It Was an Animal Attack

Fadzai and Sandile make magic and mayhem with the wonderful witch of the southeast, Bonnie Bennett. One of the main characters of The Vampire Diaries, Bonnie is the best friend of lead character, Elena Gilbert, and a budding witch with ties leading back to Salem and the founding of Mystic Falls. As she discovers more about her powers, and the existence of vampires and the greater supernatural lurk...

Spin-off! Your hosts talk the Harry Potter TV reboot money-grab, the cursed 2025 version of War of the Worlds, and the longest, gayest chat anyone's ever had about 13 Reasons Why. Also: The Umbrella Academy's Allison Hargreeves, the Winx reboot, and the least cursed lore from The Mortal Instruments books. Content Warning: This episode contains discussion of attempted suicide, gratuitous vi...

Sandile and Fadzai cobble together a hero's journey for the final human, Matt Donovan. One of the main characters of The Vampire Diaries, Matt is the best friend and ex-boyfriend of lead character, Elena Gilbert, and often paired with Tyler Lockwood or Jeremy Gilbert in the context of the Mystic Falls gang. Being the one who spends the longest unaware of the supernatural, his primary focus is...

Sandile and Fadzai keep it chill and regular with emotional support human, Matt Donovan. One of the main characters of The Vampire Diaries, Matt is the best friend and ex-boyfriend of lead character, Elena Gilbert, and often paired with Tyler Lockwood or Jeremy Gilbert in the context of the Mystic Falls gang. Being the one who spends the longest unaware of the supernatural, his primary focus is ty...

In this S1 special of It Was an Animal Attack, Sandile and Fadzai (from 2023) discuss John Gilbert, recurring character from the first two seasons of The Vampire Diaries, as a test episode for the podcast! Content Warning: This episode contains discussion of familial abandonment, gratuitous violence, murder, racism, and religious fanaticism. Questions, queries, or just to say hi! E-mail: animalatt...

In this S1 special of It Was an Animal Attack, Fadzai and Sandile discuss and review S4E20 of The Vampire Diaries - the backdoor pilot to its spin-off series, The Originals! Discussion proper begins at (00:09:20). Content Warning: This episode contains discussion of child abuse, oppression, racism, and slavery. Questions, queries, or just to say hi! E-mail: animalattackpod@gmail.com Refs and Links...

Spin-off! Your hosts talk mutant telepaths and the "Omega level", various Disney love songs, and Stranger Things writing choices. Also: The plight of Sarah Connor, the genius of Graham Norton, the many roles of Jamie Campbell Bower, and that anti-abortion comic from months ago. Content Warning: This episode contains discussion of abortion and anti-abortion sentiment, incest, insects, menta...

In the fifth instalment of Killer Bites, Sandile and Fadzai commit to the bit with the Gemini twins, Lucas and Olivia Parker. Sliding in during the back half of The Vampire Diaries' fifth season, Luke and Liv are witches who infiltrate Mystic Falls with the intent on stopping the Travelers, and briefly become central in the sixth season when the Gemini coven comes into focus. Content Warning:...

In the fourth instalment of Killer Bites, Fadzai and Sandile make mayhem with the wicked lesbian Heretics, Nora Hildegard and Mary Louise. Introduced at the beginning of The Vampire Diaries' seventh season, the pair are two of the six vampire/witch hybrids that form part of Lily Salvatore's found family, and serve as antagonists for the Mystic Falls Gang. Content Warning: This episode cont...

Spin-off! We talk Sinners (2025), and discuss vampire & the desire for community, Africa, the diaspora, spirituality, music as cultural storytelling, and forbidding the white boy from catching a vibe. Also: Black religious trauma, race in South Africa, and a lament for The Vampire Diaries' Bonnie Bennett. Content Warning: This episode contains discussion of anti-indigenous sentiment, colon...

Spin-off! We talk Nosferatu (2024), and discuss comparisons with Nosferatu (1922) and Dracula, gothic horror, repression, and taboo, vampire variety through the eras, and mental illness and the supernatural. Also: As many tangents as you'd expect, incl misunderstanding Lily-Rose Depp's name. Content Warning: This episode contains discussion of antiziganism, mental illness and related stigm...

Doomed by the narrative! Fadzai and Sandile make the ultimate sacrifice with hero and martyr, Stefan Salvatore. One of the lead characters of The Vampire Diaries, Stefan returns to Mystic Falls at the beginning of the first season and encounters Elena Gilbert, with whom he begins a passionate romance despite his secret vampire nature. As they fall for each other, though - and the town is plagued b...

