5.14 No Exit This week’s return of the show should have rectified this at least briefly, propelling the storyline forward now that Damon has something to do other than pine after Elena, but it actually did the opposite. Remember when we all loved Katherine and wanted her to stay alive for the rest of the show? Well that’s over now. I never thought I’d want Elena back after she was body-hijacked, but right now the two characters are looking equally dreary and predictable, with only the love of a good vampire on their minds and no agency beyond seducing one of them at a time. This is particularly disappointing because of how interesting every single one of these characters is without their respective love interests. Who are the most compelling (no pun intended) couple to me right now? Stefan and Caroline light up the screen not because they should be an endgame couple to compete with Stelena and Klaroline, but because they have a dynamic that’s not built around guilt, lust and betrayal. It’s a card the show has played too many times, with Katherine even wringing comedy out of the endless “don’t give up on Damon” routine that has been going on since season one but too few knowing jabs at these characters’ penchant for incestuous romantic entanglements. Somewhere along the way, The Vampire Diaries stopped being a fast-paced, well-written vampire show and became a long-running soap that happened to have mythical creatures in it. That’s not what any of us signed up for but, with the Katherine storyline presumably on its way out now that Stefan and Caroline have figured out the deceit and Nadia has a dreaded werewolf bite to contend with, maybe the next half-arsed arc will be better? Let’s hope so because, since we all know how fantastically entertaining this show can be at its best, there is always a glimmer of hope that it can return to form. Read Caroline’s review of the previous episode, Total Eclipse Of The Heart, here.
