This is an actual reaction post
Oct. 14th, 2011 11:43 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
next_to_normalThough it is really rather superfluous because ![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
ever_neutral already covered it, pretty much to the letter what I was going to say (damned time zones! It's not fair! I went to sleep!).
Well, since I blathered atblackfrancine on the subject a whole lot already, let's start with Matt. Poor Pudding Pop gets neglected so often, doesn't he? I thought it was telling that Caroline got the whole gang together for Senior Prank Night, and NOBODY TOLD MATT. Also that Tyler has to tell Caroline to be gentle with Matt, and yet... you're supposed to be his best friend, dude, why aren't you, IDK, BEING THERE FOR HIM if you know he needs it?
I thought Matt being so willing to commit suicide made sense for him, character-wise. He's lost pretty much everything over the last year - his sister's dead, his mom's MIA, two ex-girlfriends, and his best friend. And Bonnie's right that he's the lucky one, that he's the only one who can opt out of the supernatural stuff, but everyone he's ever cared about has been sucked into it. What good is there in opting out and being alone?
So, yeah, if dying is the only way to get to talk to his sister, I can see him jumping at that. Even if it doesn't work, what's he got to lose?
And it ties into what I see as an overarching theme of the show - the questionable value of martyrdom. How many people would've lived if Elena just offed herself as soon as she found out about Klaus? Or if Bonnie had died but taken Klaus with her? Death is the easy way out - and I don't mean that in a "giving up instead of facing your problems" sense, although that's also true - it is literally the most practical solution to a lot of problems. And yet these characters, though most of them are blatantly suicidal, will not let each other die, and so they go to extraordinary lengths to FIND ANOTHER WAY.
If Matt hadn't drowned, Elena would be dead. Tyler would be dead. Maybe Klaus would've killed the rest of them just for kicks. And yet Bonnie STILL tells him that it was an idiot move. Once again, it plays on that tension of the greater good vs. the value of individual lives. It's interesting to see what side the characters come down on (and how it differs when they're the one who's supposed to die vs. their loved ones dying).
On a related note, THANK HEAVENS, the ghost plot is actually relevant! I was getting worried on that front. It was one of the most intriguing cliffhangers of last season, and yet that plot was moving like a snail through molasses. But we actually get the ghosts being useful in TWO DIFFERENT WAYS, first with Vicki passing on messages to Bonnie from dead witches and then Anna giving Jeremy a clue about Michael the vampire hunter. And Katherine and Jeremy teaming up??? So bizarre and awesome.
I'm totally shipping Damon/Katherine, btw (again. still. forever.). I am greatly enjoying the dynamic with the new and improved "so over you" Damon. Which, you are totally not, bb, but I love that Katherine isn't quite sure and so she's no longer able to manipulate him the way she used to. OMG BEST ROAD TRIP EVER.
I still think Caroline/Tyler is too well-adjusted and functional for me to ship them, but I really do appreciate their existence. When it looked like Tyler was a goner, I was thinking, "Awwww, those poor people who rely on this ship to be the sunshiny happy place in the midst of all the angst!" And then Tyler's okay, and he's weirdly fine with being a hybrid, and I'm like, OH YOU TWO AND YOUR RESILIENCY. DOES NOTHING GET YOU DOWN? Hilarious and adorable.
Now. Let's talk about Stefan and Elena, because I AM DISAPPOINT. From the previews, it really looked like this might be the episode where Stefan finally passes the point of no return, Elena realizes she can't save him, worldviews crumbling, blah blah fabulousness. AND THEN THE WRITERS DID A STUPID THING AND MADE STEFAN COMPELLED TO DO IT. Such a fucking cop-out. It's Angel all over again, isn't it? Stefan can't be held responsible because he's a ~totally different person. It's ~out of his control. WHO DOES THAT SOUND LIKE?
OMG SO PISSED brb shaking and crying.
And yet THIS is when Elena concludes that Stefan is "gone"? Not the part where he was dismembering people up and down the eastern seaboard? I mean, I get that this time, it's personal or whatever, because it was Elena's actual neck, but she knows what compulsion is. It's not ~really him. (And it's not like Stefan's gone forever, right? Kill Klaus and the compulsion is broken, so they can get good!Stefan back.) Really, I don't blame her for reacting that way, it's probably pretty scary to watch your boyfriend turn into a monster before your eyes, but I just can't make sense of it from a narrative perspective. What's the point? Why bother ~disillusioning Elena if it's easily forgivable once Stefan's back to normal? GOD I WAS SO LOOKING FORWARD TO THIS AND THEY FUCKED IT UP.
