THE VAMPIRE DIARIES: “Children of the Damned”

Pictured: Nina Dobrev as Katherine, Kelly Hu as Pearl. Photo: Quantrell Colbert/The CW. Sidenote: It was painful choosing between all the beautiful promotional photos and episode stills, but I finally decided to open the recap with this gem.

Read on for my detailed recap & review of The Vampire Diaries 1×13, aired February 4th, 2010:

I have made it abundantly clear how excited I was for this flashback extravaganza, and it did not disappoint.  The flashbacks were illuminating, and left me wanting more.  For every question that was answered, more questions were uncovered for the viewers to ponder.  I love a show that fosters theories, and this has definitely become one.  Also, a big strength of The Vampire Diaries has become its guest stars.  The show has really done a great job of incorporating minor characters into the story, and giving them depth and weight.  This episode was no exception, and guest actors Kelly Hu (Pearl), Malese Jow (Anna), and James Remar (Giuseppe Salvatore) were really given a chance to shine.  Additionally, our main actors—Nina Dobrev, Ian Somerhalder, and Paul Wesley—were able to play heretofore unseen range.  This is especially true for Nina, as the flashbacks allow her to play a character so completely different from Elena.  Katherine is really a joy to watch on screen.  She is pretty much the vampire version of Scarlett O’Hara, and I love it.  For Ian, the flashback scenes allowed him to portray Damon’s humanity, and we really get to see how vulnerable and in love he was.  My sympathy for the Damon of the present increased, as his scenes were juxtaposed to his past heartbreak.  We also saw the early steps in his eventual corruption, as Katherine lovingly trains him as her protégée.  It felt very much like the flashbacks in Angel, when we saw Darla taking Angelus under her wing, and showing him what it meant to be a vampire.  The episode also allowed Paul to run the gamut of emotions, with scenes of Stefan as the devoted son, the infatuated lover, the weak and terrified victim, and someone who will stop at nothing (and I mean nothing) to protect the woman he loves (who is so NOT Katherine).  Also, for once, something is Stefan’s fault, not Damon’s.  Yes, we finally learned what tore the brothers apart so many years ago, and it was Stefan’s betrayal.  Although, it is a bit more complex than one person’s fault, and I will get into that later.  My only complaint about the episode is the lack of Caroline and Matt, but with all the costume prOn you can’t blame me if I didn’t find that too much of a hardship for one week.  But enough babbling, on to the recap.

We open on Mystic Falls, 1864.  It is night, and we see a horse-drawn carriage driving.  It stops when it sees two people in the road.  Katherine approaches the carriage and asks for help.  The passenger sends his driver to aid the seemingly injured man, and tells Katherine that she should not be outside alone, at night, as it’s not safe.  Katherine: “No, sir, it’s not safe.”  At that, she attacks.  She then kills the other man too, the driver.  She notes happily: “And that’s how it’s done.”  Who is she teaching, you ask?  Why it’s Damon.  He was the one playing dead in the road.  So this is where he learned his tricks.  He asks, “What happens to the bodies?”  Katherine: “We’ll take them into the woods, and the other animals will finish them off.”  Interesting turn of phrase there, as it implies that she considers herself to be an animal of sorts.  Hmmm.  Damon looks exhilarated and terrified.  He also looks incredibly young and naïve.  Katherine asks, “Are you sure you’re ready for this?”  Damon: “I’m ready.  I want you to turn me.”  Katherine: “When it’s time.”  This is confirmation of what we learned in “History Repeating”: Damon was not compelled, but knew everything every step of the way.  He made the choice to be with Katherine, and to do as she asked.  Katherine, with blood all over her mouth, tells Damon: “Kiss me.  You should get a taste.”  Damon is hesitant, and apologizes.  It doesn’t seem like he will be able to do it.  Katherine tells him not to be sorry, as soon he won’t be able to get enough.  For whatever reason–because he sees this as a challenge, or he overcomes his fear, or he is just overcome by his love for Katherine–Damon then kisses her, fruit-punch-mouth and all.  Title card.

The screen then reads: Mystic Falls, Present Day.  Stefan and Elena are in bed together, all lovey-dovey.  They clearly spent the night together.  Damon comes in and interrupts their bliss: “Rise and shine sleepy heads.”  Stefan tells his brother to get out of there.  Damon: “If I see something I haven’t seen before, I’ll throw a dollar at it.”  Ha!  He continues, “Now listen, there’s some very important business to discuss.”  He is all ready to get started on the plan to get the Gilbert journal, in order to find the grimoire, so that he can achieve his ultimate goal to undo the spell and free Katherine from the tomb.  Since Elena is a Gilbert, Damon assigns her journal duty.  Elena brats, “Since when am I helping?”  Ha!  Maybe she and Katherine have more in common than we thought?  Stefan tells her that she doesn’t have to do anything that she doesn’t want to do.  Elena agrees to look for the journal, today.  Stefan asks Damon: “How do we know that this journal will hold the location of the grimoire?  We’re really going to take the word of this vampire?  He seemed like a bit of a dimwit.”  Hee.  Stefan is not wrong.  Damon is less worried about Noah’s lack of mental facilities: “In lieu of any other options.”  Elena asks what a grimoire is, exactly.  Damon explains that it’s a witch’s cookbook.  Stefan expands that every witch’s spell is unique, so each witch documents her work in her grimoire.  Stefan: “What about our mystery vampire?  Dimwit obviously wasn’t working alone, so whoever’s out there knows who we are.”  I heart that Stefan is referring to Noah as “Dimwit.”  I should have done that in my “Unpleasantville” recap, but now it’s too late.  Sigh.  Damon: “And I don’t like that disadvantage, so chop chop.”  Hee.  As he exits the room, he notes: “I really like this whole ménage-à-threesome team thing.  It’s got a bit of a kink to it.  [In a sing-song voice]  Don’t screw it up.”  Oh, Damon, you make it too hard for me to hate you sometimes.  Damon leaves, and Elena and Stefan are alone again.  They have some fun under the covers …

… and then we cut to 1864, where Elena’s doppelgänger is doing the same thing, but with a different Salvatore bother.  Nina Dobrev has such a hard job.  Katherine vamps out, and Damon is a) surprised b) scared c) turned on (take your pick—I’m going to go with all of the above).  He strokes her face.  Emily comes in to tell Katherine that Miss Pearl is there to see her.  Katherine: “I’ll be down soon.  Please ask her to wait.  Thank you, Emily.  [To Damon]  Fun’s over.”

