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Chock full of blood, betrayal, backstory and bromance, "Kill Or Be Killed" is much more of a turning point than last year's "The Turning Point." Lady Lola is covering the weecap for me, so it only seems right to let her grade it, but if it were up to me, I think I'd give it an A. My head's still swimming in the story, though, so there are only two things of which I'm sure right now. Not only does Nina Dobrev do a good job, she's also got the best damned job. Anywhere. Ever. Here, let me show you...
The Lockwoods: Mason "Brick House" Lockwood finally tells Ty how he turned into a werewolf. A year ago, in Emerald Coast, Florida, Brick House was minding his own business -- and taxing his own liver -- when his friend Jimmy came out of nowhere and accused Brick House of making time with Jimmy's girl, Marla. We never see Marla, but we do see Jimmy, who is barely the same species as Brick House, so I'm guessing the same is true of his chick. Jimmy won't listen to reason and keeps coming at Brick House. A fight breaks out. Death ensues. And that's when the real fun begins. Brick House is now a werewolf. Arooo. Back in the present, he cautions Tyler how easy it is to kill someone, even without meaning to, and reminds him that he needs that moonstone, but still won't say why.
Has there ever been a more civic-minded community than Mystic Falls? The place is a cult. Today is the Historical Society's Build-A-Park day, or something like that. Mayoress Mama Mulva presides over the townies down on the old Fell estate. Mason shows up to help, as do the Brothers Salvatore, so it really is a beautiful day. Caroline and Elena are there too, and Elena heaps hot coals of guilt on Caroline's head by pretending she and Stefan are still on the rocks. The lovers stage arguments that feel a little too real, but don't fret, babies. They have a code. When he tells her he can't do this anymore, he means he loves her. And when she's all fine, whatever, she means, "I love you, too."
Despite seeming to agree to a truce prompted by Stefan, there's no love lost between Brick and the Brothers Salvatore. He makes a beeline for Sheriff Liz Forbes and tells her right out that they're vampires. Liz can't believe it. Damon's been her friend, her confidante, her eye-candy -- but she gets a little girl to hand him a glass of vervain-spiked lemonade and learns the ugly truth. She and her deputies ambush our beautiful boys in the woods, shoot them full of wooden bullets, drug them with vervain, and drag them down to the cells underneath at the old Lockwood place. When Caroline finds traces of the boys' blood, she and Elena follow after them. They're accosted by Brick House, who realizes Care Bear is a vampire. When he attacks Elena, Caroline swoops in to the rescue and beats the muffin out of our newest stud. The girls race off to save the boys, but Caroline panics when she realizes that doing so will mean revealing her true self to her mother. Elena, brave as ever, tries to go it alone, which is, of course a disaster. In the end, Caroline comes through, does away with the deputies and pleads with Liz to keep their secret. Liz, who has been searching for a way to connect with her human daughter, suddenly wants nothing to do with Caroline, and is all kill me now, which is disappointing. I'd thought better of you, Liz. What's not disappointing is Damon's response. Once the vervain is out of his system, with a little help from fresh, hot deputy blood, he makes a run at Liz, but cannot and will not do her in, because she's his friend. The gang takes Liz back to the Salvatore dungeon where they plan to hold her for a few days until the vervain is out of her system. Damon will then compel her to forget the whole deal. Liz goes along with this, but she never wants to see Caroline again. Damon sticks up for his baby vamp, which is rather heart-warming, and the whole Forbes-portion of the episode melts the top layer of frost off Elena's heart, who tells Damon that today, she saw in him the Damon who was her friend. Awww. Caroline comes clean to Elena about doing Katherine's bidding and about the reason why. Katherine threatened to kill Matt. Give me a stake. I'll put that bitch in the ground, myself.
Stefan decides that he needs to build up his resistance to human blood the way Katherine did with vervain. He and Elena have an actual argument, but in the end, she sees things his way, stabs her palm and offers it to him, and then kisses his game face away. Isn't it romantic?
