Greetings, Fangbangers! And welcome to the End of the World!
The Heroes have failed. The Bad Guys have won. And the Apocalypse is imminent.
Now, there’s nothing left to do, but wait until the Gates to the Other Side open, and Evil swallows us whole . . .
Still waiting . . .
Any minute now . . .
It’s coming . . .really . . . I promise . . .
*whistles uncomfortably*
Did I say the Apocalypse was NOW? I meant NEXT WEEK!
This week on The Vampire Diaries, Silas WINS . . .
Elena gets a haircut. . .
And an ill timed commercial break deprives us of Rooftop Sex . . .
Let’s review, shall we?
[This weeks screencaps are brought to you by screencapped.net.]
Bloody Big Apple
It’s 1977 in New York City. Disco isn’t dead yet. Bell bottoms are still cool. And there’s a Dead Guy lying in the street.
Or is there?
*slurp, slurp . . .*
That’s right, boys and girls. Different decade. Same old vampire tricks . . .
And yet, with generous amounts of guyliner, and a couple clever pop culture references (Son of Giusseppe, anyone?), Damon Salvatore manages to make what could have been a tired scene seem somehow fresh . . . not to mention way funnier than a double homicide has any right to be. Because, he’s just cool like that.
Also, kudos to the music department for getting the rights to Talking Heads “Psycho Killer.” When it comes to matching a song to a scene, it really doesn’t get much more perfect than this . . .
Of course, my favorite TVD Musical Moment will ALWAYS remain Damon’s dance with Vicki in Season 1 to Depeche Mode’s “Enjoy the Silence.”
But this one came a close second. What’s YOUR favorite TVD Musical Moment?
A Silas Hunting We Will Go
When Stefan finds out Silas has been skulking around Mystic Falls, and draining the hospital blood supply, he immediately calls his ex-boyfriend Klaus for help.
This, of course, totally pisses off Stefan’s New Girl Friday, Caroline.
Did I say pisses her off, I mean secretly thrills her in a Sexual Way . . .
Such is the curse of the Good Girl, who longs for the Bad Boy, but hates herself for it . . .
And when it comes to Bad Boys, Klaus pretty much takes the cake, in Caroline’s life. After all, this IS the guy who killed her boyfriend’s mother and her best friend’s Useless Aunt, banished her boyfriend to the Great Beyond, and was responsible for almost poisoning Caroline, herself, to death with werewolf venom . . . twice.
But he draws her ponies, and triangles on a map. And he buys her expensive things. (DREAMY!)
Did I mention he has an accent?
That’s right, Klaroline fans. Though, when it comes to snagging Caroline, up to this point, Klaus has had about as much game, as Charlie Brown on a football field . . .
. . . he definitely made some headway into her heart, this week . . .
from the group geometry lesson . . . to the Walk in the Woods . . .
. . . to the come hither stares the pair were giving one another throughout the episode . . .
Something is definitely brewing here, Sports Fans. And then Klaus did the one thing that is sure to send Caroline zooming right into his Dr. Evil Underoos . . .
He REJECTED HER!
“As IF!”
But I’m getting ahead of myself, here. For now, all you need to know is that our Blonde Vampire Trio has located Silas Bushyhead, by finding on a map, the two places where he is most likely to perform his next massacre . . .
The plot . . . it’s thickening . . .
A New York Sh*tty Flashback
This one time . . . at Band Camp . . . I turned off my humanity, and started eating everyone in New York . . .
So begins, Damon’s Bedtime Story to Elena.
And of course, every Bedtime Story has to have a Fairy Godmother . . .
Good ole, Lexie! Talk about a Girl with Bad Boy Complex. This reoccurring vampiress never met a Humanity Free Salvatore she didn’t want to fix.
But while “therapy” for Stefan involved tying him to a chair for months on end, and draining him dry, her methods of curing Damon were a bit more . . . unorthodox.
Honestly, who could blame Damon for not wanting to restart that pesky humanity switch? From the sexy neck shares, to the long nights spent drinking and dancing, this flashback read more like The Perks of Being a Vampire II: Electric Boogaloo than any sort of cautionary tale against bad vamp behavior!
And when Damon started fixing those Puppy Dog Eye Things in Lexie’s direction, and stroking her ego (among other lady parts), by claiming his love for her CURED HIM OF EVIL, I knew instantly he was full of crap. (Even the most casual TVD fan knows that Damon Salvatore was a one-woman vamp for about 145 years, and that woman was sure as hell NOT LEXIE.)
But still, like the Most Gullible Vampire Ever, I found myself eagerly awaiting the start of some good, old fashioned humanity free Damon Sex . . .
And then those bastards cut to commercial!
Oh the humanity!
Seriously, since when did the CW become PBS! They skipped over the night, and went straight to MORNING?! COME ON! Even ABC Family gives us Naked Foreplay!
Anywhoo, I guess it isn’t supposed to matter, because the whole Seduction Thing was all just a scheme on Damon’s part to get Lexie locked up on the roof, without her sunscreen ring, so he could ditch her self-righteous ass.
But still . . . a little skin would have been nice . . . just sayin’
Feeding Family Style
Back in the present day, Damon’s gabbing on the phone with Stefan, who’s back in Mystic Falls, while Elena is busy getting the FASTEST Hair Color / Cut EVER. (Maybe the hairdresser is a vampire too?)
STEFAN: “Previously, on The Vampire Diaries . . .”
DAMON: “Seriously, isn’t this supposed to be Elena’s job? I don’t want to have to listen to this. What, just because she has her humanity turned off, she gets a free pass on in-script recapping? I’m contacting SAG!”
I like Elena’s new look . . . I do. And in general, I enjoyed Nina Dobrev’s new take on humanity-free Elena this week. She just seemed less robotic, and more mischievous . . . She seemed like she was actually having a good time being bad, for a change.
My one gripe? This Elena seems a lot less like Humanity Free Elena, and more like . . . Regular Katherine, even down to the bigger hair, and more stylish clothes. I have a feeling that this is going to make next week, when the two start sharing the screen again VERY CONFUSING.
But I digress, it turns out that Damon has some ulterior motives for his little Humanity Vacation Road Trip. You guys remember Will from last week?
Well, apparently, he was well known in New York City vampire circles as a Fake ID maker . . . or rather, a Real ID taker, who gave dead people’s ID’s to vampires on the run . . . And I bet you will never guess who Will’s favorite client was . . .
Ding! Ding! Ding! Katherine Petrova, that’s right!
