This was not a night of celebration, but more a bonfire of vanities
Everyone had one simple goal on their mind for the night and each backfired in spectacular ways. Stefan was supposed to keep Elena safe, but was unconscious when she was trapped in the car set afire by Vicki. Damon was supposed to distract Rebekah with his charms and sustained a stake in the chest. Katherine was to awaken Mikael so he could kill Klaus, but ended up as Mikael’s dinner. Elena and Rick were to capture and subdue Stefan, but ended up rescuing him instead. Caroline was to help Tyler regain his self-control after they figured out that he had a daddy-complex and hero-worship of Klaus, only to abandon him when he really needed her and left him vulnerable to Rebekah’s temptations. Matt was supposed to keep his sister Vicki in the ghost-realm, and instead unleashed a deadly genie from her ever-after bottle. Bonnie was supposed to undo the spell that raised the undead and gave them corporal form, but only sent back Vicki, leaving countless other ghosts to walk amongst them again and wreak their vengeance on the unsuspecting populace. And Jeremy was supposed to be giving up his ex-girlfriends, not reuniting with one.
It was with pure conceit that each assumed that they had things under control and would not fail spectacularly. But the best-laid plans are rarely with a few glitches, and in this case, the glitches were more of bombshells.
It would be nice to say that “all’s well and end’s well,” but in Mystic Falls, nothing ever ends well. It is always more like “to be continued.” The aftermath of this latest installment is undoubtedly going to play out further next week as we learn whether Katherine survived being a vampire’s dinner, if Damon survives Mason’s wrath, and how angry Bonnie is going to be when she finds out that Jeremy is not only thinking about his ex-girlfriend, he can now feel her too. Oh, and let’s not forget how Caroline is going to react when she finds out that her loving boyfriend is snacking on human flesh behind her back.
Maybe these kids need Klaus around to reunite them in a common goal. Left to their own devices, they sure know how to stir up trouble. But, as always, we cannot wait to see what is next!
Points of Interest
1. What ever compelled Rebekah to want to go to school? She’s been out of commission for nearly 90 years and her way of reconnecting and pursuing her life is to go to school? One day she is hob-nobbing in the Roaring 20’s with her brother, being the toast of the town and then she elects to shed a few years off her age and attend high school. What on Earth is she thinking? That Stefan will notice her and fall in love with her again if she lurks around long enough? Plus, it seems like she’s more into Tyler now. Her own sense of love and loyalty seems a bit askew. Over 1,000 years old and she has learnt nothing about life and love?
2. Why did Klaus just up and vanish leaving everyone and everything he seemed to hold dear behind? Is he that desperate to create his hybrid army that no one else matters? Will sired-love be enough for him when he seems to so desperately crave willing-love and attention?
3. What is it about Elena that continues to make her catnip to vampires? Surely, there is something in her blood that just draws them to her like bookended magnets.
What Worked
As if Elena’s life has not been angst-ridden enough, fate had to be even more cruel. She had her boyfriend taken from her, then stripped of his humanity in front of her and now she has to see him everywhere she goes because he has been compelled to be her bodyguard. It sucks to be the doppelganger and it is even worse to be a girl in love with a vampire who can no longer feel love. To have that which you love most stolen from you forever is beyond cruel. It is torturous. Even Rick knew what it cost Elena to not want to simply give up on everything when he told her, “I think you found a way to get out of bed this morning, and that makes you the strongest person I know. I think that you can do pretty much anything.” It was a nice recognition for what it is taking Elena to face her insane life right now. She has not given up. She is fighting every single day for some semblance of the life she wants. It’s bad enough that Elena is being forced to grieve for the Stefan she knew and loved, but now she has to see the zombie-version of him everywhere she goes. And Stefan, the bodyguard, is pretty revolting. He leaves his “breakfast” at the foot of the stairs, keeps a harem of girls around to feed upon, and just can’t stop from shadowing aka stalking Elena. It’s beyond creepy and is enough to kill Elena’s love if she lets it — and who could blame her? It makes perfect sense that she’d want Stefan locked up and out of sight.
Fortunately, for Elena, she has another Salvatore brother to turn to in this increasingly sticky Stefan-situation. True to his word, Damon was there instantly as soon as Elena called. He will gladly lock up his brother if that is what she really wants, even if he doesn’t think it will help “cure” Stefan. A vampire who has flipped the switch on his emotions cannot be “cured.” Until Klaus releases Stefan from the compulsion, Stefan is doomed to be a vampire without a conscience or soul.
In one of the hottest and nearly jaw-dropping scenes of the night, Damon demonstrated the difference between trying to stake a vampire through the sternum (which is solid bone) versus through the side rib cage by the spine. He was not only slowly getting under Elena’s skin, but ours too. Then as he softly said, “That’s the way to a vampire’s heart,” we all melted. That is definitely one-way to the heart — and Elena sure look ready to hand over hers right then and there. Can you blame her? The icing on the cake was when Damon said, “I’ll do whatever you need me to do, Elena. No one is going to hurt you — especially not my brother.” For better or worse, Damon knows that whether compelled or not, Stefan will protect Elena. Thus, it is up to Elena whether she has the strength to save Stefan from this Klaus-imposed hell.
