A very big hello to all of you, and welcome to our first edition of Musings for Season Two! Just FYI, this episode (and for this episode ONLY!) we'll be, well, making it epic. With loads of screenies. Mainly because of Radz. *glares at Radz* But I promised her I wouldn't be mad at her anymore once Musings was up, so I can't be mad at her anymore. *sits in a corner with cookies instead* So let the images load, and enjoy!
A reminder, Bhav is orange and Radz is purple.
~*~ Mystic Musings: Game On ~*~
The first time around:
Alright, loves, so you guys probably know that we watch the episode at least twice: once we get the episode, and when we're working on Musings. So for the season two premiere, we decided that we'll give you our 'first viewing' thoughts, before we rewatch the episode for Musings. So here we go!
I wish I had written down my thoughts the first time around, so I'm basing this on memory plus on a PM I sent out. *ahem* Heh. Here goes. Being a Jeremy fangirl, I spent the opening waiting to see what would happen to Jeremy. You cannot imagine how relieved I was when Stefan (aggresively ☺️) looked into Jer's eyes (Oooh that sounds hot. ☺️) and declared that he didn't take enough to kill him. Poor Jer, though, he's so messed up ): What else do I remember...Ahh, yes. I HATED Mason for interrupting my Jer-Tyler scene, because, you know, I'm psycho that way. Nonetheless, something's not right about Mason. The guys are a LOT hotter this season. Tyler and Jer look way more gorgeous than they did (I think Ty has something to do with Michael Trevino's gorgeous Twitter profile pic; I mean, those EYES. *dies*), Stefan seems a lot more aggressive, which I think seems really OOC but Radz says it's been building up since he got off human blood, but IDK, I loved the scenes where he flirts with Katherine 'cause that seems like something Damon would do. DAMON. OHMYGOD DAMON. I swear, it's like Katherine is TRYING to break him or something, the poor baby. I know a lot of you can't forgive him for killing Jeremy, regardless of whether or not he saw the ring, and, well, neither can I, but I can understand why he did it, and that's just heartbreaking. And'I think that's about all for my 'first time around''Let's go see Radz's one now.
Two words: HOLY and ****.
Seriously. HOLY****.
Epic much? My main thought throughout the episode was simply - 'whoa.'
Each scene was fantastic and to go in-depth and dissect it will require a second viewing. But the acting was brilliant and the guys, if possible, got hotter.
Yay!points:
There wasn't one DB scene, there were TWO! And they had conversations threatening one another, which is always awesome (and if I'm not wrong Damon checked Bonnie out!)
Jeremy and Elena wee getting along - I loved how protective Elena is and how much she cares for her little brother.
Jeremy and Tyler were civil to one another. (How much do you want to bet that B squealed when she saw that scene?)
Matt and Caroline and Bonnie and Stefan: friendships and relationships
OMG!points:
Does anyone else think that Uncle Mason is Alpha of the Lockwood pack now? The way Ty just backed down'
Stefan forcefed Uncle John his blood! And he was so tough and forceful throughout the episode. I feel like it's been building since the ingestion of human blood but B found it off, apparently. We both agree it was hot though.
Damon got fooled by Katherine but Stefan didn't - SE true love alert anyone?
Erm, why in the hell would Elena tell Damon that "It's always going to be Stefan" so bluntly when she knows how he gets when he's hurt? Seriously, drunk and hurt Damon equals bad news.
DAMON SNAPPED JEREMY'S NECK?!?!?!?!
Jeremy was wearing the ring - did Damon notice??
ohmygod Caroline ohmygod I'm going to cry. No psycho!Caroline please.
[I literally spent five minutes staring at the screen and willing myself not to freak out and cry.]
- initial reaction rant over -
Now for the in-depth analysis of the episode.
*dramatic music*
The first five minutes:
Okay, so even watching it a second time around, the 'season one in one minute' gave me goosebumps. I love TVD so much. (: JP and KW must have had a helluva time torturing Jeremy fangirls by saying something like "you'll find out within the first five minutes what happens to Jeremy" and then interspersing the beginning with the Katherine-John-Elena scene and Jeremy-lying-on-his-bed-passed-out scene. Evil people. But dang, he's so pretty when he's passed out from a drug OD. (*ignores the weird looks everyone is giving her*)
The Katherine-Elena dynamics in the opening is really interesting; it's like a cat-and-mouse kinda thing, which I think can pretty much sum up whatever game Katherine's gonna be playing with Elena. And possibly Stefan and Damon. And we still don't know why Katherine's there. Jealous that Stefan has found someone else? Curiosity as to why Elena is her doppelganger? Both? With that crazy HBIC, who knows?
And duuuuuude, Elena. Running up to Jeremy's room with a bloody knife. Is she TRYING to give the boy a heart attack when he wakes up? (Hot DAMN his arms.)
I liked the opening. Creepy enough with Katherine.
I am in shock with how they successfully managed to surmise season one into slightly more than a minute. Brilliant much? All the important scenes, and cliffhangers - and then we get the ending again. Only this time, the John-Katherine(who he thinks is Elena) scene interspersed with Jeremy on his bed, unconscious and with ticking noise in the background to get us all worried. What will happen with Jeremy? Considering we know what'll happen below - it's Jer that all of us (some more than others *cough*Bhav*cough*) are worried about. And I love how this time around instead of splitting the Katherine and Elena scenes, they've put them together - and we got the "Hello John, goodbye John" scene again! Nina's acting is brilliant - and I love how David plays off of her as Katherine.
And then Elena steps in. ohmygod, having Kat and Elena in the same frame - so cool! Even if they never come face to face, that entire cat-and-mouse game as Bhav put it is filmed and executed so well. That's what it all is to Katherine I think, a game. Everything is a game, and she has to win.
Elena running upstairs with a bloody knife though - not so smart, despite her wanting to protect her brother. I mean, if he saw the knife, he'd probably freak out. I know I would.
