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While Professor Shane hypnotizes Bonnie at Whitmore College, Connor holds Matt, Jeremy and April hostage at the Mystic Grill. He wants Stefan, Damon and Tyler to meet him there. Stefan struggles to keep the cure-secret safe while figuring out the logistics of rescuing the humans. When Damon mentions that Liz is keeping people from the scene, I realize that this rescue might be better accomplished by the law, which makes it hard to engage for a while, but eventually "The Killer" earns my time and interest.
While I grabbed Hayley's "Yeah, I don't do teen drama," line for this episode's headline, what I really don't do is gore, and yet this is shaping up to be the most disgusting season I can remember. Connor has extracted werewolf venom from Nate's decapitated head and booby trapped the restaurant with werewolf venom-tainted nail bombs. When Damon twigs to the fact that Stefan is working another mission besides the rescue, Stefan vervains him and takes his daywalker ring.
Eventually, Matt and April escape through the tunnels under the town, which probably stretch across the entire continental United States from Mystic Falls, Virginia, to Sunnydale, California, but I digress. Stefan saves Jeremy but tips his hand enough that Elena knows he's hasn't been straight with her. Meanwhile, Caroline figures out Tyler is keeping a secret about Hayley. It isn't what Klaus thinks, though. There are other hybrids out there (possibly ones Klaus doesn't know about, if I heard Ty correctly, and if I did, that makes no sense), and Hayley and Tyler are looking for a way to break Klaus's sire bond.
One of Klaus's known hybrids gets killed during the rescue mission in the goriest way possible. Once Jeremy is safe, Stefan tries to smuggle Connor out through the tunnels. Damon confronts them, so Stefan releases Connor and tells him to run. Damon thrusts his hand into Stefan's chest and squeezes his brother's heart as he orders him to 'fess up about his secret dealings with Klaus. Meanwhile, Elena, who has already outed her vampirism to the hunter, catches up with Connor. After she bites him and warns him to stay away from Jeremy, Connor tries to stake her, so our girl snaps his neck.
Elena, of course, bemoans the fact that she killed -- even though she did so in self-defense, rather than in a bout of gluttony. Later, at Mossy Manse, Stefan and Damon agree they don't have to tell Elena she killed the map to her cure. Since keeping Klaus's secret already caused this catastrophe, I don't know why our beautiful Brothers Salvatore think this new bargain will end any better, but wisdom is hardly in character for either of them.
By episode's end, Elena is hallucinating that there's been a blood bath in her bathroom. Jeremy keeps mum about the hunter's mark which has appeared on his hand, and Bonnie gets back her mojo. I don't usually discuss the previews, so if you're that spoiler averse, skip to the paragraph (or preferably, get over it). It looks like Katherine is coming back week, and not a moment too soon. If anyone can teach Elena how to adapt to her new nature, it's our Kiki. Someone had better do it, and quickly, because there was a Twilight: Breaking Dawn - Part 2 promo during the commercial break, and as a vampire, even Bella Swan seems more watchable than our mournful baby vamp, Elena (who still hasn't learned to wipe her fricking mouth).
The episode is well-paced, and as usual, our cast knocks it out of the park. I keep thinking though, if I'm tired of Elena's eternal compassion, her haters must be ready to pull an Elvis on their TVs. That said, were Elena unapologetic about her first kill, it wouldn't work at all for me. Within the context of this episode, I'm fine with Elena's remorse. The real problem is that her compassion has been hammered into us far too long and far too heavily in episodes. I am getting a little tired of the gore fest that is Season 4, however. The visual of Elena burying Connor while his blood still drips from her mouth is a powerful one, but for me, it's overkill.
I'll be back with the whole story in the full recap. In the meantime, please grade the episode at the top of the page and then come on over to the forum, where Jeremy is putting his vervain bracelet on our wrists, but we're mooning over Matt.
Want more? The full recap starts right below!SPOILER WARNING: Sort of. This recap contains no known spoilers for future episodes of the show, but there might be mentions of what happens in the book series. Now, don't worry about me spoiling you too much. I haven't even read the books. My 14-year-old has, but that was a couple of years ago. See, there's a thing that happens in the books that I don't want to happen on the show. Since I can't un-know it, I can't really talk about one without the other. Please don't be too afraid of being spoiled. The book series inspires the TV show, but it's not a roadmap for it. For example, Caroline isn't even a vampire in those books. Book-Meredith is Elena's best friend, age-contemporary, not the town physician, and also dates Alaric, who isn't nearly as involved and doesn't die (or maybe does, my daughter says, "That part's fuzzy..."), and book-Klaus is way different. My point, and I do have one, is that I'll be darned if I know which book events are going to happen on the show; I just want to kvetch about the ones I don't want to happen. Whether they will or not is anyone's guess. I just don't want you to get your knickers in a twist if book events I mention later come to pass. While I'm at it, I may also mention the preview that aired at the end of the episode broadcast. Caveat lector.
Currently, on The Vampire Diaries... Once again we're treated to this season's cheesy recap montage. I like cheese. It sets the mood. The voice-overs are basically the same, but now Elena's freaking out because she had fun at a frat party. Klaus knows Connor's tattoo is a map to the vampirism cure. With the montage finally over, we open on Connor's camper. He enters and throws a bloody pillow case down on his table. It clearly contains a head -- Nate's. We cut to...
