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Damon and Elena are in New York, ostensibly for a good time, but secretly, Damon's looking for clues to Katherine's whereabouts, since she has The Bore. Rebekah follows the couple to town. She and Elena reach a détente (which Elena nearly screws up by being condescending). Both women know Damon is playing Elena (who no longer wants the cure), so they play him right back. By episode's end, Rebekah and Elena abscond not only with Damon's list of Katherine's prior addresses, but also his car -- leaving him a wounded ego and few options except traveling with the unwashed masses.
Much of the time in New York revolves around flashbacks to 1977, when Damon was friends with Will (the vampire whose heart he ripped out in "Bring It On"). During that time, The Dark Forces of Retcon (and Stefan) brought Lexi to town, so that she could work with Damon until he was persuaded to flick his humanity switch to the "on" position. And much like Elena does to him in the present day, Damon, circa 1977, only plays with Lexi (and then some -- no really).
Meanwhile, back in Mystic Falls, Stefan and a reluctant Caroline enlist Klaus to help them with the Silas problem. While digging around Shane's office, they realize the third sacrifice will involve a dozen witches. Researching the Triangle of Terror, they pinpoint two possible locations for the massacre. Klaus and Caroline head off to one, while Stefan goes to the other.
Wearing Shane's meatsuit, Silas has been working with Bonnie. They con her Interim Dad into calling Abby Abandoner to recruit a coven (12 witches, in TVD lore) to come cleanse Bonnie of Expression magic. The plan is that once the witches link themselves together, all Bonnie has to do is kill one and they'll all die.
It pretty much works, both despite and thanks to Stefan, Klaus, and especially Caroline. The witches have Bonnie in the middle of a sacred circle and are working their woo, when Stefan finds them and tells them that Silas has brainwashed Bonnie into killing them. The chief witch in charge decides it's time to kill Bonnie, who, since she's in Silas's clutches, is beyond saving. Stefan tries to stop it, but the chief witch inflicts him with a mystical migraine and forces him outside the circle.
Caroline and Klaus find Stefan. Caroline wants to save Bonnie, but Klaus says they can't. The only way to stop the witches is to kill them. If they kill the witches, Silas will have his third sacrificial massacre, and be one step closer to destroying The Other Side. Caroline listens at first, but when she can no longer take it, she Stealth-Salvatores into the circle and uses the head witch's knife on her. Since the 12 witches were all linked together, they all die.
Bonnie wakes at Bennett Bungalow, and although Stefan is right by her side, she is confused as to how she got home. Stefan asks her the last thing she can remember. She remembers being in the Craphole Cave, when Jeremy was trying to pry The Bore out of Silas's hands. It's up to poor Stefan to break the news about the Germ.
Back in the woods, Klaus and Caroline finish burying the witches. Klaus berates Caroline for completing Silas's massacre. Caroline protests, because she had to save her best friend. Since she was hard on Klaus earlier in the episode, he returns the favor, and tells her that she can tell herself whatever it takes so she can sleep at night. As the reality of her actions wash over Caroline, Klaus grabs her shoulders and says, "You look like you're in need of comfort." Caroline nods. Klaus leans in close and whispers, "Why don't you find someone less terrible you can relate to?" At that, Caroline leaves.
Alone in the forest, Klaus hears a noise. Turning, he finds Silas (in Shane's body). Silas thanks him for the help and at first, I think this means Klaus has been working with Silas, but I just parsed the line wrong (and too early). This is Klaus's first time meeting Silas, who tells him to bring him the cure and Klaus will get to live. It seems Silas has possession of the Son of White Oak Stake, thanks to crawling around in Rebekah's mind. When Klaus charges at Silas, Silas does the best Stealth-Salvatore of all time, disappears, then zoops up behind Klaus, and stakes him in the back with Son of White Oak. Sadly, he misses the heart, on purpose. He pulls the stake out of Klaus (and unless my eyes deceive me, he leaves the tip of the stake still in Klaus's back), and then saunters off with a cheery, "I'll be in touch."
"Because the Night" is a fun episode. I like naughty Elena nearly as much as I like original human Elena (back when she was fierce, before she became a walking case of depression). It was nice to see Elena and Rebekah on the same side for once, even though it probably won't last. I enjoy the twist of Caroline completing the sacrifice, rather than Bonnie. At first, I felt like it was a cop out. That is, I expected Bonnie to complete the sacrifice and was wondering how the show could ever bring her back from that. Since Caroline did a horrible thing to save a friend, her actions are deplorable, but come from a good place (which makes them understandable and her redeemable). Still, I enjoy seeing Caroline taken down a peg. Vampirism so improved her character that she had been nearing an unpalatable perfection. The cherry on the sundae is seeing Klaus shut her down, cold. I love my Vampire Barbie, but seriously, she's been getting on my last nerve.
I'm going on a road trip with Elena, her fabulous new hair, and Rebekah, but will be back with a full recap, ASAP. In the meantime, please grade the episode at the top of the page and then come on over to the forum, where we promise not to massacre any witches.
Check out spoilers from Ian Somerhalder himself in this exclusive from our friends at Wetpaint.
Want more? The full recap starts right below!Previously on The Vampire Diaries, Elena cried a lot.
