100 Reviews: 32
Sep. 2nd, 2012 12:07 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
jedi_of_urthI kind of knew I couldn’t stay away. Though I’m not up for putting odds on how far I’ll get before this season’s premier (I can probably see getting to where I started doing in depth reaction posts without too much trouble, but we’ll see).
TVD: 3x01: The Birthday
I’m of a couple different minds on this one. As an episode it’s kind of...meh, but as a season premier it’s pretty solid. Not in the sense that I expect less from premiers but they do have different requirements to be good at their job.
One thing I think I need to say upfront, I am going to *try* and make sense of Stefan’s character arc for the season now that we’ve seen it play out. The issue is that this episode really works, but so much of the season doesn’t that even everything I say about this only sort of helps with the later stuff. It’s kind of tied in with why this is such an effective season opener, because it sets up a really interesting position for Stefan that *seems like it’s going to be his struggle for the season; but of course the show wussed out and didn’t carry though.
Because Stefan in this episode is in a really interesting place. He hasn’t quite turned is humanity off down to early-Damon-ish levels but not off; he’s caught between a want to care, knowing what it would mean if he turned it all the way off, and what it will mean if he does let himself truly feel again. Because for Stefan (at least as it was set up), he knows he can’t go back, there’s no reason to if he doesn’t feel and if he does then there’s too much to get past for him to be any good to the people he loves for a while. Tis complex and adult Stefan has a *lot* of potential and was how I thought the show was going to explore some really interesting themes.
But...you can already see the show fighting itself even here. Aside from killing Andie everything Stefan does *can* be seen as him being forced to by Klaus (and even that, one assumes Stefan later lumps in with it). He’s all “Klaus will make me be such a bad guy” whenever he can. Which even then, if the show hadn’t pussed out and let him get away with that excuse, could even have been interesting (how much of it was only because of Klaus vs. how much did Klaus just enable him to be that guy?). At this point, he definitely seems to be telling himself that it’s just Klaus, but if he truly had to feel what’s been happening he’d have to face the fact that it *wasn’t* just Klaus; Klaus makes him hurt, kill, and torture, but Klaus can’t make him like it as much as he does.
Again, well set up, interesting stuff; too bad the show failed in long term execution.
In the other half of our duo, Klaus mark 2 was really good here. He’s still quite scary (if not pulling off the just-exudes-power way that Elijah does, and yes I did have to say it) but he can be charismatic and quirky and even a little charming in situations but never to the point you forget that he’s evil to the core. Klaus mark 2 is a much more dynamic figure than Klaus mark 1 of s2, and not yet the dufus that is Klaus mark 3 in the back half of the season.
And this season also looked like was really going to deal with the relationship between Stefan and Damon, by forcing them to be on opposite sides from how the conflict between them has gone in the past. Ending Damon’s part of the episode with him trashing Stefan’s room was a really evocative moment (actually all of the Damon-Stefan stuff was really good, in case I don’t make that clear) and was a good set up for future development of their relationship. And that...the show kind of delivered on, but seldom as powerfully as the set up seemed to set up for.
Okay, let’s talk about Andie for a sec. This “relationship” is messed up and I never really understood why the show kept coming back to it. And this may be the most messed up version of it in its run, because aside from an offhand comment by Alaric the show almost seems to forget that this is AWFUL stuff. Andie’s “I’m not your slave” thing is sort of tongue in cheek when it REALLY SHOULDN’T BE, because she IS; everything she’s doing she’s doing because she was compelled to behave, act, and FEEL a certain way.
It’s never clear how other people saw that “relationship.” Ric basically just drinks away any concerns he might have with it (but then Ric is a shade away from drinking away students’ history questions), last season Stefan seemed to just ignore it, and it’s never real clear who else knew or if they asked any questions. While I wouldn’t put it past the show to claim Caroline knew all about it and just didn’t do anything, as a viewer any confirmation that she knew would raise the point that DAMON DID THE SAME THING TO HER. The show seems disinclined to acknowledge that chapter of history but that doesn’t mean we’ve all forgotten.
