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Klaus brings Stefan to Chicago. There's a witch there, Gloria, and Klaus thinks she can help him figure out his hybrid problem. While in Chicago, Stefan is surprised to learn that he had a thing with Klaus's sister, Original Vampire Rebecca, back in the 1920s. Klaus has her stashed in his local warehouse full of coffins. When Klaus goes to visit, he pulls out the dagger, and leaves a compelled human on guard to tell Rebecca where she can find him (and to feed on) when she awakes.
Stefan learns he was Klaus's willing wing man, back in the day. When Katherine calls our Evil Pixie Monster and tips him off to his prodigal brother's whereabouts, Damon and Elena track Stefan to the Windy City. Damon inexplicably leaves Elena alone in Stefan's old apartment -- which has magically remained untouched for nearly 90 years. Yeah. I know. There's a secret closet which was used to hide booze during Prohibition, and Stefan used it for such, but he also used it as a handy dandy place to list all of his victims. Miss Elena takes in the list with a new appreciation for the havoc a Ripper will wreak. Of course Klaus decides to bring Stefan there, while Elena is still there alone reading Stefan's 1920's diary, so Elena has to hide in the secret closet. Stefan spots her there, but covers for her, so Klaus is, it seems, none the wiser.
Speaking of closets... back in Mystic Falls, Tyler wisely goes to Sheriff Forbes with what he knows about his mother's involvement in Caroline's disappearance. Caroline's daddy, Bill, is trying some hardcore aversion therapy, to condition the vampyrism out of his little girl. It's torturous and I keep thinking of those camps people send their kids to, to purge them of "the gay." Finally, Liz and Tyler find Bill, just as he's locking Caroline up for the night, after a long day of torturing her. Liz holds Bill at gunpoint, and even fires off a warning shot, while she sends Tyler into the dungeon to rescue their girl.
Back in Chicago, Damon returns to the magical vacant apartment and realizes how stupid he was to leave Elena alone in such close proximity to Klaus, but he has a plan. They're going to the bar that was Klaus, Rebecca and Stefan's favorite Chi-town speakeasy, back in the day.
In a flashback, we watch as the speakeasy is raided by Chicago's finest, and they're using wooden bullets, so they know that which with they're dealing. Stefan learns that is when Klaus compelled him to forget their friendship and Rebecca. Damon arrives at the bar and manages to catch Stefan's eye without Klaus spotting him. Outside, Stefan gives Damon hell for bringing Elena so close to Klaus. Damon gives Stefan hell right back about being bad one day (killing Andie) and good the (saving Damon), and tells him Elena isn't going to give up until she has Stefan in "vampire rehab." Stefan explains that Elena is the key to everything -- it's because she's alive that Klaus's plans won't work and Klaus's witch is seconds from figuring that out. When he tells Damon to tell that to Elena and to bring her home where she's safe, Damon leaves Stefan to tell her himself, and goes into the bar to talk to Klaus.
Elena hugs Stefan and tries to stab him with a vervain dart, but he catches her and makes it clear he wants just wants her to go. Meanwhile, in the bar, Klaus tortures Damon with the wooden end of a little cocktail umbrella, which is even funnier than it sounds. Damon tries to trade himself for Stefan, but Klaus will have none of that. He's about to stake Damon when Gloria steps in and stops it.
We learn that back in the '20s, Rebecca chose being with Stefan over going on the run with Klaus and that's when he plunged the dagger into her chest and stashed her away for safe keeping. When Klaus goes back to check on Rebecca, she's already awake and tries to return the favor, but the dagger won't kill Klaus now that he's a non-cursed hybrid. He then compels Stefan to remember everything he compelled him to forget after the speakeasy was raided. Klaus tells Rebecca that she supposedly has what Gloria needs to help them puzzle out the problem with baby hybrids. What they need is Rebecca's necklace -- the one she lost in the raid -- the one Stefan found on the floor after he was compelled to forget everything -- the one Elena wears around her neck, stuffed full of vervain.
Again, that's not even the half of it, so I'll be back with the full weecap ASAP. In the meantime, please grade the episode up top and join us in the forum, where wooden bullets aren't allowed.
