TV Review: THE VAMPIRE DIARIES: Season 6, Episode 2: Yellow Ledbetter [The CW]

The CW’s The Vampire Diaries Yellow Ledbetter TV Show Review. The Vampire Diaries: Season 6, Episode 2: Yellow Ledbetter takes a page from the classic Twilight Zone TV series. Damon Salvatore (Ian Somerhalder) and Bonnie Bennett (Kat Graham) find themselves in Mystic Falls…the 1994 version. I was expecting them to be surrounded by immense heat and the smell of rotting corpses but this is much more interesting.

You have to give the writers credit they have proven time and time again that they really know how to keep this show moving. Opening a scene with Damon gulping bourbon and making pancakes while grooving to “Whatta Man” will be remembered for some time. If this is death…it looks pretty darn cool. Bonnie enters holding a teddy bear and is mildly amused by his music selection and cooking style. I hate to admit it but these two have an interesting screen chemistry going on. Both still not knowing why they have landed where they have but doing their best to make it work while they figure it out. Bonnie, after visiting her old house finds her grandmother’s grimoire and decides to try and teach herself magic again. Everything is fun and games till a crossword puzzle she was working on has an answer filled in…and she didn’t do it. Yes, it appears there is someone else with them. Who can it be? Another well played twist and I can’t wait to see where this is heading.

Elena Gilbert (Nina Dobrev), is going to give herself a nervous breakdown. The plan was to erase her love for Damon. This process is a little more complicated than splashing some whiteout over a string of misbehaving text. Alaric Saltzman (Matthew Davis) has agreed to help with this eraser using a combination of hypnotherapy and memory reprocessing techniques. Watching Elena pour out all she could about the past to Alaric was informative but I kept feeling she was holding something else back. I think deep down inside Alaric could sense it too. When Elena got frustrated to the point of wanting to quit, Alaric makes a call to Caroline Forbes (Candice Accola) who tells him to get her to admit she fell in love with Damon while she was with Stefan Salvatore (Paul Wesly). To me this solution had a very simple feel to it but it made sense. When it worked and Alaric asks her who Damon is again, we are treated to a satisfying payoff. She has forgotten what her and Damon were to one another. It didn’t have the impact I thought it would but for the sake of story…it worked well. With Damon and bonnie shifted back in time, there still may be a chance for them to make it back. If this does happen, how can Alaric bring back these memories?

Stefan can’t seem to get a little peace. He has a boss that’s working hard to push his buttons and Ivy (Emily Chang), his new love interest trying to become more relevant in his life. All of this tipped beyond the boiling point during an unforgettable dinner with Caroline and Enzo (Michael Malarkey). I felt sorry for Ivy sitting at that table with all the dialogue going around her. The poor girl never really stood a chance in a den with vampires. I found it pretty interesting that both Caroline and Enzo couldn’t respect Stefan’s wish to handle the situation that way he saw fit. They just decided they were going to force him to feel the way they felt was appropriate. The fight between Damon and Enzo won’t soon be forgotten. Though I enjoyed the fight I am curious why Stefan didn’t just kill him. He should have been able to see Enzo was going to be more than a handful. He allowed him to live and Ivy’s neck got snapped and Enzo got away. Consequences but it all moves the story forward. Killing Ivy will force Stefan to come after Enzo, which will lead him back home.

We are two episodes in and I must say there are a lot of interesting story bits at work. Tripp Cooke (Colin Ferguson) has made a very hot entrance into the dance. He appeared as a harmless character in the first episode of season 6. Witnessing him burning up vampires in the back of his vehicle tells us he is going to be a very dangerous player. It also places a target on his forehead. This makes me wonder how much damage is Tripp going to get away with before the main vampires figure out who is making barbecue out of their kind?

Leave your thoughts on this review and this episode of The Vampire Diaries below in the comments section. For more The Vampire Diaries reviews, photos, videos, and information, visit our The Vampire Diaries Page, subscribe to us by Email, “follow” us on Twitter, Tumblr, or “like” us on Facebook.