‘The Vampire Diaries’ - 162 Candles

‘The Vampire Diaries’ - 162 Candles

Be careful what you wish for on a vampire's birthday

By TIFFANY VOGT
11-9-2009

This article may contain spoilers.

Stefan's (Paul Wesley) birthday started off well enough, but then fell into a complete abyss. With his old vampire chum Lexie (Arielle Kebbel) visiting it should have been a night of meaningless fun; instead it turned out to be a night to remember for all the wrong reasons.

With the haunting words, “For over a century I have lived in secret—until now. I know the risk, but I have to know her” ringing in our ears, we are reminded of Stefan's inexplicable attraction to Elena (Nina Dobrev). She seems to be the one compulsion he cannot resist. But before Stefan can figure out how to convince Elena to let him back into her life, a figure from his past arrives: his 350-year-old best friend Lexie, who chooses to live the un-dead life to the fullest -- and it is her ambition to make sure that Stefan gets out to enjoy a bit of his after-life as well. Alas, Damon (Ian Somerhalder) has other plans.

When Lexie suspiciously asked Damon what was he doing in Mystic Falls, Damon mysteriously replied, “I have a diabolical plan.” Which prompted her to ask, “What is it?” and Damon merely smiled and said, “Now if I told you, it wouldn’t be very diabolical, would it?” As we later saw, Damon's plan was truly diabolical indeed.

So while Damon was busy cozying up to the town Sheriff (Marguerite MacIntyre) with a supply of Vervain, Lexie also tried to fathom what had drawn Stefan back to Mystic Falls. But, after getting a good look at Elena, Lexie visibly taken aback, demanded, “Are you out of your mind? I just met Elena. You have some serious explaining to do.” Caught red-handed Stefan sheepishly explained that, unlike Katherine, “Elena is warm, kind and selfless -- and it’s real and honest. When I am around her, I completely forget where I am.” Lexie finally catching on, said with surprise, “Oh my god, you’re in love with her!” Stefan then admitted, “Yes, I am.” Stefan may be 162 years old, but falling in love for the first time in his life, he was rather shy about being caught exhibiting such tender human emotions.

So with Stefan in love and not sure what to do about it and Elena still reeling from the revelation that vampires exist and all the harsh realities that entails, it was up to Lexis to act as match-maker. Despite being cast in such an unlikely role, Lexie rose to the occasion giving it her best fairy-godmother effort in order to make Stefan's birthday wish come true. So Lexie befriended Elena so she could impart some of her 350 years of lessons in love. She reminded Elena that, "The first step was him telling you. The rest comes with time." Then, after revealing that she too had a one-true-love, Lexie shared, "At the end of the day, love really did conquer all.” Elena softly replied, “I’m scared.” To which Lexie smiled and said, “But you’re here ‘cause you’re crazy about him. I get it. What’s not to love? Take it from someone who’s been around a long time: when it’s real, you can’t walk away.” And with those words of wisdom, Lexie managed to woo Elena back to Stefan -- the the greatest gift a friend can give.

However, Damon had a birthday wish of his own. He wanted to ensure his and Stefan's safety in Mystic Falls and, thus, set up Lexie to take the fall for all his vampire misdeeds. After Damon staked her in full view of the Sheriff, Lexie could only whisper, "Why?” and Damon harshly replied, “It’s part of the plan." Damon's master plan which is sounding more and more ominous.

Enraged over the death of Lexie, Stefan quickly and swiftly cornered Damon, ramming a stake right into his chest. Gasping in pain and shock, Damon said, “You missed!” But Stefan calmly and chilling replied, “No, you saved my life. I’m sparing yours. We’re even and now I’m done.” From Stefan's tone, clearly nothing is done. These are brothers who have lived a century dancing around each other caught in some never-ending battle of good and evil. The battle has yet only begun.

Amping up the suspense and surrealism, we then watched as Bonnie (Katerina Graham) dreamed about running in the woods -- only to awaken and find herself standing before an abandoned crypt in the woods. It is beginning to look more and more like Bonnie's fate is inexplicably tied to Stefan's and Damon's as well -- and something tells me that witches and vampires do not mix.

