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Since Stefan doesn't drink human blood, Damon has the power to get into his dreams. He plants a nightmare about him (Damon) killing Elena. Kind of rude, huh? Stefan thinks so, so he stabs Damon. Damon stabs Stefan back. Seeing how you're undead, that could go on all day, boys. No. Really. Take another gander at Stefan's six-pack before you decide. See? Now, where was I? Oh yes, we learn from Logan "Scum" Fell (current Mystic Falls news reporter and guy who done Aunt Jenna wrong) that the wild animal that's been killing everyone is a mountain lion. The lion roars, "I've been framed," and points a paw at Damon, but the authorities turn a blind eye to the poor beast's plight. Stefan's reads him loud and clear though, and resolves to stop Damon. Once Damon turns on their human relative, Zach, Stefan suddenly has a less-insane Renfield of his very own. Zach's been growing Vervain in secret, down in the musty cellar of Mossy Manse. Stefan needs the upper fang, so he spikes Damon's scotch with it, but Damon's been around the block and isn't fooled, only angry.
Meanwhile, the town is all atwitter about the annual Founder's Ball. Elena gives a collection of Gilbert heirlooms to Tyler, so his mom can display them at the ball. His dad is the mayor, and the shindig is happening at their mansion. Jeremy swipes the pocket watch beforehand, though, because it was to go to him upon his father's death. When Elena finds out, she takes it to bring to the ball, but at the last moment, relents and leaves it with Germ. While Caroline's getting ready, Damon hypnotizes her to wear the dress of his choosing, and then they have a little interlude. I'd call it romantic, but it's more a mix of hot, creepy and sad. They kiss. Caroline, who is aware Damon is a vampire, asks him if he's going to kill her. Damon says he is, but not yet. He has something he needs her to do for him. She agrees, and says she'd do anything for him, and this character I thought was going to be but a shadow of BtVS/Angel's Harmony manages to break my heart in two seconds. While Elena and Bonnie get ready for the ball, Bonnie spills the beans that Caroline told her in "confidence" about Stefan and Damon's past. Supposedly, Stefan was the bad guy in the Damon-Katherine-Stefan triangle. He lied to Katherine, in order to turn her against Damon. Bonnie -- who reluctantly joined Team Stefan after dinner last week, is now back to warning Elena to be leery of him. While she's with Bonnie, Elena recognizes this intel for the Damon-plant that it is, but at the ball, when she's dancing with Stefan and he won't open up about Katherine, she turns on him and stomps away. Caroline's with Damon, and her sheriff-mother isn't pleased about this. Seems her father is on holiday with his boyfriend, though, so what's a single mother to do, even if she has a big, honking, service revolver? Aunt Jenna and Bonnie each go stag, and while Logan tries to rekindle the flames between him and Jenna, Bonnie discovers she's a firestarter, and that Ty's mother is a bitch.
In the rest room, Elena spies Caroline's bite marks and bruises, realizes they're from Damon, and gives him what for. She then goes to Stefan to apologize, but things remain tense between them, because he acknowledges he already knew Damon had something sick going on with Caroline, and yet all he'll tell her is that she has to trust him, and that he'll handle it. Elena points out that trust has to be earned, but Stefan barely has time to listen to her, because he sees an angry Damon dragging Caroline off into the night -- chastising her about letting Elena see her injuries.
Damon's well and truly done with Caroline and lunges for her neck, but it turns out she's not good to the last drop. When Damon took Elena off for a chat during the ball, Stefan drugged Caroline's champagne with Vervain. Since his girlfriend/victim is a walking Mickey, Damon collapses. Stefan drags him off and locks him up in the dungeon at Mossy Manse. When Caroline comes to, she's on the lawn alone. She finds the amber crystal that Damon swiped from the mansion earlier. As she stands there alone and freaked out, Elena finds her. Caroline sobs in her arms.
At the Mayor's mansion, Ty's parents, Caroline's sheriff-mom and Logan "Scum" Fell lament the fact that they didn't get the Gilbert watch. Mrs. Mayor says Elena said it must still be packed up with her parents' things. Scum says he can get it. Sheriff-Mom says, "Good, we're going to need it," and then this unlikely quartet seems to reveal itself as a citizens' Council of Watchers. Sheriff Mom notes that all five bodies were completely drained of blood. Scum says, "They've come back," and we fade to black. I'll catch you on the flipside with the full weecap, because there's more fun to be had with Ty, Germ and Vicki, some Twilight mockage and props for Anne Rice. In the meantime, do not accept any drinks from strange men.
