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Welcome to another strong (if somewhat scattered) episode from this freshman series. The actors grow more at home in their fictional skins, each week. The plotting remains taut and exciting. Speaking of... we open on Stefan, doing shirtless pull-ups on a beam in his bedroom, but oddly enough, that's not what the episode is about. No, I don't get the writers' choice to abandon their most compelling idea either, but their second choice works too, so let's get to it.
As Stefan works the human blood out of his body at Mossy Manse, Damon tries to tempt him off-course. Blood bank blood will give him everything he needs. It's not like he has to kill or even hurt anyone. Wave your hands in front of your face really quickly, so you forget that blood bank blood is for seriously injured people. There now, doesn't that feel better? To be fair to our pretty blue-eyed bugger, Damon has a good reason for trying to tempt his brother off the wagon. Vampires are much stronger when they stick to their preferred entree, and with Pearl and what remains of her Suck of Vampires hanging around town, the Salvatores are going to need every advantage. But Stefan is the very soul of control. Right? Right? Well... we'll get to that later.
Meanwhile, the late Dr. Greyson Gilbert's brother, Jon (SARK! David Anders) arrives at Gilbert Gables. Jenna (who slept with him) and Elena (who I so hope didn't) can't stand him, and neither can I. He's in town to keep Jenna from selling Greyson's office building to Pearl. More covertly -- he's there to spur the Council into action over the vampire problem. Unfortunately for him, Damon's a regular at the Council meetings now, and quickly twigs to the fact that this Gilbert is a threat.
There's yet another Founders' Day shindig. They should start calling it Founders' Year, yeah? And, under the full moon shining down upon it, this whole cauldron of problems bubbles to a rolling boil. Tyler is getting drunk because he's a werewolf teenager. Matt is getting drunk because he's mourning his sister. Kelly is getting drunk because she's the worst mother in the world and a boozy broad. Stefan is getting drunk because alcohol takes the edge off his cravings for human blood, and he already vamped out earlier, while making out with Elena. When Stefan and Elena dance, Elena accidentally bumps into some guy, who is way ruder to her than any guy would ever be to such a beautiful young woman. Stefan confronts the guy. When he won't back down, Stefan compels him to apologize.
Meanwhile, Matt (who, when drunk, can't hide the fact that he's still smitten with his ex) gets Elena to dance with him. And in another room, Kelly gets Tyler to make out with her. Of course poor Matt sees this. Of course he goes after Ty. And since Tyler is a werewolf and there's a full moon hothead, he beats the pudding out of Matt. Bad Tyler. No biscuit. In the fracas, the boys knock into a horrified and humiliated Kelly, who ends up with a cut on her head. Of course Stefan goes to help her, and ends up helping himself to just a little, stealthy lick of her blood (off his fingers, he's not a head licker or anything, at least not yet). That cannot be good.
And somewhere in there, Uncle Jon makes it quite clear to Damon that he knows who and what he is. Pragmatic as ever, Damon snaps Jon's neck, tosses him off the balcony, picks up his drink and returns to the party. Not too long after, Jon strolls back in, healthy as you please. Seems he's got a magical ring, too. He reveals to Damon and Alaric that he's actually wearing his brother's ring. His own ring he gave away to -- ISOBEL!!! Oh my word, is this tool Elena's other biological contributor? If her uncle is her father, is Elena her own grandpa? Who knows? What we do learn is that Jon is the one who sent Isobel to Damon -- to get turned. Oh bravo, Show. Bravo.
Later, Stefan surprises (and scares) Elena in her room. Bloodlust raging, he frantically confesses how tempted he's been, and that he gave into the temptation to taste Kelly's blood, and how he almost killed Rude Guy who confronted him later, as he fled the party. Elena calms him down and says they'll figure it out, together. Stefan remains unconvinced. Back at Mossy Manse Damon knows Stefan is hurting. He talks to him some more about giving into his natural cravings and then leaves a glass of the good stuff behind. Scared and ashamed though he may be, Stefan drinks it -- with gusto.
