THE VAMPIRE DIARIES: “The Descent”

Do you think all werewolves eventually turn out like this? I mean, going through that werewolf transformation every month has got to mess with your head. Also, Jules is scary. And kind of awesome. Photo Credit: Quantrell Colbert/The CW.

Read on for my recap & review of The Vampire Diaries episode 2×12, “The Descent,” aired Thursday, January 27th, 2011:

In case you missed my recap for “By the Light of the Moon” (or didn’t make it to the end due to lack of caffeine), I announced at the end that I would be trying out a new recap format.  I’m not sure how this will go over, but I wanted to be a little more creative and reflective, in addition to making the recaps shorter and less time consuming.  What I have come up with is about half the length of my average recap.  (Good news for your poor long-suffering eyes!)  If it totally sucks, please provide some constructive criticism in the comments, and I may reevaluate.

A. Rose’s Descent into Madness.  A horror movie starring Elena Gilbert and a crazy vampire.

A large chunk of the episode was basically a mini horror movie.  The lighting, music, sound effects, and editing all combined to create a heart-pounding story about a girl trapped in a house with an insane vampire.  Scary.  Luckily, Elena is brave and awesome, and was able to handle herself.  She did all the right stuff: opened the curtains, dug her fingers into Rose’s bite, secured the door with furniture, and made a make-shift stake.  Go, Elena!  In fact, the fingers-digging-into-Rose’s-nasty-wound move was so cool, that I’ll just overlook the fact that she ran UPSTAIRS instead of outside into the sun.  It was a mini horror movie after all—the girl is like REQUIRED to run upstairs, I guess.

What is most important about this storyline to me is that Elena was not a victim.  She was in the situation in the first place because she wanted to help.  She wasn’t kidnapped or trapped in the house by a magical spell this time, thank goodness.  As Damon says to Rose, “Elena’s a do-gooder.  It’s in her nature.  She just can’t resist.”  She sincerely wanted to help Rose.  So, she was not staying with Rose because she was stupid and careless, but because she cared more about helping Rose than her own safety.  This is much like the Caroline and Tyler dynamic from last week in a way … except without the sexual tension and the kissing.  I like that even though Elena doesn’t have any powers, this doesn’t stop her from helping others.  Furthermore, her compassion extends beyond those she loves, or even the innocent, to vicious killers.  Elena sees the good in people, and she can even find the humanity in a monster.  I think that this makes Elena special—and not “Stop eating the paste” kind of special.  I certainly don’t have that kind of compassion towards Rose, or Damon for that matter, but it makes sense for Elena’s character.  

B. Damon & Rose.  It’s not easy being evil.

Rose is a 560 year old vampire, born in 1450, and spent most of those years running.  She regrets that she never put down roots and had someone to love.  But more than that, she seems to have hated her very existence.  She tells Elena, “I don’t like taking human life.  I never have.”  Interesting … and I wish that we had learned this about her earlier.  Although I would imagine that this nobility hasn’t stopped her from racking up an impressive body count in the past five centuries, so my reaction was kind of like, “Cry me a river.”  Her best friend Trevor certainly had no problem killing the minion he compelled to kidnap Elena, so it doesn’t seem that Trevor and Rose were leading a non-violent existence.  But maybe Rose stuck to blood banks, despite her friend’s proclivities?  Rose tells Damon and Elena: “That’s the worst part about it: the hunt.  The need to kill.  The thirst.  The pleasure it brings you afterwards.  I wasn’t meant to be evil.  It hurts.”  Yes, being evil “hurt” Rose.  This earned some eye-rolling from me.  I imagine that it hurt the people that she killed even more.  Help!  I’m a vampire and I don’t like it!  This makes a lot of sense for a new vampire, but after five hundred years?  Seems like sometime in half a millennium one should either get comfortable in one’s skin, or move on.  How did she even survive for so long?  And if she hated being evil so much, why didn’t she change her ways?  Try to help people?  Or just end things by stake or sun?

Rose also revealed that she missed being human.  Vampires don’t even get colds, so you can imagine the nostalgia Rose felt for her humanity while lying in her sick bed.  Kidding aside however, Rose did make some significant reveals.  She tells Elena and Damon: “You can never forget it—what it’s like to be human.  It haunts me.  That’s the only thing that’s kept me going.”  These words that Rose says on her death bed seem to reflect Damon’s own experience, which is hinted at in the way that Damon reacts to her dying, and in the final scene of the episode.  The idea that humanity haunts vampires is a powerful one, and inherent in it is an even larger question—one that the non-vampire audience can connect to.  It seems like the basis of every piece of art, television included, asks this same question: What does it mean to be human?

