It was an exciting, twist-filled, and often heartbreaking episode of The Vampire Diaries this week, and one I felt was easily superior to the last few installments of the show. Aside from Bonnie's absence (which continues to be frustrating), "Prayer for the Dying" had TVD's strengths on full display, with the struggle to save Liz perfectly complimenting the compelling problem of the imminent twin merge until the two plotlines themselves unexpectedly combined.
"I was trying to fix something that I had no business trying to fix. It's like textbook definition of a control freak from hell." Caroline had a lot of guilt to grapple with after her desperate attempt to save her mother backfired, which became clear after her test patient became a "Stage 10" cancer sufferer who was also a vampire. Even though Damon and Elena were a bit judgmental (with Damon rubbing Caroline's mistake in her face and Elena questioning why Stefan let Caroline give Liz her blood*) about the situation, Stefan reassured Caroline that her motives were pure and that's all that matters. I liked the way Stefan's support showed his steadfast closeness and affection for Caroline, despite the writers maybe making Damon and Elena a little overly harsh to offset this.
However, Damon did show his affection for Liz quite touchingly, first by mentioning it specifically to Elena and then by taking strides to do the near-impossible in order to prevent Liz from suffering a terrible fate. After Tyler attempted to rouse Kai to stop Liv and Luke from having to merge, Damon remarked, "I could kiss you, you beautiful moron," which was one of the best lines of the episode (lol times a million). Damon made a deal with Kai whereby the villain would drain the magic from Liz. Unfortunately, this initially resulted with Liz apparently having a heart attack, in a terrifying scene in which poor Caroline (and doubtless many viewers) sobbed uncontrollably. Meanwhile, in Liz's mind, she was visualizing her understanding that her demise was nearing by picturing herself packing a suitcase full of mementos of Caroline and calling to her daughter to say goodbye. This part was so poignant and sad that I can hardly recall it without tearing up again. Well done, TVD and Marguerite MacIntyre - I think this was one of the most moving sequences the show has had in some time.
The scenes between Stefan and Caroline this week were truly beautiful and showed the special bond the two characters share. I liked the way Stefan anticipated and understood Caroline's feelings of guilt and trying to overcompensate by taking on other tasks (like picking the flowers for Liz's memorial) that allowed her to indulge in her perfectionist tendencies. It was also lovely that, after a heartfelt chat of support, Caroline reached for Stefan's hand, after he took hers last week. Another special moment came when Liz charged Stefan with being there for Caroline when she dies, as Caroline will need someone to look after her and make her laugh. This showed that Liz recognizes the depth of Stefan and Caroline's relationship and relies on it to see Caroline through hard times. Even though it's going to be hard to (seemingly inevitably) see Liz go, I'm so glad it won't be under circumstances where Caroline is to blame and Liz has to go through unnecessary extra suffering.
"You win some, you lose some. Except for me. I always win." After removing the magic from Liz and predictably showing no concern for her subsequent problems, Kai was off frolicking to a showdown with Jo, but meanwhile Liv and Luke's encounter with their father sent Luke off on a new path. After realizing that their father would stop at nothing to see that they merged (the man's cold attitude towards his own children is truly repugnant), and that this would most likely result in Liv's death, Luke resolved to merge with Kai himself, protecting both of his sisters in the process. That was incredibly noble, and Luke had good enough reason to think he actually had a shot at surviving, given his strength as a witch. But knowing the magnitude of Kai's big badness, I think we all knew this wasn't going to end well for Luke. Sure enough, it was Kai who survived the merge, leaving poor Luke to die and our gang in hot water, since Kai will now be at his strongest. Who can stop the snarky villain now? Anyone? Anyone? Bonnie?!
*I know, I said the same thing as Elena in my review last week, that Stefan could have convinced Caroline to wait longer before giving Liz her blood. Still, that probably wasn't the most sensitive time for Elena to bring this up to Stefan.
What did you think of this episode? Share your thoughts in the comments! And don't forget to catch an all-new The Vampire Diaries next Thursday at 8/7c on the CW.
Very good episode. Yeah, bring Bonnie back!! I wonder wnere was Alaric
ReplyDeleteEnjoyed it as well! They made some kind of excuse about Alaric going off to find a magical object for Jo to use if I recall correctly.
ReplyDeleteWhy has this show gotten so ridiculous and predictable? As soon as the merge SL was introduced, I knew they would kill Luke. Why? Because Liv is Tyler's storyline this season, Jo is Alaric's (yup, that's what those four do on the show), and Kai id the villain.
ReplyDeleteAlso, even as a Steroline fan, Stefan does NOT need to appear in EVERY scene Caroline shares with Liz. Next... Elena is way more focused on DAMON than on Caroline and Bonnie COMBINED! Seriously? The girl who used to be someone willing to sacrifice evrything for the people she loves, and now she's only about Damon?
I used to ADORE this show. My fav character used to be Damon, my OTP Delena, I was bored to tears by Stefan, Bonnie annoyed me the most...
NOW: Delena is nothing more than a fan service, no real storyline, just meaningless, out of nowhere hookups. The writers are trying too hard to make Damon cool and funny, and it shows. Stefan is my FAVORITE character... and I'm rooting for Elena to die and BAMON to happen, because their interactions brought me back to the show.
And last... Tyler, Liv, Alaric, Jo, Jeremy, Enzo, Matt... They NEED storylines. Or to be gone. Because they are bringing nothing to the show now.
