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Caroline haunts Bonnie about the amber crystal -- in the daytime. Witch-ancestor Emily Bennett, haunts Bonnie, thanks to the amber crystal -- all the time. In order to escape them both, Bonnie tosses the crystal in a field. But it returns to her when she's at Elena's, just after she's confessed to Caroline that she ditched the thing. Caroline declares her a "Liar," like you do, and there is so much DRAMA! But then they have a séance, and there's even more DRAMA! And then Bonnie gets possessed by Emily Bennett and runs off into the woods, to the site of the old Fell's Church ruins, where more DRAMA! ensues, and I'll get to that.
Meanwhile, there's a new history teacher in town, but he'll never fill All-Trades Tanner's shoes. Who could? That said, he's young (he looks the same age as all the teenaged characters, because the actor portraying him basically is). His name is Alaric Saltzman, which makes him sound like one part vampire, one part Nazi hunter, don't you think? Anyhow, he's cute and we'll keep him. For now. He reaches out to Jeremy, in order to get him back on track at school. And? He takes a shine to Aunt Jenna (or at least, enjoys her taking a shine to him) when they meet up at The Grill. The thing is, when Alaric sees Jenna home, he pointedly waits for her to invite him in (which she doesn't, for Germ's sake). Oh, and did I not mention? He has a snazzy ring.
As for our dashing -- if sort of deadly, and at least one-half dastardly -- brotherly duo? Well, Stefan's still furious that Damon killed his best friend. Some people are so touchy. And Damon swears he only did it to protect them, and that he's now on the Stefan Diet, too. For about half the episode, Stefan responds to Damon as if he (Stefan) were Damon, so Damon, being the actual Damon, decides to play along and responds as though he were Stefan, that is, when he's not trying to steal jewelry from teenagers. After the boys toss the football around one night, Damon admits to Stefan that Katherine's only a little dead, and with the crystal, he can undo that and raise her, since this is the year of the comet. Back in 1864, Damon made a deal to protect Emily Bennett's progeny, if she would protect Katherine. And while Katherine compelled Stefan to love her, she never had to compel Damon, who knew the score every step of the way.
Stefan and Elena find Damon and Emily-possessed-Bonnie at the old Fell's Church ruins. Katherine's magically buried beneath it. So are more than 2 dozen other vampires, which Damon conveniently forgot to tell Stefan. In order to rescue Katherine, Damon will have to wake the whole crew, but he hates the town for what it did to the Civil War era vamps, or at least Katherine, so he's more than game. Emily-Bonnie won't let this happen, though. She destroys the crystal in a fiery spell. When it's done, she exits Bonnie's body and Damon latches onto Bonnie's jugular. Stefan drags him off, but Bonnie has lost too much blood. Stefan must feed her his own to save her. As long as she doesn't die while his blood is in her system (about a day), she won't become a vamp. Complicated. Anyhow, it all ends up with Damon being broken-hearted, and Elena ready to commit to Stefan. But Stefan thinks she's better off without him, and leaves, giving her permission to tell Bonnie what the hell just happened to her. Damon remains in the woods, just waiting for some fangirl to woobify him. Stefan has a temper tantrum at Mossy Manse. And Bonnie and Elena have a tearful confessional upstairs at Gilbert Gables. Downstairs, the door rings. It's Logan Fell. When Jenna stares at him in surprise, Scum says, "Aren't you gonna invite me in?" Eeeeeeeeeeeee!
In other news, Matt and Caroline form their own Lonely Hearts club, and Jeremy does extra credit, relying on his father's archives for research.
In-depth coverage of this fantastic is coming in the full weecap. In the meantime, come on over to the forum, and where you can raise a little hell, but not the undead, or TWoP Sun will stake you where you stand.
Discuss this episode in our VD forums, then see what vloggers Val and Beth think of ancient vampires dating teenagers in TV is the Answer. And check back soon for that weecap!
Want more? The full recap starts right below!
