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All Elena Gilbert wants is a normal day, culminating in a ferris wheel make-out session with her not-at-all normal vampire boyfriend, with no mention of the D(amon) word or the V(ampire) word, thank you very much. When she gets like that about vampires right in Stefan's face, I wonder if he stands there thinking she's a bigot. Whatever. Thanks to Katherine and an accidental assist from Bonnie and Damon, Caroline is now a vampire. So there's going to be a plethora of V and D, no matter what Elena wants. Poor thing needs a life condom.
Since Caroline starts to transition while alone in the hospital, she feeds on a blood bag like it's a Capri Sun, but does not manage to escape the ensuing disgust and guilt. No matter your meal plan, hospital food sucks. Her hunger is overpowering, though, so eventually she adds some fresh, hot nurse juice to her diet and learns the art of compulsion all by her lonesome. When Matt comes to visit, she pulls back from him, because cheerleaders can't binge on Pudding Pops without blowing up like pompoms. Eventually, she compels her nurse to release her from the hospital and finds the gang at the High School Carnival -- which is not a Founders-related event. Hooray! Damon knows what she is and that she must be staked, but he may just think that because she delivers Katherine's clichéd "Game on," message, knocks him on his fine ass and tells him he sucks. Elena firmly opposes Damon's plan (and even puts herself between Damon's stake and Care Bear) with a reluctant Stefan's help, and Bonnie blames everything, ever, on Damon and tries to kill him. With fire! Elena runs through the flames to plead with Bonnie for his life, even though he just snapped Jeremy's neck last week. See? She has no feelings for him at all. Except for all the hatred, obvo.
Meanwhile Mason "Brick House" Lockwood tries to help his nephew Tyler tame his inner wolf. Damon can't forget that the late, great Mayor Lockwood was disabled by the Gilbert Gizmo, yet not affected by vervain, so he and an unwilling Stefan smoke out the smoking hotties to determine what they are and why they're so pretty strong. Damon compels a carnival worker, Carter, to pick at fight with Tyler and leaves Stefan to observe from the bushes as Brick House leaps over cars to save his nephew. I don't think Stefan sees Brick's eyes go lupine, but Tyler doesn't miss it. Carter, by the way, survives the fight only to be eaten by an apologetic but famished Caroline. Later on, at the Lockwood estate, Tyler finds the moonstone Brick House has been looking for and keeps it to himself.
Stefan is a busy boy this week. In addition to his Damon-herding duties, he tries to help Caroline through her transition and tutors Jeremy in vampire defense strategies -- even giving him some liquified vervain, which the Germ promptly uses to spoil the Salvatores' liquor. Oh the boozemanity! He intends to disable Damon and stake him, but once he gets a look at those blue eyes, he can't go through with his evil scheme. What?
It all ends with Stefan sneaking Elena out for some middle-of-the-night macking at the closed carnival. He Edward Cullens her to the top of the ferris wheel and they make out, even as they face the fact that normal is so not their watchword. But wait, there's even more romance. Matt, who knows something is up with Caroline, is so afraid he's going to lose her that he confesses he's in love with her. She uses her new Stefan-taught breathing to restrain the beast within. Ain't love grand?
I'll be back ASAP with the full weecap. In the meantime, join us in our forum!
Below, see what vloggers Val and Beth think of vampires who prefer high school girls, in TV is the Answer.
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Want more? The full recap starts right below!Brian Young's "Brave New World" gets off to a rip-roaring start, so let's do likewise. You ready? Okay. Previously Katherine snuck into Caroline's hospital room, gave her a "Game on" message for the Brothers Salvatore, and then smothered her to death.
Now: Since Damon fed her his blood hours before, Caroline wakes up tonight, as if nothing happened, and she is HUNGRY. Although Nurse Haynes (Terri James) chases Caroline back to bed without feeding her, Caroline makes a pitstop in a nearby room and grabs a juice bag, and by juice I mean blood. The nurse catches her in the other patient's room, but Caroline somehow manages to snag the bag and smuggle it into her room. Once she's alone, she drinks, gags, coughs and throws the bag to the floor. The gag-inducing blood is too yummy to resist though (I know), and soon she's down on the floor chugging like a sloshed frosh at a frat party.