Elsewhere, Tyler and Jeremy bond by skipping out on the park restoration and bringing Amy and Sarah back to the Lockwood home for some drunken debauchery. When they're alone, the boys fortify their budding bromance, share their wolfy knowledge and panic when Sarah grabs the moonstone and then falls down a flight of stairs when Tyler tries to get it back for her. In the end, she's fine, but later, Tyler confesses the afternoon's indiscretions to his uncle -- including the fact that he half-hoped Sarah would die, and he would turn. He then gives Brick House the moonstone and we flash back again to the night he turned. Katherine was there, and although Mason doesn't realize it, she almost certainly compelled Jimmy to attack him.
Later still, Mason goes out into the woods to meet someone waiting in a black Mustang. OMG, is he Sam Winchester's secret love? Sadly, no. He's Katherine's chew toy. He gets in the car, gives her the moonstone and then some lip, solidifying Nina Dobrev's life on the list of those most coveted.
-- Cindy McLennan
Want more? The full recap starts right below!Previously: Elena wigged out (har har) when her wavy-locked doppelpire Katherine showed up. After Katherine skulked around town, screwing with Damon's head, turning Caroline into a vampiress, and professing her undead love to Stefan, she and Elena finally came face to face. To fend off Katherine's hell-bent advance (including threats to kill Elena's entire family), Stefan and Elena hatched a plan to make it seem like they had fallen out of love. Also, shirtless werewolves!
We open in Emerald Coast, Florida, one year ago. Mason Lockwood calls it a night at whatever year-round Spring Break bar he's frequenting that night. He leaves, followed closely behind by a guy who's up to no good and emboldened by a hasty shot. Out in the parking lot, the guy, whose name we learn is Jimmy, shoves Mason and accuses him of running around with his girlfriend Marla. Mason claims innocence, but Jimmy won't be dissuaded. Bar fight ensues. Well, technically parking lot fight. Jimmy gets several good blows in, but he's a goner when Mason picks him up and chucks him on the ground with a crunch. Farewell, Jimmy. You seemed like trash, and we hardly knew ye! Cut back to the present, Lockwood Mansion: Mason tells Tyler that, even though Jimmy's death was out of self-defense, it still triggered the curse. Flash to Florida, where Mason's eyes turn extra-wolfy. Now, every full moon, Mason must sedate and restrain himself, or he'll kill everything in his path. He warns Tyler to be careful because any death -- be it accidental or calculated -- will literally change his life. "You don't want it, Tyler," he says, "trust me." Title card.
Now that Mason has answered Tyler's questions, he wants Tyler to honor his end of the bargain and give him the moonstone. Tyler hems and haws, saying he thinks that it's in a safe under the floorboards. Of course, it was there. Until he removed it. Tyler pushes Mason to tell him why he needs the moonstone. Mason lies that it's just sentimental value.
Gilbert Gables: Jeremy tells Elena he can't believe that Tyler's a werewolf. Elena says they only know for sure that Mason is a werewolf. Jeremy says it shouldn't be easy for "us" to figure out, and Elena reminds him that he is not invited into her Super-Special Supernatural Club with the Salvatore brothers. She warns him to stay out of all this mess for his own safety. He mopes away, and she walks over to her closet to fetch something. The minute she opens the door, you know someone is going to be there when she closes it. Happily, it's Stefan. She closes the bedroom door so they can keep up their ruse of being dunzo, then plants a kiss on him that she's been waiting for all morning. He asks if she's ready to face the day. She's not. She doesn't want to fight with him, even if it's fake, and hates that Caroline is acting as Katherine's minion. He reminds her that it's fight or die, given Katherine's threats on the Gilberts. She begs for assurance that they won't let anything they say in the fights creep into what they know about each other, so he devises a code: When he tells her he "can't do this anymore," he's really saying, "I love you." When she says, "Fine, whatever," she actually means, "I love you, too." They seal it with a kiss.
Over at the Forbes homestead, Liz tells Caroline that she's volunteering at the Historical Society Picnic so she can spend the whole day with Caroline. Caroline is hesitant to believe it since Liz has been MIA under all her vamp sleuthing of late, and she warns her that she's "in a mood," which is apparently Caroline code for "blood-thirsty." Liz wonders why Elena was at the house late the night before. Not wanting to go into the whole Katherine doppelpire situation, Caroline lies that Elena needed a shoulder to cry on because of the Stefan drama. Liz wonders what's going on with Caroline and says that she seems different. Caroline harshly tells Liz not to over-do this rare instance of maternal concern.