We then see Katherine, clothed in stunning green dress which makes me think of the barbecue party dress in Gone with the Wind,  walking down the stairs.  Also Katherine’s hair is absolutely fabulous.  She greets her visitor, Pearl (played by the beautiful Kelly Hu), who is also clothed in a gorgeous gown.  [Both dresses are pictured above, at the top of the post.]  Pearl wants to talk outside.  Katherine tells Emily to let Mr. Salvatore know that she’s stepped away.  Emily: “Which one?”  Katherine: “Both.”  Hee.  Oh, Scarlett Katherine, one beau is never enough for you.

Outside, the two ladies talk.  Pearl: “How long do you plan on staying with the Salvatores?  People talk, Katherine.  You, carrying on with both brothers, it doesn’t help the situation.”  Katherine: “The Salvatores have been kind to take me in.  As far as everyone here knows, I’m a poor orphan girl from Atlanta, who lost her family in the fires.”  Pearl: “A match you lit, no doubt.”  Katherine laughs at this, and so do I.  While burning Atlanta down would not be funny in real life, for some reason it is hilarious when done on TV by a pretty vampiress.  Pearl calls to a young girl to be careful—that will be important later.  Pearl also notes: “Honoria Fell came by the Apothecary yesterday, with a case of this elixir.  [She holds it out for inspection.]  She asked that it be sold at a reduced rate.”  Katherine: “I don’t follow.”  Pearl tells her to try it.  Katherine pours it on her hand, and it burns.  The effect is somewhat like what you might imagine holy water would have in other mythologies.  It’s vervain.  Katherine: “They know.”  Pearl: “They’re trying to find us, and they’re getting crafty about it.”  “Us,” she said, which means that Pearl too is a vampire.  Katherine is annoyed: “The townspeople ingesting vervain—well that’s inconvenient.”  Pearl: “It may be time for us to move on again.”  Katherine: “No, I like it here.  I’m not interested in leaving just yet.”   At that point, a girl’s voice calls, “Can we go, mama?”  The voice is revealed to belong to Anna, aka Jeremy’s stalker chick.  What?  She is Pearl’s daughter!!!  Anna asks, “Is something wrong?”  Katherine gives a little smile and shakes her head no.  This scene made me very happy, as I am relieved to see Anna put into the larger mythology, giving her character some motivation and dimension.  Also, a vampire mother and daughter?  Oh, the questions and possibilities.  And the tragedy of it all!  Were they attacked, and turned at the same time?  Who did it?  Are they actual mother and daughter, or did they just develop that relationship for show, as a girl Anna’s age would need a parental figure in order not to draw suspicion?  I hope to see a lot more of Pearl and Anna, so that we can find out.

In the present, Anna leaves a message for Jeremy.  She is true to her “stalker chick” nickname, as this is clearly not the first one.  She tells him that she’ll be at the Grill later.  Really, who won’t?  Ben comes out of the bathroom, in a towel, and asks who she’s calling.  When he learns that it was Jeremy, he asks, “You’re not like into him, are you?”  Anna: “I need him for something.  Get over it.”  Hee.  I like Anna more and more as this episode proceeds.  Ben opens the curtain, and gets burnt.  Anna: “Dude, you’ve got to stop doing that.”  Ben knows, but he just keeps forgetting.  I guess he doesn’t have a special ring like all the cool vampires.  Poor Ben.  Except, not really, because he is messing with Bonnie.  Open some more curtains, Ben.  Anna: “You’re new.  You’ll get it.”  This is a helpful little detail, as it answers my question last week as to how long Ben has been hiding his vampire nature.  Ben asks if the old book sitting on the bed is the Gilbert journal, but it isn’t.  Given Anna’s conversation with Damon later, it is probably the Fell journal, I’m thinking.  Ben can’t tell the difference between all these musty old books.  Hey, he’s a football god, not an intellectual.  Anna is annoyed that he is such an idiot, but I think she should be grateful he’s not Dimwit Noah—it could be worse.  Ben: “You know, you don’t have to talk down to me.  I’m not stupid.”  Oh Ben, you’re pretty stupid.  Anna hands him a bottle of blood, but not the fancy-labeled synthetic kind: “Here, drink.  I don’t want you to get itchy around the witch.  She can sense if you’re weak.”  Intriguing.  Bonnie is just full of untapped powers.  Ben asks when they can go hunting again, as the blood she gave him tastes old.”  What a whiner.  Anna: “When we get that tomb open, you can kill anyone you want.  For now just stay focused on Bonnie, while I try to get the journal back from Jeremy’s teacher.”  Ben is not really feeling the love from his sire, so he asks her why she chose him.  Anna is very practical: “I needed someone in a position to be my eyes and ears.  Small town bartender fit the bill.”  Ben: “There are plenty of bartenders to choose from.  Why me?”  Anna: “You were sad, Ben, you lacked purpose.  You needed me.”  I guess that it’s hard to be a washed-up football god.  This interesting tidbit also gives a little humanity and compassion to Anna.

