Taking this one to the grave

The Vampire Diaries

Season 4 episode 5 - "The Killer"

Dear Diary,

I know it's been awhile, a long while, at least a week, I had a cold but mostly I wasn't sure that I wanted to write this down, you see I’m not a vampire. I know! Just a writer who cares too much about the lives of fictional characters, their drama and the emotional love triangle that threatens to tear the internet apart. I mean I'm fine with it, being a vampire seems like a lot of fun but
honestly it'd be a lot of hassle without a daylight ring (I don't know any witches) and I'd never ever have enough wet wipes to keep my mouth clean, it's just that, everyone else was writing in their diary this episode and I was feeling a little left out. We good. Phew. Ok, now the episode.
　
Can you keep a secret?

The name of the game this hour was secrecy, even if very few characters realised it until the episode's end.

Professor Shane was keeping Connor in the dark about his hero origin story, Stefan and Klaus were keeping knowledge of the cure to themselves, Tyler and Hayley were keeping their real relationship status and mission from Caroline and Klaus, everyone was keeping everything from April and poor, beautiful Jeremy Gilbert realised he had been compelled again (he should really be sculling vervain hourly at this point shouldn't he)

Since no-one in Mystic Falls has yet to learn that keeping secrets is bad and terrible for one's health, the carefully built lies that they have all constructed for themselves imploded with explosive side effects.

RIP Connor. Goodbye Elena's sanity. Hello Slayer Jeremy.

Up in My Grill

We open "The Killer" with Connor dumping the head of his formally pierced, formally alive hybrid guard onto the table of his looted caravan. After a quick debrief with Professor Shane we learn that Connor was sent to Mystic Falls, land of a thousand Vampires, blind as a bat to learn about hybrids and Originals on the fly (Professor Shane, you’re a teacher, sending you in student unprepared and getting mad at them for failing the assignment, bad form.)

"I've written three books" Shane had promised Connor answers regarding his new ink (the hunter unaware of the tattoos map like qualities) but only once the mystical tattoo is complete.

The new plan: send Connor back to Mystic Fall's only restaurant, kidnap the last remaining humans on the show and take out all the vampires/hybrids needed to finish the magical ink print. Connor will learn his life purpose, Shane does whatever the hell he is going to do with this information and a whole lot of non-series regulars will have to start looking for work again, it's a simple plan right?

Ha, newbie’s there are no simple plans in Mystic Falls.

Once Connor sounds the alarm via mass text message (destroying a piece of product placement as he goes) the troop’s ensemble for mission "Save the Humans.” Unfortunately one member of the Scrappy gang was not being a team player.

Stefan having learnt about the Brotherhood of Merry Hunter’s last episode has made it his life's purpose to cure Elena of the vampirism that ails her but is being “forced” by Klaus to keep it a secret.

It is from this point on that the show's title could be changed from the "Vampire Diaries" to “Stefan Salvatore’s lessons in bad decision making."

Number 1- He knows that they can't kill Connor if they want a chance of finding the cure but instead of going against Klaus and telling Damon, who has proven that he is capable of keeping secrets from the original Hybrid in the past (*cough* Coffins) he chooses to act all shaky and suspicious making plans with someone Mystic Falls crew Inc. don't trust and goes all out trying to save the guy that keeps trying to kill them.

Number 2- Damon is starting to clue in that something is not right with his younger brother (he first considers compulsion over free will, cause he's Damon and compulsion's what he does) Stefan instead of just telling them why he needs Connor vervains Damon in front of a frantic Elena than steals his daylight ring, a decision which leads to Elena going to the Grill herself.


Oh snap

On a mission, cranky at her boyfriend, scared for her brother, emotions all heightened, unaware of Connor’s true purpose Elena goes to the bar to rescue her baby brother, but in doing so may have just damned them both.

Connor who has been holding out pretty well against the "siege" has managed to kill one hybrid and got his tattoo to grow, while at the same time trying to explain himself to Jeremy and show what destiny has coming for the younger Gilbert.

I felt legitimately sorry for Connor during this episode. Here is guy who use to be normal but due to a supernatural curse and calling has be forced into a life of extreme violence, where he does terrible things like stabbing girls at their fathers funerals for bait and feels the overwhelming need to kill monsters, even ones who use to be his friends without knowing why.

But then he shot Jeremy and I lost all that sympathy I had for the man.

And so did Elena. Cause she killed him. Yes, Elena made her first kill as a vampire. Not out of blood lust but to protect herself and her loved ones. Not that it’s going to matter to Klaus or anyone else who really wanted that cure.

Connor’s death is bad news for everyone at this point. Stefan, who had finally clued Damon in about the cure, appears to have missed the opportunity to save Elena from herself and in the process may have destroyed his relationship with her, Elena is devastated and barely holding herself together at this point so imagine how she’ll be feeling knowing she destroyed her chance at re-humanization and that her boyfriend kept it from her and Jeremy, oh Jeremy welcome to Slayer-hood, be thankful there’s no hell mouth nearby. Or is there?

It looks like even more trouble is coming for the Gilbert siblings.

Jeremy is now wearing the mark of the five, a group supernaturally called to kill vampires and his sister, a vampire, if the end of this episode is anything to go by looks to be suffering the phantasmic consequences of killing a hunter. Or maybe bloody messages appear in their bathroom all the time, I don't know, I don't live there.
　
Thirty second rule

Other stuff that happened that I should probably talk about:

- Poor sweet constantly compelled April. You got a bracelet off the ground and Matt smiled at you maybe that will make up for your lost day in some way.
- Professor Shane and Bonnie worked together to fix her magic problem aka keep her out of Connor's path. I don't know why Bonnie was so happy about it though, I'm pretty sure keeping someone drugged up on special tea for seven hours is a felony.

- Damon trying to rip out Stefan's heart made me miss Elijah. That's probably the wrong reaction to have right?

-Do you have the same feeling that the reign of Stelena is nearly over and that year of Delena is about to take over. (He loves her vampire or not guys!)

- Also are you concerned about Elena’s hunter training sessions with Alaric if that’s how she fights Vampires? (Miss you Alaric and your tunnel researching, bourbon drinking ways)
- Caroline met Hayley and all those heightened jeaously issues she had early season two came rushing back. Your better than that Caroline, remember that.
- Klaus is still managing to boss his hybrids around from Italy but it seems Tyler and Hayley are working on a super secret plan to un-sire all Klaus's hybrids. Because nothing says "I don't do teen drama" like pretending to break up a relationship so someone else doesn't figure out what's really happening behind their back.
- Lets all grieve that hybrid who went into the bar and tripped a werewolf spit bomb than had his heart blown out by a shot gun. We are really going to miss... you.
- Does the fact that Jeremy is now going to have a hunter's mark growing on his arm and torso mean he is going to be shirtless more often? I'm asking for a friend.

Ok, that's it for Season 4 episode 5. If you guessed Elena as the titular "Killer" congrats, your prize episode 6, Wahoo!

Until next time remember, secrets are bad and if a strange mark magically appears on your hand, try hand sanitizer before panicking.

xoxo

Hanniebee.