The Vampire Diaries 2x02-2x05

[oyceter]

When did spoilers get really good?

I mean, I knew the show was doing plot like whoa at the end of last season, but this season has been kickass, particularly with the characterization.

I continue to like Elena, whose level-headedness serves as an excellent center to the show. I love in particular how people on this show actually talk to each other, especially Elena and Stefan. Please please please show, do not do Elena/Damon, because despite being bored by Stefan in the beginning, I am actually very fond of him now. I think it is how he acts as big brother to Caroline and Bonnie. It is very endearing! I also love that the argument Elena and Stefan have is staged for Katherine; I was scared the show was going to go into more rocky relationship dynamics, and this is so much better. I love that Caroline ends up telling Elena about Katherine and that although Elena is angry, she also understands. I love how she can't forgive Damon for what he did to Jeremy even as she's honest enough to tell him so and honest enough to thank him for the information about the ring, and thought I thought I would never say this, I really like how the show is doing Damon.

His mixture of jerk and genuine human emotion is fascinating, moreso when the show is not inclined to let him off the hook for being a jerk and a sociopath. I love that Caroline finally got her memories back and hurt Damon, although I feel they aren't carrying the consequences of that out as much.

Re: the Caroline arc. Love! Especially Caroline beating the crap out of Mason. That was AWESOME, especially because so many books and shows with vampires and werewolves leave the supernatural strength to the guys. I especially love the gender reversal of the paternalistic "I can't be with you for your own good" between Caroline and Matt; I'm guessing it will come back soon and Matt will find out.

Speaking of which, I'm so glad we're getting to the point where more and more people are finding out about the vampires and werewolves; the early part of "No one can know!" is always the most boring when it comes to these types of series, imo.

Also, the last reveal with Katherine and Mason was great! I am also wondering if the show is going to start dragging Klaus in, now that there's the hint that Katherine's not originally from the Americas.

The things I don't like:

The show is still giving most of the interesting story lines and motivations to the white men, and it's the white guys who come back the most as recurring guest stars. Also, the line about the basement beneath the old Lockwood mansion as a place to hold slaves is... really distasteful, especially given that it's a one-liner to cover up the werewolf-ness of the Lockwood family and given that the show doesn't look much at slavery and has been writing out and/or killing all the POC characters.

For example, Bonnie! Bonnie setting Damon on fire was AWESOME! And then ... nothing from her for three episodes when there's a ton of tension to explore between her and Caroline, along with her and Elena? Why? I am really hoping it's because the actress has other commitments, because otherwise, it looks very bad. It got to the point where I had to check if Katerina Graham was still a regular. It's also annoying because they basically drag her in to be a (literal) Magical Negro; she spells the ring for Caroline and then she's gone again. I keep saying this, but I really wish there would be more examining how Bonnie and Emily and Sheila are used to simply help the white characters out of their fixes.

Also, double boo for the Aztec curse and how that plays into all the dead Indian and Indian curse stereotypes. Triple boo for introducing Bonnie to a potential love interest and then killing him right away. It's a little hard to overlook how Caroline's been given a lot more story in all the episodes so far (1st and 2nd season) even though Bonnie has known about vampires for longer and has magical powers enough to write her into a lot of storylines. It's even worse that she's been isolated from all the core characters, as opposed to Caroline and Jeremy and even Tyler, who are slowly being brought into the world of the main cast. It's especially weird because her antagonism of Damon is great story fodder!

In conclusion: plot super exciting, politics not as much.

Comments

[yhlee]

Is Katerina Graham coming back? I am starting to stop hoping that I'm ever going to see much more of Bonnie.

[oyceter]

I am really hoping so! From IMDB and Wiki, it looks like she's got a full contract for S2 (I think IMDB lists her as being in 44 eps), so... she should be back?

