The Vampire Diaries: Klaus (Season 2, Episode 19)

We start right where we left off, with a brave Elena waiting for Elijah to wake. He gasps to life and, in a very human moment of confusion, mistakes her for her doppelganger Katherine. Flashback to the 15^th century: “Trevor” introduces Elijah to Katherine. Elijah indicates that he knew and perhaps even loved Katherine’s previous doppelganger.

Elijah’s lack of composure is apparently due to not having been invited into this house. He died in the house before the deed was passed to Elena. He zips out the door and catches his breath. For once, Elijah is decidedly unkempt, resembling a homeless biker. Through the door, Elena hands Elijah the weapon she used to stab him. This girl has chutzpa. It’s been only a few minutes, and already this episode is epic.

Stefan awakes with a start to discover that Elena isn’t beside him. He asks Damon and Andie about their whereabouts. Damon snarks that Elena is Stefan’s girlfriend, Andie is his. Damon asks Andie for a bite, and she asks if he can drink from a bag. This creeps out the already tense Stefan, but Andie tells him to mind his own business. Then the brothers notice an open door and discover that Elena has let the Elijah out of the basement.

In another scene featuring a male vampire compelling a woman, Klaus in Alaric’s body has Katherine serving him coffee or whatever he’s drinking. He cruelly rubs in killing Katherine’s family. Even though we’ve seen Katherine vulnerable before, their relationship increases my sympathy for her.

Elena and Elijah chill in her car. He sucks on a blood bag as though it’s Gatorade, and Elena answers her ringing phone. Stefan’s freaking out, but Elena remains cool and refers to Elijah as a noble man. Elijah’s expressions are quite ambiguous and interesting; is he amused, impressed, or something else? Elena has the Salvatores’ number, telling Stefan to make sure Damon doesn’t do anything stupid. Damon (somewhat sweetly, perhaps) takes her hanging up on Stefan as a sign of her insanity. Stefan admirably trusts Elena, but Damon, also understandably, doesn’t want Elena to take the risk.

Flashback: Elijah introduces Katherine to Klaus, who has an intriguing and scary stare going on. Katherine is on her best behavior. Elijah has a bisexual vibe with Klaus, because they seem very close, but we find out more about that later. Elijah and Elena pop over to the mayor’s house. Elijah got Carol to stop drinking vervain (scary!), so he compels her to get him new clothes—from her dead husband, eek. What does it say about Carol, though, that she says she can’t help a man whose clothes are tattered because she’s late for a meeting?

Damon drinks (not always a good sign) and is petulant with Stefan about siding with Elena instead of him. Typical of their post-vampire relationship, Stefan is the big brother here: “Are you really going to be like this?” Damon and Andie “go rogue,” and take a trip to Alaric’s, where an adorable Katherine is trying to party up while in captivity. At first putting Andie in an even more dangerous situation seemed rude, but Andie doesn’t need an invite anywhere, so it’s actually a good idea. Is this Alaric’s? If so, why hasn’t Damon been invited in? Maybe Alaric doesn’t want Damon stealing his booze.

So Elijah and Klaus are brothers. Yep. Earlier, their relationship and differences reminded me a bit of Damon and Stefan. I was more right than I knew. At this reveal, Elijah tells Elena that the word she’s looking for is “OMG.” Is the F letter too offensive for you, TV? The only thing that could have made this episode better is if he had said OMFG, because that is how I reacted.

Jenna, meanwhile, has decided to return home. She calls up Stefan to ask where her little relatives are and mentions that Alaric wants to meet her at the grill. Stefan says he doesn’t know about Elena and Jeremy, but that she should not meet Alaric. But “Alaric” shows up at her house. Stefan rushes over to find an eerie (but kind of sexy) “Alaric” chopping up veggies.

Elena stupidly asks why Elijah would want to kill Klaus, his own brother. Elena of all people should know that brothers, especially vampire brothers, have problems sometimes. Elijah says that the history of originals is fascinating but long, involving a family of nine (two parents, seven children – so there might be a handful of other originals out there) who were once humans. He sadly recalls his and Klaus’s times together (and, yes, they’ve been around for a while), including that time they wrote about a shaman putting a curse on vampires and werewolves. What a laugh. On us as well. This episode is blowing my mind.

