THE VAMPIRE DIARIES Season 2 Finale: “As I Lay Dying”
I know that some of you might be sad that the season is over. (Not me. Have you seen how long my recaps are? I need a break.) Plus, after all the tears last week, I figured that we all deserved to smile. Yeah, this is a show that features frequent heart snatches, lots of knives and daggers, so much blood, death, abuse, pain ... but it also features THE BEST VAMPIRE TO EVER LIVE. And she is practically skipping towards you, toting PICNIC BASKETS, so I dare you not to get happy. Yeah, I thought so. Photo Credit: The screencaps originally came from Candice Accola Web (www.candice-accola.net). You should go there. But then I made a collage, and proceeded to have way too much fun with Picnik. Bunnies, bunnies, it must be bunnies!
Read on for my recap & review of The Vampire Diaries 2×22, “As I Lay Dying,” aired Thursday, May 12, 2011:
Misleading and slightly ironic header photo aside, these are not exactly happy times in Mystic Falls. Previously on The Vampire Diaries, Klaus didn’t die, but five others did. Luckily, Elena came back to life, making the death count only four. And two of those deaths actually sort of mattered: Jenna Sommers and John Gilbert. Also, Damon was bit by a werewolf, and now he’s slowly dying. I guess some people were really worried about him. I don’t know … maybe there are a lot of former-Luddites on Twitter, who have never watched a television show before The Vampire Diaries? The way television works, there are always a couple safe characters on every show, and in The Vampire Diaries those characters are Elena, Stefan, and Damon. I mean, I’m not saying they can’t ever die (hell, Elena died in the last episode), but they will come back through some supernatural means. I mean, Buffy died twice—three times if you count the alternate universe episode. And I can’t even keep track of how many times the Winchesters have bit it. But they always come back. All bets are off in the series finale, but otherwise, whatever. I know we’ll be stuck with … um, I mean lucky to have Damon for as long as the show runs (barring real-world opportunities that might make Ian want to quit the show or a DUI in Hawaii). Personally, I was more like, “Hey, remember that time when Pearl stuck her fingers in Damon’s eyeballs and it was HILARIOUS AND AMAAAAAAZING?!” Yeah, I grabbed some popcorn and got ready to be entertained. Damon’s pain is my joy. Allow me my twisted ways.
I had no idea what to expect when going into the season finale. After “The Sun Also Rises,” the stellar penultimate episode, it was very much “Where do we go from here?” How could the show top that amazingness? Or match last season’s finale, “Founder’s Day”? But at 9:00 p.m. on Thursday, when I turned off my television set, I very much felt that I had just seen a season finale. It didn’t have the same weep-factor as the previous episode, but it had a whole lot of WTF and OMFG, and really set up the story for season three. (I am sooooo excited for season three, you guys!)
The finale was remarkable in how well it paralleled last season’s ender, and in the way that it provided a bookend to the second season premiere. If you were to rewatch “Founder’s Day” and “The Return,” and then rewatch “As I Lay Dying,” I think that you would be similarly impressed at the thematic continuity and the clear bookends that frame the season. A particularly striking parallel between the premiere and finale was the fate of Jeremy. The poor boy was killed and resurrected in both the season two premiere and finale, and while the experience the first time was certainly important for the development of his character, this second time promises to be an even bigger deal, with far greater consequences. Plus, Jeremy totally tried to turn himself into a vampire at the end of “Founder’s Day,” because of the fates of Anna and Vicki. And now, at the end of “As I Lay Dying,” these lost loves, who haunted him figuratively, are now about to get literal. I mean, how awesome is this show?
And then there are the three kisses. In the first season finale, Damon kissed Katherine, thinking she was Elena; then in the second season premiere, he forced a kiss on Elena that she didn’t want. But in the second season finale, Elena gave Damon a kiss willingly, and there was no confusion as to her identity. When we began the second season, Katherine and Elena professed to Damon that “It was always Stefan,” and “It’s always gonna be Stefan,” respectively. When Damon foolishly tried to get both ladies to confess their love for him, he was strongly rebuffed, and he then reacted in anger and violence. Katherine promised him that she didn’t care, while Elena promised that she would hate him forever. (The latter didn’t last for more than an episode, obviously. Sign Elena up for a course in “Holding Grudges” ASAP.) Both promised over and over again that they loved Stefan. And yet, in the second season finale, just when Damon has finally begun to come to terms with those sentiments, we saw both doppelgängers at Damon’s deathbed, helping him through it. And Katherine—KATHERINE—who delighted in torturing Damon for years, was his savior.
Then there’s Caroline—may she live forever—who became a vampire at the very end of “The Return.” We have watched her struggle with this change all year, and I would argue that she has been the best part of the season. (Well, maybe tied with Katherine. Ooooh, I can’t possibly choose!) How differently I feel now than I did after “The Return” first aired. I was so terrified about the decision to turn our beloved oh-so-human Caroline into a vamp, and worried that it might signal her demise. How wrong I was! It just goes to show that we should trust the writers, and wait to see the execution of a storyline before judgment. And now, at the close of the season, Vampire Caroline is still channeling Scarlett daily and picnicking in the square with baskets. (She might be craving some bunny blood, but we won’t hold it against her.) And this girl, who hardly had a civil conversation with her mother in season one, now ends season two hugging her mom. A very nice way to end to this particular chapter of Caroline’s journey, and a nice break from the love triangle DRAMA.
Also, speaking of Caroline’s mom, guess what Liz Forbes did in “The Return”? Argued with Carol Lockwood. Guess what she did in “As I Lay Dying”? Argued with Carol Lockwood. Some things never change. Well, except that this time they didn’t have Damon to play peacemaker.
Oh, and one more thing while I’m in the comparative mode. Back in “The Return,” John Gilbert was lying in the hospital after his fingers were cut off and spewing hatred towards vampires. Elena told her father that all that hate he was filled with would get him killed. But in an ironic twist, he ended up dying for love. AND THAT WAS THE PERFECT REDEMPTION FOR HIM. Seriously, I will always look back at John Gilbert’s demise as one of the best parts of the show. It was all about the execution, because if Jeremy had protested, or if John had wept over Elena’s body first, or if the show had stopped making John the certified douche that he was, the sacrifice and the letter might have felt cheesy and overly earnest. But as it was, it was so well done. John was just a flawed man who should never have been a father, who finally, after seventeen years, found a way help his child and to show her that he cared. A very quiet and simple sacrifice of his own life for his daughter’s, because he knew that was the best he could offer her.
Well, I guess I better get on to the recap of the actual episode now, before I get too carried away. This is another loooong recap, so grab refreshments. We open on Elena, as she looks at Jeremy sleeping in his room. But not in a creepy “I’m watching you while you sleep” way, because, remember, she escaped becoming a vampire. She is still grieving, and as we learn later, this is two days after the sacrifice. She goes over to Jenna’s room and shuts the door, and it is all so very sad. But then a vampire pops in without knocking, because that’s what happens in the Gilbert house daily. This time, it’s Damon. He assures her: “That’ll get easier. But you know that.” Yes, because he’s been around over a century and still hasn’t gotten over his losses and personal demons, so he is really one to talk. You know, if you think about it, it’s interesting how resilient Elena is to everything, and how quickly she does get over things; in contrast, Damon never seems to, but this episode and his bout of dementia may finally change that. I mean, Elena can’t nurse a grudge to save her life, while Damon has held onto a lot of the same feelings for over a century (loving Katherine, blaming Stefan, hating himself, etc.). Maybe it’s the vampire switch thing that causes this eternal state of feeling the same things over and over again—it stops the vampires from working through their problems and moving onto the next ones. Anyway, this latest death sentence in the form of a werewolf bite has made Damon begin to reevaluate things. He apologizes and adds, “I know I don’t need your forgiveness, but I need it.” She says that she needs time. Instead of telling her that he could die in a matter of days, and forcing the issue, he actually acts pretty nobly and says: “Of course. Take all the time you need.” Title card.
Then Damon goes home and looks through the liquor cabinet. He grabs the good stuff and pours a glass. After looking at his bite, he opens the curtains and stands in the sun. Finally, he takes off his ring. He wants to “meet the sun,” to borrow a phrase from Charlaine Harris. But after he burns for a little bit, his brother tackles him. Damon reminds him of what happened to Rose, but Stefan doesn’t care. “You’re not dying today,” he announces, and he super-speeds Damon down to the handy dungeon, which the Salvatores use for just such occasions. Damon asks, “What’s the plan, Superman?” Stefan says that he has Bonnie on the case, because … duh. How many times has Bonnie helped the Salvatores out? And all she gets in exchange is Damon wanting to sacrifice her for Elena’s life. Sigh. I hope that eulogy Damon promised to write would’ve been GOOD, and that it would have included a single perfect man tear. Anyway, Damon doesn’t find Stefan’s plan too comforting (perhaps because he’s familiar with previous Stefan-made plans), and seems to accept that he will die, as he coughs up blood.
Cut to Klaus waking up in the sunlight naked, in the middle of the woods. Looks like someone had a fun night! Elijah approaches and throws his brother some clothes, as the HOTTEST SCENE OF THE EPISODE takes place. Elijah comments, “You’ve been busy.” Klaus: “That was amazing. How long has it been?” Elijah: “Almost two days. The full moon came and went. You remained a wolf.” Klaus: “I can change at will then. That’s good to know. I remember every single kill.” Interesting. Sounds like being a werepire is waaaaay better than being a werewolf. Elijah: “Yes, I’ve been cleaning up your little mess along the way.” Klaus: “Just like old times, brother.” Elijah: “Well you’ve had your fun. I believe we have a bargain.” Klaus: “That’s right. Now what was it, again? Oh, right, I remember. You wished to be reunited with our family.” Elijah reminds his brother that he gave his word. Poor naïve Elijah. I worry for his health and safety, you guys. I’m thinking that Klaus’s word is worth less than nothing. Sigh. But tricky Nicky plays along and asks, “What kind of brother would break his bond? Even though you did try to kill me.” Elijah: “I could have. But I didn’t.” Klaus: “Now no one can. Not even you.” Me: “Danger danger! This is beginning to seem like a very bad idea, Elijah. Start researching ‘How to kill werepires’ ASAP (and preferably not on Bing).” But Klaus tells his brother to relax, and that “All is forgiven.” Hmph. Elijah asks where their family is. Klaus: “You need to lighten up. I’ll bring you to them soon enough.” Me: “That wording is SUSPECT. Watch your back, Elijah.” Now keep in mind, while all this dialogue is going on, Klaus is all tousled and dirty, and that is a very good look for Joseph Morgan. More importantly, Elijah is helping his brother dress this whole time. Ahem. Okay, I’m going to the special hell. Moving on …
Cut to Alaaaaric at the bar, nursing his pain, per usual. Another day, another dead girlfriend. After the bartender serves him, he puts his fingers to his lips, and grabs for the whole bottle. There’s a hilarious little game of tug-of-war over said bottle (bourbon?), with Alaric winning, and then he starts just drinking straight from the bottle. Oh, Alaaaaric. His public display of alcoholism (in the establishment frequented by his students and their parents, no less) is interrupted when Stefan calls. Alaric answers: “I’m sorry, you’ve reached somebody who’s currently not operating.” Ha! Stefan: “I need your help.” Alaric: “Oh, you must have me confused with somebody else. You see, I’m not allowed to help. Just idly sit by while my girlfriend gets sacrificed on an altar of blood.” Ha! I looooove you, Alaaaaric! Despite my entirely selfish happiness that Alaric survived the last episode unharmed, I’m really really glad that he is written as royally pissed off here. As he SHOULD be. However, his righteous indignation is interrupted when Stefan delivers the news that Damon’s dying. Alaric lowers the bottle, shocked and upset. Subtext: “I’ve already lost my girlfriend. Is it really fair to take away my boyfriend too?” Poor Alaric. Stefan explains that Tyler Lockwood bit Damon and that there isn’t much time. Alaric immediately asks, “What do you need?” See, you guys, he’s a functioning alcoholic. Also, he really is great in a crisis—quick to jump in when it matters. Especially to help Damon. See, I don’t want Damon to die either, for Alaric’s sake. He can’t always drink alone, and Damon’s the only one who can keep up with him.
