THE VAMPIRE DIARIES: “Unpleasantville”

Photo Credit: Guy D'Alema/The CW.

Read on for my recap & review of The Vampire Diaries 2×12, aired January 28th, 2010:

Well, this week we had not one, not two, but three vampire reveals.  Is everyone in Mystic Falls a vamp?  Well, everyone in town is at least connected to the supernatural in some way, it seems.  This latest episode was such a treat for me, for a number of reasons.  First of all, it marked the return of Matt and Caroline, and they got to have a few scenes together, including a very sweet kiss.  Also, just after complaining about the lack of focus on the girls’ friendship, this episode came along to assuage my fears.  Elena, Bonnie, and Caroline are as tight as ever, and Elena even gave Caroline a “lesbian friend necklace” full of vervain to prove it.  Hallelujah!  Caroline has some vervain protection FINALLY!  I can breathe a sigh of relief, and stop my ranting.  Now, Caroline, don’t take that necklace off, ever, because I don’t want to see Damon pushing you around anymore.  Agreed?  Honestly, if nothing else happened in this episode besides Caroline getting her vervain necklace, I would have been satisfied.  Thankfully, however, the writers weren’t stingy with the awesomeness.  Elena also got her Buffy on, and totally staked a vamp with pencils.  Even though Elena’s efforts didn’t kill the vamp, I may have cheered.  And if all that wasn’t enough, Alaric proved how awesome he is, again.  Staying cool in the face of a suspicious Damon?  Priceless.  Also, the Salvatore brothers working together was quite a treat, though Stefan revealed himself to be a sneaky liar in the end.  Bonus: lots of references to Katherine to whet my appetite for next week’s flashback extravaganza.  All in all, not too shabby.  This is what an episode of The Vampire Diaries should be.  On to the recap.

We open on Elena and Stefan in her room.  Elena asks Stefan who that man was in the road—you know, the one she hit with her car.  She didn’t get a good look at him, but he was wearing a hoodie.  All she remembers is these black boots walking toward her.  Stefan doesn’t know, but he brought her vervain to make her feel a bit safer.  He brought a bracelet for Jeremy, and a few extra for her friends.  The way that he tacked on the “few extra for your friends” made me want to slap him.  You should have been giving these little vervain filled presents to Elena’s friends weeks ago, broody-face.  Aren’t you supposed to be a good vampire?  Whatever.  He says that they have to be careful, with another vampire in town.  Cue the entrance of the other vampire (who is only one of many, as we shall later learn).  The door bell rings, and Jeremy goes to get it. It’s a pizza delivery guy.  Jeremy invites him in, as he has to wait for Elena to pay the guy.  Elena pays him, and then when the guy leaves he totally puts up his HOODIE, and it is clear that he is the vampire Elena ran over!  And Jeremy invited in a vamp to the Gilbert home!  I would like to say for the record that I have never invited in a delivery person. Does that make me rude, or Jeremy an idiot?  Title card.

Cut to Stefan and Damon in the Salvatore library.  I love that the Salvatores have a library.  Damon is looking for a book, and knocking the ones he doesn’t want all over the place.  Stefan confronts Damon about Atlanta, sort of, and Damon laughs it off.  Stefan: “I get it.  You’re just bitter because one of us gets to be with the person that we love, and poor Katherine is just out of reach.  Unless there’s another way to get into that tomb.  Is that what Bree said?”  Damon: “You’re pathetic when you’re fishing.”  Stefan: “You’re transparent when you’re deflecting.”  Oh, boys, it’s good to see you in a scene together.  Damon has no appropriate retort for this, so he just quips, “Don’t you have school?”  I don’t know, I kind of don’t think Stefan is going to school anymore, except to stalk Elena and her friends.