Elsewhere and when, Matt tells Kelly to hit the road. More importantly, Alaric and Elena talk about Jeremy. He shows her Germ's paper because he suspects Jeremy knows the bloody truth about Mystic Falls. Elena tells Jeremy that she was adopted and also tries to figure out what he knows about vampires, but he never tips his hand. Elena tips hers though, and so later, Jeremy pores over her journal and finds out way more than he ought to know, right now.
Want more? The full recap starts right below!We open on Stefan, doing shirtless pull-ups, or so I said when I wrote the recaplet. So imagine my stunned disappointment upon sitting down to re-watch the episode and instead of being greeted by shirtless Stefan, I got wife-beater Stefan. No, not that kind of wife-beater, sillies. He's not married. He's wearing a tank-style undershirt. I'm awfully sorry for my over-active imagination and even sorrier for the wardrobe department's overly-honed sense of duty. Anyhow, Stefan's doing pull-ups from a beam in his ceiling, when Damon walks in, carrying a glass of blood. He's fully clothed, and bitching that Stefan's got the music up too loud, which makes me think too much about vampire super-hearing for this early in the weecap, so moving right along....
Damon wants to know when Stefan's going back to school. When "Soon," is all he gets for an answer, big brother pushes things a little further -- urging Stefan to just give in and drink. "This self-detox is not natural." He waves his glass under little brother's nose and asks how long it took him to wean himself when last he indulged. Stefan's doing push-ups now, and still trying to ignore Damon who's now working a new angle. "I don't get it. I mean, you don't have to kill to survive. That's what blood banks are for." ...Or you know, seriously ill and injured humans. Besides, Stefan made it pretty clear to Lexi in "162 Candles" that he's the vampyric equivalent of an alcoholic, and human blood is his demon rum. He gives no similar explanation to Damon, just "I have my reasons." Damon: "What exactly are those holier than though reasons? Because we've never actually discussed that." Stefan can't help but note that Damon is taking a little too much delight in his struggle, but assures him he has everything under complete control. Uh huh. That's why, when Damon "accidentally" leaves his glass of blood behind, Stefan can't stop staring at it. Damon, who lives for I-told-you-so moments, waits just long enough, before returning to retrieve the glass and smirk at his suffering brother.
Gilbert Gables: Elena, on her way to school, hollers for Jeremy to get a move on. Jenna sees her to the door, and when they open there's (SARK! Okay, I can't front with you all. I didn't watch Alias, and yet I still said, "SARK!" when I saw him. What is it about fandom that implants all these random pieces of trivia in the brain? For the un-implanted, David Anders) is the guy on the porch and he's playing Uncle Jon Gilbert. I suppose that could be John but until I see otherwise on-screen, I'm going with Jon because it's a diminutive of Jonathan as in However-Many-Greats Uncle Jonathan Gilbert. Oh man, I've completely lost the plot. Let's start a new paragraph.
Only Jeremy seems unaware of the palpable tension between Jenna and Jon. When Elena and bro leave, Uncle Sark gets down to business. He came like he said he would, which Jenna finds surprising, although not pleasantly so. When Jon asks if she could at least pretend to be glad to see him, her eyes light up; her color, brow and voice rise. "Oh my God, Jon. It's so good to see you..." We'll give her a beat and... "No. I can't." Hee. Jon is in town to keep Jenna from selling Grayson's office building to Pearl. Elena and Jeremy may own it, but Uncle Sark is the trustee, and my but he loves his mighty, mighty power. Sick Pearl on him, Jenna. Oh wait, you can't, because your nearest and dearest know the town is infested with vampires, but haven't bothered to tell you, yet. Riiiiiight.
MFHS Corridor: Elena tells Matt that Uncle Jon's back in town. Matt says plainly that he never liked him. Well, that's enough for me, then. The conversation turns to Vicki's funeral. Matt thanks Elena for all her support during that trying time. They embrace and it's a good thing Caroline's at her dad's house, and not just so she didn't see the look on Matt's face during that hug. It seems Kelly was going to strangle her if she baked them one more lasagna. Huh. Caroline doesn't look like she helps in the kitchen, but (somewhat) unrequited love is a powerful drug.
