zuisa

I completely agree. The character development is being handled beautifully, and the relationships are evolving so organically and logically. I ship DE, but I wouldn't want DE to happen at the expense of illogical or poorly executed character assassinations to Stefan or anyone else. But the depths and complexities of both of the brothers relationships with both Elena and Katherine are so, well, deep and complex (I'll learn some new adjectives, I swear ) that I am just along for the ride and fully convinced that whatever happens is going to be amazing.

We should all be proud to be TVD watchers!!

SkySamuelle

I was so busy gushing on everything else than I forgot gushing about Tyler/Caroline parts... I'm totally sold on this couple, and MT acting as he watched the Mason's video was something worthy of all my admiration.

His horrified and scared facial expressions were only as good as the palpable territoriality and jealousy on his face when he came up behind Caroline to interrupt her moment with Matt.

MT is a terrific actor, no doubt about that.

naturellebella

Black_Betty, I'm not sure if you're trying to imply that Elena should really go kill herself but if so that comment inappropriate. We don't want any character bashing in this thread.

SkySamuelle

the utter beauty of this show is that every single platonic and nonplatonic relationship central to it is complex and multilayered. Outside the main triangle, we also get the multifaceted glory of Bonnie/Elena, Bonnie/Caroline,Bonnie/Damon,Caroline/Damon, Caroline/Elena, Caroline/Stefan.

All those relationships keep evolving and shifting episode after episode and we enjoy the journey - perhaps with varying degrees, but we do.

And there's not a single episode without a plottwist that leaves your jaw hanging. You gotta admire that.

Why should we focus on silly shipping wars and character bashing when we are being treated this good?

Every episode leaves you with something to enjoy, and that's what makes the series so grand.

zuisa

Exactly! Everything is so amazingly well-written, and there is SO MUCH to this show beyond the main triangle. I love the main triangle, but... we have so much. Something amazing happens in every single episode, like you said, and that is not something every show can say.

SkySamuelle

Henestly, I think only LOST can say the same

ale-la-pazza1

Not bad episode.

So Elena wants to sacrifice herself, not very smart.
Damon has to bust her out of troubles.
Also I'm slightly annoyed about the physical way Damon "protects" Elena, honestly it kinda scares me sometimes.

Stefan, another genius, he's stuck in the tomb
Damn, I knew he wanted to save Jeremy, but man, he's stuck with Katherine in there now.

So Bonnie is using Luka's power? Good, that family is up to nothing good.

Tyler
He's gonna turn and it's gonna be so bad
I appreciate his friendship with Caroline though!

MC *__________________*

I don't like the look of next's episode. Not a bit.

cutie_pie04

I feel bad for the character of Alaric. He is kinda pointless these days. I hope they have a SL for him or include him more than just being Jennas bf.

london grammar

Alaric, Matt and Jenna..... *sighs*

SkySamuelle

A special to Elija, because the moment he ended two Klaus' minions at once was something uniquely badass - i don't know which is his plan/ultimate aim but I love that mutually respectful working relationship he has with Jonas - evil or not, they give off a 'we-are-equals and there's no pretending otherwise' vibe and i like it.

LittleDevotional

ITA Nat These two are very alike in that way, two headstrong individuals that are trying to desperately save the people they care about.

DiamondDreaming

Just watched the ep & although I didn't love it, I enjoyed it lots .

DE was amazings, especially the last scene. I'd stopped shipping these two as much recently, but I'm back on track now! He really does love her so much <3.

SK in the promo for next week :O Exciting, but I have a feeling that it is too soon for Stefan to want to get it on with Katherine realistically so... hmmm!

Yay for Alaric & Jenna actually getting a scene, and even more yay for the fact that they are all loved up

It was so cute when Matt turned up to see Caroline, bless him.

And poor Tyler; watching Mason's video was horrible! It was so nice when Caroline said she didn't want him to be alone when he turns.

Now I just want it to be next week haha!

courtneybangelcakes

So Elena wanted to sacrifice herself to save all of her friends and such but don't they still need Bonnie ( a witch), Caroline (a vampire), and Tyler (a werewolf) to break the curse anyways? So either way if Elena died, they would need to too?

Schumiac

I think how they are all scared of Klaus and how it makes them mess up was great to watch. The man is not even here and he has this hold and power over them all. Proves how making a reputation for yourself is important! They had a sense of urgency as they do not know when Klaus and his people will show up and feel they may drop on them any minute now. That is why they were trying to open the tomb right then and there. If they knew they had time, they could simply wait around some more for Katherine to starve a bit more and maybe even. Then even Jeremy may have been able to get in there I guess...

