Vampire Diaries 30 day meme - Day 05
Day 05 - Your favorite episode
Continuing on the enjoyable Vampire Diaries meme, my choice for favorite episode is The Return (S2 Ep 1). This should not come as any kind of surprise, given that it showcases my favorite character and the actor's phenomenal abilities.
The Return grabbed it's audience in the first instant and did not let up one iota for the entire 42 minutes. At the end of it I was left looking at the screen thinking, "No, that can't be all!!! There must be more ...". I have re-watched it several times and have had the same reaction each time.
Things that made this such a great episode inlcude Nina's performance of Katherine, the range of emotions that Damon goes through, Ian's stellar performance, Stefan's character acting with conviction about what he feels, Stefan's chemistry with Katherine, Tyler and Jeremy bonding over dead fathers, Bonnie seeing the truth about Damon's feelings for Elena, and last but certainly not least, the writing.
Let's start with the excellent writing in The Return, since there wouldn't be a show without the great writers. Pretty much all of the characters had memorable, potent, quotable lines that expressed what was going on beautifully. Also, there were the witty, one-liners. Here are the ones that I felt were particularly notable:
Damon: "You're surprised that I thought you'd kiss me back? You can't imagine that I'd believe that you'd want to, that what we've been doing here means something? You're the liar, Elena. There is something going on between the two of us and you know it. And you're lying to me, and you're lying to Stefan, and most of all, you're lying to yourself. I can prove it."
Katherine: " Based on your choice of women, I'd say otherwise."
Stefan: "How we respond to that will define us." and "So, no, I'm not going to fight you."
Bonnie: "No, but you'll do anyway. For Elena."
Tyler: "Today's been a big day of sorrys from people who really don't give a crap."
Damon: "If you want to forget what happened fine, but I CAN'T"
Stefan: "Later"
Damon: "Mmmm, you've gotta be kidding me."
Katherine: "At least I fooled one of you. Feel better?"
Elena: "I wouldn't do that."
Damon: "Stake her, rip her head off - something poetic. We'll see."
Damon: "You're scared. You think Katherine's going send send me off the deep end, don't you? I don't need her for that."
Elena: "That's not a surprise. I'm surprised that you thought I'd kiss you back."
Damon: "Now, I'm hurt."
Katherine: "Game On."
Moving on from the writing to Damon's character arc, we are treated to quite the journey in this episode. From Damon's disgust that it was Katherine that he kissed (after thinking that he finally had some acceptance from Elena), to his pain at Elena's response, to being concerned at the impact his actions may have had on his relationship with Stefan, to his anger, passion, and heartbreak with Katherine, to finally expressing his feelings to Elena and seeing the meaning in her reactions to him and wanting her to acknowledge her feelings, his character really ran the emotional gamut. It's amazing that all of this was in the span of just 42 minutes.
Ian's performance of all of those emotions was nothing short of captivating. How many other actors could show so many emotions so well? None, that I know of. He must have worked his butt off while taping this episode. Every scene that he is in is right on the mark. That's no mean feat when he's in the majority of the scenes. There were also several facial expressions that spoke volumes: When he realized it was Katherine, when Stefan and him are discussing kissing Elena, and during the Kat make-out session just before he asks his question. Kudos to Ian for his range and believability.
Nina's performance as Katherine was excellent, as well. Particularly when she's Katherine acting as Elena. All the little things that Nina does to distinguish Kat from Elena, like the way she walks, her tone of voice, the little gestures from the 1864 era - these all show her acting chops. Add to that that she plays Katherine pretending to be Elena, and you can see that Nina's skills are right up there (especially given that she hasn't been in the business as long as her co-stars).
In addition to the above, the sweet moment between Caroline & Matt in the hospital, Bonnie, Caroline, & Matt group hug, Stefan's chemistry with Katherine, and Katherine's reaction to Bonnie opening the parlor door made this episode great.
Now you have a complete picture of why The Return is my favorite episode.