100 Reviews: 79
This did end up turning into a longer post than I thought it would when I started. But yeah, I did get a review in tonight.
TVD: 1x09: History Repeating
I really like this episode, I’m just not sure I have a ton to say about it. Everything is pretty much clicking by this point in the series, in many ways this is where things really slotted into place with a nice click; so while this is by no means an insignificant episode I’m not sure it needs a lot of discussion.
So a few smallish points it is.
-You know, it would have seemed that the point of de-aging Jenna from her book counterpart ought to have made it easier for the CW brains to let her have a story. And to be fair, in season 1 that’s kind of true. She gets to be young and flirty and not be a very involved parental figure because she’s new at it and not really prepared to fill the role. And there is a story in that, of dealing with her ex, and checking out guys at bars and she does from time to time learn about being a parent to a couple of teenagers who aren’t that much younger than her (Jenna can’t be more than ten years older than Elena, in fact I believe the actresses are less than five years apart in age, but ND is playing younger at least). But ultimately book-aunt I think had more of a role and life than Jenna got overall.
-Probably mostly subconscious usually, but I think another part of why Matt/Caroline was never going to work for me is its inclusion in the final montage here. Everyone else is either having a breakdown or barely holding it together so while they’re shown as enjoying themselves, between the dialog of their actual scene and the scenes surrounding it in the montage it comes across as two lonely people leaning on each other more than romantic (although many of the ship on the show - canon and fanon I admit - have a serious lonely souls element to them). I will say that Caroline seems to be a much more realized character in this episode than she has up to now. Amazing how distance from the Salvatores helps make the girls stronger characters.
-Since Alaric actually was a character in the books I’m going to say the writers here weren’t unsure whether he’d turn out to be a vampire or not; that they just wanted to play with the audience. But it seems like I caught a couple lies about his backstory (like the source of the ring) and some definite omissions that had to be deliberate (like having a good idea about how Isobel died, and the probably less deliberate omission that Isobel’s family was from around this area of Virginia. Also have I ever mentioned that one day I plan to have a story where Alaric actually bothers to mention to Elena that her biological grandparents are alive (Isobel said they were)? Sure I assume they think he had something to do with her “death” but they might be interested in knowing they have a granddaughter not that far away from them. And for a girl seriously lacking in family, Elena probably would be interested too).
-For one, Stefan and Damon’s dialog this episode is awesome. For two, t’s amazing (but not) how much more interesting and tolerable I find Damon when Katherine is in the conversation. I still don’t actually give a damn about Damon and his manpire pain in this episode, but I find it...engaging, if still not sympathetic. Also when he’s not killing anyone, is mainly hanging around Stefan all episode (and Stefan is mainly around him), and gets time to have some less violent fun; all of it makes Damon a lot more bearable. For three, as much as Damon/Katherine is interesting, Stefan/Katherine is really complex too. He’s made peace with what Kat did to him, while making peace with her being dead, and the two are wrapped around each other; he really quickly starts to unravel when the version of reality that got him to this place is thrown out of balance. Plus, in the end it’s nice and ambiguous what’s upsetting him the most about what happened through the episode.
-Poor Bonnie, not just for most of the episode, but having Elena telling her the truth also include Elena breaking down over Stefan leaving. Bonnie deserved to be let in on the truth, probably before this but definitely after, but it should have been about her and not Elena. And love Elena, but in this even I am bothered by her not focusing on Bonnie instead of herself.
-This episode does change somewhat with hindsight and knowing that Kat isn’t in the tomb. Since I had been pretty spoiled I can’t remember for sure if I knew that the first time through, but I don’t think it was consciously in my mind if I did. And with that knowledge...if I cared about Damon I’d find most of what he does here tragic, as I find Damon being left in emotions tatters by Kat amusing I find this to be entertaining. Him telling Stefan (for apparently the first time) that Kat didn’t compel him and it was all real for him while knowing that Kat is *not* in the tomb but rather out there ignoring his existence is pretty dark I admit.
-I’m sure there’s some meta to be had for Stefan’s defense of Mystic Falls’ vampire round up because their vampires, but ultimately I just agree with him. Although, it’s a little unclear how much death and destruction had been done back in 1864, but considering what those same vampires get up to in 2009 it’s not hard to believe it was pretty bad. So as I always say (usually as part of the Bill Forbes Appreciation Society rants), if it had been possible to arrest and try the vampires in human court I have no doubt they’d be guilty and most likely sentenced to death or possibly life in prison, which is what they got. Yes they have to eat, but they don’t have to eat humans and they don’t have to kill to eat so they are still murderers. So I’m not going to be one that says what the 1864 Council, or the 2009 one, did was wrong because I mostly agree with them.
-As a short point, Bonnie can only dream of having a class that isn’t history. I believe this is the last time it’s even floated as a possibility that they have more than one class when they even have that one.