Currently on The Vampire Diaries, we open in 1977, at night. Damon is playing possum on a New York City sidewalk. A couple walks toward him. The man tells the woman to stay back, and approaches Damon, whose super speed move is less of a Stealth Salvatore, and more like teleportation. He kills the woman first. The terrified man turns to Damon. "You're that serial killer, aren't you? The Son of Sam." To punish me for my growing contempt for Season Gore Cure Bore, Damon fails to wipe the blood off his lips and chin, even though he is the Felix Unger of the vampire world. He shrugs at the man and says, "Son of Giuseppe, but close enough," then sinks his fangs into the man's neck. The Talking Heads start singing "Psycho Killer," which makes me miss Alaric. Damon walks off with the blood of his victims dripping off his maw. Troll. Title Card.
New York City. Present. Day. Elena and Damon walk down the street talking about their trip. Damon says that since she was acting so reckless in Mystic Falls, she needs to be somewhere full of so much life that a little death goes unnoticed. It's time for some fun. Elena asks what the catch is. Damon insists there is none, as if Elena had never met him, before. We cut to...
Mossy Manse. Stefan is on the phone. "What do you mean, you took her to New York?" I don't want to brag about the years I've spent studying the genre, Stefan, but I'm pretty fluent in Vampire. I think that means HE TOOK HER TO NEW YORK. Damon mocks Stefan's tone and his concern, so Stefan assumes that means Damon's search for Katherine is off. Damon then explains the catch he just told their girlfriend doesn't exist. His friend, Will, whose heart he ripped out last week, used to live in the city and dealt in fake IDs for vampires. Damon is sure Katherine was one of Will's customers.
Stefan says, "And Elena is okay with this little field trip? Just yesterday, she was living the vampire high life. She doesn't want the cure." Damon: "That's why I didn't tell her." Stefan warns Damon that if Elena figures out his game, she'll bolt. There's more Cure Bore, discussion that assumes Elena's life is theirs for the running, and a mention of Silas, but relaying it to you is only mildly more appealing than slitting my wrists. The Exposition Fairy taps me on the shoulder and says, "Hey, I've got kids to feed." I know, EF. I know. I just can't take it anymore. Do what you have to. I'll be over there, waiting for the end of the scene. Oh, here comes Elena. She's got a pretty new haircut and is sporting pink streaks. When she smiles at Damon, he ends his call. We cut to...
Mossy Manse. Caroline is cleaning up after Elena's impromptu party. Why is each episode set the day after the one? Do the writers forget that the audience has to wait a week (at least) in between episodes? It's not like it heightens the sense of urgency for us. Let some time elapse off screen, people. Cripes. I really hope that season's premiere fixes the timeline, and that the present day in the series jumps ahead so that it's Fall 2013.
Klaus enters just as Caroline is taking a swig from the leftover plastic cups. He might be an evil immortal, but he knows I'm about to hurl, so he needles Caroline about being so unsanitary. She downs another leftover cup for spite, then gives him guff about running Tyler off. Klaus says, "Tyler made it his life's mission to kill me. You can't hate me for driving him away." Holy retcon, Batman. Nobody in the Fellowship of the Falls, even associate members like Tyler, wants to kill Klaus. Well, they all want to kill him, but they can't because then all their vampire buddies will die. What is this life's mission bullshit? Caroline just ignores it and tells Klaus to leave. Stefan interrupts the haters' spat. "Actually, I asked him to be here. We need his help. I think Silas is in Mystic Falls." We cut to...
Bennett Bungalow. Silas is wearing Shane's meatsuit, which Bonnie objects to, so he snatches the Exposition Fairy's wand and blathers at Bonnie about trust and how Shane died on the island, and that she's been cooperating with him thus far. You know, I enjoyed this episode the first time I watched it, but this time, the dialogue is just killing me. Am I alone in this? Silas manipulates Bonnie by mentioning Jeremy and how she failed to protect him despite her promises. Since she's descended from the great and powerful Oz Qetsiyah (Q), only she can complete the Triangle of Terror, get rid of The Other Side, bring back Jeremy, cure the Common Cold, usher in world peace, solve metropolitan traffic problems, balance the budget and fart rainbows. Bonnie: "Completing the triangle means killing twelve people." Silas: "Twelve people you can bring back. Bonnie, you can do this...for Jeremy." Maybe she can, but I'm barely holding on. We cut to...
Mossy Manse. While we were dying of boredom at Bennett Bungalow, Stefan caught Klaus up on the missing blood and his Silas theory. Klaus plays devil's advocate, which makes me sad because remember how I used to call him Satan Klaus? That's back when he was scary and actually mattered. Give me a moment. I need to pray that The Originals backdoor pilot is a smashing success, and gets picked up. I suggest you do the same. If you're not the praying kind, you can sing our Originals petition: I like the Originals, but they've sucked the life out of The Vampire Diaries, so I'm doubly glad they're getting their own show. Voe Doe Dee Oh Doe. I added the Voe Doe Dee Oh Doe especially for you secular types.
