sweet dreams be yours dear, if dreams they be
Now that I finally had some days off, here are my more detailed thoughts on the TVD finale, which, I gotta say, I loved.
And I'm loving the entire direction of the show even more now that I've read some interviews with Julie Plec talking about plans for Season 4. I mean, vampire-Elena already has me giddy with excitement, but Stefan/Elena having real relationship problems? Damon and Stefan having different ideas about how to be Elena's vampire life guide? The pedestal Elena's been put on being chipped away? Damon being pissed that Stefan saved Matt first? SIGN ME UP. I literally can't wait. Now if Elijah can just have a substantive role next season, I'll be content. Don't get me wrong, I love Klaus and Rebekah,but they whine a LOT. Usually about the fact that those around them don't instantly forgive them and love them the best. Elijah is many things, but he's not a whiner. MORE ELIJAH.
This season was definitely uneven, and I think it's the first season of TVD to lack a clear direction plot wise at times. And I'll always wish Stefan's arc had been better handled in the back half of the season; that he'd suffered more consequences for his actions and that his "good brother" image was gone forever for the other characters (keep on keeping on, Jeremy). And much as I love them, the originals and their family drama ate the show a little too much. But despite these issues, I still loved the season as a whole and there was some insanely good character development, especially for the main three. AND NOW ELENA'S IN TRANSITION. Bring it.
Now on to the finale! Fair warning, this will not be short.
- Ugh, it's so sad to see Elena so happy like this. Like to watch her bounce around all happy and say good morning to Jenna and her mom and then to cut to the reality of what her life is now: waking up in a hospital room and waiting resignedly for the next disaster to strike. This is a huge reason why I'm excited for vampire-Elena, she'll finally be able to really fight back (not that Elena hasn't always been a badass, but now she'll have some strength to back it up).
- Aww, Jeremy, all worried for his sister. I love that they're finally emphasizing Jeremy and Elena's bond as siblings, which has been on the backburner far too much this season. And I love when Jeremy is protective of Elena because usually it's the other way around. It's nice to see him taking some ownership of his role as her brother. He's grown up a lot.
- "Is there anyone you want to call?" Oh, man, Jeremy's face at this. At first it's blank, like "well, no, all of our parental figures are dead," then it's all "actually...damn, look at my life right now, when the people I call in emergencies are my sister's vampire boyfriends."
- LOL at Damon and Stefan's exasperation with Jeremy. Sometimes it doesn't even seem to matter who Elena picks to date at any given point, she'll always have these two vampire boyfriends who have placed themselves firmly in her family circle. Dealing with Elena's pesky younger brother just comes with the territory. And it's just hilarious how on this show calling 911 is the stupid option.
- Evilaric is such an asshole here with Meredith, who I think I might be starting to like? She always seemed vaguely pointless and undeveloped in my opinion, but the character's growing on me.
- Love this moment with the group ushering Elena inside her house and "checking the closets." We so rarely get all these kids in the same room any more.
- And I adore Elena and Caroline's friendship. Caroline's so wonderful and nurturing here, although tea and vodka together sounds awful.
- I wish we'd gotten more flashbacks. Matt and Elena and Bonnie are so cute and normal here, but I wish we'd seen more of Matt/Elena before Elena was on the verge of dumping him.
- It should be creepy that Matt's watching her sleep, but it's him, so it's adorable. Plus, his little face! He knows her SO WELL. And he's so patient. Zach Roerig really does an amazing job of evoking their life long friendship, as does Nina Dobrev. I believe that they grew up together.
- Aaand Stefan arrives. I will admit that I've missed their hugs, even though they haven't really earned being back to a hugging place in their relationship. But they're really good huggers. Which, sidebar, you know what I want even more than Damon/Elena sex next season? Damon/Elena HUGS. And that doesn't count what we've gotten so far, which is Elena hugging Damon and Damon not knowing quite what to do with his arms. I want full on embracing, maybe some head cradling, mutual hugs. They have never had one of those in THREE SEASONS. Make it happen, season 4.
- It's kind of adorable to see Matt and Stefan double teaming Elena and getting dinner ready together for her. And it seems Matt is on the Damon side of the protecting-Elena spectrum. He's not down with Elena calling all the shots if it's gonna get her killed, whereas Stefan, for better or for worse, is backing any and all Elena decisions now that he's back in the running for her affections. Though I think he does it because he thinks it's the right thing to do, not just because he wants to get back in her pants.
- ELIJAH. I love this visual reveal of Elena and him just standing in the foyer, gazing at each other. From Elena's "Stefan..." to Stefan's reaction to Matt's "oh shit" face to Elijah's completely composed "Hello again," just an awesome moment.
- Alaric and Jeremy's conversation is very interesting. If it were just Damon and Stefan's lives on the line, I firmly believe that Jeremy might have taken Alaric up on his offer. But even though Jeremy wants to protect his sister and probably wants the Salvatores out of her life, he wouldn't sacrifice Caroline, Tyler, and Bonnie's mom to make that happen.