Want more? The full recap starts right below!I'm lying in my bed writing this, which is a little tricky since my back only likes me at all when I lie flat. I'm not feeling very humorous, or insightful, or even chatty. So to amuse you, I'll confess I have the laptop on my stomach, I only have one pillow under my head, and my very small bedroom TV is about 12 feet away, on top of my husband's tall bureau. I have a pillow under my knees, am wearing mismatched jammies, and my hair looks like I got it done by Medusa's Poodle's drunken groomer. Take a moment to get the full picture. I hope you at least chuckled, because that's all I've got. Let's get to the "The End of The Affair," now, shall we?
An awful lot happens in "The End of The Affair." There are flashbacks too, which I enjoy watching, but they are a pain in the lower back to recap. Where to begin? How about at the beginning? Damon is at Mossy Manse pouring himself a nightcap when Katherine calls from what might be one of the last working pay phones in America. She lets Damon know that Stefan and Klaus are in Chicago. She denies tracking them, or being anywhere near them, but she so is. She waffles on whether she's looking out for Stefan, but it seems she's doing that, too. I suspect she was an eyewitness to the hissy fit Klaus threw last week, when his baby hybrids died. By the time they left, it was only Klaus and Stefan left alive in the woods. Or was it? Katherine knows enough to tell Damon about it. I wonder how she will prove useful. I hope she will prove useful. I love Nina in the Katherine role, but if she's going to be around, I want her to matter.
When Klaus and Stefan get to Chicago, Klaus asks him if he remembers his Ripper days in the 1920s. Stefan says it's fuzzy -- he doesn't remember many details. Klaus: "Well that is a crying shame. The details are what makes it legend." Klaus narrates over a flashback of a dapper,1920s Stefan making out with a woman in the back of a car and then killing her. "Word was the Ripper of Monterey got lonely, so he escaped to the city for comfort. It was Prohibition. Everything was off limits then, which made everything so much fun." After Stefan is done feeding, he takes a flower from his dead date's hair and repurposes it as a boutonniere. Inside a speakeasy, a young, platinum blonde African American woman (Enisha Brewster is singing to the crowd. Folding money says she's a witch. She announces Mr. Salvatore's presence to the ladies of the club and asks Stefan if he's looking for a good time. He smiles back at her. "Save me a dance, Gloria."
When Stefan goes to grab a glass of champagne off a waiter's tray, he's beaten to the punch by another blonde woman (Australian, Claire Holt). This one is Caucasian, English-sounding and a vampire, because when Stefan teases her about helping herself, she moves in on him quick, makes to kiss him, but just softly licks him instead and says, "Careful Mr. Salvatore. You're still wearing your date. She's lovely." Intrigued, Stefan grabs her arm as she starts to walk away, and asks her name, but she just puts her fingers to her lips as if to shush him, and wiggles off.
Chicago, Night, Present: Stefan asks why he is still with Klaus since the hybrids failed. Klaus says they're in town to see his favorite witch. He tells Stefan that if anyone can help with their hybrid problem, it's her.
Gilbert Gables, Morning: Elena rolls over in her sleep and snuggles up to a fully dressed Damon Salvatore, who says, "Rise and shine, sleepyhead." Elena wakes with a start and yells at him, like you do when you wake up to find a guy in your bed who wasn't invited. Do her brother or her history teacher hear her scream? No. They are useless, and not in the episode. It's only 6:00 AM, but Damon is there not just to tease Elena about dreaming of him and drooling in her sleep, he's also there to invite her on a road trip to Chicago, to bring Stefan home. He doesn't tell her Katherine is his informant though, and I'm thinking that's a bad secret to keep. Instead, he says, "It came to me in a dream. I was naked. You would have liked it." Um, Damon? Remember last week when you made Elena admit she was worried about you, because when you drag Stefan back, you want her to remember how she felt when he was gone? She's gonna remember feeling stalked, harassed and teased mercilessly before she's even had a cup of coffee. He tells her to pack, goes through her underwear drawer and holds up a pair of lacy red panties. Elena grabs the underwear from him and glares him out of the room.
Mystic Falls Torture Emporium: Caroline is still secured in the same room, in the same chair where last we saw her. Vervain mist pours in through the vents. Finally her dad comes in and asks her how she walks in the sunlight. Caroline doesn't take too long to answer, and sadly she chooses to tell him the truth. Bill pulls off the ring and tosses it to the floor, as Caroline begs him not to. My daughter and I decide that Bonnie should make all the vampires we like enchanted belly button studs, because the rings are too visible, and too easily removed. Bill ignores his daughter asking him, "What are you doing?" over and over. Instead, he decides to give her a Mystic Falls history lesson, as if the upcoming torture isn't going to be bad enough. "Your ancestors built this place. People figured it was for unruly prisoners in the jailhouse, but they had something else in mind -- vervain in the ventilation system to keep their subject weak, reinforced steel containment chair..." He looks up and adds, "And that." he grabs a bag of blood. When Caroline's face vamps out, he says, "Blood controls you, sweetheart, and this is how I'm going to fix it." He pulls a chain that opens the blinds on a window above. The sunlight burns Caroline and she screams in pain. This will happen what seems like 50 more times in the episode. Those Mystic Falls Founders were real charmers, no?