So anyhow, Klaus suggests Elena could be behind the missing blood, but decides to indulge Stefan for a bit. "Well, let's say for a moment that it was Silas. I'm struggling to see how this affects me." Me too, my brother. Stefan reiterates the whole Silas mythology, which I hate to death. And honestly, each time someone on the show regurgitates it, it leaves the audience either comatose or confused. I'm going to skip, skim, and boil it down to what matters right now. Silas wants The Other Side destroyed, so that he can take the Bore, die and be reunited with his dead human love, on non-capitalized other other side. Stefan explains to Klaus that if The Other Side is destroyed, every dead supernatural will return to "our side."
Caroline is accustomed to talking to jock Tyler, so she breaks this down into smaller words. "That means every werewolf, every witch, every vampire. I wonder how many of those you personally killed. Care yet?" Klaus: "My interest is piqued." That makes one of us. When Klaus asks how they can stop Silas, Stefan answers, but all I hear is buzzing. Don't worry, there's nothing wrong with my TV or my hearing. I'm just blocking out further exposition about the massacres, Triangle of Terror, and the rest of this convoluted business. We cut to...
NYC. Damon brings Elena to Billy's, which is a pretty rundown, relatively empty bar. Elena is as disappointed as I am. "I was promised hedonism." Damon: "Well it's early. Hedonism isn't a big fan of the sunlight." As Elena looks around, her lip curls. "Or soap." Damon smiles. "Easy, Judge-y. Not everybody got a hot new haircut today. Just give it a couple of hours. This place will be crawling with more punked out nihilists than you could eat in a decade. Trust me. [...] I spent most of the '70s here. The Factory was too clean. CBGB's was too high profile. Billy's -- Billy's was the underground of the underground." We flash back to...
1977. Billy's. Damon enters the crowded club and gives Will two IDs from the victims we watched him kill at the top of the hour, which would be well and good, except that he didn't roll them. He just left them lying there and walked away with their blood still dripping down his chin. I remember it all too vividly. In reference to the woman's ID, Damon says, "That's the third 5'7" brunette I've gotten for you, Billy boy. Is that the same client?" Billy says, "She's a runner. Some vampires need more identities than others." KATHERINE! They keep invoking you, but you don't write. You don't call. You just pop in, imitate Elena, get Jeremy killed, and pop out. Where's the love, Kiki?
When Damon eyes the crowd and vamps out, Will (Billy) cautions him to be discreet. Damon says that wasn't part of the deal. Will just shakes his head and then heads off to his office. When two patrons start fighting, Damon intends to play the Biting Bouncer, but he's stopped by Lexi. Lexi, Really? Okay, Show. I'll buy that. She chides him for being ready to feed on someone right in the middle of a crowd. "You're getting sloppy, Damon." Tell me about it, Lexi. He doesn't even wipe his face. We flash forward to the...
Present. NYC. Billy's. Elena is amused. "You got Lexied?" Before Damon can respond, Rebekah Stealth Salvatores up behind him and slams his head down on the table. Maybe she's my Anti-Exposition Fairy Godmother. At any rate, she's not pleased that Damon is following a lead, without including her. "Poor form, Damon." Elena's amusement vanishes. Commercial.
After the break, Rebekah spills the beans about how Damon is following a lead to the Bore. Damon lies. Badly. "I brought Elena here to feed. I mean Mystic Falls is hardly vamp Xanadu right now." Another (less amusingly spelled) Xanadu reference. I like to think the writers got blitzed one night and watched the movie, which I just realized, right now, I have never seen. I've got the song stuck in my head though, I tell you what. Damon dissembles some more, with a smattering of truth about how, back in the '70s, he'd flipped his humanity switch. We flash back to...
1977. Lexi strong arms Damon out of the club and lectures him about flipping his switch and failing to cover his tracks. "We heard about you back in Mystic Falls." Is the show trying to make think Damon was really the Son of Sam, or is there just a big vampire grapevine? Since real people died at the hands of the Son of Sam killer, I'm not inclined to play along, Show, so I'm deciding there's a vampire grapevine. Anyhow, Stefan dispatched Lexi to straighten out Damon. And Damon is thrilled. "I'm not him, and I don't want or need you." Lexi is undeterred. "Too bad, 'cause you've got me." Lexi has always been fairly awesome. I will be sore if her appearances in Season Gore Cure Bore turn her into a chore. For sure. We flash forward to the...
Present. Rebekah says, "Wow. She sounds dreadful." Right? Don't make Lexi dreadful. Damon says she had a Mother Theresa complex. Elena winces. "So, let me guess: After many dark nights with Lexi, she convinced you to turn your emotions back on, and that's exactly what you plan to do with me." Elena, I don't think Damon turned his humanity (don't call it "emotions") back on until Season 1. She doesn't listen. She's too busy walking away, so Damon calls out to her, "Do you read the last page of a book first, too?" It's a rhetorical question (and possibly a shout out to spoiler seeking fans) so Elena doesn't respond. When Damon heads to the bar to get "many drinks" Rebekah goes to Elena and asks her if she really buys what Damon's selling. Elena says, "Not one bit. I know he's after the cure. I'm not stupid." Rebekah: "Well, let's not say things we don't mean." Ha. I love her. Elena kind of does, too. She smiles and compares Damon and Stefan to a dog with a bone. She says they won't give up until they find the cure and force her to take it, so she plans to find it, first. Rebekah laughs that Elena is playing Damon. Elena says, "No. He's playing me. I'm just returning the favor." We cut to...
