The Vampire Diaries - Crying Wolf / The Dinner Party

*** / ****

The moonstone has been a highly sought after item in the second season. Trapped within it was the curse of the moon, so the werewolves obviously want it. But not just the moonstone is desired as the death of vampires is also quite a popular concept to the werewolves. With Original Elijah involved in a pact with Elena, the werewolves are at quite a disadvantage. So while Jules and some of her posse go to interrogate Damon for the location of the moonstone, Brady and Tyler will head for a Lockwood cabin where Elena and Stefan decide for a weekend away from Mystic Falls.

Where Tyler stands is of the utmost importance in Crying Wolf, another werewolves vs. vampires episode. Jules had kept from Tyler the detail about Elena needing to be sacrificed in order to lift their curse. That lie is ultimately the catalyst in Tyler deciding one way or the other, whether to help Stefan against Brady or remain loyal to the werewolves and allow Elena to be taken. Meanwhile Jules has fellow werewolf, Stevie (Erik Stocklin), design a torture device (he claims the idea came from torture porn) to secure information on the moonstone. To have Elena and the moonstone would be quite an accomplishment. But Jules not telling him the truth, she realizes that Brady is dead because she kept Elena’s wellbeing from him. Tyler has grown up with Elena, knowing that she certainly doesn’t deserve to die so his response to protect her as Stefan kills Brady makes sense.

Because Elijah is so powerful, he places the moonstone in his possession down for the werewolves to take it. Of course he continues to pluck hearts from chests until Jules flees the premises; in essence, tucking tale and running. Tyler does agree to go with her to learn of his kind afterward, telling Matt that Caroline is a special person deserving a good guy like him. Tyler gets an affectionate hug from Elena as well after Brady is put down by Stefan. If only Tyler could have set things right with Caroline…he does admit to Matt he did have feelings for her. So Matt knows where Tyler and Caroline stands, realizing that Tyler needed a friend and she was there. Truthfully, I asked my family why we should consider the werewolves the villains and the vampires the heroes. Wasn’t it Damon who killed Mason? What about the werewolves, except for getting revenge (and the moonstone which would give them the benefit of when to turn from werewolf to human) against Damon, has seriously made them any less worthy of our concern than the vampires? Tyler is that lynchpin in this war, a friend on both sides. He’s supposedly family to the werewolves and grew up with Elena, Caroline, etc. in Mystic Falls.

Elijah, interestingly, continues to rescue (and steel himself from killing…) Damon. Damon, of course, instigates a very reserved Elijah, grabbed by the throat and pinned to a wall during a shindig involving the Historical Society. Elijah using the front as a researcher keeps him close to Mystic Falls and those close to Elena. So Damon makes it a mission (along with continuing his façade regarding the news reporter being his girlfriend) to kill Elijah, just looking for an opening. Perhaps he will get it.

The lakehouse does prove to be an ideal place to hole away, except for Stefan finding a secret room with vampire hunting weapons. The ancestral Gilbert diaries do speak in detail about Stefan’s monstrous appetite.
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 *** / ****

Stefan does fill in details regarding the monster he was until Lexi discovered him feeding off soldiers during wartime. She convinces him to turn his emotions back on and consider what his actions do to those who are affected by the lives lost through his ferocious feeding habits. That Stefan and Damon are essentially in different roles at this time, with Stefan the impulsive, bad-behaving vampire while Damon was the voice of reason is a great piece, I think. It reverses the personalities and flips the script. Stefan has to come clean with Elena about all the nasty details of his past…and how through Lexi he found redemption. This conjures up Damon killing Lexi, once again opening a wound that will never fully heal for Stefan. Elena acknowledges such loss, too, as Stefan gives Lexi her renown in the flashbacks. That Stefan attacks Gilbert family ancestors, considering them responsible for the loss of Katherine, is one of those twist surprises perfectly ironic as it relates to his love with/for Elena. I like that the show resurrects the memory of Lexi, a character (and actress, Arielle Kebbel) I found quite charming when featured in the first season. The scene where Damon must once again address his responsibilities for a death that was unnecessary when looking into Stefan’s pained face is a good recall back to Lexi’s unfortunate murder.

