking out on her behalf or Bonnie sitting listlessly at the Gilbert table and not even talking about it and her friends not really asking her about how she feels. There's examples of this scattered all over this season but sadly Bonnie has been one of the worst victims of it and it's gotten old.
Random
+ I genuinely do not care about the quadrangle, I really don't.
+ Nina over-enunciates Katherine's words in comparison to some of the mumbling she does for Elena, sometimes both speech patterns can pull me right out of a performance.
+ Damon is hurt. He does some crazy eyes. Katherine doesn't love him. It'll always be Stefan. He has no one. Haven't we seen all this before?
Highlights:
+ Girls' night. - aw, my girls and Jenna, very sweet - too bad it was so short.
+ The first and last Bonnie/Jeremy scenes. The first because the cute was overwhelming. The last primarily because I'm hoping Bonnie will keep the details what she's learned to herself for a while. Fandom will have a hissy fit and it'll be season 1 all over again but I don't even know with these people anymore.
+ Jonas using his last breath to give Bonnie her powers back and the key to killing Klaus and hopefully rescuing his daughter.
+ Luka being the one to try make a bridge with the Scoobies, for all the good it did him, I think maybe his bond with Bonnie prompted him to do so.
+ Matt continuity - I thought his reaction to Caroline's revelation and immediately remembering Vicki's loss was well done. It's lovely when the show allows characters to react realistically to things. Of course, fandom hates them for it. But I had tears in my eyes for Matt for a second there. What are you even supposed to do with that kind of information?
+ Caroline living out her rock fantasy, mainly because it was so - Caroline except vamp!Caroline who's OTT tendencies are now magnified by 100. It was cheesy and silly but it was adorkable in all the right ways and welcome in such a dark episode.
+ Stefan and Elena were adorable in the beginning but that was kind of ruined for me when he started strangling her in a Katherine-rage, idek.
+ Tyler is still gone. (digging the bottom of the barrel apparently)
Okay, that's all for now, I guess.
Am I totally crazy?