The Vampire Diaries

The Vampire Diaries 

"I don't want to do this, Elena. I'm not the good guy, remember? I'm the selfish one. I take what I want. I do what I want. I lie to my brother, I fall in love with his girl, I don't do the right thing.But I have to do the right thing by you." - Damon Salvatore

           This is a show that I both love and hate, and I hate to admit that I love it. I feel like me and this show are in a dysfunctional relationship where I get mad and tell it that it's over and I am never coming back, knowing damn well that I am going to come back eventually  (and by eventually, I mean next week when it comes on again). It's one of those teen shows that you are embarrassed to tell your friends that you watch because they will think you are young and dumb (mind you all my friends are 25+ so they probably think that anyway) but I just love certain aspects of the show far to much to give it up. One of those aspects is this man: 

            Damon Salvatore.... He's hott, he's a bad boy, and he's a good. He is the stereotypical thing that women love (and feminist's hate to admit that they love them too). As much as I would like to believe I am strong, independent woman who is simply too unique to be into that of thing, I have to admit, I am in love with him. His character is the funniest on the show, and most importantly, he is relatable. He is going through a constant struggle of what he wants vs. what he should do and we have all been through something like that. I am currently going through something like that and just talking about the show is making me want to go back and watch the first couple of seasons all over again. When you want someone, it's really hard to see what is right and what is wrong sometimes, especially when your love for them is incredibly strong, like his is for Elena, and sometimes it takes him a while to see what is best for her, but in the end he always does. At the end of Season 3 when there was a decision to save her or to save Matt, Stefan was the one around to try to save them. When he realized that he could only save one of them and Elena pointed to Matt, he saved Matt (that is how Elena became a vampire). Then when she wakes up, Damon tells he in no uncertain terms that he would have saved her, to hell with Matt, because she is the one that he loves and she would have been able to live the normal life that she wanted. For me, this shows that Damon loves her much more than Stefan. I am not saying that you should;t respect your partners decisions, but I am saying that there is a point when you love someone enough, that you ignore what they want in order to protect them from themselves. Damon did that and Stefan didn't. If someone I love was drowning in a car and I could only save them or the person they were pointing to, I don't care who that other person is, I am going to save my loved one and that's just me. 

           I like the way that the evolution of Damon's character is him own and not Elena's. There are far to many books, movies and TV shows that are on this kick about how you can change your man if he loves you enough and that is simply not true. You cannot make a man change for you, he has to decide to make that change on his own and the Vampire Diaries does a very good job of showing that through Damon. He has defiantly changed for Elena, but he did it his way, on his terms and on his time. He changed FOR her not BECAUSE of her (something she said or did). I feel like there are too many woman that are unable to love a man for who he is, including his flaws, but instead want to transform him into the perfect man, and there are a lot of books the perpetuate that idea which I think is wrong. And the other thing is Damon truly was a very bad person before Elena. When he was human he was kind and caring, but he had his heart ripped out by a woman, turned his humanity off and when on a killing spree, as did his brother. Neither one of them has any qualms with killing people and they do so on the regular. So damon really cleaned up his act for her, which I think is ridiculous because I find her to be a whiny, damsel in distress, wishwashy person, but that;s just me. 

           One thing I really like that they did with this show was the character development of Stefan and Damon. The truth is Stefan may have a heart of gold, but he has actually killed more people and made more mistakes than Damon has but you would never believe that when the show first comes out. Damon is set up as the bad guy and Stefan is the poor innocent vampire who only drinks animal blood, but as the season progress, you start to see a softer side to Damon and a much darker side to Stefan. Now to some of the things that I really don't like: 1) There is at least on party in each episode. I'm not sure if in the deep south this is something that happens but where I am from, here in Georgia, we simply so not throw parties every week. 2) There are a lot of stories going on at one time, and I really don't care about most of them. I have a select few characters that I really care about, but that's it. Sometimes it feels like there have been 3 episodes and nothing has happened because there are so many stories to tell at once. 3) the show is general does not seem plausible, even from a "vampires are real" standpoint. There is no way that people are not going to notice that people keep dying at these parties and they are certainly not going to continue to throw them. I find is surprising that people in Mystic Falls don't seem upset that people keep dying and the they are found with bite marks in their neck. I mean seriously? Is that not suspicious at all? I mean I get there they have bears in Virginia but come on!  So all in all, a good show if you can get past the plot holes. Not that thrilled about next season because they killed off the only two characters that I care about, although I know they will find a way to bring them back because they always do, I'm just not excited for the few episodes that I have to be without them.  

