Review of THE VAMPIRE DIARIES – Our Town (2012)

Collateral damage in Stefan and Klaus’ war comes at too high a price

It was a night of funerals and goodbyes.  Hard to believe that the world was a safer place when Stefan was aligned with Klaus. But now that Stefan has made it his goal in life to make Klaus’ life a living-hell, everyone is caught in the cross-fire and it is coming at too high a price.  Stefan steals Klaus’ family; Klaus tries to kill Jeremy.  Stefan kills a hybrid right in front of Klaus; Klaus has Tyler bite Caroline.  Stefan threatens to turn Elena into a vampire — and god knows what Klaus is going to do next.  Whatever it is, it’s not going to be pretty.  Especially now that Klaus has agreed to send his hybrids away, which should include Tyler since he is technically a hybrid too and is bonded to Klaus to do his bidding.  Will that be the next price to pay?  Jeremy has already been forced to leave town to keep him safe; and now Tyler will have to leave too because of the agreement Klaus made to send all the hybrids away.  With the pawns being removed from the chessboard, soon it will just be kings dueling it out on the chessboard.  Surely not everyone must be killed or forced to leave because Klaus and Stefan are willing to play scorched-earth tactics to win.

The night should have been about celebrating about finding Klaus’ weakness and watching him blink.  But, instead, it felt like a night where Klaus was winning because he was always two-steps ahead.  It was not a night to celebrate birthdays, funerals or moving on — it was a night to mourn all that they have lost.  Caroline and Tyler have lost their human lives.  Jeremy has had his mind-wiped for the 2nd time and has been stripped of his free-will.  Stefan has lost most of his humanity and Elena’s love. And Elena lost her last remaining relative as Jeremy moved away, a shell of his former self.  Damon, Alaric and Bonnie are simply unsure of what they have lost at this point as their world is shifting almost faster than they can adjust.  But suffice it to say, they all have lost something significant — whether it be someone in their life that they care about, their humanity, or something else just as intangible, but vital.  Even Matt, who has skated the outskirts of the vampire/hybrid skirmishes has lost so much — all of his friends have had their lives altered irrevocably, and he too cannot remain unchanged as they change.

Loss hung palpably in the air and it left a feeling of mourning behind.

Points of Interest

1.  Klaus finally revealed what was in the mystery coffin when he told Damon, “Well, crazy or not, that kind of love never dies. He’s bluffing.”  The only thing that Klaus would care more about than his family would be the one woman he truly loved — and for some reason, he had her sealed in a coffin with a spell that not even a hundred witches can open.  That kind of love may never die, but what about the anger she may feel once she finds out that Klaus has been carting her around in a coffin for god-knows how long?

2.  Looks like Tyler may have a rival for Caroline’s affections.  Will Tyler’s delicate charm bracelet compare to the dazzling diamond bracelet that Klaus left for Caroline in celebration of her birthday?

3.  Is it really fair to Alaric that the next woman to enter his life is looking like a deranged serial killer?  Here’s to hoping that Dr. Fell had a really good reason for staking her ex-boyfriend Brian and leaving his body for everyone to find.

What Worked

Everyone wants to celebrate how bad-ass Stefan is and how he is a better villain than Klaus. But in this episode, Klaus was still the most bad-ass and most vile villain of them all.  He just knows that to be a villain doesn’t mean making threats and making brash maneuvers — there is an art to war, and Klaus is a master in the art of war.  He only had to whisper his commands to his hybrids and Tyler and his wish was their command.  Whatever Tyler thought about not being compelled to hurt the woman he loved, he still bit Caroline.  Much to his shame and dismay.  Similarly, as much as Caroline may hate and revile Klaus for stripping Tyler of his free-will, she still chose to drink Klaus’ blood in exchange for a chance to live.  Klaus is just better a manipulating people.  He uses their love and affection for each other to get exactly what he wants.  Klaus knows that the most powerful motivator there is, is love.  Stefan left Mystic Falls originally to protect Elena and Damon, two people he loves more than life itself.  Stefan still acts to protect them, even when it makes no sense for him to do so without the same feelings he once had.  Likewise, Elena and Damon will do everything they can to protect Stefan and those they care about — even if Damon’s list is a lot shorter than most.

