Past Seasons Discussion : Tales From The Crypt

[Katherine]

Amen, sister friend! ;) Season two just has such a great feel to it. I remember when I first started watching the show, I had pretty low expectations. I figured it would be basically a TV version of Twilight. I was then pleasantly surprised by how well-written it was, both character- and plotwise. I remember trying to convince people they should watch it--that it wasn't what you would expect from a CW teen show. Unfortunately later seasons made me rethink that opinion...

[amensisterfriend]

I think at the moment I'd rank them as:

S2 

S3

S1

S6

S4

S5

 

...bu that might change when (well, IF!) I ever rewatch S4 and S5 :) 

[Katherine]

I have trouble picking between seasons 1 and 2. On one hand, season 1 had a slow start, whereas season 2 was solid all the way through. Season 2 also had a lot of great Caroline and Katherine moments. But season 1 was the best Damon season - 2 was when he started to go downhill, IMO. For now I think l'll give a slight edge to season 1, in large part because of the finale.

1

2

3

6

4

5

Edited June 16, 2015 by Katherine

[amensisterfriend]

ETA: I've also come to the conclusion that despite this being among the more "shippy" shows ever, I actually don't really have any strong feelings about who ends up with who.

 

I think it's because nearly all the characters have pretty much same personality to me. Aside from their physical appearances and histories with the supernatural, I couldn't even really identify any differences among Bonnie, Elena and Caroline---they're all sort of depicted as having the same stock traits to me. (And the natural outgrowth of that is that they have really indistinct, undefined friendships with one another IMO.) And initially I think Stefan was supposed to be the brooding, cerebral introvert while Damon was the snarky, reckless bad boy, but somewhere along the way Stefan became more like Damon, and he's just sort of Generic Male Character to me now. (Or maybe Paul Wesley just doesn't project the depth to me that he's supposed to...?) Some of the sexier/more romantic scenes are actually fun and well done IMO, but I just never care much about who's with who that episode/season or even who the 'endgame' couples are.

 

I do (nearly!) always enjoy the dynamic between the Salvatore boys, so I guess that's the relationship I still care most about...beyond that, I'm in it for the dialogue (credit where credit is due: for all its myriad flaws, the dialogue on this show is surprisingly witty and sharp and just generally well written, at least IMO!), the nutty fast-paced stories, the sense that the town and the immortal characters have so many years of rich, wonderfully warped history, and the show's overall mood/tone/feel, which always works a lot better for me than I expect it to despite my annoyance with certain characters :) 

[Katherine]

The relationship between the Salvatore brothers is the only relationship I really care about. I do enjoy Bonnie and Damon's friendship (and would probably ship it romantically if they went there, even though Bonnie totally deserves better) and I actually like Caroline and Stefan a lot more than I was expecting to, but my ideal ending is for the brothers to walk off into the sunset together. IMO their relationship is the heart of the show, and I feel like that often gets overlooked in favor of ships.

One couple that I absolutely do NOT want to end up together is Damon and Elena. I used to love the idea of them, but their development has been so poorly done, to the point where I really have no idea what they see in each other and what the basis of their relationship is, other than physical attraction. The fact that the writers seem to be writing a lot of Delena moments to pacify certain vocal fans kind of makes me dislike the pairing even more. But maybe my perception of that is completely wrong.

Edited June 16, 2015 by Katherine

[KatWay]

 

The relationship between the Salvatore brothers is the only relationship I really care about. I do enjoy Bonnie and Damon's friendship (and would probably ship it romantically if they went there, even though Bonnie totally deserves better) and I actually like Caroline and Stefan a lot more than I was expecting to, but my ideal ending is for the brothers to walk off into the sunset together. IMO their relationship is the heart of the show, and I feel like that often gets overlooked in favor of ships.

One couple that I absolutely do NOT want to end up together is Damon and Elena. I used to love the idea of them, but their development has been so poorly done, to the point where I really have no idea what they see in each other and what the basis of their relationship is, other than physical attraction. The fact that the writers seem to be writing a lot of Delena moments to pacify certain vocal fans kind of makes me dislike the pairing even more. But maybe my perception of that is completely wrong.

 

That is so similar to my own opinion that I had to momentarily check if I hadn't changed my name here (my full name's Katherine). But no, still KatWay. I love the Salavtores, I really dislike that Delena is obviously endgame now (for lack of other options mainly, Plec and co have managed to piss off basically everyone but the hardcore shippers so I suppose they're sacrosanct), because that's like rewarding the ship that IMO kind of destroyed the good momentum the show had in S1 and S2. As soon as the writing started to push Delena big time, characterisation and plot went all over the place to make it happen. Elena forgiving Damon a week after he killed her brother, Damon flirting with her 24/7 when his brother was losing his mind, them sleeping together a mere day after her breakup with Stefan, yikes. The pairing had a lot of promise in S1, but instead it ended up consuming (pardon the pun) the show.

[amensisterfriend]

I love reading everyone's thoughts! 

 

But season 1 was the best Damon season - 2 was when he started to go downhill, IMO

 

I did love witty, spirited, edgy and amusing S1 Damon, and you could even argue that S1 had a lot of the best brotherly scenes (or at least brotherly snarkfests!) of the season, if only because back then the show did a better job of pretending it cared about relationships other than just romantic ones :)  Plus, Elena was arguably at her most likable and/or potentially interesting in S1. 

 

I also really loved how the community of Mystic Falls was kind of its own character in S1, and that first season laid the foundation for this really rich, layered mythology that was never fully realized IMO. There was just such a great sense of years and years and years of this awesomely warped history, and enjoyable tension over the degree to which that history seemed doomed to repeat itself. I'm not explaining myself well, but it really enriched the show for me. And this remains one of the only shows ever where I absolutely love the flashbacks---in fact, I often prefer them to whatever is going on in the present :)

 

Last but not least, there's also something nice about revisiting those earliest days of the series when the triangle was just hinted at rather than the centerpiece of the entire freaking series. 

