Sire Bond Antics and Speculations
There's been a lot of unrest in the TVD fandom lately partly because we are on a hiatus at the moment, though it's coming to a close SLOWLY, and partly because the TVD fandom always seems to be in a state of panic and paranoia for one reason or another and I mean that with all of the love in the world...sort of. Needless to say, people are restless and when people are restless they either do two things in these fandoms: 1. Find a new show to obsess about for the time being OR 2. write post after post about how they have no faith left in their show and the world is coming to an end. This post is neither of those. This is post a product of some conversations i've been having recently particularly about the and the only....the SIRE BOND.
Now, let me preface this with an introduction to what my view is of this show and its characters since i'm new to LiveJournal and most who may read this probably don't know who I root for and whom I don't. Really, I think everyone, if anyone, who reads this wants to know my ship preferences...am I right? Well, I actually love and understand ALL of TVD's complicated and lovely characters. I generally try to understand every character's point of view and I don't hate anyone. I may be bored with some, I may get aggravated with others, but I love them all! Now, this is something of an anomaly in the fandom and I DON'T CARE! Go ahead snicker, comment, throw tomatoes, or roll your eyes at me for loving both brothers and Elena go ahead I dare you! I love my uniqueness in this respect...I really do! Okay, with that being said, no matter how much I may love each and every character I can still criticize and comment on what they do and let's face it...on a show about vampires, these characters have a habit of doing questionable things to say the least. So, just because I may write something on how much Damon may be wrong in killing so and so, it doesn't mean that I don't love him and enjoy him every single time he appears on my screen. Keep this knowledge in mind if you choose to continue to read this post.
Over the past few weeks, and what seems like months at this point, I have read every speculation, thought, hate post, love post over the new sire bond storyline that has been revealed on TVD. Now, I firmly believe at this point in the story that this bond is probably going to either be completely broken in the next 5 episodes because let's face it TVD rarely, if ever, keeps one story for an entire season. In fact, TVD decidedly does NOT keep any story for very long other than series long character arcs. If the bond isn't broken then it will be proven fake in one way or another. But, none of this means the writers can't have a little painful fun with the core triangle before the bond is over. Can you see Julie Plec maniacally laughing in the background and nodding her head? I can.
The sire bond affects two things, supposedly, for Elena: 1. It heightens her human emotions particuarly for her sire, Damon. and 2. It makes Elena suseptible to losing her free will. Number two is the one I want to focus on so you can stop writing your long-winded post about how Elena never loved Damon because she chose Stefan in 3.22 or that Elena loves Damon and just hasn't figured it out yet and the bond is going to prove that once it's broken. Let me put it this way....I KNOW! Okay?
To me, Elena's free will being compromised is the most important factor of this bond. Yes, I know that the triangle/love-related aspects of the bond are very important as well, especially for a show about a love triangle, but to me Elena is our heroine and no matter whom she dates and whom she loves....her free will is more important than any relationship with any boy she may have for the rest of the series. So, it being supposedly compromised needs to be dealt with and I could go on and on about how upset I was that so far Elena has not stomped her cute little feet, whipped her beautiful long hair, and flipped a shit over the idea that anyone, even if it's Damon, can tell her or make her do and believe anything she doesn't want to do. It's just a travesty to Elena's character and it needs to be addressed, period. Since it hasn't been addressed I have been doing some thinking on what I think may happen and yes it does bring Elena down a bit and holds her accountable for her actions and it does question Damon's past actions but remember...I love them both.