Meanwhile, in the Town Square, a bunch of people ramble about. Some are dressed in costumes, as the square is all decked out for a Gone with the Wind screening later that night. Gone with the Wind! Movie in the Square! Costumes! So much love. Also, this parallels nicely with last season’s finale, when we had the Founder’s Day Parade, and all the costumes and historically themed floats. Gone with the Wind is from the same era as the town’s founders, after all. Last year we got the high school kids’ reimagining of the Civil War, and this year we get classic Hollywood’s. Nice. Anyway, some of our characters have plans to attend this event, including Jeremy and Elena. Jeremy complains that his sister brought him to see a “girl movie.” Shut up, Jeremy! Elena: “We had to get out of the house, Jer. This is our three hour distraction from reality.” Jeremy: “Oh, is that what we’re doing? Pretending like our lives aren’t screwed?” There’s not enough pretending in the world. At least you’re both pretty. Focus on the positive. Elena explains: “We need to do this, okay. Breathe, eat, sleep, wake up, and then do it all over again … until one day it’s just not as hard anymore.”
Then everything gets 100x better, when Caroline arrives, wearing a wide smile, practically skipping forward, and bearing BASKETS! Adorable. Like, there needs to be a new word in the dictionary for the superlative of adorable and the way that it applies to Caroline. Seriously. She’s all like, “Hey! There you guys are. Who’s hungry?” Hee. This is just so funny in juxtaposition to everything else that’s going on, but in a really good way. We need a little lightness, you know? Jeremy asks incredulously, “Are we really doing this?” Caroline: “Yes, we are really doing this. We’re going to take a page from Scarlett. We made it through the war. You guys went through hell, and my mom knows I’m a vampire, so basically it’s like Atlanta has burned. And yet, in spite of everything, we persevere.” She even does a little fist pump at that last part. So perfect. The only thing that would have been more perfect is if some additional thematic lines were used. For example … Elena: “As God is my witness, I’ll never be sacrificed again!” Jeremy: “Our old lives, everything we knew, are gone with the wind.” Caroline: “I can’t think about that right now. If I do, I’ll go crazy. I’ll think about that tomorrow.” Oh, and if only Katherine had managed a little “Fiddle-dee-dee” at some point in the episode. That would have been delightful. Anyway, in actually delivered dialogue, Jeremy concedes to the inevitable: “Alright, what are we eating?” Caroline: “Something good!” This town is so lucky to have Caroline.
Cut to the witch house, where Bonnie is helping Stefan to find a cure for Damon. She performs a séance to contact Emily and the other witches. How many times has Bonnie saved one or more Salvatore? I’ve lost count. I mean, there was that one time where she tried to barbecue Damon, but as Caroline said last week, no friendship is perfect. As the candles flame, suddenly Emily starts speaking through Bonnie. Sadly, we don’t get to see Bianca Lawson, despite the shot from the preview. It is just Bonnie, possessed by Emily. Emily asks, “Why have you come here, Stefan?” Stefan: “I need your help. I need to know if there’s a spell that can heal a werewolf bite.” Emily: “No. Nature ensures a balance to everything.” Stefan: “Is that true? Or are you just saying no because it’s Damon?” Emily: “Perhaps it is his time to die.” Stefan: “No, that’s not balance. That’s punishment.” I don’t see how that follows. Stefan’s logic makes no sense. Emily asserts, “I will not give you what you want.” Stefan sees this as hope: “So, you’re saying that there’s an answer to give? Please, if you know something, just tell me. Help me save my brother.” But Emily doesn’t respond. Instead, Bonnie writhes in pain and then she returns to herself. She tells Stefan: “They don’t want us here. They think I’m abusing my power.” Stefan: “They know something. There’s an answer. They just don’t want to tell me.” Bonnie: “I heard them say a name.” Stefan: “What was it?” Bonnie: “Klaus.” Dun dun dun. Looks like the theory about Original blood was pretty close, but it is in fact werepire blood that is needed. We shall see.
Then we see Carol Lockwood, still sporting a sling, march into the Sheriff’s office to see Liz. After they exchange cursory pleasantries, Carol demands: “I need you to update me on where we are with the vampire situation.” Me: “Not anywhere good.” Liz: “Well, there’ve been some developments, but I’m handling it.” Carol: “Are you? Because I left you in charge of this town’s safety, and lately I’m not seeing any results.” Well, there is a lot of killing being done. Oh, those weren’t the results you wanted? I don’t know, I think I have to agree with Carol, as much I like Liz. I mean, this is the worst Council to Prevent Vampire Violence ever. Well, the Watcher’s Council kind of sucked too, but mostly because they were misogynistic and overly controlling. Anyway, Liz claims that she’s handling it. Carol: “Then see that you do, Sheriff. Because if you can’t, I’ll find someone who will.” Hmmm. Is this hinting at some tension next season? What if Carol finds out about Caroline being a vampire? Will it start to get all Capulet and Montague up in Mystic Falls? Well, if they turn Caroline into Juliet, and have her kill herself over Tyler, this show and I ARE DONE.
Meanwhile, Stefan shows up to the square. Elena teases, “Look who couldn’t resist an epic romance.” He is not really there for romance, however, and he asks Elena to take a walk with him. Elena tells Stefan that he’s breaking the rules, because movie night is supposed to be a distraction. However, Stefan tells her that this can’t wait, and finally spills the news about Damon’s bite. She freaks. So much for never forgiving Damon. I think this particularly hits Elena hard since she watched Rose descend into madness before her eventual death, so she knows the suffering that’s in store for Damon. Also, she quickly begins to feel guilty, as is her wont: “Oh my god. He came to the house this morning and tried to apologize. I practically slammed the door in his face.” Me: “Deservedly! We really need to talk about this grudge-holding gene that you’re missing, Elena.” Stefan: “He told me not to tell you but I figured if you wanted to talk to him, I wouldn’t wait.” That’s true brotherly love: telling your girlfriend to say goodbye to your brother who’s in love with her. Also? Somewhat incestuous when you start to think about it. Let’s not. Stefan hasn’t lost hope, however. He tells Elena: “It’s not over. There might be a cure. But I have to find Klaus to get it.” Elena shakes her head and says he’ll kill Stefan. Stefan: “No. He had the chance to kill me, and he didn’t. Whatever Damon’s done, whatever’s led him here, I’m the one who made him become a vampire in the first place. So if there’s a chance for a cure, I owe it to him to find it.” Again, Stefan’s logic MAKES NO SENSE! I mean, yeah, Damon has suffered, but he made the choice to drink Katherine’s blood, unlike Stefan. Also, he has suffered because he hates being a vampire, so helping Damon remain a vampire forever is not really the solution. Isn’t that why Damon vowed an eternity of misery on Stefan in the first place? Because Stefan refused to let his brother die? Yes, it was. Also, I think this majorly skewed logic is owed to Stefan’s own gray morality. Shouldn’t Stefan’s guilt, if he must feel it, be because of all the death and destruction that Damon has wrought? Because Damon turned, so many people are dead. Weighed in the balance, Stefan should feel guilty that he doesn’t have the guts to let Damon die—to stop his brother from abusing and killing people. Ugh, I’m starting to remember why I didn’t like season one Stefan. Acting superior, but never interceding on behalf of his brother’s victims. How long did he stand idly by while Damon used and abused Caroline? Then Andie? I mean, just a few disapproving looks and words? Not enough. Ugh. Someone remind me why I like him now. I mean, I know he can’t really be held responsible for his brother’s actions (wait, are we getting into Cain and Abel territory here?), but if he is going to while away in guilt over causing his brother pain, maybe he should get some perspective: Damon stopped being the victim a long time ago. And in some ways, trying to keep Damon alive is a selfish decision. Ah well, we all know that Damon is totally his kryptonite. Back in plot-related things, Stefan and Elena hug, and Stefan tells her: “Go talk to him. Just tell him that there’s still hope.” Me: “Sometimes you bring your misfortune on yourself, Stefan. Stop pushing Damon and Elena together, already. Seriously.”
Cut to Damon in the dungeon. Flashback! It’s 1864, and he watches Katherine getting dressed. She catches him: “Mr. Salvatore, spying on a lady is a sign of very poor manners.” You know she totally left her door open just so this would happen. Oh, Katherine. Damon is contrite, but she asks for his help undoing her corset strings. Ha! He is happy to oblige, and while he helps, she asks, “Will you miss me while off defending the South?” Damon: “I shall.” Katherine: “Then I hope you will hurry back. I fear I shall be lonely when you are away.” Damon reveals his jealousy: “I should think Stefan would be company enough.” Katherine: “Is it so wrong to want you both?” Suddenly Elena appears in the flashback (because this is more werewolf-bite driven dementia than flashback) and tells him: “Damon, don’t you see? She was toying with you. All you had to do is say no. Walk away. You had a choice.” Oooh, choices. I like it. Then Katherine tells him, “Promise me you will return quickly.” So did Kat force Damon to go AWOL, perhaps? Like, she compelled him to promise to return quickly, and so he did? Given the discussion at the end of the episode about choices, I’m thinking no. Plus, Damon probably didn’t need any compulsion to choose hanging out with Katherine over dying of dysentery in a military camp. Damon promises and then he wakes up in the dungeon, in the present.
