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In the small town of Mystic Falls, teenager Elena Gilbert and her younger brother, Jeremy, struggle to come to terms with the recent death of their parents. Elena is popular amongst her peers and the perfect straight-A student. However, she has difficulties hiding her grief from the world. Meanwhile, Jeremy treads on a dangerous path of using drugs to ease his pain. The arrival of new student Stefan Salvatore, makes Elena think about romantic possibilities. Elena is unaware about Stefan's mysterious origins as well as his brother Damon.
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As Mystic Falls prepares for a festival to celebrate the passing of a comet, Vicki is in the hospital recovering from the attack she can barely remember. Stefan goes to the hospital and tries to use his abilities to make sure Vicki doesn't remember what really happened, but his attempt is cut short when Vicki's brother Matt arrives. Jeremy continues to struggle at school and with his feelings for Vicki. At a parent/teacher conference, Mr. Tanner makes Aunt Jenna feel that she is failing as a surrogate parent, especially when it comes to the self-destructive Jeremy. Elena decides to go to the Salvatore house to talk to Stefan, but finds his charming brother Damon instead. Damon reveals surprising information about Stefan's past, and when Stefan arrives home, Elena is confused and embarrassed to realize that he isn't happy to see her there. Meanwhile, Vicki's memory of the attack begins to come back to her. Also, Damon begins to set his sights on Caroline.
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Tyler tries to embarrass Stefan by throwing a football at him during practice. However, Stefan's super-skills of catching a football impresses Mr. Tanner who tries to persuade Stefan to join the school's football team. Meanwhile, Elena continues to ignore the semi-psychic Bonnie's warnings that Stefan is not who he claims to be. So, Elena invites Stefan and Bonnie over for dinner at her house. She hopes that they will get know each other better, but her plan ends up backfiring. Damon crashes the dinner with Caroline whom he has now been feeding off in order to further taunt Stefan. Elsewhere, Jeremy continues to question where he stands on his relationship with Vicki while Matt watches them with concern.
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Elena asks a reluctant Stefan to go with her to the annual Founder's Park dance. Vicki gets Tyler to ask her, but later accuses him of hiding their drug-induced relationship from his aunt Jenna. Meanwhile, Zach reveals a family secret to Stefan. Damon finally tells Elena the secret history about the Salvatore family and how she is the dead-splitting image of Stefan's lost love. Stefan tries to get Damon out of his life for good without giving away Damon's (or his) secret. Also, Elena thinks that Caroline is being abused by Damon when she sees the bite marks on her neck and tries to get her some help.
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With Damon still locked up and growing physically weaker, Jeremy and Vicki have gotten back together. Meanwhile, the school decides to hold a car wash to raise funds after the death of Mr. Tanner. At the car wash, Bonnie starts a fire using her special powers. She is horrified and confused so she goes to her grandmother for help. Elena and Stefan continue to have trust issues as he is still unwilling to tell Elena his secret. But later, Elena hears a shocking story about Stefan and Damon from a stranger who recognizes Stefan... from a vampire attack that happened almost 50 years ago. In a old news video, Elena can clearly see Stefan, who looks exactly like he does now. Meanwhile, Damon uses his powers to try to summon Caroline to let him out, and he kills Zach when he tries to stop her. Elsewhere, Logan and Aunt Jenna go out on a date, while it is revealed that Logan is part of a secret society involving the mayor, Sheriff Forbes, and most of the town officials whom are aware of the Salvator brothers existence. Logan tries to gain access to Jenna's house so he can steal the Gilbert watch as part of the society's plans for stopping both Stefan and Damon.
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Elena demands that Stefan explain the frightening events that have been happening in Mystic Falls. In a string of flashbacks, Stefan explains how his rivalry with Damon began back in the Civil War when they met the love of their lives Katherine, the vampire who was the one that sired both of them. In the present, Damon impulsively takes control of Vicki's future, and a confused and frightened Vicki runs away. Also, Sheriff Forbes, Mayor Lockwood, Logan and the others take drastic steps to protect their town.
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As Halloween draws near, Vicki's behavior becomes more dangerous which leads Stefan to try to help her control her blood-lust. Elena tries to convince Jeremy to stay away from Vicki, but Jeremy naturally refuses to listen. Meanwhile, Caroline gives Bonnie a necklace she took from Damon to wear with her Halloween costume for the annual costume party, and when Damon tries to take it back, he is surprised by Bonnie's abilities to repel him. Bonnie discusses the incident with her grandmother and learns more about her family's past as voodoo witches. Elsewhere, Matt tries to cheer up Vicki by taking her to the high school's haunted house, but the evening soon takes a terrifying turn when Vicki finally embraces her newfound vampire thirst for blood.
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On his birthday, Stefan is surprised by a visit from Lexi, one of his oldest vampire friends. Still upset by the way events ended at the Halloween haunted house, Elena does her best to stay away from Stefan, but Lexi gives her some unsolicited relationship advice. Meanwhile, both Elena and Jenna are surprised by a change in Jeremy's behavior in the wake of Vicki's "disapearance". But only Elena knows that Damon's mind-wipe powers did something to her brother. At Damon's insistence, Caroline tries to get his medallion back from Bonnie who continues to study her wican heritages with her grandmother's help. Elsewhere, Damon's offer to help Sheriff Forbes has sudden and tragic results since she does not know that he is the vampire that she and her circle of hunters are looking for.
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A new history teacher, named Alaric Saltzman, arrives and requests to Jeremy that he write an after-hours paper to keep his grades up. Jeremy takes a liking to his new teacher and introduces him to Jenna. Meanwhile, Bonnie continues to have terrifying dreams involving the ghost of her great-grandmother Emily Bennett who is trying to send her a message. Bonnie then decides to hold a séance with Eleana and Caroline to try to contact Emily to find out what she wants. Despite Elena's efforts, Bonnie and Caroline argue over the medallion when Damon continues to pressure Bonnie to return it to him. Also, Damon tells Stefan the true reason he returned to Mystic Falls involving Emily's necklace, and Katherine.
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After reading a journal kept by a Gilbert ancestor, Jeremy begins to sketch again, a hobby he quit when his parents died. Meanwhile, Sheriff Forbes notifies Damon of another vampire attack and Damon offers to try to track down the killer. Alaric helps Jeremy, Tyler, and Mayor Lockwood in different ways with Jeremy's grades, Tyler's football practice, and the mayor with information about the vampire attacks and of his obsession with tracking the one who killed his fiancée down. Also, Elena makes a shocking discovery about Stefan and of his intentions.
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Damon, Elena and Stefan attend a school dance with a 1950s' theme, where Alaric introduces himself to Damon whom he suspects is the vampire that killed his wife. Stefan and Damon try to figure out the identity of the new vampire in town who is now stalking Elena in which Stefan gives Elena jewelry filled with Vervain to protect her family and friends while she continues to investigate her true origins. Meanwhile, Matt takes a job at the Mystic Grill as a busboy to make amends meet where he has a run-in with Caroline who becomes more smitten with him. The bartender of the Mystic Grill, Ben, comes to help Bonnie when he notices that Damon is bothering her. Elsewhere, Anna continues hanging around Jeremy to get information about the Gilbert family journal which lands in the hands of Alaric who has plans of his own... as does Anna.
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Stefan helps Elena and Bonnie out of a dangerous situation when they are both kidnapped by Ben and Anna. Meanwhile, Jeremy asks Anna to a party in the woods, unaware that she has her own reasons for wanting to meet him there. When Stefan, Damon, and Elena work together with Bonnie and Grams to open the tomb of Katherine Pierce, everyone is shocked by what they discover.
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Matt and Caroline are surprised by the sudden reappearance of Matt's estranged mother Kelly who arrives back in Mystic Falls with an agenda. Stefan and Elena are worried about Damon's new attitude, while one vampire from the crypt is loose and killing. Meanwhile, Damon is asked by Sheriff Forbes to take part in a fund-raising bachelor auction. Elsewhere, Alaric discovers shocking secrets from his own past over his late wife. With help from Jenna and Stefan, Elena is determined to find out everything she can about her birth mother, but the truth may be more than she can handle when she learns about Isobel's past, her gruesome demise... and her connection to Alaric.
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Anna brings a surprising guest along when she pays a visit to Damon. Elena and Stefan go on an awkward double date with Caroline and Matt, but Stefan and Matt find they have some common ground. Jenna reunites with her old friend Kelly, and Jeremy's relationship with Anna takes an unexpected direction.
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When Stefan and Damon make a dangerous new enemy, Stefan suddenly finds himself in a perilous situation. Damon and Elena try to convince Alaric to work with them to help Stefan. Matt is hopeful that his mom, Kelly, may be back to stay. After her car breaks down in a storm, Caroline. make a horrific discovery that shocks everyone in town.
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While Stefan struggles to control his new situation of blood lust after feeding off Elena's blood to heal, she and Jeremy are surprised by a visit from their uncle, John Gilbert, who arrives in Mystic Falls with an agenda. Meanwhile, Alaric has an awkward talk with Elena about his wife Isobel. At a Founder's Day event, Stefan displays a rare party attitude and Damon's attempt to find out why Uncle John has returned to town takes an ugly turn. An incident at the party causes trouble between Matt and Tyler, and the relationship between Matt and his immature and irresponsible mother, Kelly, reaches a new low. Elsewhere, Elena's effort to comfort Jeremy in the wake of Vicki's murder falls short and he decides to take matters into his own hands to track down the vampire who killed her.
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At the Founder's Day Gala, Elena and Caroline compete with each other for the title of "Miss Mystic Falls" against other girls from town, including Tina Fell and Amber Bradley. Meanwhile, Bonnie returns to town and Elena is happy to have her back, but Bonnie refuses to talk to her for has other issues as well. Elsewhere, John Gilbert attempts to intimidate Damon into helping him look for a mystical device, but his plan doesn't have the desired effect. Damon discovers that Stefan is hiding a dangerous secret that could impact everyone in town when Stefan is now stealing human blood and may revert back to his murderous self. Also, Jeremy continues to dabble in his relationship with Anna.
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While Stefan struggles to come to terms with his past, both he and Damon reveal parts of their history to Elena, until she finally learns the truth about how they became vampires. Pearl has an ugly confrontation with Johnathan Gilbert. Damon and Alaric try to find a mysterious invention before Johnathan does. The friendship and flirtation between Jeremy and Anna continues to grow.
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Isobel returns to Mystic Falls and stuns Alaric with her friendly attitude and her demands that he arrange a meeting with Elena. When Elena finally meets her vampire birth mother face-to-face, the meeting is awkward as Isobel reveals that she has no desire to harm Elena or Alaric, yet she refuses to answer most of Elena's questions about where she has been and doing. Yet, Isobel reveals that she will stop at nothing to find a mysterious invention that Johnathan Gilbert has been searching for. Isobel's dangerous actions lead Stefan, Damon and Bonnie to step in and help Elena deal with the situation.
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Founder’s Day has finally arrived, and everyone is busy with last-minute preparations for floats and fireworks. Stefan is uncomfortable with Damon’s new attitude toward Elena, but Elena is more concerned about repairing her relationship with Jeremy. Jeremy is worried about Anna, but not sure he’s on board with her latest plan for the future. While Caroline is enjoying her day as Queen of the celebration, she also tries to help Matt and Tyler get their friendship back on track. Finally, although Damon and Alaric do their best to stop him, Johnathan Gilbert sets a plan in motion that brings Founder’s Day to an end amid chaos, destruction and death.
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Elena arrives home to a nightmare as she discovers Uncle John's and Jeremy's fate. At the hospital, Sheriff Forbes is comforted by Matt, Bonnie and Damon while she waits to hear if Caroline will survive the car accident. After a confusing conversation with Elena about the night's events, Damon is the first to realize that Katherine has returned. Katherine's arrival sends Stefan and Damon on a path to find out what she wants, why she's back, and how much of a threat she is to the people they love. Meanwhile, still reeling from his father's death, Tyler is surprised when his charming and mysterious uncle, Mason Lockwood, arrives to console the family.
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When a confused and desperate Caroline leaves the hospital and joins her friends at the Mystic Falls Carnival, Damon wants to take immediate action, but Stefan and Elena come to Caroline's defense. Matt is completely mystified by Caroline's behavior, but still tries to tell her about his feelings for her. Damon has suspicions about Tyler's Uncle Mason and uses Tyler's volatile personality in an attempt to get Mason to reveal his secret. Upset with everything going on around her, Bonnie takes her anger out on Damon.
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Elena, Damon and Alaric take a road trip to Duke University and search through Isobel's research on folklore and paranormal phenomena to see if they can uncover any clues to the mystery surrounding the Lockwood family. Isobel's former student, Vanessa offers to guide them through the research and ends up getting quite an education herself. Stefan comes face to face with a terrifying new danger in the woods, and Tyler makes a shocking discovery about Mason.
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Stefan takes drastic measures to find out the real reason Katherine has returned to Mystic Falls, and is shocked when she reveals new secrets about what really happened in 1864. Damon tries a new tactic to resolve his issues with Mason, but it proves costly. Tyler pushes Mason to tell him the truth about the Lockwoods. Finally, when Katherine delivers an ultimatum, Stefan and Elena are left with very few options.
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Tyler learns more about the Lockwood family curse from Mason. Stefan and Damon argue over how to handle Mason. Elena tries to keep Jeremy from becoming more involved with the Lockwood mystery, but Jeremy makes an effort to hang out with Tyler. Mason gives Sheriff Lockwood some startling information, leading to a night of violence, confession and heartbreak.
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Despite Elena's efforts to keep Jeremy safe, he offers to help Damon and Alaric deal with Katherine. Sheriff Forbes and Caroline share a few rare moments of quality mother/daughter time. Bonnie accidentally discovers new information about Mason and shares it with Stefan leading Damon to take matters into his own hands.
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Stefan and Damon decide on a new plan to deal with Katherine at the Lockwood's masquerade ball. Katherine calls on an old friend, Lucy, to attend the ball with her. Bonnie, Jeremy and Alaric all do what they can to help Stefan and Damon, but Katherine has a surprise planned that none of them could foresee. Things take an ugly turn when Matt and Tyler start doing shots with their friends.
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Stefan and Damon come to Elena's assistance and, in the process, learn surprising new information about people, vampires and events in the distant past. Jeremy helps Bonnie after she casts a difficult and exhausting spell, and Caroline does what she can to make things easier for Tyler. Finally, Stefan and Damon reach a new understanding.
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Elena puts herself in a dangerous position as she searches for the truth about Katherine's past and what her own future may hold. Knowing that Stefan would never agree to her plan, Elena swears Caroline to secrecy. Damon uses a new-found confidant to help him try to discover the real purpose and power of the moonstone. Jeremy and Bonnie meet Luka, a new student with a surprising family history.
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Elena decides to take matters into her own hands and offers a tempting incentive to Rose for her help. When things take an unexpected turn, however, Rose calls on Damon to deal with the plan Elena has set in motion. Jeremy's reckless attempt to help Bonnie retrieve the moonstone lands him in a life-threatening position and forces Stefan to put himself in danger. Bonnie and Luka form a closer connection. Tyler shows Caroline the Lockwood cellar, where she makes a discovery that leaves them both terrified.
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As the full moon approaches, Caroline helps Tyler prepare for the transformation he is powerless to stop. While Stefan and Katherine play mind games on one another, Damon and Alaric are suspicious when a stranger named Jules shows up in Mystic Falls, searching for her missing friend, Mason. Elena is frustrated at the lengths Jeremy and her friends have gone to in order to keep her safe. Bonnie and Luca work together on a spell, while still keeping secrets from one another. Finally, Elijah makes an unexpected appearance with an offer that could change everything.
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Stefan has his own ideas about Elena's new plan for the future. While Damon tries to get the truth out of Jules, he asks Elena to keep an eye on Rose, a situation that turns unexpectedly dangerous. Caroline and Matt try to be honest about their feelings for one another, and Tyler's reaction to Caroline's generosity comes as a surprise to her. Damon struggles to hide his true feelings when a life-and-death crisis hits him harder than he expected.
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Johnathan Gilbert's return to Mystic Falls comes as an unhappy surprise to Elena, Jenna and Damon. Caroline lets Stefan know about her conversation with Tyler, and Stefan does his best to reach out to a confused and conflicted Tyler. Jeremy comforts Bonnie after her disturbing conversation with Jonas. When Jules takes a hostage, the situation quickly escalates into a violent confrontation.
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Stefan and Elena get away for what they hope will be a romantic weekend at the Gilbert family lake house, not realizing that they've been followed. Jenna starts to worry that Alaric isn't being honest with her. Jules explains the importance of the sun and moon curse to Tyler, but leaves out an important detail. Damon attends a tea at the Historical Society in order to talk to Elijah, but Elijah isn't giving up any secrets. With help from Caroline and Jeremy, Bonnie uses deceptive measures to get shocking new information out of Luka. Finally, Tyler offers Matt some relationship advice.
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Stefan tells Elena about a dark time in his history and the surprising person whose influence changed everything. After getting the truth out of Luka, Jonas makes his feelings clear to Bonnie and Jeremy. Trying to catch Elijah off-guard, Damon arranges a dinner party for him with Jenna, Alaric and Andie, but last-minute information throws Damon's plan into chaos.
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Katherine's mind games are getting on everyone's nerves, but Damon, Stefan and Elena realize that her knowledge of Mystic Falls history will help them stay alive. Frustrated with her relationship with Matt, Caroline finds a new way to get his attention. Alaric makes a surprising confession to Jenna, and Katherine makes a different kind of confession to Damon. Stefan and Bonnie try to convince Jonas and Luka that they should all be working together, but Jonas' lack of trust leads to a violent and fiery confrontation.
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Elena and Alaric both lash out at John when Isobel's unexpected arrival leaves Jenna devastated. Bonnie works with Damon and Jeremy to find the spell they'll need to harness her ancestors' power. A heartbroken Caroline doesn't know what to do about Matt. Stefan and Damon realize they have a new secret weapon.