- Sigh, Elena and Elijah back in negotiations and all is right in the world. Stefan and Matt are cute, thinking they're at all part of Elijah's deal-making here. He's negotiating with Elena and Elena only, they just happen to be in the room. Love it. If you watch closely, he maintains eye contact with her almost the whole time, even when he's answering Stefan's questions. GUH, he's so intense when he says "I give you my word, Elena," it's amazing.
- And the way they just start talking like respected equals, despite all the shit that's gone down between them, is beautiful. It's like this natural dynamic they have, regardless of the facts of past betrayals. I mean, they're having this conversation like civilized adults even though Elena helped kill Elijah's brother Finn, like what, a week ago in show time? And still, Elijah is prioritizing her life over almost everything else.
- Elijah adjusting the place setting and talking about teaching Klaus manners is everything I ever wanted in the world. Hey, Klaus, turnabout's fair play. Lock your siblings up in boxes and they might one day do the same thing do you, baby.
- Angry Damon on speaker phone is my other favorite part of this scene. Hee! And he's so right. Elijah might be reasonable, but his siblings are a little crazytown.
- Stefan saying that it's Elena's decision seems a little moot to me. I know the writers are setting up this big contrast between him and Damon this episode in the Elena-free-will department, but lets be honest. In this instance, it doesn't matter what Stefan or Damon say, Elijah isn't making a deal with them, he's making a deal with Elena. So Stefan nobly leaving it up to her has nothing to do with anything. If he'd given his real opinion like Damon did, Elijah would have ignored it just like he did Damon's and kept his focus on Elena.
- I love that for her to make a decision she seeks emotional truth from Elijah, because that's where Elena meets and understands people. And he knows that, so he gives it to her. At the end of the day, Klaus is still family to him, and that's something Elena will always see the value of, a fact Elijah also knows. And even though of course this will end in disaster and death, what else is Elena supposed to do? If she doesn't agree to this, she's losing her chance to keep the originals from beginning an endless quest to kill her and thus Alaric. There really aren't a ton of options at this point.
- Aww, I just feel so heartbroken for Caroline and Tyler and their moms in this scene. They just want to protect their kids!
Part 2
Part 3
Oh, man, I'm only fifteen minutes into the episode and I've already written a ton. Plus I have a whole ton of thoughts on the beautiful Damon/Elena/Stefan clusterfuck. I think this will have to be a couple different posts. Stay tuned for more.
And I'm loving the entire direction of the show even more now that I've read some interviews with Julie Plec talking about plans for Season 4. I mean, vampire-Elena already has me giddy with excitement, but Stefan/Elena having real relationship problems? Damon and Stefan having different ideas about how to be Elena's vampire life guide? The pedestal Elena's been put on being chipped away? Damon being pissed that Stefan saved Matt first? SIGN ME UP. I literally can't wait. Now if Elijah can just have a substantive role next season, I'll be content. Don't get me wrong, I love Klaus and Rebekah,but they whine a LOT. Usually about the fact that those around them don't instantly forgive them and love them the best. Elijah is many things, but he's not a whiner. MORE ELIJAH.
This season was definitely uneven, and I think it's the first season of TVD to lack a clear direction plot wise at times. And I'll always wish Stefan's arc had been better handled in the back half of the season; that he'd suffered more consequences for his actions and that his "good brother" image was gone forever for the other characters (keep on keeping on, Jeremy). And much as I love them, the originals and their family drama ate the show a little too much. But despite these issues, I still loved the season as a whole and there was some insanely good character development, especially for the main three. AND NOW ELENA'S IN TRANSITION. Bring it.
Now on to the finale! Fair warning, this will not be short.
- Ugh, it's so sad to see Elena so happy like this. Like to watch her bounce around all happy and say good morning to Jenna and her mom and then to cut to the reality of what her life is now: waking up in a hospital room and waiting resignedly for the next disaster to strike. This is a huge reason why I'm excited for vampire-Elena, she'll finally be able to really fight back (not that Elena hasn't always been a badass, but now she'll have some strength to back it up).
- Aww, Jeremy, all worried for his sister. I love that they're finally emphasizing Jeremy and Elena's bond as siblings, which has been on the backburner far too much this season. And I love when Jeremy is protective of Elena because usually it's the other way around. It's nice to see him taking some ownership of his role as her brother. He's grown up a lot.
- "Is there anyone you want to call?" Oh, man, Jeremy's face at this. At first it's blank, like "well, no, all of our parental figures are dead," then it's all "actually...damn, look at my life right now, when the people I call in emergencies are my sister's vampire boyfriends."
- LOL at Damon and Stefan's exasperation with Jeremy. Sometimes it doesn't even seem to matter who Elena picks to date at any given point, she'll always have these two vampire boyfriends who have placed themselves firmly in her family circle. Dealing with Elena's pesky younger brother just comes with the territory. And it's just hilarious how on this show calling 911 is the stupid option.
