Why The Vampire Diaries' most important theme is family

Ian Somerhalder and Paul Wesley as Damon and Stefan Salvatore. Source.

If you, unlike me, aren't absolutely obsessed with The Vampire Diaries, you might think that the show is mostly about romantic entanglements. The CW certainly markets it by playing up the love triangle between Stefan, Damon and Elena, and the most vocal 'shipper camps are those of Delena and Stelena.

I, however, belong to neither of those teams. I am firmly in the camp known as Team Salvatore, the one that roots for Damon and Stefan. (NOT in a sexual way, people, so get your minds out of the gutter.)

The thing is, The Vampire Diaries is at its most compelling when it focuses on the relationship between the brothers. The most recent episode, "1912," was just one of the many hours that benefited from keeping the story largely confined to Damon and Stefan. There was some stuff happening with Elena and Matt in the background, and the requisite final-scene cliffhanger was all about Alaric, but the real heart of the episode came from watching Damon trying to save Stefan from himself.

This isn't anything that we haven't seen before. In this particular iteration of the Damon and Stefan relationship, Damon spent the hour convincing Stefan that quitting human blood cold-turkey would only lead to more problems. At other points throughout the series, the Salvatore story lines have seen Stefan giving himself to Klaus to save Damon's life, Damon trying to bring Stefan back from his heartless, bloodlust-induced rampage, and Stefan refusing to kill Damon even after his brother has murdered his best friend.

These stories work, instead of just getting tiresome and repetitive, partially because of the incredible quality of the series' writing, but mostly because the series always insists on the importance of the Salvatore brothers' relationship above all else. The show says this outright when Elena, heartbroken from the loss of Stefan, tells Damon that he is the only one who can bring Stefan back. Stefan may love Elena, but his connection with Damon will always be stronger.

This focus on family ties over romance might seem odd for a show that many people think of as a mere Twilight knockoff. First, let it be stated that The Vampire Diaries is not only better than that other teenage supernatural love triangle - largely because Elena Gilbert has more agency in her little finger than Bella Swan has in her entire pouty body, but also because the bloodsuckers on The Vampire Diaries are real vampires who burn in the sun, and who do not fucking sparkle - it's also better than HBO's True Blood. I suspect that people would be more willing to accept this fact if TVD aired on a different network and had a different name. As it is, the writers spend each week giving a master class in television writing only to be ignored in favor of the increasingly schizophrenic True Blood.

Second, when you really start to watch the show, you notice that familial relationships are always the main focus. Whether you're talking about the Salvatores, the Originals, the Forbes or the Lockwoods, brothers and sisters and parents and children are always front and center. The very structure of Mystic Falls is dependent on a group of so-called "founding families," for god's sake. It's all right there, hidden in plain sight.

This season's Original Family arc has made the theme even more clear. One of the things that particular story hit on brilliantly was the way that complicated family dynamics tend to reduce even the most self-sufficient, powerful people to children. (This is, essentially, the same observation that animated the recent, excellent Simpsons episode "Holidays of Future Passed.") Klaus, the invincible werewolf/vampire hybrid, is really just lashing out as his parents for their dishonesty. Rebekah is reduced to a bratty, rebellious teenager when faced with her brothers' disapproval. Elijah is torn between absolute love for his mother and her hatred of his very being.

These vampires could eat the world alive if they wanted to, but instead they squabble and tease. And, much like the Salvatores, their love for one another almost always prevails. Even the Original's mythology is built on a familial structure; there wouldn't be such a thing as vampires were it not for a mother's desire to protect her children.

The show is also filled with a myriad of smaller moments between family members, and those moments are where The Vampire Diaries' heart can be found. Caroline's fractured, broken relationship with her father is moving because she is willing to look past every terrible thing he has done if only he'll go back to loving her unconditionally. When vampire Anna tries to communicate with Jeremy from beyond the grave, it's not because she wants his love, but because she's lonely and can't find her mother. Even Carol Lockwood, one of the show's least interesting characters, gets her moment to shine when her son, Tyler, forces her to watch him transform into a werewolf so that she can understand his pain.

When you start reading The Vampire Diaries as a show about the importance of family above all else, you can also begin to tease out where the series' real tragedy lies. The show can be seen as the slow, systematic loss of everyone in Elena Gilbert's family: her adoptive parents, her mother Isobel, her father John, Aunt Jenna. Now, with Jeremy away and Alaric slowly going insane, Elena is completely alone. She's missing the network of family who can love and protect her when no one else, not even Stefan or Damon, can.