Cut to school, to Alaric and Jeremy.  Alaric hands Jeremy back his paper, and Jeremy got an A.  Alaric makes a show of pretending not to believe in vampires, but we know the truth.  Jeremy points out that more people were injured and went missing in Mystic Falls than in the whole commonwealth of Virginia.  Yikes.  Hellmouth alert!  Alaric asks about the source Jeremy used-Jonathan Gilbert’s journal.  Jeremy is an idiot, so he’s surprised that Alaric would want to see it.  Alaric points out: “A first hand account of the Civil War?  That’s like porn, for a history teacher.”  True words.  Except, in my case, the porn would be way older, like ancient, and written in latin.  The Civil War is practically current events compared to my field.  Jeremy hands over the journal: “You think my essay is creative, wait ‘til you get a load of this thing.”

Meanwhile, Elena and Caroline spend some quality time together.  Caroline just received a gift from Elena—a necklace full of vervain.  Not that Elena tells her friend that the necklace is full of vervain, because no one tells Caroline anything, but still, I am appeased.  Not knowing that this gift will keep her safe from Damon’s mind control, Caroline asks what the occasion is.  Elena just says that it’s a friend gift.  Caroline: “A lesbian friend necklace?  Because we’re freaky like that?”  Ha!  Have I mentioned lately how much I love Caroline?  Because I really really do.  Hehe.  Elena deflects from her actual motives, and mentions that Caroline has been avoiding her.  She tells Caroline that whatever is going on between her and Matt is OK.  I hope that it’s more than OK, but maybe that’s just me.  Caroline hedges, and says that she was going to tell her, but there’s just not much to say: “We’ve hung out a couple times.  That’s it.  I just feel that we peaked as friends.  This is weird.  I shouldn’t be talking to you about this.  It’s weird.  It’s weird, right?”  Hehe.  Elena says that it’s a little weird, but that it’s not about her.  Caroline: “But it’s all about you.  Matt’s not over you and we all know it.”  Caroline is so the audience right now.  Elena: “I’m with Stefan now.  Matt understands that.  He knows that he has to move on.”  Caroline looks less than convinced.

Cut to Matt at the Mystic Grill, where he is applying to work as a busboy.  Because where else would he work?  He talks to the bartender, Ben McKendrick (played by Sean Faris), and it clear that they know each other from school, and that Ben is a fairly recent graduate (the latter of which brings up interesting question for later).  Ben comments on Matt’s rough season, and we finally find out what happened to football.  They had to forfeit half their games, owing to Coach Tanner’s demise I assume, hence the neglect of the whole football storyline.  Ben asks if he’s going to be working there.  Matt: “Yep, following in your footsteps, minus the state championship.”  Ben: “Well, we can’t all be football gods.”  Shut up, Ben.  Aw, Matt, you’re a football god in my eyes.

Also at the Grill are Elena and Bonnie, finishing up a meal or something.  Bonnie: “I can’t believe you’re adopted.  I never saw that coming.”  Elena: “It gets weirder.  I looked at my birth certificate and it lists Miranda and Grayson Gilbert as my birth parents.  None of it makes any sense.”  Bonnie: “Which is why you should ask Jenna.  [Elena groans.]  First of all, the Elena I know would always want the real truth, good or bad.”  Elena: “And second of all?”  Bonnie:  “You just found out that your boyfriend is a vampire, so unless your birth parents are aliens, how bad could it be?”  Hmmm, don’t tempt fate, Bonnie.  Conveniently, Elena has to go to the store to get accessories for her dance outfit, and scoots.

