Prime Suspect | Family Values

Alright, I’ll give you another thirty seconds of recovery time, and then we’re breaking down this supremely fantastic episode. Ready? 30 . . . 20 . . . 10 . . . 0

Our favorite vampires were back again this week, dishing out the drama in heaping platefuls. Confessions. Take-overs. Death. Mystery. Suspicion. All of these were components in last night’s episode of The Vampire Diaries. Strategic moves were made by the cast of players, succeeding in creating a new set of rules. And while a fan-favorite returned, another Mystic Falls resident finally bit the dust; a serial killer on the loose. A confession of love raised the stakes for our favorite love triangle, as suspicion and doubt ruined another would-be couple. In the end, a family stood together to take down its weakest link – hoping for change. Yet the broken pieces were put together once again and a future plan was formed. How did it all happen? What became of our beloved characters? Sit back, relax. Your favorite review/recap is on its way. This is a SPOILER ALERT!

Watch out, Ladies! Elijah is back-in-town and looking super-fine; especially when he starts a fight with his dearly deranged brother, Klaus. Elijah is just a tiny bit mad – which is understandable – since it was Klaus who placed that dagger in his chest. After a few broken pieces of furniture and a couple of put-downs, all is well with the brothers after Klaus admits to killing Old Papa Original. Trying to place himself back into his brothers good graces, Klaus promises to tell Elijah the whole truth, and nothing but the truth, in regards to the exact reason for their mothers death, and so on. All Klaus asks in return, is for Elijah to help him rid the world of Stefan Salvatore, once and for all. Dun, dun, dun!

At the Gilbert/Saltzman Home, Sheriff Forbes makes an unscheduled appearance, hoping Alaric and Elena can help her identify Mystic’s newest murderer. She shows them the murder weapon and waits for recognition to strike. Alaric frowns. The bloodied stake is part of the Gilbert Family weaponry and there is only one set of prints on it. Elena’s. What? No. I don’t believe you. Damon is the one to throw Crazy Dr. Fell into the mix, believing she was the one to kill the medical examiner, who also happened to be her ex-boyfriend. Alaric and Elena tend to disagree. There are a handful of capable suspects more likely to have committed the act. Klaus? Stefan? Damon? The list goes on and on. One thing that doesn’t, however, is the meeting Damon schedules with Elijah. Ooh! He got a haircut. The minutes of the meeting are severely limited, leaving us to question what actually went down. “I guess it was just here to tease me.”

Sometime later, Caroline speaks with Crazy Dr. Fell in hopes to take her now-healthy father back home. The thing is, he already left. With Elena in tow, Caroline searches the wings of Mystic General. Nothing. The blonde vamp calls her father, but there is no answer. Wait. Did you hear that? With her enhanced hearing, Caroline can identify her fathers ringtone amongst the busy sounds of the hospital. The duo slowly search the dark supply closet, only to be met with a gruesome scene. Bill Forbes sits, splattered in his own blood. Oh, my. A knife to the abdomen. A quick slice through the throat. Bill is dead. Aren’t we forgetting something? What? Bill has vampire blood in his system. Oh. Oh! Well, talk about cruel irony. Eh, Bill? Before you can even say Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious, Bill is awake and craving blood.

Of course, this is psychotic, I’ve-tortured-my-daughter Bill we’re talking about. The man refuses to feed, effectively securing his fate. He’s going to die – for real, this time. Later – in a sweet, sad scene – Bill Forbes finally tells his daughter that he truly loves her, but he has made his choice “This is life. This is what it means to be human.” Goodbye, Bill.

Back at the Gilbert/Saltzman Home, Alaric is taking inventory of his weapon system. With some sly work on Elena’s part, the duo identify the knife used to kill Bill Forbes as one of their own. That’s not good. Who had access to these weapons, you might ask? Well, there seems to be only one prime suspect. Yes. It seems that the case against Crazy Dr. Fell keeps stacking up. I hate to say, I told you so, Alaric. Alaric? Hey, where are . . . Oh, damn. Elena (and Matt) come home to find a very, very unwanted scene. A trail of blood coats the floors and walls, leading to a singular sight. Alaric, barely alive. No! How many times are they going to make this poor man die? At least, once more. To make that magic ring work, Alaric must be killed by a supernatural creature, only then will he fully recover. What does that mean? It means, Elena – a doppelgänger – must kill Alaric in order to save him. I can’t look. She succeeds, yet it takes some time before Alaric regains consciousness. By that time, Sheriff Forbes has already broken the news that Crazy Dr. Fell has a secure alibi. Why don’t I believe you?

Well, well, well. Shirtless Stefan. Long time, no see. Ahem! Oh, yeah. Right. Um . . . Damon thinks he has everything worked out. Stefan disagrees, as is usual. Stefan is still mad at Damon for kissing Elena. Damon wants him to get over it. Klaus. Elijah. Shirtless Stefan. Ahem! Sorry.

