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Fire is catching! And if we burn, you burn with us!

Katniss Everdeen is not just a YA protagonist. She's a symbol of hope, strength and survival. Because of this, she was made into a symbol of rebellion by the people in Panem. But for the readers, she isn't just a 'hero', she's a girl who, against her own wishes, fought for love.

So today, let's dig into the iconic character that Katniss is. Let's explore her strengths, weaknesses, flaws and fate.

First and foremost, what makes Katniss relatable and distinct is that her motivations are undoubtedly very humane. They encompass basic human needs like not wanting to die of starvation, making sure her loved ones do not perish to hunger or sickness, and taking charge and responsibility when life leaves her no other choice.

Her goals aren't larger-than-life. She doesn't want to be a hero. She doesn't want to become the rebellion's symbol. She doesn't want to prove her worth to anyone. All she wants is to stay alive. And that same need to survive drives her forward through every single challenge that she is forced to face, it gives her strength and builds her character.

Katniss feels personal and grounded for the same reason. She doesn't want to save the world or fulfill her destiny, she only wants to make sure that her family doesn't go to sleep at night hungry. A large chunk of the population in today's world still does not have adequate wealth to feed themselves twice a day. That is a very real-world problem. And even when all of the people reading this series might not face the same problem, but they must be aware of its existence.

That makes Katniss's struggle very realistic and important. She's just an impoverished girl trying to fight to stay alive.

Katniss's bond with Primrose is also a very big factor on why people like her. While she's distrustful, cold and menacing at times, she loves Prim with her whole heart, to the point where she willingly walks into the Hunger Games to prevent Prim from going there. This shows the duality of her nature, putting a spotlight on the fact that she still has love in her heart despite all the horrible experiences she has had.

The one thing that sets Katniss apart the most, though, are her flaws. She is a tough nut to crack. She's irritable, angry and spiteful, quite opposite to the usual welcoming, kind protagonists. Katniss is described to have 'the charm of a dead slug' by her own mentor, showing how her flaws have a high chance of taking her life away.

While most protagonist's flaws and imperfections are very surface-level, Katniss's run deep, being influenced by childhood trauma, starvation, loneliness and the demise of her father.

Many Protagonists have flaws like clumsiness, insecurity about their looks or wit, shyness etc, and while I agree that those are real issues affecting people, they do not seem to affect the hero's story and are only an extension of the character's inferiority complex, affecting the story in no way whatsoever. These flaws also do not affect the decisions made by the characters, showing them as having 'secret perfection'. That's why, they appear as fake-flaws.

Katniss however, is a different case. Her flaws of being cold, distrustful, impulsive, selfish and emotionally closed-off, actually affect her decisions and motivations throughout the story, causing her difficulties and problems in achieving her end goal. Her flaws aren't just a part of her own head, but they are real and visible to other characters, many not shying away from pointing them out. Katniss is not secretly perfect, she is full of imperfections. But that does not make her less of a hero, it makes her human.

Katniss is a character that has been formed from grit and sheer determination. She does not have any innate special characteristics that make her stronger and more powerful than other people. In fact, it's the complete opposite, with her being at a physical disadvantage from the other tributes in the games, having being starved and malnourished since her childhood.

Most other Protagonists are opposite in this case, meaning that even through adversaries, they are physically stronger than most others by some uncanny ability canon to their respective book, giving them an automatic upper hand in battles and conflicts. They are shown to be unique and powerful due to the same abilities, making their personalities not as important. Their abilities are the ones that make them special, not their own choices or decisions.

Many readers see themselves in Katniss, with her having to fight against odds and not giving up to get what she wanted. She was not physically superior in any way, the odds were not in her favour, she had a lot of fears and scars from her past, but she did not let those stop her. She kept fighting, she did not give up.

In a way, she gives us all hope. Hope that no matter the adversary, we have the ability to come out, no matter how many odds are stacked against us. Her journey is full of peril and sorrow, but it's a journey of survival. She has been through things unimaginable, but she has persevered. She isn't just hope, but also strength and motivation.

Continuing with hope, why don't we now talk about how big the representation of Katniss is in the story? The Mockingjay is not just a bird, it's a symbol of hope, rebellion and resistance. The residents of Panem see Katniss as a fire that doesn't hesitant to burn bright even in front of the oppressive Capitol. They saw that this girl is not going to be broken or killed - literally and figuratively - by the Capitol. She has the strength, the courage, the motivation, the ambition to go against this god-like, omnipresent force that is the Capitol and in a way, through her, they all thought that maybe, just maybe, they had a chance too.