Outside in the substance abuse play yard, Ty offers Germ a joint. When Jeremy declines, Tyler seems surprised, but these two actually talk to one another like humans, and their conversation turns to the one thing they know they have in common: Vicki. Jeremy is having trouble buying that she overdosed, and he really can't suss out why she was buried in the woods. Tyler figures that whoever she was with dug her grave. The Germ, however, is just creepy enough to point out how unlikely that is. "Yeah, but you leave her there. You don't bury her." Ew. Ty struggles for an explanation. "Maybe she saw something and... hell, man, I don't know." Tyler, that's because, like your unlikely new friend, you have been the victim of vampyric compulsion.
Founders Hall: Damon arrives at a meeting of the Council. She's-the-Sheriff, Liz Forbes, announces that Vicki's death will be ruled an overdose, and then the Mayor takes center stage and asks Uncle Sark to make his report to the group. Liz explains that new-guy is Elena's Uncle, Jon Gilbert, "But I call him Jackass." Awesome. I'm going to try that for a while. Jon tells the Council about blood bank thefts and a rash of missing persons in surrounding towns. "You think all your problems are over, but... nothing has been solved." Damon tries to hide all the bricks he just shit.
MFHS; Alaric's Classroom: Alaric catches Elena up on Isobel. No, don't be ridiculous. He catches her up on Jeremy and his Vampire history paper. They decide to hope that Jeremy is still innocent to the reality of vampires, and then Alaric gets personal (oh, not in any bad way, just stop that -- although they don't have bad chemistry) asking how she manages to lie to everyone she cares about. Well, it's not everyone, Alaric. Bonnie knows, and of course there's Stefan (and Damon), but I'll let you get back to your conversation. Elena lies to protect the ones she loves. (Just like Stefan lied to her, which put her in danger and royally pissed her off. Excellent hypocrisy there, E.) Then Alaric gets almost fatherly. "I think Stefan's a good guy, but at the end of the day, he's still a vampire." Which is really this episode's thesis. Elena's almost as good at denying Stefan's dark side as Stefan himself is. "Stefan's different. He would never do anything to hurt me." Isn't it romantic?
Gilbert Gables; Suppertime: Jeremy announces he doesn't want to go to the Founders Day Kick-Off Party. Uncle Jackass will have none of that. It's tradition! "The Gilberts have been part of this town for 150 years. We're one of the founding families. With that distinction comes certain obligations. [...] One day, when you can appreciate the significance, I'll tell you all about your heritage." Over in the peanut gallery, Jenna takes a poke at the Gilbert's and their sacred legacy. "I was never a Gilbert, so I wasn't cool enough to hear about it." Germ leans in toward his uncle and asks why Jenna hates him. Jon says, "We used to sleep together." Oh, that's it. He's Uncle Snark. Jenna throws something at him -- but sadly, I think it's Chinese food, not a knife.
Elena's Bedroom: Elena catches Stefan up on Jeremy's vampire report and wonders if Damon's thrall is starting to wear off. Stefan tells her those memories are gone for good. I wonder if he's right. I'm wondering why Elena and Stefan don't bring up Anna, here. Why haven't they made the connection. Stefan knows that Jeremy's friend is the one who grabbed Elena. Elena knows Anna's original plan was to revive Pearl with Jeremy's blood. Let's get to the connecting of dots, people. But no. Instead, Stefan recommends that Elena just talk to her brother. Clearly feeling the reverberations of her conversation with Alaric, Elena says all the secrets and lies are piling up between them. Jeremy doesn't even know she's adopted. Well, perhaps you could use that as an ice-breaker, Elena? Stefan doesn't say so explicitly, but he's with me. He suggests opening up to Germ a little and feeling him out for what he knows.
