TVD: 1x15: A Few Good Men
Dec. 13th, 2011 08:12 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
gryfndor_godess1x15: A Few Good Men
-Ack! How did the vampire escape the seal?!?
-I am not certain I trust this Trudy Peterson.
-Oh look, text message. Not trustworthy.
-I do NOT like Matt’s mother (not that I’m supposed to). I think I understand Vicki better now.
-POISONED TEA POISONED TEA!
-Sheriff Forbes is such putty in Damon’s hands. It’s a little amusing but also really creepy- think about it, she’s unknowingly begging the guy who raped her daughter to be a bachelor in an auction where, if things weren’t afoot with Alaric, he might also rape his winner. *shudder*
-For once I don’t know any spoilers about Trudy and the jerk who just killed her and it is distinctly creepy.
-“Maybe this heartache will be good for him. It’ll remind him that he has one, even if it doesn’t beat!” HEE, go Elena!
-“Why are you protecting him?” “Because you’re not the only one hoping he might change.” AWWW.
-Oh my god, Mrs. Donovan is SUCH a bitch to Caroline. D:
-ACK!!! Damon’s stunned expression when Elena says her birth mother’s name was Isobel! His mirth just evaporates.
-OH MY GOD, MAN STEPPING IN FRONT OF CAR.
-Pearl! Anna!
Overall Thoughts:
Kind of a weird episode and definitely not my favorite, but it was interesting enough. It got the third (?) major plot of the season rolling right along about Isobel, and it makes me want to watch more, even if this episode in and of itself wasn’t particularly entertaining, IMO (granted, I think I had high expectations because I expected Damon being in a bachelor auction to be inherently funnier).
Naturally, I want to know what the heck is up with Isobel. This is one arc that I don’t know spoilers about, which is strange and new, considering how many spoilers I do know (I think I know who Elena’s birth father is, though). I’m intrigued by Isobel not only for plotty reasons but because she also seemed like a fairly decent person in the flashbacks, which makes me very curious about how and why she could become so conniving. Even though it shouldn’t matter because what’s one more body in his list of crimes, I’m glad that Damon didn’t callously/cruelly/carelessly kill Isobel the way Alaric thought he did. I love the symmetry between these two enemies, that they were both duped and forsaken by the women they loved, and it would be hard for me to ship them as reluctant allies if Damon had actually murdered Isobel in cold blood.
Speaking of Alaric, whom I still adore, despite the alarming amount of borderline manpain in this episode (not really manpain because it was pretty justified and self-contained, but it was still tiresome), I am dissatisfied with that ring of his. Clearly I’m glad he’s not dead (I was so confused for a moment when I thought he was dead; I was like, how did I get spoilers so wrong??), but his ring saving him seems extremely convenient. Damon stabbed him, right? It’s not like he used special vampire powers for the actual killing act. If I understand its powers correctly, it seems very deus ex machina of the ring to be able to protect Alaric from attacks that aren’t inherently supernatural just because a supernatural creature committed them.
Damon was an ass in this episode and not nearly as entertaining as I thought he’d be. I’m disappointed that he was so callous to Alaric at the end, but I guess it’s good to be reminded that despite his occasional moments, he hasn’t actually changed his spots into stripes and he shouldn’t be romanticized. That said, the way his expression did a complete 180 when Elena told him Isobel was her birth mother was gorgeous. You could see how much it affected him that he had hurt her, and I think he regretted it.
I’m glad we finally met Mrs. Donovan, even if she’s not very likable. I still don’t care for Matt/Caroline, but the way Mrs. Donovan treated her was horrible. When she was telling Matt that he was all she had left, all I could think was, I’m glad you recognize how valuable your son, but what about when Vicki ‘left’ and he was all alone? It didn’t occur to you then that you were all he had left and you should come home? All that aside, I’m really glad that TVD is showing these stories in the first place and including parents in the narrative, like the Lockwoods and Sheriff Forbes and now Kelly. So often in YA fiction parents are ignored or turned into clichés so that the teens seem like fully independent adults; I wouldn’t call most (any?) of the parents we’ve seen so far good parents (although the parental figures, like Jenna and Grams, are good), but I like that they’re characters in their own right and that we see how they affect their children.