The Capitol tries its best to make sure that there is no unity between the districts. They do not want the district citizens both inter and intra, to have a sense of brotherhood and family. But Katniss goes against this very notion, when she volunteered for the Hunger Games only for the sole purpose of saving her sister, thereby showing the country that she is different. In Panem, we have seen that even family members do not volunteer for the tribute, each one fearing for their own life. But Katniss acted selflessly, the only thing in her mind being the notion to keep her sister safe. She shed a new light on the existence of the citizens in Panem ,thereby showing that people like her still exist and all hope was not lost.

Sadly, many other Protagonists fail to be this symbolic and significant in their own story. That's why it is confusing when the other characters and general public in the story loves and respects the main character. Because to the reader, they haven't done anything deeply significant to charge the minds of people, it's plainly visible to the reader.

When Katniss broke down when Rue died, gave her something akin to a funeral, she gave birth to the spark that would ignite the fire of the second rebellion.

In the arena, where tributes are just busy defending themselves, not even stopping to mourn the death of their allies, Katniss let herself be consumed by grief, over losing a friend she had met only a few days ago, an ally she had for a very, very short time. That action of hers shows kindness, compassion and unrest for the oppression and exploitation that the cruel Capitol does upon them.

She wanted Rue to win, she and Rue were working together, and she had hope. But the hope was taken away from her when Rue was killed, ultimately drowning her in grief. Katniss saw her sister in Rue, she saw a young, innocent girl caught in the cruel trials of the Capitol. She saw a bird in Rue, a bird that was caged and bludgeoned when she was born to fly. Katniss wanted to free Rue, she wanted her to go home. She loved Rue, just the way she loved Prim.

Now that we're on about love, how can we not talk about Katniss's love triangle involving Peeta and Gale?

There are still many people who think that the Hunger Games series is all about the love triangle only, but they are very wrong. The love triangle plays a subtle yet significant part in the story, but it's not the main focus. The Hunger Games does not focus on the romance a lot, it is secondary.

Unlike many other books, the romance here isn't viewed as important as the political message and inhuman exploitation. In no way am I saying that romance is bad, but when a book is marketed as 'dystopian' but predominantly contains romance, it is disappointing and irritating.

Gale or Peeta aren't constantly on Katniss's mind for the sake of love. Sure, she thinks of them a lot, but not for the sake of romance, it involves mostly their survival and a lot of general care over brazen romantic thoughts and feelings.

Of course, the triangle adds depth and tension, but does not overpower the stakes, does not take the main spotlight of the story that focuses on unrest and rebellion. For the same reason, the romance feels natural, not something tried to put in the books for special purpose or to highlight the fact that these three characters are romantically involved.

Gale Hawthorne represents familiarity for Katniss. He even represents home, since she and he aren't very different, and she sees a part of herself in him. She recognises him as her equal, and learns how to trust him, slowly but surely. Gale can arguably be called her first true friend, someone she knew she could completely rely on, someone she trusted with the safety of her family.

This information is vice-versa, since Gale trusts Katniss completely too. In fact, they had a pact that if one of them gets reaped, the other would look out for their family.

So where does Gale go wrong?

In my opinion, Gale isn't wrong for Katniss right from the beginning. Of course, he is responsible for the death of Primrose, which gave Katniss an outright reason to hate him. But he wasn't dislikeable from the beginning.

Gale embodies anger. Having lived in extreme poverty and having dealt with near starvation, Gale has an obvious hate for the Capitol, the Games and their system. He's very open about how inhuman it is, and has the thoughts of rebellion festered deep inside him. He has innate rage for the Capitol, the urge to strike back, the unrest for the injustice that they are subjected to.

Katniss more or less, feels the same way. She feels that anger, that rage, that unrest and even when she's not vocal about it, she does understand the unfairness of their situation and wants to make it better.

For the same reason listed above, Gale represents violence in its true form. His form of rebellion is extremely violent and destructive. He believes in 'an eye for an eye' and thinks that the Capitol needs to be given a taste of their own cruelty. He believes in fighting fire with fire, leading him to help in creating weapons that would eventually take Primrose's life.