It's then that Elena turns her attention to her boyfriend. As she rubs his shoulders, she asks how he's doing. Stefan admits he's still a little on edge, but promises he'll be okay. Elena says she's been worried about him, and worse, she's missed him. Stefan says he just needed some downtime while his system readjusts to his strict diet. "It's only been a few days." Elena says, "It feels like a lifetime." Stefan has missed her, too. They start to kiss, but things get hot and heavy, and a little rough, quite quickly. When Stefan vamps out, I don't know if she's more shocked or he is. But he throws himself backwards (and vampire strength or not, the physics of that stunt just defy... physics), into the wall, taking out a lamp on his way. Downstairs, Jenna, the world's most crap guardian, hears nothing. Okay, they don't show Jenna. But seriously, you're up in your room with your boyfriend, and your aunt, uncle and brother are right downstairs and there's big-ass crash, but they don't run up to see what's going on? C'mon. Commercial.
Later, Damon arrives at Gilbert Gables. Elena is glad to see him. Damon smiles, "You ask. I come. I'm easy like that." And very, very dirty. Jeremy's out in the kitchen, ignoring them, so when Elena silently indicates for Damon to follow her upstairs, he makes it a point to project his voice. "No. Elena. I will not go up to your bedroom with you!" Jeremy rolls his eyes. I wonder if he thinks of Elena as "their" girlfriend, too. Once they're alone in her room, Damon rubs in the fact that he remembers her room, but Elena doesn't take the bait, so Damon grabs her teddy bear and plops on her bed. Over at HeroineTV.com, Lucia says, "And a million avatars were born." That's right, LiveJournal, she's looking at you (and you can e-mail me one at Cynthia.McLennan[at]gmail.com). You can imagine Elena's thrill as Damon catches her up on Uncle Snark's visit with the Founders Council. But when he spots the broken lamp, and other damage caused by Stefan's aerodynamically incorrect stunt, Elena refuses to come clean with him. She does admit though, that she's concerned because Stefan just isn't himself. Damon rises from her bed and makes his way to her bureau. He opens the top drawer and takes out a candy-striped bra, and fondles it as he points out that actually, Stefan has spent a long time not being himself." Elena grabs the bra from him, returns it to its spot and shuts the drawer. In the mirror, we see Damon's delighted, yet sheepish expression. It's all she paid attention to me, Me, ME!
Damon is a fatalist about his brother. "The Stefan you know is good-behavior Stefan. Rein-it-in Stefan. Fight-against-his-nature Stefan. But if you think there's not another part to this, you haven't been paying attention." Elena: "He's not you, not even close." Damon admits Stefan doesn't want to be him, but, "that doesn't mean that deep down, he's not." I'm saying.
Mossy Manse: Stefan rifles through his endless collection of books, and paces. Finally, he approaches the bar and knocks back some hooch to take the edge off. Because there are drinking problems and drinking problems, see?
Gilbert Gables: Elena ask Jeremy if they can talk, but not there. We cut to them walking in the woods, the conversation just coming to a close. "I just can't believe Mom and Dad never told you that you were adopted." They agree that it's weird, but regardless of blood, they're brother and sister, so they should probably put their surprising chemistry in check. Just saying. [I totally thought that too! -- Angel] Elena then changes the subject to Jeremy's history paper. She tries to tease information out of him, like how he came up with his angle, but Jeremy never mentions Anna, or anything close to the truth. "Maybe I'm just as nuts as the long line of Gilbert crazies." Okay, that part's true. Elena disagrees with me, saying the Gilberts aren't crazy. Jeremy smirks. "Easy for you to say." A beat. "You're not one." Elena says, "Ouch," but totally takes it as intended, and nudges her brother playfully.
