5.14 - 'No Exit' (The Vampire Diaries)
Sorry for the later posting. I had a migraine last night, so yeah.
*Sigh* Still missing Elena. {pouts} Subsequently missing Damon and Elena. I'm wondering if that's why the ratings are a bit on the lower side... hmmm. Are Damon and Damon/Elena fans boycotting the show again? :rme: Whatever. Spoiler and tumblr/twitter-free (thus negativity-free), I am enjoying the heck out of the show and having a blast. No disappointment or frustration coming from me at all. No siree! So moving on to the episode.
First of all, I'm making the executive decision and just calling her Katherine because bitch ain't Elena Gilbert, she don't even get Not!Elena anymore. She tried to make Stefan kill Damon. Hello! As if. Well, I was really thinking (hoping) that we would see the end of Katherine and the return of the sorely-missed Elena (sobs!) since we saw what looked like Katherine headed in the same direction and the Travellers in the preview. Ah well. Such clearly was not meant to be. But, hey, at least the gang (OK, two members of the gang, but they'll tell the rest) finally figured it out. Go Stefan and Caroline, putting that great chemistry to work. Such a marvelous team those two are. Seriously, they totes are. :D I love how Caroline is always gravitating to Stefan now, and how he's always got a smile when he sees her there. They're so comfortable and cozy and so right together. And Caroline is so very much not feeling "Elena" hanging out with Stefan all the time now even if I'm totally sure she doesn't even realize why it bothers her. But it totally, totally does bug her.
And Stefan is totally, totally scoffing at the idea of him and Elena because despite the kissing, he really is no longer in love with her. Much like Elena chose Damon over Stefan, Stefan has now very much chosen Damon over Elena as well and he's comfortable and has accepted that decision. Even during his speech to Katherine about loving Elena with all of his atoms and what-not, it was beautiful and romantic and la-di-dah, but it was in the past-tense. It is no more. Yes, he kissed her. Passionately. Yes, he couldn't help but sneak a peek during the whole shower bit there, but remember Elena broke up with him, she ended things and he never got to shut it down. To do the "right thing." Well, he did this time. And, you know, he's a guy. She's hot, he loved her, she's naked and then throwing herself at him. He's a guy and he hasn't gotten any since Rebekah a while ago.* I don't blame him. But still, he chose Damon, and no matter how much he does care about Elena, and no matter how many flirty looks and attempts at seduction Katherine throws his way, Stefan will clearly keep choosing Damon. Because that's what he was doing over and over again… and I loved it so hard. And in that hotel room when she kissed him, it was just the most tangible choice.
* Erm, wrong. vanimy corrected me, he got some from Katherine herself not too long ago, my bad. Still, he's a guy and it was just one night in the middle of a long drought.
He stopped. Which I figured he would even when we saw the preview last week, even when I figured that Katherine was going to pull something. However… when Katherine made the comment that she just broke up with Damon, I actually did have one small moment of doubt that maybe they would sleep together because I realized that it was a reversal of what had happened in "My Brother's Keeper." Elena had just broken up with Stefan and then she slept with Damon. So here we go… but Stefan didn't go there which I didn't see at all as Stefan is the better brother, but rather that that Stefan knew then that Elena was no longer in love with him, but that she was in love with Damon. He knew it. And he knows how that Elena is still in love with Damon and that Damon is in love with her.
I felt that us getting the similar situation there was another reminder that it's Damon and Elena that are the couple we are going on this journey with… they are the long haul here. The ups and downs, the steps, the learning curve, from the two of them, those closest to them are all about growing into what will eventually work best for these two best together. And this was just another example.
Another reversal we got in this episode that I really liked was with Damon and Enzo. In the 50's Damon had to choose between his life and the real likelihood of himself and his friend dying. He chose his own life. Enzo was put in a similar situation tonight. The difference was that Enzo had time to reason out his decision and he had Damon telling him to walk away, to save his own life. Enzo walked away. Thus Damon got some closure and hopefully accepted a bit of forgiveness for that choice from long ago.
