Surprise! Yep, I originally didn’t think I’d be able to catch this episode live, and that I’d have to watch it when CW gets around to posting it online (which takes approximately a week), but I got home earlier than expected. So, here you go!
In the interest of full disclosure, I did miss the first five or so minutes. But based on when I came in, I suspect it had to do with Jeremy and Tyler reconnecting. And everybody finding out that Jeremy had apparently been fired. Oh, and Bonnie is having nightmares.
Otherwise, things seemed to pick up pretty naturally from when we last left. Elena and Damon believe that Stefan had betrayed them. Meanwhile, Stefan and Klaus are each trying to get revenge on the other.
First and foremost, Stefan and Bonnie seemed to join forces in order to hide Klaus’ family. Later on, Damon would offer his services, and Stefan reluctantly accepted after he promised to keep Elena out of it. I ultimately want Elena to end up with Stefan, but I do have to admit that I find this new dynamic intriguing. It’s a complete role reversal – Damon is the one making the Gilbert house visits, and when people have no other choice but to walk down the dark side, they turn to Stefan for help. When Jeremy’s life was in danger, Stefan quite coldly said that it’s not his problem. Damon sympathetically compelled him to leave town. Again, in the end I’m hoping for Stefan and Elena, but for the moment I wouldn’t mind if Elena and Damon continued to grow close (thus I thought the kiss scene was handled really well), while an uneasy alliance developed between Damon and Stefan. The Salvatore brothers are loads of fun to watch anyway.
While we’re on the topic of Jeremy, I’m not quite sure how I feel about his apparent departure. I’m not sure if it’s permanent or not (and I’d rather not be spoiled), but it’s a bit perplexing. On the one hand, I do appreciate that they’re avoiding having to kill off yet another person in Elena’s family, but on the other hand I feel like there’s a lot of life left in Jeremy’s character. He’s developed significantly since the beginning of the series, going from a dead end stoner to a caring, intelligent, and brave guy. Actually, he’s one of the only characters that figured out the whole vampire thing on his own. He wasn’t told and didn’t happen upon it – he actually pieced it all together. I’m not sure anybody else accomplished that.
I also feel strongly that supernatural shows need a strong supporting character that doesn’t have any supernatural abilities. Buffy had Xander. True Blood has Jason. Yes, this show still has Matt, but given his lack of natural connections to the other characters, it’s a lot harder to integrate him into the plot. Jeremy was really perfect for that role (and before anybody brings up Alaric, that guy is a bit too bad ass to fall into this category – and the fact that he was introduced as somebody who already knew all the secrets removes the innate innocence of his character as well).
Oh, and trust me, I was THRILLED when I saw that Alaric was wearing his ring and was thus not really dead, but whatever happened to “there’s nothing supernatural about a bullet”? I thought that established that the ring only protected people from physical acts committed by supernatural entities, but not mechanical weapons. Yes, I know that the Sheriff (a human) was the one who shot Jeremy, but it seems a little silly that the person pulling the trigger makes a difference between somebody living and dying. Now, being protected because a vampire was sucking your blood or breaking your neck or physically throwing you off a building? Yeah, I can buy that. But I don’t see how the ring would protect you from being crushed by an SUV, just because a hybrid so happened to have been driving (what luck!) Again, it’s great news because Alaric is one of my favorite characters….it just didn’t seem in line with how I understood the way things work. But maybe I’m wrong.
