The Vampire Diaries 2x08 Review
Nov. 5th, 2010 10:26 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
iariaRose
It’s really bizarre and kind of worrying but this is the second episode in a row now that I didn’t love love the way I usually do a TVD episode. I liked the episode a lot and it was enjoyable but I guess I've got to a point where I expect gleeful love for an episode.
• My first impression of Rose was mild disappointment. Even though I tried not to as soon as I learned about Lauren Cohen being cast as Rose I found myself expecting her to basically be Bela with a different name. Unfortunately Rose isn’t Bela and the first time I watched the differences, especially in the first scenes, seemed quite large. She doesn’t seem to have the fun and cockiness that Bela had. So it was not love at first sight. I thought that for an episode named after her we didn’t really get to know Rose that well or get her point of view but hopefully that will come.
• Trevor working for Rose, or as we later learned ‘with’ but with her in charge, made me go ‘of course’ because on this show there is always a woman behind the men.
• I loved the Caroline/Damon scene but it also made me blink a lot. Caroline casually chatting with Damon, filling him in on what happened with Tyler, while he just as casually leaned against the door listening and asking questions is – unexpected. It felt kind of surreal. One of the first things I still think of when I think of their relationship is how he used her at the beginning of season one. We got her knocking him down after she remembered but since then we haven’t really had any scene devoted to them. It’s clear that their relationship has been changing but I wish we’d had more focus on that. The other moments that stick out are their silent meeting of eyes when her mom rejected her and then him handing her a glass of blood at the beginning of the last episode. (Also the fact that he lets her get away with ‘stealing’ his blood packs – he knows). Those little scenes are great and I want more of them. But I also want a bigger scene of them talking about their past when he used her or a scene of them coming to some clear agreement now or them working as a team. And I think it was needed before this scene because the ease Caroline was showing around him for most of it was surprising. I mean at one point she ignores him while looking at her phone! That amused me actually.
- During their scene I was really getting some weird step-dad Damon vibes. Him bringing up her mom, him holding the door open and sending her off to school, him being irritated with her ignoring him for her phone and her casual behaviour towards him. Now I want to read the AU fic where Damon married Liz and Caroline, with the help of her friends, tries to uncover the dark secret her step-father is hiding.
• I love how Jeremy is all casual about Elena having sex with Stefan. There isn’t a hint of over-protectiveness or of him thinking he has some right to have a say in her sex-life or to disapprove of it.
• An issue I had with the Caroline/Tyler storyline was their classmates reactions to them or rather their lack of reactions. Sarah died while the two of them were in the room and even if everyone buys that it was an accident there should still be some reaction. Offering condolences, curiosity about what happened, stares and whispers... something. But it was as if it was just any other day. Actually I have to wonder what they were doing in school in the first place considering that the night before a classmate died in front of them. I think that is ample reason to miss a day of school. In fact I’d think it’d be required for them to take a day off.
• I love Stefan so casually bringing up Damon’s feelings for Elena, ‘the elephant in the room’, and sincerely wanting to talk about it (and in no way being jealous or possessive). ♥ I do love my OT3.
• I’m really glad to see that there are negative side effects to Bonnie’s magic. We knew that witches could overextend themselves and face serious consequences (Sheila died) but we’ve never seen Bonnie face that. Instead she’s been throwing around some impressive power, especially for such an inexperience witch, and there have never appeared to be any physical consequences for it. It’s made her seem too powerful, too invincible. Plus if Bonnie can do all sorts of amazing things with no apparent effort than it makes her not helping Elena et al when there is serious trouble look very bad. There should be consequences and I was really glad to see it.
• “You keep asking me these questions like I’m going to answer them.” – Rose. I liked this. I liked her not being willing to answer Elena’s questions. So her immediately turning around and doing exactly that annoyed me. I mean they could have at least given her a break in time instead of going from ‘I’m not answer questions’ to immediately answering all Elena’s questions. I think it would have worked better here if Trevor had come in and started answering Elena’s questions much to Rose’s irritation. Then Rose could start injecting her POV when she disagreed with something he said or just couldn’t help but get involved in the conversation.
• I wish that Elena had tried at least once to escape into the sun and been stopped. I do really like her pushing her captors to explain everything.
• Rose being Lexie’s friend actually makes me want to ship Rose/Damon less because Stefan forgiving Damon for her murder I can see and accept because we’ve been shown just how much Stefan loves him but Rose? Why would she forgive him? I suppose if she and Lexie hadn’t been very close it would work.