It would be nice, because Enzo certainly owes Damon some forgiveness considering the fact that Damon is in this fix a good bit because of Enzo. I do believe that Enzo cares for Damon and he was better in this episode, but man, he's still not the bestest friend ever for Damon. The bottom line is that he's just not the right kind of person that Damon needs in his life when frankly he's not being a self-destructive asshole. Enzo urges on the absolute worst tendencies that Damon has. Damon needs an Alaric (or Matt?) in his life. Not an Enzo, thank you very much. Alas, I do think this particular Enzo will be re-appearing towards the end of the season with whatever that one final experiment Wes Maxfield wanted to perform on him. And it will not spell good news for our gang… particularly Damon and/or Elena. Uh huh.
Speaking of Damon and Elena… obviously we don't have much to talk about for our lovely twosome, but there were a few things. One thing sweet specific to Elena, and a few things not so sweet, and the other bigger thing that was about Elena and Stefan. Obviously, he cares about Enzo, but Enzo completely nailed it when he said that Damon didn't want to call Stefan and Elena because Damon didn't want to attack them. It had absolutely nothing to do with his pride; he simply did not want to risk killing either one of them because he loves them both too much. And that just, ugh, made me all verklempt because, gah, he loves them so, so, so much!
You can just see it all over his face when they do show up. He's just devastated when he sees them there. Enzo was right. As much as Damon doesn't want to kill him, he really, really, really doesn't want to kill Stefan and Elena. And that is why he doesn't want to call them. So when they show up, he begs them to leave, he tries to scares them, he just wants them gone, but of course Katherine has to play her stupid, stupid game of trying to get Stefan to kill Damon.
So stupid because Stefan will never, ever willingly kill his brother. Ever. Like ever, ever, ever, ever, EVAR in a million, billion, trillion years. So, so, so stupid. But then we've already figured out that when it comes to actual people emotions, Katherine Pierce, for all her smarts, is very, very stupid. And she clearly truly knows diddly-squat about love, nor does she care anything about it at all. Katherine doesn't want to be in love. Katherine simply wants someone to be in love with her. She wants someone to adore her, to love her completely and absolutely like Elena is loved. And she has decided that that someone is Stefan Salvatore. That is why it doesn't matter to her that Stefan is supposedly into "her" thinking she's Elena. As long as she, Katherine, is getting the benefit of his love and adoration, that is all that matters to her.
But that's Katherine for you, so smart in so many ways and yet so stupid that she actually thinks that Stefan would pick up a stake and jab it straight into his brother's heart. Riiiiiight. Oh, Katherine. You fool. But, man, that scene was SO WELL DONE, from beginning to end. From their arrival with Damon's attempts to keep them from entering, Katherine's attempts to "save" Damon which on paper sounded right but were just off enough to cause Stefan to keep sending her little looks, wondering just why she was doing what she was doing exactly *how* she was doing it. His confusion over how she was pushing Damon as she was, but not able to comprehend why she could be doing anything other than what she was claiming to be doing because the only other alternative was that she wanted him to kill Damon and that simply made no sense. Katherine pushing the stake towards Stefan. Stefan noticing it, but not even hesitating for a second in reaching for it, but instead going for the glass, cutting his own wrist and offering up his blood to Damon, before snapping his neck. Because, of course, the thought did not even remotely cross his mind to kill his brother. At all. Because, hello! Duh! Never, ever, ever, ever, in a million, billion, trillion years, Katherine!
So, so, so good. Wonderful execution, wonderful direction by Michael A. Allowitz. I just loved it.
Rewinding a bit… the one sweet bit of Damon and Elena I wanted to point out before I got to the not-so-sweet was Damon's instinctive reaction when he first sensed her presence. (Yeah, yeah, technically we know it's Katherine, but it's just Katherine's spirit inside of Elena's body, so it *is* Elena that Damon is sensing, her scent, etc.) Her breathed her name and got this little smile and his face just softened with this almost glow before it hit him what Elena being there meant. It was just… aaahh, he loves her so very much.
