It’s hard to even sum up this episode as it went from such extremes. Most of it was much slower paced and somewhat uneventful. I really don’t mean that in a bad way, I enjoyed every second of it. It was just more of a subtle build up on. It had a higher concentration on the characters and general situation and tone instead of the edge of your seat, blood-curdling mind blowing action that we normally get. Plenty of unexpected action and violence does follow,; this is still The Vampire Diaries after all. More importantly, there are some great dramatic scenes and things turning in different directions.

Last week there wasn’t anything more on the extremely intriguing Klaus and Caroline angle that was introduced a few weeks ago. I was afraid they were just dropping this and not going any further with it. Luckily, Dangerous Liaisons dives deeper in to it. Klaus asks Caroline to a welcoming ball his family is holding for the town. Caroline reluctantly goes to keep an eye on Matt after she finds out Rebeka will be his date. Of course, Klaus uses this as his opportunity to romance Caroline.

Of course, like most of the girls on The Vampire Diaries Caroline resists since she is afraid of his evil-nature. Sure, he’s a powerful and immortal original who has joyed from slaughtering too many bodies to count, but hey no one’s perfect. When it comes down to it the two of them have the same nature even if they haven’t embraced it in equal measure. I really hope Caroline is able to let go somewhat of her inhibitions and see where this intoxicating connection between them can go. Either way, In any given situation Klaus’ next move never fails to be completely enthralling and I’m not expecting this to be any different.

On the romantic front, things in the Elena-Damon relationship are certainly tossed all over the place. Elena is another one who just needs to accept her love, passion, and need for Damon. She’s put him through enough, especially since she is claiming he cares to much and is a liability, yet she doesn’t let herself give in to her desires because he’s more of the bad boy vampire brother. It’s either one of the other. There are some promising moments between them though, Elena seems to be sharing the Salvatore brothers, going from one to the other at the ball. After realizing Damon won’t let her anywhere near the original witch who has asked to speak with her alone, she knows she has to take drastic measures even if it means hurting Damon. Elena takes this a little too far and wounds him so badly that he is pushed to someone else (in a very steamy and thrilling ending-although I wish his partner could have been swapped out).

I have always been indifferent to Elijah. He has often offered interesting material, but there was nothing about him in particular that really drew me in. His material has been getting better and better lately though and I have found myself liking his character more and more. Seeing the Michaelson mother was pretty intriguing. She really his all angles, seeming like a whole other entity, so much more honest, genuine, and forgiving then the rest of her family. It’s when we see her true colors when things really get interesting though. There are clearly going to be major changes for the Michaelson family. This episode leaves us with a “death sentence”, the only question being whose it will be when the truth comes out.

Luckily, The Vampire Diaries writers only left us hanging for one week this time and picked back up with another chilling, tension-filled episode of one turn after the other. In every episode things develop so much, characters are pushed to their limits and beyond. Seeing the way they react can often push them in to a completely different point than seems to be in their character. The writers have really done a great job in creating material that is always taking on challenges and ends up being rich, exciting, and always changing.

One of the many interesting elements of the episode was Mr. Forbes’ material. Just as he is starting to get on better terms with Caroline their relationship is ripped apart from them as the vampire blood in his system has an after death response. He is now the things he has been fighting his entire life. I couldn’t have been more excited when this happened as it opened up so many
possibilities. The dark and intriguing potential they could have gone with the character is endless. They could have explored the monster that he could combine and hating himself just as every vampire he has sought to destroy or “save” through his disturbing and vicious methods. It might have been even more interesting if he did find a way to use these extreme methods on himself and become the creation he always thought he could train Caroline in to being.

The show went a different direction with Mr. Forbes’ character. Although, it wasn’t the scenario my mind was racing towards, when this change came in to place it still offered some great material. Candice Accola gave an incredible performance. Caroline is so conflicted, she shows equal amounts of love and hate. She is unable to let him go and yet is so disgusted by what he did to her and how unaccepting he is of her nature. The level of emotion Accola delivers and her range shows what a tremendous actress she is.