 

S1 loses points for me primarily because I hated Vicki, disliked Jeremy, and thought Caroline was a million times better in S2. Some of those early S1 episodes feel clunky to me in that inevitable 'trying to find and establish itself', first season sort of way, while S2-S3 are just smoother for me. Also, the Katherine-ness of S2 is enough to push that one to the top of the list for me :) 

 

I always find myself surprised all over again that the show even pretended these people were high school students for so much of the series. I know that nearly all shows cast 20-somethings to play teens, so a show that features older looking "teenagers" is not exactly unusual, but somehow the TVD characters just looked and acted so much more like 20-somethings than we see on other teen shows, with the constant dressing up for sophisticated community events,  the relative lack of adult/parental influence, the fact that they pretty much came and went as they pleased, etc. And maybe some part of me feels like getting romantically involved with zillion-year old vampires is a tad less creepy when the mortals involved are in their 20s :) 

[Jads]

Another Defan fan here. I love their relationship and want more flashbacks please. I liked the serious kid they cast as mini Stefan in S6, so on point.

For me, the best season is S1 from 162 candles onwards (also hated Vicky). The series really hits it's stride at that point and then they introduce Alaric and Anna and it gets better. Particular favourites are 'Let the right one in' (Dalaric goodness), 'Miss Mystic Falls' (where Stefan and Damon reverse roles for the first time) and the finale.

S2 - Masquerade. Also the scoobies working together on a plot to kill Katherine only she is one step ahead. Love her.

I also love the beginning of S3. The 20s Chicago episode is great. I love the Stefan & Klaus dynamic and add in Rebekkah for added awesomeness. I also liked a lot of the Defan stuff in S3. They were both on the outs with Elena and there was a lot of plotting and scheming. There's a great scene which us such a little thing where Elena comes to the Salvatore mansion and Damon sends her away in a sketchy manner. He then heads to the basement where Stefan and Alaric are cutting up the Wickery bridge sign to make stakes. Stupid I know, but it was the bonding element that I loved.

I really like the weekly event aspect of the early seasons despite the fact that they are utterly implausible. It was all a cover for Council meetings anyway ;)

[amensisterfriend]

It was all a cover for Council meetings anyway ;)

 

Heh---good point :) As rambled about above, I love(d) Mystic Falls and the rich, awesomely shady history behind it...honestly, sometimes I wish they had picked slightly more interesting people in that town to make our main characters :) 

 

 

 

For me, the best season is S1 from 162 candles onwards (also hated Vicky)

 

I'm glad I'm not alone in hating Vicky! You're right that the second part of S1 is easily among the peaks of the whole series. Jeremy isn't quite as miserably self-destructive and annoying in the latter part of S1, right?! And we don't get the yawnfest that is Bonnie/Jeremy yet, so for me that's a good thing. 

 

How would you guys describe each of the main characters? As I mentioned, I'm having trouble grasping their personalities, other than Damon's. 

 

I gather Bonnie is supposed to be the most sensitive/empathetic/self-sacrificing/generous/relatively introverted one of the group, right? (Though as I just remarked on the Bonnie thread, towards the beginning she comes off as super happy/ditzy/etc, so I could be totally off!)

Caroline still seems kind of all over the place to me, so I'd love to hear others' thoughts on her. I guess she was supposed to be the Cordelia of the group, albeit more insecure?

As for Elena...is she just kind of generically 'perfect', the pretty, popular, confident, brave, bright woman who's going through a tough time when we meet her but has no clearly defined flaws? (I totally get that many viewers think she's selfish, but I'm not convinced the writers intended for us to feel that way!)

And Stefan is supposed to be the dark, brooding, sensitive hero, right? Kind of like Buffy's Angel?

I'm thinking Jeremy is the emo screwup? And Matt is the Generic Nice Guy who represents the 'normal' life Elena could have lived but didn't? And Alaric is...moderately cute?! At least most of the characters get some good lines and are vaguely enough defined for us to fanwank as we wish :) Alaric is the more age-appropriate for me, so I don't feel quite as weird crushing on him :) 

 

Oh, and I kind of can't stand Jenna. I think I had blocked out her existence before I started rewatching the show! 

Edited June 16, 2015 by amensisterfriend

[Jads]

Jeremy isn't quite as miserably self-destructive and annoying in the latter part of S1, right?! And we don't get the yawnfest that is Bonnie/Jeremy yet

It's interesting you bring this up as I thought what they did with angsty druggie Jeremy was clever. The writers got themselves into a bit of a hole as they probably didn't really want to go down that route with him. So they had Damon compel him. Next thing you know Jeremy is all studious and delving into vampire lore which moves the story along but also demonstrates that compulsion should not be used willy nilly as there will be consequences, tieing in nicely with the later magic/balance of nature stuff.

With regards to personality types, I don't really know and I have never watched Buffy but I did laugh when you said it was Ok to fancy Alaric as he's the right age. One of my favourite S6 scenes is that one at the Portland Parker house where Dalaric are throwing shade on Stefan's relationship with Caroline through the medium of Ms Cuddles. Ian, Paul and Matt Davis are stood there looking the same age, but Damon is in his early 20s and Stefan is supposed to be 17! It's kind of ridiculous if you think about it.

Having spent ages typing this out, I see Alaric as the ordinary guy that extraordinary things happen to. A bit like a really tragic version of Forrest Gump, maybe?

[Jads]

Jenna was a terrible guardian and so completely oblivious sometimes. I think she must have been constantly drunk. The 2 dinner parties with Mason Lock wood and Elijah - how on earth did she not pick up any clues? It took Uncle John 's anvil like hints for her even to suspect anything.

I do feel a bit sorry for her. Alaric and Elena should have told her about the supernatural goings on for her own protection.

[Bort]

They should have told Jenna for their own protection so she wouldn't keep unsuspectingly inviting vampires in the house. It happened ALL THE TIME!

[Jads]

They should have told Jenna for their own protection so she wouldn't keep unsuspectingly inviting vampires in the house. It happened ALL THE TIME!