Want more? The full recap starts right below! Was "Family Ties" the best episode of The Vampire Diaries so far, or what? I'll get right to the recap, and save the chit-chat for the end, but seriously? "Family Ties," which was written by Andrew Kreisberg (Fringe; Eli Stone; Boston Legal) and Brian Young (Kyle XY), and directed by local boy Guy Ferland (Sons of Anarchy; Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles; The Riches; The Shield) just stripped the top layer of guilt from this guilty pleasure.Previously, on The Vampire Diaries: For over a century, Stefan Salvatore has hidden in the shadows, but now takes a flying leap off the roof of Mossy Manse and into the sunshine of Elena Gilbert's love. Stefan and Elena meet. Elena and Damon meet. Damon and Stefan? Well, "It's complicated," m'kay? Stefan and Damon's ex, Katherine, who -- unbeknownst to Elena -- was last alive around 1864, is Elena's doppelganger. Damon hates Stefan because of her. Damon enthralls Caroline, feeds off her, and uses her as a puppet for his amusement. He then tries to use his vampyric compulsion to induce Elena to kiss him, but she's wearing the Vervain (vampire saltpeter)-laced amulet Stefan gave her, so she smacks the bad brother, instead. After Damon kills All-Trades Tanner, Stefan concludes that Damon is but a monster, "who must be stopped." Damon then reveals his humanity (only to us) as he watches over a sleeping Elena and tenderly strokes her cheek.
Now: Elena wakes with a start in her bed at Gilbert Gables. She walks out of her bedroom, saying, "Hello?" Looking down over the banister, she calls for her brother, Germ, but no one answers. As a door creaks, a shadow flits across the floor, below. Elena runs downstairs and hits the light switch. The lights don't come on, but a few seconds later, the TV does. Reporter Logan Fell, played by other local boy, Chris J. Johnson (Fifty Pills; South Beach), reports that there's been another wild animal attack. The victim? Elena Gilbert. As Elena tries to take this in, Damon sing-songs: "You know what's coming ." Yes, Elena has once again fallen prey to the Stealth Salvatore. She runs to the front door, opens it, and is Stealth-Salvatored AGAIN. So she closes it, and is Stealth-Salvatored, one more time. She brings her hands to her head as if to keep it from exploding, rubs her eyes, and Damon disappears, only to Stealth-Salvatore her from the side. He sinks his fangs into her neck; she screams, and...
Stefan wakes with a start in his bed at Mossy Manse. As he gasps for unnecessary breath, his brother Damon says, "Bad dream? Do you know how easy it was to get in your head just now? You really need some human blood. It might even the playing field.... Football reference! Too soon?" Ahahahaha. Damon, you card, it's never too soon to joke about All-Trades Tanner. Stefan gets up and fast-forwards himself to his desk, picks up a silver letter opener, and hurls it at Damon. He hits him, but misses his heart. Damon glances down at it as though it were a common pin, pulls it out, and waves the bloody, makeshift weapon around, while he informs his brother that he's framed a mountain lion for the death of All-Trades Tanner and all the other recent victims of the "wild animal attacks." MYTHOLOGY MOMENT: Okay, the letter opener doesn't kill Damon, but the way Stefan hurled it, I suspect we may learn that silver kills these vampires. Anyhow, Damon pauses for effect, because he's always pausing for effect, and then mimes laying out newspaper headlines, as he announces: "Deadly Beast Captured. All's Well In Mystic Falls." Damon is covering his tracks because he'll be staying in town to have even more fun with Stefan and Elena. Yippee! When Stefan reminds Damon he can't touch Elena now, Damon replies, "Well, the Vervain keeps me out of her head, but maybe that's not my target." Dirty. "Believe it or not, Stefan, some girls don't need my persuasion. Some girls just can't resist my good looks, my style, and my charm -- my unflinching ability to listen to Taylor Swift." Even though Co-Executive Producer Julie Plec insists that is not a Swift jab, I hope it was filmed before the VMAs.
Damon punctuates his point by returning Stefan's letter opener to him -- right in the gut. Stefan groans and falls to his knees in front of Damon, setting off the round of carpal tunnel amongst the Salcest slashers. Damon ignores his brother's struggles to remove the letter opener from his person, and looks down at his own damaged shirt. "This is John Varvatos, dude. Dick move." Heh. Only lesser TV vampires would be caught undead in Ed Hardy. Stefan pulls the blade from his belly just as the thorn in his side saunters out of the room. , we're treated to a shot of Paul Wesley's six-pack abs. I am not one to jump to conclusions, so I have to ponder whether or not that was gratuitous skin, or necessary to drill home the MYTHOLOGY MOMENT -- these vamps heal almost instantly. I'm afraid I'm going to have to rewind and watch it again. Huh. I'm still uncertain. Again... Two hours later... Yeah, it's inconclusive. I hope the show includes a shot like that every episode until I can make up my mind. Who's with me? Title card!.
Mossy Manse: Stefan watches as reporter Logan Fell interviews Mystic Falls' (blonde, female) sheriff about the "mountain lion" who had been wreaking havoc on the town. It's dead now, poor maligned kitty. Stefan tells his diary that the real animal is still out there. "How do I stop a monster without becoming one myself?" Xander says, "You are a monster. Vampires are monsters. They make monster movies about them." We cut to...
