Rating summary

Movie		3.0
Video		4.0
Audio		4.5
Extras		2.0
Overall		3.5

The Vampire Diaries: The Complete Second Season Blu-ray Movie Review

"Come back as a vampire and I'll stake you myself. I can’t stand the idea of you hating me forever."

Reviewed by Kenneth Brown August 30, 2011

The CW certainly knows how to nurture a series. While NBC, ABC, CBS and Fox tend to cut and run at the first signs of weakness, the CW targets a specific audience, adapts to whatever challenges arise and goes in for the kill. Small but devoted audiences are often overlooked by the Big Four, but the Little Network That Could is more than content to pick off younger viewers who wander into its hunting grounds. The powers-that-be maintain reasonable budgets, hire smart showrunners, market a property as if it were the only show on television and, above all, stick by a series, giving it time to grow and flourish. The Vampire Diaries had a shaky start. Oh, there were plenty of people who fell in love with its Twilight meets Dawson's Creek inbreeding -- four million, give or take a few hundred-thousand -- some of whom were willing to completely ignore its convoluted plotting, uneven tone and soap opera trappings. But as the season progressed, the show found its footing and, as it neared its finale, flashed something that resembled real potential. Even so, I was skeptical going into Season Two. A bit cynical, actually. Lo and behold, though, I didn't dread every minute of The Vampire Diaries' second outing. (I didn't exactly enjoy every minute either, but it's a start.) The series still has a host of issues to work out (some of which are hopefully about to be addressed this September as Stefan follows a new career path), but I'm beginning to wonder if executive producers Kevin Williamson and Julie Plec might eventually rope me in.

"Witches and their spells. So many people to sacrifice..."

Season Two begins -- where else? -- right where Season One left off, but soon swerves in new (albeit predictable) directions. Bickering vampire blood-brothers Stefan (a perpetually serious Paul Wesley) and Damon Salvatore (Lost castaway and resident bad boy Ian Somerhalder) are forced to deal with their manipulative maker, Katherine (Nina Dobrev), as well as an influx of beasties including a pair of original vamps named Klaus and Elijah (Joseph Morgan and Daniel Gillies), a pack of werewolves and a terrifying hybrid that lies at the heart of the second season's biggest mysteries. To top it all off, Stefan starts dosing on human blood and Damon... well, Damon is as much of a loose cannon as he ever is. Meanwhile, Elena tries to sort out her feelings for the Salvatore brothers, stay one step of Katherine (her icy doppelgänger, for those not in the know) and keep her younger brother, Jeremy (Steven R. McQueen), out of the ranks of the undead; Elena's best friend Bonnie (Kat Graham) embarks on a quest to acquire the power of a hundred witches (which sounds way more difficult than it proves to be), flexes her angstiest muscles and nuzzles up to Jeremy in the process; Caroline (Candice Accola) is promoted from Damon's plaything to full-fledged vampire, a move that somehow introduces even more melodrama into the mix; Tyler (Michael Trevino) learns he has a bit of werewolf coursing through his veins and reluctantly heeds the call of the moon; and Elena and Jeremy's aunt, Jenna (Sara Canning), along with every other main and supporting character in Mystic Falls, just try to survive the town's supernatural battlegrounds.

The Vampire Diaries would be welcome in The Daytime Soaps Club if it weren't for its pesky primetime slot. Death and heartbreak are as common (and fleeting) as resurrection and romance, and nothing -- I mean nothing -- lasts for long. Your favorite Mystic Falls denizen is lying on the floor with a broken neck? No worries. The seemingly deceased mainstay was conveniently wearing a magic ring that protects him from death at the hands of a supernatural force. Someone important died in Season One? Keep your eyes peeled; they'll be back, in one form or another. Elena declares her love for the wrong heartthrob? Never fear. She'll wrestle with her decision, cry on the poor sap's shoulder and choose another heartthrob a few episodes later. Loyalty crumbles at the mere prospect of a juicy plot twist, unbreakable bonds are tossed out the window the moment the writers need to work in a "shocking" betrayal, alliances are forged and snapped from one episode to the next, mortal wounds always have a last-minute cure and, in the midst of all the werewolf on vampire bloodletting, Elena and her besties still have time to do homework, organize high school fund raisers and, you know, go about their normal teenage lives. (While giving themselves, heart, body and soul, to whichever smoldering creature of the night declares its affection. Does no one else find the recent string of girl-on-immortal-men sexcapades aimed at teens the least bit troubling? A wee bit icky? Anyone? Or am I alone on this one?)