Professor Shane's Office. This week's brain trust of Klaus, Stefan, and Caroline are there to look for evidence of Silas's move. Klaus and Caroline snark at each other and then she asks Stefan why Klaus has to be there. Stefan says that an Original Hybrid who can't die might come in handy when going up against Silas, the Original Original. Klaus waxes nostalgic about how well he and Stefan worked together in the '20s, but really uses it as opportunity to dig Stefan on how much fun Damon is probably having with a humanity-free Elena. Stefan then says something I never thought I'd hear pass his lips: "My brother knows what he's doing." Klaus dons his cheeky monkey expression and says, "Don't underestimate the allure of darkness, Stefan. Even the purest hearts are drawn to it. Still, I'm sure it will be fine." Caroline finds a book on Expression magic, and gives them more details on the Triangle of Terror. As they try to figure out what the third mass sacrifice will be, we cut to...
Bennett Bungalow. Bonnie's eyes are wide as she addresses Silas. "You want me to kill witches?!" He blahs about how it will just be temporary. It won't be easy, but she's strong enough. What they have to do is lure 12 witches into trying to strip Bonnie of Expression. Bonnie haters might make a point here, but I've got a show to recap. In order to "free" Bonnie, the witches will have to link themselves together -- as one. When they hear Bonnie's Interim Dad enter, Silas whispers that they have to convince him. He doesn't specify the "of what" but we're not kept in suspense for long. Interim Dad thinks Silas is Shane and asks how their session went. Silas says it's not going well; Bonnie's Expression is too strong. Interim Dad grumbles that "Shane" said he could cure Bonnie. Bonnie says, "Dad, it's not his fault." Interim Dad is ticked. "Not his fault? He's the one that taught you this magic, and now he can't control it." The argument escalates to the point where Interim Dad orders "Shane" out of his house. Bonnie shouts, "Wait," and then makes the windows behind her shatter, and the flames in the fireplace flare. The things kids will do for attention. Shane warns that Expression will consume Bonnie, if they don't do something. Bonnie adds, "I want you to call mom. We need witches. A lot of them." I'll just stick a pin in that last line, and wish that instead of "a lot of them," Bonnie had specified they'd need a coven. Commercial.
NYC. Billy's. The joint is jumping now. The crowd "dances" white-people-at-a-concert style as the band plays. Damon buys the girls drinks and explains that Lexi thought the way to get him to turn his emotions back on was to encourage him to enjoy life. Rebekah: "Do not tell me she took you to Bon Jovi concerts, too." Wrong decade, Beckster. Damon agrees with me, and then adds, "Lexi was not allowed to feed with Stefan, but I didn't have that problem." He looks at Elena. "Neither do you."
I know Lexi wasn't on the animal diet, but her first appearance on the series led me to believe that she only drank bagged blood. It wasn't stated outright, but with that phlebotomist mention, it was strongly implied. Of course that was in 2009. Damon was with Lexi in 1977, so I guess this isn't a continuity problem, it just caught my attention. The Continuity Fairy lands on my desk and says, "O ye of little faith." Anyhow, Damon stretches out his hand to Elena and leads her into the crowd. We flash back to...
1977. The earlier crowd "dances" to the same song. When a big galoot bumps into Lexi, Damon vamps out and snarls at the guy, who then flees in fear. Lexi smiles at Damon. The Show decides to troll me, and we flash forward to the...
Present. Elena, Rebekah and Damon are "dancing." Elena takes off her coat, hands it to Damon and declares she's hungry. Damon gestures to the crowd and tells her, "Pick." Elena chooses a nearby woman. Aside from Matt, who was a volunteer, and Connor, whom Elena was trying to stop, have all of Elena's victims been female (except for that time at the frat party when she feed on Roofie Rapist)? It seems to me they have. I wonder why. Girl-on-girl titillation is probably the reason, but I wonder if the writers are trying to protect Elena from the appearance of "being with" even more men.
I'm having trouble making my point because I'm trying to discuss something fraught with icky sexual politics, without compounding the error, so bear with me, please. It seems to me that the writers could be choosing female victims for Elena because perhaps they think it will seem "sexier" (in the clichéd sense of straight guys getting excited by watching women together) to watch Elena feed off a girl, or share a girl with Damon, and later Rebekah. I'm also wondering if they've grown sensitive to the "slut shaming" that's gone on in fandom since Stefan and Elena broke up, and she took up with Damon. This is only speculation, but whether or not it's correct, I think it's a shame so many of her victims are female. Given Stefan's early season reaction to Damon sharing his blood with Elena, I'd like to see Switched-Off Elena purposefully choose male victims in an attempt to rub it in Damon's face. Digression over.
So yes, Elena settles on a nearby woman, dances up to her, compels her not to scream and takes a bite. Damon joins in. We flash back to 1977. Damon is sharing a female victim with Lexi. Back the the present, Damon unlatches and tells Rebekah it's her turn. He licks his lips as he watches Elena and Rebekah draining the life out of their victim, then heads off to Will's office. This does not escape Elena's notice. We cut to...
