So, last week, Damon trusted Kai and this was a bad idea
I totally did not see this coming guys. Not at all. Nope.
He is now near death, hovering in limbo with Cade
appearing to make a deal – hand over the stabby knife of Cade killing and he
won’t kill Elena – who Kai has given to Cade in exchange for his own life (why
is this a trade, again, why does Cade care so much). Kai has also kept the
stabby dagger as insurance.
So this means appealing to Kai’s better nature (lol no)
which Stefan insists oncoming along. Oh this is the new Stefan redemption train
by the way – he decides he’s just going to join in in places where his human
self is a completely useless waste of meat. After Stefan gets duly stabbed in
the hand, it’s Damon who breaks Kai’s neck, steals the dagger and dump Kai in a
prison
They’re still not killing him despite Alaric’s vote
because… because… well, because.
Stefan also went to a very not interested Bonnie to beg
forgiveness to which Bonnie told him just how much he can fuck himself
mightily. Good on Bonnie. Ha, you know it’s not going to last, right? Yep,
because ghostly Enzo wants Bonnie to forgive Stefan. Y’know how I’ve been
mentioning over and over again that the morality issues of this series would be
great if we were given more time to develop these a little more rather than
just mentioning them in the last few episodes. Because this? Has a great point.
This is the flip side of “everyone is evil” lesson of Vampire Diaries. If everyone is evil, then anyone being judgemental
or unforgiving is a hypocrite. For every mass-murder you tut-over, you either
have committed one yourself or are in love with/forgiving a different
mass-murder. At this point no-one has the moral high ground. The “moral high
ground” of the Vampire Diaries world
is just a series of mines, or eccentric scientists trying to burrow to the
centre of the Earth. The Moral high grounds involves different height piles of
corpses everyone is stood on.
Again, this would be fun to develop
Also everyone is also trying to convince Stefan that
redemption means hanging around with your support net (who also you need to
actually make amends to) rather than running off to places unknown for reasons
unknown which probably just means running away with everything
I have little patience for the Salvatore angst.
Caroline and Alaric are also concerned that their little
girls are magic using scary kids with little control and causing a whole lot of
destruction and danger. Caroline actually raises a reasonable point – maybe they’re
shitty parents? All the chaos in their lives around these kids could have
affected them.
Hey sirens and deaths and vampires and magic probably
aren’t good for development of children even if they don’t have magic.
Kai has another insight: the girls are Geminis twins. And
syphoners, basically just like him. Of course he didn’t turn out very well, but
that was largely because the chosen solution to him being a syphoner was to
isolate him from everyone, no touch, no compassion. So that’s a bad choice to
make. Especially as he describes being a syphoner as desperate, addicted,
hungry for magic. It’s certainly not an easy childhood.
Another bad choice to make may be to bring the syphoner kids to the Armoury which is like MAGIC CENTRAL and probably not a great place for them. There’s magic in the very walls – which is also a really bad place to imprison Kai, a siphoner
He escapes, incapacitates Caroline and goes on a rampage
looking for the girls (who have been taught to hide from bad guys. See what we
said about bad parenting? Your children need an emergency drill for psychopaths
which they’re actually going to use, then that doesn’t speak for a stable
childhood).
At least it’s a good drill that does protect the children
and Kai can’t find them – giving Alaric time to find Kai and ambush him: and
then, when acting as a distraction, Caroline can finish him off – because in
the shifting powers of Vampire Diaries, a witch cannot fight a vampire they don’t
see coming
Unfortunately this has distracted Alaric from his part in
a plot he made with Stefan
Stefan and Damon arrange to hunt down Cade and while Damon would rather leave his human brother behind, Stefan insists he needs to be the one to do the stabbing
Which is infuriating. This isn’t absolution. This is narcissism. Stefan has placed his guilt at the centre of the world, his need for a gesture of redemption matters more than actually getting things done. Of course Damon is better suited to do the stabbing – he’s the vampire. But Stefan’s guilt means he not only demands this, but even incapacitates Damon so he can go it alone and be the human bringing down Cade.
This arrogant self-centredness should condemn him, not
absolve him
It starts going well because Alaric rings the siren bell,
which weakens and hurts Cade and allows Stefan to stab him a few times (hey, if
this were Damon he could stab him a hundred times in the time it took Stefan to
stab once) but then Alaric is called to help save his daughters from Kai.