Meanwhile, Stefan goes to see Katherine at Alaric’s apartment. (As for how Stefan got into the apartment without an invitation, let’s just assume that Alaric invited him in, on some previous date off-screen. Okay?) Katherine is pissed, as she’s been waiting for two days, unable to leave the apartment. Stefan explains, “We ran into complications.” Katherine is incredulous: “Complications?” But then before he can say more, Klaus himself returns and Katherine quickly starts covering. Oh, Katherine. Klaus greets Stefan, “You just keep popping up.” Stefan tells him that he needs his help, for his brother. Wow. Work on that sales pitch, Stefan. Your brother frakked up Klaus’s sacrifice, so I really don’t think this will be compelling reasoning. Klaus: “Well, whatever it is, it’s going to have to wait a tick. You see, I have an obligation to my brother. It requires my immediate attention.” Elijah (yes, Elijah arrived with Klaus too! As for how he got into the apartment, NO IDEA!) tells Stefan: “You understand how important family is, or you wouldn’t be here. My brother gave me his word that he would reunite me with my own.” Again, SUSPECT WORDING. Klaus: “And so I shall.” And with that, he stabs Elijah with that damn Original-killing dagger. Ugh. I hate Klaus so. Hasn’t Elijah died enough on this show. FOUR TIMES is really pushing it. HE’S NOT A WINCHESTER, FOR GOD’S SAKE! (But he really could use an angel following him around, ready to pull the dagger out when necessary. That didn’t sound so dirty in my head. I promise.) Klaus then turns to Stefan: “Now, what am I gonna do with you?” Dun dun dun.
Well, we get the answer after the commercial break. He stakes him, the stake “scraping against [his] heart.” Katherine tries to stick up for him: “He’s just trying to help his brother.” Awww. Stefan begs: “Make me a deal. Just give me the cure, and I’ll do whatever you want.” Uh oh. Klaus takes the stake out and pours himself some blood. He tells him: “Trouble is, I don’t know if you’d be any good to me, the way you are now. You are just shy of useless.” Imagine that said WITH ACCENT. Klaus is really starting to grow on me. I mean, I hate him, but in a good way.
Meanwhile, Alaric goes to visit Damon and he brings him bourbon (it was bourbon, right?). So sweet. He wryly comments, “Well that looks bad.” Damon: “And it feels worse. My subconscious is haunting me, Ric. Please tell me you have something for that.” Alaric: “Double shot.” His cure for everything. Take two, wash it down with a full bottle, and call me in the morning. Ah, Dr. Ric. Damon says that’s good and stumbles over to grab a glass. He asks, “So, my brother sent you for suicide watch?” Alaric: “Just trying to help.” Damon: “He’s doing what he always does. Trying to right the wrongs of the past. You should want me dead. I’m the reason that Jenna got killed.” Damon: “I don’t blame you for Jenna.” Damon: “Oh, sure you do. Let’s not forget I turned your wife into a vampire. You must really hate me for that one.” Alaric: “Okay, give me your glass. Neither one of us is drunk enough for this conversation.” Ha! Love love love. But then Damon grabs Alaric through the bars and begs, “Kill me, please.” Alaric: “Screw you.” And he stabs Damon in the hand. You guys, how weird is it that this is possibly the sweetest scene in the entire episode? Yes, the one that involves two guys sharing a drink through metal bars and one reminding the other that he killed his wife. Yes, the one that involved stabbing. This show. Then Damon’s dementia takes over again, and he calls for Elena. Alaric (is jealous, obviously, and) tersely says, “Elena’s not here, Damon.”
Cut to Elena outside the Salvatore house, as she gets captured by Liz and deputies. Illegal arrest! Sue the Sheriff’s Department, Elena.
Back inside, Damon asks for blood, so Alaric goes over to the fridge to get some. Where he runs into Liz. Uh oh. She asks where Damon is and he tells her that it’s not a good time. Hee. Liz doesn’t listen. Alaric urges again, “I wouldn’t go in there.” But Liz and their deputies don’t listen. Alas. When Liz enters the dungeon, Damon says her name and then knocks her out. Crazy vampire on the loose! Good job, Sheriff. Now you’ve endangered the whole town. Siiiiiigh.
Meanwhile, in the town square, Caroline, Bonnie, and Jeremy watch Gone with the Wind. Caroline whispers, “All this waiting around for news is ruining Scarlett for me.” Aww. Then they get some news, as Alaric calls Jeremy and asks about Elena. I’m glad that is Alaric’s first reaction—to be worried about the people Damon might hurt, not just Damon. He tells Jeremy, “So, if you find her, get her somewhere safe.” Bonnie: “If Damon is off the rails, there is nothing you can do to stop him. Let us take care of it.” She tries to stop Jeremy from going after his sister, but Jeremy’s not having it. He tells her: “You keep doing this. You left me behind before and guess what? Jenna died. Now I’m going to find my sister. You go ahead and try to stop me.” I’m sad that they have Jeremy stand up for his independence and then he gets shot for it. Does this make Bonnie right? I kind of hate that. I’m going to call it a fluke. I mean, just because people don’t have superpowers, doesn’t mean that they can’t get sh*t done. Especially since most of the supernatural characters are total idiots. Seriously. I can’t wait until Jeremy and Alaric get their own “The Zeppo” episode, and save the world, while none of their friends notice.
Cut to Stefan and Klaus, my new favorite duo. Klaus gives us some story time, which I’m assuming describes Stefan: “I heard about this one vampire—crazy bloke—always on and off the wagon for decades. When he was off, he was magnificent. 1917, he went into Monterey and wiped out an entire migrant village. A true ripper. Sound familiar?” Oooh. Looks like Stefan had some hiccups on the road to blood sobriety. Stefan: “I haven’t been that way in a very long time.” Klaus: “Well, that’s the vampire I can make a deal with. That is the kind of talent that I can use when I leave this town.” Then he tells Kat to come here and bites her on the wrist. She is horrified. But then he force feeds her his blood and she heals. He tells Stefan: “You want your cure? There it is.” Stefan: “Your blood is the cure.” Um, duh. We just got a demonstration. Only Elijah is allowed to deliver useless exposition, Stefan. Sigh. (I might allow it from Katherine too, if her hair was especially bouncy.)
Meanwhile, at the square, Damon shows up. He is all out of it, stumbling through the crowd. Then he sees Katherine in a beautiful purple dress, but then she disappears. He’s imagining stuff. Jeremy finds him and helps him out of there. Awww, remember how Damon killed Jeremy in the premiere, and now Jeremy is helping Damon out. That not holding grudges thing must be a Gilbert gene.
Cut to Liz and Elena back at the station. Elena asks where Damon is. Liz: “Why do you even care? You know what they are, what they do.” They really make her sound very bigoted with her use of language. Elena: “I understand why you hate them, but you’re wrong.” Liz: “They’re murderers, Elena. End of story.” Then a deputy comes in. He says that Damon Salvatore was spotted entering the Grill. But he doesn’t mention Jeremy! Bad police work! Very bad. Elena: “Wait, you gotta let me come with you. He’s sick. He’s not himself.” Liz doesn’t listen, but has a deputy keep an eye on her.
We then see Jeremy and Damon inside the Grill. As Jeremy steps back, leaning to answer his phone, Liz shoots Damon, not seeing that Jeremy is right behind him. Then Damon super speeds away. So, vampire speed is faster than a speeding bullet now? I guess that Superman comparison was apt earlier. But that’s now what’s important. Liz shot Jeremy! In the chest! The sheriff shot a teenage boy in the chest. WTF?!?! This show. She immediately calls the paramedics, as Bonnie and Caroline enter. They establish that Jer’s wearing his ring, but since Liz is human, it won’t work. Caroline feeds him her blood, trying to heal him. Liz asks, “What are you doing?” Caroline angrily replies, “I’m helping him.” You guys, I thought that Jeremy was really done for at this point. And I thought about how nicely poetic it was that Jeremy died at the beginning and end of the season. I really did. Then Alaric comes in and asks what’s going on. He sees Jeremy and he is all, “Oh my god.” Just the look on his face. Wow. Bonnie cowboys up and says that she knows what they need to do. She tells them to grab him. They’ll take him with them. Liz: “No, you can’t move him. This is a crime scene.” Caroline: “Mom, you let them go.” And Liz does. Not because she is compelled, because we know she has to be pumped full of vervain at this point. But because she finally realizes that she doesn’t know everything. Hallelujah! Alaric grabs Jeremy, and is really sweet about: “C’mere, buddy. I got you, I got you.” You guys, I might be tearing up here while writing it. I suspect that the Alaric-Jeremy relationship is going to be my favorite next season. ”Buddy.” *Sniffle*
Back at the station, Elena figures a way out. She breaks a window by throwing a chair. You go, Elena! Very resourceful. Plus, it was totally an illegal arrest anyway.
Cut back to Klaus and Stefan. Oh, those crazy kids. Klaus: “There it is. You wanna save your brother? How about a decade long bender? You know, I have big plans for you, when we leave this town.” Wow. Stefan protests, “I’m not like that anymore.” Klaus: “Well, that’s too bad.” He starts pouring his miracle blood down the drain, but Stefan tells him to wait. Klaus know he has Stefan where he wants him and smiles. He tells his new wingman, “I want you to join me for a drink.” Stefan opens the bag of blood and sips. Klaus: “Finish it. All of it. You do everything I say and I save your brother. That’s the deal.” Stefan finishes the bag. This is all very slow and drawn out, by the way. Full of tension. Then Klaus passes him another bag and smirks. “Again.” Whoa.
Then we cut to Alaric, Jeremy, and Bonnie in the witch house. Alaric asks, “Is this even possible?” Bonnie: “There’s a spell for it, if they’ll give me the power to use it.” Is this the spell that was hinted at by Damon in “The Return,” perhaps? Bonnie says the spell words. The candles light on their own. Bonnie starts to get upset: “Nooo. They’re angry with me for coming back here. They don’t want to help.” Alaric: “Well they have to.” Bonnie: “They said there’ll be consequences.” Alaric: “Well he’s just a kid. Tell ‘em to shut up.” Awwww. You guys, I am so in love with Alaric right now. Also, WORD. Then the room shakes and Bonnie mumbles some more spell words. We hear whispers and Bonnie gets a bloody nose. She calls upon Emily. She cries: “I know you’re there. Please help me. I love him.” Then, the candles blow out, and Bonnie sobs, her face bloody. As she cradles Jeremy’s head, thinking all hope is lost, he starts to wake up. He’s alive! He asks what happened, but Bonnie says, “It doesn’t matter. You’re okay.” Um, Bonnie. I THINK IT MATTERS. Also, I really wish that when Jeremy woke up he said, “Sheriff Forbes killed me.” Then somebody could make a hilarious video cutting together him dying in “The Return,” and then waking up and saying, “Damon killed me.” Hee. Also, Bonnie does remember to thank Emily. But I’m thinking more will be asked of her than thanks, and that the consequences will be severe. Honestly, I kept waiting the rest of the episode for someone else to drop dead, in exchange. But not yet. Phew.
Meanwhile, Elena has no idea of her brother’s death and resurrection, as she crosses the square. On the big screen, we can see Atlanta burning, I think. Nice. Then Damon shows up, and Elena finds him. She says that they have to hide him, but he flashes back to Katherine, when they are running through the woods. He doesn’t know what is reality anymore. In the “flashback,” he asks Katherine, “Why must you always run from me?” Katherine: “Because I know that you will chase.” Damon: “Then let me chase you forever. Your blood.” Oooh, this is him asking to become a vampire. Katherine: “I will not feed you, Damon. If you want it, take it. It is your choice to make.” Damon: “I choose you, Katherine.” Then he makes her promise not to tell his brother. Back in reality, Damon tries to kiss Elena, thinking she’s Katherine, and she protests. Then he starts sucking her blood. Ewww. Elena: “You’re hurting me.” She tells him to please stop, and finally he realizes who she is. He collapses onto his knees and she holds him. Me: “Ruuuuun, Eleeeeeena! Ruuuuun!” She never listens.