[Note: I'm only covering the "previouslies" we don't see all the time, so that I don't go out of my mind.] Stefan turns to Elena with a sob in his voice. "[Damon] killed Zach. He killed Tanner. He turned Vicki. I have to kill him." Damon retrieves his "very important" crystal at the Founders' Party. Jasmine "Grams" Guy tells Bonnie the crystal belonged to one of the most powerful witches of their line. She grabs a book from a high shelf and shows Bonnie a picture of her great great-great-great grandmother, "Emily Bennett" dated 1864. She looks just like Kendra! Damon and Caroline meet up on the street and he hypnotizes her into getting the crystal back from Bonnie, but over at the Second-Sight Shack, Grams tells Bonnie not to give it to anyone.
Now: At school, Bonnie yawns as the teacher drones on about "shadow reckoning," which sounds more like magic than math, if you ask me. Bonnie bows her head on her folded arms for a moment, as if she were going to take some kindergarten-style "quiet time." When she raises her head again, she looks around the room. Something catches her eye. Make that someone. Bianca Lawson's Emily Bennett is strolling down the halls of MFHS. Bonnie can't resist. She rises from her seat and exits class. The teacher is as non-attentive as the parents in this town and doesn't say a word when Bonnie wanders out into the hall. Without a pass?! Oh, this must be a dream. Emily waits around a corner for Bonnie and then walks outside. When Bonnie follows her, she immediately ends up in the forest. Yep. Dream. At least it's light out, this time. She follows Emily to ruins that I'll just mention now are the ruins of the old Fell's Church (and book fans will appreciate that, because that's the name of the town in the L.J. Smith series). Emily turns to Bonnie and says, "Please help me." When Bonnie asks who she is, Emily replies, "I'm Emily.... You know that." Sheeesh, Bonnie, I don't even know why I bother with links in the ""previouslies." She tells Bonnie that they're family and then looks up at the church ruins. "This is where it started. And this is where it has to end." Bonnie says, "No, this isn't real," and turns to run, but she's Stealth-Salvatored by her own great-great-great-Grams. Twice. Emily's voice turns grim. "Help. Me."
Bonnie wakes with a loud, gasping start. In math! How embarrassing. Everyone turns to look at her. She looks from the girl on her left to the girl on her right. When the girl on the right doesn't look away, Bonnie says, "What are you looking at? Turn around." That's the way, Bonnie. Use those cheerleader perks. Suddenly, the girl on Bonnie's left is replaced by Great-great-great Grams. Bonnie screams. Then she wakes up in front of the crypt -- where she woke at the end of the last episode. Poor kitten. Still? It's better than screaming in math class. Title card.
Theme Song! And because I am but a child of the '80s, I must true to myself, so... Bonus Theme Song! And what the heck. Here's one more: Extra Bonus Theme Song!
Mystic Falls High; Exterior: Caroline fills Elena in on the necklace situation. Elena tries to smooth things over, but when Caroline makes it clear that she's intent on staying pissed at Bonnie, Elena declares herself officially out of it. Their conversation then turns to Stefan, who Elena says is "avoiding" her. Hasn't Elena been telling him to take a long walk off a short pier for at least a couple of episodes? Whatever. As Elena says, "It's complicated." The bell rings and she heads inside, leaving Caroline and Matt to have an awkward "Uh...hey!" moment, in the wake of last week's undercover snuggles Perfect.
History Class: Elena's already seated as Bonnie scurries in right before Matt Davis (Warner, Legally Blonde). Elena can tell Bonnie's all upset, but they can't really talk there. Matt Davis introduces himself - well, his character: Alaric Saltzman, saying Saltzman is a German surname and his ancestors moved from Germany to to Texas in 1755. There are a lot of Germans in Texas, but were they going there in 1755? Really? Why? Anyhow... Alaric says he's from Boston. Liar. I'm quite sure I would have noticed. Apparently there's some debate over how to pronounce Alaric, so All-Trades Tanner's replacement is going to clear that up for us right now. It's ah-LAR-ic, not AL-ar-ric. He says we can call him Ric, so Al it is. And not for nothing, but did anyone else go to a Principle Flutie place, here?