Castle

Castle

"Richard, love is not a switch. You can't just turn it off. Can't work side by side with her and not feel anything" - Martha Rogers 

              So today I am going to talk about the only ABC show that I have ever really liked, Castle. Castle is near and dear to me in the same way that football is near and dear to me: it's something that me and my father both love. My Dad is incredibly picky about what shows he likes and he may stop liking them at any time for really any reason, but Castle has not ever let him down. Once when we were looking for something to to watch, I mentioned to my Dad that we didn't have to watch a movie, we could watch a TV show on demand. So I asked him, "what kind of shows do you like?" and his response was, "Castle." I waited a second for him to say something else, but he didn't say anything. So I said, "I asked what KIND of shows you like," and he simply said back, "Castle..." so needless to say, we watched Castle. 

            What I really enjoy about Castle is how lighthearted and funny it is for a show about death. Castle is so nonchalant about the murders, so much so that he finds them enjoyable. Obviously he is not a crazy killer or anything, he just enjoys the stories which is something that I can really relate to. As much as murder is horrible, understanding the criminal mind is something that has always been interesting, otherwise, we wouldn't have as many crime shows as we have (CSI, NCIS, Criminal Minds, ect) or as many crime novels as we have. When I say this show is funny, I mean that it is hysterical. It's not the usual cop drama humor that is cheesy and sometimes really doesn't make sense. He humor on Castle is related to all the banter between Castle and Beckett (the cop Castle is basing his novel on) and the banter between the other detectives and Castle and even the banter between Castle, Beckett and the suspects. None of that "sunglasses at night" humor so that is definitely an aspect of Castle that I love. 

           Another thing that I like about this show is Beckett's character. She is such a strong woman, and she is everything that I would like to be. I an the type of person that cries pretty much whenever they are sad and I always wear my emotions on my sleeve. I literally cannot hide when I am upset about something. I am the very epitome of weak when it comes to that sort of thing and I wish I could be more like Beckett in the regard. In the third season she struggles with the aftermath of being shot looking into her mother's case and even then, she is still stoic in public, although she begins to see a therapist and cries when no one is around. Despite the fact that she can hide her emotions, she also has a really big heart. She is concerned with finding who committed the murder, not because it is her job, but because she wanted to punish the person who committed the crime and give the families of the victim the closure that comes from knowing what happened to their family/friend. I am also a little jealous of her bravery. She is never afraid of anything, not gang bangers, not mobsters and not even the Mayer that killed her mother. She is always searching for the truth no matter where it takes her and not matter what happens to her in the process. I end myself in awe of her every time I watch the show. Lastly, I hope to one day be as good at that as do as she is at what she does. She is the youngest female to make detective with the highest closure rate of the department. I'm not even considered good at the job that I am at now, and I cannot wait to leave it to do something that I enjoy (what I am going to school for). 

         But the single most important part to tho show is the relationship between Castle and Beckett and how it evolves over the seasons. As I mentioned before, the banter between the two is hilarious and it is obvious from day one that they are going to end up together. In Season 1, Beckett appears to be a fan of Castle's books, but finds the actual man to be annoying and a giant pain in the butt. However by the end of the first season she appears to be more and more conformable with his following her around on her cases until he tries to look into her mothers case. This is when we learn that Beckett became a cop because he mother was killed when she was a chid and that she wanted to solve her mother's murder. However trying to do that messed her up in the head so much that she had to stop looking and became upset with Castle when he started. At the beginning of season 2, she forgives him and the continue to like each other more and more, until Beckett is shot in the third season and Castle has to confront his feelings when he sees her dying and he tells her that she loves her. When Beckett survives the bullet she lies and tells Castle that she does not remember what happened until she can sort her feelings out. When she lets is slip that she knew all along he is devastated and almost quits shadowing her. However, at the end of Season 4 another near death experience makes her realize that she loves him and the get together and have been together on the show since :). However this past season finale, when the two were going to get married, Castle was run off the road and appears to be dead (although there is no way that he is and I cannot wait to see where they take this storyline). So, all in all, Castle is an amazing show, you should definitely watch and take a look at the "evolution of Castle and Beckett" below. :)))