Dissection:
Aggressive!Stefan
Really, is it me, or does Stefan suddenly seem way OOC in this episode? I mean, except for when he's hyped up on human blood, we don't usually see him acting this way. Especially in the scene with John Gilbert. Stefan in that scene was downright terrifying. I find it really, really bizare. The again, maybe with Katherine back, he knows he needs to step up the game. What do you guys think: is he OOC, or has this been building up since he got off human blood in S1?
I don't get why people are shocked with how he's acting. I saw it coming - but maybe that's 'cos I pay a LOT of attention to the broody!brother. He's hot. (D, I'm merely complimenting him, I won't fight you for him. Yet.) I think it was simply a matter of time before this aggressive, protective side of him came out. We know what he's capable of - and with everything that has happened and is happening, that protectiveness increases tenfold. Jeremy tried to off himself, to become a vampire - Stefan knows what that would do to Elena, so he gets all in Jer's face to explain things to him. I could see a friendship forming there (or rather, I want Jer-Stefan friendship. Both need friends.) Then John makes Elena upset - Stefan will never stand for that. So he demands answers, by force-feeding him blood.
Secret Circle
I am'tremendously amused that Damon is still the go-to person in the Founder's Circle. Nothing much else to say about this, just that I'm really amused by it.
I think Damon sincerely likes Liz Forbes to some extent. Yes, he may think all humans are idiots and he may be fooling the Council by pretending to be on their side (is he or isn't he? depends on his mood) but he respects Liz to some extent - turning up to check on Caroline? He didn't have to do that, but he did. He's more human than he cares to admit.
He's intrigued about the Lockwoods, that is evident. Why was the Mayor affected? And when he finds out that Tyler was too? Damon has a new mission - find out the Lockwood's secret.
Though, as Bhav says, it's extremely hilarious that Damon is the one playing voice of reason between Carol and Liz. Extremely hilarious.
Bonnie's guilt
It's there - especially in the scene where Matt's explaining the accident to her. And it's so prevalent that she agrees to Damon feeding blood to Caroline. A large part of it is not wanting to lose more of her family - and Caroline is family, they're as close as sisters - but some part of it is also guilt, that this accident is her fault because she didn't take the spell of the device. It did give us our first DamonBonnie scene for the episode so I'm good.
The scene where Bonnie meets Caroline after she wakes up is way sweet. I love how much Bonnie loves Caroline - and how much Caroline loves Bonnie (and Matt). And the MattCaroline relationship evolving into something deeper. Yayness!
Blood Ties
It's eerie how quickly Bonnie ' Bonnie, of all people ' consented to Damon giving Caroline his blood to help heal her. Elena's right. It's totally risky. Note the ominous music during this part. But because it's Caroline, their best friend, Bonnie agrees. Velociraptor sisterhood FTW, maybe, but it's still eerie. The ominous music clearly suggests that it's gonna backfire somehow. Ooh, I thought it'd be interesting to share a theory that may be on the Damon-Bonnie AT that Radz told me the other day. Since it's Damon's blood and Bonnie's consent, Vampire!Caroline could very much be Damon and Bonnie's love child. It's a tres amusing theory, one that I don't quite buy into since technically Katherine's the one that killed her, but it's a cool theory anyway :D
Katfight
Pardon the pun, I really couldn't help myself! Katherine is clearly the HBIC, so we won't go into that. I love the Stefan-Katherine scenes. How he blatantly flirts with her, playing along with her game and all. But at the same time, it's awesome how he knows that in the house, it was Katherine and not Elena. Stefan and Elena clearly have something more going on than just mindless in-the-bedroom-with-Jenna-and-Jeremy-downstairs shenanigans. It's also interesting how fatalistic Damon seems to be with regards to Katherine. "She loves to play games, and you're fooling yourselves if you think you're gonna find out what she's up to before she wants you to know." "If Katherine wanted you dead, you would be." This second sentence I totally don't doubt. From the little we know of Katherine, that much is evident, that she gets whatever she wants and she doesn't care whose neck she snaps in the process.
KittyKat
I couldn't resist! She is like a cat, toying with her prey. First the mindgames she played with Damon in the finale - kissing him, and then when he confronts her, Elena has no clue what he's going on about. Jenna confronting Elena tips him off, and the look on his face! My God Ian is brilliant with the facial expressions.
And then of course, trying to do the same to Stefan. [note: first time round when I watched the episode and saw Elena put her keys and phone on the banister before walking into the house completely, I knew Katherine would steal them - and I was right! She used Elena's keys to get into the house. Smart vampire. Must come with age.] I love the fact that Stefan didn't get fooled. It shows how much he loves Elena. Damon got fooled, Stefan didn't. Maybe something to do with the fact that Stefan was compelled into how he felt about Kat but his love for Elena is genuine and Damon's feelings for Kat are genuine and his feelings for Elena are a projection (as of now)? It's a working theory - one I particularly like considering the fact that I'm a hardcore epic!SE shipper.
The rest of the SK and DK scenes in the episode are awesome as well.
She's played everyone on the show hasn't she? Matt, Tyler, Jenna, John, Damon, an attempt with Stefan, and Bonnie. *shakes head* She's good.
The BonnieKatherine scene was awesome though - and there was a StefanBonnie moment!
And then Stefan and Katherine confrontation. Flirting much? Stefan does know how to play the game - though Kat stabbing him - ouch.
"Katherine wants you dead, there's zero you can do about it, you will be dead. But you're not. So clearly she has other plans."
True fact. And what these plans are - I think wanting Stefan back is only the tip of the iceberg. Like Bhav said, she's jealous that Stefan's moved on - she wants him back. Stefan won't be swayed, unless she plans to hurt Elena? Which I bet, sooner or later she will. This is the manipulative [w]itch that ruined the brothers' relationship. She gets what she wants, there are no two ways about it.
