The Talking Dead

The Vampire Diaries

Season 3 episode 19 – “Heart of Darkness”

Dear Diary,

Damon and Elena kissed. Damon and Elena kissed. Damon and Elena kissed.

Kiss and (Mo)Tel

 Episode 19, season 3, what an episode! 

 At Stefan's persistence and because Elena needs a tall, strapping vampire chaperone to go anywhere, the dynamic partnership known worldwide as Delena embarked on an Road/Plane trip to Denver. With a mission more important than any other undertaken on this show (except for those times that they needed to unstake Elijah) they were going to get Jeremy back!! Missed you Jeremy. I'm less anxious when you're on my TV screen instead of faraway places being threatened at a distance.

The mission they chose and accepted was two part. 1) Find Jeremy and warn about his psycho making bling I hope and 2) use his Haley Joel Osment-ness to contact Rose and find out who her sire was and through them what Original bloodline they were linked to. Can't you just imagine the Mystic Falls gang of merry vampire lovers sitting around in a circle, fingers crossed, chanting "please be Elijah! Please be Elijah!"

After a brief interlude and bashing by the “youngest” Original brother Kol, the two Gilberts and one Mr Salvatore ended up at a motel and while shacked up in Denver, with her ex-boyfriend currently torturing/drinking with her step-father-room mate and Damon’s dead ex-flame searching the globe for an original vampire groupie, Elena decided to explore her feelings for Damon. And explore them she did.

That kiss. Wow. I believe Damon said it best in the season 2 premiere: “it's back to fireworks and rockets and back to the glare”

After the kiss was a different story though. Having crushed from the buzz and seeing their last hope of finding the truth about the bloodlines struck out, Elena was not feeling the love and we were back to the will they, won’t they of the Delena/Stelena relationship battle.

While this may seem like a back step, it is actually a baby step forward. Despite the back pedal Elena did something about her obviously confusing feelings for Damon, rather than just saying she doesn’t know her she feels. Elena knows how she feels; she just doesn’t know what to do about it. Which is fair enough, neither brother has been perfect, with the murdering of people and such and there are a lot of factors and possible hurt feelings to consider and for someone who has lost so many people already the prospect that you might lose any one else that you loved would be terrifying.

Still, has the love triangle gone on for a very long time? Yes. Do you have a right to be frustrated by Elena's indecision? Yes. In reality hearing someone constantly complain about having to choose between two extremely handsome suitors who would both go to ends of the earth for you is a legitimate reason to unfriend someone of Facebook, you betcha.

But when you look at the show's original pitch, it's basic premise, the hook that made it somewhat different to Twilight, it wasn't about family or friendship or loyalty or ancient bloodlines or a town called Mystic Falls and its madcap inhabitants, the doppelgangers who visit and it's inept police force, it was about a young girl who had experienced a tragedy and the two vampire brothers who love her. In short, relax the love triangle between Elena, Damon and Stefan is the show's home base, it's not going anywhere. Worry about end game at the end of the game. In the mean time please enjoy the generous amount of screen time given to Ian Somerhalder's torso.

A Rose by any other name needs to but out of it. 

In saying all that about the love triangle I really didn't like the way they used Rose to explain it during her final scene with Jeremy.

I understand that the writer's want to lay everything out so as an audience we understand why Damon after everything is a legitimate contender for Elena's affections but in my opinion I felt that it needed to Elena, not Rose, saying this or coming to the conclusion that Damon is either the best or worst thing for her, in order to give if he her ultimate choice some strength or justification. Despite all the other characters and plot twists and moon stones, this has always been Elena's story and as an audience we need to discover and see how she feels about Damon and see her struggle with decision, not hear it explained by another secondary character to someone else who doesn't ultimately play any part in the decision (even if they wanted to have an opinion.)

Agree or disagree?

Quite Contrary 

Other stuff that happened this episode:

- No wonder Alaric couldn't sleep after reading Moby Dick, "An aggressive hunter, completely consumed  with his hatred and obsessively chasing down the monstrous creature that could led to his doom" And they thought Dr Jerkyl and Mr Hyde was symbolic. 
- To whoever chose Matt Donovan/Zach Roerig t shirt this episode, you are a hero among men and women and should be knighted immediately.
- Despite my earlier complaint I was really happy to see Lauren Cohan aka Rose again. I liked her character and was sad when she died, but having just watched the second season of The Walking Dead was awfully confused and upset when Daryl Dixon (the ultimate squirrel eater) didn’t appear.
- So Rebecca is now Esther, everyone thinks that Esther is dead and Body swapping high jinxes will ensue, it really must be time for another decade dance.
- How with all the baseball bats being thrown around and used to stab people this episode did no one stop and think to make a Vampire Bat joke?
- After Tyler's reaction to Klaus's pony picture of Caroline anyone else struggling to see the difference between pre and post sire bond breaking Lockwood?
-Why did no one think of the No-Vamps allowed cave? Why are they not trying to create more No-Vamps allowed caves? I've said it before; get that spell on the Gilbert household stat.

Next episode: Suits!

Ta ta for now,

Hanniebee.