Now its too late. Elena does not fit the textbook definitions of main character, nor protagonist, nor a hero. She is nothing. And it Is too late to develop her. If she was some extra who appears every 20 eps then sure. But she is damn lead heroine...supposedly. and she has the ammount of personality of a broomstick.
Lastly, I'd like to point out that this is still a TV show we're talking about - Just like any other TV show it is unrealistic. Of course a lot of things happen within short time - anything else would be boring. Elena crying all the time would be a horrible plot.
Yes. Shall I write the whole BASIC rules of good quality writing?
"Unrealistic" does not excuse neglecting the basic writing guidelines. Elena has no character baseline, no FOILs, no character road, no dilemma's, no challenges, no character buildup, no self insights, no change in character buildup, no life background.
Elena crying all over the place is not needed. ELENA CRYING is. Elena REACTING is. Elena BEING A PERSON, relatable person just like a "protagonist" should be WAS NEEDED.
Now its too late. Elena does not fit the textbook definitions of main character, nor protagonist, nor a hero. She is nothing. And it Is too late to develop her. If she was some extra who appears every 20 eps then sure. But she is damn lead heroine...supposedly. and she has the ammount of personality of a broomstick.
Feeling the things she "was supposed to feel" now is not "too little, too late" but actually a human coping mechanism which seals all bad emotions into one's body but comes out at one point when the person cannot deal with their pain in quiet anymore. This might be the case, if Alaric really dies.
Agreed, but thats not how Elena handles it.
WE DO NOT SEE HER HOLDING IN HER EMOTIONS.
We see her having no emotions.
Which makes this whole situation as believable as her "I wanna be normal" breakdown. Which is - entirelly unbelievable laugh-worthy and too late.
Everything that is happening in the rest of the series (Elena being kidnapped and learning about the curse and the role she plays in it) is shocking but it doesn't mean Elena needs to have a mental breakdown and battle depression.
No but she is teenager 17-18 year old human girl. She needs to have human reactions to that. She never did.
Elena is strong, that much we know.
WE DO NOT KNOW THAT. Characters Say that. How caring she is how strong she is. Which all just makes her even more of mary sue.
She needs to be a responsible sister to Jeremy and protect him, therefore she sometimes has to stay strong for him. Losing her birth parents probably wouldn't have had a huge impact on her life as they both treated her badly and she barely even knew them. Losing her parents and aunt Jenna surely was traumatic, but I don't think somebody who goes through that instantly needs to break down and have psychotic consequences.Losing someone you love very dearly is horrible but humans adjust to what has happened and are capable of moving on. Not forgetting, but moving on with their lives.
Good head-canon fanfic. Yet again never emphasized in the show.
A very similar thing happened when Jenna died. With the time jump, Elena had enough time to come to terms with what happened.
AND WE NEVER SEEN THAT. No character development. No development.
Characters saying it happened DOES NOT MAKE IT TRUE.
It was also established that blood is thicker than water for Elena and Stefan wouldn't get in the way of her relationship to Jeremy and Jenna. (Bella on the other hand is ready to never speak to her family again if it means she can be with Edward for the rest of eternity.)
Yet again thank you for fanfiction. The show never bothered to actually show it. THAT'S THE PROBLEm
Which brings me to my next point: Elena's reaction to death. I do agree with the others that Elena did mourn her parents' death in season 1. Firstly the show was set 4 months after the accident and at that point she would not be crying herself to sleep anymore but would have accepted the fact that she needs to move on. Moreover we see her visiting their graves and writing in her diary about her feelings, which are at this point totally valid.
And both those points DISAPPEAR four episodes in. And she never ever remembers her parents till the Steffan-suicide-try scene. And then they are forgotten again. She is neglected as character.
You say she is "obsessed with a male character for no reason at all" because she tries to find him. Now, I don't know about you but if my boyfriend, who loves me, basically trades his soul in order to save his brother's life and disappears, I would be worried sick and look for him anywhere to see if he's in danger and if there's any possible way of bringing him back - regardless if he's a vampire or not. Therefore she is not "obsessed" with Stefan, she is just in love with him and worried.
That does not change anything. SHE DOES NOT KNOW WHAT HE TRADED. Through S2 and S3 we see nothing of her life, but her obsession with a male figure in her life. In that aspect she is bella. The only difference is that she is not wimpering on how cool vampires are all the time, but she is still exactly like bella in that aspect on how sexist her character portrayal is.
Unlike Bella, Elena clearly doesn't want to be a vampire and does see them as evil and inhumane creatures which they are. his conflicts with her love for Stefan who she should stay away from for her own safety, but she is in love with him from the start and oblivious to all the baggage he has. When she actually is in real danger it is already too late to go back.