Back at the Grill, Caroline is still there with Liz. Caroline gets a call from Bonnie and tells her mom, “Jeremy’s alive.” Liz is so relieved. She says, “I thought I killed him.” Caroline: “You did.” Liz: “I don’t understand.” Caroline: “I explained it to you once, because I had to make you forget because I was so scared of what you might do. But now, I don’t want to lie. I’m not gonna be afraid of you anymore. I don’t want you to be afraid of me anymore. I’m still your little girl. It’s me. It’s me.” And then they hug. And it is a major “awww” moment. And there may have been tears. What does this mean for next season? Will Liz be like the Sheriff in Roswell? You know, the one who hunted the aliens at first, but then became their father figure? That could work. (Just replace aliens with vampires, and father with mother. You know what I mean.)
Cut to Jeremy in bed, as he Bings “coming back from the dead.” Seriously, Jeremy?!?! Seriously?!?! Sigh. He should be perusing the journals and grimoires, not this nonsense. Sigh. His research is interrupted, however, when Bonnie Mi-Fi-s him. Wow, two product placements in one scene and neither one makes sense. I don’t resent the show’s need to make money, but this is just dumb. So, Bonnie just left Jeremy alone and is going to talk to him over the computer? After he just died? Seriously? I mean it’s not like any of them have parents or curfews. So dumb. Jeremy: “I don’t know how to thank you.” Bonnie: “You can thank me tomorrow. And the day after that. And the day after that. And the day after that.” Then Alaric pops in. He says: “Hey, bud. I’m just gonna take off. You need anything?” Jeremy: “No, I think I’m good.” Alaric realizes that this boy who just died has been left all alone, so he tries to act all casual and says: “You know uh, on second thought, I might just crash here. Is that cool?” Awwww. (Plus, he really doesn’t want to go back to his apartment, I would imagine.) Jeremy also plays it casual, not calling Alaric on his obvious protective vibe: “Yeah yeah, sure. Whatever.” But then things start to get sentimental as Jeremy adds, “Alaric, thank you for everything.” And then we have the best line of the episode. Alaric puts on his best Bonnie impression and says: “You can thank me tomorrow. And the day after that. And the day after that.” Ha! Someone was listening in. Jeremy throws something at him, and Alaric adds one more: “And the day after that.” Ha! So much love for these two together.
Meanwhile, Damon is in bed, covered in sweat, as Elena (totally clueless about her brother’s death, STILL) hovers over him. He tells her to get out of there, because he could hurt her. She refuses, and says that she’s there until the very end. She’s not leaving him. You’d think she would have learned her lesson last time, when Rose almost killed her, but no. Damon begins to reflect: “All those years I blamed Stefan. No one forced me to love her. It was my own choice. I made the wrong choice. Tell Stefan I’m sorry. Okay?” Elena nods. “I will,” she says. Me: “THANK GOD! FINALLY DAMON IS TAKING RESPONSIBILITY FOR HIS OWN ACTIONS. THANK YOU, THANK YOU, THANK YOU!” Love it.
Cut to blood-monster Stefan! There are blood bags everywhere and his face is all messy. Someone was hungry. Klaus is very pleased: “You’re very cooperative. It’s almost as if you’re enjoying it.” Stefan: “No more. Not until you give me the cure.” Klaus: “Not until we make a deal. It’s your choice, Stefan. You can either remain here, living your life in Mystic Falls, or you can embrace what you truly are. Leave town with me and save your brother’s life.” He hands Stefan another blood bag. Stefan guzzles it. Uh oh. Klaus: “That’s the spirit.” Then Klaus walks over to Katherine: “Sweetheart, take this over to Damon and come right back.” Katherine: “You want me to leave?” Stefan: “No.” Klaus: “Yes.” Katherine does not need to be told twice, and she speeds out in less than a second. Klaus adds, “And if I were you, I’d hurry.” Stefan is heartbroken and since he knows that she is on vervain. He says hopelessly, “She’ll never take it to him.” Klaus just kind of shrugs. Ooh, I love this thing of people making their own choices. Now it will totally be up to Katherine as to whether she will save Damon. What did you guys think when first watching? Did you think she would save Damon? Or did you think she would hightail it out of there ASAP, to some unknown island so she could sip Klaus-free margaritas?
We then cut back to Damon’s bed. He complains, “This is even more pitiful than I thought.” Elena: “There’s still hope.” Damon: “I’ve made a lot of choices that have gotten me here. I deserve this. I deserve to die.” I may or may not have furiously nodded my head at this. Elena is all crazy: “No. You don’t.” Of course, it’s not a matter of deserving anyways. We so rarely get what we deserve, and who are we to even judge that, after all? (But still! C’mon. I’ve got Bree and Lexi on my side at least.) Damon: “I do, Elena, but it’s okay. Because if I had chosen differently, I wouldn’t have met you. I’m so sorry. I’ve done so many things to hurt you.” Elena: “It’s okay. I forgive you.” Damon: “I know you love Stefan.” In response to this, Elena weirdly cuddles in close to him and strokes him. Um … ? Damon continues: “That it will always be Stefan. But I love you. You should know that.” She closes her eyes and is crying as she says, “I do.” Damon: “You should have met me in 1864. You would have liked me.” Now that I believe. Elena: “I like you now. Just the way you are.” Long stare. She kisses him.
Honestly, the kiss part didn’t bother me too much. Yeah, she’s dating Stefan, but we’ve all kissed people we shouldn’t have after all. But those words? I threw up in my mouth a little. Why is The Vampire Diaries trying to ruin one of my favorite moments in cinematic history, and turn it into a Damon-Elena moment? Now “Just the way you are” is going to become a Damon-Elena thing online. That is something Mark Darcy (COLIN FIRTH) says to Bridget Jones (yes, it was “just as you are,” but that is just the same thing in British), not something a teenage girl tells a rapey serial killer. I mean, c’mon! Earlier this week he was abusing Andie, and now Elena is all “I like you just the way you are”? Why does Stefan shield Elena from this side of his brother and then push Elena towards him? It puts her in jeopardy, and not just in jeopardy of saying really stupid stuff. And regardless of whether she knows the details of Damon’s treatment of Andie (her dead aunt’s FRIEND), Elena does know about a lot of other horrible things that Damon has done, and she still doesn’t seem to care. And I think that this just does not reflect well on Elena, I’m sorry to say. I mean, I know she thinks that Damon is dying, and it’s not supposed to be a “sexy” moment, but still. Elena knows that he is in love with her, so there is that subtext when she kisses him, so I don’t think we can just brush it off as “oh, it’s not supposed to be a romantic moment.” Elena really needs a sassy gay friend right about now. I mean, I’m all for Damon possibly having a redemption arc, and characters can come back from a lot of crazy sh*t in genre shows (trying to destroy the world, etc.), but anything hinted at romance with Damon and a human girl at this point just creeps me out because of his abusive pattern of treating women.
I mean, it’s not my job to be the morality police on a television show. That’s not fun. The suspension of disbelief on television comes with its own moral relativity scale. We cheer when hearts are ripped out and love the villains. Deaths are no big deal and often we clamor for them. Sometimes the meaner characters are, the more we love them. But I still can’t help but be creeped out when characters get rapey, and the truth is that Damon compelled Andie to fall for him, and then they presumably carried on a sexual relationship, so that is what he is. And if you look back at his relationship with Caroline, we don’t know what did or didn’t happen, but it was abuse, and there were bedroom scenes and lingerie involved. The show has been careful not to really give us the details, but there is other behavior that fits into this pattern too (the sorority girls, etc.). Damon just uses women over and over again, violently, and it’s just a lot harder to come back from that, for me as a viewer. That said … I should probably move on before I lose the Damon fans who managed to stick around after my “Rose” post. You still love me, right? Right? We’ll just make like Jules and agree to disagree.
[Revised Edit at 2:37 a.m. on 5/19/11 because I'm starting to stress out about this post: Part of me feels like I went too far with my use of language, while part of me doesn't feel like I went far enough. I am not necessarily saying that Damon is actually "a rapist." Honestly, we don't know all of the details. The show has made the decision to make it unclear and has only mildly addressed the issue of how compulsion takes away consent. I think that is a shame. "Rapey" is made-up internet speak and I probably shouldn't have used the word at all--it is both a loaded and unclear term--but I meant it in the sense of "behavior that verges on rape but perhaps can't strictly be defined in that way, but still makes me feel super uncomfortable." I was referring to concerning behavior that I feel deserved to be addressed, so I thought that the terminology was warranted, but I'm really sorry if I offended anyone. That was not my intention. At the same time, it does us no good to just make excuses for abuse, and it is probably best to air out these thoughts. I expand on my reasoning in more detail in the comments below, and commenter Jen joined in with some good points. On the other hand ... this is a vampire show. Frak. Now, I think I took all the fun out of this post. Honestly, that was not my intention. So I feel conflicted. But I do think that this kind of discussion about entertainment and the media is healthy, especially when it comes to shows that skew young and female in their demographic.]
This moment is soon interrupted by Katherine’s arrival. How did she get into the house? Maybe when Elena died, it reset something? Anyway, she tells Damon: “Well, it’s me you should be thanking. I mean, I’m the one who brought the cure.” She holds up the bottle of Klaus’s blood and then turns to Elena: “I thought you were dead.” She does not seem happy to learn that is not the case. Well, Kat, at least she’s not a vampire, right? Elena: “I was.” Damon: “You got free.” Katherine: “Yep. Finally.” She administers the blood and pats his face. Damon is incredulous: “And you still came here?” Katherine: “I owed you one.” Elena: “Where’s Stefan?” Katherine: “Are you sure you care?” Hee. Elena: “Where is he?” Katherine: “He’s paying for this. He gave himself over to Klaus.” Elena: “What do you mean he gave himself over?” Katherine: “He just sacrificed everything to save his brother, including you. It’s a good thing you have Damon to keep you company. Goodbye, Elena.” Ouch. Then she turns one more time before exiting, and adds: “Oh, it’s okay to love them both. I did.” Ah, this line, combined with her actions in saving Damon, seem to confirm that Katherine did love Damon after all, despite her words in “The Return.” She tosses Elena the bottle and exits, as Elena and Damon exchange awkward looks. Oops? This is going to make for an iiiiinteresting season three.