However, I can console myself with the fact that, like Angelus, evil!Stefan is HILARIOUS. OMG I loved that "by all means, carry on" line to Damon and Elena. ROFL. You know, if I were evil!Stefan, I'd probably do my best to push Damon and Elena together, just because it's sick and twisted and would torture them both, because they both kind of want it but adamantly refuse to act on it. And the REASON they don't is standing right there, egging them on. And all the echoes of the Katherine triangle? Oh, the mindfuckery. That'd be fun.
Speaking of D/E, I appreciate that this wasn't an opportunity for Damon to swoop in and be the "good brother." I actually really love that he wasn't even there when all this went down and how Elena feels betrayed by that. GOD, BREAK MY HEART, WHY DON'T YOU? (Hahaha, why do I ship them the most when they're hurting each other. Oh, right, because I AM ME.) Even though Damon doesn't believe he has a chance with Elena, he still feels that responsibility to be there for her, especially now, with Stefan off the rails, and he let her down.
ever_neutral already covered it, pretty much to the letter what I was going to say (damned time zones! It's not fair! I went to sleep!).Well, since I blathered at
blackfrancine on the subject a whole lot already, let's start with Matt. Poor Pudding Pop gets neglected so often, doesn't he? I thought it was telling that Caroline got the whole gang together for Senior Prank Night, and NOBODY TOLD MATT. Also that Tyler has to tell Caroline to be gentle with Matt, and yet... you're supposed to be his best friend, dude, why aren't you, IDK, BEING THERE FOR HIM if you know he needs it?I thought Matt being so willing to commit suicide made sense for him, character-wise. He's lost pretty much everything over the last year - his sister's dead, his mom's MIA, two ex-girlfriends, and his best friend. And Bonnie's right that he's the lucky one, that he's the only one who can opt out of the supernatural stuff, but everyone he's ever cared about has been sucked into it. What good is there in opting out and being alone?
So, yeah, if dying is the only way to get to talk to his sister, I can see him jumping at that. Even if it doesn't work, what's he got to lose?
And it ties into what I see as an overarching theme of the show - the questionable value of martyrdom. How many people would've lived if Elena just offed herself as soon as she found out about Klaus? Or if Bonnie had died but taken Klaus with her? Death is the easy way out - and I don't mean that in a "giving up instead of facing your problems" sense, although that's also true - it is literally the most practical solution to a lot of problems. And yet these characters, though most of them are blatantly suicidal, will not let each other die, and so they go to extraordinary lengths to FIND ANOTHER WAY.
If Matt hadn't drowned, Elena would be dead. Tyler would be dead. Maybe Klaus would've killed the rest of them just for kicks. And yet Bonnie STILL tells him that it was an idiot move. Once again, it plays on that tension of the greater good vs. the value of individual lives. It's interesting to see what side the characters come down on (and how it differs when they're the one who's supposed to die vs. their loved ones dying).
On a related note, THANK HEAVENS, the ghost plot is actually relevant! I was getting worried on that front. It was one of the most intriguing cliffhangers of last season, and yet that plot was moving like a snail through molasses. But we actually get the ghosts being useful in TWO DIFFERENT WAYS, first with Vicki passing on messages to Bonnie from dead witches and then Anna giving Jeremy a clue about Michael the vampire hunter. And Katherine and Jeremy teaming up??? So bizarre and awesome.
I'm totally shipping Damon/Katherine, btw (again. still. forever.). I am greatly enjoying the dynamic with the new and improved "so over you" Damon. Which, you are totally not, bb, but I love that Katherine isn't quite sure and so she's no longer able to manipulate him the way she used to. OMG BEST ROAD TRIP EVER.
I still think Caroline/Tyler is too well-adjusted and functional for me to ship them, but I really do appreciate their existence. When it looked like Tyler was a goner, I was thinking, "Awwww, those poor people who rely on this ship to be the sunshiny happy place in the midst of all the angst!" And then Tyler's okay, and he's weirdly fine with being a hybrid, and I'm like, OH YOU TWO AND YOUR RESILIENCY. DOES NOTHING GET YOU DOWN? Hilarious and adorable.