Meanwhile, Elena and Stefan talk about Damon.  Elena: “Do you think Damon really believes us?  That we’re both trying to help him?”  Stefan:  “I don’t think Damon knows what to believe.  Trust isn’t something that comes naturally to him.”  Well, whose fault is that, Stefan?  Hmmm?  Elena: “You know, I really think that Damon believes that everything he’s done, every move he’s made, he’s done for love.  It’s twisted, but kind of sad.”  Stefan seems a little annoyed that Elena feels sorry for Damon: “There are other ways to get what you want.  You don’t have to kill people.  Damon has no regard for human life.  He enjoys inflicting pain on others.”  That is a good comeback, Stefan, I have to give you that.  When I think of Lexie and Bree, I am right there with you.  Stefan continues: “For 145 years, every single time that I have let my guard down, and let Damon back into my life, he’s done something to make me regret that.  I’m not going to make that mistake again.”  So much fodder for future flashbacks!  I want to learn about each one of those instances, please.  This little reference is just more evidence that this show has long-running potential.  Elena: “So what do you think will happen if the tomb gets opened, and Damon gets Katherine back?”  Stefan: “I know that no matter what Damon promises, a lot of people will die.”  Always a good guess.  At that point, Elena finds a picture of Jonathan Gilbert in the box she has been looking through.  She also finds a mysterious contraption, which we later learn is a vampire muzzle.  Disturbing.  Is it more disturbing than a vampire biting one’s neck?  Possibly.  Jeremy comes in, and they find out that he did a paper on the journal.  Wow, Stefan and Elena really don’t pay attention to the C-plots on their show.  They are so “me me me.”  Jeremy explains that he lent it to Alaric.  Elena and Stefan look at each other significantly.

Meanwhile, Alaric is in his office, reading the Gilbert journal.  We hear a Jonathan Gilbert VO: “I met Barnet (sp?) and Giuseppe this evening.  I saw the skepticism in their eyes when I showed them the compass.”  We fade into a scene featuring the actual Jonathan Gilbert, meeting with Giuseppe Salvatore & Barnet Lockwood.  Giuseppe: “And we’re supposed to believe that that can track one of them?”  Lockwood: “What is it?  Magic?”  It’s a vampire GPS, silly, i.e. The Compass.  Jonathan: “It’s science.”  Lockwood: “I’ll believe it when I see it.”  I find it funny that the Lockwoods are jerks no matter what century they’re in.  Hee.  Giuseppe: “I’ve been thinking about this church idea.  I believe it could work.”  Ooh, church idea?!  We know that the townsfolk tried to burn all the vamps in the church from previous episodes.  It’s disturbing that they planned this ahead.  Who kills people in a church?  Ick.  I had thought that maybe the vamps retreated to the church for safety, and the townsfolk burned the church down.  This plan ahead thing makes it even more disturbing.  Stefan interrupts, and politely leaves when he realizes that he’s interrupting.  Jonathan asks, “Have you told them?” clearly referring to Giuseppe’s sons.  Giuseppe: “Not yet.”  Jonathan/ Barnet [I couldn’t quite tell which one]: “Giuseppe, we need all the men we can get.”  Giuseppe: “I’ll tell them.  You can count on both my boys.”  Sorry Papa Salvatore, but you’re wrong.

Back in the present day, Alaric makes a photocopy of Jonathan Gilbert’s journal.  Smart man, given that every vamp in town is looking for that journal.  He walks to a locker, and puts the copy inside.  We see Anna in the hallway, hiding.  Then Alaric walks down the hall, with the original journal.  At this point, I was a little worried for Alaric’s safety, which you can imagine was quite stressful, given the fact that I have been known to suggest that this show center around Alaric, and be entitled Alaric the Vampire Slayer.  And honestly, even though Alaric survived this episode to fight another day, his future looks a bit uncertain.  But back to the recap.  Alaric sits at his desk, and we see a figure cross the screen—probably Anna.  Alaric hears something, so he gets up to check it out.  He leaves the journal alone, so that it can be easily stolen, and  walks out in the hall, calling hello.  We see Anna hiding, behind lockers nearby.  She superspeeds when he turns, and grabs the journal.  Alaric goes to his locker to get a weapon that looks like a gun, but it shoots stakes.  It’s very cool.  Buffy could have used one of those.  He shoots it, and Stefan (Stefan is there!) catches the stake.  Hmmm, maybe the contraption needs a bit more speed.  Alaric tries to reload, but Stefan takes the gun away.  Stefan: “You shouldn’t have done that.”  You know, in that moment, I believe Stefan.  He has his tough voice on, which was so impressive against Logan in “History Repeating.”  He pushes Alaric into a chair, and tells him to have a seat.  Inspecting Alaric’s weapon, he asks: “What is this, compressed air?  Did you make it yourself?  Who are you?  I’m not gonna hurt you, unless you try that again.  Now, who are you?”  Stefan is totally in control of this situation.  For realsies.  Stefan asks again: “Now, who are you?”  Alaric: “I’m a teacher.”   Stefan: “We gonna have to do this the hard way?”  Um, guys, I kind of think Stefan may have wanted to do it the hard way.  After he went all Jack Bauer on Dimwit last week, I would totally believe that he enjoys a little torture now and then.  Just saying.  Alaric decides it might be wise to elaborate: “I’m also a historian, and while researching Virginia, I made a few discoveries about your town.”  Stefan: “So you show up like Van Helsing?  C’mon, tell me the truth.”  Ha!  Alaric: “My wife was a parapsychologist.  She spent her life researching paranormal activity in this area.  It was her work that led me here.”  Ooh, intriguing.  What was that Isobel up to?  Stefan asks where Alaric’s wife is, and Alaric explains that she’s dead, and a vampire killed her.  Stefan asks about the journal, and they realize it’s missing.  Their cluelessness to Anna’s presence was totally worth it for that awesome scene.  More Alaric and Stefan scenes, please.