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As the high school prepares to throw a "1960s Decade Dance," Elena starts receiving disturbing messages from Klaus via an unusual source. Bonnie tries to reassure Jeremy that she is strong enough to help Elena, but a worried Jeremy asks Stefan for advice. Caroline talks Matt into taking her to the dance. Expecting Klaus to show up at the dance, Damon and Alaric attend as chaperones, but Klaus is playing a complicated game that keeps them on edge. Finally, Damon comes up with a new plan of action that shocks and upsets everyone.
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Stefan and Damon are furious when they discover that Elena has defied them both to make a new ally and take control of the plan to out-maneuver Klaus. Disagreement over how to protect Elena leads to growing tension between the Salvatore brothers. Meanwhile, Stefan has his hands full trying to keep a confused and frightened Jenna safe. Flashbacks to 1491 reveal Katherine's introduction to Elijah and Klaus, along with the origin of the moonstone curse. Elena learns shocking new information about Klaus' motives.
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Damon is willing to go to extraordinary lengths to prevent Elena from being a victim of Klaus' plan to break the curse. Damon's actions put him at terrible odds with Stefan and the tension that started brewing between the brothers over their differing opinions of how to help save Elena's life blows up into full-scale conflict. Tyler returns to Mystic Falls after receiving a disturbing phone call. With the full moon marking the arrival of the sacrifice ritual, Stefan and Elena spend a romantic day together -- afraid it might be their last.
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With the arrival of the full moon, Elena tries to prepare for whatever Klaus has planned and Tyler faces his second transformation. The terrifying events quickly spin out of control, despite an unexpected act of courage. Finally, Damon admits the truth to Stefan about a terrible new development they must face.
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While Mystic Falls presents a screening of "Gone with The Wind" in the town square, Damon's memories of Katherine in 1864 mix with the reality of Elena in the present day. Stefan pays a terrible personal price for his attempt to prevent a tragedy, and Sheriff Forbes makes a deadly mistake while trying to keep everyone safe. More than one life hangs in the balance as the consequences of the sacrifice ritual play out to a horrifying conclusion.
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On the morning of Elena's 18th birthday, Caroline is busy planning a party, but Elena is focused on searching for any clues that might help her discover where Stefan is. Damon is also searching for Stefan, while trying to protect Elena and keep her from doing anything that would draw Klaus' attention. Meanwhile, Klaus and Stefan are busy trailing a werewolf named Ray Sutton. Now working at the Mystic Grill along with Matt, Jeremy is struggling to understand why he keeps seeing the ghosts of Vicki and Anna since he was brought back to life by Bonnie's magic. Meanwhile, Alaric does his best to watch over Elena and Jeremy, while dealing with his grief over Jenna's death. Finally, Caroline and Tyler face a new and unexpected challenge.
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Klaus puts a plan in motion that will give him even more power, but even with the unwilling participation of werewolf Ray Sutton, things don't go exactly as Klaus had planned. Damon and Alaric reluctantly go along with Elena's new strategy to find Stefan, leading Damon into a dangerous fight with an unexpected enemy. Jeremy turns to Matt for help as he continues to try to understand what the ghosts from his past want from him. Unaware that Caroline is in need of his help, Tyler faces an emotional confrontation with his mother.
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Klaus and Stefan arrive in Chicago, where Stefan is reunited with a vampire who hasn't really moved on from her interest in him decades earlier. In a flashback to Chicago in the 1920s, Stefan comes face-to-face with a shocking chapter from his wild past. After Damon gets a tip on Stefan and Klaus' whereabouts from an unexpected source, he and Elena follow their trail. Back in Mystic Falls, Tyler is concerned about Caroline and turns to Sheriff Forbes for help.
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Still in Chicago, Klaus uses Gloria, a witch he knew long ago, to help him track down missing information that will explain why his plan isn't working. Gloria's spells reveal intriguing glimpses of the truth, but she soon realizes she needs Stefan's knowledge to complete the puzzle. When Stefan suddenly finds himself in danger, help comes from a surprising ally. Back in Mystic Falls, a frustrating new enemy pushes Damon over the brink and he lashes out in a way that will have lasting consequences. Caroline struggles with her own emotional issues, even as she tries to help Elena face her feelings. Jeremy makes a brief but disturbing breakthrough with one of his ghostly visitors, leaving him more confused than ever. Finally, Bonnie has a strange encounter that will affect everyone.
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Despite all that has happened, Caroline is determined to see that Elena, Bonnie, Matt and Tyler all enjoy a traditional Senior Prank Night before the school year begins at Mystic Falls High School. However, when uninvited guests show up, it doesn't take long for the evening to take a deadly turn. Damon convinces Jeremy that he can use his new connection to the other side to help find a way to defeat Klaus. Finally, Klaus deepens his hold on Stefan and uses him for increasingly violent and dangerous purposes.
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On the first day of their senior year, Elena, Caroline, Bonnie and Matt are still reeling from recent events, while Tyler seems to be enjoying everything a little too much. Damon is annoyed by a new houseguest, and everyone is surprised by the arrival of a new student in Alaric's history class. Matt asks Bonnie for help when he realizes he made a serious mistake. Meanwhile, Stefan continues to carry out his latest assignment from Klaus.
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As Mystic Falls prepares to celebrate the traditional Illumination Night, the town is invaded by spirits of the dead. After a particularly violent encounter with an angry spirit, Damon asks Bonnie to find the reason behind the ghosts' surprising power. Elena convinces Jeremy to use his connection to the other side to help her find a new way to reach Stefan, leading Jeremy to a terrible choice. Finally, Alaric discovers a long-hidden clue to the past.
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With help from Elena and Bonnie, Alaric tries to decipher the meaning behind his recent discovery. Elena and Rebekah (Claire Holt) engage in a mean-girl power struggle, until Rebekah finally reveals some of her family's ancient secrets and the violent past she shares with Klaus and Elijah. Damon tries a reckless new approach to make a breakthrough with Stefan, and they're both surprised by an unlikely ally.
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On the night of the Homecoming dance, Rebekah opens up to Elena about why the evening is so important to her, leaving Elena with conflicting emotions. Caroline and Matt are both shocked at Tyler's behavior throughout the evening. The night takes a surreal turn when Klaus puts his latest plan into action. Determined to outsmart Klaus, Damon enters into a dangerous partnership, leading to a terrifying turn of events. The band My Morning Jacket performs in the party scenes.
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Stefan has hidden the coffins containing the bodies of Klaus' family, and Klaus quickly turns to violence to convince Damon and Elena that no one will be safe until he finds Stefan and gets his family back. Tyler continues to make the most of his new abilities as a hybrid, but he has to face the disturbing consequences of his actions as well. After a terrifying incident, Elena and Alaric grow increasingly concerned about Jeremy's attitude and, ultimately, his safety. Alaric meets the beautiful Dr. Fell, who is intrigued with his amazing ability to heal. While trying to strike a deal with Klaus, Elena delivers news that truly shocks him.
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Although Caroline is in no mood to celebrate her 18th birthday, Elena, Bonnie and Matt surprise her with a small party in an unusual location. Damon and Stefan disagree on the best way to handle Klaus, and a reckless Stefan decides to test his theory by taking things to dangerous extremes. Bonnie is concerned when Elena tells her about Jeremy's new plans. At a Founder's meeting, Alaric once again runs into Dr. Fell, who is in the middle of an argument with her ex-boyfriend, the medical examiner. Tyler refuses to go along with Klaus' latest demand, and is surprised when Klaus seems to accept his decision.
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Bonnie walks through the cemetery toward a coffin above ground. She tries to open it. Klaus appears behind her and asks if she can open it, then he rushes her and bites her.She wakes up, but her situation has not improved. She's trapped in a coffin, with only the light of her cell phone. She tries a spell, but it does nothing. She hears someone outside and pounds furiously. It opens and she sees a woman looking over her.She wakes up again.
Bonnie shows Elena the secret coffins and tells her about her dreams. She thinks the dreams mean whatever is inside will help them kill Klaus. She needs Elena to find the woman in her dreams. Her mom.
Bonnie and Elena go through descriptions of Abby Bennetts around the country, from the sheriff. Damon arrives with the answer: Abby Bennett Wilson is in North Carolina. A little compulsion speeds up the research process. He wants to go, but Elena doesn't want his snarky commentary along for the first time Bonnie sees her mom in 15 years.Bonnie asks what's going on between them."We kissed, now it's weird," Damon says matter-of-factly.
Caroline comes home to find Tyler in her living room. He wants to apologize. He thinks he has a solution for learning to resist Klaus' power over him. He called Caroline's dad, who's there now and willing to help teach him how to resist his sire bond since he know how to resist compulsion.
Ric finishes up lunch with Dr. Meredith Fell at the Grill and makes plans for dinner with her. Damon's sure she's damaged because of her hotness.
Ric mentions her ex is the medical examiner and Damon tells him about him being staked dead.
Stefan comes home to find Klaus on his couch. He wants his family. Stefan's not negotiating.
On the road to her mom, Bonnie wonders what it'll be like to see the woman who abandoned her. She'd rather talk about Elena and Damon kissing. Elena says it won't happen again.
Stefan calls Bonnie, she promised to call when she found her mom. Elena takes the call and tells him they're at the lake house for the night. He pretends to believe her, but he's standing in her kitchen holding the info on Bonnie's mom.
Klaus checks in with one of his hybrids to make sure he knows the plan. The hybrid goes and knocks on a house's door. Bonnie's mom answers.
Bonnie and Elena arrive at the house. They ring the doorbell, but a young man walks up and says Abby's not home. Bonnie explains Abby's her mom. He's Jamie. He invites them in. He explains that Abby's like his surrogate mother. She dated his dad a long time ago and took him in after his dad bailed. She put him through school.
Abby comes home. Bonnie meets her mom.
Caroline's dad hooks Tyler up to chains in dungeon and explains that the sire bond comes from feeling a debt. Tyler has to make himself turn then he won't feel like he owes Klaus anything for taking that away.Tyler isn't looking forward to breaking every bone in his body, but is willing to give it a try to have his freedom. He steps away from them and starts turning.
Back with Abby, she serves them snacks. Abby explains Elena's mom Miranda was her best friend, but she's the reason Abby left.
Fifteen years ago a vampire came to town looking for the doppelganger, Elena. No one could kill him, so she cast a spell to desiccate him in a crypt in Charlotte. It was Mikael.It took all of her power and nearly killed her. Her powers never came back.
Bonnie is upset and says it was a mistake to come, since she can't help without magic. Elena goes outside to give them room to talk.
She runs into Stefan.
Damon checks out Dr. Fell at the hospital. She signed her ex-boyfriend's death certificate. She suggests the bigger mystery is how Alaric came into the hospital on his deathbed and walked out without a scratch. Damon turns to leave, and she jabs a needle into his neck.
While he's out cold, she draws some of his blood.
Down in the cellar, Tyler continues writhing in pain and contorting as he changes. He wants to quit, but Bill won't let him. Bill tells him to keep going and Tyler agrees and tells Caroline to leave.
After she's gone, Bill picks up an ax and whacks at Tyler to make him angry. He tells Tyler that his bond to Klaus is endangering Caroline so he can either turn now or Bill will finish him.
Bonnie asks her mom to just be honest with her. Abby says she ran because she saw a chance for a new life. She thought Bonnie would be OK with her dad and Grams. She doesn't know Grams died.Bonnie tells her.Abby asks how she can help.
Jamie hears Stefan and Elena arguing and intervenes. Stefan grabs Jamie around the neck and compells him to leave, but after a second, Jamie comes back with a shotgun. He's already compelled. He blasts Stefan with wood chips.
Inside, Abby hears the noise and dumps herbs into her palm, then puts her hand over Bonnie's mouth.
Damon visits Alaric and tells him Meredith vervaned him and took his blood. He thinks he helped Alaric by proving she's psycho.
Jamie ties Elena up in the barn and she sees Abby dragging Bonnie into her car. Stefan is incapacitated from the unhealing gunshot.
Tyler struggles against his chains in the basement. He tells Bill they're not strong enough and he should run. Bill takes off, but Tyler breaks free.
Abby drives up to meet Klaus's hybrid. She tells him she couldn't get Bonnie to talk. Bonnie wakes up and Abby tells her if she doesn't tell them where the coffins are, Jamie is compelled to kill himself. Bonnie says she can't. With the car door as cover, Abby takes out her phone and types a message for Bonnie to see: "Warn your friends."
Elena works to break free from her rope, but Jamie tells her he'll have to shoot Stefan again if she does. He tells her about the man who came by and that he is supposed to kill himself if Bonnie doesn't lead them to the coffins. Elena clarifies what he said about her. Jamie isn't supposed to hurt her. She tells him her ropes are tight and he comes to check.
She breaks free, grabs his shotgun and knocks him out with it. She starts digging the wood chips out of Stefan.
Damon checks on the witch house and finds Klaus already there. He insults the witches and they punish him with crippling pain. When he says his hybrid is about to end the Bennett line, they release him and show him the coffins. But the fourth is gone.
Bonnie warned him. He had time to move it.
Alaric confronts Meredith at the hospital. As they're talking, Bill Forbes is wheeled in, bloodied on a stretcher.
Elena finishes digging the wood chips out of Stefan. He thinks she's stronger and tougher. She picks this moment to tell him she kissed Damon.Stefan says nothing and walks away.Bill Forbes is bit over half of his body. Meredith says he's not going to make it. Then she takes out a vial of vampire blood. She tells Alaric she cheats. She hates when people die, so when she can stop it, she does. She injects Bill with the blood.
Elena finds Stefan. He says he shouldn't have pulled the stunt with the bridge, but says she shouldn't have lied to him about her road trip with Bonnie.
Stefan tells her she's better than Damon, better than both of them.
Bonnie tells her mom that Jamie's safe. She still wants to help Bonnie."You can't. You have no magic and I don't trust you," Bonnie says.
Abby explains her magic got weaker when she was away from Bonnie; she thinks Bonnie can help her get it back.
Tyler checks on Bill in the hospital. He knows how he's better, and isn't angry at Tyler. Tyler says he feels a little bit more like himself. Bill tells him it's time for him to turn again, until it's painless. Until he's in control, he's not allowed near Caroline.
Alaric shows Meredith his bag of vampire hunting goodies. He tells her about his ring. She slips it off and he flinches. They're kissing when Elena comes home.Meredith leaves.Elena tells him he's allowed to move on after Jenna.
Stefan comes home. Damon asks about Elena. Stefan decks him. Damon moves on, showing Stefan the white ash dagger.
Cut to Klaus, not planning to open the coffins. Suddenly, his hybrid's heart is ripped out from behind. Elijah is awake. "What'd I miss?" he asks.

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Sheriff Forbes delivers some disturbing news to Alaric and Elena about the weapon used in a recent murder. In the Salvatore brothers' escalating quest to kill Klaus, Stefan turns to Bonnie and Abby, while Damon reaches out to an old acquaintance for help in setting up an elaborate plan. Intent on a plan of his own, Klaus hosts a strange dinner party, where he reveals another story from his family's violent past until an unexpected guest brings the party to an end. Meanwhile, Caroline is heartbroken when she is unable to stop a tragedy from unfolding.
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Elena is surprised to receive an invitation to a formal ball, and when Damon and Stefan hear the party is being hosted at Klaus's newly renovated mansion, they both insist on attending the event with her. Caroline and Matt also receive invitations to the ball from unexpected admirers. At the elegant party, Elena learns of a horrifying plan that could lead to numerous deaths and she must decide who she can trust wither her new information. Caroline discovers a side of Klaus no one would have suspected. Finally, after an evening of violence and dashed hopes, Damon finds a new way to cope.
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After starting her day with a startling discovery of Damons' latest indiscretion, Elena is frustrated to find that none of her friends agree with her on how they should react to the Original family's internal power struggle. Once again caught up in the destiny of the Bennett witches, Bonnie and Abby find themselves playing a part in a ritual to appease the spirits of nature. When Elijah gives Damon and Stefan a dangerous ultimatum that puts Elena in danger, they turn to Alaric and Meredith for help with a plan that leads them to a terrible choice.
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The present-day murders in Mystic Falls remind Damon of a similar crime spree a century earlier. In flashbacks to 1912, Damon recalls a beautiful vampire, Sage, who showed him a whole new way to exist. Sheriff Forbes warns Damon not to get involved in her investigation, but Damon is convinced she's going after the wrong suspect. Elena and Matt resort to breaking and entering in their search for evidence to prove Dr. Fell is a murderer. For reasons known only to her, Rebekah, becomes interested in locating one of the town's oldest landmarks. Finally, Elena comes to a new understanding of the path her life has taken, and Damon makes an emotional confession to Stefan.
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Alaric (Matthew Davis), possible psychopathic serial killer, undergoes a CAT scan. Meredith (Torrey DeVitto) is hopeful there's a medical cause she can treat.
She tells Elena (Nina Dobrev) she suspected Alaric after he mentioned his ring. She remembered something her grandmother had told her about Samantha Gilbert and her secret journal. She felt bad he couldn't control himself. She wants to help.
In the CAT scan, Alaric contemplates his possibly killer reflection and freaks out. He takes a deep breath and goes stone-faced.The results show everything is normal.
Alaric tells Elena he doesn't believe he killed anyone, but he also doesn't want the ring anymore.
Damon (Ian Somerhalder) stops by, nonchalant about the whole thing. Elena immediately brings up seeing Stefan feed on a woman. Damon says he made Stefan (Paul Wesley) do it because they're vampires, "predators, not puppies."
"Stefan has built himself a delusional wagon which he has repeatedly fallen off of, what he needs to learn is control," Damon says.
Elena suggests Damon's not the right person to be giving lessons in self-control.
Caroline (Candice Accola) comes to Abby's house with a cooler full of blood. Abby (Persia White) isn't handling the transition well, she's rattled by not being able to feel her witchy connection to nature anymore. Bonnie (Kat Graham) doesn't know how to help her.
Alaric, Meredith and Damon head to the Wickery Bridge, which is being rebuilt. Half the town is there. They notice Rebekah (Claire Holt) has been asking a lot of questions lately.
"Tell me again why we're here?" Alaric asks."Ric, the world can't stop just because you're an accidental psycho killer," Damon says.
Carol (Susan Walters) wants the sign for the bridge from Alaric. He forgot about it.