Thank you for your head-canon. Now please lets talk about this when SHOW ACTUALLY displays that.
fear mixed with being intruiged by this supernatural world, maybe the need to feel special, as she is supposed to be the only one knowing the Salvatore's secret.
Nice and dandy if show displayed that. It did not. It displayed that for whopping two scenes and then forgot about it and she was all happy go lucky dancing with predators.
It had so much potential. Showcasing her guilt over parents deaths and how it affects her outlook towards the predatory nature of vampires and need of closeness. Show chose to ignore that. That's the problem of S1 Elena. She never reacted. We never could relate to her. She was less of a bella and quite likeable but still bella.
The biggest difference between her and Elena is that Elena (precisely in S1) actually reflects the emotions any average human would have if confronted with such a situation:
Ding ding dong, how wrong. Normal human reaction to a vampire would be no different than reaction to grizly bear. Studied enough psychology in my university years to know that.
Elena's reaction was APPROPRIATE, for exactly ONE episode of her finding out who steffie is. Five seconds latter she was a lovesick puppy. Her mistrust and self-confusion and mixed feelings SHOULD have continued through season one.
So, judging from what you've written so far, you think Elena basically is Bella Swan, is dependant on Stefan which you believe to be unrealistic, and has not spent enough time (or any time at all) mourning the loss of her parents, her other parents and her aunt. Am I right?
Yes, thats bassically it. Every damn storyline of hers revolves around her love interests. She had an independant(sort of...) story of searching for her mother in S1 and surprise - She was more likeable in that season. After that she is just....there, looking pretty, displaying mary sue traits and not having any semblance of character.
So Bonnie gets YET ANOTHER throw away love interest and plec continues to ignore her making comments about her racist tendencies all the more valid.
Add to that the twitter debacle of Plec and Matt Davis flaming bonnie's fans and you have one hell of incompetent tv show staff.
I am surprised there are still Bonnie-fans considering of just how damn neglected she is and how reduced to the role of plot device she has been since well, the start.
Season 3 is going to culminate in Elena's guilt over all that's been lost because of her. These people will do anything to keep each other alive, no matter the costs, and I've never doubted that Elena feels that. But when her and her friends are always in life and death situations, she doesn't exactly have time to lay in bed and cry for days when someone dies. She has to keep moving and fighting. Besides there was some scene in S2 with her and Stefan where she just completely breaks down because she realizes that it's not
Thats the problem. SHOW DOES NOT SHOW THAT.
Elena's stupid actions keep having no consequences. Deaths have no impact in this show.
Everything that happens to her keeps getting no reaction from her at all.
Thanks to that "rushed" scenes like that are NOT believable. Did anyone believe her 3 second breakdown of "I want normal life" in S2? NO. Why? BECAUSE WE DID NOT SEE HER WANTING NORMAL LIFE NOR HAVING ONE.
She's trying to please many people who all have different takes on the characters and storylines.
And with that she has already failed to be a writer. Thats not what a respectable talented writer does. One can make characters likeable, but one should not bend to every whim of fandom like Plec tries to do. it tears apart your work of fiction.
You claim Damon raped Caroline and Andie and you sound genuinely mad about it but yet you say you liked Damon in S1. Correct me if I'm wrong, but according to your theory of Damon, that would make him a rapist throughout S1.
Because back then I expected there to be consequences once Caroline remembers and some sort of redemption arc for that. Never happened.
Also what can I say, I like Damon more as this badass vampire who enjoys being vampire and is multilayered character mixing both good and bad sides, instead of Edward Salvatore he is now.
Watch Veronica Mars, Buffy, Cordy from Angel, Emily from revenge ETC! Even Caroline Is more of heroine then Elena is and shes not even the lead.
THIS THIS THIS thousands of times. Even the currently on tv heroines like Emily from Revenge, (especially)Snow White, Red an Emma from Once Upon A Time, Olivia from Fringe, Bo from Lost Girl, Daenerys, Cersei, Sansa, Aria,etc from Game of Thrones.
Million times more developed and better lead heroines. With actual characters and independence from sexist roles or romance plots.
Elena Gilbert is one of the worst lead characters currently on tv.
Then again shows like OUAT, Fringe, REvenge have good quality writers and actual character development, while TVD has...Plec....who is known for her incompetence as writer.
He compelled Andie not to be afraid, not to sleep with him. I think it was the same with Caroline but I don't remember.
And you do know that rape is about taking away a decision, a choice. He could have drugged them for all I care, its all the same. They would NOT have slept after that and he made them to.
She takes things into her own hands much unlike Bella.