Gilbert Gables: Elena and Aunt Jenna have the same newscast on, but while Jenna is fixated on the visual, she's providing her own audio. "Scum ball. Scum bucket." Seems "Logan 'Scum' Fell," is the reason Aunt Jenna moved away from town in the first place. Elena laughs at her aunt and pronounces Scum "cute," before returning to the table where she's polishing various family heirlooms. The late Mama Gilbert had promised use of these items to Mrs. Lockwood ('Roid Rage's mother) and the Founders Council for their Heritage Project. Jeremy picks up a pocket watch and wonders aloud how much the stuff would be worth on e-Bay. Elena snatches it back, scolds the Germ, and assures him she's not giving the trinkets away; they'll just be on loan.
Stefan rings Elena's bell (hush). Elena answers the door, pulls him out of view, grabs his face and kisses him. I shudder to think how forward she'll be once she lays eyes on his abs. Contrary to TWoPular opinion, I think Paul Wesley and Nina Dobrev have lovely chemistry. Elena stops sucking Stefan's face long enough to say hi. To each her, own. Anyhow, because Aunt Jenna is a crap guardian, Elena feels free to take Stefan to her bedroom. Seated on her bed, they resume macking with their feet on the floor, but do not remain in the upright position for long. As Elena's breath comes hot and heavy, Stefan takes the opportunity to peek at himself in the mirror, which makes me giggle. MYTHOLOGY MOMENT: These vampires have reflections. And I'm sure we're meant to understand that his desire for Elena has brought forth the beast within, but the timing of his transformation has me breathless with laughter, because it looks like he vamps out, only after he catches sight of his fine self. And who would blame him? So yeah, Stefan abruptly ends the make-out session, and sits with his back to Elena until his face returns to normal. They agree it's time to "press pause," and he moves to her window seat. She asks him how he looks in a suit. Use your imagination, E. I know I do when Stefan says, "I can pull one off," at least until I remember that's not what he means, and that my husband and mother will likely read this recap. Hi, guys! She asks him to be her date to the Founders' Party. Stefan slips. "They still do that?" When Elena asks if he's been before, he says the Salvatores are no longer invited. She explains that her mom was on the Founders Council and was invo
lved in the Heritage Project that will be displayed at the party. Stefan kindly cuts off her nervous babbling. "I would be honored to accompany you, Miss Gilbert." Elena beams. "The pleasure is all mine, Mr. Salvatore." That exchange is a credit to the actors, because Stefan sounds like a man of his bygone era, while Elena is a thoroughly modern Millie, trying to play along.
Caroline's Crib: Caroline tries on a fluffy yellow dress with a big black cummerbund. Damon, who is lounging on her bed, reading a book, declares the look "jaundice" and insists she goes with a blue dress, if he's going to be her date. She tells him he's not. "My mother is going to be there, and she's a very proud gun owner." Damon says he went through a lot of trouble to make sure the party wasn't cancelled and that it's very important he attends, and then he enthralls her, ensuring his invite and her wardrobe change. And my word, would you look at those cheeky undies she's wearing! It's scenes like this that keep me from bitching about how most of the cast has been out of high school at least long enough to have attended a reunion or two. While Caroline goes to get another dress, Damon complains about the book he's reading. "What's so special about this Bella girl? Edward's so whipped." Hee. As Caroline tells him he has to read the books in order, if he wants them to make sense, we get a good look at the bite marks on her shoulder blade (which seems like an odd location, yeah?). Damon sighs. "Oh, I miss Anne Rice. She was so on it." Whee! I'm glad the writers are hanging a lantern on all the Twilight comparisons. Sure, the Twilight sensation boosted Williamson and Plec's chances at getting this show made, but L.J. Smith's series, The Vampire Diaries came years before Stephanie Meyer quite literally dreamt up Edward Cullen and crew, and both authors arguably owe obeisance to Rice. But... back to the story. Caroline asks Damon why he doesn't sparkle. He snaps her neck ala Angelus and Jenny Calendar, or perhaps he just snarks, "Because I live in the real world, where vampires burn in the sun." When she notes that he can go out in the sun, we have another MYTHOLOGY MOMENT -- wherein Damon reminds us he can go in the sun thanks to his magic ring.
Caroline examines herself in the mirror. "Will these bites turn me into a vampire?" Buffy says, "To make you a vampire they have to suck your blood. And then you have to suck their blood. It's like a whole big sucking thing. Mostly they're just gonna kill you." Damon says it's more complicated. MYTHOLOGY MOMENT: "You have to feed on my blood, then die, then feed on a human's. It's a whole ordeal." It's still a whole big sucking thing, but with even more suck. After he sneers at Twilight, he playfully grabs Caroline. She giggles as he pulls her down on the bed, climbs on top of her, and plants shockingly sweet kisses on her face. His pace slows as he reaches her neck, and Caroline says he can be very sweet when he wants. Damon, of course, agrees. He brushes back her hair and strokes her face as he gazes down at her. Her expression changes to that of a child. Softly, she says, "Are you going to kill me?" As sweet as ever, Damon confirms this. "Mmm hmm. But not yet." Caroline asks why not. Damon says there's something he needs her to do. She smiles and says, "Anything." Damon asks how good she is at sticking her nose in where it doesn't belong. She shakes her head. "Oh, I'm excellent." He kisses her full on the mouth and we fade out. My word, that scene was hot, creepy and sad. And Caroline's character grew five layers in as many seconds. Don't get me wrong. This is still cheese, but it's as far from Processed "Cheese Food" as is Camembert.
