32 replies to this topic

[TWoP Barnes]

...Right in the middle of her forehead.
When she was good, she was very, very good.
When she was bad, she was horrid.

This is Pearl's oyster, gang. Talk her up, here.

[Sakura12]

Pearl is a bad ass. She's also very unpredictable. She's pokes people's eyeballs, stabs them with spoons and is a loving and attentive mother to her centuries old teenage daughter. She's actually a better mother than the human ones.

I just have to say Jeremy better watch out, crossing Pearl is dangerous hurting her daughter is probably far worse.

[Scrapper]

I agree. I think it's great that she seems to be such a good mom. I would complain about the slap but, they are vamps and Anna brushed it off pretty easily.

Heaven help the town if Anna winds up dead when everything comes out in the open.

[Schumiac]

THIS is my take on why Pearl seemed determined to take vengence on the town the prior episode where she gauged Damon's eyes out for refusing to help her with her plans and now claims she is not & being so amicable with Damon:

I think when she got out of the tomb, part of her "initially" was thinking of revenge on the whole town as "starving" is a real torture and probably one of the worst fates for a vampire as it is practically "eternal" suffering, and she also had her heart broken as she was "betrayed" by the man she loved/believed loved her. And I am sure part of her may also blaming Katherine and her Salvatore brother infatuation for what happened -she may think it was them who ratted some of the vamps out (she expressed such a concern before) and their father being one of the leading members of vampire massacre doesn't help.

So, when Pearl came to see Damon right after getting out of tomb, she may still have too much anger towards the town and the Salvatores in her. And here was this insolent young vamp who had attacked her not only when she was her weakest after getting out of the tomb, but also now just for showing up in his house, and he was giving her attitude, and calling her "Crazy", "woman" and all and this is the same boy who was one of the Salvatore brothers that played an important role in the events that led to her and others being stuck in a tomb, so she probably couldn't help herself from gauging his pretty eyes to serve as revenge & also showing him who's the boss around here.

But, getting used to the town in present day, and also learning from Damon there is not much "threat" to vampires (for he did share info with her) she probably realized this is certainly a very different "era" than the one bitefest happened. The council is inept and consists of few people who do not have their facts straight and the general population has absolutely no idea of vampires. The town, as it is, is no "threat" to them but is rather much easier to claim as "theirs" then before. So, she may have realized how fruitless a vengance bloodshed would be and having 'calmed down' and assessed the situation better, changed her initial plans. I think now she only thinks about making "sure" the town never becomes a threat, which requires getting rid of the (or taking control of) the council.

I think she has also realized how certain families "benefited" specifically from the vampire massacre & witch hunt, and has her eyes set upon THOSE as the real ones to blame for everything, and will be going after them and their "property" to right the wrong they committed against her kind.

YES, she rocks. And even if she "fails" in her plans, I hope she survives. she and Anna may end up moving to another place, but I'd be still satisfied knowing somewhere in the VD world the greatness that is Pearl and her daughter continue their existence, peacefully, happily...

Edited by Schumiac, Apr 9, 2010 @ 12:51 AM.

[tip and fall]

So, when Pearl came to see Damon right after getting out of tomb, she may still have too much anger towards the town and the Salvatores in her.

What? I don't think that Pearl came to see Damon right after she got out of the tomb. It looked like she had been acclimating for a while.

[Turkish]

Actually, it was Damon who went to see Pearl and Anna right after Pearl got out the tomb. That's when he found out Katherine had never been in the tomb to begin with. The next time we see Pearl, it seems she has spent quite some time getting up to speed. In fact, I think Elena had mentioned that Bonnie had been away for 3 weeks mourning her grandma in the following episode so it had been at least that long.

[Schumiac]

lol... I didn't mean it like the moment she got out of the tomb she went to visit Damon. meant, she had only recently gotten out of the tomb when she paid that visit to Damon, not really had the moment to familirize herself with the tomb and the year etc. Like the moment she was ready to "leave" the house and get her 'plans' in motion, that was the first place she went to (I believe even the apotechary buying later, though can't be sure 100%)... Probably used the wrong expression...

Edited by Schumiac, Apr 9, 2010 @ 1:01 PM.

[tip and fall]

I didn't mean it like the moment she got out of the tomb she went to visit Damon. meant, she had only recently gotten out of the tomb when she paid that visit to Damon, not really had the moment to familirize herself with the tomb and the year etc. Like the moment she was ready to "leave" the house and get her 'plans' in motion, that was the first place she went to (I believe even the apotechary buying later, though can't be sure 100%)...

Oh, I know what you meant, but I still disagree. Like I said, it sounds like she had been acclimating to life in the 21st century for a while at that point. Not to mention, when she was telling the other vamps that they shouldn't be vengeful, I don't think that much time had passed between that and her initial visit to Damon's place. (Obviously I'm not 100% on the timeline, though.) So I don't buy the idea that she was hell-bent on vengeance when she went to see Damon, only to have had time to cool down when she was talking about her plans with the other vamps from the tomb.

