Fail to Plan, Plan to Fail

Twists and turns. Apologies and confessions. Reunions and death. Last night’s episode of The Vampire Diaries seemed to be a slight improvement from the previous week. However, we were left with several unanswered questions and doubts, all stemming from one particular moment. The monumental portion of the episode arose from a failed plan – an attempt to rid Mystic Falls of the unwanted Original Family. From that, an unnerving discovery was made. The revelation qualified as a certified WTF? moment, probably delivering a few thrown chairs and pillows in the process. I can’t say I’m entirely happy with the new, alternative plot line, since it appears only to be way for the charming, enigmatic Klaus to stick around. I’m sure we could find other ways for that to happen; less unhinged, illogical ways. No one wants to see him go. Truthfully, it is a splendiferous turn of events, a classic TVD move. Right?

It was an episode that boasted a series of scenes that left us wanting more, and a few that didn’t. And as we’ve come to expect, the night properly ended in a cliffhanger. Want to know what it was? Well then, let’s just mosey on down and see. Welcome back, Klaus. This is a SPOILER ALERT!

Morning, Damon. Is Alaric in? Why, no. Elena. He’s not. Oh. Yeah. Are you hiding something from me? No. Huh. Well, okay. Bye. The young human asks no more questions regarding the location of one, Alaric Saltzman, simply complying with Damon’s dismissal; though suspicious of the dealings going on behind the concealed door. The ruse is successful. Damon, Alaric, and Stefan have conspired secretly to perfectly produce twelve stakes – forged from the last remains of the second great white oak tree – capable of killing any Original. It is at this time, when Alaric confesses his need to turn himself in, to right the wrongs his crazy homicidal alter-ego has committed. The brothers are quick to shoot down any ideas Alaric has, knowing nothing good can come from it. Damon voluntarily returns the magic Gilbert ring to the fragile minded hunter, needing him for the upcoming war. Reluctantly, and very stupidly, Alaric puts the ring back in its place.

“If you go out in the woods today . . .” While walking through the expansive backwoods of Mystic, Elena breaks the news, telling Caroline the identity of her father’s killer. The vampire is quite upset, until Elena talks her down. He’s a victim of the supernatural. You can’t totally blame the guy, Caroline. Matt shows up not much later, quickly followed by the Salvatore brothers. Secret meeting! In a few short minutes, the team has been caught up, breaking down several scenarios that would leave at least one Original dead, a stake through his or her heart.

Klaus, baby. Where have you been? The sexy bastard is all business, following after his brother, Finn. The Original is on the lookout for Mommy Dearest, but has more important matters that need to be dealt with first. There is a way to unlink the Originals, to undo the spell that had been cast upon them. Really? Sure, though in order to do that, he’s going to need Finn’s cooperation. It takes some snarky help from Rebecca, but in the end, they mange to bring Finn back home, kicking and screaming. That is, until he spots his one true love, Sage. The two embrace, effectively deciding Finn’s allegiance.

In the meantime, Rebecca finds the time for some much-needed revenge. It doesn’t take much – a hasty knife wound, in fact – for Rebecca to overpower Damon at his home, kidnapping the wounded vampire. She secures him in chains, making escape impossible. Hey, this is kind of kinky. It seems Rebecca has been taking a note or two from a man with a silver tie. Uh, yeah? It would be better if Damon was shirtless, though. Yep! That is better. Rebecca’s smooth words only speak of hurt and betrayal, crushed by Damon’s devious ways to get into her mind, to seek out the information he needed. Rebecca cuts shallow gashes into the vampires skin, draining him of vervain and blood, making him weak.

Klaus has a plan of his own, making Bonnie the witch who will break the spell that links all the Originals as one. Say, what? You know. He threatens her family – in this case, Jeremy. She complies to his demands. Same old, same old.

Later, Alaric apologizes to Caroline. Forgiveness is quickly earned, knowing and believing Alaric can be saved. Outside The Grill, Elena makes a plea. She wants to rescue Damon. While Stefan wants to continue with the plan. The two disagree strongly, putting them at odds. Stefan ignores her insistence, keeping to the original plan.

As Damon slowly begins to regain consciousness, as his blood drips and his body weakens, he finds a welcome sight: Elena ready and waiting to rescue the captured vampire. She carefully removes the chains from his marred skin, securing him in her embrace. The pair begin their getaway, but Damon is quickly outdone by his fragility. Elena begs him to look into her eyes, vowing to stay by his side. She holds up her wrist, willing the vampire to drink, to regain his strength. Teeth slowly sink into her skin. Eyes begin to darken. A long-awaited cloud of lust envelops the pair, pushing their lonely lips together . . . Dammit! No. Not fair! It was all just a dream brought on by compulsion. Stupid, Rebecca. Stupid, stupid. Rebecca. You shall pay. Oh, yes. You shall pay. 

