I recently watched CASTLE’s flashback
episode and THE VAMPIRE DIARIES’ backdoor ‘pilot’ of its spinoff, THE ORIGINALS.
Here’s what I thought of them…
REMINISCING ON ‘CASTLE’
This has been quite a big season for
CASTLE. First of all, a fifth season means that the show has gone beyond the
big four-season mark. Second of all, they celebrated their 100th episode this
season. And of course, this was the season when Castle and Beckett finally
ended the whole will-they-won’t-they question, which kept most fans of the show
looking forward to this part of their relationship. While the 100th episode was
a fun, off-beat way of commemorating the milestone, complete with Kate and
Castle talking about having worked on 100 cases together, I thought that the
episode that would have been better as the 100th episode was the episode where
Kate is standing on a bomb, while Castle, Ryan and Esposito try and figure out
a way to diffuse it or get her out of there. During that episode, emotions were
high for all of them, but for Castle and Beckett, who were, once again, trapped
in a situation like the kinds they ever so frequently have found themselves in.
One might have thought that at a tense time like that, especially since Beckett
was preparing herself for the worst-case scenario, joking about who liked whom
first might have been inappropriate. However, by establishing that argument
much earlier in the episode, and then the very good writing in the latter
parts, the mirthful argument seemed to fit right into place. Not only did it
offer us a chance to revisit glimpses of their early interaction, and the
various stages of their personal and working relationship, it also gave us a
chance to look back at some of the stories that we’ve enjoyed over the last
five-or-so years. From Castle’s belief in everything supernatural during such
cases and Castle and Beckett getting caught in a room with a tiger or in a
freezer, to Beckett getting shot and so on. It was like a beautiful gift to the
loyal viewers of the show, with perfectly compiled montages of key moments in
the series thus far. I thoroughly enjoyed the episode for sure.
‘THE ORIGINALS’ RISE
Currently, my favorite characters in
THE VAMPIRE DIARIES are Rebekah and Elijah. Rebekah can be a bitch, but she has
a very human side to her, a side that we saw when she told Stefan that she
wanted the same things that anyone would want and when she told Matt that she’d
like to be a good person. At the same time, she’s witty, sophisticated, looks
good, and she’s an original! Then there’s Elijah. We haven’t seen that much of
him in the last season or so, except for in the last few episodes. He’s
sophisticated, commands respect, he has more integrity than most of the other
vampires, and he’s also an original. On the other hand, Damon and Stefan have
really bored me with their whole fight to find the cure for Elena. It’s like,
over the years, it’s like their whole purpose of existence is Elena, and since
she became a vampire, it’s become more apparent. I wasn’t too sure about a
VAMPIRE DIARIES spinoff initially, but over the last few months, I’ve realized
that the original vampires are actually the only interesting characters left on
the show. Considering that, it’s no surprise that an episode, which focuses
entirely on the originals, would grab my attention. I like how they’ve set a
simple, yet effective premise for THE ORIGINALS, with Klaus deciding to bring
down Marcel and his influence in New Orleans. Of course, knowing (creator)
Julie Plec, this simple premise will eventually evolve into a complex and
exciting plot. All of it will be welcome, especially if Elijah and Rebekah are
among the main characters. That leaves me wondering what will become of THE
VAMPIRE DIARIES! If all the interesting characters will move to THE ORIGINALS, TVD
will be quite bland in season five. Even though Silas has been established as
the next force that our main group will have to tackle, he’s a very
one-dimensional character so far, with nothing compelling. I certainly hope the
writers of up their game before going into season five, because otherwise, TVD
will pale in comparison with THE ORIGINALS.
What did you think of CASTLE’s 100th
and the flashback episodes? And are you also more excited about THE ORIGINALS
than about THE VAMPIRE DIARIES?
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