mytvd - Tumblr blog

[mytvd]

ok, i'm still watching, i've just gotten very ahead of myself and haven't been keeping track of thoughts for every episode. i don't really want to post out of order so everything's in drafts until i feel the holes in.

i was typing thoughts about a much later episode but this bullet point re: stefan vs damon, which turned into "more reasons i like stefan," got super long, so i wanted to post it on its own:

based on my history of engaging with similar media, i should be on the damon train, and stefan should seem really boring to me. but like, he's not that boring!! and a big part of why he chooses to be good (ie, boring) is because of his history of being a murdering psycho (even though even in ripper mode he wasn't really having fun, as evidenced by his corpse reassembly). maybe it's an age thing and maybe if i had watched this as a teen (i mean, impossible because of it when it aired) i would prefer stefan -- i know i found peeta boring in the books/movies at first, because i wasn't going to like teen drama media for like, thoughtful characters and ptsd healing and stuff -- but at this point in time, lol, i just love seeing his consistent patience, gentleness, and general respect for women on a tv show. a popular mainstream tv show!!! like, he treats not just elena with respect, but all of her friends, even before he gets to know them, and he never "objectifies them until he gets to know them better" as happens a lot in other teen media -- he starts out respecting them from the beginning. sooooo much of the time on tv/in movies, women characters have to be considered hot/attractive (particularly by the men characters) first and foremost to have value, and whatever other qualities they possess are secondary and only valued because their hotness means they deserve a closer look or a chance to prove themselves. i mean, there aren't really any non-hot people around (which really destroys the "southern small town" illusion) to observe this with, lol, but at least on this show, a man in the main cast treats all the women with respect, even when there's no concrete benefit for him to do so, even when no one else (ie, his girlfriend) is watching. he sees something worth getting to know in almost anyone he encounters (which is in line with his journaling habit) and he doesn't see people as expendable, even though their lives are so short compared to his, and he can't really rely on people being in his life long-term. i am honestly kind of surprised stefan has remained so consistent in this way, even as the show continues to brutalize women (of all ages, lol, and elena back-to-back-to-back) and kill them off in spades. like, the writing has obviously gotten worse and worse over time, and stefan has had some poorly-written moments for sure that felt like they bent the universe in order to make the plot more convenient instead of digging deeper to make the story make sense, but on the whole, his character is pretty consistent, and he has the ability to evolve/change (like being unable to be in a relationship with elena, but still being in her life [without being a lil bitch about it, like damon is within moments of their breakup], and still caring about all of her friends/the people that are only in his life because of her). i literally haven't seen paul wesley in anything else so i have no handle on his acting abilities outside of this show (although i think he does a great job on this show), but of course the performance adds a lot, but i mean, unless paul wesley is making script changes on set, lol, it's just kind of interesting how consistent the character has been written [most of the time] compared to other parts of the show.

**note: i'm only on season 5 and also outside of really the one vpd youtube video and princess weekes's excellent confederate vampires vid i really have zero idea what like, popular opinions about these characters are, lol, and i'm trying not to read anything until i'm done with the show

**edit: i'm halfway through season 6 and as soon as he was shown lying to ivy i regretted posting this but he had a good run, especially compared to most of the other characters on this show

[mytvd]

flashbacks are fun but i want 90s grunge and/or moonwalking

i admire vicki's will to live

also stefan's devotion to elena's ability to make informed choices

and im also a fan of the vicki-damon bb vampire house party even though the dancing is really hard to watch

ok so in 2009 when this aired paul wesley was 27 years old

is katherine's weird laugh when she runs off with the football the laugh stefan described being in love with in the previous episode lol?? "mmmhehah"

i wonder if katherine just happened upon the salvatores or if she somehow knew about them and sought them out? i can only assume if this is addressed it will be in some weird retconny kind of way that doesn't totally fit in but serves some narrative that was invented way after this

im sad vicki isn't going to make it because im enjoying hearing her thoughts, especially re: tyler lol. also enjoying the dynamic where damon is largely treating her like someone he can genuinely have fun with without acting like she's ~ trash ~ or a shameful secret, and where she can openly speak her mind around him. like idk i would watch a lot more of this lol

vampires would 100% dance to depeche mode in their spooky mansions (but not covers)

re: stefan explaining the necklace -- it reallllllly makes zero sense why he's not having her eat/drink vervain

such a bummer how vicki's known drug use means no one can be that confused about her vampiric transition symptoms

kind of surprised jeremy went upstairs when elena told him to lol. like why would he

they are just killing me with vicki!!! "is it better? will i be better?" like she has been such a survivor and this could be such a turning point for her

why is vicki's face covered in blood after this when damon bit logan in the first place and his is totally clean lol

[mytvd]

jeremy is such a bad boy. have you seen his himalayan salt lamp

oh nooo is this the end of the diaries?? already??

come on zach lol you know better than this

what is the point of him?? like why can't zach just move far away, change his name, have a family, do whatever?

