It would be easy to dimiss The Vampire Diaries as nothing more than a vampire show trying to capitalize on the success and themes found within HBO's True Blood and the Twilight series. After all, the series (based on the best-selling novels by C.W. Lewis) is primarily about a young girl named Elena (Canadian Nina Dobrev) who falls in love with a vampire named Stefan Salvatore (24's Paul Wesley), and in true love triangle fashion, has to contend with another supernatural suitor striving for her affections; Stefan's less-than-honourable brother Damon (Lost's Ian Somerhalder).
The Show's Appeal
Airing on the same network that dabs in 90210, Diaries is full of the usual melodrama that comes with young relationships, but the extraordinary world of vampires, witches, and werewolves keeps the material always engaging. Steered with creative influence by scribe Kevin Williamson (Scream), the show possesses no shortage of shocking moments and twists. Characters can be changed, killed off and resurrected in new and creative ways at any time, and Damon almost owns the screen with his fiery and care-free persona (credit Somerhalder's performance). Even though it can't push the envelope as True Blood can with sex and violence, Diaries does its best to maintain a level of sexiness and morbid edge to take it seriously. It's very well written with such strong visuals and witty dialogue, that to not give the show its fair due would be a disservice to the work put into it.
Season 2: Seeing Double and New Adversaries
In Season 1, it was Damon himself who caused the most havoc in Mystic Falls and was always the centerpiece of crisis for the characters. For Season 2, the threats increase in scope and as a result Damon has to form an alliance with his brother and Elena to handle them. First up is Elena's vampire doppleganger Katherine (she turned the Salvatore brothers decades earlier), who was believed to be permanently incarcerated. Her ability to pose as Elena has dire consequences for Elena's friends and family who quickly feel her wrath upon her return (leading to big changes for regular characters).
Also added to the mix is the threat of werewolves, creatures who pose a deadly threat to the undead for the simple fact that a bite from them can kill vampires...and not quickly. On top of that, Elena comes into contact with The Originals, two of the oldest and most powerful vampire brothers in existence named Issac and Klaus, who covet Elena for her ability to break a curse that binds Klaus' unique abilities. Their presence climaxes the end of the season, resulting in more character deaths and dark roads for others leading into Season 3.
The Blu-ray Box Set
Released on August 30th, 2011, the four-disc box set contains all 22 Season 2 episodes in a 16x9 widescreen image and in high-definition they look great (perhaps even better than their original broadcast quality). Also attached is a very impactful DTS-HD Master Audio track in the sound department. With these technical specs, it is safe to say that watching the series here on Blu-ray would be a definite improvement over seeing it during its initial airing on telelvision (even if you had a 5.1 and HD signal from your cable box).
The box set also contains a worthwhile amount of bonus features. There are 3 featurettes which focus on the werewolf element of the show in "Pages Of The Wolf", which explores the creatures' mythology, the special effects behind the transformations, and the use of real wolves on the set. The tricky double performance of Elena/Katherine by Nina Dobrev is highlighted in "Her Own Worst Enemy", as Dobrev is challenged with playing two roles convincingly that are polar opposites of each other.
"The Perfect Love Triangle" covers the various relationships and hook-ups of the season between the various supernatural players whether they be vampires, werewolves, or witches. Rounding out the features in a commentary track on one episode by executive producers Julie Plec and Kevin Williamson, along with some unaired scenes and a gag reel.
Final Thoughts
Season 1 of The Vampire Diaries was a pretty solid experience, and instantly made me a fan. Season 2 isn't quite as smooth (there is a lot more to handle as a viewer) and many of the plotlines don't connect well to each other, but I still give credit to the show for keeping things interesting. One of the strengths of the The Vampire Diaries is that it does not leave you hanging for answers or story resolutions for very long, and speaking as someone still stinging from the end of Lost; I appreciate the consideration.
The Blu-ray set is a very well put together offering for fans and viewers, but if you are unfamiliar with the material off the start, I would have to recommend to go back to Season 1 to get caught up. Season 2's opener picks up right from the end of Season 1's cliffhanger, so on its own you might be lost with all that is going on between the characters if you don't know the history already.
GRADES
Show: Very Good
Video: Excellent
Audio: Excellent
Extra's: Very Good
Consumer/Collector Value: Very Good
Complete Blu-ray DVD Box Set: Very Good
Ryan Young - Ryan Young is a Film and Sports article/review writer, based in the Greater Toronto Area of Ontario, Canada.
