Please take note, TVD: A Sample of the Season 6 Critical Praise for Bonnie Bennett
The best, best, best thing about this season? The rise of Bonnie Bennett. I cannot wait until she comes back so we can talk all about how the writers have completely turned her around this season. All it took was them giving her an active storyline of her very own. WHAT A CONCEPT.
- A.V. Club
What would TVD be without Bonnie Bennett? A total mess. It’s time this character starting getting the recognition she so obviously deserves — not only from her fellow characters, but from the story itself… With this in mind, perhaps a better question to ask is: What would TVD be if it recognized the vital importance of Bonnie’s role as the true hero of this show? Answer: an even better show.
- Wetpaint
The Vampire Diaries season 6 has taken its sweet time getting Bonnie Bennett back over to the present day, and we’ve grown to love her so much we’re hoping that she has a huge role in season 7.
- hypable ("Bring On More Bonnie")
Bonnie’s evolution in season six is notable because it’s not actually an evolution of the character at all; this is essentially the same Bonnie that’s always been there, with the same personality and the same strengths and weaknesses. What’s different is that the writers have finally given Bonnie a story that fees like it is completely about her—not her powers, not her family legacy, not what she can do for other people—so Bonnie finally feels like a fully realized character. The scenes with her and Damon in 1994 were truly the first time in the entire series Bonnie was allowed to just be, and in the process the writers realized there was a person hiding where a plot mechanism used to be. Suddenly all of Bonnie’s actions had an identifiable, purposeful connection to her as a character and she just made sense. It didn’t hurt that Bonnie and Damon’s chemistry as sort-of enemies who become reluctant friends was a fun journey to take for both of them (and Damon continuing to miss her now that he’s back is a nice nod to their very real friendship).
- A.V. Club
My grumblings aside, the episode was stellar. I mean, let’s be real, any chance Kat Graham gets to really sink her teeth into a scene is going to provide a scene well-worth watching and last night’s episode was no exception. The threat of her imminent demise felt real, and I found myself mourning the idea of her loss much more than next week’s farewell to Steven R. McQueen.
- Den of Geek
The Vampire Diaries has enjoyed a creative resurgence in Season 6. For such a character-driven drama, this means it has also been a creative resurgence for some of TVD’s more problematic characters. Sure, there are still characters we groan at whenever they enter the frame. (Sorry, Jer, we’re looking at you.) But there’s also characters who have gone from lackluster to must-see. Yep, we’re talking about the glorious witch Bonnie Bennett (Kat Graham). She is our most improved TVD character of 2014…
- Wetpaint
This season, Bonnie’s proven that she’s one of the few characters interesting enough to basically carry the show entirely on her own. Because this bamf knows how to take care of herself, and if step one of Project Badass Bonnie involves hot-wiring ’90s cars, we can’t wait to watch her break out Ms. Cuddles and rain down the fury on coven Gemini’s new number one.
- hypable ("Why Bonnie is the Best Part of TVD S6")
Forget about Delena, Steroline, and every Vampire Diaries romance in-between, we want more spoilers about Bonnie (Kat Graham)! The TVD witch has been seriously rocking it this season as a patient-yet-determined prisoner of Kai’s metaphysical jail cell. She’s demonstrated bravery, cunningness, and friendship.
- Wetpaint
We love all of the Bonnie/Damon stuff in Season 6, but the moment when Bonnie gets her magic back in Episode 3 is awesome for so many reasons. One: it highlights the strength of the unexpected friendship between Bonnie and Damon, as she finds her magic again in order to save his life. Two: it is the cap on the re-introduction of Bonnie’s character as a total badass… Bonnie hasn’t always been the strongest of characters. She has been given the Heroine Selflessly Sacrifices Everything for Everyone plot too many times to count (including this season, don’t even get us started). But, for the most past, Bonnie’s Season 6 storyline has been phenomenal — dare we say, our favorite? The moment in Season 6, Episode 9 when Bonnie races up the Gilbert house steps in the prison world thinking she will finally get to go home only to realize she is too late is heartbreaking. Kat Graham deserves all of the awards for her quiet, strong, devastated portrayal of a Bonnie who slowly realizes the truth: she is alone. Throw in a shot of the now-destroyed Gilbert house as Bonnie cries on its front steps, and you have one of the most touching scenes of 2014.
- Wetpaint
By separating Bonnie from the rest of the Mystic Falls gang, The Vampire Diaries allowed for the character to showcase her determination, ingenuity, and strength. Instead of simply being a pawn in a bigger overall story (casting a spell to trap Klaus, doing a locator spell to find a mystical object, being the anchor to Other Side, etc.), Bonnie has been active all season along, not just sitting on the sidelines and lending a helping hand to Elena or Stefan or Caroline, but constantly fighting for her life and doing her very best to find a way to escape from the hell that she was trapped in and return home to her friends. […] Ian Somerhalder and Kat Graham have some terrific chemistry, which is on full display every time they share a scene, and Damon and Bonnie’s different qualities (his brashness, her compassion) have rubbed off on the other, allowing for both characters to feel newer and fresher than they have in years. […] When looking back at The Vampire Diaries Season 6, some moments, such as Kai’s introduction, Caroline and Stefan’s first kiss, and Alaric learning he’s a father, may stand out as some of the “bigger” scenes of the year. However, what I’ll most remember about this season is how it took Bonnie Bennett, a character I barely cared about a year ago, and transformed her into the show’s star.
- tvovermind
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