In which I procrastinate like it's my job [The End of The Affair]
COMMUNITY IS BACK.
(And with lots of inappropriate Jeff/Annie. My weeks are SO MADE.)
Jeff: When you feel the way I feel about you, the easy loophole through the creepiness and danger is to treat them like a child. ‘Chip off the old block.’ ‘You’re the best, kiddo!’ It’s a crutch. It’s a way for me to tell you how important you are from a distance. But now you’re becoming this mature, self possessed, intelligent young woman, and I can’t keep patting you on the head or talking down to you.
Annie: But I like how close we are. I don’t want to grow up if it means losing what we have.
Jeff: Well, tough, Annie. You have to grow up because the world needs more women like you. We can’t keep doing this forever, kiddo.
Annie: Can’t we?
source
*FANGIRLS*
Moving on to The End of The Affair. (WIN ON THE GRAHAM GREENE TITLE. I love how they take their titles from various intellectual sources, it makes me feel smart watching it-- considering it is called Vampire Diaries and all.)
First, MUCH THANKS TO brightstarmara FOR HER WEEKLY LINKS. YOU ARE SO, SO EPIC. <3
I’m going to get all my unpopular opinions and issues done before I move on, because this is an epic episode and deserves all the fangirl moments it gets.
I think why I’m particularly annoyed by the ‘Let’s save Stefan’ shenanigans this episode is not because the individual scenes were bad (they weren’t, they were really good actually), but because the entire thing was so contrived. And contrived in a way that made everyone involved look slightly stupid. It’s not characters being stupid; it’s the writing that makes them seem stupid. Including Klaus. At this moment, I just want to roll with the theory that Klaus knows all and is orchestrating his grand moment of revelation, because if he isn’t, then the show’s making him the most incompetent Super Villain in the history of forever.
And, I never got the ‘they’re risking their lives to save Stefan’ vibe, all I got was ‘man, srsly, if this wasn’t a tv show and they weren’t the main actors (and a lot of other little things like, y’know, ‘if vampires existed’ etc), they’d so be kicking it by now.’ Because Klaus, The Baddest Hybrid There Is, can’t tell that Elena is in the room? And he doesn’t wonder where Stefan is when Damon randomly comes and sits by him? CONTRIVED, I TELL YOU.
- Also I got a much too strong ‘I can save you!’ message from this particular episode, which is sad because the show has been trying really hard to avoid that particular cliché. They’ve even made lots of meta-references to movies which use this. And they’ve done a really good job so far, everyone can tell that Elena’s love is not going to ‘save’ Damon, and rather it tends to push him to actively revolt against his feelings (think Elena’s hug followed by Jessica’s murder). And here too, I suppose the ultimate message was Stefan finally walking away, even if he didn’t mean half the things he said. So the show got it, basically. But here, for once, I want the character to get it. I want Elena to go back to being kickass and suicidal in a completely self-aware way, not suicidal in the I-could-die-while-crossing-the-road sort-of way or adhering to the stereotype of the angst-ridden female lead of a show which has two hot vampire brothers fighting over her. Like, I’m always able to defend her actions, at least to myself, and even now I know I can add a different spin to it, the problem is, this time, I don’t want to. I know Stefan saved her once and she wants to save him now and that she’s lost way too many people. Problem is that’s not what I got when I watched this time. I can theorize all I want, but it’s not what the show made me feel. Elena is smart, her deal with Elijah would've gotten her exactly what she wanted if Damon hadn't screwed it up. But this time, trying to vervain her boyfriend to what....? Drag him back? It made NO sense D:
But apart from that, the show was A+++++++
- KATHERINE IS BACK. And, my god, she is so fierce. I love how she’s all ‘so ‘sup, I’m not gonna ruin my reputation for being a heartless bitch but here’s everything you need to know to save your brother/get yourself killed. And Damon, it was always Stefan. kbye.”
I also love how Damon can’t seem to get her out of his system completely, and the way he’s always on the defensive whenever he speaks to her. And his expression every time she says something that makes it obvious that it was always Stefan for her? Oh, Damon. On a completely kiddie-pool-deep note, she was gorgeous each time she appeared on the screen; I adored the 20’s hairstyle. Also, Super Sleuth!Katherine, who would’ve thunk it? The girl’s basically been stalking Stefan since forever. In her way she was as devoted to him as Damon was to her. I think this all-consuming adoration is something they share in common. Pretty epic, that.
And silly Damon, this is Katherine. Of course she’s in Chicago, of course she is.
- STEFAN NEEDS TO STAY IN THE 20’S FOREVER, BASICALLY. The suits, the dancing, the unapologetic blood-drinking, the cockiness, the looks I am shallow alright. They were all glorious. PAUL WESELY, YOU WERE TOTALLY BORN IN THE WRONG DECADE, YOU WERE MADE FOR THE 20’s D: Evil people being unapologetically evil on my screen just makes me happy /issues.
