' "The only character who has actually grown and changed is Damon. He is the only consistent character on this show."
Isn't this the truth, though? Damon is the only "real" character on this show. He consistently grows, learns from his mistakes and doesn't keep making the same ones over and over. Even his screw ups have evolved! He's gone from the JNSI to killing Jessica to attacking Andie to trashing Stefan's room to angry sex with Rebekah to ' nothing. He didn't lash out after being used in 3x19 as an experiment and told by Elena she had kind of hoped he'd screw up and make it easy for her and he didn't lash out after she rejected him in the finale. He's not even angry about it. And, I don't think he will be. (Now, his reaction to Stefan letting Elena drown is a whole other issue, but I don't think that's lashing out. I think that is Damon legitimately expressing disappointment at the kind of person Stefan apparently is - passive, unthinking and a doormat who would rather let Elena die than risk her disapproval.)
And, on a personal level, Damon's accepted his part in the past, forgiven Stefan, and this season made a real effort to repair some of the damage done to their relationship. Unfortunately for Damon, a relationship cannot be repaired unless both parties want to repair it and Stefan's not interested. Also on a personal level, we watched Damon obsess over Katherine, be devastated, angry, and vengeful over the way she treated him, and then accept it, get over it and create some sort of quasi-friendly relationship with her. What other character on this show has done any of that?
Certainly not Stefan. If there's any character who continues to make the mistakes of the past, it's got to be Stefan. Once again, he tried to go off of HB to control his ripper side - and would have still been trying it - if Damon hadn't intervened, and he fought Damon's intervention (and. I'd wager never offered a thanks). Because that worked so well the last several times Stefan did it.
But more than that, Stefan hasn't grown since S1. He hasn't accepted responsibility for his ripper binge or his ripper side - saying I feel really bad for what Klaus made me do is not accepting responsibility. It's the exact opposite. Stefan hasn't evolved in the way he interacts with Elena. Even after the sacrifice where she and Jenna and John died, or after the Esther confrontation that lead to Abby's death, Stefan still refuses to stand up to Elena, question her choices or even suggest an alternative.
And, good lord, Stefan is still stuck on this idea that Damon just must be worse for Elena than he could ever be. I mean, how can Stefan, after trying to run Elena off of Wickery Bridge and turn her into a vampire, actually have the nerve to suggest that Damon is worse for Elena than Stefan is? Stefan's lack of self-awareness and inability to observe the truth about others is as astounding as it is unchanging.
And poor Elena has actually regressed in the characterization department. In S1, she said she was "not some girl whose world ended because of some guy" and in S3, that's exactly what she became: her entire world focused around Stefan and getting him back and that's all she cared about. In S1, she would ask questions of Stefan and demand answers, and by S3, she didn't even demand an apology from Stefan for him threatening to kill her, or getting Alaric killed or his indifference to Jeremy dying. Instead of demanding the truth, with Stefan, she's become the queen of denial. And, this has been talked about before, but with respect to Damon, Elena went from being the opposite of Katherine to treating him exactly as she did. Sure, Elena wasn't malicious, but that doesn't really change the fact that she told Damon his love was a "problem" and never apologized for it; that she set him as an experiment in 3x19, hoping he'd fail and make life easier for her; or that she did leave him to die alone. In actions, although not intent, Elena became Katherine. And now, she's a vampire, which she never wanted. So, with turning, Elena has finally become everything she said she never wanted to be.
And, I'm hoping that's the point for her character. She's got to realize that she lost herself and needs to find herself and her way again. I thought that's where we were going last season, but then in the back half, that fell off the radar and Elena ended up choosing the safe route and not the risky one, so I don't know anymore. But, I certainly hope that there is a point to all of it, because if S1 Elena and early S3 Elena showed anything, it's that there is more to Elena than the shell she becomes around Stefan. 'MJ
Edited by -mAdY- - 13 years ago
^^A fan in Brazil literally tried to jump on Ian 😆LOL I don't blame her..I mean c'mon who won't jump on him
Iss Pyaar Ko Kya Naam Doon