Cut to the journal thief herself, Anna, reading it in the hotel room.  Ben: “Did you find anything yet?”  Anna: “Not yet.  Just a lot of gibberish.  Some people just shouldn’t journal.”  Honestly, I think that last part is my favorite quote of the episode.  I don’t really know why I find it so funny, but I really do.  Ben: “I thought this Gilbert was the brains.”  Anna is not really in the mood to discuss this with her boy toy: “Don’t you have a date?”  Ben: “Yeah, wish me luck.”  He  tries to kiss her, but she pushes him away.  Poor Ben.  I mean, die Ben!  As Anna continues to read, we hear the Jonathan Gilbert VO again, this time talking about Pearl: “I saw her again today, the most beautiful woman in town, with a name just as pretty: Pearl.”

Cut to Pearl, back in 1864.  She is talking to Katherine: “Have you thought anymore about what I’ve said?”  Katherine: “We’ll leave soon, Pearl.  I promise.  I need to take care of a few things first.”  Pearl: “You’re going to turn both of them, aren’t you?”  Katherine gives a little shrug and coy look.  Oh Scarlett Katherine.  Pearl tells her to be careful.  Katherine: “We’ll all be safe, I promise.  Mr. Gilbert’s coming.  Quick, your cheeks.  [She pinches them.]  Perfectly rosy.”   Ah, the days before blush.  Beauty is pain, ladies.  Pearl walks off with Jonathan Gilbert, and asks him about the comet, flirtatiously.  Ooh, so does that mean that Emily’s plan was already in motion?  Or a coincidence?  Katherine to Anna: “Your mother has an admirer.”  The ladies giggle at this.

Meanwhile, Giuseppe Salvatore is walking across his property with his sons.  Giuseppe explains: “As descendants of one of the founding families, they will want to know that they can count on you.”  Stefan: “Of course they can.  Is there any doubt?”  Giuseppe: “I’m not sure your brother Damon understands the importance of duty.”  Stefan: “Damon left the Confederacy on principle.  It’s his choice, and should be respected.”  It’s nice to see Stefan stick up for his brother.  Giuseppe: “You’ll forgive me if I have trouble respecting a deserter.”  Oh, he is a hard ass.  Damon: “Well, I never asked for your respect.”  Giuseppe: “Good for you Damon, because all I have for you is disappointment.”  Stefan hurriedly tries to change the subject, and prevent a blow out: “You said the town is in trouble?”  Giuseppe: “There have been too many deaths.  It is time for us to fight back—stop these killers.”  Damon: “You’re being cryptic, father.  Why don’t you just say the word?”  Giuseppe: “Vampires.  They exist, and they live amongst us.  But we have a plan to kill them.  And you’re going to help us.”  OK, anyone else think about the Battlestar Galactica credits when they heard that line?  No?  Just me?  Fine.

Cut to Damon in the present, sharing his daddy issues with Jenna in the Gilbert kitchen: “My father never approved of anyone I dated, which only made me want them more, of course.  What about you?”  Jenna: “There were a few guys.  Logan isn’t the only loser I’ve dated.”  I hear you, Jenna.  Losers usually come in groups of three, at least.  Damon: “Did they ever find him?  Is he still missing?”  Jenna: “He’s not missing.  He’s in the Bahamas working on his tan.  Very entitled, that one.  Marches to his own drum.  He’s a Fell.  They’re all snooty.”  Interesting.  So who told Jenna that Logan was in the Bahamas?  I’m going to guess Alaric, but it could have easily been Damon or Stefan.  Damon gives a little laugh, as everyone knows that the Fells are snooty.  Elena comes in and asks what they’re doing.  They’re cooking dinner.  So Stefan isn’t the only Salvatore who can cook, apparently.  Yum.  Now I want Italian food.  Damon asks about Stefan, and Elena says he’ll be there soon.

Cut to Stefan, continuing his interrogation of Alaric: “How long have you been aware of me?”  Alaric: “I learned just recently, when I met your brother.”  Stefan: “You met Damon?”  Alaric: “Who do you think killed my wife?”  Wow.  Alaric has balls.  Stefan: “You certain it was Damon?”  Alaric: “I witnessed it.”  Stefan: “If you’re here for revenge, this is going to end very badly for you.”  Sigh.  He is most likely very right.  Alaric: “I just want to find out what happened to my wife.”  Do we believe him?  Is Alaric just looking for closure, and not for revenge?  What do you guys think?  Stefan: “I thought you said …”  Alaric explains that he saw Damon draining her, but that Damon disappeared, along with her body, which was never found.  Intriguing.  The Isobel-is-now-a-vampire Theory is looking more and more likely.  Stefan: “Damon can never know why you’re here.  He’ll kill you without blinking.”  Alaric: “I can take care of myself.”  Aw, that’s cute, Alaric.  You are a pretty awesome slayer, but I’d avoid Damon if at all possible.  Stefan: “No you can’t.  I can help you, if you let me.”  A Stefan-Alaric alliance?  I like it.

Cut to Damon and Elena in the kitchen.  Damon runs into her, possibly making sure that their bodies touch.  Elena: “Don’t do that.”  Damon: “What?”  Elena: “You know what.  That move was deliberate.”  Damon: “Yeah, I was deliberately trying to get to the sink.  Speaking of Stefan, where is he?  He’s missing family night, which I am enjoying immensely.”  First of all: ha!  Second of all: ha ha!  Damon then gets a little serious.  He asks Elena: “Is it real?  This renewed sense of brotherhood?  Can I trust him?”  She doesn’t meet his eyes, and hurriedly says that he can.  Stefan really shouldn’t have told his secret about tricking Damon to his girlfriend, since she is such a bad liar.  Damon superspeeds over, and looks into her eyes.  He asks her again if he can trust Stefan.  Elena points out that she’s wearing vervain, so it won’t work.  Damon, hilariously replies: “I’m not compelling you.  I just want you to answer me, honestly.”  It’s all in the tone.  Elena: “Of course you can.”  You can totally tell that Elena feels bad.  I think that it’s also interesting to note that Katherine, the evil vampire, was always honest with Damon, while Elena, the sweet teenager, is not.  It’s a crazy world, people.