Mossy Manse: Stuff happens. I forget what, because Stefan is lying shirtless on the bed and the cameraman gives us a nice long shot of him sitting up. God bless him, and Paul Wesley's genes, trainer and commitment, too. Damon's there -- with his shirt on (so we don't black out and miss the rest of the episode). He's offering Stefan some coffee to get his blood pumping, but would you take a drink from this man (especially if you'd previously slipped him a mickey)? Neither would Stefan, seeing as he's still cranky about Damon killing his FBfBFF. Shirtlessness walks away as Damon talks and I mourn. I think he's sorry or something, because to prove it, he's swearing off human blood, for a least a week. He'll adopt the Stefan diet. "Nothing but... feathers." Hee! Shirtlessness returns to the room. Hooray! And yet, I turn away from the screen so I can give the dialogue its due. See how I sacrifice for you, Gentle Readers? Ooh, what's that tattoo? Sorry, I caught it out of the corner of my eye. Let's start a less prurient paragraph, shall we?
Off Damon's proclamation that he's (temporarily) adopting the Stefan diet, Stefan re-enters and starts mocking his brother. Excellent! "Because I realize that killing... your closest and oldest friend is beyond evil, and yet somehow, it's worthy of humor?!" Damon stares at Stefan. "Are you mimicking me?" Shhh, Damon, Stefan's on a roll (make that a role-play). He takes a shirt out of his armoire and says, "Yes, Stefan," holy Budweiser, look at Stefan's abs. Sorry. I peeked. Stefan continues mocking Damon: "Now that the secret society of vampire haters is off our back, I can go back to my routine of 'how can I destroy Stefan's life this week'." Damon decides to play along. "And I can go back to sulking, and Elena-longing, and forehead brooding." Somewhere, Angel feels all proprietary and he doesn't know why. Meanwhile, Damon smiles up at his brother. "This is fun!" Stefan won't break character. "And I will finally reveal the ulterior motive behind my evil and diabolical return to Mystic falls." Damon mulls this over for a second. And then, "Uh... yeah. I'm done." As he leaves Stefan's room, Damon can't resist one more round of mimicking. "This is just like you, Damon. Always have to have the last word."
MFHS; Exterior: Bonnie tells Elena about her Emily Bennett-induced dreams. She thinks she's being haunted and wonders if Emily is using the talisman to connect with her. Elena suggests asking Grams, but Bonnie says Grams would tell her to embrace it, whereas Bonnie just wants it to stop.
MFHS; Saltzman's classroom: Jeremy stops by at Saltzman's request. It seems All-Trades Tanner kept a "Jack-Ass file" (thus labeled, even) devoted to the Germ. Alaric is the hot, cool, young teacher, so that's not his style. He throws it away. Oh man, despite the pretty, I'm really feeling Flutie, now. I hope you don't get eaten by hyena-transpossessed cool kids, Al. He can see Germ is trying to turn around the grade situation, and offers him an extra-credit project. He wants a paper on local history, with "no Wikipedia regurgita." The camera focuses on Al's ring as he and the Germ shake. It's like a class ring, but bigger -- a Super Bowl ring's younger, plainer cousin. In case we missed the camera work, Jeremy comments on the ring. Al says it was his father's. The look on Germ's face makes me wonder if he's missing his pocket watch/ACTUAL VAMPIRE COMPASS. At any rate, he has a week to do the assignment.
MFHS; Exterior: Matt and Caroline have another awkward, "Hey," moment, but she totally calls him on his lame guy moves. I thought I was going to loathe this character. Boy, was I wrong. She says the heys wreak of "awkward subtext." Since he spent the night in her bed, "...cuddling" and then snuck out the window, at least he could talk to her. This is not Pudding Pop's proudest moment, for sure. He explains he heard Caroline's mom coming home that morning and since She's the Sheriff, he really didn't want to piss her off or get Caroline in trouble, so he snuck out. "As for the heys, I'm pretty sure it's what I've said to you every day since the first grade." He's probably technically accurate, here, but his deer in the headlights expression does nothing to strengthen his case. Caroline is somewhat mollified though. Then, Matt goes on the defensive. "Trying to read something into it? Lame girl move." He walks off, leaving her standing there, all alone. I'm not calling him Pudding Pop for the rest of this weecap, because that was kind of... shitty. Don't get me wrong -- it was great. He can't be practically perfect all of the time, but still? Shitty.
