Unpleasantville was just an enormous concoction of awesomeness. Definitely one of the best. Those writers just keep on plugging along and giving us more answers to our burning questions. It’s like they’re clairvoyant and know exactly what questions I want answers to. Maybe they’re witches like Bonnie.
In any case, Unpleasantville had me cheering for all three leading ladies by the end. Caroline stood up for herself with Matt. Bonnie turned the tables on tradition and asked out a guy. A hot, older guy no less! And Elena put her life on the line to catch evil vampire Noah. Though I’m not sure who I’m rooting for most. The episode focused on the Decade Dance at Robert E. Lee High where all the characters we’ve been following dress up in poodle skirts and dance the night away. Unless of course they’re being stalked by vampires. Before the dance Elena had been given more vervain from Stefan to protect her from vampire mind control. And how nice of her to give some to Caroline! I can’t wait for the next time Damon tries to get her to do something and realizes he can no longer control her. Stefan also explains the power of the Gilbert watch and how it acts as a compass and identifies vampires in close proximity. This could come in handy if say a vampire poses as a pizza boy and manages to get invited into your house and then tries to kill you. Elena, you gotta watch your back!
Damon, Elena, and Stefan attend the dance as a ploy to try and catch Noah, the hooded vamp causing Elena this huge headache. Additionally, Jeremy is being stalked by his crazy library friend, Anna, who shows up to the dance completely uninvited. And guess what? She too is a vampire! I bet by the end of this series, the vampires will outnumber the civilians. We later learn that Anna and Noah are working together to get the Gilbert journal, which holds the key to unlocking the tomb in which Katherine and twenty or so other vampires are locked inside.
So now we know who Noah (Dillon Casey) and Anna (Malese Jow) are, but who is Ben? Ben (Sean Faris) is a bartender who graduated from Robert E. Lee High and works at the local hangout joint. By the end we learn that Ben also happens to be … wait for i t… a vampire. And he’s dating Anna. The connections just keep coming. Ben uses his charms to flirt with Bonnie who takes it upon herself to ask him out. I was so happy for Bonnie until I realized Ben was a bloodsucker too. I was really hoping for something good for her. The final scene is Anna and Ben together and leaves us wondering what they will be up to next. Perfect.
Now let’s welcome back two of our sidelined characters, Caroline and Matt. You can’t see it, but I’m doing a happy dance about this. Caroline asks Matt if he wants to go to the dance with her, but he informs her he has a new job. You could tell she was a little perturbed, but she can’t really knock him for getting a job. Midway through the dance Bonnie and Caroline leave and go to the restaurant where Ben works. Caroline unintentionally makes a dig at Matt by demeaning Ben’s profession. Matt overhears this and thus turns down any further advances from Caroline. Googly-eyed Bonnie decides to make a point to Caroline about women taking charge and asks out Ben. Success! Caroline follows this up by going after Matt and telling him he’s given up on her before even giving it a try. Hurrah! Good for you Caroline for making a smart, succinct point. Fast forward a couple scenes and Matt goes after her and says this is never going to work. They kiss, and I get the warm and fuzzies. Ah, young love. I really like them together and hope they stay that way for a significant amount of time.
But love doesn’t mean there isn’t any darkness. Noah traps Elena in the cafeteria and is about to attack her when hero boyfriend Stefan arrives in the nick of time. Damon is there too, of course, and the three proceed to torture Noah by staking him with pencils and the butt of a broom until he reveals what he’s looking for. Noah finally divulges that he’s trying to get Jonathan Gilbert’s journal to unlock Katherine’s tomb, but he refuses to share who’s working with him. Stefan finally kills him, explaining that he was invited in, and had to die.
Through the cafeteria door Damon spies Mr. Saltzman. Alaric denies seeing anything, but Damon performs mind control on him to verify his statement. Little does he know that Alaric is holding some vervain. I can’t wait until someone learns Alaric’s secret. Speaking of secrets, Alaric reveals to Jenna tonight that his wife’s name was Isobel. And what is the one thing we know about Elena’s mom? Oh yeah, her name: Isobel. Dun Dun Dun! But does that mean Alaric is Elena’s father? Hmm.
Jenna and Alaric make future plans to go out. I think the idea of them dating is cute, but I’m not really rooting for them. I think it’s only being used as a device to further the plot of Elena’s lineage. All we know now is that a 16 year-old runaway showed up at the Gilberts’ door. Being a doctor, Elena’s dad delivered the child. When Isobel disappeared, the Gilberts kept the little gift they had been given. Being a doctor gave the Gilberts the ability to forge the birth certificate rendering Elena’s “adoption” almost nonexistent because no one ever knew what had happened. Good for Jenna for being honest with Elena about what she knows about this. At least I hope she’s being honest.
I’m curious though. Is every new character we meet going to be a vampire? Each guest star aside from Bonnie’s Grams has been a vampire. Lexie, Noah, Anna, Ben, Alaric. I mean, for a community that only had a few founding families, there certainly are a lot of fanged creatures around. Eventually we need to meet some people who actually want to help. Or at least are something different, like a werewolf. (Is Taylor Lautner busy?)
And finally, here is my favorite line from Unpleasantville: “First hand account of the civil war, that’s like porn for a history teacher!” Ha! Alaric, you slay me.
Another great one from Julie Plec, Kevin Williamson and co. Do you agree? Who else was reminded of Scream when Noah called and taunted Elena? A vampire should be more clever than that!
And how perfect is the casting of James Remar (Dexter) in the next episode, Children of the Damned? I have no idea what his role is, but I can tell you I’m excited!
Oh, and seriously, where the heck is Tyler?
Lauren Strupp is an NYU grad and New York City based television addict and media professional. She’s worked at several national magazines including Us Weekly and in broadcast news at CBS. Obsessed with television, Lauren is known as a walking IMDB.com by her friends. Not only does she love all things vampire, but she’s been following Paul Wesley’s career since his days at The Guiding Light. She is thrilled to be joining TheTelevixen.com as a reviewer!
Photo Courtesy of The CW
hmm..agreed vampire diaries are freggin AWSOME