Mystic Falls. Woods. Night. Bonnie finds a witch, Aja (Cynthia Addai-Robinson) waiting for her and asks if she's friends with Abby Abandoner. Aja says, "I was. After she became a vampire, we didn't have much in common." Bonnie says, "So she's not coming?" Of course not, Bonnie. Your "mother" gets the word that you're in terrible trouble with magic and rounds up her ex-friends, but don't think she actually cares about you. She's just trying to get Interim Dad to stop calling her.
Aja writes of Abby's disinterest with a, "This is witch business." Aja has dealt with Expression before, and tries to reassure Bonnie. Bonnie says it's just that she's strong. "You won't be able to do this alone." Aja is not alone. On cue her witch friends (some of them are even white) walk out of the woods. Including Aja, there are twelve of them, which Aja says is a full coven. The magical Google machine indicates 13 witches are the traditional number, so I'm fanwanking that Abby was part of their coven. I don't even know why I'm paying attention to this. I guess it's because of that pin I stuck into Bonnie's earlier scene with her dad, in which neither she nor Silas specified how many witches were needed to strip Bonnie of Expression. They never even said they needed a full coven. The just said they needed "a lot of them." What if only ten witches had shown? Could they have later killed two more? What if 15 had shown up? Would that have screwed up the Triangle of Terror, or would it have just been like extra dressing on the side? Nobody cares but me, because we've already cut back to...
NYC. Billy's. Elena, bless her, wipes her mouth and then compels her victim to leave. When Rebekah notes that Damon has given them the slip, Elena says she's hoping he finds whatever he's looking for, so she can take it. Rebekah offers to help. Since Elena wants the cure out of her life, and Rebekah wants to take it, they can work together. Elena scoffs at this. "Don't you hate me?" Rebekah says, "I hated the moral, self-righteous version of you, but this one's not so bad. Maybe it's your new haircut." It doesn't hurt. I have half a mind to print out a screen cap of it, for my trip to the salon.
Elena can't believe Rebekah would want to revert to being a weak, fragile human, so the Beckster explains that someday she wants a family of her own. Elena sighs. "And that's exactly why I don't want your help." She downs a shot and adds, "The best part of having no emotions is that I can think rationally. I'll do whatever it takes to get this done. You're the opposite. A pile of neuroses, insecurities, hopes and dreams. You're basically one big, emotional variable that I just don't really need." Rebekah fakes up a small smile. "You just made me miss the old Elena." I don't know. I'm so tired of everyone trying to control Elena that I'm quite enjoying her brat phase. Elena shrugs as we cut to...
Professor's Shane's Office. Caroline and Klaus plot out the points of the Triangle of Terror. The first point is at Pastor Cliche's ranch. The second is above the old Lockwood cellar, where Klaus killed his hybrids. Caroline notes the Triangle of Terror is an equilateral triangle, so she identifies the third point on a map. Klaus smirks. "Someone's been skipping their geometry classes." Oh honey, everyone's skipping all their classes. Klaus: "There are actually two places where the third massacre could be." Caroline tries to cover by saying, "Well, you didn't let me finish." They're interrupted by Stefan, who reports that while he didn't talk to Bonnie, he did talk to Interim Dad. "I think I've found Silas." We cut to the...
Woods. Eleven witches stand in a circle, with Bonnie and Aja at the center. Bonnie is lying on the ground. Aja kneels and places her hands on Bonnie's head and instructs Bonnie to call out to the spirits. Bonnie starts to chant, but her body writhes in pain because she's rejected the spirits. Aja chants for her. Bonnie says she's changed her mind and begs for Aja to let her go. Aja calls out to her coven to link with her. Torches at the edge of the circle ignite. Bonnie's eyes turn white. Commercial.
As Stefan searches for one of the two possible massacre sites, he's talking on the phone to Damon, who says, "So, Silas is appearing as Professor Shane. That wouldn't be my first choice." Right? Stefan points out it's a useful guise since he's trying to brainwash Bonnie into committing a massacre. Talk turns to the search for the Bore, and Damon tells Stefan that Rebekah trailed them (I was hoping Stefan had sent her), and that he's having a hard time. When Stefan asks what he's looking for, Damon answers, "Will had a repeat customer. 5'7" brunette. Said she was a runner." Stefan: "Katherine." Damon: "Turns out I was helping her run from me. Ironic..."
Damon thinks Will's records are sorted by birthdate, but he can't remember Katherine's. Stefan says, "June 5, 1473." Impressed, Damon says, "And that, brother, is why you are the better boyfriend." Ha. He finds a list of Katherine's former addresses, including some from the last few months. They're mostly P.O. Boxes, but it narrows the search. Now, if Will was taking real people's IDs, and presumably swapping out the photos with a photo of his customer, why the hell would he need a customer's real birthdate? I was going to add something about addresses, but I suppose since Kiki is a repeat customer, he might mail new IDs to her as needed. The thing is, I don't think someone trading in fake IDs would want to keep any records at all. Why do I let myself pay attention to this stuff, and could therapy help?
Stefan asks when they're heading home. Damon says, "Tomorrow morning. Gotta keep up the ruse for the terrible twosome, outside. Pretend I'm having a good time." Stefan looks surprised at this. "And you're not." Just then, Elena enters the office, so Damon says, "Tell you tomorrow," then hangs up. He tells her he needed some quiet, to talk to Stefan. Elena assumes Stefan is worried, but Damon lies that he's, "...jealous, mainly. He's having acid flashbacks to me and Lexi in the '70s, in New York. I'll tell you about it over a drink." He hustles Elena out of the office and she knows she's being hustled.
