i put a spell on you, because you're mine
I really love the Senior Prank Night framing of the episode for a few reasons. I like all the kids getting to play together, for one thing, but I also really like the way it’s Wacky Summer Camp Shenanigans that get all out of control vibe. Do we see Ric or Liz at all in this episode? I don’t think so. Damon is the closest thing they have to an adult, and he feels a huge responsibility for having gone off cavorting and left the children to play alone. Klaus can’t leave Rebekah or Stefan alone for one moment. But going off to the Council or Michael or whoever comes with its own set of issues.
When did Stefan forget how to tell excellent obfuscating half-truths? Why doesn’t he just say he misses his brother and let that be it? As opposed to Damon at the end there. “Where were you, Damon?”/”I shouldn’t have left.” Well, that’s half of the truth. Maybe you can’t be entirely honest and entirely good; you certainly can’t be both honest and kind in their situation.
Damon really did deal with Katherine much better than expected! She can’t quite be the devil on his shoulder anymore. She wants you to be the hero, and you don’t like playing pretend. True, still, but not the whole picture it would’ve been last season. The emotional power dynamic is a bit more balanced than it was, though I don’t think Damon can ever be quite as in control about her as he wants to be. Her continued existence is more of a theoretical safety valve for him, that he can use her to escape into vampness when he puts himself out there (in his way that’s unrecognizable to anyone but him and, once in a long while, Elena) and gets hurt. But it’s more the theoretical possibility that he wants now, not the reality. Appropriately enough, given her own constant gleeful strategizing, Katherine is Damon’s plan B. But working with the net makes him less likely to fall, because if the fall won’t kill him, it’s not a rush, merely an embarrassing inconvenience.
Damon’s coping is still mostly externalized, but not entirely. Because Klaus is in town, Stefan and Elena need saving, and crisis is what Damon does best because he needs to live on the edge. But he doesn’t need to go all out and do the riskiest thing imaginable anymore, and that’s why he feels bad about having gone with Katherine. He knows he was rationalizing with the “whatever it takes” mindset; that willingness to do anything necessary doesn’t actually mean jumping straight to the most bizarre thing possible. But Stefan being there and crazy as hell means he has his external purpose cut out for him and won’t have to reach for those internal reserves too often.
Why did witches trap Michael? Even if they were all about taking down ALL VAMPIRES no potential allies excepted, why did he merit the effort and the risk? Possibly he was just too powerful? Is he Rebekah’s father/Klaus’ step-father? That’d be awesome. Speaking of, I still love Rebekah’s brattiness. She cracks me up on her own, and she serves to bring Klaus down to earth a little, that he has to deal with and clearly adores his kid sister.
I like Matt so much better when he has non-relationship-drama. He did have a few more problems than being a lifeguard, what with the absent parents and druggie sister. This show has more than enough martyrs, though, so I’m okay with letting that all be dropped. He’s a shitty boyfriend, but he really did have a beautiful relationship with Vicki. Which, I am so excited she is back in some capacity. And being as I am a huge sucker for friendship, I love his scenes with Bonnie, and I love that Bonnie was her smart, involved self without using her magic at all even though it’s still an option.
TYLEEEEEEEEEEER! I mostly figured he and Matt would both be okay, because getting killed off for real is for GIRLS on this show, but wasn’t entirely sure. Dude, Caroline looks freaked in that last moment. And I don’t blame her, and I don’t think it’s just that being a vampire is HER THING!!! though that’s probably part of it. The power dynamics in their relationship have just shifted considerably.
Mythology notes: Does the doeppelganger have to be a direct descendant, or is it like a recessive gene that pops up once in a while?And aaaaaaaaaagh I love how the plot at the end of the last season came back to bite the main cast in the asses. Their manipulation of the spell found Klaus’ loophole for him. Not that it means they shouldn’t have done it, but there are still consequences, I like that.
I love how Klaus is totally distracted and Elena is all….chillin’ right there instead of running. And even if she doesn’t care if she survives - and sick to death as I am of her martyr complex, I wouldn’t really be impressed with that - she should at least try to spare Stefan what she knows he’d go though if he killed her. And why exactly is she not taking vervain vitamins at this point? BUT! This time there is a point to it. You just have to want it bad enough. Except, no. I love seeing this idea that YOU CAN BEAT THIS!!!!! whatever with STRONG ENOUGH FEELINGS!!! subverted so harshly. Because the vast majority of the time, it’s concern-trolling and victim-blaming.