Mystic Grill: Tyler's having dinner with his parents, Mayor and Mama Lockwood. Since this scene is mostly set up, I'll take a moment to thank Kaboom in the forum, for reminding me that Mama is played by Susan Walters, who was Delores/a.k.a. Mulva, in two episodes of Seinfeld, including the classic, "Junior Mint." I'd only pegged her as Priscilla from Elvis and Me. Now, where was I? Oh yeah, Vicki waits on the Lockwoods, and while the Mayor is friendly, Mama Mulva is silent, and Tyler won't even meet Vicki's eye. Over at Bonnie and Caroline's table, we learn that Bonnie doesn't have a date to the Founders' shindig because, apparently, those Mystic Falls boys who haven't had their eyes pecked out by that pesky crow can't see through the fog. Vee, from Vampire-Diaries.net says her S.O. calls B.S. on that, too. I think Bonnie should ask my Pudding Pop, Matt, who has been woefully, woefully absent from this episode. Okay, as people in the forum point out, it makes narrative sense that Matt isn't around, since he and Tyler kind of broke up last week, but still -- his absence? I'm against it. Caroline takes this opportunity to "confide" in Bonnie that Stefan and Damon have deep, sordid issues, but before she gives the deets, she makes Bonnie swear that she won't tell Elena. This is, of course, the quickest way to ensure that one teenager tells another teenager something, so whatever the dirt is, Caroline is clearly doing Damon's work, here. Oh, and despite what imdb.com says, Caroline's last name is not Truitt. It's Forbes, just like it is in the books.
Once the Mayor and Mama Mulva are gone, Tyler gets all friendly with Vicki, who reams him for treating her like trash. He seems quite sincere when he assures her he doesn't think she's trash, so she gets him to ask her (kind of) to the Founders Party. Once Tyler's gone, Germ, who has been pouting at the counter, points out that Vicki had to ask Ty to ask her. "You figure if you dress up like a respectable young lady, he'll finally treat you like one?" Vicki says, "Screw you, Jeremy." Germ adds, "You know you're making the wrong choice, and yet you make it anyway. It's sad." She scoffs and walks off. And Germ makes a constipated face, which is too bad, because young McQueen is a good actor. It's just that his character is stuck in the muck of this triangle.
Mossy Manse: Damon laments Stefan's So-Called Unlife to Zach, and then encourages him to speak his mind. Zach foolishly does -- he wants to know why Damon has returned to Mystic Falls, "This time." Damon fast-forwards across the room, and grabs Zach by the neck. "You're in no position to question me." Zach chokes that he didn't mean to upset Damon. Damon smiles. "This is not upset, Zach." He continues to throttle his relative until Stefan enters and asks what's going on. Damon jokes about them spending quality time together, and then leaves. Zach, who is so deferential to Damon gets all stompy with Stefan about his failure to do anything about the threat that is Damon. Stefan reminds him that because he won't drink human blood, he's not vamp enough to stop his brother. MYTHOLOGY MOMENT: Human blood is confirmed to be the good stuff. Zach suggests Vervain, but Stefan reminds him that
Damon got rid of all the locally grown plants, back in 1865. Hand wave. Hand wave. Zach, deciding he can trust Stefan, leads him to a room in the dungeon of Mossy Manse, to reveal his own stash of Vervain, growing under his grow lights. "It's just something that's been passed down through the generations. Blood only runs so deep when you're related to vampires. Damon would kill me if he knew that I had it."
Gilbert Gables: Tyler stops by to pick up the Heritage Project items from Elena, so of course Germ answers the door, so they can revisit this toothless triangle. Elena arrives just in time with the box o' trinkets. She tries to diffuse the trouble, but once she's gone, Tyler blocks Germ from closing the door. "Hey, would it make a difference if I told you I actually like Vicki?" He seems completely sincere, but Jeremy thinks otherwise. "Not even if you meant it." He shuts the door. Since Tyler started out as a would-be date-rapist who seemed interested only in Vicki's pants, not her heart, and was 'Roid Rage incarnate last week, it's hard to reconcile his sincerity, her, and his actions throughout the rest of the episode just confuse things later. I'm fine with the idea of this triangle, but the execution isn't working for me.
In the kitchen Bonnie compares perfumes for Elena's benefit. "Delicate Flower versus Naught Vixen." Elena says, "Tough call. Can we mix them?" Oh, you should, but it takes a delicate hand, Elena. A delicate hand. Bonnie acts enthusiastic about Elena's date, but Elena knows she's fronting. Bonnie spills that per Caroline, Katherine chose Damon over Stefan, which drove Stefan mad. He did "horrible things" to break up Katherine and Damon. "He manipulated Katherine. He filled her head with all these lies, until finally it worked, and she turned against Damon." Elena recognizes this as Damon's side of the story, but Bonnie, who has already abandoned Team Stefan, says, "I just wanted you to know." She calls Stefan a "calculating, manipulative liar," but when Elena protests, Bonnie points out that Elena doesn't actually know much about him at all.