Whitmore College. Connor tells Professor Shane that he spent the past couple of days chained up by Klaus. Shane knows Klaus is an Original. Connor explains that he's a hybrid and notes hybrids are hard to kill (decapitation, or de-heartization). Dude, those won't even work on Klaus, but I'll let you find that out for yourself. Wouldn't want to spoil the surprise.
During their conversation, we flash back to Connor drawing werewolf venom from Nate's gums. We're two minutes in (including the montage and the buffer time I include at the beginning of my recording) and already I've had my fill of gore for this week. I might later opine on the Season Four gore. Right now, I'm just complaining. Connor is sick of Shane not sharing knowledge and answers. Shane: "We had a deal. I'll give you answers about your hunter's mark when it's grown to completion." Connor: "In other words, kill as many vampires as possible." Shane: "Come on, Connor. Why do you think I sent you to Mystic Falls? There's no shortage of vampires. That town's practically infested." Science fact.
While Shane talks, we flash forward to Connor setting up some anti-vamp weapon systems. In the present, Shane tells Connor there's a witch in Mystic Falls. "She's important to what I have planned. I want her to be kept out of harm's way." The Bonnie-haters cry, so Connor closes in on Shane and glares down at him. "Anybody gets in my way... Anybody? They're dead." Shane's head sort of bobbles in that, Whatever Dude way as he says, "Okay. Sure. I'll occupy her, myself. Just do what you do. And the less I know about it, the better." Please don't be gross. Please don't be gross. Please don't be gross.
Mystic Falls. Morning. Weapons bag slung over his shoulder, Connor approaches the Mystic Grill. Inside the kitchen, Jeremy is putting away some clean pitchers and the like. When he hears a noise, he goes to investigate, but sees nothing until he turns around to find Connor right in his face. The hunter grabs the back of Jeremy's head with one hand and holds a knife to his throat with the other. He asks the boy if he has his attention. When Jeremy nods, Connor says, "Good. Then let's talk about vampires." Title card.
Gilbert Gables. Elena's Room. Elena wakes and writes in her diary. Over at Mossy Manse, Stefan is doing the same. Elena's all I'm a vampire, and I hate it. Stefan is all, She's spiraling, and I hardly recognize her. Oh Stefan, sure you do. She's the one who looks just like Katherine. He doesn't listen. Instead, he blathers about how now there's hope. Elena's all, I feel hopeless, depressed, angry, scared. I'm all, Oh for feck's sake, Elena. Woman up and grow a pair. Of fangs! I mean fangs. She clearly already has ovaries, unless there's been some surgery that happened offscreen.
Stefan writes that if he can find that cure, he can give Elena back her life. What life -- the life in which she was threatened with death at every turn? Note to self: Don't exchange Christmas presents with Stefan. He'll either give you some other chick's mother's necklace, or an expiration date. Elena's diary entry could double as a suicide note, were it not for Jeremy. She'll do what she must to stick around for her little brother-cousin. Meanwhile, Stefan promises his diary that no matter what Klaus asks, what lies or secrets are involved, he'll do what he must to let Elena become human again.
Stefan's journaling is interrupted by a text from Klaus which reads, "We have a problem." We cut to Stefan talking on the phone, asking how Connor escaped. We cut to Klaus in Italy. This isn't some dead-of-night grave robbing operation he's running here. It's a full-scale archaeological dig, with tenting, lights, the whole shebang. Klaus points out that since Connor took Nate Hybrid's head, he must be after more werewolf venom. Stefan figures that means the hunter will stay in town to kill as many vampires as he can. Klaus exposits that since he keeps his healing blood in his person, and his person is in Italy, the Fellowship of the Falls is screwed if any of them gets poisoned with the toxin. There's more exposition, but you guys are watching every week. I hate to belabor this stuff, even if the show doesn't. Klaus's final orders are to keep the secret and keep Connor alive. Keep it secret. Keep it safe. But Gandalf, he's not. Klaus threatens to throw the hunter's sword in the sea, if Stefan utters a word about the cure to anyone. Stefan, he's totally bluffing. Klaus is even more motivated than you are -- to restore Elena's humanity. Stop. Think.
Grill. As Matt sets up the dining room, he leaves a snarly voice message for Jeremy about being late. April wanders in, so Matt tells her they don't open until 11:00 AM. She's just babbling about how she's not stalking Matt at all, at all, at all, and how she's looking for Rebecca. When Matt laughs off April's suggestion that he and Rebecca are an item, she says she's just worried, because Rebecca promised to help her find out about the ranch explosion, but then disappeared. Fun fact. I typed raunch explosion back there. This show has already been so disgusting this season, I shudder to think what that might involve. Anyhow, Connor manhandles Jeremy into the dining room and tells April that's the least of her problems. Being not adorable enough is not one of her problems, I tell you what. I love this kid.
Gilbert Gables. Damon shows up at Elena's bedroom door because he's forward like that. He's looking for Stefan, who isn't answering his phone. Damon asks to use Elena's phone in case Stefan is dodging his calls because of their hot, sweaty dance at the Whitmore frat. That's Damon and Elena's hot sweaty dance. To date, we haven't seen a hot sweaty Stefan/Damon dance. Something has to be left for the fic writers. Anyhow, Damon is amused when he realizes Elena didn't spill her guts about it to Stefan. She denies she's in a shame spiral, but Damon says, "Oh, you so are. Newbie vampire remorse? It's worse than a hangover." When the call goes right to Stefan's voicemail, Damon decides either Stefan is dodging both of them, or something's wrong. Damon's sanguine discussion of newbie remorse makes me wish that his turn to teach Elena how to be a vampire had started out a little more slowly and gone a different way. Sigh.