Current-day Damon narrates over a scene from 1977 that Lexi stuck with him for months and partied with him, but every night ended with her torturing him in the worst possible way.
1977. Billy's has cleared out. Damon lies on the bar clutching a bottle as Lexi stands over him and says, "Tell me about her. [...] What did she look like? What did she sound like? Tell me everything you remember about her." Damon moans, "Every night." Will says that's his cue and takes off, after wishing them a "nice fight" and asking them not to break stuff. Damon is tired of the same old same old. He doesn't want to talk about Katherine, but Lexi says that since love is the most powerful emotion, she wants him to remember how he felt about her -- the implication being that this will help him turn on his humanity.
The Retcon Fairy waves a wand over Lexi's head and makes her say the following: "Do you remember how we first met? It was 1864. Stefan had just killed your father, made you turn into a vampire, and he was killing his way through Mystic Falls. You hated him. Rightfully so, but before you left, you asked me to help him because no matter what happened, he was still your brother, and you cared about him. Now, you need help. And he cares about you. We both do. Let me help you. Tell me about Katherine."
Damon stares at Lexi as he hops down from the bar and insists that talking about Katherine isn't going to help him. Lexi: "Why not?" Damon moves in close. His voice is soft as he says, "Because she's not the person I care about." Lexi looks at him for a moment before she can conjure up a response. "It flipped. The switch, why didn't you tell me?" Damon says, "Because I barely felt it at first. But every night it's gotten strong. It worked. You worked." He takes her face in his hands, and they kiss. As things heat up, we flash forward to the...
Present. NYC. Elena's all, "You and Lexi? Here? On the bar?" She takes her hand off the bar, as if to avoid 30-something year old sex cooties. Damon says, "On the bar, on the stage, on the roof. It was a very long night." Elena says, "Yeah," then considers for a moment, before grabbing a bottle of booze from behind the bar. As she starts to walk off, Damon asks where she's going. Elena says, "To the roof. I want to hear the rest of the story." Damon seems unconvinced, but he's willing to play along. At the other end of the bar, Rebekah watches as they walk off. Elena gives her an In Your Face face. Some big goon starts pawing at Rebekah's hair. With one hand, she shoves him down, flips her pretty hair and says, "Excuse you." Go ahead to the paragraph. I'm just going to hang back here and watch that another hundred times.
Mystic Falls. Woods. Caroline and Klaus are searching for the other possible third point on the Triangle of Terror. They are, of course, bickering, so Caroline asks Klaus if he even knows how to read a map. Klaus says, "Yes. And you know who taught me? My friend, Magellan." Hee. What's even funnier is I'm not sure Hooky Artist Caroline gets the reference because in response she says, "Wow. You had a friend. Was he drawn to your darkness, too?" Klaus says he was talking about Damon and Elena when he said that, "But clearly, it struck a chord with you." Caroline insists it's not true; there's no allure to darkness.
Klaus asks if she's never felt an attraction to someone who does terrible things, but cares only about her. Caroline: "I did once, when I thought he was worth it, but it turns out some people can't be fixed. People who do terrible things are just terrible people." Thanks for spoiling the dramatic climax of the episode, Care Bear. She's not only spoiled us, she's also hurt Klaus's widdle feelings, so he changes the subject and points out that they've arrived at their destination, "...although judging by the lack of witches, here is not the correct location." We cut to the...
Other Point In the Woods. Bonnie's eyes are still white. Her nose is bleeding and she's crying out in pain, when Stefan finds her and asks Aja to stop because this is all a set up. Aja is disinclined to listen to a vampire until he adds that Bonnie working for Silas. "He brainwashed her to kill you." That's all Aja needs to hear. She draws a dagger, holds it over Bonnie, and tells Stefan, "If Silas has her, she's lost. We can't save her." When Stefan tries to get Aja to wait a minute, she inflicts him with a mystical migraine and magics him into a tree. "I have the power of twelve witches. You don't stand a chance." Commercial.
After the break, Klaus and Caroline find Stefan, who says, "They're linked. Bonnie's going to kill them." Klaus pushes Stefan back against the tree. "Not if the witches kill her first." Caroline insists they save Bonnie, so Klaus points out, "The only way to stop the witches is to kill them, and then Silas gets what he wants."
Over in the circle, Aja implores the spirits to take Bonnie's soul and free her from darkness. She holds the dagger over Bonnie's chest and prepares to stab her, so Bonnie screams. I guess she can see through those all white eyes. Hearing her friend cry out is too much for Caroline. She Stealth Salvatores into the middle of the circle, grabs Aja's hand that's holding the dagger, and forces her to shove it into her own chest.
Klaus screams out, "No!" Aja is the first witch to drop dead. Because the other witches were linked with her, they all follow suit. I know it's supposed to be horrifying, but the way they flop over is nearly as funny as Rebekah's "Excuse you," scene. Caroline looks around as the gravity of her actions sinks in. Then she remembers Bonnie, so she kneels beside her and calls out her name. Bonnie opens her eyes. They're still freaky-white (and sort of light blue). She smiles and says, "The triangle is complete." We cut to...