Rose also tells Elena, “I want to go home,” and proceeds to describe a place in the English countryside that is “All fields and trees and horses.”  Later, Damon utilizes this information to recreate Rose’s home in a compelled dream.  As Damon holds a dying Rose in reality, they enter a dream world together, in which Rose wears what she might have in her human days, and she is able to drink in the sun.  She revels in it: “The sun is so warm.  I miss this.  I miss being human.”   Damon replies, “Humanity’s not all it’s cracked up to be.”  Rose: “I had friends, I had a family, I mattered.”  Damon tries to tell her that she still does, but she disagrees: “No.  But you do. You’ve built a life, whether you want to admit it or not.  I spent 500 years just existing.”  Is that the difference?  Living vs. existing?  Hmmm.  After some time in the dream world, Rose thanks Damon and tells him that the pain is gone.  She is not afraid any longer.  Back in reality, Damon puts his friend out of her misery once and for all, with a stake through the heart.  He is clearly moved by the entire experience, and as he kills her, he cries.

The ramifications of Rose’s words reverberate after her death.  Damon has clearly been affected by his time with her, and it drives him to confront truths about himself that he did not want to face.  Elena also helps with this, as she tries to be there for Damon, reminding him that she’s his friend.  She pushes him to admit his true feelings, and finally he does.  Damon: “What do you want to hear?  That I cared about Rose?  That I’m upset?  Well I didn’t and I’m not.”  Elena: “There you go—pretending to turn it off, pretending not to feel.  Damon, you’re so close.  Don’t give up!”  Damon: “I feel, Elena, okay.  And it sucks.  What sucks even more is that it was supposed to be me.  Jules was coming after me.”  (Reminder of the stupidity in “By the Light of the Mooon,” but let us leave those frustrating happenings in the past.  Ugh.)  Elena: “You feel guilty.”  Damon: “That would be human of me, wouldn’t it Elena?  And I’m not human.”  And therein lies the struggle, I guess.  Before we get any deeper into Damon’s psyche, however, he puts his guard back up: “Go home.  There’s been enough doom, gloom, and personal growth for one night.”  Elena agrees, but first she hugs him, showing that she cares and that she is there for him, as a friend.

Of course, Damon immediately proves that Elena’s compassion for him is totally justified in the next scene, right?  Oh, never mind.  He follows up the hug with the murder of an innocent redhead on the roadside.  Lost, metaphorically and existentially, Damon decides to play his old game from the pilot and lies in the middle of the road waiting for a car to hit him.  Unfortunately, the girl driving this night did not watch the pilot, nor any horror movies at all, apparently, and she stops her car and gets out when she sees the man in the road.  Poor thing.  Being a good Samaritan is dangerous.  She asks Damon if he needs help, but then gets nervous when she sees him drinking and tries to leave.  Damon tells her not to go, and finally he compels her not to move.  We learn that her name is Jessica, and with introductions having been made, Damon proceeds to tell her his deepest secret: “Jessica, I’ve got a secret.  I have a big one.  But I’ve never said it out loud.  I mean, what’s the point?  It’s not gonna change anything.  It’s not gonna make me good—make me adopt a puppy.  I can’t be what other people want me to be—what she wants me to be.  This is who I am, Jessica.”  Jessica asks, “Are you going to hurt me?”  Damon: “I’m not sure.  Because you raise two questions: Do I kill you?  Do I not kill you?”  Jessica pleads, “Please don’t.”  Damon: “But I have to, Jessica, because I’m not human.  And I miss it.  I miss it more than anything in the world.  That is my secret.  But there’s only so much hurt a man can take.”  Jessica again cries, “Please don’t.”  Damon seems to decide to let her go, releasing her from the compulsion, but when she runs to her car he cuts her off and then he feeds on her.  R.I.P., Jessica.  I’ll miss you more than Rose.   So, Damon is killing innocent girls because he is having an existential crisis.  What a catch!  Elena is really missing out.

C. She-Wolf.  And you thought vampires were scary?

So, Jules, it turns out, is one serious bad-ass.  A scary killer, who is extremely adept at playing innocent—yikes!  The episode actually opened on her waking up naked in the woods with a bloody mouth, the morning after the full moon.  She then gets up to find a campsite full of dismembered bodies, presumably people she killed the night before.  She does not even flinch one little bit at the sight, and immediately starts dragging the pieces (OF BLOODY DISMEMBERED BODIES) to be burned.  It seems that she is pretty used to doing this, and that racking up a body count is no big deal to her.  Her clean-up ritual is interrupted, however, when a deputy arrives.  She immediately begins to cry, acting like an innocent damsel in distress.  The doomed deputy gets ready to call it in, when she hits him from behind with a large branch.  Goodbye, Mr. Deputy.  One wonders how Sheriff Forbes has any employees left, given the events of the past two seasons.  How does she entice new people to take the job, given the high death-rate?  I guess it is a mystery along the lines of “Why do people stay in Sunnydale, instead of moving to non-Hellmouth-adjacent towns?”

