RIPPING OPEN TVD: STEFAN IS NOT BORING, UNLESS BORING MEANS AWESOME

It’s the summer hiatus – and IT SUCKS. So to help wile away those lonely TVD-less hours as we await Vampire Diaries Season 3, we’ve rounded up a slew of guest bloggers (and hugeVampire Diaries fans) for a series called Ripping Open TVD. Each blogger will be focusing on one particular aspect of what we’ve just experienced in Vampire Diaries Season 2 and adding a hefty dose of Season 3 speculation. Remember: These are guest posts, so these are the opinions of the person writing them, not necessarily Vampire-Diaries.net. Cool? Cool. This week, Carrie Raisler, Vampire Diaries recapper/reviewer extraordinaire at The A.V. Club,takes issue with the “boring” label when it comes to the littlest Salvatore and explains why she thinks this complicated character is about to get even more interesting.

Before I started covering The Vampire Diaries for The A.V. Club last season, I didn’t have much of a gauge on what other people besides myself thought about the show. Sure, I vaguely knew there were Delena and Stelena shippers – as there are in any show featuring a love triangle – but beyond that most of the fandom was a blank slate, which, as a writer, was both a blessing and curse. Once the comments started rolling in on my reviews, however, I got quite a surprise when it comes to one Mr. Stefan Salvatore: a lot of people think he’s boring.

I was bewildered. How did everyone not see the strong and supportive yet slightly warped vamp I did? I do admit, when the show started I was more than skeptical. Having been an almost obsessive fan of Kevin Williamson’s Dawson’s Creek, the Stefan of the early episodes was a bit too close to an undead Dawson Leery for my Pacey-loving taste. But then, something amazing happened. Paul Wesley started to really bring it in his scenes. The writers began to emphasize his dark side a bit more. By the time the Katherine reveal was made in The Turning Point, it was pretty much cemented that Stefan Salvatore is not your run of the mill brooding, sulking vampire. Now, as a card carrying member of the Stefan Salvatore fan club I invented in my mind, I feel it is my duty to explain exactly why he can punch my dance card at a 1800s-themed Mystic Falls party any time.

CONTINUE READING “RIPPING OPEN TVD: STEFAN IS NOT BORING, UNLESS BORING MEANS AWESOME.”