Your ex is on fire

The Vampire Diaries
Season 3 episode 18 - "The Murder of One" 

Dear Diary,

So much has happened since the last time we spoke. After the disaster of a ball, which you would think after one whole day of planning might have gone better, things kind of started to unravel.

Firstly, it was a bad day for mothers and their children in the land of Mystic Falls. Mrs Mikelson linked all her kids together with a magically blood tree than she tried to kill them all using a plan that involved all manner of Bennets, past and present. Naturally it was doomed to fail with someone being turned into a vampire than pouting about it (I miss the Martins; I know nobody else does but I do.)

Elijah wore a lot of black so you knew he was upset about something (it's the same way you knew Zac Efron was going to sing an angry song in High School Musical) Rebekah trapped Elena in the eternal cave of 'go away Vamp" and threatened her with matches and filmed ancient cave drawings that revealed that the Great Papa Oak tree was a rolling stone.

Elijah left again. Flashbacks ensued. Alaric was evil. He tried to kill everybody. Like Frodo before him it could all be blamed it on the bling.

Damon said awesome things. Probably because he was remembering that time he had a crow. Some vampire named Sage showed up, she did things; it made me mad, I don't want to talk about it. There was a bridge. They burnt the bridge. Because of said burning The Originals now think that dear old mum is their only problem. Little did they know that Alaric's lack of commitment to the preservation of Mystic Falls landmarks may just be their downfall.
Raising the Stakes
And we're back. Welcome to the "Murder of One" I don't know about you but I liked it. And by liked I mean loved. And by loved I mean "Did you see what they did there. Did you see what they did there!!!." After a couple of uneven episodes in my opinion, you can disagree with me if you want I'm often wrong, the writer's have managed to pull all strands of story stretching across the seasons, from the blood link to Sage to the white oak tree to Katherine and Rose, together in one massive twist that has serious and deadly consequences for half the series regulars on the show.

As we find out in the third act of episode 18 if you kill an Original Vampire, you no longer just take out the original family or family member as Bonnie's last second reversal spell removed the link, but you take out that Original's entire blood line.

Bravo. All the prizes forever and always. What makes a twist like this work so well is the fact that it has clearly been built up to.

It makes sense that after a season (or three) where blood, blood lines and family have been so important and pressed upon that it would be that same connection dooms them.

In my vast casual television viewing you see TV shows that throw in a twist towards the end of the hour to be note worthy or to shock you but there was no build up to it. It's a twist just for the sake of having a twist and makes just sense in the context of what you just watched. The Vampire Diaries is becoming a master class in how to create a rewarding twist (Sun and Moon curse anyone) It can still shock you in an "I never saw that coming or I can't believe that just happened way" but still work within their own expanding and understood mythology, which for loyal viewers means that the payoff is so much more fun.
　

Vervain Shots, Bear Traps and Blood Vials oh my. 

Some other stuff happened this episode before poor, ancient Finn burst into flames so I should probably talk about that:

- Was it Esther’s plan all along to not only kill her children when she linked them but to also take out all vampires through their blood lines or was that an unexpected side effect? Would an Original vampire’s death have taken out all their vampire “children” anyway?

-Dear villains of Mystic Falls, please stop threatening to kill Jeremy KTHXBYE

-Sage, urgh. That's pretty much it. Which is a shame because I really, really wanted to like the character. Cassidy Freemen was great on Smallville and I met her once at Supernova (it's comic con if everyone was Australian) and she was really, really nice but I just couldn't like her character here so I wasn't very sad to see her go.

Book Spoiler Alert- There is also a character of Sage in the more recent Vampire Diaries novels (The Return series onwards) Sage is a close male friend of Damon, who is described as an old and powerful Vampire who works as a guardian of a magical gate in alternate dimension. So slightly different character portrayal here -OK I'm done.

 
-Klaus: - "Let's all say a prayer for Finn, who slept in a box longer than he lived as a man” I hope someone eulogizes me so sweetly one day - "Hanniebee spent more time in front of the TV than she did outside."

-Matt staked a vampire. Matt staked an ORIGINAL Vampire. That means he's safe forever now, yes? 

-Bonnie was awesome this episode. Bonnie is a character we rarely get to see the emotional side of, with most of her story or mourning period whether for her Grams or Mum always playing off screen but her melt down beside her car after the day she had was beautifully played and heartbreaking. Though spending a day with Joseph Morgan probably wouldn't bother me. 

-Call back to the soap dish!! Love the soap dish. 

- I understand that Stefan (and the world) wanted to get Damon back from "bear trap Beks" but why trade the stakes. Klaus didn't know about them and Rebekah thought they had burnt up the last of the white oak. If they wanted some sort of leverage they should just have made Stefan give Klaus a bff's 4ever bracelet than have him smolder at Rebekah for a couple of seconds and while they were swooning sneak Damon out the back and no original would have been the wiser.

- Evil Alaric has the last white oak stake hidden somewhere. And by hidden they mean he accidentally dropped last time he was at the Mystic Falls Grill and it's still laying on the floor near the bar somewhere waiting for Matt to find on his next shift.

That’s it for the “Murder of One” Thank you for reading!! 

Next episode, Jeremy and Tyler are both back, one or more people may be shirtless and Buffy shows up wondering why Williow never thought of a "killing one, kills all vampires" spell while she was busy floating pencils. 

Until we meet again gentle readers, remember that if the lighting suddenly changes in the mansion where you are being held hostage for no apparent reason it's probably just a dream.

XOXO,
Hanniebee.