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Too much happened in this episode to do it justice in a recaplet, so first, let's review the big moments. Jenna dies. John dies. Greta (thankfully) dies, as does Jules. Satan Klaus breaks the curse. Elijah betrays the Fellowship of the Falls when he fails to kill his bastard brother and instead rescues him. Bonnie survives. Elena dies and is resurrected, but retains her humanity thanks to Uncle Snark Daddy's one decent act on the show.
So, Klaus and Greta have Elena, Jenna and Jules contained by magical fire and Klaus times their sacrifices to the moon's position in the sky. Greta completes Jenna's transition by forcing her blood down Jenna's throat. First up at the altar is Jules. Not only does Klaus rip out her heart, he squeezes the blood into Greta's cauldron or what have you and it's wicked gross. up is Jenna. Thanks to some coaching from Elena, Jenna makes a respectable attempt at escape by sinking her fangs into Greta's neck, but she fails. Stefan arrives and offers himself as the vampire component of the Doppelganger Ritual, if only Satan Klaus will spare Jenna. He won't because he's eeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeevil. He will, however, stake Stefan to the ground like he's little more than a butterfly specimen in those sick little collections weird kids keep. Satan Klaus then kills Jenna and finally drains Elena of her blood.
Meanwhile, Bonnie and Germ are still holed up in the old mansion ruins. John brings them all the Gilbert journals in hopes that they can find a spell which will allow Elena to retain her humanity and resurrect, even if she dies with Damon's blood in her veins. They do. They bind John Gilbert's life-force to Elena's.
Anyhow, back to the main action. Klaus succeeds in killing Jenna. he drains Elena of her blood while Stefan looks on -- helpless. Elijah and Damon bring Bonnie to the sacrifice site at just the perfect moment to shock the hell out of Satan Klaus. The plan is for Bonnie to render Klaus harmless with her suped up mojo, and then for Elijah to rip Klaus's heart out and finish the job -- thereby preventing Bonnie's death by magical exertion or whatever. The thing is, the brothers on this show love each other even more than they hate each other. So while Bonnie is a spectacular force of nature and wields her new powers expertly, and Elijah does plunge his hand into Satan Klaus's chest, he never gets to ripping out his heart, because Klaus pleads for his life from an interesting angle. It seems the big fallout between Klaus and Elijah wasn't over Katherine after all. It was because Klaus killed off their family one by one, and hid their bodies so Elijah couldn't (presumably) remove the ash-dipped daggers from their chests and revive them. Back in the day, Klaus told Elijah he dumped them all in the deep blue sea, but he was only kidding! He stashed them and will bring Elijah to them, if only Elijah will spare him. Bonnie is ready to kill them both and give her own life in the process, but Elijah whisks his brother away in a whoosh of flames (bring your own subtext) leaving our Fellowship of the Falls broken, bloodied, beaten and bereft.
By episode's end, Elena is alive again and still human and John is dead. He leaves her a touching letter and his Protect-o Ring. I'm not sure what good that will do. Is she no longer too supernatural for it, Show? The kids then all dress up to visit and John and Jenna's unmarked graves in the Gilbert plot, as if they were going to an actual funeral.
In other news, Damon reveals to Stefan that Tyler bit him, but asks little bro not to tell their girlfriend. Stefan promises to find a cure, and hey, I bet there's a spell for that. Either a spell, or maybe Damon can suck on Tyler's throat -- just for a little while and just for medicinal purposes, I assure you. Speaking of Tyler, our secondary triangle is sidelined in their own self-contained story. By watching Caroline in action, Matt learns Liz's view of beasties is bigoted, and yet he doesn't want to be involved in any of the mystical goings-on in Mystic Falls so he dumps our Vampire Barbie, who must seek comfort in the arms of a very nekkid Tyler Lockwood, poor baby.
I'll be back with the weecap, ASAP. In the meantime, please grade the episode at the top of the page and then join us in the forum, where we're all snuggling down with Tyler under that blanket.
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Want more? The full recap starts right below!How was this not just the season finale? I mean, I know "The Sun Also Rises" is episode 21 of a 22 episode second season, but I know season finales and that, my friends, was a season finale. Four characters die and we're left with three cliffhangers. Season finale, yes? Yes. Don't sass me, now.
