TVD 3x14: We're going down, down, down, together.
Holy hell. I don't even know what to do with this episode. We all knew this was going to be a bit of a ride, because in Mystic Falls formal wear is code for important events. But man, this was a fun episode. In a totally trippy, none of this makes any sense but I'm in love with how miserable everyone is sort of way. THIS FUCKING SHOW IS THE WEIRDEST AND THE GREATEST.
Starting from the VERY beginning, how obvious were the previously's? Yes, we know, two brothers, one girl, tortured love. Stop it.
Matt and Elena were...there. Much like they'll always be pretty much just there. A little exposition here, a little character stashing there (Alaric doesn't get to come to the party because we temporarily mortally wounded him again, nbd), a touch of danger. There aren't any suspects for this murder mystery - except this creepy shadow thing that's watching you, naturally, because it's a Mystic Falls murderer rite of passage to follow Elena Gilbert around. That's just the way we do things here.
And to that end, Elena, come on. When pretty much everyone in the universe is out to get you, don't get out of your car in the dead of night (she even left the door open. *facepalm*). I know, you thought you hit someone, but you know what? This is Mystic Falls. That person probably would have died in about 2 hours. You are a main character and thus are allowed to survive. Hit and run, basically (this show/the complete dissolution of my morals = OTP).
But then Rebekah was on my screen, and all was well. I LOVE THIS GIRL. And she was excellent. As much as I loved Elena and her literal backstabbing ways, Rebekah deserved to have a moment of vengeance, and my girl is not one to take these things lying down. Surely this feud isn't over, because Rebekah is a glorious brat who hasn't gotten her way yet, and Elijah totally girlfight-blocked us.
So, Elijah/Elena. I see it. I get it. I just don't ship it. I was fretting this afternoon about the possibility of yet ANOTHER vampire falling for Elena, and I just have no interest in it. I'm a bit tired of everyone under the sun falling for Elena. The Salvatores and all their delicious issues are more than enough for me to deal with, and if Elena needs another love interest (which god knows she doesn't), I'd much rather it be a human, because at least that would bring different issues with it. That being said, this episode actually handled the Elena/Elijah relationship beautifully, and I would be more than down for a BrOTP between them.
Also, Rebekah judging Elijah for the possibility of yet another doppelganger romance? Reason #7386512 that this girl is the best.
The OT3 appears, and DAMON'S SHIRT IS SO GOOD. Boy looks good in blue (boy looks good in everything). I'd seen the promo pics for the episode, and I'd been so distracted by the Crime Against Humanity that is Damon's hair that this mild competence from the wardrobe department was a delightful surprise. Anyway.
This scene was filled with not really new information, but Damon's "Anyone else feeling a little used right now?" was adorable. I would say I'll try to stop stanning Damon so hard for the rest of the recap, but this isn't a time for lies.
The Original Family was SUCH a family, which was cute. The sibling bickering kind of worked. Klaus whining to his Mom about Rebekah was fantastic - "She's ruining my life, GOD. Mooommmmmm!" LOL. My mind has not changed, though. Klaus, Rebekah, and Elijah can stay. Everyone else, GTFO.
Serious question: I know the actress who plays Esther is actually English, so why does her accent sound so fake to me?
Back to the OT3, the brothers were doing that thing where they act out all their relationship issues under the guise of protecting Elena. Stefan's "What for? That's your job now." was awesome. And then they locked gazes, and it was intense and tingled all my Salvatore Brothership senses. Meanwhile, as usual, Damon's not wrong. It's sort of a terrible idea for Elena to subject herself to this kind of situation. But if everyone listened to logic and reason, there would be no show, and then what would I do with my life?
I quite liked the Tyler message. First of all, I appreciate that the show provided a reason for his absence. I hate it when characters go missing on shows for episodes at a time and no one seems to notice, and then they're just back like it hasn't been 2 months (no, I'm not bitter, why do you ask?). And Tyler's been very hit or miss with me this season, but the phone call was one of those moments when I loved him again.
And as for the twisted Cinderella fetish, I will say that as absurd and non-sensical and crack!shippy as Klaroline is, all of Caroline's reactions were spot on. She was blissfully in character even throughout this most incomprehensible of situations.
Caroline and Elena continue to be wonderful together. I love that Caroline's reaction to Elena kissing Damon was betrayal that she hadn't been told, not judgment that it happened. Basically, these girls and their friendship FTW.
Brief note: so it used to be so much easier with Damon, Elena? WHEN was this, exactly?
Rebekah needs to meet more people. Matt Donovan? Really? (it's a thing now) But the girls were adorable. "Why is she inviting him?" "Probably to get this reaction from us." Love.
My first reaction to the ball was the reaction I have to pretty much all town events: how are there still this many people alive in Mystic Falls?
So why doesn't Kol like Damon? Is this one of those secret history type things? Do we have another "We were friends." "We ARE friends." on our hands (except without the friends part)? Or is Kol just a douche?
Damon and his damn face when Elena walks in. This is textbook melodramatic romance stuff. So why the fuck did it make my heart clench a little? Damn it, Damon, STOP CARING SO MUCH (tons more on that later).
Speaking of things that absolutely shouldn't work for me but somehow do, Klaus and his little face when he sees Caroline...these people and their faces! They are doing things to me.
