TVD - Graduation

[pocochina]

First order of business: if I put up a friending meme for people who are excited about The Originals, is it just going to be me kissing my own ass

Comments

[pocochina]

Doppelganger-Stefan is....I could not care less if it's a bizarre left-field ass-pull, it's brilliant.

I'm just not sure if we're meant to see it that way because I felt like the reprogramming was framed as a positive thing.

I mean, I didn't see it that way at all. But even if it arguably was, I think Jeremy being pissed at being forced to *live* was a pretty intense condemnation of any other choices that have been made for him.

But can we agree that they don't care about Caroline?

I am admittedly not as in tune with Caroline as much as other characters? And I would agree that her arc this season wasn't as meticulous as Bonnie's or Jeremy's. But it's hard for me to say that a character who's so consistent, and so frequently allowed to be flawed while still being clearly easy to love, is *disliked* by the narrative? I just...can't get my head around it.

[pocochina]

this is actually something I disagree on with the majority of fandom in that I LOVED it, heh

....yeah, I'm not sure that we even are in the minority on this one? I mean, I'm sure there are people whining that "I didn't predict it and I am obviously the GOD OF TELEVISION, so it must SUCK!" but the responses I've seen have ranged from "amused and surprised" to "stoked."

[pocochina]

I feel like this is getting into opinion-policing? For me as a viewer who likes Caroline but doesn't usually get into her head, since it happened the show kept that in my head and I believed it informed her actions and mindset for the rest of the season, which (particularly given that the end was literally nigh) is generally what I want/expect to see and that's a part of what I like about TVD. I don't think it was some egregious deviance from what's reasonable for a show with so much going on in a few episodes. So, while I wish the season worked as well for everyone else as it did for me, it's really not worth trying to argue me into being pissed over the degree of emphasis on one particular storyline.

[youcallitwinter]

Hee, I'm not sure I got it across right. The thing is I'm not denying that the fact that there was no narrative fall-out, and that Caroline's character was on the backburner; it's just that it didn't bother me as a viewer as I enjoyed the show nonetheless. I mean, the same argument could've been made for Caroline killing those two men who were keeping the Salvatores captive with her mum. Or Elena killing the hunter (AS a human being, not a ~hunter). There have been so many moments which could be seen as selling the characters short- I think I'm just going to wait for the next season to make my mind up on Caroline's entire arc, honestly, I don't think there'd be much point in me being mad about it if it turns out they plan to address it next season. I think after the series, if it's still unaddressed, then I'll be suitably annoyed.

This is also because I'm not as invested in the show anymore, or practically at all, so I'm kind of willing to go along with whatever happens.

[youcallitwinter]

I DO agree with you on that especially because Caroline's my favorite and she's the character I'm most invested in at all times, except that I just don't think the narrative is definitively foreclosed. It COULD be, of course, but sometimes TVD carries out fall-outs over a good, long while. Maybe the resolution right now, which focused on everything ending ~well was to set up for more later, which is clearly possible. I just don't think I'm in a suitable position to judge to judge till I see where the narrative re: Caroline is going

[youcallitwinter]

And reading your later added-in comments, you've actually made me much more positive about this than I was, so yay. :D (And I totally overuse the edit button myself, LOL.)

Hee, glad to know!

IDK. They could still have wrapped things up for this season without having it be quite as egregious as Caroline smiling at Klaus after he decapitated Aja. There was no subtlety, no nuance, and absolutely no consideration given to Caroline's inner life at all. Like I said, I understand not minding that, but I really don't understand not seeing it.I feel like that's kind of a personal POV tbh? For instance, the writers may not have thought it necessary to bring in the complications if they couldn't address them, esp if they were planning on addressing them later. The viewers watch in a certain way of course, but it's possible the writers didn't think of it as anything more than wrapping up an arc in the time they had. They didn't explore it NOW, but I don't think that necessarily disrespects Caroline as a character. It ended on a faux ~happy

[youcallitwinter]

It's just...there's recently, in canon, been SO MUCH TALK about Caroline-the-perfect-vampire, you know? From Stefan, Elena, Klaus, everyone. I know people disliked it and they felt it was being used to prop up Klaus/Caroline (which it may have been, for all I know) or everyone else being terrible about Caroline. But I feel like that may NOT be the case? I mean, we've all been wondering about why the need to prop up Klaus/Caroline through those dialogues when Klaus is clearly leaving for The Originals and, apart from maybe the occasional crossover, has no real role to play in that storyline. So, idk, maybe it WASN'T being used to just pander to shippers. Maybe it was build-up for Caroline exploration. In which case, even if she didn't personally get much of a say, it HAS been about Caroline all along

[pocochina]

I also don't think there's a binary between "total fail on X" and "emphasized X CORRECTLY and ENOUGH." When there's a lot of balls in the air, "adequate, enjoyable, and in keeping with the show's SOP for its millions and millions of plots" is also an option, and it's usually going to be the right choice for the show as a whole, especially because it doesn't shut the possibility out forever. I get that ensemble-friendly storytelling isn't for everyone, but it really is for me. ie:

I'm sure Damon stans are disappointed that he really hasn't had an arc in the season that wasn't tied to Elena. I feel like this will always be problem whatever character the focus is on.WE KNOW HOW I AM ABOUT DAMON* and he's been stalling for two seasons now. Really, since Klaus came on the scene to take over Big Bad Troll status. And sometimes I'm a little "....awww" about that, but it's the tradeoff to get a lot of other interesting stories (Bonnie! Tyler! Originals! &c) in 20-odd episodes a season and so I consider that a slight disappointment, not a

[pocochina]

sometimes TVD carries out fall-outs over a good, long while. Maybe the resolution right now, which focused on everything ending ~well was to set up for more later, which is clearly possible. I just don't think I'm in a suitable position to judge to judge till I see where the narrative re: Caroline is going......there was no fall-out NOW, but there COULD be. There could also NOT be, but I don't want to prematurely get mad over it, just in case there is.

Yeah, exactly. TVD does the cliffhanger every season except arguably S2. I can't say the arc is finished out because effectively we've seen half of a two-parter - ie the episode isn't even finished out.