What Worked

There was tons of devilishly fun dialogue in this week's episode. One such good example was the light-hearted greetings exchanged between Lexie and Elena when Lexie raised an eyebrow and said, “The famous Elena" and Elena snapped right back, “Towel girl.” To which Lexie smiled and said, “I’ve been called worse.”

Another fun exchange was when Lexie awakened in Stefan's room to find Damon right beside her watching as she slept. When she explained that she had only come to visit Stefan for his birthday, Damon mockingly said, “You mean you didn’t come all this way to see me?” Lexie tossed back right back at him, “That’s it, Damon. After a century, I realized death means nothing without you.” Damon pretended to pout and said, “Why are you so mean to me?” Lexie said, “Uh, have you met you? You’re not a nice person.” Damon brushed aside her brusque reply with “Well, that’s ‘cause I’m a vampire.” Lexie further elaborated, “But you’re only the bad parts.” Damon simply seductively smiled, “Teach me to be good.”

Also quite fun was when Elena and Jenna (Sara Canning) noticed that Jeremy (Steven R. McQueen) was doing his homework and Elena quizzically asked him, “Since when you do homework?” Elena then turned to Jenna and said, “What do you think?” To which Jenna amusedly said that Jeremy must be “some kind of replicant.” While lightly said, it had an ominous flip-side. If Jeremy was doing homework, he was no longer the Jeremy they knew. So later Elena confronted Damon and demanded, “What did you do to Jeremy?” and Damon archly replied, “You wanted me to take away his suffering." Did Damon do something more than simply take away Jeremy's memories of Vicki (Kayla Ewell) and her walk-on-wild-side as a vampire, or did he take the opportunity to erase a bit more than Elena had intended? Is Jeremy now a walking time-bomb under Damon's spell, or just a vacant vessel from which Damon removed all his memories of death?

Damon later riled Elena up further by taunting, “Poor Stefan, persecuted throughout eternity by his depraved brother ... Don’t you ever get tired of being so righteous?” Elena angrily tossed right back, “It flares up in the presence of psychopaths.” Damon pretending to be hurt said, “Ouch, consider this psychopath’s feelings hurt.”

So as everyone else was engaged in a battle of wills between the vampires and their opposing viewpoints on how to integrate and engage with humans, there was a quiet moment between Caroline (Candice Accola) and Matt (Zach Roerig). Having endured her latest bout of verbal abuse from Damon, and her self-esteem stripped to the bone, Caroline sadly asked, “Am I shallow?” Matt merely grimaced and said, “Is that a trick question?” Caroline seeing his expression said, “I’m worse than shallow. I’m a kiddie pool!” This led to a particularly adorable scene as Matt carried Caroline home. Caroline still feeling alone and rejected, asked him, “Do you ever feel like there’s not a person in the world who loves you?” Wanting to assuage their mutual loneliness, Matt merely climbed into the bed beside her -- albeit fully clothed. But it was a touching moment nonetheless.

Then, in one of the most lighthearted scenes of the night, Bonnie decided to share her newfound abilities with Elena and demonstrated by using a bunch of dancing feathers. It was with absolute joy that Bonnie revealed, “It’s true, Elena. Everything my grandmother told me. It’s impossible and it’s true. I’m a witch!”

What Didn't Work

While it was supposed to be a funny reference, the exchange between Lexie and Stefan about the good ole days partying with Bon Jovi and singing “Wanted Dead or Alive” kind of fell flat. It plays to the older viewing audience, and the younger demograph probably did not get it.

Giving Credit Where Credit Is Due

"162 Candles" was written by Barbie Klighman and Gabrielle Stanton, and directed by Rick Bota. "The Vampire Diaries" stars Paul Wesley, Nina Dobrev, Ian Somerhalder, Steven R. McQueen, Candice Accola, Katerina Graham, Michael Trevino, Zach Roerig and Sara Canning. It airs Thursdays at 8 p.m. on the CW.

About the Author: Tiffany Vogt is a contributing writer for Rabid Doll and the BlipNetwork. She loves science fiction and is addicted to sci-fi films and television shows and attends as many conventions as her busy work schedule will allow. Vogt hails from Los Angeles, Calif.