The Gilbert siblings jumped right into the fire with their plans to save everyone they loved. Elena (Nina Dobrev) enlisted Rose (Lauren Cohan) to offer herself up as the sacrifice so that Klaus would spare everyone she loved; and Jeremy (Steven R. McQueen) threw himself into Katherine’s (Nina Dobrev) evil clutches in attempt to save Bonnie’s (Katerina Graham) life as she tried to undo the tomb spell. But, in the end, all they accomplished was Stefan (Paul Wesley) getting trapped in the tomb with Katherine, and Elijah (Daniel Gillies) knowing exactly where to find Elena just as soon as Klaus got to town.
And something tells us that Klaus will not just want Elena. He is still going to want his sacrificial werewolf, witch and vampire in order to break the curse. Bonnie, Tyler (Michael Trevino) and perhaps Caroline (Candice Accola) are soon going to be roasting on the sacrificial alter along with Elena. Didn’t Elena remember what Katherine told her: the doppelganger alone is not enough? It is going to be all or nothing, and Klaus is going to want to kill them all. He has lived too long under the moonstone curse. He wants to be free to walk the earth and not worry about sunlight or werewolves. With that kind of incentive, bargaining Elena’s life for the lives of her friends is not going to work.So ultimately all Elena and Jeremy did was put them all in a more precarious position. Stefan is now stuck in the tomb with Katherine. Katherine got her heart’s desire — to have Stefan all to herself. Damon (Ian Somerhalder) got Elena — albeit not exactly as he foresaw for she is angry with him and still rejects him. But being her sole protector, no longer having Stefan hovering around to occupy Elena’s affections, has got to have some benefits. Jeremy has a nasty neck wound which is going to be nearly impossible to explain to Aunt Jenna (Sara Canning) or anyone else not “in” on the vampire secret. Caroline is being torn between her desire to be with Matt (Zach Roerig) and her desire to help Tyler. And Bonnie is figuring out that she is not as powerful as she thought and that, even with a warlock’s talisman as strength, she is not strong enough.
It is time for everyone to start trusting each other and working together to keep everyone safe. This “I will sacrifice myself to protect everyone else” mentality is remarkably short-sighted. Noble, romantic and brave — but still ineffective.
What Worked
Oh, let me count the ways to love this episode! First, the long, lingering, romantic looks between all the forbidden couples was heart-stoppingly beautiful. Whether it was Elena and Damon, Jeremy and Bonnie or even Caroline and Tyler, forbidden love was the most delicious flavor of the night.
For example, when Elena first said that she was worried that Klaus was going to kill everyone she loves, she looked pointedly at Damon — despite the fact that Stefan was standing right in front of her. Such action belies her true feelings. She did not ignore Damon as she made this declaration — she was looking away from Stefan, and directly at Damon. The attention of a girl in love never wavers. Yet Elena’s attention is definitely wavering. She is worried about protecting Damon. She worries that he will sacrifice himself for her and she would rather die, than let him die for her.
So when Elena angrily told Damon, “When have I ever made a decision? You and Stefan do that for me. Now this — this is my decision,” she was attempting to declare her love. Yet Damon stubbornly refused to hear what she was saying, so she raged, “You’re not listening to me! I don’t want to be saved — not if it means Klaus is going to kill every single person that I love.” This ambiguous language is not meant to be inclusive, rather it is used so that she does not have to identify who it is that she is protecting. The fact that Elena then tried to physically hit Damon to emphasize her point was even more telling. It is a thin line between love and hate. She does not hate Damon. She loves him enough to want to sacrifice herself to protect him. She even tried to strike him in her frustration. So when Damon icily told her to “never to do that again,” he was not referring to her trying to hit him — he was referring to her attempt to sacrifice herself for him.
Trying to explain, Elena softly told Damon, “I don’t question why you and Stefan and everyone else tries so hard to save me. You shouldn’t question why I should try to save you all of you.” Thus, later when Stefan entrusted Damon with the responsibility of keeping Elena safe, Katherine knowingly told Stefan, “That, right there, was the biggest mistake you’ve ever made.” For Katherine knows perfectly well how easy it is to fall in love with Damon. Without Stefan around as a reminder of why she chose him over Damon, Elena will be vulnerable to Damon’s charms. Plus, Elena is already too angry with Damon to justify indifference. She reacts to him emotionally and it will only be a matter of time before her anger turns to appreciation.