Also, what’s really different about Stefan’s ripper!phase from the good ol’ 20’s as compared to the present-time, is a) as Stefan mentioned, it took him thirty years to rehabilitate b) he’d switched the button off that time.
This is always a very debatable topic, but the way I see it is that switching the button off is like shutting off the super-ego and completely giving in to the urges of the id. Basically, vampires who’ve switched ‘off’ their button are rather like werewolves, i.e., they are not morally responsible for their actions. For instance, blaming Tyler for trying to attack Caroline or Matt would be rather redundant because Tyler, during his transformation, is NOT human, he exists at the level of the bestial; he’s incapable of moral judgment. Similarly, vampires without their ‘feelings’ are not human at all. They’re highly functional beasts. However, in this case, Stefan is making choices. He’s fully aware of what he’s doing and each kill therefore is carried out while he’s still trapped within the ambit of retaining his humanity.
And ironically enough, this is exactly what is most dangerous.
The idea being that it’s much easier to convert someone when they’ve ‘switched it off’ simply by convincing them to flip the switch back on; the remorse and guilt is bound to be devastating. Which is what happened in Stefan’s case earlier. He couldn’t stand the remorse that the knowledge of his actions generated and completely repressed all his vampire urges as much as he could; going so far as to reject blood-drinking entirely. But, if the same actions are carried out as Stefan is; while still trying to hold onto his humanity then there always remains the fear that this attempt can lead to him losing his humanity entirely. That he might just eventually be numbed by all the killing, and by default; used to it. The guilt remains a constant, he probably feels it each time he kills, but eventually it’s bound to be dulled, or at least it can’t possibly have the same impact that the avalanche of feelings would have had had he been switching his feelings on after a long period.
Which is obviously what Klaus is aiming for. This is also why he doesn’t compel Stefan to become his old ripper self, which would be ridiculously easy. He knows Stefan will still do anything to protect his brother, and that he still cares, but he doesn’t do anything about it because, in the long run, it doesn’t matter.
Highly engaging stuff :O
(Of course since Stefan is one of the leads, he will probably have a redemption arc, however, I can’t help thinking it’ll gloss over this particular issue entirely).
- When they’re not being stupid, Damon and Elena continue their BrOTP run and it is so much fun to watch on screen! Damon’s typical, illegitimate entry into Elena’s bed, her reaction to him, their banter, it’s all so season one, it legit makes me go all starry-eyed. Elena really got some of the best lines and Damon some of the best reactions.
And this show really does love its parallels; you had Damon raiding Elena’s underwear drawer yet again (also, whoa, Elena, you just made writing smut!fic a whole lot more fun. Who wants to bet that within the next week there’ll be at least five fics that reference Elena’s red lace panties?) coupled with Elena’s hilarious outrage. And Damon and Elena in the car again (“eyes on the road, grandma.”) The interesting thing being that even the angle from which that was shot was similar to the road-trip shots in Bloodlines. Damon’s head tilt made me feel for a moment that I was watching Bloodlines. Which is awesome because this allowed a point of comparison and of contrast of the two scenes; Elena’s wariness is replaced by long suffering ‘why do I put up with this guy’ looks along with a certain muted attraction, while Damon’s inscrutability is replaced by a pretend inscrutability through which he’s so painfully obvious and in love and it’s adorable. [Also Ian’s ‘Stefan’ voice is never not hilarious]. And through it all the major change is that this time Elena doesn’t need to ask Damon if she can trust him.
I don’t want them to get together or anything, I want them to continue like this for as long as possible (although I shall not say no to some sexytimes. Although what REALLY needs to happen sometime is Stefan/Elena/Damon ‘I’ve got you back and I won’t let you go’ angsty sex, js). Also Damon’s pretend casual ‘are you okay’ was amazing; he just tries so hard to fit his own stereotype and he just can’t.
- Also, Damon’s expression whenever Elena’s not looking at him, just GUH. It’s really wonderful how Ian managed that half-amused, half-tender expression. Especially because it vanishes so quickly when Elena does look at him and is easily replaced by his usual smirk. But it does exist for those few moments and it makes me melt each time <3
- What I’m really interested in is what the holy grail of TV relationships is. For instance, we know that Elena is willing to accept Stefan after all the murders and thinks she can change him. And now I REALLY want him to sleep with Rebekah, like, really. Because I want to know if even metaphorical ‘cheating’ is the breaking point for a relationship like theirs. Would Elena accept Stefan if he slept with another woman? (Basic question being that would Stefan sleep with another woman in the first place, to which I’m all, HE SHOULD. Because it’d be interesting to see how the dynamic changes, and he WAS in love with this woman once and now he must’ve felt those feelings return since Klaus’s compulsion was lifted D:) And if he doesn’t, it’s like he wouldn’t betray Elena like that, which is sweet and I get it, but I think the other scenario makes for a far more compelling angle. Like, you killed a million people and that’s fine BUT YOU SLEPT WITH THAT BLONDE CHICK (honey, Marilyn Monroe was there first. Oh okay, maybe not technically but…) ON TOP OF THAT? GTFO OF MY LIFE.