Finn is much less interesting when he's not dressed as a pirate. He was pretty dull in this episode.
My Salvatore Brothers, briefly being in sync. <3 I will take my Brothership moments where I can get them.
Damon and Elena, dancing. This is a thing. It is a thing that I love, even though it's usually hyped far too much. Damon typically uses seduction to get what he wants, at least temporarily distracting Elena. But Elena's "It is tradition" was absolutely adorable and friendship-y and all manner of other enthusiastic adjectives.
But ok, the damn dance. This is one of those moments when I can't focus on what's happening in the scene, because all I can think of is, HOW do all these people know this dance? Naturally, the general population of Mystic Falls has no trouble with a centuries-old waltz. WHAT. NO. This is like those 90s teen movies in which everyone inexplicably knew choreographed dances at prom. Fail.
Klaroline sort of won this dance for me. Again, Caroline was still Caroline, incredulous and uncompromising and still a bit unable to not be flattered by Klaus's attention. And when Caroline mentions she's Miss Mystic Falls, and Klaus responds with that terribly lovely "I know" - I FLAILED. I don't even know why. This ship makes no sense. But for some reason, their moments are glorious.
But honorable mention for Damon/Rebekah. They are kind of fantastic together (more on that later, OBVIOUSLY).
So here's my issue with Stefan and Elena in this episode. They were obviously setting up some sort of comparison with how Stefan respects Elena's agency and Damon doesn't. Stefan says she can take care of herself, and Elena mentions that he trusted her to make her own decisions. But here's the thing. That's not true. At least it isn't in the way that I understand Stefan. Stefan's subservience to Elena was never about him trusting her - it was about him needing to give her what she needed, even if he didn't agree. softly_me wrote a phenomenal meta about Stefan that detailed this aspect of his personality, because Stefan builds himself around people and he made himself into Elena's Supportive Boyfriend, which necessitated that he let her call the shots even when it didn't make any sense. This isn't me bashing Stefan. He does respect her, obviously. But him letting her follow through on her own (often idiotic) plans wasn't about him trusting her. So when that was suddenly supposed to be a big theme in the Stefan/Elena relationship, I found it jarring. Not that I'm condoning Damon's behavior either. He is very caveman-ish about it all (Rebekah is, as always, correct), and it's problematic. But Stefan's attitude is and was problematic as well.
Elena having Damon (temporarily) killed was COLD. She was pretty brutal to him in this episode (and yet again, more on that later). But it is an interesting parallel - she resents Damon doing whatever he has to do to keep her safe, and yet she'll resort to having his neck snapped just to do what SHE has to do. Girl is ruthless, and she doesn't even fully realize it (yet).
But my Brothership heart hurt a little when Stefan neck!snapped Damon without any tortured looks. Come on, bro. Give me something. When Damon had you (temporarily) killed he at least had the grace to look a little upset about it. I NEED MY (very vague) SALVACEST PLEASE.
The Elena/Elijah BrOTP is really working for me. But I have to ask, how did Esther raise Elijah so well and then go so wrong with all her other children? Lazy parenting (x6).
I still do not trust Esther. And neither should Elena. She ought to know by now, blood is a powerful thing in this world. And Esther asking for Elena's blood was an immediate warning sign for me. Maybe I'm wrong, maybe Esther really does only intend to use the blood for this linking ritual. But having someone else's blood gives you power over that person, and I would be not at all surprised if Esther's spell has some sort of unfortunate side effect on Elena.
One more curiosity: when Esther says she wants to undo the evil she created, does she mean she wants to kill Klaus and the Originals, or does she want to undo the existence of ALL vampires? Probably not, because that would be a huge plotline with all sorts of unwieldy concerns, but it could be interesting nonetheless.
More Klaroline. Klaus and his frank "I fancy you." HOW SO ADORABLE. And Caroline is flawless. She doesn't fall into Klaus's seduction scenario, and she knocks him off-guard over and over again. Plus it's good to know that she has no regrets about her father. Our girl, all grown up and fantastic.
I don't care about the Rebekah-Kol-Matt plotting. Just don't.
Ngl, I'm really enjoying the reversal with which Salvatore is a liability. To be fair, it isn't really a reversal. They've both always been liabilities of one fashion or another, and Damon has ALWAYS cared too much (but about different things, and he's been a lot better about hiding it). But I adore Damon's horrified incredulousness at the idea that he could be the weak link. His "My emotions - how is this even happening right now?" was amazing. It's both hilarious and painful, because Damon has no interest in being this person, and he's getting nothing out of it, but he can't quite figure out how to turn it off.
I don't care about the Let's Murder Matt plotline, but god do I care about Rebekah, and she is just universally flawless. The way her whole demeanor just resets when Matt gives her his jacket - you can tell in an instant how easy it is to win Rebekah's affection, just by a simple act of kindness, and it's heartbreaking. It takes almost nothing to gain her love, which shows that no one has ever really tried to before. For all her badass Original murdering ways, so much of her is just a self-conscious little girl who wants to be loved.
And that makes her hatred for Caroline make SO much sense to me. Caroline is so much like Rebekah, but she's better. She's head cheerleader, she gets the boys, she gets the attention, she gets everything that Rebekah wants. And now she has Klaus, and it's killing Rebekah, because Klaus is supposed to be the one thing that is hers. Caroline is to Rebekah as Elena is to Caroline. My poor girl.
