TVD 4x07: I think that I'm calm enough to talk about this now.
So I'm gonna get all the negativity out of the way first. If you understandably don't want to think about it anymore, just skip down to the bottom where there are a lot of sentences that just go "AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH"
I've realized that I need to throw a spoiler intervention for myself, because I'm getting to the point with this show where I'm so embedded in the pre-episode buzz and theories that it actually affects my enjoyment of said show and/or daily equilibrium. I came to the sad realization that they were actually going to do this sire bond thing somewhere between "The Killer" and "We All Go A Little Mad Sometimes", which made it hard to be happy about all the D/E moments because all I saw was the GIANT FLASHING TROLL. All that said, I still didn't think that they were going to actually intercut the sex scene with the epiphany, and the fact that they did made me all sorts of distraught. This show is a wonderland for unaddressed dubcon, and this is the time that they decide to look directly at it. Really? WHAT DID I EVER DO TO YOU EXCEPT LOVE YOU TOO MUCH?
Even apart from that, here's why I am really not a fan of this storyline. Part of the excitment in Elena becoming a vampire was that it had the potential to finally give her more power and control over her own supernaturalness once she figured out how to manage the transition and the bloodlust. The "heightened emotions" were an opportunity for her to really explore who she is, and what she wants, and for her to be able to finally allow that girl a break once in a while, for her to say "look, I am imperfect and flawed, and it is okay. People will still love me. People will still stay with me." Now the sired thing just takes us back to square one--instead of a doppleganger curse dictating her life, it's a sire bond that's dictating her life, and any self-reflection that she does will be cast in doubt and that's just . . . so fucking tragic considering how much crap that she's already had to deal with. Now she not only has to dissect her emotions, she's going to have to defend emotions that can never be 100% defended.
It also bugs me because this is a storyline that very obviously favors Damon's character development over Elena's. Don't get me wrong--I think it has the potential to do very interesting things for his character. Like, if their continued relationship plays out how I think it will play out based on the generally upbeat interview with Plec (and this is entirely spec on my point), it's a development that is going to make Damon--glib Damon who acts on instinct and runs his mouth all the damn time--have to think before he speaks. If Elena can disagree but not actually fight him, it's going to force him to really consider who Elena is and what Elena wants, not what he thinks Elena should be and what Elena should want. I actually feel like this development is the writing team's backasswards way of directly addressing the "Damon doesn't respect my choices" point of the love triangle. Now he has to, or else he'll have to grapple with the further implications that none of this is real.
Still, this whole thing is favoring man angst over female angst, and that's just kind of depressing me. We, as viewers, know that Elena's feelings for Damon are real, even if they are unspoken. It feels like this is a sort of punishment for Elena, like "Haha! you never came out and said them, so no one will believe you now if you try to defend them!" The constant feeling of not being believed no matter what you say . . . this is like, literally, my own personal worst nightmare. I I don't think I will ever stop watching this show, but it doesn't reassure me about its treatment of Elena in seasons to come.
OKAY, NOW THAT THAT IS ALL SAID:
The sex scene itself was all that I ever wanted and I have watched the edited sans Caroline version on YouTube probably like 2,563 times so far, including during breaks yesterday when I was stuck at my in-laws house to help with tearing down walls and installing insulation and my mother-in-law kept coming over to ask me how to get to her newsfeed on Facebook and was surely curious about all these be-bra-ed sex gifs on my iPad and why I was like, softly humming songs to myself about kissing all the time. #sorrynotsorry.
I lured thunderemerald over to watch the episode with the promise of probable show sexiness AND ALSO cookie dough and chips and guacamole and the understanding that someone should probably be there in case I decide to try to throw myself out of our very tiny attic window, and she made the very good observation about how careful they were to make sure that Elena took the lead on everything. Elena slams Damon against the wall; Damon slams Elena against the wall, Elena pushes Damon against the bed, Damon rolls her over; Elena lets Damon go down on her, Elena reciprocates and goes down on Damon (AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH. Seriously died a little when that happened, I think, because I am under the impression that you don't actually get to see that much in tv sex scenes, but it showed an understanding of this particular couple that I just . . . can't actually deal with on a rational and non-squee level). The neck-kissing and the giggling. The arm kissing. Damon's constant "OH GOD THIS IS ACTUALLY HAPPENING" faces. THE SEX HAIR. AHHHHHHHHHH.
I would also like to join the society for Appreciation of Flirty Exchanged Looks in Public. I will be in charge of the bake sale.
If I continue looking on the bright side of this whole thing, I am also pleased with The State of the Stefan right now. Like, every time something big happens, I am like "Finally! This will be the beginning of Stefan's *actual* character development" and then they always end up disappointing me and going back to the tritest understanding of his character in service to the love triangle. But I'm going to bite again and say that losing Elena in this context might actually be the beginning of Stefan's actual character development. I can watch this kind of crazy from him and *like* him. I will like him even more when his crazy desire to fix Elena blows up in his face, or the sire bond is broken and the hope he is clinging to dies a slow and even more painful death.
Klaus/Caroline: Okay, I really like *watching* this because Klaus in Love is just the most ridiculous glorious thing that I have ever seen in my life. I laughed out loud when he told the hummingbird story, especially when it was juxtaposed with Tyler calling bullshit. I will be legitimately surprised if that's a relationship that the show actually lets happen, however.
Fact: I am more interested in Jeremy now than I have been in the past 3 seasons.