- Speaking of; OH MY GOD, HOW AWESOME IS IT THAT WE GOT A BRATTY ORIGINAL BABY SISTER? [I’m still judging you hard for not bringing Elijah back though, show]. I really loved her character; the way she put Stefan in his place (and his and his friends’ reactions were so typical of the male species, especially in the ‘20’s, it made me laugh and roll my eyes. A woman approaching to reprimand you is basically ‘interested’, lol). The way she manipulated and then fell in love with Stefan was magnificent. And her hiding and subsequent staking of Klaus after waking up? SHE WAS SO MUCH THE LITTLE SISTER IT MADE ME HAPPY.
- Also from which, I couldn’t possibly be the only one getting HEAVILY INCESTUOUS vibes from Klaus? I mean, I usually get heavily incestuous vibes from anyone and anything that included siblings (yes, I;ve booked a first class ticket to the ninth circle of hell, thank you) But here, it didn’t even seem like it was ALL in my mind. The guy was almost too possessive, and his expression was smouldering when he looked at Stefan dancing with Rebekah. Unless he was just looking at Stefan? In which case, it all makes sense, however, as always, I go with incest. He was basically all ‘lol, have fun with her, but she won’t stay with you cuz she always chooses me. Good luck with that bro’. OMG, STEFAN/REBEKAH/KLAUS FIC, WHERE ARE YOU?
- KLAUS HAS BEEN CRUSHING ON STEFAN SINCE THE 1920’S, YOU GUYS. THIS IS WHAT EPIC LOVE STORIES ARE MADE OF. <333
- And the history of the necklace! It’s been an important running motif throughout but I’m never really sat and thought about it apart from how it’s used in the S/E/D triangle. But I LOVE it when shows add more to something you hadn’t even realized you wanted to know more about, or could play an important part in the plot (Lost is so devastatingly good at that). And that almost everything arises from a context and doesn’t exist in suspension. It’s all the more ironic because it is basically a symbol of love but of another love.
- Also, Caroline gay dad teaching her to repress her instincts and trying to torture the vampire out of her like it’s a life choice or a condition? WHAT WAS THAT ANGLE EVEN? Unless it was a meta nod to the aspect of being gay itself, and the ridiculousness of that sort of extreme, uninformed reaction to it? In which case, well played, show.
- Caroline broke my heart this episode because this is the first time we’ve seen what she actually feels about being a vampire. She’s devastated; throughout you could palpably feel that she thought her daddy was right. That she is a monster and she has to live with that knowledge every day. And though it all you could tell she loves this guy. Maybe more than anyone else. And the worst it that he did what he did because he loves her. THIS DYSFUNCTION, I CAN’T. Her face right before “Daddy why won’t you talk to me?” I just, that was possibly the most heart-breaking expression I’ve ever seen on television. Oh, Caroline. I just want to hug her.
- BUT THEN THERE WAS SHERRIF FORBES BEING AN AWESOME MOTHER AND THE EPISODE WAS MADE. I loved that she had the active role in saving Caroline and Tyler aided. That made so much more sense than Tyler being the one to rescue her. And then he stayed with her and held her when she cried? Perfect couple is perfect.
- Also I’m waiting to see how the Damon/Elena aspect is going to be furthered without the show making it seem as if she got rejected by one brother and ran into the arms of the other. YOU BETTER NOT MAKE IT SEEM LIKE THAT SHOW, THAT’S JUST GIVING FANDOM REASON TO HATE ON ELENA. And this fandom hates way too much on Elena as it is /sigh.
- Also,the make up department for this show REALLY makes me *headdesk* ; Ease up on the guyliner for Ian, srsly. I don’t get it; the guy has amazing eyes, he has awesome hair, why would they deliberately try to sabotage it that often; it makes NO sense? DD:
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- Enjoy! :D
ALSO, THE BIG BANGS ARE OUT. SO MUCH FIC TO READ OMG OMG. People from my flist who've participated are waltzmatildah badboy_fangirl and lit_chick08. AND EACH OF THEM IS SURE TO BLOW YOUR MIND. GO READ NOW.