Fear, anger, revenge are all powerful emotions, but the one that is most consistent and predictable is love.  Klaus knows exactly how powerful and how to best use it to bend peoples’ will as that is his one Achilles heel.  Klaus’ love for his family, the one love of his life, and his love for his new hybrids is what motivates him in everything he does.  He craves love.  So he uses that same exact weapon skillfully and masterfully against our heroes.  There is, after all, no real defense against love.  It can crush you, cripple you, or heal you from untold agonies.  Love is the most powerful emotion of all.  It is also the most destructive.  Knowing this, Klaus is to be feared and admired for his perception and fearlessness in using love as a weapon.

Love drove the Mayor and the Sheriff to protect their children.  Love drove Tyler to try to defy Klaus and kiss Caroline, inadvertently biting her as Klaus instructed.  Love drove Caroline to give Tyler one more chance even though she knew he could not resist Klaus’ bond.  Love drove Elena to send Jeremy away.  Love drove Damon to acquiesce and agree to mind-wipe Jeremy and to risk pushing Elena away by kissing her while she still ached for Stefan.  Love drove Stefan to save Damon’s life instead of killing Klaus. And love drove Bonnie to still try to subtly remind Jeremy that perhaps moving to Denver wasn’t his idea at all.  Humans, hybrids, vampires alike are easy to predict.  They will do anything for love.

But even a master villain has one weakness and Klaus knows the power of love, because he too is a slave to love.  He loves his family, he loves the woman locked in the coffin that he cannot bear to face, and it  now looks like he is allowing love to enter his life again by attempting to woo Caroline.  Is it merely to mess with Tyler’s head as Tyler tried to defy Klaus because of his love for Caroline?  Or is Klaus looking to find love again because he is so lonely?  Klaus knows that a life without love is not worth living at all.  So maybe he is trying to discover love again.  It was very revealing when Klaus not only came to Caroline’s house to offer his blood to cure her, but he also left her a birthday present.  Klaus does not want simply seduce Caroline, he is looking to win her heart.  So when he told her, ” I could let you die, if that’s what you want,” he wasn’t just looking for another hybrid to add to his make-shift family, he was looking for something more.  As he fed her his blood, he softly wished her, “Happy Birthday, Caroline,” and left.  But that black velvet box with a white ribbon is not a mere birthday present, it is the promise of something more.  Is Klaus looking for love?  Or is he merely adding another weapon to his arsenal?  Either way, we are going to be fascinated to find out!

Then on the other end of the spectrum, there was the Elena-Damon love story.  Damon’s act of defiance in kissing her the week before had only left Elena very confused and Damon very happy at her reaction.  For the first time ever, Elena did not react with anger and revulsion; she had enjoyed their kiss and it gave Damon hope — hope that he had a chance and that her heart may be finally letting Stefan go.  If Elena had been fully still in love with Stefan, kissing another man would have not been so heart-stopping for her.  The crack in her heart made Damon’s heart sing and Elena freaked out by the implications.  That kiss had literally taken her breath away — and all the kick-boxing in the world wasn’t going to assuage her conflicted state.  So when Rick asked, “Wanna talk about it?”  Elena merely snapped, “Nothing to talk about.”  To which Rick curiously responded, “So what’s got you all worked up?” and Elena sighed and admitted, “Didn’t really sleep last night.”  Not sleeping, kicking the hell out of the workout bag, all signs of a woman trying to sort out how she feels about a man.  The agony and ecstasy of having too many men to choose from — wouldn’t we all love to be in her shoes?!

