Can you hear the crickets?
Yep, I just realized how long it has been since I've really taken a minute to sit down and blog. I have few excuses, although, I've quickly discovered being a theater mom seems to take up way more time than being a dance mom. I have to say, though, that Miss M had one of the most gorgeous Gertrude costumes I've ever seen - even if I was the one to make it.
The kids are out on break. That translates roughly into - hey, let's see how many doctors we can see in one week's time. On Friday, we're making a trip to a homestead farm. Can't wait to play with the goats!
I was reading Fallen - until I misplaced it. Hopefully, I'll be back to reading it again soon. I enjoyed the first several chapters. It really wasn't what I expected it to be...and I like that.
Finally, this is Thanksgiving morning, my time is at a premium so this entry will be short. I've ended up doing a fanfiction for NaNo instead of my original story. Miss M got sick and it lasted for 2 weeks. I can absently write fanfic, but working on my real story takes a little more brain power. I'm really pretty proud of the fanfic. I've never done a story quite like this before, and I think it really stretched me a lot outside my comfort zone.
Thursday, November 25, 2010
Katerina Recap
In the interest of my sanity (and keeping this as short as I can), I’m calling Katherine “Kat” throughout. I’ve also cut most of the Bonnie/Jeremy/Luka scenes.
Baby scene – No wonder Elijah thought Kat’s line ended with her…back then, babies out of wedlock were not common. Cool opening scene. Kat’s dad was so heartless. No wonder she started in with the “I can only trust myself” thing.
Salvatore house – whoa, you can tell just by the knock that Elena is not pleased. I’ve seen some questions about why was Elena so ticked off at Damon after the “thank you” after the rescue. I don’t think she’s mad at him specifically – just the situation. She’s trying to distance herself, and she just keeps getting pulled in over and over again. Interesting that Stefan keeps attempting to minimize what Rose is saying. He seems to be attempting to keep Elena from freaking out, but I really think that’s backfiring on him.
Elena’s comment about remembering where the school is…ouch! I know she doesn’t want to be babied, but I don’t know if she was annoyed at Stefan’s contradictions of Rose’s story or if she was simply venting.
Elena/Caroline in woods – Interesting that Elena has assigned Caroline to keep Stefan occupied. Funny that Elena called in the “girlfriend code.”
Katherine/Elena/Caroline – Caroline doesn’t seem overly pleased with Elena’s plan, but I’m happy Elena doesn’t back down here. She’s really thought this through.
Katherine/Elena – Elena’s like a Girl Scout – girl’s prepared – she has her blanket, lantern, reading material and snacks. Much more cutthroat Elena than we’ve seen in the past – this is obviously the Elena who was the high school cheerleader. I’ve always wondered where she was hiding out.
She’s not taking any chances, though. Using a stick to push the cup was cool. She knows how to make Kat talk… (I have to put a note in here about how creepy Kat looked here. I’d totally never have guessed that both of these characters are actually the same actress.)
This show loves parallels. I think it is interesting that Kat’s line continued because she had a baby out of wedlock….Elena was born out of wedlock as well.
Based on her retelling, Kat met Klaus in London. (I know several have mentioned the “is Elijah Klaus thing,” but I think Kat has actually met Klaus. Elijah is in the flashback – I think they’re different people.
Rose/Damon – Based on Rose’s comments about Damon being in love with Elena, I’m thinking there’s a scene that was cut that we’ve missed here – either that or being 500 years old makes you VERY intuitive. I’m leaning toward a scene that was cut or shortened.
Caroline/Stefan – interesting that Caroline distracts Stefan with a true story. I think she is worried because she told Tyler about who she is. Damon told her not to. That’s not going to go down well when he finds out she revealed herself.
Kat/Elena – Elena mispronounces Petrova, but Kat says it correctly. Nice way to add distinction between the characters. I wouldn’t have expected a teenager raised in Virginia to be able to pronounce it correctly without working on the pronunciation.
Rose/Damon/Slater – Damon doesn’t seem to realize Rose is WAY more powerful than he is. He’s used to threatening people to get his way. Unfortunately, that’s not going to work with Rose. Thankfully, Rose seems willing to help Damon. I still can’t figure out why, though. LOVE Slater… Cool that he’s the walking vampire encyclopedia. He’s who tipped Rose and Trevor off. What is it with Mystic Falls, though? It seems that some odd convergence is getting ready to happen. We have the werewolves, Katherine, the Bennett family, Luka’s family, etc…. There’s more to the story here. Even Elijah referenced the town last week, I feel like I’m not making a connection that I should be able to see.
Rose/Trevor/Kat (flashback)- Surprised that Rose inadvertently turned Kat while trying to heal her. Trevor reminds me of pre-vamp Damon, which, I think is why Rose helps Damon now. He’s so in love with her that he doesn’t care that she’s using him. Kat hung herself…didn’t expect that.
Kat/Elena – Kat offers to turn Elena because it was the same choice she made. The HUGE personality difference between Elena and Katherine is so evident here. Kat will use anyone (and destroy anyone) to keep herself alive. Elena’s going to take the other route.
Caroline/Stefan – Caroline is stuffing her face to stop “those killing some people urges” – too funny. Stefan is sooo interesting when interacting with Caroline. “You have a friend?” I’d already thought to myself how much Caroline and Lexie reminded me of each other. Glad Stefan agrees with me.
Bonnie/Luka/Luka’s Dad – yes, they’re warlocks - not a very subtle intro. I’m not sure about Luka here. The dad’s definitely evil…my jury’s still out on Luka.
Slater/Damon/Rose – Coffee shop meeting. Interesting that they have a vampire “Craig’s List.” How cool is Elijah? He makes change…
Caroline/Stefan – I KNEW the first place Stefan would go was the “she’s with Damon” route. He’s still insecure about the Elena/Damon thing. Just like their conversation post-saving-Damon from the fire, Stefan can’t move past the potential of Elena falling for his brother. I even mentioned this potential issue on the DE general thread earlier in the week. I see this as a major stumbling block if the SE relationship gets back on track. Stefan is going to have to deal with his insecurity about Damon and Elena.
ILOVE Caroline having Elena’s back. Even though she cares about Stefan’s friendship, Elena was her friend first, and her word to Elena takes priority.
Kat/Elena – Elena puts the pieces together. She realizes how many of her friends are in danger. Cool that she counts Tyler as a friend even though they don’t interact much, but she has grown up with the guy.
There’s NO WAY the curse is as simple as just letting vampires walk in the sun. Just like we discovered Damon’s plan to get Kat out of the tomb didn’t just save Katherine, there has to be more to the spell. I still think there’s an entire subplot we don’t know about yet. By the end of the reveal, we realize Tyler, Bonnie, Caroline, and Elena are all involved. (I’m thinking Bonnie is part of the sacrifice, not just the witch needed to perform the spell.) Kat’s line – better you than me. She’s still hoping providing all the elements to undo the spell will keep her alive.
Elena/Kat/Stefan – Stefan figured out where Elena is. Watching Stefan trying so hard to convince Elena not to believe Kat is really touching. Kat’s right – being in protective mode is such a part of Stefan’s make up. That’s a problem for Elena, though since Elena doesn’t want to watch Stefan die. It would be easier for her to be the one to make the sacrifice rather than being forced to see her friends and family killed to get to her.
Flashback – Help me, I’m feeling sorry for Kat. Klaus killed all Kat’s family.
Kat/Stefan/Elena – One lesson we’ve learned from Rose’s story combined with Kat’s … you can’t escape Klaus. Your friends, family, everyone will die so he can get to you. You can see Elena’s face hardening here. Elena has no plans for putting anyone else in danger to keep herself safe.
Kat is SO smart. She doesn’t want out. She’s safe in the tomb. As we get a glimpse at Elena before the scene ends, it seems clear that she is getting ready for a well-deserved breakdown.
Damon/Rose. Damon’s drinking straight out of the decanter. Rose is using reverse psychology here. Why does she seem to be trying to talk Damon into dealing with his feelings for Elena? Does she have regrets for never acting on her feelings for Trevor? Interesting line from Damon - Caring gets you dead.
Rose offers to flip the switch if Damon will too…more on this later.
Elena/Stefan – The girl totally can’t unlock doors when she’s upset. Remember the van door earlier in the season? This porch scene reminds me SO much of “Lost Girls” last season when Elena said she couldn’t be with Stefan. She’s finally having her nervous breakdown. She has no one else to blame for the danger to her friends and family than herself. (Actually, I blame whoever did the curse in the first place.)
Rose/Damon - A lot has been said about their chemistry, or lack thereof, but that’s not Rose’s purpose. She’s there to show him the level of his feelings for Elena. Casual hook-ups aren’t working for him now. For whatever reason, she’s there to force Damon to realize he’s NOT going to be able to move on. His feelings for Elena are too intense. He’s not going to be able to accept the “distant guardian” role.
Elijah/Slater – whoa, an original can compel a vamp.
Luka’s dad – how did I know he’d be working for Elijah? I don’t think they need just any witch to break the spell. Just like they need a Petrova, they need a Bennett.
My commentary:
-This episode raised as many questions as answers. Where did Kat’s baby go? (Please don’t say with a Gilbert.) Why is Rose so concerned with Damon’s relationship with Elena? What does Luka’s dad have to gain from unlocking the curse?
-Why is everyone converging in Mystic Falls?
-Ooooh , interesting promo. I think the “Elena’s against the wall” scene could be the one Nina was attempting not to reference during her MTV interview. When Elena realizes she has feelings for Damon, she’s initially going to be conflicted…I think we witnessed that scene in the promos.
Baby scene – No wonder Elijah thought Kat’s line ended with her…back then, babies out of wedlock were not common. Cool opening scene. Kat’s dad was so heartless. No wonder she started in with the “I can only trust myself” thing.
Salvatore house – whoa, you can tell just by the knock that Elena is not pleased. I’ve seen some questions about why was Elena so ticked off at Damon after the “thank you” after the rescue. I don’t think she’s mad at him specifically – just the situation. She’s trying to distance herself, and she just keeps getting pulled in over and over again. Interesting that Stefan keeps attempting to minimize what Rose is saying. He seems to be attempting to keep Elena from freaking out, but I really think that’s backfiring on him.
Elena’s comment about remembering where the school is…ouch! I know she doesn’t want to be babied, but I don’t know if she was annoyed at Stefan’s contradictions of Rose’s story or if she was simply venting.
Elena/Caroline in woods – Interesting that Elena has assigned Caroline to keep Stefan occupied. Funny that Elena called in the “girlfriend code.”
Katherine/Elena/Caroline – Caroline doesn’t seem overly pleased with Elena’s plan, but I’m happy Elena doesn’t back down here. She’s really thought this through.
Katherine/Elena – Elena’s like a Girl Scout – girl’s prepared – she has her blanket, lantern, reading material and snacks. Much more cutthroat Elena than we’ve seen in the past – this is obviously the Elena who was the high school cheerleader. I’ve always wondered where she was hiding out.
