If you remember all the events of TVD season 3 well, what would you change about that season?
For me, it's killing Stefan instead of Elena in the season finale to make season 4 a solid Defan season. Damon would go all out trying to bring Stefan back from death, while Stefan, on the Other Side, could explore more of the world-building. There are a lot of ideas around how killing Stefan (not really, because he would still be in the show, but just by exploring a different place) could move the story forward in terms of both world-building and character development. I would also have Elena make her choice before the finale, and that choice would be Stefan. They could promise each other that once everything is over, they'll go on a trip together or something like that. Then Stefan dies, and Damon moves on and never goes back to pursuing Elena, even after Stefan's death. Instead, he would become completely focused on saving his brother. Like how Damon went so hard for Katherine, he would do the same for Stefan and devote himself to bringing him back.
Also, I guess Stelena in season 3 is so good, but it could have been better. I feel like there was so much more they could have done with the stage they were in. There was more to explore with their themes; just some changes in dialogue, actions, and reactions could have added a lot. I would also change some Delena things - not really because I felt they threatened Stelena, but because sometimes they're just annoying together. Not all the time, but a lot of the time. I would probably remove all the baseless dialogue about them and about Stelena that people keep misintepreting. I would also make Elena have a stronger connection to the necklace instead of leaving it there just for the sake of the plot.
Also, I would write Klefan better than this and take them more seriously, because the writers didn’t seem to take them seriously. They didn’t seem to know what they were writing when it came to their relationship - what they would do exactly together all summer, how that experience affected Stefan - like the effect is kinda vague, or how their relationship and connection developed over time they're together. They gave them small moments, but didn’t really pay attention to them afterward. And I wouldn't make Klaus so forgiving about Stefan's actions after Stefan broke free from his control. Klaus was introduced as very cruel, and that should have remained part of his characterization. I would make their relationship more complicated from both sides emotionally, give it clearer themes, and allow it more space to develop connections.
I wouldn't make the Originals as petty as they were in seasons 3 and 4. Seriously, why would they care who Rebekah slept with? They were supposed to have more lore and depth than that. And I would give Klebekah more space to show as a complicated relationship not all brotherly. The chemistry is just there. I'd much rather explore that than spend time on Matt or Damon with Rebekah. Also I would also give Stebekah more story, history, and impact, and connect it more to the relationship they had in the 1920s. They were kind of the only dark Gothic ship in the show - almost like Morticia and Gomez, except they were nowhere near as obsessed with each other. Still, they had that same vibe of being dark, Gothic, and morally questionable people who fit together in a unique way.
Also, if I were going to make Stefan's bloodlust an issue, I would make it consistent. They literally make him seem okay with blood in one scene, and then have him lose control in the next.
I'm curious about what you were going to do with that season and the details of it. You can keep this question in your draft until you get to your season 3 episodes reviews. Anyway, what would you do? What would you change? Also, are there any things about Stelena that you would change, add, or develop further because you think it would make the season better or them better?
Yes, these are good ones. And as for the changes I would have made, they would be:
For Stefan, I think the season needed to put much more emphasis on his emotions during the Ripper arc and especially when his humanity started coming back. They do begin showing him reverting to guilt and self-loathing after 3x11, but I don't think they properly explored what was actually happening inside him. After everything he went through as a Ripper and with his humanity off, I needed more screen time dedicated to his emotional struggle.The show isolated him so much and kept him very quiet and brooding. To some extent that makes sense because of everything he was carrying, but I wanted more scenes, more dialogue, and more explanations about what he was feeling. I wanted to see him slowly unravel, talk about the guilt, the shame, the self-hatred, and how difficult it was for him to process everything he had done. They should have given him more space to express what he was going through instead of mostly keeping it internal.
For Elena, I wanted a little more of her own journey to begin. As much as that season was the peak of the triangle for all three of them, I needed their individual journeys to be focused on as well, including Damon’s. They made Elena’s story very much about the love triangle. I wanted to see her focus a little more on her life, her personal journey, her growth, her character development, her ambitions, and even her future career. They should have started laying some foundation for what she wants in her life as a person instead of focusing so heavily on which brother she wants.
With Defan, I think Season 3 should have been a peak Defan season, and the show didn’t emphasize that enough. I wanted Damon to consistently be there for Stefan and actively help him deal with his Ripper tendencies and the return of his humanity. The season spends so much time showing Damon being there for Elena, but I wanted to see the extent to which he was there for Stefan after everything Stefan had sacrificed for him.Damon tells Stefan in 3x15 that he'll always be there for him, but I wanted to actually see that promise in action. In 3x16, he takes Stefan to feed as a way of helping him control himself, but it doesn't really help Stefan and mostly just makes him more miserable. I would remove that entirely and replace it with Damon genuinely trying to understand what Stefan needs. As his brother, Damon should know him better than anyone. I wanted to see Damon learning how to support Stefan emotionally, understanding his struggles, and prioritizing him in meaningful ways.
