[tvd] thoughts | "the departed"
I am so late to this party. But I have thoughts, The Vampire Diaries thoughts. And so I thought I'd make the most of this sudden turn of events and share them. Feel free to ignore :)
(gratuitous Kat/Mouse gif may not be as gratuitous as you think...!)
Firstly, I'm going to start at the end. Because that's when I picked it. Meredith's insistence to Jeremy that Elena was "fine" was so over the top that it was 197% obvious that she'd received a 'helping hand' with the healing journey. And from that point onwards, Elena's 'death' at the end was the only possible eventuality. I was completely unspoiled for this episode but the opening scenes were basically a giant billboard that telegraphed what the closing scenes were going to be. Poor form (if the end was meant to be a shocker - fair enough if it wasn't intended that way).
In other Elena related news: have some (more) of my issues with her characterisation (and watch me bring Katherine into this because I am still reeling from her - continued - absence). Elena = Selfless Martyr Who Would Do Anything To Save Her Friends (spoiler alert: this is not actually true, btw, no matter what the writers want us to believe, but we'll go with it for now...). Katherine = Selfish HBIC Who Would Do Anything To Save Herself. Katherine's ultimate solution was to turn. It was a risky move but the one that afforded her (she believed at the time) the best chance at survival. Turn and then RUN LIKE HELL.
Ironically, this also should have been (if she actually was the character the writers want us to believe she was) Elena's ultimate solution also. At the start of this episode, instead of the deal Elena actually did with Elijah, what she should have done (and would have done if her characterisation was true) was make a deal that involved her turning. This would have killed Alaric (which was their intention all along anyway), and saved all her friends by virtue of saving The Originals. Elena would have been The Ultimate Martyr That Selflessly Saved Her Friends. Just like Katherine was The Ultimate Survivor That Selfishly Saved Herself. Using the exact same method.
The writers seems so insistent on developing the dichotomy between Evil!Katherine and Saint!Elena and, to me, they completely missed a prime opportunity right here. How much more interesting would this scenario have been??!
BUT: I admit that the scenario outlined above fails to take into consideration Elena's very-much-canon-desire to NOT become a vampire. A VERY legitimate wish, I might add. SO WHY NOT EXPLORE THAT?! In my opinion, this is not explored because it is in direct contrast to the image they're trying to project of her as The Selfless Martyr. I think it could have been SO INTERESTING. Elena realises that the (actually pretty obvious if you think about it) solution to the 'Must Save My Friends' problem is to turn. But then struggles with the fact that this goes against what SHE wants. Why can't we have this acknowledged?! Why can't we see Elena figuring out a solution but then (rightfully) choosing to be selfish? And maybe struggling with it, but ultimately sticking to her guns (or, if they really DID want to FINALLY have her character do something that fit their image of her, then have her actually go through with it and sacrifice herself to save her friends).
In my opinion, this would have been a much more interesting and character driven way to get to the same point we're currently at.
Yes/No? I'd love to hear thoughts.
(Also, did anyone else think the whole 'Stefan saves Matt and leaves a completely conscious and lucid Elena in the vehicle' thing was so ridiculously contrived?! There are so many other ways that could have gone down, all of which make a shed load more sense than what we actually got...)
And while we're talking about Katherine (we were, I promise you!), WHERE THE HELL WAS SHE?! And how completely out of character was Damon's reaction to Elena in the flashback? In fact, that reaction was so totally at odds with what we know of season one/pre season one Damon that I'm choosing to believe it wasn't a flashback at all. Instead, I'm convinced it was an idealised 'dream' (by either Damon or Elena - both were unconscious at the time), that was influenced by what they both know of each other now. It's the only way I can reconcile that scene as something that makes SENSE (which is not always a priority on this show, I know, so maybe I'm reaching!). Current!day!Damon would like to think that's how he'd have approached Elena-thinking-she-was-Katherine back then (but come on, as if, writers, as if!!!!) And current!day!Elena would like to think that's how he'd have approached her also (you know, as opposed to attempting to kill her/snack on her upon finding out she wasn't Katherine!).