So, Damon’s Master Plan is to hunt down Katherine, swipe The Cure from her fingertips, and shove it down Elena’s throat, along with her morning Blood Breakfast. Sounds easy, right?
The only problem is that Elena’s on to his little scheme, and has some plans of her own for The Cure . . . plans that involve it being given to her Brand New Bestie, instead . . . Rebekah.
Woah! Who ever thought that these two sworn enemies would end up partying together, and drinking from the same neck . . . literally?
Apparently, Damon’s little pep talk to Rebekah, last week, about humans being boring, failed to convince the Original She-Vamp that her future shouldn’t be paved with mortality, and a bevy of Klaus Barbie Babies . . .
Now, I know this makes me a total traitor, but I kind of like the idea of a Human Rebekah. She wants it more than anyone else. Why shouldn’t she get it?
And while I’m still quite positive that this storyline is going to end with the cure inadvertently being shoved down Damon’s throat, I have to admit that I’m with Team Elenbekah on this one . . .
So, to review, Damon is playing Elena. Elena is playing Damon. And Rebekah is definitely NOT playing with This Guy . . .
Now, that we know the Teams, we can start keeping score!
Damon, thanks to Stefan’s uncanny ability to remember all his ex-girlfriend’s birthdays, finds a paper in Will’s apartment, listing all of Katherine’s known addresses. (Score 1 for Damon).
Then, Elena seductively brings him on the roof, for what Damon thinks will be some Lexie-inspired nookie, but is actually a game of Back-Pocket snatch and grab (Score 1 for Elena, Score -25 for Delena fans hoping for a little rooftop action from their favorite lovebirds).
But Damon catches on to Elena’s scheme, and pries the paper back from her greedy little hands. (Score 2 for Damon, 1 for Elena).
Then, Rebekah pops up, seemingly out of nowhere, and breaks Damon’s neck!! (Score 69 for Rebekah, Score 2 for Elena, and Score -25 for the temporarily dead Damon).
In the final round, Rebekah, and Elena head off in Damon’s car, with his precious address list, while Damon naps off his death on the rooftop of that seedy New York bar.
(Score 169 for Rebekah and Elena, Score -125 for Snoozing Damon, and Score 1,025 for Lexie, who, somewhere up in Vampire Purgatory, just got the best Poetic Justice of her unnaturally long life . . .)
Talk about Vampire Girl Power!
Binge and Purge – Wiccan Style
“Hey, I just met you. And now you’re crazy . . .”
“So I’ll call all my witch friends . . .”
“And kill you, maybe?”
Meanwhile, back in Mystic Falls, Silas Bushyhead is still Svengali-ing Bonnie into murdering 12 people, who P.S., just so happen to have to be witches.
Way to not support the Sisterhood of the Traveling Nosebleeds, BonBon!
Silas Bushyhead’s plan really sets into motion, when Bonnie goes all Stephen King’s Carrie on the windows in her dad’s house.
So dad does what any rational father would do in this situation . . . sends his daughter off in the woods to meet with his vampire ex-wife’s crazy witch friend, and her 11 teen minions?
Is Ridiculously Bad Parenting contagious? Because it definitely seems like an epidemic in Mystic Falls.
As much as I abhor me some Bonnie, even I have to admit the Witch Exorcism scene was pretty nifty, with Bonnie adding white eyeballs to her usual repertoire of Bleeding from the Nose and Whining . . .
Then, Stefan . . . bless his heart, pops on the scene, and says, “WAIT! Stop the exorcism, Bonnie’s working for SILAS!”
To which, The Witch, replies . . . “Eh, no biggie! We’ll just kill Bonnie. We were half way there, anyway . . .”
(Sounds like a plan to me!)
Of course, Stefan’s lame attempt at rescue ended up playing right into Bushyhead’s plans. Because, minutes later, Caroline KILLS the head witch . . .
. . . and all the others immediately fall dead, domino-style (which was also pretty unintentionally hilarious to watch).
And so, the Apocalypse has finally come to Mystic Falls . . .maybe.
Klaus, who earlier in the day gave Caroline a geometry lesson about equilateral Expression Triangles, now gives her another one, about how killing TWELVE witches, and OPENING THE GATES OF HELL, to save one REALLY annoying one, isn’t exactly a fair trade in the scheme of Good versus Evil.
Caroline is SAD. Caroline is VULNERABLE. Caroline wants comfort. In other words, Klaus is SO IN . . .
. . . which is probably why he rejects her ass . . .
Congratulations Charlie Brown Klaus. It looks like you finally got that football, away from Lucy, after all!
P.S. It turns out Bonnie has amnesia about her entire Bring It On: Apocalypse Mini Series.
This means, she has to learn about JerBear’s death ALL OVER AGAIN. Might I suggest waiting until Season 4 of TVD comes out on Blue Ray . . .
Bushwack . . . ing off?
Then Bushyhead Silas has to come and totally harsh Klaus’ buzz, by rubbing it in about the whole Apocalypse Thing, and staking his ass . . .
BASTARD!
Next week on TVD . . . did I hear someone say, Doppelganger Hijinx?
Oh, and what the heck is up with Dog-on-a-Leash Klaus, and . . . is that Silas!Caroline?
Color me intrigued . . . until next time, Fangbangers!
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The Exquisite Corpse
TV Recappers Anonymous 
This whole episode got me bouncing over different emotions, which I’ll review quickly:
Wow, ok. First of all… BEST PART OF THE EPISODE: Rebekah kicking ass at the bar. I laughed out loud, literally. No seriously, I replayed the scene, and laughed again. I wish I could have that kind of strength when a guy makes a pass on me… that’ll show them not to stroke whatever they want whenever they want (I’m very picky 😉 )
Now to more important stuff… I had totally forgotten about Shane/Silas… so for a couple of minutes I was like WTF is going on… Completely lost.
Stefan was absolutely useless and felt a secondary character, so any nostalgia I felt for him last episode was GONE.
The whole Klaroline plot line made me feel a little bit sorry for both of them, but not enough to actually care about where this is going. I just seem not to like Caroline without Tyler. (Which made me suspect that what I actually like about her IS Tyler 😉 )
Damon and Lexi’s flashback started off ok… loved the 70’s look on Damon, the whole hair and eyeliner just worked for me. And I always ADORE having Lexi back so I might have jumped a little when I saw her. BUT THEN THEY HAD TO SCREW IT UP. The scene as you call it “Puppy dog eyes” was just so ridiculous and artificial, it made me cringe. For a moment I looked over my laptop, uncomfortable as I was.