Now. Let's talk about Stefan and Elena, because I AM DISAPPOINT. From the previews, it really looked like this might be the episode where Stefan finally passes the point of no return, Elena realizes she can't save him, worldviews crumbling, blah blah fabulousness. AND THEN THE WRITERS DID A STUPID THING AND MADE STEFAN COMPELLED TO DO IT. Such a fucking cop-out. It's Angel all over again, isn't it? Stefan can't be held responsible because he's a ~totally different person. It's ~out of his control. WHO DOES THAT SOUND LIKE?
OMG SO PISSED brb shaking and crying.
And yet THIS is when Elena concludes that Stefan is "gone"? Not the part where he was dismembering people up and down the eastern seaboard? I mean, I get that this time, it's personal or whatever, because it was Elena's actual neck, but she knows what compulsion is. It's not ~really him. (And it's not like Stefan's gone forever, right? Kill Klaus and the compulsion is broken, so they can get good!Stefan back.) Really, I don't blame her for reacting that way, it's probably pretty scary to watch your boyfriend turn into a monster before your eyes, but I just can't make sense of it from a narrative perspective. What's the point? Why bother ~disillusioning Elena if it's easily forgivable once Stefan's back to normal? GOD I WAS SO LOOKING FORWARD TO THIS AND THEY FUCKED IT UP.
However, I can console myself with the fact that, like Angelus, evil!Stefan is HILARIOUS. OMG I loved that "by all means, carry on" line to Damon and Elena. ROFL. You know, if I were evil!Stefan, I'd probably do my best to push Damon and Elena together, just because it's sick and twisted and would torture them both, because they both kind of want it but adamantly refuse to act on it. And the REASON they don't is standing right there, egging them on. And all the echoes of the Katherine triangle? Oh, the mindfuckery. That'd be fun.
Speaking of D/E, I appreciate that this wasn't an opportunity for Damon to swoop in and be the "good brother." I actually really love that he wasn't even there when all this went down and how Elena feels betrayed by that. GOD, BREAK MY HEART, WHY DON'T YOU? (Hahaha, why do I ship them the most when they're hurting each other. Oh, right, because I AM ME.) Even though Damon doesn't believe he has a chance with Elena, he still feels that responsibility to be there for her, especially now, with Stefan off the rails, and he let her down.
no subject
Date: Oct. 14th, 2011 06:40 pm (UTC)And she will...just after she completely lets him go and really gets into Damon.
I'm okay with that because I'm basically Ot3 with this trio. :)
no subject
Date: Oct. 16th, 2011 02:39 am (UTC)no subject
Date: Oct. 15th, 2011 02:09 am (UTC)Agreed about pretty much everything. Man, the writers copping out re: Stefan has really done a number on me. I just. I want to have a big discussion about why the show is so unwilling to take real risks with his character (like they do with Damon). Is it because they're worried people won't sympathise with him? Or do they just really not get the character? IDEK.
no subject
Date: Oct. 16th, 2011 02:42 am (UTC)I know we've already given the writers the benefit of the doubt waaaaay more than most, but maybe it'll be okay? Like, yes, Stefan is compelled, but given that Damon and Elena are already mourning him like he's dead, maybe they won't be letting him off the hook so easily?
(Personally, I think the compulsion was just there so Klaus could be heartbroken that Stefan's more devoted to Elena than to him.)
Denial FTW!no subject
Date: Oct. 17th, 2011 07:14 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: Oct. 17th, 2011 07:12 pm (UTC)Yeah. Why bother making him dark if they ultimately do this and make it not his fault?
However, I can console myself with the fact that, like Angelus, evil!Stefan is HILARIOUS.
Evil is always more fun!
And the REASON they don't is standing right there, egging them on.
Twisted threesomes are also always more fun. *nods*
no subject
Date: Oct. 17th, 2011 08:58 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: Oct. 17th, 2011 09:54 pm (UTC)Though obviously I would love it if Stefan were held accountable.
no subject
Date: Oct. 18th, 2011 02:21 am (UTC)