One The Road Again: As Damon drives, Elena fondles her necklace and Damon says he hopes they find Stefan, "Because it would suck if the only memento of Stefan was that crappy old necklace." Elena: "It's an antique, Damon... like you." It's also gotta be this episode's Chekhov's gun, don't you think? Damon pulls out Stefan's diary from his Chicago days, and says Elena should read it to get a better understanding of Stefan. Being a diarist herself, Elena says she already understands, can handle it and that she's not going to pry into his personal thoughts. Oh, girl. Who you fooling? WHILE HE IS DRIVING THE CAR, Damon reads her an entry about Stefan being a Ripper, and blacking out, and waking up with women he doesn't remember. Damon: "I'm shocked! Stefan's not a virgin?" Elena grabs the diary. "Eyes on the road, Grandma." She then starts reading the diary. Like she wasn't going to the first time Damon stopped for a potty break.
1920s Speakeasy: Gloria is singing and Blonde Shusher is dancing with a man, but she looks over at Stefan, who is laughing it up with a group of guys. When Blonde Shusher looks up at Gloria, she can tells she's annoyed too, so Blonde Shusher leaves her dance partner on the floor, goes over and tells Stefan and the fellas: "Some of us actually came here to hear the music, not you." Stefan is amused and cocky when he asks if he's offending her. She runs a gloved fingertip down his cheek and says, "It would take a lot more than a baby face like this to offend me." When she sashays off, Stefan follows, which is what she intends. When he catches up, he asks Blonde Shusher if she's ever going to tell him her name. She says she will once he's earned it.
Present Day; Bar that was the Speakeasy: Klaus and Stefan walk in. Stefan can't believe the place is still there. Just then Gloria (now played by Charmin Lee) comes out of the back room. She has aged, but not 90 years' worth, more like 20 years' worth. She still bleaches her hair blonde, but it's cropped close now. When Klaus sees her, he says, "So this hybrid walks into a bar, says to the bartender..." Gloria: "Stop. You may be invincible, but that doesn't make you funny." I like her, already. She remembers both men. Stefan can't get over how young she looks. She says it's a combination of herbs and spells that slows down the aging process, but that she'll succumb to age eventually. Aren't you shocked she's a witch? Klaus sends Stefan behind the bar counter to fetch them some drinks. While Stefan is looking around, Klaus tells Gloria that his hybrid spell didn't work. You know, I thought the Doppelganger ritual was just to lift the curse on him, so his werewolf nature was no longer suppressed. I mean, I guess part of the curse must have been that he was unable to create more hybrids. I'm just not crazy about the mythology, here. Am I alone? Anyhow, Gloria knows about Klaus's quest to build a hybrid army. She needs to contact the witch who created the spell in the first place. Klaus points out that she was an Original witch and is way dead. Gloria's got that, Eurotrash. She'll contact her in the great beyond, but she needs something first, so Klaus should bring Rebekah to him. Klaus is all Rebekah can't come to the phone right now, but Gloria says if he wants her help, she needs Rebekah.
Behind the bar, Stefan finds a picture of himself from the 1920s, with his arm around Klaus. When he asks about it, Klaus says, "I told you, Stefan, Chicago's a magical place." And he did tell him that earlier. I just didn't think it was worth repeating. Commercial.
Mystic Falls: Liz Forbes is leaving Caroline a voice message about having lunch, when Tyler knocks on the front door of Fortress Forbes. Yay!