The way I see it, Pearl might want to know who's on the Council just so that she can keep tabs on them, to make sure they don't suspect anything. And I wonder if her belligerent, aggressive attitude towards Damon was because... well, it was Damon. Pearl might not be about vengeance, but after their very first altercation in the hotel room, perhaps she wanted to make it clear to Damon that she wasn't playing around.

ETA: I read on Kelly's twitter that she shot a pilot in March. This makes me sad because it might mean that she's not long for TVD. Ack. I hope that if she has to leave, the writers won't kill her off as they seem wont to do with guest stars. Pearl is way too awesome to die.

Edited by tip and fall, Apr 9, 2010 @ 1:41 PM.

[Bitterswete]

I was never sold on the idea that Pearl was just waiting to send the other vamps out on a bloody killing spree, or was getting ready to slaughter the entire Council. And the fact that she went to Damon to talk (instead of killing him on the spot) nixed the idea that she had sworn bloody vengeance on the Salvatore brothers.

I'm not sure what she means by "taking back their town," but it could just mean taking back the life that was stolen from them back in the day. (Their land, their homes, their businesses.) And doing so in legitimate ways. It would probably be more sensible for her to go elsewhere and start over. But I can imagine that, while stuck in the tomb starving and half crazy, the idea of "getting back what was hers," exactly, became a bit of an obsession for her.

As for gouging out Damon's eyes, he's a vampire. She knew he'd heal, and heal fast. It was really painful and gruesome, and enough for him to get the message not to screw with her, but it wouldn't do any permanent damage. Plus he did attack her twice. And Damon tends to rub everyone the wrong way.

Edited by Bitterswete, Apr 9, 2010 @ 1:32 PM.

[Schumiac]

it sounds like she had been acclimating to life in the 21st century for a while at that point.

My impression was that, although she got lessons on 21st century technology and clothes and trends and propably some other "popular culture" knowledge, she hasn't yet gotten out of the house and familirized herself with the town. though I may be wrong.

In any case, even though I think she may have been thinking of vengance on the town, I don't think she had the kind of bloodlust that Frederick would have in mind (nor did I think she wanted to torture & kill Salvatores, but I think it felt good to kick Damon's ass & hurt him a bit when she had a reason to, lol). I always figured her real beef would be with the council and the descendants of thsoe who were part of the vampire massacre. Though, now I don't think she even thinks of "killing" anyone but just manipulating to take what is theirs and if they need to kill someone to do this, she will, but out of necessity for the master plan, not because she gets some kick out of killing anyone... but I SOOO wish she'd kill the Mayor. He has to be the one being in this town that just really gets on my nerves and I find to be despicable by all means.

[gazebogrl]

I think Pearl is one cool vampire lady! She has a real practical bent to her that I find intriguing. When she went to visit Damon last week and she demanded to find out which of the townspeople had vervain, I thought she was going to go out and kill off all the descendents of the townspeople that got her locked up in the tomb. Damon was being an asshole to her so she threatened him real good by poking out his eyes! That was shocking and impressive! But now, it seems that Pearl wants to "take back the town", not by killing off the town council, but by buying up real estate in the town! Wow, talk about thinking practical! Pearl wants to have her life back, she wants to own a business, she wants respect again. You know she's going to work on the town's asshole mayor and she might very well get what she wants after all!

I wonder how long Pearl will be around. I think she's a good, strong character and makes an excellent villainess.

And Kelly Hu is absolutely lovely to look at. I'm glad she's on my TV again!

[skizzo]

I am loving Pearl too, I really hope they don't kill her off by the finale. I do think she's just trying to integrate herself within the community and take back what was hers to begin with. But this time, probably taking the necessary precautions to make sure no one ends up finding out about her and Anna.

[AuntieLizard]

Bumping because people want to start new topics about this existing thread.

Also, love that Pearl is becoming an integrated part of the vampire canvass. I love oldie vamps who are more badass than the badasses we love.

Oh, and:

As for gouging out Damon's eyes, he's a vampire. She knew he'd heal, and heal fast. It was really painful and gruesome, and enough for him to get the message not to screw with her, but it wouldn't do any permanent damage. Plus he did attack her twice. And Damon tends to rub everyone the wrong way.

Pearl did what dozens of other people AND vampires have probably been wanting to do for decades and decades. Cuz, you know, he totally bugs sometimes.

Edited by AuntieLizard, Apr 26, 2010 @ 5:27 PM.

[Love]

I may have missed it, but have they mentioned what Pearl's and Anna's last name is? I figure they share the same name since they are mother/daughter. I don't know if it's a relevant thing or not, I'm just curious.