NYC. Rooftop. Elena's flirting with Damon and suggests she could be tempted to hang and party with him, and then turn her "emotions" back on. When she doesn't get the reaction she's seeking, she adds that she's never "done it" on a rooftop before. Damon is stand-offish as he tells her she's not missing much. Elena reminds him he doesn't have to take the high road, since she's not "sired" to him anymore. "I want this. You want this." Finally, they kiss. As things heat up, Elena slides her hand into his rear pocket. At that, Damon pushes her off and takes out the list he swiped from Will's records. "Looking for that? Did you really think that was going to work? The sex? The temptation? The booze? Are you kidding me? I invented that trick." We flash back to...
1977. Rooftop. Breaking Dawn. (Sorry.) As the sun rises, it shines down on a sleeping Damon and Lexi. Even though she's been a vampire for longer than the Chucklehead Brothers, you'll recall Lexi doesn't have a daywalker ring (which, really?), so when her flesh start to sizzle, she wakes and rushes to the shaded door, but can't open it. Damon sits up and says, "Good luck. I spent all night reinforcing it. It was tough. I had to be really quiet, not to wake you up."
Okay, how did he reinforce the door from the other side of it? Lexi's less concerned with those logistics and wants to know what he's up to. Damon says, "Payment [...] for the last six months of my life. For the nagging, for the self-righteous platitudes. I'm paying you back for six months of you."
Lexi dons the Captain Obvious cape. "Your humanity isn't back on, is it?" Damon smirks. "It never was." This was all just a joke, a big fat lie, and the best part is that she believed it. "You thought I was like Stefan -- a wounded little bird you could nurse back to health." When he strokes her cheek, Lexi grabs his wrist, but that doesn't stop Damon from taunting her. "He's a victim. I choose to be this way." He pulls Lexi's hand out of the shadow and lets it burn. Screaming, she pulls it back in. As Damon leaves, he says, "Enjoy the day. I hear it's going to be a scorcher." Oh, Damon. Haven't you done enough to her? Must you pun at her, too?
Present. Night. Rooftop. Elena: "So you pretended to have feelings for her, just to get her off your back." Damon says he was willing to do whatever it took. "Sound familiar?" Elena's tone is mocking. "Aw. I hurt your feelings." Damon says he's not worried about his feelings. He's looking out for her, because someday, the switch will flip, and all the bad things she's done will haunt her. Elena: "So you're saying you felt bad for Lexi?" I think she means "about" not "for" because Damon says, "She became a walking, talking reminder of all the awful things I'd done. I managed to avoid her for decades, and then she just shows up in Mystic Falls to wish my baby brother a happy birthday. And BOOM. A rush of memories. A rush of guilt." Elena: "So you kill her?" Damon says, "Out of sight. Out of mind." Off Elena's incredulous look, he adds, "Every day that you're like this is the day that you might do the one thing that you take back."
Elena says that since he spent six months setting up Lexi just to hurt her, he was being spiteful, malicious and borderline evil. "And you say that you had your emotions turned off. But those all sound like emotions to me." Damon is too polite to outright correct her that those aren't emotions (joy, sorrow, fear, anger, etc.), but rather adjectives that described him. He just slips his correction in. "Maybe they were. Maybe hatred was the first one I got back. All the more reason to cure you. That way we get the normal Elena back, without all the ugly stages in between."
Elena's voice grows insistent. "I'm not taking the cure, Damon." She tries to walk away, but he intercepts her. "Yes you are. Even if I have to break your neck, or tie you up in chains until we find it." Why did he take stupid pills? Why? Why? Why couldn't he have lied and said something like, "Well, we still need to find it because I'll be damned if I let Rebekah or Klaus control it." Or better yet, "Then we'd still better find it and destroy it, so Klaus can't force it on you."
Before Elena can react to Damon's disregard for her wishes, Rebekah swoops in out of nowhere, and gives him a broken neck nap. Elena's smile betrays that she's impressed. Rebekah says, "What as that you said about handling things yourself?" I smell a Buddy Movie. Commercial.
Side Bar. I'm really disappointed by the turn in that "emotions" conversation. The show used to talk about turning off humanity rather than emotions. Since Damon ordered Elena to flip her humanity switch, the show has been using the term emotions, and it makes everything messier than needed. It also flies in the face of what we've seen onscreen. When Elena said, "Those all sound like emotions to me," I was hopeful that Damon would explain that the humanity switch just turns off humanizing emotions like grief, pity and remorse. Elena has been far from emotion-free since she flipped the switch. I know I'm harping on this to the point of tedium, so I'll leave it here.
Bennett Bungalow. Morning. Stefan keeps watch as Bonnie sleeps. When she wakes, her eyes are all normal again, thank goodness. Stefan is surprised when she asks why he's there. "What do you mean? I brought you home. The witches almost killed you." Bonnie doesn't remember. Or at least, she says she doesn't remember. I'm inclined to take her at face value in this scene, but who knows if the witches manages to strip away enough Expression or Silas's control, before Caroline killed them. That Aja was ready to murder Bonnie, tells me that at least she didn't think they could do anything for Bonnie, so I can't be certain.
