5.19 Man On Fire There’s a reason the show’s nosedive in quality coincided with Alaric’s death back in the season three finale, and then again when Klaus and Elijah departed for New Orleans. The bond between Stefan and Damon was all we had left in that department, and it was far too reliant on their shared love for Elena. Somewhere along the way, conversations between the Salvatores became less about their historical dysfunction and unconditional co-dependence and more about which one got to share a bed with Elena, and that’s when everything went to hell. That’s why Enzo was such a good character to introduce and, even if it doesn’t end up sticking, it’s also why his death actually mattered. It was quite comical how little Elena mattered here, her purpose only as a pawn in the game of revenge between Enzo, Stefan and Damon. Usually, this would be something to complain about but, since she’s been such a useless character for so long, it’s more of a relief. Taken hostage along with Stefan before Enzo figures out that it was Damon, not Stefan, that killed his long lost love, it was clear that no matter which brother was to blame for his trauma, Elena was the one to threaten if he wanted retribution. And it worked because, even if neither of them is with their true love right now, she’s still the quickest way to get under their skin. As do Enzo’s actions in 2014 (or whatever year we’re actually in), essentially framing Stefan for his murder and royally screwing up the brothers’ temporary truce. To have them fighting about a lost friendship rather than lost love is more refreshing than it maybe should be for a show essentially about supernatural romance but, much in the same way Damon’s murder of Lexi tore them apart in season one, this will undoubtedly spark some interesting moments between the two of them now. We might have lost Enzo this week – at least in corporeal form, as we know no one ever dies in Mystic Falls – but he leaves behind lots of new angst for Stefan and Damon to deal with. That’s exciting, and should inject future episodes with a bit of drama. This all felt like something that belonged to the early years of the show, when the siblings were as much a focus as the love stories but, on the flip side, Markos and the travellers are very much a product of the show’s current rut. Doppelganger blood can cure vampirism? Sure, why not. The fact that the cure actually kills the vampire in question, returning them to their mortal states once the curse is removed, is a little more interesting but, given that no one can die on this show, it’s hard to care about any new ancient threat that comes to town. The same goes for Bonnie, who thinks she’ll die along with the other side. Fat chance. Read Caroline’s review of the previous episode, Resident Evil, here. Follow our Twitter feed for faster news and bad jokes right here. And be our Facebook chum here.