So Elena lies to Elijah, because this is who she is now. I'm into it. And then they toast (heh, pink champagne to hide the blood. Cute.), and all I can think of is that they're ALL holding their champagne glasses wrong. #such a snob #the Originals should really know better
Guys, Klaus is an artist. WHAT. HE HAS PAINTINGS AT THE HERMITAGE. THIS SHIP LITERALLY COULD NOT GET ANY MORE RIDICULOUS.
But ridiculous lolz aside, Joseph Morgan is incredible. The way his face falls when Caroline starts her very true but rather mean tirade, and you can tell that he just wanted for one single person to NOT see him that way. And he gets all scary villain Klaus and sends her away, because that's easier than admitting that he's hurt and disappointed and fundamentally unhappy.
Oh, god, this Damon/Elena scene. It just came up on my rewatch, and my whole body coiled tight (defense mechanism). THIS SCENE. It physically hurt to watch. I don't even know how to express my feelings on it. It is absolutely wonderful and utterly excruciating.
I'm seriously having a lot of trouble articulating everything I want to say about this scene. Let's deal with Elena first. I feel like this is sort of the culmination of a lot of frustration (of all sorts). Her relationship with Damon is sort of a mess, because it is both the most stable and most confusing thing in her life right now. It's HARD to be with Damon, even in this not-quite-romantic stasis they have going on, and it's been taking a lot out of her, more than I think she even realizes. And now they're here at this absurd ball, and he's being stubborn and controlling again, and she lashes out. But this is such an understatement. Elena says something expressly to hurt him. It isn't her forcing him to face the truth or trying to get him to behave, this is Elena actively wanting to crush him for one terrible second. And it works. She says exactly what she means to say in this one instant, and it undoes MONTHS of repression and denial and all that hard work the two of them did to get to this relative peace between them.
Because the whole basis of Elena and Damon in a semi-functional relationship (not romantic, obviously, because, OBVIOUSLY) is that everyone knows that Damon loves Elena. It's not something they deny, but it's not something they directly acknowledge either. I've talked a lot about how much I love the constant undercurrent of his undeniable adoration for her, because it colors all their interactions. It doesn't change anything, but it's always there, and the implication is that it's ok that Damon loves her. But here Elena is saying that it's not. She isn't just ignoring it or tabling the issue, she's outright rejecting it, saying his love is something she doesn't want and wishes had never happened. More than that, she's blaming him. She's accusatory, angry at this situation they're in, like it's Damon's fault that he loves her like this. And maybe it is, but regardless of whose fault it is, Damon is the one who's suffering most from all this. This damn love he has for her is tearing him apart, and no one can fix it, and now Elena is adding an extra level of misery to that, because for once she can't be understanding and forgiving, because it's tearing her up too.
Elena realizes pretty immediately what she's done, and she backtracks, because even after this brief moment of honesty/cruelty, she's still Elena. She says she didn't mean it, and here's where I really love this scene. True, she doesn't entirely mean it, and she certainly does and will continue to regret the crushing blow she just dealt Damon. But part of her - that part of her who orders Stefan to snap Damon's neck, who lies to Elijah's face, who stakes Rebekah in the back, that part of her that inspired her to say these words in the first place - that part means it all. Elena is tired of being loved by Damon. It is the most exhausting thing in the world to be loved with that intensity. Elena is hurting because of how much she's hurting Damon just by not being able to love him like he loves her, and it isn't fair, because no one loves like Damon. So Elena is faltering under the weight of it all, and a bit of her genuinely hates him for loving her like that. I could go on for pages and pages about Elena's frustration with the way Damon loves her, but there is more to discuss (about this one freaking line - this damn show.).
Let me take a moment to say just how fucking phenomenal Ian Somerhalder was in this scene. Every single thing he does with his face after Elena's line is complete perfection. It was brilliantly acted.
And then there's Damon. God, Damon. This whole episode - this whole damn arc - has been stripping him of who he thought he was. For all his existential crisis in season 2, I think season 3 has been a lot more effective at making him question his own identity. He has zero interest in being the hero or the supportive boyfriend or the team player. Stefan wants those things, and Damon doesn't want to be Stefan. He defines himself by not wanting to be Stefan. More than that, he defines himself by not wanting. Damon learned a long time ago that he's not the sort of person who can get what he wants, so he taught himself not to want things (and when he did, not to admit to it, because wanting makes you vulnerable, and he can't stand that). But then Stefan left and he settled into this *thing* with Elena and he let his guard down. He got too comfortable in this life in which Elena knows he loves her and yet still somehow doesn't hate him. She kept forgiving him for his mishaps, and little by little this callous uncaring persona he's worn for a century and a half started to slip. And when Stefan calls him out and says he's too emotional, Damon can't believe it, because that can't be possible. He's never let himself be that person. How could he have gotten so complacent about his own image? Surely he would have noticed.
But he hasn't, because here he is, using his love for Elena as an explicit reasoning for something, actually saying it out loud. This breaks every rule the two of them have together. It's like Fight Club. You do not talk about Damon being in love with Elena. Unless he's on his deathbed, he's not breaking this rule. But suddenly he's saying these words without any life or death stakes, and Elena throws it back at him, because that is NOT ALLOWED. And there's this terrible pause, and even amidst all the pain of Elena being that willingly malicious toward him, he has this moment of "Fuck. It's true." He IS this person now, this emotional, vulnerable person, and everyone can see it. And more than anything, he hates himself for letting it happen. He feels so damn stupid, because he should have known better. He should have been able to prevent this. But instead, he's standing here with his heart on his sleeve and heartbreak written all over his face, and he has no one to blame but himself.