So we open on Matt and Caroline trying to hide from a now wolfy-Tyler, down in the dungeon at the old Lockwood ruins. Pudding Pop has to shoot Pudding Pup to keep him from attacking. A wounded wolfy is a subdued wolfy, so Caroline grabs Matt's hand and Stealth-Salvatores him right out of there. We cut to...
Alaric's Apartment: Katherine and Damon examine his werewolf bite. I wonder if it matters that Tyler wasn't fully wolfed-out when he bit Damon? Maybe a transitioning wolf's bite is like a werewolf bite vaccination for vampires. I'm fanwanking, aren't I? Damn. Well, leave me to my denial, wouldja? When Damon makes to leave, Katherine is nice to him for the first time in 145 years. She wants him to say goodbye. She doesn't want him to leave mad and then die. Damon's having none of it and none of her. Katherine delivered Jenna to Klaus, even though she owed Damon her loyalty for slipping her Vervain. Damon wants to offer himself up to Klaus in Jenna's place, but Katherine reiterates their conversation from last week and fills in some blanks: Klaus saw Damon's bite, knows his blood is impure, and so Damon won't do for the Doppelganger ritual.
Quarry: Elena helps Jenna figure out that she's been vamped, or at least that Klaus fed her his blood and then killed her. Remember, in The Vampire Diaries' mythology, the fledgling vampire must feed to complete the transition. Poor Jenna. She doesn't want to feed but Greta Manwitch traps Elena in a magical circle of fire, and then cuts her own wrist and forces Jenna to feed. Jenna says she can't. Elena encourages her to resist, but having Greta's blood right in her face like that is too much for our vampire tadpole. She drinks deep and vamps out, Greta then surrounds Jenna with fire, too.
Bonnie's Safe House: Bonnie and Germ are still hiding out in the ruins where Bonnie juiced up on the mojo of a hundred dead witches. They're going through the Manwitch grimoire collection, looking for some way to keep Elena from becoming a vampire if she's sacrificed while Damon's blood is still in her system. Hey, how come Bonnie can't just magically choose the right grimoire like she did before?
Outside: As Alaric, Stefan and Elijah are approach the safe house, Elijah exposits that the ritual will happen in stages, as the full moon sets. First Satan Klaus will sacrifice the werewolf, then the vampire, and finally Elena. Once the Doppelganger drops dead, the Klaus curse will be broken, and he'll become a hybrid. And blah blah blah vulnerable during the transition. Blee bloo whaaaaaaa. Elijah is going to finish the job himself to ensure Bonnie doesn't die of magical exertion. Oh oh. Stefan, Alaric, Elijah is gorgeous but he is NOT to be trusted. Before our boys have time to consider my warning, Damon calls Stefan and tells him the sacrifice is happening and Klaus has Jenna. Stefan: "Oh my God." Audience: "We've been saying that for a week, now."
Quarry: Isn't there usually water at quarries? Maybe I'm wrong, but this seems much more like a clearing to me. Pool. Pond. Pond would be good for you. Who has time to think? Anyhow, Elena explains to Jenna how everything is more intense for vampires -- sensations, emotions, etc., but that she should now have the ability to turn off her humanity and escape the anguish. Elena swears she won't let Jenna die. Before Jenna can ask how the hell Elena can be making guarantees, the ladies hear a woman's scream. They realize it must be the werewolf, and hey! Why hasn't Jules wolfed out when Tyler already has? Well, because, there's an app spell for that. Greta Manwitch has slowed Jules' transformation so that we don't have to think.
Elena tries to lecture Greta about how she serves nature and she's totally fighting on the wrong side. Greta says her duty is to Klaus and the new order. I'm glad she didn't say, "New world order" because "new order" creeps me out enough by itself. Klaus practically purrs when he overhears his magical minion pledging her loyalty. "Glad to know I still have a dance partner." Elena and Jenna both size him up and wish they'd brought their dancing shoes! No. I'm getting transfer-y. They size him up and shiver. He's not done smarming at them, yet, and heaven help me, but I kinda love him in a hate-filled sort of way. "Hello, my lovelies. Are we ready?" As if on cue (okay, actually on cue) Jules moans.