Elena exits the school to find Stefan waiting for her. She's been worried since he wasn't in class. He tells her he didn't kill Damon, but the real reason he's there is to tell her he's not coming to school anymore. He's going to back off -- keep his distance -- it's the right thing to do. Elena, who kept telling him to go away, now puts on the puppy dog eyes. She asks if he's backing off from school, or her. They shared a loaded silence and then she curtly thanks him for telling her. He's glad she's angry. "It will be easier if you hate me."
Damon confronts Bonnie. He wants the necklace. Bonnie tells him to screw off. He tells her he wants to protect her and can get Emily off her back. She's freaked when he reveals that he knows Emily has been using it to get into her head. He says he'll get it in the end, even if he has to wait for Emily to give it to him, herself. Bonnie doesn't know what to think, but Damon doesn't care about that. He tells her to tell Emily, "A deal's a deal." He opens her car door for her, and nods for her to get in. Commercial.
Bonnie's Car: Bonnie catches Elena up on her encounter with Damon, declaring him "bad news." Elena tells him to stay as far away from Damon as possible. It's hard when he keeps showing up. Elena invites Bonnie to stay the night with her, which is so stupid, since Damon's been invited into Gilbert Gables. It doesn't matter; Bonnie's not listening. She holds onto her talisman as she drives. Suddenly, she pulls off the road, gets out of the car and hurls the necklace into an open field. When gets back in the car, Elena asks Bonnie if she's okay. Bonnie says she is now -- since all her problems were due to the bling. She doesn't care what Grams would say, either, since Grams wasn't the one being haunted.
The Grill: Jenna is eating with Jeremy, but can't help eyeing Alaric at the table. When Jeremy asks her if she's still in her Logan "Scum" Fell funk, she clarifies that she's sworn off men, forever, but she can still appreciate the scenery. Jeremy offers to introduce them, but Jenna shakes him off.
Gilbert Gables: Stefan comes over at Elena's request. She fills him in on the necklace DRAMA with Damon and how she's being haunted. Damon tells Elena, "Her name is Emily." He made the connection the night they all had dinner together. He knows the necklace. It belonged to Katherine; Emily gave it to her. He can't quite figure it all out, but he knows he has to go to Damon to figure it out.
The Grill: Germ tells Jenna about the extra credit project. She tells him to use his father's stuff. When Jeremy asks what stuff, she says, "All the how the Gilberts came over on the Mayflower stuff." History fail.. Jeremy looks sad, and yet not. I wonder if the thrall is wearing off, somehow. No matter, just then Al wanders over to their table and they exchange pleasantries. I think they're a little too pleasant for Germ's taste, as he stop chewing while observing them.
Meanwhile, Damon's sitting at the bar with a bottle of in front of him, tossing back a few. Stefan arrives and is still role playing. Doing his best Damon (stop) he suggests they give "this brother thing" another chance, and then he squints, like he's trying to enthrall him. Damon laughs and plays along, scowling as he says, "I don't. Damon. I can't trust you to be a nice guy. You -- you kill everybody, and you're so mean. You're so mean." Damon pauses a moment, then adds: "You're really hard to imitate, and I have to go to that lesser place." Hee. Stefan orders coffee and asks what's up with the drinking. Damon's having trouble with the diet. Oh love, it's only going to get worse with the holidays coming. Stefan can't resist suggesting that Damon leave town. Damon tells him he doesn't have to keep an eye on him. Stefan says he's not there to do so. When Damon asks why he is there, Stefan grabs the bottle off the bar, and says, "Why not?"
Gilbert Gables: I love how Elena is so into putting takeout onto real plates. Anyhow, she's got Bonnie and Caroline there and she's trying to get them to kiss and make up. When Elena gives her the eye, Caroline apologizes and tells Bonnie to keep the "ugly ass" necklace if she wants it. Then, Bonnie tells her that she threw it away because it was giving her nightmares. Caroline starts to make a deal over this, until Elena calls her out on wanting to give it back to Damon. They give up and decide to do their manicures, because they don't actually eat, but when Bonnie tells Caroline to look in her purse for the kit, Caroline finds the necklace, and the DRAMA ramps up. "Why are you such a little liar, Bonnie?" Elena chides her. "Caroline!" But then, Caroline dangles the necklace in their direction. Commercial.
