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gryfndor_godessI actually watched these episodes two weeks ago and because of finals, I never got a chance to write these reviews before moving on in the season (because of course I couldn’t wait after everything that had just happened). These are much shorter and more superficial than they should be, considering the content of these episodes, but it’s been a while since I watched them and I don’t have many insightful thoughts; they’re actually kind of blurring together by this point, and even when I was watching them I pretty much just flailed a lot, especially with 1x13. In the interest of full disclosure (because I like that phrase, not because it actually matters), I’ve watched through 1x17.
1x13: Children of the Damned
-This scene of human!Damon kissing bloody-lipped Katherine is so wrong and so hot.
-“If I throw something I haven’t seen before, I’ll throw a dollar at it.” BWAHA.
-A stake-shooter? Alaric is so cool.
-Ooh, is Stefan going to tell his father about Katherine?
-Damon cooking is really sexy; so is Damon playing video games with Jeremy.
-I love his expression when Jenna calls him hot and Elena calls him an ass.
-HA! Damon said ‘I give’ first! I don’t like Anna, but mwaha.
Overall Thoughts:
I liked this flashback episode SO MUCH better than the first one. This was enthralling and nerve-wracking and everything was so vivid. The tension was palpable- the Council’s, Pearl’s, Damon’s- and various characters’ mounting frustration with Katherine was very believable and made her seem even more villainous than in the first flashback episode. As I said in my review of “Lost Girls,” her villainy was kind of unoriginal- she was basically a “Slutty Bad Girl.” This episode showcased just how selfish she was in the way she wouldn’t heed even her best friend’s advice and how her behavior hurt all of the vampires in Mystic Falls.
Speaking of the other vampires, I liked seeing how they were an actual community and had their own places in the human community, as well. I especially liked Pearl, who was powerful but also vulnerable in the way she seemed to genuinely like/trust Jonathan Gilbert. Also, she is gorgeous.
I hadn’t realized that Damon and Stefan were both aware of what Katherine was (“Lost Girls” gave me the impression she was wiping their memories), and their awareness makes the relationship even creepier, especially since she’s killing people. It’s one thing to fall for a creature of the night and live by the motto that ignorance is bliss; it’s another thing to accompany your paramour on one of her hunting trips and then kiss her bloody lips after she kills a man. I’m not sure what to think about it all. On the one hand, it makes Damon’s infatuation a lot more interesting; on the other hand, it kind of seems like he was a terrible person even as a human, and that makes me sad. I’m curious about what Stefan knew and did with Katherine, since he made some comment earlier in the season about Katherine compelling them. In any case, I’m guessing that Katherine’s relationship with Damon was a lot more…encompassing.
I like that Stefan tried to reason his father, not only because it seems very noble and sweet, but also because it led to all sorts of wonderful narrative tension, what with Katherine being captured as a result. Part of me thinks it would have been even better if Stefan had told his father the truth outright, though. As it is, I can understand why Damon blames Stefan, but I don’t think it’s particularly deserved and that makes Damon seem more irrational and immature than justifiably bitter. The necklace storyline also confuses me a bit now- Damon had Emily make it just by chance? Before he knew that the village was going to find her? I should probably watch that scene on the football field again…
I’m excited about the next flashback episode because if I know my spoilers correctly, I know that Stefan turned Damon, but I’d been under the impression that Katherine turned Stefan. But I guess that’s not possible? And if Katherine was gone, why did the brothers still want to turn in the first place? So many questions! It’s an excellent feeling!
On a random note, the retcon about Anna feeding Logan blood is pretty lame. His death was all very confusing to me. I thought Damon had snapped his neck and then everything became murky when he showed up and confronted Sheriff Forbes because he made it sound like his death was her fault, and now there’s this retcon, and oy, it just seems like very clumsy writing overall. The TVD staff is usually better than this, methinks.
1x14: Fool Me Once
-Bonnie’s grandmother is SUCH a BAMF.
-I’m surprised that after the way he tortured Noah, Stefan showed Ben mercy.
-HE’S PUTTING THE NECKLACE BACK ON HER. “I didn’t compel you in Atlanta because we were having fun. I wanted it to be real.” ALL THE FLAILS EVER.
-“Yeah, well, I’m not drunk enough, so I’m just gonna get another beer.” LOL, I love Tyler!
