Nice fake-out with the opening (making us think we were in flashback mode with Stefan and Katherine, when in fact it was Stefan and Elena getting dressed in the present in "retro" clothes). Funny hearing Damon bring up Stefan's "I'm insecure, leave Elena alone speech", as I've always thought Stefan's been pretty understanding when it came to Elena/Damon (those times she hugged Damon and comforted him, etc - Stefan didn't get jealous. Isobel mentions that Damon's in love with Elena? Stefan totally becomes that guy. Still, he's pretty cool about it. I especially liked his line about having "no sense of Damon humour"). Whoops, spoke too soon, boys - claiming Elena is no Katherine just as Elena appears looking very much like Katherine (and it wasn't just the clothes, the look Nina Dobrev had on her face, as she curtsied, was very Katherine-like). Good on Stefan for telling Elena about John being her father before Damon dropped it on her "in some typically inappropriate way". Damon stepping in front of Bonnie, as the floats passed by, and doing his little wave/eyebrow raise to Elena (as well as Elena & Stefan's reactions) amused me. Nice moment of sincerity from Damon - thanking Bonnie for what she did (too bad she LIED about it). Hey, it's Mike Erwin (Colin Hart on Everwood, back in his Cillian Murphy lookalike days) as one of the Tomb Boys.
Loved Elena & Damon's talk and her telling him to stop with "the flirty little comments and that eye thing" he does, followed by Damon actually demonstrating the 'eye thing'. No, Jeremy, YOU can go to hell! Damon mocking/impersonating Jeremy was classic and I loved that he stood up for Elena. Also liked Stefan doing the same, but Damon's approach was funnier.
Damon's "You're still around?" greeting to Anna was good, as was Anna warning him what was about to go down, Damon enlisting Alaric's help (ie. his weapons) and then taking Elena's hand (while Stefan held her other) and making their duo a trio as he joined them on their walk/filled them in.
Nicely edited/cut together sequence - with the noise-making Gilbert device affecting all the vampires (and Tyler! He finally did something actually INTERESTING! And his dad, bleeding from the ears? Something definitely werewolf-y going on here, it seems).
Damn. John staked Anna. I'll miss her like I miss her mum. They were both cool. Freaky seeing the vampires on fire, unable to do anything about it (due to Vervain injections). Thankyou, Mike Erwin, for killing Tyler's dad. If possible, he was even more of a jerk than Tyler. Speaking of Jerky Jr. - his freaky eye colour? Neato.
Poor Elena. With parents like hers, who needs enemies? Okay, so the end of last episode we learned that Isobel and John *are* trying to "protect" Elena in their own way, but it still doesn't excuse John's actions. Nice brotherly moment - Stefan going in after Damon, despite Bonnie's warning. At least she made up for her earlier deceit by allowing Stefan time to rescue Damon (bad luck, Mike Erwin).
It's a bit of a shame to see Stefan acting so insecure about Elena & Damon (since he's been so mature about them until now), but at least she made clear to him that although she "cares" about Damon, she *loves* Stefan. Here's hoping he believed her/trusts her fully now.
While I appreciate Damon feeling the need to confess to Jeremy that he wanted to help Anna as she died and what he did to Vicky was "wrong", this sudden wanting to do the right thing seems a little...odd (I guess what Stefan said to him in regards to doing the right thing for the right reasons really got to him). Ian Somerhalder completely sold that scene/what Damon was saying, though.
DAMN! Well played, show! "Elena" actually being KATHERINE?! THAT was awesome! Up until the reveal, I'd been in agreement with Jenna ("What're you doing?") in regards to "Elena" kissing Damon. Then came the kitchen scene with John. Nina was excellent in the way she played "Elena" as just a little bit 'off'. Should have been the first hint, but watching her cut off John's fingers, and her instantly classic "Hello, John. Bye, John." line/knifing John was the absolute BEST possible way to reveal Katherine. Best of all? It means Elena didn't cheat on Stefan. Jeremy being a bigger dumb-ass than usual and ingesting vampire blood/killing himself? Well...here's hoping Jerempire's a hell of a lot more interesting than Jeremy the human.
