The Augustine experimentation storyline is just getting
started. The Vampire Diaries produces exposition heavy episodes before massive
arcs that span more than one season. “The Cell” had the exposition and a
healthy dose of ret-conning. Damon reveals more about his inhumane side that
does and doesn’t run counter to the character’s progression. Elena learns about
this secret from Damon’s with horror and astonishment. Caroline reminded her
recently about Damon’s past as a sadistic serial killer, but true love forgives
all sins in this show for a character in need of rationalization. “The Cell”
has two cells that trap the two Salvatore brothers. Stefan’s cell is
psychological rather than physical whereas Damon’s is the opposite. Stefan’s
emotional arc has hung on the repeated drownings and his heartbreak over the
two persons he loves most not rescuing him. Damon’s been dealing with the
affects of his cell for over fifty years and has inflicted monstrous revenge
ever since his release.
Retcons are a part of serialized episodic television.
Retcons require a significant amount of plotting to make sense of it for the
viewer. Damon tells Elena about his imprisonment, about the Augustines, the
experiments, his friend, Enzo, who helped him and whom he abandoned as the
house burned around them. Damon abandoned his friend who sacrificed himself for
his sake. There’s significant emotional baggage for Damon. The character would
suppress his feelings of guilt. Indeed, Damon turned off his humanity after his
escape and before he began to take his revenge. Layering a backstory with
significant emotion is sound, solid storytelling. The flashbacks dehumanize the
Augustine society a little. The flashbacks seem inspired by Victorian
literature or even 18th century records of torture and experiments.
Enzo’s a good friend, honest and loyal, even had a ‘one and only’ like every
character on this show. Damon’s abandonment of Enzo lands with the audience as
does the reveal that Enzo survived the fire, crazier now and probably plotting
his revenge on Damon since that night Damon left.
Damon’s actions can be understood from the character’s
perspective. He’s warped, he’s interested in self-preservation, in
self-interest—what’s best for Damon is best for the world. Dr. Whitmore put
Damon through hell for five years. Whitmore removed body parts, barely fed the
vampires enough blood, and showed them off to their worst enemies, the other
members of the secret society. Damon sparing the lives of the families responsible
for torturing him for five years wouldn’t be true to the character. He’s still
spiteful. His feelings for Elena softened him, though he wasn’t a prince. For
example, he wanted to kill Bonnie many times for Elena, whenever she was in a
dangerous situation. Damon leaves one family member alive, lets the surviving
family member start a family, and then begins the savage process again. Elena
learns Damon murdered the last one as they began their summer of romantic fun.
No one gets saved from his or her cells by the end. Stefan
overcomes his issues thanks to lust, but Elena and Damon are stuck. Aaron, the
guy with the sad eyes, learns about Wes’ work , about Elena’s vampirism, and
the brutal history of Damon’s warpath against his family. No, Aaron doesn’t let
them go. Caroline’s reminders of Damon’s past were reminders for the audience
who’ve grown to love him, to defend or even forget his past actions to Damon
detractors because he’s changed. The writers wanted to cover themselves for
when monstrous Damon returns and all the fangirls revolt and write mean tweets
at Julie Plec and Caroline Dries. Caroline’s role was, “See, he’s always been
this way!” Damon’s actions are part of his character, a fundamental part, but
this specific revelation tastes sour. Characters have arcs in stories. Damon
had an arc, but that’s done now. The writers are in season five. They need to
generate conflict within the show. The easy choice is to throw Damon back into
his season one role. Maybe this came about organically in the room, but it
feels forced. He’s been murdering for how long and during all the insanity of
the last few seasons?
Stefan’s scenes with Katherine feel natural and organic--a
natural progression of both characters, rather than a forced retread to the
past. Katherine hopes to help Stefan fight his demons in hopes he’ll save her.
Stefan wants Katherine to live. Paul Wesley and Nina Dobrev delivered the best
scene of the season so far in the coffin. I felt Stefan’s despair, Katherine’s
desperate need, and their insane chemistry. Not just the actors, but also the
characters. Katherine and Stefan have a different way together than Stefan and
Elena.
I really liked the parts of “The Cell” involving Stefan and
Katherine. I disliked Damon’s story. The expositional flashbacks wear on me.
The experimentation/secret society seems as unpromising a story as the Silas
story did last season. The Silas story never worked out. I’m indifferent about
the involvement of Elena’s father. The question is how will what she learns
affect her memories of her father? She’s defensive of her dad; however, he’s
probably bad, but that matters on this show. Her father’s actions have to be
forgivable because those she currently loves have committed worse than her
father. The Vampire Diaries is a love story—not just a romantic love story for
the trio, but a story of love. The most evil villain, Klaus, just wanted a
little love. Caroline’s love for her father helped her get past what he did to
her and how he felt towards her after her transformation. Eternal love heals
more powerfully than the strongest vampire blood. Love does save the world.
Love is their gift.
Other Thoughts:
-TVD borrows from the Buffyverse. I wanted to borrow from
its fifth season. That’s cool, right?
-Jeremy and Bonnie are off-screen this week. Matt, of
course, is absent. He’ll probably be back to react to a question from Stefan
and Caroline and then won’t be seen until February.
-Megan’s killer’s identity remains mysterious. It’s gotta
involve the Augustines. The writing emphasized Aaron’s similarities with Elena
more so than in their short scene at the party. Aaron’s the victim of a
different circular pattern. I’ve long written that TVD ends with these
characters severing their ties to ancient history. History is the nightmare
they’re trying to awake from, to borrow from James Joyce.
-Melina Hsu Taylor wrote the episode. Chris Grismer directed
it. Who edits the show? The edit of Damon in the cell as he heard Enzo’s
screams was spectacular.
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