Posted by Crissy Calhoun | February 21, 2011, 9:35 (EST) | 165 Comments
Category: TV Series

Did you see that coming? I did not see that coming. The Dinner Party left me happily stunned and shocked. With the werewolf chapter over, it’s time for Damon to plot a murder. And if you, like me, were so charmed by Elijah that you forgot why on earth he would even consider killing such a charming, well-mannered, dashing, badass, smoking-hot Original — it’s because of his whole “lure Klaus to town and sacrifice Elena” plan. So I guess I see the point in taking him out.

Trust Is Key: It’s a strange situation when the enemy of our heroes comes off as more of a gentleman, with admirable “old school” values of honor, truth, and keeping one’s word. Elijah may be capable of tearing out the hearts of two attackers without mussing his hair, but that incredible capacity for violence aside, Damon, Katherine, Uncle John, and even Stefan, Bonnie, and Alaric look like sneaks and liars beside him. Damon boldface lies to Alaric about there being no sneak attacks — scout’s honor — when he intends to do the total opposite. Katherine uses the oldest trick in the book, reverse psychology, on Damon to get what she wants — out of the tomb — and doesn’t care that it means he will die in the process. (Interesting commentary on their feelings for each other: he’s willing to leave her in the tomb for eternity, a fate worse than death, and she’s willing to have him suffer his final death in order to gain her liberty.) The Weasel Uncle John almost tricks Damon into killing himself in killing Elijah and comes over to the man’s house uninvited and unwelcome to watch the show. (At least he brought a bottle of wine.) A little more dastardly (since it’s no surprise he wants Damon dead) is John’s determination to get his ring back from Alaric and his willingness to both destroy Jenna’s relationship and drag her into the dangerous world of the supernatural with no regard as to how it will affect her. While his motives are decidedly selfish, is Uncle John right about it being time for Jenna to know what the hell is going on in Mystic Falls? Is Alaric’s instinct to keep her in the dark actually keeping her safe, or is it allowing her to make guileless mistakes like letting vampires in the house and falling prey to compulsion? And just think of the research skills Jenna would bring to the team if she were in the know.

Alaric used to be in a position like Jenna finds herself in now — he was in a relationship where he knew something was up, that something wasn’t quite right, but had no idea how big a secret his partner was keeping. He hates lying to Jenna because he knows from his relationship with Isobel what it feels like to be the clueless one. But his need to protect her from the big bad supernatural world made him lie to her, and it’s cost him her trust and his incredibly handy Gilbert ring of resurrection. Alaric handing over that ring to Uncle John shows that he definitely more-than-likes Jenna back, and I’m rooting for an end-of-season makeup.

With trust clearly being so important to Jenna, how will she react to learning that it’s not just Alaric who’s keeping secrets from her but everyone she knows — from Elena and Jeremy to Carol Lockwood and Sheriff Forbes? Even Andie Starr knows more than Jenna does (though the whole under-compulsion thing really puts a damper on that relationship).

Fight For It: I must say I enjoyed seeing Stefan and Elena at odds with each other for once — especially since their difference of opinion (as Elena characterized it) came from a place of love. They want to protect each other, and they can get snippy in the process. As Elena reads in Johnathan Gilbert’s journals, Stefan wasn’t always more man than monster. The flashback scenes reveal the dark days of Stefan, when he was a “ripper,” murdering at will, without care, and recklessly. His little dinner party was a nice counterpoint to the present-day soiree as well as a reminder of Damon’s past indulgences (e.g., A Few Good Men). Stefan considers his past behavior worse than Damon’s and maybe it was before Lexi sorted him out, but I for one think Damon’s over-a-century of preying on humans (however carefully and cleverly) out-evils Stefan’s few weeks of feasting. Of course, that isn’t the point of the flashback sequences; more importantly they show how Stefan started on the path he’s on, how he became a vampire who feels every moment of How I Met Your Mother (to quote Damon). Our dear departed Lexi returns to our TV sets in full 1860s finery, convincing Stefan that the opportunity to love makes opening himself up to pain worthwhile, that fighting to re-embrace his humanity is a “good part” — the most important part — of being a vampire. Stefan had given up, and Lexi made him fight.

And in The Dinner Party he convinces Elena to do the same. Though I doubt Elena would have walked placidly to the sacrificial altar when Klaus came to town, in making her deal with Elijah Elena made her priorities known — she values the ones she loves over her own life. In a conversation reminiscent of Elena and Stefan’s in Blood Brothers, Stefan convinces her to fight for her own survival. And she does — Elena channels that Petrova fire and manages to outwit Elijah, convincing him that she’s ready to pull a Katherine and give up her human life by plunging that knife into herself. Tricking Elijah into a position of weakness, Elena takes him out with the dagger, not even considering the option of taking the renegotiated deal. That entire sequence from Elijah’s arrival to Damon’s final quip was effing brilliant — a classic Vampire Diaries twist and a turning point in the season. Elena’s more than proven herself capable of having things done her way from here on out.

