Plot
It started out slow, but I ended up really enjoying this episode. It didn't have the old, tired, boring, worn out feel that some of the last episodes in Season 4 suffered from, and as well as being fast-paced and snappy it was intriguing and suspenseful. I particularly liked the introduction of Megan only to kill her - I didn't see that coming, which is always a good sign. I will be disappointed if the vampire does turn out to be Jesse, though, because that's a bit too predictable. Bonnie's ghost lingering around is the only thing which feels a little bit stupid and unnessecary - and Silas is finally living up to his reputation as 'oh-so-terrible-most-terrifying-being-ever' because before, all he'd done was... wait, what did he actually do last season? Oh, right. Nothing at all. So at least he's now finally doing stuff.
Character Development
I think it's a big step in the lives of Caroline and Elena to be sending them off to college. It's usually hard for a show which starts in high school to pull off the move, but so far so good, and I'll be interested to see how they cope with things without their army of helpers around them. Bonnie's character is not developing, because she's dead. I think they need to move on and let her be dead. Depressingly, that never actually happens in this show (except with Aunt Jenna, who everyone forgot about instantly) and so Bonnie will probably float around as a ghost until someone finds a way to bring her back to life again. Ugh.
Music
I remember noticing a few moments - notably the sadder, more slow scenes had the better music, which is something that often happens. Nothing particularly outstanding here though.
Acting
A big problem for me in this show is that Katherine and Elena often feel very similar - and I had that problem again with this episode. I know that one of them is human and one of them's a vampire, and also that one is evil and the other is not. If there's so much difference between them I should be able to tell them apart, right? Yeah, well, I can't. They feel too similar. I hope that improves. In terms of Stefan and Silas (also the same actor) though, I was really impressed. Silas feels nothing like Stefan (even evil Stefan) and he really has that incredibly menacing, psychopathic personality tied to the friendly and familiar face - it's extremely well done.
Scenery
Oh, I was so happy to get out of Mystic Falls. Yay, uni/college! In fact I think that was the big reason I enjoyed this episode - the change of scenery really did it for me. I know last season they spent some time on an island (where the hell was that island supposed to be, anyway?) but it still felt like the same tired, boring old place. The college was new and exciting and I liked it a lot. Other than that, same old places in Mystic Falls.
Sexism
I didn't really notice a lot. There were a ton of cliches, but not much sexism. Cool.
Bechdel Test
1. It includes at least two women, (Yes)
2. who have at least one conversation, (Yes)
3. about something other than a man or men. (Yes)
Caroline and Elena were together most of the time in this episode, and had lots of conversations about their female roommate. It was a very clear and easy pass. 3/3
2. who have at least one conversation, (Yes)
3. about something other than a man or men. (Yes)
Caroline and Elena were together most of the time in this episode, and had lots of conversations about their female roommate. It was a very clear and easy pass. 3/3