I'm on the couch now. I couldn't lie in bed like that and keep writing. It was driving me nuts. I knew you'd want to know. Speaking of nuts, Caroline's father is still torturing his little girl. On a narrative level, I think it's interesting that Caroline's gay father is subjecting her to aversion therapy to condition his daughter to be repulsed by what is now her nature. Some people hate this, others find it offensive. I can see why, but I like the layers. Bill was closeted for a long time. He's out now, and out of his marriage. His daughter has been supportive of him and has expressed that she prefers him to her mother, and yet his perspective on the vampire issue is so narrow, thanks to the way he was raised, that he can't even let himself hear her when she explains that she doesn't hurt people (if we can just conveniently forget about that guy she killed soon after she was turned). So yeah, I like the layers. I like his blind spot. I don't think he's necessarily an evil person. I think he's a desperate one, doing the only thing he thinks he can do to prevent his daughter from being a monster. It's an evil act, but he can't see it, because he doesn't understand what she really is. He only believes the stereotypes about vampires, and of course they're true of some vampires, but we've seen a few on this show who don't kill: Rose, Lexi, Stefan (well, you know, before).
Bill shows Caroline the bag of blood again, and she vamps out again, so he explains he's trying to make her associate her appetite for human blood with pain, so that eventually, she will be able to repress her vampyric nature completely. Caroline cries that that's impossible. "Daddy, you can't change who I am." Bill insists he can and then says, "You remember this feeling." Deaf to Caroline's cries of, "No, no, no," he opens the blinds and poor Caroline begins to sizzle.
Chicago: Damon takes Elena to the apartment Stefan lived in during the 1920s. It looks like he left it a month ago. This is stupid and bad, Show. Why would an apartment remain relatively untouched for 80 to 90 years? Seriously? Damon finds a hidden closet and beckons Elena to come see. She just sees the shelves full of booze and says, "Stefan hid his alcohol. What a monster!" Damon tells her to look harder. When she steps up to the doorway, she sees a huge list of names filling up one of the closet walls. "Are these all his victims?" Damon says, "Still handling it?" Elena: "What were you doing in the 1920s -- paving the way for women's liberation?" Damon: "I was around. Chicago's a big city. Stefan was a cocky Ripper douche, but I could avoid him and still indulge in a few Daisy Buchanans of my own." Elena Ughs at him, and Damon leaves her ALONE IN THE APARTMENT while he goes off to investigate Stefan's old stomping grounds. It seems out of character, to me, for Damon to leave her there when he knows Klaus and Stefan are on the prowl, but then it makes little sense that he brought her to Chicago in the first place, since he's the one that's always telling her it's better if Klaus continues to believe she's dead. He tells Elena to come up with a plan while he's gone. He'll come back once he's found Stefan.
Stefan wants some answers from Klaus about why he can't remember him from the 1920s, and why Klaus hasn't said anything about them knowing each other, before now. Klaus leads into the flashback by saying he and Stefan didn't get off to a brilliant start back then. "To be honest, I hated you."
Speakeasy, 1920s: Stefan and Blonde Shusher are snacking on a still-living woman who is sitting between them. They stop feeding to kiss one another and Stefan notices her necklace -- the necklace Elena was fondling on her own neck, just this morning. Blonde Shusher says, "A witch gave it to me. Supposedly, it's magical." Stefan: "And is it?" Blonde Shusher: "It brought me love, didn't it?" They start to kiss again, but are interrupted when Klaus comes over, and tries to pull Blonde Shusher away. "It's late, Rebekah, we're leaving." Stefan is ready to take him on, but Rebekah warns that Klaus is stronger than he looks. When Klaus hears Stefan's name, he cracks, "So this is the famous Stefan Salvatore, I've been hearing so much about. You're right. He does have funny hair." Klaus is bored and he wants to go. Rebekah tells him to go ahead and leave, after all, she isn't his girlfriend. She probably has to say that a lot, because while he says, "No, you're my sister," he sure doesn't act like it. He grabs her and says she has to do as he says. Stefan says, "Your sister," as we flash forward to the...
Present; Warehouse of the Undead: Stefan says, "So I knew another Original vampire." Klaus tells him if he can't handle it, he shouldn't ask. How is Stefan not handling it, here? I hate dialogue that doesn't make sense. Anyhow, if there's a warehouse, and Klaus is in it, it's gotta be filled with the dead bodies of his friends and relations, right? This one is no different. Klaus finds Rebekah's coffin and opens it up. She looks like she's been dead for nearly 90 years, in an Original vampire way. Stefan doesn't recognize her. Klaus: "Don't tell her that. Rebekah's temper is worse than mine." Klaus stops caressing his dead sister's face, pulls the dagger out of her chest, and tells her it's time to wake up.