Oh, did you watch the "The Real Ghostbusters" episode of Supernatural, right after? And did you catch the two TWoPtastic character names of note? Now that's a shout-out. Demian and Barnes? Your love is so pure.
Bonnie swears that she threw the necklace away. Elena backs her up. Bonnie tells her about the ghost, but then realizes Caroline doesn't have the backstory. There's more you don't tell me anything/you don't listen DRAMA! It's awesome.
The Grill: Jeremy has thoughtfully ditched Jenna and Al. She gives him way too much of her backstory (the whole sordid history with Scum -- that she knows anyhow). As for Al's part -- he married young and his wife died and no one, including the North Carolina police can figure out why. Raise your hand if you think a vampire killed her. He moved here for a change of pace and the town's rich history. You can put your hand down, now.
Across the bar, Stefan is still mimicking Damon and beating his ass. Settle down. I mean -- at darts. Damon's onto his reverse psychology, though, and asks what game he thinks he's playing. Stefan points out that he's been asking this for months. There's a lot of close talking and I feel faint.
Gilbert Gables: Caroline tells Bonnie that she doesn't believe in the "woo woo" but folding money says she's a Woooo Girl just the same. If Bonnie believes in it, that's all Caroline needs, because she's her BFF. "And I'm saying this, knowing that Elena's listening to my every word." Yeah, Elena's not so threatened by you at all, Caroline. She gives Bonnie back the crystal. Elena comes in and then Caroline says there's been way too much drama, so she proposes... a séance.
Up in Elena's room, the girls sit around a bunch of candles on the floor, and Caroline leads, because Bonnie wants no part of this. When Caroline brow beats her into calling on Emily, she does so -- with as little feeling as possible. But then, all hell breaks loose. First, the candles flare. And when Caroline requests a sign from Emily (because Bonnie won't) the windows fly open and Bonnie freaks. She throws her necklace down by the candles as she screams that she can't and won't. The wind (or the spirits) blow out the candles and when Elena hits the lights, the necklace is gone. Commercial!
MFHS Football Field; Night: Stefan and Damon toss around a football and get to the heart of things. He tells Damon that once he came to terms with the fact that Katherine compelled them to love her, he was better able to get over her. Damon doesn't want to go there. Stefan then asks what Damon wants with Katherine's crystal. He knows about it, because he was the last one to see Katherine "alive" which really upsets Damon. He wonders why Katherine didn't tell Stefan why the crystal was important. Stefan sneers. "We had other things on our mind." Damon gets in his face (with vamp speed) and says he could rip out his heart without thinking twice. Stefan joins us all in saying yeah yeah, tell us another one. Damon says he has a bigger surprise. He's going to bring Katherine back.
Gilbert Gables: Elena sees something (someone -- it's Emily) in the hall and goes to see if it's Jeremy. It's then that Bonnie spots the crystal on the bathroom floor. When she goes in to retrieve it, the door slams shut. She can't get out and the girls can't get in. The lights flash on and off and I bet they're wishing Sam and Dean would come to their rescue right about now. When the excitement subsides, Bonnie stops screaming and opens the door. She covers her face with her hands for a moment, and when she finally takes them down and monotones that she's fine, it's clear that Bonnie's not home anymore. Well, it's clear to everyone who isn't Caroline. She's sure Bonnie is just playing them and is ready to stomp off. Elena knows things aren't right, though. And so do we, because when we get a look at the bathroom mirror, it's not Bonnie's reflection we see there. It's Emily's.
MFHS; Exterior: Damon brings Stefan's mind back to the general mood of Mystic Falls before Katherine and "the others" were killed in the church. There was a lot of hysteria (on account of the town being overrun with vampires, so I'd say that's not so much hysteria as SENSE). Anyhow, Damon made a deal with Emily. Since the locals were bound to go after the witch, once the got the vamps, he'd keep her progeny safe if she'd protect Katherine with a spell. Katherine didn't burn up in the church. She's magically sealed beneath it -- like the Master -- thanks to the crystal, and Emily's ability to call on the power of the comet. In order to get the crystal to work again, the comet had to return, which it just did in the second episode, so yay! I mean... woe.