Bonnie offers to pay the bill, and is left alone, just in time to run into Damon on her way out.  I’m hoping that Bonnie got a “lesbian friend necklace” too.  She asks what he wants from her.  Damon: “I think we need a fresh start.”  Bonnie: “You tried to kill me.”  Damon: “But I didn’t.  And if I wanted to, I would’ve.  Does that not count for anything?”  Bonnie refuses to budge: “You know I can start fires with my mind.  Fires kill vampires, right?  Stay the hell away from me.”  I wanted so bad to see Bonnie light Damon on fire at that moment.  I mean, he wouldn’t have to die—it could just be his sleeve or something.  It would have been hilarious to see Damon hurry to put out the fire.  Ah, it warms my heart just thinking about it.  Is that wrong?  Ben intercedes, though I doubt that Bonnie actually needed his help.  Testosterone does love to throw itself around on this show.  Damon leaves, and Bonnie thanks Ben.  For what?  Ugh.  Ben: “Anytime, Bonnie.”  She is surprised that he remembers her name.  Ben: “I didn’t graduate that long ago.  You make me feel old.”  She says she didn’t mean that, she just didn’t know that he knew her.  Ben: “I always know a pretty face.”  While I gag, Bonnie is flattered.  I can’t really blame the gal though, as this is her first romantic interest on the show so far.  Too bad he’s an evil vamp, and dating another evil vamp.  Bonnie always gets the fuzzy end of the lollipop.

Out on the street, Elena is STILL walking to her car.  The stores are all going to be closed when you arrive at this rate, Elena.  She gets a call, and a mysterious voice tells her: “You hit me with your car.  Is that a new one?  You got away from me.  You won’t next time.”  Elena is freaked and gets into her car quickly and speeds away.

Cut to Elena and Stefan at Casa Salvatore.  Elena: “Why me?  What does he want with me?  And if he’s trying to kill me, then why call first?”  Stefan: “Because we’re predators, Elena.  We hunt, we stalk.  It’s often as exciting as the kill.”  Stefan gives her the vampire compass, which is really her family’s property anyway, and details its recent history.  Thanks for the recap Stefan, but I’ll spare you guys.  He explains that it points to vampires, and we see it point to him as proof.  Elena: “Why did my father have it?”  He tells her that the Gilberts were among Mystic Falls’ founding fathers, and among the group in 1864 who sought to eradicate the vampires.  The compass was used to find the vampires, as a crucial step in eradicating them.  Elena asks whether he knew then, and he says yes (though this dialogue was a bit unclear as to what she was asking, and what he said yes to).

Cut from that blah scene to Matt and Caroline adorableness.  Matt and Caroline together!  They are painting a sign for the dance, and being playful.  Matt: “I’ve never seen you such a mess.” He had assumed that she had minions to do such things as paint signs, and I must admit to his sound logic.  She notes, “If you want something done right, you have to do it yourself.”  How very Blair Waldorf of her.  Caroline likes that they’re hanging out, and quips, “Who knew, you and me?”  Matt: “Who knew that you could be fun?”  She asks what he’s wearing to the dance, tentatively proposing that they color coordinate, but he breaks all the viewers’ hearts by saying that he is not going to the dance, as he has to work.  No Matt in 50s attire!  Boo!  When she asks him about work, he gets a little defensive, and then books.  Matt, that is not very Mattly behavior.  Hmmm.

Meanwhile, Anna approaches Jeremy at the Grill.  She asks him about his paper, and he tells her that he got an A.  He thanks her for the articles, and says that he has to go.  Anna asks if he wants to do something later, but Jeremy says that he’s stuck with punch duty at the school dance.  Anna then proposes tomorrow or something, to which Jeremy just looks down.  Seriously, you’re not even going to respond, asshole?  Anna:  “I’m being pushy again, aren’t I?”  Yes, you really are, but you still deserve a response.  He still doesn’t reply, but thanks her for the help, and tells her that he’ll see her around.  Ugh.  Even though we learn later that Anna is an evil vampire, I still like her better than Jeremy.