Elsewhere, Damon and Andie give Katherine vervain so she can resist further mental control. He treats her like a naughty child (which, let’s face it, she is), and notes, “You owe me, and I will collect.” His thinking is right here. See, this is clever Damon.

A vaguely sinister “Alaric” hilariously admits that he is “obsessed with vampires,” which is completely true of Alaric. Jenna is increasingly uncomfortable. She must assume he’s either on drugs or insane. It also must be weird have your ward’s boyfriend, who supposedly knows what’s going on, sitting there but not telling you anything.

“Alaric” refuses to leave and then threatens Jenna when she tries. Stefan attacks him, and nearly murders him, in Alaric’s body and all, but instead wears his vampire face and screams at Jenna to run, ensuring she will find out about vampires in the most jarring way possible. Stefan has been increasingly frustrated, and he knocks out Klaus before kicking him a couple times for good measure.

Stefan calls Elena just as Elijah is about to explain why this curse is actually only on Klaus. Elena says she has to leave but will return. Elijah is reluctant to see her leave, probably because both Elena and Katherine betrayed him. Flashback to Elijah chasing but not catching Katherine just the way Stefan chased but didn’t catch her. Katherine reveals more complexities in her relationship with Klaus, noting that Klaus is charming but possibly unfaithful. Elijah says that he doesn’t believe in love, and why would he? He’s lived so long, as a bloodsucker, no less. She strongly, and ironically, believes that life is too cruel to not believe in love and that real love is reciprocal. Klaus arrives and whisks Katherine away with blood all over his shirt. What a multilayered triangle. Our main trio seems like babies in comparison.

Sara Canning does very well at emoting Jenna’s confusion. She cries into Elena’s arms, recalling her sister’s freaky vampire bedtime stories and worrying about being the last to know about the supernatural. Stefan wears an especially pained expression and blames himself, but Elena blames herself. She goes to Elijah, but Damon stops her, just wanting her back. Stefan (looking a little scary, as he does when he gets stern) stands up to him, making Elena look slightly smug.

It’s a good thing she returned, because Elijah drops another bombshell. Klaus is a werepire. Their father was a major jerk (what a surprise) who killed Klaus’s real father and his entire werewolf family, beginning a vampire/werewolf feud. This curse keeps Klaus’s werewolf side dormant. Apparently a megalomaniac, he wants to kindle his other side and perhaps spawn a new army/race. Elijah says that only a witch can kill him.

An awesome Katherine drinks and dances around Alaric’s crib. When Klaus returns, she pretends to mope. Greta, who seems very not kidnapped and friendly with Klaus, and a host of others carry in Klaus’s belongings. She remarks that Alaric is a “nice body,” hehe.

Flashback time: Elijah tries to convince Klaus not to sacrifice Elena, because he has discovered another way to break the curse. (I’ve stopped keeping track of the jaw-dropping reveals.) Even then, Elijah was practical. He denies that he loves Katherine, and Klaus advises, “Love is a vampire’s greatest weakness.” This is true of almost every vampire we’ve seen, including Pearl, Anna, and Damon. Elijah replies that they did care once, but Klaus tragically states, “too many lifetimes ago.” Add Elijah to the list of Katherine-lovers. He clearly sees Katherine and perhaps her ancestor in Elena’s identical eyes. He claims he’ll never make the mistake of caring too much again.

On that note, Andie tells Damon that he doesn’t have to be so mad at his brother, but he tells her to leave. Stefan enters the room and makes a snide comment about using Andie. I’m all for not letting Damon use Andie, but Stefan’s comment seems to be born mostly of his bad day. They put it all out there, Damon saying that his real target is Elena, and Stefan sarcastically thanking him for being in love with his girlfriend. He seems done with tolerating Damon for now and says that he will have what Damon will never get: Elena’s respect.

