Episode Report Card Cindy McLennan: A | 2 USERS: A YOU GRADE IT Just Because I Tell You Things Doesn't Mean You're Allowed To Know Them
By Cindy McLennan | Season 3 | Episode 1 | Aired on 09.15.2011
When Tyler and Sophie walks up, Tyler wants to know what happened with Caroline and Matt, but she just tells him, "Nothing." Sophie smiles. "Great party, Caroline. Caroline flashes back a fake smile and with her voice unnaturally high says, "Thanks." The camera zooms in on Caroline's right eye. She turns on the compulsion glare and her voice drops two octaves as she adds, "Now leave it." Ha! Tyler's all, "What the hell?" But Caroline ignores him and storms off.
Back on the patio, Damon's putting away his cell phone as he tells Alaric that Andie wants him to pick her up. Alaric says, "You mean your fake, compelled girlfriend wants you to be a chivalrous boyfriend." Damon smirks. "Well, it's a complicated dynamic." Indeedy it is. He tells Alaric to hold the fort down in his absence. Alaric says, "You mean the fort full of my drunk history students?" Damon: "Drink more. It'll feel less weird."
Upstairs, Caroline yells out, "This room is off limits," until she realizes it's Elena entering Damon's room. Caroline's there to take a beat and drink a bag of blood. When she asks if Elena if she's hiding, Elena says she was just looking for Damon. Caroline says he'd better be there somewhere because they haven't even done the birthday cake, yet. Elena would like to pass on that, but Caroline insists that she do it. "It's your birthday, dawn of a new day, and you can't get on with your life until you've made a wish and blown out the candles." Elena wonders if getting on with her life is what everyone wants from her. Caroline wants to make sure that Elena's life doesn't pass her by. Elena won't give up on her search for Stefan and says her only wish is to find out that Stefan is alive. Caroline apologizes, blames her insensitivity on her drunkenness. Elena only half listens though, because she catches sight of Damon's whole closet full of Stefan clues and opens the door to investigate further. She is shocked to realize Damon is tracking, in her words, "Klaus." Caroline asks why Damon wouldn't just tell her what he was doing. Elena doesn't know.
She returns to the party and calls Damon who is now at the news station. He lies that he's still at the party, near the punch bowl. When she tells him not to lie, she also blurts out that she saw his closet. Damon can't have this conversation right now, so he says, "Oops oh, gotta go...gotta go break up beer pong." The Damon role must be a heck of a lot of fun to play, don't you think? He hangs up on her and walks into the stage 3, which is where Stefan confronted Andie. Inside he finds her bag on the floor and finally sees Stefan, who greets him with a, "Hello brother." Damon: "You don't write... you don't call..." Stefan stands at a distance and tells Damon to stop following him. "It's causing some... problems." Damon scoffs at this. "With who -- Klaus? I'm supposed to care what he thinks?" Stefan: "What you're supposed to do is let me go." Damon tells Stefan he saw his latest art work in Tennessee and warns him that he's walking a fine line. "Keep that up and there will be no saving you." Stefan says he doesn't need saving, he just wants Damon to let him go. Damon says, "I've got a birthday girl at home who's not going to let me do that." At the mention of Elena, all traces of whimsy leave Stefan's face and his anger rises to the surface. He nods and pauses for a moment then says, "You know maybe I haven't made my point." He looks over his shoulder and yells up in the air, "Hey, Andie, you still there?" Damon says, "Andie?" The camera pans to a terrified Andie standing at the end of a a catwalk high above the studio floors, near the lights. She cries down to Damon, "Damon, I can't move. I can't move, Damon. He told me that I can't move." Damon yells to her that it's okay and to stay calm and then hisses at Stefan. "Not cool, brother." Stefan smiles. "Aw c'mon. It's a little bit cool, huh?" While still holding Damon's gaze he says, "Hey, Andie, you can move now." Damon yells, "No, no, no, no, no," but before he can Stealth-Salvatore over and catch her, Stefan pushes him back up against a wall. Andie crashes to the floor way below with a sickening thud. Stefan, throttling Damon, says, "I said, let me go!" Damon pushes his way free and rushes to Andie's side, but she's already dead. When Damon turns to look at Stefan, he finds he has already gone. Commercial.