Also, with everyone is so worried about keeping each other safe, even Elijah could see that there was no need to fight with Damon. As he explained to Jonas (Randy J. Goodwin), “He’d die before he’d let anything happen to her. They both would. She’ll be kept safe. . . That is precisely what we need her to be: safe.” It is rather chilling to realize that Elijah is using Damon’s love for Elena — and perhaps ultimately her love for Damon — as a tool in his diabolical master plan.
Then, as to Bonnie and Jeremy, they were exquisitely agonizing as they continued their dance around each other. Jeremy may be willing to take the risk on love and declared how he feels; yet Bonnie still feels that it is wrong to fall in love with her best friend’s younger brother. However, if their scenes get any more smolderingly hot, her denials are going to become more futile. Additionally, Jeremy’s act of nearly sacrificing himself to protect her — to keep her from overexerting herself to undo the tomb spell — was a breath-taking declaration of love. Actions speak louder than words and Jeremy’s actions say that he is willing to die for her. What girl can resist that kind of chivalry and outright swoon-worthy love? If Jeremy could sweep a 140 year old vampire such as Anna (Malese Jow) off her feet, Bonnie has no chance. She too will ultimately succumb to that kind of powerful love. After all, Jeremy was willing to be trapped for eternity with a hungry vampire for her. If that does not scream love, then what does?
The third forbidden-love couple of the night was Caroline and Tyler’s growing closeness. With Caroline offering to be there to support him through this painful period of adjustment and his upcoming transformation, Tyler curiously asked her, “Why are you helping me? Why do you care? We’ve never been friends before.” Caroline then thoughtfully responded, “I don’t know. You just seem like you kind of need it. . . I was alone when I turned. I had no control over my body or my urges — and I killed somebody. I don’t want that to happen to you. I don’t want you to be alone.” Caroline may be only acting out of friendship, but the undercurrent of a frisson of chemistry between her and Tyler is palpable. Perhaps it is simply the heat of attraction between a vampire and werewolf, but they are likely to be caught up in that burning passion.
For as Tyler insightfully noted, it is difficult for Caroline and Matt to have a relationship given the barriers and undisclosed reality between them. So as Tyler gently told her, “It’s not really fair to be with someone and not really let them know who you are,” Caroline knew that he was right. No matter how much her heart yearns to be Matt, it may not be possible. She still poses a threat to him and brings a level of danger into his life that he does not deserve. So for Caroline, it is confusing as Tyler knows exactly what she is and accepts her. Tyler is also drawn to her and not afraid. That is a powerful intoxicant for a young teenage girl who is afraid of rejection.
Not to be left out of the love-fest, kudos to Matt for being a better man by apologizing to Tyler for initiating the fight at Tyler’s house. The look of pain and confusion on his face as he walked away shows that he is haunt by his unwilling participation in a night that ended with the death of a fellow classmate. Matt may not know how horrifically that night has cursed Tyler, but Matt still continues to feel the weight of his actions and how it resulted in an unintended death. It was also nice to see that Matt put aside his issues to go see Caroline at her home and try to make amends. By admitting that he missed her, he was opening himself up to loving her again. It was a brave and beautiful gesture. He also did not immediately back down once he saw that Tyler was there either. Matt may not understand everything that is going on, but he is willing to pursue what he wants and own up to his mistakes. He is turning out to be quite a man.
Last but not least, it was a pretty funny and cute scene with Alaric (Matt Davis) getting caught in his boxers holding a bowl of ice cream at Elena’s house. After nearly a year of dancing around a relationship with Jenna, it is nice to see that they have progressed to a good point.Then, after a rather dubious introduction, Luka (Bryton James) and Jonas are actually starting to appear somewhat sympathetic, like they may actually be good guys, and not the automatic bad guys we feared since discovering that Jonas is working with Elijah. Perhaps there are hearts of gold beating in those warlocks after all. Though it still remains to be seen.
What Didn’t Work
How dare they leave us hanging with the Matt-Caroline-Tyler scene as they all stood on Caroline’s front porch?! Surely, they could have given us a few more seconds to see if Tyler left or Matt left first. What is a new vampire to do when torn between the boy she loves and the werewolf who needs her? We are all dying to know!
Plus, if this is the last we are seeing of Rose, what an abrupt goodbye that was. She vanished as soon as she saw Elijah, abandoning the people she claimed to be helping. Her lack of back-bone is making her a rather pathetic vampire.
Finally, while warlocks apparently do not need an invitation to enter someone’s house, it was absurd that Jonas could pilfer so many of Elena’s personal items like she would never miss them. Like she would not notice the picture on her dresser was missing along with several key pieces of jewelry?!