Cut to Klaus in Alaric’s apartment. He speaks to Elijah, who is lying dead IN A COFFIN: “As promised, brother, you’ve been reunited with our family.” Bazinga! Oh, Klaus, you evil bastard. Well played. He tells his minions: “Put him with the others. We’re leaving town tonight.” Oooh. So at least Klaus wasn’t lying about knowing where his family’s bodies are. Stefan gets a text from Elena saying that Damon is all better, so at least he knows his sacrifice achieved its goal. Klaus asks, “So, did Katerina make it in time?” Stefan: “You won’t be seeing her again.” Klaus is not at all surprised: “Because she’s on vervain? I’ve been around a long time, Stefan. I rarely get played for a fool.” Me: “Except for all those times earlier this week. Remember when Bonnie showed up alive and you were pissed? Hilarious!” Klaus: “Besides, she won’t get far. You’ll help me see to that.” Hmmm. So are Stefan and Klaus going to do some Katherine chasing next season? Could be fun. Stefan: “What is it you really want from me?” Very good question. Alas, Klaus doesn’t answer: “All will be explained in time, once we leave this tragic little town.” Stefan: “Then are we done here? Can we go?” Klaus: “Not quite. You see, I have a gift for you.” He calls in human girl who looks scared, and then continues: “See, I want to make sure you honor our deal. That you’ll be of use to me. I could have compelled her to behave, but a real ripper enjoys the hunt.” I love the way that Klaus pronounces “ripper.” It’s oh so alarming. The poor girl runs, but Stefan catches up with her. He vamps out and bites her and it looks like he liked it. Klaus: “Now we can go.” We then get one quick shot of Stefan’s face and it is INTENSE.
Meanwhile, in the Gilbert house, Jeremy lies in bed. He wakes up and sees shadows, so he calls Alaric’s name. We see that there is a girl there, but then she’s gone. OMFG it’s Vicki!!! IT’S VICKI!!! But Jeremy doesn’t see her yet, and he goes downstairs as Vicki follows. He sees that Alaric is fast asleep on the couch and walks into the kitchen. Where he sees Anna!!! IT’S ANNA!!! She greets him, “Jer.” Jeremy: “Anna?” Then he turns around and sees his other dead ex-girlfriend, and is all, “Vicki?” The end. Whaaaaaat? Let us theorize below. Personally, I have some vague ideas related to the Vampire Academy books (Jeremy is totally Rose Hathaway!), but this post is already way too long already. We have a lot of speculation to keep us busy until season three, which is guaranteed to be 100% moonstone free. (Well, we can only hope.)
I just want to thank all of you so much for visiting my site and reading my recaps over the past year. Also, you have left such wonderful and insightful comments all season, and you often leave me cracking up. Seriously, your comments have really made all the time I spend on the recaps worthwhile. Now that TVD is done for the season, I’ll finally have some time to write about other stuff, and I have a lot of posts planned for this summer, including my annual end of season report card. I will also post recommendations for shows to watch during the hiatus, so I hope you won’t lose this bookmark, and that you’ll visit again. If you’re new to Heroine TV, you can follow me on Twitter for updates, or like the site on Facebook . Also, there’s an RSS feed up top, and a link to subscribe to emails. I hope to still see you around in the comments over the hiatus, and if you missed any of the recaps this season, I have organized them all with a tvd season 2 recaps tag, so that you can find them easily. Thanks again for reading my blathering!
First off, i’ve always been a huge fan of your recaps. I await them after every vampire diaries episode. But honestly, it does sort of bug me that you referred to Damon as “rapey” and he deserves to die for what he’s done. I understand he’s done some horrible things in the past. First was Caroline, everyone knows that this was an unhealthy relationship. But she was only compelled to not be afraid, as was Andie. Damon never compelled Caroline for sex, and we see her do it willingly in Night of the Comet. He compels girls for blood usage (which is almost as bad) but we never see him, nor is it really ever implied, compell a girl for sex. Also, we do see moments of soul-bearing where he admits to his actions and is very sorry for them. (this doesn’t justify his actions, but it does show that hes very impulsive and he realizes that) Again, he is abusive in his use of women for blood, but not sex. He also tries to make it known with Andie when he knows hes unstable. It was her decision to stick around, not his. I know she wanted to let him know he’s not alone, but it was not a smart move on her part.
For me, the moment between Damon and Elena was very pure for both of them. Damon has made it known in the past that he truly loves Elena. Multiple times to multiple people. (Elena, Andie, that random girl in the street,) And Elena is aware of the things Damon has done. But she also knows he’s truly sorry for them. It was pure to me because it truly was the final hour of his life and Elena was being selfless and showing Damon that his love was not wasted. (Not that it is returned, just not compleatly thrown away) She wasn’t thinking about the bad that Damon has done in the past, she was thinking of all the good things he’d want to be remembered by.
Again, I love your recaps and will continue reading them through season 3, but it really grinds my gears when someone refers to Damon as a rapist.
Well, I intentionally didn’t call him “a rapist,” because I think that is strong terminology and the show has been careful not to take it that far on screen, so I’m sorry to offend you. But he DID compel Andie to fall in love with him–it was in “Crying Wolf”–and then kept up his relationship with her. We can only assume that they had sex after this, as that was early on in their relationship. And regarding Caroline, he was carrying on a sexual relationship with someone he was continually compelling, and feeding from. And I think that’s abuse mixed in with sex and it all feels “rapey” to me. It just feels like he doesn’t have a lot of respect for the women he sleeps with, nor does he ever seem to worry about issues of consent, and it is a very slippery slope. Women who are attracted to him and go home with him don’t deserve to be compelled and drained, you know? And after they have been compelled not to be afraid, they are no longer capable of making fully rational responses to sexual advances. It takes away some of their agency. Of course, in real life compulsion is not possible, and vampires don’t exist, but I still find it troubling and it feels so icky, so I just feel like if I didn’t speak up it would be wrong. With a lot of the other women whom he has bitten, he often tends to pick young beautiful girls, so there’s often a sexual element to his feeding. His victims are often women that he has flirted with. That said, this is one aspect of a very complex character, who is certainly not all bad.
And I was totally tongue-in-cheek in the “deserves to die” discussion! Like I said, who can actually make judgments like that?
Damon is “rapey”. The minute he compelled Caroline to forget her fear and continued to have sex with her (as we are led to believe he did), he raped her. Yes, he compelled her to forget her fear, not to have sex, but do you honestly believe that Caroline, as afraid as she was, that she would have willingly had sex with him again?!? When she was running out the door? C’mon… He took away Caroline’s ability to consent to ANYTHING (sexual or otherwise). Sadly, this happens in bars every day — I’m sure you’ve been warned of the dangers of a man slipping a roofie into your drink. Those men go to jail for rape because they TOOK AWAY THE SUBJECT’S ABILITY TO CONSENT. Then (hopefully) they go to jail. Compulsion = the ultimate roofie.
The writers don’t want one of the romantic leads to be saddled with such action so they just don’t acknowledge it, but rest assured, women’s organizations around the world would consider what Damon does rape. He violates women (at the very least, you must see that compulsion is a violation of the mind if you can not admit he sexually violates them). He abuses women (feeding, yes but he also is very violent when things don’t go his way. How many times did he roughly grab Caroline? Andie? He tried to rip Bonnie’s throat out when things didn’t go his way. When Elena told him she loved Stefan, he forced a kiss on her and then proceeded to “kill” her brother.) He doesn’t respect women (he refers to Katherine as a slut for the SAME behavior he himself indulges in. He calls Caroline, a girl who has done nothing but try to please him, a shallow kiddie pool. He tries to intimidate Bonnie).
As for his remorse, remorse only counts when you change your behavior. Damon may feel bad, but he does not change his behavior (from Caroline, to sorority girls, to Andie – his behavior changed how?).
I, personally, applaud this Lucia for not whitewashing Damon’s behavior.
This recap was better then unicorns. This was Swift Wind fantastic! (She-Ra’s pegasus unicorn.) You are reading my mind on every single paragraph. Loved it! And I will miss them while we are in hiatus. Look forward to your recaps come September.
As a major She-Ra fan during childhood, A+++ comment. And thank you!
So much pretty in the collage! It made me smile. Long live Caroline!
Agree so much with your thoughts about Damon.
I don’t think you should read too much into Elena’s “I like you just the way you are” speech. The guy is “DYING”, so she was just throwing him a bone. That’s just her character. She hates to see people suffer. Remember in season 1, when she went on the roadtrip with Damon, she saved his life, even though he hadn’t showed any kind of feelings toward her.
You can’t take things in this show so literally. This is a fantasy show…about freaking vampires. Quit bringing things like rape into this, that’s not what this show is about.
I beg to differ. Just because a show has vampires in it doesn’t mean it can’t have very human issues and problems in it. Granted these issues are often done in a subtle way but they are still there. Look at Buffy, that show dealt with dozens of human problems despite it’s vampire nature. Just because there’s fantasy involved doesn’t mean it can’t still be human and relatable on a literal or emotional level. Granted the rape isn’t the primary focus of the show but it’s a part of the characters involved and like it or not that makes it a part of the show as well.
If we were to see the situations like that, we would have seen Caroline referring to Damon as a rapist or feeling like a victim of rape and etc. He abused her and that’s what we were supposed to take from how Damon treated her. When she remembered everything she told him off but not as a victim of rape confronting her attacker.
Rape is such a sensitive issue and I hate that people use it when talking about this show. This isn’t Law&Order. Of course there are human emotions and problems (like death of a family member and etc…) but rape is not one of those.
If we were to take everything in this show literally, ever single one of these people would be in prison due to being an accomplice, or even committing murder themselves.
It’s fine if you don’t like Damon, but if you see him as a rapist, then I’m afraid you’re missing the point of the show.
You are, of course, entitled to your own opinion and perspective, but honestly, I think you missed the point of what I wrote. Or perhaps I didn’t express myself clearly. I know that rape is a sensitive term, and I addressed that in the edit I added, and how I had originally intended my word choice (which was “rapey”). Like I said in the edit, I feel conflicted. This is not something I have all the answers for. Yes, the show hasn’t really addressed these issues of consent, and hasn’t made the extent of Damon’s actions entirely clear towards Caroline, as you said, and as I wrote. And I was putting this is perspective: yes, this is a vampire show. But this is also a show that features human characters who are supposed to be living in the real world (a world with Bing and iPads and MiFi), and it is written for a very human audience. I’m not trying to attack anyone, and I’m sorry if I came across that way (I get passionate), but I was bringing up issues that I couldn’t help but think about over the course of this season. I think they’re worth talking about, as there’s no reason to shut off one’s brain just because it’s entertainment. Damon is a fictional character, while sexual abuse is a real issue, so I don’t think I’m hurting anyone by calling attention to a fictional character’s questionable behavior and how that reverberates with real world issues. Why should we even care about TVD if it has no grounding in the emotional and intellectual? Fantasy still has to have roots in some reality. In conclusion, Damon’s abuse of Caroline, combined with what he did to Andie (whom he did compel to fall for him), and his other behavior towards women, is a pattern of abuse that takes away consent from his victims, and makes any relationship with a human girl feel icky to me. I find it worrisome that none of this seems to register on Elena, and that the fact that he’s dying (for the second time, after having lived multiple lifetimes in terms of years) is enough basis to forgive him.