Well, moving on. Bonnie begins to put the final touches on the spell, taking the blood of Klaus and his siblings, reciting the words needed to break the link that binds them. Simultaneously, Stefan observes his victim. Finn and Sage reunite over a few shots of tequila. Unbeknownst to them, their liquid courage has been spiked with vervain. Recovering almost instantly, the pair follow a smug Stefan outside The Grill, attempting to catch up with their next potential kill. Sage takes Stefan down easily, keeping the stake out of arms reach. The nine-hundred year old vampire orders Finn to grab the weapon, but it’s too late. Elena and Matt are already waiting for him. Elena fires the crossbow as Bonnie completes the spell. Finn is dead. Unfortunately, for the crew of Mystic Falls, Klaus is not. Damn. The spell was successful, leaving Sage mourning for her mate, and Bonnie a free, but dispirited soul.

You better be careful, Stefan. You just ticked off a very powerful vampire. She’s likely to kick your ass. Ha! Told ya so. Soon after Stefan makes it home to the mansion, Sage rushes in, ready to take down her lover’s murderer. Wait. What’s happening? Sage flinches in pain and sickness. Something is wrong. Her body breaks down. The vampire and her sire collapse in death. What. The. Hell.

As if they could read our minds, piece by piece, the team start to put the facts together. Only hours after Finn had died, Sage found herself on that same list. Okay. What does that mean exactly? It would mean that when an Original dies, his or her entire bloodline dies with them. In actuality, that would mean no more vampires. At all. None. Zero. Zip. All Gone.

And this would be the point in the program where we stop, look around, and scratch our heads. We ask: Seriously? Really. REALLY? Are you kidding me?

Stefan and Elena take no time to conclude what all of this means. Either way, someone is going to die. Tyler. Caroline. Damon. Stefan. Everyone is at risk. From them (the Originals) all vampires came into existence. If one dies, countless others will too. So . . . “What would you be, if you were attached to another object by an inclined plane, wrapped helically around an axis?” Screwed. Basically, they’re all screwed.

Stefan leisurely walks into Klaus House with bag in hand. What’s in the bag, you might ask? Well, how about eight weapons able to kill an Original? Stefan makes a deal with Klaus. He’ll hand over the weapons, if Klaus hands over Damon. Easy. Right? Not so much. See, Klaus is not so keen to trust Stefan when he says that’s all of the weapons. Frankly, he doesn’t believe him. This would be the point where they torture Damon a little bit more. Klaus compels the aching vampire to tell the truth: they’re are eleven weapons left after the first had been used on Finn. Empty threats are made by Klaus (Dude! Learn to follow through), but Rebecca is the one to have some faith, freeing Damon and leaving the brothers to bring the last remaining stakes on their own time.

Klaus isn’t really displeased with his brother’s death, more like, understanding that he had to die. Rebecca is appalled at his revelation. She tries to remind him of the essential idea of family, but it’s no use. In a moment, Klaus transforms from the sick sadistic vampire, into the young wounded boy of his youth. “I wanted a family, they just didn’t want me.” Aw! Poor, guy. The brother and sister duo leave each other with wronged goodbyes and vile words.

Stefan Salvatore sits in his darkened room, contemplating the events of the day. Elena steadily walks into the room, voicing her concern over Stefan’s actions made out of anger. Stefan is eager to relinquish his desires for retribution for the things – people – he has lost, realizing Klaus isn’t worth it. He isn’t worth the time or the energy any more. They lost. There is nothing more they can do. Elena protests, but Stefan continues. He’s always loved Elena, though he did everything to push her away. He takes the blame, placing himself as the person responsible for everything that has happened. It’s his fault that Elena is also in love with Damon. He holds her close, willing her to admit her disregarding feelings for his brother. She can’t. She can’t speak the words that would give her Stefan. Elena doesn’t know what she feels. Stefan leaves hurt and rejected once again. *Sad face* 

Final Scene: Damon – all healed, shiny, and new – arrives at Casa de Saltzman looking for the remaining stake, so he can bring it to Klaus. Alaric runs his hands over the bookshelf, the specific resting place for the weapon, but finds nothing in its stead. He panics. No one could have known where he put the splintered wood. Only him. He was the only one to know where he stored the weapon. Oh, no. I hate to say, I told you so. A bromance comes crashing down, as Damon and Alaric realize the trouble they’re in. “Are you telling me, that your vampire hating alter-ego has a stake that could kill an entire line of vampires, possibly mine?” Yep. That’s what he’s telling you.

The Vampire Diaries

New episodes of The Vampire Diaries return April 18th. I’ll see you then!

What did you think of the episode? What was your favorite scene? Favorite line? What did you think about this strange turn of events? Are you happy Klaus gets to stay a while longer? Will he ever be able to woo the blonde vampire, Caroline? Will we ever see Tyler again? Will Elena ever declare her feelings for Damon? Is there still hope for Stefan? Will Crazy Alaric make it to the end of the season? Tell me in the comments!

For more Kim the FanGirl follow the blog on Twitter @kimthefangirl and on Facebook