The Vampire Diaries – The Complete Fourth Season: Blu-ray Review
Season Overview:
Senior year is finally here and Elena (Nina Dobrev) should be having the time of her life. Instead, she faces her worst nightmare, struggling with the painful transformation from human to vampire. As Damon (Ian Somerhalder) mentors Elena into a supernatural life, their repressed passions explode, causing Stefan (Paul Wesley)to undertake a desperate quest to restore humanity to the girl he adores. As Elena ruthlessly quenches her newfound thirst for blood, and her friends race to find a vampire cure based on clues inked into Jeremy’s flesh, the world around them falls prey to a host of sinister forces. Mystic Falls takes on vampire hunters, a hybrid rebellion and more in all 23 episodes of season four.
I didn’t think they would ever pull the trigger but they did. Elena is now a vampire and the whole spectrum of the show is pulling away from the “human” aspect. The only human left that I can think of is Matt (Zach Roerig) and to be honest, throughout the season he keeps getting in the way of things. Now I could be wrong but this could spell disaster for his character soon enough (hopefully not). The thing that I really liked the most was that it felt like the season was non-stop deceptions, revelations and surprises around every corner. Klaus (Joseph Morgan) was a character that are the series has progressed he has done somewhat of a 180 and is now semi-helpful to the group in Mystic Falls. He’s not exactly a good guy but treads a grey area where he’s kind of a guy you love to hate. Also in the season was an episode that would serve as the “back-door pilot” episode for a new series called The Originals which is about……..well…….The Originals. That’s actually a fun one to see. The really ongoing and interesting part of season four was the love triangle between Elena, Stefan and Damn that got even more complicated than before now that she’s a vampire. It almost feels like Stefan (who was one of the main characters) is now getting pushed to the back of the group because of the budding relationship between Damon and Elena but I think this might just be a precursor to something big for Stefan. I liked how they introduced Silas without actually casting an individual. It’s genius that way so they could keep the audience guessing at who Silas was going to take form of next and also it leaves a mystery of what the character’s true form really is. There have been many deaths in Mystic Falls since the inception of the series and this season was no different. I won’t say who for obvious reasons but I will say that maybe now wasn’t the time to do it. The funniest thing to me was all the neck breaking. If you really pay attention there is at least one neck breaking in every episode and the ones that make me laugh (even though it isn’t meant to be funny) are when they do it to pretty much shut someone up. Again, it’s not supposed to be funny but I find it hilarious. I’m not giving away the ending but the revelation at the end of the season finale will leave you surprised and I think is the perfect way to catapult the series into a greater direction. I’m looking forward to season five for sure!
Special Features:
The Evolution Of Elena Gilbert – This feature looks at how Elena has changed over the series with comments from cast and crew.
Blood, Boys and Bad Behavior: Becoming A Vampire – It takes a look at how things have changed since Elena has become a member of the undead.
The Vampire Diaries: The Ultimate Prop Master – I’m a fan of the “movie magic” kinds of features and this one was pretty cool. They show some of the various weapons used on the show.
Inking The Brotherhood: The Hunter’s Mark – Goes a bit in depth about the tattoos that cover the body of the hunters.
Creating Silas’s Island – The production featurette takes a look at the location where they shot scenes involving Silas during the seasons climax.
Second Bite (Gag Reel) – These are always super funny to me and it was just that.
Deleted Scenes – There was a pretty good amount of deleted scenes throughout the season. Some were better left on the cutting room floor and others could have been edited in for maybe some extended episodes or something. Either way there were plenty to view and enjoy.
