The Vampire Diaries ‘I Know What You Did Last Summer’ review: More of the same

If you were wondering what The Vampire Diaries “did last summer,” here’s your answer: more of the same. That’s great and all if you love what The Vampire Diaries has been doing for about a season and a half. But if you don’t… well, that’s a different story. And nothing will make you chuckle more than Elena saving Klaus’ contact in her phone directory to — just a guess — ask how the psychopath who has tormented her for so long is doing? Thankfully, Klaus is off in New Orleans and on his own show. He’s not here to mess with our characters, but the lasting effect Klaus has had on The Vampire Diaries as a whole is definitely still palpable.

Among things that are annoyingly repetitive: (1) No one cares about death still, really. Though the series tried to make audiences more aware of death and its impact on the world (like with the Jeremy Is Dead episode), they also had ones that were strangely contradictory (like when Damon was OK with killing a bar full of people). The result? Nothing has been learned. If anything, they’ve regressed. Caroline and Elena are shown being almost apathetic towards their new roommate’s death. Someone said it shows how much they’ve “grown.” If that’s growth, then yuck. (2) Tyler still checks in through voicemail. My goodness how are we still doing this? I feel like we’ve heard more of Tyler’s modulated voice via the phone than we’ve actually seen the character since season two. (3) Bonnie is useless. And I don’t mean that in how she’s used as a character, but on how the show uses her. You didn’t think that it could get lower than Bonnie just being a plot device, but then she was killed off and can only be seen by Jeremy. She even pathetically says, “We’re all here” when Elena and Caroline have a moment about the college experience. And if you didn’t think it could get even more low: Silas kills her father, who doesn’t even have a suspicion that something’s wrong with his daughter. Just kill off Bonnie permanently and save us all — audiences, both lovers and haters, Bonnie the character, and the actress who plays her. (4) That darn love triangle. It still ain’t over, folks! The only thing keeping Stefan from turning off his humanity switch (which somehow will allow him to break out of the safe or something?) is that he still loves Elena. Awww but also blegh. Turn it off, Stefan! We’ve already discussed how you not being in love with Elena makes you a much more interesting character.

Plus there are some things that are downright laughable, like Damon being paternal towards Jeremy. Or even the fact that anyone would pick on Jeremy. Like, if I saw Jeremy walking down the hall, I’d probably just leave him alone. Dude looks jacked up and like he could beat the pulp out of anyone.

Among the things that are fun: Matt had a threesome.

Now that’s pretty awesome. Also, there’s this whole whodunnit mystery happening, but I think it’s pretty safe to say that the person who murdered Megan (the new roommate) is the guy who was giving Ef Me eyes to Caroline. If they hookup, it’s officially him.

Katherine is in town, too. And if you thought she would be too similar to Elena of before, then you’re wrong. She’s still Katherine in many ways, and it’s a joy to watch her squirm about blisters but also try to outwit people given her mortality. The best part is how she’s still playing the Salvatore brothers.

But overall, I don’t think The Vampire Diaries learned much of an agency lesson from season four. So many plot lines during season four were anticlimactic because none of the characters were acting in their right minds. It happens here when Matt’s foreign fling seems to tap into his potential crazy side thanks in part to his ring. Then, Silas compels all of Mystic Falls to find Katherine, which would be fun if anyone we cared about was living in Mystic Falls and got compelled.

I don’t know. What do you guys think? Sticking with TVD? Dumping it? In love with Delena? How long will Elena and Caroline stay in College Town?