The Vampire Diaries Review: Who’s The Big Bad?

On this week’s episode of The Vampire Diaries, Jeremy says so long as Klaus and his family of hybrids threaten to take over Mystic Falls. But you know that’s not going to happen without a fight as Stefan gets into an immortal chicken fight with the people of Mystic Falls as living, breathing pawns in their epic game. Klaus and Stefan battle it out to see who’s the better villain.

We start off this week with Damon Salvatore, who’s in a deliciously chipper mood. Now what has the normally dark and broody vampire bouncing at the tip of his toes, do you think it has anything at all to do with that surprise kiss he planted on Elena last week? Of course it does. Cue here the bitterness as inside some part of me screams as the small hope I’ve been harboring of a no Damon-Elena union is inevitably dashed. Sure I know some of you have been looking forward to the kindling of a Damon-Elena romance, especially since Stefan’s recently gone psycho crazy, but I’ve got to tell you as one of the holdouts I’ve always held the hope that the Smoldering Salvatore would remain relatively chaste for me, relatively. But no, here he is wasting his kisses on some unappreciative brood. And I say unappreciative because in quite the contrast, Elena is fuming mad this morning and redirecting her energy into beating the crap out of some kickboxing bag. Alaric (Matthew Davis) wants to know what has her in such a crappy mood; oh, it’s just the hassles of living every gal’s dream.

Up next is Jeremy (Steven R. McQueen) who’s preparing to leave Mystic Falls. Elena finally tells Bonnie (Kat Graham) that Jeremy’s about to be shipped off and while at first disbelieving that Jeremy would leave his big sis in the mess of vampires that she’s become accustomed to, things are suddenly illuminated when Elena tells her about asking Damon to compel him. Bonnie is not the biggest fan of vampires, so hearing Elena say that she took away her brother’s free will in an effort to protect him raises her ire a little bit. Bonnie walks up to Jeremy and in the midst of saying goodbye sort of hints that he’s under Elena’s thumb. So, I guess this isn’t going to be a clean break then.

But hey, if you’re looking for complicated break-ups, look no further than vampire bestie Caroline (Candice Accola) who’s going through her own with werewolf-turned-hybrid Tyler. Ever since joining Klaus’ legion of undead dogs –no offense- Tyler’s been on the outs with his former friends, because being eternally dedicated to your friends’ enemy does not a trusting friendship make. This was proven last week when Klaus (Joseph Morgan) recruited Tyler in making an example of Jeremy, almost getting him killed. Caro’s still holding a grudge and when she sees a waiting Tyler outside of the school she tells him so. Caroline wants Tyler to fix, i.e. get rid of, the bond he has to Klaus but Tyler’s unwilling to do so. Telling Caro that even though he wants to put her first, he can never do so; he apologizes telling her he understands why they can’t be together. But to not leave with things too far in the dumps, Tyler gives Caroline a bracelet for her birthday, because the day they’re breaking up just happens to be her birthday. Bad break, that.

Tyler may not be around for the good times but Elena, Matt, and Bonnie definitely are by throwing Caroline an impromptu birthday party after she skips out at school. They’re all in a jovial mood, except for the birthday girl who tells them that being already dead sort of takes the buzz out of the birthday. Caro’s feeling the whole undead thing, while birthdays are now meaningless because she’ll always be 17, stuck in a “filler year.”

Not to be thwarted, Elena takes Caroline’s mood as the call to bring the party to a new venue, a crypt. I suppose it says a lot about these guys that none of them seem too perturbed about partying down amongst the dead. But it makes perfect sense I suppose; their guest of honor is in fact dead. The guys give Caroline an eulogy and then they talk over cake and candlelight. Things are pretty chill until Elena catches Caro sending flirty texts to Tyler. Elena looks disappointed, but Bonnie says to give her a break accusing Elena of trying to control everyone around her. Look who else is holding a grudge. Bonnie realizes that she’s become the sour puss of the party and so she makes her exit.

Caroline also decides to step out from the party, but for a very different reason. She’s meeting Tyler in the woods for a little post-break up snogging. This makes me happy because I really do love the Caro/Tyler pairing, and now that they’re all Romeo & Juliet about it, I love them even more. Of course, I felt the same way about Caro/Matt together. What can I say, the girl’s got good taste. Things are getting pretty intense in Caro/Tyler’s make out session, and just when I wonder how they’ll handle themselves if things get really intense, considering one bite would make Caroline dead dead, my question’s answered as Tyler takes a bite out of Caroline injecting her with his deadly venom.