"she had this perfect olive skin" a normal thing to say about your dead ex-girlfriend

"now that we're together" are they together???

"i love some good grisham"

lol the crow falling off the windowsill :(

i love elena struggling to get that top off lmao. #relatable

loving bonnie's solidarity with catering staff and ugly guys with crappy cars. an ally

they are barely washing this car lol

the crow observing the car wash pay station. mystical

"he's a little all-zy-heimer" omg

im glad damon's thrall or whatever allowed for caroline to grab a jacket before walking all the way here

also i kind of love this jacket, wow

again. what was the point of zach

alright bonnie lfg

omg get him vicki

logan is a reporter. so his [ancestor] was a reporter. i kind of hope there is some mystical thing with the town where descendants are magically destined to fulfill the same roles their ancestors did, maybe at the time of the founding, or something? hmm

caroline with the sick burn wow

ok the diary isn't totally gone yet phew

i love the montage of elena dramatically writing in her diary and putting all the clues together and then matt just saying "she said it was a vampire" lol

i also love diegetic music

vicki has to know better than to get that close to a strange man in the dark like this lol

the blood drinking sound effect is just too much

slurp slurp slurp

[mytvd]

are we to believe stefan wakes up with his hair like that

do vampires need to sleep?

i agree with damon about this yellow dress. what did this actress do to the costumers!!!

why is damon reading one of the twilight sequels and not the first one

these damon-caroline scenes are seriously disturbing

wow caroline really seamlessly integrating the skinny scarves into her wardrobe. super inconspicuous.

"i don't think you're trash" ok tyler lol

is zach an important character in the books?? i feel like he is giving literally nothing

ok ian somerhalder was 31 when season 1 came out?? no

lmao ok zach has revealed his secret stash so i feel like he is not long for this world

why would elena give tyler her precious family heirlooms just like in this old tiny wood box?? put it in something less fragile?

"can we mix them" this is my solution to any binary choice as often as possible. thank you elena. i do not often get this representation

lol what is the point of loaning these priceless family heirlooms without there being a real description in the display?? "wedding ring"?? plus all the items are so stealable. why

please let me see stefan moonwalk. please

the sheriff is working security at a party hosted at the mayor's house and they are just freely serving alcohol to minors? i mean i guess that checks out probably

"doesn't it always come down to the love of a woman?" ew lol

these glimpses of vicki are so fascinating. she can be so fiery. and then insufferable.

tyler's mom seeing him forcefully grabbing a girl, saying nothing, and then calling her "trash" is trash!!!

nooo jenna stay strong :(

this damon/caroline embrace is so painful. how many more times do i have to see this lol

ok i wasn't expecting confirmation that the authorities know about vampires quite so soon

[mytvd]

why is caroline's hair and lingerie post-vampire bite her cutest look so far

omfg toe ring closeup

why is vicki so upset at jeremy feeling like she hooked up with him for "the drugs" after she accused his motives. what is her deal. my initial dislike is morphing into a burning need to figure her out

have elena and stefan even been "dating" for 24 hours yet? this bff/bf bonding hang seems so sudden

i like matt's instincts to leave elena alone, wow. so rare!!

why is mr. tanner's class now on the end of ww2??? i need to see the syllabus

he's the football coach too???? D:

if i didn't already know matt lives i would definitely assume he was destined from how decent he's acting to elena and stefan. why is he friends with tyler

i mean i get that in high school friends are often proximity-based but ugh

"stefan and i have watched every single person we've cared about die" lmao what a natural thing to say

is it important for the vampires to stay on the down low or what?? they are not being subtle at all lol.