-Stefan is such a BADASS with his flamethrower.
-I love Bonnie for insisting they rescue Stefan!
-DAMON’S FACE WHEN ELENA ROUNDS THE CORNER AND BEGS HIM TO LEAVE THE TOMB.
-ELENA HUGGING DAMON; STEFAN’S FACE. Lol, Stefan’s thoughts: Shit. She really cares about him. Is this gonna be like- oh fuck.
-GRAMS. Okay, so I knew from the get-go that she wasn’t going to last very long because old mentors never do, but that does not make this any less heartbreaking.
Overall Thoughts:
As a whole I was more ambivalent about this episode than I expected to be, but the DAMON/ELENA STUFF WAS PHENOMENAL, OMG. Him putting the necklace back on her! His face when he saw her in the tomb! Her hugging him outside! I need a DVD of all of their scenes. Which…I guess is what fanvids are for, but really I just want a DVD with all their scenes cut together, no music, no editing, etc. Just their scenes. Because they’re beautiful and give me all the feelings.
I used to dislike Anna, but my feelings are doing a 180 now. She’s a character I can actually relate to- I’d wait 150 years and do whatever it took to rescue my family from a tomb like that- and I’m really glad she got Pearl back. The dichotomy in how she’s both an adult HBIC and at other times very much a child makes her a neat character. She’s clearly older and wiser than her youthful appearance would suggest, but around her mother she loses the mantle of authoritative badassery and acts like a child again- such as when she’s leading Pearl out of the tomb and says that they won’t be any trouble, she just wants to protect her mother, etc; she’s not demanding and doesn’t even show bravado. Considering how demure and even more childlike she seemed in the flashbacks, I’m curious as to what she was like in the 1800s, if she always had a headstrong nature that she just hid around humans or if she only developed that fierceness once she was on her own. In the flashbacks Pearl seemed to treat Anna as even younger than she probably was when turned (frex, she looks about sixteen to me, but Pearl treated her more like a twelve-year-old IMO), and Anna seemed perfectly accepting of it. Was that an act for the humans? If not, will that change after more than a century on her own?
Whether or not I liked Anna personally (which I do, now), I’d still be happy to see her on the show because of that dichotomy. Children who get turned into vampires and can then never grow up are always interesting. How will the show's mythology deal with it? Are they able to grow up mentally or will they always be stuck in an adolescent mindset? IIRC, Interview With The Vampire addresses this question with Kirsten Dunst’s character and she is very emotionally disturbed as a result of her age and being immortal (although she’s also a lot younger than Anna). On the other hand, BtVS didn’t do anything special with the Annoying One. I also love the fact that Anna and Pearl are actually family- this show is all about family, and it’s excellent!-and even more that they’re a multi-generational family, since we have Damon/Stefan as biological family, too. I’m super curious about their background and how they both became vampires and what happened to Anna’s father, etc.
I was pleasantly surprised that Damon didn’t kill them at the end when he confronted them in Anna’s hotel room. I don’t really feel sorry for him because he’s so horrible, but Ian's acting was wonderful and moving as all his hopes and dreams were crushed to dust. I knew that Katherine wasn’t in the tomb, but I hadn’t known that she was never in it in the first place; I’d thought there was just some funky magical thing at some point that allowed her to escape early. That really puts a deliciously dark spin on her character and her relationship with the Salvatores.
I really liked the ending montage and the music. In fact, in general I adore the soundtrack for this show; they do a really good job of picking songs that fit the melancholy/melodramatic/romantic atmosphere. I noticed it way back when I watched the S2 finale in May because I adored the use of Ingrid Michaelson’s “Turn to Stone,” and I continue to notice it in particular because I really don’t like the soundtrack for SPN; the contrast stands out to me.
My last, random comment is that I can’t decide if Caroline’s speeches to Matt are obnoxious, sweet, or unbelievable. Probably it’s a combination of all three. I’m getting bored with Caroline/Matt.
1x13: Children of the Damned
-This scene of human!Damon kissing bloody-lipped Katherine is so wrong and so hot.
-“If I throw something I haven’t seen before, I’ll throw a dollar at it.” BWAHA.
-A stake-shooter? Alaric is so cool.
-Ooh, is Stefan going to tell his father about Katherine?
-Damon cooking is really sexy; so is Damon playing video games with Jeremy.
