The Vampire Diaries: The Walking Dead (4x22)

Oy vey. I'm not going to write much of a review of this thing, so that I can get straight to the finale. I have thoughts. And feelings. This episode was great in some respects, and it fell very short in others. I do apologize for being brief, especially since this episode was actually vitally importnat in the overall scope of the season and the show. Let's just separate this out into the good and the bad.

Pros: Elena's journey. Her focus on revenge was really gripping. I liked seeing this single-minded focus, and it gave Nina Dobrev yet another change to show off her acting chops. It was also great to see Stefan and Damon trying to stop her, as their continued teamwork/animosity is really fun to watch. 

The return of the dead! Yes, yes, yes. I squealed like a really pathetic person when Alaric showed up. Ah, that bromance. And seeing Lexie was also precious. I will admit that Kol felt slightly underused, as he cropped up to be a jerk and then was immediately disposed of again. A bit of a wasted cameo. But then Jeremy was there! Oh goodness gracious, Jeremy I have missed you so much. So, yeah, it was fun to see that.

Rebekkah/Matt. I feel weird putting this under the "pro" section because there is something rather unsettling about their relationship to me. However, I liked their interactions in this one, as they were left virtually out of the action but still helped to deal with Caroline's compulsive freakout (I laughed when Rebekkah slapped her and Caroline immediately said "bitch!").

And then there are the cons.

Silas. So. Freakin'. Uninteresting. So, what, he's been tricking Bonnie all along? I officially don't understand/care about Silas any freakin' more. I tried. I tried to be patient, but this guy is driving me up a wall! We never get to see what he really looks like? Are you kidding? And now the threat is gone. Bonnie was able to do that without dying.

Oh, but she dies trying to bring Jeremy back to life. And herein lies my very biggest problem with this episode. Bonnie is dead. No. This is not like when Jeremy died, or Jenna, or Rick, or Vicky, or any of the other very sad deaths we have had in this show. This is just stupid. Bonnie has been consistently kicked around and disrespected by the writers of this show. They use her only when it's convenient for the plot, and they generalyl just shove her aside for the sake of the other characters and totally ignore her sitting there on the sidelines. And now she's dead? Bonnie is dead? So all of that mistreatment, and she doesn't even get a semblance of peace in the end? I am so angry right now.

Sorry for the rant. I also, sadly enough, didn't really like Katherine too much in this episode. I mean, I liked her for the sake of Elena's character development, and how Stefan stopped her from killing Katherine and all that. But, actually, she acted more as a plot device here than as her normal character. She basically just followed Bonnie around being all snarky and then got attacked. Not a lot going on for a character that usually captivates me so entirely.

So, I know that wasn't the longest or even the most coherent of reviews, but I flew into a mad rage after Bonnie's death and I'm not sure I'll be recovering. So. This is what you get.

See you once I watch the finale... (if I survive)

6.5/10