Well, I suppose that’s one way to do a Christmas episode.  What can I say about “O’ Come All Ye Faithful” other than they have a really f***ed up idea of what holiday spirit is in Mystic Falls.  

I do like that more pieces of the puzzle were revealed, but when I was loudly rooting for Klaus to take out 12 hybrids in one vicious massacre to the angelic chorus of “O’ Holy Night,” I wondered if all the time spent building up to that priceless scene was worth it.  Not really, but it was a freaking cool. 

Granted, killing poor semi-innocent, often dumb Carol Lockwood in retaliation for Tyler’s betrayal isn’t cool, but when I heard a death was coming, Carol’s didn’t sting anywhere near as bad as Alaric’s or Jenna’s.  That does bring a conundrum, since Tyler can’t get revenge by killing Klaus because that means he kills himself and all his friends, but what’s Tyler going to do now that one extremely angry Klaus is on his tail?  He can run, but he can’t come back to Mystic Falls.  Ever.  Me thinks this is one very obvious setup for Klaroline.  


As I pull out the season four scorecard, I realize trying to make sense of it all is just a fruitless exercise.  What did exactly did happen in this season four midseason finale? For one, as I said in my Arrow review, the CW math is off.  23 / 2 does not equal 9.   The rest is even more baffling.  Suresh, I mean Shane, doesn’t seem to give a crap about all the innocents that have to die, because finding the cure is more important so he can bring back his dead wife and child.  I think that’s his motive anyway.  Except the cure is really a spell for immortality.  A witch has it.  A witch buried somewhere.  Find that witch, you find your cure.  Really.  Wasn’t the legend that before the witch could reverse the immortality spell he was buried along with the cure?  Find this likely extremely bitter  partially rotting witch who’s been buried for hundreds of years and he’s just going to hand over the cure?  The plan is more than risky, it’s hair-brained.   

Stefan wants the cure for Elena, to not be immortal, so she can go back to loving him.  Does that change now that he’s found out that Damon and Elena have um…bonded?  Caroline wants the cure so that Elena will stop sleeping with Damon, who’s awful?  Shane wants the cure for dead loved ones, by making them immortal?  By resurrecting Hayley’s parents?  So this immortality spell does more than cure vampirism? Why does Klaus want the cure?  For his own means?  He admitted he didn’t want to use it on himself.  Anyone think that Damon wants the cure to bring dead Alaric back?  Forget Damon, I want dead Alaric back.  I’m still trying to connect all the dots on this one.  

Just because I haven’t said this in a while, where’s Elijah?  Shouldn’t he be in town helping his bro find a cure he doesn’t want?  At least April found Rebekah, but what will she think about her best bud being a vampire now?  Plus why did she go out into the woods and the Lockwood dungeon without changing out of her Miss Mystic Falls crown,  pretty dress, sash, and high heels?  Wouldn’t some sweats and tennis shoes have been more comfy?  Was she hoping to show best bud Rebekah what she accomplished while she was undead?  She seemed horrified by everything that she remembered this time at least.  Hee Jeremy, cool job on the vervain bracelet.  We knew that would come back to bite someone, and Caroline had it coming considering what a big bit- meddler she’s been lately.  

We haven’t figured out yet why Jeremy is a chosen vampire hunter, or how Connor ever became one.  There’s supposed to be five hunters in the world at any given time, so what’s the criteria and where are the others?  I’m hoping that’s something that will be revealed later, but in the meantime, the writers were really stretching this “detouring feelings” stuff for Jeremy.  They wrote themselves into a corner after getting their anti-climactic setup of Jeremy wanting to kill Elena, and writing themselves out hasn’t been very graceful.  How does projecting feelings on Bonnie make him love his sister again?  How does Shane know all this crap?  Why didn’t Jeremy want to kill Damon the second he spotted him, just like Elena?  Why does he still not want to kill Damon, since the detouring can’t apply to all vampires.  I mean, come on, Damon’s killed him a few times.  That should have sparked some kind of pent up rage!  

The new living arrangements alone are driving me batty.  What happened to the big Matt and Jeremy living together thing?  It was the epic bromance!  Now Jeremy gets the lake house (how long is his commute to school everyday?) and Elena gets to move back into the regular Gilbert house, which means Stefan gets to move back with Damon and Matt goes back to his.  Except Damon is staying with Jeremy, who’s still a vampire hunter and should want to kill him.  Was Bonnie staying there too?  It sounds like an 80’s sitcom. Tyler now has the Lockwood mansion all to himself.  Why are all these kids still in high school living in their own big houses alone?  I vote for the awesome fire of Mystic Falls that destroys everything and everyone has to move in together at the last standing house, the Salvatore mansion.  After all, they have lots of rooms. 

Sorry, did I stray there a bit?  The show started it by bringing so much attention to where everyone was living.  It’s interesting too how finally the issue of underage drinking in public came up, before it was blatantly ignored anyway.  I think the writers should just ignore with the nitpicking on the boards and write the damned story.  

Where were we?  Right, Tyler Lockwood is screwed.  Why is it that the twelve council members had to die in the explosion, and now twelve hybrids have to die?  There’s more to this cure thing than Shane isn’t telling us.  Or Klaus.  Yes, I think he knows more than he’s letting on.  You’ve got to adore how Klaus figured out how something was up because Caroline was being nice to him and Stefan was being “dodgy.”  And that he writes love letters to his victims.  Or takes their love letters.  Whichever.  He really did get to me with his speech about memorializing the dead, because it means they’re left “infinitely and utterly alone.”  Now the snowflake picture makes sense.  Something beautiful and vulnerable in the background of darkness.  

The speech got to Stefan too, for even he questioned how different they were from Klaus.  They’ve killed people.  Well Stefan, you didn’t massacre twelve hybrids and the mayor in the town you live in based on a vendetta.  Nice touch though tossing the chess board and the table when finding out about Damon and Elena.  I guess both you and Klaus have family you don’t trust.  That…still makes you nothing alike.  

This sorted tale, no matter how complex, all goes back to Damon and Elena.  Theirs is the main story.  Damon, after blatantly lying to Stefan that he did the right thing, eventually does the right thing and let’s Elena go.  She goes because she was told to, but she kisses Damon sweetly anyway.  Did she do that out of obligation, or because she wanted to?  I think she wanted to, because as they hinted last week the feelings are still there, but does this mean the feelings for Stefan have come back too?  To be honest, and yes I’m setting aside my shipping slants for a few sentences, I wanted to see a bit more of Delena.  It was a refreshing change of pace.  No, it wasn’t an epic romance, and chances of it lasting were nil, but wouldn’t it be cool if she chose Damon without any bond or obligations?  Doesn’t he deserve that?  

That’s a midseason.  Coming up next, I really don’t know, all I know is Rebekah is back.  That tells me April removed the dagger.  Beyond that, it’s anyone’s guess.  In the meantime though, thanks show for a least a few weeks of hot Delena sex.  I’ve got something to keep me warm at night until the show returns January 17th.    

Screencaps from Home of the Nutty.

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