Thursday, September 22, 2011

The Vampire Diaries: The Hybrid (Season 3, Episode 2)

We are not hybrids. Or are we?


Damon looks sultry as he burns the papers he used to track Stefan. A news reporter questions whether the death of Andie, Damon’s dearly departed girlfriend, was suicide or accident. Damon tells Elena that it was death by her boyfriend Stefan. She tells a concerned Damon that Stefan called her last night, even though he didn’t say anything. This convinces her that Stefan’s not as lost as Damon thinks. In a sense, they’re both right. Clearly Stefan at this point is regretful and sorrowful. Yet the fact that he is able to do these monstrous things means that he is as good as gone.

Did anyone else laugh out loud when a groggy Alaric yelled that Damon stop? Who else would be so adamant about seeing his best friend in the early morning? Elena, apparently. Alaric dons a shirt, which he leaves open, in front of his history student. She convinces him to tell her what she knows about Stefan. Alaric doesn’t think this is safe, but Elena says that Stefan wouldn’t give up on her, and she is not the type of person to give up. As foolhardy as she is, I have to admit that her chutzpah makes me a little more okay with her borderline denial. Alaric, like the friendly witch Bonnie, is easily convinced to help.

Meanwhile, Stefan carries dead werewolf Ray up a mountain. This must have been a fun scene to shoot (or not). Klaus tries to hit on Stefan by asking him if he needs a break, but Stefan is having none of this “chit-chat.” Klaus wants him to lighten up. They finally reach a pack of werewolf campers who ask who Stefan is. You have to love Klaus’s narcissism: he says that the important question is who he, Klaus, is. They discern that he is the hybrid. Klaus thinks it’s fantastic that they’ve heard of him.

Carol Lockwood poisons her son Tyler’s morning coffee with vervain to see if he’s become a vampire. She greets him by swigging a morning glass of alcohol and comparing his girlfriend Caroline to a prostitute. [My friend thought that Carol was just as angry about Caroline not being super rich as she was about her being a vampire.] Before heading out, Tyler drinks, unaware that he is proving his non-vampireness, and notes that Caroline is not a prostitute. Carol the [bad word] phones a mysterious man about her vampire problem.

Two shirtless scenes in the first seven minutes: Jeremy approaches Matt whilst between t-shirts. He tells Matt that he is still seeing Vicki, Matt’s sister. Matt claims that last night was a blur – which is, in all likelihood, true, considering he was high most of the night. Jeremy wants Matt’s help. Matt is clearly uncomfortable with the supernatural aspect of contacting his dead sister, and pained and the thought of coming to terms with her death. He soon agrees to help. These past two episodes have made me realize what a great actor Zach Roerig is.

I love to see them all working together. Tyler gives Elena werewolf insight and states that Caroline reminds Tyler he’s the one who bit Damon whose near death caused Stefan’s sacrifice. Tyler clearly feels guilty, though it wasn’t his fault, and Caroline obviously is gung-ho about saving Stefan. Tyler wonders where Caroline’s run off to. Elena gets Alaric to joining her on a trip through the Tennessee Mountains. Their exchange is cute, but how on earth is she going to find Stefan and Klaus? Also, how hysterical is it that she wants to go that very night, on a full moon, even though she could just wait one night for the danger to be lessened?
Taking a relaxing dip.

Ray wakes up, and Stefan snaps into wingman mode. Klaus spots a human in the wolf-pack. Stefan says that if Ray doesn’t drink the human’s blood, he will, but he won’t be able to stop. Ray drinks. Klaus begins to turn another wolf into a vampire. Strangely, no one is running. That would be quite a sight: Klaus and Stefan zipping around, trying to keep werewolves in one place. On another note, once they turn into wolves tonight, they will be a danger to Stefan, but then the immortal Klaus can save him with his blood.

I really like the music in this episode. Tyler’s missing Caroline at the Grill. Matt is vaguely bitchy about Caroline and Tyler’s friendship, but then he tentatively offers to help Tyler in his transition that night. Tyler discovers that the vervained coffee at the Grill tastes just like the coffee his mom gave him that morning. Being a werewolf, he is able to taste it. Elsewhere, stupid mystery man (who reminds me of uncle John – he grew on me, but UGH, not another one) visits a stricken Carol. She doesn’t want to kill Caroline, whom she’s known since birth, but this Bill fellow says the magic, bigoted words, “She’s a vampire.” End of story. Technically, I know all vampires are natural born killers. But Caroline can control herself better than most.