I’d like to believe that Tyler didn’t know what he was doing there, and that had they not been making out Tyler would have gone on about his business and left Caroline unbitten no matter Klaus’s orders; because earlier in the day, that’s exactly what Klaus ordered Tyler to do. Tyler for the first time flat out refuses to bite Caroline and tells Klaus to order one of his other hybrids to do it instead. Telling Klaus that he’s lost everything because of him, he refuses to be put in the middle of this. Klaus seems to accept this answer, but in the end he’s gotten what he wanted so all’s good here. I’m kind of upset that Tyler didn’t insist that Caro be left alone; with Klaus that would have fallen on deaf ears, but still it would have been nice.

But before you start to think that Klaus has just suddenly taken a hatred for Caroline, be assured that she is the same as everyone else in Klaus’ game: a pawn. After finding a hybrid sniffing around the haunted house hiding Klaus’ family, Stefan decided that he wants all hybrids out of Mystic Falls. To prove how serious he is, Stefan goes to Klaus, lays down his demands and then kills one of the hybrids right in front of him. Stefan tells Klaus that he either sends the hybrids away or Stefan will kill them all one by one. Klaus assures Stefan that he will retaliate in kind for every hybrid death at his hands. Klaus may retaliate all he wants, Stefan says, but at the end of the day he’ll still be fishing for his family’s bodies at the bottom of the ocean. From there it becomes a question of who’s more ruthless in getting what they want.

In order to save his hybrids, Klaus makes a deal with the mayor offering the town protection as well as a generous monetary donation as long as the mayor can get Stefan to keep the peace. The mayor relays the deal to Damon, telling him to get his brother in line or else the council will have to step in and stop him instead. Damon goes to Stefan, who’s currently in the middle of decapitating a hybrid right at the Founder’s party, and tells him that if he wants to beat Klaus he has to do it by being the better villain. Killing the hybrid when there are ten more to take his place will only tick off Klaus and put more people in jeopardy, including Elena. But Stefan’s not worried about this as protecting Elena’s now “your problem.” This little chat though has given Stefan an idea as the next thing you know he’s kidnapped Elena and is preparing to drive off a bridge. He calls up Klaus who doesn’t seem bothered about Stefan’s threat, knowing that Stefan still has some for Elena, he taunts him to go ahead and do it. And then Stefan feeds Elena his blood ensuring that when they hit the bottom she won’t be dead, but undead, keeping her somewhat alive but completely ruining Klaus’ bank of blood to turn his hybrids. And just like that Klaus blinks and agrees to send the hybrids away.

This is a victory on one hand, but don’t tell that to Elena who is justifiably freaked and pissed at being used as a pawn in Stefan’s game with Klaus. The bridge that they were about to drive over is the same bridge where Elena’s parents died, and the same spot where Elena almost died as well. That Stefan would put her through such emotional trauma knowing her history really hits Elena hard. Stefan tells her that he’s lost everything because of Klaus, even her, because the minute that he left town with Klaus he lost her. Stefan tells Elena that she hasn’t let herself believe it yet, but it’s true. And while this may seem downright depressing to some, I see this as a good sign. Stefan says that he lost her, which to some degree hints that he still wants her but doesn’t believe that he can have her, whether because he is unworthy or because he’s incapable of holding it. I don’t know which, and it may be just the delusional hopes of a girl in love with tortured heroes, but it gets me through the day.

Back with Caroline, Matt has taken Caro to her house when Klaus comes and offers his blood to save her life. He’s not doing this as a Good Samaritan and he tells the Sheriff that in return he would like her support going forward. The Sheriff agrees and invites Klaus in who goes to Caroline and oddly enough gives her a reason to live for. Caro wonders aloud if it would be better if she was dead; Klaus shares his own battles with discovering his place in immortality. He tells her that as a vampire she’s free, and not bound by petty human conventions. He offers her this version of the world that’s just waiting for her to explore. This gives Caroline hope and she feeds from Klaus. While there Klaus sees the bracelet that Tyler had given her on Caro’s wrist and the next morning Caroline wakes up to find a present from Klaus, another bracelet. Trying to replace Tyler’s, I suppose?

We end this week with Damon telling Elena that he’s proud of Stefan who won this round for them. Elena tells Damon that he can’t kiss her anymore, it’s not right to which he replies, “it’s right, it’s just not right now.” Swoon. Later, Matt and Elena meet up on the bridge to say goodbye to the Elena that she was when she should have died there. Alaric meets up with the doctor again at a council function and meets her ex who is found murdered the next day and Damon is called in to investigate.

Season 3, Episode 11: “Our Town” (original airdate January 12, 2012.)

The Vampire Diaries airs Thursdays at 8/7c on The CW.

Images courtesy of Bob Mahoney/The CW.