HOLLYWOOD—I ask myself time and time again just how I missed an entire season of a series that has turned into my guilty pleasure. I’m referring to The CW’s “The Vampire Diaries.” With the vampire craze in full-force with “Twilight,” “True Blood” and countless others, this show stands out with its unique storytelling, plot twists and a cast that oozes sex appeal. The show is based on the book series by L.J. Smith, with “Scream” scribe Kevin Williamson and Julie Plec as head writers and executive producers for the show.
“The Vampire Diaries” is such a guilty pleasure because of its magnificent writing. Of course it’s a love story between Elena (Nina Dobrev), Stefan (Paul Wesley) and Damon (Ian Somerhalder), but there’s so much more happening at the same time. Dobrev shows an impeccable amount of range as an actress having to portray the likable Elena, as well as her wickedly evil doppelganger Katherine. There’s something about portraying a villain that has to be such a delight for any actor. Viewers would agree that Damon is MysticFalls’ resident bad boy; well at least he was in the first season. It appears Elena’s beauty has transformed the vampire bent on making his little brother’s life a living hell to a gentler individual. He does from time to time remind viewers that his dark side is very much present.
Mystic Falls has quite a few secrets that viewers including myself have yet to discover. The concept of vampires, werewolves and witches is intriguing; everyone has these secrets and the fact that only a select few know those secrets makes the mystery even more enticing. Bonnie (Katerina Graham), who I absolutely adore, is Elena’s best friend. She is a witch who despises vampires and has no shame in making it known. Caroline (Candice Accola) is Bonnie and Elena’s friend who was recently turned into a vampire thanks to Katherine. She recently divulged to Tyler (Michael Trevino), a werewolf in the making, her secret. While Tyler is indeed a hothead, he’s yet to make that full transformation like his uncle Mason, but it is imminent.
I was driven to find more about the show, after hearing the massive buzz for its season finale. So I took to iTunes to purchase the episode and I was instantly hooked. Katherine had us all fooled making us think she was Elena. She played with Damon’s heart and nearly killed John Gilbert, who wasn’t Elena’s uncle but her father. After that episode, I had to go back to the beginning to see how it all started. Most people would be lost, but I found it satisfying to have to piece the puzzle together. There’s the evolving drama surrounding Jeremy (Steven R. McQueen) Elena’s brother/cousin. He’s done drugs, skipped classes and desperately wanted to become a vampire. He was on his own destructive path in the first season, but has appeared to make a complete turnaround in the midst of nearly dying at the hands of Damon. His burgeoning friendship with Bonnie looks to become romantic in the near future.
The secrecy surrounding the moonstone is a pivotal story element for season two. We’re first made to believe that Katherine wants the stone for her own personal reasons, but it’s later revealed that the moonstone has much more of an effect than just dismantling werewolves and the vampire curse. Viewers couldn’t have expected the twist where it was revealed that Katherine and Mason were working together. The impending drama surrounding the first vampire, Klaus, and his desire to sacrifice Elena to break the moon curse makes watching the series even more compelling this season.
“The Vampire Diaries” does something that I have yet to see in any other show, which is to provide these climatic cliff-hangers at the end of each episode that has the viewer glued to their television set the following week. The surprises are so huge the viewer feels as if they’re getting punched in the chest each week with new information. Expect many more secrets to be divulged, more love triangles and of course, expect a few more deaths along the way this season. My instinct tells me a major character may be biting the dust come February sweeps; it’s just a theory at this moment. For those ready to become immersed in a series that is sure to become a favorite for years to come, “The Vampire Diaries” airs Thursdays at 8 p.m. on The CW.