Mossy Manse: Stefan's wearing a wife-beater, and Damon is shirtless. Bless. Um... I'm sure other things happen. I just can't remember what. Maybe if I put some Vervain in my coffee and rewind... Ahhhh. Stefan tries to talk Damon out of going to the big to-do, to no avail. When Damon notices Stefan indulging in a pre-party libation, he cracks that he's finally driven his brother to drink. Stefan says that since he can't get rid of Damon, he's just trying to live his own life. Damon points out how silly that sounds. "You're dead, dude. Get over it." He then holds up a shirt, which blocks our view of his nekkid torso, and asks, "What do you think?" All the Somerhalder fangirls yell, "Cast off the unclean thing!" but he can't hear us them. We cut to...
Gilbert Gables: Bonnie and Elena are primping for the party when the phone rings. It's Mama Mulva who can't find the pocket watch that should have been in the Gilbert's box o' trinkets. Elena charges to her brother's room and accuses him of auctioning it off on eBay for drug money. Silly Elena. The Germ deals; he doesn't have to pawn his stuff. Jeremy rises from his desk, gets the watch out of hiding and says that he would never sell it. He took it, because, "It's supposed to be mine. Dad said it goes to the firstborn son. His father gave it to him, and now what?" He slaps the watch in Elena's hand. She stares down at it, and softly adds, "And he was going to give it to you." The wind out of her sails, Elena walks to the door and explains that their mom promised Mrs. Lockwood it could be included in the Heritage Project. Germ tells her to take it and get out.
Mossy Manse: As Damon preens in the mirror, he natters about how he loves not aging. "I like being the eternal stud." Stefan raises his glass to him and deadpans: "Yes, being a 150 year old teenager has been the height of my happiness." Damon chuckles. "You cracked a funny, Stefan." He eyes Stefan as he downs his drink and decides he'll have a drink to celebrate, too. MYTHOLOGY MOMENT: These vampires can drink liquids other than blood. The picture of Katherine is lying out by the decanter, and Damon comments on it, saying that Stefan and she made the perfect couple. "It was hell watching you dance with her." Stefan reminds him that his happiness was short-lived. Damon remembers waiting inside for Katherine, while Stefan was content with a gentlemanly kiss on the cheek, "When what she really wanted was..." As Stefan turns to face him, Damon raises his glass and adds, "Oh, well. Here's to history repeating itself, huh?" Somerhalder makes his psycho-eyes, winks, lifts the tumbler to his lips, and then lets it fall to floor. "I admire your effort, Stefan -- pouring yourself a drink, then spiking the bottle with Vervain. I'm not some drunk sorority chick; you can't roofie me." The look on Stefan's face indicates he's just thought of a new plan. Damon doesn't notice though, he's too busy complaining about feeling used when he thought they were having "a moment." Now he has to go to the party angry. You wouldn't like me when I'm angry.
Mayoral Mansion/Founders Party: Tyler and his parents greet their long line of guests on the front steps, and conveniently invite them into their home, ensuring Damon and Stefan easy access. When Ty spies Vicki waiting in line (dressed up like a proper young lady, too), he rushes to greet her with a hug and a kiss on the cheek, but then steers her around back, explaining that the line is too long. Mama Mulva looks on this scene with unveiled contempt.
Mossy Manse: Zach apologizes that Damon didn't fall for the Vervain Mickey. Stefan planned on that failure, to lower Damon's guard. "He won't expect me to try so soon," which is great, because Zach hands him a vial of liquidized Vervain, which he notes is twice as concentrated as what Stefan slipped in the scotch.
Gilbert Gables: As she finishes getting ready for the party, Elena's...wait a gosh darned minute. Is that a BumpIt in her hair? I do believe it is. Great, now I'm thinking about Sarah Palin. I watch these shows so I can forget about stuff like that there. Sheesh. Anyhow, Elena's eyes fall on the pocket watch. She pauses for a moment, then takes it back to Germ's room and lays it on the desk in front of him. He's wearing his headphones, and doesn't look at her until she leaves the room. Once she closes his door, Germ picks up the watch, and opens it. His eyes fill with tears, so he clicks it shut.
Mayoral Mansion: Mama Mulva receives Caroline and Damon and handily invites them in. After Damon's over the threshold, he says, "Lovely to meet you. I've been looking forward to this party for...quite a while." She tells them to "enjoy" and leaves them. She also leaves me wondering how Damon and Mulva would do as a match. They have a lot in common -- age, beauty, and tiny, hard, cold hearts. When Caroline spots the sheriff (from the newscast) talking to a minister, she tells Damon, "Wait here," so he walks right away. The sheriff is Caroline's mom, whom Caroline berates for not changing out of uniform for the party. She's-the-Sheriff points out that she's working this gig, and wants to know who the date is that Caroline just tried to sneak past her nose -- noting he looks a little long in the teeth. (Sorry.) Caroline tells her mother she wouldn't approve of anyone and we leave this loving pair for a moment, to watch the Mayor invite Stefan and Elena into the house. Once we're over that hurdle, we return to the ladies. She's-the-Sheriff says, "Where's your dad?" Caroline says, "Memphis. When her mom says that's good, Caroline snits over her shoulder, "With Stephen," and sashays off. Looks like Caroline might have two daddies, and her one mommy is not happy about that at all.
