What happens in 1864, stays in 1864... or not.

As the TV season winds down, shows start pulling out all the stops. Characters die, mysteries are revealed, people get pregnant, married, possibly blown up, etc. And yet, this particular season, I'm pretty underwhelmed with most of my shows... I realize that sweeps isn't until May, so the real shockers are yet to come, but lately, the build up to all the crazy has been pretty tepid. I'm still entertained and all, and I still love all my darlings, but with only a couple of exceptions, I'm just not dying to write about any of it. The Good Wife just keeps getting better and better and certainly deserves more attention on this blog than it gets, but the show that really has me reeling after each and every spectacular outing is The Vampire Diaries.

If you're still on the fence about giving the show a chance, let me impart the following testimonial from one of my oldest friends:

Can I blame you for my addiction to the Vampire Diaries? Seriously that show is beyond addicting and it kills me to wait a week in between episodes. So thank-you Lacy for turning me into an avid TV watcher, blog reader, and vampire addict. If I appear on an episode of "addicted" you are going to have to come and read a... paper about how I have changed.....hahaha.

I consoled her with the fact that her episode of Addicted would likely air the week before mine, so at least she'd be in good company. Also, as far as a "paper about how [she has] changed" is concerned, I'm pretty sure it would just be a piece of paper with "Damon" written on it (or, if you're Josh, a piece of paper with the name "Stefan" on it). To each his/her own. :) It really will suck you in whether you like it or not. It's quite mercifully not a stupid waste of time that only tween girls can appreciate. I have very specific and informed tastes in television and my interests are quite varied. I'm a fan of gritty shows aimed at guys (e.g. Justified, Southland), shows that skew older for some reason (e.g. The Good Wife), shows that skew younger (e.g. Gossip Girl), high ratings getters (e.g. Castle, Modern Family), low ratings getters (e.g. Chuck), pay-cable shows (e.g. True Blood, Dexter, Nurse Jackie), basic cable shows (e.g. Burn Notice, In Plain Sight, Leverage), imports (e.g. Being Human, Skins, Doctor Who), and everything in between (e.g... uh... The Inbetweeners--heh). So when I say that The Vampire Diaries is currently my absolute favorite show on television, you can be assured that it's an informed opinion.

Not since the first couple of seasons of Alias has a show had me so consistently on the edge of my seat. Also, True Blood does a hell of a job ending each episode on a nail-biter, much like Alias, but The Vampire Diaries not only ends each episode on a tantalizing cliffhanger, it has so many twists and turns and reveals throughout the episodes that you're constantly plied with satisfying culminations (which sounds a little dirty) and teased (I'm starting to think the "dirty" is getting subconsciously intentional--it's Damon's fault) with new mysteries. It has the best pacing of any show on the air and knows just how much to give and how much to hold back. And, just when you think the show can't possibly get any better, it totally does. Exhibit A, last night's episode.

I have had concerns that the show would run out of stories and ideas given the pacing of the show, but for every storyline they seemingly resolve, 15 others arise. You would think the pacing would be too fast, but somehow, it's the smoothest roller coaster ride in town. Last night we had about 137 things going on and it all just tied together seamlessly and rolled out as awesomely as possible.

One of the things I love best about the show is the blend of then and now. The flashbacks are incredibly well done, studiously thought-out, and effortlessly integrated into the modern context of the show. The flashbacks to 1864 have always done a hell of a job filling in blanks and informing on the characters, but last night was far and away the most pivotal set of memories to date. Not only did we finally learn the details of how the brothers Salvatore became vampires, but we learned the gut-wrenching circumstances that led to the tension between the two. The writers don't feel the need to explain every little thing to the audience all at once and I greatly appreciate that. They respect their viewers' intelligence and understand that the audience can take information from episodes 3, 5, 6, 11, and 14 and construct the dynamics of the show, the characters, and the rules of this particular universe. Each set of authors tends to have a different philosophy on how vampires operate and The Vampire Diaries is no exception. In fact, they use this to their advantage. We have known that it was Katherine who turned the brothers for a good long while, but we learned several episodes ago that she was captured before she could complete the brothers' transformation. We also know that after being captured, the brothers didn't have any access to her (they both thought she had been in the tomb, so they couldn't have had any contact with her between the time she was hauled off and the time they became vampires). So, the audience had to ask themselves, how did the brothers become vampires? After watching Vicki's transformation, we all knew the basic mechanics of turning someone, but the details were still a blur. I had assumed that Katherine had been dosing the brothers with vampire blood, but again, the show held out on exactly what happened until last night.

