It’s been three excruciatingly long weeks since Katerina (EP209) graced our screens, so it is with much delight that we assemble this fond look back at what will be undoubtedly become known as the feel-good flashback episode of the year before tomorrow night’s new episode of The Vampire Diaries –The Sacrifice (EP210). Relive the twists and turns and please give all of these sites a visit by clicking on their author headers.Think there are some clever recaps we should check out? Hit us up in the comments.
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We knew something was up with this episode before it even began. During the “Previously on ‘The Vampire Diaries’” opening, producers finally acknowledged that we may have watched the series before! Yup, instead of opening with Stefan’s “For over a century I have lived in secret” speech, the recap merely began with last week’s events. OMG! Thanks for recognizing that we’re devoted “TVD” fans who know by now that Stefan’s a vampire.
We said it before, and we’ll say it again: If you’re going to try and kill an ancient, powerful vampire, please make sure he’s actually dead before walking away from the body. If only Stefan and Damon had followed that advice! Now, unbeknownst to them, evil Elijah is still out and about, breaking windows and conniving to get that darned moonstone. They should have cut his head off when they had the chance.
So much history to cover, so little time to show Damon having sex with Rose. This was definitely the most exposition-heavy episode of the series to date. It was a means to an end — that end being us finally knowing why Katherine came back to Mystic Falls and why Bonnie, Tyler, Caroline, and anyone else Elena loves are screwed. Now that the stories have been intertwined and the stakes have been upped — Originals can compel other vampires?! — things are about to get interesting. Interesting and violent. (Note: I wanted to use an exclamation point there, but I thought it would make me look bad.)
This was another episode where we have more talking than action, but at least we got some good dish and a number of answers. Even better, Elena took matters into her own hands, so this week it was Stefan having to react instead of lead. I appreciate a feisty Elena, and Katherine seems to bring out the best in her. Let’s have these two gals go on a road trip next!
Katerina Petrova is one tough lady, even when she was human. All that speculation about her real motivation, and we finally learned the truth: self-preservation. Yep, Katherine is as selfish as they come, and pretty much everything that she has done has been in service of staying alive. And given that the oldest vampire in the history of time has been out to kill her for the past five centuries, one can’t really blame her for trying to escape her fate. Yes, Katherine is supremely selfish, but if she were not, then she would be long dead. And since I also find her supremely awesome, and would sincerely mourn her departure from my television screen, I applaud her selfishness. Katherine Pierce is pretty much my favorite thing on television right now.
But it wasn’t only haunting, damaged Katherine who had me squinting through blurry eyes to get through this episode. From the igniting of her “Petrova fire” in the tomb scenes with Katherine, to her epic cryfest crosshairs moment of realization on The Porch, Elena had me too. Elena showed such strength and vulnerability and growth as a character in “Katerina” that I give huge applause to both actress Nina Dobrev and the writers for what I do believe is my favourite Elena episode to date.
It’s Nina Dobrev on Nina Dobrev time! Katherine’s next flashbacks are spurred on by Elena, who pays the imprisoned Katherine a visit to find out about Klaus and why he’s after her. Back in Katherine’s past, we see Katherine running from Klaus and taking refuge with Trevor and Rose. Klaus wants to sacrifice her and break the Sun and the Moon Curse, but Katherine finds a way out; she tricks Rose into giving her some of her vampire blood, and then hangs herself, thus turning into a vampire and being useless to Klaus as a non-human doppelganger. Following? It’s convoluted, but there is a hint (foreshadowing, maybe?) of what could be in Elena’s future, as Katherine offers her some blood, implying that Elena could be turned into a vampire to escape the danger of being a human doppelganger. There’s a flicker in Elena’s eyes that shows she considers it for a moment, and though she refuses, you know this won’t be the last time she thinks about turning.
Seriously, how hard is it to make a day ring? You need a witch and some lapis. THAT’S IT. It is literally harder to make shit on Etsy. Yet every vampire we see now freaks out about how the Salvatores have an unfair advantage. (Which is hilarious, because they’re like, “…Bonnie made Caroline one. Are you people stupid? WITCH AND SOME LAPIS. THAT’S LITERALLY IT.”)
