Stefan's martyrdom's been reduced. As one should recall, Stefan traveled with Klaus in gratitude for saving his brother's life in "As I Lay Dying." He became more committed following the hybrid failure last week because he still cares for Elena, and still wants to protect her. Klaus will inevitably learn the truth about curse because he's hired a witch and brought his sister back from the undead to figure out what went wrong. It turns out that Elena's necklace is the key piece in the witch's spell. All of this is very exciting and engaging but I want to write about Stefan, and how these events have made his role more interesting.
The roaring 20s was a drunken and murderous adventure for the tortured Salvatore brother, so much so that Klaus brought him to Chicago to restore the memories Stefan lost in his, seemingly, constant drunken state of existence; however, the two vampires became friends in the windy city. Stefan fell for Klaus' beautiful sister, Rebecca; and he and Klaus bonded so well that he referred to the original as his brother. The expository trip to Chicago revealed more about Stefan's ripper days. We learned of his penchant for dismembering bodies then re-assembling them out of remorse. His old apartment had a secret door that led to a small room. The wall paper had a long list, with many columns, full of the names of the people he murdered. Stefan relished in the brutality and torture. Klaus used the list to prove that, once upon a time, they knew one another. Stefan didn't remember his days with Klaus and Rebecca because he was compelled the night Klaus fled Chicago. Klaus carefully brought Stefan to a place where he could return his memories. And, suddenly, Stefan wasn't just a man bound to Klaus by his word; he'll want to be there out of friendship, and sense of brotherhood.
Stefan's selfless sacrifice to protect Elena's life, as well as Damon's, is romantic, heroic, noble, etc. His selfless sacrifice would've gotten old quickly though. Stefan the Reluctant Soldier could only progress so far before it became stale. Stefan the Friend has endless possibilities as an arc. The broken compulsion promises a significant departure from that reluctant hero persona. How will the new memories blend with the old? Stefan and Rebecca had an instant love and connection that resulted in Rebecca's death. She would've risked getting caught by her and Klaus' mysterious pursuers for Stefan. Elena's necklace used to belong to Rebecca until she lost it in the chaos of the bar raid. As I wrote earlier, the necklace is the key piece in communicating with the original witch (who cast the curse) to figure out what went wrong. All roads lead towards Elena and the truth that she was brought back to life after Klaus murdered her. Stefan's face betrayed little when Rebecca frantically searched for the necklace. His expression resembled the one he wore when he saw Elena hiding in his apartment--a mixture of pain and longing. As of now, his motives are unknown.
Elena and Damon embarked on another search-and-rescue. This episode clearly became the third and final part of a three episode arc. For Elena, she went through a process similar to the five stages. Elena experienced much denial, then a quasi-bargaining period, and finally acceptance when Stefan made it clear that she's in danger because Klaus is going to learn the truth. If she's around, she's going to have a bad time. She listened to him and quietly left Chicago with Damon. It would've been lazy if the writers reduced her search to one-episode-and-done. Damon and Elena had a lousy plan. They just needed to try one more time. The three episode arc supported what we know about Elena, and it deepened Damon further. The near death experience did change him. He's no longer a quasi-nihilistic in an existential crisis. Damon's embraced his love for Elena and acted because of that love; he also embraced his love for Stefan, as evidenced by his consistent attempts to rescue his brother and save the soul he worked so hard to get back.
Elena read through Stefan's journal during her down time in his old apartment. There were accounts of Lexi's help, which inspired Elena. If Lexi successfully rehabilitated Stefan then so could she; however, Stefan told her that he spent thirty years recovering from his ripper days--a time span that would cost Elena the majority of her life, which he didn't want to do to her (a conflict that isn't new in vampire fiction but it works every time if executed well). I'm glad the three episode arc concluded because I'm eager for more stories beyond the dominant Elena/Stefan/Klaus/Damon arc.
Klaus and Rebecca have been on the run from a mysterious older gentleman for many, many years. The revelation's worrisome because quite a few villains have been on the run from someone else. I appreciate the depth of the TVD world, but after awhile the big bad that is running away from the Big Bad becomes redundant. Klaus been as evil or menacing as advertised. Katherine's deep fear of the original vamp seems like an overreaction. The writers have a difficult task of upping the Big Bad ante each time they reveal one villain's running away from someone more sinister and, well, villainous. Klaus' desire for an army of hybrids makes more sense now, as well as his former desire to become a hybrid. He'll fight power with more power. Though I've expressed reservations about the redundancy of the chase angle, the ambition of the arc's what I love about TVD. There's so much thought and detail in each layer and step of an arc. They're never simple but they're always awesome. The main arc's shaping up to be another memorable one.
Meanwhile, Caroline was tortured by her father. The homosexual man used aversion therapy in an attempt to change his daughter's nature. It was one of the more heavy-handed decisions by the writers. Mrs. Forbes and Tyler rescued her from the cell. Caroline felt the excruciating pain of her father's hate. She cried in Tyler's arm, unable to understand why her father hated her so much, destroyed by that hate her father feels towards her and her nature. I'll reserve further comment on the storyline until it develops some more.
"The End of the Affair" was great. The Klaus-Stefan history was natural. Elena and Damon won't search for Stefan any longer. Katherine returned. Caroline's story was heart-breaking to watch. The third season's off to a terrific start.
Caroline Dries wrote the episode. Chris Grismer directed it.
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