her sweet, decent boyfriend Matt, it’s even easier to see that she might be wanting someone a little dangerous. She is in a place where a vampire boyfriend might appeal to her, but she also has the roots and support system to deal with a vampire boyfriend without losing her sense of self. Unlike Buffy, with her slayer destiny, or Bella, uprooted from her home and swept into Edward’s arms, Elena has a choice. She has her own life to lead, and solid ground to stand on while she chooses either to be with Stefan or not—and since her choice is so clearly her own, once made, we believe in it.
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Like Buffy and unlike Bella, Elena has a strong friend group. From the start we see her as very actively involved in their lives: one episode centered on a girls’ night in which Bonnie, Caroline, and Elena concentrated on mending their relationships with each other. At one point Damon insulted Caroline, and Elena made it clear she would not put up with disrespect to her friends. Elena’s relationship with Caroline and Bonnie isn’t perfect: Bonnie blamed Elena’s vampire beau for her grandmother’s death and ended up betraying Elena’s trust to try and get rid of the vampires once and for all. Caroline and Elena’s relationship was strained even before that, in a really thoughtful look at what it must be like to be the protagonist’s sidekick.
Caroline: You know that girl in a book or a movie? You know, the IT girl? Who all the boys go nuts for, the center of attention even though she doesn’t really want to be, everyone’s first choice?
Everyone: Sure. The main character.
Caroline: Being friends with that girl gives you a hella inferiority complex. And it kinda sucks.
The problems within these relationships make them seem real, however—just as real as the romance. We believe Caroline and Bonnie love Elena, and she loves them back. Bonnie loves Elena so much that Elena was kidnapped so Bonnie would do anything to save the hostage, and in the finale Bonnie’s love for Elena triumphed over her horror of vampires, and she used magic to save Damon and Stefan.
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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 •
Likewise, when Bonnie revealed her magic to Elena, Elena was filled with joy and wonder for her. In Elena we see someone whose capacity for love and loyalty can encompass even a creature of the night: we believe Elena loves fiercely and irrevocably because we see her fiercely loving a great many more people than just Stefan. We see enough of Elena’s capacity for love and loyalty that we can even envision it extending to Damon.
Of course, it is always a question of Damon, as well as Stefan. Because the show has two attractive vampire boys for the price of one, it can do very interesting things with the entire concept of a vampire boyfriend. Stefan is the good vampire boyfriend, and Damon is the bad one. By separating out the two sides we can see even more clearly how very alluring, but also how very disturbing, a vampire boyfriend can be.
We see Stefan, as the good vampire boyfriend, controlling his bloodlust to such a degree that even when it broke out we never thought his love for Elena was sublimated bloodlust: he was shown as desiring to attack other people, relative strangers to him, and not her, whom he saw as beloved rather than food. When Stefan was at his most unstable and Elena went to him, comforting him, and he put his face in the curve of her neck, we were electrified with doubt about Stefan and fear for Elena. We thought we were seeing the reckless, almost suicidal trust Bella has for Edward.
Elena: There, there, sweetheart! You mistook a blonde full of delicious blood for a donut full of delicious jelly.
It could happen to anyone.
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