Edited by Love, Apr 26, 2010 @ 9:26 PM.

[hardcoreWWnut]

Nope, no last names yet.

Also, I don't remember if anyone's mentioned it but over the weekend I watched Children of the Damned again and Anna was wearing her ring. I still believe they are mother and daughter.

[skizzo]

RIP Pearl! :( She was so awesome, the show really needs to keep cutting off the wrong characters. Uncle Ass can leave now please.

She had so much potential, all completely wasted. I was hoping for a Pearl & Katherine reunion in Season 2, but I guess that'll never happen now. :(

Edited by skizzo, Apr 30, 2010 @ 11:41 PM.

[Schumiac]

I really think they made a mistake with her death. Even if the problem is Kelly Hu not being available in near future, why waste the character by killing her when they could simply have her leave... I don't think it adds anything specific to Uncle J's character. It certainly doesn't make him look like a bad-ass or some formidable enemy as what he did was cowardly, nothing more. And it certainly doesn't change much regarding my attitude towards the guy as I already hate him with a passion as I think did many -even before he killed Pearl (just the bar scene between him and Pearl is enough to make him look despicable, anyway). I think the idea is for Anna to go all revenge-crazy but if that is going to be a storyline that will be solved in an episode or two as Anna also meets her end, then I say that was a serious waste of 2 great characters and some good storylines.

I wanted to see a Katherine/Pearl reunion, too. What's more, I wanted to see Pearl try to take the town back and reval more 'background facts' on the political & economical reasons for the Bitefest, for they are obviously there and we will never get them from Salvatore brothers who are all about their personal dramas -Katherine, sibling rivalry, father issues & self-loathing etc.. They both do come off as little spoiled brats who thought the world revolved around themselves and their silly little dramas, I have to say... There was a whole other aspect to vampire vs. humans, it seems and with Pearl gone it doesn't seem likely we will ever get to the bottom of this thing. There is only SOME hope that Anna also knows everything -due to Pearl telling her- and will carry Pearl's torch, but I doubt that. And there is even less possibility that either Salvatore brother will care that much about Pearl's 'death' and will take an older brother/ally stand regarding Anna and will make her cause theirs, so...

[AuntieLizard]

I wonder if the offing of Pearl was to really cement Anna's place in Mystic Falls. As long as Pearl was around, and their time together having been so short, there was no way that Anna would stick around and become a more integral part of the story for as long as Pearl wanted to leave. And with Pearl continuing to stay in town, maybe it was just one too many vampire for the writers to deal with long-term without it becoming ludicrous that anybody shouldn't know about the vampires. My initial reaction to Pearl's death was "Oh, come ON" - but in hindsight, perhaps it was needed. The show has yet to reveal a Big Bad, and Pearl being a "psych!" coincided nicely with Uncle Snark's arrival. (Not saying that Johnathan is a Big Bad... he's as Little Bad as a character can get.) I guess I'm saying that Pearl was a part of the lineup of potential Big Bads that the writers reveal to us and her role has ended to make room for the others to come. Because if Anna were to ever really come into her own, I think it would have to happen without Pearl mothering her for all of eternity.

[Lizardbeth J]

I agree with the point about Anna, and would add: as much as I love her, Pearl was almost TOO powerful. As an adversary that works, because then the heroes have to work together to take her down. But having Pearl's badassery on call for the good guys makes someone like Isobel just laughable, because Pearl could rip her apart.

I suspect also killing her was supposed to lift Sucky John's level of threat, on the theory that if he can take Pearl so easily, he could kill Damon and Stefan just as easily. But if that was the intention I don't think it worked so well since John could only do it by getting lucky.

Edited by Lizardbeth J, May 2, 2010 @ 7:03 PM.

[Hamnoo]

Count me among those who were really disappointed and angered by Pearl's death.
It was unrealistic. It was unnecessary. And it was annoying that Pearl was introduced as this kick-ass character that could handle the evil Pixie monster like *that* and who had this really interesting connection to her daughter and then she is killed.

Saying she is too powerful ... that's something the show is getting really used to. New characters are introduced as the new big bads and then either killed or their powers are toned down severely. Uncle Snark. LEXIE. Grams. (Though I accept that since the reasons for her death were convincing enough for me, she achieved a lot even in death, and Bonnie losing her mentor and then turning badass .. well, she was there first, Anna. Still, just counting.) The council was first shown to us as the next big thing, and then turned out to be pretty incompetent. And Jenna: in the beginning she still cared and tried being a mother, and now she's just hanging out and lusting after Damon and Alaric. None of these examples are annoying per se, it's simply the accumulation of them.

I'd just like to have one powerful individual (preferably female) whom the audience actually cares about and who's not part of the holy trio to hang around and not be killed and not be defanged. This is bad writing.

