I watched a film titled Code Blue at MIFF (that’s Miami International Film Festival for you non-locals, *pretentious laugh*) this year. It was beautifully shot, but shortly put: it was an awful film. Just godawful. It was entirely too slow and too silent and in the final five minutes it managed to shock, alienate, and utterly offend everyone in the theater. It had no substance. And the director stood in front of us after the lights came on, cheerleading it on as a masterpiece of the human condition. Whatever. The point is that she said something that did actually manage to resonate with me and that was brought up again during tonight’s episode. Holding someone’s life in your own hands, as literally as that can be said, is for the most part the most intimate you can be with someone else. Klaus stated it so matter-of-factly tonight, the idea that he and Stefan cherish those moments because it gives them a sense of intimacy and togetherness. Of course, they’re psychopaths. But the idea still rings true, I think. And in that split second, they make the decision that will impact them eternally. Quite grandiose.
I think this may be the first episode of The Vampire Diaries that has finally begun to “get it,” the philosophy that we have for so long desired it to understand. Earlier this season, we got a lantern funeral for everyone we’ve lost on the show, and that definitely helped ease the desensitization of murder and death on the series big time. But tonight was more about finding the show’s moral compass yet again (if it ever had it in the first place). From then on, Stefan comes to realize that he, nor Caroline, nor anyone else for that matter, is truly any better than Klaus. They’ve all murdered people. No one is truly much of a victim in their lives. I won’t get into how “the difference” is that everyone but Klaus has family they can rely on… because that’s just not true, but regardless, I understand what conclusion the show wanted us to draw. I think that conclusion — the idea that Klaus is just lonely, poor him — is wasted potential, and the episode’s final scenes prove it. But I digress, I can only be elated that the show is moving forward in that arena.
This episode, however, was also about just taking someone down, which is a story that works well on The Vampire Diaries, even if it’s the same villain for about a year and a half now. In this case, the episode moves smoothly. Seasons past have been plagued some by having the entire cast sort of be a Scooby gang, but where this season gets it quite right is that everyone has their own agenda and the conflicts arise without having to introduce too many outside forces. Instead of it being “Everyone vs. Klaus,” it’s woven much more intricately. We have Stefan and Caroline who want to keep Klaus alive, while Tyler does not, and Caroline struggles with both sides, meanwhile Hayley double-crosses them, and Creepy Professor offers them The Cure that maybe Elena doesn’t even want because she wants her relationship with Damon to be real which Stefan and Caroline assure is bad for her and anyway her own brother is trying to kill her. It’s kind of ludicrous.
But also, extremely fun. And it’s finally a show where the tensions stem from our main characters against themselves. Going into this season, the lack of a big bad loomed over its head, but thus far I like the direction its headed. Of course, this episode just reinforces the fact that hybrids are good for nothing but dying, but whatever let’s not get into that.
Also in this episode, people don’t really consider Elena that great. Sorry, but that’s always good. It’s not because Elena is awful or anything, but it’s because she’s not all that great either and it was ludicrous that everyone would sacrifice anything just to save her. A few episodes ago, Caroline gave up Tyler’s friend for Jeremy to kill[*]. And Tyler was just not okay with it. The same happens this episode too, where Tyler doesn’t really understand why everyone is more concerned about getting The Cure for Elena instead of taking out Klaus. It’s true for Jeremy too, in a sense, who can overcome the urge to kill because of Bonnie and not Elena. It’s good enough that two main characters fawn over her, so I like the direction. And now that Tyler’s mom has paid the ultimate price[**], I imagine that Tyler’s opposing opinions will be heard even more.
[*] Which was a big deal in a way that’s laughable, but also because the show is desperately trying to make us feel shocked by death again… which is why we’ve been warming up to the hybrids in episodes past.
[**] Which, by the way, was a good enough death, don’t you think? In this episode, we really only lost 11 people we barely heard from, 1 character who had a three episode arc, and Tyler’s mom… most people my heart didn’t exactly break for. But Tyler’s mom helped aid the current status quo on the show where deaths only really happen at the fringes. I know you might bring up Alaric, but that was a very expected death after he turned, so it was just like waiting for the clock to stop ticking rather than this.