Damon notices his old vampire pal Sage (Cassidy Freeman), his "hottest teacher". Rebekah saunters over. She guesses Sage is in town looking for her brother, Sage's lost love, Finn. She tells Sage that Finn left town.
Back at the house, Stefan pours himself a glass of blood but is interrupted by Elena. She came by to get the book about Samantha. She asks how he's doing and offers to help, but he's not receptive.
Stefan recaps the book for her: Samantha Gilbert was committed to an insane asylum, tried to give herself a lobotomy with a knitting needle, and bleed to death in her cell. He says if it's the same thing that's happening to Alaric, there's nothing they can do.She leaves him to his blood.
Sage and Damon take a stroll. Finn turned Sage long ago so they could be together forever, but Klaus broke them up by daggering Finn and putting him in a coffin. Damon knows Rebekah is up to something. Sage suggests they get in her head and find out. She thinks they can get in when her defenses are down.
Back at the bridge, Damon flirts with Rebekah. He invites her over and uses all his best moves.
Caroline checks on Abby's surrogate son Jamie, who's outside avoiding her. Caroline realizes he's scared of Abby. She tells him Abby needs his support.
Elena calls Caroline because Bonnie is still dodging her calls. She tells her something terrible has happened. She needs Bonnie's help.
Back at Elena's, Alaric looks through Meredith's files on him. He goes through the police reports, saying he was defending people in most of them. There's something not in the reports. He tells her he was the one who slayed her vampire cousin Logan Fell.
She asks why he never tried to kill Damon. He says he did. Damon killed him.
Damon comes home and finds Stefan gorging on blood. Stefan's angry at Damon for what he said to Elena.Damon warns Stefan to make himself scarce unless he wants to be part of a "Sage-Rebekah sex sandwich".
Jamie comes inside to build a fire and gives Abby a hug. Unfortunately, Abby gets a whiff of his blood and vamps out, biting him. He screams. Bonnie comes running, throwing Abby off him. Abby realizes what she's done and is horrified.
Damon and Sage wait for Rebekah to arrive at the Salvatore mansion. He tells her Finn isn't coming back.Rebekah arrives with wine. Sage and Damon start their own dance party. Rebekah chews on the piano player. Damon joins her. He starts to kiss her, telling her he wants her, not Sage. The plan is working perfectly.
Bonnie finds Abby outside, bringing her a bag of blood. Abby wants to leave. Bonnie convinces her they need her. Caroline reports Jamie is healed thanks to some vampire blood. Now, she needs a favor.
At the house, Alaric gives Elena a list of all his bank accounts and passwords, just in case. Caroline calls, saying Abby thinks they can reverse the damage with a spell. Bonnie's on her way, but doesn't feel chatty.
Bonnie needs something he wore before the spell. He suggests his wedding ring back at his loft. Elena goes to get it.
Naked Rebekah dozes in bed with Damon. Sage sneaks in and reads her thoughts. Damon sneaks out of bed and into the shower with Sage. She shows Damon Rebekah's thoughts about the white oak tree.
Downstairs, Damon starts looking for their old milling records. He asks Sage to go upstairs and keep Rebekah distracted.
He finds records from 1912. There's an entry about Wickery bridge.
Elena arrives at Alaric's and finds Stefan waiting. She thinks he doesn't want to be around her, but he tells her he just can't be around her because he's not in control.
He found newspaper articles about Samantha Gilbert. She killed a nurse and a guard when she was in the mental hospital, where she had no personal effects, not even the ring.So the behavior could happen even without the ring.
Cut to Alaric waking up on Meredith's couch. He gets up and drains her tranquilizer syringes.
Damon burns the 1912 book. Sage reports Rebekah is gone. He tells her the book showed the white oak was used to make the Wickery bridge. She points out this is a problem for her, because of Finn. She threatens him. He offers a deal, she helps him kill Rebekah and he'll leave Finn alone.
Going through Alaric's things looking for the ring, Stefan and Elena find pictures of Alaric's victims.
Damon comes down after getting dressed and finds Sage is gone.
Stefan finds a file on Jeremy Gilbert. There's a note telling him to continue on his work and cleanse the council. It reads like a hit list of council members.
Elena finds Alaric's wedding ring.
At Meredith's house, Alaric confronts her coolly and asks if she feels remorse, as a member of the council who didn't protect the town from vampires. He picks up a knife and approaches her. He lunges at her and slices her. She pours hot coffee on him and runs. He chases her up the stairs and tries to lock herself in the bathroom. She stabs him in the hand with scissors and locks the last door. Meredith's cut badly.
Damon tears into town and finds Rebekah standing at the Wickery bridge as it burns. She taunts him and saunters off.Sage is there. She points out he lied to her. Since all the originals are linked, Finn would die if Rebekah did. She read his thoughts, too. He threatens to kill her, but he's no match for her 900 years. Damon tells her about Finn volunteering to kill himself to end them all.
Angrily, Damon promises when he finds a way to kill them all, he'll start with Finn.
Stefan and Elena return to the house and notice something amiss. Alaric comes down the stairs with his hand bandaged. He says Meredith got called to the hospital. He hurt his hand on a coffee mug. Elena lies about meeting up with Stefan and finding his ring.
He says he's going to get it. She sees the bloody knife.Before he can do anything, Stefan chokes him from behind, knocking him out.
Stefan smells blood and goes upstairs, telling Elena he's going to need her help.
They find Meredith passed out and covered in blood. Stefan immediately vamps out. He then takes a moment and gets it under control. He feeds Meredith his blood.
Alaric wakes up in bed with Damon watching over him. Damon tells Alaric that Bonnie did a spell. Alaric notices his hand is hurt and asks if something happened. Damon tells him he has an alter-ego hell bent on killing council members. Alaric asks about Meredith. Damon says she'll be fine.
Bonnie finds Elena. Abby says all the dying and coming back might have chipped away at Alaric's psyche. She gives Elena herbs to bind the spell. Elena asks about Abby. Bonnie says she's going to go stay with her. Elena apologizes again. Bonnie hugs her forgives her.
Back at the house, Jamie and Caroline plant the garden. Caroline finds Abby inside writing a letter. Caroline realizes she's leaving. Abby says she doesn't know how to do this.
"Be a vampire or be a parent?" Caroline demands, saying she can teacher her how to be a vampire.She tells her Bonnie is not better off without her. She asks her to stay, but Abby picks up her things and leaves.
Elena contemplates her empty house. She calls Jeremy (Steven R. McQueen). She doesn't tell him about Alaric, but says she misses him.
At home, Stefan has a drink in the morning. He's toasting control.
Stefan notices Damon is feeling chipper. He unveils his package: Alaric's sign for the Wickery Bridge made from the white oak tree. They have a weapon."Game's back on, brother. Let's go kill some originals," Damon says.
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Elena drops by Alaric's with muffins. Damon won't let her in.
After she walks away, we see what he was hiding from her -- Alaric at a table saw, cutting down the white oak Wickery Bridge sign to make stakes.
Stefan suggests sharper points. "We finally have our own stakes to kill an original, I'm not going to miss because you can't whittle," Stefan tells Damon.
When it's all underway, Alaric announces he's going to call Sheriff Forbes and turn himself in. Stefan explains they have Originals to kill first. Damon gives Ric his ring back."You're going vampire hunting, Ric -- wear it," Damon says.
Out in the woods, Elena breaks the news to Caroline that Alaric killed her dad. Elena thinks Alaric is a victim of something supernatural, just like everyone else.
Matt joins them. The Salvatores arrive, having texted everyone. Bonnie can't make it, they assume she's mourning her mom bailing again.Damon tells them about the white oak.Elena realizes they have a weapon to kill Klaus -- a whole bag full of them.
Klaus finds his brother Finn walking down a street. Klaus is looking for their mother, who Finn says is off trying to find another way to kill them all. He's totally in support of that.
Klaus wants Finn to come back to Mystic Falls so a witch can unlink them. Klaus threatens to dagger Finn if he doesn't come with them, but Klaus points out it would affect Rebekah, too. Klaus isn't concerned. Finn walks around a corner and sees Rebekah is there, on Klaus's side. Klaus throws Finn around.
Back in the woods, Stefan explains that Rebekah is their target. They want Caroline to play Klaus bait again and distract him.Matt will distract Rebekah, Damon will pin her arms from behind and Stefan will stake her.They have 12 stakes.
They practice various scenarios.
Klaus drags Finn back home and shows him Sage is there waiting for him. They run into each other's arms. Rebekah excuses herself to go render payback on Damon.
At his house, Damon hides his stake with the firewood. "Did you learn nothing from the moonstone in the soapdish?" Alaric asks.
They hear a noise and Damon investigates. He's at the bottom of the stairs when Alaric comes flying down. He turns around and Rebekah drives a knife through his gut.
In the town square, Elena worries to Caroline that Bonnie isn't returning her calls. Matt notices Sage and Finn, visiting where they used to meet up. Sage tells him she doesn't want him to die.
Elena calls Stefan, who comes home to find Alaric waking up. Damon is gone.
Back at Rebekah's, she strings Damon up by animal traps on his wrists. She rips open his shirt, telling him she's going to bleed the vervane out of him so she can compel him to kill Elena or Stefan. She slices open his chest and neck. Klaus stops in to offer bleeding critiques.
Then he visits his witch: Bonnie. She's studying the unlinking spell, but he reminds her he'll kill anyone who comes to her rescue.She says she's not strong enough, so Klaus calls his brother Kol, who was on standby. He sends video of Jeremy playing fetch with his dog in Seattle.
Caroline visits Alaric, bringing him his witchy herb juice. She tells him she knows he killed her dad. He apologizes. She tells him about killing a stranger after she turned -- and she liked it.
She says she's no better than him. She's going to follow Elena's lead and choose to believe Alaric can be saved.
Stefan meets up with Elena downtown. He wants to proceed with trying to kill Finn while they have the chance, but she wants to save Damon. Seeing that she's not going to help him, Stefan walks off.
Damon slowly bleeds out in Klaus's house. In a dreamlike haze, he sees Elena approach and tells her to release the traps on his hands. She does. She carries him out, but he's weak. She says she's not going to leave him and offers him her wrist. He bites down, then he stops and kisses her.
And then he wakes up.Damon mocks Rebekah for thinking he actually had a thing for her."I get it, if Klaus bossed me around for 1,000 years I'd probably be pretty desperate for attention, too," he says.Rebekah stabs him and twists the knife.
Bonnie hears.She tells Klaus the way he uses people isn't right. He threatens to track down her mother and kill her, too.Klaus shows Bonnie vials of his sibling' blood and offers his own.
In the Grill, Sage and Finn do shots of tequila. A guy named Troy says hi to Sage and she tells Finn she turned him for back-up. She explains she's in enemy territory and they can't trust anybody.Matt and Stefan linger nearby.Sage orders more tequila and Matt takes out a vial with a dropper.
Bonnie starts the spell at Klaus' house.
Stefan texts Matt to get ready as Finns scolds Sage for turning people.
Sage and Finn knock back their shots and immediately spit them out. They notice the vervane and see Stefan leaving.
Bonnie chants and the mixed siblings' blood separates on the table.
Stefan waits for Sage and Finn outside and jumps them, but Sage quickly knocks the stake out of his hand and down some stairs.
Bonnie finishes chanting and the blood is in five pools.
Finn runs down the stairs and Elena and Matt pop out of a door at the bottom. Elena shoots Finn with a crossbow to pin him and Matt stakes him. Sage rushes to him and cries as he dies. He turns to shriveled ash and bursts into flames.Matt, Elena and Stefan all get away.
Back at Klaus's the blood is still separate and Klaus is alive.
Klaus escorts Bonnie out and she sees Damon hanging in the living room. Klaus taunts her to save the man who turned her mother into a vampire.
Elena and Stefan meet Caroline at the Salvatores. She sent Alaric home with herb juice.Bonnie calls Elena and tells her Klaus has Damon. She tells them about her unlinking spell. She's upset and hangs up, breaking down sobbing.
Stefan tries to storm out to deal with Klaus, and Elena fails to talk him into staying. But he's only out the door for a second when he comes flying back in.Sage is there for retribution, with her helper Troy.She tries to beat up Stefan, but starts bleeding from her nose and getting sick. She collapses on the floor and Troy starts convulsing, too. And then, like that, they're dead.
Elena and Caroline try to figure out what happened. Stefan suggests it's the bloodline. Finn turned Sage, Sage turned Troy and they're all dead. They realize if you kill an Original, their entire bloodline dies, too. So all vampires could be wiped out.
Back in the torture chamber, Damon sees Stefan and his bag of stakes walk in. He's really there. Stefan calls for Klaus, who joins them with Rebekah. He explains he has eight stakes from Wickery bridge and Finn is already dead. He offers to trade them for Damon.
Klaus asks how he knows there aren't more , then goes to Damon and compels him to leave. Damon can't resist. He tries to rip his wrists out of the traps.
Caroline returns to the Salvatore mansion after disposing of Sage and Troy. They still have three stakes, if they can figure out which Originals to kill.
Caroline was turned by Damon and Damon and Stefan were turned by Katherine and she was turned by Rose. They don't know who turned Rose, but hope it isn't Klaus.
Caroline realizes Klaus turned one of them -- Tyler.
Klaus compels Damon to stop ripping his wrists out then asks how many more stakes there are.Damon says there are 11 left.
Klaus rails against Stefan, telling him he's given him purpose as someone to rail against. Stefan has enough of it and charges Klaus with a stake. But Klaus points out it could kill them both.
Rebekah releases Damon, telling the boys to bring them the stakes and they'll let them live. If not, it's the whole wipe out everyone you love scenario.
Rebekah mourns for Finn, but Klaus is glad he's gone, calling him an embarrassment. Rebekah is appalled and tells Klaus that at least the Salvatores value family. Klaus plans to leave with the stakes and take Elena to create a new family of hybrids.
Klaus tells Rebekah she's as pathetic as Finn if she chooses to stay.
Back home, Stefan waits for Damon to retrieve Alaric's stake.
Stefan tells Elena he's wasted too much time hating Klaus, they lost. Elena says Stefan beat him by being better than him.Hating Klaus allowed him to ignore everything that was happing around him, he says.Elena tells him she never stopped loving him. Stefan says it's all his fault.
She asks what and he says the fact she loves Damon.
He asks her to admit it, but she says she doesn't know what she feels.
Damon visits Alaric, asking for the stake. Alaric looks for it. He freaks out, realizing it's not where he put it.Then he realizes he's the only one who knew where it was.
"No. Are you telling me that your vampire-hating alter ego has a stake that could kill an entire line of vampires, possibly mine?"
"That's exactly what I'm telling you," Alaric says.

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Elena checks on Alaric down in the cellar, bringing him supplies. Damon slipped in a copy of "Dr. Jekyl and Mr. Hyde". Ric thinks he should stay locked up until they can convince his killer alter ego to give up the white oak stake. Ric wonders what Klaus will do if they don't turn the stake over to him."Wage war, kill people. You know, Klaus stuff," Elena says.
Stefan is going to watch over Alaric. Elena and Damon are going to go to Denver to pick up Jeremy. It was Stefan's idea. He thinks she has some unresolved feelings for Damon.
Elena tries to talk to Stefan before they leave, but he just tells her to be safe.
Caroline comes to school to find Rebekah has overtaken her decade dance. The theme was the 1970s and Rebekah changed it to the 20s. Matt defends the 20s idea and Caroline storms out and Matt follows her.
Their show worked. Caroline has the free day she needs. Matt tells her to tell "him" he says hi.
Stefan brings Alaric booze to him help sleep and bring on the killer. Stefan joins him. Alaric knows they might have to torture the information out of him. Stefan needs to know if Elena has feelings for Damon.
Damon and Elena find Jeremy at the batting cages. They want him to talk to Rose to find out who sired her. Jeremy says he has plans with a friend first. Elena sees the "friend" too late, it's Klaus' brother Kol and he immediately cracks Damon across the head with a baseball bat.
Kol goes for a metal one but Damon picks up the bat splinter and skewers him first. He's not dead, but it will give them a head start.
Damon, Jeremy and Elena head for a crap motel to talk to Rose. Damon tries to taunt her into coming out. He tells them she spent her last day in paradise, soaking in the sun and she didn't fear death. Elena knows that's not how it went down. It was the dream Damon gave her.
Rose is there.
Caroline heads out into the woods, looking for someone. Tyler meets her."You have no idea how much I've missed you," he tells her. Then they start making out and head down for some cave sex.
Matt gives Rebekah a ride home. She's suspicious of his ulterior motives. He says there aren't any. She seems to believe him, and maybe is a little sweet on him.
Inside the house, Rebekah is not pleased to see her mother Esther has returned.Rebekah asks for one good reason she shouldn't kill her."Because I'm dying," Esther says.
Rose talks through Jeremy. She says she's enjoying the other side, including not having to run.Rose tells Jeremy to tell Damon he's still dripping with sex and she misses him. She says she's rooting for him and Elena.Jeremy isn't sure what to make of it.
She says Mary Porter sired her. Damon knows her as "Scary Mary" but she doesn't know where she is. Rose is going to do some recon.
Stefan and Alaric hang out. He figures his alter ego must hate him, since he's a drinking buddy with vampires. He thinks they're the same.Stefan says it's just the darkest parts of him.Klaus joins them.
Stefan explains that killing one Original kills the whole bloodline. Klaus breaks Alaric's neck out to speed things along.
Later, Stefan and Damon catch up on the phone. Alaric was wearing his ring. Damon mentions they're holed up in a motel, but doesn't mention Jeremy is with them.
Jeremy asks Elena what's going on with Damon but he comes back before Elena has to think of an answer.
Back at Original HQ, Esther explains that she's drawing her power from the Bennett line and her connection was severed when Abby died. Her body is dying. Rebekah isn't feeling sympathetic because her mother tried to kill her and her siblings.
Esther tells Rebekah she's been watching over her all this time, but she never should have lived a thousand years. Rebekah says she hasn't lived at all.Esther collapses.
Klaus comes home and sees his dead mother on the floor.