Gale is a living example of the fact that rebellion is as harmful as oppression if it isn't kept in check. His thirst for vengeance and uncontrollable rage led him to commit crimes that his oldest, closest friend would end up resenting him for.

Peeta, on the other hand, has had a significantly different life from Katniss and Gale. Born in the Merchant Section of the district, he has been fairly well-to-do since birth, though not drowning in luxury. He has never had to worry about starvation, or taking tesserae for the same. Because of this, he does not have as much anger in his heart as Katniss or Gale do, and something noteworthy to point out here is that Peeta is an inherently calm and gentle person.

For Katniss, Peeta represents rebirth. Renewal of hope. Even the idea that Katniss should start hunting for her family's survival was given to her indirectly by Peeta. When Katniss was almost about to die of starvation, Peeta was her last hope. Peeta had saved her life far before the events of the 74th Hunger Games.

He also embodies kindness and compassion. While Katniss was used to people being selfish and putting a price on everything, Peeta shed a new light on how life can be. He was physically abused by his mother only because he burned a few loaves of bread to give to Katniss. He knew it was coming, but he did it anyways only because he wanted to not let an innocent person die.

Peeta is also shown to want to hold on to his originality. He does not wish to change for the Capitol, in one way or another. While Gale lets himself be consumed by hatred and fury, to the point where Katniss doesn't even recognise him anymore, Peeta strives to remain himself. Even after being hijacked and tortured by the Capitol, Peeta fights to hold on to his humanity, to not lose his soul to anyone, let alone the oppressive Capitol.

He is a sign of quiet, unmoving strength. Not the one that fiercely attacks like wildfire, but the one that stays rooted in the ground despite hurricanes trying to move it. He is adamant to be himself, be the kind, compassionate, empathetic, beautiful boy, a unique individual who isn't a product of foolish love or extreme hate for the Capitol.

With Gale, Katniss would never heal. He reflects her own anger, resentment and violence. He reflects all those qualities in her that she knows are dangerous to herself as well as the people around her. She herself has seen how uncontrollable Gale can get, the extreme methods he will go to, to get what he wants. She sees that as a mirror to the behaviour of the Capitol citizens, people who she severely despises.

Gale even stopped trying to understand Katniss on a deeper level, trying to uncover and dissect her trauma, trying to know what she has truly been through. He has passively hurt her even before he was responsible for Primrose's death. Katniss did not need harshness, she needed compassion and gentleness, which Gale was unable to provie. He distanced himself from her automatically when vengeance became more important to him than virtue.

Peeta, on the other hand, makes her realise that isn't a creature of hate, that she doesn't need to be one. He brings out all of the positive, good characteristics of her, reminding her of the love she feels for her family, of the humanity that still runs in her veins. He helps her understand that rebellions aren't made for acting out of anger, but to make justice prevail and to stop the inhuman oppression and injustice.

Peeta reminds her that life can exist without just the purpose of survival, that love can exist without violence. That love can be selfless, and some people are just here to be friends. He reminds her that she is worthy of love, she isn't a lost cause. She isn't a monster, but a beautiful human being with her own set of unique virtues. Peeta loves her selflessly, kindly and gently, understanding what she needs and actually giving it to her. He gives her love, support and understands that she isn't just a figment of his imagination, but a real person with her own thoughts and feelings.

Peeta's role in the rebellion is also crucial, since he knows that their purpose of the rebellion is not to destroy the Capitol, but to make sure that it and the districts are on the same level in terms of humanity and justice. He doesn't let fear and anger consume him, keeping a clear head and a good heart. That is the driving force behind his actions, making him a strong warrior, but above that, a good man.

In comparison to this, the romances of the protagonists in most books do not carry this much depth, falling flat and seeming unnecessary. Suzanne Collins has taken great care to show that the love-triangle in her books is not just shown for the purpose of fun or only because you need one, but it lays the very foundation of Katniss's character development, showcasing her internal conflict and showing the audience who she is as a person.

Phew, this was a long one.

Thank you so much for staying to read, I cannot be more grateful. Kudos!

OPINIONS NO ONE CARES ABOUT: EPISODE 5

racism : the belief that some races of people are better than others; unfair ways of treating people of different races

Racism is a large problem affecting society and in turn mainstream media. Actors and artists have been subjected to unjust treatment simply because of their race, many people not even trying to hide it.