Cut to Jenna, all dressed up for the 50s.  She tells Elena: “Alaric asked me to help chaperone.”  Instead of giving her aunt a high five for that coup, Elena asks why Jenna never told her about her being adopted.  Oh, that, still.  Jenna: “Your mom was gonna do it, eventually.  I never thought I’d have to.”  Elena: “If my mom were here right now, and I asked, she’d tell me the truth.”  Jenna: “Your dad was about to leave the office one night when this girl showed up.  She was 16, a runaway, and about to give birth.  He delivered her baby, and he gave her a place to stay, but a few days later she disappeared.  And there you were.  Your parents were trying so hard to have a baby, it just wasn’t happening.  All Miranda wanted was to be a mom.”  Aawww.  Elena asks about the fact that their names are on her birth certificate.  I love how “uh DUH” Jenna is in her response.  Jenna: “Your dad was a doctor, Elena.  He took care of it.  They didn’t want to lose you, so they kept it quiet, told as few people as possible.  But if anyone wanted proof, they had documentation.”  So, why was it such a mystery to you, Elena, when you knew your dad was a doctor?  At least I didn’t know that, so I had an excuse.  Elena asks if Jenna knows anything else.  Jenna says the girl’s name was Isobel (Isabel/ Isabelle?).

At Casa Salvatore, Damon is writing a list of founding fathers, including Benjamin Lockwood, Honoria Fell, John Gilbert, and one more.  Ooh, intriguing.  Lists of people whose journals he wants to scour, perhaps?  Stefan gives Damon their father’s journal. Damon also makes a crack about Stefan getting the hair right.  In reference to the preparation for the 50s dance, perhaps?  He pretends that he wasn’t looking for the journal: “And why would I want it?”  Stefan: “Gee, I don’t know, Damon.  Maybe you wanna do a little posthumous bonding?  Go ahead, enjoy it.  Read it.  I have.  Nowhere in it does it say anything about Katherine, or the tomb, or how to open it.”  Damon: “I’m not surprised.  The man could barely spell his own name.”  Stefan: “I’m really sorry that it won’t be of any help with your ‘diabolical plan, the sequel.’  You know, I could help you.”  First, ha!  Second, liar!  Damon: “You, help me?  I don’t know, it seems a little unnatural.”  Stefan: “I’ll do anything to get you out of this town, even release Katherine.”  Damon: “What about the other 26 vampires?”  Stefan: “No no no.  They can’t come.  They have to stay put.  But Katherine, I’d consider that.”  Damon: “What are you doing?”  Stefan: “Think about it.”  Damon: “Why would I trust you?”  Stefan: “That’s your problem, Damon.  You apply all of your shortcomings to everyone else.  If history’s any indication, there’s only one liar among us.”  And that liar is Stefan.  For shame, broody-forehead-man.

As Elena is getting ready, at home, the vampire compass starts turning, but of course she doesn’t see it.  Uh oh.  She  reaches in her closet, and hears something.  She calls for Jeremy and gets no response, so then she calls Stefan’s phone.  Damon answers, and tells Elena that Stefan is on his way over.  Elena is relieved, guessing that the compass is just reading her boyfriend (by this time she has seen the spinning compass).  We see, however, that there is a vamp in the rafters, who jumps down and attacks.  Stefan gets there though, just in time to save Elena.

Cut to a few minutes later, and Damon has now arrived at the Gilbert house.  Damon asks the obvious question: “How’d he get in?”  Elena: “He was invited in.”  Stefan: “He posed as the pizza delivery guy last night.”  Damon: “Well he gets points for that.”  Again, I would like to stress that I have never invited in a delivery person, ever.  Stefan to Damon: “And you have no idea who he was?”  Damon points out that he’s the one who told him they had company.  Elena wonders if there’s more than one.   Stefan stresses that pizza delivery hoodie guy was invited in, as in they’re not safe in that house.  Damon has a plan.  Elena: “What do I have to do?”  Damon says to go to the dance, and see if he shows up, as the house isn’t safe for anyone who lives there.  Good thing Jenna and Jeremy are already going to the dance (not that I care much for Jeremy’s safety, but Elena and Jenna have had enough family members die).

Cut to the dance.  “This Magic Moment” plays.  Everyone is dressed in their 50s gear.  And as icing on top of the cake, Alaric in a 50s style varsity jacket.  *Swoon*  He  sees Damon.  Dun dun dun.  Jenna approaches before anything can happen though.  Jenna: “I figured I’d stand out less if I dressed up.”  Alaric: “Liar.”  Jenna: “OK, I’m a sucker for the decade dance.”  Ha!  They are just too adorable.  He offers to get her a drink.  It does not suck to be Jenna these days, despite her niece’s whining.