Tyler and Caroline bask in their after glow. Tyler says he feels freer but he's not sure he broke the sire bond. He turned about 100 times in the Appalachian mountains.Caroline explains about the bloodlines and that if Damon finds out they're not sired from Klaus, they plan to kill him. They don't care that it would kill Tyler, too.
In the motel, Elena pretends to sleep and watches Damon, with his shirt open, pour himself a drink. He notices her staring and she shuts her eyes. But only for a moment. He walks over to the bed and lies down next to her. She looks at him.
She's impressed by what he did for Rose."Why don't you let people see the good in you?" she asks.
"Because when people see good, they expect good, and I don't want to have to live up to anyone's expectations," he says.
Elena rolls away, but he holds her hand. She thinks about it but gets up and goes outside for air. He follows her outside (shirt sill unbuttoned)."Don't," she says."Why not?" he asks.
Then she goes to him and kisses him -- a lot. They make out ferociously on the motel balcony, but are interrupted by Jeremy.
Rose found Mary, she's in Kansas.Elena tries to pull herself together under Jeremy's withering judgmental stare.
Back in the cellar, Alaric returns from the dead, still himself. They can both see it's not working. Alaric takes off his ring and says Stefan has to try and kill him and they'll hope his alter ego has a sense of self-preservation.Stefan thinks about it, then decks him.
In Kansas, Elena and Damon go check out Mary's address. They go inside and poke around in the dark. Damon says Mary's creepy, but they still got together.They find her staked to a wall, dead. Kol beat them there.
Stefan wallops on Ric, who challenges Stefan to put more effort into it. Blood starts pouring from Alaric's face and he challenges Stefan to keep going. Stefan worries he won't be able to stop himself. Alaric says to bring out his dark side, Stefan will have to tap into his.Stefan charges him and throws him against the wall.
Alaric collects himself and seems to come up bad, taunting Stefan for being weak.
Kol taunts Elena and Damon, saying Mary used to be a bit of an Original groupie. Kol knows what they were trying to figure out.He picks up a bat and wallops on Damon, trying to even the score.
Back in the cellar, Badlaric isn't talking about the stake and Stefan gets impatient and puts him in a chokehold.Badlaric says it's in the cave -- where no vampire can get it.
Stefan walks out and locks Alaric in. He leaves to make a call but finds Klaus and Rebekah in the living room.
Damon puts himself back together and checks that Elena's OK. Then he asks what she's doing. She tells him what Stefan thinks. She doesn't know if he's right.
He thinks she came on the trip hoping he'd sabotage things and make her choice easier. He tells her he's not going to do that this time, she'll have to figure it out on her own.
Rebekah grabs Badlaric, announcing she's going to take him to the caves to get the stake. Klaus tells Stefan he knows about Damon's trip to Denver.
Stefan asks if Klaus is going to kill him. He thinks if he were going to, he would have by now. Klaus tries to get Stefan's ripper side to come back out. Stefan says he's accepted that part, so it can't control him.
"And neither can you. So unless you're going to stake me, why don't you get the hell out of my house?" Stefan says.
On the long car ride home, Rose pops up in the backseat, narrating for Jeremy. She tells Jeremy that Elena and Damon had a fight. She knows Jeremy doesn't approve, but she urges him to have an open mind. Elena makes him a better person, but he makes her a better person, too.
"Damon surprises her, challenges her, makes her question her beliefs. Stefan is different. His loveis pure and he'll always be good for her. Damon is either the best thing for her, or the worst," Rose says.
Caroline takes Tyler home to stay with her. She doesn't know what they'll do if it turns out Klaus didn't sire Damon, but she tells Tyler she doesn't want to lose him again.
Tyler finds the picture Klaus drew of her and gets crazy jealous. She insists it means nothing, but Tyler says he's going to find somewhere else to spend the night.
Down in the cave, Badlaric retrieves the stake but won't bring it to Rebekah. He tells her one stake means only one Original has to die. He offers to make sure it isn't her.
She takes a step toward him and crosses into the cave -- which she isn't supposed to be able to do.
"I want them all to die," she says. "It was easy to fool Nicklaus, but I thought you of all people would understand. After all, my son did use your body at one point."
"You're not Rebekah," he says."No, my name is Esther, and we have a great deal in common," she says.

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Rebekah returns to the house and presents Klaus with the stake. He throws it on the fire and tells her to pack her bags, they're leaving town and taking Elena with them.Rebekah convinces him to stick around for the Decade dance tonight. She has big plans.
Damon calls Alaric. He doesn't know if he turned over the stake, he woke up alone. He's going to leave town for a few days because he keeps blacking out so he's still a threat to everyone. He says he's taking Bonnie's herbs. Alaric gets off the phone and Rebekah joins him. It's bad Alaric, lying to Damon.
She tells him Klaus burned the fake stake without a second thought. She has Esther's body in a coffin and plans to return to it with a little magic and some help from a vampire hunter.
Alaric takes the dipped dagger from her and stabs her. She crumples to the floor, dead. Moments later Esther gasps awake in her coffin.
Prepping for the dance, Caroline teases Elena about making out with Damon but suggests she invite Stefan to the dance. Bonnie is going with Jamie, her mom's surrogate son.Caroline nags her to give Stefan a chance.
Back home, Elena calls him. She works up to asking him to the dance. He'd love that. Damon overhears.
At the hospital, Damon finds Meredith. He shows her the full jar of herbs Bonnie made for Alaric; he's not taking them.
Esther takes Alaric to the place where Klaus tore her heart out of her chest, the cemetery. The violence of her death marked the ground forever. She wants his ring, to bind it to the stake to keep the stake from burning up in its first victim.
He hands it over and she recites a spell, then dips the stake in it. She pronounces it the ultimate weapon, for the ultimate hunter.
Elena gets ready in her best flapper gear. Stefan shows up in a suit, with a single rose corsage.
At the dance, Caroline checks that Matt knows Elena is taken. Tyler shows up, jealous of Klaus and prepared to act sired if he has to.
Elena asks Stefan to show her some moves, but he protests he was blacked out for most of the 20s. They end up dancing to a slow song.
Elena starts to tell Stefan about Damon and the Denver trip, but he tells her he doesn't need to know. They're having a moment when Damon shows up.
Jeremy sees the three of them walk out follows. Bonnie stops him, asking why he's still wearing his ring given what happened to Alaric. He doesn't plan to take it off til his sister stops hanging out with vampires.
Damon briefs Stefan and Elena on the situation with Alaric and suggests they mercy kill him. Jeremy hears and storms out. Elena follows and promises nothing will happen to him. Esther shows up, telling Elena to come with her. Jeremy gets the boys, but she's gone when they come outside. They can't leave. There's a salt ring around the school, a boundary spell.
Bonnie and Jamie sneak off to a classroom. She kisses him, but Damon interrupts.
Esther takes Elena to see Badlaric. Esther says she's going to remake him using dark magic -- the vampire to end all vampires.
She says she spoke to Alaric on the other side each time he died, cultivating his darkness. "Vampires took everything from him, now he's getting his vengeance," she says.
Klaus shows up at the dance and asks to cut in. Caroline says no, Tyler says yes. Klaus dances with her and tells her he's leaving town tomorrow, he invites her to join him in a year or century, when she's ready. He doesn't think the small town life will be enough for her.
Klaus leaves the dance, leaving Rebekah a voice mail. He sees the salt. Stefan tells him his mother's back.
Bonnie recites a spell, trying to break the boundary spell. Alaric chokes Jamie to make her work faster, but Stefan bluffs that she's only trying to help Caroline and Tyler, she doesn't care about anyone else.
Elena tries to talk Alaric out of going full vamp, but he's determined. Esther uses magic to slice open Elena's hand to complete her spell. Alaric drinks her blood. Then Esther stakes him.
Bonnie uses Jeremy's blood on a map to locate Elena. She's still mad at Damon for turning her mom into a vampire. Bonnie announces Esther's fighting her and has more magic than usual. She's channeling a hot spot. Klaus knows where she is.
Matt and Jeremy, the only humans, are the only ones who can leave.
Tyler suggests maybe they should let Esther kill Klaus, even though that would mean his death, too.
Elena removes the stake from Alaric. Esther warns her he'll be himself for a moment when he wakes up. Esther makes her case for getting rid of all vampires, invoking Elena's aunt Jenna's name. She tells her that even though Jenna turned, she's at peace.
Esther leaves the crypt and finds herself in the sights of Matt's rifle and Jeremy's crossbow. She easily turns them on each other. They have no control and things are about to go very badly when Alaric stakes her from behind."Where's my ring? Tell me what happened," he asks.
Back at the dance, Klaus and Stefan realize they're on the same side for a moment. Damon joins them and Klaus brings up Elena.Bonnie breaks the boundary spell.Stefan thanks her.
Jeremy tells Alaric and Elena that Klaus took Esther's body. Alaric breaks the news that he's not going to complete the transition, he thinks he'd be too dangerous as a vampire. Jeremy hugs him but leaves angry.Elena blames herself.
Everyone waits outside the crypt, including Meredith. Alaric comes out to say good-bye, then shuts himself inside.
Back at the house, Klaus unstakes Rebekah and taunts his dead mother, saying he'll build an army to protect himself.
Bonnie and Jamie head home. He thanks her for protecting him. Her dad's out of town. He asks if she'll be OK by herself. She won't.
At the Grille, Matt pours Jeremy a shot and they toast Alaric.
Elena packs up all Alaric's vampire slayer stuff from his apartment, not wanting to deal with the loss of Alaric. Stefan asks her to come with him.
He takes her back to the gym. He tells her biting her after Klaus compelled him was rock bottom. He reminds her she told him then that emotions are what make us human.
"I don't have anyone anymore," she cries."You have me," he says, holding on to her.
At the crypt, Meredith gives Alaric a sedative and assures Damon he'll go quickly. Damon offered to snap his neck, but Alaric passed. Damon thinks he wants to be alone, but Meredith points out that's nuts.
Damon joins him, apologizing for killing him -- twice. Damon offers him a drink, Alaric jokes he's been thinking of cutting back.
Bonnie wakes up (fully clothed) in bed with Jamie. Esther appears before her. "Your sisters need you to finish what I started, Bonnie," she says.Jamie shakes her awake, saying she was dreaming.
Alaric falls asleep in the crypt. Damon finishes his whiskey and heads outside. He sees Bonnie there, but she ignores him and walks by him, then she cripples him with blinding head pain and walks into the crypt.
She stabs her hand, then puts her blood in Alaric's mouth.
Suddenly, he's awake and feeding on her. He picks up the stake, in all his vampire, vampire-hunting glory.
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Bad Alaric contemplates his new vampire reality in his empty classroom at school.
Tyler calls Caroline to tell her he has to go help Klaus move. He's planning to fake the sire bond until Klaus leaves town.
Someone -- Alaric -- streaks vamp fast through school, by Caroline. Rebekah is the only one there for the clean up committee and, as she reminds Caroline, she didn't even get to go to the dance.
Caroline offers her sympathy about her mom and Rebekah says the same about Alaric.
Rebekah heads to the gym and runs into Alaric. "You're supposed to be dead," she says."I am," he says.
He tries to stake her but Caroline comes to her aid and together they drive the stake into his stomach. He removes it, not dead. Caroline runs for her car but is fumbling with her keys when Alaric comes up behind her and snaps her neck. He drags her body through the parking lot, not minding that his skin is getting burned by the sun. Rebekah watches.
Stefan drops by Elena's and finds her painting Alaric's room with Jeremy, trying to move on from Alaric's death. Jeremy is rude to Stefan, asking if he's back with Elena and suggesting he give them one day without vampires.The doorbell rings. Stefan answers and finds Damon with bitten Bonnie. They have a problem.
Rebekah goes home and tells Klaus about Alaric trying to kill her. He's strong and stuck at the school for now. Klaus agrees to leave town, but wants to get Elena first to make more hybrids for protection against Esther.Rebekah wants to leave now and when Klaus won't, she prepares to leave without him.
Stefan tries to soak up the situation. Damon fed Bonnie his blood to save her, she had no idea what she was doing feeding Alaric. The witches clearly wanted him to turn. They try to figure out how they'll kill him. Bonnie says a witch can't truly make an immortal, there's always a work around. But she doesn't know what it is.
Elena gets a call from Alaric, who's holding Caroline hostage at the school. He summons her in secrecy.
Klaus drops by Elena's, but Damon and Stefan won't let him in. They shut Klaus out and realize Elena's gone.Klaus hurls a rolled up newspaper through the wall.
Elena arrives at the high school. Caroline is pinned to a desk with pencils through her hands. Alaric says Elena can help her, then stops her."How many times do I have to tell you? Stop trusting vampires!" he says.
Klaus finds things to hurl into the house, getting into a picket fence throwing war with Damon. He's about to torch the place when Stefan gets a call.
Alaric is demanding Klaus in exchange for Elena.The boys brainstorm.
Bonnie suggest a desiccation spell like the one her mom used to immobilize Michael for 50 years. Even with it, they'll need a lot of vampire muscle. Klaus gives them til nightfall.
Back in the school, Alaric tortures Caroline, putting a vervane-soaked rag in Caroline's mouth. He tells Elena it's time she become a real vampire hunter and stake Caroline.
Bonnie anxiously waits at the Salvatores' for Abby to arrive. Bonnie's not happy to see her, but they need her help.
Stefan and Klaus arrive at the school. Klaus tells Stefan he's still leaving town with Elena if their plan works. Stefan says he'll go with him to protect Elena. Klaus tries to needle him about Damon and Elena, but Stefan says all Klaus' efforts to drive them apart have had the opposite effect.
Bonnie tells her mom what she's after, but Abby says it's too dangerous because it uses dark magic. To stop a vampire's heart you have to find a balance among the living.
"What's that mean? I don't speak witch," Damon says."I have to stop a human heart," Bonnie says.
At the school, Damon tries to get Jeremy's ring just in case Bonnie can't restart his heart. They don't want the ring turning him into another Alaric psycho. Jeremy's not cooperating.
Bonnie gives Stefan, Klaus and Damon some of her blood to drink to bind them together so when she stops Jeremy's heart they'll have the power to take Alaric. They have to get a clear shot at Alaric's vein. Before he drinks, Klaus announces that he created their bloodline. They're not sure whether to believe him.
Inside, Alaric tells Elena that her parents wouldn't be proud of her being friends with vampires. Alaric tells Elena to kill Bonnie or he'll do it and make it hurt. He puts the stake in her hand.
Elena pauses for a moment then tries to stake him instead.He stops her. He thought he taught her better than that. He did.
She smashes the nearby glass of vervane in his face. As he screams in pain she frees Bonnie. Bonnie runs into the hall and into Klaus. He tells her to run straight home and stay there, they'll save Elena.
Alaric terrorizes Elena, telling her she doesn't deserve to live. She taunts him to kill her then, but he won't.
Stefan and Damon run in and grab his arms. They don't have him for long when he flings them both off, snapping their necks. Klaus comes in and tries to go "Temple of Doom"-style through his chest. In the woods, Bonnie prepares to stop Jeremy's heart. But Alaric flings Klaus off and she can feel the connection is broken.
Alaric gets the upper hand is about to stake Klaus when Elena shouts at him to stop.
She's holding a scalpel on her neck. She threatens to kill himself. She deduced that Esther must have tied his life to hers and if she dies, he dies. He calls her bluff and she starts to cut her own throat. He shouts at her to stop.
Klaus and Elena get away.
Elena wakes up at Klaus' house getting drained of all her blood. Tyler comes in to the room and sees Elena needs help. Klaus orders him to go get blood bags instead. Tyler struggles over what to do, then goes.
Damon comes back to life on the school floor next to his ringing phone. Stefan is there, too. Alaric wakes them up, announcing Klaus is going to kill Elena. He tells them he's bound to Elena so they better go save her because he's stuck till sundown.
Klaus tells Elena he's doing her the favor of keeping her from having to pick a Salvatore and tearing them apart. Elena fights to stay conscious as her blood flows out into blood bags.
Klaus leaves her alone and Tyler comes in. He frees her. But Klaus comes back."I'm not your little bitch anymore," Tyler says.
Klaus doesn't believe he could have broken the sire bond. Tyler goes to help Elena and Klaus charges him. He knocks Tyler down and Elena falls and hits her head on the desk.
Stefan and Damon arrive and grab Klaus. Stefan drives his hand into Klaus' chest. Tyler helps hold him.In the woods, Bonnie chants over Jeremy.
She stops his heart. She gets a dark rush of power up her veins as they turn black.
Stefan and Tyler hold Klaus as Stefan squeezes Klaus's heart to a stop. Damon checks on Elena, she's OK.Klaus' heart slowly stops beating.
Bonnie finishes her dark magic rush and starts on trying to revive Jeremy. It doesn't work.She pounds on his chest and he regains consciousness.
Klaus drops to the floor, desiccated.
Damon and Stefan walk Elena all the way to her front door. She says she's fine, just has a little head ache. She's not worried about Alaric hurting her, she's worried about them. Stefan promises to call when they get back.
She knows it seems like she's stringing them both along. "If I choose one of you, then I lose the other. And I've lost so many people I can't bear the thought of losing one of you," she says.
They're off to dump Klaus' body in the Atlantic."Be careful. Both of you," she says.
She goes inside and finds Caroline, Bonnie, Tyler, Jeremy and Matt having a victory party with shots.They toast a "Klaus-free" life.
Liz shows up at Carol Lockwood's house. Someone called a council meeting. It's Alaric. He outs them for their children, calling them hypocrites. He won't let them leave.
On the road, Damon's giddy."Klaus is dead, my brother's half-way sane again, give or take an immortal hunter that wants to kill us -- we won," he says.
Stefan says they make a pretty good team. Only took a century and a half.
Stefan asks what happens when Elena makes a decision. Stefan says he'll leave town if she picks Damon and in 60 years they'll go back to being brothers and none of this will have mattered.
Jeremy does some late night painting. Elena makes a case for the vampires she loves. Jeremy worries Alaric might kill his human connection, her, once he completes his task. Jeremy leaves for bed.
Elena starts painting but suddenly get a sharp pain in her neck. She drops to the floor unconscious with a bloody nose.