Founders Kick-Off Party: I'm dropping the "Day" because cripes, we've been at these Founders' Festivities for over six months. I'm leaving "Kick-Off" there, only so we can discern one party from the (and, of course, so you can mock it). While there's no place Damon would rather be, Stefan would rather be anywhere but. "I liked you better when you hated everybody." Damon smiles at that as he surveys the crowd. "I still do. I just love that they love me!" Hee. Damon then needles his obviously uncomfortable brother about cravings and urges. He adds "Is the whisky you've been drinking all day doing it's job?" so we'll be prepared when this stone-cold-sober Stefan appears three sheets to the wind, five minutes from now. Damon also gives Stefan a little dose of truth. "We are who we are... Pretending doesn't change that." Stefan cripes that nothing would make Damon happier than to see him give in. Since Damon just thinks it's inevitable, there's nothing more for them to discuss, and Stefan takes off to find Elena. Damon calls after him, "Don't embarrass me, young man."
Stefan grabs someone else's drink, disposes of the swizzle stick and swills it down. Meanwhile, Mayor Lockwood and Ty are speaking privately with Kelly and Matt. It seems that if your kid dies, you get a special invite to Founders Events and one-on-one time with the Big Dawg. Kelly, Matt and I are not impressed. Once it's over, Kelly stalks off in search of a drink. She should have stayed with Matt, because once his father is off to schmooze, Ty returns with an entire bottle. Matt warns Tyler that his father will beat him down. Matt has a sudden change of heart and starts chugging. This ought to be good.
Elena finds Stefan... drunk. He explains about booze taking the edge off and tells her to enjoy his inebriation while it lasts, pointing out that drunk Stefan doesn't have to be brow-beaten into dancing. The problem is, nobody else is dancing and the music is very, grown up party mellow. Stefan goes off to get the DJ to change things up. Kelly tells Elena it's futile. Carol Lockwood (who isn't on camera this week) has issued her mellow-sound stylings edict and that's that. The DJ wouldn't budge, even with the promise of a $20.00 bribe and a "date." Oh, so skanky. Of course Stefan lays the thrall on the guy, and the jam -- she is pumped up. Kelly heads to the dance floor. Stefan follows and takes her for a whirl. This is all contrived to give Damon a little alone time with their girlfriend. "Have I entered an alternate universe where Stefan is fun?" Elena just wants to know if Stefan's going to be okay. Damon: "Eventually.... One way or another." Eek.
Elena is talking to her Aunt Jenna when Alaric approaches. Jenna asks how she looks. Elena says, "Beautiful," in such a sweet, sincere way. Once Alaric walks up to the ladies, they dance around the subject of not having seen each other for a while, and then he asks her if she wants to go get a drink, leaving Elena alone when Matt -- who is a pickled little Pudding Pop, walks up and asks her to dance.
Elsewhere, Damon runs into She's-the-Sheriff, but she's not the Sheriff, tonight. She's all dolled up and her hair looks fabulous. I wonder if her gay ex-husband helped her get ready. Damon pronounces the look smashing, and Liz is truly touched. She then talks ragtime, about how she had her doubts at first, but he won her over, just like everyone else on the Council. I say "ragtime" because he won her over first. Oh sure, she did have doubts but that all was just weird, wasn't it? Damon thanks her and makes a big deal about how wonderful it is to be feeling at home back in Mystic Falls, so Liz has to spoil the mood. She tells him Uncle Snark's intel was good. "The blood banks. The missing people. All of it is true. We might have a problem." Before they can get deeper into conversation, Jeremy approaches and asks for an update on the Vicki Donovan case. Liz is like she ODed. What else you want? Jeremy points out that it's likely she didn't bury herself. Liz snaps back into Sheriff-mode. "The investigation is ongoing, but there's nothing more I can tell you at this time."
Matt, looking as smitten as he is drunk, dances away from Elena, giving Stefan a chance to approach and beg for a dance from the belle of the ball. When Stefan spins her a little too vigorously, Elena bumps into the guy behind her. She immediately apologizes, adding, "My fault. I'm clumsy." And in a completely unbelievable turn of events, the guy tells her that maybe she should get off the dance floor, then. I'm sorry, I'm not buying that any guy would ever be so rude to such a beautiful young woman, especially at a small town party of founding families and such. Anyhow, Stefan confronts Rude Guy. When he won't back down, Stefan compels him to apologize.
