TVD 3x19
I'm guessing by the relative quiet on my f-list that a lot of people were underwhelmed with this episode, as was I. I liked it in concept but the execution was kind of uneven, and concept buys a lot with me usually, so for that not to cut it is odd.
I was pretty disappointed with Rose's appearance, which I think hurt the episode a lot for me because I'm pretty invested in her. Really, ripped out of the afterlife so she could be the obvious authorial voice on the love triangle which is the least interesting thing about the main characters? come ooooon. I mean, I can totally come up with reasons why Rose would think what she does about D/E, but it was so awkward and forced. It was especially jarring as even from completely separate planes of existence, I still bought Damon/Rose more than I ever have Damon/Elena? As much as it's not some Bachelor shit where ONE GIRL MUST WIN, the discrepancy was in pretty sharp relief, and obviously not in the way the episode wanted it to be.
There's also a big missing piece on the board: Katherine. Odd that nobody's mentioned...calling her? She's really quite useful when she shares a common interest with someone, and this is the situation where they're as sure as they can be that she'll have their agenda. Also I was kind of expecting her to pop up outside the motel room window and laugh her ass off at the D/E shenanigans. But since we clearly can't have nice things, I do hope she's at least off trolling Elijah, because lawl.
I have to say, I just love the Salvatore of it all. In this episode, I think we really see how Elena and each other are such convenient pretexts for what I think are some genuine efforts to be better. Because then "doing it right" and "getting Elena's love" become mixed up, and if they do fuck up, they can make it about insufficient love from Elena, and that's something they can blame on each other. Or, if she ever does get out of Mystic Falls or fall for someone else, they can use their ~shared heartbreak to strengthen their bond. I'm not defending the way they're emotionally entangling her in their whole fucked-up thing, or even the way they put so much of their shit on each other even indirectly, but I think it's extremely believable for both of them.
For all my aversion to Damon/Elena actually being together, I admit that kiss was hot. I cracked up during the whole talk about expectations! It's damn near word-for-word what we've been saying all this time. And he can't let himself be seen trying to be good for its own sake or his own sake, obviously, but he's going to do it! He's going to be AWESOME! Because FUCK YOU, MOTHERFUCKER! Then he can feel like he's lashing out at someone even by refraining from lashing out. And when he blows it, he totally MEANT to do that, he's just BORED, and what, didn't you KNOW this was going to happen?!
For his part, Stefan clearly cares more about "taking back control of [his] life" than he does about winning Elena back - and rightfully so! - but he's still clinging to the idea of her as a moral guide and motivation because he doesn't trust himself enough to do it yet. I really felt for him in how that came across in all his confrontations with Klaus. He really is trying to handle his problems by accepting them to some extent, and yet, he knows he's not there yet and he's not sure he ever will be, and he knows Klaus can see that, and so his bravado at Klaus is just that.
Unfortunately, that was the only part of the scenes between Ric and Stefan that worked for me. Yes, yes, we get it, Stefan is talking about his own Ripper-ness in a surprisingly healthy way, when he tells Ric that the violence is "the darkest part of yourself." Fine. I like that Stefan's trying to deal with his issues, and I very much like the pro-free-will sentiment behind it. But that's not the mirror-talk it's supposed to be, because RIC IS BEING FUCKING RING-ROOFIED. I support people taking responsibility for their actions. I do. And I recognize that it's realistic for someone in Ric's shoes to feel guilty and blame themselves for whatever went down. But DUDE, NOT COOL. For the obvious reasons, of course, but it's also the gross presumption that only perpetrators can be interesting; that an autonomous human being dealing with a violation of that autonomy does not have a story we want to hear. Bullshit. BULL. SHIT. Stepping back and looking at writing issues, I can understand at least that they're grasping for some way to clarify Stefan's culpability for all his ish. But the intended parallel is so shoddy, it just digs the whole thing in deeper.
I will give it up on execution, though, for one Ms. Claire Holt. She made me feel so much for Rebekah and her will to survive and her drive for love in that first scene, and then she....fell kinda flat for me after the scene with Esther. And I should've figured it out, because in retrospect it was pretty obvious and also because Rebekah never falls flat for me. But then looking back, knowing she was Esther pretending to be her daughter, it's really quite something.
Kol remains a shining beacon of chaos and hilarity. Nice to see Jeremy again, and find out that the compulsion wasn't a total memory-wipe that would leave him ignorant and defenseless. (still bad! Not justifying! but it's good to understand.) And! TYLER IS BACK! Aw, the poor guy. He really thought he had shit worked out! NOT SO FAST, BUDDY. I'm really concerned he's going to bite it, when he's worked so hard to escape the godawful cycle he's stuck in.