So, basically, fuck this scene. It has me feeling ALL THE EMOTIONS. I hate it, and I want to watch it over and over again, because I am a masochist.
And then Damon does what Damon does. He ruins everything. Because he can't handle this fucking love, and he would cut it out of himself if he could, but he can't. So he'll cut everyone else out instead. Act out, make everyone hate him, hey, maybe if he's lucky he'll get himself killed. This is what he knows how to do. This is who he always should have been, before he was foolish enough to let himself slip. He won't let it happen again.
Downward Spiral Damon is the absolute best. "Are you crazy?" "Maybe a little." Self-aware and disastrous and glorious, that one. Also: "Far be it from me to cause a problem." FLAWLESS.
Moving on now, I promise. Again, Caroline's call to Tyler really worked for me. Don't know why. But then:
Klaus: I drew you a picture, Caroline. PLEASE LOVE ME.
WHAT. JUST. CAN'T EVEN.
Dude, Finn is such a Mama's boy. What a suck-up. But Esther actually did the spell she said she would, so that's one count in her favor. Still don't trust her.
Look at Stefan being all nice again now that Damon is pretty much out of the picture. That was fast.
So, Stefan/Elena. Tbh, I'm too emotionally drained from all the D/E disastrousness to gather enough energy about this last scene. I know it's supposed to be a turning point scene, Stefan still cares, Elena still loves him, la di da. But honestly, none of this was new information. We know Stefan still feels and is just trying to shut himself down because he hates what he's become. We also know that Elena is still all about Stefan. This scene was just a bit less subtext and a lot more...overtext? Shut up, that's a word now.
Though it was a nice touch when Stefan said if he opens himself up again all he feels is pain. Hearkens right back to Lexi's 'if you can feel pain, you can feel love.'
But Stefan/Elena is back on. Not that they were ever really off. The only question now is who will happen first, Stefan/Elena or Matt/Elena? Or will it be dark horse Elena/Elijah? The field is wide open. All I know is that it won't be Damon/Elena. I had one purely childish moment in front of my TV when I lamented that it's not fair (seriously, why does D/E have to be my OTP? THE WORST.). But then I reminded myself that I knew D/E wasn't happening. To be fair, there's a difference between knowing they're not happening for sure and then knowing FOR SURE. But whatever. I wouldn't be me if I didn't court the pain like this. #me and Damon, chilling like self-destructive bros
But wait I'm not done! Fuck this episode. Because there's Rebekah, and I can't NOT talk about her. Because, god, just LOOK at her! She's tragic. She goes up to Matt, all hopeful and innocent and terribly human, and she's nice to him. Underneath all those years of Original vampire insanity, she really is just a sweet girl. And Matt, the most benign of pretty much everyone in Mystic Falls, rejects her. Matt Donovan. Really. No one ever loves Rebekah. Not because she doesn't deserve to be loved. Just because no one ever does. She tries, and she wants, but it doesn't make a difference, and she can't force someone to love her, because she isn't Klaus, and it doesn't count if it's forced.
And in waltzes Damon, who never tries, who never wants, but has somehow found himself trying and wanting anyway. He is the opposite of Rebekah - he is closed where she is open, he is fatalistic where she is hopeful. But he's just come from the brink of becoming Rebekah, and he will do anything to keep from falling over that edge. And she sees him, not for what he's been but for who he's trying to be, and she thinks that's what she needs to do - shut it all off. The song choice was obvious but perfect nonetheless: "We're going down together."
LET'S TALK ABOUT DAMON/REBEKAH. I have wanted them to happen pretty much from the second she walked into the Boarding House. But actually though. For reasons both shallow (hello, look at them) and semi-meaningful. As a pairing they hit all my buttons - they're both the miserable, self-loathing, inferiority-complexed ones who are never chosen. They are absolutely kindred spirits. And they could be so glorious together, because they genuinely understand the other.
And now it's time to look away if you have no interest in me shamelessly flailing over TVD porn.
HOLY FUCKING HELL THAT LAST SCENE WHAT OMG WOW. Ok, I knew it was going to happen. Ian has been telling everyone he can find that Damon would be getting a new vampire sexytimes friend, and as much as I would love for him to get it on with any of the boys (Stefan, Klaus, Elijah...*dreamy sigh*), that didn't seem likely, and since there are only two female vampires and Katherine is MIA, it had to be Rebekah. So I knew it was coming (and had been looking forward to it, for reals). But I didn't know it would be like THAT. UNFFFFFFFF SO FUCKING HOT. All the clothes-tearing was amazing. Damon getting thrown against walls and having his shirt ripped open is never not unbearably wonderful (2x01, anyone?). And then he TURNS HER AROUND and rips her dress, and just, WHAT. NOT APPROPRIATE FOR NETWORK TV. MORE PLEASE.
Not even gonna lie, it was a highlight.
