(S01E09) I was pretty much riveted to this episode of The Vampire Diaries all the way through, but especially at the end, when we learned a whole lot of stuff in the last few minutes. It was fun seeing the vamp brothers Stefan and Damon sort of buddy up, even if it wasn't really real. Given their long history, you have to think there must be some brotherly ... something there, even though Damon killed Stefan's BFF last week and then Stefan nearly killed Damon. Oh those kooky vampire brothers.
Ok, so as mentioned, a lot happened in this episode, and I'll try and summarize as best I can. Much of it focused on Bonnie and her witchness. Witchiness? Whatever. There were some pretty creepy scenes, starting with Bonnie being lured out of school by her ancestral ghost Emily, who pleaded for her to "Please help me."
Things got even creepier when Caroline decided that she, Elena and Bonnie should all have a seance to get Emily to show herself. The candles flickered, the door blew open, the necklace disappeared, and Emily decided that Bonnie would make a nice little vessel for her to accomplish what she needed to do.
And what was that? We got the story from Damon. Permit me a short little recap here to get it straight in my head (and I'm sure you'll let me know if I've got this right ... or wrong). Way back when -- 150 years ago -- the Mystic Falls townsfolk knew about the vampires and were killing them. They came for Katherine, Stefan and Damon's love, and Damon went to Emily the Witch and asked for her help in saving Katherine. In exchange, Damon would save Emily's children (which now includes Bonnie).
The comet was passing over at the time, which gave Emily even more power because as Damon noted, "Witches can use celestial events to draw power." But to save Katherine, Emily had to save all the vampires gathered in the church -- all 27 of them. Apparently, there's some sort of crypt in the church where they've all been languishing for the past 150 years. Or, as Damon puts it, Katherine and the others have been "trapped in a mystical holding cell for the past century and a half."
So now with the comet's return, it gave Emily the power boost she needed to cooperate with Damon's request to get Katherine back -- only Emily didn't want to. "I won't let you unleash them into this world," she says, creating a ring of fire and tossing the necklace into the air, along with it the option to bring Katherine and the other vamps back.
Damon's so ticked off by all of this that he rushes at Bonnie/Emily and attacks her. But Emily is gone now, so Bonnie lies bleeding on the ground near death, and Stefan saves her by having her drink his blood. Once she comes to, Bonnie realizes what happened and looks fearfully at Stefan, but Elena assures her that he won't hurt her. But all is not well, because Stefan tells Elena he has to stay away from her and will leave town to do it. And he leaves while Elena cries after him.
While all that's going on, we have an interesting new relationship brewing between Jenna and the new history teacher, Alaric Saltzman. I thought the "Jackass File" was pretty funny, and it wouldn't surprise me if some teachers actually do have a file like this.
A couple of vampire questions for those of you who've read the books or are ultra tuned into the story:
- Is Mr. Saltzman a vampire? Because he had a ring on, which he said was his father's, and I wondered if it was the same ring as Stefan's. The backstory he told Jenna was that after his wife died in North Carolina -- a cold case never solved -- he moved there for a change of pace and new scenery, also citing the town's "rich history" as a reason.
- Is Logan a vampire? At the end when he came to Jenna's door, he specifically asked her, "Are you gonna invite me in?"
I look forward to your comments, and I'll leave you with this gem from Damon, on wanting the crystal back but having to save Emily's children:
"It's the only thing keeping me from ripping that little Bonnie girl's throat out ... oh well, a deal's a deal."
[Watch clips of The Vampire Diaries at SlashControl.]
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
11-13-2009 @ 4:22AM
Tania said...
Having read the books... this series is taking its own life form. Which I have to say isn't a bad thing, it is keeping me interested by changing a lot of the story which had to be done to keep the series going I would presume. For some quick notes from the book...
-Alaric was actually a counselor that dealt with the surviving victims of vampires. He was brought to mystic falls by the city and school officials to be their vampire slayer and with Mr. Tanner being dead gave him an easy cover up as the history teacher.