Yet at the same time she has exactly same characterization as Bella Swan, making most of "matters she takes into her own hands" situations as even more points of why she is so despised in the fandom.
Character can only "take matters into his/her own hands" when he has a built up personality, character baseline. When he/she IS a character. Elena is not. The fact that everything she "takes into her own hands" turns out to be a disaster and yet there are no consequences and everyone still loves her, make her even more of mary sue.
She's probably one of the best teen heroines on tv right now.
I shall go with "how about no". She is the embodiment of sexism and misogynist outlook towards women. She sees nothing beyond her love interests, has no life beyond her love interests and no plot lines beyond her love interests. She is passive and HEAVILY personality-less. I fear to think on into what the younger generation will grow up with someone lik "Elena Gilberts" and "bella swans" as role models.
Bella was literally cripped when Eddie left her - didn't even try to find him. Elena did everything to find Stefan.
how is that better? Both cases portray a female heroine being obsessed with male figure for no reason at all and having no life except being obsessed with male figure.
1) Damon is not a serial rapist. I don't understand where that is coming from. How could you not be in love with him?
Caroline. Andie. Two cases of repeated rape and abuse in less than a year. 1912 pretty much showed us that its his MO. I liked the character in S1. Since start of S2 I can't stand him.
Seriously @Bored Now get a freaking life...u just poster 6 big comments in an article about a show that you do not even like,you are pathetic!
Who said I do not LIKE the show? I used to love it when it was coherent. I still like certain characters, but I am not blind to the glaring flaws the show has and keeps having
Okay,, Matt the editor in chief,get this bored now person out of my favourite website,,,,,
Why? Because someone has an entirely different opinion than you about the subject in question? Oh that nifty horrible freedom of speech.
Might have to readjust yourself a bit then as a LOT of people frequenting this website have that exact same opinion about Elena Gilbert. Some just "tolerate" her at best and majority just downright can't stand her. And we all can clearly provide arguments on why's. :)
Lets face it - Elena Gilbert is a scene prop, an object. Personality-less cardboard whom writers hold PERFECT and FLAWLESS. She is the Bella Swan of tv shows.
The girl theoretically had to experience a buttload of things she did not even react to, she is in love with two brothers - one serial killer and other serial rapist and she does not even bat her eyelashes at stuff. She is fullblown sociopath.
Whatever happens in the finale IS TOO LATE. It should have been evenly spread out through all the seasons till now. By now majority of fandom can't stand the screentime-wasting presence of Miss Cardboard and could NOT care less about her even if she got beheaded onscreen. As I said: TOO LITTLE, TOO LATE.
Whatever grief there should be was skipped by needless and stupid timeskip and ELENA WAS STILL THE SAME, pining over poor steffie, not having developed even a little bit in terms of personality, nor characters, after things that theoretically SHOULD emotionally cripple a person.
And she then was pushed into every possible plotline in S3 WITHOUT reacting to them yet again.
Comments by Invested In Your Future (Page 23)
The Vampire Diaries Spoilers: Who Will Appear on the Season 3 Finale?
The Vampire Diaries Spoilers: Who Will Appear on the Season 3 Finale?
Lastly, I'd like to point out that this is still a TV show we're talking about - Just like any other TV show it is unrealistic. Of course a lot of things happen within short time - anything else would be boring. Elena crying all the time would be a horrible plot.
Yes. Shall I write the whole BASIC rules of good quality writing?
"Unrealistic" does not excuse neglecting the basic writing guidelines. Elena has no character baseline, no FOILs, no character road, no dilemma's, no challenges, no character buildup, no self insights, no change in character buildup, no life background.
Elena crying all over the place is not needed. ELENA CRYING is. Elena REACTING is. Elena BEING A PERSON, relatable person just like a "protagonist" should be WAS NEEDED.
Now its too late. Elena does not fit the textbook definitions of main character, nor protagonist, nor a hero. She is nothing. And it Is too late to develop her. If she was some extra who appears every 20 eps then sure. But she is damn lead heroine...supposedly. and she has the ammount of personality of a broomstick.
The Vampire Diaries Spoilers: Who Will Appear on the Season 3 Finale?
Agreed, but thats not how Elena handles it.
WE DO NOT SEE HER HOLDING IN HER EMOTIONS.
We see her having no emotions.
Which makes this whole situation as believable as her "I wanna be normal" breakdown. Which is - entirelly unbelievable laugh-worthy and too late.
The Vampire Diaries Spoilers: Who Will Appear on the Season 3 Finale?
Everything that is happening in the rest of the series (Elena being kidnapped and learning about the curse and the role she plays in it) is shocking but it doesn't mean Elena needs to have a mental breakdown and battle depression.
