Contributor: John Keegan
It seems like every review I write for “The Vampire Diaries” starts with some kind of comment on how damn amazing the pacing is. And sure enough, this mid-season premiere is an exception example of that quality of the series. One would think that the writers would ease the audience back into the story, but they hit the ground running and never look back.
Oddly enough, when they started the episode with Bonnie, I wasn’t sure what kind of story we were going to see. Frankly, she’s been a practical non-presence this season. Sure, her witchcraft abilities have factored into the plot during various important points in the initial Klaus arc, but thinking back, there just hasn’t been a solid storyline for the character. Even in this episode, she is a means to an end.
Adding to that problem, to a certain extent, is the abrupt departure of Jeremy. As much as I haven’t really enjoyed the character as much as others, he was beginning to come out of his broody shell to some extent. Or rather, he was still an emo poster boy, but he was wielding weaponry, so it was a step in the right direction. Without Jeremy and the relationship issues, however, there’s less for Bonnie to do, beyond hero support.
Jeremy’s departure was the result of a nasty little bit of mind manipulation on the part of Klaus and his hybrid minion Tyler. Really, none of the gang should have been shocked by this. Anyone who is so “Yay, Klaus!” as to screw up a relationship with Caroline has to be suffering from serious brainwashing. But in typical “Vampire Diaries” fashion, the writers don’t hold back, and things go badly for Alaric in the process.
This episode also marks the introduction of Dr. Fell, who looks to be something of a romantic partner for Alaric. And considering that he is having some difficulty with his latest resurrection, I suppose this is a good way to introduce such a character. Apparently this is also a character from the source material that had yet to be added to the television incarnation, so it should be interesting to see how fans of the novels react to this version.
It’s refreshing to see Elena and Stefan still in conflict, since it would be so easy for the writers to let him be on the apparent right side of the conflict and back in the welcoming arms of his friends. But the whole “Ripper” arc is having long-term consequences, which is exactly how it should be. There’s potential for things to come around between them later down the road, especially if it would be a convenient complication for another relationship, but this is the kind of darker direction that Stefan needed to take to keep his character fresh.
All right, I’ll now address the one topic that has been the focal point of discussion on this episode since the minute it was over. Damon and Elena finally had an actual, no-holds-barred kiss, and even better, Damon was the one who initiated it. In other words, Elena had all kinds of opportunity to fight him off, declare his actions out of line, and otherwise object, but she seemed awfully fine with the idea. And everyone who has been saying that the two characters are a much better match have cause to rejoice!
Will it stick? In the long-term, it’s a possibility, but Damon is too volatile and Elena is too morally conflicted over his actions and choices to make this a smooth road. Besides, who doesn’t expect that Stefan will recover just in time to derail things before the end of the season? Even so, this is a welcome turn of events, especially since they’ve managed to make it work without softening Damon overly much in the process.
Writing: 2/2
Acting: 2/2
Direction: 2/2
Style: 2/4
Final Rating: 8/10
