During this week’s episode a war ends up breaking out between the vampires. The tomb vampires become more restless and decide to take control back, disregarding Pearl’s wishes of patiently waiting for the moment they take back the town. Damon had just agreed to work peacefully with Pearl, giving her the information she desires. Frederick, sick of waiting and out to get revenge on the Salvatore brothers, kidnaps Stefan. Damon tries to save him, but as he’s been compelled by the owner not to let him in, he has no way of helping his brother. Frederick tells him of the torment and anguish they went through when the tomb was sealed, a pain they had to live with for over a century and one that he personally plans on inflicting on Stefan, before killing him that is. Elena is desperate to free Stefan, making her put aside her anger at Damon to work with him. They get Alaric to help, who at first refuses, because of his own hate for Damon until Damon tells him the owner of the house could help him find his long lost vampire wife.
Meanwhile, Jeremy desperately tries to get Anna to turn him in to a vampire. She tells him there are reasons to turn someone, but he hasn’t given her any of those reasons. By telling Jeremy he isn’t ready yet it gives him hope that maybe someday he will be ready. The last few episodes have presented far more intriguing material with Jeremy. He yearns to know more about Anna and what being a vampire means. During a storm he asks if she can go outside since vampires can’t pass through running water. This was the case in the books, but Anna laughs and tells him to look further than Dracula for what her kind can and cannot do.
Although, it’s great that Anna’s true nature has been exposed to Jeremy I still do miss some of her darker material. In the last scene between Jeremy and Anna, we were brought to a enthralling conclusion; one that tells us about Jeremy, his past and what he hoped for his future. It strikes a barrier between them and it could quite possibly destroy any relationship they had. One of the biggest revelations involves the truth of what happened to Vicki, which means a lot of things to different people; none of them particularly good. It will be interesting to see if they have future story lines with the characters trying to deal with this. I suspect at least Jeremy will since it’s been revealed he never really gave up on her and everything he began believing in was all in the hopes that he could still be with her.
The dynamic between Elena and Damon was pretty good during the episode. They have a long way to go, but they’re on their way. There’s nothing like a good rescue mission to help you forget about your mother being turned in to a vampire. Damon had moments where he almost seemed vulnerable; from both the loss of Stefan and the knowledge that everyone hates him. No matter how powerful and satisfying his eternal life is, he has no one to enjoy it with, which is only a further reminder of Katherine.
The torture scene was very still and discomforting even though there was very little blood or gore. It was in a very cold atmosphere, Stefan being chained up in this room of angered vampires out for his blood. The way their torment in the tomb was described, you could tell what they were putting him through wasn’t too far off. Vampire specific weapons and poisons they used made it feel far more painful than if they had simply staked him, pinning all of his weaknesses with revolting substances. Also, many of these vampires are much older than Stefan, not to mention he is much weaker from less blood intake alone. These evil-natured vampires have an influence over him, one that he can’t fight. Elena sacrifices her safety for him, but only to witness animalistic urges taking over her boyfriend, someone she barely recognizes.