So true!

[2Old2BAFangirl]

Oh, it's great to see you all talking about TVD!

 

I haven't done a re-watch in a long time.  I agree with you all though that the first 3 seasons were the best.  I really have to watch it again now (if I could just make myself stop watching The Gilmore Girls for a minute!).

 

I was a Delena shipper for forever.  Damon is my favorite, period.  So, as far as ruining everyone/everything else to get Damon and Elena together, I don't really see that.  BUT... as much as I thought I wanted them together, I guess I didn't after all.  They were never fun together.  Instead of being kinda bland and boring, IMO, like Stelena, it was constant conflict, crap and drama for nothing.  I pretty much came to loathe Elena and Damon was only any fun when he was away from her.  IMO, everyone was more fun when they were away from Elena! LOL  I'm looking forward to seeing what they do with her "gone" next season.

 

If I had to rank the seasons right now, without a refresh, I'd go -

2, 1, 3, 6, 4, 5.

 

I need to think about episodes, only a few come to mind right now and none from my favorite season!! LOL

 

Thanks for getting this going again - I miss TVD!

[amensisterfriend]

Great to see you here, 2Old2BAFangirl...I'm too old to be a fanfgirl as well, but I love being one anyway :) 

 

(if I could just make myself stop watching The Gilmore Girls for a minute!)

 

I pretty much live in the GG section of these forums, so I hope to see you there! 

 

If I had to rank the seasons right now, without a refresh, I'd go -

2, 1, 3, 6, 4, 5.

 

I love seeing how much love those first few seasons get...and it kind of amuses me that S5 ends up last on nearly everyone's list :) 

 

Which season (or individual episodes) did you guys think was the best for Damon (just when you found him most likable and/or compelling)? What about for Stefan? Bonnie and Caroline...? 

 

And here's another one for you: Other than Stefan/Damon, which are your favorite relationships on the show, romantic or otherwise? 

[Katherine]

I love discussing this show and hearing everyone's thoughts :)

Amensisterfriend, I agree the writers didn't intend for us to see Elena as selfish. But in the last few seasons it seems like she manages to make absolutely everything about herself, to the point where it's hard to believe that the writers themselves couldn't see it. I remember in season 4 (I think?) they tried to hit us over the head with Elena's "compassion", but IMO Caroline and Bonnie were much more compassionate characters (and maybe S1 & S2 Elena as well).

As for the best season for each character, I think S1 was best for both Damon and Alaric. S1 and S2 were best for Elena, IMO--she was proactive, she wasn't struggling to decide between the brothers, and she seemed to be a good friend and sister (excluding the speed with which she forgave Damon for killing her brother). Stefan, on the other hand, I prefer in the later seasons, probably largely because he finally starts to move on from Elena.

It's interesting. I always used to prefer Damon as a character over Stefan. Mostly I just found Stefan really boring. It wasn't until later seasons that I started to appreciate him more. His most consistent trait is that he always puts Damon first. Damon, on the other hand, tends to put Elena first. I was really hoping that S6 would end with Damon choosing to stay a vampire to stick with Stefan, and Elena leaving town as a human.

As for other characters: I think Caroline was definitely at her best in S2. I enjoyed Bonnie the most in S6. Jeremy has always been a bit of a bore for me. I found Tyler's S2 story really compelling and I really used to root for him and Caroline. I loved the development of their friendship. Unfortunately later seasons ruined their dynamic for me, so now I'm more interested in the Caroline/Stefan relationship. I like how it's been slowly built up over the seasons. It's a nice change compared to the epic 'soulmates' feel of the other relationships on this show. I also appreciate the fact that Caroline is not a Petrova doppelganger.

Edited June 17, 2015 by Katherine

[paulvdb]

I agree with most others that the early seasons are the best. My favorite is probably the second half of season 1 (starting somewhere between Vicky's death and the arrival of Anna).

 

Speaking of Anna, which dead character do you miss the most? With this show, any dead character can be brought back to life, so who would you want to resurrect? For me, it would probably be Anna and Pearl. I would also like to find out more about their backstory. I don't think we ever learnt much other than the fact that they travelled with Katherine.

 

Some possible choices for most missed dead characters off the top of my head: Anna, Pearl, Katherine, John, Isobel, Jenna, Lexi, Bonnie's grandmother, Liz Forbes, Mason Lockwood, Carol Lockwood, Vicky (for me probably the least favorite, but maybe there are others who would like to see her back).

[KatWay]

I miss Katherine most of all, she was just a really great character (even when they kind of ruined her in S5, the season which shall not be spoken of).

 

Liz & Carol - they shouldn't have killed everyone's parents IMO. It's ridiculous that none of these teenagers/early 20somethings have any living parents left! Also made it more grating when people kept harping on how many people Elena had lost, so she was totally entitled to whining and moping forever because nobody had ever suffered as much as her - when really, who hasn't lost a whole bunch of people on this show?

 

Anna should have stuck around longer, would have spared us Bonnie/Jeremy, a completely pointess pairing. John was pretty cool and might have made a good villain. Rose, because I would have liked Damon to explore a relationship with a non-Petrova doppelganger. But of course she only existed for more Delena angst and then to ship them.

 

I also have to say the longer I think about it, the more I hate the Elena-ending of S6. They could have made her be proactive, choose herself, her human life, have her travel around. Have some agency and not revolve around men for once, get to keep in touch with her human and vampire friends and family alike. But no, that would mean no Delena-endgame, so she's essentially "fridged" so Damon can go and claim his price when the show is over. The writers literally put her into Snow White's casket, waiting for her prince to wake her up again. Like in those Disney movies (and original olden times fairy tales) that gave Disney an anti-feminist rep .

[amensisterfriend]

It's funny, because Tyler is exactly the kind of guy I generally dislike, and I think the actor ranges from mediocre to worse than mediocre...but I, too, saw a ton of chemistry between Caroline and Tyler back in S2 and found myself rooting for them in spite of myself. And then, as with any character/relationship that remains on the show more than a very brief period of time, it was sort of ruined.  

