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.