Predictably, this recap got totally out of control. Congratulations to any of you who managed to finish it. I enjoyed the hell out of this episode. I am VERY excited to see the consequences of everything next week. I anticipate lots of pain, and I'm into it. I also not so secretly hope for Damon/Rebekah to become a recurring thing. I've had my icon ready for weeks.
Basically, I love this show. That is all.
Starting from the VERY beginning, how obvious were the previously's? Yes, we know, two brothers, one girl, tortured love. Stop it.
Matt and Elena were...there. Much like they'll always be pretty much just there. A little exposition here, a little character stashing there (Alaric doesn't get to come to the party because we temporarily mortally wounded him again, nbd), a touch of danger. There aren't any suspects for this murder mystery - except this creepy shadow thing that's watching you, naturally, because it's a Mystic Falls murderer rite of passage to follow Elena Gilbert around. That's just the way we do things here.
And to that end, Elena, come on. When pretty much everyone in the universe is out to get you, don't get out of your car in the dead of night (she even left the door open. *facepalm*). I know, you thought you hit someone, but you know what? This is Mystic Falls. That person probably would have died in about 2 hours. You are a main character and thus are allowed to survive. Hit and run, basically (this show/the complete dissolution of my morals = OTP).
But then Rebekah was on my screen, and all was well. I LOVE THIS GIRL. And she was excellent. As much as I loved Elena and her literal backstabbing ways, Rebekah deserved to have a moment of vengeance, and my girl is not one to take these things lying down. Surely this feud isn't over, because Rebekah is a glorious brat who hasn't gotten her way yet, and Elijah totally girlfight-blocked us.
So, Elijah/Elena. I see it. I get it. I just don't ship it. I was fretting this afternoon about the possibility of yet ANOTHER vampire falling for Elena, and I just have no interest in it. I'm a bit tired of everyone under the sun falling for Elena. The Salvatores and all their delicious issues are more than enough for me to deal with, and if Elena needs another love interest (which god knows she doesn't), I'd much rather it be a human, because at least that would bring different issues with it. That being said, this episode actually handled the Elena/Elijah relationship beautifully, and I would be more than down for a BrOTP between them.
Also, Rebekah judging Elijah for the possibility of yet another doppelganger romance? Reason #7386512 that this girl is the best.
The OT3 appears, and DAMON'S SHIRT IS SO GOOD. Boy looks good in blue (boy looks good in everything). I'd seen the promo pics for the episode, and I'd been so distracted by the Crime Against Humanity that is Damon's hair that this mild competence from the wardrobe department was a delightful surprise. Anyway.
This scene was filled with not really new information, but Damon's "Anyone else feeling a little used right now?" was adorable. I would say I'll try to stop stanning Damon so hard for the rest of the recap, but this isn't a time for lies.
The Original Family was SUCH a family, which was cute. The sibling bickering kind of worked. Klaus whining to his Mom about Rebekah was fantastic - "She's ruining my life, GOD. Mooommmmmm!" LOL. My mind has not changed, though. Klaus, Rebekah, and Elijah can stay. Everyone else, GTFO.
Serious question: I know the actress who plays Esther is actually English, so why does her accent sound so fake to me?
Back to the OT3, the brothers were doing that thing where they act out all their relationship issues under the guise of protecting Elena. Stefan's "What for? That's your job now." was awesome. And then they locked gazes, and it was intense and tingled all my Salvatore Brothership senses. Meanwhile, as usual, Damon's not wrong. It's sort of a terrible idea for Elena to subject herself to this kind of situation. But if everyone listened to logic and reason, there would be no show, and then what would I do with my life?
I quite liked the Tyler message. First of all, I appreciate that the show provided a reason for his absence. I hate it when characters go missing on shows for episodes at a time and no one seems to notice, and then they're just back like it hasn't been 2 months (no, I'm not bitter, why do you ask?). And Tyler's been very hit or miss with me this season, but the phone call was one of those moments when I loved him again.
And as for the twisted Cinderella fetish, I will say that as absurd and non-sensical and crack!shippy as Klaroline is, all of Caroline's reactions were spot on. She was blissfully in character even throughout this most incomprehensible of situations.
Caroline and Elena continue to be wonderful together. I love that Caroline's reaction to Elena kissing Damon was betrayal that she hadn't been told, not judgment that it happened. Basically, these girls and their friendship FTW.
Brief note: so it used to be so much easier with Damon, Elena? WHEN was this, exactly?
Rebekah needs to meet more people. Matt Donovan? Really? (it's a thing now) But the girls were adorable. "Why is she inviting him?" "Probably to get this reaction from us." Love.
My first reaction to the ball was the reaction I have to pretty much all town events: how are there still this many people alive in Mystic Falls?
So why doesn't Kol like Damon? Is this one of those secret history type things? Do we have another "We were friends." "We ARE friends." on our hands (except without the friends part)? Or is Kol just a douche?
Damon and his damn face when Elena walks in. This is textbook melodramatic romance stuff. So why the fuck did it make my heart clench a little? Damn it, Damon, STOP CARING SO MUCH (tons more on that later).
Speaking of things that absolutely shouldn't work for me but somehow do, Klaus and his little face when he sees Caroline...these people and their faces! They are doing things to me.
Finn is much less interesting when he's not dressed as a pirate. He was pretty dull in this episode.
My Salvatore Brothers, briefly being in sync. <3 I will take my Brothership moments where I can get them.
