You're right, they don't really acknowledge this side of him, but I really think that has more to do with his current identity crisis than a lack of forethought by the writers. They created this character, they gave him this duality in his nature, so it wouldn't make sense for them to be ignoring it for no reason. Stefan's biggest issue is that, like Damon once said, he cannot live on the edge; he always falls off one side or the other. While he continues to do this, he will never be comfortable with himself, and this will affect how he interacts with people. I think that once he starts to learn moderation and becomes more comfortable with himself, the manipulation will die down, because he'll no longer have use for it. I guess we'll see.
(no subject)
Date: 2012-03-19 12:13 pm (UTC)You're right, they don't really acknowledge this side of him, but I really think that has more to do with his current identity crisis than a lack of forethought by the writers. They created this character, they gave him this duality in his nature, so it wouldn't make sense for them to be ignoring it for no reason. Stefan's biggest issue is that, like Damon once said, he cannot live on the edge; he always falls off one side or the other. While he continues to do this, he will never be comfortable with himself, and this will affect how he interacts with people. I think that once he starts to learn moderation and becomes more comfortable with himself, the manipulation will die down, because he'll no longer have use for it. I guess we'll see.