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Elena wakes up in the morning and rocks out to Pink. She puts on her cheerleader outfit and goes downstairs to breakfast -- Jenna and her mom are there. It's sophomore year.She wakes up in the hospital.
Meredith tells Jeremy that Elena is fine, she just has a slight concussion.
Jeremy calls the Salvatores on the road. They can't believe Jeremy took her to the hospital when all the originals are looking to kill her to stop Alaric.
One of them has to go back; the other has to deal with Klaus's desiccated body.
Meredith returns to her office to find Alaric waiting for her. He takes her vials of vampire blood and dumps them out. He's reporting her to the medical board and Sheriff Forbes and Mayor Lockwood have been relieved of their duties. He wants Elena released into his custody.
He goes to her room but finds she's gone.
Caroline, Matt and Tyler bring Elena home.
Elena remembers sophomore year when she was with Matt. Bonnie has a bad feeling about the bonfire tonight. Jenna's in town and Elena's parents want to do family night.Matt tells her he loves her and Bonnie notices she doesn't say it back. She tells Elena not to string him along.
Elena wakes up to Matt sitting watch. Tyler and Caroline got calls from their moms. Elena apologizes to him for stringing him along and says she can't do the same thing to Damon and Stefan.Stefan comes in.
Jeremy goes to pick up food at the Grille. Alaric finds him.
Matt questions the wisdom of not getting Elena out of town, but Stefan is letting her decide what she wants to do. Elena goes to the door -- Elijah is there.
At the Grille, Alaric asks Jeremy where Klaus' body is. Alaric wants Jeremy's help to find him and kill him to get rid of vampires. Once he's done, Alaric suggests they can put a spell on him so that Elena will be able to live out the rest of her life. The stake he has is the only thing that can kill them.
Elijah proposes he get the stake and his family will scatter for the rest of her life, prompting Alaric to follow them. He also wants Klaus' body and gives her his word he won't revive him within her or her children's lifetimes.They debate whether to trust him.
Damon weighs in via speakerphone, firmly against the deal. Stefan defers to Elena.Elijah just wants his brother back. Elena agrees.
Matt and Caroline go to the Lockwoods where their moms tell them Alaric outed them to the council. They want them to run.
Jeremy tells Matt about Alaric's proposal. Jeremy doesn't know where Klaus' body is, but Matt does. Jeremy calls Alaric and tells him Damon's taking him to bury him in the woods.
Jeremy gets off the phone and we see everyone is in the room with him. He reports that Alaric bought it.
Tyler thinks they should go and Caroline is willing to run with him, but she wants to help their friends first. They make plans to meet in two hours.
Damon meets up with Bonnie, irked that Elena sold their souls to the originals. "You know what else was her call? Everything bad, ever," he says.
Damon has him in a coffin in a storage facility. Bonnie's there to put a spell on him so Alaric can't find him with a witch. Bonnie asks for a moment alone with him. Klaus is conscious, but can't talk. She hates him for turning almost everyone she knows.
Elena worries about Jeremy and Stefan assures her he'll be fine. Elena starts to say something else, but tells him they can talk later. He thinks about it then goes back and kisses her. "That's just in case there is no 'later,'" he says.
Damon hangs out with the body, waiting for Rebekah to come get him. Caroline and Elijah are in place; Jeremy's going to lead Alaric to them.Damon can't believe Stefan let Elena decide.
Damon hears someone coming and thinks it's Rebekah. But instead Alaric grabs him around the throat. "You'd be surprised how competent law enforcement is when it isn't corrupted by vampires," he says.
He asks where Klaus is. Damon wishes him luck finding him in the thousands of storage lockers. Alaric snaps Damon's neck.
Matt brings Elena tea. It tastes funny, he blames it on honey."So, Stefan?" Matt says.
Elena tells Matt, for the first time, that Stefan saved her life when her parents' car went over the bridge. Being with Stefan helped her sort through everything after they died.
She says you should love the person who makes you glad to be alive, but when she's with Damon, he consumes her.
She doesn't want to chose one and lose the other. She wishes her mom was there to give her advice.
Back to sophomore year, Elena calls home for a ride home from the bonfire. She tells her mom about getting in a fight with Matt because he brought up marriage and college. She doesn't want to lose Matt by being honest about her feelings, but her mom says she'd be setting him free.
Elena wakes up in a moving car. Matt drugged her and is taking her out of town.
Alaric goes searching through storage lockers. Rebekah arrives.
She goes walking among the storage lockers calling for Damon. Suddenly a hand clamps around her mouth. Damon shushes her.
Alaric comes to the 1020 locker the coffin was in. He opens it. The coffin isn't there.
Rebekah and Damon wheel the coffin out but don't get far before they fun into Alaric. He grabs Rebekah and slams her face off a car. She goes down. Damon attacks but he kicks him to the ground. With Rebekah and Damon both down for the count, Alaric opens Klaus' coffin.
He stakes Klaus. Damon holds Rebekah back as she screams.
Klaus bursts into flames.
Damon tells her to run. He tries to take on Alaric, but Alaric swats him away.
Later, Damon calls Stefan. They both feel OK. They figure they have about an hour if Klaus was telling the truth. Stefan says an hour isn't long enough for Damon to make it back to Mystic Falls -- to see Elena. He thinks she made her choice.
Jeremy confesses that Elena isn't in Mystic Falls. Elijah and Caroline show up.
Matt gets a call about the news. Elena wants to go back, but Matt tells her Damon isn't with them. She has to pick which way to go.
Elena calls Damon, who still feels fine. She tells him Matt's taking her home -- to Stefan, Tyler and Caroline.
Damon asks her who she'd pick between him and Stefan. She loves Stefan and whatever she feels for Damon, she can't change how she feels about Stefan. She says maybe if she'd met Damon first.... She has to let Damon go, but he'll be fine and see him soon.
Damon turns around and sees Alaric standing there. He calmly says good-bye to her.Alaric punches him.
Caroline races to the cellar and meets Tyler. She's sobbing and crying and breaks the news to him about Klaus. He tells she'll be fine and to tell his mother that he left town like he was supposed to.
He's holding on to her as he starts coughing and is gripped with pain. Caroline feels fine. He wants her to leave so she doesn't see him die, he starts to turn into a werewolf and runs her off.
Elena gets the call about Tyler. Matt takes it hard.Rebekah meets Elijah in the woods.
Rebekah is sure that Klaus turned that bloodline, so they don't understand how everyone else is still alive.
Bonnie goes down to the cellar looking for someone. Tyler walks out, fine.
"I must say you really did that spell brilliantly, I didn't think you had it in you," he says."I did it to save my friends and my mother, Klaus," she says. (Klaus!)
Rebekah calls Stefan, since Klaus is dead, their deal is off. She doesn't want to keep running. The only way to stop Alaric is for Elena to die.
Cut to Elena and Matt driving back into town over the Wickery Bridge. Rebekah stands in their path. Matt serves to avoid her and they go off the bridge into the river.
Elena wakes up in sophomore year, with her dad in the front seat. He tells her they're going to be fine, right as she sinks underwater.
Alaric beats up on Damon, who refuses to fight back. Alaric thinks his friendship with Damon made him weak.
Damon remembers that same bonfire night, seeing Elena on the phone. He goes over and talks to her, thinking she's Katherine.She tells him she got into a fight with her boyfriend over the future. He says she knows what she wants, a love that consumes her, passion, adventure and even a little danger.She asks what he wants, but her parents drive up.
He compels her to forget they ever met, saying he can't have people know he's in town yet.
Alaric continues beating on Damon and then kneels down with his stake. He starts to drive it in, but Damon fights back.
Elena wakes up in the car underwater. She remembers the last time she was there with her parents as she struggles to wake Matt up and break the window.
She mouthed "I love you" to her dad underwater and passed out. Stefan swam down and her dad pointed at her for Stefan to save her first.
In the present, Stefan swims down again and Elena points at Matt for Stefan to save him first. He resists but she's insistent. Stefan swims away with Matt leaving Elena underwater.
Damon is fighting Alaric when suddenly Alaric grabs at his chest, weak. He starts to turn grey. Damon realizes what's happened and holds on to him.
Jeremy leaves a message for Matt and comes downstairs to see Alaric standing there. It's good Ric. He wanted to say good-bye and there he was. He tells Jeremy he'll never be alone.Jeremy realizes Alaric is a ghost. But then that means Elena....
Cut to Elena, dead. Stefan cries over her.
Damon races in to the hospital. Meredith stops him. She tells him when Jeremy brought her in earlier her injuries were much worse than she let on. Elena had a cerebral hemorrhage."I helped her, she needed my help," Meredith says pointedly."You what?!" Damon says.
Damon realizes what Meredith is saying. Elena had vampire blood in her system. And then she died.Cut to Elena dead on a slab -- then opening her eyes and gasping for breath.
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Elena (Nina Dobrev) wakes up to loud noises, lawn mowers, bells, birds, everything crashing in on her. She's home in bed with Stefan (Paul Wesley) and Damon (Ian Somerhalder) watching over her.Stefan tells her she was in an accident. Matt is fine.
They tell her Meredith (Torrey DeVitto) healed her with vampire blood earlier. She had it in her system when she and Matt (Zach Roerig) crashed.She realizes what this means."Am I dead?" she asks.
Stefan tells her Bonnie (Kat Graham) is looking for a loophole before she has to feed or die in 24 hours. She doesn't want to be a vampire."Your choice Elena, as always," Damon says sarcastically.
Down in the kitchen, Damon questions Stefan's choice to save Matt first.
Upstairs, Elena's gums start to ache. Jeremy (Steven R. McQueen) checks on her, remembering how bad the transformation was for Vicki. Elena is tense and distracted. "I need my sister, not another one of them," Jeremy says.The light bulb from a lamp sizzles in Elena's brain. She grabs it and breaks it with her bare hands.
Bonnie stands over the dead-for-now body of Klaus (Joseph Morgan) in his coffin. His current vessel, Tyler (Michael Trevino), appears. He wants her to put him back in his body. She points out he needs Elena human to have an endless blood supply to make his hybrids. That's her priority. He reminds her to tell no one what's going on.
At the hospital, Pastor Young (Michael Reilly Burke) swoops in on orders from the Council. He tells Meredith that Alaric outed her. They're locking down the blood supply.
Caroline (Candice Accola) hides out from the Council in the hospital. Matt blames himself for Elena. Caroline hides as one of the Council goons checks Matt's room.
Pastor Young and his squad intercept Sheriff Forbes, telling her she's no longer on the job. They've confiscated the town's supply of vervane, including from the Salvatores.
Liz (Marguerite MacIntyre) calls Caroline as she's walking out of her house. Before she makes it off the step, one of the Council goons grabs her and sticks a needle in her throat.
At home, Elena tries a sandwich. It tastes disgusting. She can't stop thinking about blood. She assures Stefan he did the right thing. She starts laughing and can't stop. Her emotions are out of control.
Elena goes up to her bedroom and sees a scene with her and Damon play out in front of her, the one where he returns her necklace and tells her he loves her and doesn't deserve her, but Stefan does. He compels her to forget. She has the memory back, along with the necklace.
At Klaus' mansion, Damon visits Rebekah (Claire Holt). He rushes at her with a stake. She fights him off. Wooden bullets come in from the window, hitting Rebekah. She's skewered by an arrow.
At home, Elena comes downstairs to see Pastor Young and his guys holding Stefan at gun point.
Carol (Susan Walters) calls her son, Tyler (currently Klaus). She wants to make sure he wasn't with Caroline. She tells him the Council got her.
Rebekah comes to in the back of a van, strapped down with vervane ropes next to Caroline, who starts to explain the Council grabbed them. Suddenly, the van they're traveling in is hit and flips over.
Tyler (Klaus) rips the back door off the van and frees Caroline, who is thrilled to see he's alive. He leaves Rebekah, calling her "little sister."
Liz regroups with Damon and Meredith. She's locked out of her office by the Council. Liz knows Caroline is free. She doesn't know where. Matt visits. Damon grabs him, angry he's alive instead of Elena.
Pastor Young keeps Elena at a safe house. She struggles to keep it together. He's planning to hold her until Damon comes looking for her, and hold Rebekah until her siblings come. He thinks she'll turn over the white oak stake. They'll exterminate the entire vampire race for good. He serves Elena a thick juicy steak. She's transfixed by his jugular vein.
The screaming tea kettle sends her running from the house. The sun stops her long enough for a Council member to knock her out.
Out in the woods, Caroline is glad to see Tyler. She helps him take his clothes off. He calls her "love" as they make-out. She pauses, putting it together. He's Klaus. She's grossed out and wants Tyler back.
Bonnie makes a plea to the witches to save Elena. They aren't listening. Bonnie tells Jeremy about her back-up plan: to go to the other side and bring Elena back herself. She can stop her heart like she did his and Klaus', using her "new source of power," dark magic. Jeremy is not a fan of the plan.
Damon tries to figure out where Pastor Young is holding Stefan and Elena. Matt mentions the pastor has a cattle ranch with steel pens.
Elena wakes up in a pen. Stefan and Rebekah are locked up nearby. Elena has about three hours to feed or she dies.
Bonnie tries another spell. Jeremy watches with horror. She gets a nose bleed but keeps going as her veins turn black. She keels over.
Bonnie appears in the pen with Elena, who is growing weaker. Bonnie takes Elena's hand, guiding her to her feet. Elena can't see her but can feel something happening. Bonnie tells her she's going home, but her grandmother (Jasmine Guy) appears and tells her stay away from dark magic.
"This magic is dark, Bonnie. It is not nature's plan. Touch it again and the spirits will unleash their anger in ways that will make you suffer. Stay away! Go!" her grandmother runs her off.
Bonnie wakes up back with Jeremy, having failed.
In the cattle pen, Elena can feel she's dying. Stefan calls for someone to come in. He tells the Council member who comes that she's innocent. He shoots Stefan twice.
Klaus/Tyler and Caroline join Bonnie and Jeremy. Bonnie tells Klausler she angered the spirits using dark magic and can't do it again. That's not enough for Klausler, who starts ripping Tyler's heart out of his own chest, threatening to jump into someone else.Bonnie relents.
In his pen, Stefan digs the wooden bullets out of his body. He thinks Damon was right. She should have fed this morning. She appreciates he had hope.He tells her he loves her.She tells him she was on the bridge because she had to choose and picked him, she was going to him. "No matter what happened, it's the best choice I ever made," she tells him.
Rebekah watches the two crying lovers from her pen across the way and is moved.
Damon and Matt pull up to Pastor Young's house at night.
"So what, we just storm the place with zero weapons?" Matt says."Nah, we don't need weapons. Just bait," Damon says. Then he chomps down on Matt's neck.
Damon taunts Pastor Young to come out. He does, and sees Matt bleeding and holding his neck. He refuses to come out. Someone shoots Damon in the shoulder. He falls to the ground.
Bonnie recites the black magic spell to transfer Klaus. Tyler returns to his body long enough to see Caroline, and crumple to the floor.
Bonnie's grandmother appears again before her, telling her she was warned. Something makes her grasp onto Bonnie's hands and not let go. The black veins of black magic run through Bonnie and into her grandmother's spirit. "You've made your choice, now the spirits are taking it out on me," Gram says.
Bonnie is powerless to stop it. She watches as her grandmother is taken away by dark spirits. She breaks free from the spell and freaks out, wondering what she's just done.
Back in the holding pen, two members of the Council come in. Rebekah signals Stefan. They prepare to bring Damon in.
Rebekah calls for one of them, offering bribes. He approaches Rebekah's pen. She bares her teeth and rushes the bars. He backs up to Stefan's pen. Stefan grabs him and bashes his head against the bars until he falls dead, his blood pooling on the floor. He flings the body in front of Elena. She reaches through the bars toward the pooling blood. She's able to reach just enough for a taste.
Outside, Council members approach a fallen Damon to put him in captivity. He pops up, and quickly dispatches them. He kicks Matt as he lays on the ground.
"Go ahead, you can't possibly hate me more than I hate myself," Matt says."Oh yes, I can. It should have been you," Damon says. He steps on Matt and seems prepared to finish him when someone runs at him and throws him off -- it's Elena, in full vampire mode.
Matt stumbles into the pen. Stefan starts to help him. Matt thinks it's his fault Elena's a vampire. Stefan says he wasn't his first choice to save, but now he's alive he needs to earn it.
Elena confronts Damon, who admits he was ready to kill Matt."It was my choice to save him, why aren't you seeing that?" Elena says."It's a little hard to keep track of all of your choices lately, Elena," he tells her.
She's remembering everything he ever compelled her to forget, including they met first. She tells him to be angry with her if he doesn't like her choice.He tells her he would have saved her if he'd been on the bridge, no question, because he wanted her to have the normal life she wanted.
Rebekah comes home to find Klaus packing up bags of Elena blood. She's furious he saved Caroline in the van over her and seems to care more about his hybrids than her, his real family.
She grabs his bags of blood, reminding him she's the one who always stood by him. She squeezes his bags onto the floor.He attacks her, telling her they're not family from here on. He snaps her neck.
Elena and Stefan wait for the sun to rise. Now the Council knows who they are, everything's about to change."Yea, I'm sure Damon has a revenge plan cooked up," Stefan says.
He wants to reassure her. She won't feel pain or crave blood, but she will."It'll be the worst thing that you've ever lived through," he says."But I'll get to live. I'll be a sister and a friend, and I'll be with you, forever. If I want," she says.She kisses him.
"I'm going to get through this, just like we get through everything. One day at a time," she says.As the sun starts to come up, she says they should get inside. He gives her the daylight ring Bonnie made for her yesterday, just in case.
Pastor Young tears the gas line on his oven and addresses the Council. He locks the door as he addresses the group."Fear not, because I have been chosen to lead us in a movement. Here me loved ones, soon you'll be free to pass through the gates and we'll all reunite in eternity," he says.
He takes a lighter out of his pocket. They start to get nervous."We are the beginning," he says, as he flicks the lighter. The house explodes.
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Damon (Ian Somerhalder) tries to convince Stefan (Paul Wesley) his plan to start Elena (Nina Dobrev) on only animal blood is a bad one. Stefan reminds him how many vampires killed at least one person while they were learning. Damon thinks there's more risk if she starts on animals and isn't satisfied. Elena's compassion is her Achilles' heel and it's heightened right now, Stefan thinks one human kill would put her over the edge.