- Evilaric is such an asshole here with Meredith, who I think I might be starting to like? She always seemed vaguely pointless and undeveloped in my opinion, but the character's growing on me.
- Love this moment with the group ushering Elena inside her house and "checking the closets." We so rarely get all these kids in the same room any more.
- And I adore Elena and Caroline's friendship. Caroline's so wonderful and nurturing here, although tea and vodka together sounds awful.
- I wish we'd gotten more flashbacks. Matt and Elena and Bonnie are so cute and normal here, but I wish we'd seen more of Matt/Elena before Elena was on the verge of dumping him.
- It should be creepy that Matt's watching her sleep, but it's him, so it's adorable. Plus, his little face! He knows her SO WELL. And he's so patient. Zach Roerig really does an amazing job of evoking their life long friendship, as does Nina Dobrev. I believe that they grew up together.
- Aaand Stefan arrives. I will admit that I've missed their hugs, even though they haven't really earned being back to a hugging place in their relationship. But they're really good huggers. Which, sidebar, you know what I want even more than Damon/Elena sex next season? Damon/Elena HUGS. And that doesn't count what we've gotten so far, which is Elena hugging Damon and Damon not knowing quite what to do with his arms. I want full on embracing, maybe some head cradling, mutual hugs. They have never had one of those in THREE SEASONS. Make it happen, season 4.
- It's kind of adorable to see Matt and Stefan double teaming Elena and getting dinner ready together for her. And it seems Matt is on the Damon side of the protecting-Elena spectrum. He's not down with Elena calling all the shots if it's gonna get her killed, whereas Stefan, for better or for worse, is backing any and all Elena decisions now that he's back in the running for her affections. Though I think he does it because he thinks it's the right thing to do, not just because he wants to get back in her pants.
- ELIJAH. I love this visual reveal of Elena and him just standing in the foyer, gazing at each other. From Elena's "Stefan..." to Stefan's reaction to Matt's "oh shit" face to Elijah's completely composed "Hello again," just an awesome moment.
- Alaric and Jeremy's conversation is very interesting. If it were just Damon and Stefan's lives on the line, I firmly believe that Jeremy might have taken Alaric up on his offer. But even though Jeremy wants to protect his sister and probably wants the Salvatores out of her life, he wouldn't sacrifice Caroline, Tyler, and Bonnie's mom to make that happen.
- Sigh, Elena and Elijah back in negotiations and all is right in the world. Stefan and Matt are cute, thinking they're at all part of Elijah's deal-making here. He's negotiating with Elena and Elena only, they just happen to be in the room. Love it. If you watch closely, he maintains eye contact with her almost the whole time, even when he's answering Stefan's questions. GUH, he's so intense when he says "I give you my word, Elena," it's amazing.
- And the way they just start talking like respected equals, despite all the shit that's gone down between them, is beautiful. It's like this natural dynamic they have, regardless of the facts of past betrayals. I mean, they're having this conversation like civilized adults even though Elena helped kill Elijah's brother Finn, like what, a week ago in show time? And still, Elijah is prioritizing her life over almost everything else.
- Elijah adjusting the place setting and talking about teaching Klaus manners is everything I ever wanted in the world. Hey, Klaus, turnabout's fair play. Lock your siblings up in boxes and they might one day do the same thing do you, baby.
- Angry Damon on speaker phone is my other favorite part of this scene. Hee! And he's so right. Elijah might be reasonable, but his siblings are a little crazytown.
- Stefan saying that it's Elena's decision seems a little moot to me. I know the writers are setting up this big contrast between him and Damon this episode in the Elena-free-will department, but lets be honest. In this instance, it doesn't matter what Stefan or Damon say, Elijah isn't making a deal with them, he's making a deal with Elena. So Stefan nobly leaving it up to her has nothing to do with anything. If he'd given his real opinion like Damon did, Elijah would have ignored it just like he did Damon's and kept his focus on Elena.
- I love that for her to make a decision she seeks emotional truth from Elijah, because that's where Elena meets and understands people. And he knows that, so he gives it to her. At the end of the day, Klaus is still family to him, and that's something Elena will always see the value of, a fact Elijah also knows. And even though of course this will end in disaster and death, what else is Elena supposed to do? If she doesn't agree to this, she's losing her chance to keep the originals from beginning an endless quest to kill her and thus Alaric. There really aren't a ton of options at this point.
- Aww, I just feel so heartbroken for Caroline and Tyler and their moms in this scene. They just want to protect their kids!
Part 2
Part 3
Oh, man, I'm only fifteen minutes into the episode and I've already written a ton. Plus I have a whole ton of thoughts on the beautiful Damon/Elena/Stefan clusterfuck. I think this will have to be a couple different posts. Stay tuned for more.