Posted by Crissy Calhoun | October 2, 2011, 17:06 (EST) | 166 Comments
Category: TV Series

We all love a good flashback episode and we’ve been lucky enough to get some amazing ones in the first two seasons of The Vampire Diaries. But The End of the Affair’s Roaring Twenties puts the others to shame — it’s the most stylish, visually realized trip back through time with a soundtrack to match. Pair that with amazing twists, delightfully devilish behavior, sexy vampire action, tears and heartache, and the introduction of a much-anticipated character. Chicago really is a magical place.

Two Sad Orphans Walk Into a Bar…: In keeping with the 1920s theme, Damon references Daisy Buchanan and we’ve had Great Gatsby references before on TVD. Stefan named it as one of his favorite books in You’re Undead to Me — perhaps a little subconscious inkling that he, like Gatsby, palled around with a good guy named Nik before the good times came to an end? I was just as shocked as Stefan to discover that he and Klaus had history; Stefan didn’t always consider him a “hybrid dick.” Finally, we find out what Klaus hinted at in The Sun Also Rises: he’s so interested in drawing out the ripper side of Stefan because the good boy vampire Elena fell in love with used to want to be Klaus’s wingman. And he was great at it. But more importantly, both men were happy to find brotherhood with each other, having lost that with their actual brothers. Like Elena, we thought we knew what the good ol’ ripper days were like — we witnessed the events of Under Control, Miss Mystic Falls, and The Dinner Party as well as a few of Stefan’s recent kills. We could handle it. But there was something delightfully different about the Stefan of the ’20s — it’s no wonder that Rebekah fell in love with him or that Klaus was his number one fan. His confidence, his control, his relish in twisted torture made him a villain that another villain could admire. (And, oh, the tuxedoes.) With a mixture of fascination and delight, Klaus watches Stefan compel that man to drink his wife’s blood. Stefan’s the kind of “sick freak” Klaus could open up to, and Stefan returned that confidence, telling him about his ritual of recording victims’ names to later relive the kills. When you’re a thousand years old, that kind of kinship must be hard to come across; it felt deeply earnest when Klaus thanked Stefan for his companionship (before compelling him to forget it), and Rebekah was willing to leave her brother behind for Stefan, that’s how strongly she cared for him.

Let’s talk about the awesomeness of Rebekah. You guys, she licked Stefan’s mouth. And later told him to put a sock in it. No wonder he fell in love with her. Klaus warns Stefan that Rebekah will love him and then leave him — that’s just who she is — but Rebekah shows a commitment to Stefan (choosing him over her brother) that even Klaus didn’t expect. He also describes his little sister as “totally mad” and we get a glimpse of her temper when she can’t find her necklace. (Though I would probably upend the coffin I’d spent the last 80-odd years in, too.) How will she fit in with 21st-century Klaus and Stefan? For her, no time has passed; presumably she’s as in love with Stefan as she was the moment Klaus killed her. Will she forgive her brother for staking her? Or will she pull the daggers out of the family members who didn’t choose Klaus’s side? (If so, please start with Elijah. Thank you.)

In addition to meeting one of the other Original siblings, we get a few more tidbits about the family history. We learn that the Original Witch put the curse on Klaus, that she had some sort of relationship with Rebekah wherein she’d give her the necklace (which is magical in some way or another yet to be revealed), and that Klaus was made to feel like an abomination for being half-vampire, half-werewolf. Klaus’s “elitist” comment about Rebekah having pure vampire blood seems to stem from his own feeling of inferiority for not being all vampire. But Stefan helps him to realize that being near invincible is not something to be ashamed of — he’s a king. What a good pal that Ripper Stefan is.

Can’t Be Fixed: Just as the Original parents couldn’t change what Klaus was, Mr. Bill Forbes can’t change Caroline — no matter how determined he is to “fix” her. Like trying to train the “ultra-violence” out of Alex in A Clockwork Orange, Bill tries negative association — the thought of human blood will be associated with searing pain, and Caroline will repress her monstrous thirst for blood. He reminds her, and us, that her ancestors were staunchly anti-vampire (and quite clever to put vervain in the ventilation system of that torture chamber), and that her existence as a vampire is a blight that must be fixed or removed. Caroline tries to get her dad to understand that she doesn’t hurt anyone, that she handles her urges, just as she ultimately was able to convince her mother. Candice Accola again breaks our hearts — with her screams of agony as Caroline is burned again and again, and with her vulnerability and brokenness at the end of the episode as she mourns losing the connection she shared with her dad. Her father “got” her, and now he hates her. On the flip side, Liz Forbes is totally making up for her wayward sheriffing of days gone by. Loved how no-nonsense she and Tyler were on their rescue op, and the closeness and love they both showed Caroline was she was safely back home in her bed. But really, writers, can we stop torturing Caroline? Her screams make angels cry.

With a vastly different approach, Elena is also trying to fix a vampire she loves and finds herself unsuccessful at the end of the day. Bill Forbes tried to repress the monster in Caroline, but Elena’s in trying to bring back the human in Stefan. And she’s way out of her league. Elena’s done her best in the past to keep up with the insanity thrown her way, and when Stefan went off the rails in season 1 she managed to bring him back to himself. But her old tricks fail her. He is stronger, much deeper into the darkness, and the stakes are higher. Elena skims through Stefan’s diary and decides that saving him from his ripper self is still a possibility; more than ever, Elena’s faith in Stefan seems naive and she’s crushed by the (seeming) end to their love affair. She leaves him behind in Chicago after he vehemently shuts her down. From Stefan’s perspective, Elena’s life depends on her letting him go — she’s the reason Klaus can’t create more hybrids, her necklace is what will allow Gloria to contact the Original Witch.