She has brought Caroline to life in such a thrilling, genuine, and complex way that I never would have dreamed in a million years the Caroline of the books could have ever been. It was really when she turned in to a vampire that I instantly fell in love with her. This was something far behind her undead nature; it was her amplified human qualities that makes her such a kick ass vampire. She’s still somewhat tortured since this is never what she wanted for herself; to be a prisoner to blood lust, forever frozen in time. Still, she embraces what she is and makes no apologies.

This week’s episode also brought the return of Elijah, which was even more revenge-filled, intense, and satisfying than expected….and I’m a Klaus fan. Really, I am kind of indifferent to Elijah, but the material and the direction his involvement turned things towards was too good not to get a thrill out of.

We learn of a lot of similarities between Klaus and Elijah and the Salvatores; they both had a similar tragic love triangle that turned them towards their vampiric nature. If only love triangles in real life resulted in bad ass, intriguing vampires. Until that day, at least we have vampire diaries.

Things with Klaus and his family certainly escalated to another level, awakening things that we saw temporarily silences and those that seemed so buried in the past. Everything is coming back full force, opening up a multitude of possibilities. Either way, it is sure to make for plenty of interesting material that I’m sure the show will dive in to full force.

Mr. Forbes isn’t doing this just for the sake of getting back in his daughter’s good graces. To him, Tyler is a liability, endangering his daughter’s life with every breath he takes, that is until he can control himself. If Tyler can’t do this, then he isn’t afraid to take his life from him altogether. This pushes Tyler to his limits, leaving him desperate and pushing the beast out more and more. Mr. Forbes is the one taunting it, begging it to come out. Coleman does such a fantastic job in the role, he really brings out the intense caring father with a skewed, unrelenting, and darkly twisted mind. He hits all of the elements and gives us one of the most interesting non-supernatural characters the show has to offer.

I was hoping there would be more progression between Damon and Elena. Why must she act this way? She belittles Damon, afraid to acknowledge the connection and passion between them. Of course, when Stefan finds out the old brotherly rivalry is re-ignited between Damon and himself. For once, Bonnie actually is the one looking at it from the right perspective despite her history and hate for him.

Bonnie has been reoccurring dreams, seeming like it is some sort of sign that she needs to find. She identifies the woman in her dreams as her birthmother who she never knew. Elena and her go to visit her. Bonnie isn’t trying to reconnect with her long lost mother. She just has to try to reach out to her if she can help them. Bonnie finds out the reason why she fled in the first place, how fighting nearly killed her and took all of her magic. So she ran and started a new life, too afraid of what she might find if she ever looked back.

Our protagonists are running out of time to stop Klaus. Between Klaus and his hybrids at work with their own plan, lurking in the shadows, waiting to set things in motion, it’s only a matter of time before he gets what he wants. Klaus is ahead of them. They can’t stop him, not completely, but they can take a little piece away from him; this piece could prove to be even more fierce, deadly, and unforgiving than even Klaus.

In the past season Stefan really embraced another side to himself, the side of The Ripper. He isn’t quite that monster now, but he knows that he can’t go back to what he was before. He’s left somewhere in the middle, trying to find solace. Klaus ruined his life and he must pay. I have to say I’m pretty impressed with Stefan. This is possibly the best I have ever liked his character-show or books.

The shades of gray make him so interesting. He is far more evil-natured than good, but we understand it much better now. He wants to destroy Klaus at all costs. He is ahead of the game for once. He doesn’t show the least bit of fear or hesitation as he eggs Klaus on more and more. He wants to get under his skin regardless if he is playing with fire or not. The real shock in all of this is just how far he goes, seeming so out of character for him despite this faze he is going through.

Klaus was another character that really went between one extreme to the other. He is completely determined and fierce. He is clearly caught off guard by Stefan, but he doesn’t show it for a second, keeping up his conniving and sadistic demeanor. Whatever Stefan thinks he can throw at him, Klaus will hit him with worse. Of course, this immediately puts are main characters in danger, even some of them being used against each other.