I have to partially disagree with you on Bad-Elena being like Katherine. I was actually surprised by the fact that even her emotionless and more relaxed ways, Nina Dobrev could still hold on to that Elena vibe. I actually thought while watching the episode that if Kat came in the scene I would be able to differentiate them. And I find this and AMAZING actress trait. I mean, the girl is playing THREE characters: Nice-Elena, Katherine and Emotionless-Elena (maybe four if you count good-Kat from the early flashbacks). The differences are subtle, but they are there. Katherine is more bad-ass, she’s been around. She’s sexy, strong and mean. But here’s my theory: She WANTS to be that way. Remember when Damon was talking to Rose and said that there wasn’t a switch, actually. And the older you get, the harder is to hold on to that illusion, your emotion would eventually kick in. And Katherine’s old enough to be at that stage, so if she chooses to live that way it doesn’t have anything to do with a switch, but with a choice. And that makes, IMO, the world’s difference. Elena’s “turn off” is just a temporary stage, and given the right situation she’ll be back all I-love-everyone-please-stop-saving-me in a heart beat, because that’s who she is.
Am I making any sense here? it’s kinda hard to explain.
So when I see her playing mean-vamp, it’s almost as watching a kitty pretending to be a lion. She pulls it off, sure… but it’s not gonna last. We got Katherine for that. (Kudos to Nina Dobrev on such a display of her acting skills).
If you remember my concern last week, I’m glad to say you proved your theory on Damon not liking this new Elena. It was a relief.
And as for THE APOCALYPSE, I think it’s a flaw in the writing we aren’t more concerned about it.
Almost forgot about Bonnie (I know, not surprising), but since I have a positive thing to say, I thought it was worth mentioning it for a change. The “exorcise” scene was not that bad and the white eyes worked for me, those are always spooky. And in the end when I realized she hadn’t had any recollection of what she had been doing it made me feel a little bit better about her. I rather have her as a dumb victim than a traitor b***h.
Oh well, this was longer than I expected. Hope I’m not forgetting anything, but since it’s way pass my bed time I’m not planning on re-reading it, so I apologize in advanced for the mistakes.
Lucky us, this episode wasn’t nearly as bad as the previous one. At least I FELT something. (Maybe the writers “compelled” us to switch off our emotions along with Elena?? And that’s why they are giving us all the dull episodes, so when she turns her feelings back on we all get a super emotional episode and live the whole thing through our screens?? LAST minute epiphany). That wouldn’t be bad at all.
Excellent recap Julie! Hope to read your thoughts on my, now, two theories 🙂
Hey Julie! I’m with you. Rebekah’s head-slamming that poor bar patron, after he tried to hit on her, was, by far, the best part of the episode. I just know I’m going to get a ton of use out of that gif, in the future. Never . . . gets . . . old. 🙂
I’m also in agreement with you on Stefan being a bit of an afterthought this week, character development wise. TVD writers are notorious for marginalizing characters. There have been plenty of episodes where Matt, Caroline, Tyler, Bonnie, Rebekah, Klaus, and Jeremy (RIP), were barely there or absent. But this was really the first time I’ve seen Stefan with so little to do, aside from ratting Bonnie out to those soon-to-be-dead witches
Now, as long as they never do that to my Damon, I’m cool. 😉
I liked your take on the difference between Elena and Katherine, and how you view Elena’s “naughtiness” as mere posturing, whereas, with Katherine it’s “The Real Deal.” I know, personally, I was surprised by Elena’s capacity for manipulation, this week, given that, in her interview, Julie Plec, pretty much explicitly claimed that what would distinguish Bad!Elena from Katherine would be the former’s brutal honesty. But the distinction you’ve drawn makes more sense.
Speaking of Bad!Elena, I do see your correlation between her turning off her emotions, and the episodes since that occurrence seeming to have less emotional impact, almost as if we are viewing them with Elena-colored glasses. I do think that both you and Damon are right about Elena’s return to humanity being destined to be a highly emotional one. I just hope Elena changes a bit from this experience. Because, as much as I don’t adore Humanity Free Elena, a little darkness makes for an interesting character. And I’d love for Vampire Elena to return to humanity with a bit more edge an cynicism than when she left it.
Warning, this comment contains strong language, crude humor, swearing that is not snark and potentially offensive language.
Now don’t get me wrong, Julie, your recap was good and I think you did the best there could have done regarding this episode (especially with your “I’m bored” statements), but I actually have nothing else to say after seeing this episode.
I quit this show!!!
It’s over, plain and simple. I don’t give a rat’s ass about this anymore. I was only back this season to know what the fuck these writers are doing and now I finally know with absolute certainty:
They fuck with you by providing you all with this escape fantasy that is just as much a mindfuck as Twilight is. It was hard to believe for me, but apparently that is really the only reason why this show is successful. Because it is the same escape fantasy as Twilight. The good thing is Twilight is over thanks to Plec (ups Meyer of course) acting like a child, but this nightmare that is the Vampire Diaries just goes on and on. And it’s not even good or changing or anything. It is the same crap over and over again. It was hard to stand while I still wanted something from it, but now I can’t stand it anymore.
Not only the show but also the crazy fans who think this is the best show ever and even love the show for its crap. But woooo when you ask why. Then they get defensive with their asses and claim that you cannot explain it or say that the show is great or that in every show there are plotholes when it’s long running (this one already had them in its first season) or even since its fictional it’s not logic by default. But you know what? None of those airheads who said so could ever explain it. They all just acted in the “I say so and you have to agree” attitude, like little children.
I get the feeling the people responsible for this show don’t even want to understand what their problems are, and neither does the majority of fans and shippers as it seems. They just want to escape into this world. But here is the thing: Why of all this one? Why? I guess because it claims to be our world and actually isn’t. Not even remotely.
This show is such crap that now that I know everything I wanted to know there is no reason whatsoever to keep watching it. Even the short videos for World of Warcraft expansions, patches and general cinematics are better than a whole episode of TVD. And I don’t even play World of Warcraft. Don’t believe me? Look at some of them:
Colorful and telling a story:
Gloomy and telling story:
Building up suspense:
And if an online game can do it with only a few minutes, so should TVD, but they fail. They fail spectacularly. TVD doesn’t care about realism at all anyway so they at least could have used that in a right way. Like Mel Brooks:
But nooooo, their drama and suspense is so boring that I was not able to see this show at the evening for months or otherwise I would have fallen asleep in front of the screen, it was that boring and yes that includes the dreadful “Elena breaks down” episode that made me so angry that I had to wait 2 weeks to write it, technically one week to calm down and the rest is work related, but still two weeks. That is also a problem with their promos. They have next to nothing in common with the actual episodes. Which is why I especially do not get why so many still give these shitty promos credit. And I probably never will.
