The Vampire Diaries must be doing something right, because the CW just ordered nine more episodes of the freshman series. I'm pretty psyched — with its third episode, "Friday Night Bites," Diaries has become one of my favorites of the Fall season.

Even though I've been gushing over Ian Somerhalder's Damon, this week the episode belonged to sensitive Stefan, who put down the blood bag, picked up the football, and brought out the high-school girl in me, who roots for the hot quarterback. Of course, the show hasn't lost all its cheesiness, which I'm ready to talk about (spoilers ahead) when you read more.

    The Good:
  • Nina Dobrev really won me over in this episode — her portrayal of Elena got a little more complex this week, which, I guess, is due to Elena getting more complex. I cheered for her when she slaps Damon after leaning in for a kiss, declaring unwaveringly, "I am NOT Katherine."
  • Speaking of that interaction, the sexual tension between Elena and Damon is out of control, rejections notwithstanding. Her chemistry with Stefan is also great, but the Damon-Elena dynamic is worthy of Eric and Sookie on that other vampire show.
  • The atmosphere has gone from cheesy (the fog) to palpably creepy. It's not just about the vampiric stuff, either; when Bonnie sees the numbers that have been playing in her head (so Lost-y!) around Coach Tanner's murder scene, I got chills. By the by — can Bonnie predict deaths? That's so much better than a vague psychic or seeing the future ability, but I have a feeling it won't be that specific.
  • The dialogue seems to get better and better with each episode. It helps when you have Kevin Williamson writing and people like Ian Somerhalder delivering it with such ease: "BTW. That means by the way." You can educate me about acronyms all day, Damon.
    The Bad:
  • This is a complaint about many vampire shows or movies, but why do people always think a vampire attack is an animal attack? I get it, a wild animal would bite and go for the neck, but is it really the only possibility to people? Elena: "What kind of animal could be doing all this? Why would it come out of the woods and attack someone in the middle of town?" Exactly. What kind of crack police force does Mystic Falls have?
  • Thanks for listening to me about the diary writing, Vampire Diaries, but I still saw one crow! It's not really creepy, it's just weird.
    The Bloody:
  • So apparently every episode is going to open with a scary scene. I can handle that, now that I know to be prepared. This week's opener is pretty small potatoes in the gore department, but I was still terrified as I watched Damon breathe and sleep (such a faker!) while Caroline tiptoed around the room.
  • Damon didn't do much to disprove Stefan's humanity theory when he kills Coach Tanner in front of him. The guy was a total douche, taunting his students, and Elena's aunt called him an "asshat" last week. Asshats don't last long in the horror genre. Good riddance.

So were you rah-rahing this week's episode with me? I'm really intrigued for the next few episodes — I want to know more about this Katherine-Damon-Stefan love triangle and, surprisingly, Bonnie. What did you like and dislike about "Friday Night Bites"?

Photo courtesy of The CW