Klaus, Part 1 of 2 - Ye Olde Vamps

Elijah returns from the dead to fill us in on his life when he was undead. Among the many “OMG” moments, the biggest reveal is that he and his brother Klaus created the Sun and Moon curse. Yeah, that’s right: the thing that everyone’s been focusing on, everyone’s been in pursuit of … it’s all a red herring. The real curse is Klaus-specific: he’s actually half-vampire, half-werewolf, but witches have suppressed the werewolf side of him. Klaus wants to break the curse so he can access both the werewolf and the vampire within. Before he can break the curse, Klaus first is transferred back into his original body – but not before using his Alaric costume to raise some hell and fill Jenna in on the existence of vampires.

We start off the episode with Elijah’s lifeless form. He’s looking a little worse for wear after Damon’s attempt at blowtorching him.

Fortunately, Elijah uses his powers of compulsion for good: a quick visit to the Lockwood home to borrow a suit from the late Mr. Mayor Lockwood. For a guy who, until a few minutes prior, had a giant silver dagger in his chest, he’s looking pretty sharp. I can see why Elena was more than happy to give her word to return as soon as possible.

As good as he is at dressing in modern garb, Elijah’s medieval looks were a little lacking. You can barely see his top in this high-resolution picture from the CW’s website.

His daywear is only slightly better. Elijah, how can you expect to steal women from your brother when you’re wearing shirts the color of rich soil?

By contrast, here’s what Klaus rocks the first time Katerina sees him: a rich blue velvet tunic that makes him look like royalty. Standing next to him, Elijah looks like his manservant.

In another flashback, we learn that vampires have always loved leather jackets. Check out Klaus’s very cool – and slightly bedazzled – jacket.

He  chooses to accent it with a shirt that has been artfully stained by the blood of the innocent; always a good choice. The red really makes the billowy white top and black jacket pop.

While wearing his Alaric costume, Klaus does the most he can with Safari Sam’s wardrobe. Per usual, he follows the vampire code with a dark button down shirt that stretches across his well-muscled torso.

He even manages to dig out a dark - but, I'm pretty sure, not leather - jacket to wear in the always cold Mystic Falls.

When he walks into his apartment, you can actually see the light tan jacket Alaric was wearing when he was captured hanging on a coat rack.

You have to hand it to Klaus: he is a very considerate house guest and host. Not only does he make sure to take care of Alaric's wardrobe, he gives Katherine a break from stabbing herself in the leg. When we next see her, she's been given a change of clothes, some eye makeup, and a curling iron.

What's most impressive is how well he knows her style - look at the boots he picked up for her.

Stiletto booties? Yeah, must be Katherine. This was a great episode for Katherine. We got to see the young, almost sweet 1492 Katerina England version of her. She giggled, you guys. Katherine giggled. And not flirtatiously, but like, genuinely. It kind of freaked me out. She was wearing an older version of her Katherine hair - lots of curls, although much tighter ones to be era-appropriate. She was also wearing a gorgeous gown in a very Elena color when we first saw her.

My favorite part, though, is Katerina's jewelry. I kind of need this necklace immediately.

The next day, when she's busy angsting to Elijah about his way hotter brother, Katerina wears a very pretty green dress. This makes me very happy, as I love green and I love when brunettes wear dark greens (not to make this all about me, but I'm wearing a very similarly colored top right now).

But seriously, how young and innocent does she look? Poor Katerina. She has no idea she's about to be made into a sacrifice, only to vamp herself at the last minute. Then again, she becomes all kinds of awesome after that, so it's not like things are so tough for her.

Klaus, Part 2 of 2 - Young Vamps & Loves

When Jen told all the editors she wanted to expand the site to feature other shows, I suggested Vampire Diaries. In my head, it was a great idea - there are so many leather jackets, so many Somersmoulders, so much snark potential! The only problem is, once I started watching a show solely for the clothes I started to realize that apparently, all vampires ever wear are plain dark t-shirts or button downs with dark jeans.

To venture out into the town, Damon goes with a collared black leather jacket - a slight variation on his standard black leather motorcycle jacket.

Don't get me wrong, black leather is a good look for the Somerhalder. I'm just saying, after 100+ years, wouldn't you want to switch it up occasionally? Maybe throw in a royal blue or a dark maroon?