 

That's why I'm struggling to answer the question about which dead characters we would want back---I'm worried that by the time the writers were through with them, we wouldn't like them much anymore, so maybe it's better that they now exist only in fanfic and our collective memories. I do agree with loving Anna, though I would have wanted her to be with someone less weak and bland than Jeremy. Then again, I want EVERYONE to be with someone less weak and bland than Jeremy. I'm all for 'nice' guys, but Jeremy's selfish, self-pitying self-destructiveness wore on me. The best thing I can say about Jeremy is that his presence in those first couple of seasons brought out the best facets of Elena---the side that was fiercely protective and proactive rather than forever waiting to be protectED by adoring suitors, the side that cared deeply about things and people other than herself and the Salvatore brothers, the side that seemed admirably strong when contrasted with Jeremy's weakness, etc.  (I actually LIKE Elena at the beginning, though that's probably mostly attributable to my small girlcrush on Nina Dobrev, since as noted in other posts, the writing for many of these characters is kind of indistinct and bland. :)) 

 

And speaking of bland, ITA with the person who used that adjective to describe Stefan. And I really, really WANT to love Stefan. I'm generally big fan of his 'type' of character, but something about the combination of the writing and acting just doesn't work for me. Instead of feeling like he's got this quiet intensity and hidden depth and layers, he usually just seems really dull, generic and undefined to me. I definitely don't DISlike him, but mostly I'm just indifferent. I'm hopeful that this time around I'll join the above poster in finding him more interesting once he's finally out of his relationship with Elena. Maybe I'll even like the idea of him with Caroline...far stranger things and ships have happened :) 

 

This discussion has me wanting me to marathon the entire series...I don't know whether to thank you for that! ;)

[Bort]

It's ridiculous that none of these teenagers/early 20somethings have any living parents left!

Matt's parents are still alive (at least his mom is) but that's pretty much because they abandoned him and left town before they could be annihilated.

Rose, because I would have liked Damon to explore a relationship with a non-Petrova doppelganger. But of course she only existed for more Delena angst and then to ship them.

Oh, Rose! I really, really liked her. She and Damon had great chemistry. And I always found that one thing she said about The Switch to be really interesting, that once you get old enough, you can't flip it anymore. But once she got werewolf bitten, I knew her days were numbered because she needed to be the visual display of the effects of a werewolf bite on vampires.

[ByTor]

Since many have spoken of Vicki, I'm reminded of something that really bugs me.  Vamp Vicki was losing control and started to become a threat, so BAM let's stake her!  More recently, a vampire loses control and it's a broken-neck nap (I can't recall the last time a vampire in MF was actually staked).  I wish they would be consistent...that they either conjured up the nap idea sooner or did more staking later. I guess staking vs napping depends on an actor's contract :) 

[miss-vanilla]

Yep, true, and also staking an out of control vamp is considered really bad when Elena does it (killing Jessie), but when Stefan does it (kills Vickie), it is heroic.

The gospel according to Caroline.

[KatWay]

The show didn't seem to think Elena had done anything wrong when she staked Jesse. Even though they were well-versed in neck snapping by then. Elena, the resident lady of compassion, basically shrugged it off. Caroline was portrayed as being pissed because she personally liked Jesse and was sad about his death, not that there was something inherently wrong with killing him in the first place.

[Jads]

Elena and Stefan were both semi-staked in S6 but you're right, I think Jesse may have been staked in S5 and then nada! Staking does seem kind of dull way to die when you could go for decapitation, heart ripping, driving your camaro into a burning Mystic Grill or a trip in Trip Fell ' s van of death.

The whole 'Vicky must die' thing does have some consistency in that we see a number of newly turned vamps die (Logan Fell, Jesse, Ivy, Kai). Damon would have staked baby vamp Caroline without blinking. I think it was Stefan that said most newly turned vamps don't last a year dependant on their contract of course ;)

[Katherine]

Katherine is probably the character I would most want back. I thought they could have done a lot more with her storyline after she took the cure. I wouldn't want her in every episode, but I liked how she would pop up every now and then.

[amensisterfriend]

Here's a fun question for us: Who are your 5-7 favorite characters of the series...and why? Least favorite?! 

[ByTor]

My very favorite is a tie between Caroline & Bonnie, I feel like they're basically nice people who always try to do the right thing (although in the case of Caroline doesn't always go about it the right way).  I also like (in no particular order): Matt - because I gotta root for the human!; Stefan - I find him interesting because he is very flawed and can get out of control like no one else, but deep down I think he has the best intentions; early Elena - was dealt a lot of crap in her young life and handled it the best she could with a lot of maturity (a maturity that ironically went away the older she got).

My very very very least favorite begins and ends with Katherine - all Katherine wants to do is survive (how I've grown to HATE that word on this show)...so Kat, please explain what "break up with your boyfriend so I can have him or else I'll kill your family" has to do with your precious survival.  Next, again in no particular order: Klaus - whiniest "badass" I've ever seen; Rebekah - maybe if poor lonely "find me somebody to love" Rebekah didn't kill/threaten to kill anybody who pissed her off, maybe she wouldn't be so lonely and would find love; Elijah - "honorable" my ass; late Elena - should have changed her name to Mimi since everything was about memememememe.

[Jads]

Wow - I honestly thought I was the only person who doesn't like Elijah. Aside from the fist full of quarters, I could never get on board with him. The honourable bit of him is classic tvd tell not show.

Other least liked characters include S4 Klaus, Enzo, Vicky and probably Enzo again. Which I feel bad about because I think Michael Malarkey throws his heart and soul into Enzo and has the best English accent on the show. Give him some meaning show!

My favourites are Stefan and Caroline because they seem the most consistent. I find Stefan's constant fight with his dark facinating and although S5 was generally horrible, Stefan finally getting closure with Katherine and Elena and his improved relationship with his brother have made him much more stable. When it comes to Caroline, I'm with Tyler the girl's got heart. She’s had quite a journey and I think it's great she's no longer second choice. I also really enjoyed her relationship with Liz and sobbed when she died (unlike when Elena got fridged which left me cold).