Legends, rumor, centuries-old secrets, and lies — in Katerina, the characters try to distinguish fact from fiction. Damon isn’t sure if Rose is trustworthy; Elena turns to a known liar for the truth; Caroline attempts to dupe Stefan into staying away from Elena, who doesn’t want him to know she’s turned to Katherine for help; there’s more to the Martin Family of Warlocks’ relocation to Mystic Falls than Bonnie or the rest of us know; and Slater is involuntarily made a liar by Elijah’s compulsion. And it’s in this atmosphere of duplicity that loyalty is the most highly valued quality, among both humans and vampires.
There’s a distinct weakness in Rose, which is largely the result of Trevor’s death, I’m sure, but it’s not sitting right with me. Lauren Cohan was fantastic when she went toe-to-toe with Jensen Ackles on “Supernatural” – Dean was completely unsettled by her. In contrast, Damon just seems to sort of pity her and let her hang around because he’s got no reason to make her leave.
I also loved the Stefan and Caroline interaction. There’s a strange little chemistry between those two, one that could easily seem romantic, if not for Stefan automatically assuming a paternal role. He seems to treat Caroline as his child, whether he intends to or not, wanting to both guide and protect her. It’s adorable to see and a great touch in a series that lacks much real healthy family time. His comparing her to Lexi showed that he doesn’t do this out of a sense of duty either, but rather because he genuinely likes and cares about her. I never like Stefan more than when he’s around Caroline.
Oh, yes, and Damon had sex with Rose. It was too short to really make an impression, although I do think the characters play off each other well. When Rose told Damon, “You can trust me,” I scoffed. The boy has some pretty big trust issues thanks to a certain dark-haired vampire. I scoffed even more so when Rose told him he needs to turn off his emotions to stay safe and then jumped him. Desire and lust are some of the most powerful emotions.
Not quite as successful in the romance department, Jeremy has his date with Bonnie stolen by another new addition to the cast, Luka (Bryton James). Luka and his father are new in town and it is obvious from the beginning that there is more to them than meets the eye. Vampire Diaries is not always the most subtle about characters hiding something shady. With this in mind, it is not entirely surprising when Luka’s father shows up with Elijah in the end.
As for the new guy in town, we obviously know that we shouldn’t trust the father, after seeing the final scene. It’s funny. When the son told Bonnie that he was a warlock, not a witch, I got up in arms. Having read both The Vampire Diaries and The Secret Circle, another book series by L.J. Smith that involves witches, I knew that Smith felt that men witches were still called witches. In fact, there’s a line in The Secret Circle that says a warlock is a deceiver, a traitor. You can’t interchange the names!
Slater seems to help out by calling Rose to tell her the curse can be broken, but they’ll need a witch. However, his help isn’t genuine as he’s being compelled by Elijah. Yes, Originals can compel other vampires, which would be cool, but then Elijah compels Slater to stake himself. Damn you, Vampire Diaries! Slater kicked so much butt and I wanted him to stick around a lot longer than just one episode.
What game is Katherine actually playing? Is she thinking that she needs to collect all the right ingredients once gain to make the perfect curse-breaking cocktail: the moonstone, a doppelganger, a werewolf, a witch and a vampire? But why does Katherine care if the curse is broken or not? Is she really going to offer up Elena, Caroline, Tyler (Michael Trevino), and Bonnie just to get Klaus off her back?
It will start to feel annoying and manipulative if Katherine’s story changes from week-to-week. I have to believe we’re getting accurate information this time, especially because it doesn’t paint Katherine in a flattering light. Why make up that she wants to help Klaus sacrifice all these people?
Elijah is a weird character but every time he does something evil and super badass, I’m impressed. He’s a good villain, but I haven’t even had time to care about him or his villainy before I’m supposed to be prepping for Klaus. And all I can say about that is, Klaus better be one BAMF, if you know what I mean.
What an episode! I loved all the reveals, but I still have so many questions. First of all – why was the first Petrova doppelganger created? What’s so important about the Petrovas? What happened to Katerina’s baby? Who shot JR? I need answers! For an episode that had Nina Dobrev talking to herself for most of it, this was a great hour. I loved the spiteful final exchange with Stefan. It’s interesting to think that, when Katherine was in danger of being the Petrova sacrifice, she chose to become a vampire. I wonder if Elena would consider making the same choice…
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