• I find it fascinating that Elena isn’t Katherine’s doppelganger so much as a Petrova doppelganger. That she’s apparently one in a line (or what could be a line) of Petrova doppelgangers and that Katherine was one as well. Who exactly was the first person to wear Elena/Katherine’s face then? Why was she so important? I wonder if we might not discover that she, whoever she was, was the first vampire? We hear Klaus’s name in this episode for the first time but if his storyline goes the same as all the others than there could very likely be an even more powerful female behind him.
• I really like that we’re really getting to see more of Bonnie’s POV finally. Her keeping the truth about the toll her powers take on her a secret makes so much sense. Of course she would. It’d be nice if she’d confided in Elena, her best friend, but I suppose Elena’s closeness to the Salvatore’s and acceptance of them is an understandable reason why she wouldn’t feel comfortable. The only other person I can really think of is Alaric but like with Elena he is close to the Salvatore brothers and she doesn’t really know him. I’m still sad though that she hasn’t confided in Elena.
• “We’re family. Forever.” – Trevor. Oh, Elena I can see your empathy going into overdrive. I think she would have been open to Rose post-episode even without seeing this moment (seeing Rose’s grief when Trevor is killed in front of her would have been enough) but I think this is not only the moment that cements Rose as a person and sympathetic to Elena – both their fear and love for each other so obvious – but I think this also is going to be something Elena will have at front of her mind whenever dealing with Rose and like with Damon she’ll understand and forgive Rose for potential future badness because of it. Family is really important to Elena, possibly the most important thing.
• I don’t understand why Rose kept Trevor in the room and building. Why wouldn’t she have sent him off considering the death sentence on him? It would have been so much safer to make the deal with him in hiding so that if things didn’t go perfectly he’d be safe. Did she think he wouldn’t be pardoned unless he faced Elijah himself? It just doesn’t seem very smart to me. Also once they were all in the same room together why did Rose stay standing on the steps, while Elijah was distracted by Elena, instead of putting herself beside Trevor or between him and Elijah? It wouldn’t have had any effect but it would have made a lot more sense.
• “You have my word that I will pardon you.” – Elijah. Oh, Rose. You’d think that after five hundred years that she wouldn’t make such a stupid little mistake. I’m betting English is not her original language. That pesky ‘you’ that in English can be both singular and plural but with no way but context to know which. I figured that Trevor was going to die for most of the episode but this was when I knew he was going to die, and at Elijah’s hand.
• I love that Elena, so very and obviously terrified and freaked out, bargained for her life and bargained to buy time for the Salvatore’s to get there. Oh, Elena, you’re so awesome.
• I loved Elena throwing the vervain grenade into Elijah’s face. That was so freaking awesome! I so want Elena to get together with Alaric to learning vampire killing/hurting techniques. It could be a fun bonding experience!
• Oh Damon. His reaction when Elena came down the stairs... and then right into Stefan’s arms made me go ouch for him. I do love that Elena mouthed thank you but I don’t know that it would have made it feel any better for him.
• I am still not sold on Bonnie and Jeremy as a couple. He is sweet with her and I’ve wanted since last season a guy for her that would be worthy of her. I can see Jeremy being that. I can also see how his interest and support of the supernatural could work well with her more wary and tempered approach. They could be a very balanced couple. And yet I’m really rather... meh about them.
• I loved the Elena/Bonnie and Elena/Jeremy hugs. They all love each other so much and it made me very happy. We’ve been seeing a lot more of Jeremy’s love for Elena this season then the last one and I’m happy about that.
• “We let Katherine come between us. If we let that happen with Elena we’re not going to be able to protect her.” – Stefan. ♥ So very, very OT3!
• Damon: Elena know you’re drinking blood?
Stefan: (pause) I’ve been drinking hers.
Damon: (pause) Hmm. How romantic.
Oh, don’t try and pretend that you wouldn’t love that, Damon. I really loved this exchange.
• Stefan is handling this blood thing much better than I thought he would. Just how long has he been drinking Elena’s blood? He kept great control when Bonnie did her search spell and now here he takes a sip from a blood bag and does it like it’s no big deal.
• “I’ve never said it out loud. I guess I need to say it and you need to hear it. I’m sorry. What I did was selfish. I didn’t want to be alone. I guess I just needed my brother.” – Stefan. ♥
• “Just me.” – Caroline. Yeah, that lie is going to come back around to bite her. I love her trying to protect her ‘family’ and Damon would have shit a brick if she’d told the truth so it was probably the best response right then but it won’t end well. Especially once the truth about Mason comes out, and that Caroline knew what happened to him. Probably that will all come out after they start falling for each other.