I agree. This Elena is like another doppelganger's taken over for the one from the first seasons. She's all about a boy. For two seasons, all about a BOY. That's just lazy writing. 'What do we do with her today?' 'Ah, she can get into a fight with Damon. Then they can have hot make up sex in the next episode.' And this is coming from someone who used to be CRAZY in love with Delena.
ReplyDeleteBring back the FRIENDSHIP, LOYALTY, FAMILY into this show, stat!
Also: suspense, danger, surprises, real villains, strong storylines, less useless characters.
The changes to Elena's character do bother me...I really want her to show the strength of her friendships with Bonnie and Caroline more and spend less time whining and complaining about others...she does come off as egotistical a lot, especially since she got rid of her memories. For some reason that started a weird, shallow trend in her behavior. I think the writers can fix it if they try to have her act much more in character with how she was in earlier seasons.
ReplyDeleteI liked your review. I agree with a lot of it (as my comment hit the same points last night) I probably have some things to add. Butttt it won't be tonight. Lol Again, nice review.
ReplyDeletePersonally, I think that dream with Caroline turning around all vamped out is because Liz has a fear that her daughter will lose what's left of her humanity when she dies, and she asked for Stefan to remain by her side because she knows that Stefan gives her hope and kind of humanizes her.
ReplyDeleteThanks for mentioning this! It makes total sense. :)
ReplyDeleteThanks, Shannon! Looking forward to reading your additional comments :)
ReplyDeleteGreat Episode: Here are a few deeper moments I believe the writers wanted us to take away.
ReplyDelete1) Liz - I am glad the writers are giving Liz a proper human sending off. She has been the only parent figure left for the MF gang, I have enjoyed watching the tender moments she has had with them. Don't put away the Kleenex, more sad scenes to come. Will Matt take her place as sheriff?
2) Caroline admitting she has control issues and the need to fix things - it is OK when Caroline was planning dances or graduation events but when it comes to people's lives it can be a disaster or in her mom's case fatal. I know Caroline often tried to fix Elena's relationship with Damon again I see this as not her place - remember the celebratory break-up breakfast?
3) Damon's redemption - we are slowly seeing Damon gain control of his anger. Old Damon would have snapped Tyler's neck or killed Kai in a heartbeat - no questions asked.
4) I loved the Delena scene, especially where the light shines through. This reconnects us to the moment in the woods where Damon tells Elena he promises to return to her. FYI - this is exactly where we left off - so yes, they are connecting us back to that moment.
5) Elena challenging Stefan on being hopeful and Damon saying what needed to be said to Caroline. I love that Stefan is hopeful but even with the best intentions there are no guarantees. And Damon basically telling Caroline she killed Liz - Why? was he upset because Liz is his friend or was he testing Caroline to see how in control or fragile she might be? Again, Caroline is a person who likes to control things and if she turns off her humanity she could become deadly.
6) Gemini Coven - I really felt bad for Luke, our only hope is that his soul merged with Kai which will mellow Kai. I am torn with this entire merge thing & the MF gang involvement. The Merge is a family issue, so should the MF gang get involved? But Luke / Liv have helped the gang in their time of need Right? This appears to be a very complicated issue.
Looking forward to next episode in hopes of Bonnie returning.
Great points! Love the repeat use of the light shining through Delena's kiss. One thing this show does really well is bookending significant moments, like Caroline taking Stefan's hand this week after she did the same last week. It's nice to make these connections and have them so clearly represented by the writers.
ReplyDeleteI think people have started empathizing more with Stefan (currently the underdog) and Caroline (the sweet creature that she is) and hence the negative reaction to Elena's words to Stefan. The main objection is that she said it to Stefan, not the actual things that she said - a lot of comments were saying that last week.
ReplyDeleteAnd expecting Damon to be sensitive? He's always been an insensitive, blunt dick. Are people expecting him to be different because she show seems to be implying that he's changed?
Overall, it's like people are saying that Elena should go back to her mint condition, but Damon should get a personality change?
Good points, I can definitely see what you're saying. I kind of just felt like the writers felt it advantageous to have Elena and Damon be critical of Caroline and Stefan's actions as it allowed Caroline and Stefan to have a certain connection and set of nice conversations in this episode that were important to their relationship. Elena's been a little "off" lately where I don't feel she's acted like herself since the memory wipe thing. As for Damon, agreed, he's always been hot-tempered and prone to speaking without thinking. However, I doubt he'd have spoken to Bonnie like that with their new friendship being so strong. Damon's never been as kind to Caroline as he should.
ReplyDelete1) i love Liz and am sad to see her go, but I feel that three episodes of the cancer issue are starting to drag - I prefer sudden death. So if they're going to kill her, just kill her and be done with it.
ReplyDelete2) Caroline's control issues and tendencies to be judgmental make her a more interesting character. She never tried to "fix" Delena, she was just against it. And with reasons.
3) I think you're overestimating Damon's redemption - why would he snap Tyler's neck? As for killing Kai, he was all for it just a few episodes ago, and didn't do it now mainly for plot reasons.
4) Ahh, so that's what the light was about. I didn't get it. Also, I thought Elena being affected by Liz's death was about her continuing emotional issues when it comes to death and grief. Was there any significance to the music? There usually is.
5) It needed to be said?! No, Damon was just being a blunt a-hole. Testing Caroline? I think you're seeing sensitivity where there is none - I honestly can't remember one instance of Damon being sensitive towards anyone.
6) I think the previews show Kai having issues with Luke's personality. I don't get what you're saying about the merge - it's already happened, so what more could be done about it?