She’s not taking any chances, though. Using a stick to push the cup was cool. She knows how to make Kat talk… (I have to put a note in here about how creepy Kat looked here. I’d totally never have guessed that both of these characters are actually the same actress.)
This show loves parallels. I think it is interesting that Kat’s line continued because she had a baby out of wedlock….Elena was born out of wedlock as well.
Based on her retelling, Kat met Klaus in London. (I know several have mentioned the “is Elijah Klaus thing,” but I think Kat has actually met Klaus. Elijah is in the flashback – I think they’re different people.
Rose/Damon – Based on Rose’s comments about Damon being in love with Elena, I’m thinking there’s a scene that was cut that we’ve missed here – either that or being 500 years old makes you VERY intuitive. I’m leaning toward a scene that was cut or shortened.
Caroline/Stefan – interesting that Caroline distracts Stefan with a true story. I think she is worried because she told Tyler about who she is. Damon told her not to. That’s not going to go down well when he finds out she revealed herself.
Kat/Elena – Elena mispronounces Petrova, but Kat says it correctly. Nice way to add distinction between the characters. I wouldn’t have expected a teenager raised in Virginia to be able to pronounce it correctly without working on the pronunciation.
Rose/Damon/Slater – Damon doesn’t seem to realize Rose is WAY more powerful than he is. He’s used to threatening people to get his way. Unfortunately, that’s not going to work with Rose. Thankfully, Rose seems willing to help Damon. I still can’t figure out why, though. LOVE Slater… Cool that he’s the walking vampire encyclopedia. He’s who tipped Rose and Trevor off. What is it with Mystic Falls, though? It seems that some odd convergence is getting ready to happen. We have the werewolves, Katherine, the Bennett family, Luka’s family, etc…. There’s more to the story here. Even Elijah referenced the town last week, I feel like I’m not making a connection that I should be able to see.
Rose/Trevor/Kat (flashback)- Surprised that Rose inadvertently turned Kat while trying to heal her. Trevor reminds me of pre-vamp Damon, which, I think is why Rose helps Damon now. He’s so in love with her that he doesn’t care that she’s using him. Kat hung herself…didn’t expect that.
Kat/Elena – Kat offers to turn Elena because it was the same choice she made. The HUGE personality difference between Elena and Katherine is so evident here. Kat will use anyone (and destroy anyone) to keep herself alive. Elena’s going to take the other route.
Caroline/Stefan – Caroline is stuffing her face to stop “those killing some people urges” – too funny. Stefan is sooo interesting when interacting with Caroline. “You have a friend?” I’d already thought to myself how much Caroline and Lexie reminded me of each other. Glad Stefan agrees with me.
Bonnie/Luka/Luka’s Dad – yes, they’re warlocks - not a very subtle intro. I’m not sure about Luka here. The dad’s definitely evil…my jury’s still out on Luka.
Slater/Damon/Rose – Coffee shop meeting. Interesting that they have a vampire “Craig’s List.” How cool is Elijah? He makes change…
Caroline/Stefan – I KNEW the first place Stefan would go was the “she’s with Damon” route. He’s still insecure about the Elena/Damon thing. Just like their conversation post-saving-Damon from the fire, Stefan can’t move past the potential of Elena falling for his brother. I even mentioned this potential issue on the DE general thread earlier in the week. I see this as a major stumbling block if the SE relationship gets back on track. Stefan is going to have to deal with his insecurity about Damon and Elena.
ILOVE Caroline having Elena’s back. Even though she cares about Stefan’s friendship, Elena was her friend first, and her word to Elena takes priority.
Kat/Elena – Elena puts the pieces together. She realizes how many of her friends are in danger. Cool that she counts Tyler as a friend even though they don’t interact much, but she has grown up with the guy.
There’s NO WAY the curse is as simple as just letting vampires walk in the sun. Just like we discovered Damon’s plan to get Kat out of the tomb didn’t just save Katherine, there has to be more to the spell. I still think there’s an entire subplot we don’t know about yet. By the end of the reveal, we realize Tyler, Bonnie, Caroline, and Elena are all involved. (I’m thinking Bonnie is part of the sacrifice, not just the witch needed to perform the spell.) Kat’s line – better you than me. She’s still hoping providing all the elements to undo the spell will keep her alive.
Elena/Kat/Stefan – Stefan figured out where Elena is. Watching Stefan trying so hard to convince Elena not to believe Kat is really touching. Kat’s right – being in protective mode is such a part of Stefan’s make up. That’s a problem for Elena, though since Elena doesn’t want to watch Stefan die. It would be easier for her to be the one to make the sacrifice rather than being forced to see her friends and family killed to get to her.
Flashback – Help me, I’m feeling sorry for Kat. Klaus killed all Kat’s family.
Kat/Stefan/Elena – One lesson we’ve learned from Rose’s story combined with Kat’s … you can’t escape Klaus. Your friends, family, everyone will die so he can get to you. You can see Elena’s face hardening here. Elena has no plans for putting anyone else in danger to keep herself safe.
Kat is SO smart. She doesn’t want out. She’s safe in the tomb. As we get a glimpse at Elena before the scene ends, it seems clear that she is getting ready for a well-deserved breakdown.
Damon/Rose. Damon’s drinking straight out of the decanter. Rose is using reverse psychology here. Why does she seem to be trying to talk Damon into dealing with his feelings for Elena? Does she have regrets for never acting on her feelings for Trevor? Interesting line from Damon - Caring gets you dead.
Rose offers to flip the switch if Damon will too…more on this later.
Elena/Stefan – The girl totally can’t unlock doors when she’s upset. Remember the van door earlier in the season? This porch scene reminds me SO much of “Lost Girls” last season when Elena said she couldn’t be with Stefan. She’s finally having her nervous breakdown. She has no one else to blame for the danger to her friends and family than herself. (Actually, I blame whoever did the curse in the first place.)
Rose/Damon - A lot has been said about their chemistry, or lack thereof, but that’s not Rose’s purpose. She’s there to show him the level of his feelings for Elena. Casual hook-ups aren’t working for him now. For whatever reason, she’s there to force Damon to realize he’s NOT going to be able to move on. His feelings for Elena are too intense. He’s not going to be able to accept the “distant guardian” role.
Elijah/Slater – whoa, an original can compel a vamp.
Luka’s dad – how did I know he’d be working for Elijah? I don’t think they need just any witch to break the spell. Just like they need a Petrova, they need a Bennett.
My commentary:
-This episode raised as many questions as answers. Where did Kat’s baby go? (Please don’t say with a Gilbert.) Why is Rose so concerned with Damon’s relationship with Elena? What does Luka’s dad have to gain from unlocking the curse?
-Why is everyone converging in Mystic Falls?
-Ooooh , interesting promo. I think the “Elena’s against the wall” scene could be the one Nina was attempting not to reference during her MTV interview. When Elena realizes she has feelings for Damon, she’s initially going to be conflicted…I think we witnessed that scene in the promos.
Saturday, October 23, 2010
Plan B
I was totally not expecting this opening scene. I’d been certain that we were going to open with the Katherine/Mason in the bed scene. Stefan and Elena - that was a total surprise. I really think that there’s a correlation to Stefan drinking Elena’s blood and the fact that we see them in bed together...he’d been intentionally distancing himself after his human blood issue - leading to less physical intimacy between the couple. Now that he’s drinking her blood, he’s not afraid of being overwhelmed by the need and losing control.
I did like the parallel scenes between Stefan with Elena and Mason with Katherine. (Book nerd moment - the fact they’re in Mrs. Flower’s house....so cute.) Katherine and Elena may be physically similar, but watching them with their significant others really shows their personality differences. Elena’s warm and tender when she’s with Stefan. Katherine’s possessive and dominant.
Jeremy’s arrival at the Salvatore house was also unexpected. He’s so isolated he’s willing to share his information with the vampire who tried to kill him. I haven’t decided if he’s just trying to be part of the team or if he’s trying to protect Elena here.
At party headquarters, Jenna shows she’s not as clueless of a guardian as I might have expected. She’s just cool with things that wouldn’t go down at my house.
Bonnie and Elena’s meeting seems really forced. (I do have to say that I really like Bonnie’s hair here - my favorite look for her out of all the looks she’s had.) Elena’s trying to help Caroline adjust to her new life. Bonnie’s out and out hate of all things vampire has left her alone.
Caroline and her mom’s initial chat was so much like I would have written it. (Hey, I did write that they bonded over Caroline taking dishes away.) For the first time, Sheriff Forbes doesn’t just see a creature she hates - she realizes that her daughter really did die. No mother could stay cold and indifferent after that realization.
Alaric arrives with more of Isobel’s research. He’s surprised to see Jeremy there, and he asks if Elena knows about Jeremy’s involvement. Ummm, that would be a no. Damon might not be a believer in the curse about the moonstone, but he’s not taking any chances. He wants the moonstone.
I’m surprised that Bonnie apparently didn’t know the story of how Caroline turned. She’s been more closed off from her friends than I realized.
Mason seeing Stefan at the Lockwood house has to be one of my favorite scenes in this episode. The look on his face...yeah, he wasn’t expecting to ever see Stefan again. Bonnie bumps into Mason and gets an unexpected vision. Interesting that she immediately thought it was Elena. Yes, Elena’s supposed to be having a rough patch with Stefan, but she wouldn’t be kissing Mason Lockwood. Is she blocking out the undead lady who bears such a striking resemblance to her best friend? Last time I saw the pair of them together, Katherine had Bonnie by the neck. I would have thought that would have left a lasting impression with her. Did she think Katherine had left? She does confide in Stefan, though. He makes the connection.
Jeremy and Elena discuss Jeremy’s involvement in Team Blood, Beer, and Cookies. As expected, she’s not a fan. He tells her that she hasn’t left him much choice. She doesn’t get to tell him what to do.
Damon and Stefan are surprised they missed Katherine’s connection to Mason. (Hey, guys, I called that a LONG time ago. They both got to town at the same time.) Stefan is unimpressed that Damon’s letting Jeremy be in on the anti-Katherine plan. He was so funny when he punched Damon’s shoulder in annoyance.
In the interest of length, I’m not commenting on the Tyler/Matt/Jeremy scene here.
Elena’s feeling out of the loop, so she’s texting Stefan to find out what’s going on. We know she’s big on texting - nice to see it here. When she discovers Stefan is with Bonnie and Damon, alarm bells ring. She calls him. (Nice point here...Stefan doesn’t want Elena to be calling him in a public place. That breaks the “we’re fighting” scenario they’re trying to keep.) Damon chats with Bonnie as Stefan talks with Elena. He says that Katherine and Mason are the bad guys. Last year, he would have said that about himself. He knows how to push Bonnie’s buttons...by helping him, she’ll be protecting Elena. She agrees.
Seizing on Mason’s nice guy image, Bonnie assists in ambushing Mason by giving him a now-famous witchy headache. When he goes down, Damon tosses Mason in the back of his truck.
