The Vampire Diaries 3x12: The Ties that Bind and The Secret Circle 1x12: Witness

So TVD. I liked this episode for the most part, in that I was pretty entertained throughout. Bonnie's mom is like the worst mother ever, so maybe there's more to that story. I don't know, I guess she wasn't apologetic enough for me. I liked the scene where Bonnie told her about Grams, though, I thought it was played perfectly, Bonnie's grief still so big, yet she managed to contain that big huge story in just a few lines and her eyes..I don't know I thought it was good.

Caroline was there for what..two lines? I thought it was brave of Tyler to ask her father for his help, knowing what he did to her before. And having to turn so much is bound to be painful for him. I guess I just feel like this Tyler as a hybrid story line is still all over the place and not that interesting. Nothing about it has been about Tyler's character or even Caroline's, with the exception of last week, so I don't get it and I don't care. I'm still kind of mad at the writers for doing it in the first place to be honest. Also...like it's SO painful to turn into a werewolf, and if gratitude is what keeps Tyler bound to Klaus, why did Klaus want to be a hybrid in the first place? I can see why werewolves would, but it's interesting that they don't really talk about the appeal of being a werewolf at all, which...there has to be some right?

I have to admit I was laughing a little bit when Elena told Stefan about the kiss...which, she just plucked some wood out from his chest NICE TIMING but it's like...there's all this HUGE stuff going on, but this had equal emotional weight to all of that. I mean I totally understand that this triangle is the focal point of the show and this is a teen drama so of course this stuff seems just as huge, it just felt odd and like too much to me tonight. I really felt for Stefan, though, wow!

Klaus was annoying tonight. Please stop whining about your family and be a majestic kingly vampire instead okay?

And lastly...yay Elijah! That was a GREAT comeback!

The Secret Circle

I really liked this episode! It gave me Harry Potter vibes again, with the flashback to their parents' deaths. I love Jake, I can't help it, and I'm annoyed by it because I ship him with Cassie but the show already told me that ADAM AND CASSIE ARE WRITTEN IN THE STARS. I'm annoyed by how often Melissa gets shipped off to Seattle and how they have no storyline for her anymore, when she's around she's always propping someone else. I hope they fix that. But seriously I liked this episode.

It was pretty sad to see Jake's parents die and that scene where his mom was begging for help was just...perfect and sad. I like that Cassie is trying to figure this stuff out about her father and that we learned some details..i.e. he's still alive! And I like Diana and Adam working together. I thought Faye's story line was pretty interesting, the way she's isolated from the circle which automatically puts her in danger, and I wondered if drug guy could be Cassie's dad? Not sure he's old enough.

Loved Ethan tonight! I thought that was one of the most interesting developments of all, he was such a sad sop before, but he's got a little spark. And I guess the fact that he was on the scene of the fire...maybe he was more drawn to magic then he let on before, maybe it wasn't the deaths of all the people he loved that drove him to drink, but the loss of his magic. He seemed like a whole new person with the crystal. I just thought this episode was really tight, and the Adam and Diana relationship stuff in the middle of it didn't feel ridiculous and out of place like Elena telling Stefan about the kiss did in the Vampire Diaries. I feel like Thomas and Shelley really sell those scenes, and I guess I kind of appreciate how much emotional weight the show puts into their relationship.

There are all these things I really like about the show, I like, for example, that when they needed a shocking death they killed a boy instead of a girl. I like that the cast has more females than males, I like how important the girls friendships are to each other and that you can have really great scenes like the one last week between Diana and Melissa where they talk about how their friendship sort of faded away. I feel like the Adam and Diana relationship is so well handled, and I love that it hasn't been glossed over or tossed aside but that it's a genuine struggle the way those things really are. It doesn't have the same shocking fast moving plot of The Vampire Diaries, but I still love it and look forward to it each week.

And you guys? What did you think?