Damon and Elena, dancing. This is a thing. It is a thing that I love, even though it's usually hyped far too much. Damon typically uses seduction to get what he wants, at least temporarily distracting Elena. But Elena's "It is tradition" was absolutely adorable and friendship-y and all manner of other enthusiastic adjectives.
But ok, the damn dance. This is one of those moments when I can't focus on what's happening in the scene, because all I can think of is, HOW do all these people know this dance? Naturally, the general population of Mystic Falls has no trouble with a centuries-old waltz. WHAT. NO. This is like those 90s teen movies in which everyone inexplicably knew choreographed dances at prom. Fail.
Klaroline sort of won this dance for me. Again, Caroline was still Caroline, incredulous and uncompromising and still a bit unable to not be flattered by Klaus's attention. And when Caroline mentions she's Miss Mystic Falls, and Klaus responds with that terribly lovely "I know" - I FLAILED. I don't even know why. This ship makes no sense. But for some reason, their moments are glorious.
But honorable mention for Damon/Rebekah. They are kind of fantastic together (more on that later, OBVIOUSLY).
So here's my issue with Stefan and Elena in this episode. They were obviously setting up some sort of comparison with how Stefan respects Elena's agency and Damon doesn't. Stefan says she can take care of herself, and Elena mentions that he trusted her to make her own decisions. But here's the thing. That's not true. At least it isn't in the way that I understand Stefan. Stefan's subservience to Elena was never about him trusting her - it was about him needing to give her what she needed, even if he didn't agree. softly_me wrote a phenomenal meta about Stefan that detailed this aspect of his personality, because Stefan builds himself around people and he made himself into Elena's Supportive Boyfriend, which necessitated that he let her call the shots even when it didn't make any sense. This isn't me bashing Stefan. He does respect her, obviously. But him letting her follow through on her own (often idiotic) plans wasn't about him trusting her. So when that was suddenly supposed to be a big theme in the Stefan/Elena relationship, I found it jarring. Not that I'm condoning Damon's behavior either. He is very caveman-ish about it all (Rebekah is, as always, correct), and it's problematic. But Stefan's attitude is and was problematic as well.
Elena having Damon (temporarily) killed was COLD. She was pretty brutal to him in this episode (and yet again, more on that later). But it is an interesting parallel - she resents Damon doing whatever he has to do to keep her safe, and yet she'll resort to having his neck snapped just to do what SHE has to do. Girl is ruthless, and she doesn't even fully realize it (yet).
But my Brothership heart hurt a little when Stefan neck!snapped Damon without any tortured looks. Come on, bro. Give me something. When Damon had you (temporarily) killed he at least had the grace to look a little upset about it. I NEED MY (very vague) SALVACEST PLEASE.
The Elena/Elijah BrOTP is really working for me. But I have to ask, how did Esther raise Elijah so well and then go so wrong with all her other children? Lazy parenting (x6).
I still do not trust Esther. And neither should Elena. She ought to know by now, blood is a powerful thing in this world. And Esther asking for Elena's blood was an immediate warning sign for me. Maybe I'm wrong, maybe Esther really does only intend to use the blood for this linking ritual. But having someone else's blood gives you power over that person, and I would be not at all surprised if Esther's spell has some sort of unfortunate side effect on Elena.
One more curiosity: when Esther says she wants to undo the evil she created, does she mean she wants to kill Klaus and the Originals, or does she want to undo the existence of ALL vampires? Probably not, because that would be a huge plotline with all sorts of unwieldy concerns, but it could be interesting nonetheless.
More Klaroline. Klaus and his frank "I fancy you." HOW SO ADORABLE. And Caroline is flawless. She doesn't fall into Klaus's seduction scenario, and she knocks him off-guard over and over again. Plus it's good to know that she has no regrets about her father. Our girl, all grown up and fantastic.
I don't care about the Rebekah-Kol-Matt plotting. Just don't.
Ngl, I'm really enjoying the reversal with which Salvatore is a liability. To be fair, it isn't really a reversal. They've both always been liabilities of one fashion or another, and Damon has ALWAYS cared too much (but about different things, and he's been a lot better about hiding it). But I adore Damon's horrified incredulousness at the idea that he could be the weak link. His "My emotions - how is this even happening right now?" was amazing. It's both hilarious and painful, because Damon has no interest in being this person, and he's getting nothing out of it, but he can't quite figure out how to turn it off.
I don't care about the Let's Murder Matt plotline, but god do I care about Rebekah, and she is just universally flawless. The way her whole demeanor just resets when Matt gives her his jacket - you can tell in an instant how easy it is to win Rebekah's affection, just by a simple act of kindness, and it's heartbreaking. It takes almost nothing to gain her love, which shows that no one has ever really tried to before. For all her badass Original murdering ways, so much of her is just a self-conscious little girl who wants to be loved.
And that makes her hatred for Caroline make SO much sense to me. Caroline is so much like Rebekah, but she's better. She's head cheerleader, she gets the boys, she gets the attention, she gets everything that Rebekah wants. And now she has Klaus, and it's killing Rebekah, because Klaus is supposed to be the one thing that is hers. Caroline is to Rebekah as Elena is to Caroline. My poor girl.