And all this brings me to the infernal amount of time dedicated to the freaking triangle of doom this episode. Considering all the plots and sub-plots going on in this episode that were actually (for once!) interesting, WAY TOO MUCH TIME was devoted to Elena's (frankly offensive) "but who will I choooooooose?" waffle. WHY THE FUCK DOES SHE HAVE TO CHOOSE EITHER OF THEM? WHAT IS WRONG WITH BEING SINGLE FOR A WHILE?! And would that not solve the "whoever I don't choose will leave me" problem? EXPLAIN TO THEM WHY YOU WANT TO BE SINGLE, BE SINGLE, AND STAY GOOD FRIENDS WITH BOTH OF THEM (WHILST ALLOWING THEM TO STAY 'BROTHERS'). AGAIN this is yet further evidence against Elena's Selfless Martyr persona. The Selfless Martyr would forsake her own desires to ensure the relative happiness of others. This is ULTIMATE Selfish Elena at her BEST, tbh! BUT WHY CAN'T IT BE ACKNOWLEDGED AS SUCH?! It's a legitimate view to have on her part. But PLEASE DON'T PRETEND IT'S SOMETHING THAT IT'S NOT.
In addition to this: Re. THE TRIANGLE OF DOOM. For those of you that think/hope/WISHTOGOD that Elena made her choice this episode and therefore it's all over, red rover, GUESS AGAIN! Because no doubt the "If I'd met you first..." thing was COMPLETE FORESHADOWING of what we're going to be subjected to next season. Otherwise, why the painful (to watch, and I mean that in a bad way!) flashback to Damon compelling Elena to forget him? Assuming she's going to complete the transition at the start of next season, she's going to remember all the compulsions, including that one (I'm kinda guessing that my interpretation of the flashback as an idealised dream won't stand up in court once the show returns, hrmph). Which will mean, DUN, DUN, DUN... that Damon DID meet her first. Which (maybe) changes everything... Oh, Lord. Nooooooooooooooooooooooooo.
But you know what was FUCKING PERFECT THIS EPISODE? Caroline/Tyler. Tyler's characterisation this season makes me HURT because it has basically been FLAW-FREE and WHY, WHY, WHY can't this have been the case for the other characters?!! Faced with impossible odds, he went off by himself and DID SOMETHING ABOUT THE ISSUES THAT WERE INTERFERING BETWEEN HE AND CAROLINE. With considerable physical consequences, he TOOK RESPONSIBILITY FOR HIS ACTIONS (by himself and without a league of admirers cooing over his man-pain/angst) and then came back and devoted himself to Caroline, and he managed to achieve this NOT by constantly belittling/offending/abusing other females who are not Elena. I am so dirty that the Tyler/Caroline/their mums stuff was shunted to the f-plot because it (and The Originals, who I'll come to in a minute!) were flawless until the very end which I am still confused about, tbqh.
Which brings me to The Originals. Their bond as siblings who love each other but don't necessarily always LIKE each other, or APPROVE of each other, was never more spot on than it was in this episode. Elijah's "because he's my brother," reeked of an almost exhausted and resigned devotion to Klaus. Almost as though he were saying "I know he's an ass, I hate what he chooses to be most of the time, but... and it's a huge 'but', he's still my brother..." BRAVO. Also, Rebekah. MY BB GIRL MADE IT!