*sigh*
However, Damon also hates himself so very much. It was quite depressing at how Damon was able to pick up what had happened with Katherine in that moment (recalling ripper!Jesse, cutting herself, kicking the Stake to Stefan, urging him to kill Damon) and put it all together and yet he was unable to remember that Katherine and Nadia had been working on that spell. That was the alternative to Elena wanting him dead. Even Caroline completely scoffed at the idea that Elena wanted Damon dead. Caroline! But Damon accepted it as if it was a believable alternative because he thinks that little of himself and little of Elena's love in him. Geez, Damon!
And furthermore, I get that for Damon the love of his true love is important to him and that Stefan hasn't exactly done his absolute best in showing his love for his brother, but damn, Damon. Stefan tells him that he'll never give up on him, and instead of taking that to heart, Damon immediately turns it around and is upset because he believes the girl has. For him, it's not enough that he has Stefan, he needs the girl too. And Stefan, man, Stefan just needs his big brother. But big, freaking kudos to Stefan because that boy is making big strides. I think that actually being there when Damon falls apart (without being in love with Elena to distract him and with Damon as competition), could turn out to be a really good thing for Stefan... as awful as that is. Because Stefan has never been able to be there for Damon when Damon needs him. Here is his chance and Stefan is showing that he wants to step up and be there, damnit! Even if Damon is pushing him away still. But that's Damon and Stefan, right there, in a nutshell, ain't it? *Sigh* We need to work on that.
We also need to work on Caroline and her male-oriented issues. It was in character-sadly, sooooo in character-but I REALLY don't like how quickly Caroline was back like an eager puppy trying to get into Tyler's good graces. Ugh. He is a JERK! Yes, she slept with the guy who killed his mother. Yes, that sucks, but is still separate from the two of them, their relationship, and in their relationship, he, Tyler, has treated her, Caroline, terribly. The fact that she's trying to make things "good" with him when he's the one who walked out on her, he's the one who chose revenge over her, he's the one who left her standing alone time and time and time again. And, apparently, he's the one who threatened to kill her?
Yeah, I missed that in the glorious scene where Stefan punched Tyler.
Oops! Where did that come from?
I mean. Did I miss that? I got that he was pissed at Caroline, but I certainly didn't get that Tyler was threatening to or about to kill her… like, uhm, at all. OK, then. If that's the case, then, no one better hold any grudge against Damon for the Jeremy thing, thank you very much. Whatever. Anyhoo, the main thing I got from the Tyler/Caroline scenes is that they continue to drive the point home that these two are indeed finished, dunzo, over, finito (so can Tyler leave now, pretty please, kthanxbai!) and that works for me because along with the finished line status of Stefan and Elena that means …
Stefan and Caroline! Yeah, baby! I know I talked about them a bit up top so I won't go into much detail here. I just want to say that I continue to love how they are just slowly setting them up now. The show is slowly dissolving their other romantic entanglements and they are becoming each other's touchstones and I just love it. And on a somewhat shipper note and another slight reversal, things started really beginning to head down that romantic road with Damon and Elena at the beginning of season 03 when Stefan took off into Ripper-land with Klaus and Elena was tracking Stefan's whereabouts with Damon. Now obviously it's not to the same degree at all, but it was similar to when "The Birthday" began with Klaus and Stefan began in some remote house, Stefan ripped off someone's head. Elena came over to the Boarding House with information from Sheriff Forbes about a trail of bodies and when we saw the house later, Stefan had put the body back together. In this episode, we began in another house with Damon and his body, then in that first scene with Stefan and Caroline she came over with information from Sheriff Forbes about bodies that were found and she told him all about it, and of course, back at the house, Damon referenced how Stefan would put the bodies back together-recalling when Stefan had done it in "The Birthday." I just think that subtle parallel between the early true beginning of the romantic partnership of Damon and Elena is being subtlely mirrored here with Stefan and Caroline.