*Bhav pauses a moment to giggle over Tyler* :D
"No good deed goes unpunished with you, does it?"
I HAVE to take a second here to acknowledge this reference from the musical Wicked. *sings* "No good deed goes unpunished!" Can't remember what song that was from, though. Anyone knows? I'll give you a cookie! Wait, is the song title 'No Good Deed'? Whatever. I think Damon has wicked awesome pop culture references. (Pun intended.) Twilight, Anne Rice, Wicked' Ahhh, Damon.
Background Score
I love how the piano renditions of How to Save A Life and Breakeven are used in the Lockwood funeral scene. Again, those two lovely melodies portray such a juxtaposition with what's actually going on. Like the Damon-Bonnie banter scene, where they're clearly all frosty towards each other and where Bonnie hurts Damon magically, but the music makes you think they're in love or something. (I can hear the Bamonators rejoicing') And then you've got the Bonnie-Katherine scene (Shoutout to Jot and Dhruvi, whose banters in the CitS threads were NOTHING like this scene!), which I just realised is where Bonnie tells Katherine that Caroline has vampire blood (I was gonna write 'demon blood'; too much Supernatural on the brain, which comes about from seeing all the Jensen siggies floating around.) in her system. Uh-oh! And then it accompanies the Stefan-Katherine scene. Oh, if I could, I'd mute the dialogue and just listen to the music. It's so lovely. And the Damon-Elena conversation. Breakeven suits that convo perfectly.
The Jeremy-Tyler scene.
*dies* There is nothing much else I can say. It was everything I wanted the Jeremy-and-Tyler-talking-about-dead-dads scene to be. (Except, of course, they didn't end up on top of each other with'*realises what she's saying and shuts up* Certain things are best left in my head.) And except Mason comes in and interrupts what COULD be the start of a beautiful (oh, SO beautiful) friendship. *grumbles about Mason*
Uncle Mason
Not sure what I think about him yet - though he's yummy. [and Mason is not on the Council. Hmm. I wonder why.]
Though he interrupted the JeremyTyler scene. Loved how they both looked throughout the scene. And how frank Jer and Ty are with each other! Friendship please? [The panicked look on Jer's face when Mason walks in! Hilarious. I love Steven, he's an amazing actor.]
Damon definitely checked Bonnie out when she left after placing that mindwhammy on him. *squee*
I love the instrumental versions of Breakeven and How To Save A Life playing in the background during the funeral scenes! Two of my favorite songs ever.
Daddy Dearest
I simply had to say something about one of the final scenes, where Tyler is looking at the photo of the Lockwood family and he flies into a rage and throws everything off the table and stuff. This is exactly how I pictured the relationship between Tyler and his dad. His dad was a total'jerk'to put it (very) mildly, and Tyler hated him. As cliched as this one scene may be, it's still apt for him to get all the feelings out, maybe bring him some catharsis. Poor Tyler. *hugs Tyler* I would also, in lieu of Mason jumping on top of Tyler to try and calm him down (oh my god, settle down, you slashy fangirl!), like to share this link for those who are into werewolf slash ;)
Break the Cutie
Takin' the name from a tvtropes.org page, I thought this suits Damon perfectly for this episode. Damon goes through so much in this episode, it's unfair, even for someone as despicable as him. (Not that I think he's despicable. I love Damon.) First he finds out that he didn't kiss Elena; then he finds out that Elena wouldn't even want to kiss him because she doesn't feel that way about him. And then Katherine tells him that she came back for Stefan, that "I've never loved you. It was always Stefan", which Elena repeats. Poor baby. It's no wonder he snaps Jeremy's neck. Which I do not condone. Damon may be a horrible, psychotic character, but if you remember from season 1, he was changing. He was getting better. He was caring. And it was all because of Elena. He's just like any of us. He wants to be loved. He hurts, but he doesn't admit it. And everyone just'keeps on whacking him with a baseball bat. Metaphorically, of course, since a baseball bat probably wouldn't hurt him much. But really, no one deserves this. Not even Damon. *gives Damon a hug* Let me just add here, since I wrote this para out before the Kat-Damon makeout scene, that when Damon and Katherine started'getting it on'I was devastated, because it meant that Damon was going back her, to his obsession with Katherine. Or something like that. And ohmygosh, Damon's look when Katherine tells him that she never loved him. It's so heartbreaking.
(I apologise for the crappy quality of the screenies, I've got no Photoshop to edit them with.)
See how heartbreaking his look is?
And here it is again.
And see how desperately he's looking at Elena?
Emotions
Poor Damon gets his heart crushed over and over again. Everyone goes for Stefan. Their father cared more for Stefan, Katherine came back for Stefan, and Elena chose Stefan. (Of course, once upon a time he'd have given his life for Stefan too - I want that relationship back!) But instead of being normal and not destructive about it, Damon lashes out at the world to show them he doesn't care. *snorts* Yeah right, he doesn't care.
The idiot snapped Jeremy's neck. I was ready to - eurgh. Though I wondered if he saw the ring. (Stefan wondered the same thing - I find it so sweet that despite everything, Stefan still just wants his big brother back. Despite the fact that Damon would've kissed Elena at any chance he had, despite 145 years of hell - Stefan wants his brother back.)
Fave scene:
The scene where Stefan and Damon discuss Katherine, and Stefan explains to him how Katherine is gonna try to pit them against each other and how they have to stay united. You know that saying, 'the enemy of my enemy is my friend'? Okay, I'll admit I remember that from Kim Possible, but the point is, I think it really does apply here, and I'm hoping that this marks the start of Team Damon-and-Stefan-teaming-up-against-Katherine. Or, Team DASTUAK. *looks at it* Or just Team Damon-and-Stefan-versus-Katherine. I dunno. Anyway, I chose that scene as my favourite over the more obvious Jer-Ty scene because Stefan totally has a point. Whatever Katherine is there to do, she's probably gonna try and pit them against each other. And plus she is WAY stronger than them. The only way to run her out of town is by teaming up. Here's hoping this marks the start of a truce between Damon and Stefan, if only until Katherine's out of the picture.