Or not.

Meanwhile, Stefan has noticed the striking lack of mancandy in the past couple episodes. To rectify this issue, he's decided to hunt for Elijah in his undershirt. As we all know, an undershirt and a bloodbag dipped in white oak ash is the best way to lure out a missing original.

Stefan, doing his very best Edward Cullen impression. Dead-eyed and brooding, but with impressively gelled hair.

Elena, whose wardrobe is normally full of cute tops, is kind of looking blah this week. The dark blue is nice, but it doesn't really do anything for her. I like the cream leather jacket - pretty much the same as her black one, only, y'know, cream - but it would have worked better with one of the red tops she favors.

And can we talk for a second about her hair this episode? Normally I'm obsessed with it, but it's looking a little flat and lifeless this week. On the whole, Elena's looking a little worse for wear. I can't imagine why. It's not as if there's a werewolf/vampire hybrid intent on killing her so he can take over the world or anything.

Speaking of looking worse for wear, Jenna returns this week. She is, of course, indignant that the orphaned teenagers she's supposed to be watching but instead abandoned aren't where she last left them. Elena's finally remembered that Alaric and Jenna are an item, so she leaves a frantic voicemail for Jenna warning her to stay away from him.

Jenna has already made plans to grab coffee with Alaric. She has inexplicably decided that this batwing grey top is the best outfit for the occasion.

I mean, really. If you're confronting your boyfriend about failing to disclose his wife's not-completely-dead state, is this the outfit you'd pick? The whole point of such a meeting is to look ridicuously hot, not like you're cleaning the house on the weekends.

Okay, enough lackluster clothing. Andie has really become the unsung sartorial hero since she first appeared as Damon's snack pack. Look at our intrepid girl reporter's business chic. She's wearing the same neutrals as everone else, but at least it's all well-tailored and the dark grey top has a really lovely purple tinge to it.

She's had to be very creative with her scarves, but Andie's really made the scarf thing work. It looks less like she's covering a hickey and more like she's just really awesome at accessorizing. The python print scarf is pretty spectacular on its own, but when paired with her Girl Friday trench coat (ideal for breaking into apartments with her emotionally withholding boyfriend), Andie looks amazing. I want a spinoff starring Andie as a paranormal investigator.

Later, Damon sends her away so he can pout and sulk. Of course, being downright plucky, Andie decides that "Go away" means "Go to my room and strip down in a misguided attempt at conveying that someone cares about me, which is seriously the last thing I want at this moment in time."

So, not the best plan. But at least she does it in a very cute bra and panties set, the highlight being the very cute little bows on the straps.

Oh, Andie, I'll miss you when you inevitably end up as collateral damage.

Klaus's henchwitch Greta is making this recap purely in the hopes that Bonnie is reading it (yes, I realize she's fictional, but I can still hold out hope). See, Bonnie? It's possible to dress well and be a witch. Good fashion and witchcraft is not the kind of imbalance of power that Nature frowns upon.

I love her whole look - so very badass. I would love to see Bonnie adopt at least some of her rocker look now that she's back from the dead. Fewer flowy layers and Earth motherness, more stiletto heels and metal accents.

On second thought, it would give me one fewer thing to snark on, so ... keep up the good work there, Bonnie. Leave the hot witch gear to Greta.

Mini Recap: Klaus

We finally get to see Klaus in all his debonair, quietly evil glory. As it turns out, the Sun and Moon Curse has been a giant hoax ... which means that now the fun can really start.

Best Outfit
It's tough to choose between Elijah's perfectly-tailored suit (formerly owned by Mayor Lockwood) or Katerina's gorgeous gowns, but I have to go with Katerina's rich green and burgundy dresses on this one.

Leather Jacket of the Week
Klaus's medieval leather jacket proves that a vampire's love of cowhide is timeless.

"I believe the term you're searching for is ... OMG."
The quote might be in reference to the fact that he's Klaus's brother, but I still can't decide what was more shocking: that Klaus is half vampire/half werewolf, or that he gave Katherine a curling iron.

Stating the Obvious, by Damon Salvatore
"That might be your plan. Mine's better."

Check back on Sunday for a full recap by me, Amanda!