For Stelena, I’m mostly satisfied with how the season handled them, but there are still things I would have liked to see. I think Elena handled Stefan remarkably well throughout the season considering how closed off and emotionally damaged he was. She was consistent, patient, and never gave up on him, so I don't feel like I needed much more from her side.
What I wanted was more from Stefan. For example, in 3x14 at Elena's house, I wish Stefan had stayed. I completely understand why he left and how difficult it was for him to feel anything after everything he had been through, but throughout the previous seasons we saw how good Stefan and Elena were at communicating with each other. They always helped pull each other through difficult moments. I wanted more of that here.
When Elena asks him to feel something, I wanted Stefan to start building toward opening up. Not necessarily becoming okay immediately, but trusting the comfort she was offering him. I would have loved to see him break down in front of her, talk to her honestly, and let her see the extent of what he was carrying. After everything she was doing for him, I wanted him to slowly learn how to lean on her again. Although this is one thing I would have loved to see, I also understand how difficult that would have been for him to do. But yes, I would have loved that.
As much as the show kept trying to sell the romantic side of Delena, I would have preferred them being emotionally intimate rather than constantly relying on Damon pursuing her physically and all those “consuming love” dialogues. Because emotional intimacy would have worked much better for them and would have served their story more naturally. The season was largely about Elena being alone and trying to work things out while Damon was there for her. But instead of fully developing that emotional connection, they turned much of it into physical attraction. I would have wanted both of them to grow emotionally with each other, nurturing how Damon is there for Elena and how Elena is beginning to understand his presence and what kind of emotional comfort it brings to her.
This would have also covered the point of Elena resisting her feelings for Damon because, if emotional intimacy had been at the center of their story, there would have been more genuineness and more confrontation from Elena’s side, rather than the physical attraction the show kept emphasizing throughout the season. It would have been that deeper emotional understanding and connection that she develops with him which helps her realize her feelings.
At the same time, those emotional aspects of their relationship could have helped Elena understand the difference between sharing a genuine connection with someone and actually loving someone. Because she would come to realize that what she shares with Damon is a genuine understanding and a deep emotional bond, which would keep their connection intact. But she would also realize that this is a different kind of bond from the love she feels for Stefan. That realization would have helped her understand that while a deep emotional connection can exist with more than one person, the kind of love she feels for Stefan is something different. And for her, Stefan would still be the person she truly loves in every sense of the word.
Then I would keep Elena alive at the end and actually have her go back to Stefan and openly declare her choice. And everything I’ve said about Damon and Elena are things the show neither properly showed nor fully developed. I would have wanted them to go in this direction because I think it would have made their story much more interesting and emotionally compelling.
I would also have gone deeper into the bond between Stefan, Klaus, and Rebekah. I would have wanted some profound bonding there and made that trio much more interesting. Rebekah being obsessed with Stefan and Klaus being obsessed with both of them could have created such a fascinating dynamic. We already saw glimpses of it in the 1920s flashbacks, and I think there was so much more potential to explore. I would have also done more with Klaus himself. As you mentioned, he was cruel, but after Stefan finally broke free from him, Klaus didn’t really react as strongly as I think he should have.
Then, with Klaus and Rebekah, I think the season should have focused much more on the two of them. Klaus was heavily obsessed with her, especially when it came to who she dated, loved, or slept with. And if you’ve watched The Originals, there are so many instances, especially in the flashbacks, that show just how unhealthy and possessive he was regarding her relationships.I would have brought much more of that history into this season because they always gave me these weird vibes that went beyond normal brotherly dynamics. I would have pushed a little deeper into whatever was there between them because it was obviously more intense than ordinary brotherly feelings. I would have explored the extent of their obsession with one another and what they actually meant to each other.Because the show kept showing Klaus’s obsession, but it never really stopped to explore what that obsession meant or where it came from. So I would have actually gone there and unraveled that aspect of their relationship.
Also, I would have wanted some more story given to Katherine and Mikael. It really felt like the writers didn’t quite know what they wanted to do with her in this season. So I would have wanted her to get something more interesting to do, like teaming up with Mikael and actively working against Klaus. Considering everything Klaus did to her and her family, I think Katherine deserved some kind of revenge arc. The season should have given more weight to her history with Klaus and allowed her to play a bigger role in opposing him. In some way, it should have given more importance to her story and her motivations. So I guess these are all the main things I would have wanted from this season.