Grill. Connor orders all the kids to take a seat, then demands Jeremy's cell phone. Jeremy pleads with Connor to let April go, since she has nothing to do with this. Connor says, "She has everything to do with this. Her and her father. Plus, she and I have history." April has no idea what he's talking about, and says she's never seen him before in her life. Connor: "You kids need to get some vervain." He then grabs Jeremy's wrist and adds, "And don't just wear it as a bracelet, where anyone can just take it off. Maybe then you'd remember our conversation at the hybrid's yesterday."
It's Jeremy's turn to be clueless. "Our conversation? Are you saying someone compelled me?" Oh Jeremy, there's no gambling in Casablanca. When April wants to know what the hell everyone's talking about, Connor flat out says vampires. Matt: "If you know so much, then you know our friends are going to come for us." Connor's counting on it. The more who come, the more he gets to kill. Using Jeremy's phone, he sends a group text message to Stefan, Damon and Tyler. "Hunter at Mystic Grill with hostages. They all die at sundown." Connor then lays the phone on the back of a booth and stabs it. What is with all the phone violence on this show? Although given a choice between phone violence, gore, and vomit, I'd choose phone violence (and then gore -- vomit is always a last resort, vomit and of course undefined raunch explosions). Commercial.
Lockwood Mansion. Damon is strategizing with... no, make that to Elena and Tyler, when Stefan walks in. Damon's plan amounts to ripping out Connor's heart and then feeding it to him. Stefan points out that's not much of a plan, as Connor has Jeremy and other hostages. Elena thinks Damon's right, since while the hunter is strong, he's no match for all of them. Tyler's even enlisting hybrid help. Just then, Caroline walks in and reports that her mother has squad cars blocking the street. The official story is that it's a gas leak. Damon is ready to go. Stefan tries to put on the brakes and says no one's going anywhere until he figures out what they're walking into. Damon: "Until you figure it out? Is that where you've been all morning -- out buying bossy pants?" Heh. Stefan reminds Damon that Connor's known for setting traps. "We'd be pretty dumb to walk into one -- especially if he has werewolf venom." Elena: "Does he?" Stefan realizes he's said too much, so he doubles down on his deception and looks Elena straight in the eye as he says, "He's had it before." Damon gives Stefan one hour to do recon, but says they're going to need more help. "Where the hell's the Wicked Witch of the West?" Caroline says Bonnie can't do magic. Damon: "Really? Well call her. Tell her Jeremy's life is in danger. Maybe that will bring her out of retirement."
Whitmore College. Bonnie is flipping through Professor Shane's book, Book of the Occult. When she's all, "I can't believe you wrote a book," I'm all, "I can't believe you said that, because he's a college professor. Publishing really isn't an amazing feat among their breed, Bonbon." Shane said he's written three, but the other two are too mortifying to display (and don't let the closed captioning lead you to believe otherwise). He confiscates her cell phone and then serves Bonnie some tea he got from Aborigine Spirit Guides in Australia. "Trust me. It's better when you smoke it, but I'm trying to be a role model." He's trying to help her get her ju-ju back, so he takes out a metronome and asks her what she knows about hypnosis. He thinks she's afraid to practice magic because of the witch spirits threatening her Grams. She just needs to confront that fear, and that guilt, and..."Remove it." No, really. He says it in bold italics, just like that. Bonnie kind of brushes back her hair as she expresses doubt that this will work. Shane directs her attention to the table between them and says, "How'd you like to put that earring back on." She looks down and then across at the professor, and then smiles.
Mystic Falls. Stefan's downtown, talking to Klaus, who is still at his Italian dig. Stefan wants Klaus to get the hybrids on board with Stefan's plan because since he can't tell anyone anything, he can't guarantee that Damon or Tyler won't kill Connor.
Alaric's Apartment. Oh. Okay. So, are they still paying rent for a dead guy? I guess maybe Alaric hasn't been dead all that long, and maybe Elena and Jeremy even own the building, but still, this caught me by surprise. I like that the show keeps hitting Alaric's loss, though. It distracts me from Elena's COMPASSION. Speaking of Elena, she's looking out the window and notices that Stefan's talking on the phone. When she wonders with whom, Damon says, "Bonnie, hopefully. Maybe she's decided to make herself useful, again." Hee. Some fans get so pissed when Bonnie is reduced to a utility character. In terms of storytelling, I get that feeling, and maybe even share it to some degree. That said, I love when Damon talks about her like she's nothing but his tool. It's just so Damon.
So, Damon gathers up a few of Ric's remaining weapons and then shows Elena a map. "It's our way in, courtesy of Alaric Saltzman's interest in the Mystic Falls Underground Railroad." Okay, while I appreciate the tip of the hat to Ric's role as historian, I do hope that someone on this show knows that the "Underground" part of "Underground Railroad," wasn't usually underground. There were some tunnels and hiding places, but underground in this case mostly means secret, not literally subterranean. I mean, I'll allow this usage, I just don't want it to mix people up. Look, I'm tired and cranky. Let's move on.