Lockwood Mansion: Matt and Caroline Stealth-Salvatore from the ruins of ye olde Lockwood Estate to ye new one. Once semi-safely ensconced inside the Mayoral Mansion, Caroline asks Matt how he knows about her -- especially since she compelled him to forget -- at his request, I might add. He 'fesses up about the Vervain, the spying, and that Sheriff Forbes is a bigot and knows everything too. Caroline wants to know where all this leaves her and Pudding Pop. He tells her it leaves them where they are -- shut in a house, trying to avoid getting mauled by their friend. Isn't it romantic?
Mossy Manse: On his way to answer a knock at the door, Damon's legs almost give out. He stops and examines the wound on his forearm, in case we've forgotten he's been bitten by a werewolf and that werewolf bites mean certain death for vampires. Damon, we haven't thought of anything else since episode 2-20. This is unnecessary posturing, honey. Anyhow, it's John at the door. When he strolls in, Damon informs him that Klaus has Elena. John lambasts Damon for failing to keep Elena safe, and Damon, who has been so unhappy that he ignored Elena's free will and forced his blood on her, is suddenly thrilled, because hey -- he hates John (who doesn't?) and it's good damned fun to taunt him about the fact that his daughter will be saved by becoming that which Uncle Snark Daddy hates most in the world (when it's not Isobel): vampires. Nah nah nah nah boo boo. John lunges for Damon, which is just asinine. Damon warns him not to screw with him today. John can't shut up, so he starts in on how Damon has ruined Elena's life. Damon is all: Tell me something I didn't know. I totally suck.
And then he says, "Trust me. It gets worse." John: "How could it possibly get any worse?" My Friend Jen: "Have you read the script, Mr. Anders?"
Quarry: The three sacrificial dams are in the burning rings o'fire, wishing like hell they were there for a posthumous video shoot with Johnny Cash, while Satan Klaus caresses the moonstone and talks to himself as super-villains are wont to do. Oh no wait, he's talking to Ms. Manwitch, but not really. He's just reminding us he's spent 500 years searching for the moonstone. He hates to part with it, but hands it off to Greta, who notes that the moon is past its apex. "Remember everything you need to do?" Klaus: "I remember." Greta drops it into her rock cauldron. Once it explodes, she starts chanting. Meanwhile, Jules tries to explain herself to Elena, who finally realizes who she is. "Oh, you're Tyler's friend? I totally thought you were a third Hilton sister." There's magicking, moaning, groaning and Klaus giving Jules a come hither look as he says, "Shall we?" She finally lunges at him. He throws her to the ground, mounts her, and rips out her heart. It's commercial time. Might I recommend you not get a snack during this break, because it's soon going to get way more disgusting that it just was.
Safe House:
As Jeremy pores over Emily Bennett's grimoire, he finds a mention of Johnathan (sic, I say, sic) Gilbert. Bonnie smiles as she notes that she thinks Emily had a crush on Great-Uncle Sic. The darling duo gets all dove-eyed for a moment, but only just. Time grows short and they have an Elena to save from immortality, super-strength, super-speed and super-sex. There's also a mention of a resuscitation spell, but no details. Hey. I thought the grimoire was a witch's recipe book. Man, I hate people who don't document in detail. Why even keep a grimoire, if you can't be arsed to write down a seemingly important ritual like ONE THAT MIGHT BRING PEOPLE BACK FROM THE DEAD?! What the hell? No wonder they burned you alive, Emily. Too bad none of your descendants had access to your resuscitation spell. Just as Germ is going to call Stefan and ask him to bring over Great-Uncle Sic's journals, Alaric shows up and asks for time alone with Jeremy. As Bonnie retreats upstairs, Alaric tells Jeremy that Satan Klaus has Jenna. Bonnie learns the same thing from Stefan and Elijah, so why they had to split up to break this news is beyond me. Bonnie is ready to ride out and kill Klaus, immediately. Stefan reminds Bonnie that killing Klaus right now before he's in transition will kill her. "It's not an option." Bonnie: "Neither is letting Jenna die." S'okay. Stefan is going to offer himself in exchange for Jenna. Now I feel bad about how I went off last week on how he gets to look noble largely because he can rely on Damon's pragmatism. I mean, this truly is noble. Sorry, Stef!