Daytime; MFHS; Exterior: While Elena's setting up for the school carnival (which, thank the TV gods, has nothing to do with Founders' Day) Bonnie tries to talk about the curious case of Katherine Pierce, and also how Damon snapped Jeremy's neck, but Elena makes it clear she can't deal. She's human and she needs to do human things, like fill in for Caroline at the carnival. Bonnie gets the message and the girls joke about how Caroline can only do all she does because she is not at all human. Don't wink at yourself so hard, Show. Your face might stick that way.
Inside, Stefan gives Jeremy a crash-course in Defense Against the Dark Damon (and other vampires). Vervain and wooden stakes? Yes. Poking the crazy? No. That is, Stefan warns Jeremy off retaliating against Damon and says it's time to move forward. Jeremy scoffs. "I was killed by a vampire and brought back by a magic ring. How do you move forward from that?" I don't know, Germ, but I'd do it at top speed.
Just then, Elena wanders up, ready to work the boys to distraction. Jeremy's already on top of his carnival assignment (a goldfish toss -- what the hell is that?) so he leaves. Once she's alone with Stefan, Elena tells him all she wants is a normal teenage day full of normal activities culminating in a ferris wheel make-out session, with no mention of the V(ampire) word, 'kthanksbye. When she gets like that about vampires right in Stefan's face, I wonder if he stands there thinking she's a bigot. He doesn't seem to, but he also doesn't seem to get that talking about Damon, a vampire, has been forbidden by her no V word rule, so Elena makes it clear: no D(amon) word, either. When Stefan brings up Katherine, I wait for a K embargo, but Elena just sighs and lets him talk.
Lockwood Estate: Damon is meeting with the widow Carol "Mama Mulva" Lockwood. He tells her he's taking point for Sheriff Forbes on the investigation into the vampire that attacked John Gilbert. Carol wants him to spearhead the Council for her, since she'll be serving out the rest of the late Richard's term as Mayor. With a straight face, Damon agrees, commenting on how close the cause is to him. Heh. Just then, Tyler and his young, yummy uncle, Mason "Brick House" Lockwood, come back from something that has left them sweaty and Tyler shirtless, bless. Although Carol shuts the study door, Damon tunes into the boys' conversation with his vamponic hearing. Brick House is feeling Ty out about his aggression problems. Does exercise help? No. Do he lose himself in a sort of rage blackout? Yes. Mason then gets oddly specific. "Is there a pattern? Like once a month? Only at night?" he's gonna ask him if he ever gets that not-so-fresh feeling.
Hospital: Caroline sticks her hand in a ray of sunlight streaming through her window and feels the burn. When Matt returns with her food, she doesn't want it. He leans in for a kiss and feels rejected because she pulls back, but she's only pulling back from the sunshine between you, Pudding Pop. It's like an omen for your love, but burnier. Although she's due to be discharged the morning, Caroline wants to leave tonight. Matt assumes that's because she's a control freak who can't stand to think of other students in charge of her carnival, and she insists it's just that the hospital is depressing, but we know what the real issue is. In case we don't, when Matt opens the curtain to chase away the gloom, Caroline flees to the shadows and orders him to shut them. Put off by her mood, Matt soon takes his leave.
Mossy Manse: When Stefan arrives home, Damon is pouring himself a glass of donor blood and smirks as he offers some to his brother. When Stefan begs off, saying he just ate, Damon cracks: "Aren't you worried that one day all the forest animals are going to band together and fight back? I mean surely they talk." Now that's a Disney movie I want to see. It's also a pretty neat metaphor for the town's secret Council. Stefan ignores his taunts and commends Damon on drinking blood from a bag rather than from a sorority girl. Damon takes that as evidence that Stefan is worried about Damon going off the deep end and asks if Elena's worried he'll explode, too. Stefan changes the subject to Katherine, so Damon changes it to the Lockwood boys and their compelling pecs rage mystery. It's all bicker-banter and both boys are in great form.