With that taken care of, Jules seems to be in no hurry to leave Mystic Falls.  She shows up at the Grill and introduces herself to Sheriff Forbes.  She asks about Mason, keeping up appearances, but Liz has no news.  Alaric, of course, overhears this conversation, and immediately makes a phone call to Damon.  Poor Alaric.  He is better than playing Damon’s little messenger/ look-out.  Sigh.  But back to Jules, Damon shows up to talk to her, trying to get information to help Rose.  Even though the full moon is over, Jules does not display any fear: “Well, if it isn’t the one I meant to kill.  I’ll have to get that right next time.”  Fighting words.  Damon: “You won’t live to see another full moon.  Unless … unless, you tell me how to cure a wolf bite.  And then I won’t kill you.”  Jules: “Promise?”  Damon: “Yes.”  She then leaves money on the table and says, “Bite me.”  When she gets up to go, however, Damon grabs her.  Jules still plays it tough: “I’m not afraid of you.”  Damon: “Then you are very very stupid.”  Jules reminds him of his own stupidity of the night before: “How’s your friend?  Rose, is that her name?  Have the chills started?  The unbearable pain?”  Cold.  But also kind of awesome.  Damon demands, “If there’s a cure, tell me, or start watching your back.”  Jules continues to twist the knife: “Did I mention the dementia?  It will eat away at her brain.  Soon she’ll be rabid.  You want a cure?  The only cure that exists: Take a stake and drive it straight through her heart.”  And as we see later, Damon does just that … but in a nicer way … and with tears.

Finally, Jules has an interesting scene with Tyler at the Grill, near the end of the episode.  She thanks him for meeting her, and he asks what she wants.  Jules claims: “Just to be your friend.  Mason would have wanted that.  [Softens her voice to a whisper.]  I know about Mason, and you.”  Tyler: “You know what?”  Jules: “I know you’re a werewolf, and I know your little friend Caroline is a vampire.”  Tyler asks, “How do you know about Caroline?”  Jules is incredulous:  “You can’t sniff them out?  Oh my god, you are brand new.  How many times have you turned?  [Reaches out her hand to touch his.]  Hey, I can help you.”  Tyler is not so sure, and asks, “Do you know where Mason is?”  Jules: “He’s dead, Tyler.  He was murdered.”  Tyler: “No.”  Jules: “You wanna know who murdered him?”  Tyler: “It … just … stop.”  But Jules doesn’t let up: “Your little blonde vampire did.”  Uh oh.  Tyler doesn’t believe her: “No, Caroline would never do that.”  Jules explains, “She and her little vampire friends were behind it, Tyler.”  Tyler insists that Caroline is the only vampire in town.  Jules asks disbelievingly: “Is that what she told you?  She lied.  This town is crawling with vampires.  But don’t worry, we’ll get them.”  Uh oh.  “Get them”—what does that mean?  Hmmm.  Tyler asks, “Who are you?”  Jules replies: “I’m your friend.  There are others like us, and they’re on their way.”  To do what?  Kill some vampires?  Steal the moonstone?  Indoctrinate Tyler into the werewolf cult?  I am suddenly very afraid for Caroline.  Jules was entirely too comfortable blaming her for everything.

D. A vampire, a werewolf, and a human walk into a barbecue …

Mystic Falls Booster Club Barbecue!  It’s been a few weeks since there was a school event, so it was about time for some random people to be killed on school grounds.  Check and check.  But killing wasn’t the only thing that happened at the BBQ, there was also kissing.  Even better, right?  Well, not for “Everybody needs to just stop kissing me!” Caroline.  Life is HARD, people.  Torn between two beautiful boys … what’s a girl to do?  (PICK MATT!  Um, I mean, whatever is in her heart.)

