By Caleb S. Garcia

“Originally discovered nearly five centuries ago, [the comet] hasn’t been over Mystic Falls in over 145 years.” – Jerk teacher who tells it like it is

Last week the Pilot episode for The Vampire Diaries bowed to 4.91 million viewers making it the most-watched pilot in the CW’s short history. Reviews have been hit and miss but the overall feedback is solid if not positive with Entertainment Weekly giving the pilot ep. a B+ rating. Last week I told a friend that if you’re gonna “try out” The Vampire Diaries you have to watch at least the first two episodes because with many shows the Pilot is shot in two parts, one long episode that gets cut. Enter episode two of Diaries, “The Night of the Comet,” which picks up seemingly a day or two after the pilot ends and is about…a comet. The comet in question is really just a way of getting our characters outside and in a romantic party-esque environment but there is another reason for the galactic flying rock. Ambiguous lip service is paid to how the comet’s last passing may have brought on lots of death making Mystic Falls a “hotbed for paranormal activity,” (or something like that) according to psychic/witch Bonnie. At any rate, to the beginning!

Episode two begins by recapping the Pilot and the CW does a good job with the quick cutting. Judging how this show isn’t Lost or something that carries a complex story, the recaps aren’t something the audience needs to get used to, so enjoy them while they last. The viewership may, however, need to get used to this, the episode beginning with a murder. A young couple is about to get it on in the woods (talk about pitching a tent!) when the guy wanders off and is killed, followed by the girl (the culprit is no doubt Damon). The point of mentioning this is a theory. By the second episode of Smallville it was established that the show would feature the gimmick of the “Freak of the Week,” meaning that most episodes would begin with a person obtaining some sort of “power” via the kryptonite lying all over town. Diaries, maybe consistently, begins with a murder, which means that more people in the town raise their eyebrows and the good Mystic Fallians get closer to finding out who’s behind the murders. As long as VD doesn’t become a slave to this formula, there are high hopes for good storytelling.

In the ep, Jeremy visits bite victim Vicki in the hospital and their familiar love triangle banter ensues. Vicki knows that a vampire attacked her but Stefan, trying to cover up Damon’s dirty work, “glamours” her into believing that an animal attacked her. Damon, however, is the stronger vampire and tries to convince her otherwise, but Stefan whips out some reverse psychology and Vicki remains confused. The brothers vamp don’t just fight physically but wage battles through influencing others. What stands out about glamoring/hypnotizing Vicki is the necessity of it. In a neat addition to the vampire mythos Vicki, as a survivor, occasionally freaks out and screams randomly, haunted by the nightmare that is Damon; the glamouring, then, soothes her nerves.

When Elena meets Damon (him and his sidekick crows) the conversation is awkward and “fatalist” Damon knows just the right buttons to press to turn Elena and Stefan against each other, or at least begin to. Ever hear the expression; the one who gets angry is the one who loses? Well here Stefan gets angry. His attention is focused so much on Damon that he virtually ignores Elena, brushing her off as she exits. Stefan’s focus here is not unwarranted. Damon is a killer and what’s to stop him from slaying Elena like the others? Elena and Damon in a room alone is a dangerous thing, and Stefan knows this. Stefan’s cold shoulder to Elena, however, ends up working in the good vamps favor. The incident gives Stefan a chance to be distant, Elena a chance to be reflective, and the two a chance at (by the ep.’s end) a first kiss. Always nice to end on a high note…oh yea and Damon getting it on with a pink bra wearing chick before getting all red eyed and taking a big bite out of her never hurts either. Let’s take a guess where episode three will begin.

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