Dangerous Liaisons - my thoughts, round 2
Now that I've discussed things with my dear f-list, gotten over my initial reaction, and gained a measure of clarity, I felt a follow-up post on this episode was definitely in order. In addition, there will memorable quotes and pic spam due to the sheer amount of PRETTY :).
Damon & Elena
lit_chick08, badboy_fangirl, and arabian's posts all helped me to see the big picture much more clearly, and to change my thoughts on my OTP's interaction in this episode. Elena's character evolution is going the only place it can and remain true. Having her show more of her Petrova traits, thus becoming more like Katherine, is not a bad thing. I love that she is taking matters into her own hands, making decisions for herself, and screwing things up along the way. Once I put myself in her shoes for a few minutes, everything made more sense. It is a good thing that Elena is getting darker as that is what needs to happen for her to be in the same 'relationship' realm as Damon.
Ian Somerhalder's face is flawless especially in it's ability to portray Damon's utter bedazzlement when he first sees Elena.
I loved how Damon changed his tactic from strong-arming to charming, with only the provocation of the look on Elena's face. It shows just how well they know each other (and it didn't hurt that Stefan saw it as well). The softening, just a tad, of Elena's countenance, and Damon tucking her hand under his arm was just lovely and flowing. Their style of physicality is just beguiling.
Another thing that struck me up re-watching this was that Damon's response to hearing that he cares too much and he's a liability (which echoed nicely Rose's words in S2) was simply to question, "How ironic is that?" This shows how far his character has progressed, and while he's doing it for himself, Elena's influence has certainly helped temper is volatility to a point. That brought to mind Mr. Darcy's "Such I might still have been but for you, dearest, loveliest Elizabeth" (from BBC's TV production of Pride and Prejudice). I felt there was something of a parallel there between 2 of my all-time favourite couples (my cut text is a Lizzie line from that, as well).
Stefan & Elena
There were moments of these two that actually reminded me of what I felt in S1 for them. Stefan's face when she winds up in his arms in the dance, her expression, their moment out back when she voices her appreciation of him still trusting her, the way his face completely gave up the lie as he said, "No, you're not wrong.", and lastly, him coming clean in her foyer (or at least his version of coming clean) - all of these moments felt real, and believable to me (which is not something I've had a lot of from them this season). I understand Elena not being at a point where she can give up on Stefan yet. She can't get there until she has no hope of Stefan allowing himself to care. His mantra the Salvatores do not deserve her feels real, as well, and will certainly impact all 3 of them in this complex love triangle.
Elijah & Elena
I love that their implicit agreement is still in place. Elijah's face was lovely as he changed from threatening Rebekah to talking to Elena. He really does seem to have a soft spot for her. I love the way he casually ran his fingers up her arm when he saw her on her way to Esther's room. I am so glad to have Elijah back.
Caroline & Klaus
I'm officially in love with them. I'm enjoying Klaus sharing his pursuits with her, and offering trips to Rome, Paris, and Tokyo, but also trying to shut her out when things get difficult, and her calling him out on it. She seems to have a fair amount of insight into his character, which I also love.
The little things that Caroline did to show her conflictedness were cute: having to open the dress box but then quickly closing it as her face said "What am I doing?" and whispering, "Seriously, just give it up already" before opening her latest gift. Also, Klaus earned some points with me with his statement of, "You're beautiful. You're strong. You're full of light. I enjoy you." It's refreshing to have my opinion of Caroline spoken out loud by another character. :D
Damon: Excuse me, Carol *the whole time staring at Elena
Stefan: I think he needs to figure out that you can look out for yourself.
Elena: Do you think that I like going behind your back? I don't.
Damon: I'm mad at you because I love you!
Caroline: You don't connect with people because you don't even try to understand them.
Matt: If I could compel myself a Maserati, I would, but I can't.
Rebekah: You're pathetic. Both of you.
Elijah: Can I depend on you to tell me what she says?
Kol: I've met a lot of people and you don't particularly stand out.
Rebekah: Caveman.
