The Vampire Diaries 4.01 ‘Growing Pains’ Review

It’s been a long summer since the big twist in The Vampire Diaries season three finale, but we are back in Mystic Falls to see the huge impact that this event has had. As expected there are some furrowed brows and the big theme of this premiere is choice; the choice Stefan (Paul Wesley) made when he saved Matt (Zach Roerig) first and the choice that Elena (Nina Dobrev) has to make between survival and death. Did the season premiere match up to the dramatic season finale?

Returning episodes are often table setters; they have to remind us what happened at the end of the previous year as well as propel the story forward. Killing Elena with vampire blood in her system is an incredibly bold move and while I think the process of her transition was handled well, it didn’t have the wow factor that I have come to expect from this show. As Damon (Ian Somerhalder) states at the start Elena needs to feed or die and so trying to find other options to save her felt like delaying the inevitable. The portrayal of Elena’s disorientation and discomfort with light and sound was well done, as was the process of Elena nearing death with her raspy breathing and pale skin (this is somewhat reminiscent of when Katherine was stuck in the tomb).

Elena got to have big conversations with both Salvatore brothers and one that has been much anticipated is what Elena would do when she remembers the Damon compulsion moments. The first meeting between Elena and Damon is the one that she wants to talk about, it is the one with the least emotion attached to it and as he finds out it wouldn’t have made a difference as to which brother Elena picked. The other incident is the one we get to see Elena remembering and by having her watch this as an unseen spectator, rather than just seeing the old clip was an inspired move. Elena doesn’t bring this up, Damon does and it is clear that this memory has moved her. Of course Damon would have saved Elena first and this is a fundamental difference between Stefan and Damon and there is going to be plenty of disagreements in the near future when it comes to what kind of vampire Elena will be.

It’s all about choice once again and as Elena thinks that she might really be dying she explains to Stefan (as the strings of the Stefan and Elena love theme is playing) that the reason she was on the bridge was because she chose him and she doesn’t regret a thing. Stefan and Elena seem pretty solid at this point and during their rooftop chat at the end of the episode, especially as Ripper Stefan is dormant at the moment. The main variable is Elena herself and how much her new self will impact their relationship now that everything is heightened. Hope could be Elena and Stefan’s theme; she kept hope for him last season when he went all Ripper-time and on this occasion he held it for her, Elena lets Stefan know this is all she ever wanted him to have.

The quest to find another way to save Elena felt like it was servicing Bonnie’s (Kat Graham) storyline and one positive thing to come out of this is that it doesn’t look like magic will be the simple solution to every problem they now encounter. This trip into darkness could also give Bonnie the story that she deserves as the writers have struggled with Bonnie’s position in the show. Kat Graham is particularly impressive when she gets to do the more heavy side of the witch world and so this is an exciting prospect. It’s heartbreaking what happens to Grams (Jasmine Guy), even if we can’t be sure if this is the real Grams (those spirits can be tricksters after all).

So the council is no more?! That was an unexpected twist at the end, which made the whole group appear to be very cult like. Why did Pastor Young (Michael Reilly Burke) commit such a desperate act? Young’s attempt to stop the vampires of Mystic Falls failed, but this is an extreme reaction to this failure. The role of the council had become somewhat muddled as two of the prominent members (Mayor Lockwood and Sheriff Forbes) are no longer against all vampires, so will a new group be formed to protect the town from the bad supernatural forces?

Brief Thoughts:

-The Tyler/Klaus body swap didn’t last as long as I expected and there weren’t too many Freaky Friday moments and hopefully Caroline (Candice Accola) has got over the little indiscretion in the woods. Nice catch by Miss Forbes on Klaus’ (Joseph Morgan) use of love. Michael Trevino did a wonderful job of portraying Klaus, particularly with his annoyance that Carol (Susan Walters) repeatedly was phoning her son.

-We are reminded that Klaus will do anything to get what he wants and that includes rip the heart out of the body he is currently in. It’s unclear what Klaus’ role will be the season as his last supply of Elena’s blood has been destroyed by Rebekah (Claire Holt) and he has rejected his sister. Rebekah is also is short of friends, especially as she was the one who caused the car crash. Rebekah’s help with the ‘feed Elena’ mission might score her a few friend points. The subtle shift from Rebekah wanting Elena dead, to this point of help occurred as she listened to Stefan and Elena’s conversation; even if Rebekah has wanted Elena out of the picture for a long time, she’s also a romantic at heart.

-Another person who is in need of a friend or two is Matt (is it wrong that I kind of want to see Rebekah and Matt together?) as he blames himself for what happened to Elena and Damon most definitely agrees with this. Matt is told by Stefan in a less than kind way that he should be thankful that he is alive and for the sacrifice that Elena made, though I’m not sure if this will be enough to get him out of this funk.

-The first time we see Elena in full vamp mode is when she saves Matt from Damon’s rage. It’s a great moment and even though we have seen Dobrev in full vampire action before as Katherine, this feels very new and it’s going to take time getting used to.

-Meredith (Torrey DeVitto) didn’t have all that much to do, but it sure is good to still have her around as DeVitto lights up the screen.

While this felt like an episode that could have done with the kind of big moments that we have come to expect from The Vampire Diaries, there are plenty of smaller personal ones that make this season 4 premiere far from disappointing overall. We couldn’t go from Elena in transition, to Elena the vampire in the space of five minutes so I understand why the process took longer. Choice will continue to be a major factor this season starting with what blood Elena drink and even though she is with Stefan now, we don’t know what vampire Elena will desire in the future. Bonnie too has an interesting path ahead of her after she meddled with the dark side of magic.

What did you think? Did you enjoy the episode? Were you disappointed with any of the decisions that characters made? Let us know your thoughts in the comments section below.

Next week; a new threat comes to town and Elena has trouble adjusting to her vampire diet.  Watch a preview for the October 18 episode.