The conversation between John and Jeremy - it's a little underrated I think. When they started a conversation about the ring, I knew something would happen about it later on. I didn't expect what did happen, but somehow I knew that the ring would wind up with Jeremy. Family heirloom and all that. But it was different from the usual John/anyone interaction.
Fave quote:
"You wanna know why I'm here, Stefan? I came back for you." ' Katherine
Okay, so I shall take advantage of this quote to build my theory as to why Katherine's back, and it's basically this: she is indeed jealous that Stefan found someone else, and she wants him back. If you think about it, this makes sense. She was always in love with Stefan. Not Damon. That's why she compelled him. She wanted him. Damon was just a toy for her, a lapdog to play with whenever Stefan wasn't around. Heaven forbid she's as obsessed with Stefan as Damon is with her. So that's why she's back. To reclaim what's hers. Stefan, maybe even Damon and the town of Mystic Falls. And the whole doppleganger thing is probably what intrigued her to come back or something. Ta-dah, theory!
"You hate me huh? That sounds like the beginning of a love story Stefan, not the end of one."
I love how she says this after she stabs the poor guy. Katherine may be evil and manipulative and everything else, but she's got some great lines. Fantastic lines in fact.
Fave character:
Damon. For reasons, see Break the Cutie above.
It was a close call between Stefan and Tyler, but Tyler won because it's nice to see the focus on him for a change. I love how they're focusing on everything that's happening with him His family, his rage, his actions. Michael Trevino is not just hot, he's a great actor as well.
Fave storyline:
Damon, ditto. Refer to Break the Cutie.
Stefan trying to get Damon to get along with him. I love the brothers.
"She'll try to break you. She'll try to break us. And how we respond to that will define us. It's our choice."
This really sums up their relationship. This storyline, of the brothers and their relationship has been one of my favorites since season one, and I hope they explore it more throughout the season. [Maybe even throwing in some of the book scenes? That would be epic.]
Fave actor:
I don't think I've given this to this person yet, but this episode's Fave Actor goes to Nina Dobrev for her multiple personality disorder. Nah, I'm just kidding. It goes to her (and probably will, whenever Katherine's around) for her seamless portrayal of both Elena AND Katherine. Lord knows she must have gotten mood whiplash playing both characters.
Nina Dobrev, without a doubt. Playing both Katherine and Elena, who are so vastly different like that is such a mark of a brilliant actress. And she's got amazing chemistry with both Paul and Ian. You can tell when she's Kat and when she's Elena sometimes just by looking at her face. It's just such an amazing thing she's doing by playing these different characters.
Thoughts on the cliffhanger:
Unfortunately for me, Twitter spoiled the cliffhanger. Then again, maybe not. 'Cause admit it, we all know Caroline's gonna be a vampire. Right? Admittedly, though, what cliffhanger there is comes about from what kind of vampire she's gonna be. Who's going to be her mentor? Damon? Stefan? Katherine? How will Elena and Bonnie and Matt react when they find out? How will the Sheriff react? Most importantly, how will Bonnie react? Surely she's gonna blame herself for this, because she was the one who insisted that Damon give Caroline his blood. Oh, this whole thing is just way too messed up. Stupid Katherine.
ohmygod Caroline! It's heartbreaking, she always gets the short straw for everything. She was abused by Damon, shortchanged by her friends, put second in Matt's life, got into this insane accident and almost died - and now this. *wants to cry*
Overall thoughts & ratings:
Okay, so, on my first watch, I remember getting goosebumps a lot, and I remember being so starry-eyed, "OMFGthatwassupermegafoxyawesome" (did anyone else get that reference? Or must we tell you to go watch AVPM again? Speaking of which, Darren Criss cut off his pretty curls! *sobs*), so I'll give the episode 4.5 stars. I didn't quite find anything very wrong with it, except, you know, Damon killed Jeremy. In fact, I thought it was a pretty awesome season premiere, which now has me totally pumped for the season premieres of the three CSI shows, because the previous seasons ended on such awesome cliffhangers. Anyway, 4.5 stars for The Return! :D Oh, wait: Where was Alaric???
Radz couldn't bear to do ratings 'cause she loved the whole episode.
And that was it! We'd love to hear your thoughts and responses to our crazy thoughts too! :D
Love,
Bhav and Radz (:
A very big hello to all of you, and welcome to our first edition of Musings for Season Two! Just FYI, this episode (and for this episode ONLY!) we'll be, well, making it epic. With loads of screenies. Mainly because of Radz. *glares at Radz* But I promised her I wouldn't be mad at her anymore once Musings was up, so I can't be mad at her anymore. *sits in a corner with cookies instead* So let the images load, and enjoy!
awwwwww why cant we have the piks for all of them....makes it so much better seeing damon.....(and everyone else)
A reminder, Bhav is orange and Radz is purple.
~*~ Mystic Musings: Game On ~*~
The first time around:
Alright, loves, so you guys probably know that we watch the episode at least twice: once we get the episode, and when we're working on Musings. So for the season two premiere, we decided that we'll give you our 'first viewing' thoughts, before we rewatch the episode for Musings. So here we go!
