“Nothing about my life is normal. My best friend is a witch, my boyfriend’s a vampire and I have a doppelganger who’s hell bent on destroying all of us.” – Elena

OK, let’s be honest Nina Dobrev may not be the most talented actress on TV but she is definitely the luckiest. This girl landed an amazing gig when she scored the dual part of modern day love sick Elena and sociopathic serial killer 19th century vampire Katherine. In most teen drama’s cast members have to wait years for the incestuous storyline to work its way around to each of the members of the opposite sex in the cast. Think about it, everyone in Beverly Hills 90210 eventually made out for one reason or another but it took them 10 seasons to get through every possible pairing. Here, Dobrev starts out with generic, but hot, jock boyfriend Matt (Zach Roerig) who is quickly replaced by Elena’s main love interest Stefan (Paul Wesley) while at the same time playing Katherine who hooks up with both Stefan and older brother Damon (played by the super-hot and smoldering Ian Somerhalder) and also some random recurring characters like this seasons’ hottest new addition Taylor Kinney as Mason Lockhart. I mean, seriously… this girl is immersed in an embarrassment of ripped up riches.

But enough about why I’m jealous of Nina… let’s move on to the season itself. If you haven’t seen the first season of this teen fantasy drama on the CW Network, stop reading this immediately and Netflix it. Then, come back when you’re done and ready for season two.

This brings me to my first complaint about this 4 disc Blu-ray set which is they don’t have a complete “Last Season on the Vampire Diaries,” to catch you up on what happened the previous year. To be fair to the viewers, studios have to acknowledge that they are just one show amongst dozens of shows that people are watching religiously; and a lot of them have very similar themes. You watch a year of Vampire Diaries, a year of True Blood, a year of Teen Wolf and throw in a Twilight movie or two and tell me you’re not going to have a hard time remembering what happened to whom when and where in each story.

It’s a crowded space and the studios should respect that when they decided on what go into theses releases.

After re-watching the last two episodes of season one (because I seriously could not remember all of the ins and outs of this show off the top of my head) I finally got into season two and was satisfied although initially not nearly as energized as I was expecting to be.

I’m not sure if it’s because I’m getting older or because the storylines aren’t, but the teen supernatural drama just isn’t packing the same

punch for me as it used to. Don’t get me wrong, I still enjoy the genre and when executed well it’s great fun but there is just so much of it now that almost every line seems either completely derivative and overdone, or just slightly clever but only because they are acknowledging how overdone it all is. For example, in one episode Caroline is telling a story and Damon interrupts by saying, “Yeah, yeah skip the teen drama and get to the point.” Definitely clever but it’s because we couldn’t stand hearing the same old same old again from the character about her love for her boyfriend that she can’t have anymore because she’s a vampire but he doesn’t know that, blah, blah, blah….

All of that being said, there are some episodes though that do a great job of taking you by surprise with unexpected deaths and plot twists; All stuff we’ve seen before but in an unexpected order and for unexpected reasons. The episode Masquerade for example shocked the hell out of me at least three or four times.

The unexpected killing of secondary or tertiary characters is great for shock value but in the end it reinforces the idea that Elena’s life is so much more important than every other girl in the world. It’s the same syndrome of people dying to protect Bella in the Twilight series or Sookie in True Blood and frankly it ticks me off; that is, until later in the season when it becomes clear why she is so important, then it makes sense. But until then there’s nothing overly special about these girls yet others are dropping like flies to protect them. It gets a little annoying. Yes, they all have something that makes them stand out and they play integral parts in the storyline but are their lives in these different worlds really worth so much more than everyone else’s?

The seasons’ storyline really begins to pick up at about the midpoint; this is when it gets good. The action gets pretty intense and the intricacies of the plot and the characters deepen and expand almost to the point of making me rethink my original derivative argument. We still have seen it all before but they are doing a really nice job of making the ride as fun and as interesting as possible.

Dinner Party is a fantastic episode that sees the flashback return of the amazing Arielle Kebbel as Stefan’s best friend Lexi. This episode shows us a time when Stefan was far less than the noble man he is today and it also explains a little bit about why in these Vampire stories the love they have for a girl is always so intense. Lexi describes it as the fact that everything is more intensified when you are a vampire, including the love you feel for

someone else. Somewhat obvious, but it’s nice to see them trying to justify how overly infested these characters are in their love lives.