Back in 1864, however, Katherine does a little lying of her own.  She and Papa Salvatore are playing croquet, and she is winning.  Katherine: “You can trust me, Mr. Salvatore.  I would never cheat.”  Uh huh.  Stefan and Damon approach.  Giuseppe turns to his boys: “I’m losing over here, again.”  Katherine curtsies.  I find her curtsy hilarious.  She is just such a delightful brat.  It cracks me up.  Damon: “She’s good.  I almost believe she genuinely likes him.”  Stefan: “Perhaps she does.”  Damon: “She knows father would have her killed if he knew the truth.”  Stefan: “Not if we talked to him, explained how we feel.  He could help us keep her safe.”  Stefan is in such denial.  Damon: “Have you gone mad?  No, Father would drive a stake in her himself.”  Stefan: “That’s not true.  We can trust him.”  Oh, poor naïve Stefan.  Damon: “No, not with this.  Promise me you won’t tell him, Stefan.”  Stefan looks over at Katherine: “I promise.”  There’s the promise, readers.  Take note.

Cut to Damon in the present.  He tells Elena: “There was a time that I trusted him more than anyone.”  Elena: “Trust breeds trust.  You have to give it to get it.”  Isn’t she the little hypocrite?  Although, honestly, I can’t blame Elena for lying, as she is only doing so in order to keep her promise to Stefan.  Damon: “Are you lecturing me?”  Elena: “Do you need to be lectured?”  Damon: “I just want her back.  I’m sure you can understand that.”  Elena: “I can understand that you would do anything for her, yes.”  Damon: “Then you understand what I’ll do if anyone gets in my way.”  Threaten, much?  Uh oh.

Cut to Jeremy and Damon play video games.  Damon has a quick learning curve, due to his vamp reflexes.  Jeremy’s phone rings, but he doesn’t answer it.  Damon:  “Who are you dodging?”  Jeremy: “This girl Anna.  She can be … uh persistent.”  Damon: “Is she hot?”  Jeremy: “Yeah, but she can be weird.”  Damon: “Hot trumps weird.  Trust me.”  Oh, Damon, you sound just like Barney.  This totally reminds me of the hot-crazy scale from the How I Met Your Mother.  In the kitchen, behind them, Jenna notes: “He is ridiculously hot.”  Damon, with his vamp hearing, is very happy to eavesdrop on that one, but then Elena replies: “He’s an ass.”  Jenna takes a look at all the Gilbert memorabilia:  “What are you doing with all this stuff?”  Elena lies: “I thought there might be something about my birth parents.”  Jenna: “Have you told Jeremy?”  Good point, Aunt Jenna.  Shouldn’t Elena tell Jeremy?  And on that note, is Jeremy adopted too?  Or were the Gilberts able to get pregnant a couple years after Elena.  What is their age difference?  One year?  Two?  Elena: “I will, when the time is right.”  Hmm, that sounds like “not until he finds out from someone else, and it becomes awkward and hurtful” to me.  At that point, the doorbell rings.  It’s Stefan.  Well, at least he’s not climbing in through Elena’s window.  Elena opens the door, and Damon runs quickly over to the door too, looking expectantly at his brother: “Well?”

Meanwhile, Ben and Bonnie are still on their date, though we apparently missed the karaoke part.  Ben: “Admit it, I can’t sing.”  Bonnie laughs it off, and notes: “Well, first mistake: Metallica karaoke.”  Ben: “Well, at least I can admit it.”  They banter a bit, and Ben references a “next time,” which Bonnie quickly picks up on.  She clearly really likes Ben, and since I know he’s using her I kind of want to poke his eyes out.  Not that I endorse violence of any kind.  Bonnie makes mention of Elena, and Ben takes interest in that.  He says that he drifted apart from his friends, who moved away after graduation.  Bonnie: “Elena and I are bonded for life.  I can’t imagine it any other way.”  Ben: “That tight, huh?”  Bonnie: “She’s my sister.  I mean I’d die for her.”  Uh oh.  Let’s hope you don’t have to, Bonnie.  At this point, Bonnie just gave Ben a big hint as how to get her to open the tomb.  Oops.

Back at the Gilbert house, Stefan, Damon, and Elena wonder what happened to the journal.  Damon: “Who took it?”  Stefan: “I don’t know.”  Damon: “You  know what, it’s that teacher.  There’s something really off about him.”  Stefan sticks up for Alaric: “No, he doesn’t know anything.  Someone got to him, right before me.”  Damon indicates that he wants to ask Jeremy.  Elena protests, but not very hard.

They go inside.  Damon addresses Jeremy: “So, I heard you found a really cool journal from back in the day.  Who else did you show it to?”  Jeremy is all like, “Huh?”  Damon: “Don’t ask questions, just spill.”  Jeremy: “You’re kidding me right?”  You’d think Jeremy would be used to people begging for the journal already.  He’s a little slow on the uptake.  Elena asks her brother if he told anyone else besides Mr. Saltzman about the journal.  Jeremy: “Why is everyone so obsessed with that thing?”  He reveals that he did tell one more person: “Just that girl Anna.”  Damon: “The hot weird one?”  Jeremy: “Yeah.”  Stefan: “Wait, who’s Anna?”  Oh, Stefan, you are so behind the times.  Damon: “That’s what I want to find out.  How do you know her?”  [Elena's phone rings at this point, and she leaves the room.]  Jeremy: “I just know her.  She wants me to meet her at the Grill tonight.”   Damon: “Perfect, I’ll drive.”  Ha!  That little interchange was great.  Jeremy and Damon have a lot of chemistry.  Or is it just that Damon has chemistry with everyone?