The Vampire Diaries tries to chart its own course and, I'll admit, comes up with a few good ideas. (No, sun-walker rings are not one of them.) But similarities to everything from True Blood to Being Human to the Twilight series to Underworld (all currently alive and well) are unmistakable and, frankly, disappointing. Once upon a time, Williamson reinvented teen drama with Dawson's Creek, a fantastic series for those brave enough to put aside preconceived notions and give it a spin. (First season growing pains notwithstanding.) He revived slasher horror with Scream, a clever flick that subverts and skews its genre as often as it delivers the goods. Yet here, in the quaint Virginian town of Mystic Falls, it's business as usual. Williamson and Plec tweak the fang-vs-fang formula, sure. I'll even go so far as to say they excel in creating compelling relationships and staging devilish little cliffhangers. At the end of the day, though, The Vampire Diaries is another elaborate tale of vampires, werewolves and witches engaged in nasty, age-old feuds; complete with intraspecies conflict, interspecies love triangles and centuries of sumptuously lit, tragically tragic tragedy. It isn't a failure by any means, and the writers manage to keep the series' blood pumping, thanks in large part to some stake-sharp dialogue, Williamson's wit, Somerhalder and the series villains' scene-munching performances (add Dorbev's turn as Katherine to that list), and enough backstabbing and neck-puncturing to keep things mildly interesting. But I have to ask myself: do I really care about the Gilberts and Salvatores? Am I genuinely invested in their fates? Or have I watched so many episodes at this point that I just want to know where all the pieces will fall when Williamson finally decides to start pulling the trigger and injecting some much-needed weight and finality into the show's death and doom? The answer, I'm afraid, is that I'm simply curious. Even after two seasons, I don't feel attached to Elena or Stefan, entrenched in their lives or intrigued by their stories. I keep coming back for Damon, Katherine and the villains. Everything else? Meh.

That's just one man's opinion, though. Supernatural is my supernatural drug of choice; I like my monsters monstrous, my hunters scarred and sarcastic, my blood-n-gore bloody and gory, my horror horrific and my storylines racked with consequence. The Vampire Diaries just doesn't do it for me. It's like pouring tea in a coffee drinker's mug. My point? One man's opinion shouldn't detract from what Williamson and Plec have accomplished, nor should it detract from those who enjoy the show for what it is. The Vampire Diaries continues to attract newcomers, feed its hungry fans and earn the CW some much-deserved attention. Season Two still has its share of problems, but it's more consistent and satisfying than Season One. Here's hoping September's third season proves to be the proverbial charm.

The Vampire Diaries: The Complete Second Season Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Much like its first season counterpart, The Complete Second Season's 1080p/AVC-encoded presentation sulks, smolders and tends to stick to the shadows. Fortunately, it isn't quite as problematic as its predecessor. Colors are rich and, at times, downright gorgeous, skintones are quite lovely, contrast is pleasing (albeit a tad inconsistent) and black levels are, more often than not, devilishly deep. Yes, so deep that they sometimes drain the life out of the series' photography, obscuring fine detail and inviting crush into the proceedings. (Dark hair, black leather, night skies, heavy shadows and dimly lit corners occasionally converge into a freakish monstrosity hellbent on stamping out anything that dares approach the light.) But not so deep or oppressive that detail is unilaterally sacrificed to a drastic degree. In fact, the majority of the second season's scenes are as refined as they are revealing, with plenty of striking closeups, beautifully resolved textures and exacting edges to go around. Grit, grain and all. When the sun is up, the image roars to spectacular life, nimbly darting from lush forest to vibrant high school hallway with confidence. It's only when the moon rises that the series' penchant for grave, gothic imagery drags things down a notch. Minor artifacting, mild banding and sporadic noise creep in several times per episode -- regardless of how bright or dreary the offending shots may be -- but none of it amounts to a serious distraction. Thankfully, macroblocking, aliasing, smearing, ringing and other eyesores are either kept to a bare minimum or nowhere to be found. While the presentation has its share of issues, most are inherent to the series' source. I went back and forth between a 3.5 and a 4.0 for some time and finally settled on the score that reflected The Complete Second Season's slight edge over The Complete First Season.