Elena says these are like the ones under the Lockwood cellar. Damon says, "Yep." The phone rings. It's Stefan. He's tuned his vamponic hearing toward the Grill, and can hear Matt and April in there, as well as Jeremy. Damon reminds Stefan the clock is ticking. Stefan: "You know, I could do without the color commentary," and hangs up.
Elena tells Damon she's going in through the tunnels. Damon says since Connor doesn't know she's a vamp, it's better to keep it that way. Elena suggests offering herself as a trade for the hostages. Damon: "No! Best case scenario is, now you're a hostage. Worst case scenario -- he figures you out, kills you on the spot." Elena reminds Damon that Alaric trained her and she's been practicing with Stefan. Oh, honey, you can't even feed off a Roofie Rapist without feeling guilty, and now you're ready to go up against Boy-Buffy? I don't think so.
Damon agrees with me. Elena's not ready to take on a professional killer. He zoops to the bed, grabs one of Ric's stake guns or something and points it at Elena. "Bang. You're dead. Now what?" Elena rushes at Damon, disarms him, slams him on the bed and straddles him. Holding the gun to his chest she says, "Head shot's no good. It has to be the heart. So now you're dead." Damon laughs. "For someone who doesn't want to be like me, you sure are good at it." Elena says Jeremy is the only thing holding her together right now. She can't let anything happen to him. Damon promises her they'll get him out. I promise you both that if Stefan walks in and sees Elena straddling you like that, Damon, you'll both be dead.
Mystic Grill. As Connor is making up homemade nail bombs (jars full of werewolf venom and nails, wired to explode) April is scared and confused by all the talk of vampires. Matt tries to assure her that Connor is just crazy. "Don't let him get in your head." April can't help but wonder if he knows something, and asks Jeremy if Connor has said anything to him about his motive. Jeremy isn't sure. If so, he can't remember. He gives Matt a knowing look at that last part and then approaches Connor, who explains the nail/venom bombs that I've already explained. Jeremy says, "What's the point? What do you get out of all this?" Connor: "I used to think there was no get -- that I was just supposed to do -- kill vampires. That was until I realized that the mark held the answer to why I'm the way that I am. The more I kill, the more it grows, and once it's complete, I'll learn my story, and all this will have meant something." With that he hollers at April and Matt to get in the back, because they'll have visitors soon. He warns them against trying to escape. He has all the doors rigged.
Alaric's Apartment. Damon says Stefan is on his way and that this will all be over soon. Elena wonders if it will. "Haven't we already been here before, with Jeremy? Isn't this why we sent him to Denver?" Damon says once they get him out of this, maybe they'll compel him down to the Bahamas where he can find an island girl. Stefan arrives and cuts short Damon's daily eye-thing exercise. Damon reports that the map has been saved to his phone (well, that's a show, not tell thing) and exposits about the weapons and wee bits of vervain he found, then says it's time to get the party started.
Stefan says, "Klaus is sending one of his men. He'll take the front. You and I can take the tunnels." Damon: "Since when do we team up with Klaus and the Lollipop Guild?" Hee. Stefan mentions the werewolf venom, again, which gives Elena pause, but Stefan doesn't notice, because he's too busying reminding Damon that hybrids are immune to the venom. Damon wonders how Stefan is sure about the venom and still wants to know why Klaus is involved. Stefan tells Damon to stop being paranoid, so Damon tells Stefan to start telling the truth. "Why is Klaus involved? Did he compel you?" There's a little more back and forth, including an interjection from Elena. Finally Damon says, "Screw your plan. I'll kill Connor myself." As Damon starts out, Stefan grabs him and injects him with vervain. Elena cries out, "Stefan!" as Damon sinks back into little brother's arms. Commercial.
Did that commercial break seem overly long to you? It did to me, but I'm grateful for it, as this is a very talky episode. Stefan lays Damon on the couch, grabs his phone, pulls up the map and lies some more to Elena about his reasons for knocking out Damon. When Elena insists upon coming with him, Stefan tells her he's afraid that if she kills Connor, the guilt will wreck her. She admits she's afraid of that, but she can't let anything happen to Jeremy. Stefan promises he'll keep him safe. "This is the most important thing that I have ever asked you to do. I just need you to trust me. Please." Elena nods and they kiss, and then Stefan is gone.
Lockwood Mansion. Tyler is trying to warn Hybrid Dean (Blake Hood) about Klaus when Caroline walks in and sees Hayley looking on. "Who are you?" Hayley: "Who the hell are you?" This meeting is every bit as tense as you'd expect. Hayley recognizes Caroline's name as Tyler's girl, but Caroline's never even heard of Hayley, so she's more than a little taken aback to learn the girl has been staying with him. When Caroline presses for more information, Hayley says, "Yeah, I don't do teen drama," and walks off to join the boys. Klaus gave Dean a direct order to use only non-lethal force. Tyler and Hayley try to warn him that Connor is too dangerous, but Dean is sire bound. Ty explains that the sire bond can be broken. Dean tells him to prove it, dials Klaus's number and hands the phone to Ty.
