Thursday, February 17, 2011

US Television: Vampire Diaries, Episode 2.15 "The Dinner Party"

Vampire Diaries
Season Two, Episode 2.15, The Dinner Party
Original Air Date:  February 17, 2011


Stefan tells Elena about how he was right after becoming a vampire and how he managed to turn himself around to be the man she knows and loves.  Damon hosts a dinner party and invites Elijah with plans to kill him using the dagger and oak ash given to him by John Gilbert.  However, Elena finds some shocking information in one of Jonathan Gilbert's journals at the lake house that could cost Damon his existence.  Elijah has a very bad night.  Bonnie has a disastrous run-in with Jonas Martin.

Still at the lake with Stefan, Elena spends her time reading the Jonathan Gilbert's journals that were found in the secret room in her parents closet.  He tells a story of how the townspeople thought Mystic Falls was safe now that the embers of the church where the vampires were burned were dying out.  The vampires they had killed had created new vampires that now stalked the town.  He writes of the vampire who killed him:  Stefan Salvatore.

Damon calls Stefan to tell him about Tyler leaving home.  They feel now that the werewolf problem is solved, the largest problem facing them at this point is killing Elijah.

Jenna walks Elijah through the old property lines of Mystic Falls and gives him details of the town's history.  Elijah notes that his research shows that that part of town was settled some two centuries ago when townsfolk migrated from the northeast, from Salem.  They are joined by Alaric who wants to join them as he's a 'history buff'.  Elijah wishes to learn about the freed slave property owners.  When Jenna goes back to her car to get that information, Elijah comments Alaric is one of the people on Elena's list of loved ones to be protected.  He jokes that Alaric needn't be jealous of him spending time with Jenna as he doesn't pursue younger women.

Jeremy joins Bonnie at the Grill.  She's been thinking about the previous night and how difficult the spell was.  Jeremy invites her over that night so they can practice and get stronger and Bonnie accepts.  An angry Luka arrives wanting to know what happened yesterday as he cannot remember anything.  When Bonnie insists everything was normal, Luka accuses her of lying.  Jeremy jumps to her defense telling Luka to back off.

Stefan comes inside the lake house with Elena.  He is still angry with her decision to sacrifice herself to Klaus, something she calls a "difference of opinion".  He asks about the journals and what they say.  Stefan explains that they were angry at the founding families for what they did to Katherine.  They wanted revenge.  Stefan agrees with Jonathan Gilbert's description of him as a monster.  He wants Elena to know the truth in his own words.  He tells her of the wild bloodlust he had in the weeks following his becoming a vampire.  Damon worried about Stefan's brazen feeding habits but was assured by his brother the founding families were all dead.  Damon compelled the girls Stefan was feeding from to leave and never think of the place again despite his brother's protests.  Damon tells his brother he's leaving town and Stefan tries to stop him promising he'll do better but Damon refuses to stay.  Stefan tells Elena he was worse than the Damon she knows.

Alaric tells Damon he wasn't able to get anything from Elijah.  Alaric doesn't want to talk in front of Andie Starr but Damon says she's been compelled to not divulge his secrets.  Jenna and Elijah arrive at the Grill and Alaric excuses himself to grade papers.  Andie suggests they have a dinner party.  Damon offers to host and everyone agrees to be in attendance.

Damon pays a visit to Katherine and gives her some blood, some new clothes and tells her John Gilbert is back in town.  She will not confirm whether the method John gave Damon for killing an Original is true or not.  She wants Klaus dead but not Elijah.  If he dies, she is stuck in the tomb forever.  She begs him not to kill Elijah.  If he will help her get out of the tomb, she will help him kill Elijah, protect Elena or anything he wants.  He is perfectly happy with her locked away in the tomb.

Stefan continues his story to Elena.  He was able to feed thanks to the Civil War raging around him.  He met Lexi at a soldier camp one night.  She had heard Mystic Falls was a good place for vampires and didn't know the others that had lived there had been killed.  He takes her back to the Salvatore home.  She vows to change the bad things about him.

That night, while preparing for the dinner party, Andie asks Jenna what is going on between she and Alaric, what the tension is about.  Jenna more than likes him and wants the relationship to work but she feels he's hiding something from her and John is trying to put thoughts in her head.  Alaric is uncomfortable with Elijah being in the same house with Jenna but Damon insists she's perfectly safe.  Alaric doesn't want Damon doing anything that could put Jenna in harms way.  Andie calls Alaric away to help Jenna with the wine and Damon begins his preparations for Elijah's arrival.  John Gilbert arrives uninvited and unexpected.

Bonnie arrives at the Gilbert house to find candles set up all over the living room.  Jeremy says it isn't a 'date date'.  Bonnie wants to make sure Elena is fine with her seeing him before she continues with their relationship.  He agrees they'll just hang out and work on some spells but he asks if she did like when they kissed.  She did.

Elijah arrives at Damon's home.  Before he enters, he warns Damon that if he has any less than honorable intentions about the evening he should reconsider.  Damon says it's just a getting to know you dinner.  Elijah enters the house and informs Damon that even though he and Elena have their deal in place, if Damon does anything to cross him he will kill him and everyone in the house.  Dinner party conversation runs to the settlers from Salem that migrated to Mystic Falls after the Witch Trials.  Damon questions why Elijah wants to know the location of the alleged witch massacres there in town.  He explains it is a healthy historians curiosity.

