A Case of the.... The Vampire Diaries - Episode 3-5

When last week’s episode ended with Klaus bringing Stefan back to Mystic Falls, I worried that they might be rushing a storyline that could be stretched out for half of the season. I have to say that I was happily wrong. This was a pretty well thought out and exciting episode that climaxed one central storyline, while setting the season in another direction. And I like where it’s going.

One question about Senior prank week, though: What the hell were they doing in the gym? Covering the floor with cups? Good one?

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I enjoyed the “Sophie’s Choice” type situation that Klaus created. We all know that nobody would sacrifice Elena’s life, no matter how dire the situation was. Yet by “killing” Tyler, they were forced to make a decision. If they help Klaus, Elena dies. If they don’t, Tyler dies. The action itself was quite exciting as well. I liked how Elena refused to give up on Stefan, and Stefan’s incredible restraint in attempting to not follow Klaus’ orders. It was effective stuff

I was actually quite impressed with the manner that they set the seeds for Bonnie rescuing Matt, by having them reminisce about their lifeguarding days. I commented on this at the beginning of the season (with Matt and Jeremy) and its true here too, but it’s nice to see some unfamiliar interactions. I’m sure there have been numerous Matt and Bonnie scenes, but none really strike me as particularly memorable. This was the first time I really noticed them sharing special moments together, and it was nice. Actually, there are very few opposite sex relationships on this show that aren’t designed to build up a new relationship, so the idea of two friends – one a girl, the other a girl – just being there for each other is rather refreshing. It’s another reason why I liked Stefan’s friendship with Caroline last year.

I also enjoyed the discussion between Bonnie and Matt at the end. Matt obviously feels like the odd man out – the normal person in this group of vampires, werewolves, doppelgangers, and witches – but it’s easy to forget how lucky he is. Caroline is going on and on about how this is their senior year, yet she’ll never grow up in the traditional sense. I also appreciated Matt’s level head in a dire situation. Like I said, he’s able to live a normal life, and it was that regular perspective that helped them. Bonnie’s immediate reaction is “gotta use magic.” Matt brought her down to earth by saying, “you just need CPR.” Damon and Katherine are always fun to watch – it’s great seeing Katherine going crazy about the fact that Damon isn’t crazy about her (I especially liked his line about how he wouldn’t have stupidly gone to rescue her). The added element of Jeremy was icing on the cake.

One thing that disappointed me, though, was that we didn’t actually see the Matt/Vicki good bye scene. Throughout her entire run, Vicki has devious at worse and troubled at best. This was a scene that could have softened her image considerably, but they took the easy route by not showing it.

I do hope this is the end of Matt seeing dead people, though, because it at least makes Jeremy’s story unique. For that matter, why doesn’t Elena see dead people? She was dead for a while and came back. Actually, Jeremy died, too (with his ring on). As did Alaric. What are the rules here?

I especially enjoyed the two mini twists at the end. The first being that Klaus actually needs to keep Elena alive in order to create hybrids (he actually looked pretty clever in figuring that out) and the other being the apparent role reversal in the Stefan/Elena/Damon love triangle. Regular readers should know that I’m a fan of Stefan and Elena, but I do think it could be fun seeing Damon as the caring, protective one and Stefan as the obnoxious, sarcastic one. Stefan’s behavior in the house was decidedly Damon-esque, while Damon acted very much like Stefan. It was a fun turn.

But, again, I’m rooting for Stefan and Elena.