Which brings me to (hehehe) Alaric. Oh my goodness. Evil!Vampire!Hunter!Alaric is/was as completely ineffectual as Drunk!History!Teacher!Guardian!Alaric!! At least his characerisation was consistent, yes?!!! HOW IS DAMON STILL ALIVE?! HOW IS REBEKAH STILL ALIVE?! Lordy, Esther really did herself a disservice when she chose Alaric to wield her 'Ultimate Weapon'!! She should totally ask for her money back. That whole thing was a joke, basically. I guess the other option to explore is the one that maybe Alaric (the deep down real one) was still hidden in there somewhere and couldn't bring himself to kill Damon, but that's certainly NOT AT ALL how he was presented. And the narrative gave ZERO indication (besides, you know, the fact that Damon's still alive!) that this was the intention. And so, I declare, Everyone Else: 14 GAZILLION | Alaric Saltzman (in all his incarnations): ZERO. How disappointing. The only original to 'die' in all of this shemozzle was Finn. And it was MATT who killed him *facepalm*.
Which brings me to (I'll stop now, I promise!) un-dead Originals. And my total and utter confusion at the end. What was that? And how did it work? Did Tyler CONSENT to having his body used as a cheap suit for Klaus to get around in? Or has Bonnie completely jumped off the deep end? Did Bonnie and Tyler do some kind of off-screen deal? And if so, when? How? WHY? (Don't get me wrong, I'm intrigued in a horrified kind of way). My apprehensions (plural) with this storyline include:
1. The possibility that Tyler hasn't consented to this and that his lack of consent won't be seen as an issue...
2. That Klaus will use Tyler's body to start/continue his skeevy obsession with Caroline and the wrongness of it all will lurch to a whole new dimension...
3. That Tyler is dead (new favourite character, y'all!)...
4. That Dark!Bonnie won't be properly fleshed out as a character a la Ripper!Stefan...
5. And perhaps the most horrifying of all!! Is that it's (the entire plotline) JUST ABOUT intriguing enough to drag me back in for the start of season four. And just when I thought I could quit!! ALAS!
So, in short (heh!), I feel like this episode was an improvement on basically ALL OTHER SEASON THREE EPISODES (except for The End Of The Affair which was actually my favourite in a stand alone, this relates in no way to basically anything else kind of way!) but that it still had its issues. I guess I'm 50/50 on season four's prospects of improving on this, but I will give them the benefit of the doubt because they've managed to dangle some pretty interesting carrots... I feel like Mikael, with Katherine leaning over me with a squirming mouse between her finger-tips!
CHEERS!
(gratuitous Kat/Mouse gif may not be as gratuitous as you think...!)
Firstly, I'm going to start at the end. Because that's when I picked it. Meredith's insistence to Jeremy that Elena was "fine" was so over the top that it was 197% obvious that she'd received a 'helping hand' with the healing journey. And from that point onwards, Elena's 'death' at the end was the only possible eventuality. I was completely unspoiled for this episode but the opening scenes were basically a giant billboard that telegraphed what the closing scenes were going to be. Poor form (if the end was meant to be a shocker - fair enough if it wasn't intended that way).
In other Elena related news: have some (more) of my issues with her characterisation (and watch me bring Katherine into this because I am still reeling from her - continued - absence). Elena = Selfless Martyr Who Would Do Anything To Save Her Friends (spoiler alert: this is not actually true, btw, no matter what the writers want us to believe, but we'll go with it for now...). Katherine = Selfish HBIC Who Would Do Anything To Save Herself. Katherine's ultimate solution was to turn. It was a risky move but the one that afforded her (she believed at the time) the best chance at survival. Turn and then RUN LIKE HELL.
Ironically, this also should have been (if she actually was the character the writers want us to believe she was) Elena's ultimate solution also. At the start of this episode, instead of the deal Elena actually did with Elijah, what she should have done (and would have done if her characterisation was true) was make a deal that involved her turning. This would have killed Alaric (which was their intention all along anyway), and saved all her friends by virtue of saving The Originals. Elena would have been The Ultimate Martyr That Selflessly Saved Her Friends. Just like Katherine was The Ultimate Survivor That Selfishly Saved Herself. Using the exact same method.
The writers seems so insistent on developing the dichotomy between Evil!Katherine and Saint!Elena and, to me, they completely missed a prime opportunity right here. How much more interesting would this scenario have been??!
