Nobody's Acting Right These Days

The Vampire Diaries - "Smells Like Teen Spirit" (Perfect name for this episode, by the way)

Is that the end of Vicki Donovan? We thought that was a little anti-climactic. After all the build up and cliffhanger-y excitement of having her back, when she got into this world, all she did was set a car on fire. Big whoop. Yeah, she tried to kill Elena and Stefan almost died too, but like they’d really get killed by a ghost in this episode. All this was Matt’s fault. He did a spell to get Vicki back into this world. Then Vicki showed up and was all, “Peace out. The witch helping me on the other side require balance, and in order for me to stay, Elena must die so that Klaus can’t make more hybrids.”

So Matt ran to Bonnie for help. Bonnie helped get Vicki under control, and then Matt blocked Vicki out of his head so that she can’t even appear to him anymore. Apparently, the afterlife in this show is a dark and lonely place where Vicki has no one. That’s not comforting. Maybe Vicki just went to a bad place because she was a bad girl. But she was also a girl we felt sorry for. Where’s the mercy? Maybe Jeremy, Bonnie, and Matt can focus on making the afterlife better for all the ghosts. Put your magic to that.

Poor Matt. He knows his sister isn’t having fun over there, she used him, she manipulated him, and she hit him in the head with a wrench, which could have been a lot more damaging. In fact, it should have. We didn’t even see a mark on his temple when he woke up.

Meanwhile, Stefan is having girls play Twister in his house while he watches and feeds. Damon gives him a few long-suffering looks, some questioning words, and then starts morosely cleaning up the house. He’s not even going to try to argue with Stefan. Damon is like a tired dad with an out-of-control teenager who has just given up. Then Damon gets just what he needs - yet ANOTHER teenager. Rebecca moves into the house without permission, but she’s too powerful for anyone to stop, so Damon just bears that too.

Stefan and Rebecca show up at school for senior year, because Stefan has to protect Elena, and Rebecca is supposed to keep an eye on Tyler. Rebecca taunts Caroline about possibly stealing both her boyfriend and her place as Queen B of the cheerleading squad. Seeing Stefan traipsing around the school gets old for Elena, fast. Elena asks Damon if they can just dose Stefan with vervain and lock him up until Katherine returns with Michael.

When Michael kills Klaus, Stefan will be free of his compulsion. Damon agrees, and Alaric is in on it too. But the bromance is NOT back on. Alaric is still mad at all vampires (especially Damon, since he killed him and all). He takes Elena out into the woods and shows her how to use cool vampire-killing weapons. FINALLY. This needs to continue. At the senior bonfire, Damon tries to distract Rebecca with flirting, but Rebecca must be touched in the head, because this didn’t work at all. Elena gets really drunk, gets Stefan alone, and then falls off the school bleachers. Stefan catches her, and then Alaric immediately shoots Stefan with darts full of vervain. The drunkenness was all part of the plan. Stefan gets away when Vicki and her witches burn up Alaric’s escape car and Elena/Alaric save Stefan’s life.

Later, Stefan asks Elena why she saved him and she says that it’s because she still has hope for him and that she knows who he really is. Stefan tells Elena that she is pathetic. Elena tells Stefan that hope isn’t a weakness and that she is strong. And then she stakes him in the stomach with this cool device Alaric gave her that she wasn’t strong enough to use before. Those little stick arms sure look pretty, but they don’t help good punches. Unless they are fueled by anger, we guess.

Speaking of anger, Caroline is super miffed with Tyler for acting like his season one self. He is excited about being a hybrid, and Damon says that he’s been “sired.” This means that he is grateful and loyal to Klaus for making him a vampire. Caroline calls Tyler out, and Tyler says that he hated his old self and that the thing he likes about himself is Caroline. Aww. But the problem wasn’t completely solved. Rebecca brought Tyler a victim to munch on, and Tyler couldn’t resist.

Bonnie spends most of the episode being jealous of Vicki and Anna, the girls that Jeremy can’t stop thinking about long enough to stop seeing them. We thought it was a little irrational for Bonnie to be THAT jealous of dead girls, but we guess that’s how secure she is in that relationship. Later, Jeremy found out that he can touch Anna. Ok, now Bonnie has a point. Whatever Matt did messed the ghost thing up even more. So much so that UNCLE MASON is back. And he can touch people too. And he’s really pissed at Damon. And we're excited.

Finally, Katherine spends days trying to wake Michael up. Human blood finally wakes him, but Michael is angry that Katherine shoved him off the wagon. He hadn’t tasted human blood in a while. Katherine unchains him, like an idiot, even though she knows that he is a Vampire-Hunting Vampire. Michael tells Katherine that he is going to kill Klaus. Then she asks him what kind of blood he drinks. Oh, Katherine. We don’t feel bad for you, because you gave him a straight line that good. Michael jerks Katherine down into his coffin and starts drinking from her. Don’t kill her, Michael!

This episode wasn’t as good as last week’s, but since last week’s was amazing, we’re not that bummed. While we weren’t digging the car on fire and Bonnie’s jealousy, this episode is a win because of Uncle Mason’s return. Does anyone think it’s time for Elena and Damon to hook up? This season, while this is all going on, would be the perfect time. In five or six episodes, the time may be ripe. And then the compulsion on Stefan will get broken, and then we will have the triangle of which we have always dreamed.

But, for now, we have Damon's flirting skills failing him, Rebecca ruining Caroline's life, Stefan as a ripper who is mean to Elena, Elena using alcohol to numb her pain, Alaric holding a grudge against Damon, Tyler feasting on girls, Caroline trusting Tyler, Bonnie getting jealous, Jeremy holding hands with Anna, and Matt ruining everyone's life. Sounds like great ways to get these characters into even more trouble! Yay!

Episode Grade: B+