No but she is teenager 17-18 year old human girl. She needs to have human reactions to that. She never did.
Elena is strong, that much we know.
WE DO NOT KNOW THAT. Characters Say that. How caring she is how strong she is. Which all just makes her even more of mary sue.
She needs to be a responsible sister to Jeremy and protect him, therefore she sometimes has to stay strong for him. Losing her birth parents probably wouldn't have had a huge impact on her life as they both treated her badly and she barely even knew them. Losing her parents and aunt Jenna surely was traumatic, but I don't think somebody who goes through that instantly needs to break down and have psychotic consequences.Losing someone you love very dearly is horrible but humans adjust to what has happened and are capable of moving on. Not forgetting, but moving on with their lives.
Good head-canon fanfic. Yet again never emphasized in the show.
The Vampire Diaries Spoilers: Who Will Appear on the Season 3 Finale?
AND WE NEVER SEEN THAT. No character development. No development.
Characters saying it happened DOES NOT MAKE IT TRUE.
The Vampire Diaries Spoilers: Who Will Appear on the Season 3 Finale?
Yet again thank you for fanfiction. The show never bothered to actually show it. THAT'S THE PROBLEm
Which brings me to my next point: Elena's reaction to death. I do agree with the others that Elena did mourn her parents' death in season 1. Firstly the show was set 4 months after the accident and at that point she would not be crying herself to sleep anymore but would have accepted the fact that she needs to move on. Moreover we see her visiting their graves and writing in her diary about her feelings, which are at this point totally valid.
And both those points DISAPPEAR four episodes in. And she never ever remembers her parents till the Steffan-suicide-try scene. And then they are forgotten again. She is neglected as character.
The Vampire Diaries Spoilers: Who Will Appear on the Season 3 Finale?
That does not change anything. SHE DOES NOT KNOW WHAT HE TRADED. Through S2 and S3 we see nothing of her life, but her obsession with a male figure in her life. In that aspect she is bella. The only difference is that she is not wimpering on how cool vampires are all the time, but she is still exactly like bella in that aspect on how sexist her character portrayal is.
The Vampire Diaries Spoilers: Who Will Appear on the Season 3 Finale?
Thank you for your head-canon. Now please lets talk about this when SHOW ACTUALLY displays that.
The Vampire Diaries Spoilers: Who Will Appear on the Season 3 Finale?
Nice and dandy if show displayed that. It did not. It displayed that for whopping two scenes and then forgot about it and she was all happy go lucky dancing with predators.
It had so much potential. Showcasing her guilt over parents deaths and how it affects her outlook towards the predatory nature of vampires and need of closeness. Show chose to ignore that. That's the problem of S1 Elena. She never reacted. We never could relate to her. She was less of a bella and quite likeable but still bella.
The Vampire Diaries Spoilers: Who Will Appear on the Season 3 Finale?
Ding ding dong, how wrong. Normal human reaction to a vampire would be no different than reaction to grizly bear. Studied enough psychology in my university years to know that.
Elena's reaction was APPROPRIATE, for exactly ONE episode of her finding out who steffie is. Five seconds latter she was a lovesick puppy. Her mistrust and self-confusion and mixed feelings SHOULD have continued through season one.
The Vampire Diaries Spoilers: Who Will Appear on the Season 3 Finale?
Yes, thats bassically it. Every damn storyline of hers revolves around her love interests. She had an independant(sort of...) story of searching for her mother in S1 and surprise - She was more likeable in that season. After that she is just....there, looking pretty, displaying mary sue traits and not having any semblance of character.
Robert Ri'chard Teases Closeness to Come Between Jamie and Bonnie on The Vampire Diaries
Add to that the twitter debacle of Plec and Matt Davis flaming bonnie's fans and you have one hell of incompetent tv show staff.
I am surprised there are still Bonnie-fans considering of just how damn neglected she is and how reduced to the role of plot device she has been since well, the start.
The Vampire Diaries Spoilers: Who Will Appear on the Season 3 Finale?
Thats the problem. SHOW DOES NOT SHOW THAT.
Elena's stupid actions keep having no consequences. Deaths have no impact in this show.
Everything that happens to her keeps getting no reaction from her at all.
Thanks to that "rushed" scenes like that are NOT believable. Did anyone believe her 3 second breakdown of "I want normal life" in S2? NO. Why? BECAUSE WE DID NOT SEE HER WANTING NORMAL LIFE NOR HAVING ONE.
The Vampire Diaries Spoilers: Who Will Appear on the Season 3 Finale?