Upstairs, Elena answers her phone, wanting to talk to Bonnie alone.  She wants all the details of the date.  Bonnie says that he’s a perfect gentleman, and she really wants to kiss him, but she’s scared.  Elena gives her a pep talk: “You’re a powerful witch goddess.  C’mon, seize the day, Broom-Hilda.”  Broom-Hilda!  I love it!  As Elena and Bonnie hang up, Stefan comes upstairs, and tells Elena that Damon went with Jeremy.  Elena wonders why Stefan didn’t go too.  He explains that Alaric made a copy of the journal, which he has—a fact that he deliberately neglected to mention to Damon.

Cut to Anna and Jeremy at the Mystic Grill.  Anna: “You just couldn’t live without me, could you?”  Jeremy: “Well, I kind of miss my daily dose of cute stalker chick.” Hee.  Damon recognizes Anna and is shocked.  Pulling one over on Damon is pretty impressive.  My respect for Anna just grew ten sizes.

We fade into a 1864 flashback, featuring the bonnet-wearing version of Anna.  Anna and Emily are sitting outside of the apothecary shop.  Playing lookout, perhaps?  Inside, Pearl tells Katherine: “The sheriff was here earlier.  He bought large volumes of the vervain elixir.”  So, is he Caroline’s ancestor?  Katherine asks, “Did he try to put his hands on you again?”  Pearl: “Doesn’t he always?”  Katherine quips to Damon, “She’s saving herself for Jonathan Gilbert.”  Pearl snarks, “I am beyond saving.  We know that.”  I officially love Pearl.  Katherine laughs, but Damon is worried.  He asks them how they can be so calm, as they (i.e. the founders) are getting closer to finding them.  Katherine: “We are the respectable ladies of Mystic Falls.  Thanks to Emily, we walk the streets in daylight.  No one will ever suspect us.”  OK, question: were Katherine, Pearl, and Anna all wearing rings?  Or did Emily have some other way of keeping them safe from the sun?  Pearl notes, “Not unless a human tells them.”  Damon is offended, and says that he would sooner die.  Katherine: “And soon enough, you will.”  They kiss.  Anna comes in to tell them that Mrs. Fell approaches, and Pearl thanks her, calls her Annabelle, and hugs her.

In present Damon watches a bonnet-less Anna play foosball, and is contemplative.

Back at the Gilbert home, Elena reads from the journal: “Here’s a reference that he wrote about Emily.  ‘The Fell family believed it should be I, not them, who protected the witch’s spell book.   But I feared she would haunt me from the hereafter.  They mocked my fear, but it was Giuseppe Salvatore who …’  Is that your father?”  Stefan says yeah, and continues reading: “It was Giuseppe Salvatore who removed my fear.  He told me he would protect the secret of the spell book.  He said he would carry it to his grave.”  Dun dun dun.  Also, Giuseppe Salvatore was a very literal man.

Cut to a flashback.  Stefan goes to his father, who is writing in his own journal.  Stefan: “Did I interrupt your writing?”  Giuseppe: “These are the dull musings of my troubled mind.”  Stefan: “A great mind.”  Stefan is a little bit of a kiss ass, no?  Giuseppe: “Still, I will carry the real secrets with me …”  Stefan finishes his sentence: “To your grave.”  Um, so Stefan didn’t even need to read the frakin’ Gilbert journal all along.  Step it up, Stefan.  Giuseppe: “And a full grave it will be.”  Giuseppe indicates the chair next to him, and Stefan sits.  Giuseppe continues: “Now, speaking of troubled minds, what’s on yours?”  His vampire girlfriend may be the target of a mob led by his own father?  Instead, Stefan says: “I have concerns about your plan for the vampires.”  Giuseppe: “And why is that?”  Stefan: “We are making the assumption that all vampires are as evil as they have been characterized.  But what if that is not true?”  Giuseppe: “Do you have any evidence to the contrary?  Do you know of any vampires?”  Stefan: “No, of course not.  But are we to take what others say at face value?  You always taught us differently.”  Giuseppe explains: “Stefan, these creatures are of the darkest parts of hell.  They have the ability to control your mind, seduce your spirit.  They are deadly.  They must be destroyed.  Those who stand with them, those who bring shame to their families, will be destroyed as well.”  Yeah, that mercy Stefan was looking for is not gonna come.  Father and son toast, and Stefan takes a drink out of the glass his dad poured.  As we will find out later, the drink was laced with vervain.  Well, now we know how Stefan got the idea to drug Damon in “Family Ties.” Present Stefan realizes that he knows where the journal is.  I should hope so.

In the present, Damon confronts Anna in her hotel room.  They both choke each other for awhile, until Damon gives in.  After some heavy breathing, Damon notes, “Damn, you’re strong for a little thing.”  Anna: “I was wondering how long it would take you to find me.”  Again, I love that Anna got the better of Damon.  It’s fun.

Cut to Elena and Stefan at Giuseppe’s grave.  Elena: “Why isn’t your father buried in your family’s tomb?”  Some exposition to appease the fans?  Stefan explains, “It wasn’t built until well after he died.”  Elena: “And you’re sure the grimoire’s in there with him?”  Stefan:  “As sure as I can be.”  Elena: “Great.”  Stefan: “Elena, I can do this on my own.”  Elena: “And I said I would do whatever I can to help.”  Then stop complaining already, Elena.  Geez.  Elena notes: “This town is my home, Stefan.  My family and friends are here.  You’re here.  I don’t want that tomb opened any more than you do.”  He nods and hands her a shovel.  Fun date night, huh?  Nothing like a little grave-digging by firelight.  Elena realizes the emotional toll this may have on Stefan, and says, “I’m sorry that you have to do this.”

