5.08 - 'Dead Man on Campus' (The Vampire Diaries)
A day or so behind, sorry, I watched Catching Fire last night (loved it!) so I didn't get home until pretty late, but better late than never! :)
I know I'm probably the only person who weirdly ships human!Katherine/Matt, but I do and this episode finally gave me a little something to sink my teeth into! "Matty Blue-Blue" just slayed me and the little banter back and forth, and was it me or did Zach Roerig look really good in this episode? Katherine's "you realize that every single time you say no it just makes you hotter, right?" brought back fond memories of her waxing poetic over his eyes in the past. Yup, Katherine's always had a thing for Matt. *sigh* So, yeah, that inexplicable shipping I have for them is still going full-force... but then there is my original Stefan pairing. Stefan and Katherine. Katherine and Stefan. Mmmhmmm.
Yup, looks like I very well may have called it. Katherine could be the Amara to Stefan's Silas. When Katherine flat-out told him that the universe had put all its eggs in the Elena basket I almost laughed out loud, because hello, could there be a more obvious misdirect? I don't think so. And they sure were laying a lot of Stefan/Katherine eggs in this episode. Katherine being the first (and only) one able to get through to Stefan and able to calm his raging Silas-induced crazy right now. Stefan being there to save Katherine and she could become his new mission, a way to forget his own issues and focus on someone else to save rather than himself. That may happen, but I wonder... considering how he walked away from her and considering how he does actually know Katherine now and not just as this idealized image he created of her, if he'll find himself working with her to maybe solve their problems together? That would be pretty cool. And could be key to helping the both of them. That could draw Caroline in because I could see her believing she has to save Stefan from the evil Katherine. With Elijah gone (and based on how things are playing out on The Originals as if Elijah and Katherine never happened ), it's as if it's back to Katherine being all about Stefan. I certainly got that callback to "Memory Lane" in the final moments of the final Katherine/Stefan scene.
The first gif is from "Memory Lane," right after Katherine had remembered in 1864 promising a just-killed Stefan (with her vampire blood running through his veins) that they would be together again and that she loved him. Parallels, parallels, parallels. Gotta love 'em. But, yeah, definite, definitely Stefan/Katherine vibesies in this episode. Boo-yah!
What did surprise me is how they are doing this anchor stuff with Bonnie. I kinda thought it would all be heartache/heartbreak, gloom and doom. I was not expecting the bit of positivity and the bright side that we did see here as well. Us seeing that Bonnie would also provide a comfort to those on the other side and that she would be not just an anchor, but a touchstone in a way was lovely That second meeting with the old lady almost made it worth it, you could tell from Bonnie's point of view. And what she said to Jeremy, that her being able to be there with Jeremy, and of course, earlier with Elena and Caroline. She is there, if not technically alive (but then, hey, other than Matt and Jeremy, who is?). She can see them, hug them, kiss them... finally have a sex scene!! (boom chica bow wow!) And get a cute, sassy do on top of that! Obviously, things can't last, and I can't see her being an anchor beyond this season because that kind of pain (especially going off like that randomly whenever) just ain't gonna work, so we'll see where we go from here. I am glad that Jeremy knows though. I wonder how long before he tells Damon. Oh, wait, Damon has been kidnapped by the evil, mad scientist that Elena wouldn't let Damon kill because she feels sorry for random guy she just met.
Yeah, that one's gonna come back and bite her in the ass, uh huh!
Oh my goodness! Wow. Damon's face, Damon's voice when he said "Because I was 21051." I mean, wow! That was unexpected. But a story that clearly they have been planning on telling since last season. In episode 17, Lexi asked Damon, "So, why'd you flip it? What traumatic event was too much for Damon Salvatore to handle?" And he told her, "Leave It To Beaver. The 50's bored me." Hahaha, Damon. It was the 50's alright. 1953 to be exact. Oh man, when Damon traced the D in his initials, I don't know if that was scripted or the director or Ian Somerhalder, but it just gutted me. Right along with his face as he realized where he was. That shot along with the earlier one when he said his number, just, ugh, paired with those quick, sterile flashbacks... this is gonna be a doozy.