Finally, the only thing that is going to get me through the truly horrible work week to come is the promise of morning sex in the next episode.
That is all.
I've realized that I need to throw a spoiler intervention for myself, because I'm getting to the point with this show where I'm so embedded in the pre-episode buzz and theories that it actually affects my enjoyment of said show and/or daily equilibrium. I came to the sad realization that they were actually going to do this sire bond thing somewhere between "The Killer" and "We All Go A Little Mad Sometimes", which made it hard to be happy about all the D/E moments because all I saw was the GIANT FLASHING TROLL. All that said, I still didn't think that they were going to actually intercut the sex scene with the epiphany, and the fact that they did made me all sorts of distraught. This show is a wonderland for unaddressed dubcon, and this is the time that they decide to look directly at it. Really? WHAT DID I EVER DO TO YOU EXCEPT LOVE YOU TOO MUCH?
Even apart from that, here's why I am really not a fan of this storyline. Part of the excitment in Elena becoming a vampire was that it had the potential to finally give her more power and control over her own supernaturalness once she figured out how to manage the transition and the bloodlust. The "heightened emotions" were an opportunity for her to really explore who she is, and what she wants, and for her to be able to finally allow that girl a break once in a while, for her to say "look, I am imperfect and flawed, and it is okay. People will still love me. People will still stay with me." Now the sired thing just takes us back to square one--instead of a doppleganger curse dictating her life, it's a sire bond that's dictating her life, and any self-reflection that she does will be cast in doubt and that's just . . . so fucking tragic considering how much crap that she's already had to deal with. Now she not only has to dissect her emotions, she's going to have to defend emotions that can never be 100% defended.
It also bugs me because this is a storyline that very obviously favors Damon's character development over Elena's. Don't get me wrong--I think it has the potential to do very interesting things for his character. Like, if their continued relationship plays out how I think it will play out based on the generally upbeat interview with Plec (and this is entirely spec on my point), it's a development that is going to make Damon--glib Damon who acts on instinct and runs his mouth all the damn time--have to think before he speaks. If Elena can disagree but not actually fight him, it's going to force him to really consider who Elena is and what Elena wants, not what he thinks Elena should be and what Elena should want. I actually feel like this development is the writing team's backasswards way of directly addressing the "Damon doesn't respect my choices" point of the love triangle. Now he has to, or else he'll have to grapple with the further implications that none of this is real.
Still, this whole thing is favoring man angst over female angst, and that's just kind of depressing me. We, as viewers, know that Elena's feelings for Damon are real, even if they are unspoken. It feels like this is a sort of punishment for Elena, like "Haha! you never came out and said them, so no one will believe you now if you try to defend them!" The constant feeling of not being believed no matter what you say . . . this is like, literally, my own personal worst nightmare. I I don't think I will ever stop watching this show, but it doesn't reassure me about its treatment of Elena in seasons to come.
OKAY, NOW THAT THAT IS ALL SAID:
The sex scene itself was all that I ever wanted and I have watched the edited sans Caroline version on YouTube probably like 2,563 times so far, including during breaks yesterday when I was stuck at my in-laws house to help with tearing down walls and installing insulation and my mother-in-law kept coming over to ask me how to get to her newsfeed on Facebook and was surely curious about all these be-bra-ed sex gifs on my iPad and why I was like, softly humming songs to myself about kissing all the time. #sorrynotsorry.
I lured thunderemerald over to watch the episode with the promise of probable show sexiness AND ALSO cookie dough and chips and guacamole and the understanding that someone should probably be there in case I decide to try to throw myself out of our very tiny attic window, and she made the very good observation about how careful they were to make sure that Elena took the lead on everything. Elena slams Damon against the wall; Damon slams Elena against the wall, Elena pushes Damon against the bed, Damon rolls her over; Elena lets Damon go down on her, Elena reciprocates and goes down on Damon (AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH. Seriously died a little when that happened, I think, because I am under the impression that you don't actually get to see that much in tv sex scenes, but it showed an understanding of this particular couple that I just . . . can't actually deal with on a rational and non-squee level). The neck-kissing and the giggling. The arm kissing. Damon's constant "OH GOD THIS IS ACTUALLY HAPPENING" faces. THE SEX HAIR. AHHHHHHHHHH.
I would also like to join the society for Appreciation of Flirty Exchanged Looks in Public. I will be in charge of the bake sale.
If I continue looking on the bright side of this whole thing, I am also pleased with The State of the Stefan right now. Like, every time something big happens, I am like "Finally! This will be the beginning of Stefan's *actual* character development" and then they always end up disappointing me and going back to the tritest understanding of his character in service to the love triangle. But I'm going to bite again and say that losing Elena in this context might actually be the beginning of Stefan's actual character development. I can watch this kind of crazy from him and *like* him. I will like him even more when his crazy desire to fix Elena blows up in his face, or the sire bond is broken and the hope he is clinging to dies a slow and even more painful death.
Klaus/Caroline: Okay, I really like *watching* this because Klaus in Love is just the most ridiculous glorious thing that I have ever seen in my life. I laughed out loud when he told the hummingbird story, especially when it was juxtaposed with Tyler calling bullshit. I will be legitimately surprised if that's a relationship that the show actually lets happen, however.
Fact: I am more interested in Jeremy now than I have been in the past 3 seasons.
Finally, the only thing that is going to get me through the truly horrible work week to come is the promise of morning sex in the next episode.
That is all.