New stills from 208, 211, 215 & 216, TVD supporting guys in GQ March

Vampire Diaries Web has some more stills (+ a behind the scenes photo from “Rose”) from episode 8, 11, 15 and 16 (upcoming) of season two. Click on each image to access the galleries, respectively. WARNING: “The Dinner Party” folder (third picture) contains major spoilers for the ones, who haven’t watched the episode yet.

HUGE thanks to Vampire Diaries Online for this GQ spread of Michael, Steven and Zach! These three together = me drooling forever. I believe I’m not alone, am I? 😉 Credit goes to The Vampire Diaries Italia.

The Vampire Diaries cast at New York Comic Con, October 10

First of all, a few photos from the event, courtesy of @cadlymack and LIFE:

Many more over at Vampire Diaries Web and I Heart Vampire Diaries.

Videos from the Q&A, thanks to I Heart Vampire Diaries for the heads up and PhillyFilmGirl for uploading these:

Vampire Eyes Online has a live coverage of the panel. You can find some quotes below (spoiler warning!) and head over to their site to read the entire coverage:

Have we seen the last of John Gilbert? John Gilbert will be back! “There’s too much potential there – there’s great story left there to mine. He’s Elena’s father!”

Will Jeremy and Katherine have scenes together? Yes, Jeremy and Katherine are about to have a big face-off in the next few episodes.

Who might make a comeback? Lexi.

@popwrap: Biggest spoiler from press room: episode eight is Katherine’s backstory. We go to Romania, circa 1492.

Also, Zap2it had a wonderful chat with the cast during Comic Con. Check out an excerpt below and the rest of the article is at their site:

Jenna and Katherine will meet again very, very soon. “It’s a weird thing with Jenna because she’s got a special relationship with Elena, and we’ve seen that be tested again and again in the first season, and now Katherine’s just going to throw something else into the mix,” says Canning. “She’s like, ‘What’s going on with my niece?’ There’s already things she’s worried that Elena’s not telling her, like why are you making out with Damon on the porch, so that’s just going to intensify it and cause some major trust issues.”

Plus, a WPIX interview round. They got a chance to talk to Kat, Steven, Sara, Matt, Kevin and Julie. Thanks to Vampire Diaries Online for bringing this to our attention! Play the video chat with Steven and Julie below and go to their site to see the other two.

Vodpod videos no longer available.

Top Ten “Bitch-Slapper” Moments of The Vampire Diaries

If there was one thing we have come to learn (and love) about The Vampire Diaries, it would have to be the insane twists that are hurled at us in each intensely, wicked episode. I have fondly come to call these erratic moments “bitch-slap” inducing, because their impact is the equivalent of a sudden back hand slap across the face from a pissed lover, friend, relative, whatever. The entire first season of TVD has a plethora of these moments to the point that a top 50 list could be made, but we are going to stick with tradition of the top ten so that reliving these game changing moments won’t be so painful. My whiplash still hasn’t left from one particular moment earlier in the season, so imagine having to live through about 80 more!

So, let’s begin the countdown! Have your therapist on speed dial…

10) Stefan Falls Off The Wagon

While this one might not be so shocking to many viewers, it was a big one to me at the time it was revealed. All season long we had a clear cut line between the Salvatore Brothers. Stefan: Good. Damon: Bad. Stefan was Elena’s knight in shining armor, which was a little too shiny for some people. He had to have a secret or some sort of weakness to his character for his personality dial to be constantly set on “Broody”, which is why I think that the cults of Delena fans are growing in droves, because his persona was getting “boring”. Then we are knocked in the face with this little roadblock, which unsettled all Selena fans to see Stefan in this state. Even though some people hated it, the move was necessary to remind us of Stefan’s true nature, which is that he’s a monster, but a monster with a heart. Let’s not forget that…

TV Guide Magazine’s Matt Roush adresses “kick-ass women” and social issues in The Vampire Diaries

Question: Did you catch the season finale of The Vampire Diaries? I never expected back in September that it would become “must-see” television, but it has. Part of this likely has to do with the excellent pacing, the spookiness, Ian Somerhalder’s character and the likeability of almost every character. However, two things continue to bother me about the show. The first is the lack of kick-ass women: Every time a tough woman shows up who can (at first glance) hold her own in a battle, she is killed (see: Lexi, Anna). The human female characters are quite strong emotionally, but it would be nice if they could fight back, too, a la Buffy, where even Cordelia got to stake a vampire. I think they sort of addressed this in the finale by bringing back Katherine and making Bonnie issue an ultimatum to Stefan, and I hope this continues in Season 2.

My other problem with the show is the setting. Seriously, they spend the whole season celebrating “Founder’s Day” in a Southern town and never make mention of issues like slavery? They skirted this by making witch Emily Katherine’s “hand maiden,” whatever that means. And the vampires in the tomb had no more adjustment problems to the 21st century than figuring out how to use a modern laundry machine or cell phones. I never expected the show to delve deeply into issues of race and sexuality as True Blood does so well, but it would be nice if the show at least acknowledged that there were other things going on besides vampire vs. human Mystic Falls conflicts. The show is so good at many other things, and it worries me that a show built for the young adult crowd is unwilling to inject a bit of historical realism when so much time is spent obsessing about what happened 140 years ago. The “hand maiden” mentions are particularly frustrating as the show seems to be at once renaming or erasing the practice of slavery and the effect it had on Southern society. What do you think?—Anne