Something tells me (OK, the quick, sterile flashbacks were big clues) the experiments that Jesse underwent were nothing compared to what Damon went through and if he kept his switch flipped for twenty-four flippin' years (1953 to 1977 when Lexi showed up in New York) they must have done quite a number on him. The question is what will happen now? Obviously it won't be as bad because they won't keep him as long because the gang *will* rescue him, but considering it's the second time around, it's going to affect him. But this will also likely bring up questions about Elena and her father to the surface as well. And now we will have two suffering Salvatores dealing with post-traumatic stress disorder. Will Damon and Stefan rely on each other? Will Damon allow Elena to help him? Will Stefan turn to Katherine? Or will he once again sublimate his own issues in his white knight complex and turn all of his energy into his mission to help Katherine? And if he does so will he once more be drawn into her web? If that happens, will that draw Elena back into his circle hoping to protect him or will she be too focused on Damon (as she should be), thus leaving the door open for Caroline to "save" him from Katherine? Lots of questions.
And here's some speculation that I don't think will bear fruit personally. I was reading elsewhere others thinking that Damon killed Aaron's parents and caused the accident on Wickery Bridge because he went after Grayson Gilbert because of the Augustine Secret Society at Whitmore College. At first I thought that was certainly possible, but now I'm thinking that it doesn't track because Damon clearly believed that that the whole Augustine experiments ended 60 years ago and Aaron's parents were killed 12-13 years ago, and Elena's parents died two to three years ago. Therefore, Damon wouldn't have had any idea that any of them were involved in the Augustine Society so I don't see how that would be tied together. Also, Julie Plec did say very, very definitively that there was no supernatural involvement in Elena's parents' death. True, she could have been lying because Plec is a lying liar who lies, but she was very, very, very definitive about it. Still, more to the point, again, Damon sounded very sure that the experiments had ended 60 years ago, so why would he be tracking down people whose parents possibly wouldn't have been born 60 years ago?
I dunno, maybe it was programmed in him, or there's some weird thingie that will explain how that could happen. This is The Vampire Diaries after all, but I'm thinking there's some other mystery that will pop up and it will be some other Augustine vampire. After all, we still don't know who the Augustine vampire is who killed Megan, right? Right. Heck, we still don't know who Megan is and what her relationship was with Grayson. Family friend, niece, secret daughter? Thus sibling to Jeremy, adopted sibling to Elena or Aaron maybe?
Speaking of... it's funny how there is such a sibling vibe between Aaron and Elena which is so different from that vibe between Aaron and Katherine (man, they were adorable). Which is good, of course, because, yes, the only moody boy I want Elena making out with is Damon. And, yes, it's good that Damon and Elena can joke about it, but there's this undercurrent. Damon's insecurities are starting to build. Not once, but twice he made reference to the idea that Elena would prefer to be with someone other than himself. It could have been some throwaway jokes because after all (sigh) Brian Young co-wrote this episode, but on the other hand, he's not a horrible writer and has co-written some of my favorite episodes. And it certainly would make sense what with Stefan back, with the two of them having that distance there with Stefan back, with this whole universe/doppelganger nonsense that Damon would have some of the old issues begin to crop up especially since she's back at college and he doesn't have her there with him. So, yeah, it makes sense.
However, her coming to his rescue should have helped!
