The Vampire Diaries 3x12
So, how about that episode reaction I've been (avoiding) writing for days now?
WARNING: stream of consciousness. Those are just some theories I'm considering, and I'm not quite sure of them myself.
I'm not going to repeat what everyone has already said about Bonnie being awesome, Elijah being a badass and waving at newborns being adorable. Let's just say that I approve of what's been said, ok? I just don't want to bore you to death by writing things you've already read ten times.
I don't want to talk about Tyler. Also, I have decided to start calling Bill Forbes Daddy Pavlov. I have feelings about creepy cave conditioning. Let me sum up those feelings with some pictures:
I loved how Damon had this sheer enjoynment of screwing things up and getting the upper hand for the entire episode. That boy was just RELISHING in it. Telling Bonnie about the kiss, little power plays with Klaus and Meredith, taking control over Alaric's love life, setting Elijah free... Basically, he won everything there was to win (well, ok, Meredith vervained him, but he got all the Alaric-related data he needed, so - success with some collateral damage), and was terribly smug about it. Is it just me, or Damon seems VERY sure of himself right now? Which would make sense. Stefan is back in town and working with him. He kissed Elena and she is still speaking to him. Klaus blinked. From Damon's perspective, everything is right in the world, finally. Or, as right as it gets to be. The only big problem is Klaus, and he's not a very big problem right now, since he doesn't want to kill Elena and doesn't keep Stefan hostage. Damon doesn't know it's mid-season, and the plot demands that he gets kicked in the ass real hard real soon XD. Quite the contrary: he hasn't felt that good since before he found out Katherine wasn't in the tomb (just look carefully - right now is his calmest moment since then! He was mourning Katherine, then he had Stefan-and-blood-related issues, then the tomb vampires wanted to kill Mystic Falls, then Katherine came back, as soon as they got rid of Katherine, Elena was kidnapped, sacrificing the doppelganger came out, then Stefan left, then Stefan was compelled...). No wonder Damon is smug. He can actually win now (and no, I don't mean "winning" Elena). There is a good chance that everybody he cares about will live (he has a short list).
Stefan gave me some really hard time, but I think I figured out why he behaved the way he behaved. Just look at the beginning of his conversation with Elena: he is so angry that she lied to him! It's like, Stefan expects their normal mode of communication from Elena, even now. He expects she would be playing by the rules. So she shouldn't lie to him, and she shouldn't kiss Damon. Or at least that's how I'm going to explain it to myself so that I don't start arguing with my own screen (you must admit, a grown-up person sitting on a couch and yelling at a computer screen looks beyond ridiculous). Only when I take this conversation as a whole it makes sense to me why he would react so badly to Elena telling him about kissing Damon. Makes sense for me. Elena stops playing by their rules, so Stefan gets angry, because he doesn't know what to do with Elena who doesn't play by the rules. She is unpredictable that way. Scary. Stefan has Klaus to beat, so Elena can't not play by the rules. So Stefan needs to apologize, and needs to be a lot nicer for her from now on. Or, rather: his vengance on Klaus demands it, so he can finally let himself do it. Unpredictable Damon, he can handle (after 150 years or something it's hard to be TOTALLY unpredictable). Elena, he needs predictable.
Speaking of Elena. I'm still afraid to open some fandom discussions, because I have this weird feeling that Elena-bashing is WILD since 3x12 aired. If you were braver than me, and now you have some frustration to vent, the Elena-hating hate post* is ready for you (just drop me a line if you aren't on the filter yet, and you want to be). I can just say that I really loved Elena in this episode. The way she prioritized Bonnie over everything was great to watch, and her behavior towards Stefan was so amazing. Of course she would want to tell him about the kiss. Of course she would want him to know. Not because she is "making the way clear" for her and Damon (I strongly believe that if Elena ever "goes there" with Damon, NO ONE will know, unless Damon outs them again), but because she is Elena, and this is Stefan, and she is nothing if not honest with him. She is tougher right now, more bitter and stronger, she can stab people in the back and she can compel her brother, but if she can still be the Elena who was completely honest with Stefan, maybe she isn't THAT far gone? Or at least that's what I think she thinks. Telling Stefan the truth seems so trivial when compared to the stabbing and the compelling... but she can hardly do more. She does as much as she can to remain herself. She wants to remain herself. So she tells Stefan. Because this is what the pre-sacrifice Elena would do.
*WARNING - this post is double-locked for a reason. It's not nice there. Or at least I am less nice than I usually try to be. So if you open it and read something you don't like... well, I DID warn you, didn't I?
