Episode Report Card Cindy McLennan: A | 2 USERS: A+ YOU GRADE IT Working At The Car Wash
By Cindy McLennan | Season 1 | Episode 5 | Aired on 10.08.2009
Logan "Scum" Fell is taping a news segment on the car wash, as Aunt Jenna looks on. When he's done, they trade banter and then Jenna thanks him for dinner. Scum is classy, so he brings up the last time they were in the school parking lot. Jenna plays dumb at first, but cops to remembering how they had sex there, in a mini-van. Ew. Meanwhile, Elena is concerned that Stefan is getting soap on his magic ring. She offers to stow it in her purse, but he never takes it off. He explains it's a family heirloom from the Italian Renaissance (which has the book fans swooning even more). It has their family crest over a lapis lazuli stone.
Elena watches the money table while Caroline goes to get more towels. Alone in the school, she feels like someone is following her. She turns to find (an apparition of) a sick looking Damon, asking her for help. He disappears, but his pleas linger on the air. Caroline hustles down the corridor and we cut to...
Elena is working the money table, when the old man who recognized Stefan comes up to pay for having his car washed. She tells him she saw him the night before and gets him to talk about Stefan. When the old man first moved to town, he stayed at the Salvatore boarding house. Stefan was just passing through to visit his uncle -- Joseph, not Zach. No one knew Stefan was even in town until Joseph was killed -- mauled by an animal. Before he finishes, Tiki walks up. It seems the man is her grandfather. She tells him that her mom wants him home. As he walks off, Tiki tells Elena, "He's a little 'alzy-heimer'." Elena follows after him, to confirm that the man he knew was Stefan. He was. The man remembers his ring, and his brother Damon. Elena finally asks the magic question. "When was this?" The old man replies, "It was early June...1953." After the commercial, Elena tries to get more information from Stefan about his family, etc., but he's about as forthcoming as you would be, if you were a 150+ year old vampire.
Vicki drags Jeremy through the cemetery to party -- because she is sensitivity personified, and why wouldn't he want to get wasted so close to the slowly decaying corpses of his parents? They meet up with a handful of her druggie friends who at first tease her about "babysitting," but soon are passing them the joint, like you do WHEN YOU'RE SITTING AT A MAUSOLEUM. Vicki takes a drag then blows the smoke in Germ's mouth, which is waste-productese for, "Do me, baby."
Car Wash: Elena teases Jenna about her car being done an hour before, but they're interrupted by Scum. Elena asks Scum if he can do her a favor. With Jenna's okay, she explains that she needs access to old news stories from the 1950s. Elena tells Jenna not to tell anyone where she went, because she doesn't want "Caroline" to know she left, but she's looking at Stefan as she says this.