The Vampire Diaries, Season 3

THE VAMPIRE DIARIES, SEASON 3 (SERIES)
Warner Home Ent.

Release date: August 20th, 2012
Running time: 927 minutes

Creator: Kevin Williamson

Cast: Nina Dobrev, Paul Wesley, Ian Somerhalder, Steven R. McQueen, Kat Graham, Candice Accola, Zach Roerig, Michael Trevino, Matt Davis

Mothers, fathers, brothers and sisters…in short, family… They mean everything to us. Sometimes we fight with them, disobey them and avoid them – and sometimes we can’t live without them.

Season three of The Vampire Diaries picks up some time after the events of season two. Stefan’s (Paul Wesley) left Mystic Falls with Klaus (Joseph Morgan) as part of the deal he made with him to save his brother Damon’s (Ian Somerhalder) life. With no way to reach him and no idea what he’s doing, Elena’s (Nina Dobrev) been doing everything she can to find him and get him back but, as her friends keep telling her, she needs to get on with her life and forget about Stefan.

As for her friends, Bonnie (Kat Graham) is freaked out that Jeremy (Steven R. McQueen) has been in contact with his two exes, Vicki (Kayla Ewell) and Anna (Malese Jow) – both of whom were killed in previous seasons. Caroline (Candice Accola) is struggling to get Tyler (Michael Trevino) to break his sire bond to Klaus and Matt (Zach Roerig) is the only one of the group who’s trying to keep clear of all the supernatural elements in Mystic Falls, seeing how it’s messing with all his friends’ lives.

Damon, who’s supposed to be helping Elena in her search for Stefan, has been holding back information in an attempt to protect her. When they do eventually succeed in getting Stefan back to Mystic Falls, Klaus isn’t far and that means trouble isn’t either. With his entire ancient vampire family they’re the Originals from whom all other vampires possibly descend from, including Stefan, Damon, Caroline, and technically Tyler since he’s now a half-breed (part werewolf, part vampire). This poses a huge problem in the fight to destroy Klaus since killing him might also wipe out his bloodline.

This season The Vampire Diaries introduces us to more characters than we’ve probably seen on the show before. Many of them come from Klaus’ side, including his sister, Rebecca (Claire Holt). She’s a vampire who’s been around for more than a thousand years but has spent the past ninety in a coffin with a dagger in her heart. Now she’s just wants to enjoy her first high school dance.

There’s also Caroline’s father, Bill (Jack Coleman) who re-enters her life when he kidnaps and imprisons her, subjecting her to torture as a way of ridding her of her vampiric impulses. She’s not the only one with a previously absent parent to re-connect with. Bonnie has to track down her long-lost mother for help with a spell that might help bring down Klaus.

As for Alaric (Matt Davis), since losing Jenna in the previous season he’s been questioning his place in Mystic Falls and his role in Elena and Jeremy’s lives and whether or not he’s a good role model. The vampire hunter then finds himself a pawn in Klaus’ mother’s plans for her children.

There’s a lot going on in season three and at times it’s a little hard to keep up with all the meandering storylines, least of all the developing love story between Elena and Damon, but the focus always remains on this group of characters’ connections to each other. Whether it’s Elena and Jeremy struggling to hold on to what family they have left, Stefan and Damon’s brotherly bickering, Bonnie, Tyler and Caroline dealing with their parents or Klaus trying to reunite his, the season revolves around the central theme of families and their struggles with the supernatural. Often though they have to deal with the secrets, lies and betrayals that even the most human among us aren’t immune from.

Klaus was never going to be anywhere on my list of favourite television villains, he’s far too boring and talks too much. As a result the season suffers from not having a strong antagonist to carry it through to the end, but even in spite of this I enjoyed it because there was so much else going for it. It’s always great when a show can find a way to bring back characters from the past, even if they were killed off, and in this season we get to see quite a lot of them.

Although it takes a while for Elena get Stefan back, and for her to finally realise she has to make a choice between the two brothers, I wasn’t quite prepared for the finale and must admit that it took me by surprise. I’ve no idea where the show will go from here, but season four will definitely have me curious as the stakes are raised even higher for Elena, Jeremy and all those around them.

Patrick Samuel

The founder of Static Mass Emporium and one of its Editors in Chief is an emerging artist with a philosophy degree, working primarily with pastels and graphite pencils, but he also enjoys experimenting with water colours, acrylics, glass and oil paints.

Being on the autistic spectrum with Asperger’s Syndrome, he is stimulated by bold, contrasting colours, intricate details, multiple textures, and varying shades of light and dark. Patrick's work extends to sound and video, and when not drawing or painting, he can be found working on projects he shares online with his followers.

Patrick returned to drawing and painting after a prolonged break in December 2016 as part of his daily art therapy, and is now making the transition to being a full-time artist. As a spokesperson for autism awareness, he also gives talks and presentations on the benefits of creative therapy.

Static Mass is where he lives his passion for film and writing about it. A fan of film classics, documentaries and science fiction, Patrick prefers films with an impeccable way of storytelling that reflect on the human condition.

Patrick Samuel ¦ Asperger Artist

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