Going into The Vampire Diaries this week I already had lowered expectations after last week felt like nothing but filler. However, the problem persists. Nothing of any huge significance is happening. Sure, a beloved character is dying but even that’s a point of contention adding to this rut.
Liz Forbes has always been the most stable parental figure on the show, both figuratively and literally, since she’s the only one who has survived thus far. The fact that she’s Caroline’s mom only adds to her importance because Caroline is such a core character. I’m all for giving Caroline and Stefan this obstacle to handle together that will only bring them closer in the end. That’s all good and it’s working. What I don’t agree with is the decision to drag out Liz’s inevitable death. She has an inoperable brain tumor. She literally died but no! She couldn’t stay dead. It’s true that now Caroline has the closure she needed so she wouldn’t blame herself forever for killing her mom, but that doesn’t always happen in life.
The second major storyline dealt with the Gemini coven’s merge. Papa Parker comes to visit his youngest twins, Liv and Luke, on their birthday when they politely decline to take part in the age old tradition of merging since it would mean they’d lose a sibling. Apparently if a merge doesn’t happen before the father dies, the entire bloodline dies with him. He looked to be in good health, as Luke pointed out, and he almost was going to let his kids go before Damon threatened him with setting Kai loose. Seriously, now, Damon knows this guy may be the only connection to saving Bonnie from the alternate universe of a hell she’s stuck in and yet all he does is try to get one of the younger twins killed. That’s not even my major issue with Damon in this episode either. He was downright mean and uncalled for when he added to Caroline’s distress by throwing it in her face that she’s responsible for her mom’s death.
Anyway, long story short: the merge is done! Luke is dead, and even though he’s the lesser of two evils when compared to Kai, I’m happy Kai won. Now that he’s the new leader of this coven, I have to wonder why else he would choose to stick around Mystic Falls to torment what is left of his family. He got what he always wanted, so now what?
I’m asking that question of the entire future of the show at this point. Now what? Elena realizes that life is short, and she doesn’t want to start over completely with Damon. They’re picking up right where they left off before he died and she erased her memories. Great. Bonnie’s still stuck with no more progress on saving her yet. What’s going on with that? Jeremy is apparently leaving the show in two weeks after he may or may not end up potentially getting Bonnie back next week. His goodbye won’t be a permanent one, as he’s probably going off to college and/or live a normal life, but it seems too little too late.
Do you agree that there’s something missing from The Vampire Diaries lately?
[Photo via The CW]
