The Vampire Diaries 6×19 “Because” REVIEW

Bitch Mode, Betrayal and Downright Badass – The Ladies Bring the Drama this Week

This week’s episode of The Vampire Diaries 6×19 “Because” centers around friends going to great lengths to help one of their own on a dark path and mother who will stop at noting to get what she wants. Damon (Ian Somerhalder), Stefan (Paul Wesley) and Elena (Nina Dobrev) set out to force Caroline (Candice Accola) to turn her humanity back on. Stefan decides to pretend to still be sans his humanity to lure Caroline into a vampire proof room at a B&B. Along with Damon and Elena, Alaric (Matt Davis) and Jo (Jodi Lyn O’Keefe) all take turns keeping watch on the pair. Trapping Caroline only makes her angrier. She soon she realizes Stefan has already turned his humanity back on.  He quickly finds himself in a dangerous situation before Caroline comes back to reality.

Meanwhile, Lily (Annie Wesching) has a mission of her own this week and is hell bent on bringing her family back from the 1903 prison world they’re trapped in. Before she can do so, Bonnie (Kat Graham) tricks her and steals the ascendant to destroy it. Once discovering its absence, Lily finds the cure and threatens Damon to get the ascendant back or she will destroy the cure. He does, but little did he know Mama Salvatore let Elena in on the secret Damon has been keep from her and in the most devious way. So much happened on this week’s episode. Let’s not waste anymore time and start discussing.

Crazy Bitch Mode Activated

Candice Accola is perfection this week as Caroline Forbes. Not only is she deliciously devious as Caroline sans her humanity and starving, she is equally amazing at breaking viewers’ hearts when she finally realizing the path of destruction she left in her wake. In hopes to trigger some emotion from Caroline, Elena brings her a letter her mom wrote for her to read after her death. This only angers Caroline and she lashes out and has some harsh words for her supposed best friend. Her hostility towards Elena is palpable. The tone of Caroline’s voice is brash and the look on her face is cold. She comes across downright mean to viewers. Caroline then breaks all our hearts by insisting Stefan burn the letter. She does so with a stone cold serious expression and eyes as if she is challenging Stefan’s humanity switch status. The audience can see she is unaffected about the fact her mother wrote it. She forces Stefan into destroying her mom’s last words for her. When Damon and Elena both come to check on her and Stefan, Caroline gives viewers Regina George, Mean Girls déjà vu. Rolling her eyes and a spiteful expression she has even harsher words this time around by pointing out the couple will never be able to have the human life they were fantasizing about just moments before. Viewers cringe as she appears rather pleased with herself for the harsh reality check. Caroline goes full bitch mode after she discovers Stefan messing in her head and giving her visions of her mom and her disapproval of her behavior. Without a single hesitation she grabs a piece of wood and stabs Stefan. Her expression shows pure rage. With a furrowed brow and angry eyes viewers can see her sole focus is making him pay. Her actions show the audience how far the humanity free downward spiral she has fallen. So far that she completely disregards their relationship, whatever the official status may be. She is blinded by rage and comes just seconds from killing Stefan.

“I should really just be more like you and Elena just play make-believe about the future that I can’t have because that’s healthy. Maybe I’ll pretend I can actually give birth to babies and have a normal life and I can get a job without having to move and start over every five years. I can operate on my patients without wanting to feed on them.” – Caroline.

Caroline does a complete 180 upon seeing a real memory of a sweet moment between Stefan and Liz. Adding to the already heartbreaking memory, Caroline sees herself standing on her front porch pounding on the glass and begging her mom to let her in. Viewers see the desperation in her face and can feel the pain she’s experiencing from her mom’s death. Once out of the dream sequence, the audience can see the emotion come back to Caroline’s eyes as she turns her humanity back on. Her expression conveys the disbelief she feels realizing all the awful things she’s done. Appalled by what she’s done, viewers can see the sadness in her face and in her eyes as she turns to leave unable to face Stefan and what she’s done to him. Candice Accola is amazing taking viewers through the emotional roller coaster that is Caroline Forbes in this week’s episode.

Hello Badass!

No one can say being stuck in a prison world alone hasn’t changed Bonnie Bennett. Kat Graham does a great job illustrating for viewers the aftereffects Bonnie experiences from her time trapped there. The anger over Damon’s broken promise to keep the ascendant safe is evident. Instead he gave it to his mother. Viewers can see Bonnie is pissed by this. Her tone is short and the look on her face conveys her aggravation. Despite Damon’s rationalizations and assurances Lily can’t bring her friends without her help, Bonnie isn’t having it and makes it clear she is unhappy with him. With an angry tone of voice, she even calls his friendship into question and warns him not to pretend to care about her again. Viewers see a new side to Bonnie as she chooses to take matters into her own hands instead of consulting and working with her friends as she would usually do. Instead she arranges to meet Lily at the Grill, but goes to the Salvatore House to steal the ascendant instead.

“If I hand this over to you, I am sacrificing myself again. I’m risking my life again. I could end up dead again! ….What do you want? For Elena to have a human life, to be happy, to grow old without you? If that’s what you wanted you would have given Elena the cure by now.” – Bonnie.

When Damon returns to the dorm to get the ascendant back Bonnie makes it known her feelings on the entire situation and doesn’t hold back. She points out how she has sacrificed herself numerous times and even died for the happiness of her friends. Bonnie’s expression is serious and her tone of voice is firm almost to the point of anger illustrating to the audience how tired she’s become of always being the one to suffer the consequences. She then makes sure to point out to Damon his true feelings and fear that comes along with telling Elena about the cure. A sharp tone lets viewers and Damon know she’s no longer the Bonnie, who blindly risks everything for everyone else. She stills loves and cares for her friends, but needs to look out for herself as well. Kat Graham is wonderful showcasing this new side of Bonnie.