WARNING: stream of consciousness. Those are just some theories I'm considering, and I'm not quite sure of them myself.
I'm not going to repeat what everyone has already said about Bonnie being awesome, Elijah being a badass and waving at newborns being adorable. Let's just say that I approve of what's been said, ok? I just don't want to bore you to death by writing things you've already read ten times.
I don't want to talk about Tyler. Also, I have decided to start calling Bill Forbes Daddy Pavlov. I have feelings about creepy cave conditioning. Let me sum up those feelings with some pictures:
I loved how Damon had this sheer enjoynment of screwing things up and getting the upper hand for the entire episode. That boy was just RELISHING in it. Telling Bonnie about the kiss, little power plays with Klaus and Meredith, taking control over Alaric's love life, setting Elijah free... Basically, he won everything there was to win (well, ok, Meredith vervained him, but he got all the Alaric-related data he needed, so - success with some collateral damage), and was terribly smug about it. Is it just me, or Damon seems VERY sure of himself right now? Which would make sense. Stefan is back in town and working with him. He kissed Elena and she is still speaking to him. Klaus blinked. From Damon's perspective, everything is right in the world, finally. Or, as right as it gets to be. The only big problem is Klaus, and he's not a very big problem right now, since he doesn't want to kill Elena and doesn't keep Stefan hostage. Damon doesn't know it's mid-season, and the plot demands that he gets kicked in the ass real hard real soon XD. Quite the contrary: he hasn't felt that good since before he found out Katherine wasn't in the tomb (just look carefully - right now is his calmest moment since then! He was mourning Katherine, then he had Stefan-and-blood-related issues, then the tomb vampires wanted to kill Mystic Falls, then Katherine came back, as soon as they got rid of Katherine, Elena was kidnapped, sacrificing the doppelganger came out, then Stefan left, then Stefan was compelled...). No wonder Damon is smug. He can actually win now (and no, I don't mean "winning" Elena). There is a good chance that everybody he cares about will live (he has a short list).
Stefan gave me some really hard time, but I think I figured out why he behaved the way he behaved. Just look at the beginning of his conversation with Elena: he is so angry that she lied to him! It's like, Stefan expects their normal mode of communication from Elena, even now. He expects she would be playing by the rules. So she shouldn't lie to him, and she shouldn't kiss Damon. Or at least that's how I'm going to explain it to myself so that I don't start arguing with my own screen (you must admit, a grown-up person sitting on a couch and yelling at a computer screen looks beyond ridiculous). Only when I take this conversation as a whole it makes sense to me why he would react so badly to Elena telling him about kissing Damon. Makes sense for me. Elena stops playing by their rules, so Stefan gets angry, because he doesn't know what to do with Elena who doesn't play by the rules. She is unpredictable that way. Scary. Stefan has Klaus to beat, so Elena can't not play by the rules. So Stefan needs to apologize, and needs to be a lot nicer for her from now on. Or, rather: his vengance on Klaus demands it, so he can finally let himself do it. Unpredictable Damon, he can handle (after 150 years or something it's hard to be TOTALLY unpredictable). Elena, he needs predictable.
Speaking of Elena. I'm still afraid to open some fandom discussions, because I have this weird feeling that Elena-bashing is WILD since 3x12 aired. If you were braver than me, and now you have some frustration to vent, the Elena-hating hate post* is ready for you (just drop me a line if you aren't on the filter yet, and you want to be). I can just say that I really loved Elena in this episode. The way she prioritized Bonnie over everything was great to watch, and her behavior towards Stefan was so amazing. Of course she would want to tell him about the kiss. Of course she would want him to know. Not because she is "making the way clear" for her and Damon (I strongly believe that if Elena ever "goes there" with Damon, NO ONE will know, unless Damon outs them again), but because she is Elena, and this is Stefan, and she is nothing if not honest with him. She is tougher right now, more bitter and stronger, she can stab people in the back and she can compel her brother, but if she can still be the Elena who was completely honest with Stefan, maybe she isn't THAT far gone? Or at least that's what I think she thinks. Telling Stefan the truth seems so trivial when compared to the stabbing and the compelling... but she can hardly do more. She does as much as she can to remain herself. She wants to remain herself. So she tells Stefan. Because this is what the pre-sacrifice Elena would do.
*WARNING - this post is double-locked for a reason. It's not nice there. Or at least I am less nice than I usually try to be. So if you open it and read something you don't like... well, I DID warn you, didn't I?