Gilbert Gables: Caroline is pissed that she "fell for it." Of course, there's no it to fall for, but let's not confuse Caroline with facts. Emily-Bonnie says she's got things from here and that she's going back to where it all began, because "it" must be destroyed. Once she leaves Gilbert Gables, Elena and Caroline can't open the door. Finally, Jeremy arrives home and opens it from the outside. Caroline scurries off and Elena rushes to the phone. She tells Stefan that Emily is possessing Bonnie and what Bonnie said. Stefan asks her if she knows where Bonnie went. Elena thinks for a moment and then says, "Falls Church." Okay, so not Fell's Church. Sorry, book folk. Of course, Damon has that pesky vamp hearing, so he's before Stefan can even assure Elena that he'll find Bonnie.
Cemetary Woods: Stefan greets Emily-Bonnie and reminds her they had a deal, but she won't let Damon raise Katherine. "Things are different, now. I need to protect my family." Damon reminds her he protected her family and that she owes him. She says she knows and that she's sorry. When Damon tells her she owes him a lot more than that and makes a grab for the crystal, Emily-Bonnie magically flings him through the air and he doesn't stop until he's impaled on some small tree branches. Nice. Emily-Bonnie walks off, leaving Damon disabled by the wood and moaning in pain. Commercial.
Gilbert Gables: Jeremy is looking through his father's historical "stuff" when Al walks Jenna home. They joke about their own teen traumas (hers: braces and an "A cup" -- really Jenna, on a first not-even-a-date-date; his: glasses and a skin condition). When Jenna enters, Alaric looks at the doorway as if there's an invisible barrier. People in the forums are wondering if he's a vamp too (remember the bling) or if this is all a big misdirect. I'm going with misdirect. The show has more subtlety than this. Anyhow, Jenna says she's not going to invite Al in for Jeremy's sake. Al says, "Some other time, then." Out in the kitchen, Jeremy rolls his eyes. Alaric wishes Jenna a goodnight and she shuts the door. When she gets to the kitchen, Jeremy hands her a picture of herself and Scum. Ouch. Jenna says, "That's just cruel." Germ says, "No, cruel is dating my history teacher." Jenna says she's not dating him. "Yet." Germ laughs as she walks off and then opens the journal of a one Jonathan Gilbert, circa -- say it with me -- 1864.
Woods: Stefan finds Damon and unimpales him. Deimpales him. Spell-check likes neither, but you get the picture. Emily-Bonnie, who's carrying a big stick, greets Stefan by name and tells him "these people don't deserve this. They should never have to know such evil." Stefan says, "What do you mean -- evil?" Um... Katherine, perhaps. Oh, it's not just Katherine. Apparently she's sealed in the tomb under the church with 26 other vampires. Emily-Bonnie had to seal them all in, or none. Ooops. Damon left that part out. Stefan grabs Damon and accuses him of acting not out of love, but out of revenge. Damon points out that the two aren't mutually exclusive. Damon sees no difference between the people of Mystic Falls today, and those from 145 years ago. "There is nothing innocent about these people, and don't think for a second it won't happen again. They already know too much." He gestures toward Emily-Bonnie and adds, "And they'll burn your little gran-witch right to us when they find out. Trust me." Emily-Bonnie insists that things are different now and she can't and won't free the vamps. She drops her stick and raises her hands in the air. "Incendia!" Flames shoot up from the ground around her and burn in the shape of a pentagram - with Emily-Bonnie right in the middle. She rips the pendant off her neck and holds it out before her. For a moment, she looks only like Emily, not Bonnie, but then she returns to the Emily-Bonnie form. From the sidelines, Damon pleads with her. Just then, Elena runs up, yelling Bonnie's name. Emily-Bonnie throws the crystal in the air and it explodes into sparks and flame. Stefan grabs Elena as Damon screams, "Nooooooooooo." Damon watches Emily-Bonnie with hate blazing in his eyes, as the sparks rain down between them, and then, Emily-Bonnie lowers her head. The flames disappear and once it's clear that she is once again only Bonnie, Damon is on her neck in an instant. She screams as he feeds. When Stefan pulls Damon off, Bonnie falls to the ground -- her neck covered in her own blood. Commercial.
Bonnie is barely alive. Stefan saves her by opening a vein and feeding her his blood until she gags on it. Elena watches as the wound on Bonnie's neck closes.