Party; Nighttime: Some guests are still partying out on the lawn, but Elena and Stefan are taking a look at all the items in the Heritage Project. Having seen the whole episode, I suspect some of these may be of some future import, so here's what the camera focuses on: some guns; a jewelry box (belonging to the Gilbert family); a mantle clock; a silver tea service. Stefan joins Elena as she looks at the wedding rings also on loan from her family, and she makes some trite comment about there being a "lot of history" there. We cut to Aunt Jenna, who looks smashing, but is all alone and obviously uncomfortable. Right after she snags herself a glass of champagne, Scum calls out to her. He aims for banter but she prefers bickering and making a hasty retreat. When he tries to flatter her by saying she hasn't changed, she begs to differ. "I'm meaner, now." Oh honey, in another 10 years you won't recognize yourself. Back at the Heritage Project display, Elena reads the original guest registry from the first Founding Families Celebration, circa 1864. She's delighted at the familiar names, "Sheriff William Forbes. Mayor Benjamin Lockwood. Her delight turns to confusion when she reads, Damon and Stefan Salvatore's names on the list. And it's Damon who saves Stefan from any questions. "The original Salvatore Brothers. Our ancestors. Tragic story, actually." Stefan says not to bore Elena and Caroline with it, but while Elena is all ears, Caroline is not. She wants to dance, and says Damon can't, so she cajoles Stefan onto the floor. Okay, since she had already planted doubt about Stefan with Bonnie (and Elena), and has now snagged him away so Damon can have some alone time with Elena, I suspect she's fulfilled her life's purpose, as far as Damon is concerned.
Stefan apologizes to Elena for trying to kiss her when last they met. "My therapist says I'm acting out -- trying to punish Stefan." Elena wants to know why, so Damon lies that it's all in the past. "Let's just say that the men in the Salvatore family have been cursed with sibling rivalry, and it all started with the original Salvatore brothers." On the dance floor, Stefan asks Caroline if Damon told her to ask him to dance. She plays dumb, and Stefan suggests they have some champagne -- which they do -- even though her sheriff-mom is on the premises and on the job!
Damon exposits that the Salvatores were prominent in town until the Civil War. He's surprised that Elena knows about the Battle of Willow Creek, so he tells her that the history books leave out the fact that the people killed in the church didn't meet their end by accident. They were believed to be Union sympathizers, which is a funny way to spell vampires. "So some of the Founders, on the Confederacy side back then, wanted them rounded up and burned alive." He walks over to a model of the church as he says that Stefan and Damon had someone they loved very much in there. "And when they went to rescue them they were shot -- murdered in cold blood." Elena asks who they wanted to save. Damon looks her straight in the eye. "A woman...I guess. Doesn't it always come down to the love of a woman?" He tilts his head. Elena gets straight to the point. "Look, I'm sorry that you and Stefan have this thing between you, but I can't get in the middle of it, Damon. I just -- I hope you two can work it out." Damon says he hopes so too, and Elena smiles.
Back Lawn: Ty and Vicki sit alone on a white, wrought iron bench. It seems we're to believe they've been there for hours. Ty won't dance or show Vicki around, so she suggests she strip naked and give "Pastor Bill" a lap dance. No, really. She accuses him of being scared of how she'll act and worrying what his parents will think of his girl from the wrong side of the tracks. Tyler sneers that he doesn't care what they think, but when Vicki tries to drag him to say hello, he won't budge. Their argument is interrupted by none other than Mama Mulva, who smiles while she asks Vicki if my Pudding Pop is her brother. Mama Mulva then says, "You'll have to forgive my son's rudeness. He gets it from his father." Vicki says, "That's all right, Mrs. Lockwood. Tyler and I were just saying goodnight." She's polite enough about it, until she spits out Tyler's name. Tyler looks sad as he watches Vicki walk away. Over his shoulder, his mother hisses, "That's what you get when you bring the trash into the party," then slithers away. Ty doesn't look in his mom's direction until her slime trail has dried up, and then it's only a second before his eyes return to Vicki's retreating form.
Party; Interior: Bonnie's sitting alone, when the candle on her table goes out. She leans down and stares at it, until it reignites. Brow furrowed, she quickly blows it back out, and we cut to...
Damon and Elena find Caroline and Stefan. Stefan actually smirks as he offers his brother a drink, and shrugs when he refuses. Elena asks her date if he has another dance left in him. He does, so they make their way to the dance floor. With genuine affection in her eyes, Caroline comments that the two look so cute together. Damon bites, "Don't talk, please." The light leaves Caroline's eyes as she sips her champagne.
