The Vampire Diaries - 3.8: "Ordinary People" Review

Elena gets a lowdown on her family's past by Rebekah and how they became vampires. Alaric deciphers the cave drawings, Mikael turns up and Damon tries to find a better way to help Stefan reclaim his humanity.

Alaric (Matt Davis) brings Elena (Nina Dobrev) to the tunnels and advises her to ignore Damon (Ian Somerhalder) as he's doing.  Alaric believes the story tells of a "really old moon cycle of a man, a wolf.   Damon: "It's the Lockwood Diaries Pictionary style." Werewolves have been in Mystic Falls longer than the Lockwood's.   The drawings appear to be runic and containing Viking script.  He can make out the names, 'Niklaus', Rebekah' and 'Elijah.'

This leads to a flashback to Rebekah (Claire Holt) and Klaus ( Joseph Morgan) in the tunnel.   Rebekah is carving on the wall.   She tells Klaus he's afraid of their father and adds that he scares them all and so they should all stick together.   Alaric doesn't think this wall is a fake as he makes out the name 'Mikael', whom Damon refers to as "Papa Original."  The images tell a story.   Away from the tunnels, Damon trains Elena whilst Alaric continues to piece together the drawings.   Elena decides she's going straight to the source of the original stories, Rebekah.  

She wonders why Klaus is running from their father, Mikael (Sebastian Roche)  and tells Rebekah where he is buried.   Another flash to Klaus and Elijah (Daniel Gillies) fighting.   No wonder Klaus ran off, his life is too precious for him to stay and be killed by Mikael.   He's just a coward when the shoe's on the other foot.   Mikael tells them off saying they fight for survival not fun and he calls Klaus "foolish and impulsive," referring to him as just a "boy."  Elena is convinced Stefan (Paul Wesley) will be free of his compulsion if Klaus can be killed.

Damon checks on Stefan calling him "pasty and pouty."  Elena can take care of Rebekah and Damon isn't too keen on "Lexi's recovery plan."  Elena is convinced it will work.   Stefan having to get in that Elena's plans always work, sarcastically.   Well he's right. None of their plans ever work.   Stefan doesn't believe Elena will be safe with Rebekah.   Damon thinks if Stefan believed Elena was in danger then Stefan would be working harder to get better and get out of his restraints.   Damon thinks that Stefan has really given up and undoes his restraints.   Last episode it was Stefan untying him.  This week, it 's the other way around. Seems that's all we're going to get, the same thing happening to each of them.

Rebekah has compelled some girls to try on dresses and wants Elena to pick one out for Homecoming.   She threatens to bite one of them and so Elena chooses one.   Bonnie (Katerina Graham) returns the necklace to Alaric who calls Jeremy an idiot, he knows cos he was just like him too.   There's an image of the necklace on the wall everywhere.   The symbol stands for 'witch.' Rebekah recalls how a plague struck their homeland.   Their mother, Esther (Alice Evans) knew a witch, Ayana, (Maria Howell) and they all lived with the werewolves around.   Another flash to caves under their village, where they would hide when the wolves howled, meaning on the full moon.   Klaus and her younger brother, Henrik, snuck out to see the transformation and Henrik was killed.   So they were no longer at peace with the werewolves.   This was the last time her family were together as humans.

Damon tells Elena he knows what he's doing with Stefan and takes him to the bar, compelling Callie (Karlee Morgan Eldridge) for a "shot of you" for Stefan.   He says Stefan's been on his blood free diet for 50 years so how come he's so good at the drinking game.   Stefan remarks, it's "precision out of boredom." Stating Damon's worse than Elena at all this stuff, especially the brotherly bonding.   Damon likes to be on the edge, but Stefan falls over it.

Rebekah doesn't understand the attraction between Stefan and Elena as a couple.  Rebekah knows Stefan's a vampire and tells her the necklace wasn't Stefan's, it belonged to the original witch.  She turned them into vampires.   Flash to Esther wanting the spirits to find a way to protect their children.   Elena says a curse isn't a form of protection.    They stayed out of pride and to be superior.   The magic will have consequences and the "spirits will turn on them" warns Ayana.   Esther was a witch too from the original family, "the original witch."   She could only be a witch or a vampire not both.   Esther didn't turn but turned to the white oak tree to turn them into vampires.   They were given wine laced with blood and Mikael killed them with swords.