Elena knows from Katherine's story that if Klaus does not get what he wants -like Katherine turning into a vampire and becoming useless as a sacrifice- he will take revenge by killing anyone Elena cares. Katherine said it herself last episode: Elena is doomed either way. Either she is human and she gets to be sacrificed OR they mess up Klaus' plans somehow and she can no longer be used as a sacrifice upon which Klaus kills everyone she loves, out of revenge. That is why she was willing to sacrifice herself. BUT that is not the same as someone risking their lives to save another person. That is not the same as throwing herself in front of Caroline as Damon is running at her with a stake, or jumping over fires to save Damon or trying to talk a vampire who is about to burn Damon out of it or running into a house full of vampires with just a vervain dart in her hand to save Stefan or facing off against a human blood crazed Stefan with a vervain dart and Damon downstairs... She was putting her life in danger in all those instances but it was her trying to save a loved one by putting in an effort herself with harm to herself a calculated risk taken, and not really going "I'll just go die and all will be good".
The fact that she has “given up” made her deaf and blind to all other options. I feel her suffering. She is fed up. She, I think, blamed herself for everything, and just wants it all over. This is a girl who thinks she already caused her “parents”’ deaths by her reckless behavior after all and I think this time she wants to be unselfish and do the right thing so no other loved one gets hurt because of her.

I am very glad the she has the "my life is my own and you guys can't call the shots" approach. That doesn't mean her decisions are always right and she should be allowed to do whatever she wants with her life. She is part of Damon and Stefan's lives too and they have a right to protect her from herself when she has become or sacrificial and refuses to listen to anything else. She should not be lied to and be left in the dark about stuff, no, this is her LIFE and she has every right to be part of the decision making process, but she should also not be allowed to give herself up without even putting a fight. Her life is valuable. And her death doesn’t really solve anything. Tyler’s life and even Caroline’s is still at risk due to klaus needing a werewolf and vampire sacrifice too. And once vampires are able to walk in the sun, there will be even more problems. But I think she is too desperate to do something to protect her loved ones that she was not seeing things clearly.

When Damon showed up in Slater's home he knew they were pressed for time before Klaus and his guys showed up, and he did have to go back to the tomb too. He did try to talk with Elena at first but she was not budging. That is when he got hold of her arm - he wasn't dragging her off but wasn't letting go either. He was letting her realize just like she is going to do whatever she can to protect her loved ones, HE will do whatever he can to protect her, including "manhandling" her like removing her from the place by force. Not that he tried to do it. And next scene we see he took care of their Alice problem and was actually telling Elena and Rose what they were going to do -as by then Elena has calmed down some and has accepted the fact she couldn't make Damon budge. Likewise, when she tried to give herself up, his “threat” to her about breaking her arm was just “words” and she knows that. He is not going to break his arm. It is just him letting her know there is no way he’ll let her sacrifice herself so she may as well stop trying already.

The same is true for the tomb. Katherine can easily take care of Stefan -she said she could kill him as she is doing her nails as her age and human blood diet makes her all the more powerful- and could either kill or use Elena as a bargaining point with them or Klaus. Katherine getting her hands on Elena is NOT something that will help anyone out. So Elena needed to be prevented from going in there. Damon restrained her, yes, and he just stood there as he kept hitting him to get some release doing nothing else. He is not going to sit back and let her put herself into harm's way that will do no one any good, but he did give her the space to get her frustration out and calm down herself.

So, I don't see any of it as Elena being abused. Damon and Elena were fighting over Elena’s “life” (as in if she will get to live or not!) and Damon had to get his point across that he will not, under any circumstances, let her just give it away, give it up like that. He wasn’t hurting her (she never said he was hurting her), just using enough force to restrain her. Actually he is the one who got beaten up! The fact that she forgot for a moment that she is facing a vampire and thought she could punch the guy shows to me he was keeping the physical strength he applied to a minimum, letting her a chance to fight him back so that she got some release of her anger and frustrations and would calm down. It is even clearer in the tomb scene that that is what he is doing. Waiting for her to calm down enough to a point where there is a chance she WILL listen to what he has to say and can be reasoned with, as she keeps hitting him. Elena needed that kind of release. Her situation is impossible and it has been taking a toll on her and I am sure more than often she has an urge to just lash out some...

And I think Elena understands his need to protect her all too well. She herself is someone who'll go to great lengths to protect the ones she loves - she is not just the girl who is willing to sacrifice her own life for others, but is also the girl who let his brother's mind be invaded by a vampire and have his memories erased, after all. If SHE could restrain someone she loved physically from hurting themselves or doing something harmful to themselves, she would certainly do it too. So I don't think she feels she has been manhandled and abused even if frustrated at not getting her way. She knows it is a necessary evil sometimes.

Besides I think Damon was restraining himself from the urge to just really throw Elena over his shoulders and take her away to some place where he'd think she'd be safe. No one ever accused of Damon being very patient. He IS used to ordering people around and getting his way and doing what he wants. But not when it comes to Elena. He takes a step back when it comes to Elena. Damon does not like bossing Elena around rather he treats her like his equal. We have seen many occasions where he abided by Elena’s wishes, and did what she wanted of him –it is not like he disrespects her and her opinions. He has no interest in making Elena angry with him and him manhandling her, ordering her around is a sure way to do it. And even in this urgent situation, where her life is in danger so more than ever he'd like to go all "vampire" on her and protect her against her wishes, I think he was trying to restrain himself and rather give her a chance to argue with him and even get in a physical fight with him like he was a normal human male friend of hers, like he was a peer. Because that is how Damon sees and treats Elena.