Since Rebekah takes her sweet time coming back to life, it gives Klaus another chance to narrate us into a 1920s flashback, which he begins by saying that Stefan taught him some of his favorite tricks. The speakeasy set and period costumes are gorgeous, are they not? Now remember Klaus's full first name is Niklaus. In the '20s, everyone is calling him "Nik" but I'm not going to do that, because it will just confuse me. But if I quote someone and they're talking to Nik, they mean Klaus. Okay? Good. Klaus wants Stefan to explain how he could be good enough for pure-blooded Original vampire, Rebekah calls her brother an elitist and Stefan asks Klaus where the rest of his family is. "Well, let's see, I killed most of them." Rebekah adds, "But not all." Stefan: "And you're okay with that?" Rebekah: "Well, we all had the chance to choose a side. I chose the right one...eventually." With that, she puts her gloved hand in Klaus's hand. Just then, an enraged man storms up to Stefan. "Where the hell's my wife?" Stefan plays dumb, so they guy goes on and on about Stefan thinking he's tough, hiding in a bar, drinking liquor. "A telephone call to the Chicago P.D. might set you straight." The vampires all chuckle at this. Correction. Klaus guffaws. It's downright goofy.
Stefan motions toward a woman and calls out her name. She is Lila, and not only is she Yelling Guy's wife, she's the tasty young thing Stefan and Rebekah were snacking on earlier. Yelling Guy says they're leaving, but Stefan compels him to stay and sit. Stefan then takes out a pocket knife, slits Lila's wrist, pours her blood into a champagne glass and compels the man to drink and to tell him his name, which is Liam Grant.
Present, Warehouse: Klaus says he was Stefan's number one fan. He then stops to tell the compelled human who is guarding the coffins that when Rebekah wakes up, Compelled Guy is to tell her to meet him at Gloria's bar, and then he's to offer her his carotid artery and let her drink until he dies. Have a nice day! Klaus then leads Stefan out, because he has a way to prove to Stefan that they were friends. Back in the day, Stefan confided a secret to Klaus, and Klaus can show him.
Gloria's Bar: Damon walks in and Gloria greets him. He says, "Damn, if I knew you were going to age like this, I would have stuck around." She says she always liked him better (the "in comparison to Stefan" is implied). She then lets him know Stefan and Klaus are together and what a bad combo she thinks that is. Witches have a weird relationship with vampires on this show, don't you think? I mean, she's more than willing to help Klaus, but when she tells Damon she sent Klaus and Stefan on an errand, and when Damon asks what kind of errand, she's all, "I don't think so... You may be cute, but you're still a vampire." If she thinks Klaus and Stefan are a bad combo, then why won't she tell Damon what they're up to? Whatever, we're already onto the scene. Gloria does let Damon know that Stefan and Klaus should be back at the bar later.
Magically Untouched Apartment: Elena is reading Stefan's diary. In 1922, Lexi found him and helped him pull himself together. In 1924, he's still bitching about animal blood and misery. By 1935, he's writing that his cravings are still there but it's easier to handle now. "Lexi's onto her project -- getting me to laugh." Elena smiles until she hears voices in the hallway and realizes it is Stefan and Klaus. She quickly hides in the secret serial killer documentation closet.
When Stefan and Klaus enter, Klaus can sense a presence. He turns to Stefan. "Do you feel that? Is anybody here?" Stefan says it's been vacant for decades, but that people must break in all the time. He asks why Klaus brought him there. As Klaus blabs on about Stefan's secret, Stefan notices the fingers marks in the dust on an old book, a book Elena ran her fingers across when she and Damon first got there. Elena cowers in the secret serial killer documentation closet while Klaus explains to Stefan that he always wondered why Stefan made Liam Grant tell him his name. Finally, Stefan shared that it was all part of his secret ritual. In the closet, Elena looks at all the names on the wall. Out in the main room Stefan says, "To write it down..." Klaus adds, "And relive the kill, over and over again. Klaus opens the closet. "Do you believe me, now?" Elena is as far from the doorway as she can get. Stefan steps in front of Klaus and peers inside. When he sees Elena their eyes lock. Elena's face softens. Her expression is sad and sweet. Stefan remains stoic. Then he says, "Look what I found." Elena nearly gasps. Klaus approaches and Stefan pulls out an old bottle -- a 1918 Single Malt Scotch. Klaus declares it his favorite and says, "Let's go find someone to pair it with." Stefan shuts the closet door, leaving Elena in there with her eyes bugging out of her head. I have to try sitting at my desk, now. Be right back.
