I'm going to be that annoying person who disappears for months and then returns to complain
Specifically, to complain about The Vampire Diaries
Okay, so I don't think I've ever actually posted about the Vampire Diaries before, mainly because I've only recently been entirely caught up with the show. But I figured talking about it and other shows I've been watching recently might be a good way to get back into the habit of posting to livejournal. Because I've really missed it, you guys.
So yes, The Vampire Diaries. There was a lot of stuff about this episode that I really hated, but there was also quite a lot that I really enjoyed too, and depending on where they take the show from here, I might actually start to enjoy the show fully again. I've had a lot of issues with the show this season, specifically with the way in which the show is treating Elena's autonomy, and as a result of this, the way they treat Elena and Damon's relationship. It pissed me off when the show made the sire bond plotline. It pissed me off when Stefan and Damon were insisting on giving Elena the cure, even when she explicitly stated she didn't want it. And although I understood why Damon told Elena to turn off her humanity after Jeremy died, I still thought it was pretty morally dubious.
And then the way Stefan and Damon started treating Elena when her humanity was turned off just frustrated me even more. They've spent the past few episodes treating her like a naughty child despite the fact that, compared to how most vampires behave, especially ones with their humanity turned off, Elena has been on good behaviour. I genuinely believe the reason Elena's behaviour got so out of control was not due to the fact that her humanity was turned off but due to the fact that everyone has been treating her like a petulant child (with the possible exception of Rebekah and Damon, at least initially). And then when they resorted to torturing the humanity out of Elena I was just...so disgusted. Seriously, that one scene with Damon giving Elena vervained blood in the last episode was so difficult to watch, and it wasn't even like I wasn't expecting it to happen. So, suffice to say I was cautious about this episode when I started watching. Despite this, there were elements of this episode that I really enjoyed. I'm going to start with those before diving into the parts of the episode that I enjoyed less.
First of all, I really enjoyed the way Caroline and Elena's relationship was played out in this episode. Caroline has spent the majority of this season treating Elena horribly, and as somebody who is a big fan of both characters, as well as the way their friendship has played out, that has been hard for me to watch. As much as I love Caroline, whenever she's broached the topic of Elena this season I've wanted to punch her in the face. Which is unfortunate, because she's talked about Elena and her sex life a lot. And since Elena's humanity's been turned off, she's pretty much treated Elena like an annoying problem she wishes would go away and not, you know, her best friend. Her best friend whose baby brother has just died and is suffering from uncontrollable grief that the last remaining family she had has been brutally murdered, no less. Which is why I was so happy to not only see somebody intervene with the ridiculous torture Elena plan, but for that person to be Caroline. I really hope this means these two can reach some sort of reconciliation in recent episodes because, with Rebekah leaving to go to The Originals, Elena could really do with a platonic friend right now. (On that note, I'm pretty annoyed that Bonnie has been so blasé about Elena, considering Bonnie and Elena were always supposed to be much closer than Elena and Caroline were. I'm willing to let this one slide for now though, since I'm not entirely convinced that Bonnie's in a fully functioning mental state, with Silas and everything.)
I also appreciate how difficult this would have been for Caroline, especially when she found Elena's attack on her so difficult the last time (I firmly believe that Elena did not actually mean to kill her that time, for the record) which is why I'm willing to excuse her then going along with the Salvatore's plan once her attempts to talk to Elena fail. At least Caroline tried another tactic first, you know?
I also loved Rebekah and Matt in this episode. I thought they were adorable in the last episode (the last actual episode, that is, not the ridiculous backdoor pilot) and I really enjoyed the fact that they were carrying on the arc between them. I enjoyed the fact that Rebekah had listened to Matt's advice about being human, and how being good is more important than being human. I also appreciated how, despite that her morality was still slightly askew. Rebekah telling Matt she'd compel him into college was adorable, in that she genuinely thought she was doing something perfectly moral. It's understandable given the company she's kept for the past hundred or so years that Rebekah's going to have a twisted perspective on morality, so I enjoyed the fact that she didn't instantly become some sort of saint.
On a related note, drunk Rebekah is the most adorable thing ever, possibly closely followed by Caroline organising Matt's study session. Also, the little moment where Rebekah says she's ordered Matt's graduation gown, and Elena's. Oh God, Caroline, I love you so much.
On the subject of Caroline, the scene where she was desperately trying to revive her mum was the most heartbreaking thing ever, major props to Candice in this episode.
Okay, so now onto this ridiculous torture Elena plan.
I hate it.