Flash to Rebekah having to drink more blood to finish the ritual.   They felt powerful.   'The spirits turned and nature fought back', the sun, the neighbours kept them out of their houses.   The white oak flowers burnt them and they prevented compulsion so the trees were burnt.   They only craved blood.

Damon: "I thought you could use a hug Stefan."  Damon knows he's given up and wants him to do something about it.   Cue Mikael.   When Klaus killed for the first time this triggered his werewolf gene and Esther put a curse on him to suppress his werewolf side.   Mikael's pride increased as a vampire and he killed half the village and also Esther.   She broke his heart so he tore hers from her chest with Klaus watching.  

Why would Mikael kill Esther when she had done everything to protect his children.  Rebekah and Elijah agreed not to turn their backs on Klaus.   Rebekah is stubborn, Elijah is moral and Klaus has 'no tolerance over those who disappoint him.'  She loves Klaus cos she doesn't want to spend an eternity alone.   The same reason Klaus gives for wanting more hybrids, but he doesn't feel the same emotion towards Rebekah as she does for him, since he'd still have her around, even if he didn't have any more of his kind.  She is his family after all.   Rebekah threatens Elena if she comes after Klaus. She is her father's daughter after all and yet she still fears him.

Mikael posits he's been a vampire hunter longer than Damon's been alive and threatens to rip out Damon's heart unless Stefan tells him where Klaus is.   Stefan can lure Klaus back to Mystic Falls.   Mikael lets Damon go and just wanted to rile him up.   Stefan must get Klaus to return or be killed.   Alaric discovers the tree symbol is a weapon and notices a bleeding heart and a witch figure.   Rebekah doesn't know the real story behind Esther's death, Elena reveals what Klaus told her was a lie to turn her against Mikael.   A symbol for hybrid combines both and the symbol for her mother.   Elena shows Rebekah the story of Esther's death.   Esther rejected Klaus, he was aggressive and violent and he killed her.   Elena wants to make Klaus lose his control over everyone.  

Stefan says Damon didn't get through to him. Damon only proceeded in reminding him what his freedom felt like, when he kills Klaus he will be free.   Damon has to save Stefan as he owes him for saving his life.   Stefan: "Be careful brother, your humanity's showing." That's what Damon just said to him and then Damon lashes out at him.   Damon tells Elena about Mikael and thinks his weapon is a stake.   Elena only sees Rebekah as a girl, "she loves blindly and recklessly even if it consumes her."  Family is important to Elena.   Damon thinks she should tell that to Stefan.   Elena believes Damon will save Stefan from himself not cos Stefan loves Elena, but cos Stefan loves Damon.

Damon always lashes out when anyone mentions humanity: his, or other human emotions.   Like he killed Alaric out of rage and anger for people trying to change him, confirming he's a vampire firstly and foremostly.   So why does he want Stefan to find his humanity so badly, other than owing him his life?  It sure isn't for Elena cos Damon wants her for himself.   Didn't see Elena objecting to Damon being on her bed - nor did she tell him to move or leave, in actual fact she looked quite comfy with him beside her.   Seriously who wouldn't mind him on, or in, their beds!  Perhaps Elena's reference to Rebekah being a girl who loves blindly speaks more about Elena too.

 Lots of background on the "original" family of vampires, which made a change to learn that Klaus, Elijah and Rebekah didn't choose to become vampires and how this elaborate scheme to protect them was born of magic and necessity, by none other than the original witch herself, Esther.   Was she unable to come up with some other means of affording them protection from werewolves?   Also how as well as Mikael rejecting Klaus as he wasn't his son, we find Esther rejected him too and placed the curse on him.   So naturally it only follows he would be the one to kill his mother.

There seems to be more behind Mikael wanting to find Klaus than just to kill him.   On the same note, he doesn't seem to have any urgency in reuniting with Rebekah, in fact he hasn't even asked about her or Elijah.   What of Katherine, no mention of her either in this episode.   Take it the 'witch' mentioned in 3.7 was Esther and the reason for the necklace being returned.  As well as the "original" family being the focus of this episode - the other family in the limelight were the Salvatore brothers and their relationship, though one of sarcasm, jokes and feel-good feeding, there was more serious issues involved in Stefan saving Damon at the end from Mikael.   Yet he hated Damon talking of his humanity and vice versa, which is the part I liked, when they both fight, cos Damon can't stand Stefan associating him with humanity.   It's a sore point for Damon as we know, but now Stefan doesn't like it being alluded to either, or is there another reason for him not wanting to be called human?