The real shock though is that during the aftermath of this Klaus is actually the one who comes to the rescue. Part of you thinks that he is up to something, which is quite possible. Still, there is some sort of sincerity and connection here that it is possible that he is genuine. Either way, I think this is just the start of some extremely enticing material and I can’t wait to dive in to it further.

Starring: Emily Boresow, Eric McGrane, Meg Saricks, Sally Spurgeon
Written & Directed By: Patrick Rea
Grade: C+

Indie horror director, Patrick Rea, has shown great promise through his darkly dramatic collection of short films. They have style and substance, slowly built up to explore an unexpected yet all encompassing personal horror. His feature, Nailbater, shows much of this same promise. It has great atmosphere, production values, and performances. Still, it felt like it fell short of the potential it held.

Nailbiter follows a family on their way to pick up the father who has been away fighting in the army. On their way they hit a horrible storm and have to find shelter. They end up breaking in to a cellar in a nearby house. Before long it becomes clear that getting out of there won’t be nearly as easy with the creatures that lie outside.

The acting and dialogue was really great. I appreciate that they built up the characters so we cared about the turmoil they were going through the rest of the film. The mother was a recovering alcoholic, yet she wasn’t the typical dead beat mother. She seemed genuine and ended up being a strong character. Even the young girls were, perhaps even more so. They were unique and had realistic dialogue.

The oldest daughter was one of the strongest points of the film. Even when her mother was understandably falling apart she was there to pick up the pieces and force her mom to get a hold of herself and keep fighting. Meg Baricks gave a great performance. She showed the tragedy her character was going through as well as charging her with a necessary ferocity. She proved herself to be a fighter and perhaps the more maternal one. They have no idea what they’re up against, but that is no reason to give up.

Most of the film takes place in the cellar, where they are alone and trapped. One of the younger girls are beaten by some sort of unknowncreature that is lurking around the entrance. It’s soon revealed that there might be a connection to the family that lives there and the town as a whole. There was a lot of tension and suspense building up through the plight to escape, but the issue was more what was holding them in there. There was an original premise behind everything that was going on, but I really wish it would have explored more. The creatures aren’t really utilized. They are enticing and impose a threat on our protagonists, but we aren’t given enough origins, purpose, or just what this supernatural connection is that fuels them. If this was developed more, the film could have been much more stimulating.

For all the torture The Vampire Diaries writers put us through with all their mind blowing build ups right before leaving us hanging with random 2-3 month breaks, sometimes they give us exactly what we want. For all of the teasing about the pay off that never seems to happen at last we get an ending so satisfying that I’m not sure any words can truly express for the pure shock and bliss that it put millions of fans in all over the world. Thinking of this past season of True Blood this has been a phenomenal year for vampire shows, going the extra mile and giving the bad vampires a win over their moralistic but deceiving vampire counterparts. It’s the year of evil-natured vamps, I really couldn’t ask for much more than that.

It is instances like this week’s episode that I am so thankful that The Vampire Diaries uses the books more as a base inspiration rather than a direct adaptation source. I am really not sure which I like better. It is rare enough that the adaptation can even compare to the books, but the two are honestly pretty different. I do like the huge overwhelming world-shattering epidemics, larger than life villains, and original version of the fierce, loyal, and unrelenting characters in the book. Still, the show has all of this, just in ways unique to the books.

True Blood takes the main plot and works it in to each season, adding at least two other world ending catastrophes per season. Fans of the book don’t know exactly what’s going to happen. There are plenty of surprises along their way and separate story lines that anything can happen with. Still, overall they stick to the basic plot. The Vampire Diaries just follows the original premise of the series overall and most of the more striking characters. This way you never know what’s going to happen. The stakes are that much higher. The show quickly proved that the characters can’t survive anything and everything with the sheer amount of featured characters that have been killed off. The tension is that much higher and even better sometimes something can sneak up on you, catch you off guard, and completing blow you away as it did in the much anticipated return of Vampire Diaries.