Supernatural

Supernatural

"No, it’s exactly what you meant. You want to know what I confessed in there? What my greatest sin was? It was how many times I let you down. I can’t do that again" - Sam Winchester

        So the show I am going to be talking about today is very near and dear to my heart, it is the only show I have watched from the very first season (I usually come in after I know a show will last because I'm am very sensitive when my favorites get cancelled). For the past 9 seasons I have tuned in and I am still in love with show, even as we are nearing the 10th season in October. This show, as mentioned above is Supernatural which airs on the CW network (which I am not usually a fan of). Supernatural is the story of two brothers who hunt all things that go bump in the night in order to save innocent people... at least that is the line they feed people. The truth is they are on a revenge mission to find the "thing that killed their mom" and then the "hunt" becomes all that they know. Before I really get into the show itself, I want to discuss how happy I am that it is still on the air. This show truly is amazing in my opinion, but the creator had planned out the show for 5 seasons and was afraid it would start to drag if it went on any longer (he was quoted as saying "like Smallville" another CW show, which really did drag), but due to the high ratings the network bought him out and kept the show on the air. The fifth season ended with Sam dead/not dead and Dean living with some girl he had spent one weekend with. Needless to say, I would have been devastated if the show had ended at that point.

        While we are on that subject, lets just take a minute to talk about the women of Supernatural and how they never quite seem to last long. The very first women we see in the very first clip, dies in a fire, suspended from the ceiling. The next women we see, Sam's college girlfriend Jessica and she dies the same way. Next women we see is actually an evil demon who comes and goes. And it just goes on and on from there, Whatever reason they give, the females characters are always gone before long. The question is why is that? And the answer is actually pretty hysterical. The main fan base of the show is women, and apparently the idea of one of the two leading men having a long term female companion is too much to handle! I'm just going to run that by you one more time, the female fans of this show are so fanatical that even the thought that these two fictional characters could be happy in the long term with a woman that is not them, is just too much to bear to keep watching. The whole concept makes me laugh, not because I have not had celebrity crushes or anything (I mean have you seen the men on this show?), but I am not convinced that the only thing keeping me from dating them is that they have a girlfriend or their character has a girlfriend. There are plenty of other reasons like: we will never meet in real life, we possibly have nothing in common, they probably would not find me attractive, we may not have the same sense of humor, ect. However the two brothers, Sam and Dean, and the angel Castiel are really nice to look at.....



        Now onto the fun stuff, the characters in the show. Obviously Sam and Dean are the main characters and the best, but the angel Castiel has certainly changed things in the show since his arrival. In the very first season the show had a bit of a "freak of the week" vibe which was really good. The show was more like a procedural than it was a drama, but it certainly evolved over that first season into the drama season that it is today. In the beginning the brothers, Sam and Dean, lose their mother in a horrific supernatural accident and the father begins to hunt these things, (ghosts, demons, ect.) and he drags these boys along with him as he goes and teaches them how to hunt these things from a very young age. So the entire first season is basically the boys searching for their father while he searches for the "thing" that killed their mother, known as the yellow eyed demon at this point. At the end of the season they find the YED and a way to kill him, but they do not succeed because they would have to kill John in the process and Dead refuses to allow this (which is what started my love affair with Dean). The season end with them in a car accident, which then opens the second season with Dean dying in the hospital. At the last minute Dean is saved by his father making the first demon deal of the series, his life for Dean's (which was the only time I liked their father John). The second season still has the freak of the week feel, but the death of John leads to a more angst driven season as they continue to try to kill the YED. What is most interesting to me about the second season is that Dean is finally on the revenge train to a certain degree. Before it was Sam and John when wanted to find the YED for revenge (for killing their girlfriend and wife respectively), but now Dean is trying even harder to find and kill YED. However unlike Sam, Dean is not willing to lay his life or anyone else's on the line for the sake of revenge which I think is a really beautiful aspect to Dean. It is noted throughout all the seasons that Dean is far more like his mother and it shows when we meet his mother over the seasons, She is kind and loving, despite her growing up as a hunter and her biggest wish was that her children would not grow up the way that she did (which John ruins and that is one of the many reasons that I hate him). I think the fact that there is far more Mary in Dean than John, and that is what makes him such a beautiful kind person and the character that is always morally right in this series.