-I love his expression when Jenna calls him hot and Elena calls him an ass.
-HA! Damon said ‘I give’ first! I don’t like Anna, but mwaha.
Overall Thoughts:
I liked this flashback episode SO MUCH better than the first one. This was enthralling and nerve-wracking and everything was so vivid. The tension was palpable- the Council’s, Pearl’s, Damon’s- and various characters’ mounting frustration with Katherine was very believable and made her seem even more villainous than in the first flashback episode. As I said in my review of “Lost Girls,” her villainy was kind of unoriginal- she was basically a “Slutty Bad Girl.” This episode showcased just how selfish she was in the way she wouldn’t heed even her best friend’s advice and how her behavior hurt all of the vampires in Mystic Falls.
Speaking of the other vampires, I liked seeing how they were an actual community and had their own places in the human community, as well. I especially liked Pearl, who was powerful but also vulnerable in the way she seemed to genuinely like/trust Jonathan Gilbert. Also, she is gorgeous.
I hadn’t realized that Damon and Stefan were both aware of what Katherine was (“Lost Girls” gave me the impression she was wiping their memories), and their awareness makes the relationship even creepier, especially since she’s killing people. It’s one thing to fall for a creature of the night and live by the motto that ignorance is bliss; it’s another thing to accompany your paramour on one of her hunting trips and then kiss her bloody lips after she kills a man. I’m not sure what to think about it all. On the one hand, it makes Damon’s infatuation a lot more interesting; on the other hand, it kind of seems like he was a terrible person even as a human, and that makes me sad. I’m curious about what Stefan knew and did with Katherine, since he made some comment earlier in the season about Katherine compelling them. In any case, I’m guessing that Katherine’s relationship with Damon was a lot more…encompassing.
I like that Stefan tried to reason his father, not only because it seems very noble and sweet, but also because it led to all sorts of wonderful narrative tension, what with Katherine being captured as a result. Part of me thinks it would have been even better if Stefan had told his father the truth outright, though. As it is, I can understand why Damon blames Stefan, but I don’t think it’s particularly deserved and that makes Damon seem more irrational and immature than justifiably bitter. The necklace storyline also confuses me a bit now- Damon had Emily make it just by chance? Before he knew that the village was going to find her? I should probably watch that scene on the football field again…
I’m excited about the next flashback episode because if I know my spoilers correctly, I know that Stefan turned Damon, but I’d been under the impression that Katherine turned Stefan. But I guess that’s not possible? And if Katherine was gone, why did the brothers still want to turn in the first place? So many questions! It’s an excellent feeling!
On a random note, the retcon about Anna feeding Logan blood is pretty lame. His death was all very confusing to me. I thought Damon had snapped his neck and then everything became murky when he showed up and confronted Sheriff Forbes because he made it sound like his death was her fault, and now there’s this retcon, and oy, it just seems like very clumsy writing overall. The TVD staff is usually better than this, methinks.
1x14: Fool Me Once
-Bonnie’s grandmother is SUCH a BAMF.
-I’m surprised that after the way he tortured Noah, Stefan showed Ben mercy.
-HE’S PUTTING THE NECKLACE BACK ON HER. “I didn’t compel you in Atlanta because we were having fun. I wanted it to be real.” ALL THE FLAILS EVER.
-“Yeah, well, I’m not drunk enough, so I’m just gonna get another beer.” LOL, I love Tyler!
-Stefan is such a BADASS with his flamethrower.
-I love Bonnie for insisting they rescue Stefan!
-DAMON’S FACE WHEN ELENA ROUNDS THE CORNER AND BEGS HIM TO LEAVE THE TOMB.
-ELENA HUGGING DAMON; STEFAN’S FACE. Lol, Stefan’s thoughts: Shit. She really cares about him. Is this gonna be like- oh fuck.
-GRAMS. Okay, so I knew from the get-go that she wasn’t going to last very long because old mentors never do, but that does not make this any less heartbreaking.
Overall Thoughts:
As a whole I was more ambivalent about this episode than I expected to be, but the DAMON/ELENA STUFF WAS PHENOMENAL, OMG. Him putting the necklace back on her! His face when he saw her in the tomb! Her hugging him outside! I need a DVD of all of their scenes. Which…I guess is what fanvids are for, but really I just want a DVD with all their scenes cut together, no music, no editing, etc. Just their scenes. Because they’re beautiful and give me all the feelings.