"She can't learn to control the blood lust if she never experiences the blood lust," Damon says.
Stefan takes her to the woods and traps a deer for her. She feeds and lets it go.
Damon makes his case to Elena. "Vampires eat people. You're going to be miserable," he says.
Stefan takes Elena out into the woods to try to teach her how to be a vampire. She's distracted by how good it feels when he touches her. They start making out ferociously. She stops suddenly and runs away. She throws up the deer blood.
A man explores the crime scene where Pastor Young blew himself and other members of the Council up. He finds a note left protected inside the oven.
At the Grille, Liz (Marguerite MacIntyre) accuses Damon of the crime. He assures her he always takes credit for his kills. The man who inspected the scene introduces himself to Liz. He's Connor Jordan, a "private contractor."
Jeremy (Steven R. McQueen) and Matt (Zach Roerig) unload candles for the memorial at school. Matt points out fire is an odd choice to remember people who exploded.
They're interrupted by April, who Elena used to babysit for. Pastor Young was her dad. She's been away at boarding school.
Elena calls Caroline (Candice Accola) and leaves a message. She's been having "adjustment issues."
At the cabin with Stefan, he brings her a bottle of champagne to celebrate her first feed, even though it was gross. She tells him it made her sick. He replies it took him a month to be able to stomach it.
Damon calls. Elena meets him at the Grille and asks if he blew up the Council. Assured he didn't, she asks for his help feeding. He takes her to the bathroom and bites his hand open, telling her not to mention it to Stefan because "blood sharing" is kind of personal.She chomps down. He loves it.
Tyler and Caroline are about to engage in "grief sex" when the doorbell rings. Connor invites himself in to talk with Carol (Susan Walters), asking why she wasn't at the Council meeting. Tyler comes down and shakes Connor's gloved hand when he offers it. He recoils in pain. Connor promptly takes out his gun and shoots Tyler several times in the chest.Caroline races downstairs as Connor reloads. Carol screams at Tyler to run. He leaps out a window.
At the Salvatore house, Stefan pulls wooden bullets out of Tyler. The bullets are specially shaped. If Tyler were a normal vampire, he'd be dead. The bullets have etching on them. They burn when Stefan touches them.
Elena helps lay out programs at the memorial service. She's having a hard time holding back tears. She goes to talk to April. She's worried what the town thinks of her dad. Elena takes April's hand, but the throbbing in April's veins makes Elena sick. Elena runs to the bathroom and throws up blood all over the place and herself.
Stefan goes to Bonnie's house. She's still feeling guilty about her Grams. She hasn't been able to do any spells without reliving what happened.He shows her the bullets. The writing isn't magical. He tells her about the new vampire hunter in town.
Elena calls Stefan for help. Connor knocks on the bathroom door and tries to get in as Elena furiously wipes up blood.Damon brings Elena a change of clothes as Connor waits outside. Connor tries to shake Damon's hand, but he proclaims himself a germaphobe. Connor says he's in "environmental clean-up." Elena finishes changing. She and Damon go upstairs.
Connor finds April preparing her remarks for the funeral in the church balcony. He walks up to her and stakes her in the stomach.
Damon gives Elena a bag of blood but she can't keep it down either. They don't know what's wrong with her. He wonders if it's her doppelganger blood. He says she'll be fine if she just drinks from the vein. She doesn't want to risk it.
Stefan sees Damon putting the blood bag away. Damon tells him Elena hasn't been able to keep blood down for days, even his. Stefan is immediately angry and jealous.
Elena goes in for the service, looking pasty and weak. Tyler is there, determined not to be afraid of the hunter.
Up in the balcony, Connor loads his rifle with April tied up on the ground next to him, bleeding.
Carol asks April to come up and speak, and When she doesn't, Elena wobbles up instead. As she starts to speak, all the vampires in the audience begin to smell April's blood dripping down from the balcony. "It's a trap, nobody move," Damon says as Connor peers through his rifle scope and waits to see who turns around.
Up on the stage, Elena smells the blood and struggles to keep it together. Damon goes to get her and walks her back to the pews. The service continues. Elena has a hard time keeping it together. Damon wants to go rip Connor's head off, but Stefan quietly pleads that he'll expose them all. Elena warns she's about to lose it. Damon's about to go, when Matt tells Elena to feed from him.
She turns and sinks her head into Matt's shoulder, biting down. Connor watches through his scope but can't tell what's happening. Elena pulls back, thanking Matt.
As the entire church sings, Tyler sees what's happening and interrupts on stage to talk about Pastor Young. He mentions he was his coach when he was young.
"He was the one who taught me how important it is to be part of a team, part of a community, of giving yourself up for the sake of -- " Connor shoots him.Everyone runs.
Up on the stage, Caroline pulls the stake Connor fired out of Tyler, who is fine. Stefan goes to help Damon with Connor. Carol Lockwood realizes she has to call an ambulance even if Tyler is fine, the whole town just watched him get shot.
Outside, Connor's in his truck when Damon rips the door off. Damon pulls him out and Connor shoots him multiple times, Damon keeps attacking, Connor get the better of him and tries to stake him, but hears Stefan coming and gets in his truck and speeds off.
Stefan punches Damon for helping Elena.
Back in the church, Elena finds bleeding April in the balcony. At the sight of all her blood, Elena starts to vamp out and prepares to feed. But Caroline swoops in and stops her, explaining that she'll kill her if she does.
Instead, Caroline feeds April her blood to heal her. Then she turns to Elena and tells her to help April forget. Elena has to learn how. She tells April that everything will be OK and she'll help. She tells April she watched the service in the balcony to grieve alone.
At the Grille, Connor asks Matt about the bandage on his neck. He says his girlfriend went a little overboard. Jeremy compliments Connor on his sleeve tattoo -- that only Jeremy can see.
Connor returns to his RV and reads the note Pastor Young left for April, saying his sacrifice was necessary and his death was the first in a war ahead.
Back at the Salvatore's house, Stefan gives Elena Scotch to help with the cravings. Stefan is mad at Elena for not telling him she's struggling and for turning to Damon. She gets upset and rants about how her life is a parade of funerals and she's overwhelmed by all the grief.
Stefan assembles a make-up funeral with Damon, Bonnie, Jeremy, Matt, Elena and Caroline, saying they need to make time to grieve.
Stefan lights his lantern for his uncle Zach, Alexi and Alaric. Matt lights his for Vicky. Caroline's is for her dad and Tyler's. Jeremy's is for Vicky, Anna, Jenna, Alaric and their parents. Damon bails.
Bonnie lights hers for her grandmother.Elena's is for her mom, dad, Jenna and everyone that the town has lost, "and for me, I guess."They release their lanterns into the sky.
Damon drinks in the graveyard alone and mocks the idea of the lanterns and pretending that Elena isn't going to end up "like the rest of us murderous vampires." He's talking to Alaric's grave.
He knows Alaric would say it makes them feel better and that's Ok.Damon says it's pointless because all that's left when someone dies is a hole in your life.
Alaric sits there and listens. Damon tells him he owes him big for sticking around."I miss you too, buddy," Alaric says as Damon walks off.
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Tyler (Michael Trevino) sleeps in his hospital room. The guard posted outside the door goes to investigate a noise in the hall, and gets jumped by Connor the hunter.Tyler hides in his room and attacks Connor when he comes in, but Connor quickly subdues him with an injection of a paralytic. He draws a vial of werewolf venom from Tyler's gums and leaves.
Back in his trailer, Connor conducts a home science experiment. He has files on Elena (Nina Dobrev) and Jeremy (Steven R. McQueen).
At the Salvatores, Stefan (Paul Wesley) plans to take Elena out to distract her from the difficulties of her transformation. Damon (Ian Somerhalder) plans to find Connor, take Tyler's werewolf venom, and kill the hunter. Then he'll leave town, per his agreement with Stefan. Whoever Elena didn't chose would do just that. Stefan thinks he's pouting. Elena being turned changes things. Damon's mind is made up.
Elena meets up with Matt (Zach Roerig) at their old make-out spot to feed off him. It's the only thing she can keep down. She pulls away early, because she's afraid she couldn't stop if she kept going.
Walking into high school they see a note enforcing a 10p.m. town curfew.
Tyler and Carol (Susan Walters) come home, where she's arranged for a pair of Klaus's hybrids to watch over Tyler. Klaus (Joseph Morgan) is back, not wanting to risk losing one of his hybrids since Elena has turned. He can't make more.
In school, Elena and Stefan get ready for what used to be Alaric's class. Rebekah (Claire Holt) saunters in, announcing her anti-curfew party. She invites Elena, then taunts her, mentioning how she killed Alaric. Elena throws a pencil at her. Rebekah catches it easily and whips it back at Elena, where it spikes her in the shoulder.
In the hallway, Elena is enraged over Rebekah, but quickly distracted when she sees the hunter in the hallway. She goes to the bathroom and cleans up. A girl named Heather comes in holding her neck. Elena realizes she's compelled. Rebekah follows, offering Heather to Elena. She tries to resist. Rebekah smears Heather's blood on Elena's face. She fights back against her vampire urges. They leave.
Connor pulls Jeremy out of class and gives him the file on him. He wants to know how Jeremy could see his tattoo, which is invisible to everyone but hunters or people who could be. He tells Jeremy to find him a vampire and meet him at his trailer.
Meanwhile, Damon inspects Connor's trailer and quickly sets off booby traps. An arrow goes through his chest.He realizes he can't pull it out because it's tied to something which looks like it might explode.
Outside school, Elena is angry enough to want to kill Rebekah. Stefan suggests they skip the rest of the day, then go to Rebekah's party and show her they can't be intimidated. Elena has to go home and change.Stefan explains what Elena is going through to Caroline (Candice Accola). Elena is turning all her feelings into rage because it makes her feel like she has purpose. She has to confront it and channel it before she can let go.
Tyler hangs out at home when a werewolf named Haley (Phoebe tonkin) strolls in. She helped him break the sire bond down in Florida and found him when someone from her old pack mentioned he was guarding a guy named Tyler. They're clearly close.
Meredith (Paul Wesley's wife) comes to help Damon out of his skewered-on-a-booby-trapped-arrow predicament. He didn't call Stefan because he's proud and stubborn. He wants her to cut the arrow out. While she works, he looks at Pastor Young's note to April, including the part about a "greater evil" coming.
Meredith thinks Damon is doing a good job pretending like his heart isn't broken.
At school, Rebekah invites Matt to her party, even though she killed Alaric and nearly got Matt killed. He ignores her.
Connor confronts Matt in the hall and rips off his bandage, to reveal Elena's bite marks. He holds a knife to Matt's throat and demands he tell him which one of his friends is a vampire. Matt tells him Rebekah. Connor knocks him out.
Damon comes home to find Elena rooting through his things. She says she's looking for bourbon to get through Rebekah's party. He busts her for wanting the last white oak stake.Damon heard Connor was at school from Jeremy. Elena doesn't want Jeremy involved, but Damon thinks he could be useful.
Meanwhile, Jeremy goes to meet Connor at his trailer. He didn't bring a vampire, but he tells him Meredith has a deal to get vampire blood. Connor says he has Rebekah's party covered. As long as they're drinking, they'll be dead by sundown.
Rebekah's party is packed with kids drinking. Stefan suggests Elena drink to take the edge off her rage. Elena goes to talk to April.
Caroline surprises Tyler at home. She can't believe Klaus has him kept at home. In the study, Klaus introduces himself to Haley, who has only heard horrible things about him. Klaus hears Tyler get rid of Caroline at the door and realizes why he's never heard about hot, young Hailey.
Elena offers April some of her beer. She says her dad would have smelled a gas leak and wonders if maybe it wasn't an accident. April leaves when Rebekah shows up.She takes Elena's beer and drinks from it. Elena's skin starts to burn. She realizes Rebekah has lifted her ring. Elena runs for cover in the corner as Rebekah tosses her ring into the disposal and turns it on and leaves.
Elena runs to the disposal and fishes it out, letting her skin singe until she's able to get it back on. She runs to her bag and takes out the white oak stake. Stefan finds her and says he won't stop her, but after she kills Rebekah, tens of thousands of vampires from her bloodline all over the world will start to die."Rage is a really powerful feelings, but guilt, take it from me, it'll destroy you," he says.Instead, he invites her to get on his motorcycle and leave.
Rebekah gets in one last jab at Elena on her way out. Elena executes a perfect gymnast's keg stand before she and Stefan leave.
Rebekah watches them leave but her vision starts to go blurry. She wobbles inside as her skin flushes.
Back at Tyler's, Hailey is gone. Klaus guesses their history: Tyler went to the Appalachians to break his sire bond and met a pack of werewolves, including Haley. Sexual tension ran high and inhibitions ran low. Tyler shuts him up. Klaus seems to be on to something.
Damon calls for Tyler. Klaus answers. Klaus won't let Tyler help Damon kill Connor, but Klaus is up for it.
Stefan and Elena go for a ride in the country. She gets bold and stands up on the back of his bike, enjoying the freedom.
At the hospital, Jeremy points Meredith out to Connor as she goes into the supply room. Connor follows. He finds Damon there instead. Connor walks toward Damon and is hit in the arm by an arrow, then another. The arrows are attached to Connor's own booby trap bomb. He can't reach his gun. Klaus steps out and says hello.
Elena and Stefan enjoy rolling around in bed with vampire urges. All of a sudden she pictures Damon and throws Stefan off her. Elena starts to feel sick. Stefan realizes Damon said Connor has werewolf venom.
At her party, Rebekah is still feeling week. Since whatever it is isn't the white oak stake, it can't kill her. Matt joins her and is in a sharing mood. "The truth is Rebekah, I think you're amazing. You've had a thousand years to learn, to grow, and to start fresh. And somehow, you've managed to throw it all away. Now you're alone, you're compelling your friends, your brother hates you. You whine about not finding love, the reason you don't find love is because you don't deserve it," he says.
Rebekah gets angry and quickly rips Matt's heart out. She holds his quivering heart a moment. When she drops it, Matt's gone.
Back with Connor, Damon and Klaus want info. Damon mentions the disappearing tattoo. Klaus is interested. "There's more to you than meets the eye, isn't there?" Klaus asks.Connor tries to stake Klaus. Klaus catches his arm, telling him he's faster than your average vampire. Klaus examines the carving on Connor's stake and realizes he's "one of the five."
Connor starts to pull on the trip wire attached to the arrow in his arm, saying he's faster than your average hunter. Damon realizes what's about to happen and dives into the hall. The supply room explodes.
With Elena sick in bed, Stefan calls Klaus but can't reach him. Elena sees Damon instead of Stefan and asks why he's seeing him. "Because you're a vampire now and part of you knows you're a lot more like me than you are like him," hallucination Damon says.
Klaus arrives. He's the only one who can heal Elena, and with what he's just learned, he still wants to. He feeds Elena his blood.
Rebekah wakes up in her bedroom to see April picking up Solo cups. "Picking up trash is a hell of a lot better than sitting home alone thinking about the family you no longer have," she explains.Rebekah offers to help her look into the fire at the farmhouse. April doesn't see how she couldn't help.
Damon and Carol survey the blown-up supply room, which Damon says has bits of Connor inside. Carol plans to cancel the curfew.Jeremy points out to Damon how helpful he was. Meredith is annoyed they blew something up near medically fragile patients. Damon suggests she buy him a going-out-of-town drink. She doesn't believe for a minute he'll leave. "I'm not your new partner in vampire crime. Fix things with Stefan and Elena, don't let your pride leave you all alone," she says.
Stefan waits for Caroline at his house. He wants Elena to be able to enjoy becoming a vampire, but he's worried if he joins in, he risks becoming the Ripper. "I love her and I don't want to hold her back," he says.
"But you don't know how to be around her and still resist that urge," Caroline says. Stefan can't ask Damon right now. He thinks Caroline can help since she's good at being a vampire. She promises to help him avoid getting too close to the edge.
Matt finds Elena at home. He wouldn't have told Connor about Rebekah if he'd known Elena was going to her party.
He rolls up his sleeve for her as she tells him about the rage's feeling driven by hunger.
She chomps down on his wrist but doesn't stop. He tells her it hurts. She doesn't listen. She's showing no signs of stopping when Damon comes in and pulls her off. He compels Matt to forget and tells Elena there's nothing for her to be ashamed of. She just has to learn how to be a vampire. He's going to each her.
Connor wakes up in his trailer with Klaus standing over him. "Congratulations, you just became worth more to me alive than dead," Klaus says.Connor doesn't know what "one of the five" means. Klaus tells him it makes him the most well-protected vampire hunter in town.
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1110 A.D.A witch recites an incantation in the forest and when she's finished, she sets down her cauldron of flame and lets the spell travel up the arms and onto the bodies of five (shockingly hairless for the time period) strapping young men. It traces tattoos over their chests.
PresentDamon brings Connor's things back to the house to go over them for answers, starting with: What are the Five?Damon gets a call from Sheriff Forbes, they didn't find Connor's remains at the explosion site.After Stefan assures Damon they're not fighting, Damon tells him he's taking Elena to college to learn "snatch, eat, erase."
Later, in the woods for "hunter defense class," Elena explains her reasons for going to Stefan. She can't feed on animals or blood bags because they make her sick, Caroline is too good at self control to understand what Elena is going through and Stefan gets weird around that much blood. So it has to be Damon.
They're crashing Bonnie's trip to look at colleges. The professor who took over her Gram's classes invited her.Elena assures Stefan that he's the one getting her through this. He warns her it's easy to get caught up in feeding.
Rebekah brings Matt keys to a new truck to try to make up for things. "If that's your idea of an apology, you should probably give it to Elena. She's the one you killed," Matt says.
Klaus sees the interchange and tells her she's trying too hard. Rebekah is annoyed to see he's still in town. He tells her the Brotherhood of the Five still exists and wants her help. But she's not inclined.
Damon, Elena and Bonnie arrive on campus and join a class on witches. The professor knows about ghosts, vampires and dopplegangers.
Elena worries she's a ripper. Damon helps her pick someone, the blond pretty girl who's self-absorbed and will be easy to separate from the pack.
