"Katerina"
November 11, 2010
Score: Vampires 33; Humans 26
 The CW Yes, I think you've seen me before. |
Elena arrives at the Boring House for a meeting made doubly awkward by her break with Stefan and the presence of her former kidnapper Rose. Rose fills them in on Klaus, the current danger. He's one of the first generation of vampires - possibly the oldest - and he's coming for Elena. Stefan and Boone both try to reassure her. At best they're dealing with a maybe mixed with a healthy dose of legend. No big. Rose is insistent. Klaus is real, and if they're not afraid they're idiots. Elena doesn't react, just calmly tells them she's late and walks out of the room. She doesn't go to school though. She trudges through the woods with Caroline, and strong arms her into covering for her. Caroline doesn't want to do it - she's terrible at lying and even worse at duplicity - but she's powerless in the face of "the girlfriend code". Elena and her ginormous satchel lead the way down into the tomb. Katherine is the only one who knows the truth about Klaus, and Elena can't just sit back and wait.
Boone is also keen to get to Klaus before he can get to Elena. It's impossible - "He finds you". Boone suggests they start with the contact that plugged Rose in with Elijah. Fortunately he's only a few hours away in Richmond. Say hi to NoShowMo while you're there. For giggles, you should drive by the Arthur Ashe statue on Monument Ave. It totally looks like he's fighting for his life against some uprising of the children of the damned. Anyhoo, they road trip it and meet vampire Slater at a bright sunny cafe. The glass is double paned and tempered, blocking out those pesky UV rays. "You see the appeal now?" Rose and Slater hug, and no introductions are needed with Boone. Slater knows immediately who he is. He's also immediately wary - if Rose is back and with him in tow, something must be up. Also, where's
Speaking of doppelgangers ... the actor playing Slater, Trevor Peterson, is a dead ringer for Misha Collins.
Misha Collins' equally hot younger brother is sorry to hear about vampire Trevor. He was a good man. "Helped me with my dissertation on sexual deviance in the Baroque period." He's been in college since 1974. He has 18 degrees, 3 masters, and 4 PhDs. That sounds about right. The high school thing I don't get, but if I had that much time on my hands, spending it in a library or college classroom would have a certain appeal. Boone looks like he wants to stake Slater on general principle for being so very, very boring. Rose gets him back on track, but he can't offer them much help. He used Craig's List to get to Elijah, but since he's dead, that's where his connection ends. He can tell them more about the curse. Whichever one breaks it - vampire or werewolf - the other is doomed to it forever. Boone wonders if there's a way to turn the moonstone off, and keep from breaking the curse altogether. If Slater wants to walk in the sun so badly, Boone can show him how.
In other news, TPTB are still trying to make Jeremy and Bonnie happen. Come on, even she knows this is weird and awkward. Fortunately, hottie new student Luka arrives to catch her eye and perhaps put an end to this silliness. They run into each other again after school at the Pit. He introduces her to his equally attractive father, Dr. Jonas Martin. Do you have a sister named Donna? They chit chat about living on the second floor, their move from Louisiana and Bonnie's family connections to Salem. She manages to hide her discomfort long enough for Jeremy to arrive and give her a reason to excuse herself. When Luka joins them at the pool table, she is noticeably cooler towards him. He apologizes later for his Dad. He didn't mean any harm, he just needed to be sure of her. Witches can't be too careful ... although they prefer the term warlock. The two bond over their shared otherness, and poor Jeremy is left out in the cold again. Okay, I don't want them together, but throw the poor kid a bone already.
Caroline moves the stone away from the tomb entrance, and Katherine slowly reveals herself. She's dirty and weakened but still proud as she greets her human double. Elena sends Caroline away and opens negotiations. They each have something the other wants. How long before Katherine's body shuts down? "It must be painful to desiccate and mummify. I can't even imagine." Elena pours a tiny sip of blood into a wee plastic cup and uses a stick to push it into Katherine's reach. She's impressed. Elena has the Petrova fire after all. It's enough to get the vampire in a chatty mood. Picture it! Bulgaria, 1490. Human Katerina didn't have much use for rules or norms even then. She was indiscrete. She delivered a baby out of wedlock. Her daughter was whisked away from her moments after birth. She barely got a chance to see her, and wasn't allowed to hold her. Katerina's heartbroken and tearful pleas were no match for her father's shame. She was disowned and banished to England, which is where she caught a nobleman's eye. When she realized what Klaus was and what he wanted from her, she ran.