Looking at Elena's situation this way adds a whole new layer to her confession to Matt, the show's other orphan, about why she fell in love with Stefan. When I first watched "1912," her blunt statement that she loved Stefan because he would never die seemed too simple, too reductive, to really work. Thinking back on it now, however, it makes perfect sense. As everyone in Elena's family has been taken away from her, it makes complete sense that she would latch on to someone who would never leave. Elena's reason for falling in love with Stefan isn't simple or reductive; it's an expression of the fundamental importance of family, one that gets right to the core of Elena Gilbert and of The Vampire Diaries.

"Vampire Diaries" Recap: And we're back!

Joseph Morgan as Klaus in "The Birthday." Photo courtesy of daemonstv.com.

The Vampire Diaries is BACK, baby! Last night's season premiere dove right back into the going-on in Mystic Falls while burning through more plot and character development than True Blood did over the course of a whole season. "The Birthday," which picked up two months after last season's finale, was a near-perfect episode of TVD; it featured hot sex, snappy dialogue, serious gore, equally serious emotion, and an excellent twist at the end. There was so much going on that I couldn't possibly cover every element in a regular recap, so I shall instead present you with the best moments and best quotes of "The Birthday." And if I forget something (which I'm sure I will) add it in the comments!

Best Moments


Klaus and Stefan wreak havoc: The tease that opened the episode was a perfect example of how to build suspense, introduce a relationship, and catch up with the characters all in under three minutes. I had almost forgotten the way that Joseph Morgan can imbue Klaus with such charisma while still scaring the pants off you - he's like Eric Northman without any of that pesky humanity (and before amnesia turned him into a lovesick puppy). Paul Wesley was appropriately shocking as Bad Stefan, and it was fun to see  the character's blood lust after two seasons of Stefan's constant nobility. Morgan and Wesley also managed to convey the relationship between the two characters perfectly with just a few words and some meaningful looks. An excellent way to kick off the season.

Damon in the bathtub: First of all, the visual of Ian Somerhalder sitting in a bubble bath, drinking champagne was just fabulous and perfectly Damon. Second, his playful banter with his compelled girlfriend/sex toy Andie was just the right mix of flirtation and actual concern, which set up the later scene where Stefan kills her in order to scare Damon away. Third, we then got to watch a naked, soapy Damon wander downstairs to surprise Elena. More, please!

Stefan's internal turmoil: Damon and Alaric (together again!) investigate Stefan and Klaus' latest crime scene. The visual of Damon nudging the blond girl's knee and causing her head to fall off was grotesque in the best way possible, and his explanation of Stefan's behavior - he's a true ripper and goes into a blood lust that causes him to tear bodies apart, but then he feels bad and puts them back together - is just beyond creepy. I honestly think the remorse makes his behavior more frightening; his hunger is so strong that it completely wipes out all his human instincts.

Serious bystander effect: The scenes in which Stefan and Klaus tortured werewolf Ray (David Gallagher) as part of Klaus' attempt to make more hybrids would have been creepy enough on their own, what with Stefan's heartlessness and the excellent new game of Truth or Wolfsbane Dart. The element that pushed the scenes from unsettling to disturbing, however, was the fact that Stefan had compelled the other patrons of the bar not to help the poor wolf. An entire bar full of people just hung out in the background, drinking and playing pool, while Klaus tortured and killed Ray. Talk about the bystander effect.

Jeremy and Matt have a surprising heart-to-heart: I really enjoyed the dynamic between Jeremy and Matt in this episode. These are two characters who have lost a lot at the hands of the supernatural beings of Mystic Falls, and Steven R. McQueen and Zach Roerig have excellent bro-chemistry (or bromistry, as I would call it if I enjoyed making up stupid words), so their friendship seems natural. The minor but compelling twist in their scenes tonight came from the fact that, when Jeremy told Matt that he was seeing the ghost or spirit or something of Vicki (a.k.a. Matt's sister), Matt didn't believe him. It wasn't at all the way I thought the scene would play out, and serves as yet another example of the ways in which the show's writers always manage to surprise the audience.

Elena finds out the truth about Stefan: After finding out that Damon had been tracking Klaus and Stefan without her, Elena confronts him about it only to find out that it has been Stefan, not Damon, who has been leaving a swath of bodies in his wake. (At least she didn't see the dismembered corpses in Memphis, because that might have put her over the edge.) The utterly fantastic Nina Dobrev managed to convey Elena's heartbreak beautifully with her facial expressions, as the character came to the realization that the love of her life is a monster.

And Elena is officially the best girlfriend ever: And yet, being the tough girl that she is, Elena manages to get past her shock in order to be there for Stefan. Their phone call at the end of the episode was another great emotional moment, and this time Paul Wesley was the one to knock it out of the park. The look on his face as Elena told him that she loved him, and that he had to hold on to that love, was a perfect mixture of self-loathing, fear, sadness and love. Thank you, TVD casting directors, for being awesome!

