Sometimes, I don't like to grade an episode until I've dug in deep, but "Crying Wolf" pushes enough of my buttons that I'm giving it an immediate A. What about you? Click the little episode report card and let me know. Mostly I'm giving it an A for how it presents our women. Elena is fierce, strong, cunning, brave, sexy, playful, nostalgic and compassionate in this episode. Bonnie and Caroline have agency and resolve, and their friendship shines through. Jenna stands up to John and starts to suspect Alaric. Awesome!
"Crying Wolf" doesn't just put the grrrrr in girl, though. Oh no, there's much more. Stefan is ruthless with the Pucking Wolfgang, yet he and Elena have tender, meaningful moments that remind me why I like them together (even though I also like Damon and Elena together). Alaric and Damon's bromance continues apace. Oh, and we learn Damon didn't kill intrepid girl-reporter Andi. He's just compelling her to think he's "the one", relieving her of some excess blood, jumping her bones, and introducing more scarves into her wardrobe, you know, like you do with your chew toy.
We get more of the delicious Elijah (do you even care if Satan Klaus ever comes to town?) and confirmation of what most of us suspected about his deal with Elena -- there's no guarantee for her safety. Also, there's Bonnie and Jeremy goodness. I'm in my happy place right now -- so long as I compel myself to forget that it looks like Tyler is out of the picture and off our screens, at least for a while. Darn it. I understand why it has to happen, but I'm not happy about it. Last season, Tyler was an arrogant and angry young man/attempted date-rapist, who needed a good kick in the crotch. This season, he's managed to retain his edge, while growing into a sympathetic and appealing character who is now nearly as likable and sexy as the actor who plays him. Big love to you, Michael Trevino. I sure hope Julie Plec and Kevin Williamson bring you back soon, and for good.
I can't cover everything in this recaplet, so here's the skinny: Stefan takes Elena away to her family's lake house. Now the Pucking Wolfgang wants the moonstone and the doppelganger. They want the moonstone because if they break the curse, they can transform whenever they want (which in traumatized Ty's case is never again), but the vampires will remain cursed forever. If the vamps break the curse, only the vamps will be free. You get the picture. To that end, Ty swipes Caroline's phone and texts (as Caroline) Elena to find out her location. But don't get too mad at my Pudding Pup. He doesn't realize the doppelganger must be sacrificed in order to break the curse. He tells Jules, Brady and um -- let's call him Wolfgeek -- where our girl and Stefan are. Jules and Wolfgeek (and maybe another nameless pooch or two) head to Mossy Manse, where they ambush Damon and Alaric (who dies for a while) and try to get moonstone intel. Damon is the victim of this week's torture porn, which is a refreshing twist. Meanwhile, Brady, Tyler and other nameless woofers head to the lake, capture Stefan and shoot him full of wood. Once Heroic Hairdo is temporarily defanged, Brady goes in the cabin and after Elena. She, at turns, fends him off, evades him, stabs him, tricks him, and stabs him again. Meanwhile, Tyler points a gun at an ensnared Stefan, but when Stef tells Pudding Pup that his new pack wants to kill Elena, he switches teams and releases Stefan, who rips out the Wolfgang's hearts, saves the day and keeps the girl.
Meanwhile, back in Mystic Falls, Uncle Snark Daddy John (sic) Gilbert plants seeds of doubt in Jenna's head regarding Alaric. Evil Hottie Elijah saves Damon and kills some more of the Wolfgang. Jules escapes. Bonnie, Caroline and Jeremy slip Junior Manwitch a mickey and then Bonnie does a hypnotizing spell on him to make him talk. He admits that Elijah intends to use Elena as the sacrifice, because right after the ritual is when Satan Klaus will be the weakest, and both Elijah and the Manwitch family have plenty of reasons for wanting Satan Klaus dead. But best of all? Thanks to a heart-to-heart with Caroline, Bonnie decides it's okay to be with Jeremy. She tries to make a pretty speech to that effect, but as soon as she calls him hot, Jeremy says that's enough and it's smoooooootchie time. Finally.