Hospital: Caroline takes her personal items out of the hospital storage bag, but when she puts on her vervain necklace, it burns her skin. It's not long before she vamps out, and when she catches sight of her game face in the mirror, she struggles not to scream. Then the fangs come out and she can be silent no more. Unfortunately, Nurse Haynes comes running at the wrong time. Caroline grabs her around the neck and shoves her against the wall, because this is The Vampire Diaries and that has to happen at least once per week. It's a contract thing. She insists the nurse cannot tell anyone what she's seen. Because she knows nothing about her new powers of compulsion, Caroline's surprised by her victim's compliance at first, but then she's just thrilled. "Good, because I'm starving." She rears back her head, bares her fangs and downs some fresh hot nurse juice. Commercial.
Carnival; Night: Bonnie informs Elena that they're out of Bart and Homer dolls and Team Jacob tees. DO YOU GEDDIT? Elena says she'll get some from the science club. Wait, what? [Clearly, they're growing them in petri dishes. Or, their carnival booth is the least popular. - Zach] Oh, who cares. This scene is just here for Bonnie to meet a cute carny named Carter, who calls her "beautiful" and tries to help her fix the karaoke speakers, so that later he can die a painful death as all persons of color (save Bonnie) on this show must.
Lockwood Mansion: Brick House is rifling through his late brother's study when Tyler finds him. Brick assures Tyler he's just looking for an old moonstone that belonged to his mom. Ty doesn't know anything, so he suggests Brick ask Carol. They then leave for the carnival, but Tyler takes one last look at the study, over his shoulder.
Carnival: Damon and Jeremy meet up. Here it is. Jeremy's going to freak and try to take on Damon or scream holy blue murder or kick him in the nuts or something, right? Wrong. He utters a few threats about outing Damon to Mystic Falls and that's... it. Damon quickly takes the boy in a chokehold, shows him who's boss, and how easy it is to rip a protect-o-ring off a human's finger. When he releases Jeremy (whose hair looks better this week), Damon says, "If you want to tell people what I really am, go ahead and try. I will shove this ring so far up your ass -- you'll really have something to choke on." And with that, he throws it back at the Germ's head and walks off.
Hospital: Caroline's leaving voice mail for someone, and we're just going to assume it's for her mom because that will make things easier, later. In her message she says the doctor has signed her out and to call her back. After hanging up, Caroline chats with her nurse, who is still alive but has a big bandage on her neck. She makes the most cheerful, polite little vamp with her: "I'm so sorry about that. Okay, now what's the story?" I mean really, I don't think she was that polite as a human. The nurse, still under compulsion answers, "My husband likes to get kinky." Caroline's pleased with this answer, and I think she says something to that effect, but I can't hear her because I'm laughing like a drain. , Caroline babbles on about how she must get to the carnival. "I mean, God bless Elena, she does not understand the word fabulous." She apologizes again to the nurse, asks her to forget the whole biting thing and takes her leave, exclaiming how brilliant her compulsion powers are.
Carnival: Brick House and Tyler are over at an arm wrestling competition. First Tyler beats everyone. Then Brick House beats Tyler. Then Damon volunteers Stefan to wrestle Brick House, all in the name of science and sibling humiliation. And it works. Well, Stefan is surprised by Brick House's power and does draw on some of his own preternatural strength, but if you watch his face you can see he checks himself and decides to let Brick House win, rather than arouse suspicion. After, Damon rags on Stefan for not trying at all. Stefan explains he did, and that while Brick House doesn't seem as strong as a vamp, he's definitely stronger than a strong human. Now mind you, Stefan's the one who said Brick had a more-than-human strength, so it makes no sense that when Damon wonders what the Lockwoods are, Stefan mockingly answers, "Oh, uh... Ninja Turtles." Damon: "You're not funny." Well, he's not as funny as you Damon, but he can be amusing. This time though, he's just being obtuse. As if to prove my point, Stefan then says, "Or no -- zombies? Werewolves?" Damon frowns. "No comedic timing. At all." He's soon distracted by Carny Carter McDoomed. He pulls him aside, enthralls him and orders him to pick a fight with Tyler Lockwood and not to back down. Stefan tries to stop Damon, but he won't listen. He never does. He wants to see what happens when Tyler gets out of control. "Let's see who intervenes. Maybe it's the ambiguously gay duo supernatural mystery uncle."