When Damon gets back to the Magically Abandoned But Terrifically Well-Preserved, But Not All That Dusty, Considering Apartment, Elena is hiding out with a weapon of some kind, maybe a vervain dart or hypo. I can't tell. She can't believe it took him so long to get back to her. She called him an hour before. Damon throws her luggage at her and tells her to go change. He knows where Stefan is going to be tonight. Elena can't believe this is his reaction to learning she was nearly discovered by Klaus. Well, what the hell are you doing going after Stefan at this point, Elena? And Damon, did you take stupid pills this week? All he has to say for himself is, "I had an hour to realize what a bad idea it was to leave you here alone, process it, and move on." He waits a beat and then asks if she's okay. When she says she is, he tells her, "Get dressed. You're all road trippy and gross." Yeah, you know that Elena. She always looks a mess. Poor, unattractive thing. Elena asks, "So you know where he's going to be?" Damon says Stefan will be with Klaus, so Damon will distract Klaus, while Elena "deals with" Stefan. Elena: "Okay, thank you." Damon eyes her for a moment and then stands up. "But you're gonna have about five minutes tops before that hybrid freak rips my heart out, so please, tell me you can do this." Elena is full of resolve, if not common sense. "I can do this."
Gloria's Bar: Gloria is looking for Rebekah. Klaus says, "She'll be here. I can't conjure her on demand." Stefan then tries to tease out why Klaus wants him as his wing man. Is it because he liked the way Stefan tortured innocent humans? Klaus says that's half. The other half is that Stefan used to want to be Klaus's wing man.
1920s, Speakeasy: Stefan fluffs Klaus's ego. "They're jealous. Your family wants you dead because they can never be what you are." Klaus: "What -- an abomination?" Stefan says, "No, a king." Klaus laughs as he refers to him and Stefan as two sad orphans. He then warns Stefan that Rebekah is a force of nature when it comes to falling in love. "Be careful. She's totally mad." When Stefan thanks him, Klaus adds that eventually she will leave Stefan. "When she does, don't let your heart do anything stupid." Stefan nods, raises his glass and says, "You know, you're a good friend, Nik. I'm glad I met you." Back in the present day, Klaus raises his glass to Stefan and says, "To friendship."
Mystic Falls Torture Emporium: Caroline is all burnt and broken. Her Daddy is sitting on the floor, telling her that when Carol Lockwood told him Caroline was a vampire, he sat down and cried. Oh boo hoo for you, Bill. Caroline weeps as she tells him she learned to adapt. "I don't need to be fixed. I can't be fixed." He brings her the bag of blood again, and encourages her to fight the urge. She says she can't. She's starving. "Why are you trying to fix me?" Bill shouts, "So I don't have to kill you." At that, Caroline vamps out. Bill backs up. Caroline cries as she says she's sorry. Bill realizes the sun has gone down and says they'll try again tomorrow. When he locks her in the torture emporium dungeon for the night, he looks up to find Liz on the stairs above, aiming her gun at him. Mommy to the rescue! He pleads with her to let him handle this because he knows what he's doing. Liz reminds him that he has their daughter in there. "She looks up to you. She loves you." Bill: "And she'll trust me to do the right thing. Let me do this, Liz, not because she's a monster, but because we love her." Liz waits a beat, but never lowers her gun. She then calls Tyler, who flies down the stairs. Bill's all, "You're not going in there," so Liz fires a warning shot. Tyler opens the door, unshackles Caroline, retrieves her ring for her, puts it back on her, lifts her into his arms and carries her out.
Gloria's Bar, Present: Stefan tells Klaus, "I'm confused. If we were such great friends, then why do I only know you as the hybrid dick who sacrificed my girlfriend on an altar of fire?" Klaus, as non-responsive as ever, says, "All good things must come to an end."
1920s, Speakeasy: Klaus looks on as Rebekah and Stefan dance, but then his super senses, which sure aren't working well during the present-day scenes in this episode, pick up the approach of the Chicago police. The cops spray the place with bullets. Stefan grabs Rebekah and they duck behind the bar, where Stefan finds wooden bullets. "They're using wooden bullets. They know." Rebekah says, "That means he's here." She won't tell Stefan who is after them. Klaus gets over to the bar and screams for Rebekah that it's time for them to leave. As he's pulling her out of the speakeasy, Rebekah clutches at her necklace. When she moves too suddenly, it falls off. Stefan bends to pick it up. Klaus stops him and says, "I'm sorry, but the fun must end here." Stefan says, "What are you talking about?" Klaus then compels Stefan. "You must forget Rebekah and me. Until I say otherwise, you never knew us, Stefan. Thank you. I had forgotten what it was like to have a brother." He's gone in a flash. Stefan stands there confused for a moment and then walks off.