Stefan’s claim that it’s who/what he is, no use fighting it, is equally disingenuous, of course; it’s a hard series of choices and everyone fucks up, but there are influences which stack the deck too far and it’s a fight nobody should have to fight. But, as Damon could tell him, knowing the truth doesn’t necessarily mean you’ll do the right thing with it, or even that there is a right thing to do. And this sets up that last scene - how much of their new interplay is going to be what Stefan’s wanted all along but felt he didn’t have permission for? And how much of it will be compulsion? There’s the potential for some really rich psychological mystery here.
Because I do think Stefan wants to give in a little bit, to let someone else be responsible for him because his balancing act is so fucking difficult for him, even if I don’t think that means he could have resisted through TWOO WUV. The fact that Katherine could compel him was part of the attraction back in the day, and he enjoys Klaus’ hold over him as much as he enjoys doing what he’s been told. (VON! VON AGGRESSIVE MALE SUB! MUA AH AH AH AH!) Which doesn’t make Klaus and Katherine any less abusive, because they were both taking advantage of an insurmountable power differential, but I do think we’re seeing a pattern that appeals to Stefan as well.
And then Damon offers to help her forget THIS IS HUGE FOR DAMON who cannot stand the idea of people lying to themselves! Especially Elena; especially especially Stefan. But it’s her life and it’s her fantasy and what he has to give is hers. And she chooses the truth about Stefan, she doesn’t want to forget. She’s still kind of leaving herself an out, because he was compelled, it wasn’t really him, so if the spell is ever lifted she knows she can let it go. Damon/Elena is so not about them being together. They shouldn’t be together. It’s about the way they drag each other into this kind of growth.
Katherine and Jeremy are the best road trip buddies ever. It’s so ludicrous, it just might be perfect!
I’ve finally gotten around to the first few episodes now that it’s all up on Netflix Instant, and so they were really fresh in my mind as I was watching that last scene; it’s amazing, the way Stefan mimics Damon’s inflection from those first few episodes where Damon was the big bad brother. But Damon was chaos, with the fundamental honesty that entails; Stefan is all control (and controlled), deliberately (by himself or Klaus or both) cut off from their connection, while Damon was up-front about clinging to it for dear unlife. This is about to get interesting.
When did Stefan forget how to tell excellent obfuscating half-truths? Why doesn’t he just say he misses his brother and let that be it? As opposed to Damon at the end there. “Where were you, Damon?”/”I shouldn’t have left.” Well, that’s half of the truth. Maybe you can’t be entirely honest and entirely good; you certainly can’t be both honest and kind in their situation.
Damon really did deal with Katherine much better than expected! She can’t quite be the devil on his shoulder anymore. She wants you to be the hero, and you don’t like playing pretend. True, still, but not the whole picture it would’ve been last season. The emotional power dynamic is a bit more balanced than it was, though I don’t think Damon can ever be quite as in control about her as he wants to be. Her continued existence is more of a theoretical safety valve for him, that he can use her to escape into vampness when he puts himself out there (in his way that’s unrecognizable to anyone but him and, once in a long while, Elena) and gets hurt. But it’s more the theoretical possibility that he wants now, not the reality. Appropriately enough, given her own constant gleeful strategizing, Katherine is Damon’s plan B. But working with the net makes him less likely to fall, because if the fall won’t kill him, it’s not a rush, merely an embarrassing inconvenience.
Damon’s coping is still mostly externalized, but not entirely. Because Klaus is in town, Stefan and Elena need saving, and crisis is what Damon does best because he needs to live on the edge. But he doesn’t need to go all out and do the riskiest thing imaginable anymore, and that’s why he feels bad about having gone with Katherine. He knows he was rationalizing with the “whatever it takes” mindset; that willingness to do anything necessary doesn’t actually mean jumping straight to the most bizarre thing possible. But Stefan being there and crazy as hell means he has his external purpose cut out for him and won’t have to reach for those internal reserves too often.