Now on a non-shipper note, the three things I loved about the last scene with these two was the fact that now that Caroline is no longer actively rooting for Stefan and Elena, she's taken off her Damon-is-Evul! glasses and we're getting a much more measured response about him and I appreciate that. I also loved how she made the comment to Stefan "we know Elena, we would realize" and then she kinda stopped and her eyes widened and Candice Accola did a really lovely job here because you could just see the realization dawn on her because they did realize something was off, they just kept making excuses. And those excuses made perfect sense. But my favorite thing was what I thought was a brilliant storytelling device and I have to give credit to Brian Young. He's honestly my least favorite regular Vampire Diaries writer, but I have no complaints about this episode (other than missing Elena and Damon/Elena, but that's not on him). What I loved was how Stefan was giving Katherine looks throughout the trip now and then, but being there you just roll with it because that's just what you do. However, when retelling it to Caroline, it was a great way to really bring it home how OFF she was being because a party who also knows Elena who wasn't there was all 'wait, what!? That doesn't make sense!' Really marvelous storytelling device.
OK, randoms…
- *sigh* Katherine said everyone loves Matt Donovan, that's why he's still alive. The Matt/Katherine shipper in me mourns what could have been. They really could have gone a completely different route with human!Katherine, showing her refocus on her humanity, find love, make a human life. Ah well, what could have been.
- Heh, Damon's "I feel like a blonde" to Maxfield cracked me up.
- When they got to the hotel and Katherine just flopped onto the couch, I was like, man, how can he not know it's Katherine?! That's how Katherine moves! That's Katherine's body language. Elena doesn't do that! I'm not saying it's bad writing, it's just, ugh! You have to keep reminding yourself, we know things that the characters don't! And it's only been four days since Katherine "died." That's only a small stretch of time that each of them have actually spent with her.
- You know, it's really gross that Katherine is using Elena's body to do these things, and I'm not just talking about attempting to seduce Stefan. I mean any and everything. Killing Mia (that's something that Elena would not have done). She's violating Elena-it's really pissing me off. Katherine needs to die. For real. And I hope that when it happens, it's just Katherine, Damon and Stefan there and I want it to be Stefan who does it now because I want Katherine to die knowing that she destroyed even St. Stefan's capability for forgiveness.
- On a totally shallow note, please tell me that I am not the only one who had a thought that if this were a different type of a show it could lead to some kinky threesome bloodplay? I mean, come on!
Just me? Really. Come on! I don't even read that type of fic! (And, dang, that first bit there with Ian and Nina, bam! the chemistry is so freaking strong with these two! Like whoah!)
- I really liked Matt and Nadia's conversations about mothers. I thought that Matt was making some really great points, and then boom! Nadia had the killer point and shut him down by hitting it home by saying at the end of the day you're still making those sandwiches because she's your mother and you love her.
- Hahaaa! Matt was playing Nadia. Go Matty!
- I love Matt, the decent one. And I really loved his declaration that he still was the decent one to her, because really he is. He wasn't betraying his decency by trying to warn his friends because what Nadia is doing is *wrong.* Matt's in the right here.
- Breaking free of and pulling at chains = a hot Damon Salvatore! Yum.
- I guess the Travellers spell wore off eventually, thus the boys and Katherine got to leave. They just left out that line letting us know figuring Enzo's earlier comment was context enough. OK, then.
- "I know you can't help yourself, but if you bring home a rabid animal, you're gonna get bit." Even chained up, and on his knees, Damon is smirking and snarking because he is awesome. Line delivery, Mr. Somerhalder, line delivery. Delicious.
- Hmm, wasn't expecting this. Stefan 'teaching' Damon how to be a good ripper. I am intrigued. I'm wondering also if we'll get the other vampires donating their blood to Damon. Personally I'd like to see Elena "donating" her blood, if you get my drift. {wink, wink} (If you don't, I'm talking about sexual bloodplay.)
- So Damon referenced a whole bunch of antidotes that he gave Enzo to counteract what Maxfield had given him in "Fifty Shades of Grayson," so I'm guessing there is an antidote to the vampire cannibalism thingie. I'm sure Damon we'll get it by season's end.
- So Tyler has at last done something useful. He bit Nadia. YES! {Doing the happy dance!} Aww, Katherine actually looked like she cared. Eh, she still deserves to die. Die, Katherine, die.