I wish I had written down my thoughts the first time around, so I'm basing this on memory plus on a PM I sent out. *ahem* Heh. Here goes. Being a Jeremy fangirl, I spent the opening waiting to see what would happen to Jeremy. You cannot imagine how relieved I was when Stefan (aggresively ☺️) looked into Jer's eyes (Oooh that sounds hot. ☺️) and declared that he didn't take enough to kill him. Poor Jer, though, he's so messed up ): What else do I remember...Ahh, yes. I HATED Mason for interrupting my Jer-Tyler scene, because, you know, I'm psycho that way. Nonetheless, something's not right about Mason. The guys are a LOT hotter this season. Tyler and Jer look way more gorgeous than they did (I think Ty has something to do with Michael Trevino's gorgeous Twitter profile pic; I mean, those EYES. *dies*), Stefan seems a lot more aggressive, which I think seems really OOC but Radz says it's been building up since he got off human blood, but IDK, I loved the scenes where he flirts with Katherine 'cause that seems like something Damon would do. DAMON. OHMYGOD DAMON. I swear, it's like Katherine is TRYING to break him or something, the poor baby. I know a lot of you can't forgive him for killing Jeremy, regardless of whether or not he saw the ring, and, well, neither can I, but I can understand why he did it, and that's just heartbreaking. And'I think that's about all for my 'first time around''Let's go see Radz's one now. awwwwww Jer!!!!! i was literally screamin tht Jer better be ok!!! lol i loved when Stefan slapped him...lol not ina bad way, it was jus so funny,,,Mason...what can i say, another hottie in VD!!!! lol yes Ty-Jer looked totally hot and i loved their "moment" lol yes his eyes are something else hey..i personally loved Stefan in this episode....yes he was kinda OOC....but it was hot!!!!! Damon....dnt get me started with Damon....i feel so bad for him.....
Two words: HOLY and ****.
Seriously. HOLY****.
Epic much? My main thought throughout the episode was simply - 'whoa.'
Each scene was fantastic and to go in-depth and dissect it will require a second viewing. But the acting was brilliant and the guys, if possible, got hotter.
Yay!points:
There wasn't one DB scene, there were TWO! And they had conversations threatening one another, which is always awesome (and if I'm not wrong Damon checked Bonnie out!)
Jeremy and Elena wee getting along - I loved how protective Elena is and how much she cares for her little brother.
Jeremy and Tyler were civil to one another. (How much do you want to bet that B squealed when she saw that scene?)
Matt and Caroline and Bonnie and Stefan: friendships and relationships
OMG!points:
Does anyone else think that Uncle Mason is Alpha of the Lockwood pack now? The way Ty just backed down'
Stefan forcefed Uncle John his blood! And he was so tough and forceful throughout the episode. I feel like it's been building since the ingestion of human blood but B found it off, apparently. We both agree it was hot though.
Damon got fooled by Katherine but Stefan didn't - SE true love alert anyone?
Erm, why in the hell would Elena tell Damon that "It's always going to be Stefan" so bluntly when she knows how he gets when he's hurt? Seriously, drunk and hurt Damon equals bad news.
DAMON SNAPPED JEREMY'S NECK?!?!?!?!
Jeremy was wearing the ring - did Damon notice??
ohmygod Caroline ohmygod I'm going to cry. No psycho!Caroline please.
[I literally spent five minutes staring at the screen and willing myself not to freak out and cry.]
- initial reaction rant over - lol pretty much what i said in B's....but also yesss i loved DB scenes!!!!! and bonnie was so sweet when she was hugging Caroline...and awww caroline :(
Now for the in-depth analysis of the episode.
*dramatic music*
The first five minutes:
Okay, so even watching it a second time around, the 'season one in one minute' gave me goosebumps. I love TVD so much. (: JP and KW must have had a helluva time torturing Jeremy fangirls by saying something like "you'll find out within the first five minutes what happens to Jeremy" and then interspersing the beginning with the Katherine-John-Elena scene and Jeremy-lying-on-his-bed-passed-out scene. Evil people. But dang, he's so pretty when he's passed out from a drug OD. (*ignores the weird looks everyone is giving her*) lol B!!!!! yes Jeremy loooked hot, but i was more concerned whether he was alive or not!!!
The Katherine-Elena dynamics in the opening is really interesting; it's like a cat-and-mouse kinda thing, which I think can pretty much sum up whatever game Katherine's gonna be playing with Elena. And possibly Stefan and Damon. And we still don't know why Katherine's there. Jealous that Stefan has found someone else? Curiosity as to why Elena is her doppelganger? Both? With that crazy HBIC, who knows?
And duuuuuude, Elena. Running up to Jeremy's room with a bloody knife. Is she TRYING to give the boy a heart attack when he wakes up? (Hot DAMN his arms.) lol thats exactly what i was thinkin!!!!! lol about Elena running around with the knife...not Jer's arms....but now that u mention it.....
I liked the opening. Creepy enough with Katherine.
I am in shock with how they successfully managed to surmise season one into slightly more than a minute. Brilliant much? All the important scenes, and cliffhangers - and then we get the ending again. Only this time, the John-Katherine(who he thinks is Elena) scene interspersed with Jeremy on his bed, unconscious and with ticking noise in the background to get us all worried. What will happen with Jeremy? Considering we know what'll happen below - it's Jer that all of us (some more than others *cough*Bhav*cough*) are worried about. And I love how this time around instead of splitting the Katherine and Elena scenes, they've put them together - and we got the "Hello John, goodbye John" scene again! Nina's acting is brilliant - and I love how David plays off of her as Katherine. yes i loved the john-katherine scene!
And then Elena steps in. ohmygod, having Kat and Elena in the same frame - so cool! Even if they never come face to face, that entire cat-and-mouse game as Bhav put it is filmed and executed so well. That's what it all is to Katherine I think, a game. Everything is a game, and she has to win.
Elena running upstairs with a bloody knife though - not so smart, despite her wanting to protect her brother. I mean, if he saw the knife, he'd probably freak out. I know I would.