Cade easily gets the upper hand when Damon arrives: and
he offers Damon a choice; kill Elena or Stefan. Naturally, despite the angsty
expressions, Damon accepts neither choice and instead chooses to sacrifice
himself, willingly staking himself (see, Stefan, this is a redeeming sacrifice,
rather than redeeming theatre).
Bonnie, whose new woo-woo has sensed all this, rushes in
and challenges Cade to a psychic power off for Damon’s soul; something which
could kill her as well. See, while I hate that Bonnie is always the servant and
I really loathe that she’s barely got these powers, they’ve been completely undeveloped
and already they’re being turned into something driving her to risk sacrifice
for the other characters, the redeeming part of this is (unlike Enzo and
Bonnie) I actually get the bond between Bonnie and Damon. It has been excellently
and powerfully established; it’s still a call to service but at least they’ve
established WHY Bonnie would serve here
And we have Damon begging her to let him go, because he
doesn’t want her to sacrifice for him; because he is willing to sacrifice for
her.
But before either can sacrifice, the distraction they
provide, confusing Cade, gives the ignored Stefan the chance to give Cade a
final stabbing, Isn’t it lucky Cade goes to the posturing-no-kill-them school
of villainy? Despite he literally having all eternity to torment them in hell?
Still Cade is dead and Damon is alive again…because woo-woo.Don’t question it,
it’s Vampire Diatries
And we have Kai, with Bonnie and the twins working magic together, all locked up in a prison world (his worst nightmare).
And isn’t it all just really conveniently handwaved? I
think this whole season feels that way – it’s the last season and Vampire Diaries Usually leaves so many
threads unresolved to be picked up later that now the writers are having to
shut every down – and it all feels… convenient, rushed clumsy. Bonnie’s new
powers. The anti-climactic defeat of Cade. Stefan the human. Enzo’s death and continuance.
Enzo and Bonnie’s whole relationship. Kai is out then back in prison. Quick,
short, storyettes resolved too quickly and too neatly. Even Cade’s whole focus
on them (which I’ll come back to)
Now time for a disaster that can’t be handwaved but oh
gods they try
After considering they’re shitty parents, they decide no, they’re not. They’re awesome parents for these kids and they’re also going to stay in the Armoury despite what Kai not only said but clearly showed them – there’s magic everywhere which isn’t healthy for a Siphoner
Oh and they’re going to open up a school for all kids
like them! Presumably on the armoury site. So, some questions
1) who is paying for this? Really? I mean, where’s the
money coming from for this? One of you is a local reporter and the other is a
university professor – you’re not rolling in money. And who even pays for the
Armoury?
2) In the name of all that is sensible, how the fuck is
human-monster-killer-Alaric and really-young-vampire Caroline remotely
qualified to teach ANY supernatural child? Especially magic users? We’ve just
seen how out of their depth they are?
3) Is there a demand for this? I mean, are there hordes
of orphan witches out there we don’t know about? (Vampires and werewolves
generally don’t seem to have this problem since vampires aren’t born and
werewolves only go wolfy after they’ve killed someone). And if there are,
again, how are Alaric and Caroline going to fix this?
4) Do you know what would be totally great for your
siphoner kids? Lots of magical kids to Feed on! Are you actually drunk right
now? I mean, more than usual since Mystic Falls has replaced its water supply
with bourbon.
In what universe is this a good idea?!
Time for the big revelation for the last 2 episodes: Cade
may be dead but he has passed the reigns of hell on to their worst enemy, the
most dreaded, the scariest, the most horrifying
Katherine
Katherine, really? I mean yeah she doesn’t like them but
I’d take Katherine over Quetsiyah any day. Or any of the Original family. Hell
even Kai was scarier. Katherine was scary back in season 3 – but now?
Also can we address the nonsense that is this and Cade?
Cade, the immortal devil himself, has existed for
thousands of years. Nothing ties him to Mystic Falls. He has no investment with
any of the brothers… so why is he here? I mean, really? The minute he was free
why didn’t he tour the world murdering people? Why spend so much effort on
these particular souls? Why was he willing to trade Kai for Elena in the first place?
Why does he care about Elena? Why hang around? And why actually set up a
situation where, on your death, the Salvatores’ “worst enemy” takes over. Why
is he THIS invested in the Salvatores? Why does he give the slightest shit who
inherits hell? He’s got this whole vendetta against the cast that came from
nowhere.
