The Vampire Diaries: Just Setting Up the Finale

It seems like ages ago when “young” Stefan Salvatore was the sweetest, calmest vampire this side of Transylvania…sigh…The last few weeks with him on his somber and depressing relapse to feeding on human blood has been both dramatic and a little bit tedious to get through and this week’s episode, “Blood Brothers,” was no different.

When we left the characters last week, Stefan had been locked up in the cellar to sweat out the effects of human blood in his system but it still hasn’t worked out. Stefan seems dead set on giving up and wishes for death as he thinks back on the days way back in the 1860s when he and Damon became the vamps they are today. Through a series of flashbacks we see how they attempted to rescue Katherine from the angry mob only to get shot (by their father!) but survive thanks to Katherine already having started them on the transition to being undead.

On the down side though, Katherine did not survive the event and neither of them wanted to go on living as a result so before dying Stefan confronted his father and accidentally killed him with his growing strength. The blood flowing from his pops was too much to resist and feeding off it made his transition into a vampire complete. Stefan tells all of this to Elena but neglects the rest, which Damon happily supplies. Stefan forced him to feed on a human against his will to solidify his transition as well so he wouldn’t spend eternity alone. This explains Damon’s major bitterness towards Stefan and really fleshes out their relationship a little better for the first time, which I really appreciated.

While Damon gives Elena the rundown, Stefan escapes the cellar and heads out to the woods without his ring that protects him from the sun where we are to assume he’s going to die. Luckily Elena finds him before the sun rises and gives him the pep talk to end all pep talks convincing him to keep battling his demons and go on living. He agrees. They kiss. It’s joyous.

All of that being said this was actually a fairly calm episode that bordered on being dull at times. I think it’s clear that its larger purpose was to set up the final two episodes of the season that are coming up, which is fine but everything beyond the Stefan storyline seemed rushed or lacking in drama.

Alaric and Damon got a lead on Isobel’s whereabouts but when they check the place out they just find another resurrected vampire from the tomb named Henry. As is expected - they kill him almost immediately for being in cahoots with evil Uncle John.

Anna decides to enroll in high school to spend more time with Jeremy and the two of them get very intimate, but Anna’s mom, Pearl, realizes that Uncle John is onto them as vamps and thinks they should leave town immediately. They are about to do so when John kills Pearl without warning! I realize that Pearl was by no means a main character but I kind of think her demise deserved a little more screen time or buildup than it actually got it. Malese Jow as Anna did a good job conveying her anguish upon finding Pearl’s body but it still felt empty and left me wanting.

And then finally the episode ends on a cliffhanger with Isobel herself sitting down next to Alaric in the town bar. This being Elena’s mother is no minor plot point so next week should be explosive and then who knows what kind of intrigue will greet us on the season finale but I, for one, am excited to find out!

Season 1, Episode 20: Blood Brother (originally aired April 29, 2010)

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Thursdays at 8/7c on The CW

Photographs courtesy of The CW and Quantrell Colbert.