Killing Elijah has become an obsession considering Bonnie learned from a mind rape during a magic draining from a subdued Luka (he was drugged) that her father was hoping to get their loved one out of the clutches of Klaus and so Elena had to be sacrificed (the whole doppelganger dilemma) so that this could happen. John giving Damon the dagger to be dipped in an oak tree ash, a trick that he concealed in order to get rid of him (if a vampire kills an Original with it, the vampire is harmed as well), as a weapon to kill Elijah sets up this episode, The Dinner Party. Damon is in danger and this isn’t learned (conveniently) until Elena discovers it in her ancestor’s diaries, with Stefan needing to contact Alaric in order to save him. An “arrogant young vampire”, Damon had already provoked Elijah in Crying Wolf. Elijah had agreed to protect Damon (and have Damon protect her, as well) in the pact with Elena. Elena’s safety is of the utmost importance to Elijah. When Elena fools Elijah into thinking she had stabbed herself in her adoptive parents’ cabin, willing to “re-negotiate” the pact when Alaric plunged the dagger of ash into the Original’s back while his attention was on Damon. The trick of *not* pulling out the dagger is important in keeping Elijah under control. I can only imagine that dagger will not remain in place for too long…someone will release Elijah from his state of “vampire decomp”. So when Elena sticks the dagger into Elijah and leaves it, Damon and Stefan yet again dumps a body into their Salvatore Cell. Elijah will be mighty sore when re-awakened yet again from the dagger into his body. Hell hath no fury, I guess…

Bonnie has been instigating Jonas’ wrath since nearly killing Luka the first time she pulled energies from him due to their link. But taking information from Luka without his consent was the final straw. So Jonas deprives Bonnie of what has made her particularly special…her powers. How she’ll get them back should be interesting. Jeremy and Bonnie’s young romance has been further emphasized much to my distaste. God, she can do so much better. Sigh, but I digress…

Since John Gilbert’s return, it is obvious he isn’t just back in Mystic Falls to supposedly protect his biological daughter. He’s got ulterior motives. He confronts Alaric and stirs up trouble with Jenna against him. Because Alaric must conceal certain information from Jenna in order to protect her, John uses that to fracture their relationship. Jenna wants Alaric to be honest with her in order for their relationship to work as it should, and John knows that he must keep certain details from her. He’s an asshat, that John Gilbert. And the ring that once again resurrected Alaric in Crying Wolf, returning him from death Isobel gave him to wear? John wants that, too. John Gilbert needs that ring to protect himself. I did tell my family that Alaric should have just left Mystic Falls once he gave that ring over the John…as this town has already proven, Alaric isn’t safe without that ring! But the way Alaric sees it, John needs it more than him. Considering Jeremy has John’s ring, protection for such a bastard was necessary. Isobel has remained in conversation a lot lately, too. Wonder if that is foreshadowing her return?

And debate between Stefan and Elena about making a sacrificial pact with Elijah covers much dialogue during the episode as he challenges her wishes for martyrdom in order to keep her loved ones safe. They go back and forth and both sides have a point. That is the purpose of such a story arc, as Elena is a bargaining chip, always of attention in order for curses to be lifted and villains to come out of the woodwork. And her safety is often a crucial part of how the story arc is influenced as vampires and werewolves often gun for her in order to benefit themselves. But a form of protection one way or another continues to shield her from the ultimate harm.

Katherine has said that she is a survivor. Regardless if it looks as if she'll be trapped in a tomb forever, Katherine finds a way. Concealed in a tomb through Elijah, worried about Klaus, unable to break the love between Stefan and Elena, and even outsmarted by Caroline; Katherine still winds up taking a shower as the startled Damon must smirk, realizing she's quite the clever vampire.