Isobel (Episode)

Isobel is the twenty-first episode of the first season of The Vampire Diaries and the twenty-first episode of the series overall.
==Summary==
ISOBEL RETURNS TO MYSTIC FALLS — Isobel returns to town and stuns Alaric with her vampire attitude, and demands that Alaric arranges a meeting with her daughter Elena. When mother and daughter finally meet, Isobel refuses to answer most of Elena's questions, but reveals that she will stop at nothing to find the mysterious invention that John Gilbert has been searching for. Isobel's dangerous actions lead Stefan, Damon and Bonnie to step in and help Elena deal with the situation.
==Plot==
Isobel surprises Alaric with her new cynical and cruel attitude. She demands he arranges a meeting with Elena; despite her seemingly indifferent attitude towards him, she seems to have some affection.
When the mother and daughter finally meet, Isobel refuses to answer most of Elena's questions, though reveals she is looking for the mysterious invention John Gilbert has been seeking. Isobel shows no form of love towards Elena, seemingly indifferent to her daughter. Learning Damon has the device, she orders Elena to obtain it and threatens to kill everyone Elena knows if she refuses.
It eventually turns out that both John and Isobel are working with Katherine. Isobel reveals this when she tries to intimidate Damon into giving her the device, but he refuses, and in return threatens her. Isobel resorts to kidnapping Jeremy to force Elena's hand, which Damon reluctantly does so. However, Bonnie offers to remove the spell from the device so it will not kill vampires.
Elena gives the device to Isobel, who reveals she knew Damon would give it up because he loves Elena. Throughout the episode, Damon (correctly) theorizes that John is, in fact, Elena's biological father; he and Isobel had dated in high school. Before leaving town, Isobel, who appears to care about Elena after all, expresses to John her fear that Elena will become a vampire because of the Salvatores. Not wanting this for Elena, she asks John to ensure the brothers die for their daughter's sake.
While at the Grill with Caroline - who is trying to get her to admit what's bothering her, Bonnie reveals to Caroline something only the viewers truly understand: she did not really deactivate the device, due to her vendetta against vampires. She admits to Caroline, however, that Elena may never forgive her if she ever finds out. Anna meets with Jeremy and reveals her mother is dead, and she does not know what to do. Jeremy then hugs and comforts her.
==Cast==
===Starring===
* Nina Dobrev as Elena Gilbert
* Paul Wesley as Stefan Salvatore
* Ian Somerhalder as Damon Salvatore
* Steven R. McQueen as Jeremy Gilbert
* Sara Canning as Jenna Sommers
* Katerina Graham as Bonnie Bennett
* Candice Accola as Caroline Forbes
* Zach Roerig as Matt Donovan
* Michael Trevino as Tyler Lockwood
* Matt Davis as Alaric Saltzman
===Guest Starring===
* Mia Kirshner as Isobel Flemming
* Malese Jow as Anna
* David Anders as John Gilbert
===Co-Starring===
* Jena Sims as Cherie
* Michael Roark as Cowboy
==Trivia==
* Antagonists: Isobel Flemming and John Gilbert.
==Body Count==
==Continuity==
*Pearl was mentioned. She was last seen in Blood Brothers.
*Katherine, Emily, and Johnathan were mentioned. They were last seen in a flashback in Blood Brothers.
*The man is mentioned. He was last seen in A Few Good Men.
*Kelly was mentioned. She was last seen in Under Control.
*Sheila was mentioned. She was last seen in Fool Me Once.
*Miranda and Grayson were mentioned.
*Vicki was mentioned. She was last seen as a corpse in Let The Right One In.
==Locations==
*Mystic Falls, Virginia
**Mystic Grill
**Gilbert House
**Salvatore Boarding House
**Mystic Falls High School
**Foreclosed House
==Behind the Scenes==
*This episode had about 3.31 million viewers in the USA, which was 0.08 million less than the previous episode.
* This is the first episode to be named after a character; i.e. Isobel. The second is Rose, the third is Katerina, and the fourth is Klaus.
==Cultural References==
*, a 1939 American film based on the novel of the same name, starring Vivien Leigh and Clark Gable.
**A Screening of the film was held in the second season finale.
*, an American sitcom that aired on CBS.
*, a 1903 novel by American writer Jack London.
*, a syndicated American tabloid talk show hosted by Maury Povich, 1991–present.
==Quotes==
:Damon: (to Isobel) "Katherine wants something from me? You tell that little bitch to come get it herself."
----
:Damon: (to Isobel) "You do not come into my town, threaten the people I care about. Going after Elena? Bad move. You leave her alone, or I will rip you to bits because I do believe in killing the messenger. You know why? Because it sends a message."
----
:Elena: "But you took a risk with Damon. How did you know that he was gonna give it to me?"
:Isobel: "Because he's in love with you."
----
:Stefan: "What proof do you have?"
:Damon: "I don't need any proof. That's a DNA test for John, Elena and Maury Povich to deal with."
----
:Isobel (to Elena): "As long as you have a Salvatore on each arm, you're doomed."
----
:Isobel: "Don't look for any redeeming qualities. I don't have any."
----
:Damon: "I like being a living dead person."
----
:Damon: "Stefan is different. He wants to be human. He wants to feel every episode of 'How I Met Your Mother'."
----
:Elena: "Human life means that little to you?"
:Isobel: "It means nothing to me. It's just being who I am."
----
:Alaric: "She threatened to go on a killing spree."
:Damon: "...I take it that's not okay with you guys?"
----
:Damon: "You successfully cured him of anything interesting about his personality."
:Elena: "Remember who helped me."
:Damon: (sing-songs) "I hate myself."
==Multimedia==
===Soundtrack===
===Pictures===
<tabber>
|-|Promotional=
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|-|Screencaps=
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|-|Behind the Scenes=
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</tabber>
==References==
==See also==
fr:Episode 1x21 : Isobel
Category:The Vampire Diaries Episode Guide
Category:The Vampire Diaries Season One
Category:Episodes featuring all main characters