The Vampire Diaries - Welcome to Paradise - Review

This week on The Vampire Diaries, Elena tried out life as a happy, party-going college student, unaware of the memories of loving Damon that were removed by Alaric.  Elena's joie de vivre only seemed to intensify Caroline's angst as she continued to struggle with her complicated feelings for Stefan and her longing for everything that's been taken away from her of late.  Meanwhile, things got even more interesting for Bonnie and Damon as they met the other resident of the mostly-abandoned Mystic Falls '94.  Let's review and discuss!

"You hired a vampire.  Next time, do a background check."  Ah, I loved the scene of Stefan talking a little smack to his obnoxious boss, finally dropping his pretenses of normalcy, along with a whole lotta exposition, before he had his boss take care of Ivy's body (I still think she'll be back, but we'll see).  Even though Stefan intended to return to his new life, he'd already relaxed back into his old self a bit by this point, and got himself further entangled in the affairs back home (or as close to home as he can get) later in the episode.

Stefan's vendetta against Enzo was clearly justified, not least of all because Enzo's also going around dropping diner waitresses like that's no biggie.  Ivy wasn't some exception to Enzo's otherwise drink-compel-abandon routine; he's straight-out remorselessly killing randoms, whenever, like a Season 1 Damon and it needs to stop.  Still, that doesn't mean I'm thrilled about Tripp and Stefan ganging up on Enzo at the end of the episode, since that was flat-out creepy, though a nice throwback to Damon's early alliance with Liz (who was, however, not creepy like Tripp).  Hmm, what's Stefan going to do with this fake new camaraderie with Tripp, who was merely a means to Enzo's intended end?  And how is Enzo getting out of that one?  I still want him to of course, because even with his flaws, Enzo is a wonderfully fun and likable character.

Ignorance is bliss?  Elena is so content in her Damon-memory-less life, and it was nice to see her try to bring the old Mystic Falls gang back together and prevent them from drifting any further apart.  However, as Caroline indicated, it's also really weird and unsettling to see Elena clueless of the feelings that have been a massive part of her life for so long.  And if Liam is any indication of the post-Damon (or as I like to say, until Damon comes back!) love interests for Elena that lie in store, color me unimpressed.  Unless he's hiding some twisty supernatural secrets up his sleeve, Liam seems generic and dull.  

Elena was not too busy (briefly) reuniting her pals to give Jeremy a stern talking to, especially since he's still cavorting with Sarah (who frankly seems too interesting for him).  As we learned through an "ohhhh, right, duh" moment in this episode, Sarah must remember everything about Elena biting her and such, since it was revealed that compulsion fades when one crosses into Mystic Falls.  Awkward.

"Some of us prefer to face our problems head on."  Flirting with the idea of moving back in with Elena while experimenting with being friends with Enzo (who has a way of ruining a nice meal out), Caroline faced no end of drama this week, culminating in her confronting Stefan and asking him to stay, and then even admitting to Elena that she'd had (read: has) feelings for Stefan.  Whoa, that's a lot to go through in one episode.

Admittedly, so soon after Enzo had murdered Ivy, it was a badly timed attempt for Car to reconnect with Stefan, seeing as he's still not ready or willing to make that emotional leap.  I do find it interesting that Stefan is now ready to call Ivy his girlfriend after all that commitment phobia he was throwing down back when she was among the living (it almost was on a Winchesters-from-Supernatural level of "I'm just passing through").  Anyway, yes, he only came back to town to kill Enzo...even if he did find time to hug and check in with Elena and have an angst-fest with Caroline.  

Caroline encouraged Stefan to remain in the Mystic Falls area if he had felt even the slightest urge to come back and make sure everyone was okay, and if he's at all interested in how much she needs him.  That was brave of her, but Stefan turned and walked off without answering, so ouch.  He can't stay cut off from his feelings for his friends for much longer, especially since the source of this resolve clearly comes from his painful grief over Damon's death, which being home reminds him of.  And if I thought Caroline was brave to confront Stefan (again) like that in the woods, I have to give her even more props for admitting to Elena (when asked) that she had feelings for him.  After all, Bonnie was more hesitant than that about telling Elena she was dating Jeremy, and that was only a precursor to the most boring relationship ever.  

Now that Elena is more in touch with her original feelings for Stefan than those she had for Damon, it's nice to see that she didn't show any anger or other negativity towards Caroline at this confession.  Sure, Elena looked a little freaked out in the woods by Caroline's blatant affection for Stefan, but she's more interested in making sure her friends are alright.  Respect, Elena.  And respect to the writers for (hopefully) not trying to use Elena's memory loss to get her back together with Stefan.  We need the show to be fresher and less predictable than that.

"I'm embarrassed for you."  I adore everything about the Damon and Bonnie Trapped in '94 plotline.  The wardrobe, the "Bamon" humor and friendship, the sweet throwback jams, and particularly in this episode, seeing Bonnie embrace hope for once instead of being a resigned martyr as she has so often done in past seasons.  Not to mention the heartfelt, flashback-accompanied glimpse we got into Damon's yearning to be reunited with Elena, but his fear to hope it's possible. We also got to meet Kai, a possible new big bad who has even more cool qualities than just Not Being Markos (which already had him off to a good start).  Chris Wood brings an enjoyably smug, quippy attitude to the inscrutably motived character, who started off by brutally attacking Damon and later claimed he merely did so to force Bonnie to reactivate her powers (which she did).  I find his character, attitude, and actions fascinating as it's hard to get a read on who he truly is or what he could possibly doing in the land of '94.

Also obviously for the win in this part of the episode were the continual one-liners ("I'm sorry I called you the most annoying person in the world.  I hadn't met him yet." -Damon) and Bonnie facing off with Kai and besting him.  Awesomeness.

Elsewhere in the episode: Liv admitted she could easily fall for Tyler but has to use her bitchy veneer to avoid doing so.  I'm again impressed with the writers for making two somewhat useless characters so thoroughly likable in this plotline.  Poor Matt was disillusioned about his civilian protection squad buddies actually being vampire hunters, though why he'd want to hang out with anyone as douchey as Jay in any context is another question.  Sarah seems to have left Jeremy in the dust for now, but what's her next move and who is her long lost father?

What did you think of this episode?  Any ideas about Kai's motives?  Share your thoughts in the comments, and don't forget to catch an all-new The Vampire Diaries, Thursday at 8/7c on The CW.

About the Author - Virginia Mae Fontana

Virginia is happy to be reviewing The Vampire Diaries, Beauty and the Beast, and Witches of East End for Spoiler TV. She enjoys obsessing over films and pop music - in addition to tv shows, of course! You can find her blog, SugarRushed, at http://virginiamaeblog.blogspot.com/ and her Twitter handle is @VMaeFontana

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