The Vampire Diaries

Season 1 Episode 3

Friday Night Bites

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7.7
out of 10
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534 votes
9

EPISODE REVIEWS
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Episode Summary

Bonnie warns Elena about Stefan. Tyler attempts to humiliate Stefan but it backfires as Stefan catches and passes the ball back, winning everyone over. Damon and Caroline gate crash any plans Elena had for Stefan and Bonnie to get along.

FAN RECAP

Fan Episode Reviews (9)

SUBMIT REVIEW

  • Perfection!

    10
    By AnilThornberry, Sep 20, 2011
    One word: Perfection!

    Now that it has been 3 weeks, I am 100% hooked. It's a breath taking show that keeps getting better & better.



    Pefect story lines. Glad that we're slowly learning more about Stefan and Damon's past. So Damon was in love with Kathreen too? Wow, just wow!!!

    He DOES have human inside him but he is just too stubborn to show it to his brother...but as the episodes/seasons go on we will see that Damon.



    P.S. The blond girl(forgot the name) has got to die...she's too annoying. Can't believe they would even make her one of the main cast members.moreless

  • This episode got even hotter than the other episodes

    9.5
    By AJsok2003, Sep 20, 2011
    I thought that it was cool thst elena is enjoying her time with stefan. but she has not forgotten her friend bonnie and Now ever since bonnie got a bad feel on stefan she has felt like to not be near him. i liked that she did get to know him a little more by being invited to dinner at elena's house. All three of them trying to get used to eachother. And damon again trying to ruin stefan's life as always. and also seeing him in elena's dream was very scary o will admit. but still very hot indeed.moreless

  • Starting to get better, from a fan of the books perspective.

    8.5
    By Reiddy81, Sep 20, 2011
    Having read the books i was initially disappointed by the changes they made turning it into a tv show. Little things like removing key characters such as Meredith and changing Elena's 10yr old sister to a teenage brother, or things like making Matt and Vicky siblings. And the revealing of the vampires so soon- Vicky to Matt in the hospital. But after watching this episode and The next one i am actually starting to like the changes they have made. I don't think of it as THE Vampire diaries so much though. Still the show in itself is good viewing, and this episode really ties the Characters key personalities into place.

    -I read another review that wondered about Caroline's place in the show, well to answer him in the books Caroline was Elena's friend through school, but was always jealous and competing against her, and when Stefan arrives in town she sets out to destroy Elena's reputation and life. The first 3 episodes have portrayed that change perfectly.

    -Matt, broken hearted initially despises Stefan but bonds and becomes friends with him over football. Again this is portrayed great. Lastly *spoiler alert* In the books Damon did not attack Vicky It was always assumed that it was him. It wasn't until the 2nd or 3rd book that he even meets Vicky. And it is then that it is revealed as such. So i am wondering if they are going to bring Katherine into the story as the books do or whether they are going to keep this as a brother vs brother with a girl in the middle story, which also begs the question is Taylor going to be a werewolf, and is Elena going to submit to Damon and Stefan and be turned?????moreless

  • Great developments.

    8.2
    By Parricida, Sep 20, 2011
    I really liked the way story is developing. I mean, they are really starting to get the main things (or at least they seems to be important) out. I mean.. the Cathrine thing starts to get more and more out and explain the tensions between brothers. Specially as there still seems to be much human left to the "bad" brother and all his actions came much much clearer in this episode.



    And also all the developments around Bonnie. Those "insights" or how to call them. Knowing where things are and knowing what will happen. That, for sure, will come useful later.



    The only thing what I maybe did not like.. was the football. Why those things always have to get back to football and cheerleading? Probably the dislike comes as it has been used so so much.. ok.. it is part of so many people's life too but.. I do not know. I just felt that I did not like that..moreless

  • Kickoff time in mystic Falls

    9.5
    By onebuffchick, Sep 20, 2011
    If last week's ep moved at a slow pace, this week's made up for it in the speed department. But it was still very good. Right off the bat, we get to see what became of Caroline's end encounter with Damon last week. Sure enough, dude bit her, and he's evidently freaking her out. And from the way the ep opened this week, he's not about to let her go that easily. At least she doesn't seem to be turned....yet. But he's def putting the trance whammy on her, same as he did with Vicki. But his intentions with Caroline still seem trivial compared to his growing obsession for Elena.