Alaric and Elena bond and check out their weaponry. (Is it weird that Elena’s boyfriend is more than a century older than this father figure?) I again laugh out loud when Damon appears and tosses Elena into a lake. Alaric wisely sold her out. Alaric watches Damon and Elena stand close. Damon, understandably, is none too keen on getting bitten by a werewolf, unless it means reenacting the “dead bed kissy thing.” He points out that Elena’s plan is ridiculous and that Damon isn’t giving up on Stefan, he’s being realistic. Hello, Klaus is indestructible. There are a bunch of werewolves around. Stefan is on the edge. How many obstacles are we facing here?

All the werewolves are “dead,” and the human is barely alive. Klaus says that he is building an army. They will be winners (I can’t help but think of Charlie Sheen). Stefan doesn’t really know what this is about, but he asks if he was kidnapped just so Klaus could see his attitude change. Poor Ray’s transition is not going well, considering he’s bleeding from his eyes. Ray takes off. Stefan makes fun of Klaus who tells him to lose the attitude and find Ray. Ray bites Stefan, and Stefan asks Klaus to give him blood to heal him. Klaus says he’ll heal him after he finds Ray. Stefan seems surprised. Meanwhile, Stefan has heard and even seen from afar our trio of heroes. One of the several aspects of this scene that pops out: SEXUAL TENSION. Klaus grabs Stefan’s arm and they’re all oh no, I don’t believe you’re like this, obey me, blah blah.

Tyler is badass and reveals to his mom that he knows about vampires. A nervous Carol says she knows Caroline’s a vampire, a monster. Tyler says, “You don’t know about me, do you?” Somehow, this short scene is very powerful. Tyler is kind of becoming my hero. He throws his mom into a cage and chains himself up so she can watch him turn into a werewolf.

Ray stumbles upon and attacks a p.o.’d Damon. Ray in turn gets wolfbaned and shot. Alaric guesses that he is a hybrid. This is not Ray’s day! The three stooges tie him up with vervained ropes. Ray starts to turn, and they all realize they’re screwed. Damon lingers, either feeling compassion, or wanting to get more information out of Ray. They all end up running. Damon saves Elena from Ray in wolf form by calling, “Here, doggie, doggie!” and zooming away. Elena wants to save Damon now, and Alaric’s all, stop with the saving! Just get out of here!
Unlike many people in this town, I actually experience fear and grief.

Back in Mystic Falls, Matt and Jeremy start to go through Vicki’s items, but this is too hard for Matt. He asks Jeremy to leave. It’s hard to take all this angst, show. Matt changes his mind and visits Jeremy, saying that Jeremy got Vicki more than almost anyone. The two mourn over the fact that they don’t remember their last moments with her, since our heroes erased their memories. The ghost of Vicki appears and tells Jeremy that she can come back. Then the ghost of Anna breaks a window and tells Jeremy not to trust Vicki! Matt’s eyes are as round as saucers. By the way, where is Bonnie in all this? I assume her storyline will be important later.

Return to the woods: Ray, now in human form, attacks Damon until Stefan kills Ray. Once again the brothers come face to face. Damon says to stop with the late night phone calls, and Stefan lies about calling Elena. In another poignant scene, Stefan tells Damon to stop Elena from looking for him because he’s never coming back. Damon nods, but he also now realizes that Elena was right – Stefan isn’t completely gone.

Alaric is amazing – there is a lot of wonderful bonding in this episode. Elena’s raring to go, while Alaric says he’ll be keeping the humans safe while the vampires fight the hybrid zombie mountain men. Alaric correctly points out that Elena is a sucker for a lost cause, and she tells him that he is not a lost cause. But he, Jeremy, and Elena are all lost. That’s why they’re perfect for each other. I’m so glad they’re taking time for these emotional moments here.

I’m actually almost crying. Damon shows up and pushes Elena towards the car. Obviously they’re supposed to be sharing a deep bond since she says she wants to appreciate that he’s alive before calling him a caveman. Then Stefan watches them leave. So. Sad. Elena thinks she sees him for a minute, but then he’s gone.

