Episode Report Card Cindy McLennan: A- | 561 USERS: A- YOU GRADE IT The One I Watch Through My Fingers
By Cindy McLennan | Season 4 | Episode 2 | Aired on 2012.10.18
Downstairs, Carol answers the door and finds Connor Jordan on the other side. Liz has already given her the heads up about him, so Carol is wise enough not to invite him in. Connor doesn't worry about the niceties though and just barges in, so he's not a vampire. He starts leveling accusations about the Council members' deaths. When Tyler comes down and asks what's going on, Connor introduces himself and extends his gloved hand. Tyler shakes it, and his hand starts to sizzle. Connor grabs a gun and shoots Tyler a few times. Carol screams. Upstairs, Caroline jumps out of bed, so we can have yet another gratuitous shot of her in her undies. She halfway throws on some clothes and rushes downstairs, just in time to hear Carol order Tyler to run. He jumps through a window. Commercial.
Stefan removes the bullets from Tyler's shirtless bod and notes that the wooden bullets were specially carved. "If you were a normal vampire, you'd be dead." Tyler says Jordan's gloves must have been steeped in vervain, and he was definitely looking for a vampire. Stefan ponders about the etchings on the bullets. Caroline wonders if they were "spelled." That's twice in less than a week that one of my shows has used "spelled" to mean "enchanted," which I only mention because it's funny. Whatever. It's funny to me.
Church. It's apparent that no one who works on this show has darkened the doors of a house of worship in a long time because Elena is handing out programs for the memorial service, but she's laying on program on every seat, which is just not how it's done. Most churches would have ushers who would hand out programs to the mourners as they arrived. If there was an acute usher shortage, they'd probably lay a stack of programs on a table at the back of the sanctuary, or place little stacks at the end of each pew. Prepare yourselves, gentle readers, for more churchy nitpicks because that's how I roll. Anyhow, this is just a chance of Matt to check in with Elena, and for Elena to mourn for everyone because even though she's a vampire, she is still the most compassionate person in the world.
When Elena spots April in a front pew, she approaches her. The girls hug, and April explains that she has to speak at the service. She has no clue what to say, but is afraid if she doesn't talk, maybe no one will have anything nice to say about her dad, and everyone deserves to have nice things said at their funeral. Elena encourages the girl to do whatever she needs to do and adds, "Don't worry about your dad. Everyone in this town loved him." Really? Why? I mean, for the brief time that he graced our screens, he was nothing but an ass. Don't get me wrong. I don't think there's anything wrong with uninitiated humans wanting to kill vampires. That's the survival instinct. But Reverend Cliche's character was written to be a one-note, ignorant, hateful man. Anyhow, April must know her daddy blew up the Council and himself, because she adds, "Until two days ago." Elena: "Even still..." When Elena grabs the girl's wrist, she feels the blood pumping beneath and excuses herself.