       Towards the end of season 2, Sam is stabbed and consequently dies. Throughout the series so far we have seen that the only thing that is keeping Dean going: protecting Sammy, not vengeance. So in the finale of Season 2, Dean bargains his soul to save his brother, which leads to the entire 3rd season being about Sam trying to save Dean. This season is very bittersweet because the entire season, until about 3 episodes before the finale, Dean is convinced that he is supposed to be dead anyway and there is not reason to try to save him (because doing so could kill Sam). So finally when Dean decides that he is worth saving, it is too late and he dies anyway. Also, throughout this season an evil demon named Ruby begins to weave her way into Sam's mind, but she doesn't really show her sinister self until season 4.

       At the beginning of season 4, Dean obviously comes back to life and he is determined to figure out how he came back. This is when we meet Castiel and Angels are now a part of the Supernatural fandom. Throughout this season and season, the demons are trying to raise the devil, while the angels are trying to stop it, but the most important piece to this whole season is the development of Sam and Dean's character. We discover that Sam was sleeping with the demon Ruby while Dean was dead, the demons are successful in raising the devil, the YED killed Sam and Dean's mother (which started all of this) to make him into a vessel for the devil (because the devil did not have a corporeal body) and Dean is the vessel for Michael and the two of them need to allow these entities to use them as vessels in order to start the apocalypse. What was really cool about both of these seasons is you really see the brothers argue over what is right and what is wrong while the devil and the angels fight over what is right and what is wrong. And throughout the whole thing you are taken to this beautiful gray area where you really have to think and consider what you would do in those situations. With certain things, it is really hard to say one way or the other.

       Seasons 6-9 and awesome, no doubt, but they are all stand alone seasons when each season there is a different goal, whereas the first 5 seasons all tied together at the end. I think of those 4, the season that had the most depth, was season 9, particularly the end of season 9. At the end of Season 8, there is this beautiful moment between the brothers where Sam confesses that after all the bad decisions he has made, he feels like he cannot do anything right in Dean's eyes and Dean tells him to just let go of the past. I cried so many tears. But at the beginning of Season 9 Sam is still dying so Dean tricks him into letting an angel take over his body in order to heal him over time. Midway though the season it turns out this angel is the not so nice variety and hijacks Sam's body. Then Sam and Dean have to fight and eventually forgive each other for the whole thing, and Sam has to find his will to live.

      And then in the finale, something amazing happened. As much as I love Dean, I could not be more excited for Season 10. In every season, the roles of the brothers has been clear. Dean is the moral, kind, compassionate brother who is rough around the edges, while Sammy is the moody brother who always seemed to understand the monsters more than he should and ended up crossing the blurred lines so to speak. But now, Dean has come back..... as a demon! So the whole dynamic of the brothers is going to change, not only as individuals, but also between the two of them. There was a cure for being a demon that was introduced in Season 8, however I don't think that they will turn Dean back into a real boy right away. It seems like all of the strife and all of the previous seasons have been leading up to this moment, Dean's fears from season 3 of becoming a demon are coming true and Sam is going to have to be the moral compass for the two of them. I literally cannot wait to see how this new storyline unfolds in October!