Writers: Barbie Kligman and Brian Young
Grade: A+
Completely loved this episode. No one was inexplicably nice to Damon, and there were so many unexpected reveals! I didn’t see most of the twists coming, but then again, I wasn’t looking for them because a) we just got a few in the previous episode, and b) I wasn’t expecting so many of them in the same episode!
If Elena hadn’t been given to the Gilberts, Alaric might have ended up being her stepfather. And now he’s dating her legal guardian. Hee. I guess he could be her father, but it’s unlikely. He seems a bit too much the upstanding gentleman to have been involved in whatever happened with teen Isabel. I’m also highly doubtful that he even knows Elena is his wife’s daughter, because he hasn't shown much interest in her—in fact, he's much more interested in Jeremy and Jenna.
I'd also rather he not be her father simply because I'd find the emotional complexity of Alaric being faced with his dead wife's secret daughter more interesting and unusual than him being faced with his own daughter. I think the paternal instinct might be almost hard-wired if he finds out she's actually his daughter, but his paternal feelings would be more complicated if they come from seeing aspects of his wife in Elena and knowing that if things had played out differently, he might have raised Elena with Isabel, but she's not related to him by blood. I think he and Elena could have a very interesting relationship if they find out the truth. That’s part of why I’m loving the show—interesting relationships and relationship possibilities, and they’re not all romantic.
But if Alaric didn't know about Elena, and he didn't know Damon was in Mystic Falls until he saw him at the bar in the previous episode, then why did he end up in Mystic Falls? I don't think it will actually end up being as contrived as it feels now, thus we're probably still missing a few pieces of the puzzle. Maybe Isabel talked about Mystic Falls being creepy and evil, so when he suspected she was killed by a vampire, he went there to look for answers or indirect revenge and got more than he bargained for?
I wanted to give Malese Jow a round of applause by the end of the episode. Last week I said I thought that either the character or the actress was trying too hard, and this week it turns out that it was completely deliberate. I was practically gnashing my teeth at how annoying she was at the dance, and then wham, she’s a vampire and it all makes sense. She felt much more natural and less forced as a baddie.
Are Anna and the bartender Katherine’s friends? Frenemies? Vampires that she created? The bartender went to the high school and was on the football team, so did he just pull the same act Stefan pulled, or was he a legitimate high school kid/recent graduate that Anna vamped and brought into the church tomb plot? Can’t wait to find out the answers to some of these questions.
I agreed with Caroline about the washed up jock at the bar. I can’t even put my finger on what set me off—maybe he just seemed too eager to get into Bonnie’s pants? And it turned out my instincts were right, he was just a different kind of predator.
I kind of wanted to smack Matt for getting his panties in a twist over Caroline’s comment, too. First of all, I think Caroline meant it more along the lines of “Former high school football star working as a bartender and flirting with girls who are still IN high school.” Matt’s not a washed up jock. The only reason he’s not playing football is because the coach was killed, not because he got injured or graduated and couldn’t get a scholarship. He’s not some creepy loser hanging around hitting on the sweeter, younger things. All of that said, I liked that he was so blunt with Caroline about his fears, and I also liked that she didn’t just swallow his sissy argument without a fight. I somehow came out of that little spat respecting both of them.
I also loved Stefan and Elena at the dance—that’s probably their best dialogue together all season, and it made me care about them as a couple in ways that some of their earlier angsty conversations didn’t. He was in cautious protective mode, but he still showed some personality and seemed to have a bit of fun. Their chemistry can feel a little odd sometimes, because Paul Wesley is so good at seeming sort of tired and old and wise. It felt like Stefan was affectionately humoring Elena in an almost patronizing way, but considering his age compared to hers, that actually makes a lot of sense. They seem to be portraying the relationship as a younger girl dating a much older guy, and it's really working, despite the fact that they don't actually look very far apart age-wise. It’s an interesting dynamic, and Elena certainly doesn’t seem to mind. (Sookie and Bill have a similar dynamic over on True Blood, but for whatever reason, Stefan and Elena creep me out a lot less.)
And of course, Elena fighting back against the vampire whose name I’ve already forgotten was awesome. Using pencils on him was fierce and ridiculous at the same time. And she had to be rescued, but she enabled her rescuers by fighting back and staying alive. I she hadn’t fought back, Stefan wouldn’t have been able to get to her in time.
Other Stuff
-Bonnie’s 50s hairdo looked gorgeous on her.
-I really enjoyed seeing Stefan and Damon work together to protect Elena and gather information, but I still can’t help but feel that Stefan is being too nice to Damon considering what he did to Lexi. In fact, that alone should clue Damon in to the possibility that Stefan is playing him by agreeing to help open the tomb.
-Matt kissed Caroline! Squeeee!
Quotes
Alaric: “A first-person account of the Civil War? That’s like… porn, for a history teacher.”
Stefan: “I’m really sorry that won’t be any help with your Diabolical Plan: the Sequel.”
Elena: “Where did they go?”
Damon: “I don’t know.”
Stefan: “What’d you say to them?”
Damon: “I was perfectly polite. Elena… would you like to dance?”
Elena: “I would love to. *turns to Stefan* May I have this dance?”
Elena: “Seriously, what was it like, the 50s? ‘Cause in my mind I have this picture of somewhere between American Bandstand and Grease—it’s all varsity sweaters and milkshakes.”
Stefan: “Well, that and McCarthyism and segregation and the nuclear arms race.”
Elena: “Okay, but there were poodle skirts?”
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