Let's talk Vampire Diaries
Jan. 30th, 2011 11:16 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
next_to_normalMan, it seems like forever since I've had a TVD post. Of course, it's been forever since we had a new episode, so...
Anyway! This was originally a comment to![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
ohwaluvusbab's reaction post, but it grew to epic proportions, so I might as well make it into a reaction post of my own.
Well, Caroline/Tyler is a thing that is happening, it seems. I want to say I'm surprised by how fast they went there, but... this show moves fast, yo. When we left off before the holidays, I found myself not hating them together as much as I thought I would. I mean, I still VASTLY prefer them just as friends, because really what I like about them is that it gives Caroline an opportunity to be awesome and competent and compassionate, and there doesn't need to be romance for that. Also, I still find the werewolf stuff to be overall wildly boring, so while I like seeing this side of Caroline, I'd also rather see her and Elena and Bonnie being awesome ladies, or more vampiring with Stefan and Damon.
Another reason not to like Caroline/Tyler is because it pushes Matt out of the picture. I have been afraid of Matt's becoming insignificant ever since Caroline became a vampire, but especially since Tyler became a werewolf, because now Matt's the only one still in the dark about the supernatural goings-on - aside from Jenna and Liz, of course, both of whom are also marginalized. Matt is my Pudding Pop, and I don't want him to disappear!ohwaluvusbab mentioned all the issues they could explore with Matt (Vicki, his mom, his insecurities), but the show seems to only be interested in characters' emotional development as it relates to the supernatural. Matt's very human problems don't seem to be worth mentioning.
So now we have Caroline in the middle of the eleventy billionth love triangle on this show (seriously, someone should make a diagram). I think Caroline really does love Matt, and she would love to be with him, but she's too afraid of hurting him. She pushed him to break up with her for his own good, but she can't tell him WHY and now it's just tormenting her that he still wants to be with her and she's having to be strong and resist when that's all she really wants. And Tyler's such a contrast to that, because she feels this supernatural kinship with him, and she has such compassion for what he's going through. It's easier to be with Tyler. But I definitely think she would choose Matt if she could.
Caroline's reaction to Tyler kissing her was PERFECT. FAVORITE CHARACTER OMG. I swear, they could do any plot line at all, and I would love it as long as it had Caroline being awesome and adorable.
And Damon. Oh, Damon. Definitely go readohwaluvusbab's analysis, because it is brilliant and insightful and I agree 100%. I'm sure a lot of people are disappointed or even angry at Damon for backsliding, but I really can't be. It's exactly how I expected him to react, and I don't hate him for it. I pity him and ache for him and kind of want to cuddle the damaged little woobie. :) I love the parallel between Elena and Rose, how he reacts selflessly with both of them, thus forcing himself further into isolation. I have said before how desperately Damon needs a friend. It's why his relationship with Elena is so important - she's the first person (other than his love/hate relationships with Stefan and Katherine) that he's ever actually cared about since he became a vampire. She makes him act like a human being. She makes him feel things. But with that comes the expectation to be good, to be something other than crazy and screwed up - expectations he knows he can never meet, and it only adds to his despair when he fails. And so the only thing to do is stay away, as much as it kills him, as much as he needs Elena's influence, he'll make that sacrifice, even though it means he's alone.
And Rose played a similar role for him, but in a different way. She understood him without judging him, without expecting him to be something he's not. It was a comfortable companionship that Damon was obviously craving desperately. And then she's taken away from him - and it's his fault, it was supposed to be HIM - and he is truly kind and compassionate and selfless in letting her go so peacefully. And once again he's alone, with his guilt and his grief. As much as he tries to insist that he's fine, he's so clearly grieving and completely unable to deal with it.
In my last post, I said that I think a lot of Damon's evil behavior is really just "no one loves me" rebellion, but it takes on a whole new dimension at the end of this episode. This may be my Spike bias, lol, but I see a lot of the same "can't be a monster, can't be a man" conflict in Damon. But where Spike went and got his soul "to be a kind of man," Damon doesn't have that option, so he tries to throw himself fully into being a monster. And on top of that, I think he's a lot more unstable than Spike is.ohwaluvusbab had a really good insight on Damon in that scene as a depression/self-harm metaphor: "Killing that girl to me played out like a big act of self-harm. Damon's need to kill isn't… physiological, like Stefan's; it's not an addiction. It's just an escape hatch. It momentarily eases the pain."
I think it goes back to the fact that Damon never wanted to be a vampire. And that's where Damon and Spike differ. Spike wanted to be someone else and seized on becoming a vampire as an opportunity to reinvent himself. Whereas Damon was changed against his will, and reinvented himself because he had to, because his old self was lost forever. I actually see parallels to Buffy in S6 here, because Damon's living this miserable half-life that he never asked for but can't escape. He can never be at peace because the very nature of his existence feels wrong. And so he acts out, embraces the wrongness, because it hurts too much to do anything else. Everyone wants him to be okay, to be "normal," and he just can't. He's holding in too much pain and insecurity and self-loathing, and the only people he could've shared it with are gone.