The Wrath of Mama Salvatore

Since her introduction, each episode viewers learn just a little bit more about Mama Salvatore. From  a prim and proper lady to a force to be reckoned with if double crossed, Annie Wersching is the perfect fit in her portrayal of the Salvatore matriarch, Lily. In the Grill at the sight of Enzo, once realizing who he is, Lily softly calls him by his full name, smiles sweetly and gently caresses his face. Instantly viewers forget this dear woman calls a ruthless group of vampire witches her family. Adding to that notion is the innocent smile and cutely embarrassed expression she exudes while fumbling through her order. She does a complete 180 when she realizes the ascendant is missing. Viewers can see the anger in her eyes and hear the irritation in her voice when calling Damon to demand he get it back. Lily pulls one of the dirtiest tricks, so devious it would make the evil genius, Klaus proud. She fools Damon into thinking she had thrown the cure into the fireplace fully knowing she set up a proposal for Elena to find with the cure inside the ring box. That doesn’t stop Lily from giving Damon a tongue lashing full of indignation and eyes showing viewers she is still angry. And when Elena comes to question Damon about the cure, Lily conveys a sense of satisfaction in her doing and the punishment she chose for Damon. The cherry on top comes when Lily fully shows her  true character. She makes Elena aware Damon had the cure all along and didn’t tell her. Lily does so with a smug look on her face.  showing the audience she is not easily manipulated or one to be messed with.

“Spare me the indignation. We both know I did you a favor. That sense of relief you feel right now that Elena will never leave you. You made her choice for her. There’s no harm in that as long as you’re happy she never needs to know. Although wait a minute. Making Elena yours forever that’s exactly what you want. That wouldn’t be a punishment at all.” – Lily.

FINALE VERDICT:

The nineteenth episode of The Vampire Diaries “Because” takes viewers on a roller coaster ride of emotion from beginning to end. From a group of friends’ determination to help one of their own to the heartbreaking void left from a loved one’s death to being faced with the betrayal of a friend and even a family member, the episode captures viewers attention. Melinda Hsu Taylor penned an episode filled with intrigue and drama despite the recycled-ish storyline of ‘let’s get our friend to turn their humanity back on.’ Yes, the storyline is familiar one, but it does have a new spin on how the gang achieves their goal. It is clever how Taylor finds a way to re-incorporate Liz (Marguerite McIntyre) into the story. She shocks the audience with how far Caroline comes just seconds away from killing Stefan, but having him show her a heartfelt moment between he and Liz. Not only does this save Stefan’s life it also forces Caroline to feel again. Episode director, Geoff Shotz, does a great job illustrating the memory from reality. The use of a special camera filter lightens the entire picture while slightly blurring it enhancing the viewing experience. While focusing on the door window as Caroline runs to the front door begging for her mom to let her in and the decision to zoom in and focus on her face behind the glass is exceptionally powerful. It capitalizes on the loss she feels in the absence of her mom. Candice Accola’s portrayal of Caroline this week is spot on and coupled with her cheeky dialogue from Taylor and Shotz‘ camera work and direction, the audience can feel the depth of each emotion Caroline is feeling or lack there of.

Reuniting Lily and Enzo again this week, Taylor gives viewers a new tease of the dynamic between the two. A new side of Lily that ironically, has more of a connection with Enzo and cares more for him than her own sons is intriguing. Meanwhile, Taylor pulls the ultimate mind fuck this week by setting the stage for what seems to be a romantic proposal. Elena finds the cure to vampirism rather than an engagement ring from Damon in the box. Shotz enhances this scene by zooming in and focusing on the ring box as Elena opens it and then her expression as she discovers it is the cure. Taylor shows Mama Salvatore will stop at nothing or no one to bring her heretic friends back from 1903. While Annie Wersching brings Lily’s determination and her vengeance if not given her way to life with her amazing portrayal. While Shotz captures the essence of each scene by using just the right camera angles. He makes great use of camera angles throughout the entire episode conveying the emotion of each scene to viewers. When Damon insists Elena take the cure and reveals he’ll take it with her Shotz alternating shots of each of their faces perfectly captures the special moment between them. Who knew the  a human Damon Salvatore was even a possibility. Could there be more wedding bells in the future? With only three episodes left in the season, surely we’re in for a wild ride.

Questions, Comments, Concerns:

• Love that music supervisor, Chris Mollere, chose a Cary Brothers song,  “Can’t Take My Eyes Off You,” for the scene Damon tells Elena he wants to take the cure with her. Cary Brothers have been the soundtrack for their romance and its only fitting to feature a song by them in such a pivotal moment in their relationship.
• Hooray for a shirtless Matty Blue Eyes (Zach Roerig), but poor thing is still suffering from that stab wound. Kudos to his determination to not relying on vampires anymore. Still can’t wait to see him in a uniform.
• Sad seeing the strain on Bonnie and Damon’s friendship. Digging the new Bonnie attitude and her looking out for herself for once.
• Nice to see Enzo to have another past connection to someone else, but is anyone else getting a vibe that there could be a brewing romance between the two? Definitely cannot see Damon or Stefan for a matter of fact calling Enzo Daddy. Haha.
• How cute are Alaric and Jo? OMG Can’t wait for their wedding.

THE VAMPIRE DIARIES 6×20 airs THURSDAY, APRIL 30 at 8|7c on the CW