In the TV series, there are definitely different versions of some of the characters. Bonnie is the only one that truly suffers, but then I’m absolutely in love with Caroline (especially once she went undead), whereas there is nothing to like about her in the books. At first, I wasn’t sure about Jeremy’s character, since in the books he was an 8 year-old younger sister of Elena’s rather than a troubled teenager. He has become one of the most compelling characters. So much of his material is what draws me in more than anything else.

I loved Anna who wasn’t in the books; some of their material together was so gripping and genuine, an igniting combination. Unfortunately, it looks like we won’t be seeing as much of either of them for awhile. Especially in this episode he endures so much and pushes him to a darker place, yet a very needed one to have any hopes of being a survivor. Now Klaus is after him to show Elena a lesson about refusing to help him find Stefan and Klaus’ dead family members. Jeremy is fierce and clearly loses a huge part of his humanity, simply because he’s doing what he has to.

Stefan has stolen all of Klaus casket-ridden family members; his one weakness. Stefan realizes all that he has done now. It’s clear that Klaus has broken him down and piece by piece ruined everything he was and everything in his life. Stefan certainly hasn’t gotten any humanity or moralistic tendencies back. He is simply out for revenge at all costs, even if it means trying to kill the unkillable. As impossible as it seems to be whenever they try to kill him or most of their enemies for that matter, Stefan actually does manage to be one step ahead with the perfect diabolical plan. Any care or concern he had for Elena or her loved ones is clearly long gone, breaking that past connection further.

Elena is all on her own, desperate to protect her brother from this life of danger, death, and destruction she has thrown him in to. As her last living family member left she can’t see Jeremy go through it any longer. She can’t stand the thought of anyone else she cares about dying. Klaus doesn’t plan on stopping killing off her loved ones until he gets what he wants. Elena comes up with something else to make a deal with him, Rebekah, who will quickly go on a murderous rampage when she awakens aimed at Elena. Klaus needs Elena so he won’t let that happen just yet, but just anticipating the rage fueling this original vampire who has been deceived and hurt time and time again for centuries is mindboggling. It should make for some very tension-building and thrilling material.

There was a chance before that Klaus might have left them alone for the most part, at least for the time being since he clearly had future plans for Elena, but now that hope is long gone. He will do anything and everything he can to find and get back at Stefan, anything less than slow and painstaking torture and revenge would be too sympathetic than he even has the capacity for, not to mention the blood lust and rage he needs and wants to take out on Stefan. It’s kind of a given that at some point for Elena and the Salvatores to go on living Klaus has to be stopped at some point. I absolutely love his character though and would be devastated to see him go.

There are some very intense moments with Damon and Klaus, the hate and fierocity jumping off the screen. Of course I am on Team Elena and Damon, but I am still a bit torn, just because Klaus is such an overwhelming enticing character. I just pray they don’t kill him. He had a different, but very large part in the books so let’s hope they keep him around for awhile. Of course, The Vampire Diaries is never short on villains, diabolical plans, or colossal earth-shattering events that the characters are constantly fighting against. I have faith that the show would have so many directions to go and would still be as good, but he is quickly becoming one of my favorite vampire characters ever and I would love to hold on to every wicked treasured moment with him I can.

Damon has a plan with Stefan, Rebecca, Michael and pretty much everyone else teaming up for the demise of Klaus. Stefan is still under Klaus’ control. He can compel him to tell him the truth. The plan could break in a second if Klaus asks him the wrong question. Rebekah could be another potential breaking point. They got her on their side, but she’s a very complex and unpredictable person. Not to mention, this is one of her only blood relatives left; one of the only immortals that truly understands her. As she says, “I have spent a century loving and hating my brother”. Rebekah is so hurt by finding out the truth that Klaus killed her mother, not Michael like she always thought. He has a knack for deceiving people and wrapping them around his finger. She’s out to avenge her mother’s death, but Klaus is still her brother. They can’t let any one person let their plan fall apart or they are all dead.

