Comments | arabian: 'The Vampire Diaries' Wrap-up Thoughts... 1/8 -- Major Unresolved Issues

arabian

'The Vampire Diaries' Wrap-up Thoughts... 1/8 -- Major Unresolved Issues

Jul 08, 2017 23:00

Anyone who reads my Vampire Diaries commentary is well aware of how much I love this show. It is officially my all-time favorite and I was very happy and quite satisfied with the finale. Overall, I think that for a series that ran for eight seasons with 161 episodes, executive producers Julie Plec (who alone helmed the show from day one), Kevin ( Read more... )

elena/bonnie, damon salvatore, bonnie bennett, stefan salvatore, damon/alaric, bonnie/caroline, #2, the vampire diaries, elena gilbert, caroline forbes, damon/bonnie, alaric saltzman, damon/elena

Comments 10

bogwitch July 9 2017, 08:14:49 UTC

Oh good lord. 1/10! It's going to take about five years to get through this properly. I am still about halfway though 5.16. :)

I will be back. It just might take me awhile.

arabian July 9 2017, 13:12:56 UTC

Hah! To be fair, I've been working on this on and off for about three months. :)

I look forward to your thoughts.

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Re: Post 1/10 -- Major Unresolved Issues (part I) arabian July 15 2017, 01:46:52 UTC

"Of everything related to The Vampire Diaries, I think I would honestly bypass all of my other issues and just brush them aside if it meant that the Alaric Saltzman we saw upon his return from the Other Side was the same Alaric Saltzman we knew and loved before his death." - I don't know if I would've traded everything else for this one, but yes, it's most definitely a major MAJOR issue that rippled throughout many seasons, which made it all the more glaring.

Well, maybe I was being a bit much with that... it was just so, so, soooooooooo glaring. And, of course had this not been an issue, there still would have been the others.

"He didn't seem to care about Damon's pain regarding Elena's memory loss, nor was he sorry for the situation." - And what was especially frustrating it was that it could've been remedied so easily. The plot and actions could've remained the same, but if Alaric's words and attitude had been more compassionate and, well, *friendly*, that would've made the difference.Yes, that is where the frustration comes from ( ... )

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Re: Post 1/10 -- Major Unresolved Issues (part II) arabian July 15 2017, 02:15:34 UTC

"I just always figured that she simply added Damon's to her already existing stockpile and Elena was saved by some random vampire's blood." - Aw As far as this point goes, I actually like the idea that it was Damon's blood ^^ But either way, yeah, the working mechanism of the sire bond on the whole was predominantly sketchy.

I actually prefer it NOT being Damon's blood because Elena never WANTED to be a vampire, so having it being Damon's blood always made me sad because his blood was used to make her something she never wanted to be. :(

"And there was never, ever any acknowledgement from anyone ever that what he did was bad, wrong, not good." - You're right, not even an implication or a throwaway line of any kind.

That's actually not true, much to joy. There was definitely an implication and from Elena actually. It's one of my favorite moments from one of my favorite episodes: 4.06. I wrote in that one: I spent the summer running season 03 - especially the second half - through my brain, trying to figure out what the show could ( ... )

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Re: Post 1/10 -- Major Unresolved Issues (part II) arabian July 16 2017, 13:42:57 UTC

Having reconsidered and read your analysis I think that moment there was indeed meaningful, more meaningful than I initially gave it credit for. You're right.

And this is why I generally LOVE Rebecca Sonnenshine scripts. She has so many moments, lines like this that if you pay attention, dig a little deeper there are so many wow, POW! moments like this. But they are nuanced, they aren't in your face at all. But when you crack that nut and get to the heart of them, they really pack a powerful punch.

Thread 6

tj2013 July 11 2017, 08:10:14 UTC

1/10? Are you serious? Of course you are! LOL I'll happily read through every word.

Ric's attitude towards Damon was something that bugged me too. over the last seasons. I can see, after your explanation, why it technically turned out that way, but it's still sad. "You got the girl. Son't screw it up", he said (or something along that line) to Damon in the season 4 finale, and they looked at each other and understood each other. That's how I like to remember him. I didn't care much for Jo - although I liked her backstoy and the Gemini story in general.
I suppose it's not easy to write for a TV Series not knowing which parts will ever make it on screen and which arcs to expand and which arcs to drop - but on the other hand, we, the viewers, can only judge what we get in the end. It's interesting though to read your analysis of the "could have beens" and "thoughts in the process" that maybe got cancelled due to episode-limitations or actors leaving etc.

arabian July 13 2017, 20:57:26 UTC

1/10? Are you serious? Of course you are! LOL I'll happily read through every word.

I am serious. I expect to get the 2nd one posted this weekend and the 3rd and 4th posted (hopefully) throughout the week, with the 5th and 6th posted over the next weekend. :D

Ric's attitude towards Damon was something that bugged me too. over the last seasons.

Yeah, it really did, but looking back over everything and how it just seemed that logistics, casting, and behind the scenes stuffies seemed to interfere with plans, I can sorta mostly deal now.

I can see, after your explanation, why it technically turned out that way, but it's still sad.

Yup. I'm still really hoping that when I do the rewatch without the expectation of TEAM!BADASS!BROMANCE in full-on-awesome mode upon Ric's return that I'll be able to take in what we got and enjoy some nuances and see even more than I do now. I might even find a deeper, richer understanding.

"You got the girl. Son't screw it up", he said (or something along that line) to Damon in the season 4 finale, and ( ... )

ghidorah15 July 14 2017, 19:16:51 UTC

Wow...lot of stuff to cover, huh? Okay, let's go ( ... )

arabian July 15 2017, 02:25:47 UTC

1) I'm glad you were able to find some peace about the mishandling of Alaric's character and his cruelty towards Damon. I, too, wish that it had been given proper resolution, a proper reconciliation for them. True, there was at least an attempt to show that Alaric regretted his terrible treatment of his best friend and his neglect of the others. It just wasn't enough.

No, it wasn't enough, but as I said above to tj2013, I'm hoping that when I do my rewatch without the expectation of TEAM!BADASS!BROMANCE in full-on-awesome mode upon Ric's return that I'll be able to take in what we got and enjoy some nuances and see even more than I do now. I might even find a deeper, richer understanding.

At the very least, we should've gotten a scene where she talked to Elena via dreams, like in 6x22. Even if Nina wasn't available to film it, we could've gotten Bonnie's side of the conversation and thus seen and heard her reactions to whatever Elena was saying - that could've conveyed the point that Elena understood what was at stake and agreed to the ( ... )