This week’s The Vampire Diaries episode is a prime example of all the show is capable of. While watching it such an extreme of varying emotions flooded through me; intrigue, hope, disbelief, shock, thrill, rage, annoyance, and back to intrigue. It’s always been my thought that when something can really ignite a reaction in you, for better or worse, it is doing something right. The Vampires Diaries is doing a whole lot right.
The episode opens on Elena trying to help out Alaric who is locked away. She feels for him, but also knows that if they have a chance of figuring out where the Salvatore’s bloodlines comes from and which original’s death would result in their death as well, they have to get information out of Alaric. The issue is the Alaric they know wasn’t at all conscience of this. It was the darkness within him that has the information they need. Stefan’s task is to bring out this darker side of him to get the needed information, but Klaus gets in the way with a more direct and vicious approach as usual. Considering the fate of vampires depends on this it gives Klaus an excuse to let his predatory nature out and have a little bit of fun.
Caroline and Tyler are reunited. Things aren’t completely resolved and Tyler won’t know if he has control over things until he tests out his theory. It turns out that Klaus’ control over him isn’t all he should be worrying about. If Damon finds out that Klaus isn’t the original vampire that started their bloodline than they won’t hesitate to kill him, which would in turn kill Tyler and everyone else Klaus turned in the past 1000 years. Damon is fully aware of this, but he simply doesn’t care. Caroline is there for Tyler with this lingering fear, fighting for him and staying by his side. Their reunion is cut short once Tyler finds the romantic drawing of her Klaus left for her. Despite Caroline’s insisting there is nothing going on between them, Tyler is infuriated by the thought that the cause of his essential imprisonment and likely his death as well might also be the cause of stealing his girlfriend away.
Tonight’s episode was a rare occurrence of Elena at least trying to deal with her various feelings on the Salvatores. If she does have feelings for Damon, Stefan isn’t even going to try to get Elena back. He wouldn’t really have her whole heart. Damon has grown so much, but it’s almost a tragic reserved maturity in him. Luckily, he is still Damon at his core; something I pray will always be there. We get plenty of snarky comments and dark thoughts from him, but Elena has bruised him so much he can’t keep on trying to force her eyes open. He continues to do absolutely everything for her. She will either realize that she loves him too or she won’t.
Damon is pretty much at the point where he can’t keep trying. He is not meant to be a man of desperation or to be her idea of what she wants. Damon is still a creature of the wild, he can’t be constrained and expected to be a certain thing that he really isn’t. Let’s just hope Elena won’t just toy with his emotions, turn it on him, and wound him further. We don’t need a Katherine repeat. Elena clearly loves him or at the very least has strong feelings for him. The more she pushes him away the more she is just putting everyone through hell, including herself.
There were a few really exciting turns in Heart of Darkness. Even though I like Alaric once evil Alaric kicked in I had an entirely different perspective filled with a shadowed excitement, weary but still encouraging havoc that might follow. I really liked the notion they went in to a little more this week pointing out that he was not possessed or compelled. Evil Alaric is Alaric. There might be different shades of varying light and darkness in him, but that darkness is still a part of him that he can’t ever really get rid of.
Another major revelation comes at the very end of the episode, revolving around Rebekah and her mother. Rebekah is fragile, hurt, and vengeful. She’s ready to kill her mother in the blink of an eye for attempting to do the same to her. Esther tries to let her daughter know that she always loved her and was silently there for her. This is the last sentiment she will ever share though as she drops dead a second later. What comes to follow is completely mind blowing and opens up an entirely new disaster, which is even more dangerous and sure to be explosive since it is a very well disguised one. This is another example of the show doing what you would never expect, not even seeming like a possibility.
