Katherine Pierce is one of the most complex characters I have ever seen on a television series. She is astoundingly ruthless, creepily cold and a clever manipulator. Her tactics have ruined lives and ended more. She's the show's main source of pain and destruction. Every character who has met Katherine has a reason to detest her as she brings chaos to people's lives with no shame or regret. She's highly intelligent and has the ability to manipulate situations to her advantage. Her plans are usually executed with a combination of flamboyance and pure genius. The most jaw dropping reveal was that she was her involvement in 1864 church fires. She was not a victim of the disaster as everyone thought, but in fact the master mind of the entire vampire massacre. She planned the murder of 26 of her friends and surrogate family in order to fake her death. When Stefan questions her on her heartless act and how she could have sold her friends out, Katherine simply replies that she did so "without blinking". Katherine is a big enthusiast of putting on a show. Her grand entrance in the Season 1 finale where she tricked other characters into believing that she was Elena, then kissing Damon and stabbing John Gilbert with a butcher knife is still the most memorable Katherine moment to date. Possibly even one of the most memorable moments in the show. Every move she makes has an air of theatrics. Its all a game to her; a circus and she's the ringleader who entertains herself and relishes in her victims' confusion, pain and terror. Her other form of manipulation is sex. Katherine knows sex is every man's weakness and uses it to her advantage. Plentifully. She is always in control, which is signified by her dominant position socially as the mastermind of plans, as leader of her friends in 1864, and even in sexual situations, Katherine NEEDS to be on top. Due to the viciously constricting society she grew up in, she maintains a passionate hatred for rules and does whatever she pleases, regardless of what society dictates. She's breathtakingly beautiful and her flirtatious smile and mischievous eyes draw men in like moths to a flame. She's seductive and bold, a true Alpha female and her charm lies in her lust. Her lust for life, for fun, for blood, for sex, are what make her pleasurable company, so everyone who keeps her company will be having a ball of a time...right before she stabs them in the back. An example is poor Mason Lockwood who fell hopelessly in love with Katherine in hopes that she will help him break his werewolf curse. Mason discovered that this was all a lie and that he was just a device in Katherine's master plan. Unfortunately he discovered this while tied to a chair and being tortured by Damon, which ultimately ended in Mason's gruesome and violent death. Katherine did not even show a flicker of remorse. One could even say she's pure evil. One would be very wrong.
Like most villains, Katherine's evil nature has a source. In 1490, when Katherine was just 16, she had a baby out of wedlock and was disowned by her family and expelled to England. There she met Elijah, a charming gentleman who harboured an affection for her. Their discussions reveal a side to Katherine that we had not previously been exposed to. In her youth, Katherine had been a naive, sweet and optimistic girl. Charming and playful as always, but also very passionate and romantic. She believed in the importance of love above all else, as is signified by her impassioned declaration to Elijah: "Life is too cruel. If we cease to believe in love, why would we want to live?" Elijah's brother was a vampire named Klaus, who sought to drain every drop of blood of her body as a sacrifice. She fled for her life with the help of Trevor and Rose, who Katherine tricked into feeding her her blood thus turning herself into a vampire. Upon her return to Bulgaria, she discovered that Klaus killed her entire family as revenge. Katherine was utterly devastated. She was never the same again. This experience taught Katherine a few lessons in order to survive: to never trust anyone, to always look out for herself, and to never let love get in the way. These principles have (mis)guided Katherine for over 500 years while on the run from Klaus. The lives of others were of no value for her as she took it with ease. She regarded humanity as a hindrance, a handicap that was the greatest weakness to survival. The only time we have ever seen Katherine showing traces of humanity was ofcourse when she was human, and her interaction with the Salvatore brothers.
