The Vampire Diaries 5.07 Review: Fighting a Losing Battle

Anyone that has yet to watch tonight’s episode of The Vampire Diaries, titled ‘Death and the Maiden’, now is your last chance to do so without spoilers. For this is not a spoiler free blog. THIS REVIEW MAY CONTAIN SPOILERS! You’ve been warned.

Decent episode this week. I will be sad to see Silas gone, because he managed to actually get interesting these last two episodes. The last two week’s he’s been funnier than all of the other characters, including Damon, and it sucks to see that that’s gone because it helped make these last two weeks of this show more interesting.

Also, Bonnie’s back. For a second there I actually thought she was going to stay dead, and I was happy about that. But then Tessa went and saved her life in the knick of time and all I got to do was say damnit. Really, hasn’t this character outstayed her welcome? Sure, the only time she’s ever been interesting is the first ten episodes of the series, and when she was with Jeremy. I guess she is with Jeremy again now, but I’m still not liking her. Doesn’t Kat Graham have a music career she could go work on rather than this series?

Amarra was an intriguing little duck, and I’ll be sad to see the character go when she wasn’t given much time on the series. A very Romeo and Juliet kind of death with her and Silas, but this time they don’t get to be together on the other side. But when Bonnie dies, won’t the other side disappear? A witch doesn’t live forever, although she could keep transferring it to another afterwards. But back to Amarra, I have to say that I loved the way Dobrev played her bat shit crazy; it was fantastic. This is more of the Nina Dobrev that I like this week than some of this season has been. She actually has a decent amount of talent. Although Julie Plec trying to say that she was doing it long before Tatiana Maslany doesn’t mean squat when Maslany is pro on Orphan Black and differentiating her characters far better than Dobrev.

All in all, not a bad episode. I do think it’s going to start getting back to the lameness that was the first five episodes of the season now that Silas is gone, but who knows? I do have to say that I enjoyed the music this week; two particular moments had their respective songs fitting and very evocative of the scenes. Still, I’m not feeling like this series is going to get any better any more, but so help me if they don’t find a way to save Katherine.

My rating: 7 out of 10.

Best Lines:

“Like, literally, Medusa style.” – Silas explains to the two strangers on the bench what happened to his true love.

“I’m sitting in a bus stop in frigging Delaware.” – Silas complains. “You’re in Philly.” – the woman corrects him. “I’m in Philly? Oh God, that’s even worse.” – Silas groans.

“They prefer administrative assistants now; I learned that on the bus.” – Silas corrects Damon’s use of the word secretary.

“Now, may I be excused, scary vampire daughter?” – Katherine asks Nadia.

“I swear there’s a sitcom in there somewhere.” – Tessa mutters about Damon, Elena, and Stefan’s circumstances.

“Well, Silas owes me a fuse box.” – Damon states, regarding Silas’s cutting of the power.

Okay, I’m off to watch Grey’s Anatomy now. After that it’s The Crazy Ones. Stick around for more.

The Vampire Diaries 5.01 Review: Your Problems Follow You No Matter Where You Go

This is your only warning; if you haven’t watched the season five premiere of The Vampire Diaries, entitled ‘I Know What You Did Last Summer’, or are simply not caught up at all in the series, then now would be the time leave. As with all my reviews, there is a chance of spoilers. I repeat, THIS BLOG MAY CONTAIN SPOILERS! You’ve been warned.

The season five premiere wasn’t as great as other premieres this series has had. I find it didn’t have quite the oomph of past years. Maybe it had something to do with the fact last year wasn’t much of a cliffhanger season finale, so it didn’t quite excite me to see the premiere as all the years before it. Or maybe this series is just becoming tiresome and tedious. Either way, something good really needs to pick this show up from the cliff it’s growing closer to hanging over.

