Contributor: John Keegan
Written by Brett Matthews and Rebecca Sonnenshine
Directed by Joshua Butler
If there’s one thing that has become a disturbing trend among my favorite genre shows of late, it’s the season-long fetch quest arc. It’s not always so blatant as finding so many of item A to go with item B to achieve goal C, but the DNA is there, nonetheless. In this case, we learn that there is a supposed cure for vampirism, and getting it means following a map and retrieving a key, both of which reside with members of the Five, a group dedicated to taking down the Originals.
It just so happens that the tattoos worn by the members of the Five include this map, and Bonnie’s semi-love interest of a professor is the one who sent Connor to Mystic Falls to stir up trouble. But Connor isn’t a willing member of the gang, it seems, so it’s going to be a while before the true goals of the Five emerge. (Other than killing the Originals, that is. Which everyone wanted to do last season, too.)
My worry over the apparent cure is that it conveniently gives the writers a way to change Elena into a vampire, explore what that means for a season, and then restore her humanity when all is said and done. If the writers want to show some originality, they need to go a different way. I’m all for Elena being given the choice between her loved ones and the cure, and destroying the cure and her hope for restoration. The only other thing that might work is if the cure didn’t actually exist, and Elena spent a good part of the season trying to get back what she’s lost, only to be forced to come to terms with who and what she is now.
As it is, Elena’s journey is more good than bad. There was more than a little Katherine coming out in Elena during her escapades at the frat party, and I’m not talking about the wonderful costume she was wearing! Elena was having plenty of fun as the seductive bloodsucker, and maybe she’s right to fear what she could become. All the more reason for Caroline to take her in hand and serve as an example, but the writers are studiously ignoring that obvious direction.
The decision to turn Elena was a brave one; it forces all of the characters to reassess relationships and overturns the status quo in a way that few saw coming. To reverse that would be a mistake, and one that could undermine the series as a whole.
Writing: 2/2
Acting: 2/2
Direction: 2/2
Style: 1/4
Final Score: 7/10