The Vampire Dairies 2x14 Review

[iaria]

Cry Wolf

• Elena was pretty awesome this episode. I loved her.

- I loved that when Stefan didn’t come back and didn’t answer when she called she grabbed a weapon before venturing outside and when attacked she used it. Then she was smart and hid, tricked Brady about where she was, grabbed another weapon and attacked him again. I mean there were some niggling issues – why did she run upstairs first instead of to the weapons, why didn’t she attack Brady again once he was down (I guess, she still hasn’t killed anyone and isn’t ready to make that step?) – but overall she did great. And she kept a knife as a weapon when she ran.

- “I know the deal I made, Stefan. Elijah is very careful with his words. He promised to protect my friends, he said nothing about me.” I love that so much. Elena is not stupid and she is not naive and she has always known exactly what she was doing. Awesome.

- “I didn’t know what they were going to do to you. I didn’t. I just – don’t want to be like this anymore. I’m sorry, Elena.” – Tyler And of course she immediately goes to him and hugs him. Because she’s Elena and that’s what she does. ♥

- The only negative is that when ‘Caroline’ texted her with “Need to talk” it seemed clear to me that there was something going on. I mean it says right there ‘need’. But after Elena gets a return text that everything is fine she just accepted it when I would have expected her to at least text back something like “are you sure?”

• Tyler this episode, god. I was sympathetic to him in the last episode. I was mad about him hesitating to let Caroline free and then doing nothing when Jules had the gun on her but I understood his confusion and anger. The fact that his uncle was killed by her friends, she knew and didn’t tell him, and no one explained why things happened that way made me very sympathetic towards him and his actions. With this episode... I completely see the appeal for Tyler in the idea that he would be able to control the transformation, and thus never have to go through that again. I understand why that would make him continue to side with the werewolves. That is a huge lure. I understood about him telling them Elena’s name even though I was going ‘don’t say anything!’ because he was surprised and still fucking confused. But when he texted Elena to get her location and then went to kidnap her, and then shot Stefan in the leg, I just threw my hands up and went ‘you ass’. It’s just one bad decision after another. That said I did like that he didn’t hesitate with Elena like he did with Caroline – when he learned that his freedom would mean Elena’s death he did the right thing. So he’s learning. I also really like how much he likes and respects Caroline and just thinks she’s the most awesome person.

• If Caroline had agreed to listen when he bumped into her at the Mystic Grill would he have told her everything or was it always just a con to get her cell phone?

• Elena and Stefan were pretty adorable. I loved her playing him with regards to inviting him in – that was cute. And I liked him making dinner for her.

• “It’s not heroic. It’s tragic.” Actually Stefan it can be both, and is. I’m really annoyed by him just brushing aside her choice like he has. I understand him not wanting her to die and I’m on his side with him fighting to save her. But his dismissal of her choosing to try and save the people she loves rubs me the wrong way. He can think she’s wrong and fight her on her decision and even think she’s being stupid without being so dismissive.

• I was disappointed that we didn’t get anything about the sleepover beyond seeing the three girls sleeping together in Caroline’s bed. I mean that made me go ‘aww’ but it would have been nice to see them actually interacting and to see the end of the sleepover at least. I was really hoping for some talk about what Caroline went though and the girls comforting her. Sigh.

• I can understand why Bonnie feels betrayed by Luka and she has every right to be angry about that. In fact I would be entirely on her side in this except... I just cannot forget how she used Luca’s magic against his will/without his permission and in the process almost killed him (and that she went into it knowing that he could very likely die since it was exactly what killed her grandmother.) And she did it before she learned that he had lied and was using her. I find that so horrible I just can’t understand why most people I’ve read online don’t see it that way. I mean most people just ignored it but I can’t. So on the balance I went into this episode thinking Luka was owed apologies more than Bonnie was which I don’t think is how I was supposed to looking at the situation.

Then we get Bonnie playing nice in order to drug Luka, kidnap him and then force him to answer her questions. Now on the one hand I totally understand it and I agree with her. They need all the information they can get, and knowing how much they can trust Elijah is vitally important. Bonnie’s plan was actually a really good one – grab the weakest link in Elijah’s camp, force answers and have him forget it ever happened afterwards (though I’d think he’d be at least suspicious) – and I really love her proactively getting involved and doing her part to keep the family safe. That was awesome.

But... I’m just so torn! A part of me wishes that Bonnie had never tried to use Luka’s power, it gives her more depth yes, but I feel like I’m more hung up on that then I was meant to be. Because despite how much I agreed with Bonnie’s choices in this episode and loved her being so competent all I could think was of her using Luka and almost killing him before, and now drugging him and using him again and comparing that to him making friends with her while having his own agenda (opposite to hers) and coming up with Bonnie being the one more in the wrong in the end. Ack.

