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'Vampire Diaries': Fool me twice, shame on me
On "Vampire Diaries," we take a look back at Mystic Falls in 1864 and learn what (or who) may have propelled the town to hunt down its demons.
Reliving the Past: In 1864, Katherine is having the best of both worlds -- seducing Damon while also bedding his younger sibling Stefan -- and really, what more could a girl want? While with Damon, Katherine is called down to meet Pearl (guest star Kelly Hu), also a vampire, and it is then that Pearl brings her an elixir (aka vervain), proving that the townspeople know vampires are living among them. Pearl tells Katherine that they must leave, but Katherine rejects the idea.
Giuseppe, the Salvatore patriarch (guest star James Remar), tells his sons Damon and Stefan about the "demons" (aka vampires) living among them, but the brothers aren't shocked. After all, they're both in love with the same one. Giuseppe tells his sons that the town will fight back. Stefan wants to tell his father about Katherine's true identity, but Damon adamantly assures him that their father will kill Katherine himself if word ever got out. Damon forces Stefan to promise him that he won't say a word about Katherine, but Stefan commits the ultimate betrayal and goes to his father anyway.
Stefan worries that his father's impending plan to kill all the vampires is too extreme, and doesn't reveal the reason why he is so set on changing his father's mind, but the older (and much wiser) Salvatore isn't stupid. Giuseppe somehow injects vervain into Stefan's blood, poisoning Katherine when she goes in to bite his neck during one of their nightly romps in the bedroom. Stefan pleads to his father to spare her, but Giuseppe says he knew something was up because he didn't raise his boys "to be so weak." Damon races in to see Katherine lying on the ground, barely breathing, and feels betrayed by his father but especially his brother Stefan.
When the townspeople lock Katherine up, her friend Pearl tells her daughter Anna and Emily to stay hidden. Jonathan Gilbert, the Gilberts' ancestor whose journal unlocked Mystic Falls' history, sees Pearl and approaches her (with the compass that helps identify vampires in hand). It is then that he realizes that Pearl is one of them when the arrow stays pointed in her direction, and they capture her post-shot to the back.
Back to the Present: Everyone is after Jonathan Gilbert's journal, since it reveals how the tomb underneath the church can be opened, or so everyone thinks. Once they read through it, it leads them to Damon and Stefan's father's grave. Stefan and Elena, hellbent on not letting Damon gain access to the spellbooks located in Giuseppe's grave, retrieve the tattered book from his coffin. But of course, Damon arrives just in time (after he pays a visit to Anna's hotel room and they almost become partners-in-crime).
It's then that Damon has a case of deja vu; his brother betrays him in 1864 and Stefan (along with Elena's help) does it again in present day. Ticked off, Damon threatens to turn Elena -- and is very close to doing so -- unless Stefan backs down and gives him the spellbooks, but Damon backs off when Stefan lets him have it.
Unlikely Partners: History teacher Alaric Saltzman (guest star Matt Davis) and Stefan make an unofficial pact after Alaric tells him that he witnessed Damon killing his late wife. The only thing is, they never found her body. So now that Alaric knows who Stefan is, and vice versa, will Alaric keep his end of the deal by not telling Damon why he's in town?
Bonnie's Date with a Vampire: Bonnie goes on a date with Ben (guest star Sean Faris), who hasn't been a vampire for very long and will do anything to appease Anna, at the Mystic Grill. Everything is going well until she goes in to kiss him and reacts to it in an unusual way, almost like she knows what his secret is. When she tries to escape from the Grill, Ben uses his superhuman speed and kidnaps her.
Spanning Centuries: There is more to Anna than previously thought. Through the 1864 flashbacks, we find out she was alive back then and that the Salvatores make the connection to who, or rather what, she is. At the very end of the episode, Anna kidnaps Elena from her bedroom after Stefan and Damon have their dramatic face-off at their father's grave, complicating matters even more for everyone involved.
Kinky Threesomes: There's Anna-Ben-Jeremy, Elena-Damon-Stefan, Katherine-Damon-Stefan and Anna-Ben-Bonnie. In many ways, Anna is like the present-day Katherine, getting the boys to do her dirty work for her. She is an interesting girl, and the more I find out about her, the more I'm curious about what her story is.
Highlights & Observations:
- Damon wasn't always conniving and arrogant. In fact, one could argue it was Stefan's betrayal in 1864 that caused their rift.
- Anna's mother is Katherine's good friend Pearl.
What are your thoughts on this "flashback" episode? Why do you think Anna wants to open the tomb?
I think I would rather see more of Damon and Katherine in the past and less of Stefan and Elena or see more of Damon and Elena, at least when it's D&E pairing it's more interesting than the Stefan and Elena pairing. I'm still trying to see the whole romance factor between Stefan and Elena and just don't see it or maybe they are just a boring couple when together with the only excitement is when she's in danger or running away from him. But I really hated Stefan after this episode, his actions completely warrant him needing to be thrown in that crypt instead of Katherine, Pearl and the 25 other vampires.
wow...so much has happens yet so little to satisfy...can't wait for next ep. I hope they ressurect the vampires or at least Katherine, so i can see a little bit of love war. Question here: Was Anna a vampire already in 1864..she must be otherwise who turned her right? Anyways I love the Stefan adn Elena pairing much better than Edward and Bella...But I love Damon and Elena more cause they're opposites yet they connect..they have more appeal.I have yet to see if Katherine and Damon and Katheine and Stefan is great in the present when she's not two timing them...that was so sad when he was looking at her in the woods when he got there and he found out that they betrayed her
When did Damon and Stefan become Vampires? in last nights eposide they had not been turned yet by Katherine? Does not make sense?
When did Damon and Stefan become Vampires? in last nights eposide they had not been turned yet by Katherine? Does not make sense?
Another great episode. At first I wondered why kidnap Elena. But I think they want to use her to force Bonnie to help them open the tomb and to keep the Salvatore brothers at bay. I wonder if Alaric's wife is now a vampire? Hmmm...
This show is so addicting!
I'm with Margo. When did Katherine turn them? Very confused.
WOW!!! This show never disappoints. I loved the Civil War flashbacks, although I kind of laughed at how the actors sounded too modern, instead of speaking like Southeners from the 19th century. :-P
@Philiana: I assume Giuseppe was able to sneak the vervain into Stefan's system by lacing the Scotch/Whiskey that they were drinking in the previous scene. I remember thinking to myself if it was common for fathers to give alcohol to their 17 year old sons back in the 1800s, since the legal drinking age now is 21. So I figured that they wrote that scene, so the father could sneak vervain into Stefan's drink (I guess I watch too many shows like Smallville!) :-)
Previously, I thought that Alaric's wife was actually dead, but it now seems like Damon might have turned her into a vampire! The plot thickens...BTW, I thought Alaric wasn't a very good vampire slayer after his two failed attempts to stake Stefan at the school.
I also wondered when Katherine had time to turn the Salvatore brothers in to vampires. I guess there will be a follow up episode where they will show how that happened, and also who turned Anna into a vampire as well.
Sorry, I forgot to add that I think the writers have already shown part of the reason why Anna wants the vampires released from the tomb. Her mother was one of the vampires imprisoned by the townspeople. Also, she probably wants to get revenge on the descendants of the Gilberts.
I'd like to add that I'm very excited that Ian Somerhalder is in Lost AND Vampire Diaries this season. Double the fun!