I'm loving Badass!Bonnie at the moment and also loved her in S1&2 before she came Bonnie the sacrifice. She needs some interaction with Damon next season given that she's his new bff.

One character I loved who got shafted was Lexi. She gets blamed for Stefan's ripper binges and for destroying the Salvatores relationship. I'm not sure I agree with that; I think she did her best. I hated the lame 70s flashback which Damon used as his excuse to kill her.

[ByTor]

One character I loved who got shafted was Lexi. She gets blamed for Stefan's ripper binges and for destroying the Salvatores relationship. I'm not sure I agree with that; I think she did her best. I hated the lame 70s flashback which Damon used as his excuse to kill her.

A BIG hell yeah to this!

[Aeryn13]

Favourite character is still Damon. The writing has done a number on him but he always kept some of the edge that made him interesting to me. Ironically, early Stefan would have made least favourite but nowadays!Stefan has defnitely become a total fave. Stripped of the self-righteous saint thing (since he and Elena fed into each other there during their relationship, that made me dislike them as a couple), Stefan is actually a great character. Season 2!Caroline. Alaric. Anna. Sheriff Forbes.

 

Least favourite: every Traveller ever, urgh. Nadia Petrova, great physical likeness, didn`t "inherit" the acting talent. Professor Wes, what was his point?. Season 4 and 5!Caroline, please crank the judgmental hypocrisy up to 11, I don`t want to punch my TV enough already.      

[amensisterfriend]

Season 2!Caroline

 

Heh---she really was by far at her most awesome in S2, wasn't she?! I wish I could better pinpoint why. 

 

 

 

Anna

 

I agree, but if she had stayed around I would have wanted to see her with someone stronger and vastly more interesting than Jeremy. 

 

I, too, really like Caroline's Mom and appreciate what she added to the show. I tend to enjoy seeing Bonnie's ancestors/relatives as well. Honestly, sometimes I wish the show had centered around the Salvatores and the generation above Elena/Matt/Jeremy/Bonnie (who's fine but pretty poorly defined IMO) etc.! 

Edited June 18, 2015 by amensisterfriend

[Katherine]

This is really difficult because almost every character I love has gone downhill in the last few seasons.  On the flip side, there are characters I used to dislike who are now growing to be my favorites.  Overall, in no particular order:

 

Favorites:

 

Caroline

Katherine

Bonnie (mostly S6 Bonnie)

Damon (when he's not with Elena or talking about Elena)

Stefan (in later seasons)

 

I was going to add Alaric to the favorites list but things I've heard about the actor kind of ruined that for me.  I really did love the character in S1-3 though.

 

Least Favorites:

 

Klaus - I can't stand this character.  I find him whiny and annoying, I don't think he has much chemistry with anyone, including Caroline, and I don't particularly enjoy the acting.  He's the reason I haven't given The Originals a chance, even though I've heard it's really well done.

Rebekkah - mostly the same reasons I don't like Klaus.

Elena - I liked her in the early seasons but she became unbearable in the later ones.

Damon (whenever he is around Elena or talking about Elena, which is more and more frequently as the years go on)

Enzo - I think sometimes Julie Plec's love for certain actors clouds her judgement on whether the character is working. 

[Bort]

Heh---she really was by far at her most awesome in S2, wasn't she?! I wish I could better pinpoint why.

Because Rebekah came along in season 3 and became the "feisty blond vampire," which kind of backburnered Caroline for a while. I did like Rebekah but she kind of stole Caroline's thunder by being a similar character, making Caroline a tougher character to write for.

I was really glad The Originals got spun off, the cast size here had gotten way too bloated.

[amensisterfriend]

I think I'm in the minority here, but I kind of love Elijah and the Klaus/Elijah dynamic. Maybe I'm just a sucker for the accent! I totally agree about not "shipping" Klaus/Caroline in any way, shape or form, which has earned me a couple of cyberspace enemies :) 

 

I actually see Rebekkah and Caroline as really different, with the latter being a lot more neurotic, less poised, etc. 

 

For favorites, I think I'd go with (in no particular order!) Damon when interacting with or in relation to anyone other than Elena, Katherine, S2 Caroline, Elijah and Klaus, Liz Forbes, and...hmmm...maybe Anna, in part because she wasn't around quite long enough to be ruined by the writers! 

 

Weirdly enough, I'm pretty much indifferent to both Stefan and Elena. (As you might expect, I was indifferent to their relationship as well. I neither loved nor hated it, just found it somewhat bland.) I do agree that Elena was more likable early on and that Stefan is maybe a little more enjoyable now, but neither one is that compelling a character to me. And my fondness for Nina Dobrev prevents me from ever outright disliking Elena...though sometimes it's tempting :)

 

I really tried to love Matt but always found him really dull.  

[Carrie Ann]

This question is actually really hard for me--and that's a good thing--because I've deeply loved just about all the major characters at one point or other. The only one I really could take or leave is Jeremy, and even he has had great moments over the years. I also was pretty over Tyler for S5 & 6, but that can't take away from how much I loved his S2 storyline. I guess if I absolutely had to pick a top 5 (limiting to major characters), averaging my love-to-hate level over the six seasons, it would probably go:

 

Stefan

Bonnie

Damon

Katherine

Caroline

Elena

 

(I left The Originals off the list b/c it gets complicated separating their TVD selves from their TO selves, but Elijah would be on my list if I counted them.) Alaric would have made the list, but he was so useless this season, he dropped off. And Elena would NOT have made the list after S5, but I adored her for S1-3, and she made a small comeback this season, so she snuck back on.