Sheriff Forbes seems shocked that there’s an alternate to killing. Caroline is so cute when she says she’s better at controlling herself than Stefan. All that work for Miss Mystic Falls must have paid off. She’s been a control freak - now that nature is accentuated as well.
Bonnie tries to “read” an unconscious Mason. After discovering it is in a well, she bolts. As she’s leaving, Caroline comes to meet her - uncomfortable..... Bonnie has an idea of which well the moonstone is at, and she’s ready to go meet Stefan at the well. Thankfully, she reluctantly agrees to take Caroline with her.
Oh look! Matt and Elena have a scene together. He’s concerned about Elena, but he doesn’t press her on what’s going on.
Not gonna lie - the Damon torturing Mason scenes were really uncomfortable to watch. It was good to see a hint of the dark Damon - he may be a work in progress, but he’s still totally a vampire.
Stefan arrives at the well - mildly annoyed that Elena followed him. He jumps into the well only to discover that Mason has done an excellent job of hiding the stone from Katherine. The water’s full of vervain. His skin is literally boiling. Ew!
Elena totally freaks out. Caroline hears her and rushes to help, but Elena stops her before she jumps in. Thankfully, the huge metal chain is next to the well.
Damon continues his dealings with Mason. He’s mildly troubled when Jeremy arrives, but warms to his arrival when Jeremy explains about the wolfsbane. Damon strokes Mason’s cheek with the plant in much the same way Stefan taunted Katherine with the vervain back in “Memory Lane.” When he realizes Mason’s not going to talk, he force feeds the vervain to him.
Caroline lowers Elena into the well where she finds a severely injured Stefan. After securing the chains around him, Elena goes in search of the moonstone. Bonnie and Caroline lay Stefan on the ground as they encourage Elena to get out of the well. While surrounded by snakes, Elena finds the moonstone. Honestly, I expected her to react to the snakebites - glad I was wrong. Stefan is only semi-conscious. Elena slices her hand open (causing Caroline to turn away) and allows him to feed.
Damon clearly gets into his torture. He’s pressing on - determined to get the information out of Mason. Once he realizes Mason has no more to tell...time’s up. Damon tells Jeremy to take a walk. Mason knows what’s coming. He begs Jeremy to help Tyler - don’t let the curse happen to him - he’s not going to be around to help his nephew.
Jeremy stands his ground. He’s not going anywhere.
Damon throws Jeremy into a chair and explains - it is kill or be killed (actually, that was last week’s episode....). Thankfully, Jeremy chooses to leave.
Damon has a moment of shocking clarity at this point. He understands that Katherine has convinced Mason of her love for him. History isn’t just repeating for the brothers....Katherine has found a new man to manipulate as well. Damon realizes that Mason is truly burdened by the werewolf curse. He’s almost doing Mason a favor as he ends his life. Mason clearly hated what he’d become. He may have loved Katherine, but he wasn’t happy with his life and the potential to hurt others. Damon had to see a portion of himself in Mason - both turned into monsters by the woman who they thought loved them.
Awww - sweet Alaric and Jenna moment in the kitchen. On this show, nothing that tender lasts for too long. Elena comes home, and Alaric realizes something’s wrong.
Caroline excitedly tells her mother about rescuing Stefan, and Sheriff Forbes says what I’d been so hoping to hear. She loves the young woman that Caroline has become. She doesn’t want to lose those memories. Caroline knows, though, that her mom will never trust Damon and Stefan. She has to protect them. She compels her mother to think she’s been sick with the flu for the past three days.
A visibly drained Stefan meets Damon in the living room. When Damon makes a call to taunt Katherine, Stefan tries to stop him. Damon seriously should have listened to his brother. When he talks with Katherine, he realizes his mistake. He’d underestimated Katherine.
Jenna’s on the phone while Alaric and Elena talk. Katherine’s on the phone - she knows about Stefan and Elena sleeping together. Jenna’s been watching Elena and Stefan and reporting in to Katherine. Katherine makes good on her threat to Stefan. She’s compelled Jenna to stab herself, and she makes certain Elena is watching.
Elena comes to tell Jeremy that Jenna’s going to be alright. She’s as broken as we’ve seen her. She knows Katherine really can get to anyone. Jeremy takes his sister in his arms, and he gives a shockingly determined look as he strokes her hair. Katherine is going to pay. He’s going to make sure of it.
Insert Tyler scene here....
(Sorry - this next scene is brutal for me to recap. Nina and Paul do such a good job of visually showing their characters’ angst....words don’t accurately capture the emotion they’re conveying.) Elena walks into the Salvatore library. Stefan’s there...staring into the fire. When he turns, he’s already fighting back tears. He chokes out an apology as Elena says they’re the ones to blame. They didn’t listen to Katherine. There’s only one thing they can do. Stefan has no words. She has to say it. They have to end it. She’s so torn, and I really think she’s conflicted knowing just what he’s been through that day. The guy’s boiled in vervain water. On a different day, he might take her in his arms, but he’s simply spent. She gives him one more kiss and turns to leave.
She’s clutching her stomach as she speeds down the hall. Damon calls out to her as she reaches the door. In a moment of total maturity, he tries to take the blame for what’s happened. Elena dismisses him. It doesn’t matter. After all they’ve been through, a tearful Elena admits that Katherine won. Seeing the tears in Elena’s eyes seems to make something click in Damon’s expression. Katherine’s gone too far now.
Poor guy, Matt can’t catch a break. First Caroline breaks up with him...now Katherine needs a favor. She needs a new werewolf, and she needs Matt’s help. She compels Matt to attack Tyler. He can’t stop until Tyler kills him.
I did like the parallel scenes between Stefan with Elena and Mason with Katherine. (Book nerd moment - the fact they’re in Mrs. Flower’s house....so cute.) Katherine and Elena may be physically similar, but watching them with their significant others really shows their personality differences. Elena’s warm and tender when she’s with Stefan. Katherine’s possessive and dominant.
Jeremy’s arrival at the Salvatore house was also unexpected. He’s so isolated he’s willing to share his information with the vampire who tried to kill him. I haven’t decided if he’s just trying to be part of the team or if he’s trying to protect Elena here.
At party headquarters, Jenna shows she’s not as clueless of a guardian as I might have expected. She’s just cool with things that wouldn’t go down at my house.
Bonnie and Elena’s meeting seems really forced. (I do have to say that I really like Bonnie’s hair here - my favorite look for her out of all the looks she’s had.) Elena’s trying to help Caroline adjust to her new life. Bonnie’s out and out hate of all things vampire has left her alone.
Caroline and her mom’s initial chat was so much like I would have written it. (Hey, I did write that they bonded over Caroline taking dishes away.) For the first time, Sheriff Forbes doesn’t just see a creature she hates - she realizes that her daughter really did die. No mother could stay cold and indifferent after that realization.
Alaric arrives with more of Isobel’s research. He’s surprised to see Jeremy there, and he asks if Elena knows about Jeremy’s involvement. Ummm, that would be a no. Damon might not be a believer in the curse about the moonstone, but he’s not taking any chances. He wants the moonstone.
I’m surprised that Bonnie apparently didn’t know the story of how Caroline turned. She’s been more closed off from her friends than I realized.
Mason seeing Stefan at the Lockwood house has to be one of my favorite scenes in this episode. The look on his face...yeah, he wasn’t expecting to ever see Stefan again. Bonnie bumps into Mason and gets an unexpected vision. Interesting that she immediately thought it was Elena. Yes, Elena’s supposed to be having a rough patch with Stefan, but she wouldn’t be kissing Mason Lockwood. Is she blocking out the undead lady who bears such a striking resemblance to her best friend? Last time I saw the pair of them together, Katherine had Bonnie by the neck. I would have thought that would have left a lasting impression with her. Did she think Katherine had left? She does confide in Stefan, though. He makes the connection.
Jeremy and Elena discuss Jeremy’s involvement in Team Blood, Beer, and Cookies. As expected, she’s not a fan. He tells her that she hasn’t left him much choice. She doesn’t get to tell him what to do.
Damon and Stefan are surprised they missed Katherine’s connection to Mason. (Hey, guys, I called that a LONG time ago. They both got to town at the same time.) Stefan is unimpressed that Damon’s letting Jeremy be in on the anti-Katherine plan. He was so funny when he punched Damon’s shoulder in annoyance.
In the interest of length, I’m not commenting on the Tyler/Matt/Jeremy scene here.
Elena’s feeling out of the loop, so she’s texting Stefan to find out what’s going on. We know she’s big on texting - nice to see it here. When she discovers Stefan is with Bonnie and Damon, alarm bells ring. She calls him. (Nice point here...Stefan doesn’t want Elena to be calling him in a public place. That breaks the “we’re fighting” scenario they’re trying to keep.) Damon chats with Bonnie as Stefan talks with Elena. He says that Katherine and Mason are the bad guys. Last year, he would have said that about himself. He knows how to push Bonnie’s buttons...by helping him, she’ll be protecting Elena. She agrees.
Seizing on Mason’s nice guy image, Bonnie assists in ambushing Mason by giving him a now-famous witchy headache. When he goes down, Damon tosses Mason in the back of his truck.
Sheriff Forbes seems shocked that there’s an alternate to killing. Caroline is so cute when she says she’s better at controlling herself than Stefan. All that work for Miss Mystic Falls must have paid off. She’s been a control freak - now that nature is accentuated as well.
Bonnie tries to “read” an unconscious Mason. After discovering it is in a well, she bolts. As she’s leaving, Caroline comes to meet her - uncomfortable..... Bonnie has an idea of which well the moonstone is at, and she’s ready to go meet Stefan at the well. Thankfully, she reluctantly agrees to take Caroline with her.
Oh look! Matt and Elena have a scene together. He’s concerned about Elena, but he doesn’t press her on what’s going on.
Not gonna lie - the Damon torturing Mason scenes were really uncomfortable to watch. It was good to see a hint of the dark Damon - he may be a work in progress, but he’s still totally a vampire.
Stefan arrives at the well - mildly annoyed that Elena followed him. He jumps into the well only to discover that Mason has done an excellent job of hiding the stone from Katherine. The water’s full of vervain. His skin is literally boiling. Ew!
Elena totally freaks out. Caroline hears her and rushes to help, but Elena stops her before she jumps in. Thankfully, the huge metal chain is next to the well.
Damon continues his dealings with Mason. He’s mildly troubled when Jeremy arrives, but warms to his arrival when Jeremy explains about the wolfsbane. Damon strokes Mason’s cheek with the plant in much the same way Stefan taunted Katherine with the vervain back in “Memory Lane.” When he realizes Mason’s not going to talk, he force feeds the vervain to him.