So Elena lies to Elijah, because this is who she is now. I'm into it. And then they toast (heh, pink champagne to hide the blood. Cute.), and all I can think of is that they're ALL holding their champagne glasses wrong. #such a snob #the Originals should really know better
Guys, Klaus is an artist. WHAT. HE HAS PAINTINGS AT THE HERMITAGE. THIS SHIP LITERALLY COULD NOT GET ANY MORE RIDICULOUS.
But ridiculous lolz aside, Joseph Morgan is incredible. The way his face falls when Caroline starts her very true but rather mean tirade, and you can tell that he just wanted for one single person to NOT see him that way. And he gets all scary villain Klaus and sends her away, because that's easier than admitting that he's hurt and disappointed and fundamentally unhappy.
Oh, god, this Damon/Elena scene. It just came up on my rewatch, and my whole body coiled tight (defense mechanism). THIS SCENE. It physically hurt to watch. I don't even know how to express my feelings on it. It is absolutely wonderful and utterly excruciating.
I'm seriously having a lot of trouble articulating everything I want to say about this scene. Let's deal with Elena first. I feel like this is sort of the culmination of a lot of frustration (of all sorts). Her relationship with Damon is sort of a mess, because it is both the most stable and most confusing thing in her life right now. It's HARD to be with Damon, even in this not-quite-romantic stasis they have going on, and it's been taking a lot out of her, more than I think she even realizes. And now they're here at this absurd ball, and he's being stubborn and controlling again, and she lashes out. But this is such an understatement. Elena says something expressly to hurt him. It isn't her forcing him to face the truth or trying to get him to behave, this is Elena actively wanting to crush him for one terrible second. And it works. She says exactly what she means to say in this one instant, and it undoes MONTHS of repression and denial and all that hard work the two of them did to get to this relative peace between them.
Because the whole basis of Elena and Damon in a semi-functional relationship (not romantic, obviously, because, OBVIOUSLY) is that everyone knows that Damon loves Elena. It's not something they deny, but it's not something they directly acknowledge either. I've talked a lot about how much I love the constant undercurrent of his undeniable adoration for her, because it colors all their interactions. It doesn't change anything, but it's always there, and the implication is that it's ok that Damon loves her. But here Elena is saying that it's not. She isn't just ignoring it or tabling the issue, she's outright rejecting it, saying his love is something she doesn't want and wishes had never happened. More than that, she's blaming him. She's accusatory, angry at this situation they're in, like it's Damon's fault that he loves her like this. And maybe it is, but regardless of whose fault it is, Damon is the one who's suffering most from all this. This damn love he has for her is tearing him apart, and no one can fix it, and now Elena is adding an extra level of misery to that, because for once she can't be understanding and forgiving, because it's tearing her up too.
Elena realizes pretty immediately what she's done, and she backtracks, because even after this brief moment of honesty/cruelty, she's still Elena. She says she didn't mean it, and here's where I really love this scene. True, she doesn't entirely mean it, and she certainly does and will continue to regret the crushing blow she just dealt Damon. But part of her - that part of her who orders Stefan to snap Damon's neck, who lies to Elijah's face, who stakes Rebekah in the back, that part of her that inspired her to say these words in the first place - that part means it all. Elena is tired of being loved by Damon. It is the most exhausting thing in the world to be loved with that intensity. Elena is hurting because of how much she's hurting Damon just by not being able to love him like he loves her, and it isn't fair, because no one loves like Damon. So Elena is faltering under the weight of it all, and a bit of her genuinely hates him for loving her like that. I could go on for pages and pages about Elena's frustration with the way Damon loves her, but there is more to discuss (about this one freaking line - this damn show.).
Let me take a moment to say just how fucking phenomenal Ian Somerhalder was in this scene. Every single thing he does with his face after Elena's line is complete perfection. It was brilliantly acted.
And then there's Damon. God, Damon. This whole episode - this whole damn arc - has been stripping him of who he thought he was. For all his existential crisis in season 2, I think season 3 has been a lot more effective at making him question his own identity. He has zero interest in being the hero or the supportive boyfriend or the team player. Stefan wants those things, and Damon doesn't want to be Stefan. He defines himself by not wanting to be Stefan. More than that, he defines himself by not wanting. Damon learned a long time ago that he's not the sort of person who can get what he wants, so he taught himself not to want things (and when he did, not to admit to it, because wanting makes you vulnerable, and he can't stand that). But then Stefan left and he settled into this *thing* with Elena and he let his guard down. He got too comfortable in this life in which Elena knows he loves her and yet still somehow doesn't hate him. She kept forgiving him for his mishaps, and little by little this callous uncaring persona he's worn for a century and a half started to slip. And when Stefan calls him out and says he's too emotional, Damon can't believe it, because that can't be possible. He's never let himself be that person. How could he have gotten so complacent about his own image? Surely he would have noticed.
But he hasn't, because here he is, using his love for Elena as an explicit reasoning for something, actually saying it out loud. This breaks every rule the two of them have together. It's like Fight Club. You do not talk about Damon being in love with Elena. Unless he's on his deathbed, he's not breaking this rule. But suddenly he's saying these words without any life or death stakes, and Elena throws it back at him, because that is NOT ALLOWED. And there's this terrible pause, and even amidst all the pain of Elena being that willingly malicious toward him, he has this moment of "Fuck. It's true." He IS this person now, this emotional, vulnerable person, and everyone can see it. And more than anything, he hates himself for letting it happen. He feels so damn stupid, because he should have known better. He should have been able to prevent this. But instead, he's standing here with his heart on his sleeve and heartbreak written all over his face, and he has no one to blame but himself.