We head over to the Mystic Falls Historical Society Volunteer Day, where kids are hammering and sawing away. Because when you're in North America's most storied vampire hub, what better way to give back than a buffet of activities that offer maximum bloodshed? A local official thanks all the volunteers for showing up to lend a hand in creating the Falls' newest public park. Meanwhile, Stefan finds Mason to apologize for Damon's impulsive behavior. He warns Mason that his feud with Damon could end in the loss of innocent lives and tells him to squash it. Mason isn't too keen on the truce and bids Stefan to tell Damon to watch his back. Stefan cuts right through Mason's bravado, reminding him that he's only strong during a full moon and that there are two Salvatores and just one of him. Stefano promises Damon won't make a move on him, and the two have a gentlemanly -- if begrudging -- handshake. After Mason walks away, Damon pops up to crap all over Stefan's attempts at peace brokering. Stefan assures Damon he's not naive enough to think a handshake will solve things and thank Damon for creating even more problems than they already had.
Grill: Jeremy and some girl shooting pool form a mutual appreciation society as they check each other out from across the room. The girl's friend warns her to stay away from Jeremy because he's damaged goods. Jeremy walks over to Tyler's table to ask what's been going on. Tyler is predictably gruff, so Jeremy moves to make an exit. Tyler calls Jeremy back and thanks him for being supportive at his father's funeral. Jeremy says he's been there with the whole dead parent thing. The girls make their way over to the table after Tyler texts one of them. He invites them and Jeremy back to the mansion for a little afternoon margarita party.
Back at the park, Mason approaches Liz. He tells her he knows about the council and breaks the news to her that Damon and Stefan are vampires living right under her nose. She won't believe it because she's seen Damon kill other vamps. She considers him an ally. He points out the coincidence that the latest wave of vamp attacks happened right at the time the Salvatores returned to Mystic Falls, then tells her the brothers can walk in the sun because of their super-duper devamper rings. She still refuses to believe him, so he offers to prove it to her.
Elsewhere, Caroline grouses that Liz's sudden interest in acting maternal is conflicting with Caroline's plan to avoid exposing her new vampire lifestyle. She asks how things are with Stefan, and Elena plays the absent-minded, angsty teenager very well. Must have gotten some tips from Jeremy.
Back at the pavilion, Damon asks Liz why she was talking to Mason. He senses her anxiousness. She lies that she's worried about Caroline, so Damon offers to help. She tells him no thanks and rushes off.
Meanwhile, Elena carries on painting while gazing longingly at Stefan. He reciprocates, all for Caroline's benefit. Elena heads over to talk to Stefan. Caroline urges her not to, but Elena leaves her in the dust. Damon materializes and asks Caroline why she's being such a hussy to Liz. Caroline brushes him off, then turns on her vamp hearing to eavesdrop on Stefan and Elena's conversation. Damon joins in as Elena asks if Stefan still cares for Katherine. Stefan tells her they shouldn't talk about it then because they have people listening in. They both look over at Damon and Caroline, who abruptly turn their heads and scramble to find something to do, all, "Who us? Paint, paint, paint, we love to paint!" They keep up the ruse, wrapping up with their "can't do this" and "whatever" code. Damon smugs, "Relationships are about communication," and Caroline leaves to comfort Elena.
Lockwood mansion: Jeremy gets his groove on with his girl, Sarah, while her friend takes Tyler aside and apologizes for "slutting it up" with him at the swimming hole recently. He tells her there's no need to apologize or be embarrassed. They agree to be friends and clink their glasses. Sarah stops dancing and spots Jeremy's sketch book in his backpack. Before he can stop her, she pulls it out and shows everyone his five million werewolf drawings. Tyler and Jeremy exchange meaningful looks. While the girls get more drinks, Tyler invites Jeremy into his father's study to check out some "sketches" he's done. Instead, he throttles him and demands for answers why Jeremy has taken this sudden interest in the lupine form. Jeremy tells him he knows the family secret.
Park: Mason and Damon have a veiled conversation about Stefan is a lot nicer than Damon, agreeing that nice is overrated. Mason heads off, and Stefan approaches. Damon calls him out for the fake fighting with Elena. Stefan tells him to drop it. He does, then accepts a cup of lemonade from a young girl. He takes one sip and spits it violently, gasping, "Vervain!"