Dissection:
Aggressive!Stefan
Really, is it me, or does Stefan suddenly seem way OOC in this episode? I mean, except for when he's hyped up on human blood, we don't usually see him acting this way. Especially in the scene with John Gilbert. Stefan in that scene was downright terrifying. I find it really, really bizare. The again, maybe with Katherine back, he knows he needs to step up the game. What do you guys think: is he OOC, or has this been building up since he got off human blood in S1? lol again i love this Stefan!!! he's so much more hotter in this season that the first....maybe all the guys are!!!
I don't get why people are shocked with how he's acting. I saw it coming - but maybe that's 'cos I pay a LOT of attention to the broody!brother. He's hot. (D, I'm merely complimenting him, I won't fight you for him. Yet.) I think it was simply a matter of time before this aggressive, protective side of him came out. We know what he's capable of - and with everything that has happened and is happening, that protectiveness increases tenfold. Jeremy tried to off himself, to become a vampire - Stefan knows what that would do to Elena, so he gets all in Jer's face to explain things to him. I could see a friendship forming there (or rather, I want Jer-Stefan friendship. Both need friends.) Then John makes Elena upset - Stefan will never stand for that. So he demands answers, by force-feeding him blood. awww yea Jer-Stefan friendship is one im looking forward to
Secret Circle
I am'tremendously amused that Damon is still the go-to person in the Founder's Circle. Nothing much else to say about this, just that I'm really amused by it.
I think Damon sincerely likes Liz Forbes to some extent. Yes, he may think all humans are idiots and he may be fooling the Council by pretending to be on their side (is he or isn't he? depends on his mood) but he respects Liz to some extent - turning up to check on Caroline? He didn't have to do that, but he did. He's more human than he cares to admit.
He's intrigued about the Lockwoods, that is evident. Why was the Mayor affected? And when he finds out that Tyler was too? Damon has a new mission - find out the Lockwood's secret.
Though, as Bhav says, it's extremely hilarious that Damon is the one playing voice of reason between Carol and Liz. Extremely hilarious.
Bonnie's guilt
It's there - especially in the scene where Matt's explaining the accident to her. And it's so prevalent that she agrees to Damon feeding blood to Caroline. A large part of it is not wanting to lose more of her family - and Caroline is family, they're as close as sisters - but some part of it is also guilt, that this accident is her fault because she didn't take the spell of the device. It did give us our first DamonBonnie scene for the episode so I'm good.
The scene where Bonnie meets Caroline after she wakes up is way sweet. I love how much Bonnie loves Caroline - and how much Caroline loves Bonnie (and Matt). And the MattCaroline relationship evolving into something deeper. Yayness!
Blood Ties
It's eerie how quickly Bonnie ' Bonnie, of all people ' consented to Damon giving Caroline his blood to help heal her. Elena's right. It's totally risky. Note the ominous music during this part. But because it's Caroline, their best friend, Bonnie agrees. Velociraptor sisterhood FTW, maybe, but it's still eerie. The ominous music clearly suggests that it's gonna backfire somehow. Ooh, I thought it'd be interesting to share a theory that may be on the Damon-Bonnie AT that Radz told me the other day. Since it's Damon's blood and Bonnie's consent, Vampire!Caroline could very much be Damon and Bonnie's love child. It's a tres amusing theory, one that I don't quite buy into since technically Katherine's the one that killed her, but it's a cool theory anyway :D
Katfight
Pardon the pun, I really couldn't help myself! Katherine is clearly the HBIC, so we won't go into that. I love the Stefan-Katherine scenes. How he blatantly flirts with her, playing along with her game and all. But at the same time, it's awesome how he knows that in the house, it was Katherine and not Elena. Stefan and Elena clearly have something more going on than just mindless in-the-bedroom-with-Jenna-and-Jeremy-downstairs shenanigans. It's also interesting how fatalistic Damon seems to be with regards to Katherine. "She loves to play games, and you're fooling yourselves if you think you're gonna find out what she's up to before she wants you to know." "If Katherine wanted you dead, you would be." This second sentence I totally don't doubt. From the little we know of Katherine, that much is evident, that she gets whatever she wants and she doesn't care whose neck she snaps in the process. i reckon pretty much any scene with Kat was goig to b quite awesome! lol yes damon seems to know katherine well and stefan knows elena...im jus so happy stefan told the difference...
KittyKat
I couldn't resist! She is like a cat, toying with her prey. First the mindgames she played with Damon in the finale - kissing him, and then when he confronts her, Elena has no clue what he's going on about. Jenna confronting Elena tips him off, and the look on his face! My God Ian is brilliant with the facial expressions.
And then of course, trying to do the same to Stefan. [note: first time round when I watched the episode and saw Elena put her keys and phone on the banister before walking into the house completely, I knew Katherine would steal them - and I was right! She used Elena's keys to get into the house. Smart vampire. Must come with age.] I love the fact that Stefan didn't get fooled. It shows how much he loves Elena. Damon got fooled, Stefan didn't. Maybe something to do with the fact that Stefan was compelled into how he felt about Kat but his love for Elena is genuine and Damon's feelings for Kat are genuine and his feelings for Elena are a projection (as of now)? It's a working theory - one I particularly like considering the fact that I'm a hardcore epic!SE shipper. oooo i ddnt realise elena put her keys down....now that makes sense
The rest of the SK and DK scenes in the episode are awesome as well.
She's played everyone on the show hasn't she? Matt, Tyler, Jenna, John, Damon, an attempt with Stefan, and Bonnie. *shakes head* She's good.
The BonnieKatherine scene was awesome though - and there was a StefanBonnie moment!
And then Stefan and Katherine confrontation. Flirting much? Stefan does know how to play the game - though Kat stabbing him - ouch.
"Katherine wants you dead, there's zero you can do about it, you will be dead. But you're not. So clearly she has other plans."