The episode ends on the so-called sad note, with Tyler leaving his mother a literal sad note. He's shaking the dust off his paws and heading out of town. Ty does stop by the Grill to see let Matt know, and to tell him that Caroline loves and needs him. He also lurks outside Caroline's house, but decides against seeing her, hops in Jules' car and drives off to her Obedience School, I guess. Bye-bye, Tyler. I'll miss you. Don't stay away too long. Lassie, come home!
I'll be back with the weecap ASAP. In the meantime, please grade the episode at the top of the page and then join us on the boards, where we're busy laying a trail of Caroline-kiss flavored kibble, to tempt Ty back to Mystic Falls.
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Want more? The full recap starts right below!
Hey, everyone. I've seen a mixed reaction to this episode online, and the ratings were among the series' lowest, but I am really jazzed over it. My recaplet was pretty review-heavy, so if you're interested in that sort of discussion, click that little link above. If not, let's get straight to the recappy goodness.
Brady, Jules, and a funny little werewolf (I'm calling Wolfgeek) who is sort of the wolf version of the late Slater, pile up their litter-mates' corpses. They're going to burn them -- right in the middle of the fricking woods. Smokey the Bear shakes his head at the scene, but they ignore him. Tsk. Wolfgeek tells Jules and Brady he had long suspected that Mason was up to something because he was banging that hot vampire chick, "Kathy" (I think Katherine would rip his heart out just for calling her Kathy), and now he knows what that something is. He figures the Mystic Falls Fang Gang is putting things in place to break the Sun & Moon Curse. Wolfgeek's not exactly right, but that's not a bad guess. Brady says they can't let that happen, even if they have to kill every last vamp in town. Over this fandom's dead bodies, Brady.
Fortress Forbes: The phone rings, interrupting the slumbering part of Elena, Bonnie and Caroline's slumber party. Even though they're Caroline's house, Elena answers the phone, which is convenient, since it's Stefan. When she proposes a sleepover for the two of them, he's all in, because he's selfless like that.
Mossy Manse: Hooray, Damon didn't kill girl-reporter Andi Starr. Instead, he's teaching her the finer points of wearing a scarf to cover the fang marks on her neck and compelling her to think he's "the one." Oh Damon, you know, if you hadn't opened her throat, I don't think any compulsion would be necessary. She's covering the event o'the week: the Historical Society's high tea at the Mayoral mansion, featuring Elijah "Smith" (Damon scoffs at the unimaginative surname) who's writing about small-town Virginia. As Andi leaves, Alaric enters, ready for some good old fashioned bromance.
Grill: Bonnie tells Caroline she's got plans to get some intel from Junior Manwitch, but that conversation is interrupted when Matt walks by and glares at Caroline, who still has no clue that our blue-eyed Pudding Pop knows she lied about being with Bonnie in last week's episode.
Wolfy Woods: Ty finds Jules at the RV and reminds her Senior Manwitch said the Wolfgang needs to get out of Dodge. (And he calls him "Manwitch" which I am totally taking as a shout-out, even though it's probably not.) Before they leave, Brady wants to get the moonstone. Wolfgeek explains the curse of the Sun and the Moon to Ty, and Jules points out that if the wolves can turn at will, that means he can choose to never turn at all. As you can imagine, Tyler salivates at this like he can hear Pavlov's bell. Of course Wolfgeek glosses over the doppelganger component (which he defines as "evil twin shadow person" -- ha) needed to break the curse. When he shows Ty a picture of Mason and "Kathy," Ty says, "That's Elena Gilbert!" Jules is surprised he knows her. Ty: "I've known her my whole life." Tyler, you big dumb jock! Don't you think you should ask what they need the doppelganger for, before you betray this girl you've known your whole life? You totally deserved Caroline's wrath last week.
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