Caroline lowers Elena into the well where she finds a severely injured Stefan. After securing the chains around him, Elena goes in search of the moonstone. Bonnie and Caroline lay Stefan on the ground as they encourage Elena to get out of the well. While surrounded by snakes, Elena finds the moonstone. Honestly, I expected her to react to the snakebites - glad I was wrong. Stefan is only semi-conscious. Elena slices her hand open (causing Caroline to turn away) and allows him to feed.
Damon clearly gets into his torture. He’s pressing on - determined to get the information out of Mason. Once he realizes Mason has no more to tell...time’s up. Damon tells Jeremy to take a walk. Mason knows what’s coming. He begs Jeremy to help Tyler - don’t let the curse happen to him - he’s not going to be around to help his nephew.
Jeremy stands his ground. He’s not going anywhere.
Damon throws Jeremy into a chair and explains - it is kill or be killed (actually, that was last week’s episode....). Thankfully, Jeremy chooses to leave.
Damon has a moment of shocking clarity at this point. He understands that Katherine has convinced Mason of her love for him. History isn’t just repeating for the brothers....Katherine has found a new man to manipulate as well. Damon realizes that Mason is truly burdened by the werewolf curse. He’s almost doing Mason a favor as he ends his life. Mason clearly hated what he’d become. He may have loved Katherine, but he wasn’t happy with his life and the potential to hurt others. Damon had to see a portion of himself in Mason - both turned into monsters by the woman who they thought loved them.
Awww - sweet Alaric and Jenna moment in the kitchen. On this show, nothing that tender lasts for too long. Elena comes home, and Alaric realizes something’s wrong.
Caroline excitedly tells her mother about rescuing Stefan, and Sheriff Forbes says what I’d been so hoping to hear. She loves the young woman that Caroline has become. She doesn’t want to lose those memories. Caroline knows, though, that her mom will never trust Damon and Stefan. She has to protect them. She compels her mother to think she’s been sick with the flu for the past three days.
A visibly drained Stefan meets Damon in the living room. When Damon makes a call to taunt Katherine, Stefan tries to stop him. Damon seriously should have listened to his brother. When he talks with Katherine, he realizes his mistake. He’d underestimated Katherine.
Jenna’s on the phone while Alaric and Elena talk. Katherine’s on the phone - she knows about Stefan and Elena sleeping together. Jenna’s been watching Elena and Stefan and reporting in to Katherine. Katherine makes good on her threat to Stefan. She’s compelled Jenna to stab herself, and she makes certain Elena is watching.
Elena comes to tell Jeremy that Jenna’s going to be alright. She’s as broken as we’ve seen her. She knows Katherine really can get to anyone. Jeremy takes his sister in his arms, and he gives a shockingly determined look as he strokes her hair. Katherine is going to pay. He’s going to make sure of it.
Insert Tyler scene here....
(Sorry - this next scene is brutal for me to recap. Nina and Paul do such a good job of visually showing their characters’ angst....words don’t accurately capture the emotion they’re conveying.) Elena walks into the Salvatore library. Stefan’s there...staring into the fire. When he turns, he’s already fighting back tears. He chokes out an apology as Elena says they’re the ones to blame. They didn’t listen to Katherine. There’s only one thing they can do. Stefan has no words. She has to say it. They have to end it. She’s so torn, and I really think she’s conflicted knowing just what he’s been through that day. The guy’s boiled in vervain water. On a different day, he might take her in his arms, but he’s simply spent. She gives him one more kiss and turns to leave.
She’s clutching her stomach as she speeds down the hall. Damon calls out to her as she reaches the door. In a moment of total maturity, he tries to take the blame for what’s happened. Elena dismisses him. It doesn’t matter. After all they’ve been through, a tearful Elena admits that Katherine won. Seeing the tears in Elena’s eyes seems to make something click in Damon’s expression. Katherine’s gone too far now.
Poor guy, Matt can’t catch a break. First Caroline breaks up with him...now Katherine needs a favor. She needs a new werewolf, and she needs Matt’s help. She compels Matt to attack Tyler. He can’t stop until Tyler kills him.
Wednesday, September 29, 2010
Bad Moon Rising Recap
Mystic Falls has a new council of sorts. Alaric, Stefan, Damon, and Elena meet to discuss the Lockwood issue. Did Isobel ever mention another supernatural element in Mystic Falls?
Werewolves...
Of course, what would a vampire story be without a werewolf plot? Damon is skeptical. He’s been around a long time, and he’s never run into a werewolf. Therefore, they must not exist. Despite his skepticism, the group decides a road trip to Isobel’s office is in order - except for Stefan. He has to stay home and babysit baby vamp, Caroline.
And he’s not exactly thrilled about it. Elena realizes he’s on edge having her going away with Damon. She offers to reschedule the trip, but he says he’ll be fine - while admitting he’s going to hate her being gone. As Elena puts her bags in the car, Damon offers to take very good care of her. She’s tired of Damon, at least she’s not calling him the D word this week, and she knows Stefan’s still uncertain about the trip. She glares at Damon, pulls Stefan close to her, and gives him a passionate kiss - while Damon looks uncomfortably at the pair.
Sunlight is still giving Caroline major issues. When Matt arrives to spend the day with her, she can’t even answer the door. Thankfully, Stefan has thought of this, and he meets with Bonnie to try to solve the problem. In a complication I expected (but hoped to be wrong about), Bonnie’s not so sure about providing Caroline with her own anti-daylight jewelry. At first, she tries to play the “I’m not strong enough card,” but Stefan nixes that idea. If she can drop a vampire with a single glare, she can make the ring. The instructions are in the grimoire. Stefan insists that Caroline needs the ring to give her a tie to her humanity not to make it easier to hunt. Finally, Bonnie agrees.
We move on to Caroline’s room, and Caroline is cranky. She wants to know why she didn’t have any say in picking the ring, and she’s not enjoying the “judgy-Bonnie” treatment. She didn’t have any say in turning into a vampire, and she’s not pleased that Bonnie seems less than friendly. Stefan intervenes before Caroline drives Bonnie away, and Bonnie successfully spells the ring.
Damon’s not the only one curious about what’s going on with Mason Lockwood. Tyler follows his uncle into the woods and discovers a hidden room beneath the ruins of the old Lockwood home. Curious, Tyler asks his mom about the room. The Lockwood house burned down ages ago (seems to be a lot of that in Mystic Falls), and the room isn’t something mentioned in polite company. Slavery, you know. Somehow, I’m thinking slavery isn’t why the room wasn’t mentioned. Does Mrs. Lockwood know the family secret?
The road trip crew arrive at Duke. Alaric introduces Elena and Damon to Vanessa, a former student of Isobel’s, who has the key to the office. Vanessa seems to stare at Elena for a very long time. If she was Isobel’s research assistant, is she more familiar with Mystic Falls’ past than she initially volunteers?
Vanessa leaves the room, and Elena studies the shelves of the office. Damon casually questions where Vanessa went just as she comes around the corner with a device that looks disturbingly familiar. Without any warning, she fires a dart - straight at Elena. Damon jumps in front of Elena, taking the dart in her place. Alaric knocks a frightened Vanessa against the wall.
Stefan brings Caroline to the woods for a hunting lesson, and it isn’t going well. Caroline’s enjoying her first taste of freedom in days and hunting bunnies is not at the top of her list. She wants to go to the swimming hole to hang out with Matt. Stefan understands, and he agrees to go after they’re finished hunting.
Elena introduces herself to Vanessa - asking her for help researching Katherine. Vanessa shows them all the research Isobel had on Katherine, but it isn’t much.
Tyler’s taken over Duke’s job as the official Mystic Falls party host. Mason pulls up, and Tyler questions if he’s there to bust them. No, they can continue with the party but everyone needs to be out by dark. Why Uncle Mason? Does it have to do with that dark, scary room on our property? Of course not, Mason just doesn’t want anyone to end up drowning after dark.
Caroline and Stefan arrive, but they can’t go join the others until Stefan and Mason engage in a stare-down. (Sorry, but I totally flashed to Twilight when Jacob’s dad stared at Edward. I guess you can only glare so many different ways....) Caroline comments on Stefan’s “serious vampire stare” as compared with “worried vampire look” and “hey, its Tuesday!” Can I say how much I’m enjoying this Caroline/Stefan interaction? We have a hint of the Stefan we saw with Lexie, and its awesome. If this is his normal personality, why is he so serious around Elena?
Matt can’t swim with the others - no waterproof cast. Thankfully, Amy Bradley decides to keep him company. Too bad for her, that’s exactly when Caroline arrives. Amy, if you don’t want to meet the fate of a random crew member wearing a red shirt on Star Trek, I’d seriously follow Caroline’s compulsion to the letter. Matt doesn’t like Caroline’s continued insecurities. Stefan’s not pleased that Caroline compelled Amy. Caroline doesn’t seem to be enjoying this experience at the swimming hole as much as she thought she would.
Vanessa doesn’t have much information about werewolves, but she does have a sketchbook of some type. Both proved dangerous to Native Americans, and a curse was placed on the supernatural beings. Vampires are forced to be creatures of the night, and werewolves are ruled by the full moon. Long ago, vampires hunted werewolves almost to extinction. Few werewolves still exist, but they’re still dangerous to vampires. A single werewolf bite is fatal to vampires.
Darkness has fallen. Caroline apologizes to Matt. He has a brilliant idea. Let’s go make out in the woods! Sure, nothing bad ever happens in the woods at night.... In Caroline’s defense, she hasn’t been part of the werewolf discussion. She probably thinks she’s the scariest thing in the woods right now.
Elena has important news for Stefan. He needs to stay away from the werewolf or he could die. Stefan’s awesome here. He immediately looks around for Caroline, and she’s gone.
Back at the scary Lockwood room, Mason’s wrapping himself in chains and fastening himself to the walls. He must have gotten a late start because he seems really rushed.
What’s that noise?
Looks like Amy took Caroline’s advice. She found a single guy. Too bad she found Tyler, and Tyler decides to take her exploring in the dark Lockwood room. Mason hears them coming and bolts - still wearing his chains.
Elena pages through Isobel’s research and stops on a picture of Katherine. She waits for a second, then she asks Vanessa what she knows about doppelgangers - not much. Did we think the answer would be different? All she knows is the person enjoys tormenting the person who looks like them and tries to undo their life. Elena seems disappointed. She must have thought the look-alike issue would be explained in Isobel’s papers.
Damon hints that he knows more to the story, but Elena’s tired of dealing with him. When he won’t tell her what he knows, she grabs her things and walks out to the car.
Mason tries to chain himself to a tree, but he must sense his time is limited. He jumps into his truck.
Stefan’s still looking for Caroline when he sees Mason’s truck. Stefan, if you think he’s a werewolf, this is the time to go away. No, Stefan gets closer to the truck and sees the claw marks in the ground. Walking closer to the truck, Stefan’s reflection looks back at him - until he’s staring into the eyes of a wolf. The wolf explodes through the back window of the truck and knocks him to the ground before it speeds off into the night.
