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Friday, September 16, 2011

The Vampire Diaries - The Birthday (beware of spoilers)

Raise your hand if you got teary during the phone call? We totally did. Too bad Katherine, witches, the Vampire Council, Damon, Klaus, and various other creepies are always getting in the way of Elena and Stefan living a normal life together, because that is one functional, strong, and loyal couple. They make the vampire dating a teenage girl thing look almost healthy.

Almost, because Stefan is a ripper now. We finally got to know what “ripper” means. It means that Stefan blacks out and rips his victims’ bodies apart when he feeds, because blood has a power over him that it doesn’t seem to have over his brother Damon and other vampires. Yikes. We got a shot of his victims that he had reassembled out of remorse. That was pretty gory, CW! But we liked it. Call us…”pleasantly horrified.” To think this is the romantic lead of the show…and they made him the ripper!

As sad as this whole thing is, this storyline is an incredible idea. It’s about time Stefan gets a turn to be bad. We were a little afraid that Damon would turn into a complete saint to counteract his brother, but he is the same Damon. Impulsive, funny, temperamental, secretive, and (sometimes) naked. And (always) hot.

One of us has always been a diehard Matt/Caroline shipper, but even she had to admit that Caroline’s hook-up with Tyler was awesome. They made such cute friends during the first half of the episode and seem to have a good chemistry that will make them a watchable TV couple. While we like Matt, we don’t think he had that chemistry with Caroline, and that actor can come across as wooden at almost all times. He has good moments though. Also, their sex scene…whoo! Someone call the PTC! (No, don’t, because we want a repeat scene.)

And a special thanks to Tyler for bringing up the Damon/Elena kiss. Elena affirmed that it was only a “goodbye kiss” that shouldn’t have given Damon any false hope. Yeah, and asking Damon to put your necklace on for you when you can totally do it yourself isn’t leading him on either? This girl is unconsciously going after this guy.

We got a new character: Werewolf Ray (oh how the mighty Camdens have fallen). He protected his pack by holding up against Stefan’s game of “truth or wolfsbane,” so we respected and pitied him. It looks like he is going to be the first of Klaus’ hybrids though. Hopefully he retains his will to rebel. This show knows what we like and gives it to us: Specifically, the continuation of the Damon/Alaric bromance. They were teaming up to track Stefan over the summer but keeping it a secret from Elena. We think this is to protect Elena, because that’s all the Salvatore brothers ever do. Klaus still thinks Elena is dead, and Damon would like to keep it that way.

Of course Elena found out about Damon’s activities before the end of the premiere (it’s Elena and it’s this show), and she reacted in just the way she always does when her boys make plans behind her back. We got a flash of evil Damon again as he shouted to Elena, “Stop it…Stefan is gone and he’s not coming back. Not in your lifetime.” He also told her about Stefan’s killing spree. Obviously, Damon is upset that Elena is still hung up on Stefan when it’s hopeless and she should be with Damon instead. He’s not even a second choice!

One of other things upsetting Damon was the death of his long-term thrall, Andie, who he actually seemed to like and allow to keep a lot of her intellect and awareness. Killer Stefan is so bad ass. Stefan was able to deliver the message to Damon that he was not coming back to Mystic Falls and that he wanted Damon to stop looking for him. Damon went home and trashed his room in revenge. This was a test from Klaus, who believes that the reason Stefan still has some of his humanity is his love for his brother and his (ex?) girlfriend. Call it a victory for Klaus tonight, but Stefan and Elena’s phone call lets us know that there is still hope.

It was a little depressing when Alaric left Elena and Jeremy’s house. Dude, even if you drink a little and allow a high school party to get out of control, any adult presence is going to be stabilizing in a house with an 18-year-old legal guardian and her pot-smoking younger brother. Also smoking pot? Matt. It’s about time, considering what he’s been through and his older sister’s example. That strikes us as realistic. It looks like Matt is going to be the person finding out about and helping Jeremy through his hauntings—even though it sounds like Matt wants to remain in the dark about it for now. When Jeremy tried to tell him, Matt wasn’t a believer. Matt does not want the supernatural up in his biz, and that’s probably why he and Caroline are caput. That, and all the secrets she kept.

Worst outfit of the night? Elena’s nightgown straight from the Little House on the Prairie wedding episode (or something). First of all, it’s after labor day. Second of all, you look like a dweeb partying in that. Best line of the night? “Just because I tell you things doesn’t mean you’re allowed to know them!” – Caroline. Best move of the night? When Caroline stalked through a party, picked a guy up with one hand, and moved him out of her way. Worst move of the night? Mrs. Lockwood shooting Caroline full of darts. Those pesky in-laws.

A heart-wrenching, entertaining, funny, sexy, dark, violent, and twisty premiere. We are so glad this show is back and that the teens are growing. Elena has gone from 16 to 18. We’d like to be around to see her become a young woman (or vampire?). The writers of True Blood need to watch this show. Sometimes trying to stick to the books and dragging things out in order to do that is not a good idea. This show has taken the main things from the series and just done its own thing after that, and we approve (especially since one of us finally got around to reading the books - thank goodness they've diverged significantly now). Too bad it features teens and not college students or young adults. Everything's a little more immature in high school, and that probably keeps a lot of adults from watching. True Blood fans: If you're not watching TVD as well, you've picked the wrong vampire show.

Episode grade: A

2 comments:

  1. FINALLY my favourite show is back and I'm so glad! I loved the premiere. And btw, *raises hand* I got all teary-eyed in the phone call scene too. As much as I love Damon, I think I will still always be a Stelena shipper at heart. Paul Wesley is such a great crier and watching him makes me cry. Also I loved Caroline in this episode, as usual. And even I was a Matt/Caroline shipper but now I've switched to Forwood :) Caroline and Tyler are so good together! And I HATE Carol Lockwood for doing that to Caroline. How did she find out Caroline is a vampire? And does she have any idea that her son is a werewolf?
    Also, Ripper Stefan is creepy and scary but I love him anyway. After all, he's turning off his feelings so that he can fulfil his promise to Klaus.
    Can't wait for next week!!!! :D

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  2. He IS a great crier.

    Carol suspected Caroline was a vampire and confirmed it by lacing Caroline's purse with vervain. When she picked the purse up, it started smoking. That was the confirmation. We don't know how or why she suspected it in the first place, but we're sure we'll find out soon. We're Damon and Elena shippers. It's admirable that he can control himself where Stefan can. Stefan is either really good or really bad. Damon is reliable. But man, Stelena is an awesome couple. It's like Sophie's choice, only hard.

    Ripper Stefan needs to turn on Klaus. Keeping your word is great and everything, but this is too far. He needs to come up with a really great plot to kill him, and he needs to loop Damon in on it.

    Our only complaint about this show is that the backstory might be too ridiculously complicated and long, especially in the first season. But we aren't complaining too much.

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