if damon is supposed to be 25 why tf he is hanging out with these teens like this?? i get it is to mess with stefan but it's creepy. also what would jenna think about this. where is she

damon could be doing literally anything with his immortality and super senses. so far i am buying that stefan is trying to live a "human life" but damon could be sowing true chaos somewhere with a lot more going on than a small town in virginia. and amongst people with more interesting lives than high school students

the crow im speechless

i think i would find stefan much more boring if i had seen this show at an earlier time in life (especially while it was airing) but at this point i'm so beyond fatigued over seeing woman brutalized in the media and real life and the state of the world that seeing this sensitive guy trying to [presumably] genuinely appreciate small human moments and support his girlfriend is nice? and i like how invested he is in bringing damon's humanity to light (although it doesn't seem like he's doing anything to really keep him from killing non-elena citizens). maybe he gets more boring? also watching the way caroline and vicki are being treated by men is disgusting.

"you can have her when i'm done" dear god how does vicki stomach the presence of tyler!!!!

"yes it is, otherwise you wouldn't put an alternate meaning behind everything you say" okay elena!!!

tbh one reason i never watched this show is because i hated mia on degrassi so much that i didn't think i could handle a show where nina dobrev is the protagonist but i like her a lot on this so far! i was wrong

can stefan even pretend to be upset about damon killing mr. tanner

it gets addressed in btvs that the sunnydale cops are aware of the existence of vampires so i am wondering if the mystic falls cops do as well? like how many bodies with identical neck wounds could they bring in without connecting them to each other? also i guess i know sunnydale is a hellmouth full of monsters and idk if there are atp other vampires killing people besides damon.

oops i spoke too soon i guess stefan doesn't believe in damon after all lol

[mytvd]

"we have history together" alsdkfja;skdf;asdfkj it didn't register with me the first time. im not ever skipping the recap

oh my god metric

is dropping bodies from really high up damon's specialty or do all vampires do that

i like the diaries!! i like that at this point elena isn't the only diarist!

elena acts completely differentlye

i guess this is just mystic falls history class

during the last episode i guess vicki must have called him "ty" but since i knew a character was called "kai" and was also annoying but yeah i mistook "tyler" for "kai." i am looking at pictures of both of them and can't tell them apart. is it just me

i hope mr. tanner doesn't last long in this show. dear god

why did stefan move so fast before but is now moving really slowly that someone's following him lol

why is this hospital so dimly lit when we already know it is really bright outside

also why is it so deserted

gossip!! maybe they blew the budget on music and couldn't fill out the hospital hallways with background actors

what did caroline do to hair/makeup and costuming?? who did she hurt??

cannot imagine being 26 or whatever and being responsible for two orphaned teenagers and getting my phd and keeping that massive house immaculate. and curling my hair. what is jenna's secret

"tyler is finally showing some interest" what?? i do not understand vicki lol. why is tyler a prize?? also "matt would freak" about jeremy when matt left them alone together and also has already freaked about tyler. what is going on

i mean i guess vicki's """on drugs""" so any nonsense behavior can be "explained" but

huge fan of stefan's interior decor so far

which reminds me that i went to a prop sale last year for some shows including this one. there were def some tvd fans there that recognized some items from the show. not sure if any of the stuff i got would be easy to recognize but i will be on the lookout

"the night of the comet" warrants custom signage downtown!!! omg

im sorry lol like your teenage employee just got out of the hospital for having her neck ripped open and you're bitching about her taking "an extra sick day" like?? also why would you want someone with a fresh neck wound serving food

not elena weaponizing therapy and rehab lol D:

i love how stefan's noble act of not drinking vicki's blood also means roughly throwing a teenage girl freely bleeding from a neck wound down onto the floor

vicki is presumably still on some kind of pain medicine from the hospital, plus whatever she got from jeremy, and now her second round of vampire compulsion, on top of just the general trauma of her attack. she is unbearaby scrambled

round three of vampire compulsion. and now she is speaking to them like she is an npc in a video game

caroline :( this yellow dress is almost as bad as alison's yellow top on pll.

"cocky much?" "very much" oh no

noooo caroline is in high school what the fuck!!!