He wanted the same thing from her that he will want from Elena - her blood. The Sun and the Moon curse was bound with Petrova blood and can be undone by it as well. That's why the doppelganger was created. Katherine was aided in her escape by Trevor. He loved her, and didn't care about the consequences. If he had to run from Klaus, then he would run until he died. Although he ultimately paid the price, it was Rose who unwillingly and unwittingly turned Katherine. She was resolved to hand her back over to Klaus. Katherine tried to kill herself with a dagger to the stomach. I detect a pattern here. Rose fed Katherine her blood, but she made a second attempt, and hung herself by the neck until she was dead, dead, dead. It was all a part of the plan. Better to die as a vampire than as a sacrifice. Katherine feels no regret or remorse for the choices she's made. She was looking out for herself. If she didn't, no one else would. If Elena is smart, she'll do the same.
Outside the coffee shop a man walks up to a strumming busker. He drops a hundred dollar bill into his guitar case, and scoops up a handful of change. Elijah lets the money fall from hand to hand while he watches Rose, Slater, and Boone through the window. Then he flicks the coins at the window, and the glass explodes inward as though a bomb has just gone off. Cue the screaming and panic and vampires sizzling in the sun.
Caroline is busy keeping Stefan occupied. She uses the fact that she might have told Tyler she's a vampire as a pretext. Is he mad? Hee. Yes Caroline, he is vexed. And if Boone finds out ... They have a nice little moment when Caroline teases him about always looking out for her. "Why are you such a good friend to me?" He says she reminds him of his best friend Lexie (RIP), and Caroline is shocked to discover that Stefan even has friends. They talk more about Tyler, and eventually Stefan realizes she's providing a "distraction on demand. Where's Elena?" He plays the friendship card too, but sorry dude. Ho's over bros.
Elena isn't sure how much, if any, she should believe Katherine's story. If only half of it is true, then the real reason she came back to Mystic Falls was to hand Elena over to Klaus herself and strike a deal. It dawns on Elena that she and the moonstone aren't the only two ingredients that are needed to break the curse. You also need a werewolf and a vampire - Tyler and Caroline - and a witch to do the spell. Leona Lewis bailed, but Bonnie will do. "Better you [all] die than I."
Katherine is done talking now. She leaves Elena alone with her thoughts which is when Stefan finds her. Caroline kept her secret but it wasn't that hard to figure out. Blah blah Katherine's a liar what if she isn't blah. Elena had to do something. She knows Stefan will protect her, but he'll also die trying. How is that better? Katherine chimes in from the shadows. It's not just Stefan who will die. She should know. Klaus killed her entire family to punish her for running. "Whatever you do to escape Klaus, he will get his vengeance. On your friends. Your family. On anyone that you've ever loved." As for Stefan thinking this is all some complex game designed to win Katherine her freedom, he couldn't be more wrong. "When Klaus shows up to kill us all - and he will - I'll be in the tomb, where no vampire will enter because they can't get out. I'll be the safest psychotic [w]itch in town." She walks away, and the ' bored now' is unspoken but implied.
Stefan sees Elena home, and she's desperate to get in the house and away from him. She can't talk about it. He begs her not to shut him out, but he can't fix this. It's not just Elena that's in danger. She's in tears and near breakdown as she lays it out of him. "I can't blame anyone else anymore. It's not because you came into town, or because you and I fell in love ... that's not why everyone that I love is in danger. It's because of me! Everything is because of me." All Stefan can do is hold her as she sobs uncontrollably on his shoulder.
In the tomb, Katherine flips through her family history and finds a sketch tucked in the pages. The faces of her parents gaze back at her. And Katie Holmes. "It's a lie you know. There's no switch you can turn off. After a couple hundred years you just have to pretend."
Kudos to Nina Dobrev for the fabulous job she's been doing this season in the dual roles. I've been most impressed with the party scenes when she has to flip back and forth between the two, and the ease with which she seems able to do it. Well done. Also, she needs to be given more opportunities to speak Bulgarian.
Boone sits broodingly by the fire, swigging directly from the decanter of sweet, sweet healing booze. Rose is sorry the day went so badly. She knows how much he wants to save Elena. He reminds her of Trevor in that way - talks a big game, but underneath is the best friend you'll ever have. Sadly, all it got her friend was dead; loyalty almost got her dead. They drink to friendship. At the same time, Rose muses that the only way to survive is to not care about anyone. It might be time for Boone to turn off his feelings for Elena. It will keep him alive. He'll flip the switch if she will. And then it's sexy time by the fire. In the afterglow, Rose gets a call from Slater. He doesn't want any part of this mess, but he did some digging. The curse can be destroyed, but they'll need the moonstone to do it. A witch should be able to figure out the rest.
Elijah compliments Slater on the call. Nicely done. His degree in theatre served him well. Now, take this stake and drive it through your heart. Slater is powerless to resist the glahmuh. Elijah is special that way. Slater starts decomposing before he even hits the floor. NOOO!!! COME ON! Was it really necessary to kill off Misha Collins' equally hot younger brother?? That's just mean. Wrong and mean. Dr. Martin agrees with me, but Elijah tells him it had to be done. "He delivered his message. Won't be long now." What what what??
The Vampire Diaries airs Thursday at 7:00 p.m. on The CW.
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