we'll cross that bridge when we come to it

[pocochina]

F-list temperature on this episode seems to be lukewarm? It delivered on a surprising proportion of the things I cared about most, and so I really enjoyed it.

Comments

[pocochina]

The thing about Elena is that she's a survivor, not a martyr, but her survival often crucially depends on others seeing her as a martyr.

Totally. It's far and away what I like best about her, and I think the show is doing something so, so interesting (if probably largely unconscious) with how it's unthinkable to everyone that she do anything other than take the Good Girls Don't tack with it. I am so creeped out by narratives (or readings of narratives? this is one of those things that I really don't know where it comes in) that endorse and romanticize female martyrdom. TVD's Thing is deconstructing tropes, and this is one that I love to watch fall.

the two of them are locked in this weird two-step where they're both so caught up in playing their personas that they're more about playing into expectations of Who They Should Be than actually being themselvesYES. S3 worked better for me than it did for, apparently, everyone else in the world? in large part because I don't think I ever had an investment in any interpretation of Elena/

[pocochina]

when Tyler actually gets a lot more power or freedom than he's used to having, he tends to screw up because he doesn't know how to deal with it. It's almost like he does better when he gets a tiny amount of freedom doled out to him in small doses (like when he turned in 3x02 but chose to do it in front of his mother because that would achieve a specific purpose.) But he's had a couple of instances of coping successfully with this form of...restricted freedom, so I'd like to see him step beyond that, too. *hopes*

I think so! I hope so. It's like training wheels. TYLER.

[fluffyfrolicker]

+ s4 being the season of Rebekah is actually perfectly fine with me. Bless that girl. Such a silly teenage girl after a thousand years.

+ the show will probably never stop hurting Caroline, which I understand, because it always causes a reaction. I'd just be happier if one of these days, she'd get to kick some ass herself.

+ Trevino was great as Klaus. I was extremely worried about it, but it was A GREAT thing to watch.

+ I love love love how things in tVD happen quickly. In any other show, my guess is we'd have AT LEAST 4 or 4 episodes of TyKlaus before finally settling it. Also now that I'm thinking of it, tVD's always a show that gets down with things quickly when it's required and I shouldn't have worried that Elena's transition would be dragged out more than one episode.

+ Jeremy going dark makes perfect sense. I'd be interested in seeing it.

+ BONNIE BONNIE BONNIE BONNIE <3333333

+ Loved Elena's transition. Loved her jumping Damon. LOVE her vamp!face.

[pocochina]

BONNIE AND REBEKAH. <3

the show will probably never stop hurting Caroline, which I understand, because it always causes a reaction. I'd just be happier if one of these days, she'd get to kick some ass herself.

I have it in my head that Caroline kicks ass at least as often than not? Damon, Mason, the tomb vamps, Damon....I don't think needing help sometimes after being ambushed and poisoned erases all her badassery.

[ladygawain]

I love that you don't hate everything. Because I'm a professional hater. But I think this episode was very much an episode we all need to get through to get to the meat of things so I'm cautiously excited for what comes.

Trevino was such a pleasant surprise. Loved him.

BONNIE. We'll see. I'm already disturbed by what I know of 4x02, so I'm hoping it doesn't reinstate the status quo of awful and that her story is somewhat galvanized.

Elena's everything.

[pocochina]

Yeah, with the occasional exception like The Return, season premieres are rarely my favorites, because most of the job it has to do isn't really in the episode itself. But I think this one had a lot of good moments and a lot of potential.

[eilowyn]

I really need to do my Bonnie re-watch. I have no idea where her story's going (except for the possibility of Dark Willow), and I avoid spoilers so I don't have hints of what's coming tonight.

I do not think either of them gets where the knack and drive for being the person whoever they’re with expects to see ends, and where they as individuals begin.

Oh, you and your eloquence!

Jeremy is my sweet baby Steve McQueen and I don't want him to be hurt again but going dark sounds really fun. I think I want every character on this show to go dark. Except for Damon. And Rebeckah. I think they're too wounded to go dark when it's so easy to just pretend to be dark to keep from being hurt.

If they keep up the superficial pretense of good brother/bad brother, Imma hafta cut a bitch.