Damon & Elena - The Next Chapter; Why SE fans should be worried.
I started writing this as an angry rant - as my declaration of intent as a disgruntled fan, and my outrage over the events of the finale. Then it turned into something else - hope.
Damon & Elena - The Next Chapter; Why it’s SE fans who should be worried.
I have to admit I have never wanted to roar as loudly as I did after the season three finale of The Vampire Diaries. I was absolutely outraged; both with myself, and with the writers of TVD. I was angry at myself for becoming so invested in a pairing. I was angry I had allowed myself to be strung along, teased, and deceived. I felt gullible, stupid, a total idiot. Despite the fact that I know that they intend the show to run for six seasons, I hadn’t been able to imagine that after the season we’d had, that she would still pick Stefan. I had allowed myself to be taken in; to hope, and to dream. And I was angry at the writers for, in my opinion, leading me to what I thought was the only logical conclusion, only to have them yank the mat out from under me. It felt like a cruel joke, and I felt like I’d been used.
Elena fell in love with Damon this season - and all we had to show for it was a phone call to Damon, in what was potentially his last moments before death, an “I care about you,” and an “I never un-fell for Stefan.” After everything we’d been through - sat through. I was LIVID! I felt like I deserved better - that we deserved better. Being left with knowledge that yeah, Elena will probably remember the compulsions was. Just. Not. Good. Enough. Not to mention that I hated the fact that they’d chosen to make Elena a vampire.
I said, “I’m done,” “I’m out,” “I can take this anymore,” etc, to my good friend Daisy, and ignored a lot of tweets because I felt so down and depressed I simply couldn’t respond. And when I heard that Stefan and Elena would be back together next season, it was like someone pouring salt into an the open wound. The finale, plus this new information, left me wiped out emotionally, gutted; a complete and utter wreck. My husband sympathized for a moment, but then told me I should be over it. Only another DE fan could understand my total devastation. My hopes and dreams had been annihilated by a scene which had lasted less than three minutes. I told myself I would never write or read DE fanfiction again.
After having slept on it, I was no happier about the events of finale. We’ve already sat through two seasons of SE, and Elena’s countless rejections of Damon. Another season of the same old-same old, sounded as appealing as sticking needles in my eyes, but I didn’t know how I was supposed to let go of this couple who have held me in their grip and never let me go.
I read a lot of tweets, and blogs; tirades, and I started reading posts in the forums. I read what I could of the interviews Julie Plec gave after the finale. Suddenly certain that I too wanted to articulate my displeasure too, I began writing down my thoughts, only to reach a certain point, where my anger died down, and I began to feel a tiny bit of enthusiasm returning. And instead of using JP’s quotes to state why I may ever watch TVD again, I found a whole different purpose for them.
“We were heading toward the end of the road knowing that as a human, Stefan was Elena's choice…She's made her decision and she believes in that decision wholeheartedly based on who she is in her life and what she knows…”
Right now I believe that the writers are attempting to tell this story in two parts - two chapters if you will. S1-3, Elena is human and as a human she chooses Stefan. SE are supposed to the epic love story - yes I feel like laughing hysterically at this comment. Epic? JP’s word, not mine. SE were endgame for The Vampire Diaries Part 1. A battle was waged between the two brothers for Elena’s heart, and the younger brother triumphed. Elena said it would always be Stefan - and as a human this held true. This is a win for the SE fans; their victory, and they should cherish it, because the next one is ours.
“…she’s committed to Stefan. She loves Stefan. We’ll get to actually see them be together for a little while.”
As strange as it may sound, the thought I had while writing this is that the writers were actually throwing SEers a bone. I know you probably think I’m crazy, but I genuinely believe this. They got the big victory here, but they’ve been up, and they’ve been down. The love triangle reached its breaking point, and its conclusion with Elena as a human. She chose Stefan. The SE journey is complete. SE is complete. SE are good…for now.
The more I think about it, the more I come to this conclusion; if Elena had picked Damon, I would have celebrated and partied hard - really hard, but I would have been waiting for the other shoe to drop. I’m the sorta gal who likes to go into things as the underdog, without people knowing what I have up my sleeve. I like to go into things with the odds seemingly in the other person’s favor, and going into season 4 with Elena and Stefan together kind of feels like this to me.