I used to dislike Anna, but my feelings are doing a 180 now. She’s a character I can actually relate to- I’d wait 150 years and do whatever it took to rescue my family from a tomb like that- and I’m really glad she got Pearl back. The dichotomy in how she’s both an adult HBIC and at other times very much a child makes her a neat character. She’s clearly older and wiser than her youthful appearance would suggest, but around her mother she loses the mantle of authoritative badassery and acts like a child again- such as when she’s leading Pearl out of the tomb and says that they won’t be any trouble, she just wants to protect her mother, etc; she’s not demanding and doesn’t even show bravado. Considering how demure and even more childlike she seemed in the flashbacks, I’m curious as to what she was like in the 1800s, if she always had a headstrong nature that she just hid around humans or if she only developed that fierceness once she was on her own. In the flashbacks Pearl seemed to treat Anna as even younger than she probably was when turned (frex, she looks about sixteen to me, but Pearl treated her more like a twelve-year-old IMO), and Anna seemed perfectly accepting of it. Was that an act for the humans? If not, will that change after more than a century on her own?
Whether or not I liked Anna personally (which I do, now), I’d still be happy to see her on the show because of that dichotomy. Children who get turned into vampires and can then never grow up are always interesting. How will the show's mythology deal with it? Are they able to grow up mentally or will they always be stuck in an adolescent mindset? IIRC, Interview With The Vampire addresses this question with Kirsten Dunst’s character and she is very emotionally disturbed as a result of her age and being immortal (although she’s also a lot younger than Anna). On the other hand, BtVS didn’t do anything special with the Annoying One. I also love the fact that Anna and Pearl are actually family- this show is all about family, and it’s excellent!-and even more that they’re a multi-generational family, since we have Damon/Stefan as biological family, too. I’m super curious about their background and how they both became vampires and what happened to Anna’s father, etc.
I was pleasantly surprised that Damon didn’t kill them at the end when he confronted them in Anna’s hotel room. I don’t really feel sorry for him because he’s so horrible, but Ian's acting was wonderful and moving as all his hopes and dreams were crushed to dust. I knew that Katherine wasn’t in the tomb, but I hadn’t known that she was never in it in the first place; I’d thought there was just some funky magical thing at some point that allowed her to escape early. That really puts a deliciously dark spin on her character and her relationship with the Salvatores.
I really liked the ending montage and the music. In fact, in general I adore the soundtrack for this show; they do a really good job of picking songs that fit the melancholy/melodramatic/romantic atmosphere. I noticed it way back when I watched the S2 finale in May because I adored the use of Ingrid Michaelson’s “Turn to Stone,” and I continue to notice it in particular because I really don’t like the soundtrack for SPN; the contrast stands out to me.
My last, random comment is that I can’t decide if Caroline’s speeches to Matt are obnoxious, sweet, or unbelievable. Probably it’s a combination of all three. I’m getting bored with Caroline/Matt.
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no subject
Date: 2011-12-12 09:13 pm (UTC)I KNOW. I KNOW I KNOW.
I really having nothing of use to say here. Just. DAMON+ELENA.
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Date: 2011-12-12 09:20 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2011-12-12 10:01 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2011-12-13 02:01 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2011-12-13 02:35 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2011-12-13 01:52 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2011-12-12 10:39 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2011-12-13 01:59 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2011-12-13 01:43 am (UTC)These are all the words you ever need. Flailing amounts of love. Damon+Elena is just too amazing, no matter the context.
I'm glad Anna is growing on you, she's basically a rockstar. And her relationship with Pearl ... since I don't personally have a good relationship with my mother, I generally get annoyed with representations of mothers (and mother/daughters specifically), especially when the relationship is overtly romanticized (either in it's perfection or in it's corruption). But Pearl and Anna - they operate on a really nice level so that I never get annoyed with them... I actually heart their faces ... way a lot.
I’m getting bored with Caroline/Matt.