The hows and whys of the transition were finally elucidated (in the most satisfying of ways), but the the fallout between the brothers is what proved to be the most fascinating aspect of all. The flashbacks have always shown that the relationship between Stefan and Damon wasn't always as strained as it is today. Seeing the comradery of the past (even in spite of their mutual love of Katherine) really made me wonder just how things went down that led us to this point. I love, love, LOVE that the good brother, the good son, the pure of heart Stefan is the one who weakly gave into temptation and completed the transition first (by feeding on their father no less!) and then forced Damon to turn. The fact that father Salvatore is the person who killed both brothers is also incredibly telling. Oh my god, it informs on Stefan's character to a considerable degree, but in the end, it tells us even more about Damon. Stefan has always been a little too good and a little too broody for my tastes (a la Angel), but the writers have given him such an interesting set of baggage that his moods and perspectives make total sense now and are much more compelling. Most writers would have made him broody for the simple sake of being broody (and the guilt over hurting people is certainly there), but Stefan's real guilt and real regrets are seeded in what he did to Damon. Stefan is the one who got Katherine captured, Stefan is the one who revealed all to papa Salvatore (thereby betraying Damon), and Stefan is the one who turned Damon. Damon was ready and willing to die rather than become a vampire, but Stefan couldn't let go. For as much as Damon was the black sheep of the family and Stefan was the model son, at the end of the day, Stefan adores his big brother and selfishly turns him so they can spend eternity together. It gives Stefan's guilt some much needed depth and gives Damon's attitude some heart-breaking justification. What's worse? Damon has some guilt as well (it's there, if he ever wanted to feel it); guilt which was thrust upon him by Stefan. Damon may say that his actions are his own and that Stefan shouldn't feel any guilt for what Damon has done, but there's no sidestepping the fact that none of what Damon has done would have ever happened if he had died in 1864 like he had wanted. For all of Damon's blustering that he hates Stefan, deep down it's abundantly clear that he cares for him unconditionally. I'm not sure what to think of Damon's assertion that he hates Stefan because Katherine chose the both of them ("It should have been me. Only me."). On the one hand, I think it very well might be true, but on the other hand, I think he was mostly trying to take some weight off his brother's shoulders. It's not that Stefan turned Damon that's the problem, it's that Katherine turned them both.

You'd think that all that would have taken an entire episode to illuminate, but no, that was just one awesome storyline in an episode with a bevy of them. Not only did the episode make some serious strides in the relationship between the brothers, but it also made some pivotal changes in the relationships between Elena and Damon, Damon and Alaric (I just adore the respect and loathing between them), Jeremy and Anna, Pearl and, uh... existence, and Uncle John and just about everyone else. I'm quite digging the romantic progression of once-boring character Jeremy and increasingly badass Anna. I can't wait to see the fallout following Pearl's death. That's another aspect of the show I happily endorse. The writers are willing to kill people and write characters off the show. It keeps you guessing and adds a level of unease to the whole setup. Nice. Speaking of unease, Uncle John is kinda freaking me out... in a good way. I hear the season finale is going to be explosive (and no, I don't know if that's a pun or not). Pearl is (was) a force to be reckoned with and John just took her out with almost no effort at all. Pearl has shown dominance over Damon in the past, who absolutely admits that she's "scary" (and coming from someone as twisted as Damon, that's saying something), so how could Damon possibly go toe-to-toe with John? That's a sorta-syllogism I'm just not too comfortable with...

But, even with all the interpersonal dynamics that were showcased in the episode, I'd say the bond between Elena and Damon comes right after the brothers Salvatore in terms on import and impact. We've all seen the sexual tension between the pair from day one and the budding romantic relationship could be seen from a mile away, but once again, the writers take what might be expected and make it a whole lot more. "Simple intimacy of the near touch" indeed! This could have been your typical love triangle with jealousies and betrayals as lust takes over blah, blah, blah, but the dynamic among Damon, Elena, and Stefan is a lot richer than that. For instance, Stefan seems abundantly aware of the fact that Damon is horning in on his territory, but doesn't seem fazed by it at all. Damon does absolutely nothing to hide his intentions and calls Elena "our girlfriend" with impunity. Is this some of Stefan's guilt manifesting itself in giving Damon a pass? They seemed to be fine sharing Katherine as well, so maybe they're just kinky enough for this to be okay. Damon most certainly is not okay with sharing, so it'll be interesting to see exactly where things go from here. At this point, Damon and Elena have become allies, friends, and even confidantes. They're very comfortable with one another (little things like picking up her feet so he can sit on the couch just seem very warm and familiar), but there's also a tension there. The attraction between them is obvious, but at the same time, they play it off very casually and seemingly platonically. The depth of feelings they have for one another only shows itself in small doses and in ostensibly deflected ways. When Damon says things like, "I don't have any friends," it would be natural for Elena to protest. But here, when Damon makes those kind of assertions, he's met with subtle dissent from Elena which really means, "I care about you and you care about me and we both know it so stop saying otherwise!" She cares about him a lot and wants to make sure he knows that, even if she can't come right out and say it. She really is concerned that this guy she relies on and cares for has a negative outlook and she wants to make sure he knows that he is loved. It's very sweet, but stops well short of being saccharine. It's all in veiled tones and subtle exchanges that are well-noted by the audience so the writers don't have to hit us over the head with it. The repercussions this might have for the future know no bounds and I can't wait to see where things end up. No, correction, I'm kind of hoping things never end at all.

I could go on and on about every episode of this show (oops, too late). Each storyline is rich and has a history behind it. You can tell that the writers had a plan for the grander scheme of things rather than just making stuff up as they go along. Every time I can't figure out how exactly things happened and fear there's going to be a plothole, I'm pleasantly surprised to find that not only is there no plothole, but the plot itself is much more layered and shocking than expected. I finish each episode rabidly eager for next week to hurry and get here. And during that excruciating interim period, I find myself dwelling on the finer points of the show. What am I pondering at the moment? How does Anna become a vampire? Who turns her exactly? Who kills her in order to turn her? We know she was turned at roughly the same time as Stefan and Damon, but we don't know how...

Next up on the show that just won't quit? Isobel returns to Stars Hollow (er, Mystic Falls). "Hello, Ric." Ahhhh! Hello, awesome. Can't wait!