Elsewhere at the dance, Elena asks if Caroline is having fun.  To which Caroline says “NO, but this [referring to her ensemble] took about two hours, so I’m at least staying half of that.”  Hehe.  I love Caroline.  Bonnie wonders what Damon is doing there.  Elena: “He wanted to come.  I promise, he’ll behave.”  Caroline snits: “So what is this, a threesome now?  You and the Salvatore brothers?”  Elena: “No, but if I’m going to be with Stefan, I’m going to have to learn to tolerate Damon.  It’s not like I can kill him.”  Bonnie: “There’s a thought.”  Caroline: “Hmm, I’ll help.”  The two ladies clink glasses at that.  Best scene of the episode.

Meanwhile, Jenna and Alaric are still hanging out.  Again, it does not suck to be Jenna right now.  Jenna is happy to see a change in Jeremy, finally.  Alaric: “You know, losing someone you love so suddenly—the trauma and the grief there—some of the tougher things he’ll face in life.”  Jenna: “From someone who knows.  You have no idea what happened?”  Alaric: “That’s the hard part: not knowing.”  Jenna: “Is it ok to talk about your wife?”  Alaric: “There’s not much to talk about.”  Jenna is just lapping up Alaric’s whole bereaved widower persona (not that I blame her): “That must be impossible to deal with, not having any answers.”  Alaric: “I’d be lying if I told you it didn’t keep me up at night.  Wondering why, and by whom.”  Jenna notes that maybe he’ll find the answer some day.  Alaric: “I hope so.  [Manly sigh.]  I hope so.”  Does it make Alaric hotter that his wife died, and he is grief-stricken?  I think yes.  Is that wrong to say?

Elsewhere, Damon greets Bonnie and asks her to dance.  She says that she’s outta there, and then Caroline sticks up for her: “Back off Damon.”  You go, girls!  When Elena approaches, she wonders where they went off to.  Damon then asks Elena if she wants to dance, and she says yes, but then turns to Stefan.  I laughed at Damon’s pain.  No sympathy from me.  Nope.

Elena and Stefan dance, and keep a look out for the hoodie-clad pizza delivery vamp.  Elena wonders, “Shouldn’t you guys be able to sense each other, or something?”  Stefan says that it doesn’t work that way, and they keep their eyes out for the vamp.  She asks him about the 50s: “Because, in my mind, I have this picture of somewhere between American Bandstand, Grease.  It’s all varsity sweaters and milkshakes.”  Stefan: “Well that, and McCarthyism, segregation, and nuclear arms race.”  Sometimes, I do love Stefan.  Elena: “OK, but there were poodle skirts.”  Stefan: “There were poodle skirts.”  Elena: “You’re so teaching me how to do the hand jive.”  Stefan tells her no, and I am pouting along with Elena.  Why does Stefan have to be so dour and boring?  I want him to dance!

Pushy Anna arrives, the better to stalk Jeremy: “You neglected to mention this was a theme party.”  Jeremy asks what she’s doing there.  Anna: “Well seeing as how you also neglected to invite me, I decided to take matters into my own hands.”  Jeremy: “You’re doing that thing again.”  Anna: “What thing would that be?”  Jeremy: “That thing where you pretend we’re dating, even though we’re not.”  Anna: “Oh, you mean stalking?  Yeah.  Get over yourself.  C’mon, I’ve never been to a school dance before.  Humor me.”  And as batshit as Anna is, I’m really on her side in this conversation.

