Posted by Crissy Calhoun | December 12, 2010, 13:40 (EST) | 87 Comments
Category: TV Series
A close-up of a festering wound doesn’t have quite the same cliffhangery impact as last season’s fall finale did — what with Elena discovering Katherine’s portrait, the car accident, and the vampire in the road — but By the Light of the Moon will always be remembered for Tyler’s unforgettably torturous transformation and (judging by my list of questions below) sets up tons of story to burn through in the second half of the season.
Trusting the Enemy: While there’s not much enviable about being a girl marked for a blood sacrifice, even when she’s frustrated and imprisoned in her own home, Elena manages to get her way. Damon, Bonnie, and Jeremy realize that she’s not one to back down when she’s made up her mind and she fails their little test with the moonstone. Her plan to martyr herself is thwarted by the genius idea to bind her in her house, which is basically the same as locking up someone who’s a suicide risk. Though they mean the best for her, her friends have taken away her freedom and put her into the role of a hapless damsel, something Elena hates. In her present predicament, there’s no way Elena would refuse Elijah’s deal: it solves her unsolvable situation. The threat of Klaus will be taken care of by Elijah, her friends and family protected by witches, the Sun and the Moon Curse left intact — no creepy sacrifice ritual required. Elijah offers Elena his hand as he introduces himself, and their handshake acts as both a sign of civility on his part and a symbol that their deal is an eventuality. But the question — and it’s a big one — remains: is Elijah trustworthy? And, if he is a man of his word, is he capable of carrying out his plan against Klaus, the evil, paranoid Original vampire who’s sure to have henchmen equally as powerful as Elijah?
Elena has the good sense to question whether or not Elijah is being honest with her; Bonnie, on the other hand, blindly trusts Luka, thinking she’s being cautious enough by not revealing what spell the moonstone is tied to. Luka easily manipulates her with talk of loyalty and familial bonds among all witches, but he also seems to genuinely like Bonnie. The tension between Luka and his father, which we saw a glimmer of last week, is amped up in By the Light of the Moon when Luka places the moonstone on the table instead of in his father’s hand. He obeyed his father’s instructions but he ain’t happy about it. In their dynamic, there’s an echo of other intergenerational relationships we’ve seen on The Vampire Diaries: the older generation — like Giuseppe Salvatore, Uncle John Gilbert, and even Grams Bennett — making decisions the younger generation isn’t comfortable with, despite the argument that it’s for the greater good. I’m interested to see why Jonas is involved with Elijah, and how Luka’s loyalty may shift in the coming episodes. While I didn’t like seeing Bonnie so easily duped by a newcomer, any scene that involves circles of candles, levitating talismans, sparkly explosions, and the Mystic Falls town square (I’ve missed you, clock tower) is A-OK by me.
Unlikely Allies: With Stefan in the tomb, Damon acts as the de facto leader of the group in By the Light of the Moon and does a not-bad job of it; all his bases are covered: Vampire Barbie on wolf patrol; Jeremy babysitting Elena, who can’t leave her house anyway; Bonnie on Project Moonstone; and Alaric and Damon working the Mason-Jules situation. But as it plays out, everyone (with the exception of Caroline) fails in their duties — Elijah finds a way into the house, Elena makes a deal with their supposed enemy, Bonnie unwittingly gives up the moonstone, and Jules is wise to Damon and Alaric’s trickery. (Using the same strategy to out Jules that Mason did with Damon in Kill or Be Killed may not have been the best idea.) Despite the plans going awry, Damon as leader is an interesting new position for him, and it shows just how much more people trust him now than they used to: he and Bonnie are working together and agreeing on what to do, her reluctance to work with vampires put aside or overcome; he and Jeremy — the guy whose neck Damon snapped just a short while ago — are sharing a chuckle over Elena’s frustration; and Alaric, who’s always had a love-hate relationship with Damon, plays along at the Grill and later talks some sense into a “marked” Damon, getting him to head home instead of chase a werewolf on a full moon.
Special Friends: In a rare moment when she’s not crying, Rose tells Damon, “I don’t love men who love other women. I think more of myself than that.” It’s an interesting commentary on Damon — a man who’s in love with a woman whose heart belongs to his brother — as well as on Katherine who again insists that she loves Stefan — a man whose heart belongs to her doppelganger. The Katherine-Stefan scenes in this episode were a bit of a non-starter: their manipulation of each other came across, in the end, as ineffectual — though Katherine’s dream control trick was certainly more entertaining to watch than Stefan’s attempt at emotional blackmail. When Stefan leaves Katherine in the tomb, his goodbye has a sense of finality to it. Whatever twists and turns and heartbreaks and hookups the future holds for the doppelgangers and the Salvatore brothers, it’s clear from Stefan and Elena’s joyful reunion that they love each other. Have we ever seen Stefan look so happy?