Bonnie Bennett is an articulate example of this phenomenon.

Where do we start?

First of all, we must acknowledge that the proportion of white to non-white characters in the show is astonishingly high. That in itself is not a big problem, the problem is how said non-white, especially black characters have been treated.

These characters are used more as props than people. They are supposed to show up, do their job, and disappear into the shadows. Bonnie is treated in a similar fashion, which explains her absence in many episodes and pivotal moments from the show.

Why wasn't she there?

Simply because they didn't need her.

Bonnie is often viewed as the mystical solution to everything rather than a character to be explored. Her powers are not explained properly, the history of witchcraft and her family is shown in incomplete glimpses, like it's just for show and not for actually understanding the Bennett family.

Bonnie was always shown to be selfless beyond measure, she would always try to help her friends, be there for them, support, care, love them and even die for them. But the same cannot be said for the reciprocity of that selflessness. Her friends hardly ever return the efforts, they're shown to be inconsiderate towards her to the point of neglect, and somehow, that's portrayed as unproblematic.

Bonnie is seen sacrificing herself with no complaints, which is an admirable trait but to the extent that she uses herself as a meatshield for the people around her is not right. There have been so many instances where she has literally died and resurrected one way or another. But how many characters have died for Bonnie?

Bonnie is arguably the strongest character of the show. She's an experienced, intelligent, powerful witch whose powers are vast and endless. But despite being like this, she's not arrogant, proud or cruel unlike many other powerful characters in the show. She's kind, helpful, caring and always wants to use her powers for good.

A character like this deserves respect, right?

Well, Bonnie hardly ever got that.

There have been many instances in the show, where characters have manipulated, charmed or threatened each other to fulfill their own needs and use others selfishly. Bonnie, despite all of her kindness, is fearsome. So one could think that the right way to convince her to do something would be by charming her or manipulating her. But no, Bonnie is threatened on most of the occasions, she's blackmailed, forced and made to comply by violent means. It just doesn't make sense.

Bonnie is mistreated, dismissed, looked down upon, not given enough importance on multiple ocassions. Her problems are hardly ever taken seriously, most of the time her problems are not even shown on-screen, as her character development. It happens entirely off-screen, and her job on screen is to just be a tool for the main characters to use.

Another point to put forward here is that Bonnie is not seen as a viable love interest, unlike other main female characters like Elena and Caroline. Of course, female characters don't need a love interest to be validated and reverred, but when all other female main characters have many, deep, significant storylines with love and romance, it begs the question why Bonnie doesn't have the same.

Her significant romances include Jeremy Gilbert, Elena's 'baby brother'. Bonnie dies to bring him back to life. She loves him, and he loves her too. It's not that she and Jeremy had nothing good in their relationship, they were good for each other and loved each other, but we must not forget that at a certain point, Jeremy literally prefers a ghost (Anna) over Bonnie, a living human being.

Bonnie's epic romance was however with Enzo St. John, them being one of the TVD fandom's favourite couples. They are indeed wholesome, and it was heartwarming to finally see Bonnie get the love, affection, care and importance that she deserved.

However, there were many instances in the show where romantic plotlines for Bonnie could have been developed. For example, characters like Kai, Kol and even Damon could have been Bonnie's significant other in different instances. But the potential relationships were ignored, and none of the characters mentioned above ever developed a romantic relationship with Bonnie, despite having potential.

In fact, we can find many interviews where the idea of BonniexDamon was publicly shut down and the producers told the audience that it was absurd and far-fetched.

Kat Graham had even pitched to the showmakers a few romantic ideas for Bonnie, but they seemed to have been ignored altogether.

Then there are the issues faced by Kat Graham off-screen. Kat faced racism at a large extent, she was mistreated and neglected simply because of the colour of her skin. She is also seen to be ignored in interviews and not given as much importance as the other characters have been.

In fact, it's been speculated that Bonnie was going to die permanently and Kat was going to be forced out of the show because of the same, but Ian Somerhalder took the matters in his own hands and threatened to leave the show if Kat was forced out because of this. So, they had to keep Bonnie alive in the show so that Damon's character would still stay.

Kudos to Ian for staying by Kat's side!

In conclusion, we can all agree that though Bonnie was shown to be powerful, she was hardly ever shown to develop as a character. She was treated as a tool more than a person and was severely undervalued. She's treated as a powerful object, not a powerful character.