I get what you’re saying but we’re just going to have to agree to disagree on this. I don’t know how anyone could stomach to even watch the show if they see it’s main and most popular character in this way. I’ve never read anything else you’ve written so I’m also wondering if your views of Damon also extend to Stefan. Because while we haven’t seen Stefan being as abusive towards women like Damon has, we know that he used to be a ripper. Which means he would go around killing people for the hell of it and now he will be doing it again. And I highly doubt being sexually abusive would not be included in the ripper package(again, I feel really weird even saying this because that’s not how I see these characters at all and it makes me feel sick to even think about it.) So would you have a problem with Elena if she cuddles up next to him once he’s rescued from that lifestyle?
In regards to Elena…remember in season 1 when she told Stefan “it’s going to take a lot more than just a road trip and rescue for me to forget who Damon is and everything he has done”? I do think she knows. She’s known for a while. But Elena is not like other people. She doesn’t JUST see the bad like most people do. Even though that’s how Damon should be viewed(as bad) because of his actions. But Elena knows that Damon is capable of good. So caring about him is not because she’s oblivious to all the things Damon has done, it’s her having a bigger heart than most people are capable of. Some may say that’s being naive on its own, but that’s a separate issue. Not to mention there is the whole “you can’t help who you love” thing. I’m saying all this knowing that you’ll disagree with me, because my defense of Elena only makes sense if you don’t compare it with reality. I’m just explaining what I see, and what the writers intend for us to see. We’re not supposed to see Elena as a stupid girl who sympathizes and has feelings(whether they be romantic or not) for a murdering rapist, because that’s not how we’re supposed to see Damon in the first place.
Can I just thank you for this? A review speaking out about the important issues. FINALLY.
Yes, Damon is a rapist. You shouldn’t hesitate from saying that. It doesn’t matter if these women gave their consent the first time. A woman can withdraw her consent anytime she wants. And when Damon compels them, he takes away their ability to consent every single sexual encounter he has with them after the compulsion. AND THAT IS RAPE. This is a canonical fact. No going around it.
About Katherine entering the SBH made no sense because Alaric died several times, but Damon couldn’t enter his apartment.
About Stefan I had problems to understand his actions as well. He knew if he would give himself over to Klaus that he would have to kill again and he chose Damon’s life over a lot of other innocent people he would kill???
For me Stefan’s move was more desperate, he didn’t want to let Damon die (now that he had began to explore his humanity) and maybe the writers hope this would help against the Stefan hate.
Anyway I think both brother have to do stupid things to move the story in the right direction. I can forgive those things.
But I really loved the scenes were Stefan was slowly selling his soul to the devil. Is it wrong to find Stefan extremely hot when he is in this badass state, guess not.
Klaus is really great casted imo. He delivers Klaus in such an intimidating and cruel way which such a stillness, awww. But it was wired to see how he seemed to be obsessed with the idea of Stefan being his wigman. It had something sexual……hmmmm
Stefan you should not turn your back on Klaus, especially not shirtless or naked….. just saying.
I’m thrilled to see Klefan or Stefaus? Next season, maybe together with Katherine. It feels like TVD should switch to cable tv to be able to show us all the bad things Stefan and Klaus will do.
I must say I was disappointed that the StefanKatherine scenes ended or were kind of a letdown like in By the light of the moon and also the episode Crying wolf were we saw a beginning of dark Stefan. No I can understand that the writers had hopefully kept this for season 3.
I understand your Damon bashing. I don’t like at the moment how righteous Damon has become in contrast to all the bad things he does. Playing morality police with Katherine who was locked in Alaric’s apartment and had to do what Klaus demanded. I think he should totally apologize to Caroline. Okay he saved her life, so they are cool I guess.
Damon takes responsibility for his own action wow and I agree with you about Damon and his abuse. It is treated like it is the most normal thing in the world and even Alaric is cool with it. This is not cool at all.
Elena’s behavior. She is the most forgiving Person on this planet who is just worried and rarely smiles. It doesn’t feel like a real person to me. I’m bored with Elena.
ITA about the DamonAlaric scene loved it.
Katherine doesn’t her behavior in the Return contradicts her’s in the finale. Why shoud she have pushed Damon away at the beginning when she loved them both? Okay maybe she loved Stefan more, but it doesn’t make any sense to me.
Thx you for those great recaps and all the quotes…..
Just a timing thing:
Damon moved *before* Sheriff Forbes shot not after, that is why and how Jeremy got shot, so Damon is not faster than a speeding bullet, but maybe the older vampires like Katherine, Klaus, Elijah, Lexi, Rose, Pearl and Anna are/were? After all their super strength increases the older they get, why not superspeed?
Thanks for your recaps. I am looking forward to them in season three. Oh, do you think Anna and Vicky are actual ghost are are they reanimated vampires? I am actually hoping the latter, then I’ll have my Anna back all the way.
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Ha! Good point. Although, I guess that makes what the Sheriff did worse, because she pulled the trigger after Damon was already moving. Like, be more careful when shooting in a public place, right? As for the ghost thing, yeah, I’m not sure. I read in a NY Post interview:
So, it looks like they’re ghost like, but there’s more to it? I don’t think that they’re fully alive again, but there are a lot of possibilities. So happy to have Anna back in any capacity, but I hope she gets to stick around longer rather than shorter.
Thank you, thank you, Lucia! Damon is a rapist, let’s call a spade a spade people. Yes, Damon kills people, but I’ve always found his abusive behavior toward women far more disturbing. I know a lot of Damon’s fans get touchy about it but it needs to be addressed. Taking away someone’s ability to make rational decisions and then sleeping with them is certainly rape. I’ve seen so many people say, “He just took away their fear!” But fear is a good thing–it’s kept we humans alive for thousands of years. Fear is an important component when deciding whether or not the sleep with a dude whose race considers you food.
The good news is that Damon had the realization that taking away Elena’s choice in “The Last Day” was wrong. My biggest hope for season 3 is that Damon makes the connection that taking away ANYONE’S choice is wrong. He can still be a snarky dick (I like him best that way
). Heck, he can even still kill people occasionally for all I care. But PLEASE, dear God, no more with the compelling women he sleeps with. It makes my skin crawl!
Sorry Lucia, pretty long comment
I don’t know if I’d call Damon rapey, but his behaviour has certainly been abusive towards Caroline and Andie.
That said, Katherine did something very similar to Stefan. In “You’re Undead to Me” Stefan wakes up scared after spending the night with her, he expresses the feeling of not wanting to go on with their relationship but she compells him to not be afraid of her.
She certainly did not compell him to have sex with her ( but neither did Damon – at least we were never showed that) but compelling someone like that is not okay either, it stills means taking the choice away from them.
It’s true, she didn’t compell Stefan to love her like Damon did with Andie ( that was seriously on of the worst thing he’s ever done ) but she still took advantage of him in so many ways – let’s not forget that she not only drank his blood but she made him drink hers.
I know that seeing a man somehow abusing a girl shakes our conscience in a very strong way because we carry on our shoulders the weight of centuries and centuries of male abuse towards women, but if a woman does that to a man it’s still absolutely wrong.
And I don’t mean to say that since Katherine behaved in a bad way, then it’s okay for Damon to do the same thing, I just I’m just pointing out that we never criticized her the way we are doing now with Damon.
I mean we always said that she was twisted and even crazy, but we ( and I mean you, me, all TVD viewers ) were never really outraged by her behaviour. On the contrary, she’s one of
my favourite characters.
It probably disturbs you, me and everybody else much more to see Damon do that because men prevarication on women it’s something very real and unfortunately very present in our society.
And I really appreciate your bringing up the issue, since this blog has always tried to see the show from a strong female point of view, and that’s what I like about it.
I also know that many of the viewers are teenagers, so the message that should be sent to them is that it’s not okay for a guy ( any guy, even a vampire who looks like Ian Somerhalder ) to treat you like a puppet, so I understand where you’re coming from.
I was the one who wasn’t completely on board with Tyler being with Caroline because of his behaviour towards Vicky, so I get it .
But we’re also witnessing a journey of redemption with Damon – a slow, painful journey that I’m really appreciating.
And of course we get to judge fictional characters, what’s the point of TV shows or books otherwise?
Thanks to you for always writing insightful but very ironic recaps, I always enjoy reading them even when we feel differently about an episode and thanks for reading our comments
Yes, what Katherine did to Stefan was totally rape, too. Physically, mentally, and figuratively. I would go so far as to refer to what she did to Damon as abusive as well, albeit in a different way. The difference here being that Katherine is a villain. She’s supposed to do despicable things. Damon is supposed to be one of our heroes so he’s held to a higher standard. True, he’s a work in progress and we’re going on a journey with him, but that doesn’t mean we shouldn’t call him out for his behavior. He’s charming, and handsome, and funny, and one of the best parts of the show–but we should still keep some perspective when it comes to how he treats women because he is being presented to us as a possible love interest for our heroine. How he treats women is a big deal, and his track record up till now is atrocious. He’s even passive-aggressive and manipulative with Elena and Katherine, the two women he supposedly loves/loved. Saving the lives of Elena and her friends and being sweet intermittently isn’t enough; he really needs to grow out of this behavior, realize it was wrong, take responsibility for it.
I understand exactly what you mean about Tyler, because I had the same problem, and I’m going to have that problem again when the writers put Damon together with Elena or anyone else.
P.S. Want to be clear here: not a Damon hater. I like him: he makes me laugh and Team Blood and Beer is, like, the best thing ever. I just find it difficult to get over this particular aspect of his behavior.
Jinx, Liz! I was taking so long to type up my response that I only just saw your comment. You said a lot of what I was trying to say, but much more succinctly. Thanks.
lol! Thanks for the compliment.
Thank you, Serena! I have loved your comments all season. Yeah, the difference for me is that what Katherine is doing was clearly wicked. She’s the villain. No one is trying to ship her with a human teenage boy on the show. (At least I’m not.) And I don’t want to redeem her. (Elena sure doesn’t.) I like her as a villain, with a few soft spots of occasional vulnerability. She totally victimized Stefan back in 1864, and took away his consent with her compulsion. But now Stefan is an 160+ year vampire who can take care of himself and has killed lots of people. So their interactions in the present don’t have the same power dynamic anymore, at all. They’re on equal footing. (Even though Katherine is way smarter.) As for young Damon, as he admitted on his deathbed, he made the choice to be with Katherine, take her blood, etc. All along he has claimed that he was very conscious of what was going on. Still, she was older, smarter, and stronger, and she took advantage of him terribly.
Plus, like you said, there is a long history of men abusing women, one that is not just history but still an ever-present truth in societies around the world. So yes, that very much colors my perception.
