‘The Vampire Diaries’ - Haunted

‘The Vampire Diaries’ - Haunted

All Hallows Eve is even scarier with real monsters lurking in the darkness

By TIFFANY VOGT
11-2-2009

This article may contain spoilers.

With ample foreshadowing in a series that has already killed off several key characters, it was not totally unexpected that another one bit the dust. And Halloween was Vicki’s night. Newly born into her new vampire life, Vicki (Kayla Ewell) was but a babe in the vampire world. Starving and not sure why, she promptly cornered her ex-boyfriend, Tyler (Michael Trevino). It was only after the swift intervention of Stefan (Paul Wesley) and Damon (Ian Somerhalder) that Vicki was hustled off to the mansion for some much needed tutoring. Stefan explained to Vicki, “It’s wrong to prey on innocent people.” To which Damon unhelpfully added, “You don’t have to kill to feed. Just find someone really tasty and erase their memory afterwards. It’s so easy ... snatch, eat, erase.” After giving Damon an exasperated look, Stefan elaborated, “We choose our own path. Our values and our actions -- they define who we are.”

So as Stefan tried to lay down the ground rules with Vicki, Damon suspiciously noted that there was no mention of Logan’s (Chris J. Johnson) death in the newspaper which meant, “We should all be worried.” Someone clearly knew there were vampires back in Mystic Falls and was covering it up. Damon then went to investigate to find out who was behind all the secrecy.

Not able to stay away, Elena (Nina Dobrev) came to assist Stefan with Vicki and her assimilation into the vampire-lifestyle, but after Elena tried to warn Vicki to stay away from Jeremy (Steven R. McQueen), Vicki merely tossed that suggestion aside. Vicki was invincible in her mind and chose to believe the world is hers for the taking. No one was going to stop her. As Stefan tried to explain to Elena, “It’s hard to resist certain people. It’s difficult to separate your feelings. Love, lust, anger, desire can all blur into one urge -- hunger. She may not be able to resist him and could hurt him.” Elena was incredulous that because Vicki was a vampire with issues that Stefan could do nothing to stop or control her. But not having fed on human blood in quite a while, Stefan knew there was not much he could do to stop Vicki -- and Vicki loose in the night on Halloween was an absolute nightmare.

Mocking her newly enhanced state, Vicki elected to dress in costume as a vampire and then went in search of food -- living human beings. She embraced her role as a predator and was trying to make up her mind on who was to be her victim. It was just unfortunate that Jeremy was the one she found. Vicki tried to seduce Jeremy into her new life by saying, “Come with me and we can be together forever.” Yet once Jeremy saw what she really was, he rejected her. He did not understand and was freaked by it. This was not the girlfriend he thought he knew and loved. It was a monster -- and he rejected the monster.

Earlier when Vicki had asked Damon, “Why did you do it?” -- why did he turn her into a vampire -- Damon simply replied, “I was bored.” Vicki was indignant, “You did this to me out of boredom?!” Damon flippantly responded, “It’s one of the pitfalls of eternity.” However, hoping to pacify her, he said, “Your life was pathetic. Your afterlife does not have to be.” But in the end, Damon was wrong. Vicki would have given anything to not have had this happen to her. And if Damon looked deep enough, he would admit the same thing. They were not given a choice. Life as a vampire was thrust upon them. And their afterlives are not all it is cracked up to be. To always be wishing they were human -- to live human lives. They are only living half-lives.

Thus, it was a sad poetic ending: Stefan had to kill Vicki because he could not handle her; Vicki had to die because she could not handle living as a vampire; Jeremy had to forget all of it because he could not handle the truth; and Damon had to be the one to erase Jeremy’s memories because Stefan was not strong enough. As for Elena, she was forced to recognize one thing: she could not afford to forget. For as she finally admitted to Stefan, “Part of me wishes I could forget too. Forget meeting you -- finding out what you are and everything that’s happened ... because I don’t want it to be like this. I don’t want to feel like this. But I can’t. With everything that’s happened, I can’t lose the way I feel about you.” Despite all the horrors she had faced and will continue to face, she found that she could not afford to lose the one thing that she had gained -- her love for Stefan.

What Worked

Elena and Damon’s verbal exchanges continue to delight. For example, when Elena snapped at Damon, “How can you be so arrogant and glib after all you have done?!” To which Damon merely shrugged with a lazy smile, and said, “And how can you be so brave and stupid to call a vampire ‘arrogant and glib’?”

Bonnie’s grandmother (Jasmine Guy) is a real treat with lines like, “You have to have more than ignorance to trap a real witch.” Her mentoring of Bonnie (Katerina Graham) is sure to provide a lot more insight into Bonnie’s developing abilities and I’m looking forward to her wielding a bit of her own power. Plus, with the crystal in Bonnie’s hands, things are sure to get interesting. Like why it is now capable of burning Damon, when he could easily touch it before.

Stefan’s tip that vampires drink lots of caffeine in order to keep their bodies warm to human touch was clever. It would be fun to know if there are other cool tips that vampire’s have in order to pass amongst the humans.

Likewise, it was fun to see the look of confusion on Vicki’s face when she tried to enter her own home and had to be invited in. Small things like that show what a burden it is to be a vampire and have constraints placed upon one.

What Didn't Work

While I am sure the writers have already thought of this, it gave me the shivers to see how easily Elena allowed Damon to use his mind-compulsion ability on Jeremy. Surely, it is not a good idea to allow such a nasty vampire anywhere near Jeremy, let alone into Jeremy’s mind. And just where is Aunt Jenna during all of this? The lack of parental supervision is appalling.

Giving Credit Where Credit Is Due

"Haunted" was written by Andrew Kleisberg and the teleplay was written by Kevin Williamson and Julie Plec, and directed by Ernest Dickerson. "The Vampire Diaries" stars Paul Wesley, Nina Dobrev, Ian Somerhalder, Steven R. McQueen, Candice Accola, Katerina Graham, Kayla Ewell, Michael Trevino, Zach Roerig and Sara Canning. "The Vampire Diaries" 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.