In a very Godfather-like move, Damon has scheduled a sit-down with Klaus and Elijah. Oh, this is going to be good. I can tell. Despite Stefan’s protests, the group sit down to enjoy a lovely meal and some light dinner conversation. Yeah. Right. No, really. Seriously? Seriously. They discuss Elijah’s fondness for the Petrova bloodline. We are told a tale of first love; the Original Petrova: Tatia. As the story goes, Mommy Dearest wasn’t too fond of the girl who enraptured not just one son, but two. So she killed Tatia and used her blood in the spell that created the Original vampire family. Wow. That is so messed up. Totally.

Meanwhile, Boring Bonnie and Mother Bennett are given the task to try to open the mysterious Fourth Coffin – which is conveniently hidden in the Lockwood Caves. The pair look upon the worn pages of the spell-book, finding nothing really of value, until Abby spots a hidden symbol. To open the coffin, one bloodline (a.k.a. A mother and a daughter) must work the spell. Simple enough, I suppose. The witches clasp their hands together, repeating the spell over and over. Only, it’s not working. Bonnie gives her mum a pep-talk and they begin again. The flames from the plethora of surrounding candles burst; a sure sign of success. Bonnie shakes the latch. Almost there. She calls Damon, leaving her mother alone with the still unopened Fourth Coffin. Oh, wait. Nevermind. It’s open. Gasp!

Sometime later, the real conversation begins. Damon has a proposal. They will gladly return Klaus’ Fourth Coffin, as long as he and his family get the hell out of dodge and never come back. It seems like a good deal to me, except Klaus has other ideas. Who will care for Elena? Surely, Stefan and Damon don’t think they can watch over her, make sure nothing happens to her? Klaus needs his endless supply of hybrids, after all. Elena must be kept away from the Salvatore brothers. They are the worse thing for her. With Klaus’ protection, she will lead a long and happy life. I tend to disagree. I bet Stefan does too. Don’t you, Stefan? No deal! I was right. Of course, Klaus does not like this. The hybrid shows his angry face, breaking Stefan’s wrist, forcing Stefan to place his flammable hand into the extremely hot fireplace. That’s going to leave a mark. Damon comes to the rescue and promises to return the Fourth Coffin to Klaus immediately. Hey, don’t do that. There must be another way! Too late. He leaves, with Elijah following closely behind.

Favorite Scene of the Night: That was quick. Elijah? Back so soon? He must have forgotten something. Yeah, he forgot to kick his brothers ass. Huh? Over the years, Elijah has learned that his sadistic brother never keeps his promise. Well, I knew that. When Klaus promised Elijah to bring his family back, Elijah didn’t believe him. Who would? So Elijah took matters into his own hands. He took out the daggers himself. Brothers Kol and Finn descend upon the surprised hybrid, stabbing him with their own daggers. Rebecca comes from behind and does the same. It’s a family reunion! Elijah dismisses the Salvatore’s. “This is family business.” Oh, yeah!

Stefan and Damon are walking home. Stefan commends Damon for doing a good job – having the brilliant idea to wake Elijah and all that. It was a brilliant idea. He tries to thank Damon for saving his life, but Damon only wants recognition when the tally is even. Stefan begins to wonder why Damon saved him. The broody vamp could have left Sexy Stefan to his own devices; Klaus would have killed him and Damon would have had Elena all to himself. So, why? Damon didn’t do it for Stefan, he says. He did it for someone else. Elena. “I love her, Damon.” Yes, we know. Wait a minute! Stefan loves Elena? Stefan still loves Elena? OH, MY GOD! I don’t know about you, but it felt so good to hear Stefan finally admit that. It’s not like we didn’t know. Now we just have proof. And who said Stefan had no soul? And who really believed that after everything that has happened? No one. Excuse me? I think you are forgetting something. What? Delena. Dammit!

Final Scene: Klaus is being scalded by his family for being a bad, bad hybrid. The Originals tell their brother that they are leaving him. Everything he did to bring them together, only pushed them away. Klaus throws a minor temper tantrum. If they run, he will find them, kill them. Elijah knows that this is untrue. If Klaus pursues them, he will become the one thing he hates most: His father. Klaus retaliates. He can’t be killed! They should fear him. Actually, Klaus. What is it, Elijah? You should be afraid. You should be afraid of that Fourth Coffin. And pray tell, what is in the Fourth Coffin? ‘Me’. Me, who? The Original Witch. Surprise is featured on every face, as the Original Witch walks into the room. She goes to Klaus first. Tears stream down his face. He can’t even look his mother in the eye. “Look at me!” she yells. Wow. She is scary. “Do you know why I am here?” To kill Klaus? Not exactly. She is there to forgive him. “I want us to be a family again.” To be continued . . .

The Vampire Diaries

What did you think of the episode? What was your favorite scene? Favorite line? What did you think of Elijah’s epic return? What about the new Originals in town? What will happen now that the Original Witch is back? Do you think Matt and Caroline will get back together? Are you sad to see Bill go? Is Dr. Fell guilty? Team Stefan? Or Team Damon? Tell me in the comments!

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