Picking up from last week’s episode, we get further character development on Rebekah. She’s coming along as a very interesting character. There’s a scene between Elena and her while she’s getting ready for the homecoming dance, her first school dance ever. She never fully got to grow up and she has spent most of eternity on the run. Rebekah never got to experience anything like this. So much comes out about some of Rebecca’s inner thoughts. It’s a very sincere scene that has a cold, bitter twist.

The never ending build up between Damon and Elena continues. She now shows a willingness to let go of Stefan, knowing this might be the best thing both for her and Damon. Elena trusts Damon with all of their lives. He is on his game here; fierce, cunning, and completely unrelenting. He needs to end Klaus so they can put all of this behind them. Ian Somerhalder really shows the many layers of Damon, ranging from weak and desperate to determined and vicious.

Things have backfired and blown up so severely it will be interesting to see how it all plays out. Klaus is out for revenge from everyone who has tricked, humiliated, and went against him. He’s not the forgiving type and the only thing he ever cared about has been ripped apart from him. Stefan and Katherine have run off, leaving Damon and Elena to deal with things there, while they stir up even more trouble with Klaus. Katherine has been waiting hundreds of years to see Klaus’ family ripped away from him the way he slaughtered hers all those years ago. Stefan will never be the same again after what Klaus forced him to do. Things may not have gone as planned, but this is their chance for their own revenge and they are going to enjoy every second of it. We’ll be impatiently awaiting this revenge death match over the next two months until new episodes return January 5. Curse you CW for giving us such a gripping and mind blowing episode and then leaving us waiting in anticipation.

This episode really allowed us to get to know Rebecca better, who she was then and who she has become over the centuries. Claire Holt shines as Rebecca, showing the character’s inner fragility, hurt, and intense loyalty. Yet we only get glimpses of this as Rebecca holds walls up around her, knowing most of that part of her died when she became a vampire. Still, part of it is held deep within her. She embraces what she is, getting joy out of playing games and knowing there is almost no one that could be of any threat to her. She’s among the most superior of a superior race. Most people she toys with are completely oblivious to her true power. Rebecca has her fun, but even as a vampire she isn’t plague free. This can be said for any vampire, but she is the first and unlike most vampires it is impossible for her to be killed, a true immortal who will always carry the burden as well as endless thrills with her.

One thing I really found interesting about the flashbacks to the creation of the original vampires is it gave us the chance to discover everything about Rebecca’s condition first hand. Vampires didn’t exist in mythology or real life when she was turned. Her family and she didn’t have any rumors even to base off their new state of being. She had to walk outside, just as she did every day prior, and nearly be fried to ash by the sun to discover that she could no longer walk in the light. The transformation itself was brutal and unknown, there was no real guarantee this would work or what they would become. They were violently killed by Michael, perhaps they would cease to exist altogether. They had to experience the excruciating pain without a bit of closure of assurance.

They went through with it to ensure their family would always be healthy and prosperous, basic human needs in any time. The times were so tough with plague taking out so many when they found their haven they weren’t willing to give it up no matter the consequences. Illness fell upon them due to the wolves and Michael didn’t want to let them win. With their new vitality and power they would win this war.

At this point I think the VD writers are really getting a quick out of seeing how long they can string audiences along with the will they-won’t they of Elena and Damon. The moments keep getting more sincere and intimate, Elena shedding her endless hope for Stefan and slowly realizing what she has right before her, even if she’s still a little afraid to admit it. Their relationship is becoming more trusting unlike that with Damon and Stefan. Damon lets out a broken down and hungry Stefan, being by his side as he takes his first, much needed victim. Stefan knows he’s trying to be his friend in hopes he can break through his humanity. Michael showing up becomes his best real hope. Michael promises right then and there to kill Klaus if he is brought to him. If Stefan can’t do this, his heart will be the one sacrificed instead.

