#BD 1x11

[reikurusu]

1x01 → 1x11

[zalrb]

DE is seriously hella contrived [TVD 1x11 Review]

Sorry guys, I know it’s been a while but I’ve been a little busy lately, which reminds me, for the month of May I will be doing a writing residency by the Rockies. I don’t know what my schedule will be like since I get it when I’m there so I may not be able to check into to tumblr much next month or maybe everything will stay the same, who knows. But let’s get down to business. As per usual, here are the guidelines: Considering that I haven’t sat down to watch a full episode of the past seasons of TVD in a few years and my memory might not be the greatest I will start with my usual disclaimer: I write my thoughts in real time so if I make a mistake at the beginning of this post, it will be corrected by the end. There will be anti-Damon and anti-Delena senitments and I feel the need to say there may be some anti-Jenna sentiments too. I will probably bring up other shows and call attention to misogynoir, racism and anti-blackness. OK. Ready? Let’s go. I still think it’s absolutely ridiculous that Elena left her necklace with Stefan, like it has a function. I’m salty that “Cosmic Love” was given to DE, I mean technically it’s given to Isobel and Alaric but it’s playing when Elena wakes up in Damon’s car. Also it’s not cute that Damon kidnaps Elena and brings her to another fucking State, like that’s legit terrible. And he took her phone. I get that Elena is upset about the photo of Katherine but not talking to Stefan is stupid because you are with a man who has killed, like, half your town Elena. And her deciding to go with him just doesn’t make sense. Just because he says you can trust him doesn’t mean you actually can, he has done nothing to prove that she can trust him, he’s terrorized everyone she knows! Seriously, this ship is so manufactured. Lol BD fans used to like to talk about how Kai traumatized Bonnie but so did Damon, she can’t do magic because she’s traumatized by him ripping open her neck. I’m still upset that Gina Torres was killed on this show. Queen Gina Torres. Ugh. “Cheers to the man that broke my heart, crushed my soul, destroyed my life and ruined any and all chances of happiness.” What’s funny about this toast to Damon is that it’s exactly what Damon does to everyone around him except in a non-romanticized way. I find it really funny that from Day One people keep telling Elena what she feels for Damon. Like Bree is all “how did he rope you in?” “I’m not roped I’m actually dating--” “Honey, if you’re not roped, you’re whipped.” Or not? Like. This is the longest interaction she and Damon has ever had and he KIDNAPPED HER. I didn’t have levels in my high school library. Is that sad? So Bonnie can just take off school like that? Ugh, Bonnie’s wardrobe. Seriously, Elena suddenly letting her guard down around Damon because he likes pickles is absurd. LOL Anna and Jeremy’s debate about whether or not vampires are real sounds like Steve went to a Wikipedia page. Legit, Elena and Damon don’t even spend much time together in this episode. Elena being defensive over Damon, “WHAT DID HE DO?” and that look of surprise when he says, “he killed my girlfriend” is ridiculous. Elena, you have seen Damon try and kill Bonnie, abuse Caroline, be responsible for Vicki’s death, you know he killed Tanner so why the fuck are you surprised that he killed someone’s girlfriend? And her rushing to Damon because he’s hurt? WHY? IT DOESN’T MAKE ANY SENSE. And they didn’t know each other long enough or well enough for a bond to even be made. Completely contrived relationship. Sure, Sheila can run an anti-war demonstration in 1969 but we won’t talk about civil rights within the South. Mmkay. If Bree is a witch then why can’t she give him an aneurysm like Bonnie could? Like she let’s herself get killed. And Elena bantering with Damon in the car after is fundamentally ridiculous. Paul does earnestness so well. Stefan’s explanation of him saving Elena’s life, those shining eyes and furrowed eyebrows. Legit, in the YA I’m writing, I model one of the male protagonist’s expressions after Paul’s because it’s just so intense. OK now, I’m fine with how quickly Elena forgave Stefan about the Katherine thing but it just makes her seem legit dramatic. Like she does the most this episode when all it took for her to calm down was Stefan’s explanation? THEN SHE SHOULD’VE LET HIM PICK HER UP. Oh look a shot of Damon feeding from Isobel, Alaric’s wife and Elena’s mother, but this dude isn’t a fuckboy to tumblr users and Stefan is. OK. This episode is kind of ridiculous.

[fueledbyhummus]

[bonneibennett]

So... Bonnie went to the place where Damon had bit her to face what was blocking her magic? That does sound like the attack gave her PTSD, at least the way this show deals with it like Stefan needing to go back to the coffin and Bonnie needing to confront Kai in another prison world.

Yeah, I mean, she was possessed by a ghost that had been stalking her dreams and then attacked by an enraged Damon upon waking up that spot, and that was her introduction to the very existence of vampires. Determining PTSD vs. not PTSD might just be semantics at this point, because I’m not trying to argue that that situation wasn’t traumatic for her.

But the way this show deals with PTSD is pretty cookie-cutter, as we saw in Stefan’s s5 and Bonnie’s s6 storylines. And the calling card of that template is the flashbacks. No flashbacks for Bonnie at that point that we know of, and I’ve never heard anyone (writer, actor, or fan) reference her magic being blocked in s1 as a symptom of PTSD. I’m not a clinician, nor have I experienced PTSD, so I wouldn’t presume to make that call for anyone else, but for me, her 1x11 storyline wasn’t PTSD.

But again, that’s not to say she wasn’t affected in a long-term sense by Damon biting her... Based on what we saw play out, she channeled her fear and anger from that incident into her loathing of Damon and of vampires, even as she told her friends that she was fine and that she was grateful to Stefan for saving her. 

That’s therefore one of the major turning points (along with Grams’ death a couple of episodes later) that introduced both the BD dynamic (which obv started with that bickering antagonism/mistrust before developing in other directions) and her arc leading through season 1 and into season 2 of hating vampires on principle (ie. her decision to de-spell the Gilbert device, her difficulty with Caroline’s transition).

[reikurusu]

[reikurusu]

[luci-on-the-moon]

You know what that is? ✨Growth✨

1x01 → 1x11