There’s a whole lot of torturing going on this year and frankly it’s a little surprising to me at times how far they are willing to go with it. It of course fits the characters and the situations but it can be a bit much at times.

The main recurring theme this year is “who do you trust?” There are a lot of shifting allegiances and impersonations going on so you have to pay close attention. My best advice is to watch these episodes as back to back as possible so you have a decent shot at actually remembering who’s who and who’s on whose side at a given time.

By the time you hit the end of the third disc things really get out of control good and the whole reason for watching this season and this show finally become clear. They throw so many curve balls at you both character and plot wise that you really have no idea which way to turn. By the end of the episode The Sun Also Rises you will not be able to believe some of the choices they made and by the end of the season finale, As I Lay Dying… well let’s just say you’ll definitely be tuning in again next year for the season three opener.

As far as cast members go Ian Somerhalder really steals the show. He has this sexy, yet dangerous and slightly crazed look in his gorgeous blue eyes at all times which makes the character so believable and so eerie that he is by far and away the most interesting character in the series. His portrayal of the tormented, fighting-his-own-evil-nature Damon is light years ahead of what the rest of the cast members are doing. (Not that the other guys are bad, he just goes way above and beyond with Damon.)

My favorite character (and the man I would marry in a second if I had the chance) is Elena’s younger brother Jeremy played by Steven R. McQueen. He’s the most angst ridden of the group and is trying so hard to fit in and find people to love; but every time he does, they get killed. You can’t help but really feel for this kid. He has some great scenes and an overall really interesting relationship with Michael Trevino’s character Tyler that could only be better if the homoerotic nature of some of those scenes was actually based in mutual attraction; sadly it isn’t… it just plays that way sometimes.

Tyler Lockwood (Michael Trevino) comes in as a close second most favorite character this year proving once again that the sophomore year of a Vampire story always brings in a strong werewolf storyline with characters that are

hotter and more compelling than the vamps that came before them. There are some changes to the werewolf lore here that are interesting and his portrayal of a young wolf about to turn for the first time is really fantastic.

The biggest 180 of the series is the transformation in the character of Caroline Forbes played by Candice Accola. I could not stand Caroline for the first year or so. The character is written as annoying and pushy and I couldn’t understand why any one of her friends would stay friends with her… this year everything changes for her and she becomes a wonderfully layered character skillfully played by Accola.

Katerina Graham continues to be one of the most fun characters to watch develop as she become more and more powerful as the gangs go-to witch, Bonnie. You can tell the actress must get a real kick out of all the power she now wields. A stern stare with head tilted slightly downward and all of a sudden the wind picks up, candles light and who knows what else may happen.

Other supporting players like the hunky Matt Davis as Alaric Saltzman and Sara Canning as completely in the dark Aunt Jenna, have their individual moments throughout the season but are only given a few moments to actually shine.

It is odd that I’m near the end of my review and I’ve barely mentioned the lead of the show, Paul Wesley as the noble Stefan. I think that’s because while he is present throughout and is integral to the story he doesn’t stand out for some reason. I have no complaints about his portrayal of Stefan; the character just isn’t nearly as interesting or compelling as Damon or even Jeremy, Caroline or Tyler.

The special features on this Blu-ray set include a bunch of deleted scenes that, while interesting, aren’t really necessary. Also there are a couple of featurettes; the first is a love fest over Nina Dobrev called Her Own Worst Enemy… Elena, Katherine and Nina. It’s a well put together feaurette talking about her playing the different characters and the technical concerns of doing that. Next we have The Perfect Love Triangle: Vampires, Werewolves, Witches… which is an incredibly clever piece that tries to explain all the degrees of separation between the characters and explain the storylines; which no one (including the writers) are able to do with any amount of ease. It’s another one of those “we are acknowledging how complicated and silly this all is” moments for the show. And finally we have the shortest of the features The Vampire Diaries: Pages of the Wolf which explains the origins of the Werewolves and how they differ from other incarnations in other television shows or movies. Lastly, there’s also a brief Gag Reel that won’t make you fall over laughing but it’s not

terrible.

Overall if you were a fan of the show in the first season you will definitely enjoy this second season and will want to see it. Just lower your expectations for the first half of it and then brace yourself for the amazing ride that the second half becomes.