OPINIONS NO ONE CARES ABOUT: EPISODE 4

We've talked about Katherine and Elena. Let's talk about Caroline Forbes now.

To give an overview, Caroline Forbes is a character which the showrunners did not want the audience to like, since she was written as the second-grade, watered-down version of the main character, Elena Gilbert.

What's interesting however, is that Caroline is far more beloved among the audience than Elena. Let's explore why.

Ever since the show commenced, from the first episode itself we could see that Caroline was portrayed in a way which was aimed at gaining dislike from the audience. From her asking Elena if she was going to continue with cheer after her parents died, or when she found out all about Stefan in school, the 'i got the other brother' dialogue, it all showcases the fact that Caroline was supposed to be a shallow, insensitive, breezy girl who doesn't have a care in life.

This was shown to be in contrast with the deep, pure, kind and compassionate Elena, who's more serious about life and isn't jealous of the people around her and doesn't try to one-up them. Caroline however, is shown to be competitive, ambitious, envious and tries to prove to everyone that she is the best because she doesn't feel like she's enough.

The showrunners tried to highlight this prime difference between the two, intent upon showing that it is Elena who's better, not Caroline. Elena who is inspirational, and Caroline who is relatable. But in this portrayal, audience found a way to connect with Caroline than Elena in a much easier and heartfelt manner.

Caroline, despite having been in a relationship with almost all male characters in the show with a few exceptions, is not considered appealing or objectively attractive by them. Most of them are with her because they couldn't get someone better, or because they liked her slightly. Slightly.

In fact, the only man who loved Caroline unconditionally, irrevocably and without expecting her to be someone else, is Klaus Mikaelson.

One of the biggest villians of the show.

So why do fans love her more?

The answer is simple, yet complex.

Elena, who's the person Caroline is subtly compared to, is shown as picture perfect right from the start, from being beautiful, smart, kind, intelligent and desirable. From the first episode of the first season, she's shown as the one who always knows what the right thing to say is, who knows the perfect way of behaviour in different situations.

Caroline however, is shown to be exactly the opposite in the beginning. But at the end of the show, she's a completely changed person, who's mature and not the kiddish teenager anymore.

Audience has to see the growth of the character, we have got to see how Caroline changes from a shallow, self-centered girl to a woman who is selfless, smart, quickwitted and a deep thinker. We, as an audience liked to see her journey as she became a better version of herself throughout the show, in contrast to someone who was perfect right from the beginning.

People can see themselves grow as she did, see themselves improve into a better version of themselves, see themselves become better. Caroline is not only relatable but also inspirational in that sense.

Another point, which is certainly argumentative, is Caroline's nature. She was never shown as the 'pick me' or the 'I am not like other girls' stereotype, which people must have found more welcoming and appreciable. Caroline also never tried to hide her girly nature to show others that she is tough, and it gave a crystal clear message that all kinds of women can be strong, both tomboys and girly girls. She's also unique in that way, since there's no other character like her.

I certainly loved her for that.

In conclusion, Caroline became the character who audience was not supposed to love, but they ended up creating one of the most beloved characters on TV.

OPINIONS NO ONE CARES ABOUT : EPISODE 3

Katherine is badass.

We all know this by now.

But one of the main reasons why people like her, is the fact that she is different and even better from the rest of the female characters on the show.

While the rest of the characters allow themselves to be used and abused for the benefit of others, Katherine always prioritises herself above everyone else. That's one of the main reasons why she has lived for so long even when the Original Hybrid was hunting her.

Also, if we see her dynamic with the Salvatore brothers, it is drastically different from their dynamic with Elena. As I've mentioned in my previous post about Elena when Katherine was with the Salvatore brothers, it was always her who was in control. Albeit, she was the vampire in that case and the Salvatores were humans, and her relationship with them is also toxic. But we must also never forget that Katherine did love them. She just prioritised her own life over her love for them.

Which brings me to my next point. This decision of hers makes her drastically different from not just Elena, but even the rest of the female characters on the show. Characters like Bonnie, Caroline etc, they're all very similar to each other in terms of their decisions. Sure, they are strong, independent women who can defend themselves but the moment their loved ones are threatened, everyone is ready to jump on the bandwagon as a meatshield to protect their loved ones.

