What's that? A reaction post?
Mar. 23rd, 2012 04:21 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
next_to_normalLOL, I haven't done a TVD post in FOREVER because pocochina and ever_neutral and semele usually have such good ones (although Alex seriously outdid herself last week, lol), but this started out as a comment to Poco's post and grew to epic proportions, so... I HAVE THOUGHTS!
Okay, so at first, I didn't realize what was going on with Alaric, so I was like, "Um, why the obsession with his FACE? THIS IS NOT HOW THEY DO MRIs ON HOUSE."
Also, on the subject of the serial killing ring, with all the emphasis this show puts on families, I feel like there ought to be something to the fact that the rings were made for the Gilberts. Like, that's why Alaric's is acting up, because he's not a Gilbert. And so I keep expecting some digging to reveal that Samantha Gilbert was actually the milkman's daughter or something, lol. Plus it would explain the obsession with killing Council members, those bitter non-Founders. ("You see, children? This is what happens when you exclude people - THEY STAB YOU TO DEATH.")
But serial killing Jeremy would ALSO be fun, so I'm really okay either way. (Hey, the show remembered Jeremy exists! But when he told Elena he was going out, I kind of thought that the last shot of the episode would be him killing someone.) The fact that Alaric left instructions for Jeremy, though? In his trophy drawer? Super creepy.
Meanwhile, Damon now has Alaric on house arrest. First Stefan, now Alaric? What is Damon, the serial killer whisperer or something? How many people do we think he can babysit before he snaps himself? I should have more thoughts on Damon/Sage/Rebekah, but... as Poco said, it all seems very obvious, lol.
I'm cranky that Abby left - SO MUCH WASTED STORY POTENTIAL - and I can only hope she'll be back eventually, for Bonnie to get some closure. I feel like we were especially cheated because Abby had the pivotal conversation with Caroline. (Don't get me wrong, Caroline is wonderful, but this isn't her story. I wanted Bonnie/Abby.) The one thing I did love about Bonnie going off to help Alaric is that the narrative is being so deliberate about how Bonnie's entire life comes second to Elena. I mean, I get it - Alaric killing people and possibly eventually himself IS a big deal, but it just kills me that Bonnie's trying to make things work with her mom, and (as usual) Elena's got an emergency that is a higher priority, and Bonnie loses someone else she loves.
And then she forgives Elena, which was a gorgeous scene, but I kind of think Bonnie did it because it's the easiest thing to do. It's easier than staying angry, it's easier than not talking - but it's also easier to forgive when Elena didn't actually DO anything (it's not her fault her vampire boyfriends are impulsive assholes, though I don't blame Bonnie for being angry) than it is to talk about the fact that Elena's very existence subsumes everyone around her. Not that Elena isn't already painfully aware of that, but I wonder how much more loss Bonnie can take before she finally breaks. Because, really, Bonnie is as self-sacrificing as Elena is, but where Elena does it out of guilt, Bonnie believes it's her ~duty as a witch and as the ONLY REASONABLE PERSON IN MYSTIC FALLS to do what needs to be done. And I wonder what happens when she starts putting herself first.
I can't even with Elena and Stefan, though. Why is it that EVERY episode acts like Elena is suddenly ~realizing Stefan is a vampire? NEWS FLASH. HALF THE PEOPLE YOU KNOW ARE VAMPIRES. GET OVER IT OR MOVE. I don't know. I could let it go when it was ~horror at eating people (even though HE TRIED TO KILL YOU, WHY NOT SHOW SOME RIGHTEOUS ANGER ABOUT THAT?) but now even the blood bag repulses her? Get over yourself.
I'm really trying to figure it out, because obviously she doesn't care that Damon's a vampire - she's seen him with his mouth bloodied, just like Stefan's last week, more times than I can count and it doesn't bother her in the slightest. I could understand if it's that she holds Stefan to a higher standard than Damon, since Stefan has always been the reflection of her goodness while Damon's the reflection of her badness, but - Caroline! Who, in this very episode, was gleefully discussing her favorite blood types! Why so judgy of Stefan drinking from blood bags but not Caroline? Elena is my woman, show. Don't make me want to throttle her. You are officially ON NOTICE.
Oh, and this is a horrible thought (lol but who am I?), but when Stefan was trying not to be affected by Meredith's blood, the thing that popped into my head was, "Well, maybe Elena will let him lick the bathroom clean?"
pocochina and ever_neutral and semele usually have such good ones (although Alex seriously outdid herself last week, lol), but this started out as a comment to Poco's post and grew to epic proportions, so... I HAVE THOUGHTS!Okay, so at first, I didn't realize what was going on with Alaric, so I was like, "Um, why the obsession with his FACE? THIS IS NOT HOW THEY DO MRIs ON HOUSE."
