After a month-long hiatus, Elena and the gang were back with a vengeance, trying to use Jeremy’s sixth sense to determine which pesky Original sired Damon and Stefan’s line. They couldn’t do it. But who cares? Elena and Damon hooked up at a shady motel and Damon spent four precious minutes of screen time shirtless. Naturally, Jeremy walked in just in time to keep the pair from sealing the deal. This tired, cliché move is something of a Vampire Diaries classic (think Aunt Jenna season two). On the bright side, the writers have at least refrained from turning bad boy Damon into a house-trained puppy, managing to maintain the early chemistry that Damon and Elena shared: “Have you ever flown first class?” “Who did you have to compel for that?” “Please, I have miles.”
Meanwhile, in the cellar, Stefan had to resort to beating Alaric to the pulp in order to get him to turn into his alter ego, Evil Alaric. Let’s call him Elaric for short. Klaus was growing impatient after last episode’s standoff. Elaric finally confessed that he hid the final Original-killing stake in the Cave, which is sealed to vampire entry. Rebekkah decided to drag him there so he could just surrender the stake over to her. If this seemed odd, it’s because Rebekkah was being possessed by Esther for the latter half of the episode. Apparently after telling her daughter she was dying, the superwitch took over Rebekkah’s body. Esther is still out to kill all the Originals, which would effectively wipe out the entire vampire race. Does that mean that Elena, Stefan, and Damon are going to have to conspire with Klaus in order to stop her?
And in totally unrelated news, Caroline and Tyler shared a happy reunion in the woods before Tyler found Klaus’s sketch of Caroline by her bedside. This scene felt so forced to me that I’m starting to lose interest in this love triangle altogether. Originally, it seemed like a cute pairing but Tyler is fast becoming one of the most annoying characters on the show. Even psychopathic Klaus is more likable.
I hardly dare speculate how VD writers intend to close off the season but it seems (from Rose’s blessing of the Elena/Damon romance) that they are finally ready to let the pair give it a try. With only three episodes left in the season, it’s also time to start betting on who will be the sacrificial lamb this season. My money is on Alaric.