Emily Watches Too Much Television

[10:05AM EST: Screencaps have been added, thought, apparently not only are photos/gifs not working in Google Chrome, but gifs aren't working in Firefox, either? So, I apologize for the lack of gifs, I sent feedback reports on both browsers to Blogger in hopes that they can fix it in time for the next recap! Thanks for your patience. :)]

HOLY. CRAP. This episode had some of The Vampire Diaries' best work, ever. It was so incredibly thrilling to watch, I don't even know what else I can say about it yet, so I'm just going to dig in, okay? Let's talk about "Death and the Maiden."

Previously, on The Vampire Diaries: Stefan is in love with Elena. Elena is in love with Damon. Silas is a raging dick who has the same face as Stefan, and used that fact to his advantage as he spent the summer impersonating him, after locking Steffo in a safe at the bottom of a quarry to drown over and over and over. Bonnie died bringing Jeremy back to life, and Elena, Caroline, Damon…

[2:26PM November 20, 2013--Screencaps and gifs finally added! Thanks for your patience. :)]

HOLY SHIT, TYLER LOCKWOOD, WHAT THE FUCK HAPPENED TO YOU? This new Tyler was pretty fucking frightening. Michael Trevino said that he would be returning to his season one-'roid-ragey self, but this was actually way worse. Season one Tyler was a dick, for sure, but he wasn't cruel, not like he was this week. This is a man who literally has nothing to lose. Klaus wasn't exactly his best self this week, either, but Elijah was 100% flawless, and Hayley was pretty badass and smart, too. SO, let's get to talking about this episode, yeah? Because a LOT of shit happened that is going to be causing some serious problems in the future.

Previously, on The Originals: Elijah, Klaus, and Rebekah Mikaelson are the first vampires in history, the Originals. Klaus is super special, though, because he is the first ever vampire-werewolf hybrid, due to his mother having an affair with a werewolf vill…

[Just a note, I wanted to say sorry about the lateness of this recap! I have had a bunch of exams, papers, and lab reports due this week, plus I somehow caught a nasty cold or some kind of bug, which reeeeally slowed me down. I had this recap completely written by Wednesday, but I didn't have time to proofread it and add gifs/screen caps until today, so you have my apologies! This weeks recaps for The Originals and The Vampire Diaries should be done by Tuesday and Thursday, respectively. Thanks for your patience!]

In the words of pretty much everyone in the TVD fandom on Tumblr, THIS EPISODE WAS SO FUCKING WEIRD. But, it was weird in an AWESOME way. Damon was hilarious and heart-breakingly conflicted. Caroline and Katherine made the best and most unexpected team in the history of the show, even more than Elena and Rebekah. Stefan actually wasn't that terrible, Tessa was annoying, but still badass (and even proved to be a huge genius) AND, most importantly, PETROVA DOPPELGANGER…

This week's episode was a stunning example of how fucking AMAZING Elijah is. I mean, we've always known that, ever since we first met him on The Vampire Diaries and he fully decapitated Trevor by KARATE-CHOPPING HIM. It's always nice to be reminded of his badassery, though, and it was a wonderful reminder of the fact that 1) Elijah gets shit DONE, and 2) while Elijah might not be at Klaus-levels of sadistic, he can be chillingly scary when he wants to be! HOT DAMN.

So yeah, if you couldn't tell, this episode was pretty much all about Elijah, even when it was supposed to be other people, like Sophie, Hayley, and Rebekah. Still, everyone was pretty amazing this week. I feel like we've seen centuries worth of character development happen just in this past year for Rebekah, and Hayley and Sophie are becoming more and more interesting every week. Even Marcel, who I love to hate, has shown a lot of depth this week.

Anyway, let's get into what happened in the Quarter …

The season of the Vampire Diaries is really kicking up, just in time for November sweeps, and I am SO EXCITED ABOUT IT. Not to mention, the 100th episode is coming up in a couple weeks, and it is sure to be absolutely bonkers. This week, we got a lot of information regarding Silas, Tessa, and how the gang plans to get Bonnie back, but it also stirred up a lot more questions that have had me dying for days. Wes/Dr. Maxfield is getting more curious and sinister-seeming by the day, and we met a new character this week who is pretty mysterious, himself. So, I'm going to quit summarizing, and just get to the good stuff, k?

Previously, on The Vampire Diaries: Stefan came back to Mystic Falls to be with Elena, but now she's with his brother, Damon. Silas is an immortal sociopath who locked Stefan in a safe at the bottom of a quarry in order to steal his identity and accomplish his evil plans. Bonnie died resurrecting Jeremy, and everyone finally knows it. Qetsiyah/Tessa brought hersel…

Man, this show is BANANAS. I am loving it SO, SO much, easily as much as I like the Vampire Diaries, which I definitely wasn't expecting. This week had a lot of mythology and flashbacks and story-telling, like the first couple episodes, but UNLIKE the first couple episodes, it was still so dramatic that it was really difficult to be bored. The majority of my questions about Davina, her powers, and her animosity toward the witches were answered, as well as my questions regarding Davina and Marcel's relationship. Plus, we ALSO learned a lot about witches in general, Sophie and Jane-Anne, and Father Kieran! Klaus and Rebekah were perfect, and Hayley too. And, ELIJAH ELIJAH ELIJAH. If the show was just forty-two minutes of him just explaining basic shit in that awesome, formal way that he speaks, I would literally watch every week and soak up every word. Basically, I loved everything, and I have very few complaints! Now, let's get to it! I am bound and determined to crank out …

Remember how when the first season started, and I was like, "What is this, am I starting to feel sympathy for Stefan? What is wrong with me?" This affliction seems to have been temporary, though, because after this episode, I'm right back to disliking him the way that I did last season. I mean, I do get that he literally lost like, 164 years worth of memories, which would be totally traumatic for anyone, as well as all involved parties, but UGH, he's even more self-obsessed than he was before. I think part of it is that I used to LOVE Stefan, but somewhere along the way, he became so hypocritical, self-righteous and otherwise preachy as hell that I just couldn't deal with it. The past season or two, especially.

But, enough about that, because there's still quite a bit that happened this week, as well as plenty of nods to 2009, when things were much simpler, and wayyyy more characters were still alive. So, let's hop!

Previously, on The Vampire Diaries:Elena…