A Case of the.... The Vampire Diaries - Episode 3-11

Wow, remember when people used to decorate their friends’ lockers for their birthday? That was one of those actual high school moments that most teen dramas don’t even think about. Well done.

So this was quite the interesting episode, wasn’t it? I felt like it built up to a number of epic moments, but ultimately left us essentially where we left off. It was like an hour long game of chicken, where bluffs were challenged and called. Of course, I don’t mean that as a criticism, because it was pretty exhilarating.

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Again, not a criticism, but it was a night full of threats with little repercussions. We thought Caroline might die, but Klaus ended up saving her. We thought Bonnie might tell Jeremy the truth, but she decided not to and let him go. We thought Tyler would completely reject Klaus, but he ended up (unwillingly?) biting Caroline anyway. We thought Stefan might turn or kill Elena, but Klaus gave in (although that one was obvious). Yet, I’m actually fine with all of those teases, because I legitimately believed any of those things might happen (except the last one, anyway). And even though I knew Stefan wouldn’t kill Elena, it did provide us with an awesome one-on-one Elena/Stefan interaction – something that’s been scarce this season.

Of all the “nasty” versions of Stefan we’ve seen the past season, this is by far my favorite. The season began with him pretending to be evil in order to protect Elena. Then he was compelled not to care, and he legitimately became evil and no longer seemed to care for Elena or anybody else for that matter. But now he’s free – completely so. He’s actually quite similar to Damon (who was forced into a softer role due to circumstances), he’s “bad,” but he still seems to care about the people around him. No matter how hard he tries to fight it. And this is really the first time he’s interacted with Elena, at length, since the transformation. And it was a really fun scene. While I legitimately believe Stefan wouldn’t have let anything happen to Elena, it’s undeniable that the real, “good” Stefan never, ever would have put Elena in that situation (and, as Elena noted, bringing her the very place that her parents had died was especially cold). Their argument afterwards was very telling as well. At the beginning of the season, Stefan acted monstrously and treated Elena poorly in order to protect her. Now he’s doing the same thing in order to protect himself (his emotions, more specifically). The motivation might be more selfish, but the cause is still the same: He still cares for her.

Oh, and yes, I did catch Elena use the plural when she said she didn’t think she’d grow up to be somebody who fell in love with “vampires.” And I do have to admit that I thought Damon’s line, when referring to them kissing again, “it’s not wrong. It’s just the wrong time” was pretty slick.

So it seems like the actress who portrays Dr. Fell is picking up right where she left off from her role on One Tree Hill, as the incredibly hot girl who seems too good to be true, but is actually a murderous psychopath. Oh Alaric, can’t you have any luck with love? I wonder what her story is.

Speaking of which, one thing I do really appreciate about The Vampire Diaries is how they go out of their way to explain the supernatural cover up. With the mayor and sheriff involved, law enforcement is obviously involved, but this episode gave us another touch by informing us that the medical examiner assists as well.

By the way, I really do love that Caroline actually brought up the fact that she’s technically dead and that, ya’ know, that’s sad. And like I said in the introduction, I legitimately believed the possibility that she might die. The cast is rather large (but not too large), so I could see them eliminating people outside of the core three in order to shock people. And, like Lost, they could do it at an unexpected time without any warning. I also like the way Klaus is slowly but surely charming Elena’s allies to his side.

Does anybody ever get the sense that Matt is just TOO good a guy? Elena breaks up with him and she shacks up with Stefan, and he’s cool with it. Caroline breaks up with him and she shacks up with Tyler, and he’s cool with it. He’s reunited with Vicki (as a ghost), but it turns out she’s evil, so he turns her off. He’s supposed to be a teenage boy – I sometimes find him to be a tad too noble.

Oh, and congratulations to Nina Dobrev, who won the People’s Choice Awards as a write in vote (a first ever). Very, very well deserved. I think her dual portrayal of Katherine and Elena has been exemplary. Well done!