The Vampire Diaries: Pictures of You (4x19)

This show really loves its fancy parties, doesn't it? I'm actually not complaining, here - I think The Vampire Diaries knows what its strengths are, and it exploits them. What do you do when you have a ton of hot actors? Put them in fancy clothing just to accentuate how hot they are! It also gives our large ensemble cast a chance to be in the same room together to let the drama flow. Generally, it works pretty well. That being said, what did I think of this prom-centric episode? .... Eh.

It wasn't terrible, don't get me wrong. But there were a few annoyances with it that were just bad enough to taint the experience for me. Let's look at some of the pros and cons of "Pictures of You."

Pros:

Everyone looks hot. That's pretty self-explanatory, but really. Elena, Caroline, Rebekah, Bonnie, etc. all look stunning in their dresses, and the boys look pretty spiffy in their suits. Eye candy is a big part of why I watch this show, and I got it with this episode.

Salvatore Brothers. Alright, now if I expected superb dialogue from this show, I'd count their first scene together as a con, but honestly I know what to expect and sometimes it's just fun to get it. The Salvatores play a game of catch in the house and remind us of what happened in the last episode, and establish how much time has passed. It was literally just a rehash of stuff we already knew, but we got to hear it while the two of them played a game of BROTHERLY BONDING catch. I may be a bit obsessed with their relationship. Of course there's also the scene later on when Silas looks like Stefan, which was another great chance for a pained Damon to show worry for Stefan: "Where's my brother, you psychic freak?!" I also like how jealous Damon is of Stefan's obvious remaining feelings for Elena. It's going to keep getting more and more tense, and I do love that! Their continued planning is nice, because it reinforces that while they have differing views on some things, they are both committed to each other on this one. Plan C, locking up Elena and forcing her life to be a living hell, is a little dark, but what else can you expect from this show?

Rebekah. I really liked her character's journey this week. In an awesome scene that I'm calling "The Mikaelson Family Council" we learn that Elijah is going to give Rebekah the cure, but only if she proves she really wants to be human by spending the whole day without using any of her vampire abilities. Elena, it turns out, wants to help. Not because she cares about Rebekah, but because if the cure is taken, the Salvatores can stop bothering her about it. Rebekah struggles to find a date or even anyone to dance with at the prom, since she can't compel anyone. However, Matt takes pity on her. I love the conversation they have while dancing, in which Rebekah tells Matt why she likes him so much - he's just so perfectly human, and he represents everything she wishes she could be. Her dilemma is compelling as well - as much as I don't care about April one way or the other, it's nice to see Rebekah risking what she wants most in the world to save her. 

Caroline. As you'll see later, Caroline goes on the pro AND the con lists this week. She had some great moments, and she had some that pissed me off. Here's what I did like: I liked how her and Stefan danced together, and made everyone who ships them squee with delight. I could totally see them being a happy couple. I liked her scene at the beginning when she goes to pick up her dress with Bonnie. I loved her very brief moment with Damon, when they both remark on their dissatisfaction with prom, and Damon offers her a drink. That was gold. I'll get to the stuff that I disliked in a moment.

Cons:

Elijah. Is this guy an idiot? The entire time I was watching the episode, I was completely flummoxed. What did the writers do to my dear, threatening-yet-attractive, moral-compass-yet-still-somehow-in-love-with-Katherine Elijah? I really like this character normally, but he was totally destroyed in this episode. For one, why the hell is he declaring in front of Klaus that he's giving the cure to Rebekah? Remember when Klaus locked your entire family in wooden boxes for years and years? You really think he wouldn't do the same to you? Later, Elijah actually gives Klaus the only weapon that can kill him. Are you really that trusting, you moron? Secondly, at the end of the episode "Rebekah" comes up to him and says "I passed your test," so Elijah just hands over the cure. First of all, why does he believe her so easily? What if she were lying? Secondly, I SERIOUSLY THINK THAT ALL OF THE SUPERNATURAL CREATURES IN MYSTIC FALLS NEED TO HOLD A MEETING WHERE THEY TALK ABOUT SILAS. He can look like anyone, guys. Anyone. So why is everybody falling for it? 

Silas. Just to continue on this thread, Silas is a stupid villain. He's not compelling and he's a cheap excuse for a bunch of surprise moments to appear in every episode. You think everything's fine, and then - nope! It was Silas all along. How many times can they pull that off? It made no sense to me that Bonnie would really believe Jeremy was there. It was a cheap trick. I also thought it was stupid, as I mentioned before, that Elijah fell for it when Silas looked like Rebekah. He also imitates both of the Salvatore brothers in this episode. Where will it end? He needs to get more interesting/threatening fast, or I will be seriously annoyed.

Caroline. So... she says she's going to the prom with Matt and Bonnie, and then spends no time with either one of them. She goes to Klaus for a dress instead of just finding a new one, which is creepy on so many levels. Don't put them in the same room together. Just don't. It was a contrived scene so that Klaus could do Caroline a favor and Caroline could smile all pretty at him. We already know there's going to be a spinoff show with the Originals, so we already know that Klaus and Caroline will never end up together. Dragging it out is pointless.

Elena. I'm so sick and tired of soulless Elena. It got old really fast. When I wanted to see Nina Dobrev play a bad-ass character that did whatever she needed to in order to get what she wanted, I had Katherine for that. I need Elena to turn her emotions back on stat. Besides a few funny bitchy lines here and there, I really don't enjoy her character. (Okay, so my favorite Elena-the-bitch lines were these: To Bonnie - "I thought you were going to bring Jeremy back, but you were a brainwashed crazy person." And then, in response to Caroline telling her that she looks nice in the dress, which she stole from Caroline, Elena says "Thanks, I thought I'd do it a favor." Wow! Fierce and bitchy Elena can be quite entertaining.)

Tyler. I guess it was nice that Caroline got to have a dance with her boyfriend, but it felt cliched and trite to have him actually come back just because of prom. In all honesty, at first I thought that it was Silas. But... it wasn't, it was just Tyler being stupid. Either way I didn't like it. I suppose it was kind of sweet that Klaus let him go, but even that wasn't enough to make up for this pointless appearance.

And then there's the ending. Apparently, Katherine has information about a witch in New Orleans, and she thinks Klaus ought to know. This is an obvious set up for the next episode, which in turn is a backdoor pilot for a show all about our favorite Original Vampires. I gotta say, I am a bit excited!

6.5/10