Caroline’s compulsion seems to have worn off. Amy’s still in the dark room with Tyler when she questions what she’s doing. She likes Matt, not Tyler. Still somewhat confused, she leaves.
Vanessa asks Alaric if he’s heard anything else about Isobel. He admits that Isobel literally became her research. She’s a vampire now, and Vanessa hints that must be really hard on their marriage. Oh, she’s so hitting on him right now.
Speaking of hitting on people.... Damon meets up with Elena at the car. He’s in serious apologizing mode, and he comes bearing a gift. Oh, it seems to be a journal of some sort, but the name stamped on it is Petrova. Hmmm, Katherine Pierce isn’t her real name. Originally, she was Katerina Petrova, and she was originally from Russia. Damon seems to know more background information about Katherine than Stefan. His excuse - men snoop too.
Now he gets to the reason for the gift. He wants to know if he’s destroyed their friendship forever. She hated him before, and they still became friends. Can’t she work through it again? Elena doesn’t answer - she just slides into the car.
Matt has found the perfect spot in the midst of the woods. Caroline’s totally ready for this. She takes charge and knocks Matt against a tree. Poor Matt, he scraped his wrist. How clumsy of him... Caroline doesn’t mind. In fact, those bunnies from this afternoon seem to have worn off. She can’t resist - she begins by licking the blood off his wrist but soon loses control.
Thankfully, Stefan knocks Caroline off Matt. Matt drops to the ground, and Stefan tells him to stay there. Stefan and Caroline must lead the werewolf away from Matt. If they run, Mason will follow.
The pair speeds through the woods until they meet up with Tyler. What are they doing out there? As Stefan tries to explain, Mason leaps atop Caroline. Stefan vamp speeds him off, and he and Mason face off. Before either can make a move, Tyler yells for Mason to stop and it works.
Caroline compels Matt to believe an animal attacked him in the woods. While he’s leaning against the truck, confused, she walks to Stefan. She can’t believe she hurt Matt - the person who means more to her than anyone else in the world. Realizing how much danger she’s putting Matt in simply by being with him, she asks Stefan if she should break away from Matt. Stefan’s not the person to ask. He knows he should have walked away from Elena long ago, but he simply can’t.
Tyler finds Mason’s abandoned truck in the woods - complete with Mason’s pants. Mason, covered in mud and grime, approaches Tyler and asks for his pants. Tossing him the clothing, Tyler asks Mason if he was the creature in the woods. With a single nod, Mason confirms Tyler’s fears.
Matt sits alone at a table in the grill. Amy sees him and comes to keep him company - again. This provides Caroline with a much needed excuse. No matter how shallow Caroline has seemed in the past, what she does now is truly selfless. She picks a fight to make Matt break up with her. She knows she can’t safely be around Matt, and she can’t let herself risk hurting him again. She allows Matt to think he’s the one making the decision. As he walks away, Caroline is heartbroken.
Alaric arrives at Elena’s house. Without even knocking, he walks into the room and surprises Jenna. She seems confused until he wraps his arms around her in a passionate embrace. Going to Duke has given him the freedom to move on, and he’s ready to take the next step with Jenna.
Damon and Elena linger on the porch. Damon comments that road trips are good for them, but Elena says that not everything is back to the way it used to be. She has to know, despite what he’s said earlier, did Damon really see the ring? In an unusual moment of transparency, he admits that he didn’t. Katherine had thrown him for a loop, and he was striking out at everyone around him. He’d gotten lucky with the ring. If Jeremy hadn’t been wearing it, Damon didn’t know what he would have done.
Elena thanks him for his honesty. Now she’s ready to answer his question. Yes. He’s gone too far. He’s lost her - and her friendship - forever.
Damon realizes all the interaction with Elena throughout the day had been an act. She’d been playing him. She admits it. He had information she needed, and she kept pressing until he gave it to her.
He’s stunned. This isn’t the Elena he knows. In fact, she reminds him of someone else. In a cutting remark, he says Elena has more in common with Katherine than her appearance. He turns and walks away, leaving a stunned Elena on the porch.
Morning comes, and Caroline’s still asleep in her room. Someone else is there - Katherine. Caroline slides away from her as Katherine takes a seat on the edge of the bed, but Katherine says not to be afraid. They’re going to have lots of fun.
This episode’s preview promised to be intense, and it delivered. I’m counting the days till next week, though, when Katherine and Elena finally come face to face. Not just that - its a flashback episode. What really happened when Katherine came to Mystic Falls?
Werewolves...
Of course, what would a vampire story be without a werewolf plot? Damon is skeptical. He’s been around a long time, and he’s never run into a werewolf. Therefore, they must not exist. Despite his skepticism, the group decides a road trip to Isobel’s office is in order - except for Stefan. He has to stay home and babysit baby vamp, Caroline.
And he’s not exactly thrilled about it. Elena realizes he’s on edge having her going away with Damon. She offers to reschedule the trip, but he says he’ll be fine - while admitting he’s going to hate her being gone. As Elena puts her bags in the car, Damon offers to take very good care of her. She’s tired of Damon, at least she’s not calling him the D word this week, and she knows Stefan’s still uncertain about the trip. She glares at Damon, pulls Stefan close to her, and gives him a passionate kiss - while Damon looks uncomfortably at the pair.
Sunlight is still giving Caroline major issues. When Matt arrives to spend the day with her, she can’t even answer the door. Thankfully, Stefan has thought of this, and he meets with Bonnie to try to solve the problem. In a complication I expected (but hoped to be wrong about), Bonnie’s not so sure about providing Caroline with her own anti-daylight jewelry. At first, she tries to play the “I’m not strong enough card,” but Stefan nixes that idea. If she can drop a vampire with a single glare, she can make the ring. The instructions are in the grimoire. Stefan insists that Caroline needs the ring to give her a tie to her humanity not to make it easier to hunt. Finally, Bonnie agrees.
We move on to Caroline’s room, and Caroline is cranky. She wants to know why she didn’t have any say in picking the ring, and she’s not enjoying the “judgy-Bonnie” treatment. She didn’t have any say in turning into a vampire, and she’s not pleased that Bonnie seems less than friendly. Stefan intervenes before Caroline drives Bonnie away, and Bonnie successfully spells the ring.
Damon’s not the only one curious about what’s going on with Mason Lockwood. Tyler follows his uncle into the woods and discovers a hidden room beneath the ruins of the old Lockwood home. Curious, Tyler asks his mom about the room. The Lockwood house burned down ages ago (seems to be a lot of that in Mystic Falls), and the room isn’t something mentioned in polite company. Slavery, you know. Somehow, I’m thinking slavery isn’t why the room wasn’t mentioned. Does Mrs. Lockwood know the family secret?
The road trip crew arrive at Duke. Alaric introduces Elena and Damon to Vanessa, a former student of Isobel’s, who has the key to the office. Vanessa seems to stare at Elena for a very long time. If she was Isobel’s research assistant, is she more familiar with Mystic Falls’ past than she initially volunteers?
Vanessa leaves the room, and Elena studies the shelves of the office. Damon casually questions where Vanessa went just as she comes around the corner with a device that looks disturbingly familiar. Without any warning, she fires a dart - straight at Elena. Damon jumps in front of Elena, taking the dart in her place. Alaric knocks a frightened Vanessa against the wall.
Stefan brings Caroline to the woods for a hunting lesson, and it isn’t going well. Caroline’s enjoying her first taste of freedom in days and hunting bunnies is not at the top of her list. She wants to go to the swimming hole to hang out with Matt. Stefan understands, and he agrees to go after they’re finished hunting.
Elena introduces herself to Vanessa - asking her for help researching Katherine. Vanessa shows them all the research Isobel had on Katherine, but it isn’t much.
Tyler’s taken over Duke’s job as the official Mystic Falls party host. Mason pulls up, and Tyler questions if he’s there to bust them. No, they can continue with the party but everyone needs to be out by dark. Why Uncle Mason? Does it have to do with that dark, scary room on our property? Of course not, Mason just doesn’t want anyone to end up drowning after dark.
Caroline and Stefan arrive, but they can’t go join the others until Stefan and Mason engage in a stare-down. (Sorry, but I totally flashed to Twilight when Jacob’s dad stared at Edward. I guess you can only glare so many different ways....) Caroline comments on Stefan’s “serious vampire stare” as compared with “worried vampire look” and “hey, its Tuesday!” Can I say how much I’m enjoying this Caroline/Stefan interaction? We have a hint of the Stefan we saw with Lexie, and its awesome. If this is his normal personality, why is he so serious around Elena?
Matt can’t swim with the others - no waterproof cast. Thankfully, Amy Bradley decides to keep him company. Too bad for her, that’s exactly when Caroline arrives. Amy, if you don’t want to meet the fate of a random crew member wearing a red shirt on Star Trek, I’d seriously follow Caroline’s compulsion to the letter. Matt doesn’t like Caroline’s continued insecurities. Stefan’s not pleased that Caroline compelled Amy. Caroline doesn’t seem to be enjoying this experience at the swimming hole as much as she thought she would.
Vanessa doesn’t have much information about werewolves, but she does have a sketchbook of some type. Both proved dangerous to Native Americans, and a curse was placed on the supernatural beings. Vampires are forced to be creatures of the night, and werewolves are ruled by the full moon. Long ago, vampires hunted werewolves almost to extinction. Few werewolves still exist, but they’re still dangerous to vampires. A single werewolf bite is fatal to vampires.
Darkness has fallen. Caroline apologizes to Matt. He has a brilliant idea. Let’s go make out in the woods! Sure, nothing bad ever happens in the woods at night.... In Caroline’s defense, she hasn’t been part of the werewolf discussion. She probably thinks she’s the scariest thing in the woods right now.
Elena has important news for Stefan. He needs to stay away from the werewolf or he could die. Stefan’s awesome here. He immediately looks around for Caroline, and she’s gone.
Back at the scary Lockwood room, Mason’s wrapping himself in chains and fastening himself to the walls. He must have gotten a late start because he seems really rushed.
What’s that noise?
Looks like Amy took Caroline’s advice. She found a single guy. Too bad she found Tyler, and Tyler decides to take her exploring in the dark Lockwood room. Mason hears them coming and bolts - still wearing his chains.
Elena pages through Isobel’s research and stops on a picture of Katherine. She waits for a second, then she asks Vanessa what she knows about doppelgangers - not much. Did we think the answer would be different? All she knows is the person enjoys tormenting the person who looks like them and tries to undo their life. Elena seems disappointed. She must have thought the look-alike issue would be explained in Isobel’s papers.
Damon hints that he knows more to the story, but Elena’s tired of dealing with him. When he won’t tell her what he knows, she grabs her things and walks out to the car.
Mason tries to chain himself to a tree, but he must sense his time is limited. He jumps into his truck.
Stefan’s still looking for Caroline when he sees Mason’s truck. Stefan, if you think he’s a werewolf, this is the time to go away. No, Stefan gets closer to the truck and sees the claw marks in the ground. Walking closer to the truck, Stefan’s reflection looks back at him - until he’s staring into the eyes of a wolf. The wolf explodes through the back window of the truck and knocks him to the ground before it speeds off into the night.