So not the bestest episode ever, but still a fine one and I continue to heartily enjoy this season bunches. WHEE!! So glad to have my show back after the mini-hiatus. :)
*Sigh* Still missing Elena. {pouts} Subsequently missing Damon and Elena. I'm wondering if that's why the ratings are a bit on the lower side... hmmm. Are Damon and Damon/Elena fans boycotting the show again? :rme: Whatever. Spoiler and tumblr/twitter-free (thus negativity-free), I am enjoying the heck out of the show and having a blast. No disappointment or frustration coming from me at all. No siree! So moving on to the episode.
First of all, I'm making the executive decision and just calling her Katherine because bitch ain't Elena Gilbert, she don't even get Not!Elena anymore. She tried to make Stefan kill Damon. Hello! As if. Well, I was really thinking (hoping) that we would see the end of Katherine and the return of the sorely-missed Elena (sobs!) since we saw what looked like Katherine headed in the same direction and the Travellers in the preview. Ah well. Such clearly was not meant to be. But, hey, at least the gang (OK, two members of the gang, but they'll tell the rest) finally figured it out. Go Stefan and Caroline, putting that great chemistry to work. Such a marvelous team those two are. Seriously, they totes are. :D I love how Caroline is always gravitating to Stefan now, and how he's always got a smile when he sees her there. They're so comfortable and cozy and so right together. And Caroline is so very much not feeling "Elena" hanging out with Stefan all the time now even if I'm totally sure she doesn't even realize why it bothers her. But it totally, totally does bug her.
And Stefan is totally, totally scoffing at the idea of him and Elena because despite the kissing, he really is no longer in love with her. Much like Elena chose Damon over Stefan, Stefan has now very much chosen Damon over Elena as well and he's comfortable and has accepted that decision. Even during his speech to Katherine about loving Elena with all of his atoms and what-not, it was beautiful and romantic and la-di-dah, but it was in the past-tense. It is no more. Yes, he kissed her. Passionately. Yes, he couldn't help but sneak a peek during the whole shower bit there, but remember Elena broke up with him, she ended things and he never got to shut it down. To do the "right thing." Well, he did this time. And, you know, he's a guy. She's hot, he loved her, she's naked and then throwing herself at him. He's a guy and he hasn't gotten any since Rebekah a while ago.* I don't blame him. But still, he chose Damon, and no matter how much he does care about Elena, and no matter how many flirty looks and attempts at seduction Katherine throws his way, Stefan will clearly keep choosing Damon. Because that's what he was doing over and over again… and I loved it so hard. And in that hotel room when she kissed him, it was just the most tangible choice.
* Erm, wrong. vanimy corrected me, he got some from Katherine herself not too long ago, my bad. Still, he's a guy and it was just one night in the middle of a long drought.
He stopped. Which I figured he would even when we saw the preview last week, even when I figured that Katherine was going to pull something. However… when Katherine made the comment that she just broke up with Damon, I actually did have one small moment of doubt that maybe they would sleep together because I realized that it was a reversal of what had happened in "My Brother's Keeper." Elena had just broken up with Stefan and then she slept with Damon. So here we go… but Stefan didn't go there which I didn't see at all as Stefan is the better brother, but rather that that Stefan knew then that Elena was no longer in love with him, but that she was in love with Damon. He knew it. And he knows how that Elena is still in love with Damon and that Damon is in love with her.
I felt that us getting the similar situation there was another reminder that it's Damon and Elena that are the couple we are going on this journey with… they are the long haul here. The ups and downs, the steps, the learning curve, from the two of them, those closest to them are all about growing into what will eventually work best for these two best together. And this was just another example.
Another reversal we got in this episode that I really liked was with Damon and Enzo. In the 50's Damon had to choose between his life and the real likelihood of himself and his friend dying. He chose his own life. Enzo was put in a similar situation tonight. The difference was that Enzo had time to reason out his decision and he had Damon telling him to walk away, to save his own life. Enzo walked away. Thus Damon got some closure and hopefully accepted a bit of forgiveness for that choice from long ago.
