December talking meme: 12/2

Dec 02, 2013 12:41

some scattered thoughts on how doppelgangers operate as a team and antagonists, for cassie-epstein
spoilers through all aired TVD )

tvd: elena gilbert will cut a bitch, tvd: stefan salvatore is growing on me, tvd, tvd: kat doesn't need a reason

Leave a comment

Comments 6

(The comment has been removed)

pocochina December 3 2013, 00:21:54 UTC
I think like your typical doppelganger, and even more so your typical Petrova, there is a fine line between sincerity and presentation/manipulation. I think Amara was in love with Silas on some level but was in love with herself more and the fact that he was wealthy and ofc, held the immortality spell, was at most appealing to her.

Totally plausible. And if Amara does have that emotional self-possession of the rest of her descendants, then I think she fits in particularly well with Elena's arc the last couple of seasons about this growing disillusionment about just how limited soft power alone is in her world, formidable as her skills may be.

The sort of balance between sentiment and sadism within this dynamic forever intrigues me.

It's so interesting! I'm...cautiously excited to see it play out, I think.

Reply


inspectorlemon December 2 2013, 22:51:25 UTC
OMG I love this! The doppelgänger are just so fascinating! And you're absolutley right, working together they would be unstoppable, but by nature of who they are of course they are going to clash.

*HOW GREAT is the anchor thing? It's not just that doppelgangers are sociological objects, it's that they're molded in the image of a woman who was literally turned into a statue.

Yes! Omg a literal madonna statue of a woman who was turned into an object by those who surround her.

He didn’t need to start out with hard power to be dangerous, because he and the world around him believed that he was entitled to get hard power. The female Petrova line doesn’t have that recourse, and so they’ve had to become even wilier.I think it's very interesting that becoming a vampire is a hindrance to doppelgänger mojo for the Petrova's in a way that it isn't for the Silas doppelgängers. Like you said hard power is seen as something that men are just entitled to, whereas a women possessing hard power is seen unatural and wrong (which is bullshit ( ... )

Reply

pocochina December 3 2013, 00:29:44 UTC
It fits in with the way the doppelgängers are meant to be the masculine and feminine ideal, becoming a vamp is simply a move towards traditional masculinity

Oh, this is a great point.

wheareas for women it is seen as a betrayel of femininity because it takes away the illusion of someone who needs saving (and that is a huge part of the Petrova appeal).

I really love how the "damned if you do, damned if you don't" expectations for female characters - Elena in particular, but this happens a lot - end up getting called out with the vamping of the doppelganger. We've had it unmistakably waved in our faces that she got targeted for her relative physical frailty before, and now we're seeing how she really does get socially punished for her new self-sufficiency.

Reply


(The comment has been removed)

pocochina December 3 2013, 00:38:05 UTC
"That is what you want to hear isn't it? My sin was falling in love, and I've learned my lesson. You win."

ugh, yes, and the desperation was heartbreaking. Like, the fact that she admitted she was trying to play Tessa made it more sympathetic and real to me.

Reply


lynnenne December 3 2013, 02:04:31 UTC
Stuck between the devil and the deep blue sea - Katherine and his debilitating flashbacks to his time underwater - with no concrete target for his anger, Stefan is a cornered animal, set to lash out with every weapon he has. I don’t think he knows if Katherine is friend or foe at this moment, and I really hope we’re about to see both of those dynamics play out between them.

Me too! I cannot wait.

Reply

pocochina December 3 2013, 23:15:47 UTC
I had a lot of reservations about seeing interactions between Kat and Stefan (OH, REALLY??? said everyone) but yeah, I feel as confident as I can about where it's going.

Reply


Leave a comment

Up