They go at each other like mad dogs until Elena and Elijah return. The scene reminds Elijah of when his brother threatened to kill him if he betrayed him. All Elijah wants of the Salvatores, remarkably, is their apology. Stefan apologizes, rubbing in that he will always protect Elena. Damon just feels like a miserable loser and in no way apologizes. He hates losing. Stefan says he’ll come around, but Elijah’s expression is melancholy when he says, “perhaps.”

A very broken and damaged Damon lashes out at Andie as she tries to comfort him. Hearing a woman he has compelled to love him say she cares about him is too much. He rips into her shoulder but compels her to leave before he kills her. It may not sound like it, but her survival is a relief and a step up for a completely distraught Damon.

The final scene shows witches chanting around a big box at Alaric’s. Alaric returns to his body, mistaking Katherine for Elena before dropping to the floor. Katherine’s expression is that of pure terror at seeing none other than the original Klaus step out of the box. What an episode.

The Vampire Diaries: The Last Dance (Season 2, Episode 18)

Our beloved history teacher Alaric is possessed by the one and only Klaus the original vampire. He’s actually quite hilarious and upbeat, quite different from the suave Elijah. Klaus refers to Elijah as a “buzzkill,” so this analysis makes sense. Klaus proves that he has some of his powers by compelling Katherine to torture herself for at least 250 years, beginning now. Yikes. I hate to say it, Katherine, but does Klaus's "the fun is just beginning" sound familiar? Also, is it weird watching “Elena” and “Alaric” interact like this?

Elena signs the deed to the Salvatore’s mansion in front of random lawyer “Mr. Henry.” Bonnie wisely comments that she wouldn’t want to clean it. The Salvatores, meanwhile, ponder whether Katherine is dead. They say this with some regret, which is funny considering they have attempted to kill her multiple times.

Elena welcomes Stefan in but asks Damon if he promises to obey the house’s owner. He replies, “No,” (and should he?) and asks, “What, are we twelve?” Elena responds, “One of us is.” Awesome. He says yes, and she lets him in. Elena and Bonnie prepare to go to school, freaking the brothers out. They act like parents. School is getting old even for Stefan: “"No, kids you're grounded. From school." Bonnie swears that she can take Klaus if she sees his face, unaware that he is wearing Alaric’s. Stefan grudgingly goes with them, and Damon’s expression says, “What losers. Glad I’m not one of them.”

 

Matt and Sheriff Forbes confer. Will their relationship turn scandalous? At least the sheriff admits that Caroline is her baby. Matt is scared that Caroline will see through his deception at the dance tonight. He chooses to go as JFK. Idiot. Does he remember what happened to him?

Stefan’s all, “School sucks. Dances suck.” Bonnie's and Elena are all, “Dances are rad.” Then Klaus waltzes in to teach history class. First of all, some student actually tells him what they’re studying—who does that? Second, Klaus catches sight of Elena and stares inappropriately. Third, Klaus is a history dunce. He’s no Stefan Salvatore. Bonnie wonders when Alaric became so fun flighty. Elena corrects Klaus (making Stefan proud), and accidentally calls him “Ric,” making the rest of the class feel awkward.

At lunch, Jeremy is upset that his girlfriend is a martyr. Bonnie doesn’t tell Elena that she might die in order to save her. Dana, a student, tells Elena that Klaus asked her to save him the last dance. He also compelled her to emphasize how hot he is, which is absolutely hysterical. Vain, much?

Stefan plays the annoying Dad, pointing out that school wasn’t as safe as they thought. Klaus as Alaric waltzes right into the Salvatore mansion. Someone says, “There he is!” briefly startling Klaus. Luckily for him, Bonnie the Secret Weapon is no longer a secret. He checks out her and her “power” and refers to Klaus as the “biggest, baddest vampire around.”

Klaus returns to Alaric’s home to get help from the white witch. They plot to get Bonnie to use her life force trying to kill Klaus while putting Alaric’s body under a protective spell. Katherine is still there, hoping for Klaus’s death.

Caroline dresses as Jackie Kennedy, looking "gorge." Unfortunately, her date and mother are terrified of her. Stefan and Elena also prepare for the dance, and their smooches are interrupted by Damon, who is going to chaperone the dance. How great would that be if you were in high school?

