The Vampire Diaries has pulled itself back from the edge of the abyss, and who knew that all it would take was getting rid of Elena (Nina Dobrev)? OK, that might not be entirely the case, but with Katherine (also Dobrev) literally inserting herself into Elena, it might as well be. Even without all the necessary details and her actions being only a muted version of what they should be, she’s surprisingly not getting any mixed reviews (yet) on her performance from the people who Elena considers near and dear. And if the episodes keep up at this pace, The Vampire Diaries is setting itself up for an unforgettable second half of the season.
Dobrev has been on double duty for most of the season (and the series), and it has to be a relief to finally be able to sink her teeth into this secondary character on a more full-time basis. At one point this season, she was even playing the roll of three doppelgänger characters (good thing that was short lived). Although, arguably Elena is the glue that holds the entire Mystic Falls crew together – point in case, Damon (Ian Somerhalder) returning to bad boy status in about a nano second after Katherine crushed his heart – and while being center stage doesn’t hurt, Katherine seems like she’s a fairly interesting character to portray.
Katherine has been around for over five hundred years and every time you peel back a layer of her, there’s another one waiting to be discovered. Dobrev has been really able to showcase her versatility between these two characters, but it has to be exhausting to constantly switch back and forth between these two differing mindsets. Elena is a simpler character – she is fiercely protective of the people she loves and that makes her predictable. Katherine, on the other hand, hasn’t had the luxury of loved ones in so long that she herself has become her only vulnerability. She may be content filling Elena’s shoes for the time being, but happily ever after is like a foreign language to Katherine Pierce, and she may find that it’s not as easy to learn a new vocabulary as she thinks.
The Vampire Diaries has not only taken the storyline back to a more elemental Adam and Eve-type landscape, but they’ve also reinstated Damon to his full-fledged evil vampire persona. Except that this time around there are a few twists. Stefan (Paul Wesley) isn’t cozying up to Elena, instead it’s Katherine disguised as Elena. And, Damon has found himself the victim of his own carnal rage. He is now craving vampire blood – and, as he summed up best, “karma.”
Katherine as Elena has promised to help Stefan save Damon (how very Elena of her), but when she finds out about his current condition, she might start to have second thoughts. Helping Stefan get over his unfortunate summer memories is going to seem like a walk in the park comparatively. We saw the results of this experiment last time around (R.I.P. Jesse), so the odds are definitely not in Damon’s favor. Let’s hope Katherine’s instincts prove to be different than Elena’s were in round one.
Do you miss Elena yet or are you willing to ride this story out? Who do you think will be the first one to figure out the truth (and Matt doesn’t count since he’s already been compelled to forget)? Will Katherine try to get rid of Caroline (Candice Accola) to eliminate any potential threats to what she wants? Let us know all your theories on The Vampire Diaries in the comment section below!
Random Thoughts:
- The were some great musical selections on this episode of The Vampire Diaries.
- Damon uttered a similar sentiment when he promised Elena he’d help her save Stefan.
- How does Bonnie (Kat Graham) not realize that something is off with Elena? If Katherine had really died, she would have passed through her on the way to the other side, right?
- Jeremy (Steven R. McQueen) must have lost all of his vampire hunter powers when he died. Lame.