Cut to Bonnie and Caroline, who have left the dance and made their way to Mystic Grill.  Bonnie wants to sit close to the bar.  Caroline: “Be a little more obvious, Bonnie.”  Bonnie: “Don’t rain on my hot guy parade.”  Ha!  Caroline: “It’s just a drizzle.  Ben McKendrick, really?”  Bonnie: “He’s hot.”  A strong argument, to be sure.  Caroline: “He’s a washed up jock who pours drinks for a living.  You could do way better.”  And what’s your point, Caroline?  He’s hot!  Matt overhears Caroline’s latest foot-in-mouth commentary, and is not happy.  He brushes Caroline off on his way by, and it is becoming clear that he totally has a Pacey complex.  For real.  But isn’t Matt smart, popular, and athletically talented?  And isn’t Caroline the daughter of the Sheriff?  I do not get this attempt to create a class divide between Caroline and Matt, as they are both blonde, beautiful, and popular, which is all that matters in high school.  They couldn’t be more meant-to-be.

Back at the dance, Damon and Alaric meet.  Oh, the delightful tension.  Alaric greets Damon casually: “Oh, I don’t recognize you.  How’d you get roped into chaperoning?”  Damon is silent, so Alaric introduces himself.  Damon: “Oh, the cursed faculty position.”  Alaric: “So I’ve been told.”  Damon introduces himself.  Alaric: “Salvatore?  As in Stefan?”  Damon admits that he’s his little brother, hence the chaperoning.  Alaric: “I hear he’s very bright, not that I’ve had a chance to see for myself.”  Way to raise suspicion, Stefan.  Alaric asks him some questions, but then stops at Damon’s suspicion.  Go Alaric for keeping your cool.  Alaric says that it was nice meeting him and exits quickly.

Cut back to Caroline and Bonnie moping.  Caroline: “Tonight was so much better on paper.”  Bonnie: “Now you’re just feeling sorry for yourself.  Go and talk to him.  Be bold … and fearless.”  Caroline: “This coming from the girl who is eye-stalking the bartender.”  Bonnie: “You’re right,” and she goes up to the bartender.  Bonnie tells Ben that she’s trying to prove something to her friend.  He wonders if she’s trying to ask him out.  Bonnie: “Do you like karaoke?”  Ben: “No, but I would really like to go out on a date with you.”  They smile at each other with googly-eyes.  Too bad he’s a vamp.  Back at Caroline’s table, Matt walks by, and Caroline is all, “Seriously?”  She asks if he’s mad at her, and he says no.  She asks why he’s being weird, but he says that he’s working.  He does, however, let slip an incredibly passive aggressive remark about washed up jocks.  Oh, Pacey Matt.

Back at the dance, Anna is still stalking Jeremy to no avail.  She asks to borrow his ancestor’s journal.  He says that he doesn’t have it, and she offers to walk him home.  He says that he loaned it to his history teacher.  She is acting crazed and very suspicious.  Uh oh.  Then her eyes go vampy.  He notices, not that he understands the vamp part, and she runs off.  Well, that mystery is solved.

Meanwhile, Stefan and Elena are still dancing, but not anything too fun, since that would be against Stefan’s brooding-code or something.  Elena: “Maybe he’s not gonna show.”  Stefan: “You mean we did all this dancing for nothing?”  Elena: “The horror.”  Hehe.  Stefan then shows her his dance moves, to the tune of “Great Balls of Fire.”  The moves were impressive!  I’m shocked that Stefan had it in him.  Of course, predictably, Stefan notes, “Now you remember that, because it’s never gonna happen again.”  Hmmm, Stefan might want to try a little harder to show Elena a good time.  The girl has other options.

Cut to Vampire Anna in the hallway, where it is revealed that she and the hooded vamp know each other.  She calls him on his stupid behavior.  Hoodie-vamp’s response: “I like her.  She looks like Katherine.”  Anna points out that she’s NOT Katherine, as Katherine is the tomb.”  He is definitely off his rocker, and an idiot to boot.  Anna: “Don’t be stupid, that girl is with the Salvatore brothers.”  Hoodie-vamp: “They don’t scare me.  They never have.”  Anna tries and fails to talk some sense into this one-note loser.  Hoodie-vamp: “Just let me have my fun.  She looks like Katherine.”