BUT: I admit that the scenario outlined above fails to take into consideration Elena's very-much-canon-desire to NOT become a vampire. A VERY legitimate wish, I might add. SO WHY NOT EXPLORE THAT?! In my opinion, this is not explored because it is in direct contrast to the image they're trying to project of her as The Selfless Martyr. I think it could have been SO INTERESTING. Elena realises that the (actually pretty obvious if you think about it) solution to the 'Must Save My Friends' problem is to turn. But then struggles with the fact that this goes against what SHE wants. Why can't we have this acknowledged?! Why can't we see Elena figuring out a solution but then (rightfully) choosing to be selfish? And maybe struggling with it, but ultimately sticking to her guns (or, if they really DID want to FINALLY have her character do something that fit their image of her, then have her actually go through with it and sacrifice herself to save her friends).
In my opinion, this would have been a much more interesting and character driven way to get to the same point we're currently at.
Yes/No? I'd love to hear thoughts.
(Also, did anyone else think the whole 'Stefan saves Matt and leaves a completely conscious and lucid Elena in the vehicle' thing was so ridiculously contrived?! There are so many other ways that could have gone down, all of which make a shed load more sense than what we actually got...)
And while we're talking about Katherine (we were, I promise you!), WHERE THE HELL WAS SHE?! And how completely out of character was Damon's reaction to Elena in the flashback? In fact, that reaction was so totally at odds with what we know of season one/pre season one Damon that I'm choosing to believe it wasn't a flashback at all. Instead, I'm convinced it was an idealised 'dream' (by either Damon or Elena - both were unconscious at the time), that was influenced by what they both know of each other now. It's the only way I can reconcile that scene as something that makes SENSE (which is not always a priority on this show, I know, so maybe I'm reaching!). Current!day!Damon would like to think that's how he'd have approached Elena-thinking-she-was-Katherine back then (but come on, as if, writers, as if!!!!) And current!day!Elena would like to think that's how he'd have approached her also (you know, as opposed to attempting to kill her/snack on her upon finding out she wasn't Katherine!).
And all this brings me to the infernal amount of time dedicated to the freaking triangle of doom this episode. Considering all the plots and sub-plots going on in this episode that were actually (for once!) interesting, WAY TOO MUCH TIME was devoted to Elena's (frankly offensive) "but who will I choooooooose?" waffle. WHY THE FUCK DOES SHE HAVE TO CHOOSE EITHER OF THEM? WHAT IS WRONG WITH BEING SINGLE FOR A WHILE?! And would that not solve the "whoever I don't choose will leave me" problem? EXPLAIN TO THEM WHY YOU WANT TO BE SINGLE, BE SINGLE, AND STAY GOOD FRIENDS WITH BOTH OF THEM (WHILST ALLOWING THEM TO STAY 'BROTHERS'). AGAIN this is yet further evidence against Elena's Selfless Martyr persona. The Selfless Martyr would forsake her own desires to ensure the relative happiness of others. This is ULTIMATE Selfish Elena at her BEST, tbh! BUT WHY CAN'T IT BE ACKNOWLEDGED AS SUCH?! It's a legitimate view to have on her part. But PLEASE DON'T PRETEND IT'S SOMETHING THAT IT'S NOT.
In addition to this: Re. THE TRIANGLE OF DOOM. For those of you that think/hope/WISHTOGOD that Elena made her choice this episode and therefore it's all over, red rover, GUESS AGAIN! Because no doubt the "If I'd met you first..." thing was COMPLETE FORESHADOWING of what we're going to be subjected to next season. Otherwise, why the painful (to watch, and I mean that in a bad way!) flashback to Damon compelling Elena to forget him? Assuming she's going to complete the transition at the start of next season, she's going to remember all the compulsions, including that one (I'm kinda guessing that my interpretation of the flashback as an idealised dream won't stand up in court once the show returns, hrmph). Which will mean, DUN, DUN, DUN... that Damon DID meet her first. Which (maybe) changes everything... Oh, Lord. Nooooooooooooooooooooooooo.
