Okay going to say something controversial, but I gotta talk about Matt Donovan.
He was an okay character season 1, and he was a whatever character in season 2, but in season 3 he was a good character, like I like season 3 Matt, I think about season 3 Matt, I even root for a season 3 Matt, then there’s season four Matt where he is just okay again, and the in season 5 he is the worst character.
But I was then realizing, in season 3 his character was actually functioning for his purpose of a character, especially in his little murder mystery side quest with Elena.
And I think it isn’t all that controversial to say Elena is a good character seasons 1-3 as well, and season 4 she is a bit all over the place, but it is excusable to some extent. Until season 5…
And it was the horrible epiphany that had me realize, Alaric too is another character that starts off an interesting character season 1, great in season 2, and a good character in season 3, and yeah from then it’s all iffy.
And the thing is, these three characters are all the characters never allowed a consistent arc.
Other characters have the too, but in very different ways.
Matt is a character who thrives when he is assisting a main narrative. Matt foils Elena very well, while Elena foils Alaric. I think Matt works as an in the dark character. We see that in season 1 as he is the unknowing victim of the supernatural chaos. in season 2 he finds out and realizes all his pain is because of the supernatural and has to slowly uncover the nuance alone because of his unfortunate situation which is what allows him to be manipulated. By season three he is just as involved as the others, included in the mystery, has character agency, while also on the same side as the main characters. He knows the nuance of the supernatural world, but he is also represents the human side of it. Which is why it makes sense he is working with Liz and Elena to solve the whole whodunnit side plot of the season. He and Elena are both “human” ignoring she is a doppelgänger, but they both can relate to being attracted to vampires, to being victims of this world, and that sort of cluelessness moving forward. But any antagonism he has towards the supernatural world he has is more to the pain it causes and less the individuals, which was what he learned from the previous season with Caroline.
Matt and Liz are direct foils, and I think it is interesting how his character reaches his lowest post Liz’s death. If there was an actual rhetorical or corruption arc post this that the writers committed to for Matt this would have been genuinely such a good storyline but it was so messy and poorly executed.
But I think Matt suffered also when Elena was turned because of what his character was. And I am not saying he was her link to humanity or her past, which is something the show may have tried to accomplish, but really he is more a character whose arc should have mirrored Elena more. His next arc should have been realizing, which he almost did, that he was the only one who had the choice to be in that world, while realizing Elena didn’t. She was trapped in the supernatural world and it keeps hurting her, while Matt isn’t trapped, but there, because it has hurt him.
I think his character would have been more interesting if Elena were to stay human, but Elena narratively had to turn into a vampire, unless they continued the doppelgänger plot line in the other way. Where they realized ‘oh shit if doppelgänger blood was part of the binding curse and broke it, what other curse is it connect to that it could break…’ if they wanted a cure plotline, that would have been a more interesting, and it would be super satisfying to see a Bennet witch do that… just saying. Especially if say Alaric was a whole season big bag instead of Silas… what???
Anywho!!! Matt’s character also would have been better if he remained in Elena’s storyline as well, since they are foils. Like am I lowkey saying that I ship season 3 Elena and Matt, yeah I lowkey do, because that kind of compliments an arc better. But because Vampire Diaries is literally about Elena and the Salvatore’s that is impossible, which yeah.
But in my vampire diaries the main romance is Klaus and Caroline, and Elena is not the protagonist, and her story is not cemented in canon expectations.
But Matt either need an acceptance arc of choosing his friends despite the circumstances and not condemn them, and realize he has a privilege they don’t. Or he should have had a full villain arc. His character, as well as Elena’s, and Alaric’s all suffer because they are never allowed to have a full storyline, and the writers are never sure what to do with them.
Like let Stefan be with Rebekah, and Damon be with a stake in his heart, and let Alaric have a closed story arc at the end of s4, and let Matt and Elena have a finished arc as side characters, let Bonnie have a love interest who lives (Enzo? Kol?) a happy ending, a heroic feat, and let Caroline be with Klaus!
Imagine a world where the Mikaelson’s were the protagonists from day one.
