The Vampire Diaries: She's Come Undone (4x21)

I don't have a lot of time, so I'll be keeping this review very brief. Basically, this episode kicked some ass. I think it was extremely powerful and important to the overall story. I will, however, start with a few weaknesses, because of course nothing is perfect...

So, Bonnie. I know I've mentioned this a few times before, but her character has made very little sense this past season. I'm not sure what her game is. It was strange to see her making deals with Katherine and hiding things from her friends. She wants to drop the veil, apparently, and that seems to be what Silas wants as well, but yet Bonnie is clearly hiding something from Silas.

And speaking of Silas, he's still a rather weak villain. I don't find him intimidating at the end, when he emerges from the shadows in Caroline's house. However, I was properly scared of him for the first time when he was pretending to be Klaus - then Matt - then Klaus again, in order to scare Caroline. So... he's a mixed bag for me. I'm reserving judgment.

But, the rest of the episode was great. Damon and Stefan are truly ruthless as they try to save Elena, resorting to extreme measures such as burning her, and even getting Katherine to try and torture some sense into her. The sunlight scene was a high point in the episode - the emotions on Stefan's face showed how conflicted he was about hurting her, and Damon's callousness was clearly all an act. Elena is truly insane without her humanity- she actually lets herself catch on fire to prove that since she's the girl they love, they'd never let anything really bad happen to her.

I loved the conversation between Stefan and Damon about Elena's humanity - Damon is distraught because normally, a vampire would go crazy for a while and then turn the humanity back on eventually. But with Elena, it's different, because she knows she has nothing to come back to.

Then, we've got Matt's involvement in the episode. He was amazing. I'm so glad that he got to play a big role here. I think he works remarkably well as a moral center for the show. It's also fascinating to see how Rebekah is drawn to this human goodness in him. This humanity is actually what brings Elena back to her own - in an awesome fakeout, Damon actually snaps Matt's neck in front of Elena, thus bringing her out of her soulless self and reminding her of who she is.

(Matt, after waking up - they used the ring, obviously -  asks about Elena first thing. He is one of the nicest, most sincere characters that this show has to offer, and I'm insanely glad they've kept him around.)

Stefan tells Elena to focus on something that makes her want to live, in order to push through the pain of getting her humanity back. At first, we think we've got our old Elena back without issue, but actually, no. She held on to hatred. Hatred for Katherine. As the episode ends, Elena is telling the Salvatores that she blames Katherine for all the terrible things that have happened, and plans on killing her. This is intense! I can't wait to see it.

Then there's Caroline. I liked her scene with Elena, and her realization, at last, that the old Elena really wasn't there anymore. She tells the boys to do whatever they have to in order to get Elena back.  Her and Matt were very cute as they worried about their friend, and I loved Caroline's enthusiastic project-mode as she learns that Matt is having trouble in school (on a side note, how on earth is Matt the only one having trouble? Do these kids even go to classes?).

In particular, I loved Caroline's innovative way of saving her mom, and I'm glad that we still have at least one adult character surviving in this show other than Damon. 

Like I said, I can't go into too much detail here due to time restrains. What I liked about this episode was that it gave Elena back her humanity, but it actually dealt properly with the fallout. I love that she goes immediately into revenge-mode. Not only is this a good move for her character, but it's also a good move for the plot: Katherine is a really compelling villain, unlike Silas, so I'm excited to see how it all comes together in the climax.

A few other notes: I missed Klaus this week, actually. I will never ship him with Caroline, but I actually will really miss him on this show. I haven't decided if I'll be watching the spinoff yet, but it might we worth watching a few episodes just for Klaus and Elijah. We shall see!

Rebekah and Matt... I don't necessarily see them as a couple, but I do enjoy the dynamics of their relationship. I find it fascinating that for all the bad she's done, Rebekah really is drawn to the goodness and humanity of Matt. I think she's my favorite Original because she feels the most believable in that sense.

So... Bonnie's confusing motives aside, this episode was very solid in that it advanced things in a big way for Elena's character and for the plot as well. I throroughly enjoyed it!

8.5/10