The Vampire Diaries - The Rager / The Five
So you have Connor Jordan “swiping” vampire venom from the mouth of Tyler using a paralytic on him while he was recovering in hospital. So now you have a vampire hunter with the venom of a hybrid that can kill vampires. If that wasn’t dramatic, Elena can only seem to feed from Matt (ironic, don’t ya think?) and is really, really at odds with Rebekah. Rebekah loves that Elena is a vampire so she can torment her with blood, knowing that Connor is around just waiting to kill a blood sucker. Rebekah even offers to throw an “anti-curfew” party since the town is still reeling from Tyler being shot during the funeral. There was a mention of “The View” during the episode, “The Rager”, even, to date it. If not to complicate things further, Tyler is “protected” by Klaus with hybrids while a very attractive werewolf named Hayley (Phoebe Tonkin) returns from the Appalachians…she helped to break Tyler’s sire bond from Klaus. Jeremy is visited by Connor because of his seeing the tattoo on the arm at the Grille. So now Connor looks to recruit Jeremy..dilemmas galore. The entire episode of “The Rager” has Elena hating Rebekah seriously, wanting to find the White Oak stake and bury in her. And Rebekah has her party ongoing, with Connor forcing Matt to tell him who the vampire is feeding from him…and he tells Connor Rebekah is the one, not Elena.
Stefan has a good idea of what rage can do to you. As Elena
wants to so badly kill Rebekah, Stefan convinces her to realize that doing so
would lead to the extermination of all vampires connected to her. So instead
Stefan gets her to go for a ride on his motorcycle…not before Elena takes a
chug from a keg while doing a handstand on it! And later she stands on the seat
of Stefan’s ride as they move down the road, later interrupted as they are
about to have sex to realize Connor spiked the booze with hybrid venom. But
Klaus being in Mystic Falls helps, actually…his blood heals.
“The Rager” and “The Five” introduce fresh substance to the
Vampire Diaries lore: The Brotherhood of the Five, a select vampire hunting
group with a map and special swords that could very well lead to a “treasure”…a
cure for vampirism. Klaus wants Elena cured so her human doppelganger blood can
start helping to create hybrids again. Stefan wants that for Elena, quite
worried (as he tells Caroline in a conversation) that if she kills someone as a
vampire she’ll cut off her emotions forever. Klaus knows Stefan wants her
human, and he wants her human. Rebekah and Klaus’ estranged, complicated
sibling love-hate-indifferent rivalry / relationship is at the forefront of
this fresh arc, too. Rebekah was in love with a vampire hunter of the Five,
vulnerable enough that she nearly got her family of vampires killed until Klaus
interfered by slaying him brutally. Rebekah knows where the vampire hunter’s
special sword was located; but she was unwilling to give it to Klaus because of
his treatment towards her for too long. So Klaus poisons her with Stefan’s
reluctant help. Stefan tries to talk her into giving up the sword on Elena’s
behalf, but Klaus’ betrayal of her and hurtful words/action has been too much.
Also introduced in “The Five” is a witch aficionado,
scholar, collector, and sympathizer, Shane (David Alpay). The connection
between Shane and vampire hunter, Connor, is revealed at the end of “The Five”.
And part of what has been important in the fourth season is Connor’s mission to
kill vampires and recruit Jeremy, who betrays him because Elena and others are
what he targets. Elena’s losing control—she feeds from Matt and seems to enjoy
the taste/drink so much it takes Damon pulling her off in order to save him—at a
frat party at a college Elena and Bonnie (with Damon tagging along) are
attending continues the “Elena seeks Damon’s help only to regret it when she
realizes his purpose is to get her to embrace her predatory vampire behavior
instead of resist it” conflict. Stefan seeks to help Elena find the means to
master how to feed while looking to keep The Ripper contained (Caroline tells
Stefan she’d help him if he needed it). So Stefan and Klaus want Elena to get
back her humanity while Damon is all about not fighting it but enjoying it…embrace
the fun of the vampire without killing those you feed from. But Elena just
feeding from one human after another, so jovial in the blood lust until she “comes
to her senses” while Damon gleefully dances with her, it once again has the two
at odds…Damon once again facing the truth that Elena doesn’t want to become
him.
Klaus wanting the map that only Jeremy sees on Connor’s arm
so he can have his doppelganger back once again doesn’t ask but expects his
will to be done. Jeremy was kidnapped and tasked with seeing the map on Connor’s
arm (he was kidnapped by Klaus after an incident in the Mystic Falls hospital
where Damon gets even with Connor for a trap in his RV involving hooks and an
attached explosive) and sketching it for Klaus. Jeremy tells Klaus that the map
isn’t altogether complete because it takes killing vampires for Connor to
attain the entire map. We see that when Klaus leaves behind a hybrid to guard
Connor (who frees his arms and snaps off the hybrid’s head with a chain),
resulting in the death of it. The map illustrates further on Connor’s body (he
tells Jeremy that he met a vampire hunter in Iraq while on tour, and that is
why he believes Jeremy is perhaps in line to be a hunter) so Klaus needs the
sword to complete the search for the vampire cure.
Bonnie being a witch and talking with Shane about her grams
adds an intriguing development to the series, too. He wants vampires dead,
supportive of witches, and Bonnie is clearly interested in him. Shane sent
Connor to Mystic Falls. So that will be quite an ongoing part of the series as
well, considering Bonnie has vampire friends she loves dearly that Shane seems
to want dead.
*The Five features historical back story with Klaus and Elijah (and Rebekah) seeing the vampire hunters while on the road. Also there is a wilderness ritual that gave "birth" to The Five.
**Rebekah is in love with Matt, who has no desire to be involved with her. Also the dead reverend's daughter remains in Mystic Falls, making friends with the lonely Rebekah and remaining "mentored" by a caring Elena.
***Elena's hunger is probably my favorite part of the fourth season so far. Her battle with the vampire within makes for good melodrama.
Both episodes: 3/5
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