The basic things in this show already are pretty flawed:
1. The Vampires…
Like so many other vampires today, the main vampires here are whiny and brooding teenagers. At least Vampire Diaries attempted to stay more in line with standard vampire fiction such as harmed by sunlight (unless they apparently wear some type of ring, convenience), can be killed by a stake through the heart and can actually be tempted to suck blood. However, that temptation has led to something else in TVD.
2. All the Killing
Is there anybody here that actually has not lost count on how many people were killed on this show? The thing is, in normal shows vampires are very careful. They never outright kill someone because killing means a body, it means people start asking questions. Now these vampires have the ability to erase memories (or block them, they don’t clarify which, not really since the basically ignore lots of stuff [remember Tyler being compelled? Did his memories ever come back?]) so I guess that’s really handy. Well to some extent because when people get killed they will be missed, not here on this show of course, the average IQ is too low to even remember lost family members. Also the more deaths, the less impact they have especially if all you kill are side characters and “also stars”. Jeremy and Alaric were the only “main” ones so far and at the time of their deaths both have become tools and so despite what people claim their deaths did not really have an impact. Only Jeremy’s did because Plec suddenly wanted to. The deaths of most other characters were quickly glossed over.
Do Plec and Williamson want to compensate for something with all those deaths?
3. They are pansies!
The vampires that are the stars of the series are the wimpiest bunch of supernatural folklore ever, even more than the witches and werewolves! Damon and Klaus are the closest thing to a real vampire and even these two are basically brooding teenagers with angst and anger management issues. Stefan was and is terrible at his job as a vampire. He did and does nothing but watch as Damon does awful, horrible stuff to the people of Mystic Falls and basically the same with Klaus. He’s had ample opportunities to do away with Damon and Katherine and also the Originals but has done nothing, and you can’t say “then he would have died to” because he could have done it long before that was known. He didn’t even take revenge for Lexi’s death and she was his best friend. Some friend Stefan is.
And you know what is the biggest irony of them all? I heard something and so I checked: The name “Salvatore” is Italian for “savior.” These two idiots are the worst saviors ever. Their name should be changed to “Distruttore” (destroyer) or “Disastro” (I don’t have to translate that).
And there is more than just being a pansy:
Now, I don’t assume that these writers know what they are doing and deliberately write the characters that way, but the way they are written Damon and especially Klaus could be people that in real life have narcissistic personality disorder. I researched and the symptoms as defined by the DSM-IV-TR include:
1. Reacting to criticism with anger, shame, or humiliation
2. Taking advantage of others to reach own goals
3. Exaggerating own importance, achievements, and talents
4. Imagining unrealistic fantasies of success, beauty, power, intelligence, or romance
5. Requiring constant attention and positive reinforcement from others
6. Becoming jealous easily
7. Lacking empathy and disregarding the feelings of others
8. Being obsessed with self
9. Pursuing mainly selfish goals
10. Trouble keeping healthy relationships
11. Becoming easily hurt and rejected
12. Setting goals that are unrealistic
13. Wanting “the best” of everything
14. Appearing unemotional
In addition to these symptoms, the person may also display dominance, arrogance, show superiority, and seek power. The symptoms of narcissistic personality disorder can be similar to the traits of individuals with strong self-esteem and confidence; differentiation occurs when the underlying psychological structures of these traits are considered pathological. Narcissists have such an elevated sense of self-worth that they value themselves as inherently better than others. However, they have a fragile self-esteem and cannot handle criticism, and will often try to compensate for this inner fragility by belittling or disparaging others in an attempt to validate their own self-worth. It is this sadistic tendency that is characteristic of narcissism as opposed to other psychological conditions affecting level of self-worth.
Will anybody here deny that Damon shows some and Klaus fits several of these points? In my eyes Damon fits points 3-5, 10-11 and Klaus fits the points 1-13. That guy seems like someone that has this disorder. Which would be good if you have him as an antagonist, but this show makes him a love interest. This is sick.
Seriously, he could fit right into this program:
Listen to this:
Or this:
4. They are loved.
It is one thing to love a vampire and I know it is always a big thing to use “love conquers all” but that goes only so far. Long before Elena and most of the cast became undead the people were dropping dead like flies around them every other day. And they don’t react to it, not once. Not even when Elena had her “breakdown” did she or anybody accuse the Salvatores, despite the fact that all the shit started with them. Not to mention that the whole immortal thing was never really addressed as a problem, only as a distraction.
5. The Casting
I already said in many, many previous comments that the cast are very gender stereotypical. The guys are all muscular and ripped and before April every girl on the show was skinny and April is barely more than extra. But apart from that the guys as well as the gals all look pretty much alike in their gender category. And I heard that all CW shows suffer from this now as all the girls have nice eyes, pouty lips and slightly large front teeth. Either way you can literally take any character and replace that actor with another actor and no one will notice.
But there is not just that. The plots are so horrible. This show just seems to take unoriginal ideas from what’s popular out there right now and spun it like it was some new novel idea. Seriously, copying and nothing else regarding the supernatural and background elements. So many similarities to fiction that came before this show. I personally don’t believe that the writers of this show actually have the necessary depth and experience to know any more than what was popular so they clearly copied from that. In addition, I will not comment of those elements that are practically standard now (e.g. the full moon, immortality, fangs, sunlight etc.).
So, these issues I mentioned are as follows:
Heightened emotion of the vampires – This theme is very reminiscent of the vampires in Anne Rice’s vampire chronicles who are also subject to extreme states of emotion.
Vampires are descended from first vampires (the Originals) and if the progenitor of a vampire line is killed all its descendents die also – This is also very similar to Anne Rice and mirrors what was portrayed in her novel Queen of the Damned in which it was stated that should the vampire Queen Akasha die all her descendents would die also, and they nearly did, had another vampire not eaten the Queen’s heart and thereby became the new Queen of the Damned.
A witch is responsible for the creation of the Vampires – Now this feature could really be another example of the show’s treatment of witches as mere tools and plot conveniences (just like they do with black people in general), but the main topic is the same as in the before mentioned novel Queen of Damned in which witches were also there before vampires and are directly or indirectly (depending on the readers viewpoint) responsible for the creation of the vampires.