Aunt Jenna approaches the bar only to find Scum there. He tries to banter with her again, but she tells him she's over that. Scum then apologizes to Jenna for her recent loss. He came to the funeral, which Jenna noticed at the time. Once he learned she was staying in Mystic Falls, he hoped for a second chance to make things right. Jenna glares. "Her name was Monica...wasn't it?" For a second, I think she means her sister, but I remember her name was Miranda, and then I remember Logan is a scum bum. So does Jenna, so she walks away.
Dance Floor: Elena and Stefan dance to Matt Nathanson's "All We Are" -- a beautiful song which has been playing for approximately the last 947 scenes. Stefan hopes Damon didn't drive Elena too crazy. She says he was on his best behavior, even apologizing. "He even explained why he is the way he is." When Stefan doesn't take the bait, she dangles some more. "It all goes back to...Katherine." Stefan nods, which doesn't satisfy Elena, so she rubs his arm as she tells him to tell her about Katherine and what happened. Stefan says he doesn't like to talk about it, but Elena says it's only fair considering how much of her drama he's been privy to. Finally, Stefan says, "Um, thank you." Elena comes right out with it. She doesn't know a lot about him and wants him to open up to her. Stefan changes the subject to Damon, who he just knows said something. "He likes to...play games and cause trouble, Elena." Elena's like a dog with a bone and says this isn't about Damon. She just wants to get to know Stefan. When Stefan tells her to let it go and that he doesn't want to talk about it, Elena insists that he tells her something. Stefan tries to point out that Damon has set up this tension. Elena says, "Well, I guess it's working," and storms off. Damon and Stefan lock eyes across the dance floor and we cut to commercial.
Bonnie tries to take the blame for Elena's falling out with Stefan. "I'm a doubt-planter." Elena pooh-poohs this, since she feels terribly for getting in the middle of everything even though she said she wouldn't, and she's ashamed she acted so snotty. Mama Mulva interrupts to inquire as to the whereabouts of the pocket watch. Elena lies that it must still be packed up with her parents' stuff, somewhere. Mulva forces a smile and asks Elena to let her know as soon as she does find it.
Caroline climbs the stairs and finds Damon, who says he's been looking for her. He drags her into a room, and positions her in the doorway, in order to obscure himself from anyone who might walk by. He grabs a small wooden chest off a shelf, opens it and takes out what appears to be an amber pendant, but Damon merely tells Caroline that it's a crystal. When she chides him for stealing, he informs her it used to be his and he's taking it back.
Jenna's standing near the bar; she's so sullen, she could totally take Germ down in a mope-off. Scum returns for another Vodka Tonic, and approaches her acknowledging this is probably going to be his third strike. He's persistent, committed and groveling, which we know, because he tells us. Sigh. Jenna has no self-respect, so she admits she left town because of him. He spews some bullshit about being young and stupid, and then things "got real." He says she knows this better than anyone -- whatever that means. Now she'll slap him and walk away, right? Right? Wrong. She asks for his hypothetical take on how he'll make things right. He says he'll recap his last few years spent soul-searching. Thank goodness, because I don't want to. He also baits her with the promise of cheese fries. They giggle that he knows her so well. Hello, what happened here? Apparently Scum hit a walk-off homerun, because Jenna says, "Yes to lunch, call me," before she takes her leave. Scum stands there smiling.
Dining Room: Bonnie overhears Mama Mulva castigating a waiter for failing to light all the candles in the room. She follows him as he scurries off to the kitchen for matches, smiling at Bonnie on her way out. Bonnie stares after her. "Bitch." She then approaches the table, puts down her glass, and stares at the unlit candles. When nothing happens, gives up and turns to walk out. We see a candle light behind her back, but Bonnie misses it, but notices the now burning candle in a wall sconce. She turns back toward the table to find every single candle in the room aflame. Now that's a power I can get behind.
Ladies Room: Elena and Caroline meet up while freshening up their makeup. Caroline gently pumps Elena for information about her and Stefan, but Elena lies that everything's just great between them. Caroline notes that her radar must be off, but before she can bang the final nail in her very own Damon-crafted coffin, Elena interrupts to ask her about the marks that are visible through her open-work cardigan. When Elena starts to pull at it, Caroline pushes her hand away and says, "Don't." Undeterred, Elena goes straight for the scarf and finds the healing but still obvious bite mark on Caroline's neck. Caroline gets nasty as she insists it's nothing, and tries to get Elena off the subject by saying, "My mom would kill me." As Caroline leans towards the mirror to adjust her lipstick, Elena pulls back the shoulder of her cardigan and sees the bite marks on her shoulder blade. Elena says, "Did Damon hurt you?" Caroline slaps her away again, tells her to leave her alone, and takes off. Jaw on the floor, Elena stares after her.