At first I thought the reason for why Uncle John got the better of Pearl was this new device, maybe something that made him undetectable to vampires. But then we saw Damon still being in possession of it in the next scene.

[Trooper6]

Pearl? Noooo! *drops to his knees in the rain, shaking fists up to the sky/camera on a crane*

I loved her. And also Helly Hu. I will miss her dearly. Also, I've really been loving Anna and Germ...so I hope this doesn't mark the end of Anna, too. Basically...we've really had a dearth of female vamps...and I was really looking forward to having some around longer term.

Pearl, I'll miss your awesomitude and badassery.

*sniffle*

[Veronica24]

Aww, I can understand why they did it, but I'm still gonna miss Pearl and her awesomeness. I sorta wish they'd kept her around longer and would love some flashbacky Pearl goodness in future seasons.

Great performance by Kelly Hu.

[badlydone]

would love some flashbacky Pearl goodness in future seasons.

God yes please!

I know she had to die, they just can't have another vampire male or female that strong living in Mystic Falls. Damon and Stefan become kind of obsolete. But her awesomeness knew no bounds and I loved the idea of the vampire becoming a maternal figure to all these parentless children.

[JayJ]

But her awesomeness knew no bounds and I loved the idea of the vampire becoming a maternal figure to all these parentless children.

This could have been awesome. She really was the only maternal figure in Mystic Falls and I always imagined her scolding Damon and Stefan. If they do keep Anna around maybe there is hope for some flashbacks.

[LolaRuns]

Still, why not just have her leave town with a potenital to reappear later? That would have taken care of both the "no vamp more powerful than Stefan and Damon in town" angle and of the "Kelly Hu might not be available for long due to other committments" angle. And it would have been a lot less lame than Uncle J getting to kill her in such a dumb manner.

[tip and fall]

That would have taken care of both the "no vamp more powerful than Stefan and Damon in town" angle and of the "Kelly Hu might not be available for long due to other committments" angle. And it would have been a lot less lame than Uncle J getting to kill her in such a dumb manner.

Not to mention, this could have had the potential for Anna asserting her independence from her mother, instead of having Pearl just be ripped away from her.

[skizzo]

I actually think its possible for more flashbacks, certainly there will be a Katherine flashback sometime next season, and maybe Pearl may be caught up in it?

[badlydone]

Not to mention, this could have had the potential for Anna asserting her independence from her mother, instead of having Pearl just be ripped away from her.

I got the impression that Anna would never leave Pearl, especially so soon after reuniting with her. I keep hoping that her death is a catalyst for something. That maybe Pearl's demise is supposed make Anna react in a a way that is only possible if Pearl has been murdered.

It is a testament to Kelly Hu how she took a character that could have been such a throw away walk on plot device and made her into someone so dynamic and such an integral part of the TVD universe. Even after so few episodes fans are completely invested in her fate. Which is more than can be said for some...cast sideways glance at Aunt Jenna. In the hands of another actress maybe I would not have cared so much about Pearl.

[AndySmith]

I still miss Pearl. Lot of great potential there, and Kelly Hu was great in the role. Though, with Katherine's return, not sure how they could have played things out. Either Pearl would be against Katherine, and since she is the only one who may be strong enough to take her on, it makes things too easy for Stefan/Damon/Elena & the rest by removing so much tension. The other option would have been for her to join Katherine, which would have made things too hard for our heroes...taking on Katherine AND Pearl? Good luck. As others have mentioned, I wish she had been written off instead of killed...this show kills off too many great female characters with potential lol

[Slingblade]

Wow, this was the oldest thread in this forum. I had to dig to find it.

I've been thinking lately about how much I wish Pearl had gotten the chance to interact with Elijah. They are so much alike: elegant, classy and calm centuries-old vamps, prefer to settle things civilly rather than fight - but perfectly willing (and able) to unleash some gory violence on anyone stupid enough to display insolence towards them. Pearl definitely brought the same regal quality to the table that Elijah does. I miss her; like quite a few characters (mostly female, don't you know), she was killed off way too quickly. More for the cheap shock value, I suspect, than because her story had run its course.

In addition to how much I liked her demeanor (and badassery), I liked that she was a grey character, like Anna. Her goal was merely to live peacefully in MF, so she wasn't targeting any of the NSDR - but if it came down to it, she would have had no qualms about turning against them. She and Anna were definitely quite ruthless, even if their ultimate agendas weren't evil. Their continued presence would have allowed the show to keep things complex and play with shifting allegiances, rather than just have the NSDR battling the villain every time. *sigh* Oh, opportunities lost.

On the bright side, Kelly Hu is going to appear on the new show Arrow (also on the CW) as a villainous assassin from the Green Arrow comics. Not sure if it's a one-shot or a recurring role, but based on the casting call, which seems to refer to the character she's been cast as, it looks like she'll be in episode 2.