Stefan: So did I [say something he didn't mean]
Wow, that turned out be slightly longer than I thought it would ;) I do love this show so very much and can't wait to see next weeks' episode ...
Damon & Elena
lit_chick08, badboy_fangirl, and arabian's posts all helped me to see the big picture much more clearly, and to change my thoughts on my OTP's interaction in this episode. Elena's character evolution is going the only place it can and remain true. Having her show more of her Petrova traits, thus becoming more like Katherine, is not a bad thing. I love that she is taking matters into her own hands, making decisions for herself, and screwing things up along the way. Once I put myself in her shoes for a few minutes, everything made more sense. It is a good thing that Elena is getting darker as that is what needs to happen for her to be in the same 'relationship' realm as Damon.
Ian Somerhalder's face is flawless especially in it's ability to portray Damon's utter bedazzlement when he first sees Elena.
I loved how Damon changed his tactic from strong-arming to charming, with only the provocation of the look on Elena's face. It shows just how well they know each other (and it didn't hurt that Stefan saw it as well). The softening, just a tad, of Elena's countenance, and Damon tucking her hand under his arm was just lovely and flowing. Their style of physicality is just beguiling.
Another thing that struck me up re-watching this was that Damon's response to hearing that he cares too much and he's a liability (which echoed nicely Rose's words in S2) was simply to question, "How ironic is that?" This shows how far his character has progressed, and while he's doing it for himself, Elena's influence has certainly helped temper is volatility to a point. That brought to mind Mr. Darcy's "Such I might still have been but for you, dearest, loveliest Elizabeth" (from BBC's TV production of Pride and Prejudice). I felt there was something of a parallel there between 2 of my all-time favourite couples (my cut text is a Lizzie line from that, as well).
Stefan & Elena
There were moments of these two that actually reminded me of what I felt in S1 for them. Stefan's face when she winds up in his arms in the dance, her expression, their moment out back when she voices her appreciation of him still trusting her, the way his face completely gave up the lie as he said, "No, you're not wrong.", and lastly, him coming clean in her foyer (or at least his version of coming clean) - all of these moments felt real, and believable to me (which is not something I've had a lot of from them this season). I understand Elena not being at a point where she can give up on Stefan yet. She can't get there until she has no hope of Stefan allowing himself to care. His mantra the Salvatores do not deserve her feels real, as well, and will certainly impact all 3 of them in this complex love triangle.
Elijah & Elena
I love that their implicit agreement is still in place. Elijah's face was lovely as he changed from threatening Rebekah to talking to Elena. He really does seem to have a soft spot for her. I love the way he casually ran his fingers up her arm when he saw her on her way to Esther's room. I am so glad to have Elijah back.
Caroline & Klaus
I'm officially in love with them. I'm enjoying Klaus sharing his pursuits with her, and offering trips to Rome, Paris, and Tokyo, but also trying to shut her out when things get difficult, and her calling him out on it. She seems to have a fair amount of insight into his character, which I also love.
The little things that Caroline did to show her conflictedness were cute: having to open the dress box but then quickly closing it as her face said "What am I doing?" and whispering, "Seriously, just give it up already" before opening her latest gift. Also, Klaus earned some points with me with his statement of, "You're beautiful. You're strong. You're full of light. I enjoy you." It's refreshing to have my opinion of Caroline spoken out loud by another character. :D
Damon: Excuse me, Carol *the whole time staring at Elena
Stefan: I think he needs to figure out that you can look out for yourself.
Elena: Do you think that I like going behind your back? I don't.
Damon: I'm mad at you because I love you!
Caroline: You don't connect with people because you don't even try to understand them.
Matt: If I could compel myself a Maserati, I would, but I can't.
Rebekah: You're pathetic. Both of you.
Elijah: Can I depend on you to tell me what she says?
Kol: I've met a lot of people and you don't particularly stand out.
Rebekah: Caveman.
Stefan: So did I [say something he didn't mean]
Wow, that turned out be slightly longer than I thought it would ;) I do love this show so very much and can't wait to see next weeks' episode ...