#manipulation and extreme acts of devotion run in the family but this is like... gross

[brionysea]

hope was manipulative as hell this episode but i keep seeing people throw around the word gaslight and i’m not sure if that’s something that’s just not clicking in my brain or if it’s a poor choice of words? how did hope gaslight josie?? someone please enlighten me

[germygilbert]

The Problem With Klaus

So, TVD has been a part of my life for a very long time. I watched it first when I was sixteen years old, shortly after the show had ended. And the show is not without its problems, stemming partially from technical problems like plot holes and whatnot, and partially from more serious problems like race (the show's treatment of characters of color is a battle for another day)

And recently, having rewatched the whole series with my girlfriend, I noticed that the problem I had four years ago when I first watched it had not dissipated, in fact with my more nuanced understanding of storytelling, it seems to have gotten more glaring.

Klaus's whole character arc is a cold sore on a gallery of incredibly compelling and nuanced characters. I mean no hate towards klaus stans, in fact, I think Klaus deserved better. If not a better redemption arc, a better villainous reign.

Everything about his buildup is absolutely fucking pitch perfect. He establishes himself as utterly terrifying without ever appearing on screen. There were multiple villains in season one, all pretty gnarly, and the most menacing was by far Katherine. Katherine not only could manipulate others like nobody's business, she had spies all over mystic falls. she was smart, cunning, and always one step ahead.

And she was fucking terrified of Klaus.

Katherine is a character who, by all means, doesn't seem like she would be afraid of anything. She's managed to cheat death by most everyone she's come across, most everyone she's come across wishing she was dead. and she's scared. This is a very good way to establish that he's a bigger and badder villain than she's ever been, and that in turn terrifies the audience. Because Katherine forced Jenna to stab herself, who knows what Klaus could be capable of.

His brother is scared of him. Anyone who knows his name is scared of him.

And then he shows up, and something happens. He's not scary. He's a wretched little thing, more vile than an animal turned inside out, he commits horrible acts. but he's not menacing. You know that he wants to kill our main cast but there's no pizzaz about it. No drama to it. Katherine was always fun to hate. Kai was hysterical. Julian was utterly terrifying. Alex got under your skin and stayed there. But Klaus, at least comparatively, was close to nothing in terms of charm and showmanship. His motivation was clear, that's always good, but he had no hook.

His motivation was family. Which is a noble and compelling motivation for a villain to have. Katherine wanted love. Kai wanted power. Klaus wants family.

One of his most vile acts, the end of season two, he forces Stefan to drink bags and bags of blood. it's an extremely upsetting scene to stomach, especially for addicts and friends and children of. He forces Stefan to relapse as an aid for his plan. He forces stefan to turn his emotions off for his own amusement later. It's gross, reprehensible, but it's not a calculated villain move. it's a spur of the moment one. He knows the Stefan that he once knew doesn't want to be drinking buddies anymore, and he can't stand this so he drives Stefan to the brink, removes his quality of life, just for fun.

We see rebekah. We see their backstory. He, whos ultimate motivation is family. tells Rebekah she is pathetic for loving too easily. He tells her she's worthless. In New Orleans, we see him offer Rebekah an ultimatum. Stefan or him. It's an illusion of choice that he gives his baby sister, who's only ever loved him. And Rebekah, who's only ever known love and devotion as fear, her father, her mother, her brothers. Slammed doors. screaming about how they know what's best for her, is thrilled with the option to choose her own fate.

She chooses wrong. She picks Stefan. And instead of begrudgingly let her go, he stakes her, forcing her to miss out on a century of her life. She mentions having run from him until she came to her senses. What was that development like? Did she choose him over fighting, petty squabbles? or did she meerely decide that it was worth being controlled to remain alive?

The hybrids are another example. They are said to be his family. Let's look over that familial bond, shall we? He turns them against their will. They are sired to him, compelled to follow his every whim. And when they break that bond, he murders them. Cuts their heads off, rips their hearts out of their chest. He doesn't even entertain the idea that they might want to stick around even without their sire bond, and he doesn't care.

Because it's not about family. It's not about equal partnership. It's about control.

Klaus stabs Caroline and is ready to let her die until she throws out some schlock about love and redemption. We're supposed to buy he saves her because he loves her. He puts her in danger, the woman he supposedly loves, because she won't do what he wants.

We get the scene where he heals Caroline from the illness that he caused, on a whim might I add, and a scene where stefan nobly says we've all done horrible things. And then suddenly the narrative simply begins believing that he's suddenly one of the good guys with little to no narrative effort! Easy!

He controls Tyler for loving the girl he does. For ruining his family.

The conclusion of this arc, for the most part, is him going to New Orleans. And he's not upset that witches have been outlawed because it's morally repungeant to try to control them, He is upset because he himself has lost control of the city. When Marcel ruthlessly kills a witch,he's not upset because he killed a witch for doing magic. He's upset because he "wanted to talk to her"

And why does he save Haley? Again, not because it's the right thing to do, but because she's carrying his child. Who he says will be an heir to his throne.

One of the last times we see Klaus is when he shows up, has sex with Caroline, and leaves again. She decides to fuck him for undisclosed reasons. She finds him hot. That's all. Not only is this utterly out of character for her, it makes no narrative sense.

Tyler is understandably furious. he lists Klaus's atrocities back to back, at the top of this list being the fact that Klaus killed Tyler's mother.

These atrocities are never addressed or narratively dealt with. At least, not in TVD.

Klaus confuses love for control and fear, emotional manipulation. He's narratively rewarded for this.

And his arc, his character, after all the hype and narrative weight it was given, deserved better.