It was a thing of beauty to watch Elena psych out Stefan and lure him into her and Rick’s trap. The drunker she got and the more she taunted Stefan, the more he seemed to eat it up. He loved seeing her lose control. So as Elena quipped, “You think I’m going to let a blood addict tell me how to drink?” Stefan, the soul-less monster, watched with amusement and curiosity. He was even more intrigued when he saw her trying to conceal her jealousy as Damon half-heartedly tried to distract Rebekah. (Though props have to be given to Rebekah for refusing to fall for such an insincere attempt to manipulate her affections. Rebekah doesn’t mess with men that aren’t really into her. Score one for girl-power on that front.)
The crowning moment was when Elena let herself fall off the bleachers, knowing full well that Stefan would be forced to catch her. It was a touching moment that echoed of their tender past when she softly said, “I knew you’d catch me.” Then Rick shot Stefan in the back. It was perfectly executed. It also served as a nice reminder that Elena really has gotten luring vampires down to an art form. She is like catnip to them, and they find her simply irresistible. She is so young and innocent and hardly looks like a girl who could trap a vampire. Yet she does, time and time again. Nicely played.
Then to finish her dance with Damon as he gently applied balm to her face, when Elena mentioned that it appeared that Rebekah had been hanging all over him, Damon teased that he thought she had been too drunk to notice, forcing her to admit, “I was faking most of it,” and he replied, “So was I.” It was another beautiful swoon-worthy moment.
Alas, puncturing the moment, Rick arrived to take Elena home and as they left, Stefan appeared to inquire, “You could have let me die in that fire tonight. Why didn’t you?” and Elena said, “Because I still have hope.” Curious, Stefan asked, “After everything I’ve done, you still think I can find my humanity again?” and Elena firmly replied, “Yes, I do. I know who you really are — better than anyone, and I’m not giving up.” Stefan then coldly remarked, “Elena, do you have any idea how pathetic that makes you?” To which she retorted, “No, Stefan, it makes me strong.” And in one final act of defiance, staked him. Never under-estimate a heart-broken woman.
Similarly, Katherine learned that if a vampire-hunter is wrapped in chains and left to starve in a sealed tomb, there is probably a good reason for it. For a woman well accustomed to paranoia and being ultra cautious with that which she does not know, she showed extreme disregard for her own well-being by reviving Mikael, freeing him from his bonds and feeding him. It was deliciously spine-chilling when Mikael said, “I don’t feed on living things,” and Katherine exasperatedly asked, “Then what do you eat?” To which he then grabbed her and began to feed upon her. We just knew that in the supernatural-world they live in that there had to be zombies — but who knew that Mikael would turn out to be one of them? He rises from the dead to feed on human flesh. It’s stomach turning. No wonder Klaus ran away so fast.
As if Elena’s sleight of hand tricks and Katherine’s failure to recognize a deadly threat were not enough to make one gasp with shock, learning that Tyler is now fixated on pleasing Klaus and that ghosts have returned not just to haunt, but to enact their revenge, was even more surprising. When Caroline asked, “How do we fix him?” (meaning Tyler), Damon merely replied, “Get a new boyfriend.” If the fact that Tyler rushed to feed on the helpless girl that Rebekah brought him is any indication, Tyler may not be able to fight the compulsion for hero-worship of his sire, Klaus. And given how powerfully Mason tossed Damon across the room, these ghosts have returned with one goal in mind: payback. Makes you wonder how many dead people are coming back to pay their respects? It’s bone-chillingly awesome to think about!
What Didn’t Work
It felt wrong that Bonnie would have just taken off without double-checking that Jeremy’s ghostly visitors were gone for good after she cast Vicki back into whatever hell she arose from. There’s a saying that one protects what one loves. Thus, she should not be running from Jeremy when he perhaps needs her more now than ever before. She needs to protect and fight for what she loves, not just turn her back on the situation. Bonnie is a fighter. It is time for her to fight for her man.
Giving Credit Where Credit Is Due
“Smells Like Teen Spirit” was written by Julie Plec and Caroline Dries and directed by Rob Hardy. ‘The Vampire Diaries’ stars Paul Wesley, Nina Dobrev, Ian Somerhalder, Joseph Morgan, Steven R. McQueen, Candice Accola, Katerina Graham, Michael Trevino, Zach Roerig, Matt Davis, Malese Jow, Kayla Ewell, Claire Holt, Sebastian Roche, Taylor Kinney. ‘The Vampire Diaries’ airs Thursdays at 8 p.m. on the CW.
So excited to watch it in our country!!!