Spotlight On…Elena Gilbert!

September 9th, 2010

She forced her boyfriend to beat his addiction. She convinced her BFF to save the vamp who killed her grannie. She erased her brother’s memory of his dead girlfriend. Love her or hate her she’s the first person to say she’s not perfect…but Elena Gilbert is definitely a HERO!

Don’t miss the second season premiere of The Vampire Diaries on Much this Friday @ 9PM ET following Hellcats.

Here are five reasons she rocks (and not just because she’s a total Canadian hottie….or dating the hottest vampire on television…or plays the hero and the villain on the same show….hmm maybe I should make a longer list!):

Elena: Let’s get one thing straight: I am not Katherine

1. She stands up for herself from the start. No getting knee-deep in drama before she realizes she needs to take a stand. She’s told both brothers she’s not getting in the middle of them. She’s also made it very clear she’s in love with Stefan and Damon is solely her friend. She found out Stefan was a vampire early on in the show – not because she caught him in the act or he told her. She correctly deduced it all on her own.

Elena: I burden you with all of my drama, and I want you to do the same.

2. She’s honest with her drama – she doesn’t hide it. As soon as she learns about her real birthparents she doesn’t hide the drama from her friends and accepts their help and support in finding them. She also goes out of her way to help her friends with theirs, dropping everything to be with her ex-boyfriend Matt when his sister turns up dead.

Stefan: You’re taking a stupid risk. I could hurt you.
Elena: Then I’m stupid.

3. She stands by her man. After Stefan becomes addicted to human blood and goes on a rampage she doesn’t stand by and let Damon handle it. She tells him no matter what she doesn’t think he’d ever hurt her cause he’s stronger than that. She doesn’t even need to use the vervain Alaric arms her with to take him down. Elena risks her life to get him to come back down to normal, visiting him everyday while he’s locked up. When things get tough, the tough don’t get going.

Elena: I think there’s something he doesn’t want me to know, which makes me wanna know all the more.
Matt: Like he’s a serial killer and keeps a clown suit in his trunk?

4. She’s still good friends with her ex. How many shows out there show a healthy ongoing friendship between exes? None, that’s how many. Elena and Matt Donovan go way back. They were the ultimate couple but decided they were better off as friends. And they are definitely friends. Matt is one of Stefan’s first friends at school for Elena. Elena encourages his relationship with her friend/rival Caroline Forbes. They can both talk about their relationship issues and hang out together. And when things get tough they are there for each other.

Elena [to Stefan at the school ‘60’s dance]: You are so teaching me how to hand-jive.

5. She knows how to have fun. Vampire dramas can be all doom and gloom (**cough cough “Twilight”**) but Elena actually has fun with her boyfriend and her friends. She pokes fun at the fact Stefan’s been around for over a hundred years. They dance, they drink, they flirt, they laugh, and they’re honest. Elena goes on double dates with her ex. She has sleepovers with her girls. She has fun talks about relationships with her aunt. She does not let all the monsters running around Mystic Falls ruin her daily life.

And that’s our HERO – Elena Gilbert!

Elena: Dear Diary – Today will be different. It has to be. I will smile and it will be believable. My smile will say, ‘I’m fine. Thank you. Yes. Much better.’ I will no longer be the girl who lost her parents. I will start fresh. Be someone new. It’s the only way I’ll make it through.

Tags: nina dobrev, recaps, The Vampire Diaries, tv, vampire diaries