TVD review - stand by me

[pocochina]

So for a TVD episode, very little actually happened here. Some traveling, some exposition - nothing really happens until the last scene.

And yet.

AND YET.

I think it was one of the best episodes of the show. Possibly the best episode. I mean. Can we talk about how much I loved an episode that featured neither Tyler nor Klaus? Oh, we can't?

Comments

[upupa_epops]

I'm not sure if this is the best episode ever (I have two other strong favorites, and I just can't decide!), but definitely one of the best.

So, counterargument: "It hurts just make it stop" is explicit consent, getting hacked off and equating this scene with compulsion is about as impressive to me as someone watching House MD and crying about Chase stabbing the patient.Yeah, this is what I have trouble understanding in fandom's reaction. Obviously the whole scene is complicated, and there's no clear-cut answer. The thing is, this entire season is structured on conflicts that don't have any good solutions, moral dilemmas with ONLY bad options in store. TVD has never been about heroes, and now they're taking it even further. And we won't get a clear commentary saying: "This was right", "That was wrong" because those problems simply can't be boiled down to such simple answers. What Damon does is an act of helplessness, an act of power, an act of kindness, an act of fear, an act of weakness, an act of submission -- all at once

[pocochina]

I have a small handful of episodes that I think are really fantastic, mostly season and mid-season finales. But I tilt slightly in favor of saying this one wins the prize for the way it broke the show's convention of having a bazillion exciting things happen with A CAST OF THOUSANDS in play, and it still had me absolutely riveted.

I am sure of this: those two shots of Elena getting to sit and think - the one around the table, when everyone else fighting about the Other Side blurs together for her, and especially the second one after Damon says to turn it off - are definitely my favorite moments of the show so far. Nina Dobrev doesn't even need to move or speak in order to tell you exactly what her character is thinking, and that talent was put to exactly the right use here. It's been two weeks now and I'm still not over it.

Obviously the whole scene is complicated, and there's no clear-cut answer. The thing is, this entire season is structured on conflicts that don't have any good solutions, moral dilemmas with ONLY bad options in

[upupa_epops]

I'm yet to get over 2x01 and 4x06, and 4x15 is certainly close to those two on my list.

Agreed on Nina's performance. She was absolutely stunning, and the rest of the cast also did a great job. Personally, I was actually most impressed by Ian? I knew Nina would be incredible, I was prepared to watch solid 40 minutes of Nina being absolutely stunning (and this is exactly what happened), and I didn't give anyone else a single thought. And then I got (as predicted) slayed by Elena's "Where is your science?" and (unexpectedly) by Damon's "I can't show up without Bonnie". Show, you might have your problems, but you did casting WELL.

And the hollering about how this scene was JUST LIKE the non-consensual compulsion of Jeremy, or the time Klaus compelled Stefan as Stefan was begging him not to....makes me a lot more suspect of the motivations behind all this outrage.See, what I don't understand (and this is a genuine question, I really DO NOT understand, and I tried) is that... there wasn't that much outrage when Elena had Jeremy

[pocochina]

I'm yet to get over 2x01 and 4x06, and 4x15 is certainly close to those two on my list.

YES. And for all the popular Plec-snark, she wrote or co-wrote all three of these episodes of excellence, along with Masquerade and The Departed. We all know how I feel about the SHUT UP, WOMAN!!! attitude about her anyway, but looking at just what she's clearly credited for (never mind her contributions as a co-creator and showrunner), I think it's pretty clear that girfriend has some serious game.

I got (as predicted) slayed by Elena's "Where is your science?" and (unexpectedly) by Damon's "I can't show up without Bonnie".

omg, yes. And THAT SCENE on the porch with Stefan which was just perfect. I think I kind of take Damon for granted because he's just one of My Characters in that way. But I really agree. A lot of his stuff this season has been subtle in a way that I wouldn't have expected to associate with Damon, but it's happening beautifully.

See, what I don't understand (and this is a genuine question, I really DO NOT understand, and I

[pocochina]

Jeremy is one of those parts of the show where I just am skeptical that something happens so consistently entirely by accident. Like, I don't think they just accidentally forgot about him, when his arc was more of a big mythological deal and the hunter thing was so integral to the first few episodes of the season. I don't think the line about "reprogramming" was a Freudian slip. I don't think his anger at Damon and fear of getting too angry with Elena was in any way surprising. I think that Jeremy's story this season was about what happens when someone has the survival of them and theirs on the line so many times, and has their vulnerability within their group brought home so many times, that they are susceptible to losing touch with their inner selves. I think that story would've lost a lot of its power if it had been called out toward the end, because it's the kind of thing that gets rationalized and ignored until it comes to a tragic end.

I guess maybe the 1x07 case seems more excusable to people because Elena was new to the

[upupa_epops]

Yeah, I am guilty of complaining about Julie Plec's unfortunate interviews, a lot, but I shut my mouth after 4x06. Clearly Plec is an awesome writer who is required to say stupid marketing-related things in interviews. I'm really curious to hear what she'll say about her characters when the show is over, her contract is over and she doesn't have to sell TVD anymore.

I think I kind of take Damon for granted because he's just one of My Characters in that way.

That's usually the case with me, but this time, he caught me unprepared.

You know, as problematic as it is to have so many ambiguous, murky stuff on a teen show, I'm kinda glad TVD went there? It's making me question my own reactions as a feminist viewer, re-examine myself. I like that.

[pocochina]

as problematic as it is to have so many ambiguous, murky stuff on a teen show

This kind of stuff I'm not even as bothered by? Teens aren't dumb. They know the world is a fucked-up place. Showing desperate people doing desperate things respects their intelligence. It's the Caroline/Matt type things, that get shown as good when they are clearly unhealthy, which worry me.

[pocochina]

It's a tough balance. I hate the idea of being the Positivity Police, you know? Because that's really silencing. And there's frustration, which is subjective and valid, and then there's just general showrunner skepticism, which IMO is pretty much always objectively warranted. But there's also a SHUT UP, WOMAN pile-on vibe which would make me wary even if I didn't think she was doing a great job this season, which I really do.

I think Plec speaks from the characters' perspectives a lot, and I think that bottomless ability to do so is what lets TVD be a show where even secondary and tertiary characters are so beloved. And I have a lot of sympathy for that, tbh, I think it's gotta be tough to try to write a character for twelve hours a day and then turn around and say how terrible they are? I don't think it's an accident that most acknowledged villain protagonist shows - Dexter, Breaking Bad, &c - are short seasons, rooted around one character's POV. Because it's exhausting to try to deal with cognitive dissonance and play devil's