That scene, and the amazing slaughter before it, helped bring Klaus’s street cred a bit up to par with what the show continues to tout him to be. And again, that’s always welcome as well.
And finally, this episode put a mini-end to the Elena’s sire bond (drink!) to Damon. For the most part, I kind of hate the solution to this. Damon basically telling Elena to “Go on now, git!” is such a haphazard way to deal with it and it’s kind of infuriating that that’s the only solution, according to True Blood’s Tara’s mom (who, did I mention, I was so mad they didn’t make her do an accent, which she’s obviously amazing at?). It’s maddening because it doesn’t allow Elena to decide on her own whether or not what she feels for Damon is real or not, which it obviously is because that’s what a sire bond is. But regardless, because of its ickiness, it’s either all or nothing. It’s maddening because it surely is supposed to be an epic romantic roadblock. And finally, it doesn’t allow Elena to get her hands dirty with Jeremy so that they can find out where The Cure is. She’s just going to go back to Mystic Falls and become a vagabond as usual again? That’s no fun. Thus far, the sire bond was a fun twist when it first appeared, but has been a bit hit or miss in practice. I hope the resolution for it pays off big in the future.
Speaking of which, is not for another month or so. Darn holiday hiatus! What ever will we do without everyone’s favorite desensitized psychopathic murderers for so long?
Also, did I mention that hybrid killing spree was a thing of beauty?
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I hope Elijah comes back after the break, fingers crossed!
As far as this episode goes I thought it was ok, nothing special. If it weren't for Klaus it would have been downright boring.
I agree that a lot of it did become great because of basically the final ten minutes, but they truly made up for it.
According to JP Elijah will be back in or after ep 19.Sorry!
Irritated that they left out the scene that was in the trailer of Bonnie likely using her magic to be Jeremy's touchstone. I was also SUPER glad that there were ppl who weren't on the let's sacrifice everything for Elena. Makes them seem more realistic. The take down Klaus plan was quite silly though - it had NO way of working so I was SO unsurprised that it didn't work. I'm still on Team Tyler, Team Bonnie, Team Jeremy and Team Damon - .Caroline has been less stellar because she has been saddled with boring Stefan (my opinion not a popular one I know). Thanks for your review. You are by far one of my favorite reviewers and I *heart* your photoreviews too.
I agree about the lack of surprise here. They were only trying to take down Klaus so the hybrids could escape and we already knew that wouldn't happen because Shane needed them. I also figured they would all die at some point after the parallel with Damon's 12 sacrifices. But I am definitely on Team Tyler probably more than any other character this season. He's always been the odd man out... the one werewolf, Klaus's first successful hybrid and now the one who could care less about finding a cure for Elena. I like Elena but I've never understood why her life is so much more valuable than everyone else's. And I'm having similar issues with Caroline this season. I find her to be much more enjoyable when she's fighting to protect and save her friends than when she's acting like Stefan's lapdog and telling him both her boyfriend's and best friend's secrets. I find it all very ooc.
So from what I hear this is a standard TVD S2-S4 mess - a KIll Klaus plan is yet again reset while benny hill music continues to play, Bonnie is still a plot device of the week, Elena is still objectified by two male leads, everyone still continues not having any logical reactions to any of that shit, plot still fails to move forward in any way and show writers continue to prove their complete inability to write impactful and meaningful deaths.
Did I miss anything?
yes,common sense.you are obviously a huge masochist,since you continue to watch a show that you DON'T like.
You seem to be trolling again. I'm assuming its your desire to insult IIYF on a personal level rather than actually engage with any of her valid criticisms of the show. Anyway, it's not unreasonable for someone to criticize media b/c they actually care about media. I think I explained this to you previously but people who take the time to review and critique media probably enjoy it on some level. But that enjoyment can at times be mitigated by the observance of problematic imagery and messages within said media.