Caroline's Room: Matt climbs in her window and scares the hell out of her. He digs the hole a little deeper when he explains why he's there. "Earlier today, I lied [...] about being in bed with you. We... we cuddled and it creeped me out." Gee, why couldn't Elena make it work with him? Caroline wants to know if he just came over to insult her, because it's been a really long night. Matt says, "No -- it's just that -- I don't like you." Caroline and I stare at him, with our arms crossed. "I never have, but... it was nice." Caroline nods and then shakes her head, because really, what can you say to this shit? "Being in bed with you - it felt nice." Okay, Matt. Just climb back out the window, m'kay. We'll forget all about this and week you can go back to being our practically perfect Pudding Pop. He can't hear me. "And so I was thinking about it, and I thought that I should tell you that I stayed the night because you were all sad and alone and I felt bad for you." Caroline thanks him for making her feel like a charity case and tells him he can leave any time. Matt tries again. "No, because -- I know With Vicki gone and my mom off with Pete Whoever, it's just me. So -- I know" This really doesn't work for me, but Caroline's eyes meet his and she nods and almost imperceptible nod.
Woods: Damon sits alone on a rock, or a stump or a magical toadstool or something, looking as broken as he does lovely. When Stefan approaches, Damon tells him that Katherine never compelled him to love her. He knew everything -- every step of the way. "It was real for me." A beat. "I'll leave, now." Over at Elena's car, Bonnie is trying to understand what happened. She remembers Damon and his vamp face as he attacked her. Elena tries to change the subject by asking if she's okay. Bonnie is, but she doesn't know where all the blood came from. When Stefan approaches, they fall silent, so he assures Bonnie he won't hurt her. Bonnie demands that Elena tell her what's going on. Elena promises she will, once they get out of there. With Bonnie safely (more or less) tucked in the car, Elena asks Stefan if Bonnie is in danger of turning into a vampire. Stefan explains that as long as she stays alive until his blood passes out of her system, she won't vamp. Elena nods and tells Stefan that she has to tell Bonnie the truth. She can't live in secret. Stefan tells her she shouldn't have to. Elena says, "You saved her life." Stefan looks down, all humble-like, so Elena adds that although she thought she couldn't be with Stefan, she now totally can. "I can do this." Stefan allows her to take his hands, but he shakes his head no. "I can't. I have to leave, Elena. Too many people have died. Too much has happened." Elena's all like, no way, I call the shots, bucko, but Stefan's made up his mind. He never should have come back and he can't be a part of her life. Elena pleads with him to stay, but he won't. He kisses her hand, caresses her cheek and bids her farewell. When he walks away, she's all don't walk away from me, bitch, but he keeps going -- through the fog -- through the night.
It's musical montage time...
Gilbert Gables: Aunt Jenna's tidying up, when she stops to consider the picture of herself and Scum. She folds it in half and tears it up -- so it must be printed on cheap paper.
Caroline's room: she carries in more junk food that Candice Accola probably eats in a year, and she and Matt laugh and plop down on her bed to pig out.
Woods: Damon sits alone and bereft on his magical toadstool, waiting for the fandom to woobify him.
Mossy Manse: Stefan stares at his journal and then says, "Cindy was right -- this is DIARY-Ahhhhh!" Okay, maybe not, but he does heave it across the room and then breaks into tears.
Gilbert Gables: Elena and Bonnie sob and talk and hug. Downstairs, the doorbell keeps Jenna from having another montage segment. When she opens it though, the audience's holy shit quotient goes up to eleven. It's not Al. You can't even call him Al. Or Ric. It's SCUM. AyeEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEeeeeeeeeeeeeeee! Vampire vampire vampire -- don't invite him in.
This Thursday, it's "The Turning Point," in which Stefan and Damon realize there's a new vamp in town, and Elena makes a shocking discovery. Oooh, I hope that's what I think it is. In the meantime, come on over to the forum, and where you can raise a little hell, but not the undead, or TWoP Sun will stake you where you stand.
Cindy's going to bed. She can sleep in tomorrow, so don't call -- email instead at CynthiaMcLennan[at]gmail.com, or follow her on Twitter.
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