But you know what was FUCKING PERFECT THIS EPISODE? Caroline/Tyler. Tyler's characterisation this season makes me HURT because it has basically been FLAW-FREE and WHY, WHY, WHY can't this have been the case for the other characters?!! Faced with impossible odds, he went off by himself and DID SOMETHING ABOUT THE ISSUES THAT WERE INTERFERING BETWEEN HE AND CAROLINE. With considerable physical consequences, he TOOK RESPONSIBILITY FOR HIS ACTIONS (by himself and without a league of admirers cooing over his man-pain/angst) and then came back and devoted himself to Caroline, and he managed to achieve this NOT by constantly belittling/offending/abusing other females who are not Elena. I am so dirty that the Tyler/Caroline/their mums stuff was shunted to the f-plot because it (and The Originals, who I'll come to in a minute!) were flawless until the very end which I am still confused about, tbqh.
Which brings me to The Originals. Their bond as siblings who love each other but don't necessarily always LIKE each other, or APPROVE of each other, was never more spot on than it was in this episode. Elijah's "because he's my brother," reeked of an almost exhausted and resigned devotion to Klaus. Almost as though he were saying "I know he's an ass, I hate what he chooses to be most of the time, but... and it's a huge 'but', he's still my brother..." BRAVO. Also, Rebekah. MY BB GIRL MADE IT!
Which brings me to (hehehe) Alaric. Oh my goodness. Evil!Vampire!Hunter!Alaric is/was as completely ineffectual as Drunk!History!Teacher!Guardian!Alaric!! At least his characerisation was consistent, yes?!!! HOW IS DAMON STILL ALIVE?! HOW IS REBEKAH STILL ALIVE?! Lordy, Esther really did herself a disservice when she chose Alaric to wield her 'Ultimate Weapon'!! She should totally ask for her money back. That whole thing was a joke, basically. I guess the other option to explore is the one that maybe Alaric (the deep down real one) was still hidden in there somewhere and couldn't bring himself to kill Damon, but that's certainly NOT AT ALL how he was presented. And the narrative gave ZERO indication (besides, you know, the fact that Damon's still alive!) that this was the intention. And so, I declare, Everyone Else: 14 GAZILLION | Alaric Saltzman (in all his incarnations): ZERO. How disappointing. The only original to 'die' in all of this shemozzle was Finn. And it was MATT who killed him *facepalm*.
Which brings me to (I'll stop now, I promise!) un-dead Originals. And my total and utter confusion at the end. What was that? And how did it work? Did Tyler CONSENT to having his body used as a cheap suit for Klaus to get around in? Or has Bonnie completely jumped off the deep end? Did Bonnie and Tyler do some kind of off-screen deal? And if so, when? How? WHY? (Don't get me wrong, I'm intrigued in a horrified kind of way). My apprehensions (plural) with this storyline include:
1. The possibility that Tyler hasn't consented to this and that his lack of consent won't be seen as an issue...
2. That Klaus will use Tyler's body to start/continue his skeevy obsession with Caroline and the wrongness of it all will lurch to a whole new dimension...
3. That Tyler is dead (new favourite character, y'all!)...
4. That Dark!Bonnie won't be properly fleshed out as a character a la Ripper!Stefan...
5. And perhaps the most horrifying of all!! Is that it's (the entire plotline) JUST ABOUT intriguing enough to drag me back in for the start of season four. And just when I thought I could quit!! ALAS!
So, in short (heh!), I feel like this episode was an improvement on basically ALL OTHER SEASON THREE EPISODES (except for The End Of The Affair which was actually my favourite in a stand alone, this relates in no way to basically anything else kind of way!) but that it still had its issues. I guess I'm 50/50 on season four's prospects of improving on this, but I will give them the benefit of the doubt because they've managed to dangle some pretty interesting carrots... I feel like Mikael, with Katherine leaning over me with a squirming mouse between her finger-tips!
CHEERS!