Stefan says, "Whatever the witches did must have messed with your memory." That clears up exactly nothing for Bonnie, who asks, "How did I get off the island?" Stefan leans in and asks her what she can last remember. Bonnie says, "I guess I remember being in that cave and Jeremy was trying to pry the cure out of Silas's hands." Stefan is silent, so Bonnie says, "Please tell me he got it!" When he doesn't respond, Bonnie shakes her head. "We didn't get it, did we?" Finally, with his voice but a whisper, Stefan says, "Bonnie, there's something you need to know about Jeremy." Bonnie looks at him the way my dog looks at me when she follows me out to the kitchen and I fail to give her something to eat. We cut to the...
Woods. Caroline sits lost in thought, as Klaus finishes burying the witches. Once he's done, he turns to her and says, "Twelve graves for twelve witches. Like it never happened. Only it did happen." Putting his jacket back on, Klaus adds, "Now Silas has everything he needs to open the gates to Hell on earth." Caroline says, "You were just going to let Bonnie die." With his anger dialed down to simmer, Klaus approaches her. "I know arithmetic isn't your strong isn't your strong point, but one is still less than twelve." Caroline rises. "Yeah, but that one is my best friend."
Klaus says she should tell herself whatever she needs to, so she can sleep at night. Caroline's face falls. Well, not literally, because that would be gross, even for Season Gore. She whispers, "I just killed twelve people." Klaus looks at her with empathy in his eyes and lays his hands on her shoulders. "Hey, you look like you're in need of comfort." Trying not to cry, Caroline nods. Klaus's concerned expression twists into one of perverse enjoyment. "Why don't you find someone less terrible you can relate to?" Caroline stares at him for a moment, then storms off.
Klaus looks tempted to call her back or go after her, but thinks better of it. He walks a few paces in the other direction before stopping. Turning, he finds Silas standing behind him. Looking at the graves, Silas says, "Thank you. Of the three massacres, this is the one I was dreading." As I mentioned in the recaplet, that line led me to hope that somehow, Silas and Klaus were working together, but alas... Klaus says, "Silas, I presume?" The Original and the Original Original face off as we cut to...
NYC. Rooftop. It's broad daylight when Damon wakes from his broken neck nap. Staggering to his feet, he calls Elena, who wishes him a good morning. He asks where she is, but rather than answering, Elena looks at his list of Katherine's addresses and says, "A better question would be, where are we going?"
Rebekah calls out, "Sorry, Damon. I think I broke your radio." Damon: "You're IN MY CAR?" Elena laughs. "We weren't going to take the bus." She slides into the driver's seat as Rebekah rides shotgun, and then adds, "I wish this had gone differently. I really do." I don't. She smiles as she says, "But we'll give Katherine your best," and then hangs up. Rebekah grins at her and we cut back to Damon, who looks up at the sky as if seeking heavenly strength. We cut to...
Mossy Manse. Stefan is on the phone and asks Damon what he did. Damon answers, "Let's just say it involves a 5'7" brunette and her blonde accomplice." Stefan heads for the booze as he says, "Please don't tell me this is going where I think it is." Damon says, "Wrong fantasy, brother. Unless you're into betrayal and snapped necks. The lead I had on Katherine -- Elena stole." So he's Yoda, now? "If you're searching for the words to tell me how badly I screwed up, save your breath."
Instead of gloating, Stefan has his own confession to make. "I didn't stop the massacre." Damon says, "Guess Silas has everything he needs. Stefan: "Everything but the cure." I was really hoping Damon would try to open that door, only to find that Rebekah and Elena had given him the same treatment he gave Lexi. We cut to the...
Woods. Klaus pats his jacket and then non-sequiturs, "I'm sorry mate. Don't have it." Silas says, "But you know who does, and the last thing you want is for that cure to be used on you, so you bring it to me and it won't be. You get to live." Klaus chuckles. He's not too keen on reuniting with all his dead, supernatural enemies who are currently trapped on The Other Side. "You know, you don't scare me, Silas, or Shane, or whoever you are."
Since he's wearing Shane's meatsuit, Silas has its owner's annoying mannerisms, so he gives this smug little nod, that tries to masquerade as a friendly gesture, then says, "But I think I know what does." He pulls the Perma Son Of White Oak stake out of his back pocket. Klaus nearly gulps and asks him where he got it. Silas says, "Let's just say your sister's mind is a little easier to read than yours. So, care to reconsider my offer?"
Klaus ponders the situation then rushes at Silas, who like Damon, has turned Stealth Salvatoring into near teleportation. He completely disappears, then reappears behind Klaus and shoves the stake into his back. "I missed by an inch, but don't worry. I'm not trying to kill you -- not just yet." Klaus is on his knees now, yelling in pain. Silas jerks his hand as he pulls out the stake, which has been blunted because its tip is still in Klaus's back. I guess the Protect-o Ring coating only keeps it from burning up, not breaking. Silas says, "Just a little something to remember me by." Before walking off, he pats Klaus on the shoulder, then says, "I'll be in touch." Klaus suffers us all the way to the title card.
I'm going on a road trip with Elena, her fabulous new hair, and Rebekah, but will be back coverage of "American Gothic." In the meantime, please grade the episode at the top of the page and then come on over to the forum, where we promise not to massacre any witches.
Check out spoilers from Ian Somerhalder himself in this exclusive from our friends at Wetpaint.