this is family business
After waiting so long for this episode of The Vampire Diaries, I can tell you now that I am not disappointed at all. And at the end of it, I'm left with dozens of questions.
The episode opened with a very pissed off Elijah, having the vampire equivalent of a fist-fight with his youngest brother. Not that I blame him at all. But Klaus tried to distract him by mentioning the death of their father. It seems to me that most of the siblings thought that Mikael hunted them for centuries. From Elijah's comment about keeping them in the coffins, it seems that it was for their protection - unless I've interpreted it wrong. We know that isn't true. We know that Mikael was only hunting down Klaus, unfortunately his other children were told a different tale.
Also in this scene, we learn about two more siblings who I hinted at before - Kol and Finn. From different blogs and forums that I've seen, Kol is the mischievous yet deadly younger brother, who most fans compare to Elijah - could he be another force to be reckoned with?
As Klaus threatened to stake Elijah again, the mere mention of '...but you'll have Kol to deal with.' makes him hesitate. What on earth could Kol have done to piss off Klaus? He's been locked in there for 100 years, obviously before the time that Stefan finds Klaus and Rebekah in Chicago. Granted, 100 years isn't nearly as long as the 900 years Finn's been locked away - clearly the first of the siblings, but I'll get to him later.
It's interesting to watch Elijah's face in this scene too - his confusion is evident, but then as Klaus continues to ramble on, there's this stony resistance, and a look which says this isn't going to end here. At the end of it, as Klaus begs him for help to destroy Stefan, I could see the screws turning in Elijah's head. His look in that scene reminded me of when a smug Klaus tells Damon and Stefan that him and Elijah have already spoken about the truth behind their mother's death. As Klaus continues to live in his delusion that all is well, Elijah's face just screams 'Bitch, please.'
Now, I've read somewhere that as doppelgangers are supernatural beings, they have some sort of allure. It seems that this wasn't lost upon these two brothers - Klaus and Elijah. Hence the story of Tatia begins. Initially, I thought this would lead to a flashback sequence where we would see Nina Dobrev as the Original Petrova (OP). At first, Klaus seemed thrilled to speak of her, while Elijah appeared to be uncomfortable. Obviously, this is a wound that refuses to heal despite it's age. As Elijah concedes and tells the story, it's clear who this girl preferred. Again the parallels are evident, as 500 years later, the first doppelganger - Katerina, appears to prefer the one who loves her least, i.e. Klaus. While the one who would give her his heart fades miserably into the background. History repeats itself 300 years later in Mystic Falls with Damon and Stefan Salvatore, where Katherine as she is now called, prefers Stefan. "It's always been Stefan." I recall her saying that a while ago in season 2. Should I go on to talk about Elena?
As someone who has walked the earth for over one thousand years, Daniel Gilles thinks Elijah has to have a sense of humour, and while I agree, I don't think it's big enough for him to take history repeating itself where his heart is concerned. I can compare him and Damon in this effect. The older brothers who constantly have to swoop in and clean up after the messes their siblings have made. Both who have sat quietly in the background and loved a girl they shouldn't have. It's a bit heartbreaking.
The story continues as we learn what happened to Tatia. It was their mother who took her away, and perhaps even killed her, leading to her children drinking her blood and turning them into the creatures they are today. It could be implied then, that this is one of the reasons that Klaus killed his mother, while he and Elijah patched up their relationship. Indeed, it seems that family does lie above all. Incidentally, those are the words that nailed Klaus in his proverbial coffin. I re-watched this scene a couple times, and smiled at the foreshadowing here, added to Elijah being very clever in his wording.
'Family above all.'
Well, isn't this a pretty picture. We've finally met all of the members of the Original Family - Elijah, Finn, Kol, Klaus and Rebekah - with special mention to their parents, Mikael and Esther (not shown here). Remember what I said about proverbial coffins? Here, we see Klaus surrounded by some very angry siblings who have perhaps talked a bit before appearing in such a manner to catch him off-guard. Each of them have their own reasons to be angry, added to the fact that their vengeful brother killed off their parents.
This is how I imagined the last episode to end - as the witches revealed the coffins, Elijah would appear behind Damon, flanked by Kol and Finn, looking very pissed off. Well, this was much better. I'm actually very excited to see the siblings interact. Many of them have some adjusting to do - Kol would probably be in the same position as Rebekah was, while Finn has to catch up on 900 years filled with changes.
Of course, this reunion would not be complete without one person, would it?
'Mother?'
As Esther's footsteps echoed throughout the house, silence followed it and drowned them all. Klaus became breathless while the others - especially Elijah and Rebekah - looked completely stunned. These emotions were reflected on the faces of the majority of the audience who were not privy to spoilers. So, if Esther was in that coffin all along, what exactly happened those centuries ago when everyone, including her own husband, thought she was dead? Did she fool them all and turn? Was she the one who sent Vicki back with that message? Is it really her? Is there more to her than meets the eye? Remember what I said about holes? I pondered over this when I wrote my first TVD related entry here
Was there some sort of miscommunication as well between Elijah and Damon? Judging by his expression when his mother walked through the door, did he already know who was in it, but just didn't not say? Did he know of Damon's plans to open it? Or am I missing the point?
Either way, something about her appearing here isn't right. I guess we'll find out more next week as the pieces of the puzzle continue to fall haphazardly into place.