The Vampire Diaries — Season 1 (2009)
I thought I was over vampires. But…
One of my favourite comedians/influencers on Instagram had been posting stories about how she had suddenly become addicted to ‘The Vampire Diaries’. And I was wondering what I would start watching next. I didn’t want to watch anything too serious or dark. I just wanted… well, something that would pique my interest and hold my attention… but not be serious or dark. I just got done with Big Little Lies and I was looking for something that wasn’t quite so heavy. And this influencer is someone I consider to be funny and intelligent, but not someone who takes that about themselves too seriously. A super nice, chill kinda gal. So I decided to dive into ‘The Vampire Diaries’ right away. And I am hooked!
‘The Vampire Diaries’ has always been considered as sort of ‘dumb’. It’s not the intelligent, deep, meaningful, occasionally gritty and gruesome sort of show that everyone boasts about having watched. (Have you realized that in millenial circles, somehow the TV shows you watch is a measure of your intellect?) And yet, I am addicted to it. Shamelessly so. I enjoy it. I simply can’t get enough of it. I do not believe it to be dumb at all. So allow me to tell you about my latest guilty pleasure (or just pleasure), ‘The Vampire Diaries’ (TVD, henceforth)! Or the first season of it anyway. And also let me make a case for frivolity while I am at it.
Set in the sleepy little, scenic, fictional town of Mystic Falls, Virginia, at it’s core, TVD is a love story. A love story with teenagers as it’s central characters. It’s a love story wrought with passion, deceit, heartbreak, angst and rivalry. And also there’s all the usual stuff you see in western shows with people less than 20 years old as it’s central characters. Drama, underage sex, drugs, and oodles of teenage angst. But also in the backdrop of all of this is is an epic tale of mystery and magic that is unfolding.
It’s your typical Young Adult, fantasy series. There’s a girl who is very pretty, very unassuming, very nice and very “special”. She is literally the embodiment of perfection. But she is experiencing a lot of pain due to some tragedy that has befallen her. And there are one or more very attractive men who are crazy in love with her. There is the inevitable love triangle, and a good boy-bad boy trope. And in the backdrop is a great calamity or mystery unfolding to which our unassuming main character is the key to resolving. And even though I’ve hit 25, I am unabashedly a sucker for good YA content. I also love angsty love stories. I mean, don’t we all? Secretly? But add to that all the mystery, magic, vampires, werewolves, witches, rivalries and legacies of good and evil, you have a pretty great show to watch, if only for pure escapism.
TVD is fast paced and it holds your attention through every minute. Mysteries and flashbacks are revealed bit by bit, while new mysteries spring up. No plotline drags on for too long. One thing leads up to another pretty quickly. Several plotlines are intricately interwoven together into a fabric of a really great story.
Also, everyone in TVD is just unnaturally beautiful. And I mean everyone! From the students to the estranged uncle to even the teachers, it’s all defined cheekbones, nude lip gloss, flawless skin, fantastic bodies and every last strand of hair curled to perfection. The show came out in 2009, so the conversation around body positivity and the body acceptance movement were not really booming. These people aren’t like you and me. They are strange, beautiful people in a strange world where strange, mystical incidents unfold everyday. You will never feel that gloriously important and powerful, or be that sexy when you brood. They are not of this universe where the regular laws of physics, and birth, aging and death apply.
But, the beautiful thing about fiction is that it is simply a reflection of real life in some way or the other. Not the magic and physical perfection, of course. But the humanity. Passion, envy, heartbreak, life long friendships, the ridiculous lengths people go to in the name of love, complicated relationships with family members, the pain of losing a loved one, falling in love again, finding oneself. All of this is present in TVD. And those parts could be relatable on different levels to different people.
There’s also a little bit of real life history mixed into the plot. The story is set in the south of the USA, and there are flashbacks to the 1860s. There is mention of Confederate soldiers and The Union. There are sprawling estates, beautiful manor houses and women in ridiculously tight corsets and poofy gowns. The Civil War is a very crucial, very grave incident in the history of the world. The story really hasn’t gone too much into that, nor has it treated the subject with any of the graveness or sensitivity that it deserves. Maybe it will in the future seasons as I find out how it affects the larger plot. I don’t suppose that the makers just added the war in the backdrop just for the sake of it. The flashback is in the 1860s for a reason. But there is history involved, and my interest and curiosity are certainly piqued!
Overall, TVD is pure, unadulterated escapism! It’s entertainment. It’s seriously great content. It’s indulgence. It’s frivolity. And it is a lot of fun! The point of TVD isn’t to make you feel some strong emotion, leave a lasting impact, deliver a profound message or reveal some truth about life. The point of watching TVD is purely to feel good. And aren’t things like frivolity and taking pleasure simply for the sake of it severely underrated? Isn’t it healthy to disconnect for a bit?
Also, no stupid person can come up with stories like this. The intricacy, ability to hold the audience’s attention and the knack to keep the story moving forward with fascinating elements and fresh plotlines that aren’t exhausting, hammy and lame (like in Riverdale) are hallmarks of a brilliant mind. And for those reasons, TVD has two thumbs up from me.
P.S. I’d like a tall, cool glass of Stefan Salvatore. Also, spruce it up with a little bit of that quiet, protective anger. It’s so becoming!
(Images and gif from various sources on Google.)