Present, Gloria's Bar: Stefan says, "You compelled me to forget." Klaus says it was time for him and his sister to move on. "It's better to have a clean slate." Stefan, "But why? You shouldn't have to cover your tracks -- unless you're running from someone." Klaus: "Story time's over." Just then, Stefan spots Damon standing in the doorway. Damon motions for Stefan to meet him outside. Stefan tells Klaus he needs another drink. "A real one," and makes like he's leaving to feed.
Outside, Stefan gives Damon hell for bringing Elena so close to Klaus. Damon gives Stefan hell right back about being bad one day (killing Andie) and good the (saving Damon). He tells Stefan that Elena isn't going to give up until she has Stefan in "vampire rehab." Stefan explains that Elena is the key to everything -- it's because she's alive that Klaus's hybrid plans won't work and Klaus's witch is seconds from figuring that out. "Tell Elena to go home and forget about me." Damon sneers. "Tell her, yourself." Stefan spots Elena off to his right, looking at the whole scene.
Inside the bar, Damon sits on the stool to Klaus, who says, "I see they've opened the doors to the riffraff, now." Damon smiles. "Oh honey, I've been called worse." Commercial. I'm moving back to my bed. After the break, Klaus twiddles a little yellow cocktail umbrella between his fingers. "You don't give up, do you?" Damon says if Klaus will give him back his brother, he'll never have to see Damon again. Klaus: "Well I am torn. You see, I promised Stefan I wouldn't let you die, but how many freebies did I really sign up for? And clearly you want to die, otherwise you wouldn't be here, so..." Damon: "What can I say? I'm a thrill-seeker." At that, Klaus throttles him, because this is an episode of The Vampire Diaries.
Outside, Stefan tells Elena she shouldn't be there. Elena says, "Where else would I be?" Stefan asks her what she wants and says Damon won't be able to distract Klaus for long. Elena cries, "Come home," and then moves in to hug Stefan. Just as he finally closes his eyes, Elena raises her arm to stab him with a vervain dart, but Stefan catches her, hurts her hand until she drops the dart and gives Elena a dose of reality. "How much clearer can I make it? I don't want to come home."
Meanwhile, in the bar, Klaus holds Damon up by his neck tortures him with the wooden end of that little cocktail umbrella, which is even funnier than it sounds. Damon tries to play Let's Make A Deal. "You want a partner in crime? Then forget Stefan. I'm so much more fun." He's still being throttled so his voice and expression are hilarious. Klaus will have none of that. He tosses Damon across the bar, breaks off the leg of a chair, and is about to stake our Evil Pixie Monster when Gloria steps in and sets Klaus's stake on fire with her mind! Klaus is all, "Really?" Gloria says, "Not in my bar. You take it outside." Klaus tells Damon, "You don't have to negotiate your brother's freedom. When I'm done with him, he won't want to come back."
Outside, Stefan tells Elena that Klaus is obsessed with siring his little hybrid army. "The second he knows you're alive, he'll figure out why it's not working." Elena doesn't want him to protect her. She just wants him to come with her. Stefan: "And what do you expect if I do, huh? It's never gonna be the same, Elena." When she says she knows that, Stefan says, "I don't think you do. I've left bodies scattered from Florida to Tennessee -- innocent people. Humans." Elena: "Lexi found you like this before, in the '20s and she saved you." Stefan: "And you know what I did after that? I spent 30 years trying to pull myself together. To a vampire, that's nothing. To you? That's half your life." Elena says she can't give up on him. Stefan says, "Yes you can. It's done. That part of my life is done. I don't want to see you. I don't want to be with you. I just want you to go." He turns his back on her and walks away. Elena stands there, tears in her eyes, as she shakes her head. Vampires suck.
Elena is already sitting in the car, holding onto her necklace when Damon gets in. When he asks if she's okay, she says, "Just drive."