, Elena's at the bar, trying to get Damon to worry about Stefan, but he's more worried about Jeremy and his ongoing interest in Vicki's death. Damon tells her about Jeremy asking who could have buried the body, then hisses, "I know. I know. Me!" He'd be glad to compel Germ again, but they'll have to take off his Vervain charm. Elena puts her foot down. She doesn't want him messing with her little brother's mind any more. I suppose because then he'd do even better in school, and start eating more fiber, or something. No, really. I like that Elena's feeling guilty for having Damon put the whammy on Jeremy, but it's amusing that it's troubling her conscience, right after she justified all her secrets and lies as "protection" for the people she loves. Before he leaves her at the bar, Damon snags a rose from a nearby arrangement and hands it to her. She grabs it gingerly. Elena, watch out for that prick. (Calm down ,Team Damon. I'm saying that for your protection. I'm talking about the thorns. Mostly.)
Meanwhile, Tyler nabs Kelly sticking her empty glass in a plant pot. She laughs and tells him to keep her secret, then asks for directions to the ladies room. As he escorts here there, she grabs his glass. "Is that soda?" She takes a sip and sighs in relief. "Vodka. Thank God." Tyler's panic turns to delight. Welcome to Cougar Town, 'Roid Rage.
Balcony: Damon seems to be enjoying a private memory when he's interrupted by Uncle Snark, who knows all about the town history -- even the secret tomb full of vampires. "But then you already knew that, didn't you -- being that you're the one who did it." Damon smiles as he tries to figure out Jon's angle for baiting him, and points out that he could just rip his throat out, although he'd probably get an unhealthy dose of Vervain in the process. Uncle Snark: "Why don't you take a bite and find out?" Damon says it's not worth his time and walks off, but then he Stealth-Salvatores back, snaps Uncle Snark's neck, and tosses him off the balcony. He admires his work with a smile, grabs his drink and heads back inside.
Elena finds Jeremy sitting alone and brings up the conversation he had with Liz about Vicki being buried. She's trying to pump him for more information, but she gives away more than she gets. Jeremy can tell she thinks/knows something else happened to Vicki, too. He's annoyed that his sister is ready to accept the easy explanation. "Is there something you're not telling me? Why aren't you looking at me?" Elena's lame denials only confirm she's covering up something. And just like that, the walls between them are rebuilt.
Kelly and Tyler are in some sort of sunroom, or maybe it's the veranda. I can't make head or tails of the layout of this house. She confesses that she can't allow herself to think about Vicki. Tyler knows exactly how she feels and confesses to Ms. Donovan that he was "a dick" to her late daughter. "That's what I hate. I can't make any of it right. It's like I don't deserve to miss her." Kelly grabs his lapel as she tells him she appreciates being able to talk to him -- and that she doesn't have anyone else. Tyler: "I don't have anyone to talk to, either." Oh man, I can't look. Thankfully, we cut to..
Matt and Elena. He wonders if he should feel guilty about enjoying himself so soon after Vicki's death, because Vicki was the very soul of propriety. Ahem. Elena gives him permission to have some desperately needed fun. And so he hugs her. And hugs her. And blushes. And then chokes out that he needs some air. He asks her to accompany him. When they get to the veranda (I'm going with veranda, okay) what do they see but Matt's mom and his sometimes best friend -- making out. Poor Pickled Pudding Pop doesn't have the stomach for this. He charges at Tyler. And since Tyler is a werewolf, and there's a full moon hothead, he doesn't just fend off the attack and walk away with his tail between his legs. Oh no, he beats the pudding out of Matt. Bad Tyler. No biscuit. Finally, Elena's calls for help are answered by Alaric. He pulls off Ty and says, "What was that? The Mayor notices the crowd gathering round and comes to his son's side, sends him off, and tells everyone to go back inside and enjoy the party.