First, she has an awkward and adorable scene with Tyler, which is just kind of heartbreaking on a second watch, since you know where this is all going to lead.  Sigh.  Caroline does end up telling Tyler about the fatal effect of the werewolf bite to a vampire: “Um, yeah, anyway, um next month we should probably uh reinforce the wall because you almost got me that one time and it just would have been um  …”  Tyler: “What?”  Caroline tries to avoid the question, but she finally spills: “Well, it’s not a big thing.  It’s just that one bite and it’s, um …. curtains for me.”  Curtains, Caroline?  Lacy, gently wafting curtains, perhaps?  Hee.  Tyler asks what she is talking about, and Caroline explains, “The legend says that a bite from a werewolf can kill a vampire,” and then has to cover when Tyler asks how she knows about it.  Oops.

Luckily for Caroline, Matt interrupts before she is caught in a lie.  Tyler leaves the two of them alone and Caroline quickly assures her ex: “That was nothing, okay.  There is nothing going on between Tyler and I.  We were just talking.”  Matt believes her, twisting the knife by saying, “Look, Caroline, you’re a lot of things, but you’re not a liar.  You’ve always been straight with me and I believe you.”  Well, she didn’t use to lie about things, but now she has to keep other people’s secrets.  Oh, those Salvatores and Gilberts and their secrets.  Caroline is happy that Matt believes her, however, and he continues: “And that’s why I want to be straight to you.  I think we got some wires crossed here.  And you know how I get tongue timed.  And I don’t like this.  Whatever this is that going on between us.  And I just wanna …”  KISS!  Awwww.  Caroline pulls away, however, and says he can’t.   Poor Matt is completely confused, but Caroline just walks away without explaining.

Later, Matt catches up to Caroline in the hallway at school, and asks, “Why?”  Caroline: “Why what?”   Matt: “I kissed you.”  Caroline: “I know.  I was there.”  Matt: “So why did you run away?”  Caroline: “You caught me off guard.”  Matt: “Yeah?”  Caroline: “What did you expect me to do?”  Matt: “Not that.”  Caroline: “Well I’m sorry.”  Matt keeps trying for an explanation: “And?”  Caroline is frustrated: “What do you want me to say, Matt?”  Matt: “Something.  Anything.  How did you feel?  Anything in the realm of truth might be nice.”  Aw.  Caroline: “Okay, I feel … like I … I love you.”  Awwww.  Matt: “I love you?  Then what’s the problem?  What are you keeping from me, Car?  Look, if you love me, you’ll tell me.  So what is it?”  Poor Matt sees it all so simply.  It almost seems like Caroline is about to spill, but they are interrupted by a cheerleader named Dana.  Soon-to-be-universally-despised-Dana calls out, “Hey, Matt, we need more burgers.”  Matt: “Yeah, not now, Dana!”  When Matt turns back around, however, Caroline is gone.  Poor Matt.

However, Matt should be comforted by the fact that Tyler doesn’t really have any better luck.  Caroline arrives at her house to see Tyler waiting outside.  He says that they need to talk.  Caroline asks, “Why?  What’s wrong with you?”  Tyler: “I just don’t understand one thing.”  Caroline: “What?”  Tyler: “Why would you risk it?  If a werewolf bite kills a vampire, why would you risk it?”  Caroline: “Well, because you needed help.”  Tyler: “I could have killed you.”  Caroline: “But you didn’t.”  Tyler: “I don’t understand you, Caroline.”  Caroline starts to get frustrated: “Why is it so hard to let someone else help you?”  Tyler: “That’s not it.”  Caroline insists: “Yeah, it is, Tyler.  It’s like you don’t want anyone to care about you.  And I’m sorry I care.  I care, Tyler.  Forgive me if I overstep my boundaries by actually giving a …”  He interrupts her speech at this point, however, by kissing her.  And she kisses him back, and it is HOT.  And I cry some tears for poor Matt.  Finally, however, Caroline pulls away, and says, “You can’t do that.”  Tyler: “I’m sorry.  I …”  Caroline yells, “Everyone needs to just stop kissing me!” and  goes into her house, slamming the door.  Yeah, it is sooooo frustrating when that happens.

E. Stefan talks on the phone, and goes on a search for Isobel off-screen.  Thrilling stuff, I know.  Luckily there’s a payoff.

So, you might wonder what in the world Stefan was doing during this episode, while Elena was hiding out from Rose, etc.  It was only the next day after their reunion, and already they’re separated?  Well, he was busy off-screen searching for Elena’s estranged birth mother.  Oh, and he was in his underwear during one scene, while building up his tolerance for vervain.  You see, when building up a tolerance for vervain, it is VERY important to be shirtless.  Uh huh.  Obviously.  So, did he find Isobel?  Well, I’ll put it this way … Elena should by a tee-shirt that reads “My boyfriend went searching for my birth mom and all I got was my lousy birth dad.”  Yep, Julian Sark Uncle John is back!  Dun dun dun.  (And hopefully we finally find out the real deal with his hand.  The people want to know!)