While it was certainly sad to see Jesse go (and it was, it really was! I *liked* Jesse, dangit!), it was great seeing Elena (literally) running to Damon's rescue and doing what had to be done to save him. And even if Caroline was upset, and even though Elena was sorry that she had to take Jesse out, she didn't apologize for having to do what she had to do for Damon because Damon was more important. Oh, yeah, that brings us to Caroline. *sigh*
I have long been a defender of Caroline's hate-on for Damon, but, yeah, even I can't defend her for her words and actions in this episode. Considering all that, well, all of them have done, all the people they have killed or set up to be killed to defend their loved ones that she would say what she did to Elena about Damon was just so blind and hypocritical. However, I do think it was absolutely deliberate when it was stated as such. We had Caroline make that comment that "the outside world is not nearly as dangerous as the person you're inviting into your bedroom" (especially when the "outside world" she was all but referring to at this point is their college life) and then in the next minute we find out that said college is responsible for doing much more dangerous things... and TO Damon. That was very, very deliberate. And I believe (and will be very, very surprised if it does not go this direction) that Caroline *finally* sees Damon in a new light. She has been willing to see all of the horrors that have been inflicted upon others that have led them to make the awful choices they have made, but yet has been unwilling to do the same for Damon. I can't help but think that this will be the turning point for her.
And it simply has to be because this is just ridiculous at this point. As I said above, I just cannot defend her this time. She came upon the tail-end of what was going on, but she *did* see Jesse attacking Damon, and she knows Elena inside and out and knows that Elena would not have done what she did had there been any other option. Yet her instinct was to hate on Elena and Damon. And that attitude has got to change, because regardless of the fact that she truly believes what she said to Elena about being her best friend, she's not being her best friend. If she were, she'd actually listen to Elena. She'd actually do what Bonnie has done and see that Damon makes Elena happy. That Damon is there for Elena. That Damon is there for the people that Elena cares about (including Caroline) and will do anything he can to keep Elena safe and happy. Damon may not be the greatest guy, but he is the greatest guy FOR Elena. And a best friend would want that for her best friend. But Caroline can't see past her own prejudice. If it was just about how "dangerous" Damon was then Caroline wouldn't want Elena anywhere near Stefan either, because on a scale of 1 to dangerous, Stefan is a 100.
Random thoughts ...
- Damn, I would have been quite happy to NOT see Nadia (Olga Fonda) again. Alas, 'twas not to be. Maybe now she'll go away for a few months? Gah, she really is NOT good.
- Ooh, Elena looked so pretty in red. Too bad Damon didn't really get to enjoy it.
- So, the Travelers want to kill Katherine. Hmm, and her daddy was a Traveler. Double hmm. You know, my first thought was that this whole Gregor in Matt story rather ended in a whimper, but now I'm thinking that it's just opening up to a bigger story. I just hope that Matt is going to be involved. (And not only for more Matt/Katherine interaction!)
- Yeah, Caroline was sooooo in love with Tyler, right. Pshaw! As she goes macking on Jesse two seconds after Tyler leaves.
- I know I didn't talk about them much above, but Jeremy and Bonnie were sweet and I am glad that they are finally finding some measure of happiness (and, yeah, Bonnie is finally getting some!) -- five years, and the girl finally gets some action! I was gonna gif it, but really, as sweet and lovely as these two are, they don't really do anything in the heat department for me, so ... nah. They're just for the rainbow and puppies. :)
- Hahaha, Caroline and Elena's kissy faces to Bonnie's "registering classes" LMAO!
- I gotta say I'm cracking up at how they are basically going over the top making fun of how ridiculously over the top the college dorm room is. They know it's over the top and completely unrealistic, so they're just going with it and taking it to the extreme. I love it.
- Finally! New previouslies!
OK, before I close out, I want to touch upon a few things. I'm not sure why the show decided to focus on Stefan/Silas (aka Paul Wesley) so heavily in the first quarter of the season, including the entirety of November sweeps. I know there has been growing discontent (although I have still very much enjoyed the show), hopefully with the last couple of scenes pointing towards a Damon-centered arc, fandom will be happier with the direction of the show, and we will see not only Damon-heavier plots, but more Damon and Elena. The latter, of course, has been more of my concern since I think beyond episode three they've dropped the ball a bit (even though narratively I've understood why). I'm optimistic that we are seeing a turn now though. So a break next week, two more episodes to go before the end of year and our first hiatus. Another great episode and I'm very, very happy with this season so far.
