Tyler Lockwood, could you be anymore awesome?
I do confess, in season one, I hated Tyler. I thought he was a hot headed brat not to mention a very bland and useless character. Hot werewolf/vampire sex with Caroline melted that away that hatred a bit the third season and now, he proves he can be just as awesome as everyone else. He’s nobody’s sire bitch this season!
But isn’t that what’s great about this little unlikely gang of friends that not only fight for survival, but each other? Everyone played their part as a dangerous, not to mention completely ruthless, psycho vampire hunter breezed into town. By pulling it together for the sake of each other (as well as survival), they escaped peril, at least this week. I spent an exciting hour in my happy place, so it’s all good.
“Memorial” carried on the latest saga of Elena’s transformation. Ever wonder how a doppleganger could become a vampire? Well, it ain’t pretty. Elena was rejecting Stefan’s animal blood solution, and she couldn’t even drink out of a blood bag without spewing more red than a fire breathing dragon (yes, that’s the best I could come up with). Damon speculated her doppelganger blood wasn’t handling the transition well, and Elena could only drink blood straight from the vein. That led to a “Four seasons and you’re bringing this up now?” moment, when Damon let Elena drink from his blood. Vampires can feed on other vampires? It’s an intimate ritual? Go figure. Oh yes, Damon got a full rush on that and Stefan got really mad. I’m with Elena. I don’t get it.
I do admire Stefan trying to play reasonable adult in this one, even lecturing her for misbehavior much like a parent would. For once, he gets to try and talk sense into Elena, help her in ways that he didn’t get. It did have to hurt though for Stefan to find out Elena went to Damon when he wasn’t letting her have what she needed. She even called Damon first when she ruined her dress after projectile blood vomiting. No, that wasn’t gross at all (sarcasm there). Even though she apologized profusely to Stefan later for going behind his back, you so know she’s going to do that again in the future. Damon is her enabler. Heck, I just pointed out the obvious premise for the whole series. The truth be told, Damon shows a lot of that vulnerability when he’s caving into Elena, and I melt when that happens.
Brotherly jealously aside (although I loved with Stefan clocked Damon one when he was physically hurt), the main attraction of the episode was to watch a bunch of vampires in a room dripping with fresh blood sweat it out, knowing that there was a psycho waiting for them with some vampire killing wooden pellets and an air rifle nearby. Enter Tyler, who found out the hard way earlier when the same psycho shot him in his own house (so not cool), that being a hybrid ain’t a bad thing after all. What kills vampires doesn’t work on hybrids. Psycho thought Tyler was a just an ordinary vampire, so when Tyler decided to break the standoff by going up to the podium and speaking at the Memorial service, he apparently hadn’t figured out the same bullets wouldn’t work again. Tyler’s plan worked, for everyone ran and no one died. I do love how the mayor calmly mentioned that they should call an ambulance anyway on Tyler’s behalf. Appearances are important!
Not to say that the daughter of the wacko preacher that blew up the entire council didn’t almost die. Not only was she cut up to be vampire bait, but after the psycho killer was drawn out she was left alone with a raw Elena, who couldn’t handle the sight of fresh blood any longer. That’s when Caroline got to be awesome, stopping Elena by merely talking her down and using her blood to heal poor April. Then Elena got to see the perks of being a vampire, compelling April to remember that it was a very lovely service for her father. Um, yeah, me thinks anyone else that was there will refute that story. Still, it was a happy moment for Elena, and it made me smile.
Speaking of making me smile, Matt got to play hero too. Elena was so hungry, so weak, she was about ready to have a wild vampire feast in the church, which would have signaled psycho to what she is. So Matt offered himself as a snack! Aw, what a guy. Volunteering himself to be his ex-girlfriend-turned-vampire’s first feed. That’s…really messed up if you think about it. It played out sweet though. What’s even more impressive is out of her mind Elena didn’t drain Matt completely, so something tells me he might be the emergency food source for a while. What was even more clever is Elena was able feast on her ex-boyfriend in front of a crowd just by pretending to give him a grief stricken hug. It fooled the psycho in the balcony. Well played you two. Of course the psycho caught on later when seeing Matt’s taped up neck in the bar, but I think he’ll be shooting everyone in town with pellets before long. He’s a little unhinged.
Speaking of which, didn’t the crack police squad there in Mystic Falls check the inside of the stove for, I don’t know, any clues as to what happened? Perhaps then they would have noticed the fresh, unscathed note to April telling the whole dastardly plan of the carnage to come. I know, then the arc doesn’t get to be any fun. But still, common sense, right? Maybe psycho was one of those things he was trying to warn her about? Not that she ever got to see it. Perhaps because the pastor actually believed the cops were a bit more thorough than that. Fool.
Out of everyone though, my heart most broke for poor Damon. Sure, he and Stefan had philosophical differences on how to handle Elena’s transition, and she’s still choosing Stefan over him anyway, but that’s not what killed me. After the heavy handed torch balloon lighting memorial thing from everyone, I love how Damon chose to do his mourning alone, venting everything that’s frustrating him with a bottle of whiskey at Alaric’s grave. That’s how you remember a friend that you miss sorely. And then, in a shocker (no, I didn’t read spoilers), there’s Alaric’s ghost, listening the whole time! After Damon’s rant he leaves, and Alaric translates all of Damon’s pain into one simple statement. “I miss you too buddy.” Can his ghost be there every week? Please? Right, Matt Davis has a new show on the CW (rats).
Oh, and Bonnie was there. Good to know, right?
So that’s where our drama ends. To think, the part that got me a blubbering mess was not the part TPTB intended. Alaric’s words did it for me. We miss you buddy. Don’t be a ghost stranger too long.
Screencaps from Home of the Nutty.