• Like with Bonnie/Jeremy Caroline/Tyler is a pairing I never considered till the previous episode but unlike them I am completely sold on these two as a couple and I can’t wait to see more of where this goes.
• I loved Tyler opening up to Caroline about being afraid and alone and then getting all embarrassed about it. I wanted to hug him like Caroline did. This episode made him much more likable and sympathetic.
• I love that Damon specifically looked for Elena’s necklace – a necklace that his brother gave her.
• “I just need to say it once. You just need to hear it. I love you Elena. And it’s because I love you that I can’t be selfish with you. (Why I keep doing this.(?)) I don’t deserve you. But my brother does. (kisses her forehead) God, I wish you didn’t have to forget this. But you do.” – Damon. This was a big moment but I don’t really know what to say.
- Damon saying that he couldn’t be selfish with her made me go – uh huh, right. Killing her brother in front of her was pretty selfish! Hell, making her listen to him confessing his feelings and then erasing her memories is selfish!
- Damon thinks that Stefan deserves Elena. He wants them together. I love that. He thinks that they deserve each other and he’s not worthy of either of them. Oh, Damon.
- I really wish that Elena had said something. Especially it became obvious that he was going to compel her to forget. She was just very quiet and passive and I didn’t like it.
- I really like that he kissed her forehead instead of going in for a kiss.
- The single tear when he compelled her was a bit much for me. More eye-rolling than moving.
- This was actually a huge deal in the Damon/Elena relationship. I think it’s on the same footing as lying in the Elena/Stefan relationship. It’s this important line in their relationship. It strikes me as very important that he compelled her here. It was a violation of an unspoken rule between them, a trust. At some point she is going to remember this – both that he compelled her and that what he said.
- I wonder if Elena won’t put it together anyway. Elena is really smart and there is really only one explanation for suddenly finding herself wearing her necklace – vampires. Rose would have no reason to return it and Stefan would have no reason to compel her to forget which leaves Damon. Regardless of whether she says anything I think she’s going to suspect that he was there.
• I am very curious about Elijah and the other originals. When it appeared Damon killed him I was pretty disappointed. He was built up as this threat and it seemed so easy to take him out. I should have expected him to not really be dead. I’m surprised that Rose, who seems so knowledgeable about the originals bought that he was dead. I probably would have gone back and burned the body at least.
It’s really bizarre and kind of worrying but this is the second episode in a row now that I didn’t love love the way I usually do a TVD episode. I liked the episode a lot and it was enjoyable but I guess I've got to a point where I expect gleeful love for an episode.
• My first impression of Rose was mild disappointment. Even though I tried not to as soon as I learned about Lauren Cohen being cast as Rose I found myself expecting her to basically be Bela with a different name. Unfortunately Rose isn’t Bela and the first time I watched the differences, especially in the first scenes, seemed quite large. She doesn’t seem to have the fun and cockiness that Bela had. So it was not love at first sight. I thought that for an episode named after her we didn’t really get to know Rose that well or get her point of view but hopefully that will come.
• Trevor working for Rose, or as we later learned ‘with’ but with her in charge, made me go ‘of course’ because on this show there is always a woman behind the men.
• I loved the Caroline/Damon scene but it also made me blink a lot. Caroline casually chatting with Damon, filling him in on what happened with Tyler, while he just as casually leaned against the door listening and asking questions is – unexpected. It felt kind of surreal. One of the first things I still think of when I think of their relationship is how he used her at the beginning of season one. We got her knocking him down after she remembered but since then we haven’t really had any scene devoted to them. It’s clear that their relationship has been changing but I wish we’d had more focus on that. The other moments that stick out are their silent meeting of eyes when her mom rejected her and then him handing her a glass of blood at the beginning of the last episode. (Also the fact that he lets her get away with ‘stealing’ his blood packs – he knows). Those little scenes are great and I want more of them. But I also want a bigger scene of them talking about their past when he used her or a scene of them coming to some clear agreement now or them working as a team. And I think it was needed before this scene because the ease Caroline was showing around him for most of it was surprising. I mean at one point she ignores him while looking at her phone! That amused me actually.
- During their scene I was really getting some weird step-dad Damon vibes. Him bringing up her mom, him holding the door open and sending her off to school, him being irritated with her ignoring him for her phone and her casual behaviour towards him. Now I want to read the AU fic where Damon married Liz and Caroline, with the help of her friends, tries to uncover the dark secret her step-father is hiding.
• I love how Jeremy is all casual about Elena having sex with Stefan. There isn’t a hint of over-protectiveness or of him thinking he has some right to have a say in her sex-life or to disapprove of it.