Katherine is not like that. She is selfish, cunning and cruel, but she's also passionate, fierce and authentic. She knows how to love, she loves a few special people around her, but she's also smart enough to not put her own life in danger just to save someone else's. This provides a unique authenticity and complexity to her character, making her likeable and relatable.

Katherine is not the main character in the story. She's the character who comes and goes occasionally, yet, viewers look forward to her presence. And, she's not even a 'good' character. She's cruel and heartless. At least that's what the show wants us to think.

I won't try to defend her by saying that she wasn't cruel. Yes, she was. She has done horrible things in her life, and it is arguable whether she can be redeemed. But it is her cruelty and brutality which adds authenticity to her character. There is no other character like her, who is cruel and brutal and yet can feel qualities like love and care.

The love she had for Stefan and Damon was real. Some might argue that it wasn't, and these arguments make her an interesting character. She's debatable, her actions make someone think twice to form an opinion about her. Her character is complex and it has always divided fans.

Her complex character makes her unpredictable. With most other females on the show, it is almost guaranteed that the audience will guess what their reaction to the situation might be.

With Bonnie, everyone knows that she'll jump into the line of fire just to save her friends. Even when being obviously overpowered, she has the least importance which is honestly a sad thing to see. But that's a story for another day.

And then there's Caroline, who's usually ignored despite being willing to become a meatshield for her friends. She's ignored because she's 'less important' than Elena. Although, she's far more liked by fans than Elena but yet again, that's not for today.

And then there's our protagonist, Elena Gilbert. I already have one post about her, you can check it out here.

But what makes Katherine special, and better than these ladies is her unpredictability. When she was first introduced, many believed her to be a heartless b- but as the show went on, we got to the humane, more natural and mundane side of her. Her choices were varied, they weren't always selfish. They weren't always selfless either.

Her reactions to things were always different. You never know what Katherine is thinking.

And that makes her endearing, attractive and interesting.

Another notable aspect of Katherine is that exceptionally intelligent. She is a survivor in its true sense, being self-sufficient and perpetually vigilant. She knows how to take care of herself, she knows how to stay alive by herself. She doesn't rely on anybody, she knows what she wants and what she needs.

Though the main characters in the show are also intelligent, they're always in a group. They're a group of friends, looking out for each other and trying to keep each other alive. There is no one with Katherine. She has to do everything alone, and people find it easier to relate to that. Not everyone has a group of friends who'd take a bullet for you.

There's another important thing I'd like to address. Many would argue with me based on this since it is a controversial topic. But we have to acknowledge this.

Katherine knew that Stefan is the man you choose in life.

Not Damon.

Though Katherine loved both of them, she still chose Stefan over his brother. With good reason.

We have seen how explosive, mostly irrational, and hot-tempered Damon is. Unapologetically so. He doesn't care about right or wrong for the benefit of himself as well as the people he loves. Ironically, his behaviour is similar to Katherine's, while Elena and Stefan are of similar characteristics.

But that does not mean that Damon is the man you choose. Damon is the kind of man you friend zone, not fall in love with. He's controlling, up to the extent that he fed his own blood to Elena forcefully just to make sure that she wouldn't die while Klaus broke the curse. He was uncaring of the fact that she did not want to become a vampire and that she'd rather die. He had also snapped Jeremy's neck twice because Elena rejected him. Is this the kind of man women want to end up with?

Stefan is also protective, ferocious and ruthless to his enemies. But when it came down to it, he allowed Elena the dignity of her own choice. He respected her decisions, even when they'd land her in trouble. He helped her become her own independent person, and their relationship didn't reek of power imbalance despite one of them being an immortal vampire.

It might be a tough pill to swallow for most fans of the show, but we all must admit that Stefan is the better brother.

In conclusion, Katherine is an amazing, astounding character, but she has her own flaws and cons. She's headstrong, ruthless and manipulative, but also has a kind, loving, humane side to herself which makes her remarkable and unforgettable.

OPINIONS NO ONE CARES ABOUT: EPISODE 2

Elena Gilbert's character is argued about by many fans of the TVDU. What makes her interesting though, is the fact that she was supposed to be the leading protagonist in the series, an active character who takes decisions by herself and doesn't need anyone to stay alive. But we can see in the TVDU that Elena is primarily characterised by the notion of how much she can suffer and endure instead of how much she can act and accomplish.

