‘you obviously like Stefan a lot more than I do and Damon less than I do.’
Although I kind of adore Damon, when I screw my moral vision on I do like Stefan more as a romantic lead and a person. Like Stefan was a good guy, there’s no doubt, he’s the one you’d feel safe spending time with and he makes non cruel conversation (up until this series). Bonus for this series though - I’ve always found Damon much more intriguing and Stefan kind of blah but now Stefan has a moral conundrum to struggle with which makes him so much more interesting.
Damon is (as much as I love his character, his wit and let’s be honest his body) a psychopathic, murderer who will kill you over a minor annoyance. He has strops and breaks people’s necks, because he’s so far removed from empathy and a real connection with the idea of mortality. And unlike a lot of my favourite bastard vamps who I really do like, he has control over what he does. Sure he needs to drink blood, but there’s no virus that wipes out his empathetic side (like in Buffy), there’s no compulsion on him to act the way he does and it’s sort of established that he can’t really turn off his emotions. So when he kills, it’s because he enjoys it, or it suits his needs, or it’s just easier than thinking and that’s a free will choice (unless, maybe we think vampire Damon acting under a mental illness?). And him making a free will choice to be evil doesn’t automatically make me less into him (this is fiction after all, regular morals need not apply), the fact that his power is physical and not like a power that can be taken from him does make me uneasy. There are very few ways for the program to limit him and give others a chance, unless they’re more evil than him (like the originals) which maybe at times makes him too powerful and too disconnected to empathise with? All this to say, I would want an immortality ring, or a big bullet proof glass screen between us at all times.
However, I loooove to watch him on screen and his story is always full of interest. He’s fascinating to watch in a way that Stefan has only become this year. But now that Stefan has this internal conflict, Damon becomes maybe less interesting to me because he doesn’t struggle with himself in the same big concept way that Stefan does. Like, Damon only feels bad when he connects with people and hurts them, otherwise everyone is fair game. Stefan feels bad for his crimes against humanity (although obvs he feels worse for his crimes against Elena). Damon presents easy answers about free will, Stefan never compromises on those answers. You said you like to see characters held accountable for their actions (totally agree compulsion and siring is being used as an easy out btw) and I kind of like characters to hold themselves accountable as they develop too.
So right now I’m way more into Stefan and I want Damon to step FAR AWAY from Elena. They should never be together. I’m undecided about the whole S/E side of the triangle. I think I agree with something I think you two said a while ago that it’s difficult to see where their relationship will go if she doesn’t want to be a vampire. And if S/E doesn’t work out I don’t pair her with anyone else (Matt – ick) so I’d be quite happy with single Elena.
‘But what about Bonnie? I feel she never receives her due’
Bonnie is going through some rough times right? I like that the program allows her to grieve and separate herself from Elena, but I wish there were some way for her to get more from this show. Wouldn’t it be awesome if she formed a coven and they had an intersecting storyline with the rest of the characters (that didn’t end with all the witches dead)? I just saw the episode with her mother’s transition – damn! They even compelled her boyfriend away and before that he was making out with ghosts. When will the bad times end?
Reading the LG subtext is difficult, especially because it feels like it’s being deliberately written in some places, but vampirism isn’t being used as a consistent metaphor for a single thing throughout the program. When I watch I feel like there are multiple readings possible at the same time, which is both great (hurray multiple readings) and confusing when you’re watching through a series. You’re right that so much gets driven by the need for moar drama, or a switch in pairings. Long running, serial drama is always plagued by those troubles (like soaps), but I think TVD suffers from it especially.
no subject
Although I kind of adore Damon, when I screw my moral vision on I do like Stefan more as a romantic lead and a person. Like Stefan was a good guy, there’s no doubt, he’s the one you’d feel safe spending time with and he makes non cruel conversation (up until this series). Bonus for this series though - I’ve always found Damon much more intriguing and Stefan kind of blah but now Stefan has a moral conundrum to struggle with which makes him so much more interesting.
Damon is (as much as I love his character, his wit and let’s be honest his body) a psychopathic, murderer who will kill you over a minor annoyance. He has strops and breaks people’s necks, because he’s so far removed from empathy and a real connection with the idea of mortality. And unlike a lot of my favourite bastard vamps who I really do like, he has control over what he does. Sure he needs to drink blood, but there’s no virus that wipes out his empathetic side (like in Buffy), there’s no compulsion on him to act the way he does and it’s sort of established that he can’t really turn off his emotions. So when he kills, it’s because he enjoys it, or it suits his needs, or it’s just easier than thinking and that’s a free will choice (unless, maybe we think vampire Damon acting under a mental illness?). And him making a free will choice to be evil doesn’t automatically make me less into him (this is fiction after all, regular morals need not apply), the fact that his power is physical and not like a power that can be taken from him does make me uneasy. There are very few ways for the program to limit him and give others a chance, unless they’re more evil than him (like the originals) which maybe at times makes him too powerful and too disconnected to empathise with? All this to say, I would want an immortality ring, or a big bullet proof glass screen between us at all times.
However, I loooove to watch him on screen and his story is always full of interest. He’s fascinating to watch in a way that Stefan has only become this year. But now that Stefan has this internal conflict, Damon becomes maybe less interesting to me because he doesn’t struggle with himself in the same big concept way that Stefan does. Like, Damon only feels bad when he connects with people and hurts them, otherwise everyone is fair game. Stefan feels bad for his crimes against humanity (although obvs he feels worse for his crimes against Elena). Damon presents easy answers about free will, Stefan never compromises on those answers. You said you like to see characters held accountable for their actions (totally agree compulsion and siring is being used as an easy out btw) and I kind of like characters to hold themselves accountable as they develop too.
So right now I’m way more into Stefan and I want Damon to step FAR AWAY from Elena. They should never be together. I’m undecided about the whole S/E side of the triangle. I think I agree with something I think you two said a while ago that it’s difficult to see where their relationship will go if she doesn’t want to be a vampire. And if S/E doesn’t work out I don’t pair her with anyone else (Matt – ick) so I’d be quite happy with single Elena.
‘But what about Bonnie? I feel she never receives her due’
Bonnie is going through some rough times right? I like that the program allows her to grieve and separate herself from Elena, but I wish there were some way for her to get more from this show. Wouldn’t it be awesome if she formed a coven and they had an intersecting storyline with the rest of the characters (that didn’t end with all the witches dead)? I just saw the episode with her mother’s transition – damn! They even compelled her boyfriend away and before that he was making out with ghosts. When will the bad times end?
Reading the LG subtext is difficult, especially because it feels like it’s being deliberately written in some places, but vampirism isn’t being used as a consistent metaphor for a single thing throughout the program. When I watch I feel like there are multiple readings possible at the same time, which is both great (hurray multiple readings) and confusing when you’re watching through a series. You’re right that so much gets driven by the need for moar drama, or a switch in pairings. Long running, serial drama is always plagued by those troubles (like soaps), but I think TVD suffers from it especially.