It's the climb! Fadzai and Sandile push through a grueling ascent with boy who deserves a break, Stefan Salvatore. One of the lead characters of The Vampire Diaries, Stefan returns to Mystic Falls at the beginning of the first season and encounters Elena Gilbert, with whom he begins a passionate romance despite his secret vampire nature. As they fall for each other, though - and the town is pl...

High highs and low lows! Fadzai and Sandile claw through the dark era of The Vampire Diaries' fallen angel, Stefan Salvatore. One of the lead characters of The Vampire Diaries, Stefan returns to Mystic Falls at the beginning of the first season and encounters Elena Gilbert, with whom he begins a passionate romance despite his secret vampire nature. As they fall for each other, though - and the...

Fadzai and Sandile put on their shining armour with the knight of The Vampire Diaries, Stefan Salvatore. One of the lead characters of The Vampire Diaries, Stefan returns to Mystic Falls at the beginning of the first season and encounters Elena Gilbert, with whom he begins a passionate romance despite his secret vampire nature. As they fall for each other, though - and the town is plagued by the a...

Spin-off! Your hosts talk about the struggles of CW's Arrow in its later seasons, the very many supernatural love triangles of the 2000s and 2010s, and how TV/movie writers just cannot capture how young people text. Also: the origins of Buffy's Angel, and a tangent about English linguistics. Content Warning: This episode contains discussion of ephebophilia (and pedophilia), and toxic relat...

Sandile and Fadzai are blasting in from the past with the first of the Heretics, Valerie Tulle. Introduced as one of the antagonists in the seventh season of The Vampire Diaries (though first appearing towards the end of the sixth), Valerie was a witch from the Gemini coven in the mid-1800s - a siphon, born without magic of her own, only able to take it from other sources. She and five other sipho...

Out the back door! Fadzai and Sandile close out with final appearances of The Mikaelson siblings, aka The Originals. Introduced over seasons 2 and 3 of The Vampire Diaries, the Originals are the children of Esther (a witch from 10th-century Norway) and Mikael (her Viking husband), who brought them to far-back America in hopes of a better life. After their youngest sibling dies in an accidental wer...

Spin-off! Your hosts talk boy bands of the '90s and 2010s, the storied career of Sebastian Stan, and Franchesca Ramsey's musical takedown of bigots. Also: comics Captain America's gay best friend, music genre revival, and a looot of Game of Thrones. Content Warning: This episode contains discussion of homophobia and queer erasure, Nazism and supremacist ideals, pedophilia (and epheboph...

All in the family! Fadzai and Sandile peer into the reunion of The Mikaelson siblings, aka The Originals. Introduced over seasons 2 and 3 of The Vampire Diaries, the Originals are the children of Esther (a witch from 10th-century Norway) and Mikael (her Viking husband), who brought them to far-back America in hopes of a better life. After their youngest sibling dies in an accidental werewolf attac...

Fadzai and Sandile embrace immortal family dysfunction with The Mikaelson siblings, aka The Originals. Introduced over seasons 2 and 3 of The Vampire Diaries, the Originals are the children of Esther (a witch from 10th-century Norway) and Mikael (her Viking husband), who brought them to far-back America in hopes of a better life. After their youngest sibling dies in an accidental werewolf attack,...

Spin-off! Your hosts talk The Substance, Hollywood ageism and body standards, selling Superman and Clark Kent, and Doctor Who and its treatment of Martha Jones. Also: Korrasami discourse, South African villains on The Flash, the casting of Scream 7, and She-Hulk's most iconic episodes. Content Warning: This episode contains discussion of ageism, body image, homophobia, racism, and violence aga...

Hold on tight! Sandile and Fadzai careen into a distant and different future with Caroline Forbes. A main character of The Vampire Diaries, Caroline is introduced as one of Elena Gilbert's best friends, though slightly removed from her as compared to Bonnie Bennett. Her time in the show's first season largely deals with her insecurity around Elena, and with others' opinions of her, as...

Loved and lost! Sandile and Fadzai experience the years of significant change with Caroline Forbes. A main character of The Vampire Diaries, Caroline is introduced as one of Elena Gilbert's best friends, though slightly removed from her as compared to Bonnie Bennett. Her time in the show's first season largely deals with her insecurity around Elena, and with others' opinions of her, as...

Spin-off! Having resisted for some time, Sandile has recently watched "13 Going on 30", so your hosts chat coming-of-age, early 00's romcoms, the typecasting of Judy Greer, and the loss of fun in movies (Fadzai also dishes on some actor drama from the early days of Grey's Anatomy). Additionally - Glee conflicts, reality television, and various Spider-Man fails. Content Warning: Thi...