In 1864, Katherine met Stefan and Damon Salvatore, the brothers that would change her life forever. She compelled the former to accept her vampirism, but the latter fell head over heels in love with her just as she was. He even asked to turn into a vampire in order for them to be together forever. The relationship between Stefan-Damon-Katherine is an enormously complex one and adds to the mystery of Katherine. She fed both of the brothers her blood so that they may be vampires and be with her forever. However, she made no move to actually kill them and complete the process. She did not mastermind Damon and Stefan's plan to set her free, she did not plan for their father to shoot them. The brothers' deaths were unplanned. Even upon their deaths, she does not return to claim them. Unless the writers left a gaping loophole (I sincerely hope not), or Katherine had intended for everyone to believe she died in that fire, including the brothers. By the looks of it, Katherine was going to let them live. Why? What changed her mind? As for the love affair, it is unclear who Katherine's heart truly belongs to. She has claimed repeatedly that her love is for Stefan and that she harboured no feelings for Damon. However, Katherine seems to be unable to stay away from Damon. In a strange pattern, she tells Stefan she loves him, then goes to visit Damon for seemingly no reason other than to torment him (2x01, 2x04). If she does not care, then why bother? She opts for Damon's presence instead of Stefan's and even saved Damon's life and lost the only chance she ever had to finally be free of Klaus. For some bizarre reason, Katherine does not want Damon to be aware of her feelings for him. In 2x06, she says she knew Damon was going to die if he used the dagger to kill Elijah. If she knew, why was she waiting for him in the shower, seemingly unsurprised at his living, breathing form standing right in front of her? Another rather confusing element of Katherine's behaviour is her poor tactics to get Stefan back. Katherine is a beautiful intelligent woman. Why beat a man into loving her again? Stabbing holes through his body, threatening his girlfriends life, attempting to kill her aunt, in what universe did she believe she could get Stefan back then? Why was she willing to compel Stefan into being with her but gave Damon a choice? Katherine is an endlessly confusing, complicated and enigmatic character. So far unfortunately, due to her absence in the show, we have gotten no closer to the answers to these questions.
I cannot go on and on about how amazing Katherine is without honouring the woman who plays her. Miss Nina Dobrev is outstanding as Katherine. She is able to convey Katherine's pain, regret, thoughts, while maintaining Katherine's trademark cold demeanour. Nina gave Katherine a great gust of life, with her sassy walk, her eyebrow flick that Damon inherited, her pout, even the way she eats strawberries makes you want to cheer cause she eats it in a way that only Katherine would. Sensually. Seductively. She's not enjoying the strawberry anymore, the strawberry is enjoying her. My ultimate favourite scene though was in 2x09 when Nina portrays Katherine telling Elena her story. Anybody else would have been emotional. Not Katherine. Her desire for physical control transcends to her emotions. She tells her tale with such cool detachment as if its not even hers. The only feeling one can see is the one she allows them to see. Her tone oozes bitterness as she tells of "the shaaaaaame" of her illegitimate pregnancy. Everything else is stated as fact. "My baby was given away." "He wanted to drop every drop of blood from my body." "My entire family was killed". She says all this as if it happens to everyone. It happened, sure but she's not going to make a scene about it. Katherine is not one to show vulnerability, especially to Elena. She's also not one to look for pity or play the victim. She's above all that. Katherine is a survivor, and the way Nina plays her takes my breath away.
The most tragic thing about Katherine's personality is how damaged she is She's been traumatised psychologically and emotionally to such a degree that she is unable to function in a normal, healthy way. Katherine cannot trust. Katherine cannot show emotion. Katherine is unable to be a team with anyone as she is constantly watching her back and armouring herself. Katherine cannot let her heart decide for her. This all boils down to one thing: Katherine has a deep seated fear of being vulnerable, whatever form that vulnerability may take.
I, along with many fans cannot wait until Katherine's return. In true Katherine style, she will come back with a bang, as she is physically unable to simply walk through the door. I continue to salivate for the episode when Katherine reveals her true self to the audience as well as the brothers. I want Katherine to avenge her family and be the one to kill Klaus, (she deserves it more than any of them). I want Katherine to acknowledge her mistakes and if she dies, (dear heavens I hope she doesn't), I hope its a spectacular event that dazzles everyone. A death worthy of a legend. Its what she would have wanted.
PS. Who the fuck knocked her up?
Like most villains, Katherine's evil nature has a source. In 1490, when Katherine was just 16, she had a baby out of wedlock and was disowned by her family and expelled to England. There she met Elijah, a charming gentleman who harboured an affection for her. Their discussions reveal a side to Katherine that we had not previously been exposed to. In her youth, Katherine had been a naive, sweet and optimistic girl. Charming and playful as always, but also very passionate and romantic. She believed in the importance of love above all else, as is signified by her impassioned declaration to Elijah: "Life is too cruel. If we cease to believe in love, why would we want to live?" Elijah's brother was a vampire named Klaus, who sought to drain every drop of blood of her body as a sacrifice. She fled for her life with the help of Trevor and Rose, who Katherine tricked into feeding her her blood thus turning herself into a vampire. Upon her return to Bulgaria, she discovered that Klaus killed her entire family as revenge. Katherine was utterly devastated. She was never the same again. This experience taught Katherine a few lessons in order to survive: to never trust anyone, to always look out for herself, and to never let love get in the way. These principles have (mis)guided Katherine for over 500 years while on the run from Klaus. The lives of others were of no value for her as she took it with ease. She regarded humanity as a hindrance, a handicap that was the greatest weakness to survival. The only time we have ever seen Katherine showing traces of humanity was ofcourse when she was human, and her interaction with the Salvatore brothers.