Exterior; Mayoral Mansion: Elena flies down the steps and straight at Damon, actually physically pushing him once he's within arms' reach. "There is something seriously wrong with you. You stay away from Caroline, or I will go straight to her mother -- the sheriff. You got it? Stay away from her." She leaves him standing there. He looks up at the house, undoubtedly searching for his meal. The camera pulls out to reveal Stefan standing off in the distance, by a fountain, which is where Elena finds him. She apologizes for her earlier behavior and takes back everything she said. "You were completely right about Damon." I think Stefan must be a good guy, because he doesn't say, "Duh. Brother." She tells him about the bruises and bite marks all over her friend and says Damon has Caroline all messed up in the head. When Stefan nods silently, Elena is appalled that he's not surprised by this horrid news. Stefan will only say that he's "handling it," to which Elena replies that he should be having Damon arrested. He says he doesn't expect her to understand, which only sets her off, again. "I don't understand anything, Stefan, so why don't you just clear it up for me?" Stefan says there are things he wants to tell her, but can't. "And I may never be able to.... I just need you to trust me." That's a big no. Elena says, "Trust is earned; I can't just magically hand it over." Stefan hardly listens though, because he's watching Damon lead Caroline (rather roughly) down the steps and into the night. Stefan says, "I'm so sorry, I have to go," and leaves Elena standing there.
Gilbert Gables: Germ is sitting alone playing video games, because I've grounded him until he apologizes to my Pudding Pop. He greets the sound of his doorbell with rolling eyes, and is shocked to see Vicki standing on his stoop. He tells her she looks "amazing," and asks what she's doing there. Vicki says, "I was thinking maybe I could make one more wrong choice, today." Germ smiles, because he doesn't realize that's Girl for, "I'm using you as a salve on my wounded ego." Vicki's smile grows. "I still have 17 minutes." At first I take that as dig on his prowess, then I realize he's a teenaged boy, and then I realize all she meant is that there's 17 minutes left to today. She crosses the threshold, grabs his head in her hands, and gives him a big smooch. They stop for a moment to look at each other, then pick right back up where they left off. We leave them while Jeremy is trying to close the door without breaking their clinch.
Exterior; Party: Caroline struggles to break free of Damon's grip and tries desperately to explain that Elena just took off her scarf before Caroline could stop her. "I swear, okay, that I did not tell her. I just told her that you didn't mean to hurt me." Damon stifles a grimace, and puts his hand on her shoulder. He then walks around her and embraces her from behind -- kissing the top of her head. He whispers in her ear, "You make me crazy, you know that?" Caroline starts to catch her breath. Damon says, "I forgive you," and shushes any further explanations from her. He kisses her neck and just as she closes her eyes, he says, "Unfortunately, I am so..." he kisses her shoulder. "...Over you, now." Caroline's eyes start to open, but the full meaning of his words doesn't reach her thrall-addled brain, at least not until after he sinks his fangs into her neck. As he drains her, he lowers her body to the ground, but then he chokes and stands up. His voice is hoarse. "What the Hell?" He falls, right beside his victim. Stefan walks across the lawn to where the two lay. Damon's still semi-conscious as Stefan says, "I knew I couldn't spike your drink, so I spiked hers." Yes, yes, I'm quite sure we got that. Damon groans and passes out. Stefan kneels beside his brother, and whoooosh! They're gone.
Caroline wakes, all alone on the lawn, which is better than being dead. She finds Damon's crystal and as she's rising to her feet, Elena calls out her name. Elena asks what happened to her. Caroline stifles a cry and hyperventilates as she claims to be fine. Elena notices she's shaking. She holds a sobbing Caroline in her arms and we cut to...
Mossy Manse: Over a shot of him dumping a still-drugged Damon in the dungeon, Stefan narrates his diary entry for us. He did what he had to do (er...did Damon get rid of all the stakes in 1865, too). "Headline reads: 'Deadly Beast Captured. All's Well In Mystic Falls'." Stefan closes the dungeon door and he and Zach leave the cellar, together.
Mayoral Mansion: Mayor Lockwood enters a room where Mama Mulva, She's-the-Sheriff, and Scum are already gathered. When he thanks the Sheriff for staying so late, she asks if the Lockwoods got the Gilbert watch. Mama says, "She claims it's packed away in her parents' things." Scum says, "I can get it." She's-the-Sheriff says, "Good, we're going to need it. When the Mayor asks if she's sure, the Sheriff says, "Five bodies all drained of blood. I'm certain." Scum looks glum. "They've come back." Title Card!
I hope that this is a turning point in the Jeremy/Vicki/Tyler love triangle. I like all three actors, but I can only take so much pouting and snarling, and I think they can give us more, too. Also, I hope we NEVER AGAIN have an episode devoid of my Pudding Pop. Nitpicks aside, this episode hooked me. We got some earlier mythology confirmed and some new mythology, too. Elena had spunk for the second week in a row, and the heat and creepiness balanced each other, well. Now, let's talk about the grown-ups. So that's where they've been! It seems the Founders Council is actually the Founders Council of Watchers -- the F'n CoW, if you will. Scum's interest in Jenna may or may not be feigned, but even if it is legit, he's not morally opposed to using her to get what he wants; in fact he's counting on it. Mama Mulva is totally wasting her time worrying about Tyler's teeny-bopper romance, since she knows there's a fang gang in town. And Caroline's mother doesn't know how close those five drained bodies came to being six -- with her own lovely girl serving as the cherry (more or less) on top. Excellent! Let the games begin.
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