Quarry: Okay, this scene is extra disgusting, so I'm glossing over it. Klaus spends way too much time squeezing the blood out of Jules' heart and into Greta's cauldron o'fire. We cut to Jenna who is telling Elena how freaked she was when she was first tapped as Jeremy and Elena's guardian. Now she can't believe she ever would have passed that up. Wait. No. Now she thinks she should have, because she failed them (as this life-threatening situation would suggest). No. Now wait. Elena failed Jenna. Can we just "epic fail" this whole convo? We can. Thanks. You guys are the best. Elena gives Jenna more helpful hints on vampirism and makes her promise to run once she gets the chance. Jenna nods at her brave niece and we cut to...
Lockwood Mansion: Pudding Pop is worried that he killed Pudding Pup, but Vampire Barbie assures him werewolves are harder to kill than you might think. She then wonders if her mother wants to kill her. Matt says Liz is at a loss where Caroline is concerned. Just then, there's a thump at the front door. Caroline rushes to open it despite Matt's warnings and finds a very naked Tyler passed out on the stoop. Sadly, she gets Matt's jacket and covers Tyler up. Matt: I won't be needing that back. Audience: "Can we have it?
Safe House Exterior: Thanks to a handy-dandy locator spell, Bonnie has determined that the Doppelganger ritual is going down at Stephen's Clearing Quarry. Stefan will leave now and Elijah will escort Bonnie there just as the moon enters its final phase. Before Stefan is gone, Elijah says, "You're very honorable." Stefan: "Are you? Because this whole plan is contingent upon your honor, Elijah." Elijah says he won't fail them. Stefan needs to tease this out a bit more. Hell, he's wanted to kill Damon thousands of times, but never has. Elijah reassures him (but not us -- just because Elijah is pretty doesn't mean you should let yourself be reassured; you so should not) by way of a little personal history. "Klaus was not my only brother. I had siblings. I had parents. I had a family. Over the centuries, Klaus hunted them down one by one and he took them from me. He scattered them across the seas where their bodies could never be found." In case you forgot or missed an episode, you can only kill a non-Klaus Original by stabbing it in the heart with a magical dagger dipped in the ash of one white oak tree. To revive one, all you have to do is pull out the dagger. No bodies? No chance to play the hero for Elijah. He then flat out tells Stefan he won't fail him, so you know what's going to happen, right?
Safe House: John shows up with Great-Uncle Sic's journals and is familiar with the spell Jeremy and Bonnie are looking for. Meanwhile, upstairs, Alaric fills Damon in on Stefan's plan to sacrifice himself in Jenna's stead. Damon is furious. "We have a witch. She kills Klaus. No one needs to die." Alaric: "Except Bonnie." Damon: "Oh Stefan, dammit." He plows his fist into a nearby wall, forgetting it's the arm that has the wolf bite, until his nerve-endings remind him. He doesn't tell Alaric about the bite though. Instead, he just bemoans how Stefan is always cleaning up his messes.
Quarry: Klaus is ready to take Jenna now. Elena pleads for Jenna's life, but Klaus doesn't dignify her with a response, probably because he spots Stefan looking down at them from a cliff. Klaus swoops up to him so they can have a confab.
Safehouse: John exposits: Emily once cast a spell that bound a woman's life-force with her dying baby. The child died, but the mother's life-force flowed through her and brought her back. Jeremy's all, "We already know Elena's coming back to life, but she'll be a vampire." John says, "Not if her soul remains intact." Damon: "Her soul? Really? You're going to put your faith in some act-of-God mumbo jumbo." Um, as opposed to spells and vampire blood and rituals and white oak ask and Vervain? Sorry, Damon. I know you're stressed out. Just not seeing the difference, dude. John refuses to let Elena become vampire, so yes, he is putting his faith in whatever you want to call it. He wants to do this ritual.
Quarry: Elena coaches Jenna to eavesdrop with her new vamponic hearing -- to make out what Klaus and Stefan are saying up above. Klaus is all super-villain taunty, but Stefan keeps pressing his point: trade him for Jenna. When Jenna informs Elena that Stefan is willing to die in Jenna's place, we cut to commercial so Elena doesn't have to stand there with her mouth open for too long.