First can I just say how very Gossip Girl it was of this show to throw that whole threesome thing in with Matt, Rebecca, and that other girl? Yes, this show is on the same network that series was on, but this is not the same show, please demonstrate some originality. Also, who was that girl? What did they do to Matt? And why was it completely necessary to keep Matt and Rebecca together all summer, just to have her written off this show with very little tie-ups?

I’m really confused, why is there water in Stefan’s coffin/vault? Shouldn’t it have been sealed? Aside from that, why is he breathing? He’s a vampire, he should not be breathing. Yes, in this series there bodies work much the same as long as they keep ingesting a steady supply of blood, but Stefan’s not ingesting any blood. His body should not be forcing him to drown over and over again, otherwise he wouldn’t be a vampire.

Also, can I add how very Angel it is for Stefan to be at the bottom of a body of water, constantly imagining scenarios that never happened in his head? Can this show not come up with anything at all that is original, other than the title of it’s sister series? I don’t want to see the same things that have been acted on screen on other TV series, I want something new, and I very much thing the writers and showrunners owe their audience that.

I have to say I’m really not a fan of Stefan being Silas’s doppelganger. They already had a line of doppelgangers, why in God’s name did they have to add another? They really can’t come up with anything original. It’s truly aggravating. Not only that, but I’m not a fan of how they’re now playing Silas. They built up to be this truly badass, and he just seems like a washed up version of Klaus pre his love for Caroline. I was completely down for when Stefan shut off his emotions, but this guy is also just a mirror of that. Can Wesley not play something new and different?

Last season, the way they ended it with giving Katherine the cure, was completely fitting for her character, almost poetic, now she doesn’t even seem like Katherine. When she’s begging for help from Damon, she just seemed too much like Elena. In the past, Dobrev has been able to differentiate these characters significantly, including when Elena’s emotions were turned off, this year I don’t really feel like these characters are very individualized, or even fully formed characters. In making Elena happy, she almost seems un-Elena.

One highlight of the episode was definitely Damon. Somerhaulder is astounding in his acting of this role, particularly in the scenes where he plays off the Silas character. The guy still has his sarcastic charm too him. And I still felt that subtle moment where he questions where Stefan is, and is pained when he finds out. That and the teary moment where he rushes to Jeremy and hopes he still has enough life in him that his blood will bring him back to life (and can I just say, if he hadn’t, what a waste of Bonnie dying to bring him back to life in the first place?).

Can I just comment on how unhappy I am with the way they’ve gone with Tyler? When he had a thing for Caroline, before they started dating, he had become a much more interesting, werewolf character, but ever since he became a hybrid he’s been terrible. The way this series keeps making excuses for his character not being, it just doesn’t feel organic to the story. Why would he fight for his relationship with Caroline, and basically not care when Klaus has left the building? It just feels to me like they’re trying to keep him out of the story for random reasons, just to let him rear his hybrid head again.

Several questions before I sign off. What is Elena’s connection with Stefan? I’m getting too much of a True Blood vibe from the way she senses something bad about him. Also, are they still trying to play up this love triangle? It was interesting for the first few seasons, but if they’re thinking of going back to that, it’s tired. Buffy was able to rely on good storylines, not love triangles; I don’t see why The Vampire Diaries can’t. Or is it just that Stefan hasn’t been able to get over it, because he’s stuck at the bottom of a lake?

My rating: 6 out of 10.

Best Lines:

“Do you have any idea what it’s like to run in heels? I have blisters.” – Katherine, human again.

“Yes! In the privacy of your home!” – Damon explaining to Jeremy how he killed him in private, which is how he should take out frustrations on people.

Okay, so I’m still debating on whether I actually want to watch The Originals tonight, or if I just want to go watch August Rush and finally see if I’d like Felicity. Either way, I won’t be posting a review tonight. Check back here tomorrow night, around twenty-four hours from now for that one. Then I’ll probably be reviewing Haven, or, if I do end up having to go to that funeral for my great uncle, that’ll be up here Saturday night/Sunday morning. Anyways, have a nice night.