Posted by Crissy Calhoun | February 6, 2011, 20:53 (EST) | 94 Comments
Category: TV Series
If you asked a random person on the street, or a random TVD fan for that matter, to describe The Vampire Diaries, you’re not likely to hear anything along the lines of: “It’s a show that allows us to explore questions of morality, the meaning of trust, family and friendship, loyalty and duty, through the characters’ search for identity.” But Daddy Issues gives us all that, and a bubble bath, if you feel like diving in.
Truth or Consequences: Seems like everyone in Mystic Falls is having trust issues, and the consequences range from being a pariah (Uncle John) to nearly being killed (Caroline). Jenna finds out about Uncle Daddy John and is flabbergasted that he and Elena were capable of keeping that secret (while Alaric is noticeably quiet on the topic of secret-keeping…). Bonnie feels betrayed by the Witches Martin, and refuses to believe Jonas when he says Elijah will stay true to his word. There are trust issues galore between Uncle John and Elena, the brothers Salvatore, Jeremy, and . . . pretty much everyone else in Mystic Falls. The episode begins with Caroline facing the consequences of her lies to Tyler, and ends with her unwittingly being outed as a liar to Matt. Elena’s two for two in the “who can you trust” game: Elijah turns out to be an Original who keeps his promise and, judging by Uncle John’s trip to the tomb to see Katherine, Elena’s instinct not to believe a word he says is a good one.
And then there’s Tyler. Oh, Tyler. Both Jules and Stefan try to convince him that their side is the side to join, but Tyler doesn’t seem capable of making up his mind. He’s left floundering between the werewolves he barely knows and his friends who’ve turned out to be vampires responsible for killing his uncle. Not an enviable position. The werewolf code espoused by Jules and Brady is an old-school “pack mentality”: protect your own above all others, be loyal to your kind, fulfill your duty, and know your enemy — in their case, every last vampire. When Brady looks at Caroline in the cage, he doesn’t see a teenage girl crying in pain and for mercy; like Giuseppe Salvatore and John Gilbert before him, he sees a vampire — an evil creature that deserves no pity, no kindness, no existence at all. There doesn’t seem to be any room in Jules and Brady’s werewolf way of life for Tyler’s mixed feelings about Caroline. It’s telling that from the time Tyler arrives with Stefan at the werewolf RV headquarters to the end of the (epic) battle, the only thing he says is “What the hell’s going on?” (Does Tyler even know about witches?) Stefan tells Jules that Tyler is free to make his own decisions, but ultimately it’s Tyler’s inaction that determines which side he’s on. Caroline feels so hurt and betrayed by Tyler just standing by, dumbstruck, while Jules holds a gun to her head, ready to kill her that she tells him he’s destroyed their friendship. Caroline directs him to return to the pack, and he does. This turning point for Tyler reminded me of something Stefan said to Damon in The Return: how we respond will define us. So often on TVD, characters’ actions in a crisis help define them, and it was hard to watch Tyler falter and make what was, from my perspective, the wrong choice.
With no family left save for his mother, it will be interesting to see if Tyler takes up with the wolves as his new family, or if he fights for Caroline’s friendship and chooses his life in Mystic Falls. He’s a guy so unsure of who he is that he could really go either way.
Be a Better Man: Like Tyler, Damon is in the midst of an identity crisis, going a little crazy as he tries to be both the man Elena wants him to be and the killer he feels he truly is. Clueless that he’s killing again, Elena wholeheartedly believes in Damon’s ability to be “the better man” she keeps urging him to be, and Damon is very aware of his “character arc” (like in his hilarious hero’s haircut quip to Stefan) but he doesn’t trust himself. He briefly flirts with the idea of staving off temptation (by not flirting back with Andie Star, Channel 9 News) but just a few short scenes later, he’s in the tub . . . indulging. Has Damon’s love for Elena changed him as Andie suggests? Or will he always give in to his bloodlust? Just a wild guess, but I don’t think he can keep up the double life — helpful Salvatore brother by day, lady killer by night — that he’s living now. (Dude really needs to start watching Dexter.) In the meantime, it’s fascinating to watch and such a nice change of pace to have such a traditionally vampiric scene (fangs + a river of blood) on the show.