Caroline’s compulsion seems to have worn off. Amy’s still in the dark room with Tyler when she questions what she’s doing. She likes Matt, not Tyler. Still somewhat confused, she leaves.
Vanessa asks Alaric if he’s heard anything else about Isobel. He admits that Isobel literally became her research. She’s a vampire now, and Vanessa hints that must be really hard on their marriage. Oh, she’s so hitting on him right now.
Speaking of hitting on people.... Damon meets up with Elena at the car. He’s in serious apologizing mode, and he comes bearing a gift. Oh, it seems to be a journal of some sort, but the name stamped on it is Petrova. Hmmm, Katherine Pierce isn’t her real name. Originally, she was Katerina Petrova, and she was originally from Russia. Damon seems to know more background information about Katherine than Stefan. His excuse - men snoop too.
Now he gets to the reason for the gift. He wants to know if he’s destroyed their friendship forever. She hated him before, and they still became friends. Can’t she work through it again? Elena doesn’t answer - she just slides into the car.
Matt has found the perfect spot in the midst of the woods. Caroline’s totally ready for this. She takes charge and knocks Matt against a tree. Poor Matt, he scraped his wrist. How clumsy of him... Caroline doesn’t mind. In fact, those bunnies from this afternoon seem to have worn off. She can’t resist - she begins by licking the blood off his wrist but soon loses control.
Thankfully, Stefan knocks Caroline off Matt. Matt drops to the ground, and Stefan tells him to stay there. Stefan and Caroline must lead the werewolf away from Matt. If they run, Mason will follow.
The pair speeds through the woods until they meet up with Tyler. What are they doing out there? As Stefan tries to explain, Mason leaps atop Caroline. Stefan vamp speeds him off, and he and Mason face off. Before either can make a move, Tyler yells for Mason to stop and it works.
Caroline compels Matt to believe an animal attacked him in the woods. While he’s leaning against the truck, confused, she walks to Stefan. She can’t believe she hurt Matt - the person who means more to her than anyone else in the world. Realizing how much danger she’s putting Matt in simply by being with him, she asks Stefan if she should break away from Matt. Stefan’s not the person to ask. He knows he should have walked away from Elena long ago, but he simply can’t.
Tyler finds Mason’s abandoned truck in the woods - complete with Mason’s pants. Mason, covered in mud and grime, approaches Tyler and asks for his pants. Tossing him the clothing, Tyler asks Mason if he was the creature in the woods. With a single nod, Mason confirms Tyler’s fears.
Matt sits alone at a table in the grill. Amy sees him and comes to keep him company - again. This provides Caroline with a much needed excuse. No matter how shallow Caroline has seemed in the past, what she does now is truly selfless. She picks a fight to make Matt break up with her. She knows she can’t safely be around Matt, and she can’t let herself risk hurting him again. She allows Matt to think he’s the one making the decision. As he walks away, Caroline is heartbroken.
Alaric arrives at Elena’s house. Without even knocking, he walks into the room and surprises Jenna. She seems confused until he wraps his arms around her in a passionate embrace. Going to Duke has given him the freedom to move on, and he’s ready to take the next step with Jenna.
Damon and Elena linger on the porch. Damon comments that road trips are good for them, but Elena says that not everything is back to the way it used to be. She has to know, despite what he’s said earlier, did Damon really see the ring? In an unusual moment of transparency, he admits that he didn’t. Katherine had thrown him for a loop, and he was striking out at everyone around him. He’d gotten lucky with the ring. If Jeremy hadn’t been wearing it, Damon didn’t know what he would have done.
Elena thanks him for his honesty. Now she’s ready to answer his question. Yes. He’s gone too far. He’s lost her - and her friendship - forever.
Damon realizes all the interaction with Elena throughout the day had been an act. She’d been playing him. She admits it. He had information she needed, and she kept pressing until he gave it to her.
He’s stunned. This isn’t the Elena he knows. In fact, she reminds him of someone else. In a cutting remark, he says Elena has more in common with Katherine than her appearance. He turns and walks away, leaving a stunned Elena on the porch.
Morning comes, and Caroline’s still asleep in her room. Someone else is there - Katherine. Caroline slides away from her as Katherine takes a seat on the edge of the bed, but Katherine says not to be afraid. They’re going to have lots of fun.
This episode’s preview promised to be intense, and it delivered. I’m counting the days till next week, though, when Katherine and Elena finally come face to face. Not just that - its a flashback episode. What really happened when Katherine came to Mystic Falls?
Sunday, September 19, 2010
Yeah, About that Query Date.....
I don't think I took a good look at my calendar when I set my goal for sending out queries on the 24th. Yeah, that's my daughter's birthday. Nothing else going on...just having a zillion newly-teen girls at my house.
I'm also really excited. I'm taking Mary Kole's webinar on Thursday. Since I'm taking the class, I might as well give myself an extra week to let all the volumes of awesome information really sink in before I click send on "ye olde query letters." So, my new date is October 1st. (Insert deep breaths here - can't believe I'm finally to this step.)
I've had a new development in my writing career this week as well. I've been selected to write a twice weekly column recapping two different television shows for an online magazine. I'm excited to be "published" in this online world. As more details firm up, I'll be sure to fill you in.
I'm also really excited. I'm taking Mary Kole's webinar on Thursday. Since I'm taking the class, I might as well give myself an extra week to let all the volumes of awesome information really sink in before I click send on "ye olde query letters." So, my new date is October 1st. (Insert deep breaths here - can't believe I'm finally to this step.)
I've had a new development in my writing career this week as well. I've been selected to write a twice weekly column recapping two different television shows for an online magazine. I'm excited to be "published" in this online world. As more details firm up, I'll be sure to fill you in.
Friday, September 17, 2010
Brave New World recap
Poor Caroline! Not only did she just wake up from Katherine (successfully) killing her. She’s got the rudest nurse in the hospital. The girl is hungry. Why can’t she have a snack? If the nurse won’t get one for her, she’ll have to just manage. Hmm…there’s a tasty blood bag. You can see the confusion on her face. Why does that seem so appealing? The nurse finds her wandering around and sends her back to bed, but Caroline’s vamp speed is no match for the nurse. She just grabs the bag and does take-out.
Carnival time… I’m a little foggy on the timing of this. If the big Founder’s Day festival was on a Saturday, shouldn’t this be Monday? If this is how the kids in Mystic Falls do school, how do they ever get into Duke?
Bonnie is discussing Katherine with Elena – who is in serious denial mode right now. Bonnie is pressing the “she didn’t just look like you, she was you” issue, but Elena isn’t going there. (Honestly, I don’t blame her. She’s seriously overwhelmed, but I do worry that blocking what happened the night before will lead to a bigger breakdown later.) Elena is focused on making sure the carnival is running smoothly, which, apparently, was supposed to be Caroline’s job. Bonnie presses the “have you talked with Damon” button, and it is abundantly clear that even though Elena told Bonnie about Jeremy – she hasn’t spoken to Bonnie about the attempted kiss. If Elena hasn’t told Bonnie, she hasn’t told Stefan.
Stefan chats with Jeremy at his locker while giving him a vial of vervain extract. This must be a school day. Mystic Falls High school must rock – no classes…just hanging out at lockers. Of course, the graduation rate must be a little low due to a high mortality rate. I like this improved Stefan. Jeremy’s do-it-yourself vamp attempt two nights ago has clearly raised red flags for Stefan. He seems to be trying to build a big brother-ish relationship with Jer.
Jeremy doesn’t know how to move on from Damon’s attempt to kill him – only to be saved by the Gilbert anti-supernatural-death ring. Stefan has the perfect solution…Elena’s keeping them all busy readying for the town carnival.
Stefan is playing along with Elena’s “nothing’s wrong” game. I think he senses how overwhelmed she is. Whether or not this is in her best interest – we’ll have to see about that.
Damon’s having tea with Mrs. Mayor. Touching. I had to crack up when she appointed him head of the anti-vampire circle. Just glad there wasn’t any vervain in that tea.
Mason and a shirtless Tyler arrive home from jogging. Apparently, Tyler’s not overly fast – or Mason just likes teasing his nephew. Is he trying to get Tyler angry? I think so… Damon takes advantage of the banter in the hall to try to get some idea of exactly what the Lockwood secret might be. Tyler has “episodes” where he blacks out when he’s really mad. Mason certainly seems to have some good suggestions as to what might trigger Tyler – almost like he’s been there. Hmm….
Caroline’s still in the hospital. Not only does she find the blood donor bags a tasty snack, she’s sizzling when her hand hits the sunbeam. Awww…here’s Matt. Sheriff Mom called him to say Caroline’s not eating. Matt stoops to kiss her but the sunbeam keeps them apart. Caroline says she needs to leave tonight – not tomorrow morning. Matt thinks she’s stressed about the carnival. If he only knew.
Damon and Stefan are having a brotherly bonding moment in the Salvatore living room. Damon offers Stefan a “drink,” but Stefan says he just ate. Damon utters one of the best lines of the episode, “Are you worried that one day all the forest animals are going to band together? They must talk.” Stefan waves off the attempt at the joke.
Damon’s still prodding Stefan. He’s clearly aware how much Stefan is trying to avoid setting him off, and he’s enjoying toying with his younger brother. He suggests that he must be the topic off all of Stefan and Elena’s conversations. Stefan’s lack of response further proves my earlier point – Stefan knows about the attack on Jeremy, but not the kiss. He might be able to excuse his brother’s actions by assuming he saw the Gilbert ring, but there’s no excuse for forcing a kiss on Elena. When this comes out (and I predict it will be a slip up on Damon’s part), that’s not going to sit well with Stefan.
Stefan wants to talk about Katherine. Damon is obsessing about the Lockwoods. The brothers have different priorities right now.
Caroline is getting dressed, and she attempts to wear the vervain necklace Elena gave her. That’s a no go. Caroline’s on blood bag number two. She begins to vamp in front of the mirror and gets totally freaked out. The nurse (still the one from last night, do they work 24 hour shifts at Mystic Falls General?) comes to check on her. Caroline accidentally discovers her ability to compel others. Just in time too…she needs a snack. She vamps out (her fangs look totally fake – why aren’t hers like the brothers’ or Kat’s) and the annoying nurse is standing temptingly close.
We’re back at the carnival. Bonnie is trying to get Elena to relax and enjoy the night for a few minutes. (Book nerd moment – love the reference to borrowing stuff from the science lab.) Now, I understand that apparently Bonnie and Elena have taken over Caroline’s job of running the carnival, but where is Stefan. Elena is trying to be “normal” tonight and that seems to be distancing her from him. I know they don’t have to be attached at the hip, but his absence is noticeable.