Why did witches trap Michael? Even if they were all about taking down ALL VAMPIRES no potential allies excepted, why did he merit the effort and the risk? Possibly he was just too powerful? Is he Rebekah’s father/Klaus’ step-father? That’d be awesome. Speaking of, I still love Rebekah’s brattiness. She cracks me up on her own, and she serves to bring Klaus down to earth a little, that he has to deal with and clearly adores his kid sister.
I like Matt so much better when he has non-relationship-drama. He did have a few more problems than being a lifeguard, what with the absent parents and druggie sister. This show has more than enough martyrs, though, so I’m okay with letting that all be dropped. He’s a shitty boyfriend, but he really did have a beautiful relationship with Vicki. Which, I am so excited she is back in some capacity. And being as I am a huge sucker for friendship, I love his scenes with Bonnie, and I love that Bonnie was her smart, involved self without using her magic at all even though it’s still an option.
TYLEEEEEEEEEEER! I mostly figured he and Matt would both be okay, because getting killed off for real is for GIRLS on this show, but wasn’t entirely sure. Dude, Caroline looks freaked in that last moment. And I don’t blame her, and I don’t think it’s just that being a vampire is HER THING!!! though that’s probably part of it. The power dynamics in their relationship have just shifted considerably.
Mythology notes: Does the doeppelganger have to be a direct descendant, or is it like a recessive gene that pops up once in a while?And aaaaaaaaaagh I love how the plot at the end of the last season came back to bite the main cast in the asses. Their manipulation of the spell found Klaus’ loophole for him. Not that it means they shouldn’t have done it, but there are still consequences, I like that.
I love how Klaus is totally distracted and Elena is all….chillin’ right there instead of running. And even if she doesn’t care if she survives - and sick to death as I am of her martyr complex, I wouldn’t really be impressed with that - she should at least try to spare Stefan what she knows he’d go though if he killed her. And why exactly is she not taking vervain vitamins at this point? BUT! This time there is a point to it. You just have to want it bad enough. Except, no. I love seeing this idea that YOU CAN BEAT THIS!!!!! whatever with STRONG ENOUGH FEELINGS!!! subverted so harshly. Because the vast majority of the time, it’s concern-trolling and victim-blaming.
Stefan’s claim that it’s who/what he is, no use fighting it, is equally disingenuous, of course; it’s a hard series of choices and everyone fucks up, but there are influences which stack the deck too far and it’s a fight nobody should have to fight. But, as Damon could tell him, knowing the truth doesn’t necessarily mean you’ll do the right thing with it, or even that there is a right thing to do. And this sets up that last scene - how much of their new interplay is going to be what Stefan’s wanted all along but felt he didn’t have permission for? And how much of it will be compulsion? There’s the potential for some really rich psychological mystery here.
Because I do think Stefan wants to give in a little bit, to let someone else be responsible for him because his balancing act is so fucking difficult for him, even if I don’t think that means he could have resisted through TWOO WUV. The fact that Katherine could compel him was part of the attraction back in the day, and he enjoys Klaus’ hold over him as much as he enjoys doing what he’s been told. (VON! VON AGGRESSIVE MALE SUB! MUA AH AH AH AH!) Which doesn’t make Klaus and Katherine any less abusive, because they were both taking advantage of an insurmountable power differential, but I do think we’re seeing a pattern that appeals to Stefan as well.
And then Damon offers to help her forget THIS IS HUGE FOR DAMON who cannot stand the idea of people lying to themselves! Especially Elena; especially especially Stefan. But it’s her life and it’s her fantasy and what he has to give is hers. And she chooses the truth about Stefan, she doesn’t want to forget. She’s still kind of leaving herself an out, because he was compelled, it wasn’t really him, so if the spell is ever lifted she knows she can let it go. Damon/Elena is so not about them being together. They shouldn’t be together. It’s about the way they drag each other into this kind of growth.
Katherine and Jeremy are the best road trip buddies ever. It’s so ludicrous, it just might be perfect!
I’ve finally gotten around to the first few episodes now that it’s all up on Netflix Instant, and so they were really fresh in my mind as I was watching that last scene; it’s amazing, the way Stefan mimics Damon’s inflection from those first few episodes where Damon was the big bad brother. But Damon was chaos, with the fundamental honesty that entails; Stefan is all control (and controlled), deliberately (by himself or Klaus or both) cut off from their connection, while Damon was up-front about clinging to it for dear unlife. This is about to get interesting.