I know I'm probably the only person who weirdly ships human!Katherine/Matt, but I do and this episode finally gave me a little something to sink my teeth into! "Matty Blue-Blue" just slayed me and the little banter back and forth, and was it me or did Zach Roerig look really good in this episode? Katherine's "you realize that every single time you say no it just makes you hotter, right?" brought back fond memories of her waxing poetic over his eyes in the past. Yup, Katherine's always had a thing for Matt. *sigh* So, yeah, that inexplicable shipping I have for them is still going full-force... but then there is my original Stefan pairing. Stefan and Katherine. Katherine and Stefan. Mmmhmmm.
Yup, looks like I very well may have called it. Katherine could be the Amara to Stefan's Silas. When Katherine flat-out told him that the universe had put all its eggs in the Elena basket I almost laughed out loud, because hello, could there be a more obvious misdirect? I don't think so. And they sure were laying a lot of Stefan/Katherine eggs in this episode. Katherine being the first (and only) one able to get through to Stefan and able to calm his raging Silas-induced crazy right now. Stefan being there to save Katherine and she could become his new mission, a way to forget his own issues and focus on someone else to save rather than himself. That may happen, but I wonder... considering how he walked away from her and considering how he does actually know Katherine now and not just as this idealized image he created of her, if he'll find himself working with her to maybe solve their problems together? That would be pretty cool. And could be key to helping the both of them. That could draw Caroline in because I could see her believing she has to save Stefan from the evil Katherine. With Elijah gone (and based on how things are playing out on The Originals as if Elijah and Katherine never happened ), it's as if it's back to Katherine being all about Stefan. I certainly got that callback to "Memory Lane" in the final moments of the final Katherine/Stefan scene.
The first gif is from "Memory Lane," right after Katherine had remembered in 1864 promising a just-killed Stefan (with her vampire blood running through his veins) that they would be together again and that she loved him. Parallels, parallels, parallels. Gotta love 'em. But, yeah, definite, definitely Stefan/Katherine vibesies in this episode. Boo-yah!
What did surprise me is how they are doing this anchor stuff with Bonnie. I kinda thought it would all be heartache/heartbreak, gloom and doom. I was not expecting the bit of positivity and the bright side that we did see here as well. Us seeing that Bonnie would also provide a comfort to those on the other side and that she would be not just an anchor, but a touchstone in a way was lovely That second meeting with the old lady almost made it worth it, you could tell from Bonnie's point of view. And what she said to Jeremy, that her being able to be there with Jeremy, and of course, earlier with Elena and Caroline. She is there, if not technically alive (but then, hey, other than Matt and Jeremy, who is?). She can see them, hug them, kiss them... finally have a sex scene!! (boom chica bow wow!) And get a cute, sassy do on top of that! Obviously, things can't last, and I can't see her being an anchor beyond this season because that kind of pain (especially going off like that randomly whenever) just ain't gonna work, so we'll see where we go from here. I am glad that Jeremy knows though. I wonder how long before he tells Damon. Oh, wait, Damon has been kidnapped by the evil, mad scientist that Elena wouldn't let Damon kill because she feels sorry for random guy she just met.
Yeah, that one's gonna come back and bite her in the ass, uh huh!
Oh my goodness! Wow. Damon's face, Damon's voice when he said "Because I was 21051." I mean, wow! That was unexpected. But a story that clearly they have been planning on telling since last season. In episode 17, Lexi asked Damon, "So, why'd you flip it? What traumatic event was too much for Damon Salvatore to handle?" And he told her, "Leave It To Beaver. The 50's bored me." Hahaha, Damon. It was the 50's alright. 1953 to be exact. Oh man, when Damon traced the D in his initials, I don't know if that was scripted or the director or Ian Somerhalder, but it just gutted me. Right along with his face as he realized where he was. That shot along with the earlier one when he said his number, just, ugh, paired with those quick, sterile flashbacks... this is gonna be a doozy.
