TV Review: THE VAMPIRE DIARIES – Season 3 – “The Reckoning”

By SEAN ELLIOTT / Contributing Writer

Posted: October 20th, 2011 / 04:02 PM

Stars: Nina Dobrev, Paul Wesley, Ian Somerhalder
Writer: Michael Narducci, Based on the book by L.J. Smith
Director: John Behring
Network: The CW, airs Thursday nights
Original Telecast: October13, 2010

“The Reckoning” definitely delivers on a LOT of levels as the new season of THE VAMPIRE DIARIES continues. It’s Senior Prank Night and despite the fact that their entire world has been flipped on its ear in the last year or so, Caroline (Candice Accola) is determined that Elena (Nina Dobrev), Bonnie (Katerina Graham), and Tyler (Michael Trevino) are going to have a normal night of fun. Of course, no one is counting on Stefan (Paul Wesley) and Klaus (Joseph Morgan) crashing the party.

This episode is interesting because it changes the game and character relationships of the series once again in a direction that is both unexpected and original. There are also some bits of pay off in the story and a lot more questions asked.

So let’s start with the biggie for the episode, the fact that Elena is the key to Klaus making successful hybrids. It’s incredibly clever of the ‘original witch’ to have created a curse that freed Klaus, but at the same time bound his ability to procreate his new hybrid species. (Score another point for originality for the show writers!) So Elena can’t die. She has to live so that Klaus can return again and again and drain her and use her blood to keep hybrids alive

Which leads me to my second point from this episode, Tyler is now a hybrid, but what does that really mean? He’s stronger, faster, has the benefits of both supernatural species, but why did Klaus leave his first successful offspring behind? I realize he takes off because of the looming threat of Michael the vampire who hunts vampires finding him, but if this is his century long goal why didn’t he pack Tyler off with him? He’ll probably nab him sometime later this season when he stops back in Mystic Falls for an Elena refill.

So then of course that leads me to the BIG plot twist that caught me completely off guard, the fact that Klaus switches off Stefan’s humanity (or his love for Elena) and leaves him as a guard dog over her. That’s horrible (and brilliant again score for the writers) that the man Elena loves is not himself, he’s back to being Ripper who is little more than a monster, and she has to see him day in and day out and suffer with the knowledge of who he used to be. Hopefully Damon (Ian Somerhalder) will pick up the romantic torch with greater aplomb now to help her move on!

Bone head moment of the episode goes to Matt (Zach Roerig) who decides that killing himself is the only way to be useful in a world peopled with supernatural creatures. So into the pool with a weight he goes. Bonnie luckily saves him, and now he can see his dead sister Vicki (Kayla Ewell). The only problem with that is according to other dead girl, Anna (Malese Jow), Vicki is up to no good.

Speaking of Anna nice of her to lead Katherine (Nina Dobrev) and Jeremy (Steven R. McQueen) to the resting place of Vampire hunter Michael, and is that the bad guy from FRINGE that I see under the decayed vamp make-up? Guess we’ll find out next episode!

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Click on Link: TV Review – THE VAMPIRE DIARIES – Season 3 – “Disturbing Behavior”

Click on Link: TV Review – THE VAMPIRE DIARIES – Season 3 – “The End of the Affair”

Click on Link: TV Review – THE VAMPIRE DIARIES – Season 3 – “The Hybrid”

Click On Link: TV Review – THE VAMPIRE DIARIES – Season 3 – “The Birthday”

Click on Link: Review of THE SECRET CIRCLE – Season 1 – “Pilot”

Click on link for Exclusive Interview with THE SECRET CIRCLE executive producer Kevin Williamson

Click on Link: Exclusive photos of THE SECRET CIRCLE stars at PaleyFest 2011 CW preview

CLICK HERE for AX’s interview with THOMAS DEKKER on THE SECRET CIRCLE

CLICK HERE for photos from The CW’s THE SECRET CIRCLE

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Click on Link: For more VAMPIRE DIARIES reviews and interviews
Click on Link: For AX’s exclusive interview with CANDICE ACCOLA