TV Review: THE VAMPIRE DIARIES 3.2, The Hybrid

rating: 5

Another week, another great episode. This week it€™s all about the hybrids. So as you would expect Elena is still not giving up on finding Stefan, especially after the silent phone call from Stefan doing his 'I'm so tortured inside' thing last episode, which has lead Elena to believe that he can still be saved. Again glossing over the fact that he's been away for months murdering innocent people and ripping them to pieces. Damon he's not so interested in saving Stefan, I mean he did just kill his 'girlfriend' Andie right in front of him. So he's feeling less in than brotherly mood and is burning everything he collected on Stefan while tracking him. Telling Elena that Stefan€™s gone and he doesn€™t mean €˜geographically€™. Talking of Stefan, he and Klaus are tracking through the woods carrying a lifeless Ray. Klaus teases Stefan that they can take a break if Ray is getting to heavy. Stefan doesn€™t want to do the whole friendly banter thing; he€™s to brooding and he€™s tired of looking for werewolves. Not for long as they soon find the pack happily camping, just in time for Ray to wake up. It€™s not long before Klaus sets about transforming them all. With Damon not prepared to help her Elena turns to Alaric, who doesn't think it€™s a good idea either, but eventually (and quite easily) caves and agrees to help. They know Klaus and Stefan are in Tennessee looking for werewolves, but where exactly? So they turn to their very own werewolf Tyler who tells them that pack in Tennessee like to hangout in the Smokey Mountains so they can run free on the full moon. Elena and Alaric set out into the Smoky Mountains. Is it me or is this not the stupidest idea? They're hiking towards a pack of werewolves on a full moon. This whole we'll get there before the full moon bit is slightly ridiculously, that€™s fine, but what about getting back? Surely it€™s gonna take time to hike back down a mountain? Also there looking for Stefan who they know is with Klaus, what are they expecting Klaus to do when he sees them, just let Stefan and Elena run into each others arms, kiss and then let them all return to their lives. Plus Klaus is under the impression that Elena died during the ritual, letting him know otherwise just seems like asking for trouble. Oh no this plans has not been thought through. Elena and Alaric continue to hike towards up the mountain. Elena gives Alaric the magic Gilbert ring to protect him from dying at the hands of anything supernatural which he accepts reluctantly. They are then joined by Damon (tipped off by Alaric, who at least seems to have one sensible idea during this crazy plan, a vampire will probably come in handy, especially if you€™re a hung over history teacher and a teenage girl hunting werewolves and vampires) who announces his arrival by throwing Elena into a lake. He repeats his same spiel from earlier in the day about giving up on Stefan, but Elena's still not having any of it, did he expect any less? So he agrees to help as he just can€™t seem to say no to Elena. Back in Mystic Falls Mrs Lockwood calls a mysterious Bill, who we€™ve never met before to come help deal with her €˜vampire situation€™ (remember she shot Caroline with vervain at the end of the last episode) She€™s also slipping vervain into Tyler€™s coffee, which answers my question from last week, she doesn€™t know that he€™s a werewolf, as she seems to think he could be a vampire. The vervain of course doesn€™t affect Tyler, much to Mrs Lockwood€™s relief. Mysterious Bill arrives; apparently he€™s part of the council and a life long vampire hunter. He agrees to take care of Caroline. At the Grill Tyler is wondering where Caroline is, why did she sneak out? Why hasn€™t she called him? and drinking what he thinks is more bad coffee. Matt explains the coffee is actually dosed with vervain, humans don€™t notice the taste, but this starts alarm bells in Tyler€™s mind as he realises that€™s what he tasted earlier. Why would his mum be giving him vervain? After a showdown back at the Lockwood house €˜let€™s not pretend I don€™t know about the vampire€™s in this town€™,Tyler is shocked to find out his mum doesn€™t know about him. He decides to teach her a lesson in €˜who€™s the real monster€™ by making her watch his transformation during the full moon. Ray's completed his transformation but he€™s not looking to good and has started crying blood (which they€™ve totally stolen from True Blood), looks like things aren€™t going exactly to plan. Ray then takes off into the woods perused by Stefan who he attacks and bites. Stefan then comes