 

I love Stefan most of all. I don't know if I can even pinpoint why really, so it's probably down to finding Paul Wesley the most compelling as an actor. I love seeing him play all variations of Stefan and Silas. I will say that S6 was without question the least I have ever liked Stefan, though. I hated his running away, even though I found it believable and in character for him. I hated his eye-roll-y impatience with Caroline's anger with him. I hated seeing him turn Ripper again. I just...didn't like this season for him at all. The only thing I did like was his reunion with Damon, which was probably my favorite scene of the whole season. Maybe of the last few seasons.

 

On the flip side, while I've always been a Bonnie fan, Season 6 was like a whole new level for her. Her dynamic with Damon and their friendship has also gone a long way toward redeeming him in my eyes.

[PinkRibbons]

Sorry to throw the thread off-topic, but I've been thinking about this all day:

 

Since many have spoken of Vicki, I'm reminded of something that really bugs me.  Vamp Vicki was losing control and started to become a threat, so BAM let's stake her!  More recently, a vampire loses control and it's a broken-neck nap (I can't recall the last time a vampire in MF was actually staked).  I wish they would be consistent...that they either conjured up the nap idea sooner or did more staking later. I guess staking vs napping depends on an actor's contract :) 

 

I like to believe that as the gang realized that the MF crazy-ass supernatural situation was going to last a while, they developed a certain protocol, although I don't know how much of it is unspoken. They seem to be pros now at drying out the vamps they like -- neck-snap-nap, vervain shot, bleeding them dry, breaking 'em down, building 'em back up, etc. I don't know that they all sat down one night with like a bunch of individual charts with contingency plans for each individual going nuts one way or another (although now that I think about it, that sounds totally like a Caroline thing to do. Which reminds me of how Batman is famous for having a plan to deal with every member of the Justice League and other heroes if they went rogue. Therefore in my brain I suppose Caroline=Batman on a small scale. *shakes head*), but I have to say, that pretty hilarious text Damon got in the S6 finale (can't remember it exactly, but basically "Kai Witchpire. Ty Werewolf Again") suggests they have like an organized, automated list of people who get immediate updates when Shit Goes Down.

Edited June 18, 2015 by PinkRibbons

[Jads]

I think I'm in the minority here, but I kind of love Elijah and the Klaus/Elijah dynamic. Maybe I'm just a sucker for the accent! I totally agree about not "shipping" Klaus/Caroline in any way, shape or form, which has earned me a couple of cyberspace enemies :)

I do kind of love the English accent obsession on this show. As a Brit, they just sound normal to me and JoMo has a very standard decent looking British bloke look so I don't find him particularly attractive. He was previously in a version of Mansfield Park where he has a small bit part as Fanny ' s brother in which he looks utterly ridiculous! I am not judging the accent love btw, we Brits love the exoticness of American TV shows.

Daniel Gillies' accent is probably the worst. I now know that he was trying to go for a mixture of accents given that Elijah has been all over the World but the effect is just mangled to me.

(At this point, I feel I should apologise on behalf of the entire nation for the hideousness that is Andrew Lincoln ' s accent on the Walking Dead and Stephen Moyer's on TruBlood)

I'm totally with you with regards to Klaroline. I hated the 5 11 romp in the woods. I know they felt they had to torpedo Forwood but seriously going to college combined with Tyler ' s were wolf mission was enough of reason for them to split. It's sad because even though Tyler didn't interest me much, the Forwood relationship was cute in a Romeo and Juilet way. Plus Tyler was never interested in Elena unlike Matt.

[Jads]

Sorry to throw the thread off-topic, but I've been thinking about this all day:

I like to believe that as the gang realized that the MF crazy-ass supernatural situation was going to last a while, they developed a certain protocol, although I don't know how much of it is unspoken. They seem to be pros now at drying out the vamps they like -- neck-snap-nap, vervain shot, bleeding them dry, breaking 'em down, building 'em back up, etc. I don't know that they all sat down one night with like a bunch of individual charts with contingency plans for each individual going nuts one way or another (although now that I think about it, that sounds totally like a Caroline thing to do. Which reminds me of how Batman is famous for having a plan to deal with every member of the Justice League and other heroes if they went rogue. Therefore in my brain I suppose Caroline=Batman on a small scale. *shakes head*), but I have to say, that pretty hilarious text Damon got in the S6 finale (can't remember it exactly, but basically "Kai Witchpire. Ty Werewolf Again") suggests they have like an organized, automated list of people who get immediate updates when Shit Goes Down.

This post FTW. You know Caroline has a colour coded folder for just this eventuality which keeps on a shelf next to her party/wedding planning folder! Imagine:

Alaric Saltzmann

Likes: Bourbon, day drinking, ladies who can use Dr as a title, weaponry, Damon (sometimes)

Dislikes: marking essays, Damon (sometimes)

Emotional triggers: current limited shelf life squeeze, Damon, Jeremy, Elena

Ultimate take down: vervain bomb followed by daggering

KO kill: kill Elena

[miss-vanilla]

Damon will always be my favorite, followed by Alaric, Elena, Liz, Matt and Bonnie in no particular order.

 

Least Faves

Caroline (aside from S2), Katherine, Elijah, Silas and Liv.

Edited June 19, 2015 by miss-vanilla

[amensisterfriend]

Caroline (aside from S2)

 

LOL---somehow I derive so much enjoyment from the fact that no matter how polarizing Caroline may be (a definite favorite for some, a just as definite least favorite for others), somehow nearly all of us hasten to single out S2 as by far the time when we liked her most. 

 

followed by Alaric, Elena

 

How would you guys describe Elena??? I'm so curious as to what her salient strengths and weaknesses were supposed to be---at least according to the writers. She so often just comes off as a somewhat generic 'main female character' to me, though as noted above, I do find myself oddly fond of her sometimes due in no small part to my love for Nina Dobrev. 

[KatWay]

Elena's weaknesses: self-absorbed, hypocritical, really pathetic when it comes to men (enabling), doesn't really care about anyone not in her group of friends (and from S5 onward it's mostly doesn't care about anyone not named Damon).

