The Vampire Diaries: American Gothic (4x18)

I loved this episode! I'll start by talking about the three things I didn't love, so I can go on to all the amazing stuff. There's a lot of it.

Minor nitpick #1 - the over-arching plot of this season was hardly advanced at all. I have nothing against character episodes per say, but since we are winding towards the end of this season I felt that a bit more could have been pushed forward this week. 

Minor nitpick #2 - Although there were many things to love about Caroline and Klaus' exchange this week (I'll get to them in a minute) I really didn't appreciate the resolution. Why couldn't Klaus really be dying? It wouldn't have mattered, as long as Caroline could have succeeded in pulling the stake out. The "Silas is messing with me" angle is really silly.

Minor nitpick #3 - On the same topic, Silas. Silas was barely a premise in this episode, but I really dislike the idea that Silas can turn into whoever he wants. It is giving me flashbacks to Season 7 of Buffy, with the First Evil, only this time he can turn into anyone, dead or alive. It's sort of a cheap trick for a show to use. I hope they find a new twist on it.

Okay - now onto the things that were awesome!

Those damn Salvatore brothers! I just eat it up whenever they are on screen together. Their relationship is so deliciously messed up, and yet adorable. This week we got a few great jokes and a few more serious moments as well. What a treat! I liked the hostile conversation at the beginning when Stefan gave Damon a hard time for letting the girls get away. Then ,there was the awesome moment at the end when Damon actually apologized to Stefan for letting Rebekah take the cure. And then there was Stefan's speech about how he was going to help Elena but then get her out of his life for good. Damon looked a little panicked about his brother leaving... it was pretty adorable.

Elijah! I was really excited to see him again. His kiss with Elena was pretty hot, and I actually really loved his conversations with her throughout the episode. He is the moral center of the Original Clan, which makes his love for Katherine all the more complex. I particularly admired the scene at the end between Elijah and Rebekah. Then, Klaus and Elijah's phone conversation was great also. "Complication speaking!" How funny.

Then there's Nina Dobrev. She did such a superb job this week playing Katherine and Elena. Elena-sans-humanity is subtly different than Katherine, and she really lets that shine through. Add Rebekah into the mix, and we had quite the trio of Queen Bitches this week. It was very entertaining to see these two actors (three characters) play off of each other. It made for some great bitchy dialogue. I think my favorite part was when Elena was trying to imitate Katherine, and Rebekah jumps in with helpful advice: "Throatier! More mannish!"

Then there was the Caroline/Klaus stuff this week. I already commented on how I didn't like the resolution, but there were still some great moments, such as Caroline's line: "I don't know if this is some new way of flirting, but it sucks." Also, Joseph Morgan (Klaus) has some serious acting chops. Great performance by him this week.

Katherine in general is great. Her plan of compelling the whole town was really clever. I think my problems with the plot (everything is moving so slowly towards this season's climax!) distracted me a bit, but Katherine herself is awesome. I'm excited to see what happens next with her. Her decision to give the cure to Elijah is a bit confusing to me, but I do have hope that we'll get answers about it.

Elena! It is getting really disturbing to see her sans-soul. The cavalier way she mentions Jeremy's death coupled with the cold-blooded murder at the end makes me really anxious to see what's going to happen next.

So... this week? Besides a slow-moving plot, we got a lot of good stuff going on. I did miss seeing Bonnie and Matt this week, but it was nice to get out of Mystic Falls and explore Katherine's whereabouts!

8/10