"Do Not Go Gentle" - The Vampire Diaries (3x20) Recap

Previously on The Vampire Diaries...

• Alaric invited Stefan to his Fight Club. Klaus crashed.
• Esther returned to play Freaky Friday with Rebekah.
• Caroline and Tyler reunited, and it felt so good.
• Jeremy discovered he won't be recruited for the MLB. Kol might.
• Jeremy played Whoopi to Damon's Demi. I guess Rose is Patrick Swayze.
• Elena showed Damon why she wanted to stay at the No-Tell Motel.
• Now that Operation: Kill Klaus is a bust, Alaric has teamed up with Estekah for Operation: Kill Originals aka Operation: Vamp Genocide.
• Damon found his balls.

Courtesy of Ianina Forever

I don't have any witty remarks for this episode. I tried to think of some, but after three viewings, I still feel hollow. "Do Not Go Gentle" was an important episode, and somewhat controversial. When I watched it on Thursday, I saw lots of angry tweets. I won't lie and say that the episode was perfect. It wasn't. I won't say that there weren't things that I found problematic with the storyline. I did. I won't even say that the episode didn't annoy me. It did that as well. One thing I will say, though, is that it was the perfect showcase for Matt Davis to show everyone what an incredible actor he truly is. 

This episode was the annual Decade Dance, and was filled with lots of teen angst. Elena, still reeling from her make-out session with Damon, is trying to help Caroline decorate the gym for the dance. But Caroline isn't letting Elena off that easy. Teasing her BFF about getting it on with Damon, Caroline suggests she ask Stefan to the dance. This actually makes sense. 

Courtesy of Dobrevass

Since Elena is supposed to be sorting out her feelings for both brothers, she may as well give both of them a chance. She just spent the night with Damon on a road trip, so why not go with Stefan to the dance to see if there is still some sparkage between them? Elena takes Caroline's advice, and Stefan agrees to go. I love how much this was reminiscent to season one. 

Of course when they get to the dance, Elena wants to tell Stefan she mouth attacked his big bro. I give her points for not trying to sweep her actions under the rug, but that seems like something she should've done before she asked him to the dance. Trying to have that type of convo in the middle of the dance floor seems wrong. 

Caroline also had romantic troubles this week. When she last saw Tyler he was storming out of her house. This week she decides to stick her nose in everyone else's business to compensate for going stag to the dance. She starts by warning Matt away from Elena. I get it. Elena tends to be the kiss of death to everyone she encounters, and Matt is like her only friend without super powers. Also, I feel this is foreshadowing for the finale. Rumor has it that we'll see Matt & Elena's relationship before the Gilbert's accident on Wickory Bridge, and that things between them weren't all that great. If this is true, it make sense that Caroline would remind Matt to stop looking at Elena with rose-colored glasses. 

Courtesy of CandiceTrevinos

Of course Tyler shows up to claim his woman. Seems though he was mad when we last saw him, he isn't letting his girl go without a fight. I love how he tried to keep up the sired charade when Klaus showed up, but wasn't a fan of Caroline shouting about Ty faking it after they all got locked in.

The one person who didn't seem to be having in relationship problems was Bonnie. Jeremy's back on the scene, and I loved how she didn't fall apart when she saw him for the first time since their break-up. I also loved how cool Jaime is about her crazy life. I originally wasn't a fan of the pairing, but now that I've seen it, I can definitely jump on board. 

Even though there was a lot of relationship-y stuff going on, it wasn't the main focus of the episode. Alaric was. Damon discovered his bestie hasn't been taking his herbs, and set out to save his buddy from himself. Alaric definitely needed it. After Esther finished using Rebekah to manipulate the Scoobys and Klaus, she returned to her true form, and set out to re-make Alaric. This is where things got fuzzy for me.

I get she was making him into an Original, but I don't get why. She's a witch with seemingly unlimited power, and can create vampires with magic. So why can't she just un-make them with the same magic? Yes, I know she tried that when Abby got vamped, but isn't there another spell she can use now that her kids aren't linked? I mean seriously! This chick doesn't seem to have to live by any supernatural rules, and has been stalking Ric for the last 3 seasons from the other side. I would think turning the OGs human would be a cake walk. 

Courtesy of I Lost Track of Things

The majority of the episode the gang tries to free themselves from the school that Esther has magically sealed them inside, while Elena gets kidnapped. Again. Sadly, the Scoobys aren't able to save Alaric, and he decides to die than transform into the ultimate killing machine. I kind of felt that Alaric would get turned by the end of the season, so I wasn't surprised by this. But then Matt Davis got his own series I've been expecting for him to die, and when he did I thought that was that. I hated it, but was willing to accept it. Now that he's an OG, I'm not sure how I feel about it.

When I first thought it would happen, visions of an immortal Dalaric boozing it up, and sexing up sorority houses filled my head like sugar plums. That's all been shot to hell. Now, that Alaric has been turned into a vamp-hating vampire vampire hunter, Team Blood & Beer are kaput ;(

One thing I do like about this, is that we got to see a Damon / Meredith scene. Could this possibly mean she could become his new drinking buddy? We all know how she likes day drinking. A female bestie could be just what the Dr. ordered for our Damon. Especially since the memory of losing Rose is still fresh in his mind. 

If Matt Davis is able to come back for season 4, I'm looking forward to seeing him be the villain. He did so well last year as Klaus, and I think he'd make a fantastic foe. Especially given his connections to the gang. I did love all the Klefan goodness, and am more convinced than ever that they hooked up back in the day. Klaus is just too bent on Stefan for them not to have played Hide the Salami a time, or two. I also loved how Damon laid claim to his baby bro, and how busted up Jeremy was over Alaric. I even loved the look he gave Elena that kind of said, "I know what you did at the no-tell motel." And of course, I loved how great everyone looked in their costumes. TVD really knows how to set it out. That was the good.

Courtesy of Drunk Vampires

As for the bad, I'll go with the confusing witch rules this week. Didn't get it, and being a logical person, don't like how contradictory everything seemed. I also didn't like Elena moaning about how she has no one to take care of her now that Ric is dead. I know the world revolves about Elena, but her being a slef-involved twat when I'm grieving the loss of my favorite Bromance? Not cool! I also wasn't a fan of how Stefan manipulated the situation by trying to showcase how stand-up he is. 

Don't get me wrong, I love Stefan, but him pulling her into the gym, and reminding her about the "good" times when he tried to kill her was the most self-serving thing I had seemed in a long time. I get the girl has a choice to make between the boys, but that wasn't the time for him to appeal his case. For a guy with so much class, I found Stefan's actions quite tacky.

I still don't know how I feel about the episode. I just hope that the things I didn't quite love are better explained next Thursday, and that maybe once I've seen the whole picture I'll be able to appreciate the episode more. That's my two cents. What's yours?