And Stefan is not completely out of the picture, as even Damon noted that Stefan does not seem to be acting like someone who doesn’t care.   In fact, Stefan’s actions scream of a man desperately trying to protect the woman he loves and those he cares about.  He is just playing a more dangerous game in order to keep them safe.  Stefan is willing to pay the higher price in order to win — and kill Klaus.  He will give up Elena, the love of his life, if it means keeping her safe.  In order to sell the fact that he is crazy enough to sacrifice Elena’s life, Stefan has to make Elena and Klaus believe that he does not care about her anymore.  Stefan may make threats all he wants, but has he ever actually physically hurt Elena?  He may scare her, break her heart, threaten her, feed his blood to her against her will, and nearly kill her, but he never actually hurts her.  He is creating a brilliant illusion in order to win. But his love for her may come at too high a price as the more he denies his love for her, the farther he pushes her — right into his brother’s waiting arms.  But Stefan is willing to pay that steep price to keep her safe.  Stefan may have told Damon, “Protecting Elena is your problem.  I’m not compelled by Klaus to do that anymore.”  But even Damon doesn’t buy it completely, as he retorted, “Don’t give me that ‘no humanity’ crap!  You can’t just flip your switch.  You’re switch is fried, Stefan, just like your brain.”  It was even more revealing when Stefan told Elena, “He has a weakness, and if he has a weakness I can destroy him.”  When Elena responded with dismay, “After everything, that’s what mattered? Destroying Klaus?” Stefan softly said, “Destroying Klaus is all I have left.”  Even as Elena tried to protest, “You had me!” Stefan sadly replied, “I lost you the minute I left town with him. You just haven’t let yourself admit that yet.”  It wasn’t that Elena stopped caring about Stefan when he left with Klaus, it was that Stefan knew that the second he left with Klaus, the game he would have to play would ultimately cost him the girl.  He would have to let her go in order to win his freedom, win the war and ultimately kill Klaus.  That is what Stefan did for love:  he gave up Elena to keep her safe.  He will be the better villain — a mask he will wear as long as it takes to win.

On another note, it was great to see Bonnie stand up to Elena and call her on mind-wiping Jeremy.  When Bonnie said, “You can’t control what everyone does all the time. . .  it’s really wrong that you compelled Jeremy to leave town. . . He should be able to choose how he wants to live it.  You’re taking his choices away,” is was a cheer-worthy moment.  If Elena is going to condemn Klaus for forcing Stefan to give up his free-will and stripping Tyler of his free-will through the hybrid bond, then she needs to face the fact that she is doing the same exact thing to Jeremy.  Elena needs to face her own actions and how she is behaving in the same manner she finds reprehensible.  It is time to look in the mirror and decide if she is the person she really wants to be.  Elena kind of did as she stood on the bridge saying goodbye to the person she used to be.  When she told Matt, “I was just thinking about what you said — about us being stuck. . . I feel like I’ve been holding onto the girl that was supposed to die here with her parents, the girl who was supposed to have a normal life, and didn’t fall in love with vampires,” is was Elena’s attempt to look at herself in the mirror.  She just needs to look harder.  But the fact that she is acknowledging that she is not just a teenage girl like she used to see herself as is progress.  And bless Matt for telling her, “You’re not that girl anymore.  It’s okay if you want to let her go. . .  My two cents as a guy who knew that other girl, you’re doing a lot better than you think.”

Finally, Damon should get recognition for having a bit more self-control in this episode as he stood before Elena, caressing her chin and yet not kissing her.  Knowing that he really wanted to, Elena softly said, “You can’t kiss me again,” and he sighed and admitted, “I know.”  While Elena half-heartedly protested, “I can’t. It’s not right,” Damon said the perfect thing, “It’s right — just not right now.” That is it exactly.  Elena in her heart still loves Stefan and she hasn’t figured out how to let go, or if she wants to let go of that love yet.  Until she decides, it is wrong for Damon to try to make her decision for her.  By acknowledging that he needed to give her time to figure it out, it was perhaps in that moment that he won her heart.  The Damon she has known always takes what he wants.  The fact that he is waiting for her to offer her heart, that is unusual.  It is also what will perhaps win her love.  Elena was confused as Damon simply said, “Goodnight.”  But, as Damon noted, he can still be Mr. Right, just not right now.  What a promise for the future!

What Didn’t Work

Surely Sheriff Forbes knew better than to ever invite Klaus into her home.  If she wanted Klaus to save Caroline, she could have had Matt carry Caroline down to the front porch rather than give Klaus a blanket permission to come and go in her house as he now sees fit.

Also, how could Elena really go through with letting Jeremy leave after Bonnie reminded her that she had essentially stripped Jeremy of his free-will, the very thing that broke Elena’s heart when Klaus stole Stefan’s free-will.  Surely, that moment would have been so seared into Elena’s memory that she would have never agreed to strip anyone, let alone her own brother, of their free-will again.

Giving Credit Where Credit Is Due

“Our Town” written by Rebecca Sonneshine and directed by Wendy Stanzler. ‘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, Claire Holt, Sebastian Roche. ‘The Vampire Diaries’ airs Thursdays at 8 p.m. on the CW.

Related:

“Michael Trevino’s Inside Scoop on Tyler’s Dilemma in THE VAMPIRE DIARIES (video interview)”