Alright, so this review is for last week’s episode. As I explained, I was in Texas (and it sounds like I left just in time, although it was a great trip). Better late than never, right?
Truth be told, this was a rather enjoyable episode, with only two major complaints (more on those later). Told partially through flashbacks, we learned about Klaus (sorta – I’m still not quite sure HOW he became a vampire), the most interesting factoid being that he and Elijah are brothers and that Elijah was in love with Katherine. I really enjoyed these new tidbits. While many would consider them clichéd (and perhaps they are), I thought they actually added a lot of depth to the Elena/Stefan/Damon triangle. The twisted relationship between Klaus, Katherine, and Elijah destroyed a family and deprived Katherine of her innocence and life. Could Elena and the Salvatore brothers walk down the same dark path if they’re unable to find peace with their situation?
Actually, I quite liked Elijah this episode. I was pretty unmoved by his performance until this point, where he actually got to show depth and emotion instead of just sauntering around like the most powerful guy in the room. He had some surprisingly good chemistry with Elena.
And this brings me to my first complaint: Elijah seemed just a little too forgiving about the fact that Elena killed him. I mean, it’s not even as if Elena deceived him, which ultimately led to his demise. She actually committed the deed. She plunged that knife into his chest. And he barely even acknowledged that. Its like, “Hey, I know you killed me, but you came back to the house when you said you would, so it’s all cool.”
Speaking of the Salvatores, things are beginning to heat up with their conflicting methods of protecting Elena. And Damon discovered that Katherine is alive, and even assisted her during her captivity. Does anybody else think she’s going to sacrifice herself in the finale? I just feel like this is all building up to her doing something really selfless. As for Klaus, the spirit got reunited with the body, meaning Alaric has some messes to clean up.
And that brings me to my second complaint: Jenna is the last major character to discover the supernatural truth regarding the people around her – and it essentially happened off screen. Yes, I understand that we saw the majority of it, and we can deduce how the actual discussion went down, but I still wish we had seen it. I wanted to see how Stefan explained the existence of vampires and, ya’ know, the fact that HE IS ONE.
And this isn’t a complaint as much as a personal preference, but I think I would have liked Elena to be part of the scene. I enjoyed the way it played out, with Klaus-as-Alaric taunting her, with discrete-Stefan acting as the mediator, but I think Elena should have been present in some manner. On a personal level, Jenna finding out this secret is potentially the most significant game changer for Elena. Not only is Jenna a mother figure, but she was also the last real remnant of a normal life for Elena. Now that Jenna knows, that feeling is gone.
