Vampire Diaries 2.20 (and other TV that I have not seen yet)

1. JENNA HAD A CROSSBOW. I cannot believe no one thought to mention that.
2. There was no Bonnie. The combined might of Tyler, Jules, Liz, Carol and Elijah doesn't quite make up for that.
3. But there was Caroline, and Tyler made me happy by shooting many looks of Pining her way. Rock on, starcrossed emo gothic supernatural teens.
4. Elena finally said what I've been wanting pretty much every vampire's human girlfriend ever to say.
5. Matt was useful for possibly the first time ever in this show.
6. Klaus is still very icky. I can't believe that, when Elijah first showed up, I was all "Why must I put up with this guy instead of having Klaus?"

I am not discussing the other part for the sake of my bloodpressure. Though there better be "This is what an abusive relationship" icons circulating.

That said: As much as everyone rightly points out that the show FINALLY criticizes Damon's actions, after the first 10 minutes, all the framing and dramatic cues and the structure of the plot in the episode made it very clear that this show now considers Damon to be The Hero.

I guess steadily increasing, deliberate violence and sexism towards women is irrelevant in the face of Angst. (And I'm told people consider him hot. Even when he worked for me as a character in the first half of season 1, his personality and actions kept me from finding him hot. But his supposed hotness is a major factor in why he's an amazing character, I'm told. Like how he has to force women to be his girlfriend because no one would believe such a hot guy would be single for long. As stated by Kevin Wiliamson and Ian Someralder in an interview.)

Meanwhile, the Secret Circle trailer and some promo clips have surfaced. I officially want it more than season three of The Damon Diaries. Though Kevin Williamson's involvement makes me very leery.

Also, for the first time since the pilot, I'm excited for this week's Camelot, and I haven't had a chance to watch it yet.

I mean, look at this clip! (Ignore Merlin being a creepy bald guy missing the good old days when you could kill women for treason without proving you had a reason to and focus on Claire Forlani being ridiculously gorgeous and awesome.)

Context: That's not who he thinks that is.

Vampire Diaries 2.21-2.22

My reaction to the dreaded parts of the finale was about the same as my reaction to the end of ep 2.8: torn between being grossed out both at what was going on and the idea that it was supposed to be romantic, and laughing at the absurdity of the dialogue and emo. (Look, there are certain kinds of emo that I devour, and the rest either bores or annoys me. At it’s absolute best, Damon’s emo is annoying but unintentionally hilarious.)

Also, I’m pretty sure that the finale was supposed to convince me that Damon loves Elena and only Elena? But, IMO, it only made it even more obvious that she’s nothing but a replacement Katherine who he can control.

( spoilers )

Anyway, my viewing of next season shall consist of:

Bonnie
Caroline
Katherine
Elijah
Caroline/Tyler
Liz and Carol
Witches
Ghosts
Flashbacks that aren’t about Damon being a woobie.
Parts about the mythology, problematic as it can be.

Things I will do my best not to pay attention to:

Klaus (except for what’s directly tied the Originals/mythology)
Damon as the angst romantic hero
Elena and Stefan’s characters (and no doubt their relationship as well) being sacrificed in the name of furthering Damon as the angst romantic hero, and to try to make Damon/Elena look romantic instead of creepy and abusive.

Based on the second half of this season, I’ll be paying attention to 10 minutes top each episode, but probably closer to 5 more often than not.

I will now try to figure out how this show went from something that reminded me that I can like vampire fiction not named Buffy or Spinoff of Buffy in the first season, and then became 90% about everything I hate about the genre, and 10% things I love and cannot leave.

For people tired of me talking/complaining about this show:  THERE IS NO MORE FOR SEVERAL MONTHS.