Having Sex with Vampires is a Bad Idea

Nov 20, 2009 Comments

[ This review covers Season One, Episode Ten of The Vampire Diaries, entitled The Turning Point, which originally aired on Thursday, November 19, 2009 ]

thanks to The CW

I’ve been very, very pleasantly surprised with The Vampire Diaries this season. The show could’ve very easily fallen into the pitfalls of any number of the previous vampire incarnations that have pre-dated TVD. When you’ve got a genre that is already overexposed and bloated, it is hard to be original, and what makes The Vampire Diaries great is that the writers know that. So they play with it. And ask, why not just have a good time with it? That’s exactly what they do, and that’s exactly what the audience does too.

I was a bit concerned about the direction that the show was heading after last week’s episode which felt a bit too Twilight-y, even for this show, but this week’s episode corrected that problem – and they corrected it very well. One of the things I love so much about The Vampire Diaries is that the writers choose to move the storylines along much more quickly than that of any other vampire show I’ve ever watched. We’re only ten episodes into the series, and already Elena knows that Stefan and Damon are vampires, Bonnie is a witch, we know (at least a part of) the Katherine backstory, and now Elena and Stefen have said their “I love yous” and had sex. No other series I know of would’ve moved that fast. Not even my absolute favorite vampire series of all time, Buffy the Vampire Slayer, moved its storylines along that freaking fast. What it makes for is a rollercoaster ride that you don’t want to get off of. There’s never a boring moment because things are always – always – happening.

Elena and Stefan have sex. Thank God. And it was hot and it was good and I’m glad it happened. But I knew from the moment that Stefan asked if Elena was thirsty that something was going to happen… she was going to find something in his room and it would destroy everything. Sex always equals destruction, especially if it happens that quickly in a new series. I prayed that I was wrong, but unfortunately I was not. Elena was understandably majorly freaked out after seeing Katherine’s photo, but I still can’t help but feel angry that she ran away, crashed her car, and hit something – something I presume to not only be a vampire, but Damon. But I guess we’ll just have to wait and see for sure.

I’m also pleased with where the storyline with Elena’s brother, Jeremy, is heading. I didn’t particularly like his dark turn as drug boy at the beginning of the series, but I’m liking where he’s at now. I hope he stays there. At least for a little while. I’m also very intrigued by the new teacher (he has to be a vampire, right?). But it’s hard because I can’t decide whether or not I’m supposed to like him. Thankfully, however, I’m not really having that problem with Damon anymore. After the shaky start at the beginning of the series, I’m liking Damon much, much better now. He’s not quite as heartless as he previously was. And although I know that the writers fully intend on hooking Damon and Elena up at some point, I know that in my heart I won’t ever be OK with it, because, for me, it’s always going to be Stefan and Elena. Forever and always.

Still, I can’t complain too much about these first ten episodes from The Vampire Diaries. They’ve been some of the most engrossing ten hours I’ve watched this season and I’ve enjoyed every minute. Kevin Williamson and Julie Plec are doing a fantastic job with the show and although I know I could just read the books to see where its heading next, I think I’d rather wait and see where Kevin and Julie take me…