It would be nice, because Enzo certainly owes Damon some forgiveness considering the fact that Damon is in this fix a good bit because of Enzo. I do believe that Enzo cares for Damon and he was better in this episode, but man, he's still not the bestest friend ever for Damon. The bottom line is that he's just not the right kind of person that Damon needs in his life when frankly he's not being a self-destructive asshole. Enzo urges on the absolute worst tendencies that Damon has. Damon needs an Alaric (or Matt?) in his life. Not an Enzo, thank you very much. Alas, I do think this particular Enzo will be re-appearing towards the end of the season with whatever that one final experiment Wes Maxfield wanted to perform on him. And it will not spell good news for our gang… particularly Damon and/or Elena. Uh huh.
Speaking of Damon and Elena… obviously we don't have much to talk about for our lovely twosome, but there were a few things. One thing sweet specific to Elena, and a few things not so sweet, and the other bigger thing that was about Elena and Stefan. Obviously, he cares about Enzo, but Enzo completely nailed it when he said that Damon didn't want to call Stefan and Elena because Damon didn't want to attack them. It had absolutely nothing to do with his pride; he simply did not want to risk killing either one of them because he loves them both too much. And that just, ugh, made me all verklempt because, gah, he loves them so, so, so much!
You can just see it all over his face when they do show up. He's just devastated when he sees them there. Enzo was right. As much as Damon doesn't want to kill him, he really, really, really doesn't want to kill Stefan and Elena. And that is why he doesn't want to call them. So when they show up, he begs them to leave, he tries to scares them, he just wants them gone, but of course Katherine has to play her stupid, stupid game of trying to get Stefan to kill Damon.
So stupid because Stefan will never, ever willingly kill his brother. Ever. Like ever, ever, ever, ever, EVAR in a million, billion, trillion years. So, so, so stupid. But then we've already figured out that when it comes to actual people emotions, Katherine Pierce, for all her smarts, is very, very stupid. And she clearly truly knows diddly-squat about love, nor does she care anything about it at all. Katherine doesn't want to be in love. Katherine simply wants someone to be in love with her. She wants someone to adore her, to love her completely and absolutely like Elena is loved. And she has decided that that someone is Stefan Salvatore. That is why it doesn't matter to her that Stefan is supposedly into "her" thinking she's Elena. As long as she, Katherine, is getting the benefit of his love and adoration, that is all that matters to her.
But that's Katherine for you, so smart in so many ways and yet so stupid that she actually thinks that Stefan would pick up a stake and jab it straight into his brother's heart. Riiiiiight. Oh, Katherine. You fool. But, man, that scene was SO WELL DONE, from beginning to end. From their arrival with Damon's attempts to keep them from entering, Katherine's attempts to "save" Damon which on paper sounded right but were just off enough to cause Stefan to keep sending her little looks, wondering just why she was doing what she was doing exactly *how* she was doing it. His confusion over how she was pushing Damon as she was, but not able to comprehend why she could be doing anything other than what she was claiming to be doing because the only other alternative was that she wanted him to kill Damon and that simply made no sense. Katherine pushing the stake towards Stefan. Stefan noticing it, but not even hesitating for a second in reaching for it, but instead going for the glass, cutting his own wrist and offering up his blood to Damon, before snapping his neck. Because, of course, the thought did not even remotely cross his mind to kill his brother. At all. Because, hello! Duh! Never, ever, ever, ever, in a million, billion, trillion years, Katherine!
So, so, so good. Wonderful execution, wonderful direction by Michael A. Allowitz. I just loved it.
Rewinding a bit… the one sweet bit of Damon and Elena I wanted to point out before I got to the not-so-sweet was Damon's instinctive reaction when he first sensed her presence. (Yeah, yeah, technically we know it's Katherine, but it's just Katherine's spirit inside of Elena's body, so it *is* Elena that Damon is sensing, her scent, etc.) Her breathed her name and got this little smile and his face just softened with this almost glow before it hit him what Elena being there meant. It was just… aaahh, he loves her so very much.