Elena was supposed to be the leading heroine in the series, and yes, she is. But she is more like the victim than the saviour. It is difficult for a human to survive in a world surrounded by vampires, and that affects Elena as a whole because she couldn't take any major decisions without putting the people around her at risk. But the show slowly took away all of her decision-making capabilities and in turn her glamour in general.

There's no doubt that the show revolved around Elena, and it should, since she's the main character. But the way the show took place, Elena was portrayed as the one everyone rushes to save and her life is shown to be the most important priority of other people. On top of this, she has to do nothing much to earn this kind of love and protectiveness from the people around her.

All of the care and affection shown by many characters for Elena seems animated. She comes off as the naturally lovable, loving character who is of the most importance to the show and the narrative in general.

While characters like Bonnie and Caroline have to earn even the tiniest flicker of affection from other people, Elena gets it all served over a silver platter. Without her having to do anything extraordinary to earn that, which is not the case with Caroline or Bonnie.

Elena, as a person, isn't bad. In fact, she's a great girl, who wants no one to get harmed. In the course of showing this nature of hers, she is written to be a perfect character. Her flaws are not noticeable throughout the show when she was a human. When she became a vampire, some of her emotions were expressed. But, she transitions from being a life-savour to a 'perfect goody two shoes' who can possibly do nothing wrong and always what the right thing is and what she's supposed to say and how she's supposed to behave.

Another problem with Elena is her dynamic with the Salvatore brothers. I mean, she is indirectly compared to Katherine too many times throughout the show, which is obvious since both the ladies are doppelgangers, but what makes this uncomfortable is the fact that primarily, the Salvatore brothers are attracted to her because she literally looks like their ex.

Yes, her character is different. But in the last episode of season 1 of The Vampire Diaries, the famous dialogue between the Salvatore brothers, I don't remember who said it, I think it was Damon.

"Elena is not Katherine."

And then they see her dressed up in vintage attire and both look at her in a certain way, as if they're reminiscing about Katherine.

It's weird to know that a certain person is attracted to you because you look like their ex.

Another interesting dynamic related to the Salvatore brothers is that if we observe their relationship with Katherine, we can see that at that time it was always Katherine who was in command, who was in control, she had both of them wrapped around her finger.

I wouldn't disagree with the fact that that was also toxic to a certain extent, since even when she loved both of them, she also used them. That is not okay, not at all.

But their dynamic with Elena is something that sticks poorly with many viewers since Elena can't even make decisions of her own without being poked and interrogated by Stefan and Damon. Still, with Stefan, Elena had some autonomy, but with Damon, he tried to control many things he shouldn't have. Yes, he loved her, but love is no excuse for taking away her basic choices in life.

I'd like to highlight this one scene from the second season when Damon feeds her his blood forcefully so that god forbid if she died, she would come back as a vampire. He did that without asking her if she wanted to come back a vampire, just did that because her living was more important to him than her loving herself.

It doesn't matter how much you love a person, you do not have any right to take away their fundamental life choices. Yes, you can advise, suggest, and plead, but forcing someone is not acceptable.

And yet Elena kisses him in the last episode-?

Elena has suffered a lot, gotta say that. She lost her parents, her aunt, her biological parents, her brother and eventually her own life. Anyone watching the show can directly see that Elena is the centrepiece for every single thing ever, and because of that she is heavily involved in every plotline, but instead of her taking charge or even being like a side character, the show focuses on how constantly she is victimised, how much she suffers, and that it portrayed as a display of strength.

Resilience is also a strength, but how is it that the main character is blackmailed and left vulnerable and helpless every time a new villain shows up?

This is not even remotely inspirational, and it also makes the plotline predictable. Whenever anything happens, the viewers can already predict that Elena is going to suffer, and it also makes everything repetitive.

OPINIONS NO ONE CARES ABOUT: EPISODE 1

Rhysand is the talk of the town in both the book and outside the book. But I recently finished ACOSF and the Rhysand in there just blew my mind. There's such a huge difference between ACOMAF Rhys and ACOSF Rhys.

Bro changed from a man we all had a crush on to a first copy of Tamlin.

First of all, there are a lot of problems with the inner circle in general when it comes to ACOSF. I have no idea why but they all appear oddly disconnected from each other, Mor isn't even present for more than half of the book.