Cut to Stefan in 1864.  He is in bed, and Katherine is sitting in front of the vanity, holding a necklace.  The necklace is totally the crystal—the one Damon stole at the Founder’s Ball, and Caroline got a hold of, until finally it passed to Bonnie, who is actually the rightful owner, since it was Emily’s originally.  Yep, that crystal.  Stefan ask what it is, and Katherine says that it’s a gift.  Stefan: “From Damon?”  Katherine: “From Emily, actually.  And when will you stop worrying about Damon?”  Stefan: “I want you all to myself.”  Katherine: “Just as he wants me, but I’m the one who gets to make all the rules.”  Stefan asks why, as if he didn’t know.  Katherine: “Because I’m spoiled.”  Stefan: “Yes you are.”  Katherine continues: “I’m selfish.  And because I can do this [kissing his chest] and this [continues to kiss him].”  Then she takes a bite, but it causes her to choke.  Stefan:  “What?”  Katherine: “Vervain.”  Giuseppe enters.  He is a crafty one.  Giuseppe yells at his son: “Do as I say, Stefan.  Nothing you feel for her is real.  She’s a vampire, Stefan!  A monster!  I fed you vervain hoping it might expose her.”  Stefan wonders how his father knew.  Giuseppe explains: “Your sympathy for their plight.  I didn’t raise my sons to be so weak.”  Yikes.  He tells Stefan to go to the Sheriff, and surprisingly, Stefan does as he’s told.  I’m surprised that Stefan is so fickle.  I guess he didn’t love Katherine after all.  Then we get a quick shot of Stefan and Elena digging, with dramatic music playing.

Back in the hotel, Damon and Anna catch up.  Damon: “How long have you been here?”  Anna: “I arrived around half past comet, watching you screw up every chance you had to open that tomb.”  Hee.  Damon: “How did you know about the spell?”  Anna: “I didn’t say much back then, which means I heard everything.”  Damon: “So if you’ve been here the whole time, then why are we just crossing paths right now?”  Anna explains: “I like to use others to do my dirty work.”  Damon: “Like Logan Fell?  Oh yeah, thanks for that by the way.  Little bastard shot me.”  Hee.  Anna laughs: “Logan was an idiot.  [Agreed.]  We slipped him some blood when he started getting all poser-slayer with that compass.  I needed his family’s journal, I couldn’t let him die.”  Damon:  ”What did you want with the Fell journal?”  Turns out that she thought it had the location of the grimoire, but she was wrong.  Honoria gave it to Jonathan Gilbert.  She picks up the Gilbert journal: “And according to this, he gave it to your father.  So now you’re gonna help me find it.”  Damon: “Why would I help you?”  Anna: “Because you and I both want that tomb opened.”  Um, I think Damon has heard that offer before, and been burned.  No thanks.  He looks at the journal, and he clearly reads whatever info he needs.  Is superspeed-reading a vamp power?  He says huh, closes the journal, and turns down Anna’s offer: “Sorry, I work alone.”

Meanwhile, Bonnie and Ben are still on their date, and getting ready to leave the Grill.  Ben: “Well the check’s paid.  I’m all yours tonight.  What do you want to do?”  Bonnie plucks up her courage, saying “This,” and kissing Ben.  However, her witchy powers tune her in to the fact that Ben is trouble.  I’m not sure if she realizes that he’s a vamp, but she knows that something is off.  She plays it cool, and says that she has to go to the ladies room.  She even leaves her coat behind to allay suspicion, but alas!  Ben superspeeds and cuts her off, and grabs her.  And that’s the last we see of Bonnie in this episode.  I’m not too worried, as the vamps need her to open the tomb, so they can’t hurt her … yet.  This whole incident could be a golden opportunity for her to grow into her powers a bit too.

Meanwhile, Elena and Stefan are still digging.  Elena: “Not many girls can say they’ve done this.”  Stefan finally hits the coffin, opens it, and gets the book.  Elena holds a flashlight on Stefan throughout this, which I am going to assume is for the viewers and herself, as Stefan wouldn’t need it.  At that point, conveniently, Damon arrives: “Well, what do you know.  This is an interesting turn of events.”  Hmm, a bit predictable if you ask me, but go on.  Stefan: “I can’t let you bring her back.  I’m sorry.”  Damon: “So am I, for thinking even for a second I could trust you.”  Stefan: “You are not capable of trust.  The fact that you’re here means that you read the journal, and you were planning on doing this yourself.”  Oh wow, this back and forth could go all night.  Damon: “Of course I was going to do it by myself, because the only one I can count on is me.  You made sure of that many years ago, Stefan.”  Intriguing, and we actually get the answer to that in this episode!  Damon continues: “But you [looking at Elena], you had me fooled.”  Elena looks guilty and sad.  Again, I don’t think Elena really had another choice, as she had to be loyal to Stefan.  But why does Damon care that Elena lied so much?  I think because she looks so much like Katherine, so he feels betrayed.  The one thing he has been hanging onto is that Katherine always told him the truth—it makes him feel like Katherine loved him more than Stefan—and seeing Katherine’s doppelgänger lie right to his face is probably a bit painful.  But again, that is really not Elena’s fault, but rather Damon’s baggage.  Damon: “So what are you going to do now?  Because if you try to destroy that, I’ll rip her heart out.”  Stefan: “You won’t kill her.”  Damon superspeeds over, and grabs hold of Elena.  Damon: “I can do one better.  [Damon gives Elena his blood from his wrist.]  Give me the book, Stefan, or I’m snapping her neck, and you and I will have a vampire girlfriend.”  Again, I think Elena’s presence causes Damon to think of Katherine, and live somewhat in the past.  I don’t think Elena is about to agree to any sharing.  Stefan: “Let her go first. […] I’m not going to give this to you unless she is standing next to me.”  Damon: “The problem is, I no longer trust that you’ll give it back.”  A warranted concern, to be sure.  Stefan caves: “You just did the one thing that ensures that I will.”  He slowly lowers the book to the ground, and Damon looks somewhat longingly at Elena, before letting her go.  Stefan and Elena hold onto each other, and then speed out of there.  Damon picks up the book, and looks at his father’s open grave.