Random: Hawahh?? I just Googled the actress who plays Kelly because she looked familiar, and it turns out she was Nandi in “Heart of Gold” in Firefly. Strange.
I am undecided about what I think of Stefan manipulating everyone’s secrets about Isobel in the first half of the episode. While I can understand why he would want to keep the secret about Damon killing Isobel from Elena, it’s aggravating that after so many other revelations, he’s still picking and choosing what to tell her. From a cynical perspective, it seems like he not only has the power in the relationship, but he’s actively holding onto it. I also disliked when Elena agreed not to talk to Alaric until Stefan gave her the go-ahead.
I liked Elena’s line when she yelling at Damon about how she’d thought he was redeemable. I think her affection toward him is going to persistently bug me (not because I dislike it but because it’s undeserved and arguably unrealistic), but it helps that we get flat-out textual confirmation that she believes in redemption. It certainly makes it easier for me to buy her friendship with him. I’d be interested to know what triggered her belief in him, if it was him saving her life or the trip to Atlanta or finding out that his diabolical plan was in the name of love or if it was just a gradual combination of all of the above.
The ending (and beginning, actually) was great with the reveal that Pearl and Anna are still in town and up to something. I want to know how Harper got out! (<-- Rhetorical question.) I guess Bonnie and Grams weren’t strong enough to actually close the seal? Have I mentioned recently how much I love how plotty this show is?
-Ack! How did the vampire escape the seal?!?
-I am not certain I trust this Trudy Peterson.
-Oh look, text message. Not trustworthy.
-I do NOT like Matt’s mother (not that I’m supposed to). I think I understand Vicki better now.
-POISONED TEA POISONED TEA!
-Sheriff Forbes is such putty in Damon’s hands. It’s a little amusing but also really creepy- think about it, she’s unknowingly begging the guy who raped her daughter to be a bachelor in an auction where, if things weren’t afoot with Alaric, he might also rape his winner. *shudder*
-For once I don’t know any spoilers about Trudy and the jerk who just killed her and it is distinctly creepy.
-“Maybe this heartache will be good for him. It’ll remind him that he has one, even if it doesn’t beat!” HEE, go Elena!
-“Why are you protecting him?” “Because you’re not the only one hoping he might change.” AWWW.
-Oh my god, Mrs. Donovan is SUCH a bitch to Caroline. D:
-ACK!!! Damon’s stunned expression when Elena says her birth mother’s name was Isobel! His mirth just evaporates.
-OH MY GOD, MAN STEPPING IN FRONT OF CAR.
-Pearl! Anna!
Overall Thoughts:
Kind of a weird episode and definitely not my favorite, but it was interesting enough. It got the third (?) major plot of the season rolling right along about Isobel, and it makes me want to watch more, even if this episode in and of itself wasn’t particularly entertaining, IMO (granted, I think I had high expectations because I expected Damon being in a bachelor auction to be inherently funnier).
Naturally, I want to know what the heck is up with Isobel. This is one arc that I don’t know spoilers about, which is strange and new, considering how many spoilers I do know (I think I know who Elena’s birth father is, though). I’m intrigued by Isobel not only for plotty reasons but because she also seemed like a fairly decent person in the flashbacks, which makes me very curious about how and why she could become so conniving. Even though it shouldn’t matter because what’s one more body in his list of crimes, I’m glad that Damon didn’t callously/cruelly/carelessly kill Isobel the way Alaric thought he did. I love the symmetry between these two enemies, that they were both duped and forsaken by the women they loved, and it would be hard for me to ship them as reluctant allies if Damon had actually murdered Isobel in cold blood.
