This is a character that was a shy, nervous teen that was
bored and uncertain about her life. Now she’s strong-willed, defiant … and of
course most importantly a vampire. While the series has handled the vampire transformation
with mixed results (particularly after the sirebond reveal), Elena turning off
her humanity plays out wonderfully in “Bring It On”.
The series at its peak was a sight to behold for how purely
entertaining it was. Throughout the second season (its best season), there’s
practically not an episode that isn’t a rip roaring good time. Part of this
came from how anything could happen at any given moment. The wildcard in the form
of Katherine shook things up so radically that it caused constant twists and
turns, changes in alliances, backstabbings, scheming, and people getting
injured and dying left and right. Then the third season came along and the
pacing slowed down and things became a bit more predictable and a bit less
inspired.
I bring this up because Elena without her humanity is a
great deal of fun. She’s utterly unpredictable and delightfully manipulative
and calculating. She throws off pithy one-liners and strings along people,
particularly Steffen. Nina Dobrev has proven herself great throughout the run
of the series, but she always appears to be enjoying herself so much more
when she gets to play Katherine, the more lively of her two reoccurring roles.
I got a serious Katherine vibe in humanity-less Elena and that’s all for
the better. It sparked new life into a series that’s plot wheels have been
getting stuck lately.
The rest of what’s going on in the episode is much less interesting.
Damon and Rebekah are a nice pairing and its amusing to watch Damon tell
Rebekah’s what’s what, but this storyline ultimately amounts to little. Damon
is forced to kill someone he supposedly knows but whom we never met and so the
moment has little impact. We also discover someone has been hoarding blood bags
from nearby hospitals, and it’s likely Silas feeding after thousands of years of
imprisonment.
Klaus and Hayley on the other hand are a far more interesting
pairing, even though they’re much more disconnected from the plot. The writers
are doing a great job setting up the spin-off The Originals (which will feature both Joseph Morgan and Phoebe Tonkin). Their dialogue also
worked well as both banter and an exploration of who these two characters are.
We finally get some background on Hayley who’s apparently an orphan seeking her
parents (with the help of Katherine). Klaus is revealed to have an obsession for control, which isn’t
revelatory but it’s interesting to hear him admit. Although, the discussion of
control leads to a slightly offputting sex scene between the two characters
where Klaus dominates the situation (albeit at her request).
However, I can forgive these subplots or their lapses
because that Elena main plot was delightful. “I’m no longer the scared little
girl who didn’t want to admit what she wanted to be,” Elena tells Damon. It’s very, very true, and that means anything
could happen. And that’s a good thing.
Stray Observations:
-Elena strips naked in front of everyone. Cuz that’s what
people who don’t give a fuck do. Her response to their aghast reactions: “What?
It’s nothing you haven’t seen before”
-The important part in all of this that I forgot to mention
is that the sirebond no longer works now.
-When Elena attacked Sheriff Forbes I was really upset. Too
far!
-“Your world revolves around me” – Seriously though Steffen
get a hobby or something.
-Tyler is gone for good, which hopefully means Caroline will stop leaving angsty voicemails.
-Tyler is gone for good, which hopefully means Caroline will stop leaving angsty voicemails.
Grade: B+
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