The Vampire Diaries: The Complete Second Season Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

Like the upcoming Blu-ray releases of Nikita, Fringe, Supernatural and Smallville, The Vampire Diaries: The Complete Second Season boasts an enveloping, altogether effective DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 surround track; a welcome change that hopefully means Warner's practice of saddling every television release with a lossy audio mix is finally coming to an end. Dialogue is clear, crisp and intelligible, sounds effects are sharp and savage (more so than the visuals than accompany them) and every last spatter of blood, crunching bone, punctured artery, snarling wolf, lunging vamp and conjuring witch sounds fantastic. Lengthy conversations are a bit front-heavy, sure. But it isn't long before Williamson ramps up the tension, tosses in a flashback or mounts a full-scale assault, and Warner's lossless track responds in kind. LFE output is strong and satisfying (werewolf attacks are particularly punchy), rear speaker activity is gripping and engaging (just listen to those bustling high school halls), directionality is deadly (vampires are fast, the track's slick pans and precision effects are faster), and dynamics are fierce (note the slightest drip drip drip of blood, the deepest growl and the meatiest shunck). And the soundfield? Immersive and compelling. Needless to say, The Vampire Diaries has enough bark to rival its bite.

The Vampire Diaries: The Complete Second Season Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

The 4-disc Blu-ray release of The Vampire Diaries: The Complete Second Season features even fewer extras than its predecessor, among them a lone audio commentary, twenty-minutes of deleted scenes and a half-hour of assorted materials. Unfortunately, none of it resonates or, really, amounts to anything of note.

• Audio Commentary: The Complete Second Season rolls out a single commentary: "Masquerade" with executive producers Kevin Williamson and Julie Plec. Even so, a spoiler warning is included, urging viewers to watch every episode before listening. And for good reason. The showrunners wind their way through all of Season Two, discussing the evolution of the various characters, the various storylines and developments, crucial twists and turns, the production itself and more. It's a lot to cover in forty minutes, though, and the track isn't nearly as extensive as multiple commentaries would have been.
• Deleted Scenes (Discs 1-3, SD, 18 minutes): Sixteen spotty deleted scenes have been hacked out of nine episodes: "The Return," "Brave New World," "Bad Moon Rising," "Memory Lane," "Masquerade," "Rose," "Katerina," "By the Light of the Moon" and "Daddy Issues."
• Pages of the Wolf (Disc 4, SD, 19 minutes): Three behind-the-scenes werewolf featurettes are available as well: "The Myth and the Mystery," "Building the Beast" and "Howling at the Moon."
• The Perfect Love Triangle: Vampires, Werewolves, Witches (Disc 4, HD, 9 minutes): The cast attempts to trace the series' endless hookups and hangups with amusing results.
• Her Own Worst Enemy: Elena, Katherine and Nina! (Disc 4, HD, 10 minutes): The many roles of Nina Dobrev.
• Second Bite (Disc 4, SD, 3 minutes): Season Two wraps up with a gag reel.
• BD-Live Functionality

The Vampire Diaries: The Complete Second Season Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

If you've had a crush on The Vampire Diaries from the beginning, Season Two will win you over, heart and soul. If you hated Season One, don't be so quick to turn your back; the series' sophomore outing just might surprise you. It didn't quite convert me, but it set the stage for an intriguing third season and that, in and of itself, might be enough to justify renting The Complete Second Season. Warner's 4-disc Blu-ray release is a decent one too. Its video transfer is a step up from its predecessor (despite some lingering issues), its DTS-HD Master Audio track is a major improvement over last season's Blu-ray release, and its anemic supplemental package, while ninety-minutes north of barebones, is the biggest disappointment to be had. I have little doubt fans will be pleased.