Caroline, who has been watching with great concern, says, "Tyler, don't," but Tyler ignores her. Once he has Klaus on the line, he crows about not being sired to him, anymore. Klaus immediately starts blabbering about Hayley, and Tyler's little secret fun time with her in Appalachia. Klaus is not on speaker phone, but with her vamponic hearing, Caroline still catches every word. When Tyler backs off from Klaus, Caroline looks like she's had the wind knocked out of her. Tyler hangs up the phone, hands it back to Dean and tells him to do whatever he wants. Tyler stalks off. Hayley follows because she can't believe he just backed down. Caroline looks around for her bearings. Poor Care Bear.
Mystic Grill. When the restaurant's phone rings, Connor answers it and says they're closed. It's Stefan, demanding he free the hostages. Fat chance, pretty boy. Connor wants to kill the whole fang gang. Stefan knows he wants to see his hunter's mark grow. Stefan says if he'll free the hostages, he will tell Connor all about his tattoo and the Brotherhood of the Five. "Think about it, Connor. Klaus saved your life. He needs you alive. Aren't you the least bit curious why?" Connor slams down the receiver and then breaks the phone. We know what a bad character trait that is on this show, but dude, that was a landline. Shit just got real. We cut to the...
Kitchen. April confesses to Matt that her dad used to tell her really scary vampire stories. When Matt says they're just stories, April says, "Not to that man out there. There's something so familiar about him." Matt tells her the last thing they need is to buy into Connor's craziness. He opens up a doorway because there used to be an exit through the wine cellar, but it's been bricked over. When April proclaims, "We're screwed," Matt says they're not. He starts chiseling away at the mortar between the bricks. Meanwhile, Stefan approaches from down in the tunnel.
Out on the street, Dean is on the phone with Klaus. The sword has been found (which I failed to mention at the right time). Klaus explains the plan to Dean. Stefan will come at Connor from the other side and free the hostages. Dean's job is to get Connor out alive. "And use caution, mate. He favors booby traps and ambushes." Dean: "Understood."
Inside, at the bar, Jeremy eyes Connor's weapons, but Connor threatens to break all 27 bones in our Germ's hand, if he makes one false move. Jeremy tries to plead the vampires' case. They're not all bad. Connor's heard that before. He had a girlfriend (at least a friend who was a girl) who was turned by a vampire he was hunting. The girl promised she wouldn't get out of control. "But a vampire's like a loaded gun. Eventually, it's going to go off." He shows Jeremy his arm. "That's when I got this." Now the tattoo has been difficult to describe up until now, but in this one shot, we can see it includes a picture of a girl who is probably Hunter's dead girl vamp. Jeremy can't believe Connor killed his own friend. Connor: "Listen. If you're going to be like me, you need to understand. Vampires kill humans. Hunters kill vampires."
When he hears a noise from the kitchen (which -- how did he not hear the chiseling before now?), Connor shuts off the lights, turns up the music and drags Jeremy down behind the bar. Not like that! Dean opens the front door. He spots the nail bomb set nearby and takes great care stepping over the tripwire across the doorway. Unfortunately for Dean, Connor also has the doormat wired to trigger the bomb. It explodes and throws Dean across the room. Out in the kitchen, Matt and April see the whole thing. April turns to run and then screams when she sees someone. It's just Stefan. He covers her mouth and shushes her.
Out in the restaurant, Dean pushes himself up off the floor. Venom-coated nails are sticking out of every part of him, including his head. It reminds me of a messy Hellraiser, even though I've never seen Hellraiser. Why do I even know what that is? Seriously, my brain is its own worst enemy. There's stuff I need to know that I can no longer recall, but show me nails sticking out of someone's head and I'll reference a film I've never seen, based on a book I've never read, featuring a character about whom I know nothing. No, I'm not going to read the Wiki link. I just tossed that up there for you all, 'cause that's how I roll.
So yeah, Hellraiser rises up to his knees. Connor trains some sort of rifle-like weapon on him, but the shot is dark, and when I pause my TiVo, there's junk on the screen blocking my view. No, I don't want to try over 70 digital magazines, free, TiVo. I just want a look at that gun so that I can then fail to accurately describe it to my readers, anyhow. Thanks. So, I think it's got some sort of cage or basket-looking thing on the end. When Connor fires it at Dean, it cuts right through him, leaving a gaping hole where his heart would be. Gaping -- as in you can see right through him to the wall behind him. Dean falls dead to the floor. I wonder is the show being more gory this year, or am I suddenly Suzy Sensitive? Commercial.
Mystic Grill. Kitchen. Stefan gives Damon's phone to Matt. "Follow this map. Get out of here. Take her to Caroline's so she can..." Stefan looks at April. Looks like Auntie Care Bear is going to be doing some compulsion. As the kids are leaving, Matt warns Stefan that Connor is armed. "If you go out there, he's going to kill Jeremy." Stefan says, "No one's killing anyone," which is how we know someone's killing someone, and my money is on Elena doing the killing, which -- YAY!
Cut to Connor's tattoo. Thanks to Dean's death, it's growing, again. Jeremy's watching in disbelief, and even Connor is so impressed with his own arm, that I think Stefan might have a slim chance of sneaking up on him, but no. He hears Stefan, grabs Jeremy, throws him onto another mat that's rigged to a bomb trigger. Stefan is trying to reason with Connor, who's training a handgun in the direction of Stefan's voice. Jeremy yells out, "Stefan?" Stefan looks and realizes Jeremy's standing on a bomb trigger.