Now there is some sexual tension: Caroline and Tyler spent most of the episode ignoring the sexual tension between them; no small feat, considering that tension was so thick it was a wonder anyone else could walk between them. There were some great moments added in that showcased both characters' frustration - Tyler dirty dancing with a girl named "Slutty Sophie," Caroline lifting someone off the ground in order to clear her path through the dance floor - but the ultimate payoff came in the hot, hot, HOT sex scene at the Lockwood mansion. Candace Accola and Michael Trevino have fantastic chemistry, and the scene was satisfying both for the characters and the viewers watching at home. Of course, this being TVD, all good things must come to an end...

From awkward to terrifying: As Caroline attempted to sneak out of the Lockwood's house, she was confronted by Tyler's mother. It was an awkward situation that quickly deteriorated into a kidnapping as Mrs. Lockwood, having doused Caroline's purse in vervain, proceeded to shoot her with vervain darts until the poor vampire was lying helpless on the floor. And... end credits! As usual, I can't wait for next week.

Best Quotes


"I promise I'm not a serial killer. I just want to use your phone." Has anyone ever said this who hasn't been a serial killer?

"Just because I tell you things doesn't mean you are allowed to know them!" I love the teenage drama queen/badass vampire dichotomy of Caroline Forbes. Hats off to Candace Accola!

"I'm every parent's worst nightmare. I'm the chaperone teacher from hell." Considering you're getting drunk at a party full of underage high school students (who are also getting drunk) I would say yes, Alaric. Yes you are. (On a side note, I'm really interested to see where Alaric's character goes this season. Based on the premiere, it seems that he's having the most visible trouble dealing the events from last season, and I'd love to see how that plays out over the course of the next few episodes, as well as how his relationship with Elena and Jeremy evolves now that he is basically the last parental figure they have left. So far, he's not doing such a good job with that.)

"You don't want that. You want the cheap young stuff over by the cheap young people." Gotta love a man who appreciates a good bottle of Scotch.

"You never stop caring about your family, do you? But whenever you feed, the blood makes it easier." Joseph Morgan is just mesmerizing as Klaus. I can't take my eyes off him.

Vampire Diaries Promo: Sex, Blood and Birthday Cake

As regular readers of this blog may remember, I absolutely love The Vampire Diaries. The show returns in only one short week and, as if I wasn't excited enough, the TV gods provided me with this promo that has left me salivating in excitement (although that may also be the prominently featured cake):

The main message of the trailer - other than the fact that, on closer inspection, that cake does not look delicious - is that this season is all about Elena. I love that because, as I may have mentioned before, Nina Dobrev is one of my favorite actors working in television right now, and her Elena Gilbert gets tougher and more badass every episode. More Elena is never a bad thing.

The teaser also promises lots more Klaus in the upcoming season. Joseph Morgan is pretty damn fantastic - and he is looking fine in that old-school tux, complete with tails - and I can't wait to see he and the newly bad Stefan (Paul Wesley) leave a trail of murder and mayhem in their wake. Neither can Wesley, who told Ryan Seacrest, "I think it's always more fun to play a bad boy," and promised more "bad Stefan" this season.

I am also loving the promise of a darker, more twisted love triangle between Elena, Stefan and Damon (Ian Somerhalder) this year. That shot of Stefan pulling Elena's hair hints that their relationship is quickly going to get less romantic and more obsessive as Stefan embraces his dark side (EW's Mandy Bierly is predicting a storyline that parallels Buffy's Angelus, and I would be all for that), leaving the door open for Damon to romance her. Dobrev and Somerhalder have great chemistry (which could explain rumors that the two are a couple in real life) and with Stefan out of the picture, Damon could finally have a chance.

I had only a few, minor quibbles with the promo. Much of the supporting cast was left out; I wanted a tease of what was happening with Caroline and Matt, or how Jeremy is dealing with the ghosts of Anna and Vicky. Also, more Alaric, please; the poor man spent most of last season babysitting Jenna, so let's get him a good storyline where he gets to hunt vampires, stat. I'm sure that these characters will be addressed in the season premiere - after all, it centers on Elena's birthday, and Caroline has never been one to stay away from a party - but it would have been nice to see even a glimpse of them in the trailer.

Who else is excited for the new season of The Vampire Diaries? Do you want to see bad Stefan as much as I do? And can someone please get Elena a real cake? The poor girl has been through enough.

"Vampire Diaries" Finale: Damon is Saved, Stefan gets Awesome!

Ian Somerhalder and Nina Dobrev in "As I Lay Dying," the second-season finale of the CW's The Vampire Diaries

I don't think there is any other show on TV that could produce what was basically a three-episode finale that was so packed with twists, turns and emotional moments and still managed to flow as beautifully as The Vampire Diaries did with "The Last Day," "The Sun Also Rises," and "As I Lay Dying." When a show with worse pacing (which, at this point, is pretty much every other show on TV) tries for the same thing, we end up with the final episodes of the third season of True Blood, and nobody wants that. Even Fringe only managed a two-part finale, and Fringe is just packed with awesomeness.