School; Interior: This high school has the worst security, ever. Damon's just wandering the halls at night, during a carnival. He turns when he hears footsteps. It's Caroline, wearing different clothes since she left the hospital, so she must have gone home and gotten her mother to invite her in. Anyhow, Damon is all amused and smug, thinking his healing of Caroline is the big secret in the room. Poor Evil Pixie Monster. Betcha never saw this coming. Caroline reveals she is starting to remember when he compelled her, used her, abused her, chewed her up and spat her out. At first, Damon says this is impossible, but then he remembers what would make it possible. Finally, someone knows Caroline is a now a creature of the night. She's been waiting for them to notice her Eye Makeup of the Damned TM since she arrived. Sheesh. Once the realization dawns on his face, Caroline smiles and approaches him. "I have a message from Katherine. She said, 'Game On'." Before Damon can respond, Caroline throws him down onto his fine ass, looms over him and spits, "You suck." Oh okay, that was so lame it cycled right round to being awesome. Commercial.
Oooh, Supernatural promo.
Damon finds Elena, who wants nothing to do with him, because he puts the V and the D in VD, and she's fresh outta life condoms. He insists she come with him. He's got something to show her. Is it bigger than a breadbox?
Stefan tails Carter, who meets up with Tyler Lockwood in the parking lot and shoulder-bumps him. They start fighting, and it's not long before Brick House is in there breaking things up. Of course since Carter's compelled, he won't stop trying and even takes a swing at Mason, who then goes into hyperdrive, leaps over a fricking car, flashes his now lupine eyes at his nephew and then turns toward Carter. After he knocks down Mr. McDoomed, Mason takes Tyler away from the scene, and the lurking Stefan runs out and to Carter's aid. Carter's confused. He doesn't know why he picked the fight. Stefan tells him he was just in the wrong place at the wrong time. I shout it's going to wronger, right quick.
Caroline finds Matt at the carnival and he's surprised she's been released, so he certainly isn't the person she called from the hospital. She says she's all better, and when she tries the ring toss, she smashes a bunch of the bottles. Once Matt takes her in his arms, she starts confusing desire with bloodlust, as transitioning vamps are wont to do, and pulls away, saying she has to go. She leaves Matt there befuddled and more than a little hurt.
Classroom: Damon catches Stefan and Elena up on Caroline's fangy fate and Katherine's cryptic message. Damon says they have to kill Care Bear and reminds them that Caroline's own mother is a vampire hunter. Elena will have none of that, and Stefan stands by his woman, even when Damon rubs Vicki Donovan in their faces. Even if Damon's right that Caroline's too big of a liability, Stefan and Elena won't allow her to be killed.
Carnival: Caroline sobs as she walks through the carnival, but she stops when she smells blood. It's poor Carny Carter, tending to his post-fight bloody nose. He hears her crying and asks if she's okay. She ekes out a cry and an apology that bewilders him, UNTIL SHE EATS HIM UP! Commercial.
Matt tries to explain to Bonnie how different Caroline seems, but since he doesn't know the real story, he doesn't make a very good go of it. Poor Pudding Pop. I love his voice. Don't you just love his voice? Ahem. Meanwhile, Damon pulls a stake out of the ground, and I wait for a carnival tent to collapse, which would have been hysterical, but nope, no biscuit for me.
Stefan and Elena walk through the grounds. He is all keyed up, and punches inanimate objects, because he's trying to give Elena the normal high school date she longed for. Oh no, that's not it. It seems part of him knows that Damon's right about Caroline. "Katherine all but signed Caroline's death sentence." Elena says they can't let it end that way and asks if Katherine is doing this to get to her. Stefan shakes his head. "She's doing this to get to me." I wonder how much he told Elena about his conversation with Kat last week. Somehow, I bet he omitted a few details.