I don't think anything the show has done so far has annoyed me as much, including that fucking sire bond. What really bugs me is the fact that Damon seems to be doing his fair share, if not the majority of the torturing. Stefan I can understand a bit more, because this worked for him when Lexi was carrying out the torturing. But that is the problem with how Stefan's been treating Elena this season. He constantly acts as if they are one and the same, as if Elena's experience of being a vampire will be the same as Stefan's. And it isn't, because they're not the same people. And I think it is interesting to note that fear for her life is not what ultimately made Elena turn her humanity back on, but fear for Matt's life.
I was also absolutely horrified that they even considered approaching Katherine, let alone actually went through with it. Seriously though: how could they? That was just fucking cruel.
All of this aside, I really appreciated the fact that it was Matt which made Elena turn her humanity back on. I figured from the beginning that what would ultimately make Elena turn her humanity back on would not be either of the Salvatores but Matt or Bonnie. I'm surprised neither of the brothers went there sooner to be honest. It's been one of Elena's main character traits that she cares more about the people she loves than about herself. I'm curious about whether Matt was aware of this plan or if he has just started wearing the ring anyway as a precaution and Damon was aware of this.
I was also so happy that what Elena found to hold onto was hatred of Katherine. If, after all the shit the Salvatore brothers have pulled on her, the emotion she held onto was love for either of the brothers I would not be impressed. And that is a massive understatement. I hope to God that Elena at least calls the brothers out on the way they've been treating her. Ideally, I'd like to see Elena be single for a while, during which time the brothers demonstrate their regret somehow but I'm not convinced that will happen. So I would at least like a mention of the shitty way Elena has been treated.
I also absolutely love the idea of Elena seeking to kill Katherine. I really, really do not want Katherine to die, because she's a fascinating character who is a joy to watch and there's so much more that can be done with her (excluding ridiculous romances with Elijah). However, despite that, I love the idea of Elena killing the person who has caused her so much pain, killed so many people she loved and ruined her life. On a final note, I really wanted to punch Stefan when he said killing Katherine would not be worth it. It was disgustingly patronising of him to act as if Elena's perfectly legitimate emotions were somehow not valid.
So yeah, apologies for the long absence. I'm probably going to write more recaps like this, maybe for other shows too? I have Netflix now, and I've worked out how to watch TV online so I'm open to recommendations. Once I've finished Buffy, because I've somehow gone this long without ever having seen Buffy.
Okay, so I don't think I've ever actually posted about the Vampire Diaries before, mainly because I've only recently been entirely caught up with the show. But I figured talking about it and other shows I've been watching recently might be a good way to get back into the habit of posting to livejournal. Because I've really missed it, you guys.
So yes, The Vampire Diaries. There was a lot of stuff about this episode that I really hated, but there was also quite a lot that I really enjoyed too, and depending on where they take the show from here, I might actually start to enjoy the show fully again. I've had a lot of issues with the show this season, specifically with the way in which the show is treating Elena's autonomy, and as a result of this, the way they treat Elena and Damon's relationship. It pissed me off when the show made the sire bond plotline. It pissed me off when Stefan and Damon were insisting on giving Elena the cure, even when she explicitly stated she didn't want it. And although I understood why Damon told Elena to turn off her humanity after Jeremy died, I still thought it was pretty morally dubious.
And then the way Stefan and Damon started treating Elena when her humanity was turned off just frustrated me even more. They've spent the past few episodes treating her like a naughty child despite the fact that, compared to how most vampires behave, especially ones with their humanity turned off, Elena has been on good behaviour. I genuinely believe the reason Elena's behaviour got so out of control was not due to the fact that her humanity was turned off but due to the fact that everyone has been treating her like a petulant child (with the possible exception of Rebekah and Damon, at least initially). And then when they resorted to torturing the humanity out of Elena I was just...so disgusted. Seriously, that one scene with Damon giving Elena vervained blood in the last episode was so difficult to watch, and it wasn't even like I wasn't expecting it to happen. So, suffice to say I was cautious about this episode when I started watching. Despite this, there were elements of this episode that I really enjoyed. I'm going to start with those before diving into the parts of the episode that I enjoyed less.