The “vampire-werewolf-war” and the near extermination of the werewolves – This is very similar to the first Underworld movie, the main difference is that in the movie the extermination is still going on and in the show it was stated that the vampires had hunted the werewolves to near extinction centuries ago. This is also similar to what was stated in the fourth book of the Twilight Series, Breaking Dawn, where it was said that the European werewolves, called Children of the Moon, where hunted to near extinction by the Volturi vampires. Also the “instinct” to attack vampires first and foremost is also reminiscent of Twilight and Underworld, especially in the third Underworld movie the bestial first generation werewolves attacked vampires the whole time despite having no reason to do so apart from self-defense.
The lethal bite of the werewolves – Not exactly the same but it is similar to what was stated by the vampire Selene in the first Underworld movie. When asked by newly infected Lycan Michael on whether a bite by her would transform him into a vampire she answered that it would kill him because no one ever survived a bite from both species and the Lycan scientist in the movie stated that it seemed that both species were meant to destroy each other even on a cellular level. While never stated so, in the newest Underworld movie this topic was still used, as being evident by one of the main vampires of the film who had died during the Lycan attack. Since his body was barely harmed and considered that the Lycans fought without weapons this suggests that he was killed by bite. A werewolf bite in The Vampire Diaries was portrayed similar to a form of nasty infection, although the skin-reaction between Damon and Rose was very different. In Damon’s case it looked rather like a blood poisoning while in Rose’s case the affected skin looked rather blistered and infected.
The older vampires are the stronger ones – This is at the same time similar to Anne Rice’s vampires who get stronger with age and the White Wolf game line Vampire: The Masquerade where older vampires had thicker vampire blood and where therefore stronger. Which of the two concepts was used for The Vampire Diaries I cannot say since it was never clarified why older vampires where stronger.
Native Americans as werewolves – The werewolves encountered by the family of first vampires when they were still human were referred to as “Indians” by Elijah, something that is similar to Twilight and its portrayal of the Quileute werewolf pack, also in a deleted scene for season 2 it was stated that the werewolf gene passed down via the male line, something also in line with Twilight where nearly every werewolf is male and the sole female werewolf is menopausal suggesting that the trait can only be passed via the male line.
The main two vampires where born and raised in the Virginia of the American Civil War, thereby belonging to the so-called slave states of the USA – This is very similar to the character Bill in the series True Blood (as well as the book series The Southern Vampire Mysteries which are the basis for the show) except that Bill was from Louisiana and not Virginia. It could be that the Civil War area was used in favor of the Renaissance of the books because US-American viewers might more easily identify with this time period, or in general are more familiar, or it was just another example of cashing in on what was used by someone else already.
To become a vampire you have to die with vampire blood in your system – This reminded me of the TV series Blade in which the human was infected with vampire blood (or in whatever the vampire virus was contained) and then had to die before being raised as a vampire. Having to drink the blood of a vampire to become a vampire was also used in Buffy: The Vampire Slayer, albeit somewhat inconsistently.
Vampiric compulsion – So similar to the glamouring in The Southern Vampire Mysteries, it is hard to believe that it is coincidence. Either it’s from there or they both have it from another source.
Vampir-Werewolf hybrids – Underworld, without any doubt. The TVD hybrids are nowhere near as dangerous as the three in Underworld but the similarity of the concept is clear. It also was featured in the RPG Werewolf the Apocalypse albeit these “Abominations” where more like undead werewolves, while the TVD hybrids were rather portrayed like a slightly mutated strain of vampires since apart from the bite and the eye color they never used their werewolf side in any way.
Elijah was able to determine that Elena was lying in season 3 – Since this happened long after Teen Wolf got aired and already established this trick and such a thing was never done before this particular episode of TVD despite the thing that the vampires hearing abilities were stated already in season 1, I think the chances are very high that they simply copied it from Teen Wolf.
The wolf comes out when the werewolf in human form is angry – Twilight, the only difference is that here it’s not a full transformation but only the eyes, which could easily be explained by budget limits.
The hunters – this is a Buffy rip-off if ever there was one. When one of the five dies, the next potential is called.
Of course it doesn’t stop there, but I really don’t want to go deeper into this than is necessary for my peace of mind. But this episode alone was full of conveniences and the same stuff they did over and over:
Isn’t it convenient again that there were/are clubs in which vampires can feed on people and still no non-supernatural humans except the Mystic Falls council ever targeted humans?
You know you would think that such an establishment would be known and even targeted. But nope. Not in this show. Here the world bends, brakes and rearranges itself all for the three main lamers. The characters on this show are forced to bend over backwards all the time, especially for Elena, for both versions actually and its bullshit. Incredible how inventive the writers are isn’t it?
This whole stuff with Caroline and Klaus in this episode was just the same shit (not that it has ever been anything else but shit just this time a different shit) we had earlier this season when Stefan lamented that they are no better than Klaus. It was just there to manipulate the viewers into thinking Klaus is not so bad or that Caroline is no better. Yes she is. Because Klaus is a mass murderer and Caroline is not. And all this bullshit being attracted to the darkside… I know many girls apparently like a project but this is not only ridiculous it is plain crazy, there is a troubled past and there is a serial killer. And apparently many cannot see the difference and that is right where this shitty show plays into: the bad boy stereotype. It is just that, nothing more, absolutely nothing. They clearly show that by having Damon and Lexi having sex. And it’s not even hidden how they want to show that Damon is once again portrayed as oh so sexy to every woman, every white woman that is (hey whatever sort of women actually counts on this show in this matter?); it is plain obvious.
And this ridiculous bad boy whining. How dumb can anybody be? This “but he wants you” by Klaus is not love or romance or anything, it is plain appealing to your ego. That this terrible murderer will want you makes you feel so special and forget what a monster he is and that Caroline actually wants Klaus only proves that everything these asshole writers do is fuck up their own characters and sell it as a good story.
But then again some women apparently even line up for those murderers and serial killers in real life: http://www.women24.com/Wellness/BodyAndSpirit/Why-women-fall-in-love-with-murderers-20130228.
Is that similar here to what the author describes?
“Women in love have been known to ‘hammer’ against the bars of convicted serial killers on death row in an attempt to get their attention and beg them for marriage. Some even tie the knot in the proverbial shadow of the gallows with these convicted murderers that have been called lady killers after their imprisonment.
Most of us wonder what kind of future these men can offer these women. But to them these anti-heroes aren’t monsters, but irresistible would-be lovers. There are women that feel so attracted to the so-called bad boys that they have been described as serial killer groupies.