[sisterjune]

Hi, I've been reading your blog a while but this is my first time deciding to comment. basically thank YOU for highlighting my issues with the show at this point, I enjoy alot about this show but I feel like it continues to be so very problematic for the exact reasons you stated and honestly I'd even be willing to look past alot of this for the good plot BUT the way the show treats and has been treating bonnie is just so infuriating to me. She is easily the most interesting female character to me on the show, with Katherine being a close second, and YET we get zero characterization or plot focused on her at all. It's pretty fucked up and all the more so when fandom goes on about what a bitch she is and how much they hate her and its just like WOAJFOIWJOW RAAAGE. It's not fair, I hate seeing this character constantly short changed because she has so much potential and instead she is being relegated to magical negro sidekick. ARGH. I really hope they stop and let Bonnie's friendship with caroline and her other personal feelings, wants, desires, hopes, dreams will be allowed to take center stage or at least get SOME kind of airtime before S2 is over or I will have to rethink my stance on this show because I see alot of potential for awesome, the show has 4 four totally awesome fascinating female characters in the recurring cast but so far Kat is labelled by all and sundry as the biggest bitch in bitchville who "must die", Bonnie is a one note character, Caroline is constantly undermined and ridiculed for who she is by herself and all other characters esp her boyfriend. Elena seems the only one not constantly being hated or punished by the show and she's a very straight laced character who therefore never errs in an esp notable way whereas Damon can fuck up over and over and get the sympathy vote not only from fandom but from the writers, UGH.
I feel like I complain about this show these days than not, and its sad cause its a good show but its because of the good bits that the FAIL bits just stick out that much more. I do love Stefan though, he makes up for alot of the assholishness on this show.

[latxcvi]

Yeah, I'm really largely enjoying the show, but all of the issues you have with it are the same issues I'm having with it (especially all the stuff about Bonnie). Like, I still don't understand why we had to lose Anna permanently, but freakin' John Gilbert got to survive because of his stupid magic ring. Anna would have made an interesting foil/possible team member for Team StefanElenaDamon after the death of her mother and in the wake of Katherine's arrival into town. But no. She gets a completely insignificant death in the finale, while John Gilbert -- who didn't add anything to the story canvas from a long-term perspective, what with how all the other characters hated his ass -- gets to walk away? Whatever, show. Whatever.

[lady_ganesh]

She was in the preview for next week. I hope for plot!

[lady_ganesh]

I think I rewound and watched Damon catching on fire, like, four times.

[oyceter]

Hi! Yay commenting!

AIIIIEEEE from your comments I am really glad I have not seen anything about the TVD fandom outside of the few people posting about it on my dwircle! Oh fandom. Sometimes you never stop failing...

I was especially disappointed that there wasn't more with Bonnie and Caroline's friendship, especially after they seemed to get much closer after Bonnie's grandma died last season and she withdrew a bit from being Elena's BFF.

I really love Elena for being level-headed and practical, but yes, there is a real shortage of anti-hero female characters like Damon. And I heart Caroline so! It made me so mad when Matt basically treated her like crap.

[oyceter]

Yes! In the finale last season, I cheered when Katherine knifed Jon Gilbert, but how come all the white guys have magical rings while none of the poc, esp. the woc do?! And Jeremy gets two women fridged for his own angst when he gets very little to do in the plot. I am still so pissed off that they killed Anna on top of all the other WOC they killed in S1.

[oyceter]

That was so awesome! I heart Bonnie so much!

[lady_ganesh]

It looks like she might get to Do Something next week. I'm hoping!

[ladygawain]

Oh man, came upon this post and just had to say: WORD and your summation is accurate.

The show is so frustrating for it's treatment of POC and women, it's driving me nuts. God, as soon as I saw that Carter carnival guy I was just counting down the minutes until his death, ridiculous --- so ridiculous I thought it was some sort of meta joke on the treatment of black men/people in the genre. Yeah, not.

I do love this show and I think it's one of the best on TV right now but I can't overlook Bonnie --- my favorite character besides Caroline. It does look like they're going to make up for it in the next few episodes so I guess we'll have to see. They just fail so much at developing supporting characters, and it's galling.

[oyceter]

I knoooowww... and it's not even that they fail at developing supporting characters, since there are definitely other supporting characters that get much more development and screen time (Mason! He just showed up and there's two episodes about him!). It's just... all the POC and female side characters really do not get that much attention. BOO.