[Review] The Vampire Diaries Season 3

I owe my love for TV dramas to American series. Ten years ago I was so hooked to Alias. I didn’t care that it had a very late night airing here in the Philippines and I have to beg my Mom to let me watch it even though my TV curfew was 9PM. Also, I have to constantly remind myself not to miss an episode because if I miss one, there is no hitting the rewind button. Yikes! Those were the days when DVD, live streaming and download were not yet in my vocabulary. You see, before I even knew my first love Vic Zhou I already had a huge crush on a drama actor, someone unreachable and way older than me. Yup! It’s Michael Vartan. If you know him I’m sure you are one of those peeps who wanted to become a spy when you were younger. HAHA. So this is the first time I’m going to write about an American TV series not because I don’t watch those but because I am too wired to Asian dramas these past few years and I don’t care whether my blog doesn't have anything Hollywood in it! But things change and all that.

So much for an introduction... 

The TV series that I’m going to write about is The Vampire Diaries! Surprise, surprise!

You may ask, Why not Kyle XY, Gossip Girl, 24, Glee or some other dramas out there? And I’m going to answer, Why the hell not?

Seriously, I’m writing about TVD because, as of the latest season, it made my brain and heart go through a roller coaster ride that no other drama made me feel before. As in ever! Even my precious Korean dramas never made me feel that way. There’s this one ingredient in TVD that made it different from the other dramas but before that let me just express my feelings towards the two male roles in TVD, Stefan and Damon.

I’ll start with Damon. Oh Damon! I spent two seasons waving a Team Damon flag and I still am after watching season 3. I will admit though that after two seasons, the bad guy act had become so predictable and is starting to become boring and the Damon charm casted on me is starting to wear off. I mean it was what got me into his camp in the first place but I want something new. So it was a breath of fresh air to see him be the good guy in this season, the one to save Stefan from the dark side of the force and the voice of reason if only for a short while. I savoured the moment when he had a big shot at having the girl if only to torment me into actually thinking who deserve Elena. That hurts you know, the thinking part.

Then there’s Stefan. Wow! It’s been a long time coming but season 3 definitely made me see Stefan in a different light. I breezed through two seasons thinking “What is up with this guy? He is boring and I can’t grasp the fact that Elena chose him.” Season 3 is Stefan time! I loved watching him on his Ripper days with the originals, loved watching him act as the bad guy, cheered for that one moment that he triumphed against Klaus. Although I knew he eventually learned how to control his bloodlust and became sober again, for me all those dark days flashbacks and present day stunts he pulled would  remind me not to think of Stefan as boring again… well for now.

Also let’s not forget the bromance. TVD is not TVD if the bromance is out! Everyone loves them whether they are fighting over Elena, taking turns at being the bad guy and of course, against all odds their sweet claim of I-will-save-my-brother-whatever-it-takes.

Now this may be the craziest (but the most honest) thought I had all throughout the season; I’m actually a STELENA fan after all this time! I am Team Damon all the way but I want Stefan for Elena! Crazy I know but I guess I see Damon as a spice to make the story more exciting, a man on the other side of the rope in this epic cycle of tug-of-war and a tool to subject Stefan and Elena into emotional torture and all that relationship conflict but I don’t see Damon as the one to have the girl. Maybe this is just a fangirl’s absurd claim of I-want-Damon-for-myself (HAHA!) or my inner justification that Ian already got Nina as his girlfriend in real life and let’s just satisfy Paul’s fans here in the story, I don’t know! Or maybe it’s just that I felt the “kilig” factor more between Stefan and Elena, especially in season 3? It all boils down to that, you know! Now that reasons and back-stories are out in the open; Elena’s reason for falling in love with Stefan and for choosing him, Stefan’s struggle at control to get a chance at love again and Damon’s revelation that he was the first one to meet Elena but erased it from her mind (this is torture dude! I’m not unfamiliar with this plot play but it’s still torture! My heart bleeds for Damon. Huhu), I am anticipating the fourth season rooting for STELENA but waving a TEAM DAMON flag. I know! Crazy is as crazy does. LOL. Then again maybe I'll change my mind again when I'm halfway through season 4. :P

So what’s that secret ingredient I hinted above? It’s the way the writers did a good job at character description. The characters’ strengths and weaknesses were carefully woven and well-thought of. What I’m saying is that there’s none a character in TVD that I truly hate. There’s an explanation as to why he or she does that even though at first it's frustrating but in the end I’d understand it. I am a fan who supports the lead all the way and boos the villain with all my might but I have a hard time doing that in TVD. At one point I rooted for Klaus to live not because I want everyone to live too but because I know there is goodness in him and he still has story to tell. You see, the line between protagonists and antagonists in TVD is so thin I can barely feel it. That I can say is the ultimate reason why I love TVD, why I bend my rules and wrote this and why I’m sticking around for season 4.

Let’s get it on TVD!

Photo credits: all images are from The CW Network's Official Website