By I'm not going to pretend that my responses to The Vampire Diaries are always particularly complex, meaningful or even, well, coherent. In fact, my first reaction to 'Bring It On' can largely be summed up as: "Oh, hell yes."
Look, I love this show and its characters, but even I have moaned about just how bloody whiney poor old Elena Gilbert can be. Who knew that all it would take for us to see something infinitely more interesting - at least for this episode, if not forever - was a teeny weeny humanity switch?
The Vampire Diaries gave us a tear-sodden, grief-stricken instalment with last week's heartwrenching 'Stand By Me', so in a way the show is lucky that it can employ that humanity switch; otherwise, we'd inevitably have Elena grieving for some time which, while realistic, would be something of a downer. I mean, I barely survived last week's hour.
Instead, turning Elena's emotions off was a masterstroke - suddenly, we're seeing a completely different side of her and it's a total riot to see her stalking around, noshing on cheerleaders and stripping in front of Stefan at every opportunity. Some of her behaviour, admittedly, is just a tad more disturbing - like, I don't know, deliberately letting Caroline fall from the top of their cheerleading pyramid just to make a point.
I can't say enough about how awesome it is to see badass, pretty-damn-evil Elena - there are so many great moments, whether it's her nonchalantly telling Stefan about how she really doesn't care about him any more, stealing an unlucky cheerleader's ribbon while she's biting her neck, or mimicking Damon in a bit of fake road traffic accident fun to get her fix.
But obviously there are always joykills and this time it's Stefan and Caroline, who are a little concerned about their friend's little journey into depravity and murder. God, you pair. While they try to keep Elena contained (which is a pretty tough task, considering that even when you inject her with vervain she'll figure out a way to throw a massive rager), it's fun for everyone who kind of wants a Stefan-Caroline hook up to happen. I mean, even Elena thinks this could happen, dully commenting on their clear flirting when she notices them dancing together.
They don't hook up, though - at least not yet. I mean, potential makeout sessions tend to be sort of dampened when your mental friend tries to kill the woman's mom. Yep, Elena gets pretty close to inflicting some damage on Liz - prompting a lot of: "She hurt my mom!" screams from a furious Caroline. That's nothing compared to a moment still to come, when Elena almost stakes her bestie. It's a very close shave, and a reminder of just how far Elena has gone.
Interestingly, Damon's not around to help while Elena's going postal - instead, he puts himself in charge of trying to track down tricksy Katherine now that she's on the run with the cure. Of course, he's not the only one interested in this - Klaus offers Hayley protection from Katherine's various henchmen in exchange for information about her whereabouts (and also a little bit of nudity, in a surprisingly hot scene in which the pair get it on). I was glad to see Pheobe Tonkin back, and I feel like she was much more enjoyable here than when she was paired with Tyler in the tiring hybrid storyline.
But Damon obviously wants to beat Klaus to the cure, so he teams up with unlikely ally Rebekah in an attempt to track it down. Basically, this seems like a massive distraction exercise for him, keeping him away from Elena as she spirals out of control. But there is a surprising moment as Katherine's henchman Will - dying from a werewolf bite - is finally cornered by Damon and Rebekah.
Damon recognises him - he even moons over a photograph of the pair together later. Who is this Will? How does he figure in to Damon's past? It's kind of irrelevant, in a way, as upon seeing him Damon rips his heart out. Vicious. He claims to Rebekah he was too far gone, but she's not buying it - she thinks it may have been because he didn't want her to get the cure. Whether or not that's true remains to be seen.
Back in Mystic Falls, there are even more problems going on. Fresh from almost being murdered by her best friend, Caroline's distraught to receive a letter from Tyler in which he vows not to return for her own safety. It's so sad seeing her sob over this that it's actually pretty hard to take - dammit, The Vampire Diaries, I thought this would be a mischievous episode after last week's weepfest! Still, since Hayley wants Tyler and Klaus wants Caroline, there are hints that the pair may come to some sort of arrangement - could Klaus call off his hunt against Caroline's man to stay in her good books? We'll see, although maybe Klaus and Hayley's sexy time has put paid to that possibility.
Even more worryingly, blood's being stolen from hospitals all over the place - and no, it's not Elena's doing. Actually, Stefan soon comes to realise that it's actually Silas who's behind the thefts, though his worried calls to Damon fall on deaf ears. You see, Damon has returned to Mystic Falls where Elena (now free from the sire bond) points out that finally she's not worried about the horrible man he actually is; honestly, she really couldn't care less. Does he really want her to turn her humanity back on, when finally she's just the woman he wanted her to be?
Well, Damon is nothing if not selfish, and it's a thrill when it's revealed that the pair are going on a road trip all the way to New York. Think of all the havoc they could be about to wreak! I certainly can't wait to see what's next for no-holds-barred Elena - hell, it's a lot better than that "scared little girl", right? At least for now...
Dear Diary
- When Elena flopped to the ground in the opening sequence, I practically squealed with delight.
- An Elena-Katherine face-off is seriously probably just scenes away and I am SO EXCITED.
- Damon and Stefan's faces when Elena walked in nude were great. Like, 'I disapprove but I also am quite enjoying this'.
- In a similar vein: "Under any other circumstances, this would be a major turn-on."
- "I like your ribbon! I want it."
- Ooh, Hayley's desperate to find her real parents, and Klaus has spotted a particular birthmark. What's this going to tell us about her?
- Stefan injecting Elena with vervain was great, even if it barely had any long-term impact.
- When Elena says "don't compare me to Katherine", you might expect her to say why she's a better person. Nope: "She's been running so long she's afraid of her own shadow. I am not afraid of anything."
- Elena's mischievous face about throwing the party was fun.
- Okay, own up - who swooned when Stefan threw Caroline over his shoulder at the "kegger"?
- "What's going on here?" "Just some underage drinking and drug use."
- Loved both Rebekah and Damon saying why the other shouldn't want the cure. Rebekah pointing out that Damon would cure Elena just to fall for Stefan was fine, if a bit heard-it-all-before. But Damon warning Rebekah that if she takes it she will be "nothing" - ordinary - was really great.
- That Caroline-Elena fight was kind of amazing, right? More please.
- Um, was Stefan writing in his diary? I love the show just remembering its title every now and then.
- "Yeah, well - emotions are overrated."
What did you think of the episode? Leave your comments below!
