THE VAMPIRE DIARIES Takes a Stroll Down ‘Memory Lane’

Alright, I’ve learned my lesson – I will never go out on a Thursday night again.  Watching THE VAMPIRE DIARIES at 5 a.m. is not ideal. It’s just too early in the morning to properly enjoy Damon’s sarcasm and wit (but not too early to appreciate those dreamy eyes.)

This week Katherine was back and as you might expect, she’s being a huge pain in the ass.  After making some not too subtle advances on Stefan, he decided enough is enough and chained the girl in the basement in an attempt to find out her true motivations for returning to Mystic Falls.  Something tells me Katherine might have been into it…just a bit.

In a series of flashbacks, it was revealed that Katherine assisted George Lockwood in orchestrating the vampire burning – the very massacre that she was thought to be a victim of. In exchange for Kat’s help and her word that she would take his werewolf secret to the grave, George helped Katherine escape the night of the fire. Not knowing she already had a way out, both Damon and Stefan were killed and vampified trying to save the woman they love.  Men…such (blood)suckers.

Katherine continues to claim that she has returned to Mystic Falls for Stefan. She’s never stopped loving him and she wants him back. It’s really hard to trust anything this chick has to say, but given her personal flashback at the end of the episode in which she tells a dead Stefan that she loves him and they will one day be reunited, perhaps she’s being honest, she really does want Stefan.  Get in line, sister.

If this is in fact true, I”m going to go out on a limb and say that Katherine doesn’t have all her wits about her. Why else w0uld she reveal to Stefan that her lies were directly responsible for his death? If she’s trying to get the guy back, maybe she consider leaving some parts of the past in the past.

The mistress of manipulation dragged Caroline into her scheme too.  Katherine enlisted a frightened Caroline in helping her keep Elena away from Stefan.  But not even a flat tire can keep Ms. Gilbert away from her main vamp.  Little did Elena know that Stefan was radio silent because he was spending the day with his ex.  Needless to say, Elena was surprised when she came face-to-face with her mirror image – Katherine.

Perhaps I was misled by the promos, but I was hoping for an epic showdown between Katherine and Elena. I know a physical confrontation wouldn’t be feasible given that Katherine could probably wipe out Elena with a dirty look, but that whole scene fell a little flat for me. On the other hand, it was great to see The Dobrev face off against The Dobrev. I love her as Elena, but as Katherine she’s really showing me something.

While all this was going down, Damon was playing  Mystic Falls supernatural social director. Alaric and Damon used Jenna’s high school connection to Mason Lockwood to see if the guy was the werewolf they expected him to be. Of course after seeing him wolf out last week, we the audience were quite aware of his wild side, but the guys wanted confirmation before they tried to murder him. How considerate.

Mason revealed that he was aware of Damon’s ‘alternative lifestyle’ but didn’t want to stir up unnecessary drama. He came back for his family, not to throw down with vamps.  Damon wasn’t interested in calling a truce and tried to kill Mason with a silver knife.  It didn’t work.  Damon’s dick move rattled Mason’s cage and any shot of keeping peace between the vamps and the werewolves was wiped out. In the words of our dear Katherine, ‘game on’.  Nice job, Damon.

The always amped up Tyler Lockwood was especially furious this week, demanding to know more about Mason’s other life as a wolf.  What happened to evoke the curse and could it happen to Tyler? Mason doesn’t think it’s possible as the transformation won’t happen unless Tyler murders someone.

Hey Mase Dogg, I know you haven’t been around all that much and don’t know your nephew all that well, but this kid is a complete hot head.  If you want to be the lone wolf in the family, you might want to consider getting him into some anger management classes — fast!

Although this episode lacked the excitement of the first few eps of the season, I think it served its purpose in setting the stage for some massive and inevitable showdowns. Katherine vs. Elena.  The Lockwoods vs. The Salvatores. Stefan’s current love for Elena and his past love for Katherine.  Uh oh.

A few other thoughts while I’m busy polishing my family’s collection of silver….

• For the second week in a row, there was no Jeremy. Why? They need to figure out a way to get Steven R. McQueen into these episodes. He’s just way too hot not to be seen every week.

• I think Caroline and I were both played by Elena and Stefan.  I really thought Stefan was considering breaking things off with Elena in order to keep her safe from Katherine.  Nicely done.

• There was nothing in this episode to set this up, but I’m convinced that vamp Caroline and werewolf Tyler are going to get their freak on at some point this season. It’s just too awesome a storyline to not pursue. Not sure how Matt fits into all of this.  If he needs a shoulder to cry on, he can come find me. I’ll comfort him.

• I loved how Mason outplayed Damon by making a show of avoiding the silver knife in the apple pie.  Damon was completely flummoxed when he later stabbed Mason with a silver knife and it had no effect. It’s not often that we see someone pull something over on Damon Salvatore (someone whose name isn’t Elena Gilbert I should say.)

While I like my VAMPIRE DIARIES a little more fast paced – both in action and in wit – it’s okay to slow things down every once in a while in order to set up future storylines. Here’s to hoping we get back to kicking a little ass next week…and here’s to hoping we’ll be seeing Jeremy’s ass while we’re at it.

Really hoping that you all watched last night, there’s much to talk about. Share your thoughts on last night’s THE VAMPIRE DIARIES in the comments below.

Follow @GiveMeMyRemote and @GMMRtv on Twitter for the latest TV news. Connect with other TV fans on GIVE ME MY REMOTE’s official Facebook page. And to be the first to see our exclusive videos, subscribe to our YT channel at youtube.com/givememyremotetv.