I like to knit while I binge watch shows on Netflix. It keeps my hands busy, while letting my mind wander. Not wander in the sense of spacing off or not paying attention to what’s on the screen. Instead, I make connections and see patterns that I wouldn’t otherwise. It’s almost like a kind of freedom, if that makes sense. My biggest ‘aha’ moments come at those times.

I’d like to say that what follows fits into the deep thought category. Sadly, it doesn’t. This could better be described as some things that I found interesting or funny while binge watching The Vampire Diaries.

• It’s amazing that none of the kids are alcoholics by the age of twenty. There appears to be no legal drinking age in Mystic Falls. Access to alcohol does not seem to be hampered by the fact one is a minor. It certainly seems to flow freely at the parties the gang attend. I could be wrong about this, but I think that even in the current season, they are all minors, except the Salvatores, of course.

• Kids on this show aren’t allowed to have parents. Elena and Jeremy lost their parents prior to the pilot. Elena has also lost her birth parents. Bonnie’s father is dead and her mother is a vampire, so technically, also dead. Tyler’s parents have both been killed. Matt’s dad seems to be an absentee deadbeat, while his mother actually listened when Matt told her to leave and never come back. That brings me to Caroline, who as of this season has lost both of her parents. These kids have had to raise themselves.

• How have any of the kids graduated from high school? They spent more time out of class than in it. Where were their teachers and parents? Oh, that’s right, their parents are all dead. And the teachers? Even Alaric didn’t seem to nag them about showing up to class.

• Why does anyone stay in Mystic Falls? It’s a seriously screwed up town. It was even way before the Salvatores came strolling back. (see 1 & 3 above) The council really does not do a good job of hiding all of the supernatural activity. How many animal attacks can one town have?

So, there you have it, a look at paths my obsessive brain likes to wander. I can’t help but be curious if I’m the only one who thinks about these things. Next time, I’ll have the rest of the list.

I am new to The Vampire Diaries, like baby vamp new. My husband on the other hand, has watched since the beginning. He tried for years to get me to watch, but I was steadfast in my refusal. I wasn’t ‘into’ vampires. I hadn’t read the Anne Rice or Twilight books. There was no True Blood, Buffy or Angel for me, either. 

At least, that was true until two years ago. I had discovered Bones and was completely obsessed. Surprise, surprise. That led to watching Buffy and then Angel, thanks to David Boreanaz. I thought that would be the extent of the vampires that I allowed in my life. 

Wrong. My husband, who can be very sneaky, started watching The Vampire Diaries when I was in the room. Little by little, it caught my interest. I picked up on little bits of Damon and Elena’s lives and wanted more.

This is where I can thank Netflix for my obsession. I binge watched seasons one through five in a week. Yes, a week. I bought season six on Amazon Prime. I think there were seven or eight episodes at that point, which I quickly watched. I immediately went back to the beginning watched it all again. And again. And again. You see where I’m going with this, right?

Here’s the thing with watching the same one hundred twenty plus episodes in a constant loop for a month or more – I found myself wondering about this aspect or that. It was never anything earthshattering, no theories about upcoming plot twists or interpretations of characters. Just some observations that I eventually compiled and emailed to my dear friend, Lisa, who shares my TVD obsession, just not to the same degree. (thank goodness!)

I’ll be sharing in those observations in my next post or two. Stay tuned.