And to complete the Andie note of not having an actual character let alone any kind of character journey, let’s talk about Stefan killing her. Because this? This is not doing what Klaus made him do; this is sadistic and pointed and cruel, and this was his choice. He could have just been like ‘Dude, Klaus will kill you if you keep following us,’ and Damon could have been like ‘I owe you enough to try and save you from yourself, also Elena won’t let me give up,’ and Stefan could have been like ‘At least have a plan if you insist of coming after me.’ Or some conversation like that that got the actual point across (but then that’s the Elena/Elijah shipper in me thinking people on this show can just talk out their issues because those two are smart enough to do it).
I might as well discuss Damon/Elena for a moment (I know, I don’t really want to but I have thoughts). Their first scene? Awful. Total pandering to get some naked Ian (who I remind you doesn’t do much for me) and naked Damon in the same room as Elena. And yet there’s no chemistry to it; it’s forced and awkward and still bland.
Now the rest of their scenes actually had some fire to them. I almost like them in the necklace scene; not in an ‘I ship it’ way, not even in an ‘I get shipping it’ way, but in way where they at least have nice, quieter, non-forced chemistry where I for a few seconds can almost believe they like each other. The rest of the episode is classic them, so if you ship them I suppose it’s shippy, since I see them as anti-shippable I see it that way. But they butt heads and fight and Damon’s controlling and while I can see him having a point in trying to protect her from knowing what Stefan had been up to it’s in there with why I don’t ship them.
Elena and Alaric on the other hand are heating up their drtybadwrong chemistry quite nicely. Bring on 3x02 when I realized I totally could ship them even if I kind of didn’t want to. 3x01: shipping meh to blarg; 3x02 Elena/Alaric and Stefan/Klaus hit me upside the head if I recall correctly.
As both an episode and especially a season premier, it does have big strikes against it for not including Bonnie (I know she was in it technically, but that’s not the same as including her). It’s never made clear where her relatives live but it must be a ways off if she couldn’t make it back for Elena’s birthday.
In summary: good setup (even if it didn’t always set stuff up correctly for what happens) but nothing I really sunk my teeth into except what I wish could have come from Stefan’s story.
Next time:
We’ll see, I’m kind of still casting about for a story to latch onto for these things again.
As always open to suggections
TVD: 3x01: The Birthday
I’m of a couple different minds on this one. As an episode it’s kind of...meh, but as a season premier it’s pretty solid. Not in the sense that I expect less from premiers but they do have different requirements to be good at their job.
One thing I think I need to say upfront, I am going to *try* and make sense of Stefan’s character arc for the season now that we’ve seen it play out. The issue is that this episode really works, but so much of the season doesn’t that even everything I say about this only sort of helps with the later stuff. It’s kind of tied in with why this is such an effective season opener, because it sets up a really interesting position for Stefan that *seems like it’s going to be his struggle for the season; but of course the show wussed out and didn’t carry though.
Because Stefan in this episode is in a really interesting place. He hasn’t quite turned is humanity off down to early-Damon-ish levels but not off; he’s caught between a want to care, knowing what it would mean if he turned it all the way off, and what it will mean if he does let himself truly feel again. Because for Stefan (at least as it was set up), he knows he can’t go back, there’s no reason to if he doesn’t feel and if he does then there’s too much to get past for him to be any good to the people he loves for a while. Tis complex and adult Stefan has a *lot* of potential and was how I thought the show was going to explore some really interesting themes.
But...you can already see the show fighting itself even here. Aside from killing Andie everything Stefan does *can* be seen as him being forced to by Klaus (and even that, one assumes Stefan later lumps in with it). He’s all “Klaus will make me be such a bad guy” whenever he can. Which even then, if the show hadn’t pussed out and let him get away with that excuse, could even have been interesting (how much of it was only because of Klaus vs. how much did Klaus just enable him to be that guy?). At this point, he definitely seems to be telling himself that it’s just Klaus, but if he truly had to feel what’s been happening he’d have to face the fact that it *wasn’t* just Klaus; Klaus makes him hurt, kill, and torture, but Klaus can’t make him like it as much as he does.
Again, well set up, interesting stuff; too bad the show failed in long term execution.
