‘The Vampire Diaries’ 4.10 Recap And Review: After School Special

The Vampire Diaries is back, and better than ever! Seriously. Last night’s tear-jerking, jaw-dropping, insanely perfect episode shocked everyone! Possibly one of the best episodes this season, in my opinion. Rebekah (Claire Holt) returns with a vengeance, forcing the truth to come to surface, while Damon (Ian Somerhalder) tries to make Jeremy (Steven R. McQueen) unleash his badass hunter skills. If one thing could be said about this episode, it’s that the truth always comes out.

In the wake of Carol Lockwood’s death, a few interesting things happen. For one, Bonnie’s (Kat Graham) dad decides to take over as mayor. It all seems a bit random, but nonetheless, a great addition to the story. I’m curious to see where this goes. Also, Rebekah teams up with April to get all of her least favorite people in a room together. She first captures Elena (Nina Dobrev), and later lures Stefan (Paul Wesley) and Caroline (Candice Accola) in. Using compulsion, she is able to get all the juicy details on everything she’s missed since being daggered. This whole situation is awkward and upsetting. The questions started out simple. Stuff on the cure, the sword, etc. Yet things escalated quickly when Rebekah started to pry on Stefan and Elena’s relationship. Because of the compulsion, everything was aired out. Stefan revealed to Elena that he did, in fact, know that she slept with Damon. The biggest, and possibly most heartbreaking truth came from Elena, though. Elena revealed that, although she loves Stefan, she is not in love with Stefan anymore. I can already hear all the Stelena shippers ranting! I have to say, the acting in this episode was top notch. Paul Wesley always makes the audience feel, which is something I really appreciate.

Although finding out the truth is always interesting, it definitely wasn’t enough to satisfy Rebekah. She soon gets Tyler (Michael Trevino), as well as Professor Shane (David Alpay), to join the party. After getting information that Shane knows a lot about the cure and how to find it, Rebekah enlists the help of Kol (Nathaniel Buzolic). After kidnapping Shane, they go through a bit of third degree to get him to talk. Meanwhile, Tyler is compelled by Rebekah to shift into a wolf, leaving Elena, Stefan, and Caroline pretty much helpless (seeing as they’re not allowed to run, nor leave the building). While the gang is trying to figure out how to avert this massive issue, Bonnie (Kat Graham) decides to show up to rescue Professor Shane. With a little salt and witchy juju, she ends up saving Shane from dying after Kol gets a little crazy, but almost killing April. The first trial of her Expression! In the end, everyone ends up alive, which is a major surprise knowing this show. Sadly, Stefan is pretty much emotionally damaged, and decides to take out his grievances by teaming up with our favorite sassy, blonde Original (Not Klaus).

In the midst of all of that madness, Elena made time to call Damon and profess her love to him. I definitely loved this moment! Not only was the writing perfect, but the music! I couldn’t help but squeal when I heard New York by Snow Patrol in the background. One of my favorite songs ever! What really made this moment go up and beyond was Damon’s promise, though.

“Look, I’m going to get this cure for you, and I’m gonna have to do things you’re not gonna like. Listen Carefully. Get in your car right now. Come to me.” -Damon

Ahhh! Something Delena fans have been waiting seasons for! The fact that it was over the phone made his last line even more powerful. But the promise to find the cure made my heart skip a beat. Damon has tried to do things the right way in regards to Jeremy, but now the desperation is truly kicking in. Trainings over, and now it’s time to stake some vampires!

Best. Episode. Ever. That’s all I can say! There was not a dull moment. Although the whole Elena/Stefan ordeal was extremely doleful, it still served a great purpose. That confession needed to happen to move the series forward. ‘After School Special’ highlighted the fact that every character has lied a great deal, and has gotten away with it. Not anymore.

Rating:
A+++

Questions:

  • Now with the truth out, what’s going to happen between Stefan and Damon’s relationship?
  • Thoughts on April wanting the truth to come out?
  • What will happen if and when Silas is awakened?
  • Thoughts on Stefan and Rebekah teaming up?

Responses

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  1. i am still confused as to how klaus and tyler didn’t know she was in the cave in the last episode. and now this one she somehow gets linked to prof shadypants with the help of bonnie’s protection spell. there is more to her character that we don’t know about yet…. and omg i loved the very end with the delena phone conversation. how happy damon was to hear her say “i love you” and for him to tell her to get in the car and come to him. so great. but having delena back together is going to really hurt the relationship between damon and stefan. and for stefan to actually ask rebekah to erase all his memories of elena he is truly heartbroken. i felt so bad for him

  2. I’m really looking forward for the cure plot, and the alliances it has been forming, as well as Jeremy’s back-story, his relationship with Bonnie, hers with Shane and his with Silas. TVD’s building up climax just like it did back in Season 2. I’m a big fan of the Vampire Diaries, so I’ve been watching all the episodes with my coworkers at DISH on our lunch break. I’ve also recorded all the episodes on my Hopper DVR from DISH, so I can watch episodes again when I get home from work. Plus, there’s a really awesome feature on the Hopper, and that’s PrimeTime Anytime. This feature allows me to record up to 6 live HD channels all at once during primetime, including 4 local HD networks, and 2 additional channels of my choosing. With PrimeTime Anytime, I’ll never miss a recording of The Vampire Diaries due to DVR conflicts!

  3. wow way to promote the dish network and the hopper…LOL anyway, i am interested in learning more about this Silas character and why prof shane is so determined to find him and bring him back to the living. is he going to help bring his dead wife and child back from the dead or something?