    Fortunately, by ep's end we have gotten more info into Damon's grand plans. He is hellbent on destroying Stefan - be it getting him out of his life for good, or bringing him back to his "animalistic" ways by being the vampire he is meant to be. But Stefan will not budge. In fact, he even pleads with Damon that there is still some basic humanity left inside him that cares. And by the ep's end, despite the horrific incident involving Damon and Mr. Tanner, too bad for Stefan, we see that there actually is. That was kind of a powerful last scene there: Stefan writing in his journal about Damon's humanity totally gone and labeling him a pure monster, when Damon showed signs indicating otherwise while he strokes a sleeping Elena's cheeks. Not to mention his and Elena's discussion over Katherine, something that clearly struck a nerve with him. I love it when bad guys have feelings, too! To further complicate things, Damon has now been invited into Elena's house, once more giving him more leverage over Stefan. Damon is also not wasting any time. He makes a surprisingly fast couple of maneuvers toward Elena, the last of which results in her slapping away his advancement to kiss her - thanks to a tactic used by Stefan by giving her a necklace with vervain inside, which is evidently used as a repellant against the vampire trance whammy thingy. So while Damon seems to be rushing into his plans for Elena, Stefan is applying a few tricks of his own to stay ahead in the game. Or at least trying to.



    Stefan's decision to join the football team was touching, as well as Elena's to rejoin cheerleading. He's really making an effort to connect with her through their mutual loneliness, and it's working. Although she ends up quitting the cheerleading gig, she still encourages him and he accepts her decision, but also encourages her in return to move on. She really genuinely feels for him and she even goes so far as to invite him to dinner with her and Bonnie so that Bonnie can get to know him as well. Of course, Bonnie is a little skeptical toward the hottie, especially given the weird psychic vibe she got from him last week. And with good reason, I suppose. Seems Bonnie is getting more in tune with her abilities than she realizes. And even more, we finally get a glimpse of what she saw in her vision regarding Stefan: coldness, like death. Girl is good, whether she realizes it or not. Also, she gets the freaky symbolic thing going on with this whole seeing numbers deal. We don't know the actual significance of such yet, but it still begs the question: what's up with the numbers 8, 14, and 22? And as a matter of fact, she sees said numbers at the end of the ep, cue the obligatory wig out on her part after the fact, and it still leaves us with the above burning question. Bottom line is I was happy to see some of Bonnie's psychic thing come to some fruition sooner rather than later since I remarked last week that it was driving me crazy not knowing what she was seeing in these visions of hers. Aside from that, her interaction with Stefan proved fairly enjoyable. Especially the implied historical note between them, meaning he finds out her witchy lineage derived from Salem and not druidic. Since he's a kind of history buff (so to speak) it will be interesting to watch how his relationship with Bonnie will unfold once these two histories collide. Perhaps there was something there in their pasts? Can't wait to see.



    The whole Vicki/Jeremy/Tyler thing was kinda stale this week, Tyler bullies Jeremy into staying away from Vicki, Vicki playing to both sides, yada yada....But that's not to say it didn't go anywhere. Vicki needs to get over herself. Jeremy, messed up as he is, cares for Vicki very much whereas she sees him as merely a sort of safety net when things get hairy with Tyler but conveniently tries to hide the fact, and /or she needs a quick fix of drugs. However, this changes when she admits to Jeremy that it wasn't just the drugs that drew her to him. So maybe there's some hope after all, for both of them. Tyler, being the ass hat that he is, shifted his focus onto Stefan this round. Sure, he had that nasty fight with Jeremy toward the end, but he also taunted and bullied Stefan on the side. I guess it's a bully's natural instinct: he sees these guys, Jeremy and Stefan, as threats to his current love interests (Vicki and football, respectively), therefore the logical thing to do is rough them up a bit. He may have a bit of a lead over Jeremy, but Stefan's a different story. I was thrilled to see Matt finally get pissed at Ty and tell him off. How any of this will change the creep is hard to say right now, but it will come back on him.



