The hunt for Silas heats up as he infiltrates the minds of the townspeople and of Elena. Jeremy and Matt are tasked to protect Katherine, while Damon hunts for Silas at Whitmore College. Here is a recap and review of the Vampire Diaries episode “True Lies.”
Recap:
Katherine is greeted by a stopped driver with pepper spray. Like a champ, Katherine shakes it off and knocks the woman unconscious. She’s reminded that bruises come with humanity. With a shotgun raised, Matt emerges from the woods in front of Jeremy. They tie Katherine up and take her for another ride.
Caroline’s snooping hasn’t led to answers about Megan’s Gilbert connection. The girls did, however, figure out that the doctor who signed Megan’s death certificate is part of the cover-up. Elena decides to infiltrate the enemy’s organization. Luckily it’s only their freshman year because Elena switched their classes from intro to communication to applied microbiology. The hot, young Dr. Maxfield deduces that he has misfits and kicks them out.
Elena falls prey to Silas’ ruse, believing she’s welcoming Stefan back. He drops the “Jeremy got expelled” bomb and is worried about Jer. Not only did Silas spend the summer feeding, he also caught up on the latest tech. He receives a text about Jeremy’s whereabouts, and Elena gives him an endpoint: a campsite they visited as kids.
At the campsite, Katherine has a pity party that she’s survived everything she has only to feel defeated by her sinus infection. Silas appears to a solo Matt. His mind games don’t work because Matt was turned into a traveler’s spy, so Silas solves the problem by snapping Matt’s neck. Matt’s spirit goes off to bond with Bonnie until he can reconnect with his body. That’s how the Gilbert ring works.
Damon and Caroline search for Elena, who ran off to the school bonfire. She finds Jesse, who spills the beans on Dr. Maxfield. Rumor has it that the doc is part of a secret society at Whitmore. Damon knocks out Jesse and accompanies Elena to her dorm. Furious at Damon for keeping secrets, Elena douses him with vervain water and ties him up. Silas got in her head and used her anger to fuel a desire to kill him. As she floats between the compulsion and her sanity, Elena learns the truth about Stefan. To prevent herself from killing her boyfriend, Elena uses a fire poker to pin herself to a chair. Damon urges Elena to use her feelings for Stefan to break the trance. It works. Meanwhile, Caroline ices Jesse’s bruise. Flirty flirt. She learns that he was hurt by a girlfriend in a similar situation as Caroline.
Now Jeremy encounters Silas, who decides there’s no use for a living hunter he can’t manipulate. Fortunately, Jeremy’s better, faster, stronger than a vampire. Plus, he works out. A fight ensues. Katherine to the rescue! She figured out how to use a shotgun and takes Silas down. Matt returns to his body with no memory of his time on the other side. Jeremy agrees to keep up the lie that’s Bonnie’s visiting family until she’s ready to be dead.
Behind Silas, the Travelers arrive at the gas station and reveal that their kind has always wanted Silas entombed. However, Nadia has her own agenda and kills her partner.
Elena decides to return to Mystic Falls for Stefan. Dr. Maxfield invites her to his office to chat about following in her father’s footsteps. She must decline for now. Sheriff Forbes recovered the safe that Stefan was in, but now it’s occupied by a vampire’s last meal.
Review:
“True Lies” was a stellar episode of The Vampire Diaries, reminding viewers just how humorous and suspenseful and intelligent this show can be. Props to writer Brian Young for bringing us back to the essence of who these characters are, for making us laugh in an hour filled with impending doom, and for including aspects we never could have imagined.
Katherine easily stole the limelight in “True Lies,” proving to the audience that not only is she a valuable asset to the overall plot, but she’s also an indispensable personality. The level of misery and sass that Nina Dobrev incorporated made her all the more enjoyable to watch. Realizing she’s become a pawn in a scheme similar to one she would pull, Katherine mutters, “I’m the freaking moonstone,” and who could resist a chuckle at that line. Katherine’s growth over the span of this episode was a pleasant surprise. In no way did her learning to look out for others as well as herself feel out of place. She’s always been an evolving woman. Out of all of the characters, it’s most fitting that Jeremy teaches her humility. She killed him, indirectly also killing Bonnie when Bonnie died to bring Jeremy back, and yet he’s still willing to wrap her up in a blanket. He’s an example of good to her.
Elena’s pink hair (yes, I’m about to write a paragraph about this) is as present as ever. Although it’s a point of contention among some fans, it’s not to be looked at as an obscure style choice, but rather an external manifestation of her internal state. Still in the honeymoon phase with Damon, accepting of her status as a vampire, and off to college with a bestie, Elena is finally in a place to enjoy the brightness in life. It’s an oddly brilliant choice to portray this idea, but really, The Vampire Diaries has always been surprisingly intelligent.
The mythology of the Gilbert ring, while it was not a lingering question nor a mystery I ever wondered about, was a welcome addition to the series’ bible. It gave us beautiful scenes between Matt and Bonnie and explained the reasoning behind why it takes longer for the wearer to come back after more and more deaths. Though arguably a ploy to make Bonnie relevant in this episode, it was also a nice treat. In addition, the introduction of the Travelers as another group fighting, or for Nadia, using Silas raises the stakes for his story. They bring an interesting enough mystery to justify them coming out of nowhere (but when does anything on this show not).
Should Caroline and Tyler fans be worried? This episode brought about a serious look into the potentially murky future of the couple without dooming it just yet. Not only is Caroline taking hard to Tyler’s decision to choose his bond with his surrogate siblings over his love for her, but Caroline also got a glimpse at a charming man who’s available for her now. Through Jesse’s story of his past relationship, Caroline learns of the pain of betrayal and the possibility of moving on. The great part about this scene, in addition to the way that life lessons were subtly portrayed instead of sent through a lecture, was how open ended it left Caroline’s decision about Tyler. It did not bash all hope regarding their relationship, but it will force Caroline to reevaluate the situation. Despite that she’s a vampire and he’s a werewolf, this is a human problem. It’s what makes the series click.
Delving into another distant couple, Elena and Stefan have still been given excellent material even with her decision to choose Damon. Since so much of the series’ past lived in the relationship between Elena and Stefan, the inclusion of these scenes has been a covert way to ease everyone into the full transition to Damon. The writers are not ignoring history or repeating Katherine’s history. They’re not reinstituting last season’s uncertainty. They’re simply exploring a logical connection. In the way that Lost did with “the constant,” Elena stands as Stefan’s beacon of hope – the person that has kept him on track no matter how confusing and painful the situation is. Their Doppelganger telepathy creates an understanding between the two. But how will this be affected now that the ripper is back?
The only complaint to make with this episode is how “in the know” Silas is about current society. The man was entombed for at least two thousand years, but he’s somehow adept at cell phone use and knows what “PC” is after a few months of flying under the radar? It even took me a second to jump from thinking he was mentioning Mac’s rival to recognizing it was “politically correct.” But I’m willing to overlook the necessity for suspension of disbelief at this because of how enthralling Paul Wesley has made Silas.
1 Comment
Silas seems highly intelligent, so combine that with his telepathy, and he could learn very quickly since he got out of the tomb. By delving into people’s minds, he can not only get info, but see it in context. He’s been out for around 6 months now, so I think it’s enough time for a being with his power.