Alaric's Apartment. Elena is on the phone. "Stefan, call me. There was an explosion at the Grill. I need to know what's happening." Just then, Damon wakes. "Where's Stefan? I'm going to kill him." When he starts to sit up, the sun filtering through the blinds scorches his hand. Damon moans. Elena can't believe Stefan took Damon's ring. Damon can. "He's playing us. All this stalling. Getting hybrids. Taking my ring. Add it up. He's either made a deal with Klaus or he's been compelled." Elena heads for the door. She's got to get in there. Damon says, "No, Elena, this guy's dangerous." Elena yells, "So am I, Damon!" Woo hoo! Damon looks up her and tells her she needs to be smart. "He doesn't know you're a vampire. You get as close as you can. You kill him." Yeah.
Mystic Grill. Stefan's still trying to reason with Connor. I don't have to type all this nonsense, do I. Connor thinks not. "I DON'T MAKE DEALS WITH VAMPIRES." Stefan blahs about how if he dies without knowing his destiny, all his kills will be for nothing. Well, no. He'll have still killed a bunch of monsters. No offense, Stefan. You can take the girl out of Buffy, but you can't take the Buffy out of the girl.
Elena arrives outside the Grill just as Stefan is promising he can give Connor the truth if he'll just drop the gun and free Jeremy. Elena runs in and begs Connor not to kill Jeremy. "He's the only family I have left. Just let him go." Connor screams out to Stefan, "You hear that? Your girl's watching. I will shoot the boy right in front of her." The look of realization on Jeremy's face reminds me of U2's song "Peace On Earth." You become the monster, so the monster will not break you. Take in this moment, Jeremy. Take it right in and hide it in your heart.
While I'm getting all philosophical, Connor yells out to Stefan that if he doesn't show himself on the count of three, he's killing Jeremy. Elena stands frozen. After, "Two..." Stefan rises. Before Connor can shoot him, Elena jumps the hunter. The gun goes off and a stray bullet strikes Jeremy in the gut. Elena throws Connor to the ground, gets on top of him and throttles him. Stefan realizes Jeremy's about to pass out and fall off the trigger mat. He zoops over, gets the boy and Stealth Salvatores him behind an upended table. Elena screams, "Jeremy!" Connor throws her off. He gets on top of Elena. He's got a raised stake in one hand and is pulling her hair with the other. Wait. The badass mystical secretly tattooed vampire slayer is a hair puller? Stefan throws Connor across the room. Elena rises and looks around. I don't really get here if she can't find Jeremy, or if Stefan has already disappeared with Connor, but it doesn't matter, because it's time for another commercial.
Once we're back from the break, Elena is feeding Jeremy her blood. Would Stefan judge them for incest? I'm just sayin'... Anyhow, when she sees his wound, she starts to vamp out, and has to turn away. As she stammers out an apology, Jeremy tells her she doesn't have to hide her vampirism. He knows she won't hurt him. I guess bad table manners run in the Gilbert family because Jeremy doesn't wipe the blood of his mouth, either. Sheesh, and their dad was a doctor?
Elena asks Jeremy why Connor targeted him. Jeremy says, "He said I was like him, because I could see his tattoo." He explains the mostly-invisible hunter's mark to Elena. "Stefan and Damon didn't tell you about it?" Elena says no and asks who else knows. Jeremy says, "That's the thing. I don't even know. Apparently, I was with Connor all day, yesterday, but I can't remember. Someone compelled me." Gritting her teeth, Elena rises to her feet. "I think I know who."
Stefan is hustling Connor out through the tunnels when Damon confronts them. Stefan says he's taking Connor with him, but Damon says even if he has to go through Stefan, he's going to kill Connor. When Stefan refuses, Damon says he knows something's going on with Klaus. Stefan says, "This has nothing to do with Klaus. You're just going to have to trust me on that." Damon: "Don't want to. Don't have to. Not gonna. Now give him to me, brother."
Stefan releases Connor and tells him to run as fast as he can, then flies at Damon. Pinning him against the wall, he tells Damon he's not going to kill Connor. When Stefan won't tell Damon why he's protecting the hunter, Damon thrusts his hand into Stefan's chest and squeezes his heart as he demands an answer. Stefan groans out that Klaus will kill anyone who knows. Damon: "Then it has to be good. Spill it. Spill it!" Finally, Stefan explains about the tattoo map that is a key to a cure. Damon looks almost childlike as he asks, "Klaus told you there's a cure for vampirism." Stefan: "Yeah and if Connor dies, then we'll lose it forever. I know it's crazy, Damon, but it's hope. Do you understand me? It's her only hope." Finally, Damon pulls his hand out of Stefan's chest.
Connor is making his way out of the tunnels when he runs into Elena. She grabs him, takes a big bite out of his neck and says, "You stay the hell away from my brother!" My daughter and I cheer. Now down on his knees, Connor looks up at Elena. "Look at you. Worried about your brother." As he has Elena's attention, he subtly touches his pant leg then adds, "You're the biggest monster he'll ever meet." Elena is thrown by his words, and that's just what Connor was hoping for. While she's still off guard, he grabs his stake and plunges it into her. Elena absorbs the blow then says, "You missed." With one hand, she snaps her prey's neck, and Connor is no more. With his blood still dripping down her mouth (and that one weird little droplet suspended from her chin) she stands over her first kill and struggles for breath. Commercial. Too bad it's not for Wet Ones. Instead of all these cell phone product placements, I think some moist towelette manufacturer should step in and help Elena clean up for fun and profit.