I totally did not see this coming guys. Not at all. Nope.
He is now near death, hovering in limbo with Cade
appearing to make a deal – hand over the stabby knife of Cade killing and he
won’t kill Elena – who Kai has given to Cade in exchange for his own life (why
is this a trade, again, why does Cade care so much). Kai has also kept the
stabby dagger as insurance.
So this means appealing to Kai’s better nature (lol no)
which Stefan insists oncoming along. Oh this is the new Stefan redemption train
by the way – he decides he’s just going to join in in places where his human
self is a completely useless waste of meat. After Stefan gets duly stabbed in
the hand, it’s Damon who breaks Kai’s neck, steals the dagger and dump Kai in a
prison
They’re still not killing him despite Alaric’s vote
because… because… well, because.
Stefan also went to a very not interested Bonnie to beg
forgiveness to which Bonnie told him just how much he can fuck himself
mightily. Good on Bonnie. Ha, you know it’s not going to last, right? Yep,
because ghostly Enzo wants Bonnie to forgive Stefan. Y’know how I’ve been
mentioning over and over again that the morality issues of this series would be
great if we were given more time to develop these a little more rather than
just mentioning them in the last few episodes. Because this? Has a great point.
This is the flip side of “everyone is evil” lesson of Vampire Diaries. If everyone is evil, then anyone being judgemental
or unforgiving is a hypocrite. For every mass-murder you tut-over, you either
have committed one yourself or are in love with/forgiving a different
mass-murder. At this point no-one has the moral high ground. The “moral high
ground” of the Vampire Diaries world
is just a series of mines, or eccentric scientists trying to burrow to the
centre of the Earth. The Moral high grounds involves different height piles of
corpses everyone is stood on.
Again, this would be fun to develop
Also everyone is also trying to convince Stefan that
redemption means hanging around with your support net (who also you need to
actually make amends to) rather than running off to places unknown for reasons
unknown which probably just means running away with everything
I have little patience for the Salvatore angst.
Caroline and Alaric are also concerned that their little
girls are magic using scary kids with little control and causing a whole lot of
destruction and danger. Caroline actually raises a reasonable point – maybe they’re
shitty parents? All the chaos in their lives around these kids could have
affected them.
Hey sirens and deaths and vampires and magic probably
aren’t good for development of children even if they don’t have magic.
Kai has another insight: the girls are Geminis twins. And
syphoners, basically just like him. Of course he didn’t turn out very well, but
that was largely because the chosen solution to him being a syphoner was to
isolate him from everyone, no touch, no compassion. So that’s a bad choice to
make. Especially as he describes being a syphoner as desperate, addicted,
hungry for magic. It’s certainly not an easy childhood.
Another bad choice to make may be to bring the syphoner kids to the Armoury which is like MAGIC CENTRAL and probably not a great place for them. There’s magic in the very walls – which is also a really bad place to imprison Kai, a siphoner
He escapes, incapacitates Caroline and goes on a rampage
looking for the girls (who have been taught to hide from bad guys. See what we
said about bad parenting? Your children need an emergency drill for psychopaths
which they’re actually going to use, then that doesn’t speak for a stable
childhood).
At least it’s a good drill that does protect the children
and Kai can’t find them – giving Alaric time to find Kai and ambush him: and
then, when acting as a distraction, Caroline can finish him off – because in
the shifting powers of Vampire Diaries, a witch cannot fight a vampire they don’t
see coming
Unfortunately this has distracted Alaric from his part in
a plot he made with Stefan
Stefan and Damon arrange to hunt down Cade and while Damon would rather leave his human brother behind, Stefan insists he needs to be the one to do the stabbing
Which is infuriating. This isn’t absolution. This is narcissism. Stefan has placed his guilt at the centre of the world, his need for a gesture of redemption matters more than actually getting things done. Of course Damon is better suited to do the stabbing – he’s the vampire. But Stefan’s guilt means he not only demands this, but even incapacitates Damon so he can go it alone and be the human bringing down Cade.
This arrogant self-centredness should condemn him, not
absolve him
It starts going well because Alaric rings the siren bell,
which weakens and hurts Cade and allows Stefan to stab him a few times (hey, if
this were Damon he could stab him a hundred times in the time it took Stefan to
stab once) but then Alaric is called to help save his daughters from Kai.