Elsewhere, Elena finds Caroline pouting by a creek. She tries to assure her that the situation with Stefan might be for the best, but Elena lashes out that it's not. She apologizes for taking her anger out on Caroline, who's just being a good friend. Caroline says she's not being a good friend. It looks like she might come clean, but she gets distracted when she spots her mother leaving the park. She catches up with Liz, who is having a frantic, yet cryptic, conversation on her cell phone. Caroline asks what's wrong. Liz starts to explain, but Caroline cuts her off, snitting that the she knew work would come calling and was actually surprised Liz lasted longer than five minutes. Liz apologizes and walks away. Elena joins Caroline, who is certain that something's afoul.
Back at the pavilion, Damon grunts and washes his mouth out with water. Stefan stops him from heading off to kill Mason but does acknowledge that they should no longer tolerate Mason's threats and exposures, saying, "We need to put him down." Dog pun FTW! Damon spots Mason taking out the trash and starts to get his stalk on. As they head over, Caroline fine tunes her super-vamp hearing to figure out where the problem is. Damon and Stefan find Mason in the woods. They offer him a head start. A split-second after he crouches down and takes off, gunshots go off, and the bellies of the brothers Salvatore are riddled with bullet holes. They fall to the ground. Caroline hears the ruckus. As she and Elena run toward it, Liz and her deputies shoot up the fellows with vervain.
Lockwood mansion: Jeremy tells Tyler he learned about the werelife from an ancestor's diary. He thought it too great a coincidence that Matt was attacked by a wolf under a full moon just as Mason returned to town. Tyler confirms that Mason is of the wolf persuasion but insists he himself is not. Tyler tells him about how the curse is triggered, then shows him the moonstone Mason seeks.
Elsewhere, Liz, Mason, and the gang carry the brothers into an underground cellar. Liz tells Mason he must go. She plans on killing the brothers, and since she's in her council -- not lawful -- capacity, he shouldn't be privy to it. He warns her not to take any chances and leaves as she points her gun down at the guys.
Outside, Elena watches as Caroline tries to track the boys using their blood. Mason interrupts the sleuthing and lets them know that he is aware of Caroline's transformation and will be more than happy to update Liz. Caroline lunges at him, so he quickly grabs Elena to block her. Awesomely, Caroline's all, "I can take you." And then she does. Oh, how she does. She spares his life, but surely not his ego, then tells Elena to get going.
Back in the cellar, Liz shoots Damon in the leg and demands for information. He remains relatively stoic, so she promises to drag out the process painfully if he doesn't fess up. He says pathetically, "But you're my friend!" She says their friendship was a lie and promises to kill him more quickly if he comes clean. Above ground, Caroline tunes in to hear her mother say, "He's not going to tell us anything. Kill them both." She cups her mouth in horror and tells Elena what's happening. Elena rushes to stop it, but Caroline fears exposing herself to her mother. Back inside, the council hears the door open. Elena reveals herself and says she won't let Liz kill the Salvatores. Before anyone can say another word, Caroline is running around in a blonde whirlwind, knocking bitches out left and right. She walks, mouth covered in blood, into the light and says in her baby doll voice, "Hi mom."
After a while, Stefan and Damon are conscious and recovering from their bout with vervain poisoning. Damon finishes feasting on a deputy and encourages Stefan to do the same. He refuses, and Elena backs him up. Understates Damon, "This is a most unfortunate situation." He looks disgustedly over at Liz and wonders, "What am I going to do with you?" Caroline begs her not to tell anyone what happened. Liz won't even look at her. Caroline tries to appeal based on being her daughter. When that doesn't work, she warns Liz that Damon will kill her if she doesn't keep quiet. Liz is all, "Bring it." Damon grabs her violently, putting a good fright in everyone in the room. He assures Liz he won't kill her because they're friends, then tells everyone to get on with the clean-up.
