The Vampire Diaries “All My Children” Review

In ‘All My Children’, The Vampire Diaries introduced the latest twist to the Mikaelson family saga: there’s a new white oak tree.

Of course, there was an entire episode preceding this plot point, one which resulted in Col fleeing, Elijah leaving, Esther and Finn disappearing off somewhere, while Rebecca and Klaus remained (sadface, of course). Oh, and crazy Dr Fell shot Alaric.

I’ll warn you now, what follows is a whole lot of dislike for Elena and the boys. But bear with me — I really do want to like them again (well, the Salvatores at least, I’ve always been ambivalent about Elena). And I do adore some of the characters this week (I’m looking at you, Caroline and Klaus).

Okay, so I want to be more enthusiastic about this episode but my god, will this never end? Just when you think the Mikaelsons might be meeting their sticky end, Elena goes and buggers everything up again. I know it wasn’t directly her fault but how many times does she have to be saved at the expense of others? Finn apparently hates being a vampire, but who knows how many people Col, Elijah, Rebecca and Klaus could – and may – kill?

This episode actually made me care more about the Mikaelsons than about Elena and Stefan. (Not Damon, I’ll always adore Damon. He’s too pretty and I’m selectively shallow.) Elena’s life is detrimental to the lives of others purely because some vampires have feelings for her. Stefan apparently wants to be old Stefan but does anyone truly care anymore? If you do, please, explain to me why, because I was tired of his ‘don’t give a damn’ facade a few weeks ago.

To make matters worse, the Stefan/Elena/Damon love triangle continues to fail on all counts. Elena was supposedly jealous of Damon sleeping with Rebecca, but it’s so easy to believe Elena’s excuse (that she’s pissed because Rebecca tried to kill her) because she doesn’t seem to actually want to do anything about Damon’s feelings for her. She has no right to be jealous, just as Stefan has no right to constantly tell Damon that he’s not good enough for Elena when he’s being a jackass. If Elena actively liked Damon instead of just emoing about their two kisses then yeah, maybe this would be a love triangle worth watching. Instead it’s just a lot of emoting between Elena and Stefan while Damon stands awkwardly between them. Why bother?

I like that Bonnie didn’t want to see Elena at the end of the episode. Despite everything, and despite knowing that Bonnie really does love her friend, of course she’d be upset with Elena. I’m not saying that without Elena, Bonnie would have been safe from the vamp crap that’s rained down on Mystic Falls, but Elena and the Salvatores have pretty much taken Bonnie’s life apart. If it wasn’t for Damon, her grandmother would still be alive. If it wasn’t for Elena, her mother wouldn’t be a vampire and the guy she loved wouldn’t have left town.

TL;DR: The Vampire Diaries needs to give us more reasons to care about Elena and the boys because right now, I sympathise with everyone else instead, including Klaus, the supposed bad guy of this plot.

Speaking of Klaus, I adore him and Caroline together. I know Tyler will have to come back at some point (and I love our Tywolf) but I really just want to see Caroline give him a chance. At this point I don’t want Klaus to die, but be reformed. Okay, so having the mother (well, father) of all badass creatures in town will pretty much outshine any future bad guys (where do you go after vampire/werewolf hybrid? Demons? Gods?) but Klaus is kind of lovely, don’t you think?

What did you think of ‘All My Children’? Let us know your thoughts in the comments below!

_{Some things I was left wondering…}

Weren’t the Mikaelson family living with the Native Americans around a thousand years ago? How were there wild horses roaming when the modern horse wasn’t reintroduced to North America until around the 16th century?

Rebecca threw fuel onto Elena’s clothing and a fire flared up right next to her. How did her clothes not ignite? Someone needs to keep a closer eye on continuity.

How does the whole ‘Esther can only channel the dead witches if both Bonnie and Abby are alive’ thing actually work? Surely both would need to be dead or vampires, since Bonnie is still a link to the dead witches? Or does it channel through each witch in turn — so vamping Abby acts as a buffer between Bonnie and the others? More importantly, does this mean that Bonnie can now never draw energy/magic from the dead witches again because of that buffer?

By Candice Grace | February 17, 2012 | 2 Comments

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Naazneen

Hoorah for a welcome review. I will say candidly that for the most part, I cannot stand Elena. I have long wished for her improbable demise. I find her selfish and utterly irritating. I don’t know why Stefan and Damon bother and at this point, I’m hoping Stefan hangs himself on the nearest tree because he bores me to death.

The triangle of ridiculous isn’t a triangle as you pointed out. Elena wants to have her cake and eat it as well. Does she actually care for Damon? It doesnt seem like it. So how can this even be labelled anything other than what it is? I.e Elena will always love Stefan. She will want to have Damon waiting in the wings, but won’t ever admit to caring about him romantically. And this is fundamentally what’s wrong with the way this entire catastrophe has been crafted. It’s only a triangle when there are conflicting feelings. It doesn’t seem there are any here. Thank God Damon has decided to drop the moping and embrace the badass. Makes for interesting tv.

Don’t you think Damon and Klaus are similar though? They both seem to be quick tempered and might act and regret. Might explain why I have – temporarily I’m sure – abandoned #TeamDamon and embraced #TeamKlaus. Loving Klaus and Caroline. LOVING IT.
Lauren04

I also wasn’t thrilled with this episode. I’m disappointed as you are with the “triangle”. I had held out hope that at some point, there would be an intensifying of Elena’s feelings (towards either guy, really), but there hasn’t been. This, from the original creator of the Dawson/Joey/Pacey romance.

I was also bored by the “Abby turned into a vamp” storyline. Haven’t we done the parent becomes a vamp for noble reasons already. Didn’t we just do that? Yes, yes, we did. Just cross Bonnie over to The Secret Circle where she could actually be used and be done with it.Continuity on the fire? How about Elena not even reacting to the fact that the rancid smell of gasoline dumped in an enclosed space would make her gag if not puke? (if not pass out?)And speaking of being bored- the “cliffhanger” and/or promo for 3/15 did not make me weep about the hiatus. I seem to remember gnashing of teeth when it came time for the 2011/12 winter hiatus. This week, I was left relieved about the open hour in my schedule. Methinks JPlec needs a relief inning or two.