Your Heart Is An Empty Room

[redbrunja]

Nina Dobrev is so good. She says one line and we know she's Katherine and not Elena. So good.

Also, that dream was fantastic - and totally fanservice for all the Damon/Elena, Katherine/Stefan fans.

Can I just say that the toast that Damon gave to George Lockwood was weird? It felt like they'd forgotten that Damon also fought in the Civil War  (and that it would have been expected and almost beyond comment) or like they couldn't decide if they wanted to do something pointed about Damon deserting (which I would love more details on).

I am loving new, hardcore Stefan.

Ha, ha, Elena's 'awwwkwaaarrrrd' face when Jenna said, "I'll like Damon when he learns to keep his paws off you" was priceless.

Damon is hysterical when he's playing nice guy. I love his unnecessary 'she doesn't like me very much' regarding Jenna.

Oh, Caroline, please don't confuse Edward Cullen with Stefan. Seriously, it's not that hard and you're not that blonde. Oh, wait, nevermind, she'd projecting.

Katherine, sweetie, if you had to compel him after he realized you were a vampire, he didn't really love you, he loved the idea of you in his head. Damon, now, he really loved you, Katherine Petrova, the poor bastard.

Speaking of Damon, I think he's finally getting over Katherine. Which is kind of bad timing, considering that ELENA AND STEFAN ARE SETTING NEW RECORDS OF AWESOME.

THEY FAKED A FIGHT! THEY FIGURED OUT CAROLINE WAS A SPY! STEFAN'S CRAZY JEALOUS EX COULDN'T COME BETWEEN THEM!

(That said, it's looking like they might really go to the 'Katherine loves Stefan and that's why she's doing this' place and that makes me sad).

The seven days between each episode seem to take are really long time to pass, but I kind of love that because it stretches out the enjoyment of this show. Everytime I think about how I have eighteen episode left of this season, I become so happy.

Comments

[shiegra.livejournal.com]

it's just a fact that vampires, especially vampires like Katherine and Damon, are unlikely to tolerate her behavior for long.

And why on earth should that be a fact? Why should the writers allow that? Why should the writers make the deliberate choice - have the deliberate preference - to murder her because the villains don't like her? You could just as easily have them express their impatience and be thwarted. No, the writers think it's perfectly okay and a natural extension to have 'she's a teenager, and her rapist doesn't like it, so obviously she's going to die.' Never mind spouting extremely gendered and problematic stereotypes as - not even justification, because Julie 'proud of the fact that she fridged Anna' Plec doesn't see anything to justify.

Never mind the fact that Caroline has not been particularly immature or teenager-like in her most recent interactions with Damon; she's been behaving in a perfectly justified manner. So basically what Damon is 'not going to put up with' is his abused victim having the power to fight back.

[mollivanders.livejournal.com]

All right, at this point I just want to say we'll have to wait and see if Damon really does snap and kill Caroline. Given his behavior and hers in recent episodes, that doesn't seem likely, especially if he's trying to win Elena's trust back. Katherine, of course, could still kill Caroline without a thought, because she's the one who's been using Caroline and who Caroline is now trying not to obey. I don't expect that to happen soon though.

And why on earth should that be a fact? Why should the writers allow that?

The short answer is - because this is a show about vampires. If it was a show about humans or emotionally balanced villains, we could contest it more and ask for more. Damon has already proven he acts rashly when emotional, and I'm sure he's not alone in that (look at Katherine's actions, Anna's after her mother's death, Stefan's when he's on human blood). It's not a justification - but it is the explanation. If the writers ignored the fact that vampires are supposed to be selfish, emotional and dangerous I would checking if this was Twilight.

I want to be very clear - I am not condoning a vampire killing someone because they don't like them - being a vampire does not remove a character's culpability. It does put it in a different context.

[shiegra.livejournal.com]

If it was a show about humans or emotionally balanced villains, we could contest it more and ask for more.

This is a show chiefly about a vegetarian vampire. And we clearly can ask for more, because male characters who have killed and attempted to kill vampires (Uncle John, Jeremy) have been spared. So actually, what we can't ask for more for is female characters, even if their crime is something as small as not liking the vampires. In one case, Damon did kill him! - and the writers brought him back to life. That is a choice the writers made; to not let ~vampire nature~ be the be-all and end-all of the storytelling...just as long as the men were involved.

And even if they did handwave everything as 'vampires are violent and dangerous' and kill characters willy nilly with that as their only excuse, that would be very lazy writing. If something being bigger and meaner and stronger than you were made the equation as simple as that, humans would never survive bear attacks.

[mollivanders.livejournal.com]

This is a show chiefly about a vegetarian vampire.

Well, we're watching different shows then. I see it as a show about two brothers, one of whom is not vegetarian and one of whom has a history of not being able to control himself when he's not vegetarian, as you put it.

And it's also a show about Katherine, a woman who goes around wrecking as much havoc as any of the men. I doubt we'll see eye to eye on any of this so I don't see a point to this.

if they did handwave everything as 'vampires are violent and dangerous' and kill characters willy nilly with that as their only excuse, that would be very lazy writing

or... consistent with vampire mythology. they haven't willy-nilly killed every character, but being a show about vampires it makes sense vampires (and humans and werewolves) will be in life and death situations. as I implied above, I don't think this show is Twilight. I know the books are different, though from what I've heard not in the direction of nobody gets killed and everyone has self control.

[shiegra.livejournal.com]

To clarify my point: whether Caroline dies or is not necessarily important in this discussion, because her death would only be the latest in a very well established pattern of women dying, for reasons that men are constantly spared for or for no reason at all.

[shiegra.livejournal.com]

Mmm, didn't see your most recent comment when I wrote that last one. True, no point.