Lockwood Mansion: When Brick House and Tyler arrive home, Tyler insists on some details -- like how Brick House managed to jump over a car, and why his eyes were glowing, but Mason denies he saw anything odd. And you know what, I think he might only be half-lying. He seems in denial, doesn't he?
Carnival: Elena and Stefan are looking for Caroline when Stefan catches a whiff of blood on the air. They head toward the scent and we cut to...
Damon finds Caroline and Carter's corpse on the back of a flatbed at the edge of the fair grounds. Damon is sweet and solicitous, and stupid, because he flat-out tells Caroline he's going to kill her. Commercial.
Just as Damon is about to stake Caroline, Stefan Stealth Salvatores up and knocks the stake out of his hands. When Caroline sees Elena she freaks, saying Elena tried to kill her. Elena tells her that was Katherine, but Caroline can't understand why they look exactly alike. She screams for Elena to get away from her, and finally Stefan takes Caroline by the hand and tries to calm her and lead her away to wash the gallon of blood off her face. As they head in, Damon retrieves the stake and goes for Caroline again, but Elena puts herself between them. She waits for Damon to lower his stake. When he doesn't, Elena looks him in the eye and says, "Damon, she's my friend." He can't resist her. He can attempt to murder her brother in front of her eyes, but he can't resist her. He lowers the stake and says, "Whatever happens, it's on you."
Just then Bonnie happens upon the scene. She sees Caroline's bloody face and tries to summon all her powers of denial, but when she grabs Caroline's arm, she knows the truth. Her friend is the evil dead. Caroline tries to get Bonnie to talk to her, but she's too weepy and Bonnie is in shock. Finally, Stefan leads Caroline inside the school and into a bathroom to clean her up. He explains the heightened emotions common to transition, even as she freaks about being a murderer. I'm really liking Caroline's mixed reaction to her new condition. She's repulsed and exhilarated and Candice Accola is doing a hell of a job. When Caroline looks in the mirror, she starts to vamp out again, so Stefan teaches her how to bury the feeling by breathing through it. Lamaze, it's not just for mothers in transition any more.
Outside, Bonnie, Elena and Damon are all gathered around the flatbed. It kind of cracks me up that they're hanging around Carter's body like that, when they're so out in the open. Shouldn't Damon Stealth-Salvatore it away somewhere before someone sees it? When Damon's a little too cavalier for Bonnie, she strikes him with another mystical migraine. He crumples to the ground in pain as Elena looks on -- stunned. Bonnie then turns on a nearby hose -- with her freaking mind. The water rolls toward Damon and I can't help but remember what Bonnie did to Tiki at the carwash -- and that was just because Tiki told her to sweep up! Bonnie (who rightly AND wrongly holds Damon responsible for so much) remembers, too, so she turns the stream of water into fire. As the flames engulf Damon he screams and tries to pound them out. Elena yells for Bonnie to stop, but she can't/won't/doesn't until Elena leaps through the flames and grabs her by the arms. She berates Elena for stopping her and asks why. Elena says simply, "Because this isn't us. Bonnie, this can't be us." Bonnie's barely keeping it together, so Elena puts her arms around her and leads her off, leaving Damon alone and moaning on the pavement. Bonnie's being a bit ridiculous to blame Damon for everything EVARRRRR, but he's done enough to Caroline, Vicki, Lexi, Jeremy and who knows who else that I think it's important we see him suffer.
Interior; School: Stefan catches up with Elena at her locker and tells her Caroline is okay and he'll check in on her later. He also lets her know Carter's body has been "taken care of." When Elena frets that things won't end well for Caroline, Stefan assures her he's going to make sure Damon's wrong -- and that it will be okay. Elena can't believe she thought she'd have a normal day. "My best friend's a witch. My boyfriend's a vampire. And? I have a doppelganger who is hellbent on destroying all of us." Stefan apologizes, but Elena says it's nobody's fault, it just is what it is. As he caresses her face, she insists she's fine, but seems at a loss for words. She shuts her locker and says she'll call him tomorrow -- leaving without even a kiss.