Elena stumbles across research on the Originals in one of Jonathan Gilbert's journals.  She reads about the ash from one tree, the oak, in a passage of research about trying to kill an Original.  Stefan tells Elena that John gave Damon the dagger she is reading about in the journal.  The journal states that the dagger can be used only by humans because it will bring death to all demons who wield it.  Stefan tries to call Damon but his brother has his phone off.  Stefan confesses to Elena that Damon was planning on killing Elijah.  As planned, Andie suggests the gentlemen at the party take their after dinner drinks in the study.  When Jenna snubs Alaric, John taunts him that the problems might be his fault because he told her Alaric wasn't being completely honest with her.  Unable to get a hold of Damon, Stefan calls Alaric.

In the study, Damon and Elijah talk about the witch burial ground.  Damon suggests he might know where it is.  As Damon is starting to pick up the dagger, Alaric and Andie enter the room to announce they'd forgotten dessert.  When Elijah and Andie are gone, Alaric writes down the information about the dagger on a piece of paper for Damon.  Andie wants to ask Elijah more questions about his research and sends Alaric to get her notebook from her bag.  Meanwhile, Damon informs Elijah that there's no reason to keep John Gilbert on the 'endangered species list' as Elena hates him.  John questions how Elijah will be killing Klaus.  Elijah sets the record straight with both men.  He tells Damon he allows him to live solely to keep an eye on Elena.  He allows Elena to remain living in her house living her life with her friends as she does as a courtesy.  If they become a liability, he will take her away and they'll never see her again.  As Andie is asking Elijah a question, Alaric steps up behind him and plunges the oak-covered dagger into him, killing him.  He orders Damon to get rid of him before Jenna returns with dessert.

Elena is angry with Stefan because she feels he and Damon aren't being honest with her.  She wants him to accept her decision but Stefan is adamant that he is going to protect her so she can live her life.  He was telling her about his past because he was at a point then when he felt everything was lost, much like she feels now.  He tells her she is giving up.  Lexi didn't let him give up and he refuses to let her.  As Stefan and Lexi walk through the war camp, she tells him he's shut out the part of him that was human and allowed him to feel.  When he can hurt, he can love.  Love is the point.  He tells Elena he wants her to fight for her survival as he did.

Alaric tells Damon he's his friend, his only friend, and he doesn't want any more lies from him.  Stefan informs Elena that Alaric killed Elijah.  Elena has been reading the journals further and she's learned that the dagger must stay in place in the killed vampire or it will rise again.  Stefan calls Damon who rushes to the cellar where Elijah's body was placed and finds the room empty.  Elijah goes to Jonas Martin and tells him he must find Elena now.

Bonnie and Jeremy work on spells and she explains channelling to him.  He suggests she channel him.  Jonas Martin enters the house and slams Jeremy against the wall then demands to know what Luka told Bonnie.  Bonnie tells him about his daughter and that she wants to help and they should work together.  He takes her powers from her and warns her that she will answer to him if any harm comes to Luka.

Elijah arrives at the lake house and throws some pebbles against the door, smashing it in.  He tells her that even though he cannot enter the house, he is a patient man and can wait her out.  She goes to talk with him and he informs her the deal is off.  She wants to re-negotiate but he says she has nothing with which to do so.  She shows him a knife and he tells her Stefan won't let her die.  She knows that Stefan will give her some of his blood to save her life and, at that point, she'll kill herself and become a vampire just like Katherine did.  He calls her bluff and she stabs herself in the stomach.  Elijah rushes to the door and tells her she can have her deal.  She asks him for his word, which he gives.  As she stumbles toward him so he can heal her, she stabs him with the oak ash covered dagger.  When he falls, Stefan rushes out and gives Elena some of his blood to save her left as Damon steps around the corner.

Alaric goes to see Jenna and she asks him straight out what happened to Isobel.  He doesn't want to answer her but it's clear that Jenna's doubts of him are great and their relationship is over.  Alaric takes off the ring and gives it back to John telling him after what he did to Damon, he'll need it more than him.

Damon takes the moonstone from Elijah's pocket.  Elena tells Damon and Stefan that if they want her to fight, she'll fight but they cannot keep secrets from her anymore.  From now on, they do things her way.  They both agree.

In 1864 Damon and Lexi meet.  She tells him his hate will get the best of him.  He asks her to help Stefan as he needs it then leaves the Salvatore house.

Damon enters his room and hears someone in the shower.  Thinking it's Andie, he goes in and finds Katherine taking a shower.  She tells him she knew if she begged him not to kill Elijah that he'd do just that.  She tells him she meant what he said.  She didn't run and she is going to help him.

--
A lot happened tonight!

I'd be lying if I said I was slightly upset that Elijah is down for the count.  I really, really like him.  However, I don't think this is the last we've seen of him.  All someone needs to do is take that dagger out of him and he's back up and running.  That will have to happen at some point.  Then, I can only imagine how angry that guy is going to be after being killed twice in one night!

I'm more than little worried about Alaric giving John Gilbert back the ring that's saved him so many times over the course of the past two seasons.  While he was right that after John tried to kill Damon, John will need the ring more than Alaric does, I don't want anything bad to happen to Alaric.  I've liked his character since he first came into the show and hope he stays around for a long time to come.

Now that Jonas Martin has taken Bonnie's powers and Elijah is gone, it will be interesting to see where all the witch loyalty lies.  Will the Martin's side with Damon and Stefan or will they go out on their own?  Will Jonas give Bonnie back her powers?  I still think that Bonnie's cousin Lucy will be showing up again at some point.  She was very cool and I think she'd be a great match for Jonas Martin.

I love that Katherine is out of the tomb and agreeing to work with Damon.  Nina Dobrev does an amazing job going from the super sweet Elena to the super mean Katherine.  There should be plenty of great fireworks once everyone knows Mean Miss Katherine is back in town.
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For more information:
Official Site:
  http://www.cwtv.com/shows/the-vampire-diaries
The Internet Movie Database:  http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1405406/
TV Rage:  http://www.tvrage.com/The_Vampire_Diaries

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