Flashback to 1864, where a mob with torches is all stirred up.  Uh oh.  In the Salvatore mansion, we learn that the mysterious contraption we saw earlier was a vampire muzzle.  They put it on Katherine, and it is a disturbing visual.  Damon protests.  Giuseppe: “Do you know what they’ll do to you, if you’re branded a sympathizer?  You’ll be killed along with them.”  Damon: “Then let me be killed.”  Definitely more loyal to Katherine than his turncoat brother, I must say.  Of course, whether you prize loyalty to Katherine is another question.

Then we cut to Elena and Stefan, at the Gilbert home.  Elena is feeling the pain from her encounter with Damon: “Aspirin must be downstairs.  Is my head supposed to hurt like this?”  Stefan: “You’ll be ok.  It’s just a small amount of blood.  It should pass out of your system by tomorrow.”  OK, that is an interesting little tidbit—the idea that the blood will pass out of her system.  If she had been killed while the blood was in her system, she would become a vampire, but if she was to be killed after the blood had passed from her system, she would just be regular dead.  Elena notices that Stefan is not doing so great either, and asks if he’s ok.  Stefan: “Damon was right.  This is my fault.”  Well, he’s not wrong.  On the one hand, it is Stefan’s fault.  But at the same time, he’s not totally to blame either.  A lot of blame falls upon Papa Salvatore and all the mob-mentality townspeople.  Also, if you really think about it objectively, Stefan was a victim to Katherine.  Thus, he made a rational decision, in response to finding out that he’d been used by a deadly monster.  But why was he so ready to believe his father, after being fine with Katherine’s vampire nature for so long?  Is it because the vervain in his system provided a ward against Katherine’s compulsion?  Or was Stefan just fickle and easily influenced, but later he will regret colluding with the founders?

We then cut to the chaos in Mystic Falls. Stefan grabs Damon, preventing him from going after Katherine:  “Damon, Damon!  Stop, stop.  I’ll help you.  We’ll get her back.”  Oh, now he wants her back?  Hmmm.  Damon is not buying it: “Help me?  Don’t you think that you’ve done enough?  You promised that you wouldn’t tell him.”  Now, in Stefan’s defense, he didn’t tell his father—Giuseppe figured it out.  However, Stefan was kind of an idiot to go to his father with his doubts.  Stefan accepts the blame, regardless: “I didn’t think this would happen.”  Damon: “You did this.  This is your fault.”

Cut to Stefan in the present: “I put my faith in my father, but Damon put his faith in me, and I destroyed that.”  Yeah, you really did.  Elena: “You didn’t do anything wrong.  Don’t forget that.”  I will leave that conclusion up to you all.  What do you think?  Is Stefan in the wrong?  Stefan nods, and says he’ll go get her the aspirin.  He runs into Jenna downstairs.  Jenna: “You know you’re not staying the night, right?”  Oh, Aunt Jenna, that ship has long since passed.  Stefan humors the clueless woman: “We’re just gonna hang out for a little while.”  Jenna: “You’re lucky I like you.  Keep the door open.”  He asks for the aspirin, and then Jeremy comes in.  We learn that he has Anna over, but she is currently in the bathroom … aka kidnapping Elena.  Also, Jeremy totally invited another vamp into the house.  He really must be told ASAP.  So does that mean Anna has to die too, like Dimwit?  I think I might miss her when she’s gone.

Back in 1864, Pearl tells Anna to go get Emily, and to stay hidden.  She promises her daughter that she’ll get them out of there.  She runs to Jonathan Gilbert, but her admirer is holding the compass and figures out that Pearl is a vamp.  He is shocked.  She is scared.  Emily holds Anna back.  Pearl: “Jonathan, please, I beg you.”  Jonathan doesn’t have mercy on her: “I’ve got another one over here.”  This scene totally reminds me of Sound of Music, when Liesel’s ex-boyfriend, a young Nazi, finds the Von Trapp family hiding, and decides to turn her in after a moment of struggling consideration.  I wonder if the Nazi parallel was intentional by the writers.  Who are we supposed to be rooting for?  It’s all very grey.  But back to the action.  Pearl is shot in the back and muzzled.  I can’t help but be on Pearl’s side.  These townspeople suck.  Emily and Anna are still hiding in the bushes, and Emily tells Anna that it will be alright—she will see her mother again, as Emily already knows how to protect them.  Stefan is just standing there, looking helpless and horrified.  Then he catches sight of Anna and Emily, but he doesn’t say anything.

In the present, Stefan realizes that the name Anna is familiar, and gets scared.  He runs upstairs, calling Elena’s name.  Her room is empty, and the window is open.  It looks like Anna, being the smart cookie that she is, realized that Elena was the key to getting Bonnie to help.  Also, did Jeremy and Jenna see Stefan superspeed?  I kind of hope that they did, so that the whole family will be in on the vamp thing.  It might cut down on the vampires in the house.

So, what did you think of the episode?  I’ve asked about a million questions throughout the recap, and would love to read your theories and reactions below.

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