 

Elena's stengths: mainly in S1: proactive, resolved not to revolve around men (now that went out of the window), cared deeply about her brother, friends (sometimes, I mean she did let the whole Caroline-abused-by-Damon thing slide), actually compassionate - by which I mean, I actually got the impression back then that Elena cared about other people's losses and tragedies. She felt their pain.

 

The problem with Elena is that IMO she didn't keep her strengths and her weaknesses became more and more pronounced. And yet the writers still seemed to think they were writing her just awesomely. I thought she showed promise in the early seasons not to be just another bland female character, but that's mainly what she is these days. Bonnie and Caroline (who I don't always like) are much more defined in their personalities.

 

It's a shame they didn't give Nina Dobrev better material. No wonder she preferred Katherine!

[Aeryn13]

 

LOL---somehow I derive so much enjoyment from the fact that no matter how polarizing Caroline may be (a definite favorite for some, a just as definite least favorite for others), somehow nearly all of us hasten to single out S2 as by far the time when we liked her most.

 

Season 1 Caroline had the occasional bout of complexity - her talk with Bonnie where she said that she tries so hard and is never picked vs. Elena not even tryng and being picked in the Pilot might be the best scene in this otherwise rather uneven episode because I found it incredibly refereshing that the character was not only so self-aware but also so realistic because yeah, lots of life IS competition and no matter how many comforting platitudes you spout, you always feel when you lose one. But overall she was supposed to be the tactless airhead. 

 

Her transformation into a vampire made her awesome, though. If I compare them to their human selves, I think Caroline and Damon benefited the most from becoming vampires. Which is not to say they became better, more moral people as evidenced by Damon, but  I think they both "grew into their skin". Caroline became stronger and let go of some insecurities and her neurotic control freak tendencies even helped getting her vampiric nature under control. 

 

If you look at Elena`s transformation into a vampire, it was like anti-Caroline. Though in all fairness to the character, she, along with the show, got the short stick when they focused so much more on the romance aspect and not supernatural plots compared to letting the romance be the backdrop TO the plots in the foreground. Since she was the focal point of a love triangle, it`s almost impossible the character not suffered bad writing.

 

I think Elena`s strength was always supposed to be empathy but the writing hinged on HER being the desired one, the one to be protected and wanted so naturally, you have more of a flow of love and adoration TO her and less of an overt show of how SHE feels about others. That became more pronounced as the show went on.

 

And the dialogue didn`t help. I mean, for example stuff like telling Stefan he needs to be okay with his PTSD for her sake and the sake of her great summer of love. Really?  The sentiment of not wanting to see someone hurt because it hurts you, too, is pretty legit and normal. But surely there were other ways to verbalize that with putting more of a focus on him and not her feelings.

 

Her big weakness IMO is extreme attachment disorder. When the show opened, she was in an extreme depression over her parent`s death and noone currently in her life could help. Then she met Stefan and he was the one who got her out of it, boom, she fell for him hard. Then she became a vampire and couldn`t deal with it and most people currently in her life, this time including Stefan, couldn`t help. Now Damon was the one who got her out of it and boom, instant attachment. I think this holds true even with the sirebond. Damon dies and after drugs, her solution is to have him erased from her mind.             

[Jads]

I have been thinking about the 3 girls and their relationship and personalities. Here are my thoughts:

I totally agree that we are supposed to see Elena as compassionate and caring. Those are her strengths. I think Elena is always shown to be sympathetic in that she sees people's pain and feels pity for them but lacks the empathy and emotional intelligence to understand them. For example, I know we keep coming back to it but she was very sympathetic in S1 over Damon's treatment of Caroline and tried to stop it and defend her friend. In S4, she demonstrates a degree of victim blaming over the situation and demonstrates a lack of empathy. In early S6, she shows sympathy towards Alaric and his urge to drink blood but quickly changes the focus of the conversation onto herself. That's not to say Elena never demonstrates empathy. She understood in S3 that she couldn't bring Stefan back from his ripper binge and in S6, she was very understanding with Caroline on the day of Liz 's funeral (that neck snap was not deserved!). She is a bit inconsistent.

Caroline is supposed to be a bubbly airhead but from the very beginning she is written as having more to her than that. She acknowledges her insecurity and neurotic nature. When she describes herself as shallow, it isn't that she is shallow, it's that's how she thinks she is perceived. I have a fondness for S1 Caroline who while lacking tact really does care. Take the MMF contest, Caroline makes a bitchy comment about Elena getting the sympathy vote, but when Elena tries to back out, Caroline knows she will feel like Elena has let her mum down so pushes her to continue. Another thing with Caroline is that you feel she does get looked down on a bit. Liz isn't a Forbes by birth (unless Bill married one of his cousins). I always got the feeling that Carol Lockwood thought Liz was a bit inferior while at the same time sucking up to Bill and that Carol sees Caroline as more Liz ' s daughter than Bill's. You then get the reverse snobbery aspect from Kelly Donovan.

I'm going ignore S4&5 Bonnie because she became a sacrifice and plot device. In S1, she is initially portrayed as a light weight character all giggly and girly. The discovery that she is a witch quickly makes her get serious and Grams' only adds to that. Bonnie is fierce, loyal and someone you want on your side. Because she is so loyal, I think sometimes she gets taken advantage of by Elena, Damon, Stefan, Jeremy etc. In early S6, Bonnie is magic free and seems to revert to goofing around will Damon but once her magic returns, she gets serious again. It's also good to see Bon Bon not get pushed around especially by Damon in later S6. With Bonnie, I thought she was great in S1&2 and did stuff on her own terms. She could be quite black and white about things particularly where vampires were involved.

I actually think the girls were all fairly similar types at the beginning - pretty, popular, heavily involved in school activities, smart, decent family life and they have each had a different challenge thrown at them which has brought out their inner selves. For Caroline and Bonnie, they seem to have grown. I'm reserving judgement on Elena because I liked her bit more in S6 aside from the witchy drugs/memory erase plot line. She is one of those girls who needs some time as a single woman.

One last thing. When your friendship group is a three some, there will always be times when 1 person gets left out. I actually don't think it's always Caroline. I think she feels that way if you take the series as a whole, there are EB, BC and EC moments.