Also, on the subject of the serial killing ring, with all the emphasis this show puts on families, I feel like there ought to be something to the fact that the rings were made for the Gilberts. Like, that's why Alaric's is acting up, because he's not a Gilbert. And so I keep expecting some digging to reveal that Samantha Gilbert was actually the milkman's daughter or something, lol. Plus it would explain the obsession with killing Council members, those bitter non-Founders. ("You see, children? This is what happens when you exclude people - THEY STAB YOU TO DEATH.")
But serial killing Jeremy would ALSO be fun, so I'm really okay either way. (Hey, the show remembered Jeremy exists! But when he told Elena he was going out, I kind of thought that the last shot of the episode would be him killing someone.) The fact that Alaric left instructions for Jeremy, though? In his trophy drawer? Super creepy.
Meanwhile, Damon now has Alaric on house arrest. First Stefan, now Alaric? What is Damon, the serial killer whisperer or something? How many people do we think he can babysit before he snaps himself? I should have more thoughts on Damon/Sage/Rebekah, but... as Poco said, it all seems very obvious, lol.
I'm cranky that Abby left - SO MUCH WASTED STORY POTENTIAL - and I can only hope she'll be back eventually, for Bonnie to get some closure. I feel like we were especially cheated because Abby had the pivotal conversation with Caroline. (Don't get me wrong, Caroline is wonderful, but this isn't her story. I wanted Bonnie/Abby.) The one thing I did love about Bonnie going off to help Alaric is that the narrative is being so deliberate about how Bonnie's entire life comes second to Elena. I mean, I get it - Alaric killing people and possibly eventually himself IS a big deal, but it just kills me that Bonnie's trying to make things work with her mom, and (as usual) Elena's got an emergency that is a higher priority, and Bonnie loses someone else she loves.
And then she forgives Elena, which was a gorgeous scene, but I kind of think Bonnie did it because it's the easiest thing to do. It's easier than staying angry, it's easier than not talking - but it's also easier to forgive when Elena didn't actually DO anything (it's not her fault her vampire boyfriends are impulsive assholes, though I don't blame Bonnie for being angry) than it is to talk about the fact that Elena's very existence subsumes everyone around her. Not that Elena isn't already painfully aware of that, but I wonder how much more loss Bonnie can take before she finally breaks. Because, really, Bonnie is as self-sacrificing as Elena is, but where Elena does it out of guilt, Bonnie believes it's her ~duty as a witch and as the ONLY REASONABLE PERSON IN MYSTIC FALLS to do what needs to be done. And I wonder what happens when she starts putting herself first.
I can't even with Elena and Stefan, though. Why is it that EVERY episode acts like Elena is suddenly ~realizing Stefan is a vampire? NEWS FLASH. HALF THE PEOPLE YOU KNOW ARE VAMPIRES. GET OVER IT OR MOVE. I don't know. I could let it go when it was ~horror at eating people (even though HE TRIED TO KILL YOU, WHY NOT SHOW SOME RIGHTEOUS ANGER ABOUT THAT?) but now even the blood bag repulses her? Get over yourself.
I'm really trying to figure it out, because obviously she doesn't care that Damon's a vampire - she's seen him with his mouth bloodied, just like Stefan's last week, more times than I can count and it doesn't bother her in the slightest. I could understand if it's that she holds Stefan to a higher standard than Damon, since Stefan has always been the reflection of her goodness while Damon's the reflection of her badness, but - Caroline! Who, in this very episode, was gleefully discussing her favorite blood types! Why so judgy of Stefan drinking from blood bags but not Caroline? Elena is my woman, show. Don't make me want to throttle her. You are officially ON NOTICE.
Oh, and this is a horrible thought (lol but who am I?), but when Stefan was trying not to be affected by Meredith's blood, the thing that popped into my head was, "Well, maybe Elena will let him lick the bathroom clean?"
no subject
Date: Mar. 23rd, 2012 10:22 pm (UTC)Yeah, I have no idea what's up with her. And yeah, she's fine with Caroline being a vampire, but now even Stefan's blood bags make her edgy?
no subject
Date: Mar. 24th, 2012 02:12 am (UTC)no subject
Date: Mar. 24th, 2012 02:01 am (UTC)LOL, don't remind me. (♥)
(Hey, the show remembered Jeremy exists! But when he told Elena he was going out, I kind of thought that the last shot of the episode would be him killing someone.)