    Speaking of Matt, he had quite the round himself this week. I'm really loving this character. Okay, yes, he's one of my faves in the hotness department, which does help, but he's really much more than that to me. Most obvious, he's still got feelings for Elena, thanks to his little slip o' the tongue about so to Tyler. But in the end, he is able to accept Stefan into the team as well as into Elena's heart. His concern to Jeremy regarding Vicki was cool, and his eruption on Tyler over Ty's meanness was awesome. And as if all this wasn't enough, he's the one who finds Tanner's body after Damon bites him, which will undoubtedly bring back his feeling of something eerie going on in town. This makes him a very well-rounded character with so much on his plate to deal with. I'm very intrigued with how Matt in particular will fit into the overall arcs as he seems to have some connection to each.



    Odds and Ends:

    - No Zach or Jenna this week. Bummer.

    - I don't know why, but the title to this episode just tickled me. Very cute and clever.

    - Still down with the soundtrack, especially the last song during the closing montage ('Temptation' by Moby). Very nice choice and it fit neatly with the closing of the ep.



    Overall, I was very satisfied with the faster pacing and structure of this episode. As such, I'm gonna give it a 9.5. Next week looks as if the good peeps of Mystic Falls throw a party, and Damon steps up his game plan against Stefan. It's getting good....moreless
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Cast & Crew: STARS

Nina Dobrev

Nina Dobrev

Elena Gilbert
Paul Wesley

Paul Wesley

Stefan Salvatore
Ian Somerhalder

Ian Somerhalder

Damon Salvatore
Zach Roerig

Zach Roerig

Matt Donovan
Steven R. McQueen

Steven R. McQueen

Jeremy Gilbert
Michael Trevino

Michael Trevino

Tyler Lockwood
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Cast & Crew: RECURRING AND GUESTS

Ben Ayres

Ben Ayres

Mr. Tanner

Guest Star

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Trivia, Notes, Quotes and Allusions

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  • TRIVIA (2)

    • Goof: When Elena gets the serving spoons out of the drawer, she takes out two wooden utensils. However, when Bonnie takes them from her, there is only one spoon, and it is made of metal.

    • Goof: When Elena is eating dinner with Bonnie and Stefan, she is wearing a long necklace. When the camera cuts to Elena at one point, the necklace is tighter against her neck like a choker. Later, when the camera cuts back to her again, the necklace is loose around her neck.

  • QUOTES (18)

    • Elena: We're a pair. I quit, you start.
      Stefan: Great. We're a work in progress. We'll figure it out.

    • Stefan: (voiceover) I thought there was hope, that somewhere deep inside, something in Damon was still human, normal. But I was wrong. There's nothing human left in Damon...no good, no kindness, no love. Only a monster who must be stopped.

    • Elena: The bad mojo, when you touched Stefan and you had that reaction...
      Bonnie: You know what? Forget I said that. Your little dinner party plot totally won me over.
      Elena: No Bonnie, seriously, what was it? Did you see something, or...
      Bonnie: It wasn't clear like a picture. Like today, I keep seeing those same numbers I told you about...eight, fourteen, twenty-two.
      Elena: Yeah...
      Bonnie: When I touched Stefan, it was a feeling. And it vibrated through me, and it was cold, and...
      Elena: And what?
      Bonnie: It was death...it's what I imagine death to be like.

    • Stefan: (voiceover) There must be a shred of humanity left inside my brother...somewhere. I keep hoping. But how do I make him see it? And how do I protect her?

    • Stefan: It's time for you to go.
      Damon: That's not a problem. Because I've been invited in. And I'll come back tomorrow... and the following night.