Elena has been studying Stefan’s journals. Every time when he went off the deep end and reverted to his ripper ways, Lexy was there for him to bring him back. Elena thinks she’s the key to restoring Stefan. Jeremy is already enough of a mess with ghosts, especially after how bad things turned with Vicki. He’s hesitant to contact her, but it turns out that Jeremy isn’t the only connection to the ghost world any longer.

Lexy appears and kidnaps Stefan. She shows Elena what it takes to get through to him. They have to drain him of his blood lust, which is no easy task (Klaus would be proud with how far he’s come). The pain is so intense and it’s instinctual for him to hold on to what he’s become. He will do or say anything to be let go. Elena stands strong, although she wants to believe that he’s better and things could go back to the way they once were. It’s clearly killing her, but she knows this is what she has to do. She only worries that Lexy won’t be able to complete the transformation by the time Bonnie closes the portal and vanishes the ghosts from this world.

I was so caught up with Anna this episode that Damon was more of an afterthought, which is a shocking statement for a Damon fan as big as myself. I absolutely love her character and Malese Jow’s delivery. Every second she’s on screen is so engaging I can’t peel my eyes away, I’m completely entranced. I love Jeremy too. He has really developed as an interesting and complex character, far different from the replacement of Elena’s little sister in the books to the troubled teenaged pothead that he was in the beginning. Now he’s dealing with being a human with brushes of death always surrounding him and having so many people he loves knee-deep on supernatural crisis.

I was devastated when Anna died and it was hard for me to even conceive that she really was gone for awhile. This is the sign of a good character; when you have a similar reaction as if they were a real person. As great as Jeremy is, with Anna’s loneliness and so much still being left unknown to her, she deserves a little piece of happiness. She gets that with Jeremy even though everything isn’t fixed. The second he decided to forget about Bonnie and give in to his true feelings I could barely contain my excitement. At least we are given one long-awaited relationship. However, the door to the ghost world has been somewhat closed on Anna. There are a lot of things with her that haven’t been answered. She’s too good of a character to just throw away. I pray this won’t be the last we hear from her.

Even though any strength Elena can hope to gain will still leave her powerless I respect her for trying to be strong; to be her own protection rather than relying on anyone else. This is more in line with her character in the books. Of course, Damon’s undying devotion to her is her best form of support. He shows his fierce loyalty once again, giving us some more intimate Elena-Damon moments, which likely had many viewers screaming at the TV screen. Really? What will it take for Elena to let go and act on her clear feelings for Damon. Hopefully, the build-up will pay off before too long.

I love evil Stefan and his complete lack of care is amusing. He’s nearly a different character, a far more entertaining one. Still, we can see there is a shred of the same person there no matter how small. This will clearly be built up until he is finally free from Klaus. Katherine is working on this in her attempts to bring Michael back from his corpse-like state. There is a great moment, when he is able to get Katherine off her guard and give her a chance to be the victim, a role she isn’t used to playing.

Jeremy continues to see Anna, thinking about her and opening up the portal despite Bonnie’s disapproval. They have a touching moment where they blur the lines of humanity and the paranormal, giving Anna closer contact than she has had since she died. I absolutely love Anna. She’s driven by determination and loyalty, is genuine, and an all around interesting character. Bonnie’s not so bad when she’s off her anti-vampire self-righteous kick, but she’s one of my least favorite characters and no match for Anna in my book.

With Klaus’ blood inside of him, he begins feeling a fierce loyalty to him. He begins acting out, more in Klaus nature than his own. Damon immediately recognizes this, Tyler won’t be able to help but put Klaus needs before all else. Elena and Damon are already dealing with Stefan and Rebecca as Klaus watchers. Not to mention when Vicki comes back she sees Elena’s fiery death as the only chance of her holding on to her return.