Back on the dance floor, Elena and Stefan watch as Damon is having way more fun than them.  Elena pretends that she thinks this is embarrassing or something, but you know she wishes she came to the dance with less of a stick in the mud.  They see someone with a hood, and Stefan pursues him.  It’s a decoy.  Stefan is with the impostor, and Elena is left alone.  Hoodie-vamp is now hoodie-less and calls Elena, threatening her brother unless she goes into the hallway.

Elena runs through the hallway.  Hoodie-less vamp follows, enjoying the chase.  He grabs her, and she picks up a pencil and stakes him with it.  Not in the heart, but still, this scene was pretty awesome.  And she keeps on staking him with pencils.  Then she breaks off the handle of the mop.   Love it.  Unfortunately, however, she doesn’t get a chance to put it through his heart, and he throws away the piece of wood, and gets ready to attack.  Luckily, Damon catches the piece of wood: “Hey, dickhead.  Nobody wants to kill you.  We just want to talk.”  I think that’s a lie, as there’s no way that this vamp is making it out of this encounter alive, but whatever.   Then, Stefan uses the mop handle to torture hoodie-less vamp, to get him to talk.  Stefan, twisting the stake: “Now you feel like talking?”  Hoodie-less vamp: “Screw you.”  Stefan: “Wrong answer.  [Stab and twist.]  Why are you doing this?”  Hoodie-less vamp: “Because it’s fun.”  Stefan: “What do you want with Elena?”  Hoodie-less vamp: “She looks like Katherine.”  Damon: “You knew Katherine?”  Hoodie-less vamp: “Oh, you thought you were the only ones?  You don’t even remember me.”   Oh, Katherine, I thought that you had better taste in companions.  Damon: “Tell me how to get in the tomb.”  Stefan twists the mop handle again.  I must say, Stefan really seems to enjoy torture.  Hoodie-less vamp tells them about the grimoire, and then says to check Jonathan Gilbert’s journal.  They ask who else is working with him, and he says that they’re gonna have to kill him.  Stefan obliges.  Well, he was pretty much asking for it.  Elena is freaked, but Damon says that he had to die, and Stefan reminds her that he’d been invited in.

The brothers see a figure out in the hall, so Damon goes to check it out.  He runs into Alaric, and glamours him to find out who he really is.  Awesomely, Alaric totally fakes being glamoured and innocent, and is then revealed to be holding vervain in his hand!  Score for Alaric!  OK, that’s the best scene of the episode.  Sorry, Bonnie and Caroline.

Cut to Stefan and Damon in the hallway, alone together.  As always, the Salvatore brothers are amazing one-on-one.  Damon: “No way that he was working alone.”  Stefan: “You were.  So the grimoire, it was Emily’s right?  That’s how you reverse the spell.  When the founding families burned her, they took her things, and you were hoping that dad’s journal would tell you where it is.”  Damon: “Look at you.  Putting the pieces together.  Good for you.  I was half right.  Well it’s out there now.  Let the games begin.”  Stefan says that his offer still stands.  Damon: “With some hidden caveats, no doubt.”  Stefan: “No, nothing hidden about it.  No lies, no deception.  I’m there when you open up that tomb.  You and Katherine go, and the other twenty-six vampires die.”  Damon: “Why should I trust you?”  Stefan: “Because I’m your brother.”  Damon: “No, that’s not gonna cut it.”  Stefan: “Because I want you gone.”  Damon: “OK.”  Oh, Damon, this is really not your episode, is it?  I love that!