Fortress Forbes: Liz talks to Caroline, who is enjoying a nice, refreshing blood bag in bed, and tries to explain that as descendants of the Founders, she and Bill had all these generations worth of beliefs about vampires drilled into them. They were taught never to stray from those beliefs. Caroline says, "You did." Liz explains that's because Caroline showed her a different way. Caroline's voice is small as she says, "I just thought he was the one who got me." Liz says he did and he will again. Just then, Tyler comes to Caroline's bedroom door. Liz smiles at him as she rises from the bed. Caroline raises her head from the pillow. "Mom, thanks for believing in me." Liz smiles, pats Tyler on the shoulder and leaves the two lovebirds alone. Tyler walks into the room. "Would now be a bad time to give you crap about sneaking out on me?" Caroline laughs despite herself, and sits up until Tyler joins her on the bed, then she lays her head on his chest and cries. "He hates me. My dad hates me." Tyler kisses her hair and wraps his arms around her.
Warehouse of the Undead: Klaus enters and finds Compelled Guy dead, and Rebekah's coffin empty. He calls out, "Rebekah, it's your big brother. Come out, come out, wherever you are." Rebekah Stealth-Salvatores from out of nowhere and plunges the Original killing dagger into Klaus's chest. "Go to Hell, Nik." And we flashback...
Chicago Streets; 1920s, Night: Klaus is trying to get Rebekah to leave with him, but she's waiting for Stefan. Insisting he'll be there any minute. Klaus reminds her that they've been found, and they have to move, or they'll die. Rebekah won't go without Stefan. Klaus says, "Stefan's not coming. We have to disappear. He'll draw too much attention. Let him go." Rebekah doesn't want to run anymore. She wants to be with Stefan. Klaus says, "Fine, then choose. Him or me." When Rebekah closes her eyes, Klaus says, "That's what I thought. Get in the truck." She doesn't follow him. Instead, she just says, "Goodbye, Nik." Klaus takes this about as well as Klaus takes most things, and he plunges the Original killing dagger into her chest. He watches as she dies. We flash forward...
Warehouse of the Undead: Klaus pulls the dagger out of his chest and says, "Don't pout. You knew it wouldn't kill me." Rebekah says, "No, but I was hoping it would hurt more." Klaus: "I understand that you're upset with me Rebekah, so I'm going to let that go, just this once. Brought you a little peace offering." He calls out, "You can come in." Rebekah is shocked to see Stefan. He doesn't recognize her. Klaus walks over to Stefan, lays a hand on his shoulder, turns on the complusion-eye-rays, and says, "Now you remember." Visions flash through Stefan's brain. He looks at his old girl and smiles, "Rebekah." Klaus is behind him now. He calls out, "Stefan?" Stefan turns to him and remembers their friendship. In a flashback, Stefan asks a guy at the speakeasy to take a picture of him and his brother. It's not Damon. It's Klaus. Stefan says, "I remember you. We were friends." Klaus says, "We are friends." He then moves to Rebekah and says, "Gloria tells me you know how to contact the Original witch. [...] You have what Gloria needs." Rebekah's raises a hand to her throat but she realizes the necklace is gone. Klaus swears he didn't touch it. Rebekah freaks. She starts rummaging through her coffin, but it's not there.
Mossy Manse: Katherine is on the phone with Damon again. He tells her she was right. Stefan is in Chicago. She laughs as she asks if it ended in tears and heartbreak. Damon tries to figure out where she is, but she won't tell him. Keep guessing, Damon. Goodbye.
She leaves the phone booth and enters the busy Chicago street.
1920s Speakeasy: Katherine, looking stunning in full flapper mode, eyes the necklace on the floor of the speakeasy. When she sees Stefan coming, she hides herself. He sees the necklace too. Memory erased, he kneels down, picks it up and looks at it, curiously. Just then, he's tapped on the shoulder by someone from the Chicago P.D. -- if he says his name, I can't hear it. Stefan: "I'm not afraid of you." Cop: "Oh, I'm not here for you." He shows Stefan a sketch of Klaus and Rebekah and asks if he recognizes them. Stefan says, "I've never seen those people before in my life." The cop tells the uniformed officers to wrap it up. "We're through here." Katherine slinks further into the shadows as Stefan goes back to contemplating the necklace.
Current Day: Katherine hails a Chicago taxi and we fade to black.
Put a stake in me. Me and my back are done. I'll be back week with "Disturbing Behavior" theirs, not mine. In the meantime, please grade the episode up top and join us in the forum, where wooden bullets aren't allowed.