In the other half of our duo, Klaus mark 2 was really good here. He’s still quite scary (if not pulling off the just-exudes-power way that Elijah does, and yes I did have to say it) but he can be charismatic and quirky and even a little charming in situations but never to the point you forget that he’s evil to the core. Klaus mark 2 is a much more dynamic figure than Klaus mark 1 of s2, and not yet the dufus that is Klaus mark 3 in the back half of the season.
And this season also looked like was really going to deal with the relationship between Stefan and Damon, by forcing them to be on opposite sides from how the conflict between them has gone in the past. Ending Damon’s part of the episode with him trashing Stefan’s room was a really evocative moment (actually all of the Damon-Stefan stuff was really good, in case I don’t make that clear) and was a good set up for future development of their relationship. And that...the show kind of delivered on, but seldom as powerfully as the set up seemed to set up for.
Okay, let’s talk about Andie for a sec. This “relationship” is messed up and I never really understood why the show kept coming back to it. And this may be the most messed up version of it in its run, because aside from an offhand comment by Alaric the show almost seems to forget that this is AWFUL stuff. Andie’s “I’m not your slave” thing is sort of tongue in cheek when it REALLY SHOULDN’T BE, because she IS; everything she’s doing she’s doing because she was compelled to behave, act, and FEEL a certain way.
It’s never clear how other people saw that “relationship.” Ric basically just drinks away any concerns he might have with it (but then Ric is a shade away from drinking away students’ history questions), last season Stefan seemed to just ignore it, and it’s never real clear who else knew or if they asked any questions. While I wouldn’t put it past the show to claim Caroline knew all about it and just didn’t do anything, as a viewer any confirmation that she knew would raise the point that DAMON DID THE SAME THING TO HER. The show seems disinclined to acknowledge that chapter of history but that doesn’t mean we’ve all forgotten.
And to complete the Andie note of not having an actual character let alone any kind of character journey, let’s talk about Stefan killing her. Because this? This is not doing what Klaus made him do; this is sadistic and pointed and cruel, and this was his choice. He could have just been like ‘Dude, Klaus will kill you if you keep following us,’ and Damon could have been like ‘I owe you enough to try and save you from yourself, also Elena won’t let me give up,’ and Stefan could have been like ‘At least have a plan if you insist of coming after me.’ Or some conversation like that that got the actual point across (but then that’s the Elena/Elijah shipper in me thinking people on this show can just talk out their issues because those two are smart enough to do it).
I might as well discuss Damon/Elena for a moment (I know, I don’t really want to but I have thoughts). Their first scene? Awful. Total pandering to get some naked Ian (who I remind you doesn’t do much for me) and naked Damon in the same room as Elena. And yet there’s no chemistry to it; it’s forced and awkward and still bland.
Now the rest of their scenes actually had some fire to them. I almost like them in the necklace scene; not in an ‘I ship it’ way, not even in an ‘I get shipping it’ way, but in way where they at least have nice, quieter, non-forced chemistry where I for a few seconds can almost believe they like each other. The rest of the episode is classic them, so if you ship them I suppose it’s shippy, since I see them as anti-shippable I see it that way. But they butt heads and fight and Damon’s controlling and while I can see him having a point in trying to protect her from knowing what Stefan had been up to it’s in there with why I don’t ship them.
Elena and Alaric on the other hand are heating up their drtybadwrong chemistry quite nicely. Bring on 3x02 when I realized I totally could ship them even if I kind of didn’t want to. 3x01: shipping meh to blarg; 3x02 Elena/Alaric and Stefan/Klaus hit me upside the head if I recall correctly.
As both an episode and especially a season premier, it does have big strikes against it for not including Bonnie (I know she was in it technically, but that’s not the same as including her). It’s never made clear where her relatives live but it must be a ways off if she couldn’t make it back for Elena’s birthday.
In summary: good setup (even if it didn’t always set stuff up correctly for what happens) but nothing I really sunk my teeth into except what I wish could have come from Stefan’s story.
Next time:
We’ll see, I’m kind of still casting about for a story to latch onto for these things again.
As always open to suggections