These female supporters arrive at court cases in great numbers where even the most gruesome evidence against these violent criminals is heard. They start fantasizing about meeting this man and even marrying him. It becomes like the hero-worshipping of a film- or rock star – but only in reverse.”
Is that the same here? Because even within the show it is clear that all three main males now are serial killers. They are walking and talking time bombs. But apparently people love them for it.
Are the reasons for that the same as the author claims for real life cases?
“Speaking to experts such as psychologists and criminologists reasons for this are varied and could include the following:
The prisoner becomes a dream love to the woman, almost like a phantom limb.
Some women are excessively emotionally isolated and feel the need for a safe relationship with limited expectations.
It could also be the result of psychodynamic forces, for instance when a woman herself has a strong urge to kill or possesses pathological evils of anger. Her beloved’s murderous deed also becomes her murderous deed.
Many of these women have a history of violent relationships and somehow they feel attracted to violent men. They might also have been abused by their parents. The prison is a safe environment where he cannot harm her.
Some of these women may be looking for something sensational and adventurous and feel driven to change the person into a good, loving human being.
The reasons for such a relationship may also be sexual in nature, for which the term hybristophilia is used. This is where contact with a violent criminal cause’s sexual arousal.
Many of these women have low self-esteem and often fall prey to the behaviour of sociopaths and psychopaths.”
Is it the same here? Because you cannot seriously tell me that it is normal to be so obsessed with murderers. All these fans are full with excuses, explanation, reasoning and downright lies and flirtations about these characters. How is that possible? Because apparently the Klaus and Damon fans, not that Stefan is any better, are just like that on average.
The acting is not even remotely subtle anymore, it is all handed on a platter. No reason to think for yourself now and apparently that works. Especially by evading everything that could remotely threaten its main demographic: white teen girls and women. Play safe, totally safe. Claim this and that but do nothing of the unpleasant realities that come with it, unless of course you want to claim that your protagonist, who is basically just the price for the two main men, actually evolves and goes through hard times. Not that this really happens. Elena just goes back and forth all the time. Just like the rest and it gets even worse, now that fans have rewarded Plec so much that she creates another show full of serial killers. They will surely be just as safe as the rest. And every time something is odd Plec will just claim that it is fiction or come with some stupid excuse like she did with Bonnie’s lack of relationship.
As what does she actually advocate this spin-off? Will it be what she claims? Because TVD claims to be a teen show but apart from the freakish “love” they have, they deal with nothing teens normally go through, they just plainly ignore it, so they can get away from real life as far as possible. None of life’s other unpleasantness is even hinted at. They do not care about income, about being actually dirty, about true suffering and character growth; they do nothing to establish actual relationships past the “quick love” stuff. The same with everything else:
Stephen (remember Bill’s boyfriend) was never mentioned again after Bill died
Jamie and Lucy just disappeared
Those friends of Elena in Denver never showed up
No school counselor or anything ever inquired about Matt, Bonnie, Tyler, Elena or Jeremy
No higher government official ever came to Mystic Falls
No witches ever showed up to stop the originals
No vampires reacted to all the mass deaths that must have occurred
No werewolves ever tried to stop Klaus in any way
The spirits do not act when it’s a good chance
The mentioned grandma Lockwood from season 2 never showed up
None of Mason’s friends ever inquired as to his whereabouts
No vampire of Sage’s age ever stated that the sun-and-the-moon curse is bullshit
They never clarified how Abby was able to restrain Michael to bewitch him
They never stated how knowing Klaus’ whereabouts could be leverage for Pearl or even why Pearl was friends with homicidal Katherine
They never cared about Matt not having health insurance
They never said why simply shutting the coffin could safe Klaus, even without the flames shouldn’t the stake have killed him anyway?
etc. etc.
Nothing that could even remotely touch real life was ever addressed here. Escape fantasy remember? But escape from what “the war on terror”? The economy? Street violence? Or maybe… nope not even gonna waste that much time on typing that. Just going on to the next point.
As so often the show is blatantly misogynistic and sells that as sexy. This whole Klaus Caroline thing just shows again its sexist and patriarchal nature. Before anyone here starts saying that they are not, remember: just because women aren’t referred to as whores, bitches, sluts or pussies all the time, or maybe even never, doesn’t make a show non-sexist.
This show cannot have a female character that is truly badass, she must always be brought down and the will of men must always ultimately prevail one way or another. Nope, Caroline cannot be superior to Klaus, her self esteem must be brought down once again. Klaus must be right, no matter how stupid and immature he is. It will be the same with Rebekah and Elena in the end.
Look at this episode and its portrayal of Damon and Lexi: Of course Damon is sooo great and sooo dangerous. Well for season 4 Lexi. She is another example that this show cannot have badass women. There is no way Damon should have been able to pull her arm out into the sun if she were still season 1 Lexi. She should have either been able to smash through the door or rip off/bite off his ring-finger and thereby making him burn. But no, Lexi has to be the weak woman who is put in place by the big man you all are supposed to desire. And I say “you” willingly, because it never worked with me, not even remotely. The badboy repels me or at least plain hits on my nerves.
By the way: in season 1 it was stated that Stefan returned to Mystic Falls every 50 years, but in this episode it was stated that he was in Mystic Falls in 1977. Inconsistency.
And I really start to wonder whether all the people who still watch this show although there is so much that they don’t like ever noticed something: by watching this stuff even if you do not like it you are still rewarding the makers. Thereby you will never get what you want from this show. And that is something I no longer can in anyway justify to my conscience. I will do nothing anymore. Because even criticism falls on deaf ears. When you look at all the comments in all the sites it seems that the average TVD fan is downright crazy. I’d rather look for more things from around the world. Thanks to youtube it is no longer so difficult to watch different things even if you do not speak the language. Lots of subtitles. Maybe even find shows with badass witches.
After all why should TVD-witches be badass right? Again the witches just suck in this episode and are nothing more than canon-fodder. Twelve witches and Caroline can just slaughter them all (the domino effect is plain plot convenience). What assholes. But hey at least they had their token warlocks and white witches so fans can go on saying that this show is neither racist nor sexist. Yes it is. Having a female black witch as the boss is a stereotype if there ever was one. The only thing missing was her being from New Orleans.