His break from Mystic Falls proves to be important. Katherine finds a lead in their suicidal plot to kill Klaus. Pearl knew something that would help them. Of course, she is dead as is the only other person she ever told; her daughter, Anna. Katherine knows Jeremy is the key to reaching her and kidnaps him. When Jeremy reaches out to her, she is hesitant since she knows neither Katherine nor Damon are really friends of Jeremy’s. In attempts to protect him though, she reveals what she knows; that Klaus was on the run from Michael, both a vampire and a killer. She knows anyone and everyone who goes against him will be slaughtered.

If the original vampire had been running from him nearly a century ago, who knows what his powers and capabilities could have developed since then. While Damon and Katherine are powerful, they are nothing even compared to Klaus a hundred years ago, let alone in his current state as a hybrid. Klaus himself is such an enticing villain it will be interesting to see what someone so wicked that he makes Klaus go running scared can offer to the show.

Vicki makes another appearance, desperate to reach out to Matt. Matt finds himself extremely lost and not really in the spirit of Caroline’s new attitude to make the most of their senior year and creating lasting memories. He finds himself in the middle of every supernatural element he could imagine. His ex-girlfriend is caught between two vampires with the first vampire ever created out for her. His other ex-girlfriend is a vampire and his friends are witches and werewolves. Now he’s seeing his ghost sister, the only shred of family he has. Matt doesn’t understand any of it or how he ended up in the middle of all of it and seems to be the only normal, human one. Even Elena is the doppelganger and center of a revolutionary sacrifice to create a hybrid army. Matt takes drastic measures to do what he can to reach his sister to try to piece everything together, leaving Bonnie there, without her magic, on her own to save Matt.

All of this is amongst Klaus finding out that Elena is still alive; the reason why his hybrids haven’t been successful. He has kidnapped Tyler and begins transforming him in to a hybrid now that he has Elena. Stefan is still desperate to prove his allegiance to Klaus so that he will spare Elena. Klaus isn’t buying his act anymore though. He wants proof, for him to suck Elena draw, proving his loyalty and true ripper nature. This would complete the job he thought he had already completed as well. Klaus likes to be in control, but he likes it even more when his subjects do exactly what he wants for their own, selfish reasons; giving in to a lesser, vicious nature. Elena stays with him, sure that she can get through to him. She wants him to fight that part of him. Between Klaus’ compulsion and Elena’s blood practically screaming out to him, he no longer has the strength or humanity he once tried to hold on to. Elena has to learn first-hand that the Stefan she loved really has left.

Jeremy and Katherine investigate where they might find answers about Michael and killing Klaus for good while Damon returns back to Mystic Falls just in time to save Elena before Klaus drains her of all of her blood. Klaus has done what he came there to do whether his newest victims survive or not. Now that Stefan is more ripper than broody, lovesick vampire, Klaus has left Stefan in Mystic Falls to watch out for Elena. She is still the doppelganger, something that Klaus can’t afford to completely let go of. Of course, this leaves us with evil Stefan, the much more enticing alternative. This does leave room open for Damon to not be compromised in nature, but still be a fierce, loyal, and passionate constant in Elena’s life. With Stefan’s unknown intentions, Elena is going to need Damon now more than ever.

Klaus’ sister, Rebecca, has been awakened and is now trying to catch up on all she’s missed out in the past 90 years, including catching up with 21st century trends and trying to figure out if this is the same Stefan she knew nearly a century ago. Stefan’s ulterior motives come out when Katherine visits him; a dangerous move considering her history with Klaus. There were hunters after Klaus and Rebecca back in the 20’s. Stefan knows there’s more to this, why would an immortal original be afraid of a hunter? If there could be a vampire hunter out there that could even be a threat to Klaus, they all should be afraid.