Honestly, I haven’t really wanted to face this aspect of Damon’s character, I tried to kind of put it out of my mind with Caroline. “Well she didn’t call it rape …” But then when the Andie stuff happened, I just couldn’t stop thinking about it. He compelled her, and then carried on a romantic relationship with her that we can only assume was sexual. In Andie’s case the compulsion went as far as making her fall for him, and I just couldn’t stop thinking about this, and it turned my stomach. And honestly, isn’t just taking away the fear bad enough? The victims (Stefan included) no longer have control over their instincts and emotions, and can’t make the rational decision that they would have. I really don’t like the compulsion aspect of the vampire mythology on this show–it creeps me out. It’s a violation of people’s minds. *Shudder* When you look at the Andie relationship in the balance of what Damon has done over the course of the past two seasons, it’s not exactly shocking, which says something. There’s a definite pattern there.
It doesn’t bother me that there are characters that do bad stuff on television. Wicked and twisted characters are fascinating. But the writers and the audience seem so invested in the Elena-Damon relationship and pushing them together, and that does bother me. I love Elena, and I feel protective of her. Sometimes I want to yell, “No, Elena, that is not good for you!” Plus, after everything Damon has done, it’s seems pretty cheap for this forgiveness and kiss moment to come because he’s on his deathbed. Such a lazy TV trope. They had all season to get to this point, but decided to save it for a 3 episode arc of redemption. One that began with him doing something “unforgivable.” During which time, only 4-5 days have passed. That just doesn’t cut it for me. It wasn’t like I wanted him to die–Damon’s character is essential to the show–but to be honest, lying on one’s deathbed with things on one’s conscience is just not the same for an 160+ year vampire as it would be if Damon were the age that the actor actually looks. Damon has had plenty of time to get his sh*t together, and he chose not to, and he’s lived multiple lifetimes, so I’m not exactly crying in my wine. Honestly, I enjoy a lot of aspects of Damon’s character, but when he is pushed into these semi-romantic scenes with Elena, so soon after he has done such horrible things, that just doesn’t jive well. It seems like he never stays on the path to redemption long enough before he’s forgiven. Honestly, I would like to forgive him, but he never gets there for me. It seems like Elena lets him get away with too much too often and is just enabling his behavior. At first I thought it was compassionate, but it’s verging on the ridiculous, and makes her seem like a pushover. She seems to have no respect for herself or the people who have been abused and/or killed by Damon. If the Andie thing hadn’t happened, I might feel differently, because maybe enough time might have passed that I could find his redemption arc believable. But he only seemed sorry once he almost killed Andie (and that was like 5 days ago on the show). He has never admitted any feelings of remorse for taking away Andie’s fear, compelling her to LOVE him, and then carrying on a relationship with her. He has had no remorse for using and abusing women in the past two seasons, except very recently with Elena. And so to see him in bed with Elena (even though, yes, it’s his sickbed), and her telling him that she likes him just the way he is, so soon after abusing Andie, makes me feel sick. I did really appreciate that in the last couple episodes, after he took away Elena’s choice, and forced his blood on her, he finally seemed to realize he was wrong. FINALLY! But his compassion only seems to extend to Elena and Elena alone so far. I worry it’s a, “He’s different with me!” situation. (Never a good philosophy, ladies.) In the past, Damon has compelled Elena and he has forced his blood on her, and I wouldn’t trust him with her as far as I can throw him. Yet. So, I mean, I *get* what this Elena-Damon scene was supposed to be about, and why Elena is feeling compassionate, but that just didn’t transfer for me.
Part of the problem may be that “I like you, just the way you are,” is one of the most beautiful lines that I would ever wish to be spoken to me by someone I love. I guess none of the writers are Colin Firth fans? It just felt so wrong in that scene. Damon is not just “flawed,” but seriously violent and abusive on an almost daily basis, so that just felt so wrong. It’s like, “Elena, what are you saying? He is not okay just the way he is!” (Unless we just want to keep him as a great villain, which I would be fine with. Clearly, though, the show wants to do more.) Just because Damon is dying doesn’t automatically make him a cuddly vampire, and Elena could use some real perspective.
Amen, what you wrote is what bugs me as well and also with other characters he is in contact like Stefan, Caroline, Bonnie, JeremyT they are all cool with his behavior and he has not to say sorry, to none of them. They all treat him almost like a friend not matter what he has done to them and I agree about Elena. This makes her character dumb and unreal. She is worried about everyone and Damon was a lot of times the reason why she was so worried. It didn’t feel right to me. I believed they would built up to Delena, make Damon better and worthy, but it doesn’t feel to me that he is there already.
Well, when I read that Kevin Williamson said that the Originals and the Salvatores are somehow linked I FREAKED.
I think Katherine must know something. It just can’t be a coincidence that she went to Mystic Falls in 1864 ( the town where her doppleganger will be born ) and happened to turn two boys who are linked to Klaus and Elijah!
I’m sure Mamma Salvatore will be the key and I can’t wait to find out if and how she’s involved.
Uhm. Saying that I love Colin Firth is understatement. He’s my Darcy – and not just Mark Darcy, Fitzwilliam Darcy
I immediately thought about that scene too, but it didn’t bother me at all because this show is evidently making me lose my mind.
ps: to you and Liz, about Damon and Katherine..yeah you’re right, she’s presented as a villain while he’s not anymore. I love him but I really hope too that if and when his relationship with Elena or anybody else will grow, he’ll be worthy of it and I’m well aware that right now he’s not.
The comments on this blog are always so worth reading! Also, I found out that trying to express my views on feminism and trying to fully comprehend yours in a foreign language it’s pretty exhausting but very educational. Thanks Lucia
Yeah, from way back I remember wondering whether Katherine had any type of plan in choosing to turn the Salvatores, or whether they were just collateral damage. I would love for there to be more to it. Ooooh … the plot thickens.
Serena, I already appreciate you and your comments so much, but the fact that you’re reading the recaps and engaging in discussion in a language that is not your first just makes you even more impressive. I’m always amazed when I look at my stats and see so many readers in different countries, and I think that it really makes the discussion more dynamic. Thanks for being awesome!
ooooh! Serena is now blushing
thanks again to you for taking the time to write the recaps, entertain us with intelligent conversations and transcript part of the whispered and barely understandable dialogues.
good hiatus!
oops, the episode I referred to was “Lost Girls”, but I’m sure you remember it.
Oh Stefan, what have you done… Albus Dumbledore was truy right when he said theire were way worse things then dying, and I feel Stefan will get to feel the truth of that statement next season. You do not sell your soul, for nothing, not even for your brother!!!! I get why he didn`t care about anything then saving Damon in that moment, but still, don`t sell your soul. Never.
Re Damon/Elena: She pushed him again and again to “be the better man” and to confront his his humanity, and he saved her again, and again, and again. And he risked his life for Stefan and her friend Caroline, not just once. I think that is enough reason to be kind to him when he lay dying. Live-saving is a pretty big thing, isn`t it?
Thanks so much for all your reviews. I love them!
Okay, so I love you all for engaging in discussion (and for reading all the way to the end so that you could even get to the comments), so now that we have expressed our thoughts on the Damon thing, let’s speculate on all the other goodies. What do you think Klaus’s “big plans” for Stefan are? How far do you think Stefan will slide, and for how long? What are Klaus’s plans in general? Joseph Morgan has been signed on as a regular next season after all.
Also, what is going on with the Vicki and Anna thing? Hunter started the discussion with talk of whether these are ghosts or reanimated vamps? Or are they something else? What say you? Will Jeremy be able to see more dead people than Vicki and Anna? Will it only be dead vampires? Or is there a specific reason those two in particular became visible/ came back? How will this affect Bonnie? Is this new ability the “consequence” of the spell Bonnie did? And how much more do you think there is to it? I’m sure one of you will totally figure it out, and then I can point to this post and say “Ha! The commenters on my blog are so smart.”
My first theory on Stefan is that he’ll slip pretty far. He’ll be more evil, murderous and sexy/scary than Damon ever was just to shake things up. Or maybe it will all be an illusion to gain Klaus’s trust? Actually no I don’t think Stefan would take a cover that far, I think his bad side will be real. Klaus’s plans could be anything, he’s like a blank slate full of evil potential. If Jeremy can see other dead people then I think it would be neat if he could see some old Gilbert ancestors or maybe even his parents. I’d love to hear what mommy & daddy Gilbert have to say about their children’s lives. “Yes mom/dad I see dead people and Elena has sex with vampires, it’s all good here we’ve got dead Aunt Jenna’s boyfriend to keep an eye on us no trouble at all.” And I suspect Bonnie will have some interesting consequences for her magic.
Ha! That made me laugh out loud, Ashley. I am really hoping that we will get to meet Grayson and Miranda Gilbert, be it in flashbacks or as ghost-like figures. Very curious about the people who raised Elena and Jeremy.
I too hope that Stefan slips far and back and goes to the scary place. Maybe that’s a little horrible, but I feel Stefan is past due for a meaty character arc. They’ve told us over and over again that Stefan used to be a scary dude, but we’ve never actually caught more than a glimpse of it. And if Katherine plays the fox to Klaus and Stefan’s hound, I will know I’m in heaven.
The Jeremy thing was probably the moment of the finale that gave me the biggest OMG. I’m thrilled to see Anna and Vicki again; anyone else he may get to see is just gravy after that. What I’m wondering is if he can see all dead people/vampires, or just ones he rolled in the hay with? Because Jeremy/Elijah “If you would be so kind as to come down to Klaus’ warehouse and remove this dagger” scenes would be awesome. And if Jeremy can see/talk to the other Originals…. Too splendid for words.
Other hopes include: Alaric taking a shot at this parenting thing and discovering he’s not all that bad at it; more background/flashbacks fleshing out the Emily Bennet/burned witches stories; Matt being unable to resist the siren call of the supernatural (aka Caroline); Bonnie learning about consequences and responsibility without losing the progress she’s made this season; Caroline scenes with EVERYBODY; Stefan Rescue Party; and hey, maybe, finally, Meredith.
Hopefully he will be a hybrid as well. They said they will explain it in the first episode of season 3, so there has to be another reason besides his ripper side and it would make sense because he has had so many problems to controll himself. The bloodlust has ruled him in a way that it has never ruled Damon. If he should be a hybrid, how will it work? Will the next full moon bring out his werewolf side or has Klaus something to do with him in order to open this side. I would think Klaus will try to create as much hybrids as he can. Can he turn werewolfs into hybrids or vampires with werewolf genes?
I love so much how Paul portraits Stefan’s junkie side. This is so much fun to watch. I have no idea what kind of scenes we can expect, but hopefully this will take a long time. And if Stefan should learn about Damon and Elena this would also push him farer into the dark side. If Klaus is all season long around and they have this deal. I think Stefan will be with him as well.
It’s interesting that you theorize that Stefan might be a hybrid. Someone else I know told me that theory and I find it intriguing. She posited that perhaps Stefan and Damon’s mom had an affair with a werewolf from Klaus’s bloodline, and Stefan was the product. Though I’m thinking that the hybrid thing isn’t that easy. Otherwise there would be lots, right? And Klaus couldn’t father any children pre-curse. Hmmm. Definitely intriguing.
The idea is completely intriguing and it would make sense about the mother, so Stefan could be a Lockward son. I remember that Paul Wesley once made a joke that he believed that their mother was a milf.