On the flip side of the coin from Damon is Uncle John, who’s trying to convince Elena and co. that he is a better man than when last we met him. That he’s seen the error of his past mistakes, that he had lost his way after losing his brother. And man, I almost believe him. His character is wonderfully complicated: watching his family reject him again and again made him pitiable, but Jenna, Jeremy, Elena, and the brothers Salvatore each have good reason to be wary of him. While I do think he’s being truthful when he says he’ll try to protect Elena, I think his actions will be directed by his warped Uncle John version of right and wrong. Blood relation doesn’t mean “family” to Elena, and she’s fiercely protective of her memory of her parents, of them as her only and real parents. (In this episode with John, as she was when she met Isobel.) Though the last thing she needs is something more to deal with, at least Elena can handle the Uncle John situation with the support of her family and friends, the ones she knows she can trust — Jenna and Jeremy, Bonnie, Matt, and Caroline, Damon and Stefan.
Though he’s struggled in the past with the monster inside him (and he’s sure to face that demon again), Stefan has found a way to be the “better man” and not just pretend to be. He acts as the peacemaker with Tyler and the werewolves, he’s there for Elena as she deals with her daddy issues, and he knows that no matter how strong and resilient Caroline is, what she needs is her best friends in the world around her. Stefan knows that’s what you do — you help your friend.
Compelling Moment: The Caroline-Bonnie-Elena hug. (If you ever want to make me cry, just play that scene.)
The Rules: Jules says her ability to detect a lie is one of her “wolf tricks.” Jonas is capable of taking down specific individuals and leaving others safe from the brain-pain spell. Uncle John (via Isobel) says that the way to kill an Original is to stab a dagger coated in the ash of a white oak tree into his heart (…or her heart — if there are any Lady Originals?).
Foggy Moments:
- Carol Lockwood is officially the mayor? No election, no nothing?
- How is it possible that Nina looks awesome with hair up or down, curly or straight, present day or 1860s styles?
- So, is Uncle John cool with Katherine having chopped off his fingers and stabbed him in the gut? That was the last time these two hung out, right? Katherine didn’t seem the slightest bit worried he’d retaliate (given her vulnerable state trapped in the tomb and starving), nor did he seem concerned she might go for his jugular.
Other thoughts & questions before Crying Wolf (EP214):
- “How is it even possible to keep a secret like that?” Oh Jenna, just you wait.
- The werewolves were well prepared to take out vampires: wooden bullets, vervain-filled water guns (it’s a little frightening, how good the writers are at coming up with methods of torture), blowtorches, stakes. How did they manage to get so much info on vamps’ weaknesses without the vampires knowing they exist and in such large numbers? Does Katherine know about this gang of werewolves — was she exaggerating the rarity of lycanthropes to Stefan in Memory Lane?
- Mason was clearly not living by werewolf rules: he was in love with a vampire, he took off to Mystic Falls to find the moonstone for Katherine, and he kept all that a secret from Jules and Brady. I’m curious to find out what the pack thinks of Mason’s “betrayal,” should they ever find out the elder Lockwood wolf had a little vampire friend of his own.
- John tells Damon that if Isobel accomplishes what she’s trying to do Klaus will never come to Mystic Falls. What is Isobel up to? What sort of unholy alliance do Uncle John, Isobel, and Katherine have, and what’s their endgame?
What did you think of Daddy Issues? Do you love to hate Jules and Brady as much as I do? Do you trust a word Uncle John says? Should we start a petition to the writers to never-ever-ever have Caroline shot in the head or in any other way harmed ever again? (I’m sure it would only encourage them.) Sound off below with your heartfelt comments, wild theories, and bold predictions!
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 at crissycalhoun.com and tweets @crissycalhoun.
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