A Visitor's Guide to Mystic Falls - By Red Page 0,11

just picture a show about a beautiful teen girl who discovers that she’s a witch with incredible powers when two hot guy vampires return to town, bringing all sorts of danger with them—that only she has the power to stop?

I think I just swooned a bit.

Speaking of swooning, I can’t be the only one who thinks Bonnie could fill in nicely as Stefan’s love interest in the show. There’s definitely a crackling of chemistry between them that could turn into quite the electric charge if the writers decided to explore that avenue. Again, I’m not dissing Elena, but if she were out of the picture, there’s plenty of tension to be explored between Bonnie and Stefan. I mean, Bonnie was the one who was interested in “the new guy”

when Stefan enrolled in Mystic Falls High in the first place.

Bonnie was the one chanting, “Please be hot, please be hot,”

and then practically squealing with delight when she discovered that Stefan was indeed hot (“Pilot,” 1-1). Elena, on the other hand, barely even seemed to care.

And there was definitely a hint of sexual tension between the two at other times—like when Stefan saved a bikini-clad Bonnie from burning up in one of her pyrokinetic trances, or the way she smiled at him when he told her about how her Salem Witch ancestors were “heroic examples of individualism and non-conformity” (“Friday Night Bites,”

1-3). And don’t forget how Stefan used his own blood to save Bonnie’s life after Damon tried to kill her for destroying the crystal (even if Emily Bennett was technically the one 6882 Visitor's Guide to Mystic Falls[FIN].indd 26

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who did it). Can’t you just picture a sizzling affair between a brooding vamp and a strong beautiful witch who’s sworn to use her magical abilities to protect her town from the epic threat of vampires—never mind the fact that she’s in love with one?

And on that note, what about a Bonnie-Stefan-Damon triangle? There’s a lot of passion behind Bonnie and Damon’s disdain for each other, and we all know how thin the line between love and hate can be when it comes to great fictional writing. What if Damon started to pine for our powerful heroine à la Spike and Buffy? I know I’d be one happy viewer.

But I digress. The point is, with Bonnie’s growing powers, angst about said powers, headstrong nature, fierce determination to do what’s right, and leading-lady-esque romantic possibilities, she’s got enough depth and potential that she definitely doesn’t fit into the role of just a supporting Sidekick character. And as her character continues to develop, as was hinted at in the last two episodes of season one, Bonnie is evolving into one of the major players—and a force to be reckoned with—in Mystic Falls. (More on this in a bit . . .) How Come It's Always about a Guy?

Another popular “best friend” trope in teen fiction/television that the writers of The Vampire Diaries have turned on its head with Bonnie and Elena’s friendship is the idea that a guy is usually the one who causes conflict in female 6882 Visitor's Guide to Mystic Falls[FIN].indd 27

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• A V i s i t o r ’ s G u i d e t o M y s t i c F a l l s •

friendships. In both Frenemy and Sidekick friendships between girls, a guy usually causes a major point of conflict in the relationship. The point of conflict comes either because the best friend is jealous that the guy is interested in the main character—which either leads to competition or hurt feelings, depending on the nature of the friendship—or from the fact that the Sidekick best friend feels threatened by the main character spending too much time with, or relying upon, the guy instead of her. However, the “guy conflict” between Bonnie and Elena isn’t founded in jealousy.

Yes, I did just go on and on about how there’s a bit of sexual tension between Bonnie and Stefan, and how Bonnie had eyes on him before Elena—but the point of tension between Elena and Bonnie concerning Stefan has nothing to do with petty feelings, and everything to do with Bonnie’s moral objection to what Stefan is: a vampire.

When Bonnie realized that Stefan and Elena had interest in one