    • Stefan: They are people, Damon. She's not a puppet, she doesn't exist for your amusement, for you to feed on whenever you want to.
      Damon: Sure she does. They all do. They're whatever I want them to be.

    • Stefan: I've played football before. Wide receiver mostly, I'm pretty good.

    • Bonnie: I touched Stefan and I got a really bad feeling.

    • Elena: There's more to me than just gloomy graveyard girl.

    • Damon: (On Stefan's journal) Very Emerson, the way you reveal your soul. So many... adjectives.

    • Stefan: I'm not too versed, but I do know that there's a history of Celtic druids that migrated here in the 1800's
      Bonnie      : My family came by way of Salem.
      Stefan      : Really? Salem witches?
      Bonnie      : Yeah.
      Stefan      : I'd say that's pretty cool.
      Bonnie      : Really? Why?
      Stefan: Salem witches are heroic examples of individualism and non-conformity.

    • Elena: Some things could matter again.
      Damon: Maybe. But it seems a little unrealistic to me.

    • Elena: (To Damon) Let's get one thing straight: I am not Katherine.

    • Tyler: Football is a contact sport. Sometimes, people get hurt.

    • Stefan: Katherine is dead and you hate me because you loved her... and you torture me because you still do...

    • Damon: Guess I could just seduce her the old fashioned way. Or I could just… eat her.

    • (Damon drives up with Caroline)
      Bonnie: That must be the mystery guy from the Grill.
      Elena: That's not a mystery guy. That's Damon Salvatore.
      Bonnie: Salvatore? As in Stefan?
      Caroline: (to Elena) I got the other brother. Hope you don't mind.

    • Stefan: (To Damon)Kill me! You've had lifetimes to do it, and yet, here I am.

  • NOTES (3)

    • Original International Air Dates:
      Latin America: Thursday, November 5, 2009 on Warner Channel
      Norway: Wednesday, January 13, 2010 on TVNorge
      Germany: Wednesday, February 3, 2010 on ProSieben
      United Kingdom: Tuesday, February 9, 2010 on ITV2
      Sweden: Thursday, February 18, 2010 on TV6
      India: Thursday, November 11, 2010 on Zee Cafe
      Slovakia: Sunday, November 14, 2010 on Markiza
      Poland: Tuesday, January 4, 2011 on TVN
      Turkey: Saturday, April 9, 2011 on CNBC-e
      Czech Republic: Monday, June 4, 2012 on TV Nova

    • Featured Music:
      "Slow Poison" by The Bravery
      "Blue Day" by Darker My Love
      "Starstrukk" by 3OH!3
      "Strange Times" by The Black Keys
      "Can't Fight It" by Oh Mercy
      "You're a Wolf" by Sea Wolf
      "Papillon" by The Airborne Toxic Event
      "Temptation" by Moby

    • Although credited, Sara Canning (Jenna) didn't appear in this episode. This is the first episode without all the regular actors.

  • ALLUSIONS (4)

    • Bonnie: (to Elena) You explain it. Last night, I'm watching Nine-Oh. Commercial break comes on, and I'm like, 'I bet it's that film commercial.'

      This is a reference to the CW series 90210, which debuted in 2008. The show is a remake of the original Beverly Hills, 90210 series than ran from 1990 to 2000.

    • Damon: (reading Stefan's journal) Very Emerson, the way you reveal your soul. So many...adjectives.

      This is a reference to the famous poet and philosopher, Ralph Waldo Emerson. He was one of the leaders of the early 1800s Transcendentalist movement. With his 1936 essay, Nature, Emerson helped usher in a new age of social and religious beliefs.

    • The title is also a reference to Friday Night Lights, a TV show centered around a football team and its coach.

    • The title Friday Night Bites is also a book by Chloe Neill about vampires.

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Ep 22
Founder's Day
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Isobel
Ep 20
Blood Brothers
Ep 19
Miss Mystic Falls
Ep 18
Under Control
Ep 17
Let the Right One In
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162 Candles
Ep 7
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Friday Night Bites
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The Night of the Comet
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