*sigh*
However, Damon also hates himself so very much. It was quite depressing at how Damon was able to pick up what had happened with Katherine in that moment (recalling ripper!Jesse, cutting herself, kicking the Stake to Stefan, urging him to kill Damon) and put it all together and yet he was unable to remember that Katherine and Nadia had been working on that spell. That was the alternative to Elena wanting him dead. Even Caroline completely scoffed at the idea that Elena wanted Damon dead. Caroline! But Damon accepted it as if it was a believable alternative because he thinks that little of himself and little of Elena's love in him. Geez, Damon!
And furthermore, I get that for Damon the love of his true love is important to him and that Stefan hasn't exactly done his absolute best in showing his love for his brother, but damn, Damon. Stefan tells him that he'll never give up on him, and instead of taking that to heart, Damon immediately turns it around and is upset because he believes the girl has. For him, it's not enough that he has Stefan, he needs the girl too. And Stefan, man, Stefan just needs his big brother. But big, freaking kudos to Stefan because that boy is making big strides. I think that actually being there when Damon falls apart (without being in love with Elena to distract him and with Damon as competition), could turn out to be a really good thing for Stefan... as awful as that is. Because Stefan has never been able to be there for Damon when Damon needs him. Here is his chance and Stefan is showing that he wants to step up and be there, damnit! Even if Damon is pushing him away still. But that's Damon and Stefan, right there, in a nutshell, ain't it? *Sigh* We need to work on that.
We also need to work on Caroline and her male-oriented issues. It was in character-sadly, sooooo in character-but I REALLY don't like how quickly Caroline was back like an eager puppy trying to get into Tyler's good graces. Ugh. He is a JERK! Yes, she slept with the guy who killed his mother. Yes, that sucks, but is still separate from the two of them, their relationship, and in their relationship, he, Tyler, has treated her, Caroline, terribly. The fact that she's trying to make things "good" with him when he's the one who walked out on her, he's the one who chose revenge over her, he's the one who left her standing alone time and time and time again. And, apparently, he's the one who threatened to kill her?
Yeah, I missed that in the glorious scene where Stefan punched Tyler.
Oops! Where did that come from?
I mean. Did I miss that? I got that he was pissed at Caroline, but I certainly didn't get that Tyler was threatening to or about to kill her… like, uhm, at all. OK, then. If that's the case, then, no one better hold any grudge against Damon for the Jeremy thing, thank you very much. Whatever. Anyhoo, the main thing I got from the Tyler/Caroline scenes is that they continue to drive the point home that these two are indeed finished, dunzo, over, finito (so can Tyler leave now, pretty please, kthanxbai!) and that works for me because along with the finished line status of Stefan and Elena that means …
Stefan and Caroline! Yeah, baby! I know I talked about them a bit up top so I won't go into much detail here. I just want to say that I continue to love how they are just slowly setting them up now. The show is slowly dissolving their other romantic entanglements and they are becoming each other's touchstones and I just love it. And on a somewhat shipper note and another slight reversal, things started really beginning to head down that romantic road with Damon and Elena at the beginning of season 03 when Stefan took off into Ripper-land with Klaus and Elena was tracking Stefan's whereabouts with Damon. Now obviously it's not to the same degree at all, but it was similar to when "The Birthday" began with Klaus and Stefan began in some remote house, Stefan ripped off someone's head. Elena came over to the Boarding House with information from Sheriff Forbes about a trail of bodies and when we saw the house later, Stefan had put the body back together. In this episode, we began in another house with Damon and his body, then in that first scene with Stefan and Caroline she came over with information from Sheriff Forbes about bodies that were found and she told him all about it, and of course, back at the house, Damon referenced how Stefan would put the bodies back together-recalling when Stefan had done it in "The Birthday." I just think that subtle parallel between the early true beginning of the romantic partnership of Damon and Elena is being subtlely mirrored here with Stefan and Caroline.