Klaus’s zombies awaken. He says that he is the only alpha there, but he appears to be annoyed. Off-screen, they apparently die or go rabid. This episode is so intense. A drunken Klaus cries over the fact that all his “comrades” died. He screams at a terrified Stefan. Klaus has done everything right – including killing the doppelganger. So – Elena’s life is apparently a big hitch in Klaus’s plan? Stefan expects, even hopes, that Klaus will let him die. Instead, Klaus drips his blood into a beer can which he gives to his only friend. (To be honest, I was hoping he’d feed Stefan his blood, but we can’t have everything.)

Again, this episode is killing me. Elena meets a sober (in both senses of the word) Damon in her room. Damon says that Stefan is still there, but he is not okay: “He’s an insufferable martyr who needs his ass kicked. But he can be saved.” He also makes Elena say that she worries about him before telling her that he wants her to remember what she felt with him when Stefan wasn’t there. Er, wasn’t this part a bit heavy handed on the “Damon makes Elena feel something” part? I mean, she will remember feeling horrible that Stefan was gone as much as she’ll remember how much Damon helped. I don’t know.

Carol Lockwood has spent the whole night watching her son’s transition. She is tearful and ready to call off the vampire watch. Bill is not so compliant. We see Caroline chained up yet again. Bill walks up to her, and Caroline says, “… Daddy?” Holy.
Such a naughty girl. Or boy. Or both.

Thursday, September 15, 2011

The Birthday (Season 3, Episode 1)

'Sup?


In the early morning hours of Elena's birthday, two men come across an unusually attractive pair of girls. One of the men's fake American accent is equally jarring. The appearance of these rippers, vampire/werewolf Klaus and vampire Stefan, is a welcome opening, but the acting of the two ladies in question is rather lame. After the vampire massacres the ladies, they head over to a bar. Klaus likes to surprise people at bars. He chats up a nervous werewolf and notes that that Stefan has eerily hypnotized everyone in the bar. So there's no point in trying anything.

Elena rises and wakes up her brother Jeremy, who looks nothing like he's just been sleeping. Their history teacher Alaric has crashed on the couch, and this isn't creepy. It is, in fact, adorable, especially since every guardian they've ever had has died. After this recent tragedy and the disappearance of Elena's boyfriend Stefan, a somber Elena is still determined to find out whether her boyfriend is alive or dead.

She tells Caroline that she doesn't want a big party. Caroline just tells her to dress up and hangs up on her at the appearance of Tyler. They both light up. The two have lunch at some unspecified restaurant (hint: there's only one in town) and are waited on by Jeremy, who seems to think they are cute together because they are, extremely. He is serving them because a pissy Matt, who recently dated Caroline, doesn't want to. (Truth be told, I'd be pissy if I lived in Mystic Falls.) Jeremy, by the way, has been seeing flashes of his dead ex-girlfriends Vicki and Anna. He is hiding this from his girlfriend and witch Bonnie, whom he improbably spoke to at work via videophone, a.k.a. awkward product placement.

We want you as a new recruit.

Stefan's vampire brother Damon is soaking in a sudsy bath as his girl-toy and snack (judging by her scarves) Andie gets ready for work. It might be a small step up for Damon to not compel Andie to bring him wine. In the bath. Instead, he saunters to the bedroom nude and sudsy. Elena is wandering around, embarrassed to spot a naked Damon. She throws him a towel and discusses her plans for finding Stefan. Damon appears sardonic and unhopeful.

Yet, is he ever as callous as he appears? He and Alaric venture out on a lead investigative reporter Andie has given them. Alaric sweetly wonders why the little Gilberts haven't kicked him out yet. Hello, dude, they need you. Then, yikes. They venture into the house the two rippers happened upon at the beginning of this episode. There are streaks of blood across the house and bloody handprints. Sitting on the couch are the two girls. Damon explains to an alarmed Alaric that this is Stefan's signature, as though Stefan is an anonymous serial killer. He blacks out, kills, and then feels remorse, thus putting the bodies back together. You heard that right, BACK TOGETHER. Heads, arms, feet - they all come off when he chows down.

Elena, Caroline, and Tyler chat about Stefan and Damon before the hotness overload that is Tyler and Caroline's conversation arrives. They discuss how they are always so horny they want to explode. It’s a vampire thing. And a werewolf thing. They stare at each other, but Caroline pretends she hopes Tyler gets lucky with a slutty date.

Neither of us is drunk enough for this conversation.

