DVD Reviews

The Vampire Diaries: The Complete Second Season - Blu-ray Review

By Patrick Luce Sep 19, 2011, 15:57 GMT

They’re back – and they’re not alone. The seductive characters of The Vampire Diaries return for a stunning 5-Disc 22-Episode Season Two. This time Elena, Stefan, Damon and the other residents of Mystic Falls are joined by sinister new blood. Released from the tomb, Katherine unleashes her personal brand of evil in a diabolical plot. The Originals – the world’s oldest and most dangerous vampires – hunt for Elena, who ...more

The good looking vampires, witches, werewolves and high school kids of Mystic Falls, Virginia are back for another season of romance, mystery, murder and drinking blood – mostly from rabbits or donor blood bags.

Based on the book series by L.J. Smith and developed for television by Kevin Williamson and Julie Plec, the series features an ensemble cast of good looking actors who are actually pretty good with their chemistry and keeping even the wildest of plotlines entertaining. The main characters to the show include Nina Dobrev, Paul Wesley, Ian Somerhalder, Steven R. McQueen, Sara Canning, Katerina Graham, Candice Accola, Zach Roerig, Kayla Ewell, Michael Trevino, Matt Davis, and Joseph Morgan.

The Vampire Diaries is a series that knows it is a sappy over-dramatic teen soap opera and makes no apology for it. The series revels in its cheesiness with the vampires all giving long lingering glances with eyebrows raised and every single hair in place.

Season Two picks up right after the events of the season one cliffhanger with wicked vampire Katherine (Dobrev ) causing her doppelganger nice-girl Elena Gilbert (also played by Dobrey) more trouble while she continues to romance both of the Salvatore brothers - good guy Stefan (Wesley) and bad boy Damon (Somerhalder) . The season features a massive storyline that sheds more details on the back story for the two Salvatore brothers while building Katherine up to be the ultimate fem fatale of all the vampires.

The season gets a tad heavy with its own mythology as the series quickly introduces werewolves to the mix along with more witches and several new vampires. It continues to blur the lines of what you were expect from traditional vampire/werewolf tales. The vampires can walk around in the daylight as long as they have a special item with a spell done by a witch.

Werewolves only turn at a full moon, but a single bite can kill a vampire. They also aren’t quite as scared of silver as some of the legends led us to believe. All of the twists to traditional story elements are explained as something the creatures made up to protect themselves from their mortal enemies – the vampires.

Although vampires and werewolves are powerful, the witches are the ones who really can cause the most damage as they use their powers to put even the most powerful vampires or vampires on their knees,

With all the players established and the actors comfortable in their roles, the season focuses on Stefan and Elena as they try to make their romance work despite their human/vampire differences. Elena also has to deal with her growing feelings for Damon – who tries to not be as bad this season despite his natural tendency to have a very low opinion of humans.

While love is in the air, the main three characters also have to deal with Katherine and a curse that brings the “Originals” (the very first vampires to walk the earth) to Mystic Falls. It appears there is a way to break the curse that forces vampires into the night and werewolves to only change on a full moon, but it involves killing Elena – which is something the main three characters aren’t too keen on doing. The curse also involves Katherine since she has ties to the Originals and has been on the run from them for centuries.

While the main characters are working on a way to get Elena off the sacrifice alter, the supporting characters also find romance as Elena’s younger brother Jeremy (McQueen) starts to have feeling for her best friend Bonnie Bennett (Graham)) – who happens to be a witch. Caroline Forbes (Accola) goes from the being the school’s biggest overachiever to the towns newest vampire and has to deal with the fallout drinking blood puts on her romance with Matt Donovan (Roerig).

The various storylines come together nicely as the season rolls along and more secrets about the Originals and the ceremony of the breaking of the curse is revealed. Relationships are pushed to the breaking point and the series shows that it isn’t scared of putting its characters through the ringer or even killing them off.

The season comes loaded with special features which include Pages of the Wolf: 3 Featurettes – The Myth & The Mystery (Werewolf Lore), Building the Beasts (Working with Actual and Mechanical Wolves) and Howling at the Moon (Michael Trevino’s Transformative Makeup Process); Her Own Worst Enemy…Elena, Catherine and Nina!: Nina Dobrev Rises to the Challenge of Playing Two Roles; The Perfect Love Triangle: Vampires, Werewolves, Witches: Setting the Record Straight on Who’s Nibbling on Whom for the First Two Seasons; Unaired Scenes; Audio Commentary on “Masquerade” With Executive Producers Kevin Williamson & Julie Plec; and a gag reel.

The first season of the Vampire Diaries took its time building the characters and the overall tone of the show, but season two amps up the action and the mythology. The season is a step forward for the series, and leaves you waiting to see what is coming in season three.