Caroline owns my heart. For realz. But Matt? - he does not have a fan in me.
no subject
Date: 2011-12-13 01:56 am (UTC)I like Caroline, but I haven't cared for the way the writers have been using her for the past few episodes. In general I can't relate to her very much, even though I do sympathize with her.
no subject
Date: 2011-12-13 05:30 am (UTC)Something about Caroline feels very real to me. I can't put my finger on it, she's set-up as the "anti-Elena" but I think she's more than that even from the start. I just hate that the writers shaft her into horrible relationships = sadface
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Date: 2011-12-13 01:54 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2011-12-12 10:40 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2011-12-12 10:43 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2011-12-13 05:12 am (UTC)+ THE DAMON/KATHERINE BLOODY KISS. One of my favourite scenes in the whole series, haha.
+ I didn't get the impression Damon was necessarily a terrible person as a human? I mean, kind of, but mostly he strikes me as being really unwell and vulnerable and suicidal tbh.
+ Damon has more rational reasons to be bitter at Stefan than just the events shown in this episode.
+ Yeah, this is about the same time I got ALL OF THE FEELS for Damon/Elena. Not as a ship tbh, but their connection~
+ ANNA AND PEARL ARE FUCKING AWESOME.
+ Haha, Ian makes Damon WAY TOO sympathetic tbqh. His eyeballs are humongous, lmao.
+ Heh, we shall have to agree to disagree re: the soundtrack. I think the music on this show is awful at least half the time, but sometimes they get it really right, e.g. Ingrid Michaelson in the S2 finale.
+ Caroline/Matt is boring, full stop. Caroline is too awesome to be bending over backwards for any guy's approval.
no subject
Date: 2011-12-13 02:15 pm (UTC)NGL, when I saw it I was thinking of people on my flist who would particularly like it, and you came to mind!
I suppose, probably, but the fact that he's suicidal, while unfortunate, does not in any excuse the fact that he watched Katherine kill innocent men. If he were caught he'd go to jail or to a psych ward, and rightly so, IMO. Except for maybe being less violent (because he's less powerful), I just haven't gotten the sense that human!Damon was all that different from vampire!Damon, which is mildly disappointing. Or maybe it'll turn out to be even more fascinating than the alternative and I just haven't see enough yet.
I am so glad she escaped the tomb!! When she was captured in the flashbacks I was depressed that we might not see more of her (b/c at that point Anna was still acting villainous and I thought Stefan would probably "defeat" her).
I really have to wonder at both of their common sense that they would think their relationship is anything other than doomed from the start. If they had developed a strong friendship, which seemed very likely after that night he spent holding her, and then it natrually developed into something more, it would be much more believable and likable.
no subject
Date: 2011-12-13 04:55 pm (UTC)Re: human!Damon. The fact that he's suicidal definitely doesn't excuse being complicit in murder. But I doubt he would have made that choice if he weren't truly unwell. I guess the way I see it is, by the time he's standing by watching Katherine kill people, he's falling from grace and approaching rock bottom. He wouldn't be on that road if he hadn't already completely lost touch with humanity--and that would have been a gradual decline. We don't know anything about what he was like before the war, etc. etc.
(Keep in mind my opinion is also coloured by later events in the series, particularly concerning Elena's own trauma and darkening morality. I'll shut up now.) IN ANY CASE, Damon + psych ward is something I've been suggesting for a long time.
I am surprised you don't see a huge difference between human!Damon and vamp!Damon though. The current incarnation of Damon is so walled-off and wary, seeing him like that with Katherine in the flashbacks was like a shock of cold water for me.
Re: Caroline/Matt. MTE, tbh. It always seemed more like they were looking to fill some ~space than that they really understood each other at all. If you're having such a bad time of it communicating, a relationship is prob not a good idea? meh.
no subject
Date: 2011-12-13 06:39 pm (UTC)That's what I'm really interested in. That's one of my favorite time periods in American history for historical fiction, and I'd love to know how the war affected him, since he was a deserter and presumably disillusioned/cynical/emotionally scarred. I could see how war could make him lose faith in humanity and lose his own in the process. I don't trust the show to accurately portray that time period or the war, though, given that they handwave slavery. Sigh...
Hmm, I was pleasantly surprised by the obvious affection and brotherly love we saw when Damon and Stefan were playing football/rugby/whatever in the past in "Lost Girls," but I don't think anything about Katherine really jumped out at me (other than the complicity in the murder, of course). He's so clearly in love with her in the present that it doesn't surprise me to see him act young and un-jaded and in love in the past.