At the ball, Klaus dances as though he is in the wrong century. He hopes to make up for this by dedicating a song to Elena. Klaus says to Damon that the old vampire is pretty twisted, but Damon insults him by being unimpressed. No one notices Alaric’s personality shift.

Jeremy is momentarily a genius because he wants to give Bonnie his magical ring. Of course, it won’t work, since Bonnie is supernatural. She tells him she’ll probably live, but they slow dance to a song about a girlfriend dying.

Elena and Stefan dance until Stefan spins Elena into Damon’s arms. He cheers her up. She seems to be having fun. They’re practically kissing. Wow. Then Damon moves on to Bonnie, and they get very close. Should they all just have a huge orgy? Damon agrees and dances with two high schoolers. Bad chaperone. Bonnie is amused.

Matt covers up his horrified expression by telling Caroline, “You look pretty.” So that’s what that expression means. He’s not super surprised but he is wary when VAMPIRE Stefan steals his date to update her on their situation. Normally, wouldn't he be slightly concerned since he stole his other girlfriend?

Stefan finds out from Jeremy that basically either Bonnie or Elena will die. He relays the information to Elena, who confront Bonnie with, “Noooooo!” Damon doesn’t seem to think what she called a 50-50 chance is so bad.

Klaus compels three teen boys to beat up Jeremy. Even after all he’s been through, he still can’t successfully fight back. Damon and Stefan save him, Damon getting hit with a stake and Stefan keeping Damon from killing them all. Stefan realizes it’s a diversion.

Klaus rather obviously leads Bonnie and Elena into a corridor before admitting that he is Klaus, the hater of the ‘60s and lover of the ‘20s. Bonnie attacks but can tell that he is trying to get her to expend her strength. Damon sends Elena to find Stefan, so he can scheme with Bonnie. A moment later, Bonnie marches in and starts breaking Alaric’s bones.

Bonnie makes wind and explosions, looks at Elena who runs to the door, and falls to the floor, “dead.” If that was Damon and Bonnie’s plans, they are biggest idiots on the show. Elena has an overdue mental breakdown. Jeremy may soon follow. Poor siblings. But no! Damon knew that Bonnie was going to “die” (Elena slaps him hard), but that she really just cast a me-be-dead spell, and is alive. Now Bonnie really is a secret weapon. She and Elena hold a conversation over Skype, which is less emotional than it should be due to an odd MiFi plug. 

Damon and Stefan exchange fighting words. Damon says that, in the end, “I’ll be the one to keep her alive.” They part, and Elena visits Damon in his bedroom. They make up, but Damon admits that, when it comes down to it, “I will always choose you.” At least Stefan doesn’t screw the civilians over (most of the time). They have a moment, and Elena seems both disappointed and moved.

She then goes to the basement and resurrects Elijah. That’s right. She pulls the stake out of his chest and just waits for him to wake up. Elena is badass and more creative than Damon.

The Vampire Diaries: The House Guest (Season 2, Episode 16)

After a long hiatus, The Vampire Diaries is back. Let's recall what happened last time...

Elena frets about being late for school, which she admits to forgetting about. Stefan quips "let's be later." Considering the coming Apocalypse, who can blame him for thinking, "School? No. Sex!" She consents to "five minutes" (a limit that apparently horrifies him), and they are cute.

Downstairs, "Elena" says hi to a mournful Damon who tries to put on a smile. He quickly determines something is wrong, throws her against the wall, and calls her Katherine. She plays dumb and Stefan wanders downstairs wondering 1) why Damon is strangling his girlfriend and 2) if he accidentally just had sexy times with Katherine. Stefan promptly runs upstairs and chokes Elena thinking she's Katherine. Katherine thinks this is hilarious. I hope Stefan apologized to Elena.

Matt and Caroline discuss going to a concert that night since business is slow at the grill. This gave me a hearty laugh since the grill is the only place to go in the entire town. Even vampires who don't need to eat go to the grill to consume alcohol. Matt is a little rude to Caroline, making me wonder if he heard Tyler's speech about taking care of her.