And, for the record, I am in awe of Ian Somerhalder. I know the crazy eye tics get on people's nerves, but I definitely think it's a deliberate choice to show that Damon's putting on the manic theatricality (which is, again, much like Spike's Big Bad persona, totally fabricated). I think he's embraced the psychopath label (because he doesn't know how to be anything else) and so he acts like he's always just on the verge of snapping. :) In the scenes where Damon is genuinely emotional - such as when he's connecting with Elena or the scenes in this ep with Rose - he completely drops the act.
Other things of note: Yay for Alaric and Liz appearances! I WANT MORE OF THEM, SHOW. Also, wooo, Uncle John is back! My love for David Anders remains strong. :) But boooo to the lack of Bonnie and Jeremy.
Anyway! This was originally a comment to
ohwaluvusbab's reaction post, but it grew to epic proportions, so I might as well make it into a reaction post of my own.Well, Caroline/Tyler is a thing that is happening, it seems. I want to say I'm surprised by how fast they went there, but... this show moves fast, yo. When we left off before the holidays, I found myself not hating them together as much as I thought I would. I mean, I still VASTLY prefer them just as friends, because really what I like about them is that it gives Caroline an opportunity to be awesome and competent and compassionate, and there doesn't need to be romance for that. Also, I still find the werewolf stuff to be overall wildly boring, so while I like seeing this side of Caroline, I'd also rather see her and Elena and Bonnie being awesome ladies, or more vampiring with Stefan and Damon.
Another reason not to like Caroline/Tyler is because it pushes Matt out of the picture. I have been afraid of Matt's becoming insignificant ever since Caroline became a vampire, but especially since Tyler became a werewolf, because now Matt's the only one still in the dark about the supernatural goings-on - aside from Jenna and Liz, of course, both of whom are also marginalized. Matt is my Pudding Pop, and I don't want him to disappear!
ohwaluvusbab mentioned all the issues they could explore with Matt (Vicki, his mom, his insecurities), but the show seems to only be interested in characters' emotional development as it relates to the supernatural. Matt's very human problems don't seem to be worth mentioning.So now we have Caroline in the middle of the eleventy billionth love triangle on this show (seriously, someone should make a diagram). I think Caroline really does love Matt, and she would love to be with him, but she's too afraid of hurting him. She pushed him to break up with her for his own good, but she can't tell him WHY and now it's just tormenting her that he still wants to be with her and she's having to be strong and resist when that's all she really wants. And Tyler's such a contrast to that, because she feels this supernatural kinship with him, and she has such compassion for what he's going through. It's easier to be with Tyler. But I definitely think she would choose Matt if she could.
Caroline's reaction to Tyler kissing her was PERFECT. FAVORITE CHARACTER OMG. I swear, they could do any plot line at all, and I would love it as long as it had Caroline being awesome and adorable.
And Damon. Oh, Damon. Definitely go read
ohwaluvusbab's analysis, because it is brilliant and insightful and I agree 100%. I'm sure a lot of people are disappointed or even angry at Damon for backsliding, but I really can't be. It's exactly how I expected him to react, and I don't hate him for it. I pity him and ache for him and kind of want to cuddle the damaged little woobie. :) I love the parallel between Elena and Rose, how he reacts selflessly with both of them, thus forcing himself further into isolation. I have said before how desperately Damon needs a friend. It's why his relationship with Elena is so important - she's the first person (other than his love/hate relationships with Stefan and Katherine) that he's ever actually cared about since he became a vampire. She makes him act like a human being. She makes him feel things. But with that comes the expectation to be good, to be something other than crazy and screwed up - expectations he knows he can never meet, and it only adds to his despair when he fails. And so the only thing to do is stay away, as much as it kills him, as much as he needs Elena's influence, he'll make that sacrifice, even though it means he's alone.And Rose played a similar role for him, but in a different way. She understood him without judging him, without expecting him to be something he's not. It was a comfortable companionship that Damon was obviously craving desperately. And then she's taken away from him - and it's his fault, it was supposed to be HIM - and he is truly kind and compassionate and selfless in letting her go so peacefully. And once again he's alone, with his guilt and his grief. As much as he tries to insist that he's fine, he's so clearly grieving and completely unable to deal with it.
In my last post, I said that I think a lot of Damon's evil behavior is really just "no one loves me" rebellion, but it takes on a whole new dimension at the end of this episode. This may be my Spike bias, lol, but I see a lot of the same "can't be a monster, can't be a man" conflict in Damon. But where Spike went and got his soul "to be a kind of man," Damon doesn't have that option, so he tries to throw himself fully into being a monster. And on top of that, I think he's a lot more unstable than Spike is.
ohwaluvusbab had a really good insight on Damon in that scene as a depression/self-harm metaphor: "Killing that girl to me played out like a big act of self-harm. Damon's need to kill isn't… physiological, like Stefan's; it's not an addiction. It's just an escape hatch. It momentarily eases the pain." I think it goes back to the fact that Damon never wanted to be a vampire. And that's where Damon and Spike differ. Spike wanted to be someone else and seized on becoming a vampire as an opportunity to reinvent himself. Whereas Damon was changed against his will, and reinvented himself because he had to, because his old self was lost forever. I actually see parallels to Buffy in S6 here, because Damon's living this miserable half-life that he never asked for but can't escape. He can never be at peace because the very nature of his existence feels wrong. And so he acts out, embraces the wrongness, because it hurts too much to do anything else. Everyone wants him to be okay, to be "normal," and he just can't. He's holding in too much pain and insecurity and self-loathing, and the only people he could've shared it with are gone.