[GirlyGeek]

Just finished a Season 1 rewatch. Seriously, I can rewatch Season 1 over and over and not get bored! It's just so good.

In retrospect, WOW the show took a huge paradigm shift as soon as Stefan went off the rails. I didn't notice it as drastic my first time around because of the massive binge watch I did when I first started this show. But all of a sudden, it seemed, Elena and Damon were buddy buddy and phone calls, and random touching, and Stefan was side eying and jealous. I mean, yes, seeds were planted early on, too, but I don't know... It just struck me harder this rewatch how early on the Delena was planted in the "background". Kinda feels like it was never in the background, really. ;)

I'm a BIG Damon fan, was from his first scene, and I was a Delena fan too. Until, like another poster above said, they actually got together and then I was bored! The back and forth and the drama. They were a better couple when they were trying NOT to be a couple! And I don't fault the relationship, but the writing. Vamp Elena turned into an unwatchable shrew, and Damon got all wimpy and wish washy, and they were never actually together, working together to fight the big bad. Their relationship was the big bad, always volatile to create faux drama. Ugh

I can rewatch S 1-3 and as soon as I get to S 4 I tend to fall off the wagon and find a new show! I dont think I've ever sat through all of S4 other than on first watch, and I couldn't stomach S5 during my last attempt, but I'll try again this time for the sake of completion. But I really don't want to. S6 I've just seen the once, so that'll probably be entertaining, even with Elenas dumb mind wipe and its lame second half. Just the Bonnie and Damon scenes are worth getting to S 6!

Anyway, just had to jump in and say how great S1 was, beginning to end. It always surprises me!

[2Old2BAFangirl]

I'm watching S1 too! I agree, it's still so good.

I'm watching 1-11 right now, one of my favorites. This is the episode that cemented my love for Damon forever.

Rewatching makes me miss the additional character of "Damon's Eyebrows"! So much acting going on there!! LOL

[GirlyGeek]

Ooh! Bloodlines, right?! That was where I was hooked, too! And the plot really accelerated.

It was so weird, in early seasons, but everytime a big plot point came up I would think "ugh, how long are they going to drag this plot point on and on..." And then they'd resolve it/exploit it/wrap it up like the next episode! It was amazing!

I mean other shows could have taken the Elena is adopted thing/who's the daddy or mommy/where's Isobel, etc plots and drug them on for SEASONS. But the early TVD seasons were so satisfying because plot moved so fast!

Take a hint, seasons 4 and 5. ;)

Edited to add: oh yeah, and in other ways, the plot didn't take the road you would think- like Elena feeding Stefan her blood. I kept waiting for it during the first half of the season, cause of course it's a vampire and a human and they're gonna do that same old plot device, but it didn't happen until almost the end of season 1... And it wasn't overused, IMO, on the show either. because the obvious plot move in a show like this with a demographic like it tends to have would be to have the main lead actress as the willing blood bag for the two main hot vampire boyfriends, but it like, never happens... Ok rarely. ;)

Edited July 5, 2015 by GirlyGeek

[2Old2BAFangirl]

Midway through S2 after this weekend.  Next up is The House Guest.

 

Something that sticks out to me is that although Damon is the "bad" brother, Stefan can be scary as hell when he wants to be!  I love watching him threaten people in his very quiet, very menacing voice - it's awesome!  He tells Logan Fell, "You want to know how you can walk in the sun?  YOU can't.  Don't ever threaten me again."  He tells Ben, the washed up jock bartender, "When the sun goes down, leave town.  If I see you again, I'll kill you."  Anyway, there's several more examples of just how scary Stefan can be, he's just not loud about it.  Damon is my absolute favorite but I have always loved Stefan too.  It's interesting watching their interactions back then - although they don't like to admit it, there's so much love between them.

 

S2 does make me want to slap Elena more times than not.  She's constantly saying, "who was that?  what's happening?  Tell me now, now now!"  So annoying!! LOL

 

It's really fun re-watching these - I'm not FFing anything or skipping any episodes this time either.  Looking forward to The Last Dance, I've always really liked that one.  They actually got me the first time watching with Bonnie faking being dead!!

[Goldmoon]

This makes me want to do a re-watch!  IMO the first half of S2 was the epitome of great storytelling.  I think it went downhill with the addition of the originals, including Elijah who I never liked.

 

Favorites:  Damon, Alaric, Bonnie, Carolyn (until she de-switched), Liz, Katherine (S2-3), Kai

 

Least Favorites: Elena, Stefan, Klaus, Elijah, Jeremy, Liv, Jo, Jenna, John, Elena, Elena, Elena-Sue

[ByTor]

IMO the first half of S2 was the epitome of great storytelling.  I think it went downhill with the addition of the originals, including Elijah who I never liked.

My Vampire Diaries soulmate! I couldn't agree more.

[2Old2BAFangirl]

I'm up to S5 - Ep 100 starts my re-watch today!

 

S5 is still not good unfortunately.  I'm not looking forward to this next string of episodes with Katherine in Elena's body.  I didn't like any of it the first go-round and I don't think that's going to change this time.  Katherine was never that stupid, Damon lost any and all character growth, listening to Bonnie groan everytime someone passed over to the Other Side, blech. Best thing about S5, IMO, is that Damon is pretty.

 

I will say that even though the cure storyline got so damn old in S4, there were still some really good episodes.  I remember how much the end of 4x14 affected me because I knew right away Jeremy was dead dead.  I was sad for the whole week and then 4x15 came on and it was so powerful(IMO).  4x15 still gets me even now!  It's not so much because I'm a big Jeremy fan, it was the whole brother dying thing and the way it affected all the characters that just got to me.  Anyway, although S4 wasn't the greatest by any stretch, it still had some really good episodes.  4x2 is another that comes to mind as well as 4x21.  4x21 did have bratty Elena with no humanity but the part with Damon killing Matt was so well done.

 

Anyone else re-watching this summer?