In 1864, Katherine met Stefan and Damon Salvatore, the brothers that would change her life forever. She compelled the former to accept her vampirism, but the latter fell head over heels in love with her just as she was. He even asked to turn into a vampire in order for them to be together forever. The relationship between Stefan-Damon-Katherine is an enormously complex one and adds to the mystery of Katherine. She fed both of the brothers her blood so that they may be vampires and be with her forever. However, she made no move to actually kill them and complete the process. She did not mastermind Damon and Stefan's plan to set her free, she did not plan for their father to shoot them. The brothers' deaths were unplanned. Even upon their deaths, she does not return to claim them. Unless the writers left a gaping loophole (I sincerely hope not), or Katherine had intended for everyone to believe she died in that fire, including the brothers. By the looks of it, Katherine was going to let them live. Why? What changed her mind? As for the love affair, it is unclear who Katherine's heart truly belongs to. She has claimed repeatedly that her love is for Stefan and that she harboured no feelings for Damon. However, Katherine seems to be unable to stay away from Damon. In a strange pattern, she tells Stefan she loves him, then goes to visit Damon for seemingly no reason other than to torment him (2x01, 2x04). If she does not care, then why bother? She opts for Damon's presence instead of Stefan's and even saved Damon's life and lost the only chance she ever had to finally be free of Klaus. For some bizarre reason, Katherine does not want Damon to be aware of her feelings for him. In 2x06, she says she knew Damon was going to die if he used the dagger to kill Elijah. If she knew, why was she waiting for him in the shower, seemingly unsurprised at his living, breathing form standing right in front of her? Another rather confusing element of Katherine's behaviour is her poor tactics to get Stefan back. Katherine is a beautiful intelligent woman. Why beat a man into loving her again? Stabbing holes through his body, threatening his girlfriends life, attempting to kill her aunt, in what universe did she believe she could get Stefan back then? Why was she willing to compel Stefan into being with her but gave Damon a choice? Katherine is an endlessly confusing, complicated and enigmatic character. So far unfortunately, due to her absence in the show, we have gotten no closer to the answers to these questions.
I cannot go on and on about how amazing Katherine is without honouring the woman who plays her. Miss Nina Dobrev is outstanding as Katherine. She is able to convey Katherine's pain, regret, thoughts, while maintaining Katherine's trademark cold demeanour. Nina gave Katherine a great gust of life, with her sassy walk, her eyebrow flick that Damon inherited, her pout, even the way she eats strawberries makes you want to cheer cause she eats it in a way that only Katherine would. Sensually. Seductively. She's not enjoying the strawberry anymore, the strawberry is enjoying her. My ultimate favourite scene though was in 2x09 when Nina portrays Katherine telling Elena her story. Anybody else would have been emotional. Not Katherine. Her desire for physical control transcends to her emotions. She tells her tale with such cool detachment as if its not even hers. The only feeling one can see is the one she allows them to see. Her tone oozes bitterness as she tells of "the shaaaaaame" of her illegitimate pregnancy. Everything else is stated as fact. "My baby was given away." "He wanted to drop every drop of blood from my body." "My entire family was killed". She says all this as if it happens to everyone. It happened, sure but she's not going to make a scene about it. Katherine is not one to show vulnerability, especially to Elena. She's also not one to look for pity or play the victim. She's above all that. Katherine is a survivor, and the way Nina plays her takes my breath away.
The most tragic thing about Katherine's personality is how damaged she is She's been traumatised psychologically and emotionally to such a degree that she is unable to function in a normal, healthy way. Katherine cannot trust. Katherine cannot show emotion. Katherine is unable to be a team with anyone as she is constantly watching her back and armouring herself. Katherine cannot let her heart decide for her. This all boils down to one thing: Katherine has a deep seated fear of being vulnerable, whatever form that vulnerability may take.
I, along with many fans cannot wait until Katherine's return. In true Katherine style, she will come back with a bang, as she is physically unable to simply walk through the door. I continue to salivate for the episode when Katherine reveals her true self to the audience as well as the brothers. I want Katherine to avenge her family and be the one to kill Klaus, (she deserves it more than any of them). I want Katherine to acknowledge her mistakes and if she dies, (dear heavens I hope she doesn't), I hope its a spectacular event that dazzles everyone. A death worthy of a legend. Its what she would have wanted.
PS. Who the fuck knocked her up?