For the past three seasons, Elena has been through hell to say the least. She has lost practically everyone she's ever loved, been pushed to the brink of emotional turmoil, has died...twice, been stabbed, has stabbed herself, been thrown, been slapped...the list goes on and on. Through all of this horrible turmoil in Elena's life she has clung to one person, through thick and through thin, she has loved one person continuously...Stefan. Elena has managed for the most part to show complete loyalty to her vamp beau, now ex-beau. She has never strayed from her feelings for his and has always managed to come back to him no matter what. Until last season. It took 2 seasons, but Elena finally started to give in, maybe give up, and let Damon in romantically. She stopped fighting her attraction and she started loving and appreciating Damon, most importantly she started trusting Damon. Trust is probably the biggest sticking point for Elena, and can you blame her? This a lot for little miss independent Elena because Damon was not the type of guy she SHOULD love or even like. Damon loved being a vampire. Damon enjoyed being a vampire. Damon has taught himself to survive by being able to actually enjoy feeding on people and that included actually killing people because he's had to teach himself that people are food. They don't matter to him. Of course that's changed now and he's changed, but still Elena still judges herself for even possibly loving him. So she rejected Damon and hurt him and tossed him aside whenever she could because it just wasn't right! Damon in response to this and because he loves her, refused to believe she could ever love him and firmly believed GOOD Stefan, his own brother, deserved this lovely woman. He even went so far as to compel his first I love you to Elena to protect her and his own emotions...sending her to his brother once again. Season three ended with Elena having to make a choice in dire circumstance between two brother both of whom she cared and loved for very much. She chose Stefan, and you can say it's because she didn't really love Damon, or you can say she was too scared to pick Damon, or that she felt she owed Stefan something or whatever....but at the end of the day, after everything Elena had been through with Damon over the last three season and after everything Elena felt while being with Damon, she still chose STefan. That's a fact.
Fast forwarding to the present time, Elena is now bonded to Damon after sleeping with him and telling Caroline that she's falling in love with and now no one believes because hello? Elena has ALWAYS BEEN ABOUT STEFAN! No matter what anyone said or did, no matter what Stefan tried to get out of her, no matter what Caroline may have said, and even no matter what happened in Denver Elena never, not once, really admitted to loving Damon because what would that say about her? So, now, everyone is all in a tizzy and crazily confused as to why ELena would ever all of a sudden drop everything (including Stefan) and be with Damon. Including Damon.
Knowing this, is it impossible to think that Damon and Stefan would totally question Elena about the last season? Why wouldn't Stefan ask Elena why, if it isn't the bond and ELena insists it's not...her feelings are real dammit!, she's all about Damon? This girl REFUSED to admit anything to anyone, not even to Damon himself. Elena went to Denver, made out with Damon, and then asked Stefan to the dance. Then she chose Stefan despite her feelings for Damon. So, why wouldn't Stefan be completely befuddled and why wouldn't he confront Elena about her choice because none of this is making sense to him. It makes the situation even more dire when you include the distict possibility that Elena's feelings and actions may be affected by this bond and that after the bond is broken she may still want to choose Stefan. So, he has EVERY right to practically call Elena out, in my opinion.
Damon has every right to question the intensity of Elena's feelings. Sure she chose him and broke up with Stefan because of him, but if this bond affects her actions and beliefs, Elena's feelings may be just heightened and her need to make Damon happy may be heightened by the bond so Damon should go back to the last time Elena was unbonded and analyze the hell out of it. When was that? Um, season 3 when she CHOSE STEFAN! So, yes Damon has a right to ask Elena why she chose his brother over him if during that time her feelings for Damon weren't enough when compared to Stefan in that life or death moment.
If Elena wants a relationship in the future with either brother she needs to explain herself. There's no other way out of this bond and you can even say that if Elena had just been more truthful to both brothers about her feelings for both of them and actually explained her issues to both of them, they would believe her now when she says that her feelings for Damon are real even though she's bonded. You can even say that if Elena had chosen Damon, she wouldn't have the car turned around, she would have never been in the water and she wouldn't have drowned and then turned into a vampire which she decidedly didn't want to be. So yes, there are consequences to Elena's actions and choices from last season because just like Damon said in season 2 she was lying to herself, to Damon and to Stefan by continually denying any feelings of love for Damon.