Cade easily gets the upper hand when Damon arrives: and
he offers Damon a choice; kill Elena or Stefan. Naturally, despite the angsty
expressions, Damon accepts neither choice and instead chooses to sacrifice
himself, willingly staking himself (see, Stefan, this is a redeeming sacrifice,
rather than redeeming theatre).
Bonnie, whose new woo-woo has sensed all this, rushes in
and challenges Cade to a psychic power off for Damon’s soul; something which
could kill her as well. See, while I hate that Bonnie is always the servant and
I really loathe that she’s barely got these powers, they’ve been completely undeveloped
and already they’re being turned into something driving her to risk sacrifice
for the other characters, the redeeming part of this is (unlike Enzo and
Bonnie) I actually get the bond between Bonnie and Damon. It has been excellently
and powerfully established; it’s still a call to service but at least they’ve
established WHY Bonnie would serve here
And we have Damon begging her to let him go, because he
doesn’t want her to sacrifice for him; because he is willing to sacrifice for
her.
But before either can sacrifice, the distraction they
provide, confusing Cade, gives the ignored Stefan the chance to give Cade a
final stabbing, Isn’t it lucky Cade goes to the posturing-no-kill-them school
of villainy? Despite he literally having all eternity to torment them in hell?
Still Cade is dead and Damon is alive again…because woo-woo.Don’t question it,
it’s Vampire Diatries
And we have Kai, with Bonnie and the twins working magic together, all locked up in a prison world (his worst nightmare).
And isn’t it all just really conveniently handwaved? I
think this whole season feels that way – it’s the last season and Vampire Diaries Usually leaves so many
threads unresolved to be picked up later that now the writers are having to
shut every down – and it all feels… convenient, rushed clumsy. Bonnie’s new
powers. The anti-climactic defeat of Cade. Stefan the human. Enzo’s death and continuance.
Enzo and Bonnie’s whole relationship. Kai is out then back in prison. Quick,
short, storyettes resolved too quickly and too neatly. Even Cade’s whole focus
on them (which I’ll come back to)
Now time for a disaster that can’t be handwaved but oh
gods they try
After considering they’re shitty parents, they decide no, they’re not. They’re awesome parents for these kids and they’re also going to stay in the Armoury despite what Kai not only said but clearly showed them – there’s magic everywhere which isn’t healthy for a Siphoner
Oh and they’re going to open up a school for all kids
like them! Presumably on the armoury site. So, some questions
1) who is paying for this? Really? I mean, where’s the
money coming from for this? One of you is a local reporter and the other is a
university professor – you’re not rolling in money. And who even pays for the
Armoury?
2) In the name of all that is sensible, how the fuck is
human-monster-killer-Alaric and really-young-vampire Caroline remotely
qualified to teach ANY supernatural child? Especially magic users? We’ve just
seen how out of their depth they are?
3) Is there a demand for this? I mean, are there hordes
of orphan witches out there we don’t know about? (Vampires and werewolves
generally don’t seem to have this problem since vampires aren’t born and
werewolves only go wolfy after they’ve killed someone). And if there are,
again, how are Alaric and Caroline going to fix this?
4) Do you know what would be totally great for your
siphoner kids? Lots of magical kids to Feed on! Are you actually drunk right
now? I mean, more than usual since Mystic Falls has replaced its water supply
with bourbon.
In what universe is this a good idea?!
Time for the big revelation for the last 2 episodes: Cade
may be dead but he has passed the reigns of hell on to their worst enemy, the
most dreaded, the scariest, the most horrifying
Katherine
Katherine, really? I mean yeah she doesn’t like them but
I’d take Katherine over Quetsiyah any day. Or any of the Original family. Hell
even Kai was scarier. Katherine was scary back in season 3 – but now?
Also can we address the nonsense that is this and Cade?
Cade, the immortal devil himself, has existed for
thousands of years. Nothing ties him to Mystic Falls. He has no investment with
any of the brothers… so why is he here? I mean, really? The minute he was free
why didn’t he tour the world murdering people? Why spend so much effort on
these particular souls? Why was he willing to trade Kai for Elena in the first place?
Why does he care about Elena? Why hang around? And why actually set up a
situation where, on your death, the Salvatores’ “worst enemy” takes over. Why
is he THIS invested in the Salvatores? Why does he give the slightest shit who
inherits hell? He’s got this whole vendetta against the cast that came from
nowhere.