Whitmore College. Bonnie and Professor Shane are facing each other with their eyes closed. Finally Bonnie opens hers and says the hypnosis isn't working. Shane chuckles at her and shows her the clock. They've been at it for seven hours. Instead of being creeped out, like any other halfway sane person would be after finding out someone had been digging around in her brain for seven hours, Bonnie is just amused. Shane takes out a candle. He knows she's made progress today and wants her to try to light it with her mind. She's stronger than the scary sprits and she no longer has to be afraid of anyone. He makes her say, "I don't have to be afraid." Once she does, he has her close her eyes and repeat it. Bonnie complies, but when she opens her eyes, the candle before her is still unlit. Bonnie: "I guess I wasn't good enough." Shane says, "Oh, I don't know." When he looks around, her gaze follows. While the candle between them remains unlit, every other candle in the office is ablaze. Bonnie laughs. We cut to the...
Woods. Elena, with the same blood still dripping down her face, digs a grave for Connor. His corpse lies nearby. Okay. So she got Connor's corpse out into the woods, not only without any trouble (vampire strength) or without being seen (vampire speed and who knows how far the "Underground Railroad" tunnels go), but also without disturbing the blood trail on her lower lip and chin? Seriously? This is just cheap. I get that they want us to see this poor girl is a monster and so much doesn't want to be one, but I feel like this is just...beneath us. The blood could at least be smeared -- like she tried to wipe it off.
The visual of Elena with her first kill's blood on her face isn't worth taking people out of the moment because you know what, Show? We're not thinking, "Oh, how horrible that she's this monster she doesn't want to be," when we see that blood. No, we're just thinking, "I can't believe she didn't wipe it, or that it didn't at least smudge when she was carrying that great big man out to the woods." Besides, she didn't kill him by draining him dry. She snapped his neck, so the blood on her face doesn't emphasize the fact that he was killed because of her bloodlust. Elena is not high on blood, nor was she. She snapped Connor's neck because he shot Tyler like nine times, knifed April and left her for dead, kidnapped Jeremy and threatened his life, tried to kill Stefan, and then staked her in the gut. She killed him in self-defense and in defense of nearly everyone she loves.
Damon and Stefan find Elena crying and digging. She's overcome with guilt. I get that she would feel bad, and I get that she's still unstable, or whatever, but as much as I enjoy this episode, this scene doesn't make me feel the way it should. I'm not getting into Elena's sniveling. We've had it hammered into us forever that she's Our Lady of Compassion. What is good about the scene is Elena giving Stefan hell for keeping secrets from her. "You said I could trust you, Stefan." When Damon tells her it's complicated, Elena says it's not, "...because he's dead, now. You told me to kill him. So I did. I killed--I killed someone. I--I snivel snivel boo hoo." Glad that's done with. !
Lockwood Mansion. Tyler holds Hayley in his arms as he consoles her over Dean's death. Caroline catches them in the clinch and asks if she's intruding. "I keep waiting for you to make up some dumb story, so at least I can call you a liar. Is that now?" Heh. Hayley says she'll leave them to talk. Caroline: "Thank you. How big of you."
Once they're alone, after Caroline gives Tyler a little hell, he explains he doesn't have anything romantic going on with Hayley and hasn't. He let Klaus think that's the case so that he wouldn't suspect the truth. "I'd rather him think that, than know the truth. There are other hybrids that need to be set free. Hayley and I can help them, but if Klaus found out about what we're trying to do, he'd kill us all." He's telling the truth and Caroline knows it. That's a nice surprise. Thank you, Show. Also, as I suspected, I misunderstood Tyler's line in the recaplet, but it makes sense now, so yay.
Downtown. Jeremy's sitting on a park bench, taking off his vervain bracelet when Matt and April arrive. She's been compelled by Caroline, so her explanation to Jeremy about why they're "late" is just b.s. to make Matt, Jeremy, and the rest of us feel sorry for this little girl, who gets compelled every time she turns around. She thought they'd go for coffee, but now she sees the Grill is closed. Jeremy begs off. He's feeling a little "over it" today. When Matt says he should get home too, April gets embarrassed and leaves a little too quickly. As she walks off, Jeremy tosses his bracelet to the ground then calls out for her and asks if she dropped it. She insists the bracelet isn't hers, even as Jeremy fastens it around her wrist. She starts to object until Matt uses his cute-boy powers for good and says, "I like it. Yeah. It looks good on you. You should wear it." Flustered, Aprils smiles, agrees and scurries off.
Once the boys are alone, Matt asks the Germ if he's okay. Jeremy: "Yeah. I'm just sick of all the secrets, you know." Matt: "Yeah, tell me about it." As the two walk off, Jeremy's hand catches his eyes. He raises it so we can see. A hunter's mark has begun. The back of Jeremy's hand bears the same symbols carved into Connor's special stakes. Matt can't see it, of course, but he can see Jeremy, and asks what's wrong. Germ "I'm Just Sick of the Secrets" Gilbert lies, "Nothing." We cut to...