Speaking of Alaric, whom I still adore, despite the alarming amount of borderline manpain in this episode (not really manpain because it was pretty justified and self-contained, but it was still tiresome), I am dissatisfied with that ring of his. Clearly I’m glad he’s not dead (I was so confused for a moment when I thought he was dead; I was like, how did I get spoilers so wrong??), but his ring saving him seems extremely convenient. Damon stabbed him, right? It’s not like he used special vampire powers for the actual killing act. If I understand its powers correctly, it seems very deus ex machina of the ring to be able to protect Alaric from attacks that aren’t inherently supernatural just because a supernatural creature committed them.
Damon was an ass in this episode and not nearly as entertaining as I thought he’d be. I’m disappointed that he was so callous to Alaric at the end, but I guess it’s good to be reminded that despite his occasional moments, he hasn’t actually changed his spots into stripes and he shouldn’t be romanticized. That said, the way his expression did a complete 180 when Elena told him Isobel was her birth mother was gorgeous. You could see how much it affected him that he had hurt her, and I think he regretted it.
I’m glad we finally met Mrs. Donovan, even if she’s not very likable. I still don’t care for Matt/Caroline, but the way Mrs. Donovan treated her was horrible. When she was telling Matt that he was all she had left, all I could think was, I’m glad you recognize how valuable your son, but what about when Vicki ‘left’ and he was all alone? It didn’t occur to you then that you were all he had left and you should come home? All that aside, I’m really glad that TVD is showing these stories in the first place and including parents in the narrative, like the Lockwoods and Sheriff Forbes and now Kelly. So often in YA fiction parents are ignored or turned into clichés so that the teens seem like fully independent adults; I wouldn’t call most (any?) of the parents we’ve seen so far good parents (although the parental figures, like Jenna and Grams, are good), but I like that they’re characters in their own right and that we see how they affect their children.
Random: Hawahh?? I just Googled the actress who plays Kelly because she looked familiar, and it turns out she was Nandi in “Heart of Gold” in Firefly. Strange.
I am undecided about what I think of Stefan manipulating everyone’s secrets about Isobel in the first half of the episode. While I can understand why he would want to keep the secret about Damon killing Isobel from Elena, it’s aggravating that after so many other revelations, he’s still picking and choosing what to tell her. From a cynical perspective, it seems like he not only has the power in the relationship, but he’s actively holding onto it. I also disliked when Elena agreed not to talk to Alaric until Stefan gave her the go-ahead.
I liked Elena’s line when she yelling at Damon about how she’d thought he was redeemable. I think her affection toward him is going to persistently bug me (not because I dislike it but because it’s undeserved and arguably unrealistic), but it helps that we get flat-out textual confirmation that she believes in redemption. It certainly makes it easier for me to buy her friendship with him. I’d be interested to know what triggered her belief in him, if it was him saving her life or the trip to Atlanta or finding out that his diabolical plan was in the name of love or if it was just a gradual combination of all of the above.
The ending (and beginning, actually) was great with the reveal that Pearl and Anna are still in town and up to something. I want to know how Harper got out! (<-- Rhetorical question.) I guess Bonnie and Grams weren’t strong enough to actually close the seal? Have I mentioned recently how much I love how plotty this show is?
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no subject
Date: 2011-12-14 03:23 am (UTC)Also, I think I said a while back that I'd share my theories about the Donovan family? I was waiting for their mom to show up and now that she has, I'll share. Once her behavior was revealed, it made the class dichotomy between Matt and Vicki make a lot more sense to me. In the beginning it seemed like Vicki's promiscuity and drug habits were causing the town as a whole to treat her as lower class than Matt (which they were, regardless of the reason, and nothing changes the fact that that's really not cool, but I digress). Once their mom arrived however, I reevaluated. Now I see it more like Matt being embarrassed/ashamed of where he comes from and striving to rise above his "station" in life (not that there's anything wrong with wanting more from your life, and working towards something), by trying out for the football team, hanging around the children of the founding families, etc. And because Matt is a "good boy" and Vicki was a "bad girl" it caused people to treat them differently. I also think it's possible that their mother placed some extra pressure on Matt when he was young to grow up faster and be "the man of the house." Again, there is no excuse for the way the town treated Vicki, but seeing the way their mother behaved went a long way in explaining the Donovan children.