Next time:
Still not committing to anything.
Always taking suggestions
TVD: 1x09: History Repeating
I really like this episode, I’m just not sure I have a ton to say about it. Everything is pretty much clicking by this point in the series, in many ways this is where things really slotted into place with a nice click; so while this is by no means an insignificant episode I’m not sure it needs a lot of discussion.
So a few smallish points it is.
-You know, it would have seemed that the point of de-aging Jenna from her book counterpart ought to have made it easier for the CW brains to let her have a story. And to be fair, in season 1 that’s kind of true. She gets to be young and flirty and not be a very involved parental figure because she’s new at it and not really prepared to fill the role. And there is a story in that, of dealing with her ex, and checking out guys at bars and she does from time to time learn about being a parent to a couple of teenagers who aren’t that much younger than her (Jenna can’t be more than ten years older than Elena, in fact I believe the actresses are less than five years apart in age, but ND is playing younger at least). But ultimately book-aunt I think had more of a role and life than Jenna got overall.
-Probably mostly subconscious usually, but I think another part of why Matt/Caroline was never going to work for me is its inclusion in the final montage here. Everyone else is either having a breakdown or barely holding it together so while they’re shown as enjoying themselves, between the dialog of their actual scene and the scenes surrounding it in the montage it comes across as two lonely people leaning on each other more than romantic (although many of the ship on the show - canon and fanon I admit - have a serious lonely souls element to them). I will say that Caroline seems to be a much more realized character in this episode than she has up to now. Amazing how distance from the Salvatores helps make the girls stronger characters.
-Since Alaric actually was a character in the books I’m going to say the writers here weren’t unsure whether he’d turn out to be a vampire or not; that they just wanted to play with the audience. But it seems like I caught a couple lies about his backstory (like the source of the ring) and some definite omissions that had to be deliberate (like having a good idea about how Isobel died, and the probably less deliberate omission that Isobel’s family was from around this area of Virginia. Also have I ever mentioned that one day I plan to have a story where Alaric actually bothers to mention to Elena that her biological grandparents are alive (Isobel said they were)? Sure I assume they think he had something to do with her “death” but they might be interested in knowing they have a granddaughter not that far away from them. And for a girl seriously lacking in family, Elena probably would be interested too).
-For one, Stefan and Damon’s dialog this episode is awesome. For two, t’s amazing (but not) how much more interesting and tolerable I find Damon when Katherine is in the conversation. I still don’t actually give a damn about Damon and his manpire pain in this episode, but I find it...engaging, if still not sympathetic. Also when he’s not killing anyone, is mainly hanging around Stefan all episode (and Stefan is mainly around him), and gets time to have some less violent fun; all of it makes Damon a lot more bearable. For three, as much as Damon/Katherine is interesting, Stefan/Katherine is really complex too. He’s made peace with what Kat did to him, while making peace with her being dead, and the two are wrapped around each other; he really quickly starts to unravel when the version of reality that got him to this place is thrown out of balance. Plus, in the end it’s nice and ambiguous what’s upsetting him the most about what happened through the episode.
-Poor Bonnie, not just for most of the episode, but having Elena telling her the truth also include Elena breaking down over Stefan leaving. Bonnie deserved to be let in on the truth, probably before this but definitely after, but it should have been about her and not Elena. And love Elena, but in this even I am bothered by her not focusing on Bonnie instead of herself.
-This episode does change somewhat with hindsight and knowing that Kat isn’t in the tomb. Since I had been pretty spoiled I can’t remember for sure if I knew that the first time through, but I don’t think it was consciously in my mind if I did. And with that knowledge...if I cared about Damon I’d find most of what he does here tragic, as I find Damon being left in emotions tatters by Kat amusing I find this to be entertaining. Him telling Stefan (for apparently the first time) that Kat didn’t compel him and it was all real for him while knowing that Kat is *not* in the tomb but rather out there ignoring his existence is pretty dark I admit.
-I’m sure there’s some meta to be had for Stefan’s defense of Mystic Falls’ vampire round up because their vampires, but ultimately I just agree with him. Although, it’s a little unclear how much death and destruction had been done back in 1864, but considering what those same vampires get up to in 2009 it’s not hard to believe it was pretty bad. So as I always say (usually as part of the Bill Forbes Appreciation Society rants), if it had been possible to arrest and try the vampires in human court I have no doubt they’d be guilty and most likely sentenced to death or possibly life in prison, which is what they got. Yes they have to eat, but they don’t have to eat humans and they don’t have to kill to eat so they are still murderers. So I’m not going to be one that says what the 1864 Council, or the 2009 one, did was wrong because I mostly agree with them.
-As a short point, Bonnie can only dream of having a class that isn’t history. I believe this is the last time it’s even floated as a possibility that they have more than one class when they even have that one.
Next time:
Still not committing to anything.
Always taking suggestions