Mossy Manse. Damon is in Stefan's room, drinking his Scotch and poring over his diary. Damon asks how Elena is. Stefan says: "Angry, full of guilt. Hasn't said a word to me, other than that she wants to be left alone." A beat. "Is that my journal?" Damon makes no bones about it. "I had to go through six locks to get it. I needed something to back up your insanity. Did you figure out how to tell Klaus he lost a hunter and a hybrid?" Stefan: "He's on a plane, which means I get to live for another six hours." Damon says, "I've got your back, you know, when he comes to murder you." Stefan thanks him, and then more sincerely thanks him for not telling Elena about the cure. She doesn't need to know she killed her chance at humanity. When Damon deems it an alleged chance, Stefan makes it clear he believes everything Klaus said. Stefan says since it's a brotherhood of five, they'll just have to look for other hunters. Damon: "Sure Stefan, since you asked, I'd be happy to go on a suicide mission with you for a potentially non-existent cure. No problem." Stefan: "And a couple of hours ago, you were ready to rip my heart out." Damon: "Because you were being a pain in the ass." Aw, these two.
Damon wants to know why Stefan wants to cure Elena. Is it because she's not cut out to be a vampire, or is it because Stefan loves her if she is one? Stefan: "I'll always love her, but she's not supposed to be this person. I don't want her to be." Damon: "Well, if I'm going to ride this fairy tale to its conclusion, let me be clear about one thing. [...] I'm fine with her either way, brother, so if I do this, I'm doing it for you."
BOOK SPOILER Sidebar: And here's where I want to mention what I know from my kid, about the books, so if you don't want to know skip this paragraph. In the books, Vampire Elena dies, and then she's brought back as sort of an angel who loses some of her angelic qualities (including actual fricking wings) the longer she's back on earth. She still sort of has power, but she's no longer a vampire. Hilariously enough, Damon accidentally takes the cure. I don't really want a cure for Elena, or for anyone. I mean, this series has been hardcore about having all these real, permanent deaths -- Vicki, Jenna, Grams, Alaric, hell, even Isobel, John, and Bill Forbes. It's been real. Death means something on this show. If Elena's vampirism can be cured, then vampirism isn't real on a show called The Vampire Diaries. I know it's always up to the telling, but from this vantage point, I've got to say it's likely to make me feel dallied with, particularly since I've had to watch her puking up blood, and failing to even wipe her mouth across her sleeve. So, I hope that the TV version of the cure is a mirage. The show's called The Vampire Diaries. I want vampires, and we already have Stefan as a mournful vampire. Right now, I'm just so let down, even after what I think was a strong episode. Bah.
Gilbert Gables. Bathroom. Elena's bloody clothes lie on the floor, and she's taking a shower, but the voice over narration begins with, "Dear Diary..." Really, show? Really? Maybe she's writing her diary entry in Connor's blood that is still on her hands...because REALLY? She dragged that big man out to the woods, handled a shovel, threw him in a hole and covered him up with dirt and then went home, and yet she's got THAT MUCH pooling red blood on her hands. STOP HITTING ME OVER THE HEAD WITH THIS. I get it. She's a killer. I get that she has "blood on her hands," but she shouldn't have that much actual wet blood on her hands after she's in the shower, given all the logistics of burying him and then getting home. I complained about this the other day, and my friend Mary Beth said, "So it's not the town full of teenage vampires, werewolves, hybrids, and witches you have a problem with... (but seriously, I agree. We expect a little bit of realism inside our fantastical wrapper)." That's exactly it. This is a show about vampires, etc. I have to accept that, going in. But now, suddenly blood doesn't wipe off, even when you're carrying a 200 lb corpse all around town, and then undressing and stuff. And a pretty, well-kempt girl like Elena doesn't wipe her mouth after feeding. She feels really guilty, but she doesn't feel blood oozing down her chin? Bah!
Anyhow, even though she's showering, she starts her diary voice over, but then we cut to her bedroom, where she's now dressed and continues to write. She admits to her diary that today she did what she most feared. She lost control and killed someone. Wait, how was that losing control, rather than self-defense? I can't stop saying Bah! She blubbers about how she's lost herself. Then blood starts to drip down on the paper. No, not from her chin. That's finally clean. Elena checks her nose, but it's not bleeding. Well sheesh, were blood to drip down onto the journal before you, and were not coming from your actual person, wouldn't you look up at the ceiling. I mean -- it dripped down from somewhere. Instead, Elena looks down at the floor, where there's a trail of blood leading to her door (which bears a bloody handprint). She stumbles into the bathroom, which is covered in blood. And on the mirror, in blood, is written the word KILLER. As she backs up in horror, Elena slips and falls to the floor, but then all the blood disappears. She scrambles to her feet. The mirror is clean. She looks around, and at her hands. Everything is clean now, but are her palms supposed to be bloody? The shot is too dark and too quick. And I've blabbered right into the final title card.
That's it for me, folks. I really did enjoy watching this episode, so I'm going to go do some controlled breathing and try not to hate on a story that hasn't been told yet, and might not even be told, or very well might surprise me. Regardless, I'll be back Friday with coverage of, "We All Go A Little Mad, Sometimes." In the meantime, please grade the episode at the top of the page and then come on over to the forum, where Jeremy is putting his vervain bracelet on our wrists, but we're mooning over Matt.