First of all, I really enjoyed the way Caroline and Elena's relationship was played out in this episode. Caroline has spent the majority of this season treating Elena horribly, and as somebody who is a big fan of both characters, as well as the way their friendship has played out, that has been hard for me to watch. As much as I love Caroline, whenever she's broached the topic of Elena this season I've wanted to punch her in the face. Which is unfortunate, because she's talked about Elena and her sex life a lot. And since Elena's humanity's been turned off, she's pretty much treated Elena like an annoying problem she wishes would go away and not, you know, her best friend. Her best friend whose baby brother has just died and is suffering from uncontrollable grief that the last remaining family she had has been brutally murdered, no less. Which is why I was so happy to not only see somebody intervene with the ridiculous torture Elena plan, but for that person to be Caroline. I really hope this means these two can reach some sort of reconciliation in recent episodes because, with Rebekah leaving to go to The Originals, Elena could really do with a platonic friend right now. (On that note, I'm pretty annoyed that Bonnie has been so blasé about Elena, considering Bonnie and Elena were always supposed to be much closer than Elena and Caroline were. I'm willing to let this one slide for now though, since I'm not entirely convinced that Bonnie's in a fully functioning mental state, with Silas and everything.)
I also appreciate how difficult this would have been for Caroline, especially when she found Elena's attack on her so difficult the last time (I firmly believe that Elena did not actually mean to kill her that time, for the record) which is why I'm willing to excuse her then going along with the Salvatore's plan once her attempts to talk to Elena fail. At least Caroline tried another tactic first, you know?
I also loved Rebekah and Matt in this episode. I thought they were adorable in the last episode (the last actual episode, that is, not the ridiculous backdoor pilot) and I really enjoyed the fact that they were carrying on the arc between them. I enjoyed the fact that Rebekah had listened to Matt's advice about being human, and how being good is more important than being human. I also appreciated how, despite that her morality was still slightly askew. Rebekah telling Matt she'd compel him into college was adorable, in that she genuinely thought she was doing something perfectly moral. It's understandable given the company she's kept for the past hundred or so years that Rebekah's going to have a twisted perspective on morality, so I enjoyed the fact that she didn't instantly become some sort of saint.
On a related note, drunk Rebekah is the most adorable thing ever, possibly closely followed by Caroline organising Matt's study session. Also, the little moment where Rebekah says she's ordered Matt's graduation gown, and Elena's. Oh God, Caroline, I love you so much.
On the subject of Caroline, the scene where she was desperately trying to revive her mum was the most heartbreaking thing ever, major props to Candice in this episode.
Okay, so now onto this ridiculous torture Elena plan.
I hate it.
I don't think anything the show has done so far has annoyed me as much, including that fucking sire bond. What really bugs me is the fact that Damon seems to be doing his fair share, if not the majority of the torturing. Stefan I can understand a bit more, because this worked for him when Lexi was carrying out the torturing. But that is the problem with how Stefan's been treating Elena this season. He constantly acts as if they are one and the same, as if Elena's experience of being a vampire will be the same as Stefan's. And it isn't, because they're not the same people. And I think it is interesting to note that fear for her life is not what ultimately made Elena turn her humanity back on, but fear for Matt's life.
I was also absolutely horrified that they even considered approaching Katherine, let alone actually went through with it. Seriously though: how could they? That was just fucking cruel.
All of this aside, I really appreciated the fact that it was Matt which made Elena turn her humanity back on. I figured from the beginning that what would ultimately make Elena turn her humanity back on would not be either of the Salvatores but Matt or Bonnie. I'm surprised neither of the brothers went there sooner to be honest. It's been one of Elena's main character traits that she cares more about the people she loves than about herself. I'm curious about whether Matt was aware of this plan or if he has just started wearing the ring anyway as a precaution and Damon was aware of this.
I was also so happy that what Elena found to hold onto was hatred of Katherine. If, after all the shit the Salvatore brothers have pulled on her, the emotion she held onto was love for either of the brothers I would not be impressed. And that is a massive understatement. I hope to God that Elena at least calls the brothers out on the way they've been treating her. Ideally, I'd like to see Elena be single for a while, during which time the brothers demonstrate their regret somehow but I'm not convinced that will happen. So I would at least like a mention of the shitty way Elena has been treated.
I also absolutely love the idea of Elena seeking to kill Katherine. I really, really do not want Katherine to die, because she's a fascinating character who is a joy to watch and there's so much more that can be done with her (excluding ridiculous romances with Elijah). However, despite that, I love the idea of Elena killing the person who has caused her so much pain, killed so many people she loved and ruined her life. On a final note, I really wanted to punch Stefan when he said killing Katherine would not be worth it. It was disgustingly patronising of him to act as if Elena's perfectly legitimate emotions were somehow not valid.
So yeah, apologies for the long absence. I'm probably going to write more recaps like this, maybe for other shows too? I have Netflix now, and I've worked out how to watch TV online so I'm open to recommendations. Once I've finished Buffy, because I've somehow gone this long without ever having seen Buffy.