Excellent way to end the episode and leave us wanting more, show. It's going to be an agonisingly long wait until Season 2. For a show that started off somewhat rocky, it proved itself throughout the course of this first season to be quite awesome. The characters, the actors, the story/writing - everything about TVD has far exceeded expectations. It was the show not many people were seemingly willing to give a chance, but for those of us who did, we've been rewarded with a truly fantastic show that takes risks, advances plot, actually gives ANSWERS to questions and has interesting characters played by really good actors. I've enjoyed this first season of TVD more than I have any other show I've been watching in recent times. It's my new favourite must-watch TV. Kudos to all the actors and writers - your show is a total gem. I look forward to watching the awesomeness continue into next season.
Loved Elena & Damon's talk and her telling him to stop with "the flirty little comments and that eye thing" he does, followed by Damon actually demonstrating the 'eye thing'. No, Jeremy, YOU can go to hell! Damon mocking/impersonating Jeremy was classic and I loved that he stood up for Elena. Also liked Stefan doing the same, but Damon's approach was funnier.
Damon's "You're still around?" greeting to Anna was good, as was Anna warning him what was about to go down, Damon enlisting Alaric's help (ie. his weapons) and then taking Elena's hand (while Stefan held her other) and making their duo a trio as he joined them on their walk/filled them in.
Nicely edited/cut together sequence - with the noise-making Gilbert device affecting all the vampires (and Tyler! He finally did something actually INTERESTING! And his dad, bleeding from the ears? Something definitely werewolf-y going on here, it seems).
Damn. John staked Anna. I'll miss her like I miss her mum. They were both cool. Freaky seeing the vampires on fire, unable to do anything about it (due to Vervain injections). Thankyou, Mike Erwin, for killing Tyler's dad. If possible, he was even more of a jerk than Tyler. Speaking of Jerky Jr. - his freaky eye colour? Neato.
Poor Elena. With parents like hers, who needs enemies? Okay, so the end of last episode we learned that Isobel and John *are* trying to "protect" Elena in their own way, but it still doesn't excuse John's actions. Nice brotherly moment - Stefan going in after Damon, despite Bonnie's warning. At least she made up for her earlier deceit by allowing Stefan time to rescue Damon (bad luck, Mike Erwin).
It's a bit of a shame to see Stefan acting so insecure about Elena & Damon (since he's been so mature about them until now), but at least she made clear to him that although she "cares" about Damon, she *loves* Stefan. Here's hoping he believed her/trusts her fully now.
While I appreciate Damon feeling the need to confess to Jeremy that he wanted to help Anna as she died and what he did to Vicky was "wrong", this sudden wanting to do the right thing seems a little...odd (I guess what Stefan said to him in regards to doing the right thing for the right reasons really got to him). Ian Somerhalder completely sold that scene/what Damon was saying, though.
DAMN! Well played, show! "Elena" actually being KATHERINE?! THAT was awesome! Up until the reveal, I'd been in agreement with Jenna ("What're you doing?") in regards to "Elena" kissing Damon. Then came the kitchen scene with John. Nina was excellent in the way she played "Elena" as just a little bit 'off'. Should have been the first hint, but watching her cut off John's fingers, and her instantly classic "Hello, John. Bye, John." line/knifing John was the absolute BEST possible way to reveal Katherine. Best of all? It means Elena didn't cheat on Stefan. Jeremy being a bigger dumb-ass than usual and ingesting vampire blood/killing himself? Well...here's hoping Jerempire's a hell of a lot more interesting than Jeremy the human.
Excellent way to end the episode and leave us wanting more, show. It's going to be an agonisingly long wait until Season 2. For a show that started off somewhat rocky, it proved itself throughout the course of this first season to be quite awesome. The characters, the actors, the story/writing - everything about TVD has far exceeded expectations. It was the show not many people were seemingly willing to give a chance, but for those of us who did, we've been rewarded with a truly fantastic show that takes risks, advances plot, actually gives ANSWERS to questions and has interesting characters played by really good actors. I've enjoyed this first season of TVD more than I have any other show I've been watching in recent times. It's my new favourite must-watch TV. Kudos to all the actors and writers - your show is a total gem. I look forward to watching the awesomeness continue into next season.