Lockwood Mansion: Caroline reports to Matt that Tyler is sleeping and should be better after a night's rest. Matt tries to make small talk with Caroline about her life these days. He can't get over how she is still herself. He wanted to get past the whole vampire thing, but just doesn't think he can. His life sucks: deadbeat mom, bills, job, school, but it's his life and he just wants to live it without all of "this." I don't blame you, man. Drink your Vervain and stay the hell away from these people. Oh and maybe get Bonnie to make you up a protect-o ring. Just sayin', Blue Eyes.
When it's time for Bonnie to go, she tries to leave Jeremy behind, but he tells her he's not taking no for an answer, so she slips him a magical mickey in a Judas kiss. When he passes out, John lowers him to the floor and says he'll stay with him. Alaric tries to tag along, but Bonnie seals him the ruins with a spell. She and Damon agree they'll put no one else at risk.
Quarry: Stefan and Klaus descend from the cliff. Klaus teases like he's going to let Stefan be sacrificed and then asks Elena who she's going to choose -- Jenna or Stefan. Elena refuses. That's okay, Klaus was only kidding about her having any say at all. He pins Stefan to the ground with a wooden stake, so that all he can do is suffer and watch. Klaus likes the whole three goddess symmetry of having three female sacrifices. As Elena looks on helpless, Jenna says, "It's all right, Elena. I know what I have to do." She then swoops over to Greta and sinks her fangs into her neck. Go Jenna! Go Jenna. But really? A neck snap would have been more prudent, because girl, draining her blood takes too long and you are no match for Klaus -- as you're going to see right now. As if he can hear me (and damned vamp ears -- maybe he can) Klaus pulls his baby vampire off Greta, stakes Jenna in the side and throws her down.
Elena cries out to her aunt on the altar and tells her to turn off her humanity, so she won't be scared any more. Klaus takes a beat and then stakes Jenna in the heart, and we watch her wither and die just like Lexi. Just like Vicki. Just like Pearl. Just like everybody cool. I don't suppose there's any chance that because Jenna was sired by an Original that we'll get her back, huh? I mean, I know that would undercut all this emotion, but I just feel like Sarah Canning has been largely wasted on this show. She made Jenna funny, vulnerable and fairly cool. Like if God forbid, your parents died, you wouldn't hate living with Aunt Jenna, you know? I would have liked to see what happened between her and Alaric, once she was a vampire. I would have liked to see her struggle to be good and maybe end up being bad. I am used to character deaths, but this one feels wrong. It's heart-wrenching, for sure, but meh.
Now it's time for Elena to die. Stefan is still pinned to the ground. He looks from Jenna's corpse, to Elena, to Greta who is pouring more blood into her flaming cauldron. Elena takes quiet comfort with Stefan, in knowing that her friends will be killing Klaus any minute. Klaus then walks over and tells her it is time. Elena follows him willingly. When he grabs her face, Klaus thanks Elena. She looks at Jenna's corpse and tells him, "Go to hell." He then sinks his teeth into her neck as Stefan looks on. There's some sharp work from Paul Wesley here, because Stefan is of course horrified, but he's also aroused and jealous to see someone else drink Elena's blood. Paul tells you 50 stories with only his face. Well done.
Now it's time for Klaus to transition. It's painful for the son of a bitch, and thank goodness. While everyone is distracted, Bonnie emerges from the tree line, throwing magic here and there and chanting her bony little butt off. When Greta turns to see what's happening, Damon sneaks up behind her and snaps Ms. Manwitch's neck. See, Corpse-Of-Jenna? That's what I'm talking 'bout.