ohh stop with this annoying thing.i've told you before ''just because you don't agree with someone,it doesn't mean THAT THEY ARE TROLLING!!!'' jesus christ what are you?a 3rd grader?i don't insult anyone.i'm just stating a valid fact:if you don't like something,why spend time for it?if you enjoy spending time about problematic things and images that you,again,don't like,sorry don't expect from me to take you seriously.you remind of some people that read Bukowski (i hope that you know who Bukowski was) and after that they complain about how disgusting his stories are and how dark they are ect.or they read luisa alcott and they complain about her cheesiness.again,no logic at all.just whiny,little,attention-wanting human beings.you know ''ohhh i'm so deep,look all the deepness of my mind!!!!!let's watch a show or read a book that we don't like just so we can trash it later!!!!!we're so cultured!''
great episode!!! It made me feel a little bit like the first 2 seasons! Anf finally klaus being klaus! I hope this puts an end to his obssesion over making more hybrids... Now that's been proved that they are not loyals to him, maybe he will change his mind about finding the cure to make elena human again, right? I mean what would he want elena's human blood if he had 12 hyrids and killled them all? And I'm probably the only one but I dont like him with caroline... I like them both, but separately.... I dont know, but it feels kind of forced...
And I love how they acnknowledged that they are sometimes as bad as the people thay fight, that they arent as good as they pretended to be!!!!
i agree.they shouldn't pretend being saints or whatever.they have done bad things too.especially stefan with his ripper alter ego.
Just when I was getting bored of Klaus they knew exactly how to reinvigorate his character: give him a sword.
Nah, the only sort of good thing about this episode was how Klaus was killing those hybrids Matrix's style - there were swords and hand gestures and he came out of there so bloody....JoMo was amazing in that scene. Everything else sucked - we found out that the sword is actually useless since Shane knows the location of the goddamn cure and of coarse he knows how to get the thing with some spell....ugh, got so bored typing that out. Plus I am pissed I did not get to see Caroline vs Hayley action - I swear I sooooooo wanted Caroline to kick her ass....and can someone explain to me how THE HELL did APRIL find that place where there was the coffin with Becks. Yeah, I know she heard Caroline's converstaion but she has been in MF for like what a month? How does she knows the location of that underground place? UGH These plotholes are killing me! And don't even get me started on Elena and Damon and how annoyingly Elena was awkwardly making Damon not unsire her and when he DOES its like oh snap - everything in my body says I should move away from you. And LOL at PicKlauso's latest work of art - Postmodernist Snowflakes - I loved how Caroline and Stefan had the exact same interpretation of that art...
i think that episode was a little messy.i mean,the plan was klaus to kill all the hybrids?why?i didn't really got that part.or the whole bonnie/jeremy thing.and i don't think that caroline should have told stefan the truth like this.and Mrs.Lockwood died,i'm so sad..!but on the other hand it was good to have crazy-klaus back.i hope next episode will be without major plot holes.B- from me..!:(
They (Shane and Hayley) needed the 12 hybrids dead and Klaus is the only one who is strong enough to take them all out (well, that's what we're supposed to believe. They seem very easy to kill..lol). Klaus was tricked just as much as Tyler was. I want to know how much Klaus actually knows.
F- . Characters either have no objectivity or the wrong objectivity.
Hi Michael! I love your TVD reviews, because you really analyze the episodes and I sometimes only realize things because you pointed them out.
So I was wondering... do you think April might undagger Rebecca (unknowingly, of course), and that there is a connection between the fact that Stefan said Klaus had no family and Rebecca possibly being reawakened? Maybe that's not what they were trying to tell us, but it occurred to me and I wanted to know if I was the only one. (I also really really really want her back!!)
Also, why was it such a big deal for Stefan to find out Damon & Elena slept together? I mean, does it really make a difference how far they have gotten physically? I don't get it. Just one more thing that makes me think he is not actually a good person anymore.
1- Rebecca's back. I saw the promo (delightful)
2- How can you not get that he's upset by the fact that they had sex ? that kind of intimacy makes delena much more real to him.How do you get past the fact that your brother & the love of your life hooked up the next day you broke up?
I guess I just feel that Stefan should be more hurt by the fact that Elena chose Damon over him, emotionally. He was just so "calm" about her loving Damon more than him, but when he found out about the sex he flipped out.