I see the parallels in Stefan’s behavior and Mason’s. Both behaved kind of normal, but when Mason said he had no control when once he shift and Stefan’s behavior seems similar to that. He has no control or is so thrilled from his blood rush like no other vampire we know of. So it seems like a hybrid has doubled or tripled magnified urges to cope with which would make sense.
About Klaus that could be true that now he can procreate, but I agree that it doesn’t seem to be too easy. There could have been other vampires with dormant werewolf genes as well, but if they had problems like Stefan had, maybe they didn’t survive this long?
I saw this Klefan gif, just love it. It is so hilarious for me
http://static.tumblr.com/7l5bdf9/i1hll9top/klefan2.gif
source http://mysticblood.tumblr.com/
Hello! Since I’ve been (rather obsessively, I must admit) watching The Vampire Diaries and reading all of your blogs on it, I figured I would actually post some thoughts on your most recent entry for it. And incidentally, just… THANK YOU. These are such a pleasure to read, and I love knowing that someone else thinks about all these things on as deep (and also as humorous) a level as I do. I *love* your rendition of Alaric’s Super Sekrit journal! Plus, all the Buffy shout-outs just keep me constantly entertained.
I really appreciate that you come out and discuss the “Damon & women” issue in detail. I like the show, and I am very interested in and often amused by the character, but I do worry that the writers are kind of missing their mark. He’s vamp-roofied SO many girls, and that kind of creepy sexual-predator behaviour is just hard to realistically write your character growing out of. If it were less controlling, it would be possible; like if Damon were constantly looking for comfort in random hook-ups, but not messing with anybody’s free will (which I kind of think is the way the writers would like us to perceive it — Damon immersing himself in shallow sex, or baring his soul to strangers and then making them forget, because he’s afraid to really get close to anyone). The scary aspect comes in when he really does start using people as sex-dolls, and *enjoying* exerting complete control over them — not just once or twice, or at moments of extreme distress, grief, or anger, but habitually, as a way of life.
I know that one huge thing that bothers me is just that he’s *supposed* to be more or less one of the “good guys” (after all, we all know that he’s supposed to be redeemable, and have hidden pain and a heart of gold, and will eventually come around to helping more willingly, and Elena might start to develop feelings for him) and yet I don’t know how they’ll actually convincingly write him growing out of his “I love to manipulate women and I punish them because I was hurt by one” ways. People who do stupid, violent things in the heat of the moment, or who live a dangerous, kill-or-be-killed lifestyle, or who are influenced by substances so that their actions aren’t fully controlled… these people can reform. People who routinely take *pleasure* from controlling people, from terrorizing them or from sexually dominating them, or from reenacting abuses that they themselves lived in the past, but now in the dominant role, to feel empowered… they don’t usually reform, even if they learn to say all the right things. They don’t feel empathy; they don’t see their victims as equals, because that would be terrifying, to lose that sense of control of the world; and they don’t want to change. I WANT Damon to be the sort of character whose reformation I can believe! I love a good redemption story, and grey-zone villains who ultimately join the heroes. So please, writers, don’t make him act *too* much like a sociopath!
The thing is… I also don’t think Damon’s character is very consistent. So, sometimes, it’s kind of like he never raped or abused women because he’s being written by a different writer that day, or because his attitude is suddenly way more empathetic and not sociopathic. What bothers me the most, I guess, is that the *writers* don’t seem to realize when Damon’s actions border on the “beyond redemption” category. Killing a girl’s brother in retaliation because you had a bad night and she told you she doesn’t love you (which you do already know)? Holy crap. I don’t know how Elena could possibly talk to him after that again, ever. I adore my fantasy as much as the next person, but I want emotionally realistic reactions — *especially* in the most fantastical circumstances, to make me believe them. If someone killed my brother in front of me after I rejected them, I would just not be able to have them in my life any more. That crosses a gigantic line. And I can’t understand how Elena went from that, to snuggling up to Damon and professing her total acceptance of him.
Okay. That’s my say on Damon and women. I had to vent. Done now.
As for other aspects, thoughts, theories… hmm… I don’t think Stefan’s going to be a hybrid, because I kind of don’t think the writers will want to “soften” the blood-brothers-bond in any way. (The real one, not Team Blood and Beer.) I also really hope they don’t fuel Damon’s virgin-whore complex any further by giving him the shocking revelation that his mother was unfaithful, just like Katherine. So, why does Stefan go so blood-mad? Is he really just a normal vampire, and this is what happens when you don’t learn to control your urges? Or is there something *else* special to his case? It sounds, the way Klaus talks about it, as if there have been other “rippers;” and they’re not the norm. So why is Stefan one? Is it just a random thing that *might* happen to someone when they’re vampirized (kind of like a birth defect)? Or maybe it’s the most intensely emotional and passionate people who tend to swing the farthest on the pendulum? Orrrr… maybe it’s not about the intensity, but the repression? Do masses of unresolved issues fuel the beast? Hmmm…
Actually, going with the “birth defect” idea… maybe it has something to do specifically with who made him, or the way in which he was made. Could Katherine have had some kind of control over the outcome of her “children?” Wouldn’t it be (deliciously) messed-up, if she had somehow *chosen* to make Stefan a ripper? Or if, somehow, she’d screwed up and his ripper-ness was all her fault, but she didn’t figure that out until later, after making him something that she’d never intended him to be, ruining her sweet Stefan from pre-vamp days? As another option, maybe it’s something that happens within your first couple days as a vampire, that can convert you to ripper-hood. Or at least, predispose you.
I’m not really sure what Klaus could have planned for Stefan. After all, he’s raring to go create his own uber-race; which I think will involve him turning a lot of people. I’m going to guess that, for him to create more were-vamps, he’ll have to evoke both of the “turning methods” — the blood exchange/death/drinking as well as the killing-someone. Not so hard; if you’re going to have them drink anyway, you just ensure that they always make that first kill. So, why the call for Stefan? (other than general baddie chaotic fun, of course.) Does he want Stefan to help him ferret out the “best of the best” for his new race, by pitting Stefan against the puny humans and seeing which ones put up the best fight? He could plan to use Stefan as a distraction, maybe set him loose in the area where Klaus hopes to recruit, and let Stefan draw all the attention while Klaus goes about more secretly. That seems too vague and uncontrolled, though. I’m sure Klaus would have a tighter plan than that. After all, Elijah certainly would! And Klaus has been pulling strings all season, behind the scenes.
Plus, since he seemed interested in “a decade-long bender,” he seems to have loooong-term plans for Stefan. I just wonder, what kind of plans can you have for someone who is madly, murderously out of control? It isn’t like he can expect Stefan to general his new army or something. He wants Stefan the berserker, not Stefan the brains. For years on end? Whatever for? Is he planning to destroy several small communities, to some end? And he doesn’t want to get his own hands dirty, to be recognizable? Would Klaus himself become uncontrollable, unthinking, if he drank too much blood, and thus he doesn’t want to do all of his killing personally lest it upset his clever plans?
I do think Jeremy is seeing ghosts — the kind where the spirit doesn’t move on because it has some kind of unfinished business. Then again, that may well lead to seeing Mommy and Daddy Gilbert, and Pearl, and Aunt Jenna, as well. I don’t think the writers planned to use Aunt Jenna again any time soon, though, as Sara Canning is moving back to Vancouver. Options: A) Jeremy has become the Ghost Whisperer. B) Jeremy is being haunted by spirits who are angry with him. C) Something caught a glimpse of Jeremy during his brief time on The Other Side, and has decided to haunt him and use him by impersonating his former loved ones. (…okay, maybe this is Season 7 of Buffy leaking through, but… it would make sense!) D) These spirits are going to exhort him to vengeance on their behalf, a la Hamlet senior.
I reeeeeeeeeeally want to see more Caroline! All the time! She so quickly became my favorite. I just love seeing vampire characters who retain all their personal quirks and don’t fall into becoming flat stereotypes, and also heroes who are determined to remain optimistic, value life, be good to others, and keep a sense of humor, despite all odds. <3!!! I'm not really happy with how they've been writing Liz recently; she's one of my favorite characters, and the writing seems like it's pushing her into stupid/incompetent/stereotype territory lately. I want to see a real, awesome relationship develop between her and Caroline, without them killing her off! Let a few interesting ladies live, already! I hope that we get to see a situation in which Caroline is once again in danger, and Tyler has learned his lesson and does not hesitate an instant in having her back. That's about the only way I'll really feel satisfied that he's earned her trust and friendship.
Regarding Matt… I just want him to continue being a good person. Being human. Not wanting to be anything different. But always being the bigger man, being tolerant and generous and ultimately coming around to his core beliefs in friendship and cooperation. He's really got the whole "be excellent to each other" thing down, in my opinion. At least, whenever he's thinking clearly. Finding one's mom making out with one's friend/bully does not negate this basic temperament.
As for Bonnie, may they please, please, please give her a personality again! And not a jerky one! I don't even care if the writing's inconsistent, at this point, I just want her to be interesting and marginally kind again! She really feels like the token-black-plot-device at this point, not like a fully-realized personality. Upon rewatching the first couple of episodes, the contrast is SO stark.
Elijah. There simply must be more Elijah, though they'll probably keep us in suspense for 3 or 4 episodes before he shows up again. I wonder how that will happen? Where DOES Klaus keep those bodies? Also, are they guarded? What a crappy job *that* would be. "Just stay here and guard these coffins. For the next century or so." I am going to have to think on where they might be. Also, do you think there were several daggers forged? Or is some other means of subduing them involved? Thoughts?
Further thoughts, Re: Uncle/Papa John…
He said at one time that “if I die, everything I know goes to the council. Including a fascinating little tale of the original Salvatore brothers, and their present day return to Mystic Falls.” Hmm. So, I’m assuming that he would have remedied that before dying, but then again, maybe not. I mean, what was it? Within the show’s mythology, it would have to have been witchy work, since no one else can perform magic. The spell might have had conditions — maybe his knowledge would only revert if he was killed, or killed by a supernatural being, or died a supernatural death (er, which he DID), or maybe it was somehow tied to his free will, and he could consciously decide not to enact the spell — which I think would be lame, kind of like “heart” or willpower just plain overriding magic, when obviously love and intense will have not broken other spells on this show. Or, maybe he got Bonnie to lift the spell. Except, Bonnie is not a bottomless well of witchcraft. (That’s right, boys. Bonnie is not a witchy gumball machine.) So would she have had the power to spare, to lift a strong spell, right before casting another one? Would she even have known how to break it?
Orrrr, did John just mean that if he died, his possessions were willed to the council or something? He didn’t present it that way, though. It sure sounded mystical to me.
Also, I really want to know more about Grayson and John and the rings. Did Grayson give his ring to his brother? Why? Or did John steal it, figuring it was justifiable as he was working, as a slayer and as a father, for the greater good? Were he and Grayson more or less in league? How much did Elena’s adoptive parents know? Ohhh, I’m hoping for flashbacks so that we get to see just a little more John in action.