The Vampire Diaries: The Killer

Posted by: Kyle Tetarenko  •  November 8, 2012 @ 9:58pm

Filed under: Recaps & Reviews

When Klaus had Connor trapped and under the guard of his hybrids, all he needed was an opportunity. Now that he's free, he has one goal: kill every last vampire in Mystic Falls.

With a burning determination to discover the meaning behind his tattoos, Connor knows the only way to get answers is to kill more vampires. After his narrow escape from Klaus's mansion, Connor visits Professor Shane who will decipher his tattoos once the image is complete so Connor heads back to Mystic Falls. Once he's there, he takes Jeremy, Matt and April hostage at the Mystic Grill and texts Stefan, Tyler and Damon to show up. Unwilling to let the others fall into a trap, Stefan keeps his promise to Klaus to not tell the others about their arrangement while coming up with a plan to stop Connor. Damon, on the other hand, is more than eager to get his hands dirty and do whatever is takes to end Connor's life even if it means someone gets hurt. With Jeremy, Matt and April's lives in the hands of a madman, can Stefan still keep them safe and still protect his secret?

Though it was tense and exciting at the best of times, The Killer's lulls dragged down the overall quality of the episode. Beginning with the amateur narration by both Elena and Stefan, the dialogue lead us down a narrow path rather than let us draw our own conclusions through each of their actions. If the show had instead taken us through both of their morning routines, contrasting Stefan's vigour with Elena's apathy to take on the day, I could have seen what they were thinking. Stefan said that he was hopeful, so why didn't he have a bit of spring in his step? Elena dreads her life as a vampire and a daily disgust with drinking blood would have illustrated that point nicely.

Though his stint on The Vampire Diaries was overly brief, Connor Jordan definitely made an impact. Played by Todd Williams, Connor's presence put everyone on edge and forced them into action, something even Klaus has not done since he first appeared on the series. While intensity was inherent in Connor, Williams brought this out perfectly without going into camp which was not easy to do. With such a complex character, Williams brought a laser like focus to Connor when the fight was at hand and was every bit the equal to the vampires he hunted. I really think this character should have stayed longer as Jeremy's inheritance of the tattoos was blatantly obvious; even if it was just to provide Jeremy a sense of personality and make his character more than misunderstood teen with Connor's training and guidance.

Though she is doing her best, even Nina Dobrev can't make Elena likeable this season amidst the bland writing. Whether it is the narration or her constant state of turmoil since becoming a vampire, Elena is just not enjoyable to watch. Additionally, the moment she killed Connor could have been more powerful than it was. Elena should have reveled in the kill like Damon, giving her a reason to be afraid of what she's becoming but it was sedated and lacking instead. Dobrev has been excellent before as Katherine but she has been remarkably flat as Elena this season.

Speaking of Damon, it's always seemed like he and his brother were fairly matched, so how was he able to stick his hand through his brother's chest and clutch his heart? I will have a pretty hard time believing any battles between the two of them from here on out now that Damon just handed Stefan his ass so easily.

The Vampire Diaries has laid yet another exciting character to rest long before his time. Maybe someone new will take Connor's place but I suspect they are already looking to Klaus to fill the void. We'll see what the consequences are for Elena for killing a hunter (and the fun) in next week's We All Go a Little Mad Sometimes.

Tags: The Vampire Diaries, Stefan Salvatore, Damon Salvatore, Elena Gilbert, Connor Jordan, Paul Wesley, Ian Somerhalder, Nina Dobrev, Todd Williams

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