And Bonnie is again without memory… copy from season 1, just like her not being able to tap into magic earlier this seasons. Bonnie is again the quintessential magical negro with no justification for existence apart from being a witch. And none of her stories had anything to do with something other than her being the witch. Bonnie is synonymous with witch. And what is with all these relatives of hers that are strewn throughout the ages? Do they want to make her look more than a plot device? Bonnie is clear evidence that Plec is either racist (very strong evidence as it seems) or/and simply doesn’t like her and apparently that seems to be infectious based on all the comments on Bonnie that I read.
And Elena is just a Katherine copy now (or is the hair a reference to Caroline? If yes would that mean that Elena gets constantly tortured from now on?), despite Plecs statements that she is not (maybe she realized that a third-rate Katherine is no fun for anybody). Not to mention that Plec writes Katherine with using nothing but sex and manipulation, just like pretty much any other female antagonist. Unimaginative writing… no wait… bad writing. And all of Elena’s sudden smiling and the other crap was another example that this woman has no idea what good writing is, at first Elena is a robot supposedly and now she smiles all the time. Wasn’t there something about not having emotions even in this episode? This woman and all her underlings (that includes Williamson) are apparently not willing or not capable to keep their own rules. She is Meyer again, just even more full of herself as it seems.
These characters do not even learn anything or actually evolve in any way; they simply hammer them in to the shape they want whenever they want. Of course the characters would again screw it up. It’s not exactly difficult to fool these idiots. But still we are supposed to be belief that some of them are smart and all.
Now don’t get me wrong. I don’t think that they do most of this crap (sexism, racism, misogyny, homophobia etc.) consciously, except for the manipulation part. I doubt that they are that smart. No, I think Plec genuinely beliefs that what she is responsible for there is a good show. She actually thinks this turd is a pot of gold.
And it is a turd, because a main characteristic of a bad show is that it does the same thing over and over again. This show cannot come with anything new, they just repackage the same thing every season.
In each season:
Elena was some way or another torn between the two brothers.
At least two parental figures died [seems like someone has daddy and mommy issues, heavy daddy and mommy issues].
Witches are just tools and suck.
They tortured and abused Caroline and she just shrugged it off.
There was one vampiric entity coming at the start of the season to be more or less replaced by another one around midseason (Stefan/Damon -> Tomb vampires, Katherine ->Klaus/Elijah, Michael/Hybrids -> Original family, Elena-vampire -> Silas).
Damon took Elena somewhere and when they return she is “changed.”
Every new threat was easily defeated or avoided. Nothing complicated or difficult ever about it.
Every non-white character that wasn’t in some sort of romantic relationship with one of the main characters, apart from Bonnie, disappeared after 5 episodes one way or another, they either got killed or suddenly disappear (Jamie remember?) never to be talked about again.
The “twist” was midseason
Every “big explanation” for something turned out to be false
The “bad guys” were wimps
And ever since the start of season 2:
Jeremy died each season at least once (twice in season 2 and 4).
Tyler left each season at episode 14 and was back at episode 19/20.
Some relative of Bonnie was introduced (either directly or via story/flashback) only to disappear again
See a pattern?
They always take the easy exit (here Bonnie was apparently compelled or something [although if she was the whole time even before Jeremy died, why go through all these shitty scenes in the first place?]). They cater to nothing but mainstream. Williamson once claimed they wanted everyone to be represented in the show because TV is not diverse enough, but he didn’t even come close to 1 % of “everyone”, all this show ended up with is tokenism. At best.
Oh yeah, their main female “heroes” fit right into this list:
And I admit it: I once thought this show was deep, but I was totally wrong. This show is now so intensely shallow that there is nothing good left in it unless you yourself are shallow about elements of this show. When you see deeper positive meanings … If at all this show portrays what is wrong with the current vampire craze.
There is only one good thing for me that came out of this show: I learned to better recognize sexism, racism and rape culture.
And I don’t know what bothers me more, the fact that this show is so bad and full of dysfunctional characters and written by people with no regard to consistency and storytelling or the fact that all these fans make this shit such a big hit. If fans wouldn’t keep watching, or worse just accept everything crap that is thrown out, it wouldn’t have come this far. What fans are doing is rewarding people that do a bad show. And no, saying that you need to relax or that it is just a show or a good brain-off is no excuse. Also not saying something like “this and that is good”. Because a) having good elements doesn’t make a show good and b) I have shitty days too and when I want to have something brain off I try new movies and shows. I watch classics and actually well done films I know already, or I read a book or go out with friends. This show, is just selling itself by cashing in on four principles:
1) Follow the current main trends
2) Never address complicated issues of real life
3) Pay lip service to some controversial issues of real life
4) Assign everything not heteronormative to ambivalent and evil characters (which basically asserts that these non-heteronormative traits are bad)
And it’s not even hidden or subtle in this show. It is plain obvious and apparently fans either cannot see it or ignore it and keep watching. Nothing could ever redeem this fact, not when it practically flies into your face.
They don’t touch anything controversial, they romanticize rape culture and bad boy stereotypes, they cannot come up with anything truly new, they pay only lip service to difficult topics, thereby never being true horror, they assign everything non-normative to ambivalent and evil characters, they have no concept of consistency and good writing. They are either completely unwilling or incapable to create actual tension, meaning and lasting plots. By all these and their pacing they create nothing more than an escape fantasy with rich and beautiful people, well conventionally beautiful of course (in TVD beauty also comes in white did you notice?), well if you are into dumbasses that fuck everything up.
Like I said, one big escape fantasy and not even a good one since they only repeat themselves. For me it’s over. If you want to continue watching this crap. Do it. I will no longer. It’s over!!!!!!
I am rewatching Game of Thrones until the third season starts. Go and see some actual acting and storytelling. See actually consequences because the created world demands it and not because it fits the demands of some albino walrus. See a show were you cannot tell every move that is going to happen, where you actually can be surprised and supporting cast are not just tools and if they are, they are at least good tools. And you know what is also good about Game of Thrones when you see it again? You can watch is as having deeper meaning and look for its details or you can see it as a brain-off, both work perfectly. And you can see stuff you didn’t notice before. Like the fact that Tyrion whistles The Rains of Castamere at the start of season two or that that one musician at the end of season 1 sung a song that hinted that rumors where around that the Lannisters were responsible for the king’s death. In TVD there is no such thing. What you see is what you get and there is no intentional deeper meaning behind it all. Because if you dig deeper everything false apart. If you see deeper meaning, I think you make them up.