I think it pained Damon to see her in such a "suicidal" mindset and he wants to be able to talk her out of it somehow but doesn't really know how (just like he didn't know how to talk to Alaric about Isobel in their male bonding moment. His intentions were good, but he is not used to handling his own emotions, and does even worse with others). So "that was stupid, you are not helping anyone doing things like this" is the angle he worked...

That is what she tells Damon first when they start fighting in the tomb scene as he prevents her from going in, which is so revealing. She really expects and trusts Damon to protect all of them and make sure everything is OK.


Werewolves certainly got the worse part of the deal. Their transformation is so painful and they are not even more powerful then vampires in human form. For the first time I felt sorry for them. But it also makes me even less interested in the whole werewolf aspect. They are so lame compared to vampires. Seriously in need of some uber-werewolves soon... Maybe, just maybe, once Tyler is a real werewolf we will find out something shocking about them that shows WHY they are such a threat... Here is hoping…

Heh. Elijah is kind of cool. I am very curious about what Elijah is after. Unless the idea is he wants all the credit to go to him by delivering Elena to Klaus it very much looks like he is working against the man. Maybe with the werewolves? That sure would be one way to make the whole werwolf story more interesting. I have seen theories that suggest maybe he was always against Klaus which is why he did not “notice” Katherine back in the day when she was running from them. His actions this episode also kind of explains why he wasn’t trying to kill Stefan and Damon when they came to Elena’s rescue. He will eliminate those who have betrayed him and who may rat things out to Klaus and ruin his plans, but not the ones who are being protective of a girl he wants protected. And he is not one to hold “you tried to kill me” grudges, obviously. Heh. I wonder if he'll track down and kill Rose. She knows too much and would spill everything out to anyone who is intimidating enough. Or directly to Klaus if she thought for a moment it would save her skin. And it doesn't look like he wants that (assuming he doesn't want Elena taken to Klaus. Or wants it to be all his own service to Klaus).

VERY disappointed in Rose. I was feeling sorry for her when she found out Slater was also dead, it was as if she was losing all her friends, and I realize there is absolutely no reason for her to have any sense of loyalty to Elena or Damon but still... Katherine also has no loyalty to anyone but she at least has self-respect and would not run from that room with her tail in between her legs IMO.

Bonnie could tap into the warlock from afar? Talk about invasion of personal boundries. Given how difficult that spell is and how deadly it can be, she really had no right to make him a part of the spell like that without his consent, just because he was foolish enough to teach her how and give her the means to do it. It is one thing to be sacrificial herself, another to abuse another person's trust and powers to her own will like that, risking their lives. It was rather surprising as Bonnie is always presented as one of the characters who claims to have high morals...

I don't like Matt a lot but I felt sorry for him this episode.

I think they did a good job in setting up the tomb scene in the end, and how it was shot with Stefan and Katherine hearing on in the conversation between Damon and Elena. Stefan did not show up as he did not want Elena rushing to him -as she should NOT be rushing in- but he also seemed resigned to the fact he was stuck there with Katherine and Damon was alone with Elena out there. He got to overhear the fact, as he was busy with Bonnie and Jeremy, Damon was off saving Elena -having not told him about it-. He probably is also aware they are not really in the outs/"I hate you Damon" zone anymore. And Katherine is going to use all that against him. She is a master in finding one's weaknesses and working those against them to get what she wants. Stefan's residual feelings for Katherine and his jealousy/uncertainty when it comes to Damon and Elena are his weaknesses. Now she also has that whole conversation in her arsenal to use.

I wish we could have more Damon/Katherine banter somehow... And I really wish Katherine does NOT end up dying this season... Which reminds me, so it is official now, Stefan was the only Salvatore brother who kept on to something that belonged to Katherine. Damon does not even have a Picture?.. Interesting that…
I think my one and only real problem with this episode was the fact that we are supposed to believe Stefan and Damon both had a brain freeze and left the tomb door open after talking to Katherine, which gave Jeremy the chance to sneak in there before them and face Katherine himself. Epic fail there show...

Ohh, and Gilbert House of Rejection and Heart Breaks needs better locks. I am not going to say “what is the problem with Bonnie, how can she reject Jeremy” as I think it is very understandable. If my best friends little brother all of a sudden had a crush on me and started flirting with me and even risked his life for me and died, I’d be a bit spooked and in a “I do not need this kind of complication in my life right now” mood too. I think she IS interested in Jeremy and in time will come around , but she needs time. And it is understandable. On the other hand, I am stil not really into Jeremy/Bonnie and do not see how and why and when he became so obsessed with her. Just 8-9 episodes ago he was mourning Anna and suicidal.

Also Kinney. He sure can act when it comes to torture/extreme pain. That's kind of creepy...

foxyfreds

As always, brilliant post Asena