[mytvd]

can they fly?? is there any other way she could have been yanked vertically like that??

the zooming of the credits sent me

"i predicted obama" "can we still say 'tr*nny mess'?"

the crow on the street signs. watching. observing. the video mentioned that the crow and fog get dropped right away which is already making me so sad.

kai confuses me -- is he really making fun of jeremy for wearing nail polish?? "pete wentz (derogatory)"?? offended at the mention of carson daly?? he and jeremy look equally threatening, is kai supposed to be scarier??

the dramatic sunglasses removal made me wonder if vampires can accidentally compel people by making eye contact. or was it just to look cool

the "chill yourself" clip has been stuck in my mind since i first watched that video and seeing it in context was just ...!

why is bonnie so menacing in that shot????

i'm uneasy seeing pretty much all of these people inside a high school. i have consumed ridiculous amounts of high school media but this is really pushing it

"HAWT-E" lmao

i haven't looked into anything about the production at all but this looks like a really high-budget episode for the first season of any show, especially a teen paranormal romance

that crow noise as she enters the cemetery LMAOOOOO

literally lol'd at [i assume damon] standing by that statue. whoever came up with that shot really ate that day

does elena think "hitchcock" is the movie title

the crow sounds keep startling my cat

there's no way she wouldn't have felt that injury lol

is this the same background music from pll??

matt looks old enough to be kai's dad at this restaurant. no offense to this actor irl -- he just looks tired and his skin looks very dehydrated (vs kai's v moisturized face). why didn't they oil up this man and try another take

"when's the last time you had sex with a puppy?"

i thought it was gonna turn out that elena was lying to jenna, she is dressed for a much different occasion than her friends are

"her mom and dad died" i wonder how many more times this will get stated in this episode (edit: even more than i thought)

it looks like stefan is on a date with all three of them

i had to rewatch this scene because of the background kate bush. i didn't want it to be a cover but wow. the hits!!!

i stan this wardrobe full of diaries!!!

why is this teacher such an asshole

i don't think i ever learned about this kind of hyperlocal town history in school at any point (i also went to a small town southern public high school). i realize it's there for our benefit but lol it seems weird. what actual class is this where on day 2 of school they are learning this information??

mr. tanner quickly became even more of an asshole jfc

why is the closeup of stefan's nose pores comforting to me? (it's bc everyone is airbrushed now)

i love how supportive elena is of bonnie's psychic abilities

elena is v committed to cradling that empty solo cup

where is this?? i know they said "the falls" and i assumed this pavilion in the woods was maybe someone's private property but the bridge with the lights?? where are they lol

holy shit vicki

this is a much fancier woods party spot than the woods party spot i went to in high school. or the cow pasture spot. there are so many coolers, cans, bottles, etc, but no visible litter. wild

how is nobody calling 911 lol like why are all these kids just standing around staring as if nothing has happened?? they would be, at the very least, milling about

the zooms are non-stop!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! i have never seen so many zooms. slow zooms. fast zooms. credit zooms.

i know there are things like civil war flashbacks but i would love a 90s one of stefan in his "grunge look"

jenny called damon "an eyebrow heavy performance" and yeah

i can't believe jeremy is drinking a beer while there are cops in the frame???

i hope we find out more about the competition caroline believes she is in with elena

the fray. i'm time traveling

stefan wanted to "be someone new" so he returned to his small hometown, under his real name, to live in his family home??

i know that almost everyone in a movie/tv show playing a teen or young adult is older than their character but again this show is really pushing my suspension of disbelief re: damon making eye contact with caroline. in this shot just having him facing the camera instead of showing his profile and using less harsh lighting would have done wonders to not make me viscerally react to him flirting with a teenager.

elena in front of this giant un-curtained window in the dark on the cw is so pll

from the video i know the stefan is "seventeen" but i wonder if katherine was also seventeen?? or maybe katherine is older than the brothers, in apparrant age & actual age? i just had the thought, "if stefan is only here to check out elena, why couldn't he have waited until she graduated high school to meet her?" which made me think, "at what point in her physical development would it become clear that she is a doppleganger of katherine? like how young?" there is no enjoyment for me in trying to pick apart the age disparity ethics of vampire teens dating human teens so i am disregarding that for this entire show but the doppleganger thing is weird to me

just remembered from the vpd video that queen bianca lawson is on this show, just like she was on contemporary PLL and predecessor BTVS. the eternal teenager

i was committed to only watching one episode tonight but the next episode is called "the night of the comet." fuck

[mytvd]

after watching jenny nicholson's vampire diaries video for the 8th time i cannot resist the allure of the vampire diaries anymore