Lockwood Mansion: Carol is glad to have Brick House around the house, for Tyler's sake, I'm sure. She promises to try to find the moonstone he's been looking for and heads upstairs, just as Tyler enters the room. Mason apologizes for earlier and Tyler says they're good, but once his uncle is gone, Ty heads into his father's study, removes some floorboards under the rug, opens the hidden safe and takes out an old box containing the moonstone! He pockets it and we cut to...
Mossy Manse: When Damon arrives home and pours himself a drink, he calls out the hooded Jeremy, who is waiting for him. Just before Damon takes a swig of his drink, Jeremy warns him off -- confessing he laced it all with vervain. Oh the boozemanity! So, Germ came to Mossy Manse to disable Damon and stake him, but now he doesn't have it in him, even though "It's only fair. You killed me first." Damon wonders why the change of heart. Jeremy tells him about his father and uncle's vampire hatred, and while he feels the pressure of his legacy, he can't see what good it will do to kill Damon. Well Germ, I don't want the Evil Pixie Monster gone, but were I in your Chuck Taylor's I'd still be thinking about how Damon snapped your neck THE NIGHT BEFORE. I mean seriously? I get that Jeremy is a troubled kid and has been drawn to troubled people like Vicki and reasonably untroubled vampires like Anna, but this... is just too soon. I do think it has to happen, but wow, I did not expect this tonight and now that I've watched more than once, I'm not sure how well it works for me. Anyhow, after Damon cracks that he's not the milk-and-cookies type of big brother, Germ calls him a dick and starts to leave, but Damon stops him, confiding that his father hated vampires, too. "But, it was 1864, and..." He holds up Jeremy's rough homemade stake. "...People knew how to whittle." Heh.
Caroline's bedroom: she's lying in her bed, in her house, so presumably her mother saw her and told her to come in at some point and, frankly, I'm tired of reading otherwise. Stuff happens off-screen, sometimes. Anyhow, when Caroline hears something coming through her window, she hides up against the wall, but it's only Matt. He's hoping she's a bit more herself, now. She tries to get rid of him, but Matt says he's feeling more insecure than he usually does. He confesses that it scared the hell out of him when she almost died. He can't lose anyone else and says that even when he wants to throttle her, he's pretty sure he's in love with her. He's worried because now, it seems like she doesn't feel the same way. Caroline has hand (cf. Seinfeld). She only had to give up her immortal soul to get it, but I'm sure she would have been fine with that. Anyhow, Caroline takes Matt in her arms and kisses him. While she's hugging him, her desire mixes with her newbie bloodlust and her face starts to vamp out, but with her head over Matt's shoulder, she practices her Lamaze and brings herself back to normal. She's a quick study and, oh my word, they're so adorable together. Let's leave them their privacy, shall we?
Gilbert Gables: Stefan sneaks in Elena's window and wakes her with a kiss. It's almost dawn, but asks her to come with him. He takes her to the carnival, where he has compelled the guards to go on break, so he can take her on the ferris wheel and kiss her when they get to the top, just like she wanted. He makes a touching speech about how he came back to Mystic Falls to start a life with her. "We can't forget to live it." Elena nods and is persuaded to enjoy the times they can, but wonders how they'll get atop the ride. Stefan tells her to hold on tight and Edward Cullens her to the top of the ferris wheel and they kiss. But when their lips part, Elena says, "It's not going to get any easier, is it?" Stefan looks away, shakes his head and then looks back in her eyes. "No. It's not."
Well, that's it for this week, folks. I have a family wedding and stuff with the kids' schools, soccer games and all manner of things crashing down on my head. I have so much more to say about this episode, which I liked even better than the season premiere, but I just don't have the time. If you have comments or questions, please feel free to email me at CynthiaMcLennan[at]gmail.com, or shout out to me on Twitter. I'll see you Friday morning with my recaplet of "Bad Moon Rising."
Discuss this episode in our forums, then see what vloggers Val and Beth think of vampires who prefer high school girls, in TV is the Answer, below!
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