Back at the Grill, Caroline tries to apologize: “Look, I said something stupid.  I’m sorry, but I wasn’t even talking about you.”  Matt: “Yes you were, Caroline.  Ben could easily be me.  We’re just alike.”  Caroline disagrees, as do I, and can’t believe that he’s mad at this.  She tells him: “Matt you know me.  I say stupid things without thinking.  Then I have to apologize and take it back.  I’m a terrible awful person, but I’m working on it.”  Matt: “Can we just NOT do this right now?”  Caroline asks when he gets off.  Matt reveals that there is something deeper at issue than his bruised ego: “Look, this thing we’ve got, it’s nice, and it feels really good, and I know that you want to take the next step …”  Caroline: “How do you know that?  Have you even asked me?”  I love when Caroline is awesome.  Matt: “I’m not over Elena.  I mean, I don’t know if I am.  But if we go there, it could mess things up, and we might lose this.  And this is the only good thing I’ve got going for me right now.  So if it doesn’t work, I’ll just disappoint you and hurt you, and I don’t want to do that.”  Before I can side with adorable Matt and his broken heart, however, Caroline strikes back with more awesome.  Caroline: “Well, big problem Matt, because you took the next step, all by yourself.  And you played the whole thing out in your head, and you decided to bail before even giving it a shot.  So this really great thing that we have, don’t worry about losing it, because it’s already gone.”  I mean, what can you say to that?  Nothing to do but nod.

Meanwhile, Alaric and Jenna are saying their goodbyes for the night.  She thanks him and he says that she “made” the evening.  *Swoon*  He thanks her for putting up with all the wife talk.  Whatever, he knows that she loved it.  She asks if it was a date, and he says no, but then he asks her out on a date for Friday!  Jenna: “Works for me.  You can talk about your wife all you want.  It’s going to take time to heal.  We should just be ourselves.”  See?  Alaric:  “Still, I think I’ll keep the Isobel talk to a minimum.”  What?  Alaric’s wife’s name is Isobel!  As in, Isobel, the mysterious teen mother of Elena?  Jenna asks where Isobel was from.  Alaric: “Virginia.  Not too far from here, actually.”  Oh, how the plot thickens.  Dun dun dun.

Cut to Caroline, who is walking down the street.  Matt is driving behind her in his truck and calls to her.  She ignores him.  Matt gets out of the truck and kisses her.  It’s a really good kiss.  Matt: “This will never work.”  Aawww.  Now there’ the Matt I love.

Meanwhile, Stefan and Elena have left the dance, and are back at the Gilbert home.  Stefan asks if she’s ok, and she says that she’s exhilarated.  Elena: “I fought back tonight.  It felt good.”  Stefan: “I wish you didn’t have to fight at all.”  Shut up, Stefan.  Let her have her Buffy moment.  Elena: “Still.”  Stefan says that he told Damon he would help him get into the tomb, but he lied.  Elena: “Then why would you be worried about telling me?”  Stefan thought that with her bonding, and Damon’s persuasive powers … dot dot dot.  Elena: “It’s going to take more than a rescue and a road trip to make me forget everything Damon has done.”  She says that she will help Stefan, whatever it takes.  Bad idea, guys.  Need I remind you about a certain heart removal, last episode?

Cut to Ben, leaving the Mystic Grill.  Uh oh.  Anna follows him, and attacks.  But wait, Ben is a vamp too!  He asks where Noah is.  Well, wait for the end of the episode to give the hoodie-vamp a name, why don’t you?  Also, holy vamp-apalooza, Batman!  Everyone is a vampire!  Anna tells Ben about Noah’s death, which she doesn’t really care about since he was an idiot.  I knew that I liked Anna.  She asks how he did.  Ben: “Oh, the witch is totally crushing on me.”  Poor Bonnie is just being used.  Sigh.  He asks if she got the journal.  Anna: “No, but I know where it is, and I’ll totally get it.”  “Mr. Sandman” plays as the episode ends.  A lot to think about.

Next week: Katherine, Papa Salvatore, pretty costumes, and flashbacks!!!   But, what did you think of this episode and all the reveals?  Did you love it as much as me?  Comment below.

Related posts:

• The Televixen’s TVD Podcast – Nobody Puts Elena in a Corner
• THE VAMPIRE DIARIES Season Finale: “Founder’s Day”
• THE VAMPIRE DIARIES: “Isobel”
• THE VAMPIRE DIARIES: “Blood Brothers”
• THE VAMPIRE DIARIES: “Miss Mystic Falls”