The TV series actually left a character out, another one of Elena's friends, Meredith. Alaric counseled her grandfather when he was attacked years ago in Fell's Church. Later on Meredith and Alaric date.
- In the book Jenna was actually Judith. And she dated a guy named Bob, so there was no Logan.
- Bonnie was given warning messages by Honoria Fell, one of the first settlers and also a witch
Since the first 2 or 3 episodes I have began looking at the book and the series separate since a lot of things have been shaken up. Like Matt and Vicky being siblings, Vicki being turned, Jeremy as a brother instead of the younger Margaret sister, etc.
But all in all I'm excited about this series. It may not follow the book exactly, but the twists that they are putting on it definitely keeps me watching.
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11-13-2009 @ 9:14AM
lauren said...
Thanks for posting the background info of the books. I have read them, actually I'm on the latest book right now, and I must say that I am having a hard time separating the two. I enjoyed the books soo much it's hard for me to see the series drift off into other directions.
That being said I do really like the show, though I wish I wouldn't have read the books while watching it. Hopefully they will bring different aspects of the books into the show because I think it would be really great for both.
About the ep: really Logan being a vamp? My roomate and I were trying to figure out when in the world he drank vamp blood before dying to be turned. We didn't get it.
11-13-2009 @ 12:49PM
Libby LuLu said...
Seems like we are all in the same boat...trying to separate the books from the show...I am on the 1st book so it is extra hard for me. I am trying to trick myself into believing that the book and the show are "separate and apart" from each other so I can understand the book a little more...that being said...
I haven't gotten to the part of Alaric in the books so I can't say for sure...but I did notice on the show last night that he made a point to "check out" the door frame and ask Jenna if she was going to "invite him in". She said no, for now, so I have a feeling something is going to happen and her house with either be her save haven from him or he will try and rescue her and can't get it since he hasn't been invited. Who knows....
I love this show...I am 34 years old and the CW has become my new must see TV!!!
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11-13-2009 @ 7:43PM
SARAH said...
I TOO LOVE THIS SHOW. I THINK THE HISTORY IS INDEED A VAMPIRE. I ALSO THINK HE TOOK LOGANS FORM TO BE INVITED IN.
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11-13-2009 @ 9:32PM
Apples said...
They've made both Alaric and Logan act like vampires as both stood at the door not coming in. My guess is that Logan is a vampire, as he was killed a while back, so Stefan must have turned him. I don't think Alaric is.
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11-13-2009 @ 11:47PM
Angel209 said...
Either Logan is a vampire or he's one lucky son of a bitch(probably vampire. I think Alaric is a vampire but that's only based on the ring. @Sarah: are vampires able to take other's forms in the book somehow or are you just pulling that out of your ass? lol @Apples: I don't think that Stefan would change some random person and we have no idea where Logan got the blood.
As to whether or not Alaric is good or bad, it seems pretty up in the air right now. I also don't think Damon meant it when he said he would leave. If all he wanted to do(his "master plan") was resurrect the vampires, why would he need to kill Stefan's friend? That many vampires could clear out a town in one night easily. There's definitely something else he wanted to do.
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11-15-2009 @ 6:48AM
zita said...
What's sure is that Logan is no mere human since he's not dead as he should be. The new history teacher seems to be the "new vampire on the block" for the reasons stated above by all of you. Maybe now we'll know where did those rings come from, since not all vampires have them (remember the BFF, though older than Stephan and Damon, didn't have one!). This show sure knows how to keep us interested and guessing, huh? Love it!
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11-16-2009 @ 7:14PM
darci said...
I thought this episode had great dialogue and small interactions, like when Bonnie tries to explain to Caroline that she doesn’t let her in on everything because she never listens, and all the back and forth between Damon and Stefan.
Also I thought this episode had great music – loved hearing Pablo Sebastian’s “Lies” during the scene when Bonnie and Elena are in the car and then Bonnie throws away the crystal, as well as Great Northern’s “Houses” which played when Jenna and Alaric talk at the Mystic Grill. You can watch those scenes on YouTube at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=foTF_PlWhbs and http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qC8YQHrvbe4
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