Ironically, Damon covers Stefan's tracks, for once, by burning the bodies, in a detached manner, mind you. Stefan meanwhile is playing wolfbane darts with (as in, throwing poisonous darts at) the poor werewolf as Klaus watches in pleasure. Klaus hears that Damon is still following them, but Stefan convinces Klaus to let him try to get Damon off their trail. Klaus knows he will come back because Stefan’s in his service. Klaus seems disappointed and asks him if he is having at least a bit of fun. Yeah, this relationship isn’t kinky at all.

Just friends, I tell you. Eye sex, naked time, and discussion of lust doesn't mean anything.

Back at the mansion, Damon tells Elena it’s her party, she can cry if she wants to, before giving her back her vervain necklace. They both look sad and seem to consider drowning their grief in one another. Note: I liked the music at Elena's party and the music in season one. I prefer the edgier, angstier choices to the emo, whiny, and corny songs they had in season two and in parts of this episode.

Countdown to makeout time... 3, 2, 1...

Elena may not want to be around people, but Caroline is throwing a killer party. They disapprove of the stoner den, where Jeremy mentions to Matt his problems, without elaborating. Matty the fool is angry at Caroline. Alaric gets the best line so far with something to the effect of, “I am every parent’s worst nightmare. I am the chaperone from hell.” Damon, of course, loves high school parties. (But how gross would it be to go to one?I have no desire to. And I could probably pass for a high schooler, sadly.) Alaric quivers at the thought of responsibility when Elena wants him to talk to Jeremy about his drug habits. (She says this as she drinks underage – just saying). Damon tells Alaric to, "drink more, it will feel less weird."

Andie is the last one at work, once again. Not Andie! You know this isn't going to turn out well. Stefan unnecessarily terrorizes her a bit in his plan to get Damon off his trail. Damon arrives and looks for Andie, in order to bring her back home. Stefan's lines obviously echo Damon's first: "Hello, brother." Stefan seems to be partly faking his evil self at this point, but the role reversal is still there. Damon tells Stefan that his threatening of Andie is not cool, and Stefan replies, “No, it’s a little bit cool. Don’t you think?” He compels Andie to jump from a rafter. She dies upon impact, and Stefan tells Damon to leave him alone.

At the party, Matt and Jeremy bond over pot. They decide to go home, but Matt is too high to find his car, and Jeremy is too seeing-ghosts to drive. (By the way - Matt is amazing when he is high.) Vicki and Anna seem more sad than anything else, asking Jeremy to help. They walk to Jeremy's and give into the munchies. Jeremy confides more about Vicki, and Matt notes that he misses his sister Vicki so much, he thinks he sees her sometimes. But ghosts are somewhat preposterous, of course. Even though he knows about werewolves and vampires.

My brother is doing pot (says the disapproving underage girl consuming booze)!

Caroline gets drunk and compels Tyler's sluty date to leave, leaving hanging. Until they kiss, making me pump my fists in the air multiple times. Then they have incredible vampire/werewolf sex, apparently in Tyler's bedroom. The next morning, Caroline tries to leave, not zooming around like a regular vampire, though. This allows Tyler's horrible mom Mrs. Lockwood to catch Caroline unawares with a vervained purse and vervain darts.


Rewind: Elena says that her birthday wish is to know Stefan is alive. She discovers that Damon has been tracking Klaus. She confronts Damon when he returns after witnessing Andie's death. He actually doesn't drink, a sign something is really wrong. He blurts out that he's been tracking Stefan's victims, not Klaus's, and he doesn't think Stefan is coming back. Intense. Damon stalks off and a fit, breaking everything but his best guitar. He apparently cares deeply about his brother going bad, his love’s broken heart, and his sort-of-girlfriend’s death. Elena returns home to find Alaric lamely moving out, mumbling something about being a bad role model. He is now.

Elsewhere, Klaus feeds the werewolf his blood and kills him, hoping to turn him into a were-vampire. He also asserts that Stefan isn’t completely gone. He sexily whispers into Stefan’s ear that you never stop caring about family, but the blood helps. Stefan walks outside to have a moment of angst before calling Elena, whom Klaus thinks is dead! After a tense moment (Elena's phone is on vibrate), she picks up. Stefan can't say anything, so Elena intuits that it's him and just tells him he’ll be okay, hold onto her love, and never let it go. He, and I'm sure many viewers, cry.