Lockwood Mansion: Tyler tells Jeremy about the moonstone and its supernatural associations. He says he hasn't given Mason the stone mainly because Mason wants it, and "I'm a dick that way." He also wants to figure out why Mason wants the stone because he doesn't fully trust him. With that, the girls interrupt the heart-to-heart. Sarah's slutty friend playfully grabs the moonstone and passes it to Sarah. Tyler gets uneasy and chases after her up the stairs. They wrestle around with increasing intensity until she is sent hurtling down the stairs head first. After a few seconds, Sarah opens her eyes with a mischievous smile and drunkenly laughs, "Foooooled you!" Jeremy tells Sarah's friend to take her in the other room, and he and Tyler practically wipe their brows with relief.
That night, Caroline arrives at the Mossy Manse with suitcase in hand. But it's for Liz, not her. The brothers her locked her in their basement until the vervain leaves her system so they can compel her to forget all of this ugliness. Damon briefs her on this plan downstairs. Caroline reaches the doorway just in time to hear Liz say she never wants to see Caroline again. As far as she's concerned, Caroline is no longer her daughter. Caroline drops the suitcase and takes off.
Stefan wanders over to the refrigerator where Damon keeps his supply of human blood. Elena finds him staring at it intensely and wonders what he's up to. Stefan tells her how Katherine built up a tolerance for vervain by drinking a little every day. He thinks he can do the same with human blood. He wants to be able to control himself, especially after his weakness for human blood nearly cost him his life tonight. Elena urges him to reconsider, but he is convinced this is the only way he can defeat Katherine. Elena tries to scuttle the conversation so Damon can't hear them, but Stefan reminds her Damon can pretty much hear them anywhere -- because he drinks human blood. As he grows more intense and scary, Elena wonders if this is a real fight. He confirms that it is, and she runs away.
Upstairs, Elena finds Carolina sitting on the couch and crying. She is scared to go home because she knows Katherine will be there waiting for an update. She confesses everything Elena already knew about her spying. Elena says she understands that Caroline must have done it because Katherine threatened someone. Caroline sobs that Katherine threatened to kill Matt, and she is terrified. She wonders what Katherine wants, but that's still not entirely clear.
Elsewhere, Mason leaves a message for Liz. Tyler appears and tells him about Sarah's accident earlier that day. He admits that, for a moment, he actually hoped she would die. He says he never wants to feel that way again and hands over the moonstone.
Mossy manse. Damon walks in as Elena tucks Caroline in on the couch. As she leaves, she tells him, "What you did for Caroline's mom -- that's the Damon who was my friend." As she starts out the door, he assures her that Stefan hasn't drunk human blood yet but tells her that eventually he will need to. She reroutes to the library, where Stefan is brooding, per usual. She asks if he'll really be able to control himself. He says he'll never know if he doesn't try. It'll only take a few drops of blood each day. They agree it's worth trying. Elena says she doesn't want Stefan to do this alone. She grabs a letter opener, pierces her hand, and offers it to Stefan. He drinks from her, like a kiss on the hand. He stops after only a few seconds, his teeth out and the veins under his eyes bulging. He looks at her desperately, and she leans in to kiss him on the lips. She pulls out. He is soothed. They lean in again, now eternally linked.
Elsewhere, Mason gets inside a car in the middle of the woods. Inside, Katherine tells him she's been waiting. We flash back to Mason in Florida a year before. He looks up with the eyes out of "Thriller," and behind him we hear "Mason, what happened?" It's Katherine. He explains everything to her. She hugs him consolingly, taking the opportunity when he can't see her face to smile evilly as she gets a look at Jimmy's dead body. She promises him, "Everything's going to be okay." Flash back to the present. Mason leans in for a kiss, but she stops him, asking why he ambushed the Salvatores. She told him to stay away from him and focus on finding the moonstone. When she realizes that he's procured the stone, they she rewards him with a deep, animalistic kiss.
In two weeks: Katherine continues her sexual compulsion of Mason. Damon tries to enlist Bonnie in the escalating war. And Katherine contacts Elena to say, in essence, "It's on, bitch."
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week, the CW is rerunning "The Return." Since I'll have a lot of time on my hands, please shoot me an e-mail at CynthiaMcLennan[at]gmail.com, read my coverage of No Ordinary Family, or Tweet me, to keep me out of trouble. Until time, please join us on the boards, where you, too, can pretend you're Nina.