And then there's the problem of Rhysand. Let's set aside his treatment of Nesta for a minute. If we look at how he was treating Cassian, making him do something or be someone he doesn't want to be. Not trusting anyone even from his inner circle to not come close to Feyre when she was pregnant (he had Helion's shields up all around her), suspecting the fact that Nesta would try to harm their baby, they're all characteristics one would expect someone like Tamlin to show, not the Rhysand we all know.

He seemed over-paranoid for some reason, which is a huge shift from the way he was in ACOWAR and the books before that.

There's also Feyre we need to talk about. In ACOSF, she did not play a big role and could be classified as a minor character at best. I know that the book was not about Feyre, but if she had been the main character for the past four books, then her involvement in this book should have been much more than what she got.

Feyre's discussion is an entirely different topic, which is a story for another day.

Back to Rhysand.

His treatment of Nesta is disgusting and unsettling, to be polite. He wanted nothing to do with her, it was only because of Feyre that the whole 'House of Wind' thing took place. He would be more than happy to dump her back into the mortal lands for all we know.

Rhys was protective of his baby, and Feyre when it came to Nesta. Of course, anyone from the outside will have no idea how low Nesta could sink and whether she'd harm the unborn baby or not, but being so overprotective that he steps in front of Feyre every time Nesta comes into the same room is overkill. He's not only being hurtful towards Nesta but also undermining Feyre's capabilities.

In ACOMAF, it was always Feyre's choice, but in ACOSF she literally is locked inside a shielded wall for the entirety of the book. It is unclear what she feels about that except for annoyance, but dude, if we go back, Tamlin locked Feyre in his manor, at that time she had a panic attack. So when Rhysand keeps her caged in that shield-like thing, won't she feel the same way?

Talking about the baby, the fact that Feyre didn't know that the baby would kill her because everyone else hid it from her is simply ridiculous. Rhysand, who had promised to be all transparent and honest with her, wasn't willing to tell her this one simple thing? One important thing that could possibly take her as well as the baby's life, and if she didn't know how she might as well just die in vain.

It doesn't matter that it would disturb Feyre, or that she'd be nervous, or that she wouldn't remain as happy as before if she's worrying about the life of her own as well as her baby, she still has every right to know. It is her body, her life, no one has the right to hide such a big and important thing from her.

Besides, the entire Inner Circle promising Rhysand that they'd hide that stuff from her is simply ridiculous. I remember that there's a scene in ACOWAR, in which Cassian says to Feyre that there's a difference between being Rhysand's mate and being High Lady.

Since Feyre was their High Lady, then they were wrong in hiding that secret from her, since they were hers and she was theirs. They were bound to be loyal to her not only as Rhysand's mate but as her own person, as their High Lady.

Yet, they didn't tell her.

Also, the Feysand sex scenes. I mean, okay, we get it, but do you have to be so boastful about it? It's gross, to brag about how much sex you're having.

Now I'm getting to the treatment of Nesta.

First of all, let's admit that Nesta isn't the best character in the series. None of them can be classified as the best, and likewise, she has her own faults and also plus points.

For instance, her stubbornness is commendable, and her ability to start thinking quickly under life-threatening or stressful situations can prove to be life-saving one day.

But she hurts everyone around her, at least she used to. Even Elain. Yes, she went through a lot. But so did her sisters. So did everyone else in the book, and though no one will be able to get what she's feeling, her trauma doesn't give her a free pass to treat others like crap.

But this also doesn't give Rhysand the right to treat her the way he did. I mean, when she told Feyre that the baby would kill her, Rhys was like, "I'm going to kill her."

BUT FOR WHAT?

For telling your wife the truth she deserves to know? Or for telling your wife something your 'inner circle' should've told her 20 chapters ago?

Instead of reacting like a mature person, he reacted like that? Wtf? And I have no idea how the inner circle wanted him to be the Fae High King or whatever.

Now, I do know that Nesta didn't tell Feyre about the baby's secret because she cared for her, but because she wanted to inflict pain on her. If she truly cared about Feyre, then she would have told her as soon as she found out, but all the same, at least Feyre came to know.

Also,

BROTHER WHO TREATED HER WITH KINDNESS?!

When? When did Rhysand show so much kindness to Nesta that he earned the right to be like her brother?

I think Azriel fits that description more, since he got her a Christmas gift and all. Az also gave her a chance to open up to him and listened to her without judgement.

EXACTLY! So true!