(And I kind of think that it's not his business what they do in the bedroom ;) )
He broke up with Elena because Elena said she liked both of them, not that she liked Damon more. He already went through that in season 3 and didn't want to go through that again, hence the "I can't do this anymore,Elena"
Yeah but when it's your ex and your own brother,and they're lying to you, it is kinda your business. It makes sense that he's upset.
Hey Anna, thanks for reading! :)
I definitely think that April undaggers Rebekah, if not for sheer curiosity of what might happen then only because she's kind of naive and ignorant. The thing that struck me is that Stefan said that Klaus has no family that he can "rely" on, when in fact that's not all that true. Rebekah stayed with him for several hundreds of years… and he's the one that daggered all of his family (not including his parents who wanted him dead… eep). Rebekah is the one that, to me, couldn't rely on her family. She's much more "good" than Klaus could ever be, she stayed loyal to him, and in the end he continuously betrays her. That's why in my review I wasn't exactly buying that whole reason why the good guys are better than the bad guys. Besides, Stefan's dad tried to kill him. Caroline's mom tried to kill him. Elena's parents abandoned her, etc. I could go on. It was a haphazard response that didn't make any sense. Of course, they could be talking about theoretical family, in how all of them as friends have become a family, but then again as I said, people have tried with Klaus and all he does is dagger them. To me, Klaus is just doomed for that because if something doesn't go his way, he just murders people or compel them to do what he wants.
I would say that it bothers Stefan in two ways: (1) If Damon and Elena *went there,* it's proof that their relationship is actually real now (as if they sort of consummated their relationship). They know each other in the biblical sense now, which is quite intimate and not something he would inherently like, seeing as that's his brother. And (2) the fact that Elena is sired to Damon must mean that he thinks Damon is taking advantage of Elena, which again he nor anyone else likes. Although I will say that I read that scene as him being mad that they're in a relationship together, not so much just sleeping together.
Sorry for the long responses!
Thanks for taking the time to write such an elaborate response! =)
I think you're right about the family theory not making much sense. That's also why Klaus wants his hybrids so badly - because they can't betray him, they do whatever he wants. Sad that that seems to be the kind of family that makes him happy.
I just hope that they will finally let Rebekah have a relationship with somebody who doesn't betray or hurt her. Such a tragic character, if you think about it.
Okay, I admit defeat - Stefan being upset does make sense. I just dislike him so so much right now that I want to find reasons to hate him... (honestly, he wanders into the hospital, compels a murderer, turns him and then forces Jeremy to kill him - and the next episode he's going on about how wrong Damon is for Elena? They may both be bad for her, but Stefan is definitely the worse choice!)
I want stefan to go mad.Instead of always being behind Elena. It's like his whole identity is linked to elena, and while that used to be somewhat cute I don't think Elena deserves him anymore. And that's coming from someone who've always found her likable but season 4? Sired elena is so annoying to me. I just don't know where the writers are going with this? How do you go from loving someone for +3seasons to it being a distant memory? And what's going to happen with damon? Are they going to tell us that It was real after all, minus the sire bond & everything. I just feel like writers are digging up holes to bury us in confusion. How come vampire Elena is just as fragile, useless, and the center of the attention as the human one.MAKE her go mad,interesting,something for God's sake.
I also want tyler to fight back.I really like him in this season.He might've been a bit naive but Hayley helped him break the sire bond so I get why he would trust her.
I must say I was delighted to see monstrous klaus back. But it was sad at the same time, because just when Caroline & Stefan were acknowledging that they shouldn't be judging that much, he goes out on a killing spree. To me, it just means that no matter how much of a complex,lonely character he is, his bad side will have have the best of him.He's like those elementary school kids who want to be your friend, but instead would rather have you fear them. Because it just feels ..Safer!
I didn't buy the whole Jeremy/bonnie thing.He cheated on her and barely felt bad for it.
I know she wasn't a regular or anything but I felt horrible when tyler's mom got killed. Such a horrible death. I was like NO NO NO klaus. Because I just don't want to hate the man.
I'm also liking caroline. I just like that she's not the stereotypical girl who always falls for the bad guy you know. She hates damon and (try at least to) klaus too!She doesn't forgive/forget easily so that makes her persona realistic to me.