If Damon does question her choice in season 3, and I don't see how he won't, then Elena has every right to bring up his past remembered compulsions and tell him that if she had known about those two instances of Damon saying I love you and their real first meeting things may have been different. These instances could have very well changed Elena's view of Damon which intially was this selfish vampire who didn't care about anyone but himself. As we saw in the premiere, Elena firmly believed that Stefan was her right choice because he respects her choices and is able to let Elena go on whatever suicide mission she wants to go on because that's up to her. Stefan can let go and Damon can't. At least that's what Elena believed, until Damon gave her that wonderful speech about WHY he was always protecting her since he fed her his blood in season 2. He wanted that human life for her and he was willing to let her go if she finally got the life that she desparately wanted. This changed Elena's view of Damon for sure and she realized that damon really wasn't that selfish vampire who fed on humans for enjoyment at all, or at least not anymore. Once she let go of all of those inner demons in 4.6, elena was a free woman emotionally and since her view of Damon had changed so much she chose him and left Stefan for better or for worse. This process could have been altered dramatically if Elena knew about the compulsions before 3.22 and making her choice. Her view of Damon would have changed earlier, her choice may have changed, she probably wouldn't be a vampire at the moment, and we would be watching a very different season. So yes, Elena can totally call damon out on compelling her and saying that yes her choice is affecting their relationship now, but he has to understand that she made that choice without knowing all of the information. He basically took away her choice to respond and remember those compulsions and was once again affecting her own choices in life and he needs to stop doing that and let her make her own decision just as she needs to let Jeremy make his own decision, even if he's killing vampires to get her the cure. That's his choice.
The bond and compelling are very similar in that regard...free will and choices can be taken away when they are used. So, it makes perfect sense for Elena to say something and defend her choices in the past and protect her own free will if she wants to. It also makes perfect sense for Elena to realize that telling Damon to stop affecting her own choices should also be applied to her actions with Jeremy because we all know that Elena loves to have Damon compel Jeremy for his own good and really, I think we can all say that for the most part, Damon was not compelling Elena or triggering the bond because he was being devious....it was for her own good and safety. It goes both ways. I can't see how they won't do this and it makes perfect sense for Elena to finally own her choices and her free will in this way. She needs to, in my opinion, because she's our heroine and a heroine who isn't worried about her own agency is a questionable heroine, especially on a teen CW show. So, get to it TVD and make this happen! Oh and by the way, I miss you!
Now, let me preface this with an introduction to what my view is of this show and its characters since i'm new to LiveJournal and most who may read this probably don't know who I root for and whom I don't. Really, I think everyone, if anyone, who reads this wants to know my ship preferences...am I right? Well, I actually love and understand ALL of TVD's complicated and lovely characters. I generally try to understand every character's point of view and I don't hate anyone. I may be bored with some, I may get aggravated with others, but I love them all! Now, this is something of an anomaly in the fandom and I DON'T CARE! Go ahead snicker, comment, throw tomatoes, or roll your eyes at me for loving both brothers and Elena go ahead I dare you! I love my uniqueness in this respect...I really do! Okay, with that being said, no matter how much I may love each and every character I can still criticize and comment on what they do and let's face it...on a show about vampires, these characters have a habit of doing questionable things to say the least. So, just because I may write something on how much Damon may be wrong in killing so and so, it doesn't mean that I don't love him and enjoy him every single time he appears on my screen. Keep this knowledge in mind if you choose to continue to read this post.
Over the past few weeks, and what seems like months at this point, I have read every speculation, thought, hate post, love post over the new sire bond storyline that has been revealed on TVD. Now, I firmly believe at this point in the story that this bond is probably going to either be completely broken in the next 5 episodes because let's face it TVD rarely, if ever, keeps one story for an entire season. In fact, TVD decidedly does NOT keep any story for very long other than series long character arcs. If the bond isn't broken then it will be proven fake in one way or another. But, none of this means the writers can't have a little painful fun with the core triangle before the bond is over. Can you see Julie Plec maniacally laughing in the background and nodding her head? I can.