Something tells me (OK, the quick, sterile flashbacks were big clues) the experiments that Jesse underwent were nothing compared to what Damon went through and if he kept his switch flipped for twenty-four flippin' years (1953 to 1977 when Lexi showed up in New York) they must have done quite a number on him. The question is what will happen now? Obviously it won't be as bad because they won't keep him as long because the gang *will* rescue him, but considering it's the second time around, it's going to affect him. But this will also likely bring up questions about Elena and her father to the surface as well. And now we will have two suffering Salvatores dealing with post-traumatic stress disorder. Will Damon and Stefan rely on each other? Will Damon allow Elena to help him? Will Stefan turn to Katherine? Or will he once again sublimate his own issues in his white knight complex and turn all of his energy into his mission to help Katherine? And if he does so will he once more be drawn into her web? If that happens, will that draw Elena back into his circle hoping to protect him or will she be too focused on Damon (as she should be), thus leaving the door open for Caroline to "save" him from Katherine? Lots of questions.
And here's some speculation that I don't think will bear fruit personally. I was reading elsewhere others thinking that Damon killed Aaron's parents and caused the accident on Wickery Bridge because he went after Grayson Gilbert because of the Augustine Secret Society at Whitmore College. At first I thought that was certainly possible, but now I'm thinking that it doesn't track because Damon clearly believed that that the whole Augustine experiments ended 60 years ago and Aaron's parents were killed 12-13 years ago, and Elena's parents died two to three years ago. Therefore, Damon wouldn't have had any idea that any of them were involved in the Augustine Society so I don't see how that would be tied together. Also, Julie Plec did say very, very definitively that there was no supernatural involvement in Elena's parents' death. True, she could have been lying because Plec is a lying liar who lies, but she was very, very, very definitive about it. Still, more to the point, again, Damon sounded very sure that the experiments had ended 60 years ago, so why would he be tracking down people whose parents possibly wouldn't have been born 60 years ago?
I dunno, maybe it was programmed in him, or there's some weird thingie that will explain how that could happen. This is The Vampire Diaries after all, but I'm thinking there's some other mystery that will pop up and it will be some other Augustine vampire. After all, we still don't know who the Augustine vampire is who killed Megan, right? Right. Heck, we still don't know who Megan is and what her relationship was with Grayson. Family friend, niece, secret daughter? Thus sibling to Jeremy, adopted sibling to Elena or Aaron maybe?
Speaking of... it's funny how there is such a sibling vibe between Aaron and Elena which is so different from that vibe between Aaron and Katherine (man, they were adorable). Which is good, of course, because, yes, the only moody boy I want Elena making out with is Damon. And, yes, it's good that Damon and Elena can joke about it, but there's this undercurrent. Damon's insecurities are starting to build. Not once, but twice he made reference to the idea that Elena would prefer to be with someone other than himself. It could have been some throwaway jokes because after all (sigh) Brian Young co-wrote this episode, but on the other hand, he's not a horrible writer and has co-written some of my favorite episodes. And it certainly would make sense what with Stefan back, with the two of them having that distance there with Stefan back, with this whole universe/doppelganger nonsense that Damon would have some of the old issues begin to crop up especially since she's back at college and he doesn't have her there with him. So, yeah, it makes sense.
However, her coming to his rescue should have helped!