THIS IS WHAT SHOULD HAVE HAPPENED THOUGH.
What is Damon, the serial killer whisperer or something?
~squish squish~
The one thing I did love about Bonnie going off to help Alaric is that the narrative is being so deliberate about how Bonnie's entire life comes second to Elena.
Huh. Good thought. Gives me a vague glimmer of hope. :)
And I love everything you say about Bonnie in general. This girl. :(
I could let it go when it was ~horror at eating people (even though HE TRIED TO KILL YOU, WHY NOT SHOW SOME RIGHTEOUS ANGER ABOUT THAT?) but now even the blood bag repulses her? Get over yourself.
Your feelings, my feelings, sorry to say. Elena is my forever girl, but I can't begin to talk about how much I DISLIKE what Elena/Stefan these days turns her into. Which is also confusing because I LOVE ELENA/STEFAN BUT THEY'RE NOT DOING IT RIGHT.
I could understand if it's that she holds Stefan to a higher standard than Damon, since Stefan has always been the reflection of her goodness while Damon's the reflection of her badness, but - Caroline! Who, in this very episode, was gleefully discussing her favorite blood types! Why so judgy of Stefan drinking from blood bags but not Caroline?
Hmmm, good points. I'm starting to wonder if it really is just a Stefan thing. Caroline and Damon, she can deal with, because she doesn't want to be with either of them romantically, but Stefan MUST be the perfect man she has in her head, otherwise she can't justify wanting to be with him? And I wonder if this is actually her unconscious resentment of his recent actions seeping through. He abandoned her, almost killed her (twice), forced his wrist into her mouth, and has overall made very little effort to try to fight for her, even though she's been giving EVERYTHING in herself to help him. I wonder if she's somehow dealing with all of that trauma by IRRATIONALLY trying to stuff him back into the box he came in.
Oh, and this is a horrible thought (lol but who am I?), but when Stefan was trying not to be affected by Meredith's blood, the thing that popped into my head was, "Well, maybe Elena will let him lick the bathroom clean?"
ILU
no subject
Date: Mar. 24th, 2012 02:18 am (UTC)I kinda figure it HAS to be deliberate at this point? Once, maybe it's just protagonist privilege, twice even, but SERIOUSLY. FIND ME AN ARC IN WHICH BONNIE DOES NOT SACRIFICE SOMETHING FOR ELENA/SALVATORES.
I wonder if she's somehow dealing with all of that trauma by IRRATIONALLY trying to stuff him back into the box he came in.
Well, I sure hope she kept the receipt, because that return's gonna be a bitch. LOL, but seriously, I can only assume at this point that it is some irrational reaction to Stefan's role in her life and her internal narrative, because I am out of rational explanations.
no subject
Date: Mar. 24th, 2012 10:33 pm (UTC)lol! SECRETS SECRETS HURT SOMEONE. And yeah, serial killer Ric and his recruitment materials were legitimately creepy.
Bonnie believes it's her ~duty as a witch and as the ONLY REASONABLE PERSON IN MYSTIC FALLS to do what needs to be done. And I wonder what happens when she starts putting herself first.
YES. Because her conscience is a big part of who she is, but she really does need to have a choice about it all. It's an interesting conflict, I'd really love to see it brought center stage.
I could understand if it's that she holds Stefan to a higher standard than Damon, since Stefan has always been the reflection of her goodness while Damon's the reflection of her badness, but - Caroline! Who, in this very episode, was gleefully discussing her favorite blood types! Why so judgy of Stefan drinking from blood bags but not Caroline?
Yeah, everyone is all getting the vapors about how Stefan is.....dun dun DUN! a vampire. Maybe it's because they don't want to hold him accountable for his ripper-y behavior? If he can drink and control it, then what, he just WANTED to go off the deep end with Klaus? Poor Stef.
no subject
Date: Mar. 27th, 2012 04:46 pm (UTC)Maybe? Although, I do think there's a difference between drinking human blood in general and what happened with Klaus. The reason Stefan went off the deep end with Klaus is because he never dealt with his self-control issues, and Klaus actively exploited that weakness. That doesn't absolve Stefan of responsibility for his actions, but it also doesn't mean that his giving in to bloodlust was simply a lack of willpower on Stefan's part.
Addiction's a complicated thing, and trying to make it black and white is harmful for everyone. Elena judging Stefan for drinking human blood - for actually trying to control his addiction - is basically forcing him back into the position where his lack of self-control remains a weakness. It makes a ripper relapse much more likely in the future.