The Vampire Diaries. Yes, I know… I am quite literally ten years late on watching this iconic teen drama. To be honest, other than my extensive obsession with Gossip Girl in high school, I was always into the less dramatic (sometimes a little cheesy) types of TV shows like Friends or Gilmore Girls. I’m also a huge scaredy cat and never had any interest in anything gory or violent. All of which added to the long list of reasons why I never dived into the world of The Vampire Diaries.
This all came to an abrupt end when my TVD-obsessed best friend Bridget forced my other best friend Lexi and I to sit down and watch the pilot episode three weeks ago. I was extremely skeptical throughout the first episode because the jump scares were a little too frequent for such a jumpy person like me. However, despite not being so sure if I would really get into it, we powered through and watched three episodes that night. I woke up the next morning and found myself wondering: What is going to happen next? Will Elena and Stefan fall in love? Why is Damon back in Mystic Falls? Who’s Katherine?
All were questions that could only be answered by giving in and watching the next episode. Then we watched another episode, then another, then two more the next day, then five more over that weekend, and so on until we realized that we had finished all of season one in a week. After watching a few episodes each night with my roommates and now being in the middle of season 3, I can say I am thoroughly obsessed, and I have officially fallen in love with a cast of fictional characters. Here are some of my thoughts:
- I’m team Stefan through and through. Now I am aware that this is an unpopular opinion, and I might change my mind by the time we get to the finale, but WOW, I am in love with Stefan Salvatore. He’s selfless, romantic, brave, and he is always there to protect and guide his friends and family no matter the situation. A true icon.
- Surprisingly, I enjoy the somewhat confusing and intricate plot. While I’m generally into the more predictable shows, the twists and turns that happen throughout this show always keep me on my toes. I swear I audibly gasp at least once per episode.
- I am a sucker for some good character development moments, and I love that TVD is chock full of them. There is nothing I enjoy more than hating a character in the first season and growing to love them throughout the rest of the series.
- In my humble opinion, I could seriously do without the werewolf subplot. I like the Tyler and Caroline love story that came from it, but besides that, they annoy me and really make me feel like I’m watching Twilight in TV form.
- Finally, I think one of my favorite elements of TVD is Damon’s bad boy/sarcastic humor. He provides the comedic relief needed throughout the show to give viewers a much-needed break from all the intense drama.