While it was certainly sad to see Jesse go (and it was, it really was! I *liked* Jesse, dangit!), it was great seeing Elena (literally) running to Damon's rescue and doing what had to be done to save him. And even if Caroline was upset, and even though Elena was sorry that she had to take Jesse out, she didn't apologize for having to do what she had to do for Damon because Damon was more important. Oh, yeah, that brings us to Caroline. *sigh*
I have long been a defender of Caroline's hate-on for Damon, but, yeah, even I can't defend her for her words and actions in this episode. Considering all that, well, all of them have done, all the people they have killed or set up to be killed to defend their loved ones that she would say what she did to Elena about Damon was just so blind and hypocritical. However, I do think it was absolutely deliberate when it was stated as such. We had Caroline make that comment that "the outside world is not nearly as dangerous as the person you're inviting into your bedroom" (especially when the "outside world" she was all but referring to at this point is their college life) and then in the next minute we find out that said college is responsible for doing much more dangerous things... and TO Damon. That was very, very deliberate. And I believe (and will be very, very surprised if it does not go this direction) that Caroline *finally* sees Damon in a new light. She has been willing to see all of the horrors that have been inflicted upon others that have led them to make the awful choices they have made, but yet has been unwilling to do the same for Damon. I can't help but think that this will be the turning point for her.
And it simply has to be because this is just ridiculous at this point. As I said above, I just cannot defend her this time. She came upon the tail-end of what was going on, but she *did* see Jesse attacking Damon, and she knows Elena inside and out and knows that Elena would not have done what she did had there been any other option. Yet her instinct was to hate on Elena and Damon. And that attitude has got to change, because regardless of the fact that she truly believes what she said to Elena about being her best friend, she's not being her best friend. If she were, she'd actually listen to Elena. She'd actually do what Bonnie has done and see that Damon makes Elena happy. That Damon is there for Elena. That Damon is there for the people that Elena cares about (including Caroline) and will do anything he can to keep Elena safe and happy. Damon may not be the greatest guy, but he is the greatest guy FOR Elena. And a best friend would want that for her best friend. But Caroline can't see past her own prejudice. If it was just about how "dangerous" Damon was then Caroline wouldn't want Elena anywhere near Stefan either, because on a scale of 1 to dangerous, Stefan is a 100.
Random thoughts ...
- Damn, I would have been quite happy to NOT see Nadia (Olga Fonda) again. Alas, 'twas not to be. Maybe now she'll go away for a few months? Gah, she really is NOT good.
- Ooh, Elena looked so pretty in red. Too bad Damon didn't really get to enjoy it.
- So, the Travelers want to kill Katherine. Hmm, and her daddy was a Traveler. Double hmm. You know, my first thought was that this whole Gregor in Matt story rather ended in a whimper, but now I'm thinking that it's just opening up to a bigger story. I just hope that Matt is going to be involved. (And not only for more Matt/Katherine interaction!)
- Yeah, Caroline was sooooo in love with Tyler, right. Pshaw! As she goes macking on Jesse two seconds after Tyler leaves.
- I know I didn't talk about them much above, but Jeremy and Bonnie were sweet and I am glad that they are finally finding some measure of happiness (and, yeah, Bonnie is finally getting some!) -- five years, and the girl finally gets some action! I was gonna gif it, but really, as sweet and lovely as these two are, they don't really do anything in the heat department for me, so ... nah. They're just for the rainbow and puppies. :)
- Hahaha, Caroline and Elena's kissy faces to Bonnie's "registering classes" LMAO!
- I gotta say I'm cracking up at how they are basically going over the top making fun of how ridiculously over the top the college dorm room is. They know it's over the top and completely unrealistic, so they're just going with it and taking it to the extreme. I love it.
- Finally! New previouslies!
OK, before I close out, I want to touch upon a few things. I'm not sure why the show decided to focus on Stefan/Silas (aka Paul Wesley) so heavily in the first quarter of the season, including the entirety of November sweeps. I know there has been growing discontent (although I have still very much enjoyed the show), hopefully with the last couple of scenes pointing towards a Damon-centered arc, fandom will be happier with the direction of the show, and we will see not only Damon-heavier plots, but more Damon and Elena. The latter, of course, has been more of my concern since I think beyond episode three they've dropped the ball a bit (even though narratively I've understood why). I'm optimistic that we are seeing a turn now though. So a break next week, two more episodes to go before the end of year and our first hiatus. Another great episode and I'm very, very happy with this season so far.