Questions, Questions, & More Questions

• Can we trust Elijah? Elena seems to think so, and I am inclined to believe he is honorable as well.  However, one of the commenters on my last recap, Serena, reminded me of the way that Elijah handled his deal with Rose in “Rose.” It seems that the exact wording was very important.  While Elijah told her, “I have complete authority to grant pardon to you and your little pet,” he did not actually promise to pardon Trevor.  Instead he told Rose, “You have my word that I will pardon you.”  Thus, separating Trevor’s head from his body was not a breach of his word, but it certainly caught Rose by surprise.  Looking back at the deal made in “By the Light of the Moon,” it is important to note Elijah’s exact words to Elena: “Do nothing.  Do nothing, live your life, stop fighting.  And then, when the time is right, you and I shall draw Klaus out together, and I shall make certain that your friends remain unharmed.”  But which friends is he including in this deal?  How many loopholes are there?  Elena will have to be very wary.  Luckily, it seems that Elena is being smart about it.  In “The Descent,” Rose asked: “Do you really think that your witch friend destroyed the moonstone?”  Elena answered: “I spoke with Bonnie.  I know she had the help of another witch.  I’m assuming it’s Elijah’s witch, so no, I don’t.”  Thank you, Elena!

• Is Elena giving up by accepting Elijah’s deal? There was a lot of talk about Elena giving up in this episode.  Rose tells her: “I just never thought it would be a good idea to set up roots. The whole idea of family is not exactly compatible with being a vampire.  Why are you so eager to give up?”  Elena argues, “I’m not giving up on anything.”  Rose retorts, “What do you call this whole deal with Elijah?”  Elena: “I call it my best option.”  Rose: “It’s your easiest option.”  Elena: “That’s not fair.”  Then later, Rose says: “You really are determined to die aren’t you?  At least I ran.  You’re not even trying.”  And in her final scene with Elena she urges her: “And you need to fight.  I know you’re scared but you have to do it anyway.”  And it’s not just Rose.  Damon piles on by telling Elena: “You’re one to talk about giving up.  It’s all you’ve done is give up.”  Hmmm.  I haven’t interpreted Elena’s actions as giving up AT ALL thus far.  What do you guys think?  It seems that Elena has been trying to save the people she loves, and she seems very determined.  However, the writers must have put these barbs in the episode for a reason, so this idea will probably be further developed.  Perhaps Elena will realize that she has been acting out of fear in future episodes, and change her game plan?  Hmmm.

• What do the werewolves want? Jules ended her conversation with Tyler with the following words: “There are others like us, and they’re on their way.”  How many?  And what is their agenda?  Are they obsessed with the moonstone as well?  Was Mason working in the interests of the wolves in searching for the moonstone, and planning to double cross Katherine?  There is so much we don’t know here, and I can’t wait to find out.

• What information does Uncle John have? Is he working with Isobel in coming to help Elena?  Or on his own?  Does he have access to Isobel’s research?  And if so, does this research shed any light on Klaus?  It seems like every question just begets more questions.  Can we trust John and Isobel to work in Elena’s best interest, however misguided their interpretation of this?  Or has Klaus or Elijah gotten to one or either of them?

Additional Quotes

• Damon to Rose: “You know, if you’re gonna be maudlin, I’m just gonna kill you myself.  Just to put me out of your misery.” 

• Rose: “You’ve never been in Damon’s room before, have you?  Not what you expected?”  Elena: “It’s just a room with a bed … maybe I expected there to be silk sheets.”

• Rose: “I’m sorry.”  Damon: “You went on a murderous rampage.  It happens.”

• Rose to Elena: “Damon’s a lot like me.  He wants to care.  And when he does, he runs away from it.”

• Rose: “Who’d have thought you’d be a nice guy?”  Damon: “I’m not nice.  I’m mean.  I like it.”  Rose: “You lie.”

• Damon to Rose: “You know, you are ruining our perfect day with your strange philosophical babble.”

• Stefan: “Listen, there’s a lot of people here.”  Damon: “Damn, there goes my plan to rip her spleen through her back.”

Related posts:

• THE VAMPIRE DIARIES Season 2 Finale: “As I Lay Dying”
• THE VAMPIRE DIARIES: “The Sun Also Rises”
• THE VAMPIRE DIARIES: “The Last Day”
• THE VAMPIRE DIARIES: “Klaus”
• THE VAMPIRE DIARIES: “The Last Dance”