The Vampire Diaries is one of my favorite television shows and although season three was not quite at the level of one or two it was still great television. When I first heard about the show I had absolutely no interest in watching. Vampires in high school pining over a teenage girl, sound familiar Twilight fans? Another variation of brooding vampires and werewolves was not exactly my cup of tea.
About a year ago one of my best friends practically begged me to give the show a chance and watch. After months of prodding I finally sat down on my computer and streamed the first episode. After watching the pilot I thought, ehh, it’s a little better than I thought, then after episode two, I thought not bad and by episode three I was hooked. I viewed both seasons one and two in one sitting. I didn’t sleep, because I couldn’t. The Vampire Diaries leaves the viewer wanting more and more of the world of Mystic Falls every time.
As a viewer I am fully invested into every character on the show. The main character Elena (played by the lovely Nina Debrov) is a heroine who you cannot help but root for unlike that other vampire show on HBO. She is portrayed as a regular teenager who has through no fault of her own been caught up in this world of the supernatural. Our two male leads of Stefan and Damon (played by Paul Wesley and Ian Somerhalder) are probably the two best male characters on any CW television show. Damon is the snarky bad boy with charm and Stefan is the brooding vampire with a tortured soul who falls madly in love with Elena. The best part of the show has been watching how it is that these two brothers came to be who they are now. Both Salvatore’s are over a century old and through their history, we really have to question is Stefan as good as he says he is and is Damon as bad as he believes?
The twists and turns that come every episode always show something new and unexpected. Seeing something that throws the viewer for a loop is rare on television these days. What really sets The Vampire Diaries apart from most other shows on television has to be the supporting cast. I have counted ten recurring characters this past season and each one of them are layered and three dimensional.
Characters like Caroline (Played by Candice Accola) and Tyler (played by Michael Trevino) have become two of my favorites. The journey that they have gone through on screen was one of the strengths of seasons one and two as we witnessed Caroline unwillingly become a vampire and Tyler become a werewolf. The growth of both characters was at the same time fun and heartbreaking to watch as they were both caught thrown in to the craziness that is Mystic Falls.
Another favorite of mine (I have a few) is the big bad villain, Klaus. (Played brilliantly by Joseph Morgan) What makes a great villain is the ability to make that character as layered and as complex as the hero. This season I actually found myself sympathizing with Klaus. He is evil down to his core but at the end of the day, it’s clear that Klaus is lonely and longs for companionship, be it from the brother he wishes that he had in Stefan or a woman’s love as he seems to have a crush on Caroline. I certainly hope we have not seen the last of his character because his absence would be sorely missed.
Guys if great story telling and strong characters is not your thing then there are two other things that should keep you tuning in every week, plenty of action and beautiful women. For a CW show, The Vampire Dairies has some top notch action scenes and it’s pretty gory for a show on at 8 ‘0 clock. Damon literally rips someone’s heart out just about every episode.
While The Vampire Dairies does have a great story to tell, it boasts some of the most beautiful young actresses in the business. Nina Debrov, Kat Graham as the powerful witch Bonnie Candice Accola, (My girlfriend in my head) and Claire Holt as Rebekah, the sister of the show’s villain Klaus are all drop dead gorgeous. While they all possess some pretty big acting chops the fact that they look like models is certainly not a deterrent for my viewing every week. The Vampire Diaries is one of the five best shows currently on television in my opinion and it’s not just a show for girls. Guys catch up on seasons one through three and join me as we should all be watching.
By Luther Anderson
