Episode Commentary: “History Repeating”

Bonnie’s ancestor is haunting her, Caroline still won’t speak to her and there’s a new history teacher in town. Of course Damon and Stefan are as affectionate as ever and Jeremy gets a clean slate from the new history teacher by writing a paper on the history of Mystic Falls. The intriguing part to this is that Alaric Saltzman has a ring – similar to the Salvatore brothers, only garish and big, really big.

As for Bonnie instead of doing the smart thing and going to her grandmother for advice, she decides to hold a séance with whiny Elena and dim-witted Caroline. However, the results are unexpected. Though you’ll find yourself rooting for Emily (Bonnie’s ancestor) to take over, if nothing else than to give Bonnie a personality.

The scenes between Stefan and Damon are finally starting to get interesting as the brothers attempt to imitate each other and bond over darts, football and looking at the stars. Apparently Catherine is still a sore point between the two as Damon attempts to resurrect the one who turned them both. Or so it seems. The story that Damon tells draws you in and makes you want to watch the rest of the episode. Finally the show doesn’t save the most exciting bits in the last few moments.

The director of this week’s episode (Marcos Siega) has let the actors do their thing – and the results are amusing. Even Aunt Jenna is more interesting as she finds the new history teacher attractive.

In addition to the direction what makes this episode better than in previous weeks is that the storyline is finally starting to cook. The history teacher seems to have several mysterious layers. Between the ring and the dead wife who is an unsolved cold case, the brothers bonding and the witches of Mystic Falls leads to a balance of stories that doesn’t heavily rely on Elena’s angst. It’s about time that the cast gets to be a true ensemble.

Cliffhangers abound and stories are being shaped for future episodes. What’s Alaric’s agenda? What will Jeremy find in his father’s papers? Most of all will Bonnie recover from the events of this week’s episode. Stay tuned.

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