Back at his house, Klaus has Connor chained up on a rack. Stefan joins them, wanting to know about the Five.Klaus explains: the Brotherhood of the Five was a group of highly skilled vampire hunters from the 12th Century BC.
Flash back to Italy, 1114Klaus and Elijah see one of the five in a town square lecturing about vampires and opening a box to reveal one who promptly bursts into flames from the sunlight. Klaus is unconcerned, Rebekah flirts with one.
Connor is the first he's seen since then. Rebekah fell in love with one of them and get lots of information on him. Klaus agrees to give Stefan answers if he gets Rebekah not to be mad at him anymore."Trust me when I say that hunter in there is the answer to all your prayers," Klaus says.
At the Grill, Matt finds April in a booth waiting for Rebekah. He tells Rebekah he's keeping the truck. April oogles Matt, but Rebekah calls dibs.
Stefan joins the women and compels April to forget the conversation he's about to have."Klaus wants me to fake peace with you so you'll talk about the Five," Stefan says.She says he'll just betray Stefan, so Stefan offers to smooth things over with Matt and give her a clean slate.
On campus, Elena approaches the blond Damon picked out. Elena compels her not to scream and is about to bite down when she sees a picture of the girl's little sister on her cell phone and loses her nerve.Damon is annoyed until Bonnie gives them a flyer for a Halloween frat party tonight.
Rebekah joins Klaus and Stefan for dinner.She wants an apology from him for breaking her neck, which he did after she wrecked his Elena blood. He apologizes.
Flash back to 1114Alexander the hunter dines with Rebeka, Elijah and Klaus, not suspecting anything because it was daylight and they were protected by their rings."We are but five men bound by fire and the last breath of a dying witch to a single cause: the destruction of all vampires," Alexander says.Alexander says they have a weapon that no vampire can survive.
PresentKlaus explains the unseen tattoo is a map to the weapon. He has Jeremy brought in. Stefan tries to leap to his aid, but Klaus removes Jeremy's ring.
On campus, Damon shows up as Jack the Ripper with Elena and Bonnie as his victims. Professor Shane is there and Bonnie goes to talk to him.
Elena watches a frat guy roofies a girl and she has her target. She takes him into the other room and compels him, then chomps down. Damon has to remind her to pull back, but she feels good."I want more," she whispers in his ear.
Jeremy sketches Connor's tattoo. Connor explains meeting a guy years ago who was a hunter and had the tattoo. He lost track of him and then one day the tattoo showed up on him, first in pieces and then more with each vampire he killed.
1114 ADRebekah breaks off making out with Alexander the hunter to ask about his tattoo. He says the sword is the key to reading it.She agrees to leave town and follow the map with him when he goes. He tells her about a special dagger he has for "a special kind of vampire." He goes back to kissing her, then stabs her with it.
In the present, Klaus explains at the Brotherhood came after all of them in their sleep that night.
1114 ADRebekah comes back to life to see Klaus covered in blood and Alexander skewered on the wall.
PresentRebekah explains what Alexander told her the weapon was to convince her to leave town: He said there was a cure. Stefan doesn't believe them.Klaus explains that when he killed the Brotherhood that night, the tattoos disappeared so they couldn't look for the cure.
Rebekah wants nothing to do with it and concludes Klaus only wants the cure for Elena to make hybrids. He brought Stefan in because he knew he'd want to save her, too. Klaus needs Stefan to get information on the sword to decipher the map from Rebekah.
On campus, Professor Shane shows Bonnie some of the things he has of her grandmother's. He asks if she practices.She tells him she doesn't any more because she lost control and there were consequences.He tells her there are other ways to practice.
At the party, Damon and Elena dance with unsuspecting college kids, comp down and don't even wipe off the blood from their faces because it's Halloween.Bonnie comes back to the party and her look of judgment snaps Elena out of her blood bliss.
Klaus checks on Jeremy's drawing of the tattoo. He knows it's incomplete, so Jeremy mentions what Connor said about it spreading with every vampire he kills.
Klaus leaves one of his hybrids to guard Connor.Connor chomps on the kid's ear, biting out his ear barbell. Now he has something to pick his locks with.
Back on campus, Elena feels bad for going through everything with Damon instead of Stefan. Damon says that what makes him different from Stefan the ripper is that he can revel in feeding on people and make it fun, as it should be for vampires.
Rebekah comes over to Stefan's after he calls. She admits she wanted the cure back then. Stefan wants it for Elena to save her before she kills someone and turns off her humanity. He worries she'd never get it back.
Rebekah envies the love they have for each other. Alexander promised to marry her, they even picked out a church."I know you want my help Stefan, but I just can't do anything that lets my brother get what he wants," she says.
He answers her question, if he could have children with Elena and grow old with her, he'd take the cure.Rebekah says that even after everything, she buried Alexander in the place where they were to be married.
After she says it, she realizes what she's said. It's what Stefan wanted to know. She buried him with his sword.Klaus joins them, carrying a dagger that he dips in something. She tells him she'd rather live her life than his, the man who no one loves.
Stefan says he's sorry, but clearly isn't going to stop Klaus.Klaus stabs his sister.
Klaus hurries to catch a plane to get the sword. He tells Stefan to put Rebekah's body somewhere no one will ever find it and compel Jeremy to forget everything. He gives Stefan Jeremy's ring back.Klaus reminds him no one, not even Elena and Damon, can know about the cure.
"If this gets out it could mean all our deaths," Klaus says."It's just you and me in this, Stefan. Some secrets are stronger than family."
Damon brings Elena home, chastened. She tells him she believes his version of what a vampire should be, but it scares her."You don't want to be like me," Damon says.
Stefan opens Elena's front door, explaining he had a few things to talk to Jeremy about. He says he has no news on Connor.
Elena tells him she learned out to feed but it was awful because she caught up in it. "I can't live like this. I'm feeling things that I don't want to feel. I'm becoming someone that I don't want to be. I don't think I'm going to survive this," she says."Yes you will, I promise. You just have to hold on," Stefan says.
Nate the hybrid calls for reinforcements for Connor. But as soon as he gets off the phone, Connor is free and he's choking him out with a barbed chain. He squeezes Nate's head clean off and his tattoo spreads into a pentagram.Cut back to campus, where the same symbol hangs on Shane's wall.
Connor walks in to his office."Shouldn't you be in Mystic Falls killing vampires?" Shane asks."Why the hell did you send me there?" Connor asks.
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Connor returns to his trailer with a head in a pillow case.We cut between him talking to Professor Shane and unpacking the head, which belongs to the hybrid that was guarding him. He tells Shane he met Klaus, but he's annoyed Shane won't give him more answers. They had a deal: Shane will give him answers when his hunter's mark has grown to completion, that's why Shane sent him to Mystic Falls, to kill more vampires and finish it.In his trailer, Connor draws hybrid venom from his severed head.Shane tells Connor not to hurt Bonnie, he needs her for his plan. When Connor won't make any promises, Shane says he'll keep her occupied."Just do what you do, the less I know about it, the better," Shane says.Connor returns to Mystic Falls.He surprises Jeremy at the Grill, putting a knife to his throat.Back home, Elena writes in her diary. She hates being a vampire.Stefan also does some journaling, saying Elena has been spiraling, but there's hope.Elena feels hopeless.Stefan resolves to find the cure for Elena no matter what it takes.Klaus calls from an excavation site in Italy to tell Stefan that Connor escaped and now has werewolf venom. With Klaus in Italy, there's no antidote. He again forbids Stefan from telling anyone what they're up to.April drops by the Grill early, telling Matt she's looking for Rebecca. Connor comes out from the back with a knife still at Jeremy's throat.Damon barges in on Elena, looking for Stefan. He realizes she didn't tell him about their dance party. Damon tries Stefan from her phone, but he doesn't answer. They think something's wrong.Connor won't let April leave the Grill, saying they have "history." Jeremy doesn't remember talking to Connor at Klaus's and realizes he was compelled.Connor texts Stefan, Damon and Tyler that he has hostages at the Grill.Damon, Tyler, Elena and Caroline are ready to go charge into the Grill, but Stefan -- knowing he needs Connor alive for Klaus -- urges them to come up with a plan first. Sheriff Forbes has the street blocked off, calling it a gas leak. Damon wants Bonnie there, too.But Bonnie is with Shane, for "witch therapy." He's made her promise no cell phones to concentrate. He wants to try hypnosis to get her practicing magic again. He thinks she feels guilty for what happened to her Grams and fear is the only thing holding her back. He gives her a taste of what he's talking about by getting her to remove her earring without noticing it.Stefan briefs Klaus, telling him to get the hybrids on board with his plan. Elena sees him on the phone.Damon studies the tunnels under the Grill from Alaric's maps. Stefan calls Elena to tell her who the hostages are.She tells Damon she wants to go in, but he thinks tipping Connor off that she's a vampire is a bad idea. She says she can handle herself, Alaric taught her and she's been training with Stefan.Damon zips over to a nearby crossbow and trains it on her to show her she's not ready. In a flash, she leaps on him, takes it and turns it on him."For someone who doesn't want to be like me, you sure are good at it," he says.In the Grill, Connor pours potions as April freaks out. Jeremy is still angry he was compelled. Connor shows him his werewolf toxin bomb. Connor tells Jeremy he wants to complete his tattoo to find out his story.Stefan rejoins them, telling them the hybrids are going to help. Elena takes note as he says again with certainty that Connor has werewolf venom, wondering how he knows. As they're arguing over their next move, Stefan takes out a dagger and literally stabs Damon in the back, knocking him out with vervane.Stefan tells Elena he doesn't trust Damon to keep Matt and April safe. Elena insists on going with him, but he asks her to stay behind, saying it's the most important thing he's ever asked her to do and to trust him.At Tyler's house, Caroline and Hayley run into each other. It's news to Caroline that Hayley has been staying there. Meanwhile, Tyler and Hayley try to talk Dean, another hybrid, out of following Klaus's direct order to attack from the front of the Grill and not fight back.Tyler tells him he doesn't have to do whatever Klaus says. He dares Tyler to prove it, over Caroline's objections, calling Klaus.At the dig, Klaus has unearthed the sword. Tyler tells Klaus he's not sired to him anymore. Klaus is not concerned, because he threatens to tell Caroline about Tyler's time with Hayley in Appalachia.Stefan calls Connor, offering to tell him about the Brotherhood of the Five.In the pantry, Matt looks for a way out through the floor in the old wine cellar. April is bothered by how familiar Connor seems.From the tunnel, Stefan hears Matt pounding.Klaus's hybrid Dea goes in from the front as Stefan approaches from the tunnel.Jeremy tries to convince Connor that not all vampires are bad, but Connor's not buying it, saying they all turn into killers eventually. When a friend of his was turned, he killed her.The hybrid avoids the trip wire by the front door, but sets of the pressure switch explosion. He gets covered in glass shards and Connor shoots a hole through him as Stefan comes in the pantry through the tunnel. Stefan gives Matt the map of the tunnel on his phone and tells him to take April to Caroline for compulsion.Stefan goes to talk with Connor, who is watching is tattoo grow. Stefan dodges shots behind the bar. Jeremy freezes in place when he realizes he's standing on a pressure switch for a bomb.Back at Alaric's Elena is freaking out after hearing the first explosion. Damon wakes up and they realize Stefan took his ring. Damon puts everything together and realizes Stefan either made a deal with Klaus or he's compelled.Elena wants to go in there, but Damon warns her Connor is dangerous."So am I!" she says.Damon is too weak, so he tells her to use the fact that Connor doesn't know she's a vampire to get close and kill him.Back in the Grill, Stefan tries to reason with Connor. Elena comes in the front door and begs Connor to let Jeremy go. Connor aims at Jeremy, counting down to make Stefan come out.When Connor gets to 2, Stefan stands up. Seeing he's about to fire, Elena tackles Connor, who fires, hitting Jeremy. Jeremy bleeds profusely from his stomach, but is still stuck on the pressure switch. Stefan tackles him off it. Elena wails on Connor but is distracted by the explosion.Connor gets on top of her and is about to stake her when Stefan throws him off.When Elena stands up, Stefan and Connor are gone.As Jeremy heals from his ring, Elena asks why Connor came after him. He tells her about being able to see Connor's hunter's mark because he's like him and being compelled. Elena is livid when she realizes who must have done it.Meanwhile, Stefan marches Connor through the tunnels but they run into Damon, who is ready to kill Connor no matter what.Stefan lets Connor go, telling him to run. Damon and Stefan fight but Damon pins Stefan against a wall and digs his hand into his chest, squeezing Stefan's heart until he talks. He tells Damon about Connor's mark leading to the cure for Elena.As Connor is running away through the tunnels, Elena springs on him. She chomps on his neck and tells him to stay away from her brother. He distracts her for just long enough to grab a stake from his ankle and ram it through her chest.But she's fine."You missed," she says as she snaps his neck, killing him.Back at college, Bonnie tries hypnosis. She thinks it isn't working, but she also didn't notice seven hours have passed.Shane takes out a candle, telling her she can light it and is stronger than the spirits. "You don't have to be afraid of anyone," he tells her.Bonnie tries to light the candle. It doesn't light, but every single other one in the office does.Alone in the woods with blood dripping down her chin, Elena furiously digs a grave for Connor. Stefan and Damon find her.She's angry at Stefan for making a deal with Klaus. Damon tells her it's complicated. She's wracked with guilt over killing someone.Tyler consoles Hayley over Dean's death. Caroline finds him holding onto her. Hayley gives them a minute. Caroline heard Klaus's side of the conversation with Tyler and thinks he cheated in the Appalachians. Tyler explains he'd rather Klaus think that than know the truth: that he and Hayley know how to help hybrids break their bonds to him."If Klaus found out what we're trying to do, he'd kill us all," Tyler says.Matt brings April back to see Jeremy, who can tell she's been compelled. Jeremy gives her his vervane bracelet. When he looks down at his hand, he sees a hunter's mark. He doesn't tell Matt.Back home, Stefan and Damon agree not to tell Elena about the cure they now have no way of finding. Stefan wants to look for the other hunters."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," Damon says.Damon asks Stefan why he wants to cure Elena. "You want to cure her because she's a vampire and she's not cut out to be or because you can't love her if she is one?" Damon asks."I'll always love her, but she's not supposed to be this person, I don't want her to be," Stefan says.Damon is fine with her either way, so if he does it, he's doing it for Stefan.Elena washes the blood off and writes in her diary about losing control and losing herself. She stops when she notices blood dripping. She turns around and follows a trail of blood to her doorway and into the hall. She finds the bathroom walls covered in blood and "Killer" written on the mirror. She slips in a pool of blood but when she gets up, the bathroom is clean again.
