The Return
The Vampire Diaries Episode Review
In which there is a lot going on. The second season of The Vampire Diaries starts off with a rush. A good rush, most of it involving the fascinating Ian Somerhalder as Damon, but I hope they've paced themselves for the rest of the season.
What Happened
Katherine attacks Jon, leaving him half dead on the kitchen floor when Elena arrives. She calls 911, then barrels upstairs to check on Jeremy. He wakes up from his overdose, but Stefan confirms that he isn't a vampire. They finally get around to visiting the hospital, where Caroline is horribly injured. She is bad enough that Elena and Bonnie agree to Damon's suggestion that he give her some of his blood to heal her. It will be out of her system in a day, he points out.
Comparing notes about the evening, Damon, Elena, and Stefan realize that Katherine is in town. They wonder what she is up to, but when she pops up at Mayor Lockwood's wake, Katharine claims that all she wants is Stefan. He doesn't buy it, and warns Damon that she is trying to turn them against each other.
Damon seems to listen, until Katherine appears in his living room and he lets her goad him into a passion. When he asks, however, Katherine says that she is and always been in love with Stefan. Miserable, Damon goes to see Elena, but she repeats the same thing and Damon snaps. Spotting Jeremy in the doorway, Damon asks if he really wants to be a vampire so much - and breaks his neck.
As Elena sobs, she notices a Council ring on Jeremy's hand, protecting him from Damon's murderous actions. She swears to Stefan that if Damon is trying to make her hate him, then he has succeeded. Jeremey revives. Still not dead. Still not a vampire.
At the hospital, Katherine pays a visit to Caroline. She wants Caroline to give Stefan and Damon a message, she says, as she holds a pillow over Caroline's face.
The Good
- Dude. She chopped off that guy's fingers!
- Elena picked up the knife when she began twirling around looking for the killer. Some sense of self preservation.
- I love Damon's eyebrows as he realizes he was kissing Katharine. "You have got to be kidding me."
- Stefan getting all hardcore with Jon.
- Damon and Bonnie. Snarky goodness.
- Damon and Katherine. Then Damon and Elena. While Katherine was obviously playing him - even if she might have been telling the truth - I like that Elena is so sure of her feelings for Stefan. Wavering heroines in love with two guys just try my patience.
- Damon's attack on Jeremy. Fast and brutal.
The Bad
- The soundtrack is very aggressive with the moody pop songs.
- So the difference between Elena and Katherine is that Katherine has bouncier hair?
- Leggings are not pants, Katherine.
The Cliche
- Asking for help from the flunky. Elena and Stefan talking to Jon, who pretends not to know anything.
- A reverse on the usual: Elena guesses that Stefan intimidated Jon. He admits it. She is okay with it. Ought to be him denying things and then having it come out in drips and drabs.
- First, kill all the sidekicks. Katherine killing Caroline, supposedly with the intention that she become a vampire. Or not. You never know, really.
What Did I Think?
They sure pack a lot into this one. And just about all of it is canon or arc story. That is a good thing, as no one spends more time than is necessary acting like an idiot over Katherine. Except Damon, of course, but that is a whole different kind of idiot.
The one downside to this much breathless is that the pacing was really off. It was hard to figure out what the episode climax was until things were over, because everything that was going on was important. Of course, that may just be how they are telling the story on this show; I will need to watch more episodes to know for sure.