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After week hiatus, Vampire Diaries is back at it. With the murders at the grave yard and the disappearance of Vicki, the whole town finds it’s self busy with search parties and getting ready for the town Halloween party.

Right off, Vicki has appeared in Tyler’s car looking for comfort. Tyler, although glad to see her, can easily tell something is wrong. Figuring its just drugs, he nearly falls pray to her hunger. Even though it would have been great to se Tyler get his, a second turning so soon would have been too much. Besides, why kill off the bully in the show so soon? Fortunately, the Salvatore brothers show up in time to save Ty from becoming Vicki’s official first meal. A quick memory wipe and Tyler is safely on his way. Stefan and Damon take Vicki back home, where Stefan plans to hide her until she gets control of herself.

When Elena wakes that morning, she briefly tries to explain to Jeremy that he needs to just let Vicki go. Seeing no success there, she then heads to Stefan’s. Elena and Damon face off, briefly at the front door. They both know Damon won’t hurt her, but Damon reminds Elena that she shouldn’t depend on that idea forever. With Vicki, there is a lot of back and forth about how she should behave and not behave and how everyone has to wait and see. Vicki spends most of this whining. She was more bearable as a human druggie. Vicki soon tires of Stefan’s recommendations and restraint, and is easily led by Damon to try out some of her vamp powers. Sure enough Vicki takes this chance to break away form her watchers and run home. Her brother Matt, of course, welcomes her right in, where he will not let Stefan enter.

Did someone say, “Party?”

Outside of the transformation drama, the rest Mystic Falls preps for Halloween festivities. Bonnie arrives at the school party dressed as a witch (come on writers, you could have done better then that). The costume, which Caroline lent Bonnie, came with Damon’s gem that Caroline no longer wanted. Seeing the gem, Damon tries to take it and it burns his hands. Bonnie was so frightened that she did something wrong she runs off to Grams. It turns out the gem belonged to Bonnie’s great, great, great, great, great, great, great, great, great,  grandma (OK, maybe one too many grates). Bonnie is eager to learn the ways of being a witch. As expected though, Grams tells her, exactly what Potter, Willow and every other witch has ever had to learn: witchcraft is not for fun. It is real and it is serious.

When not making life harder on Stefan by encouraging Vicki’s urges, Damon investigates who in town might be hunting vampires. His investigation goes quickly and without a hitch; because the crack vamp hunters have no idea that the vamps can cruse the sun lit streets. Soon Damon has zeroed in on Tyler’s flirty mom. Apparently Zach was supplying the council with vervain. Damon easily convinces Mrs. “cougar” Lockwood that he can supply the herb, especially considering that Zach had “left town for a while.”

Matt, excited that life was returning to normal took, Vicki to the school costume party where, every one starts show up, including Jeremy and Elena. It is mere moments before Vicki has Jeremy out by the busses and is planning on them both going away and “being together forever.” To which Jeremy simply agrees. Apparently, Jeremy has NOT seen enough movies to know to question such dramatic statements. Either way, Jeremy comes to realize that Vicki’s love nibbles are not so nibbly, and he starts to fight back. Elena soon joins the struggle, and Stefan, of course, shows up just in time to save the day.

Jeremy is safe, but now he knows too much! So, you figure, here comes the memory wipe. The brain wipes that make everything that just happened, null and void, and basically pointless. I must say, that part of they show is getting old fast. However, the handling of this memory wipe was better. I actually enjoyed how it all played out. 

Overall?

This episode didn’t wow me. More about it bugged me then thrilled me.  It just doesn’t have the pace or writing that made some of the better episodes flow. Add the easy-out memory wipes? Fans are going to start hainvg very little too look forward to if they keep making things so easy to resolve. Even importantly, there really has to be more characters involved then just the tiny love triangle trio. There needs to be more meat on these bones!

I don’t know about all of you, but if Vampire Diaries doesn’t pick up the pace soon, it will loose me all together

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