• An issue I had with the Caroline/Tyler storyline was their classmates reactions to them or rather their lack of reactions. Sarah died while the two of them were in the room and even if everyone buys that it was an accident there should still be some reaction. Offering condolences, curiosity about what happened, stares and whispers... something. But it was as if it was just any other day. Actually I have to wonder what they were doing in school in the first place considering that the night before a classmate died in front of them. I think that is ample reason to miss a day of school. In fact I’d think it’d be required for them to take a day off.
• I love Stefan so casually bringing up Damon’s feelings for Elena, ‘the elephant in the room’, and sincerely wanting to talk about it (and in no way being jealous or possessive). ♥ I do love my OT3.
• I’m really glad to see that there are negative side effects to Bonnie’s magic. We knew that witches could overextend themselves and face serious consequences (Sheila died) but we’ve never seen Bonnie face that. Instead she’s been throwing around some impressive power, especially for such an inexperience witch, and there have never appeared to be any physical consequences for it. It’s made her seem too powerful, too invincible. Plus if Bonnie can do all sorts of amazing things with no apparent effort than it makes her not helping Elena et al when there is serious trouble look very bad. There should be consequences and I was really glad to see it.
• “You keep asking me these questions like I’m going to answer them.” – Rose. I liked this. I liked her not being willing to answer Elena’s questions. So her immediately turning around and doing exactly that annoyed me. I mean they could have at least given her a break in time instead of going from ‘I’m not answer questions’ to immediately answering all Elena’s questions. I think it would have worked better here if Trevor had come in and started answering Elena’s questions much to Rose’s irritation. Then Rose could start injecting her POV when she disagreed with something he said or just couldn’t help but get involved in the conversation.
• I wish that Elena had tried at least once to escape into the sun and been stopped. I do really like her pushing her captors to explain everything.
• Rose being Lexie’s friend actually makes me want to ship Rose/Damon less because Stefan forgiving Damon for her murder I can see and accept because we’ve been shown just how much Stefan loves him but Rose? Why would she forgive him? I suppose if she and Lexie hadn’t been very close it would work.
• I find it fascinating that Elena isn’t Katherine’s doppelganger so much as a Petrova doppelganger. That she’s apparently one in a line (or what could be a line) of Petrova doppelgangers and that Katherine was one as well. Who exactly was the first person to wear Elena/Katherine’s face then? Why was she so important? I wonder if we might not discover that she, whoever she was, was the first vampire? We hear Klaus’s name in this episode for the first time but if his storyline goes the same as all the others than there could very likely be an even more powerful female behind him.
• I really like that we’re really getting to see more of Bonnie’s POV finally. Her keeping the truth about the toll her powers take on her a secret makes so much sense. Of course she would. It’d be nice if she’d confided in Elena, her best friend, but I suppose Elena’s closeness to the Salvatore’s and acceptance of them is an understandable reason why she wouldn’t feel comfortable. The only other person I can really think of is Alaric but like with Elena he is close to the Salvatore brothers and she doesn’t really know him. I’m still sad though that she hasn’t confided in Elena.
• “We’re family. Forever.” – Trevor. Oh, Elena I can see your empathy going into overdrive. I think she would have been open to Rose post-episode even without seeing this moment (seeing Rose’s grief when Trevor is killed in front of her would have been enough) but I think this is not only the moment that cements Rose as a person and sympathetic to Elena – both their fear and love for each other so obvious – but I think this also is going to be something Elena will have at front of her mind whenever dealing with Rose and like with Damon she’ll understand and forgive Rose for potential future badness because of it. Family is really important to Elena, possibly the most important thing.
• I don’t understand why Rose kept Trevor in the room and building. Why wouldn’t she have sent him off considering the death sentence on him? It would have been so much safer to make the deal with him in hiding so that if things didn’t go perfectly he’d be safe. Did she think he wouldn’t be pardoned unless he faced Elijah himself? It just doesn’t seem very smart to me. Also once they were all in the same room together why did Rose stay standing on the steps, while Elijah was distracted by Elena, instead of putting herself beside Trevor or between him and Elijah? It wouldn’t have had any effect but it would have made a lot more sense.
• “You have my word that I will pardon you.” – Elijah. Oh, Rose. You’d think that after five hundred years that she wouldn’t make such a stupid little mistake. I’m betting English is not her original language. That pesky ‘you’ that in English can be both singular and plural but with no way but context to know which. I figured that Trevor was going to die for most of the episode but this was when I knew he was going to die, and at Elijah’s hand.