And speaking of little miss Katherine: Most of the time with Katherine, we don’t know for sure if she’s being honest or not — but with Damon in this episode, we know that she’s in cahoots with Uncle John and that her goal is getting out of that tomb. With that knowledge, Damon comes across as incredibly gullible, and Katherine’s choice of wording when she tells Damon, “killing Elijah would be a suicide mission,” is classic Katherine cleverness. Despite the fact that it’s of the utmost importance for her to get out the tomb, for Katherine every conversation is an opportunity for play, for toying with her opponent like a cat with a mouse. Watching her lie to and trick Damon was awesome as was her surprise appearance emerging from his shower stark naked. (Damon’s stunned expression? Priceless.) So why did she decide to stay in Mystic Falls and not run for the Klaus-free hills? Is she banking on using the Salvatore brothers’ intense desire to protect Elena as a kind of shield, relying on safety in numbers over her usual solo strategy? Does her presence have anything to do with whatever she has going on with Isobel and John? Whatever her reasons, I’m thrilled she’s out of that tomb and ready for some more doppelganger hijinks.

The rest of the Mystic Falls gang seems to be wising up to the idea that there’s an advantage to being honest, forthcoming, and truthful with each other. Will they be able to keep that up in the presence of troublemakers like Katherine and John? What will that mean for our out-of-the-loop humans?

Compelling Moment: Every moment Elijah was on screen. The return of Lexi. Alaric being a total bad ass. Jenna’s tear of heartbreak. Elena’s first kill. Impossible to choose just one moment in this episode.

The Rules: If an Original dies, those under his compulsion are freed from it. According to the Gilbert journal, the alchemic bond between the dagger forged by witches and the ash of the ancient white oak tree is capable of killing an Original — as long as the dagger’s left in place. The Original resurrects once it’s removed. If a vampire wields the dagger, that vampire dies too (and is presumably dead-dead, for good a goner).

Foggy Moments:

• How did old-timey Johnathan Gilbert find out all this very useful information about the Originals? How does one conduct “research” into the most mysterious of all vampires?
• Little confused about the dagger’s origin: Elena read in the journal that witches forged the dagger. Later, she explains (again from info in the journal) that it was forbidden for a vampire to kill another vampire, and so the weapon kills both the target and the vampire who wielded it. Were the witches who made the dagger under vampire control? (Which raises the question: why would vampires create a weapon that kills their own kind?) Why else would the witches follow that honor code — to kill two birds with one stone?
• Johnathan Gilbert knew about witches but believed that it was his mastery of science that created the vampire compass? Where does he think his ring got its power? And why were two rings created — is there another 1860s Gilbert we haven’t yet met?
• I’m not exactly sure how Alaric snuck the dagger into the dining room, or how Elena secreted it on her person (along with the kitchen knife), but does it really matter? The awesome far outweighs the nitty-gritty.

Other thoughts & questions before The House Guest (EP216):

• The revelation that Elijah needs to find the witch burial ground explains why, with the moonstone and the doppelganger in hand, he hadn’t already lured Klaus to Mystic Falls.
• Please let there be a deleted scene where Damon and Katherine go through his wardrobe choices for her.
• Bonnie’s ancestors came to Mystic Falls via Salem. Were they among the witches rounded up and burned at the stake?
• Does Damon actually know where the witch burial ground is? Or was he just toying with Elijah? Are there any more ingredients to this curse-breaking hullabaloo? Most complicated sacrifice requirements ever.
• Bonnie’s lost her powers! I can’t say I’m too surprised that there were consequences for her actions in Crying Wolf — you can’t suck knowledge out of a witch’s brain without his uberwitch daddy coming after you — but how will she get her witchy ju-ju back? Will Jonas agree to work with the gang now that Elijah’s been taken out? (Or will he just break into the Salvatore dungeon, take the dagger out of Elijah, and proceed with Plan A?)
• Love that Lexi’s death is an unresolved issue between the brothers — as it should be.
• When will Elijah rise again? The genius thing about this how-to-kill-an-Original reveal is they never really die, which means there will always be the possibility of more Elijah goodness in the future.
• The last scene of this episode jumped right on to my list of top 10 music moments on the show. “Happiness Is Overrated” by The Airborne Toxic Event has been on repeat since Thursday. (Full episode songlist here.)

This episode was full to the brim of discussion-worthy moments and reveals, so as always, comment below with your thoughts, likes/dislikes, and theories below!

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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