Mason’s at the Lockwood house – digging in the former Mayor’s office. Tyler catches him and wants to know what he’s doing. Insert mysterious family heirloom moment here. Mason needs a moonstone – Mr. Mayor had it. (Did Emily spell a stone for the first Lockwood werewolf? Is that how Mr. Mayor kept himself human? Personally, I think Mason is working with Katherine – or Katherine is holding something over him. Can’t wait to find out how everything weaves together. There’s never a dangling plot on this show.)
Damon and Jeremy meet up at the fair. Jeremy, seriously dude, lose the chip on your shoulder. Yes, you have a ring of anti-death, but still… Damon shares my point of view. He grabs Jeremy by the neck, issues a very effective threat, and shows him he’s pulled Jer’s ring off his finger. Yes, this looks like harsh treatment, but with Kat in town, Jeremy needs to understand he’s not invincible.
Caroline’s checking herself out of the hospital. Her exchange with the nurse is hilarious – her cover story is so Caroline. “My husband likes to get kinky…”
Ooohhhh – arm wrestling at the carnival. Boys. Muscles. Yeah, this is a CW show. Tyler can’t beat Mason. Damon sends Stefan in to try. Damon’s annoyed that Stefan didn’t really try, but Stefan (in serious deep voice mode) assures him he did.
Damon’s worried. What are the Lockwoods? Stefan suggests zombies, Ninja Turtles, werewolves. Damon laughs him off. He has another idea. Compel Mr. Hot Carnival Worker to pick a fight with Tyler.
Caroline is at school – and she’s mad at Damon. Very mad. She remembers everything Damon did to her. Where’d she get that outfit? Those boots are awesome -very Katherine-esque. She throws Damon down the hall, and he’s seriously worried.
Damon seeks out Elena. They need to talk. She blows him off. He repeats himself, and she follows him.
Mr. Carnival Dude picks a fight with Tyler, who honestly seemed to try to restrain himself. Stefan watches from behind the bushes. Mason jumps into the fray and sports a pair of wicked looking eyes.
Caroline’s ready to play some carnival games. She shatters a section of bottles at the ring toss. When she hugs Matt, she starts to vamp out. Overwhelmed, she has to leave.
They’re in Alaric’s classroom. Does Damon have a key? Hey, where is Alaric anyway? Is he hanging out with Jenna somewhere? Damon breaks the news to Stefan and Elena, and Elena is broken. Why Caroline? Damon wants to kill Caroline, but Elena isn’t going to let that happen. Elena literally reaches out to Stefan and says Caroline’s her friend. They can’t kill her. Stefan is silent until he makes his decision. He’s going to side with Elena. Caroline’s going to stay un-dead.
Caroline sobs as she leaves the carnival. Oops, Mr. Carnival Dude picked the wrong spot to take care of his wounds. She can’t help herself. After apologizing to him, she leaps on him and feeds.
Matt and Bonnie have a heartfelt conversation. Matt can’t figure out what he’s done wrong. Bonnie doesn’t have a clue.
Damon isn’t going to listen to Stefan. Convinced they’re doomed to repeat the “Vickie episode,” Damon grabs a stake from the ground and heads into the fair. Stefan is angry – and not really talking with Elena. He punches the side of the ticket booth as Elena presses the subject…does he agree with Damon? Elena needs to talk with him. Yes, he agrees with Damon, but he won’t let Katherine control another person’s destiny. Elena thinks Katherine’s doing this to her. Stefan disagrees – Katherine’s after him. (Gotta say I disagree with Stefan here. Kat’s going after those who are close to Elena. She doesn’t like someone else moving in on her man.)
Tyler and Mason arrive home and argue about what happened in the parking lot. Tyler saw Mason’s eyes, but Mason doesn’t want to talk about it.
Elena and Stefan wander through the carnival. Stefan smells blood. We cut to Caroline sitting on the back of the truck bed. Damon finds her and tells her he can fix everything. He’s just going to kill her. Caroline argues (and begs). She doesn’t want to die…again. Just as Damon makes a move to end Caroline, Stefan arrives and pulls her away. Caroline sees Elena and freaks out – thinking she’s Katherine.
In one of the most pivotal scenes of the episode, when Damon tries to overpower Stefan and kill Caroline, Elena jumps in front of Damon and stares him down. She knows how Damon feels about her, and she’s prepared to use it. (Doe eye powers activate!) Damon says whatever happens because of Caroline…it’s all on Elena. Damon, really? Elena doesn’t need anything else on her shoulders right now. She’s protecting her friend.
As Stefan leaves with Caroline, Bonnie arrives. She can’t believe what she’s seeing. Why is Caroline’s face covered with blood? Yes, that’s guilt you feel Bonnie. Now you understand why Elena said no to Damon’s blood plan. Bonnie still doesn’t believe it. She grabs Caroline’s arm and now she can’t deny it.
Stefan leaves with Caroline. This is such a touching scene. The depth of Stefan’s compassion is evident as he helps clean her up in the restroom. Emily was right – as much as I didn’t like the “your heart is pure” line – how else can we describe Stefan? He washes Caroline’s face. When she freaks out over vamping, he spins her around and shows her his vamp face. He tells her she can control herself. She just can’t give herself over to the feeling – no matter how good it is. He shows her how to bring herself back under control. (Caroline’s story must really resonate with him. Both turned unwillingly…feeding without understanding what they were doing.) Outstanding work by Candice Accola and Paul Wesley in this scene.
While things are calming down in the restroom, they’re heating up outside. Bonnie has seriously lost it. She decides to take everything out on Damon and keeps her promise. I don’t think Elena was ever aware of the “I’ll take you down” discussion based on her reaction. With Damon screaming it wasn’t his fault, Bonnie witch-migraines him before setting him aflame. Elena may hate Damon, but this is too much. She shrieks at Bonnie to stop and when she won’t, Elena jumps through the flames to break Bonnie’s eye contact. (Sorry – so not sure of how Elena stopped Bonnie here…whatever she did, Bonnie wasn’t pleased.) Bonnie doesn’t understand why Elena saved Damon – after all, he tried to kill her brother. Shaking her, Elena stresses to Bonnie that “that’s not us.” Well, attacking vampires might not be Elena, but I think it is Bonnie. I’m not sure how their friendship is going to keep going.
Elena and Stefan have met up at the lockers again. Elena’s had too much. She shaking and running her fingers through her hair. She’s so defeated as she says she just can’t have one normal day. Her “I’m fine” protests remind me of her coping mechanisms in the pilot – even she said she was lying to herself. She’s not fine. She’s keeping secrets from too many people – including Stefan. Just saying she doesn’t want to talk about the “D Word” doesn’t make it go away. She brushes Stefan off, saying she’ll call him tomorrow.
Mason and Tyler reconcile. Mason heads to bed while Tyler ventures into his dad’s office. He knows about the safe (and the combination). He pulls the mysterious family heirloom from a box that looks strangely familiar and takes a glance at the door.
Damon pours himself an evening beverage. Jeremy’s waiting for him. He put vervain in the drink, and they have a conversation that reminds me of Damon’s interaction with Alaric. Jeremy questions what good killing Damon would do. Damon has an oddly transparent moment when he reveals his father hated vampires as well.
Caroline’s at home asleep…she’s had a long day. Matt climbs in her window. He can’t handle having her upset. He can’t lose her too. They kiss and embrace. Caroline feels herself letting her new vamp nature take over, but, drawing on Stefan’s advice, she calms down and is able to stay in control.
Elena’s asleep in her room. A shadow moves over her. No worries – just Stefan stopping in. He reaches out and tells her to come with him…to the carnival. Elena never got her Ferris Wheel ride, and Stefan isn’t going to let the night pass without that happening. He’s compelled the ride operator to go away so he can whisk her to the top – and she can have her kiss. Stefan’s so intense here. “I came back to this town to start a life with you. We can’t forget to live it.”
Elena melts – as she should.
For just a minute, Elena’s a normal teenager. She laughs and smiles. They kiss. For an instant her problems are gone. Until they’re back. Elena realizes nothing is going to get any easier. Stefan sadly agrees.
My verdict:
While this episode didn’t have the intensity of the premiere, it set so many plot lines in motion. I think we need to hang on for a wild ride.
Carnival time… I’m a little foggy on the timing of this. If the big Founder’s Day festival was on a Saturday, shouldn’t this be Monday? If this is how the kids in Mystic Falls do school, how do they ever get into Duke?
Bonnie is discussing Katherine with Elena – who is in serious denial mode right now. Bonnie is pressing the “she didn’t just look like you, she was you” issue, but Elena isn’t going there. (Honestly, I don’t blame her. She’s seriously overwhelmed, but I do worry that blocking what happened the night before will lead to a bigger breakdown later.) Elena is focused on making sure the carnival is running smoothly, which, apparently, was supposed to be Caroline’s job. Bonnie presses the “have you talked with Damon” button, and it is abundantly clear that even though Elena told Bonnie about Jeremy – she hasn’t spoken to Bonnie about the attempted kiss. If Elena hasn’t told Bonnie, she hasn’t told Stefan.
Stefan chats with Jeremy at his locker while giving him a vial of vervain extract. This must be a school day. Mystic Falls High school must rock – no classes…just hanging out at lockers. Of course, the graduation rate must be a little low due to a high mortality rate. I like this improved Stefan. Jeremy’s do-it-yourself vamp attempt two nights ago has clearly raised red flags for Stefan. He seems to be trying to build a big brother-ish relationship with Jer.
Jeremy doesn’t know how to move on from Damon’s attempt to kill him – only to be saved by the Gilbert anti-supernatural-death ring. Stefan has the perfect solution…Elena’s keeping them all busy readying for the town carnival.
Stefan is playing along with Elena’s “nothing’s wrong” game. I think he senses how overwhelmed she is. Whether or not this is in her best interest – we’ll have to see about that.
Damon’s having tea with Mrs. Mayor. Touching. I had to crack up when she appointed him head of the anti-vampire circle. Just glad there wasn’t any vervain in that tea.
Mason and a shirtless Tyler arrive home from jogging. Apparently, Tyler’s not overly fast – or Mason just likes teasing his nephew. Is he trying to get Tyler angry? I think so… Damon takes advantage of the banter in the hall to try to get some idea of exactly what the Lockwood secret might be. Tyler has “episodes” where he blacks out when he’s really mad. Mason certainly seems to have some good suggestions as to what might trigger Tyler – almost like he’s been there. Hmm….
Caroline’s still in the hospital. Not only does she find the blood donor bags a tasty snack, she’s sizzling when her hand hits the sunbeam. Awww…here’s Matt. Sheriff Mom called him to say Caroline’s not eating. Matt stoops to kiss her but the sunbeam keeps them apart. Caroline says she needs to leave tonight – not tomorrow morning. Matt thinks she’s stressed about the carnival. If he only knew.
Damon and Stefan are having a brotherly bonding moment in the Salvatore living room. Damon offers Stefan a “drink,” but Stefan says he just ate. Damon utters one of the best lines of the episode, “Are you worried that one day all the forest animals are going to band together? They must talk.” Stefan waves off the attempt at the joke.