True fact. And what these plans are - I think wanting Stefan back is only the tip of the iceberg. Like Bhav said, she's jealous that Stefan's moved on - she wants him back. Stefan won't be swayed, unless she plans to hurt Elena? Which I bet, sooner or later she will. This is the manipulative [w]itch that ruined the brothers' relationship. She gets what she wants, there are no two ways about it.
*Bhav pauses a moment to giggle over Tyler* :D
"No good deed goes unpunished with you, does it?"
I HAVE to take a second here to acknowledge this reference from the musical Wicked. *sings* "No good deed goes unpunished!" Can't remember what song that was from, though. Anyone knows? I'll give you a cookie! Wait, is the song title 'No Good Deed'? Whatever. I think Damon has wicked awesome pop culture references. (Pun intended.) Twilight, Anne Rice, Wicked' Ahhh, Damon.
Background Score
I love how the piano renditions of How to Save A Life and Breakeven are used in the Lockwood funeral scene. Again, those two lovely melodies portray such a juxtaposition with what's actually going on. Like the Damon-Bonnie banter scene, where they're clearly all frosty towards each other and where Bonnie hurts Damon magically, but the music makes you think they're in love or something. (I can hear the Bamonators rejoicing') And then you've got the Bonnie-Katherine scene (Shoutout to Jot and Dhruvi, whose banters in the CitS threads were NOTHING like this scene!), which I just realised is where Bonnie tells Katherine that Caroline has vampire blood (I was gonna write 'demon blood'; too much Supernatural on the brain, which comes about from seeing all the Jensen siggies floating around.) in her system. Uh-oh! And then it accompanies the Stefan-Katherine scene. Oh, if I could, I'd mute the dialogue and just listen to the music. It's so lovely. And the Damon-Elena conversation. Breakeven suits that convo perfectly. i dunno...maybe its jus me, but when im watching VD, im paying too much attention to damon rather than the music...
The Jeremy-Tyler scene.
*dies* There is nothing much else I can say. It was everything I wanted the Jeremy-and-Tyler-talking-about-dead-dads scene to be. (Except, of course, they didn't end up on top of each other with'*realises what she's saying and shuts up* Certain things are best left in my head.) And except Mason comes in and interrupts what COULD be the start of a beautiful (oh, SO beautiful) friendship. *grumbles about Mason* lol B!!!!!!!
Uncle Mason
Not sure what I think about him yet - though he's yummy. [and Mason is not on the Council. Hmm. I wonder why.] yes he's yummy!
Though he interrupted the JeremyTyler scene. Loved how they both looked throughout the scene. And how frank Jer and Ty are with each other! Friendship please? [The panicked look on Jer's face when Mason walks in! Hilarious. I love Steven, he's an amazing actor.]
Damon definitely checked Bonnie out when she left after placing that mindwhammy on him. *squee*
I love the instrumental versions of Breakeven and How To Save A Life playing in the background during the funeral scenes! Two of my favorite songs ever.
Daddy Dearest
I simply had to say something about one of the final scenes, where Tyler is looking at the photo of the Lockwood family and he flies into a rage and throws everything off the table and stuff. This is exactly how I pictured the relationship between Tyler and his dad. His dad was a total'jerk'to put it (very) mildly, and Tyler hated him. As cliched as this one scene may be, it's still apt for him to get all the feelings out, maybe bring him some catharsis. Poor Tyler. *hugs Tyler* I would also, in lieu of Mason jumping on top of Tyler to try and calm him down (oh my god, settle down, you slashy fangirl!), like to share this link for those who are into werewolf slash ;)
Break the Cutie
Takin' the name from a tvtropes.org page, I thought this suits Damon perfectly for this episode. Damon goes through so much in this episode, it's unfair, even for someone as despicable as him. (Not that I think he's despicable. I love Damon.) First he finds out that he didn't kiss Elena; then he finds out that Elena wouldn't even want to kiss him because she doesn't feel that way about him. And then Katherine tells him that she came back for Stefan, that "I've never loved you. It was always Stefan", which Elena repeats. Poor baby. It's no wonder he snaps Jeremy's neck. Which I do not condone. Damon may be a horrible, psychotic character, but if you remember from season 1, he was changing. He was getting better. He was caring. And it was all because of Elena. He's just like any of us. He wants to be loved. He hurts, but he doesn't admit it. And everyone just'keeps on whacking him with a baseball bat. Metaphorically, of course, since a baseball bat probably wouldn't hurt him much. But really, no one deserves this. Not even Damon. *gives Damon a hug* Let me just add here, since I wrote this para out before the Kat-Damon makeout scene, that when Damon and Katherine started'getting it on'I was devastated, because it meant that Damon was going back her, to his obsession with Katherine. Or something like that. And ohmygosh, Damon's look when Katherine tells him that she never loved him. It's so heartbreaking. I felt so much for Damon, the poor guy just wants to be loved, he got rejected by Kat, and then by Elena, it ddnt help that Elena said she would never kiss him back and kind of proved it when Damon tried to kiss her, but snaping Jeremy's neck....that's a crazy was to show your emotions Damon, but I reckon he saw the ring....i like to see the best in my Damon, i just reckon it has gone a bit too far, the nice-ness in Damon has prob disappeared:(
(I apologise for the crappy quality of the screenies, I've got no Photoshop to edit them with.)
See how heartbreaking his look is? :(yes, jus wanna hug him
And here it is again.
And see how desperately he's looking at Elena? it was so sad, pleading to Kat to tell him she loved him but Kat sayin "it was always stefan" and Elena repeating those very words....poor Damon
Emotions
Poor Damon gets his heart crushed over and over again. Everyone goes for Stefan. Their father cared more for Stefan, Katherine came back for Stefan, and Elena chose Stefan. (Of course, once upon a time he'd have given his life for Stefan too - I want that relationship back!) But instead of being normal and not destructive about it, Damon lashes out at the world to show them he doesn't care. *snorts* Yeah right, he doesn't care.