If Elena had chosen Damon with another three seasons to go, I would have been waiting for things to go wrong. The love triangle will always be a central theme to the show. If Damon and Elena are together, and the triangle still is in play, where do they have to go from here? The next time she has to make a choice, who is she going to choose? Moreover, Elena is still in love with Stefan. No matter how much I think she shouldn’t be - no matter how much I think Stefan is a d*ckwad - the heart is a funny thing, and we don’t have enough control over it.
If she had chosen Damon while still being in love with his brother, how fair would that have been to my DE? I see comments all the time about how selfish, and how horrible Elena has been to Damon, but I disagree. While I think her heart doesn’t know a turd from a diamond sometimes, she has always attempted to conduct herself with integrity. Elena never asked for this; she never led Damon on. I don’t care what people say - he’s not her punching bag.
She doesn’t always get it right. She makes the wrong choices. But don’t we all? She has attempted to be fair, and even when she knew it would hurt; even when she really didn’t want to, she let Damon go. Am I pissed off that it happened in a phone call? Absolutely. No words for it. Had me sobbing like a baby, and wanting to go on the rampage, but this ridiculous situation was created to put her in a position where she had to make a choice in that moment. I’m hardly going to condemn Elena because the circumstances were so messed up. Damon did choose to ask. Elena chose to tell the truth. While a lie is kinder, I think Damon would have preferred to hear fact over fiction.
So, now Elena is with Stefan, but she’s still in love with Damon. What a way to start the next chapter of Elena’s life. The idea of watching Stefan and Elena together still feels like too much hard work for me, but when I start thinking about this being the chapter when her love for Damon far surpasses her love for Stefan - when I start thinking about how this might be the chapter when she begins to fall out of love with Stefan, I get a little excited by the idea of watching that.
“I think we'll start to get a glimpse at the different sides of Stefan in a relationship, where it's not going to be all peaches and cream and love and unconditional, unwavering support of Elena's decision.”
Thank. Goodness. This is something I can get excited about. This is something I would enjoy watching. Moreover, as a DE fan, I still have all the firsts to look forward to. The first time Elena tells Damon she loves him. The first time they have DEx *giggles like a giddy schoolgirl*. The first time she chooses Damon. It’s going to happen. Whether DE are endgame or not, they have all these things to explore.
About the compulsions, JP said this;
“I'm not saying that's going to send her running instantly into Damon's arms, absolutely not, but it's going to cloud the issue even more.”
Well they underplay everything fantastical that Damon does, but I’m still excited to see Damon get under her skin more and more. And I’m relieved that I don’t have to worry about the other shoe dropping. I’m relieved I have the firsts to look forward to. I’m relieved that a new chapter is beginning, and while I’m never one hundred percent sure of anything, DE endgame is looking more and more likely. She had to pick Stefan this time so she could pick Damon next time. If I’m feeling fair, I say it’s okay that the SEers got this one, because we have no idea what will happen in these next three seasons. And I feel like we can legitimately argue now that SE is done.
“It’s a marathon, not a sprint.”
You’re right, Julie, and so I hope that DE have the stamina to make it to the finish line of the bigger race. Let them bring on the Stelena relationship problems. Let them bring SE down, so that DE may reign supreme. If she’d picked Damon, the door would have been wide open for her to be looking over her shoulder at Stefan all the time. Let her be looking over her shoulder at Damon. Elena was right. Damon will be okay. And so will I. I may not be able to stomach every episode, and I know my hope will continue to take beatings from time to time, but I believe the new chapter is here, and as a DEer, I have everything to look forward to. It is SEers who have everything to lose and nothing to gain.
If you have any positive comments to add, feelings or thoughts you think I might like to hear, please share them. Otherwise I would advise that my hope is new and fragile. I don’t want it crushed.
Interviews -
http://insidetv.ew.com/2012/05/11/vampire-diaries-season-finale-elena/
http://blog.zap2it.com/frominsidethebox/2012/05/the-vampire-diaries-season-4-elenas-vampire-side-may-see-damon-in-a-new-light-as-the-love-triangle-d.html