no subject
Date: 2011-12-14 03:36 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2011-12-14 10:01 am (UTC)Yeah I was thinking something sort of like this but couldn't quite figure out how to articulate it. It would definitely fit, especially since Matt spent a lot of time with Elena growing up, but there's no real indication that Vicki was there as well.
no subject
Date: 2011-12-14 01:54 pm (UTC)It doesn't make much sense to me that Vicki and Jeremy didn't grow up as best friends, too, the way Matt and Elena did. It can probably be handwaved that they just weren't in the same grade at school (I think) the way their siblings were, but I thought Mr. and Mrs. Gilbert were friendly with Kelly, which would have meshed the two families regardless of minor age differences.
no subject
Date: 2011-12-14 06:32 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2011-12-15 02:08 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2011-12-14 06:06 am (UTC)+ Alaric/Damon is too awesome to deny. But I LOVE how cruel Damon is with Alaric in their confrontation at the house. That is Damon's M.O. He punishes people he identifies with. He could have just killed Alaric quick and clean, but instead he chose to sit down and watch him die slowly, and he only ever saves that type of cruelty for those who remind him of himself.
+ Yeah, the ring shit is weird. I guess the thing is that they're supposed to protect people from things outside of nature? And because vampires fall under that category (i.e. they should not exist), the rings are supposed to restore the balance should any harm befall humans at the hands of creatures who should not exist in the first place.
+ lol, yes, Mrs. Donovan is everywhere on my TV.
+ I don't really think Stefan is trying to preserve emotional power in his r/ship with Elena, necessarily. It's more that he sees her as someone he needs to protect. Also, he's sort of prioritising Damon there.
+ I think Elena is as attached to Damon as she is here because of the latter. ("I really think that Damon believes that everything he's done, he's done for love", etc.) Elena likes damaged people. But what she feels for Damon is truly not rational, which accounts for that persistent disillusionment with him. Because, as you said, it's undeserved--but it still makes no difference, it's there whether she likes it or not.
no subject
Date: 2011-12-14 02:09 pm (UTC)I'm cheating a bit and getting ahead of myself, but I've watched "Let the Right One In" and "Under Control," and OH MY GOD THE ALARIC/DAMON SCENES. When Damon tries to pal around after they've saved Stefan and Alaric punches him- "everybody hates me"..."it happens"! And when they confront John together! OMG I LOVE THEM. I should probably watch Alaric's 'death' scene again because I probably would find Damon much more ~interesting~ now. The first time I was just so horrified because you know that what Alaric's doing is stupid and you know he's going to do it anyway and it won't end well, and basically it's like watching a car wreck that you're powerless to stop.
Meh, the rings sound only slightly less contrived than Spike's chip. How far does the magic's reach extend? If a vampire started an avalanche like Mulan, and Alaric got crushed in the snow, would the ring restore him? <-- hyperbolic, rhetorical, though still not entirely jocular questions.
The irrational affection is not my cup of tea, but as long as the disillusionment is continual and she doesn't romanticize him...
no subject
Date: 2011-12-14 02:21 pm (UTC)I KNOW. I KNOW. They are the bomb.
If a vampire started an avalanche like Mulan, and Alaric got crushed in the snow, would the ring restore him? <-- hyperbolic, rhetorical, though still not entirely jocular questions.
BAHAHA. Somehow I don't think the writers think about these things.
Re: Damon/Elena. Yeah, it's basically impossible for Elena to romanticise Damon. He just does not allow her to do that. So you have Elena caring about Damon despite herself--but always keeping him at arm's length because not doing so would be an extraordinarily bad idea. Does that sound okay by you? *g*
no subject
Date: 2011-12-15 01:46 am (UTC)I think it could be very pleasant. *g*