My problem with Bonnie, when I don’t have the same issue with psychopath serial killer Damon or Katherine, is that neither of them are trying to act/say they’re any sort of moral authority whereas Bonnie has. She pretty much literally said that to Stefan in the season one finale. She’s always been a lot more rigid then Elena as far as the vampire thing and a lot more ... unyielding and adamant about ‘right’ and ‘wrong’. Killing people, using people is wrong. But then this season she’s: tried to barbeque Damon not because he killed someone but because she was angry, guilty and grieving over Caroline and lashing out; she used new friend Luka’s power without permission in the same dangerous spell that killed her grandmother and almost killed him (before she knew about his betrayal); she helped with Mason’s kidnapping knowing it would lead to his death; she drugged, kidnapped and forced Luka to tell her his secrets.

These are not the actions of someone who has the right to consider themselves any sort of moral authority. I wouldn’t have an issue if it wasn’t for that. Now maybe she is moving into a greyer POV slowly, she was still very firm about her attitude when Caroline was turned but some time has passed, so maybe. But I really need some acknowledgement from her that, yeah, she has done some pretty horrible things and that they weren’t ‘right’ just because she did them regardless of why she did them. Or at least acknowledgement that she has changed in how she views the world.

• Brady survived in Mystic Falls for far less time than I thought he would. I guess I over-estimated his threat. He did mess up by taking only Tyler with him to the cabin. He showed before they left that he didn’t trust Tyler so that doesn’t make much sense to me. I mean it’s not as if the group had a lack of numbers – he could have taken one of the three nameless werewolves Jules had with her. I had a bit of a problem with Brady shooting Stefan – and then not taking the time to kill him. This is a guy who hates vampires so much that he enjoys torturing them. Why wouldn’t he have killed Stefan? The only thing I can think of is as a test for Tyler but then that seems pretty risky to me.

• Actually the werewolves, and the threat of them, didn’t last very long, did they? I guess it’s not really their fault Damon and Alaric were pretty screwed if Elijah hadn’t been there to uphold his end of the bargain. First they were saved by a witch and now an Original. At another time the werewolves could have been a huge threat. In fact I’m kind of hoping that once the whole Original/Klaus/sacrifice situation is dealt with the show goes back to werewolves.

• At the beginning Brady says ominously “Even if we have to kill every last vampire” which would have worked far better if he’d said “every last person” because we already know he intends to kill all the vampires. By stating ‘person’ it would have indicated that the werewolves were now considering humans fair game as well – which is exactly what plays out later when they kill Alaric. It just would have worked better.

• Damon and Alaric finally got some significant scenes and apparently they really are all BFF. I am amused. They hang out drinking, chatting about their days and relationships, and gossiping. It’s cute.

“Tell me that you’re not going to kill him at the tea party.” – Alaric
“No that would be stupid.” – Damon

Hahaha. Alaric’s sceptical and unconvinced expression was perfect. Oh, yeah, he knows his BFF.

• We saw how Elena has gotten desensitised to violence and death, specifically with regards to Damon, and now here we’re seeing it with Alaric. He’s more weary and accepting about the fact that Damon might kill Andie than anything else. His reasoning to Damon is not that it’s wrong, or that Andie is a good person but because she’s Jenna’s friend and Alaric is tired of lying to Jenna which he’d have to do again if Damon killed Andie. Andie’s fate is thus made all about Alaric and Jenna and I didn't like that. You know that if Damon did kill her Alaric would still be his friend.

• The Damon/Elijah confrontation made me shake my head. Oh, Damon. He really never learns does he? Elijah’s “young vampires... you’re so arrogant”“Because he’s such a great guy, he’s a liar, Jenna” I wondered if that was really meant to come off with a bit of jealousy in it or if it was just my sudden interest in the two of them. There is the making of a very interesting triangle quadrangle here with John/Jenna/Alaric/Isobel and I wonder if the show might go there?

• I wanted to see Tyler’s reaction to seeing his history teacher apparently dead, killed by his new ‘friends’

• I’m hoping that the vampire hunter closet means that we might be getting a bit more on Grayson and Miranda Gilbert. Grayson, at least, was on the Council. I’m choosing to believe that Miranda was as well. That closet really speaks, IMO, to people who actually fight. Did they go out hunting vampires? I hope this starts Elena into searching into her parent’s past a bit more.