Inside, finds Stefan and asks him if he wants the bad news, or the really bad news. Stefan would like to avoid all news, but Damon won't let me. "Do you want to hear about how the Council's back in vampire mode, or how I just killed Uncle Jon Gilbert?" This cuts through the fog settled around Stefan's head, but only momentarily. Damon doesn't notice Stefan that Stefan stops dead in his tracks as his super hearing picks up a pounding heart beat and stifled cries. He turns to find Kelly, who was knocked over in the fracas, sitting by herself, bleeding. Stefan crouches before her as if in awe. She whines that she's the reason she can't have nice things and blah blah blah guilt-cakes. Stefan, however, can't do anything but stare at the blood dripping off her forehead. He lifts his fingers as if to wipe it, but then he just starts swooshing it around. He goes on long enough that even drunk and humiliated Kelly notices that it's weird. "What are you doing?" Finger painting. Stefan apologizes and takes off, outside. Once alone, he stares at his bloody fingers and then licks them clean.
Back at the party, Damon shits another brick when he spies Uncle Snarks walking back in, as happy as a clam. As the Mayor introduces him to the crowd gathering around, Damon seeks out Alaric, who he seems to consider his new BFF, and asks him to look at Snark's right hand. Alaric sees that Snark is wearing a ring, just like his. Damon: "Yeah, and that would be a big coincidence, if he didn't just come back from the dead, five minutes ago. Where the hell did you get that ring?" Alaric tells him Isobel gave it to him. Damon notes that she gave birth to Elena under the medical care of Snark's late brother, Dr. Grayson Gilbert. Alaric asks Damon if he thinks Isobel and Jon knew one another. Damon says, "I think Jon knows lots of things." I think he knows more than anyone we've met to date.
Back outside, Stefan's trying to get ahold of himself, when he runs into Rude Guy who is now even ruder. Stefan's whammy was awfully specific, and probably weak, since he hadn't had any human blood for a few days, so Rude Guy makes a big deal about how all he can do is apologize. But it's not all he can do. He shoves Stefan, then apologizes. I can't decide if the thrall has worn off, or if Rude Guy knows more, too. At any rate, he's determined to take Stefan down and he's not apologizing for that. He swings, but Stefan grabs his hand and squeezes and bends it, until the guy is on the ground writhing in pain. When he sees Stefan has vamped out, he sobs, "What are you, man?" I hope that little lick of Kelly's blood provides Stefan with adequate compulsion power, otherwise this guy is going to be a problem.
Gilbert Gables: Jeremy arrives home to an empty house and flies up to his sister's room. He rifles through the same drawer Damon chose, but thank goodness, he does not fondle his sister's bra. Instead, he searches the room until he finds her diary, hidden behind that painting of a horse that hangs over her bed. The one time we could have used a diary-Ahhhhh voice-over, we don't get it. Instead, the camera pans over various phrases: how can I deny it; bodies drained of blood; protect my brother; take away Jeremy's pain; Vicki was a monster. Assume Jeremy knows everything, now.
Party; Exterior: Elena is looking for Stefan, but he whooshes away as soon he spots her. She finds Rude Guy, still lying on the ground. He says he's hurt his arm. "I lost my balance and fell. I'm clumsy." Heh. Struggling Stefan has an evil sense of justice-tinged humor when compelling his victims.
Back inside, Tyler apologizes to his father for his behavior. "I don't know what happened. I was drinking and lost control. I can't explain it." Yeah, it's really not fair that alcohol calms vampires but incites werewolves. The Mayor is all: this is the last time you embarrass the family and then hits the kid. Even though he's abusive, you think he'd have the control to wait until they were entirely alone. I guess the full moon is getting to him, too.
Donovan Domicile: Matt tells Kelly to pack up and hit the road. He has had it with her behavior. Over at HeroineTV.com, Lucia (whom I love) objects to the fact that it is Kelly's sexuality that prompts Matt to kick her out, but I don't. I don't know a 17-year-old boy that could deal with finding his mother and his best friend drunkenly making out at a party. Throw in his upbringing, and I refuse to expect him to be some perfect young man who, in the wake of his sister's death, is able to hold a healthy, supportive intervention with his mess of a mom. Lucia points out that Tyler accepts his father's wandering eye, but that's a different situation. Show me a girl who would be all right with Daddy making out with her best friend, and then we'll talk. Anyhow, Kelly tries her best to apologize, but even she knows how lame the repeated excuses are. Still, she promises to get her act together. Matt ain't buying it. "I want you out of the house, and my life, by morning." Here's a tip, Kelly. If you want to get it together, start acting like the parent and tell your son that although his anger is justified, you will not be thrown out of the house by your own child.