across Damon, Elena and Alaric; he watches them for a moment before he is interrupted by Klaus. Stefan needs Klaus' blood to cure his werewolf bite but Klaus is not in the giving mood and tells him that he'll have to find Ray and bring him back if he is to get the cure. Question, if Stefan could here Damon, Elena and Alaric, why couldn't Klaus and his super vampire ears also hear them? Still hiking through the woods Damon, Elena and Alaric bump into Ray, who Damon is having trouble fighting, thank goodness for Alaric and his wolfsbane grenade .Eventually they tie a subdued Ray to a tree using everything they have, silver chains, vervain soaked ropes, but it€™s clear that won€™t hold him for long as he starts to turn despite there being no full moon. Realising they have come across their first hybrid, a vampire that can walk in daylight and a werewolf that doesn€™t need the full moon to change, Elena decides it€™s time they get the hell out of there, her most sensible decision yet. Soon they are running in the dark when Elena comes face to face with a werewolf. Damon distracts the wolf and causes it to chase him into the woods. While Alaric drags a protesting Elena to the safety of the car. When will Elena learn she€™s just a human girl? She would be no help to Damon as she can€™t fight a werewolf. Damon runs into Ray again who€™s looking pretty good in the fighting department, so much so that things start looking bleak for Damon until Stefan shows up and rips Ray€™s heart out. They have their usual stop following me, Elena won€™t stop following you, she won€™t listen to me, etc, etc. While this is happening Elena is back in the car with Alaric worrying about Damon. But this gives her time to have a heart to heart with Alaric and tell him that she and Jeremy need him. Stefan returns to Klaus to find him surrounded by the bodies of the hybrids, he explains went rapid and he had to kill or they just bleed out and died. He can€™t understand why it€™s not working, he followed the ritual, killed a vampire and a werewolf and the doppelganger, or a least he thinks he did. This means that it€™s even more important that Klaus not find out Elena is alive. Also Klaus says he did everything he was told to do. Told by whom exactly? Does this mean that there is another big bad behind the scenes pulling his strings? Klaus cures Stefan€™s werewolf bite as he€™s not ready just yet to let Stefan go. What does Klaus have planned for Stefan? Or does he just want a companion? Back home Damon admits to Elena that he was wrong, that Stefan can be saved as he wasn€™t prepared to let Ray kill him. But Damon also wants to know why Elena suddenly decided to give up looking for Stefan on the mountain? She admits that she was worried about his safety, but why does he have to make her say it? Because he wants her to remember that feeling when he brings Stefan back to her. Remember the feelings she had for him when Stefan was gone. Alaric who is moving back in to the Gilbert house catches the end of their staring intensely in to each others eyes moment and asks Elena if she knows what she€™s doing? To which she replies she doesn€™t. Looks like she€™s finally giving into accepting she€™s got feelings for both of them. In other episode news Jeremy has roped Matt into helping him do his ghost whisper thing and get in touch with Vicki. Vicki turns up and tells Jeremy she can come back. What exactly does that mean? And how? Before Anna turns up and tells Jeremy not to trust Vicki. What? Also Bonnie is still MIA. The episode ends with Caroline tied up in some sort of dungeon. Despite Mrs Lockwood€™s change of heart following her discovery of Tyler€™s own monster secret Bill is still determined that Caroline needs to be taking care of. He heads on down to the dungeon where we finally discover who he is and how he fits into the story when Caroline greets him with the words €˜Hi daddy€™. Favourite Lines:

Elena : €œI€™d feel bad if I got you killed before happy hour.€œ Damon: €œNo, he€™s not okay Elena. He€™s an insufferable martyr that needs his ass kicked. But he can be saved.€

Favourite Scene: Damon gets Elena to admit she has feelings for him, well kind of. What did everyone else think? Who should Elena choose? How long before Klaus realises Elena is alive? Or do we think he€™s figured it out already? What€™s going to happen to Caroline? And who do you trust Vicki or Anna? Your thoughts always welcome.

Writer: Turi Meyer & Al Septien Director: Joshua Butler Cast: Nina Dobrev, Ian Somerhalder, Paul Wesley, Steven R. McQueen, Zach Roerig, Candice Accola, Michael Travino, Matthew Davis, Joseph Morgan.