While Bonnie, Jer, and Damon talk of Elena playing the martyr, unbeknownst to anyone but Tyler, Caroline is putting herself in grave danger in her choice to be there for Tyler. She refuses to leave his side until the very last possible moment — and then feels terrible about leaving him at all. Her tearful apologies outside the door while he screams in agony in the final throes of his transformation were heartbreaking. In supporting him through the worst pain he’s likely to ever experience, Caroline and Tyler shared something that no one else will ever fully understand. Though Tyler says there’s nothing she can do for him as he writhes in agony, Caroline standing by him in his darkest hour is the most and best thing a friend can do. As much as it was horrifying to watch Tyler go through the transformation — those cracking noises; that arm bending unnaturally, the dry-heaving post-wolfsbane — the connection between Caroline and Tyler made this supernatural moment incredibly human. The emphasis was on the characters rather than on a special effects display; so even though all those wolf transformation shots were cool and creepy, what mattered most to me was how Tyler and Caroline were reacting to a situation well beyond their control. It was a wonderful paradox: Tyler becoming an incredible powerful creature, strong and deadly, in front of Caroline’s eyes while at the same time revealing to her his most vulnerable and scared self. Michael Trevino has brought Tyler a long way from last season, and in By the Light of the Moon he gave us a visceral, brutal, and honest performance of Tyler in gut-wrenching pain and heartrending sobs. Tyler and Caroline were without a doubt the heart of this episode, and the danger of their newfound closeness will be revealed when we see what fate awaits Rose in the show’s return post-hiatus.
Compelling Moment: Every single moment Caroline held Tyler while he shuddered with excruciating pain, but their final exchange was the best/worst: “You’re okay.” “No, I’m not.” Stop making me cry, Tyler.
The Rules: No question about it: werewolves got the short end of the supernatural stick with sickening pain, breaking bones, and hours and hours of it. Ingesting wolfsbane weakens a werewolf, and drinking it prevented Wolf Tyler from escaping. Apparently a werewolf is strong enough to destroy a rig set up to withstand 5,000 pounds. A werewolf’s first transformation can take place before the moon hits its apex, implying that it normally happens at the moon’s apex, and a werewolf stays in wolf form for a few hours, give or take. Jonas and Luka lift the tomb spell “before [they] lose the full moon,” suggesting that they draw on the power of that celestial event to fuel their magic. A werewolf bite isn’t lethal to a vampire . . . at least not immediately; the wound does creepily fester and bubble, dampening any possibility of getting frisky with a “special friend.”
Foggy Moments:
- When will the conveniently old-school answering machine stop popping up on our TV screens?
- Why isn’t Bonnie at all suspicious when Luka immediately forgives her for nearly killing him? Not only that but then he dupes her with the fake-out magic trick she herself successfully used in Isobel. C’mon, Bonnie.
- When Katherine controls Stefan’s dreams, is she controlling his reactions too? Or does she just artfully arrange the setting and play her role and Stefan reacts as his own subconscious desires?
- So Jules asks Matt about Tyler and then . . . nothing? That line just seemed like a way to include a Matt moment, of which there are far too few.
- How much human consciousness does a werewolf have when in wolf form? Wolf-Jules finds her way to the Salvatore house (before or after she turns?); attacks Rose; and retreats after biting her. Did Damon scare the wolf away by stabbing her, or did she leave because she only intended on taking one good bite and of Rose, not Damon?
- If Elijah plans on killing Klaus after drawing him out of hiding “when the time is right,” why does he care if Katherine is in the tomb where Klaus can find her? Is she part of his plan in some way yet to be revealed, or just an added incentive for Klaus to come to Mystic Falls?
- Did Stefan realize how Elijah kept Katherine in the tomb, i.e., he’s a vampire capable of compelling other vampires?
Other thoughts & questions to ponder while we patiently await The Descent (EP212):
- Lots of questions about Jules: why was she in Mason’s apartment? If she could sense Damon was a vampire, does she know about Katherine, and Mason’s involvement with her? Who does Jules call after leaving the Lockwood estate, and who did Mason lie to about there being another werewolf? Is Jules a friend of Mason’s or is she part of some secret werewolf society, analogous to the Founders Council or the vampires’ Originals?
- Will Mason’s disappearance put the Founders Council back on high alert, or will Sheriff Forbes and Carol Lockwood treat this as a supernatural-free missing persons case?
- While it’s not entirely a good idea to use compulsion (see: Jeremy Gilbert, season 1), couldn’t they just compel Aunt Jenna to stop inviting people into the house? She’s a menace!
- I loved how Elijah casually snooped in Elena’s diary, and “the lovely Elena” didn’t dare shoo him away as she’s done with Damon. Is it just me or does Elijah seem a little impressed with and/or interested in Elena?
- Assuming that what Elijah told Elena is the truth: did Elijah do something to get kicked out of Klaus’s inner circle? Why does he want to kill Klaus?
- Why is Jonas Martin working for (or with) Elijah? Is he in his debt, or is he on his side? Is Jonas simply interesting in building his grimoire library, or is he collecting them in search of a particular spell? (I’m guessing it’s the latter.)
- I, for one, am hoping Stefan dutifully follows Katherine’s advice and tracks down Isobel. She’s a fabulous troublemaker.
While we don’t get a new episode until the end of January, it’s Vampire Diaries marathon week starting on Monday, and Red and Vee have some awesome posts planned to keep you from going into TVD withdrawal. Until then, sound off below, my friends!
Crissy Calhoun is the author of Love You to Death: The Unofficial Companion to The Vampire Diaries and is writing a follow-up book that covers season 2 (due out in September 2011). When not obsessively re-watching CW shows, she works as managing editor at ECW Press in Toronto. She blogs on TVD, Gossip Girl, and other random things she falls in love with at crissycalhoun.com and tweets @crissycalhoun.
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