And, for the record, I am in awe of Ian Somerhalder. I know the crazy eye tics get on people's nerves, but I definitely think it's a deliberate choice to show that Damon's putting on the manic theatricality (which is, again, much like Spike's Big Bad persona, totally fabricated). I think he's embraced the psychopath label (because he doesn't know how to be anything else) and so he acts like he's always just on the verge of snapping. :) In the scenes where Damon is genuinely emotional - such as when he's connecting with Elena or the scenes in this ep with Rose - he completely drops the act.
Other things of note: Yay for Alaric and Liz appearances! I WANT MORE OF THEM, SHOW. Also, wooo, Uncle John is back! My love for David Anders remains strong. :) But boooo to the lack of Bonnie and Jeremy.
no subject
Date: Jan. 30th, 2011 04:33 pm (UTC)Damon, Damon, Damon. I don't really have anything to add. ohwaluvusbab said it, LOL.
And I'm so happy to see Liz again. I want more screen time with her and Damon. Though maybe not right now, since he's apathetic and killing again...
no subject
Date: Jan. 31st, 2011 03:38 am (UTC)It feels like there are so many other, more interesting things they could be focusing on (Alaric! Liz! Bonnie!) and they're getting shafted so that we can spend more time with the tedious werewolves. If we must have Tyler (and I assume we do), at least let him hang with the interesting crowd.
no subject
Date: Jan. 31st, 2011 07:06 pm (UTC)Last season, we had a bunch of vampires come to town, who were all dead by the end of the season. I predict that werewolves will come to town, and they will all be dead by the end of the season, except possibly Tyler, if he does hang with the interesting crowd.
no subject
Date: Feb. 4th, 2011 03:42 pm (UTC)WORD. Considering that my interest in vampires extends to Buffy and TVD and no further, I really couldn't care less about something that's a "thing" in the genre.
I'm bored and your werewolves are boring.
no subject
Date: Jan. 31st, 2011 03:27 am (UTC)I have ambivalent feelings about Tyler/Caroline. I would have preferred them to be just friends for like, another season, at least. I'm not opposed to the idea of a romance, but I'm sort of worried that the 'fast burn' will be detrimental to the storyline. Also I really actually do want more Matt/Caroline development. I'm not deeply invested in their relationship, but I would LIKE to be. I'm more invested in both Tyler and Caroline right now, and that's 'cause Matt's being shafted.
Actually this is kind of my problem with the large cast. Some of the characters are really fleshed out and well-developed, and others inevitably suffer from one-note writing. This is probably an unpopular opinion, but I feel like I *barely* know Bonnie? I feel like her ~emotional landscape has only been outlined in pencil, but hasn't been filled in with colour yet. I don't know. Pondering.
I do love all your thoughts on Damon! Especially the insight about Damon being forced to reinvent himself because he can't go back. Boy is totally trapped, and traps himself further with his anger. :(
WOOT UNCLE JOHN. Love that dude. Also looking forward to more Bonnie and Jeremy next time.
no subject
Date: Jan. 31st, 2011 03:28 am (UTC)no subject
Date: Jan. 31st, 2011 03:44 am (UTC)And yeah, I get what you mean about Bonnie. I feel that way, too. Like, I want to love her because what we've seen is pretty much 24/7 BAMF, but then we go for these long stretches where we don't see Bonnie at all. And when we do see her, we rarely know what's going on in her head. She's just reacting or being told what to do.
It's funny, when the show first started, it felt like Elena and Bonnie were the most developed, and Caroline was the cipher. Now Caroline has blossomed and Bonnie's been ignored. I want Bonnie to get the Caroline treatment - not the vampiring, but the quality time and the character development.
I do love all your thoughts on Damon! Especially the insight about Damon being forced to reinvent himself because he can't go back.
Thanks! Hmm, I should bring that over and add it to this post. Or stop having THOUGHTS in so many places, lol.
no subject
Date: Feb. 1st, 2011 07:00 am (UTC)Oh good, it's not just me! I'm like, why am I not connecting with this character? Since she's exactly the sort I should love (takes-no-shit, sometimes ruthless, labeled as 'cold' by many), but yeah - not enough insight into her head. Woe. So yeah, give her the ~Forbes treatment.~
no subject
Date: Mar. 2nd, 2011 11:32 am (UTC)Totally agree on the no one loves me angle for Damon, and yes, Caroline is just so awesomly cute and strong and fantastic! Who knew a sorta clichéd vampire show would bring such strong female characters?!?!
no subject
Date: Mar. 4th, 2011 04:11 pm (UTC)Who knew a sorta clichéd vampire show would bring such strong female characters?!?!
Haha, well, if Buffy can do it... :)