And speaking of the show and the Lannisters, you know who actually is most like one of your beloved characters? Geoffrey Lannister. He is exactly like Klaus. Both are spoiled brats, possibly both with NPD, who cannot stand not getting what they want and still most people do what they want despite the cruelties they do time and again. They both blame everybody else for their problems and want everybody to do what they want. They actually think that the stuff they do show is kindness. The difference is that Game of Thrones actually shows how such a person is and can stay in power and it doesn’t portray their sociopathic tendencies and stalker behavior as romance. It shows what actually happens when you fall for such people. But not TVD, there such people are portrayed as romantic interests. This show is like one of those crappy romance novels people read so they can romanticize the crap in their life instead of dealing directly with it.
I hope Jeff Davis will do a better job with Teen Wolf in the summer. His casting for the Alpha pack was already stereotypical enough.
Now it’s time for Game of Thrones. Time for a good show:
This is how you do trailers and sneak peeks:
Even their deleted scenes are much better:
And also their supportive material:
I read a bit of the supportive novels for TVD, not the original novels but the ones that came after the start of the show, and they are crap. Seriously in those books Stefan met Lexi in a butchershop and here they ran into each other close to the battle field. Actually that was the same crap: bringing Stefan to the battle field with lots of blood, Stefan a blood junky. I can’t believe I just absorbed that back then…
Like I said, it’s over, once and for all.
I may be back for Teen Wolf or if Julie starts recapping Game of Thrones, and those that have seen me commenting on Teen Wolf know how different my reactions to that is, but not for any upcoming TVD episodes or spin-offs, never again.
Wow, an eloquent comment deserves an eloquent response. So, I’m going to take some time to process your statements, and get back to you shortly.
On another note, I’m super excited about Game of Thrones starting this Sunday. As I might have mentioned, Book 3 was, by far, my favorite of the series. And I can tell you with 100% certainty that, like the Battle of Blackwater last season, some things that happen this season are going to BLOW YOUR MIND, in a good way. 🙂
To be honest, I’m a bit daunted by the prospect of recapping Game of Thrones, just because the stories are so complex, and the fandom (particularly those who read the books) are notoriously unforgiving of casual fans who misstate facts and plotlines. That said, I’m still considering writing about the show, on a regular basis, at least in some capacity.
Don’t worry, you can take your time. Albeit I wonder what comment will come, since it has been a while since your comments have been as long as mine. 😉
Albeit I wouldn’t call my comment “eloquent” rather letting out steam. I mean I put the warning at the start for a reason.
I hope Game of Thrones will be good, they can’t throw out such trailers and not keep what they promise. And Game of Thrones is a fantasy show that even non-fantasy fans of all ages enjoy and that is an achievement. Well that and since the Whitewalkers are now in the open I hope we get to see more of them.
As for the game of thrones fandom… let me guess, they are full of purists like the one of Lord of the Rings? 🙂
I think I might have an inkling, back when the films first came out I also knew some people who complained why so much of the books was not in the films. That was annoying. *rolleyes*
Do you have any idea in what way you will be writing about the show? Similar to last season when you wrote about them and other shows in a single recap?
Ps. Enjoy:
Sisterhood of the Travelling Nosebleeds–love it! Yeah, we’re just waitin around for ZombieWitchWereSupeVampocalypse to happen (not). In truth, that would be the End of the World by Overpopulation, and I for one don’t believe Bon will ever perform the Dance of the Seven Veils dropping spell. We probs won’t find out until another six-pack of epis, anyway–gotta get in prom and spin The Originals into oblivion first. Priorities! Ya know, peeps gotta get more careful what they ask for–they wanted Klaus sex and got it–with Hayley. They (WE) got forplayed for a week for rooftop Delena sex, but we got DSLexied (and only the implication at that!). You’re absolutely right, at least ABC Family strips off some pesky clothing! I did, however, LOVE the return of Wicked Woobie in his dealing with Lexi. Yup, Lexi was too blond to catch on that during that time it was ALL ABOUT THE KATHERINE–female ego and after-effects of wearing a mood ring for too long! Considering how long we usually have to wait for plot advancement, I was kinda surprised we got the answer to the third leg (bwahaaa!) of the Expression Triangle and completed it all in one epi. We’re one step closer to Invisible/Visible Disappearing/Reappearing Shilas’ great reveal. Somehow Shilas getting The Cure back, dropping the veil, and committing Hari Kari to be with unnamed Lady Love rings a big FALSE on my bullshit meter! Personally, the biggest insult of all wasn’t the Spicy Girls double-crossing Damon, or Klaus getting Stake 2.0 broke off in his back (um, does indestructible not apply and they can just break it into pieces?), but THOSE WENCHES TOOK THE CAMARO?!?!?!?!
Haha, good point, mak! How dare those girls make off with that car? I hope Damon gets revenge on them, in a big way, for that little scheme. Dude’s got a rep to protect, after all!
I’d say he could report it stolen. But then he’d just be giving the girls a free snack on whatever poor schlubby cop had the misfortune of investigating the crime.
Maybe he should track it, and steal it right back out from under them.
Dis-Lexied! Awesome term . . . would have made a great title for this episode actually. (Much better than “Because the night . . .” I get that it’s a song. But it’s not even a complete sentence!)
I totally agree with you about Bushyhead being full of crap about his motive to “die with dignity.” I mean that’s a whole lot of trouble to go through, getting resurrected, and murdering 36 people (and JerBear) just to end up croaking again, right afterwards. And all for some random dead chick.
Who even can say for sure she’s going to see him in the Great Beyond? He’s never been there to check. What if girlfriend’s in Heaven? Because
, veil or no veil, one thing’s for sure, Bushyhead is DEFINITELY not going there, when he dies.
Damon can’t just report it stolen–it’s a freakin CLASSIC CAR! lol Maybe he has Vampire GPS in it…now wouldn’t THAT be convenient to track the Spicy Girls! Yes, ‘Because the Night’ didn’t fit very well–we didn’t get much lovin on-screen! How bitchin would it be if No-Name Lady Love went to Hell instead of the hereafter? That’s where I think they’re making the distinction–she was human and went to (they don’t wanna bring in religious overtones so they don’t call it ‘heaven’) The Hereafter, whereas after Qetsiyah created ‘The Other Side’, all supernatural creatures went there. Shilas needs to go to The Eternal Sunburn of the Purgatory Mind when/if he goes, immortal or not! And if he has Bonster drop the Veil, wouldn’t that mean Qetsiyah would be back in full mother-effin force? He’d sure have to make a lot of things happen simultaneously–Bon does spell to drop veil, Shilas takes (drinks?) The Cure, Shilas kills himself and goes to The Hereafter before Qetsiyah gets to him…..*sigh* So many questions!