Back at the party, Damon and Alaric follow Uncle Snark outside. Snark already knows who Alaric is, and that he has a secret. When Damon points out how much Jon knows, Jon says, "My knowledge of this town goes beyond anything that you or you, or the Council, knows. So, if you were planning on some high speed snatch ring/vamp kill move, know that if I die, everything I know goes to the Council." Details about how the original Salvatore brothers are the current-day Salvatore brothers will be included. Alaric, who must get tired of all these melodramatic guys, cuts to the chase and asks Snark where he got his ring. Jon says he inherited one, and his brother got the other. He then holds up his bling for their inspection. "This was his. Although I wouldn't have given mine to Isobel, had I known that she would hand it over to another guy." Holy crap, is he Elena's other biological contributor? And, did he steal Gray's ring before his death? I mean, there was nothing magical about the way Damon "killed" Jon, right? Maybe Grayson is dead because of him. If her uncle is her father, is Elena her own grandpa? Anyhow, Damon is stunned to learn that Jon knew Isobel. Snark: "Who did you think sent her your way when she wanted to become a vampire? [...] Katherine Pierce?" Damon demands to know how Jon knows about Katherine. "How do I know anything, Damon?" Hee. Damon asks Jon what he wants. Jon's not in a sharing mood, so much as taunting one. He turns his attention to Alaric and tells him it was a pleasure meeting him. "I've heard so much about you." Meeeeow.
Gilbert Gables: Elena and Jenna are complaining about all the Founders Day events coming up as the walk in the door. Do you hear that, writers? Even your characters would like you to come up with a new excuse for all these gatherings. Anyhow, Elena goes to check on Germ, who is less than talkative. Given the pacing of this show to date, I was half expecting him to confront her there and then, but that's because I wasn't paying attention to the clock. She sulks off to her bedroom, and starts to get undressed, when Stefan Stealth-Salvatores her, scaring her nearly to death. He apologizes and explains why he disappeared. He tells her about Kelly's blood (although neglects to mention his little lick), and his confrontation with Rude Guy. He's freaking because he wanted to feed on Rude Guy, so very much. Elena reminds him that he didn't, though. He's trying to make her see how bad off he is. His head is pounding. His skin feels like it's on fire. His hunger is stronger than ever. "All I can think about is that I promised I would never keep anything from you." Elena is glad he isn't. She reaches for him, but he shrinks from her touch. He can't be that close to her. "I'm afraid of what I could do to you." Elena stresses that she is not. Oh little girl, you should be. She embraces him, as he cringes in agony and tells her how much he loves her. Elena: "Oh, I love you, too."
Mossy Manse; Later: Damon's sitting by the fire, holding his drink (of blood) to his troubled head. When he hears his brother arrive home, he says, "We have a problem, Stefan -- and when I say problem, I mean global crisis..." because I am an enormous drama queen. He stops then, not out of self-awareness, but rather -- because he's just gotten a good look at his brother. Stefan can barely see Damon. He only sees the glass of blood he's holding. Damon notes the detox is different this time. "Of course it would be, after all these years." Damon knows his brother is in no shape to discuss crises global or domestic. He bids Stefan a gentle good night, and leaves behind his glass of blood -- this time, out of pity. Scared and ashamed though he may be, Stefan drinks it -- with gusto. DUN!
That's it for this week. I've got too many theories swirling in my head to make sense of them. If you feel the same, you can reach me at CynthiaMcLennan[at]gmail.com, or shout out to me on Twitter. Until the episode, come on over to the forums, where it's all shirtless Salvatores, all the time.
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