Bitchy Elena faces off against bitchy Katherine as the gang decides whether they can trust Katherine. They let her stick around, and Elena and Stefan go to school. Elena is understandably concerned (and maybe a little jealous), which Stefan finds slightly amusing. He comforts her in his usual fashion.

Katherine, in her fashion, vamps it up like a pro and makes the episode awesome. Also, she bothers Damon - will his torment never end? - who is trying to burn the indestructible Elijah. Katherine tells Damon that she is glad he isn't dead, even though she would rather he die than Stefan. Heartwarming.

Meanwhile, Stefan is good at convincing Bonnie to do things. He wants to talk to Jonas and Luka, who had planned to kill Elena. If I were Jonas and Luka I would not want to talk to Stefan and Bonnie either. Poor Luka is distraught, and Jonas is still convinced that Elijah is the only solution. After an unsuccessful meeting with the "good guys," they plot to bring ye olde Elijah back.

The girls, including Jenna, who is having problems with Alaric, decide to have a night alone. I look forward to lots of male-bashing. Though the convo will be awkward with everyone trying to be cryptic and Jenna being completely out of the loop.

Jonas sends Lukas's "spirit" into the Salvatore mansion. In an eerie scene, he tries to remove the stake from Elijah's heart, but Katherine sees the stake rising and pushes it down. Damon joins them and immediately turns a flamethrower on. He doesn't think much of it; just wants to stop witchy mumbo jumbo. Unfortunately for Lukas, the boy catches on fire and DIES. I want to feel bad for Jonas, with one child in peril the other dead, but this is all his fault. He's not innocent. He was going to kill a nice girl to save his daughter.

Scene: the grill. Matt disses Caroline, looking cute in her pink shirt. Jenna, as always, needs a drink. Caroline takes a breath and goes on stage, stunning both the performing band and her company. (Jenna's and Bonnie's expressions are priceless.) Then she uses her vampiric powers of compulsion for the best purpose ever: "You are going to let me live out my rockstar fantasies, and you are going to be my backup." She sings. Matt gets on stage and kisses her. It's cheesy. And I am absolutely not squealing and clapping my hands. Nope. Not me.

Elsewhere, Jonas grunts and puts a spell on Stefan when he shows up. (Did anyone else think it weird that Stefan is able to look past Jonas's charred body to Elena's items?)

Katherine and Damon have another tete-a-tete. She loves Stefan more, Isobel and John want the Salvatores out of Elena's life (because Isobel and John are so good for her)--Damon's heard it all before, so he stabs Katherine, just a little.

There is a beautiful calm before the storm. We know it will be short lived. Caroline makes out with Matt in a bathroom and tells him not to end the sexy session (like another vampire at the beginning of the show). Bonnie tells Elena about dating Jeremy in a hilariously blunt manner. Elena wants her brother to be with someone like Bonnie. Touching and sweet.

Then all hell breaks loose. Jonas throws a tantrum and burns the bar with his mind. Won't the town's supernatural cover be blown? In the chaos, Caroline gets attacked, Matt is stabbed, Elena and Stefan reunite and try to reason with Jonas, obviously to no avail. Caroline reveals to Matt that she is a creature of the night in the most dramatic way possible: by feeding her blood to him to save his life.

Stefan and "Elena" return to Elena's house, where Jonas lurks. "Elena" is actually BAMF Katherine, and she chomps on Jonas. He briefly returns life and grabs Bonnie before dying for real. Note: Jeremy is so casual about everyone's deaths he sounds a bit like a sociopath. Bonnie tells him that Jonas transferred power to her so she can kill Klaus. Did he do it in purpose? Is this good? Is there a trick? Intense.

Katherine tries to make it with Damon, who is so over her. Matt wakes up to see Caroline in his room. She says she's a vampire, he thinks of his dead sister Vicki, and, to no one's surprise, generally freaks out.

Jenna confronts Alaric about his wife's death. He says he can't tell her about it. Obviously, she is not comforted by this. Later, the doorbell rings, and who should show up? Alaric's ex/dead wife Isobel. Unfortunately. I kind of wanted her character to die the moment she appeared in her vampire form. I had hoped it would be Klaus.