One of the things I love most about The Vampire Diaries - besides the continually jaw-dropping pacing - is the way that, even in the midst of action-packed episodes like this season's final few hours, the writers always make room for some nice, character-driven moments. (You've probably figured this out by now, but there are major SPOILERS ahead if you haven't finished the season.) This is one of the many, many reasons that The Vampire Diaries is so much better than that other, much more sexually explicit vampire show; the plot twists, no matter how shocking, are always organic to the characters, and we the audience are always given character moments that make those twists plausible.

One excellent example from the final episode comes when Stefan, always the nobler of the Salvatore brothers, agrees to go on a decade-long blood bender with Klaus in exchange for a cure for his brother. This moment works because the groundwork has been laid for it throughout the three-part finale, as well as the previous two seasons of the show. We've seen that, despite Stefan's tempestuous relationship with Damon, he loves his brother deeply, a conflict that was beautifully articulated in a conversation between Damon and Elijah in "The Sun Also Rises." Stefan, wanting to make sure that Elijah was going to go through with their plan and actually kill Klaus, explained that he had wanted to kill Damon a thousand times, but never had. That one line summed up the relationship between Stefan and Damon perfectly, and set up the kind of sacrifice that Stefan would be willing to make for his brother.

Stefan's sacrifice, however, had been set up much earlier than that. Starting in the Season 1 episode "Under Control," we've been shown scenes of what happens to Stefan when he's drinking blood, and we can guess that, despite his attempts to get himself used to drinking blood by taking small sips from Elena, the dozen or so blood bags that Klaus forces on him are going to get the better of him. By the end of the episode, when the look in Stefan's eyes crosses the boundary into pleasure as he feeds off an innocent girl provided for him by Klaus, it's become obvious that Stefan has given himself over to the blood. This development promises an interesting role reversal between Damon and Stefan next season, one that none other than Stefan Salvatore himself, Paul Wesley, is excited about. According to an interview with producer Julie Plec, "Probably Paul Wesley's happiest day on set was getting to dive back into that side of Stefan."

To me, the biggest, most emotional arc in the final three episodes was that of Damon's werewolf bite and Stefan's determination to save his brother. However, since much of the season had been building to Klaus' sacrifice and transformation into a werewolf-vampire hybrid, that storyline took up most of "The Last Day" and "The Sun Also Rises," and it was also a good one. The best element of the sacrifice, to my mind, was Joseph Morgan's performance as Klaus. Morgan played the big, bad vampire as a charming psychopath, who used Jenna as his sacrifice vampire purely because he wanted to torture Elena, and who let Elena think, just for a moment, that she would have to choose which vampire would be sacrificed: Stefan or Jenna.

One of the nicest character moments in this storyline was Jenna's death. Elena, knowing as much as she does about vampires, told her terrified aunt to "turn off" her emotions, allowing Jenna to die without fear. Nina Dobrev's performance in this scene was terrific, as was Sara Canning's; both actresses did a stellar job selling the scene, which just made the whole thing more moving. I didn't want Jenna to die, but the scene was played perfectly, and her death will hopefully give Alaric a nice character arc next season, so I've come to terms with it. (I have not, however, come to terms with Elijah's death yet, because I love Daniel Gillies' performance and hair. However, I probably don't need to, as he has already been killed and brought back to life, and we know where his body is located, along with the rest of the Originals. I'm looking forward to some Original storylines next season.)

In terms of characters who are being set up for good arcs next season, Jeremy Gilbert is second on the list, right after the adventures of Klaus and Evil Stefan. After being killed by Sheriff Forbes and brought back to life by Bonnie and some reluctant dead witches, he ended the episode face-to-face with his two dead girlfriends, Anna and Vicky. Jeremy, while smokin' hot, has been given little to do this season other than date Bonnie, and his new abilities (whatever they entail) are extremely promising for his role in the third season.

All in all, the second season finale of The Vampire Diaries kept up the unflagging pace and the dramatic plot twists that the show is known for, while also providing for some lovely character moments. I didn't even manage to touch on the scene between Elena and Damon in which he finally tells her that he loves her and she gives him a sweet, platonic kiss. It was a lovely moment in their relationship, and it gave the friendship between Damon and Elena some needed forward momentum. Their new closeness is promising for next season as well; while I'm not a Damon/Elena 'shipper, I can't wait to see how their relationship develops while they try to rescue Stefan from Klaus, which I assume they will. The final three episodes of The Vampire Diaries did an excellent job of setting up the next season while wrapping up this season's major storylines. We even got to see Klaus shirtless. Really, what more can you ask for in a finale?