The sire bond affects two things, supposedly, for Elena: 1. It heightens her human emotions particuarly for her sire, Damon. and 2. It makes Elena suseptible to losing her free will. Number two is the one I want to focus on so you can stop writing your long-winded post about how Elena never loved Damon because she chose Stefan in 3.22 or that Elena loves Damon and just hasn't figured it out yet and the bond is going to prove that once it's broken. Let me put it this way....I KNOW! Okay?
To me, Elena's free will being compromised is the most important factor of this bond. Yes, I know that the triangle/love-related aspects of the bond are very important as well, especially for a show about a love triangle, but to me Elena is our heroine and no matter whom she dates and whom she loves....her free will is more important than any relationship with any boy she may have for the rest of the series. So, it being supposedly compromised needs to be dealt with and I could go on and on about how upset I was that so far Elena has not stomped her cute little feet, whipped her beautiful long hair, and flipped a shit over the idea that anyone, even if it's Damon, can tell her or make her do and believe anything she doesn't want to do. It's just a travesty to Elena's character and it needs to be addressed, period. Since it hasn't been addressed I have been doing some thinking on what I think may happen and yes it does bring Elena down a bit and holds her accountable for her actions and it does question Damon's past actions but remember...I love them both.
For the past three seasons, Elena has been through hell to say the least. She has lost practically everyone she's ever loved, been pushed to the brink of emotional turmoil, has died...twice, been stabbed, has stabbed herself, been thrown, been slapped...the list goes on and on. Through all of this horrible turmoil in Elena's life she has clung to one person, through thick and through thin, she has loved one person continuously...Stefan. Elena has managed for the most part to show complete loyalty to her vamp beau, now ex-beau. She has never strayed from her feelings for his and has always managed to come back to him no matter what. Until last season. It took 2 seasons, but Elena finally started to give in, maybe give up, and let Damon in romantically. She stopped fighting her attraction and she started loving and appreciating Damon, most importantly she started trusting Damon. Trust is probably the biggest sticking point for Elena, and can you blame her? This a lot for little miss independent Elena because Damon was not the type of guy she SHOULD love or even like. Damon loved being a vampire. Damon enjoyed being a vampire. Damon has taught himself to survive by being able to actually enjoy feeding on people and that included actually killing people because he's had to teach himself that people are food. They don't matter to him. Of course that's changed now and he's changed, but still Elena still judges herself for even possibly loving him. So she rejected Damon and hurt him and tossed him aside whenever she could because it just wasn't right! Damon in response to this and because he loves her, refused to believe she could ever love him and firmly believed GOOD Stefan, his own brother, deserved this lovely woman. He even went so far as to compel his first I love you to Elena to protect her and his own emotions...sending her to his brother once again. Season three ended with Elena having to make a choice in dire circumstance between two brother both of whom she cared and loved for very much. She chose Stefan, and you can say it's because she didn't really love Damon, or you can say she was too scared to pick Damon, or that she felt she owed Stefan something or whatever....but at the end of the day, after everything Elena had been through with Damon over the last three season and after everything Elena felt while being with Damon, she still chose STefan. That's a fact.
Fast forwarding to the present time, Elena is now bonded to Damon after sleeping with him and telling Caroline that she's falling in love with and now no one believes because hello? Elena has ALWAYS BEEN ABOUT STEFAN! No matter what anyone said or did, no matter what Stefan tried to get out of her, no matter what Caroline may have said, and even no matter what happened in Denver Elena never, not once, really admitted to loving Damon because what would that say about her? So, now, everyone is all in a tizzy and crazily confused as to why ELena would ever all of a sudden drop everything (including Stefan) and be with Damon. Including Damon.
