The Vampire Diaries 2x01

[oyceter]

I should probably post some time on the last episodes of the first season, but given how bad I have been with being online lately, it seems unlikely.

I also do not entirely trust the show yet re: politics, but people! I actually have been unable to predict what's going to happen!

Spoilers take place in just one episode

They kept going somewhere where I thought they would stop, because surely they could not top [insert event], but they kept going!

Caroline has enough of Damon's blood in her, right? Because she is actually one of my favorite characters and I hope they don't kill her off.

That said, I say I don't entirely trust the show because they keep offing my women of color! And there are basically no men of color to speak of, save that one ex-slave vampire, and I can't remember if he got killed or not. Pearl! And Anna, why?! I keep thinking they've killed off Jeremy or Caroline or Uncle Jon, but magic rings or whatnot keep saving them, as opposed to, say, Anna, who is just plain dead. BOO.

Still, I am very pleased by how they keep not playing the Damon/Stefan/Elena triangle, especially since I nearly threw something at Mely's TV during the Damon/Katherine-as-Elena kiss until the Katherine reveal.

Speaking of which, Katherine is the awesome. Still not too happy about how aggressive sexuality is still being conflated with evil though. But oh, the way she left Damon! Ow! Unsurprisingly, I love her already.

The more I watch, the more I like how they write Elena. I was originally sad because I liked the spoiled bitch of the books, but I love TV Elena's steadfastness and her practicality.

And Bonnie! Love Bonnie! Please show, don't be evil to Bonnie or I really will have to throw something at my screen. Also, even though I think Damon is a terrible person and an awful romantic interest, I, uh, may still be hoping for Damon/Bonnie hatesex or the like in fic. Or Bonnie on top!

Comments

[raincitygirl.livejournal.com]

That said, I say I don't entirely trust the show because they keep offing my women of color! And there are basically no men of color to speak of, save that one ex-slave vampire, and I can't remember if he got killed or not.

His name was Harper, and John Gilbert killed him at the same time he killed Pearl. This show does NOT have the best record.

The only thing I didn't like about the Caroline plot twist was how the unseen Mr. Forbes was totally forgotten about. In Season 1 we never actually saw him, but he and Caroline seemed to be on good terms. I was just thinking there could be a throwaway line about how he and his boyfriend were on vacation out of the country or something, and were having trouble getting a flight back. Because generally speaking, when your only child has just had to have emergency surgery, you're kind of supposed to show up.

[thomasyan]

Did Harper have a ring? Did we see him in sunlight? I wonder what happened to Pearl and Anna's rings; will Caroline get one? I'll be sad if she gets staked.

I am definitely going to miss Anna for a long time.

[oyceter]

I still miss Anna! She was the one thing that made Jeremy worth watching! (Okay, I did love Damon snapping his neck.)

[coffeeandink]

Didn't Harper die earlier? Killed by the other boarding house vamps?

[thomasyan]

My memory matches raincitygirl's.

He was tied down along with Stefan and also rescued with him. And when Pearl was packing up, I think he was still around and planning to stay with her. Pearl was was shot with an arrow, and later Anna comes across her body and another, the implication being Harper was also killed.

[oyceter]

Ahaha, I had completely forgotten about Mr. Forbes! Go figure... Also, considering the number of relatives randomly dropping out of the sky (Uncle Jon, Tyler's uncle), one would hope he'd show up. Especially since it seems even more dramatic things will be happening to Caroline soon.

[jadelennox]

They not only killed the ex-slave vampire, but they did it meaninglessly and pointlessly. I was really uncomfortable with his whole plot line; if you were going to have a single black vampire around, and he is going to be an ex-slave who constantly defers to a relatively sympathetic higher status vampire (although, to be fair, not a white one), I feel like you should address the politics of that. Don't do it if you're not going to address the politics. That's actually kind of my concern with the whole season one history -- don't mixed-race main cast live in a town which is obsessed with Confederate past, and have some vampires who are former Confederate soldiers, and vampires who are former slave and slave owners, without DEALING with that. If you don't want to deal with it, set the story somewhere else.

But yes, I'm really enjoying the show, and I'm really enjoying how they keep psyching me out, but if they don't stop killing every newly introduced women and especially every woman of color besides Bonnie, I don't know how much longer I can keep enjoying it.

I pretty much agree with everything you say, although to be fair, they are also quitting aggressively sexual men as evil. I know it's not the same thing, and they are doing it is much anyway, but at this point I'm trying to rationalize.

[jadelennox]

Also, in my mind, ANNA IS NOT DEAD SO THERE.

[oyceter]

Very yes to the show not dealing well with the combination of Confederate past and slave owning. I STILL want some more characterization of Emily... why would she even bother helping Katherine? The impression I got from the show was that it wasn't fully out of coercion, but I'm still bugged by how often the black people in the show use their powers to help out the white people, ESPECIALLY given the whole slavery thing. Ugh. It is too close to the whole "Yes suh, anything you say suh!" of Gone with the Wind for me.

But yeah, I continue to enjoy the show, although I am not completely attached to it for the very reasons above.

[thomasyan]

Did you watch Buffy? It amuses me that Emily is played by the same actor as Kendra, but now supports rather than slays vampires.

[oyceter]

I did! I had completely forgotten Emily's played by the same actress that played Kendra though.

[raincitygirl.livejournal.com]

That's actually kind of my concern with the whole season one history -- don't mixed-race main cast live in a town which is obsessed with Confederate past, and have some vampires who are former Confederate soldiers, and vampires who are former slave and slave owners, without DEALING with that. If you don't want to deal with it, set the story somewhere else.

Yes, this, a thousand times this. And basically you just summarized why I didn't buy Season 1 on DVD, despite being seriously tempted. Because there's this elephant in the corner.