Katherine is just interested in getting in on bringing Klaus down. He slaughtered her family, forced her to hide in fear, and turned her in to a monster. She embraced what she became, but she will always carry the damage. As she says though, Stefan is not the diabolical type and Klaus will always be smarter than him. He learns this soon enough when Gloria, the witch they have tracking Rebecca’s lost necklace, is traced back to Stefan and Mystic Falls. She is seconds from figuring out where to find the original witch’s necklace, which means the secret about the doppelganger not being dead could be revealed, putting Elena, Damon, and everyone around them in grim danger.

I have been extremely excited about Anna being back on the show, definitely my favorite of Jeremy’s girlfriends and one of the most interesting vampires on the show. This is the first episode that she is more than a warning flash. She tells Jeremy she has been trying to get through to him for days. Anna is on the other side, looking in at Jeremy, all alone. She can only get through to Jeremy when he wants her to get through, when his mind is open to it. When Vicki gets through to him, she senses an approaching darkness, something she is desperate to keep Jeremy from. Now with Bonnie back, Anna’s presence might very well be restricted. There is still a lot we don’t know about Anna and Vicki’s state, something I am very interested in finding more out about. I’m sure there will plenty more intriguing material to go along with this.

Damon gets a hold of Caroline’s father, compelling him to forget about Caroline and his original intentions to train her to reject her vampire nature. Of course, he takes certain liberties in the process. It soon turns out that Mr. Forbes is the only human Damon has ever crossed that has somehow made himself invulnerable to being compelled. He believes in the power of the mind if trained properly, which has clearly worked for him unbelievably enough. Now he’s out to expose Damon and take measures to protect Mystic Falls citizens from the vampire problem in town. This being enough to push Damon to what his nature has been screaming at him to do.

Elena’s obliviousness towards Damon is one thing, but it seems that everyone around her is against him. Despite everything that Damon has done for her, risking his life for her time and time again, just because he isn’t as morally conscience and broody as Stefan. Damon deserves Elena, but I have always worried that they would make him too soft, changing who his character is at his core in all of his thrilling, primal glory. Elena is trying to change him now that Stefan is gone, physically and emotionally. Luckily, Damon pointed out, “I am not Stefan. How about you stop trying to turn me in to him?” I would rather keep intact who Damon is over him being with Elena. He has always been the diabolical one, something that Katherine takes advantage of. Damon is just desperate to embrace who he is again and keep from suffocating in Mystic Falls. Of course, now that Rebecca and Klaus realize that Stefan is hiding something from them and have brought him back to Mystic Falls to taunt it out of him, Damon likely won’t be gone for long.

Elena continues to search for Stefan, leading Elena and Damon to Stefan’s old apartment in Chicago where he lived in the 1920’s during his ripper days. Stefan had his victim’s names listed like trophies, getting joy from tearing them apart limb by limb, victim after victim. Elena still believes that Stefan can be saved and refuses to give up.

Damon has to sacrifice himself to create a diversion that will allow Elena to talk to him. Klaus is just moments away from figuring out why his hybrid creations aren’t working. Stefan knows this and is determined to protect Elena. This isn’t his only reasoning for pushing Elena away though. He has reverted to his old ways, not something he can quickly come back from, if ever.

We also find out that Klaus and Stefan have an existing history between them as vampire comrads. We are introduced to Rebecca, Klaus sister who he was very protective over. Rebecca had her eyes on Stefan in his vicious days. Stefan is reminded of what went on between the three of them, bringing light to what is happening now. Klaus might be the evil-natured, controlling puppeteer, but it wasn’t always that way. Rebecca has the key to finding out what went wrong with his hybrids, something that Klaus will stop at nothing to find out.

Heroes’ Jack Coleman makes an appearance as Caroline’s father, who until now has barely been mentioned, let alone seen. He does a fantastic job capturing the grayness, love and good intentions in his heart as he wears cruelty on his sleeve. He’s heartbroken by what his daughter has become, a monster. He believes it’s up to him to reform her, torturing her extensively in attempts to drain her vampire instincts out of her with vervain and excessive amounts of pain. Caroline begs for him to stop, for even a second of peace free from the torture. She knows though that there is no saving her, she can’t change what she has become.