4.2 Memorial Stefan is convinced that by starting Elena off on animal blood he’ll avoid the inevitable murder spree, but her body apparently disagrees. Everything she drinks comes up in an increasingly gross manner, from warm deer, to hospital blood bags and Damon’s eager wrist, and she slowly starts to starve to death. Damon’s argument is, predictably, if you’re going to be a vampire you may as well commit, but I can’t help but side with Stefan on this one. Should Elena eventually murder someone, not only would it make her a questionable protagonist, but it could also drive her over the edge. A heroine who’s switched off her humanity probably wouldn’t be good for the show. Whilst Elena and Damon are engaging in some sexy ‘blood-sharing’, Caroline and Tyler are both officially alive and back together. You have to question why the writers switched Tyler and Klaus (who, along with Rebekah, are missing this week) at all, since there’s been zero fallout from the incident. His hybrid status also apparently makes him invincible as he narrowly escapes two attempts on his life this week, and this zaps the little interest I had in the character right away. Caroline gets slightly more to do simply because she’s recently gone through the transition, and I look forward to her coaching of Elena down the road. I’m bored of the couple, though, and don’t think a proposed love triangle with Klaus would change that. But it’s the resident ‘normals’, Matt and Jeremy, who step into the spotlight this week as the whole gang band together to help each other out. Even after watching the series for so long, I can’t remember the whole cast being together that often, and this episode used the ensemble to its full advantage. Matt seems kind of at a loss as to how to relieve his guilt as the episode begins, but finds a way to compensate once he sees how badly Elena’s struggling. We’ve heard rumours that Matt’s red stuff would form part of Elena’s new diet, and this first incident was beautifully done. In secret, in church, and just as things were about to get desperate, he offers himself up and pretty much saves her life in the process. The final memorial scene was nice, but also pretty hilarious considering most of the dead people the characters were mourning had been offed by Damon. I was waiting for the acknowledgement, but it didn’t come. What did, though, was a brief return from Alaric. The actor’s departure was so vague last season that most of us predicted a return in some form but, if this is the final time we see him, that’d be fine with me. His bond with Damon is a bromance designed for obsessive fans (of which I’m one), and the entire speech from Damon followed by a simple “I miss you too buddy”, was perfect. Read Caroline’s review of the season four opener, Growing Pains, here.
