The Vampire Diaries: Because the Night

Posted by: Kyle Tetarenko  •  March 21, 2013 @ 8:16pm

Filed under: Recaps & Reviews

On the heels of Elena's falling out with Mystic Falls, Damon uses a trip to New York as a disguise for continuing his search for the cure but he isn't the only one playing games.

While attempting to reign Elena in, Damon brings her to Billy's, a bar where he spent most of the seventies feeding on patrons and giving their IDs to his friend Will to counterfeit. It was there that Lexi found him and spent the next six months trying to turn his humanity back on. Back in the present, Damon is letting Elena roam free when Rebekah shows up to spoil the fun. She's been following them as Damon searches for a lead on Katherine. When she is alone with Elena, she learns that Elena is well aware of Damon's plan and is using him to get closer to the cure so she remain a vampire. Back in Mystic Falls, Stefan has asked for Klaus's help to stop Silas as there are more than a few people on the other side that wouldn't mind seeing him suffer if they should return. Silas's third massacre hinges on one thing: Bonnie. With her help, he intends to kill twelve witches to complete his triangle and get the power to break the veil forever. It will be a test of the three of them to stop Bonnie and Silas while Damon has his hands full dealing with two vampires with nothing to lose.

In the wake of last week's atrociously bad, Bring It On, Because of the Night was just as boring as its preview last week. The pursuit of the cure to restore Elena's humanity remains as dull as ever as the Elena without her personality is even more predictable than the normal one. The most distracting element of reinstating her humanity is that The Vampire Diaries has never defined what humanity means which is eerily similar to Angel's (from Buffy the Vampire Slayer and Angel) soul and the constant struggle to define that. The problem is that humanity, or the soul, doesn't just mean being a good person as murderers and other terrible people wouldn't exist otherwise. Stefan and Damon refer to her humanity but they mean her sense of empathy. Even in this case, the new Elena is more like a pale comparison to the old Damon that was fun to watch.

Besides the lackluster attempt to make Elena exciting, Stefan and Klaus's attempt to stop Silas from completing the triangle wasn't any better. The entire time they were trying to predict where the third point in the triangle had to be completed rather than just looking for Bonnie. For a show that uses cell phones as a plot device so often, why didn't they just call her? When they finally found Bonnie in the clutches of the coven, Klaus explicitly said that killing the witches would be exactly what Silas wants; then Caroline did the one thing she wasn't supposed to do. The witches all died due to their connection to one another and now Silas's plan to break the veil between life and death is barely out of his reach. Although the villains do need to be credible, the main characters need a win every now and then just to not embarrass them completely. Stefan, Damon and the others have looked like complete idiots as Silas's plan has come together almost flawlessly while the gang struggles to keep up. How can we cheer for them if they never succeed?

While everything else fell flat, Lexi and Klaus managed to be the highlights of the hour. Every time she returns, I wonder why they killed Lexi to begin with. Arielle Kebbel's performance is always solid and although Lexi is idealistic and naïve, it's hopeful and genuine. Damon's explanation for killing her was paper thin but at least we got to see her again. While I have remarked in several previous reviews that Klaus has overstayed his welcome, a lot, he was the only character with any sense. I've lost track of how many times Klaus flirts with Caroline but he finally gave it back to her when he refused to comfort her after she killed the twelve witches. It may have been his opportunity to show that he wasn't a terrible person but Klaus doesn't forget when others scorn him and he is more than willing to play the villain when he wants.

Lastly, although the scene between Klaus and Silas was quite good, the show's vision of Silas holds the character back. The two most powerful characters on the show finally had their face to face and though Silas has the upper hand, David Alpay is still playing the same character he was when it was Atticus Shane. Bonnie knows who he is and Klaus knew right away so why is there no difference between the two of them? I'm not sure what the reasoning is but Nina Dobrev transitions very well between Elena and Katherine. I would like to see a very different character come to life but more than that, I don't think the double casting was necessary and I would have preferred a new actor altogether to play Silas. Alpay doesn't invoke terror in his wake and as powerful as the character is, why does he need to manipulate others rather than take what he wants? Oh, he also broke a piece of the indestructible white oak stake off Klaus's back but lore and continuity are overrated in this show anyways.

Besides Klaus and Lexi, Because of the Night didn't do enough to bring the excitement for the rest of the season. Rebekah and Elena may have the makings of Thelma and Louise as they go after Katherine but hopefully that doesn't turn out to be as cheesy as it looks. We'll see what takes shape in next week's American Gothic.

Tags: The Vampire Diaries, Stefan Salvatore, Damon Salvatore, Elena Gilbert, Silas, Paul Wesley, Ian Somerhalder, Nina Dobrev, David Alpay

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