In a scene that was so completely laden with symbolism but worked incredibly well, in my opinion, we see the two separate selves of Stefan trapped together — Elena hidden in the closet clutching his diaries up against the list of his victims’ names and bottles that appear to be full of human blood. (Also, single malt scotch.) In the moment, he protects Elena from being discovered (but her momentary belief that he’s outing her is telling), but he will have to choose which part of himself to free and which to let go of. As Damon says to him, “Good? Bad? Pick one.” Klaus is confident that Stefan will want to stay with him — that he will choose Klaus’s side, like Rebekah did back when the Original Family split its alliances. When Stefan orders Elena to stay away from him, he is still protecting her from Klaus — from discovering that she’s alive and exacting revenge, from hunting down her necklace. He has to shut himself off from her. But with his memory restored, Stefan now knows all of what he once felt for Klaus, that brotherhood and kinship, and all that he felt for Rebekah. Is it enough for him to truly let go of Damon and Elena?

Compelling Moment: From when the episode began allll the way ’til it ends. Oh, fine — the revelation that Klaus and Stefan were once the best of friends. Such a brilliant TVD twist — didn’t see it coming but now things just click into place.

The Rules: With herbs and spells, Gloria has managed to slow the aging process and extend her lifetime. Gloria needs the necklace the Original Witch gave to Rebekah in order to contact her; like the other times we’ve seen the living contact the dead, a personal artifact helps the magic along. Whether the necklace has any particular power of its own or binds a spell (like the moonstone or crystal) remains to be revealed. Gloria reminds us that spells have loopholes. The witches preparing for the sacrifice of Katerina discovered the elixir could resurrect her but still unleash Klaus’s hybrid side — is that a loophole to the curse? With Elena resurrected, is Klaus’s inability to procreate a side effect of that same loophole? Rebekah knows, as we do, that the dagger that takes out Originals doesn’t work on Klaus because of his hybrid status. But she still stabs her older brother with it anyway.

Foggy moments:

• Not that I am complaining — Caroline Forbes Forever — but the time it takes a vampire to burn to death in the sunlight really varies on this show. Remember when Isobel went up in flames almost instantly and died? (Maybe since Caroline’s personality is made of pure sunshine, she can better withstand exposure to daylight?)
• Now we know that the necklace Elena wears was originally Rebekah’s. In Rose, Elijah pulls off Elena’s necklace, so he can compel her. Wouldn’t he have recognized it, if his sister Rebekah used to always wear it? (And presumably has had it for about a thousand years, if the Original Witch gave it to her.)

 
Other thoughts & questions to ponder before Disturbing Behavior (304):

• Not that you’ve forgotten but: Klaus’s first name is Niklaus, thus the Nik moniker he’s using in the ’20s.
• Sheriff Forbes has been working nights at the station — which is why she didn’t notice that her daughter hasn’t been home.
• The first name on Stefan’s victim list is Giuseppe Salvatore. His first victim.
• I think Rebekah should just continue on wearing 1920s style clothing. Why modernize when you already look amazing? And speaking of looking amazing, Katherine in that wig forever, okay? Stunning!
• While in Alaric’s body (The Last Dance), Klaus told Elena and Bonnie that he loved the ’20s — the style, the parties, the jazz, the bromance with Stefan…
• In The Last Day Klaus told Damon that he’d heard about him — “the crazy, impulsive vampire” — was Stefan the one who told Klaus about Damon? Hilarious.
• Who was the man who showed Stefan the sketches of Klaus and Rebekah? Is he the person the Original siblings were running from? Is he an Original himself? His interrogation of Stefan was rather brief — but just long enough if he was sure Stefan wasn’t lying by compelling the truth from him. When Rebekah is waiting for Stefan, Klaus says of her, “Do you want to die? We have to move,” meaning that whoever the “he” is they are running from has the ability to kill an Original.
• Katherine almost picks up the necklace herself, but disappears because Stefan arrives. Does she realize the significance of the necklace? Did Katherine know the whole time (i.e., during season 2’s events) that Nik and Stefan used to be “brothers”? That Stefan and Rebekah were an item? Will she keep the secret that Elena is alive and has the necklace, or will she negotiate a pardon from Klaus for that information?
• Gloria and Klaus talk about the Original Witch as if she is dead. But if witches can slow down the aging process, could an incredibly powerful witch slow it right the heck down and still be alive after a thousand years? And they just don’t know it?
• Is Stefan still drinking vervain? Or is he susceptible to further compulsion from Klaus and/or Rebekah? If they asked the right question, Stefan would spill all about how not dead Elena is.
• If/when Rebekah finds out that Stefan gave her necklace to another girl, she is gonna flip her lid. I have a feeling that she’ll make Katherine’s crazy jealous ex act look like child’s play. Be careful…
• A hearty welcome to Gloria — who killed me with her one-liners like “You may be invincible but that doesn’t make you funny” — and to Rebekah. The wonderfully cast Claire Holt owned that character from her first moment onscreen. And welcome back to Little Miss Katherine. Damon was totally lying when he said that no one’s thought about you since you left.

In summary, I would like to marry this episode. So good. There’s so much to talk about I’ve just barely scratched the surface with my ramblings here. What did you think of The End of the Affair? Sound off below with your likes/dislikes, theories, and predictions!
 
 

Crissy Calhoun is the author of Love You to Death: The Unofficial Companion to The Vampire Diaries and Love You to Death — Season 2. When not obsessively re-watching CW shows, she works as managing editor at ECW Press in Toronto. She blogs at crissycalhoun.com and tweets @crissycalhoun.

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