TVD 4x19
I haven't done an episode reaction in a while, so let's have one now...
...because I have TONS of Elena and Bonnie feelings.
We've been talking earlier in the season how Elena and Bonnie had parallel arcs all this time: with their agency being questioned, control being snatched from them. I feel like in this episode, all the parallels came together so beautifully I didn't even know this was what I wanted until I got it. Jeremy Gilbert died, and, metaphorically, this is what freed both Elena and Bonnie: no sire bond, no hypnosis. But Elena doesn't have her "humanity", and Bonnie's magic is "out of control". The only difference between them is that Bonnie manages to hide her uncontrollability, while Elena's descent into chaos takes place in full view. So in 4x19, they very much inhabit the same symbolic space of the female: scary, overwhelming, uncontrollable, unpenetrable, incomprehensible, deadly. Only they don't recognize each other as belonging to the same space: Bonnie barely attempts to interact with Elena, and when Elena sets to destroy Bonnie, she wants to destroy her as a symbol of the order (if Bonnie brings back the dead, the dead will try to make Elena feel again, try to bring her back to the state of "culture" or "order"). It's also telling that Elena only becomes verbally aggressive towards Bonnie after seeing the pictures; after remembering that Bonnie is a threat simply because he's the link to her past, because they love each other, because Bonnie MEANS so fucking much. Elena can't destroy herself if she doesn't destroy Bonnie first.
And then they fight, and in that fight, they find what's most human about both of them: not love, but fear of death. Elena is scared Bonnie will kill her, Bonnie is scared that her exploding magic will kill them both -- that in an act of destruction, she could self-destruct. Before the fight with Elena, Bonnie is willing to die, but then she goes to Silas and offers help. I couldn't understand why at first, but now it makes sense. Bonnie was willing to die, but then she actually touched death, and discovered she wants to live. Guys, Bonnie Bennett wants to live, and she wants it so badly she's willing to wreak havoc. Elena Gilbert wants to live even when she's going out of her way to destroy herself. No one can reach to those girls -- but they reach to each other without wanting to, and they make each other afraid.
(I also saw a very good interpretation of their conflict in terms of jealousy and distribution of power -- but I need to think it through if I'm to offer anything more than simply repeating someone else's reading.)
On a whiny note: who the fuck thought it would be a good idea to have Rebekah spend the whole episode bending over backwards to win Elijah's and Matt's approval??? They legit made her PROVE she deserves to be human. I can't.
On a "things we knew" note: Damon still thinks it's a good idea to trust Stefan instead his own gut. I'm gleefully waiting for it to bite him in the ass. Salvatores continue to be tools.
...because I have TONS of Elena and Bonnie feelings.
We've been talking earlier in the season how Elena and Bonnie had parallel arcs all this time: with their agency being questioned, control being snatched from them. I feel like in this episode, all the parallels came together so beautifully I didn't even know this was what I wanted until I got it. Jeremy Gilbert died, and, metaphorically, this is what freed both Elena and Bonnie: no sire bond, no hypnosis. But Elena doesn't have her "humanity", and Bonnie's magic is "out of control". The only difference between them is that Bonnie manages to hide her uncontrollability, while Elena's descent into chaos takes place in full view. So in 4x19, they very much inhabit the same symbolic space of the female: scary, overwhelming, uncontrollable, unpenetrable, incomprehensible, deadly. Only they don't recognize each other as belonging to the same space: Bonnie barely attempts to interact with Elena, and when Elena sets to destroy Bonnie, she wants to destroy her as a symbol of the order (if Bonnie brings back the dead, the dead will try to make Elena feel again, try to bring her back to the state of "culture" or "order"). It's also telling that Elena only becomes verbally aggressive towards Bonnie after seeing the pictures; after remembering that Bonnie is a threat simply because he's the link to her past, because they love each other, because Bonnie MEANS so fucking much. Elena can't destroy herself if she doesn't destroy Bonnie first.
And then they fight, and in that fight, they find what's most human about both of them: not love, but fear of death. Elena is scared Bonnie will kill her, Bonnie is scared that her exploding magic will kill them both -- that in an act of destruction, she could self-destruct. Before the fight with Elena, Bonnie is willing to die, but then she goes to Silas and offers help. I couldn't understand why at first, but now it makes sense. Bonnie was willing to die, but then she actually touched death, and discovered she wants to live. Guys, Bonnie Bennett wants to live, and she wants it so badly she's willing to wreak havoc. Elena Gilbert wants to live even when she's going out of her way to destroy herself. No one can reach to those girls -- but they reach to each other without wanting to, and they make each other afraid.
(I also saw a very good interpretation of their conflict in terms of jealousy and distribution of power -- but I need to think it through if I'm to offer anything more than simply repeating someone else's reading.)
On a whiny note: who the fuck thought it would be a good idea to have Rebekah spend the whole episode bending over backwards to win Elijah's and Matt's approval??? They legit made her PROVE she deserves to be human. I can't.
On a "things we knew" note: Damon still thinks it's a good idea to trust Stefan instead his own gut. I'm gleefully waiting for it to bite him in the ass. Salvatores continue to be tools.