Damon’s still prodding Stefan. He’s clearly aware how much Stefan is trying to avoid setting him off, and he’s enjoying toying with his younger brother. He suggests that he must be the topic off all of Stefan and Elena’s conversations. Stefan’s lack of response further proves my earlier point – Stefan knows about the attack on Jeremy, but not the kiss. He might be able to excuse his brother’s actions by assuming he saw the Gilbert ring, but there’s no excuse for forcing a kiss on Elena. When this comes out (and I predict it will be a slip up on Damon’s part), that’s not going to sit well with Stefan.
Stefan wants to talk about Katherine. Damon is obsessing about the Lockwoods. The brothers have different priorities right now.
Caroline is getting dressed, and she attempts to wear the vervain necklace Elena gave her. That’s a no go. Caroline’s on blood bag number two. She begins to vamp in front of the mirror and gets totally freaked out. The nurse (still the one from last night, do they work 24 hour shifts at Mystic Falls General?) comes to check on her. Caroline accidentally discovers her ability to compel others. Just in time too…she needs a snack. She vamps out (her fangs look totally fake – why aren’t hers like the brothers’ or Kat’s) and the annoying nurse is standing temptingly close.
We’re back at the carnival. Bonnie is trying to get Elena to relax and enjoy the night for a few minutes. (Book nerd moment – love the reference to borrowing stuff from the science lab.) Now, I understand that apparently Bonnie and Elena have taken over Caroline’s job of running the carnival, but where is Stefan. Elena is trying to be “normal” tonight and that seems to be distancing her from him. I know they don’t have to be attached at the hip, but his absence is noticeable.
Mason’s at the Lockwood house – digging in the former Mayor’s office. Tyler catches him and wants to know what he’s doing. Insert mysterious family heirloom moment here. Mason needs a moonstone – Mr. Mayor had it. (Did Emily spell a stone for the first Lockwood werewolf? Is that how Mr. Mayor kept himself human? Personally, I think Mason is working with Katherine – or Katherine is holding something over him. Can’t wait to find out how everything weaves together. There’s never a dangling plot on this show.)
Damon and Jeremy meet up at the fair. Jeremy, seriously dude, lose the chip on your shoulder. Yes, you have a ring of anti-death, but still… Damon shares my point of view. He grabs Jeremy by the neck, issues a very effective threat, and shows him he’s pulled Jer’s ring off his finger. Yes, this looks like harsh treatment, but with Kat in town, Jeremy needs to understand he’s not invincible.
Caroline’s checking herself out of the hospital. Her exchange with the nurse is hilarious – her cover story is so Caroline. “My husband likes to get kinky…”
Ooohhhh – arm wrestling at the carnival. Boys. Muscles. Yeah, this is a CW show. Tyler can’t beat Mason. Damon sends Stefan in to try. Damon’s annoyed that Stefan didn’t really try, but Stefan (in serious deep voice mode) assures him he did.
Damon’s worried. What are the Lockwoods? Stefan suggests zombies, Ninja Turtles, werewolves. Damon laughs him off. He has another idea. Compel Mr. Hot Carnival Worker to pick a fight with Tyler.
Caroline is at school – and she’s mad at Damon. Very mad. She remembers everything Damon did to her. Where’d she get that outfit? Those boots are awesome -very Katherine-esque. She throws Damon down the hall, and he’s seriously worried.
Damon seeks out Elena. They need to talk. She blows him off. He repeats himself, and she follows him.
Mr. Carnival Dude picks a fight with Tyler, who honestly seemed to try to restrain himself. Stefan watches from behind the bushes. Mason jumps into the fray and sports a pair of wicked looking eyes.
Caroline’s ready to play some carnival games. She shatters a section of bottles at the ring toss. When she hugs Matt, she starts to vamp out. Overwhelmed, she has to leave.
They’re in Alaric’s classroom. Does Damon have a key? Hey, where is Alaric anyway? Is he hanging out with Jenna somewhere? Damon breaks the news to Stefan and Elena, and Elena is broken. Why Caroline? Damon wants to kill Caroline, but Elena isn’t going to let that happen. Elena literally reaches out to Stefan and says Caroline’s her friend. They can’t kill her. Stefan is silent until he makes his decision. He’s going to side with Elena. Caroline’s going to stay un-dead.
Caroline sobs as she leaves the carnival. Oops, Mr. Carnival Dude picked the wrong spot to take care of his wounds. She can’t help herself. After apologizing to him, she leaps on him and feeds.
Matt and Bonnie have a heartfelt conversation. Matt can’t figure out what he’s done wrong. Bonnie doesn’t have a clue.
Damon isn’t going to listen to Stefan. Convinced they’re doomed to repeat the “Vickie episode,” Damon grabs a stake from the ground and heads into the fair. Stefan is angry – and not really talking with Elena. He punches the side of the ticket booth as Elena presses the subject…does he agree with Damon? Elena needs to talk with him. Yes, he agrees with Damon, but he won’t let Katherine control another person’s destiny. Elena thinks Katherine’s doing this to her. Stefan disagrees – Katherine’s after him. (Gotta say I disagree with Stefan here. Kat’s going after those who are close to Elena. She doesn’t like someone else moving in on her man.)
Tyler and Mason arrive home and argue about what happened in the parking lot. Tyler saw Mason’s eyes, but Mason doesn’t want to talk about it.
Elena and Stefan wander through the carnival. Stefan smells blood. We cut to Caroline sitting on the back of the truck bed. Damon finds her and tells her he can fix everything. He’s just going to kill her. Caroline argues (and begs). She doesn’t want to die…again. Just as Damon makes a move to end Caroline, Stefan arrives and pulls her away. Caroline sees Elena and freaks out – thinking she’s Katherine.
In one of the most pivotal scenes of the episode, when Damon tries to overpower Stefan and kill Caroline, Elena jumps in front of Damon and stares him down. She knows how Damon feels about her, and she’s prepared to use it. (Doe eye powers activate!) Damon says whatever happens because of Caroline…it’s all on Elena. Damon, really? Elena doesn’t need anything else on her shoulders right now. She’s protecting her friend.
As Stefan leaves with Caroline, Bonnie arrives. She can’t believe what she’s seeing. Why is Caroline’s face covered with blood? Yes, that’s guilt you feel Bonnie. Now you understand why Elena said no to Damon’s blood plan. Bonnie still doesn’t believe it. She grabs Caroline’s arm and now she can’t deny it.
Stefan leaves with Caroline. This is such a touching scene. The depth of Stefan’s compassion is evident as he helps clean her up in the restroom. Emily was right – as much as I didn’t like the “your heart is pure” line – how else can we describe Stefan? He washes Caroline’s face. When she freaks out over vamping, he spins her around and shows her his vamp face. He tells her she can control herself. She just can’t give herself over to the feeling – no matter how good it is. He shows her how to bring herself back under control. (Caroline’s story must really resonate with him. Both turned unwillingly…feeding without understanding what they were doing.) Outstanding work by Candice Accola and Paul Wesley in this scene.
While things are calming down in the restroom, they’re heating up outside. Bonnie has seriously lost it. She decides to take everything out on Damon and keeps her promise. I don’t think Elena was ever aware of the “I’ll take you down” discussion based on her reaction. With Damon screaming it wasn’t his fault, Bonnie witch-migraines him before setting him aflame. Elena may hate Damon, but this is too much. She shrieks at Bonnie to stop and when she won’t, Elena jumps through the flames to break Bonnie’s eye contact. (Sorry – so not sure of how Elena stopped Bonnie here…whatever she did, Bonnie wasn’t pleased.) Bonnie doesn’t understand why Elena saved Damon – after all, he tried to kill her brother. Shaking her, Elena stresses to Bonnie that “that’s not us.” Well, attacking vampires might not be Elena, but I think it is Bonnie. I’m not sure how their friendship is going to keep going.
Elena and Stefan have met up at the lockers again. Elena’s had too much. She shaking and running her fingers through her hair. She’s so defeated as she says she just can’t have one normal day. Her “I’m fine” protests remind me of her coping mechanisms in the pilot – even she said she was lying to herself. She’s not fine. She’s keeping secrets from too many people – including Stefan. Just saying she doesn’t want to talk about the “D Word” doesn’t make it go away. She brushes Stefan off, saying she’ll call him tomorrow.
Mason and Tyler reconcile. Mason heads to bed while Tyler ventures into his dad’s office. He knows about the safe (and the combination). He pulls the mysterious family heirloom from a box that looks strangely familiar and takes a glance at the door.
Damon pours himself an evening beverage. Jeremy’s waiting for him. He put vervain in the drink, and they have a conversation that reminds me of Damon’s interaction with Alaric. Jeremy questions what good killing Damon would do. Damon has an oddly transparent moment when he reveals his father hated vampires as well.
Caroline’s at home asleep…she’s had a long day. Matt climbs in her window. He can’t handle having her upset. He can’t lose her too. They kiss and embrace. Caroline feels herself letting her new vamp nature take over, but, drawing on Stefan’s advice, she calms down and is able to stay in control.
Elena’s asleep in her room. A shadow moves over her. No worries – just Stefan stopping in. He reaches out and tells her to come with him…to the carnival. Elena never got her Ferris Wheel ride, and Stefan isn’t going to let the night pass without that happening. He’s compelled the ride operator to go away so he can whisk her to the top – and she can have her kiss. Stefan’s so intense here. “I came back to this town to start a life with you. We can’t forget to live it.”
Elena melts – as she should.
For just a minute, Elena’s a normal teenager. She laughs and smiles. They kiss. For an instant her problems are gone. Until they’re back. Elena realizes nothing is going to get any easier. Stefan sadly agrees.
My verdict:
While this episode didn’t have the intensity of the premiere, it set so many plot lines in motion. I think we need to hang on for a wild ride.
Friday, September 10, 2010
Novel Update
After much consideration, and a class at SCBWI this summer, I've decided my novel actually is middle grade - not young adult. It just doesn't have that intently personal "vibe" that the YA audience needs, so I'm reworking it back to its original MG home.
Where does that leave me?
With a serious need to edit. I've already cut and rearranged to the point where I'm back with a draft, but it feels like a skeleton of its prior self. I'm going to be working really hard if I'm going to make my self-imposed query date of Sept. 24.
I do think that's the right decision, though. This story will work out much better in the long run as a middle grade novel (or series....that'd be really cool). My next story is definitely YA though. It is so much more personal, and I think I like it better than Cassie's story to be totally honest. Julia's story will have to wait until October, which is somehow appropriate for a girl who chats with ghosts....
Wednesday, September 8, 2010
New Home
Once I discovered I can't enable comments through Tumblr, I decided to bring my blog back home. Sorry to keep moving on you, but I think I'll be here at Blogger permanently.
Check back on Friday for an awesome Vampire Diaries Season 2 post!
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