Bonnie batters Klaus with her power as he screams in pain and then yells, "I thought you were dead." It's bloody, fiery, painful and loud. There's thunder. There's lightning. There's Damon de-staking Stefan, who orders big bro to get Elena out of there. Damon says, "What about you?" Stefan: "I'm not leaving 'til he's dead. Go!"Bonnie is ferocious, here. I can't do her justice, so why torture you with my futile attempts. Just watch the damned episode. Once she has Klaus subdued, Elijah reveals himself and plunges his hand into Satan Klaus's chest. "In the name of our family, Niklaus..." Klaus: "I didn't bury them at sea." Elijah: "Whatchoo talkin' 'bout, Willis?" Klaus: "Spare me and I'll take you to their bodies." Elijah: "Dude, that changes everything." Klaus: "I know, right? PSYCH!" Stefan: "Elijah, don't listen to him." Klaus: "No, totally listen to me, me, me." Elijah: "What to do? What to do?" Klaus: "I give you my word, brother." Elijah: "Well, an Original's word is his bond, except for right now when I'm ready to betray the Fellowship of the Falls, despite my repeated assurances that I would never do any such thing." Bonnie: "Do it and I'll take you both out." Elijah: "You'll die." Bonnie: "I don't care." Momentous Music: "Do do do do do do do do." Elijah: "I'm sorry." Stefan and Bonnie: "No! No." As they rush Elijah and Klaus, Elijah scoops up his brother and Stealth-Salvatores right over the flames and into the night. Bonnie and Stefan don't even try to give chase because it's not in the script for them to do so, you dig? Commercial.
Safe House; Morning: As Snark writes a farewell letter to his daughter-niece, Jeremy realizes that in binding his life-force to Elena's, John is sacrificing himself. John doesn't care. I mean, what's an Uncle Daddy to do except write his bio-child a letter that can be read after his death in melodramatic voice-over, and bequeath to her and her progeny his mystical protect-o ring? Just then Damon brings a still dead Elena back to the first floor of the safe house and tells her dead ears that if she comes back as a vampire, he'll stake her himself, because he can't stand the thought of her hating him forever, and it's all about him. Alaric and Jeremy rush upstairs and look on as Damon strokes Elena's face. John follows behind, but wanders outside to die alone, the big emo goober. As Elena comes gasping back to life and Damon tries to make sure she's not a vampire, John drops dead on the front lawn. Hooray!
Sidebar: I really like David Anders. I think he's done a fine job in the John role. I just think John was pretty much always despicable until this episode, and I have been so waiting for his death. I do think though, that if/since the writers were going to kill off Jenna, it was a bit of a waste to kill off John at the same time. Now who's going to be their guardian -- Alaric? It seems to me that killing off both parental-figures in one fell swoop squanders some opportunities down the line. Anyhow, goodbye, Uncle Snark Daddy. I loved to hate you most of all.
John: Even more than Katherine?
Recapper: Even more than Katherine.
John: Wow, thanks. I thought you just hate-hated me. I didn't know you loved to hate me-hated me.
Recapper: Just die already.
John: But I have so many people I want to thank -- like Isobel for wrapping me around her little finger, and my big brother...
Recapper: *kills you deader*
Ghost of John: Damn it.
So where were we? Well, I don't know, but now we're at the Lockwood mansion. A still naked looking Tyler is lying on the couch under his blanket. I have questions. Does he have pants or underwear on, now? If so, who put them on him? Was he able to do it himself. Did Matt do it to preserve Caroline's nonexistent modesty? Did Caroline do it? Is he still naked? Did Michael Trevino spend all of his time off at the gym, because -- have mercy, look at him! Oh, there's conversation between Tyler and Caroline here, too. What it amounts to: Caroline: We're friends, Tyler, you just have to control that thing where you're always treating me like kibble. Oh and a little thanks would be nice. Tyler: Why don't you snuggle up under the blanket with me and see what I'm wearing? Audience: "And report back to us immediately, Caroline." Caroline: My lips are sealed. Tyler: For now. I swear, it went just like that, almost. Maybe.
Gilbert Gables: Damon reports to Stefan that he compelled two cemetery workers to dig up a couple of empty graves in the Gilbert family plot, so it seems John and Jenna will stay dead, at least for now. Meanwhile, upstairs, Elena is getting prettified for the funeral, when Jeremy walks in and hands her the letter and ring from John. Elena then apologizes to Jeremy that he has lost so many people, even though she has lost the same number of people. Jeremy: "I still have you." Elena: Man, we have too much chemistry between us for cousin-siblings. Jeremy: Yeah, I'd better leave your bedroom, besides, the audience wants to see how great I look in this suit. Audience: YES!