Now on a non-shipper note, the three things I loved about the last scene with these two was the fact that now that Caroline is no longer actively rooting for Stefan and Elena, she's taken off her Damon-is-Evul! glasses and we're getting a much more measured response about him and I appreciate that. I also loved how she made the comment to Stefan "we know Elena, we would realize" and then she kinda stopped and her eyes widened and Candice Accola did a really lovely job here because you could just see the realization dawn on her because they did realize something was off, they just kept making excuses. And those excuses made perfect sense. But my favorite thing was what I thought was a brilliant storytelling device and I have to give credit to Brian Young. He's honestly my least favorite regular Vampire Diaries writer, but I have no complaints about this episode (other than missing Elena and Damon/Elena, but that's not on him). What I loved was how Stefan was giving Katherine looks throughout the trip now and then, but being there you just roll with it because that's just what you do. However, when retelling it to Caroline, it was a great way to really bring it home how OFF she was being because a party who also knows Elena who wasn't there was all 'wait, what!? That doesn't make sense!' Really marvelous storytelling device.
OK, randoms…
- *sigh* Katherine said everyone loves Matt Donovan, that's why he's still alive. The Matt/Katherine shipper in me mourns what could have been. They really could have gone a completely different route with human!Katherine, showing her refocus on her humanity, find love, make a human life. Ah well, what could have been.
- Heh, Damon's "I feel like a blonde" to Maxfield cracked me up.
- When they got to the hotel and Katherine just flopped onto the couch, I was like, man, how can he not know it's Katherine?! That's how Katherine moves! That's Katherine's body language. Elena doesn't do that! I'm not saying it's bad writing, it's just, ugh! You have to keep reminding yourself, we know things that the characters don't! And it's only been four days since Katherine "died." That's only a small stretch of time that each of them have actually spent with her.
- You know, it's really gross that Katherine is using Elena's body to do these things, and I'm not just talking about attempting to seduce Stefan. I mean any and everything. Killing Mia (that's something that Elena would not have done). She's violating Elena-it's really pissing me off. Katherine needs to die. For real. And I hope that when it happens, it's just Katherine, Damon and Stefan there and I want it to be Stefan who does it now because I want Katherine to die knowing that she destroyed even St. Stefan's capability for forgiveness.
- On a totally shallow note, please tell me that I am not the only one who had a thought that if this were a different type of a show it could lead to some kinky threesome bloodplay? I mean, come on!
Just me? Really. Come on! I don't even read that type of fic! (And, dang, that first bit there with Ian and Nina, bam! the chemistry is so freaking strong with these two! Like whoah!)
- I really liked Matt and Nadia's conversations about mothers. I thought that Matt was making some really great points, and then boom! Nadia had the killer point and shut him down by hitting it home by saying at the end of the day you're still making those sandwiches because she's your mother and you love her.
- Hahaaa! Matt was playing Nadia. Go Matty!
- I love Matt, the decent one. And I really loved his declaration that he still was the decent one to her, because really he is. He wasn't betraying his decency by trying to warn his friends because what Nadia is doing is *wrong.* Matt's in the right here.
- Breaking free of and pulling at chains = a hot Damon Salvatore! Yum.
- I guess the Travellers spell wore off eventually, thus the boys and Katherine got to leave. They just left out that line letting us know figuring Enzo's earlier comment was context enough. OK, then.
- "I know you can't help yourself, but if you bring home a rabid animal, you're gonna get bit." Even chained up, and on his knees, Damon is smirking and snarking because he is awesome. Line delivery, Mr. Somerhalder, line delivery. Delicious.
- Hmm, wasn't expecting this. Stefan 'teaching' Damon how to be a good ripper. I am intrigued. I'm wondering also if we'll get the other vampires donating their blood to Damon. Personally I'd like to see Elena "donating" her blood, if you get my drift. {wink, wink} (If you don't, I'm talking about sexual bloodplay.)
- So Damon referenced a whole bunch of antidotes that he gave Enzo to counteract what Maxfield had given him in "Fifty Shades of Grayson," so I'm guessing there is an antidote to the vampire cannibalism thingie. I'm sure Damon we'll get it by season's end.
- So Tyler has at last done something useful. He bit Nadia. YES! {Doing the happy dance!} Aww, Katherine actually looked like she cared. Eh, she still deserves to die. Die, Katherine, die.
So not the bestest episode ever, but still a fine one and I continue to heartily enjoy this season bunches. WHEE!! So glad to have my show back after the mini-hiatus. :)