So, basically, fuck this scene. It has me feeling ALL THE EMOTIONS. I hate it, and I want to watch it over and over again, because I am a masochist.
And then Damon does what Damon does. He ruins everything. Because he can't handle this fucking love, and he would cut it out of himself if he could, but he can't. So he'll cut everyone else out instead. Act out, make everyone hate him, hey, maybe if he's lucky he'll get himself killed. This is what he knows how to do. This is who he always should have been, before he was foolish enough to let himself slip. He won't let it happen again.
Downward Spiral Damon is the absolute best. "Are you crazy?" "Maybe a little." Self-aware and disastrous and glorious, that one. Also: "Far be it from me to cause a problem." FLAWLESS.
Moving on now, I promise. Again, Caroline's call to Tyler really worked for me. Don't know why. But then:
Klaus: I drew you a picture, Caroline. PLEASE LOVE ME.
WHAT. JUST. CAN'T EVEN.
Dude, Finn is such a Mama's boy. What a suck-up. But Esther actually did the spell she said she would, so that's one count in her favor. Still don't trust her.
Look at Stefan being all nice again now that Damon is pretty much out of the picture. That was fast.
So, Stefan/Elena. Tbh, I'm too emotionally drained from all the D/E disastrousness to gather enough energy about this last scene. I know it's supposed to be a turning point scene, Stefan still cares, Elena still loves him, la di da. But honestly, none of this was new information. We know Stefan still feels and is just trying to shut himself down because he hates what he's become. We also know that Elena is still all about Stefan. This scene was just a bit less subtext and a lot more...overtext? Shut up, that's a word now.
Though it was a nice touch when Stefan said if he opens himself up again all he feels is pain. Hearkens right back to Lexi's 'if you can feel pain, you can feel love.'
But Stefan/Elena is back on. Not that they were ever really off. The only question now is who will happen first, Stefan/Elena or Matt/Elena? Or will it be dark horse Elena/Elijah? The field is wide open. All I know is that it won't be Damon/Elena. I had one purely childish moment in front of my TV when I lamented that it's not fair (seriously, why does D/E have to be my OTP? THE WORST.). But then I reminded myself that I knew D/E wasn't happening. To be fair, there's a difference between knowing they're not happening for sure and then knowing FOR SURE. But whatever. I wouldn't be me if I didn't court the pain like this. #me and Damon, chilling like self-destructive bros
But wait I'm not done! Fuck this episode. Because there's Rebekah, and I can't NOT talk about her. Because, god, just LOOK at her! She's tragic. She goes up to Matt, all hopeful and innocent and terribly human, and she's nice to him. Underneath all those years of Original vampire insanity, she really is just a sweet girl. And Matt, the most benign of pretty much everyone in Mystic Falls, rejects her. Matt Donovan. Really. No one ever loves Rebekah. Not because she doesn't deserve to be loved. Just because no one ever does. She tries, and she wants, but it doesn't make a difference, and she can't force someone to love her, because she isn't Klaus, and it doesn't count if it's forced.
And in waltzes Damon, who never tries, who never wants, but has somehow found himself trying and wanting anyway. He is the opposite of Rebekah - he is closed where she is open, he is fatalistic where she is hopeful. But he's just come from the brink of becoming Rebekah, and he will do anything to keep from falling over that edge. And she sees him, not for what he's been but for who he's trying to be, and she thinks that's what she needs to do - shut it all off. The song choice was obvious but perfect nonetheless: "We're going down together."
LET'S TALK ABOUT DAMON/REBEKAH. I have wanted them to happen pretty much from the second she walked into the Boarding House. But actually though. For reasons both shallow (hello, look at them) and semi-meaningful. As a pairing they hit all my buttons - they're both the miserable, self-loathing, inferiority-complexed ones who are never chosen. They are absolutely kindred spirits. And they could be so glorious together, because they genuinely understand the other.
And now it's time to look away if you have no interest in me shamelessly flailing over TVD porn.
HOLY FUCKING HELL THAT LAST SCENE WHAT OMG WOW. Ok, I knew it was going to happen. Ian has been telling everyone he can find that Damon would be getting a new vampire sexytimes friend, and as much as I would love for him to get it on with any of the boys (Stefan, Klaus, Elijah...*dreamy sigh*), that didn't seem likely, and since there are only two female vampires and Katherine is MIA, it had to be Rebekah. So I knew it was coming (and had been looking forward to it, for reals). But I didn't know it would be like THAT. UNFFFFFFFF SO FUCKING HOT. All the clothes-tearing was amazing. Damon getting thrown against walls and having his shirt ripped open is never not unbearably wonderful (2x01, anyone?). And then he TURNS HER AROUND and rips her dress, and just, WHAT. NOT APPROPRIATE FOR NETWORK TV. MORE PLEASE.
Not even gonna lie, it was a highlight.
Predictably, this recap got totally out of control. Congratulations to any of you who managed to finish it. I enjoyed the hell out of this episode. I am VERY excited to see the consequences of everything next week. I anticipate lots of pain, and I'm into it. I also not so secretly hope for Damon/Rebekah to become a recurring thing. I've had my icon ready for weeks.
Basically, I love this show. That is all.