Episode Report Card Cindy McLennan: A- | 4 USERS: A+ YOU GRADE IT Family Ties That Bind And Gag
By Cindy McLennan | Season 1 | Episode 13 | Aired on 02.04.2010
The grimoire is encased in wax. Stefan cuts it off and opens the book. And just as he does, Damon's voice rings out through the black night. "Well, what do you know? This is an interesting turn of events." After a commercial break, Stefan doesn't bother to lie or otherwise cover, like a sane person might do. Oh, no. He just says, "I couldn't let you bring her back. I'm sorry." Damon's sorry that he thought for even a second that he could count on his own brother. Stefan points out that the only reason Damon could be there is that he found the journal and decided to do everything by himself. Damon's all: no dur. "The only one I can count on is me! You made sure of that, many years ago, Stefan." He looks from his brother to the woman who is a dead ringer for his lover. "But you... You had me fooled." Elena did? Really, Damon? I thought she totally sucked at lying. Damon doesn't want to get into that, now. Instead, he asks, "What are we going to do, now -- because if you try to destroy that -- I will rip her heart out." Stefan, forgetting who he's dealing with, says, "You won't kill her." Damon Stealth-Salvatores his way to Elena's side and says, "I can do one better." He opens a vein and forces Elena to drink from his wrist. Gag. "Give me the book, Stefan, or I'm stabbing her neck, and you and I will have a vampire girlfriend." Hello? Does Elena not get any say in this? Okay, she and Damon do have mad chemistry and if she was suddenly footloose and moral-free, she'd probably be glad to do them both, but still -- presumptuous, much? Damon demands the book. Stefan insists on getting Elena back first, because an object for an object, right? That's totally in the Bible. When Damon says he can't trust that Stefan will give the book back to him, Stefan says, "You just did the one thing that ensures that I will." Damon buries his face in Elena's hair in a gesture that some people find sweet and others find creepy. Honestly, I think it's both. Finally, and with much tension, they make the exchange. Stefan caresses his object Elena, and then quickly takes her from that place, leaving Damon alone with the book and his memories. I hope he doesn't find his magical toadstool, because it's already taking every bit of strength I have not to woobify him.
1864: An angry torch-bearing mob marches on the Salvatore estate. Inside, Giuseppe locks Katherine inside a Hannibal Lecter-ish mask. That must be the primitive catcher's mitt we saw in Elena's family memento box. No wonder Stefan recoiled. Why didn't he just stake her? When Damon begs for the men not to take Katherine away, his father pushes him against the wall and warns him of the deadly consequences of being branded a sympathizer. Damon grabs his father's arms. "Then let me be killed." We cut to...