The idiot snapped Jeremy's neck. I was ready to - eurgh. Though I wondered if he saw the ring. (Stefan wondered the same thing - I find it so sweet that despite everything, Stefan still just wants his big brother back. Despite the fact that Damon would've kissed Elena at any chance he had, despite 145 years of hell - Stefan wants his brother back.) i'd like to believe he saw the ring...Damon wouldn't do anything to hurt Elena....
Fave scene:
The scene where Stefan and Damon discuss Katherine, and Stefan explains to him how Katherine is gonna try to pit them against each other and how they have to stay united. You know that saying, 'the enemy of my enemy is my friend'? Okay, I'll admit I remember that from Kim Possible, but the point is, I think it really does apply here, and I'm hoping that this marks the start of Team Damon-and-Stefan-teaming-up-against-Katherine. Or, Team DASTUAK. *looks at it* Or just Team Damon-and-Stefan-versus-Katherine. I dunno. Anyway, I chose that scene as my favourite over the more obvious Jer-Ty scene because Stefan totally has a point. Whatever Katherine is there to do, she's probably gonna try and pit them against each other. And plus she is WAY stronger than them. The only way to run her out of town is by teaming up. Here's hoping this marks the start of a truce between Damon and Stefan, if only until Katherine's out of the picture.
The conversation between John and Jeremy - it's a little underrated I think. When they started a conversation about the ring, I knew something would happen about it later on. I didn't expect what did happen, but somehow I knew that the ring would wind up with Jeremy. Family heirloom and all that. But it was different from the usual John/anyone interaction.
Fave quote:
"You wanna know why I'm here, Stefan? I came back for you." ' Katherine
Okay, so I shall take advantage of this quote to build my theory as to why Katherine's back, and it's basically this: she is indeed jealous that Stefan found someone else, and she wants him back. If you think about it, this makes sense. She was always in love with Stefan. Not Damon. That's why she compelled him. She wanted him. Damon was just a toy for her, a lapdog to play with whenever Stefan wasn't around. Heaven forbid she's as obsessed with Stefan as Damon is with her. So that's why she's back. To reclaim what's hers. Stefan, maybe even Damon and the town of Mystic Falls. And the whole doppleganger thing is probably what intrigued her to come back or something. Ta-dah, theory!
"You hate me huh? That sounds like the beginning of a love story Stefan, not the end of one."
I love how she says this after she stabs the poor guy. Katherine may be evil and manipulative and everything else, but she's got some great lines. Fantastic lines in fact.
Fave character:
Damon. For reasons, see Break the Cutie above.
It was a close call between Stefan and Tyler, but Tyler won because it's nice to see the focus on him for a change. I love how they're focusing on everything that's happening with him His family, his rage, his actions. Michael Trevino is not just hot, he's a great actor as well.
Fave storyline:
Damon, ditto. Refer to Break the Cutie.
Stefan trying to get Damon to get along with him. I love the brothers.
"She'll try to break you. She'll try to break us. And how we respond to that will define us. It's our choice."
This really sums up their relationship. This storyline, of the brothers and their relationship has been one of my favorites since season one, and I hope they explore it more throughout the season. [Maybe even throwing in some of the book scenes? That would be epic.]
Fave actor:
I don't think I've given this to this person yet, but this episode's Fave Actor goes to Nina Dobrev for her multiple personality disorder. Nah, I'm just kidding. It goes to her (and probably will, whenever Katherine's around) for her seamless portrayal of both Elena AND Katherine. Lord knows she must have gotten mood whiplash playing both characters.
Nina Dobrev, without a doubt. Playing both Katherine and Elena, who are so vastly different like that is such a mark of a brilliant actress. And she's got amazing chemistry with both Paul and Ian. You can tell when she's Kat and when she's Elena sometimes just by looking at her face. It's just such an amazing thing she's doing by playing these different characters.
Thoughts on the cliffhanger:
Unfortunately for me, Twitter spoiled the cliffhanger. Then again, maybe not. 'Cause admit it, we all know Caroline's gonna be a vampire. Right? Admittedly, though, what cliffhanger there is comes about from what kind of vampire she's gonna be. Who's going to be her mentor? Damon? Stefan? Katherine? How will Elena and Bonnie and Matt react when they find out? How will the Sheriff react? Most importantly, how will Bonnie react? Surely she's gonna blame herself for this, because she was the one who insisted that Damon give Caroline his blood. Oh, this whole thing is just way too messed up. Stupid Katherine.
ohmygod Caroline! It's heartbreaking, she always gets the short straw for everything. She was abused by Damon, shortchanged by her friends, put second in Matt's life, got into this insane accident and almost died - and now this. *wants to cry*
Overall thoughts & ratings:
Okay, so, on my first watch, I remember getting goosebumps a lot, and I remember being so starry-eyed, "OMFGthatwassupermegafoxyawesome" (did anyone else get that reference? Or must we tell you to go watch AVPM again? Speaking of which, Darren Criss cut off his pretty curls! *sobs*), so I'll give the episode 4.5 stars. I didn't quite find anything very wrong with it, except, you know, Damon killed Jeremy. In fact, I thought it was a pretty awesome season premiere, which now has me totally pumped for the season premieres of the three CSI shows, because the previous seasons ended on such awesome cliffhangers. Anyway, 4.5 stars for The Return! :D Oh, wait: Where was Alaric??? yeah....where was Alaric??
Radz couldn't bear to do ratings 'cause she loved the whole episode.
And that was it! We'd love to hear your thoughts and responses to our crazy thoughts too! :D
Love,
Bhav and Radz (:
this episode's MM was amazing girls!!!! keep up the great work, lol i personally loved this one, and im looking forward to the other MMs!!!
Edited by Rachu_1987 - 13 years agoI'm going to do this different now. Since I pretty much agree with both of you on everything I'll only right the difference. Much easier and lazier for me - FTW!