• I love that Elena, so very and obviously terrified and freaked out, bargained for her life and bargained to buy time for the Salvatore’s to get there. Oh, Elena, you’re so awesome.
• I loved Elena throwing the vervain grenade into Elijah’s face. That was so freaking awesome! I so want Elena to get together with Alaric to learning vampire killing/hurting techniques. It could be a fun bonding experience!
• Oh Damon. His reaction when Elena came down the stairs... and then right into Stefan’s arms made me go ouch for him. I do love that Elena mouthed thank you but I don’t know that it would have made it feel any better for him.
• I am still not sold on Bonnie and Jeremy as a couple. He is sweet with her and I’ve wanted since last season a guy for her that would be worthy of her. I can see Jeremy being that. I can also see how his interest and support of the supernatural could work well with her more wary and tempered approach. They could be a very balanced couple. And yet I’m really rather... meh about them.
• I loved the Elena/Bonnie and Elena/Jeremy hugs. They all love each other so much and it made me very happy. We’ve been seeing a lot more of Jeremy’s love for Elena this season then the last one and I’m happy about that.
• “We let Katherine come between us. If we let that happen with Elena we’re not going to be able to protect her.” – Stefan. ♥ So very, very OT3!
• Damon: Elena know you’re drinking blood?
Stefan: (pause) I’ve been drinking hers.
Damon: (pause) Hmm. How romantic.
Oh, don’t try and pretend that you wouldn’t love that, Damon. I really loved this exchange.
• Stefan is handling this blood thing much better than I thought he would. Just how long has he been drinking Elena’s blood? He kept great control when Bonnie did her search spell and now here he takes a sip from a blood bag and does it like it’s no big deal.
• “I’ve never said it out loud. I guess I need to say it and you need to hear it. I’m sorry. What I did was selfish. I didn’t want to be alone. I guess I just needed my brother.” – Stefan. ♥
• “Just me.” – Caroline. Yeah, that lie is going to come back around to bite her. I love her trying to protect her ‘family’ and Damon would have shit a brick if she’d told the truth so it was probably the best response right then but it won’t end well. Especially once the truth about Mason comes out, and that Caroline knew what happened to him. Probably that will all come out after they start falling for each other.
• Like with Bonnie/Jeremy Caroline/Tyler is a pairing I never considered till the previous episode but unlike them I am completely sold on these two as a couple and I can’t wait to see more of where this goes.
• I loved Tyler opening up to Caroline about being afraid and alone and then getting all embarrassed about it. I wanted to hug him like Caroline did. This episode made him much more likable and sympathetic.
• I love that Damon specifically looked for Elena’s necklace – a necklace that his brother gave her.
• “I just need to say it once. You just need to hear it. I love you Elena. And it’s because I love you that I can’t be selfish with you. (Why I keep doing this.(?)) I don’t deserve you. But my brother does. (kisses her forehead) God, I wish you didn’t have to forget this. But you do.” – Damon. This was a big moment but I don’t really know what to say.
- Damon saying that he couldn’t be selfish with her made me go – uh huh, right. Killing her brother in front of her was pretty selfish! Hell, making her listen to him confessing his feelings and then erasing her memories is selfish!
- Damon thinks that Stefan deserves Elena. He wants them together. I love that. He thinks that they deserve each other and he’s not worthy of either of them. Oh, Damon.
- I really wish that Elena had said something. Especially it became obvious that he was going to compel her to forget. She was just very quiet and passive and I didn’t like it.
- I really like that he kissed her forehead instead of going in for a kiss.
- The single tear when he compelled her was a bit much for me. More eye-rolling than moving.
- This was actually a huge deal in the Damon/Elena relationship. I think it’s on the same footing as lying in the Elena/Stefan relationship. It’s this important line in their relationship. It strikes me as very important that he compelled her here. It was a violation of an unspoken rule between them, a trust. At some point she is going to remember this – both that he compelled her and that what he said.
- I wonder if Elena won’t put it together anyway. Elena is really smart and there is really only one explanation for suddenly finding herself wearing her necklace – vampires. Rose would have no reason to return it and Stefan would have no reason to compel her to forget which leaves Damon. Regardless of whether she says anything I think she’s going to suspect that he was there.
• I am very curious about Elijah and the other originals. When it appeared Damon killed him I was pretty disappointed. He was built up as this threat and it seemed so easy to take him out. I should have expected him to not really be dead. I’m surprised that Rose, who seems so knowledgeable about the originals bought that he was dead. I probably would have gone back and burned the body at least.