And with that she has already failed to be a writer. Thats not what a respectable talented writer does. One can make characters likeable, but one should not bend to every whim of fandom like Plec tries to do. it tears apart your work of fiction.
You claim Damon raped Caroline and Andie and you sound genuinely mad about it but yet you say you liked Damon in S1. Correct me if I'm wrong, but according to your theory of Damon, that would make him a rapist throughout S1.
Because back then I expected there to be consequences once Caroline remembers and some sort of redemption arc for that. Never happened.
Also what can I say, I like Damon more as this badass vampire who enjoys being vampire and is multilayered character mixing both good and bad sides, instead of Edward Salvatore he is now.
The Vampire Diaries Spoilers: Who Will Appear on the Season 3 Finale?
THIS THIS THIS thousands of times. Even the currently on tv heroines like Emily from Revenge, (especially)Snow White, Red an Emma from Once Upon A Time, Olivia from Fringe, Bo from Lost Girl, Daenerys, Cersei, Sansa, Aria,etc from Game of Thrones.
Million times more developed and better lead heroines. With actual characters and independence from sexist roles or romance plots.
Elena Gilbert is one of the worst lead characters currently on tv.
Then again shows like OUAT, Fringe, REvenge have good quality writers and actual character development, while TVD has...Plec....who is known for her incompetence as writer.
The Vampire Diaries Spoilers: Who Will Appear on the Season 3 Finale?
And you do know that rape is about taking away a decision, a choice. He could have drugged them for all I care, its all the same. They would NOT have slept after that and he made them to.
The Vampire Diaries Spoilers: Who Will Appear on the Season 3 Finale?
Yet at the same time she has exactly same characterization as Bella Swan, making most of "matters she takes into her own hands" situations as even more points of why she is so despised in the fandom.
Character can only "take matters into his/her own hands" when he has a built up personality, character baseline. When he/she IS a character. Elena is not. The fact that everything she "takes into her own hands" turns out to be a disaster and yet there are no consequences and everyone still loves her, make her even more of mary sue.
The Vampire Diaries Spoilers: Who Will Appear on the Season 3 Finale?
I shall go with "how about no". She is the embodiment of sexism and misogynist outlook towards women. She sees nothing beyond her love interests, has no life beyond her love interests and no plot lines beyond her love interests. She is passive and HEAVILY personality-less. I fear to think on into what the younger generation will grow up with someone lik "Elena Gilberts" and "bella swans" as role models.
Bella was literally cripped when Eddie left her - didn't even try to find him. Elena did everything to find Stefan.
how is that better? Both cases portray a female heroine being obsessed with male figure for no reason at all and having no life except being obsessed with male figure.
The Vampire Diaries Spoilers: Who Will Appear on the Season 3 Finale?
Caroline. Andie. Two cases of repeated rape and abuse in less than a year. 1912 pretty much showed us that its his MO. I liked the character in S1. Since start of S2 I can't stand him.
The Vampire Diaries Spoilers: Who Will Appear on the Season 3 Finale?
Who said I do not LIKE the show? I used to love it when it was coherent. I still like certain characters, but I am not blind to the glaring flaws the show has and keeps having
The Vampire Diaries Spoilers: Who Will Appear on the Season 3 Finale?
Why? Because someone has an entirely different opinion than you about the subject in question? Oh that nifty horrible freedom of speech.
Might have to readjust yourself a bit then as a LOT of people frequenting this website have that exact same opinion about Elena Gilbert. Some just "tolerate" her at best and majority just downright can't stand her. And we all can clearly provide arguments on why's. :)
Once Upon a Time Episode Trailer: Why, Regina, Why?
I have that sneaking suspicion that Regina ended up killing her mother in revenge for what happens.
However Queen of Hearts might be her (twin?) Sister that the mother loved more. Would explain the rivalry
The Vampire Diaries Spoilers: Who Will Appear on the Season 3 Finale?
If you find NOTHING wrong with that, then there's something seriously wrong with your perception of this show.
The Vampire Diaries Spoilers: Who Will Appear on the Season 3 Finale?
The girl theoretically had to experience a buttload of things she did not even react to, she is in love with two brothers - one serial killer and other serial rapist and she does not even bat her eyelashes at stuff. She is fullblown sociopath.
Whatever happens in the finale IS TOO LATE. It should have been evenly spread out through all the seasons till now. By now majority of fandom can't stand the screentime-wasting presence of Miss Cardboard and could NOT care less about her even if she got beheaded onscreen. As I said: TOO LITTLE, TOO LATE.
The Vampire Diaries Spoilers: Who Will Appear on the Season 3 Finale?
And she then was pushed into every possible plotline in S3 WITHOUT reacting to them yet again.