Two new vampire brothers arrive in Mystic Falls

Season 2, Episode 19 (“Klaus”)
Joseph Morgon (Image: The CW)

There are many plot twists throughout The Vampire Diaries, some are good, some not so much, and this episode contains what feels like twenty plot twists, all of which are pretty good. This episode introduces us to two new vampire brothers (or in truth two very old brothers) who also quarreled over Katherine. Similar to “Blood Brothers” towards the end of season 1, this episode gives us some of the backstory of the two brothers through flashbacks and includes some plot twists that flip the switch on information that we have been going on all season. We finally meet the real Klaus, eleven episodes after he is first mentioned, and he is much more intimidating than the fake Alaric version of Klaus. Elijah also returns after Elena pulls the dagger out of him, and he fills her in on the backstory of him, Klaus, and Katherine, as well as the real curse.

The first major plot twist is that Elijah and Klaus are brothers, and that in fact all of the Originals are a part of the same family that was the first to become vampires. In a rewatch it is hard to evaluate if this was surprising or not, but it is definitely shocking to all of the characters. Making them brothers is a great move because it sets up so much potential for interesting history and motivations. Klaus and Elijah are no longer just two old, mysterious, evil vampires, they are brothers that have a long and complicated history. They now feel like real characters, and not just villains for our heroes to defeat.

The second major plot twist is that the “Curse of the Sun and the Moon” that we have been hearing about all season is fake. Klaus and Elijah made it up and actually planted all of the evidence in various cultures throughout history to make it easier to find the moonstone and the doppelgänger. The real curse that Klaus has been trying to break is actually only set on him, to suppress his werewolf side, because the third major plot twist is that Klaus is not only a vampire, but a werewolf as well. This makes him basically invincible, even the dagger that can be used to put other Originals down, won’t work on him. Klaus being an Original already meant that he was a stronger, harder to kill vampire. But this twist means that he is stronger and harder to kill than even the other Original vampires. If the curse is lifted and he can access his werewolf side as well, he would be even more deadly and powerful.

There are a lot of parallels drawn between Elijah/Klaus and Stefan/Damon in this episode, and they will continue to be explored in future episodes. Klaus and Elijah used to be very close but their differences have driven them apart. Elijah cares about human life and Klaus doesn’t. Klaus believes that love his a vampire’s greatest weakness. Elijah used to think the same, but doesn’t want to be that way anymore. Klaus is basically what Damon could become if he lives another 1000 years and never opens himself up to having emotional connections with people. Elijah and Klaus also quarreled over Katherine except in their case it wasn’t over mutual love for her. Elijah was in love with her and wanted to spare her from Klaus’s sacrifice plans. Klaus was just using her for the sacrifice and didn’t care that Elijah found a way to both break the curse and save her life. Klaus has been seeking revenge on Katherine for turning so that he could not use her to break the curse. Elijah has been seeking revenge because she turned before he could save her life.

We don’t learn exactly how Elijah was going to spare Katherine’s life, but he now plans to use it to save Elena. He and Elena renew their deal when Elena shows him that he can trust her. She is taking matters into her own hands and not letting the Salvatores call the shots. Stefan seems done with trying to interfere and is going to trust Elena that she knows what she is doing with Elijah. Damon on the other hand is still refusing to trust in Elena’s plan. He continues to go behind everyone’s back to formulate his own plan. His refusal to trust in other people and act on emotion is still his greatest weakness.

This is a fantastic episode that provides so many twists that all help the mystery and uncertainty of the information we have had so far this season really come together. Giving Klaus and Elijah backstory and character development makes them so much more interesting and the sense that this is only the beginning of their stories on this show. They have been around about 1000 years, so there is much more to their history than what we see here, but this is a good place to start. These twists don’t feel like they are put there just to pull the rug out from under the audience, or create shock value. They actually feel like they make the story make sense and that this has been the plan the whole time. Sometimes it feels like these plots are made up as the show goes along (and that may be the case in future seasons), but this really felt like it was planned from the beginning of the season which makes it so much better.

Episode Grade: A

Other Thoughts:

  • Everyone’s favorite character Andie is back in this episode and they act like she has been here the whole time, but it definitely felt like they forgot about her for a few episodes. But poor girl is trying to be there for Damon as he agonizes over potentially losing the girl he actually loves and he takes his frustrations out on her.
  • Jenna picked a very bad time to come back to Mystic Falls.
  • “AlariKlaus”, Damon is good at these.
  • Katherine was very impressed with Klaus’s Bulgarian but all his said was “hello”
  • Damon can’t get into Alaric’s apartment, has he never been there before?
  • AlariKlaus is very creepy to Jenna as he tries to tell her about his vampire obsession. He just sounds like a serial killer though.
  • Jenna finally learns all of the things and is very freaked out.
  • Body Count: None!

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