Knowing this, is it impossible to think that Damon and Stefan would totally question Elena about the last season? Why wouldn't Stefan ask Elena why, if it isn't the bond and ELena insists it's not...her feelings are real dammit!, she's all about Damon? This girl REFUSED to admit anything to anyone, not even to Damon himself. Elena went to Denver, made out with Damon, and then asked Stefan to the dance. Then she chose Stefan despite her feelings for Damon. So, why wouldn't Stefan be completely befuddled and why wouldn't he confront Elena about her choice because none of this is making sense to him. It makes the situation even more dire when you include the distict possibility that Elena's feelings and actions may be affected by this bond and that after the bond is broken she may still want to choose Stefan. So, he has EVERY right to practically call Elena out, in my opinion.
Damon has every right to question the intensity of Elena's feelings. Sure she chose him and broke up with Stefan because of him, but if this bond affects her actions and beliefs, Elena's feelings may be just heightened and her need to make Damon happy may be heightened by the bond so Damon should go back to the last time Elena was unbonded and analyze the hell out of it. When was that? Um, season 3 when she CHOSE STEFAN! So, yes Damon has a right to ask Elena why she chose his brother over him if during that time her feelings for Damon weren't enough when compared to Stefan in that life or death moment.
If Elena wants a relationship in the future with either brother she needs to explain herself. There's no other way out of this bond and you can even say that if Elena had just been more truthful to both brothers about her feelings for both of them and actually explained her issues to both of them, they would believe her now when she says that her feelings for Damon are real even though she's bonded. You can even say that if Elena had chosen Damon, she wouldn't have the car turned around, she would have never been in the water and she wouldn't have drowned and then turned into a vampire which she decidedly didn't want to be. So yes, there are consequences to Elena's actions and choices from last season because just like Damon said in season 2 she was lying to herself, to Damon and to Stefan by continually denying any feelings of love for Damon.
If Damon does question her choice in season 3, and I don't see how he won't, then Elena has every right to bring up his past remembered compulsions and tell him that if she had known about those two instances of Damon saying I love you and their real first meeting things may have been different. These instances could have very well changed Elena's view of Damon which intially was this selfish vampire who didn't care about anyone but himself. As we saw in the premiere, Elena firmly believed that Stefan was her right choice because he respects her choices and is able to let Elena go on whatever suicide mission she wants to go on because that's up to her. Stefan can let go and Damon can't. At least that's what Elena believed, until Damon gave her that wonderful speech about WHY he was always protecting her since he fed her his blood in season 2. He wanted that human life for her and he was willing to let her go if she finally got the life that she desparately wanted. This changed Elena's view of Damon for sure and she realized that damon really wasn't that selfish vampire who fed on humans for enjoyment at all, or at least not anymore. Once she let go of all of those inner demons in 4.6, elena was a free woman emotionally and since her view of Damon had changed so much she chose him and left Stefan for better or for worse. This process could have been altered dramatically if Elena knew about the compulsions before 3.22 and making her choice. Her view of Damon would have changed earlier, her choice may have changed, she probably wouldn't be a vampire at the moment, and we would be watching a very different season. So yes, Elena can totally call damon out on compelling her and saying that yes her choice is affecting their relationship now, but he has to understand that she made that choice without knowing all of the information. He basically took away her choice to respond and remember those compulsions and was once again affecting her own choices in life and he needs to stop doing that and let her make her own decision just as she needs to let Jeremy make his own decision, even if he's killing vampires to get her the cure. That's his choice.
The bond and compelling are very similar in that regard...free will and choices can be taken away when they are used. So, it makes perfect sense for Elena to say something and defend her choices in the past and protect her own free will if she wants to. It also makes perfect sense for Elena to realize that telling Damon to stop affecting her own choices should also be applied to her actions with Jeremy because we all know that Elena loves to have Damon compel Jeremy for his own good and really, I think we can all say that for the most part, Damon was not compelling Elena or triggering the bond because he was being devious....it was for her own good and safety. It goes both ways. I can't see how they won't do this and it makes perfect sense for Elena to finally own her choices and her free will in this way. She needs to, in my opinion, because she's our heroine and a heroine who isn't worried about her own agency is a questionable heroine, especially on a teen CW show. So, get to it TVD and make this happen! Oh and by the way, I miss you!