Alice Jester reviews The Vampire Diaries season so far at blogcritics.org. Here are some excerpts from her review:
That darkness is easily what separates The Vampire Diaries from its CW teen show counterparts. These are teenagers with tortured souls and fractured psyches that are hardly living the glamorous life. Each has an ominous side as does the town in which they reside, Mystic Falls, Virginia. The strength of the show comes from the three lead characters: Stefan (Paul Wesley), Elena (Nina Dobrev), and Damon (Ian Somerhandler). These are deeply layered characters with great on screen chemistry from the word go. Sure, the main crux is the instant attraction between Stefan and Elena and their suffering romance, but the real scene stealer is evil brother Damon.
Damon is the ultimate antagonist; scheming, manipulative, dangerous, deadly, and yet smart enough to cover his tracks. His biggest appeal is leaving the audience guessing as to his true motives each week and if he really is pure evil. Plus he’s just so damned fun to watch. Just when I think there is no hope for him, small hints here and there surface that he may just be redeemable, especially with Elena. I actually find myself rooting for him at times.
Damon is indeed a fan favorite and I have to admit he has quickly grown on me. His ambiguous morals have added an element of suspense to the show because you never quite know what he is going to do next and his lust for “life” and dark sense of humor are infectious. Last night’s episode “Haunted” had me reeling between amusement, horror and a reserved sense of admiration for what he did at the end of the episode.
Another thing to note about the show is the popularity of the music chosen for it. Alice Jester says this:
On top of everything else, the music featured on this show is fantastic. It compliments the somber mood well and each song choice vastly strengthens the emotional intensity of the scene in which it is used.
I wholeheartedly agree. I clearly recall that immediately after the first episode aired people were scouring the internet searching for a song list (myself included). And in case you haven’t found one yet here is a link to a site that has track listings for each episode:
So what do you guys think? Has the show met your expectations? Exceeded them? Or disappointed you?