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Elena tosses and turns in bed, trying to sleep. She gets up to make tea and see Connor, the hunter she just killed, bloody and standing in her kitchen. He talks to her, asking if it's the first time she's killed a human. She calls for Jeremy, but Connor attacks her.She throws him off and picks up a kitchen knife. She drives it into his neck.Except that it's not Connor, it's Jeremy. And she just stabbed him. Luckily, he's wearing his ring.Elena calls Damon to help while Jeremy reboots. She doesn't want to talk to Stefan, he's been lying to her and she doesn't trust him. She's also angry he compelled Jeremy to forget who knows what."I think you killing him kind of trumps that," Damon points out. He continues making the case that she should have called Stefan until he arrives. Damon called him.When he gets there, Elena goes upstairs. She doesn't want to talk to him or hear why he was working with Klaus.Tyler comes downstairs at his house to find Hayley and Chris still drinking. Klaus is also there, angry that Connor is dead.Caroline comes over to drop off a box of Tyler's stuff. Klaus enjoys the "break up drama," thinking it means she's met Hayley.Klaus and Chris leave. Caroline and Hayley share a celebratory moment over fooling Klaus.Elena showers to get Jeremy's blood off her. She's clean but she still sees blood pouring off her.Downstairs, Stefan answer Klaus' call. He asks if Elena's hallucinations have started yet. Klaus drops by Elena's house and says that because hunters are spelled by witches, whoever kills one becomes their last victim. Klaus wants to take her away to keep her safe, saying she'll kill herself before the day is over if he doesn't.Inside, Elena continues to see Connor taunting her. She runs outside and Klaus immediately whisks her away.At school, Jeremy can't stop staring at the tattoo on his hand. He tells Matt his mark showed up after Connor died. They wonder if it means Jeremy is chosen.Professor Shane is in town working on an occult exhibit. April is helping him and asks Matt and Jeremy if they've seen Rebecca. She thinks Shane looks familiar.At Elena's house, Bonnie tells the brothers she can't do the magic to break the hunter's curse. But she says she'll ask Shane for help.Klaus takes Elena to his secret windowless room -- so she can't take off her daylight ring and kill herself. He went through what she's going through, tormented for 52 years, 4 months and 9 days. But he's immortal.He tells Elena that Stefan knew Connor had to be kept alive, but he won't tell her more.He didn't do anything to make the hallucinations stop, they just did.Stefan calls Caroline, needing to get the hybrids away from Klaus. She and Tyler tell him about Hayley and how she's helping hybrids break the sire bond, and Chris isn't sired any more.Meanwhile, Chris is assigned to guard Elena. When he leaves, Elena sees Connor again. He asks what it was like to kill him and goads her until she says she liked killing him. He starts in on her, blaming her for her parents' death. She tries to resist his taunts, but he suggests she kill herself. When that doesn't work, the hallucinations take another form: Katherine.At his exhibit, Shane presents a rock believed to be the world's first tombstone. April tells Matt she remembers how she knows Shane: through her dad.Shane tells the story of Silas, the immortal, and Ketsia, a witch who cast his spell. He says there's a legend that Silas wants to rise again and wreak his havoc on the world.Hallucination Katherine taunts Elena, saying she'll kill again and again until Elena is just like her. Katherine says when Stefan knew the real her, he hated her.Bonnie brings Shane to Damon. He shows Shane a drawing of the hunter's mark. He asks Shane about the hunter's curse.Shane says the curse lasts until a new hunter is born, from one of the potentials. Shane offers to get some info from his car. When he's gone, Bonnie wonders how they're going to find a potential, but Damon knows to call Jeremy.Chris meets with Tyler and Stefan.Wearing her low cut tank top, Caroline joins Klaus at the Grill. She asks him to let Elena go. He buys her a drink.Stefan wants Chris to let him in to see Elena. Tyler promises he and Hayley will protect him from Klaus.Katherine runs through all the bad things that have involved Elena, including Bonnie's mom being turned and her Grams dying. She tries to convince Elena to kill herself.Chris tells the two hybrids guarding the door that Klaus wants them. He lets Stefan in to see her, but she thinks he's Connor and stabs him with a fire poker. She runs off.Jeremy joins Bonnie and Damon, asking about Elena."We figured out how you can help her -- you need to kill a vampire," Bonnie says."Great. Get me a stake, I'll kill Damon right now," Jeremy says."Easy, Van Helsing. We'll get you one, don't worry," Damon says.Stefan calls Damon to tell him he lost Elena. Stefan suggests Damon go look for her.Caroline gets a text that Jeremy needs to kill a vampire and that Elena is gone. She tells Klaus what's going on.Elena walks alone in the dark, with both Katherine and Connor telling her she deserves to die. She reaches the Wickery bridge and thinks about it. She sees her mom.Her mom tells her calmly that this bridge is where her life should have ended. She says it'll all be OK when the sun comes up. Elena concludes she's a monster and deserves to die. She throws her daylight ring off the bridge.Elena has a change of heart, saying she can't leave Jeremy. Her mom tells Elena she'll be a ghost who helps him instead of a monster who hurts him.Her mom says Elena was everything she wanted her to be. "But you died and you were supposed to stay dead," she says.Damon finds her. He tries to get her to talk to him. Her Connor hallucination tells her the sun will be up soon. Damon notices she doesn't have her ring.Chris says good-bye to Tyler and Hayley, but doesn't make it out the door because Klaus comes in. Tyler and Hayley intervene and Klaus lets Chris go. But he walks out the door and into a knife. Stefan and Jeremy walk in.Damon tells Elena she's going through a curse and they know how to break it. Connor tells her not to listen.Back at Tyler's, Stefan apologizes to Hayley and Tyler. Jeremy lifts his ax over his head and slams it into Chris. He watches as his hunter's mark spreads.On the bridge, Connor disappears. The curse is broken. But the sun is coming up and Elena's skin starts to burn. Damon tackles her off the bridge and into the water.Elena wakes up in her bed with her daylight ring on. Damon fished it out of the river for her. She feels like yesterday was a nightmare. She thanks him for saving her and takes his hand.He takes a deep breath. "I'm going to take a very high, and annoying, road, and tell you something," he says.Damon tells her everything Stefan has been doing he's been doing for her. "There may be a way out of this for you, Elena. There may be a cure," he says.Caroline finds Tyler and Hayley drinking in the morning. Caroline tells him they didn't have a choice with Chris. Tyler is upset they sacrificed one of his pack for another friend. Tyler asks how she got Klaus to agree to give up one of his hybrids.Caroline agreed to go on a date with him.At the Grill, Damon settles in for a drink. Matt has news about the explosion on the farm. He mentions that April's pastor's dad knew Shane. Sheriff Forbes pulled Pastor Young's phone records and found he called one number once a day and then 10 times a day on the day of the explosion: Shane's.Bonnie thanks Shane for lending his records. She asks how he knows so much. He says he's traveled the world and studied."When your new hunter -- and I know you have one -- when he completes his mark, you're going to want to come to me. Because I'm going to be the only one who can help, trust me on that, OK?" Shane says.Elena goes on to her porch to talk to Stefan. She apologizes for stabbing him. He's not mad Damon told her about the cure.She asks why he sent Damon to look for her. "Lately it seems like he's able to get through to you in ways that I can't. You listen to him, you trust him, even when you can't trust me," Stefan says.Elena would love to get her old self back because the girl she's become is darker.Stefan asks if that extends to who she wants. He understands that her feelings for Damon have been magnified since she became a vampire. He says he could understand her feelings for Damon when he was the Ripper. "But I can't do this Elena, not anymore," he says."I know," she says.
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Caroline prepares for the Miss Mystic Falls pageant at the Lockwood Estate. She talks to Stefan as he works out his Elena break-up aggression in the woods. He thinks she's changed since she turned, all the more reason he wants to find a cure.Klaus sneaks up on him and yells at him for telling others about the cure.Back home, Stefan tells Damon that he and Elena broke up. Damon wants to find another hunter instead of having Jeremy kill enough vampires to reveal his full hunter's mark map to the cure. He was planning to bully Professor Shane, but he's wary now that he knows Shane was in frequent contact with Pastor Young.Damon offers to blow his plans off to "brother bond" with Stefan over some Tri-Delts."Let's not pretend that this isn't the best day of your life," Stefan says, leaving.At the Miss Mystic Falls pageant set-up, Caroline tries to convince Elena she's nutty for breaking up with Stefan. Elena says she's confused. Professor Shane joins them, he's a pageant judge.Between him telling Jeremy about the mark, getting Bonnie back into magic and judging the contest, they decide Shane is kinda creepy.Jeremy and Matt unload the party supplies. Matt struggles to lift a keg but Jeremy shows him he can easily lift two. He's had a lot of "energy" since he was awoken as a hunter. Matt suggests he talk to someone, reminding him he lives with a vampire. Jeremy is sure he'd never hurt Elena.Stefan goes to the hospital and reads patient's chart. He finds a guard outside someone's room and compels the guard to leave. Inside, he learns the man is a convicted murderer and really did it and would again. Stefan quickly feeds him his blood and snaps his neck.At the pageant, Klaus cashes in his one date with Caroline promise to escort her to the event.Hayley supervises a hybrid changing over and over again to try to break her sire bond to Klaus. The sire bond exists because hybrids are grateful to him for sparing them the pain of having to turn, the idea is to keep turning until it doesn't hurt, thereby leaving them nothing to be grateful for.Tyler drops by to let Hayley know Caroline bought them another day. Hayley insists she escort him to the dance to sell the idea they're a couple.Back home, Jeremy helps Elena get a necklace off, but starts choking her with it. "I really wish you'd stop pretending you're my sister," he tells her.He wakes up sweating in bed, a knife in one hand and carved wooden stake in the other. Apparently he was doing some nocturnal whittling.The next day, Matt worries about Jeremy. He reads from Shane's materials, which say a new hunter might not be fully in control. Matt tells him to tell Elena, or he will.Jeremy gets a text to meet Stefan in the Lockwood cellar.Elena and Caroline help April pick her dress. Elena likes the blue one until Damon busts in and Elena acts weird and decides she likes the one Damon likes. Caroline is baffled.She follows Damon out, saying they need to talk. Damon asks why they broke up."You," she says.They share a long moment, which is broken up by Professor Shane.Outside, Damon asks him for another hunter but he says he can't help. Damon asks how he convinced Pastor Young to blow up a house full of people."Did you just accuse me of mass murder in the middle of a high school pageant?" Shane asks, but he doesn't answer Damon's question.The pageant begins.Jeremy joins Stefan in the cellar, asking if he wants to make Elena human again.The murderer is chained up. Stefan slices Jeremy open and lets the murderer feed to complete the transition. Jeremy doesn't want to go through with it, but Stefan doesn't give him a choice.Jeremy stakes the man a little too enthusiastically.At the pageant, Caroline barks orders. Klaus shows up, looking dapper, which she finds really annoying.They notice the arrival of Tyler and Haley, in a short, red dress.Caroline begins the pageant with introductions.Matt can't find Jeremy and asks Elena about him. He tells Elena about Jeremy's nightmares in which he kills her. Matt steps in as April's escort when Jeremy doesn't show up.The contestants hit the dance floor. Damon can't keep his eyes off Elena.Elena calls Jeremy, but doesn't get him. She tells Damon and Caroline about Jeremy's nightmares. Damon isn't worried, but offers to go look for him.When he leaves, Caroline gives Elena an earful about how horrible Damon is. Klaus, of all people, tells Caroline she's making a scene. Elena leaves, hurt and in a huff.Damon calls Stefan, guessing what he's up to with Jeremy. Stefan thinks Damon only wants him to stop because new vampire Elena likes him.Down in the cellar, Stefan demands Jeremy tell him how the mark has developed, but Jeremy says no, that he can't trust him. Stefan tries to compel Jeremy, but it doesn't work. He gets a stake in the gut from Jeremy instead.Caroline vents to Klaus about Elena taking Damon's side on everything. He cryptically says it'll make sense soon. She urges him to find the cure quickly. He denies he'd ever want to take it.Tyler sees them laughing together and is jealous.Klaus starts reading from Caroline's pageant application from last year. He cracks her up playing keep away.Hayley shares a drink with Professor Shane. Damon is paranoid that they might know each other.Jeremy outfits himself with a stake and hunter gear and heads to the pageant.April sees him and asks where he was. She mentions that Shane said her dad didn't seem depressed. Jeremy gets super intense when he sees Elena. He tells April her dad was doing the right thing for the town and the council died heroes.Damon finds Shane inside and asks again about the hunter. He tells him there are only five at a time and most don't even know they are.When Shane walks away, Damon vampire speeds over in front of him. Shane already knew he was a vampire.Damon gives him five seconds to come up with another hunter's name, or die.Shane explains that the thing the mark leads to is sealed with a spell only a certain kind of witch can break -- a Bennett witch. Shane points out he's the one helping Bonnie get her magic back, so Damon needs him alive.Back at the pageant, Caroline announces the winner is April Young.Elena sees Jeremy in the crowd and follows him. Matt follows her.She finds him inside with a stake."Connor was right, all I can think about is killing vampires," he says. "Everything inside me is telling me to drive this stake through your heart."She takes his hand and assures him she'd never do anything to hurt him.She notices he's wearing a wrist guard that makes him bleed. She backs away when she starts to vamp out. He runs to her and she pushes him off. When she checks on him on the floor, he drives a small vervaned stake through her neck.He's about to really stake her when Matt comes in and pleads with him to stop.Jeremy isn't listening.Stefan shows up and restrains Jeremy. He takes the stake out of Elena's neck and tenderly cradles her face.Hayley and Tyler knock back champagne. She was adopted and triggered her wolf gene in a boating accident. He asks her about Shane, she says she just met him. They see Caroline and Klaus walking arm in arm.Tyler listens as Klaus admits he thought about being human once in a trek in the Andes. He saw a hummingbird and its furiously beating heart made him think what it must be like to have to work that hard to stay alive.Elena goes to look for Jeremy, but Stefan stops her. He thinks the urge to kill gets stronger for hunters with each kill. She realizes what he's been up to and tells him she doesn't want her humanity back at the sake of Jeremy's."You don't have to love me like this. This is who I am now. The old Elena died when she went off that bridge, let her go," she says.Damon finds them. Stefan sees what's going on and leaves.Back home, Jeremy packs up. Matt comes and tells Jeremy that Elena moved out and asked him to move in.Elena shows up on the Salvatore doorstep. Stefan tells her to pick a room and says he'll go somewhere else.Tyler checks on Kim, the hybrid who's been trying to break her bond. He texts Hayley that the bond is broken."We've got another one," Hayley announces to Shane."Good, then we're almost ready," he says."I want to leave Tyler out of this when it all goes down," she says."We'll talk when you've broken the last one."At the Salvatore's, Damon gives Elena a drink. She gulps."I thought you hated whiskey.""My brother wants to kill me," she says."Welcome to the club," Damon says."Jeremy can't live with me, Stefan wants to fix me and Caroline flat out admitted that she doesn't like me this way. I think it's safe to say that I'm not so great at this vampire thing," she says."Want to know what I think? I don't think I've ever seen you more alive," Damon says.Elena says the dance at the pageant reminded her of when they danced, and she wanted to again. Damon helps her to her feet and they dance in front of the fire.Stefan drinks with Caroline, who urges him not to give up on Elena or trying to find the cure.She doesn't understand why Klaus cares about the cure, but Stefan reminds her he needs Elena human to make more hybrids.Caroline says he'll need to, Tyler almost has all of them unsired. Then she realizes something.Back in front of the fire, Damon and Elena kiss.Caroline explains the way Damon has been the answer to all of Elena's problems. As she talks, back at the Salvatore house, Elena and Damon tear each other's clothes off.He's the one who told her she couldn't feed from animals and that blood bags made her sick, even though no vampire has that problem. He told her to kill Connor and she did. Today, he said red dress and she changed her mind to agree. Elena became a vampire on his blood."It's rare, but it happens. What if this is one of those times?" she says."Elena's sired to Damon," Stefan says.Back at the house, she's in bed with him.
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Damon wakes up -- Elena is still there, in her underwear. He's happy.Over at Caroline's, she's freaking out over their conclusion that Elena is sired to Damon. "Everything he asks her to do, she does," Caroline says.Back in bed with Damon, Elena seems to be proving Caroline right.Caroline wants to go to Tyler for advice on the sire bond.Meanwhile, Tyler, Hayley and Kim, who broke her bond last week, oversee Adrian's attempts to break the sire bond to Klaus. He needs a break from the pain and Hayley urges him to keep going, but Kim grants him a reprieve, reminding them the point of the exercise is to give him free will.At his house, Damon tries to convince Elena to wait to tell Stefan about them, just for one day. She agrees.After Elena leaves, Stefan comes in and breaks it down for Damon, who thinks the idea of Elena being sired to him is nonsense. Stefan asks him to prove him wrong by telling Elena she can drink blood from the bag. Damon reluctantly agrees.At school, Elena invites Caroline and Bonnie over to the Salvatores' for girl time tonight. Bonnie has some new small spells from Shane she wants to try. Caroline still thinks he's creepy.Damon comes to school with a bag of blood for Elena, telling her he thinks it'll work. He watches as she sucks it down, hoping for a reaction. But she's fine. He's bothered.Shane comes back to his office to find Hayley rooting through his stuff. Once she brings him 12 unsired hybrids, he'll give her information on her biological parents. She has 11, not including Tyler, whom she's trying to keep out of it.Caroline calls Stefan, explaining how the hybrid bond works. But there's no vampire equivalent.Stefan comes home to find Damon rooting through old papers. He tells Stefan he was right about Elena. Damon reminds him about New Orleans in 1942, and Charlotte.Flash back to 1942Charlotte asked him to turn her, so he obliged. In a club, she picked out the singer she wanted to have for dinner. Damon went to talk to the singer, telling Charlotte to "show no mercy" if anyone touched his drink. When a sailor knocked it over moments later, she snapped his neck in a room full of people.She was sired to Damon.PresentHe found a witch named Valerie La Marche to help him break the sire bond. "Pack your bags, baby bro. We're going back to Bourbon Street," Damon says.Later that night, Elena passes out bottles of champagne to Caroline and Bonnie. She tells them she can drink out of bags, thanks to Damon. Caroline takes note.Bonnie changes the subject to the "stoner tea" Shane gave her to help her access her natural magic.In New Orleans, Stefan tells Damon the sire bond is responsible for Elena's feelings for him. Without the sire bond, "it's impossible for her to be so blind that she doesn't see how wrong you are for her," Stefan says.Stefan apologizes.1942Lexie walks Stefan through the apology he's going to give Damon. Stefan finds him at a New Orleans' bar and says he wants to bury the hatchet.Stefan's about to ship out to war, driving an ambulance in Egypt. Damon talks about joining him. When Stefan goes to get them a round, Lexie tells Damon he can't go with Stefan to war. He needs a balanced perspective of war, not Damon's me-first perspective.Charlotte brings a bleeding woman in for Damon to feed on. Stefan starts to feel his old ripper urges and has to run off. Lexie tells Damon that Charlotte is better off without him, too.PresentStefan tries to un-blame Damon for the sire bond. Damon doesn't know where to find the witch, so they decide to find Charlotte. Damon left her on a street corner after telling her to count every brick in New Orleans. Stefan wonders how literal the bond is.Back in Mystic Falls, Hayley tries to convince Tyler to pressure Adrian into finishing breaking the sire bond. She thinks Kim is challenging Tyler's role as alpha in the pack and tells him to put her in her place. Kim steps to him, but he warns her not to challenge him again and meet at the stables.When he leaves, Kim tells Adrian they're going to go pick a fight.New OrleansCharlotte isn't on the corner where Damon left her. They debate what to tell Elena."It looks to me like the only reason you want to break her sire bond is to restore her original factory Team Stefan settings," Damon says. He leaves to get a drink.Walking alone down the street, he hears something and someone jumps on him.Stefan comes over and pulls her off. It's Charlotte. She kissed him."I always knew you'd come back for me. I must have counted literally every brick on every building in all New Orleans," she says.Damon checks that she's done something else besides count bricks all these years. She says she has, it just helped her think of him.On the plus side, Damon points out, she knows New Orleans better than anyone.Back at the Salvatores, Bonnie, Caroline and Elena have a drunken dance party. Caroline makes a reference to how many skanks Damon has brought back to the house and Elena's mood sours. She defends him and then says she slept with him. They're appalled.New OrleansDamon and Stefan go into Nandi's shop and ask directly about a spell to break a sire bond. She says Valerie was her great-grandmother. He tells her Val had a grimoire with a spell like that in it.1942As a little girl writes lessons in the other room, Val tells Damon that the spell uses dark magic and the sacrifice of 12 humans.PresentNandi says all of Val's grimoires and spells were lost in Katrina. She says she doesn't practice.At the Salvatores', Elena angrily cleans up. When she tells them she thinks she's falling in love with Damon, Caroline sets her straight. "You're not falling in love with him, you're sired to him!"She lays out all the evidence and says Stefan can explain. When she says Damon took advantage of her, Elena opens the front door to usher them out.Kim and Adrian are standing on the doorstep. They rush in. Kim grabs Caroline and Adrian grabs Elena. Bonnie starts to use magic, but Kim reminds Bonnie that one bite from a hybrid could kill Caroline.They grab Caroline and leave.Out on the street, Damon says he killed 12 people to try to break the sire back in 1942 and he'd do it again.In the woods in Mystic Falls with Tyler, Elena looks for Caroline. Tyler explains that Kim is challenging his alpha status. Tyler says that even if Adrian is still sired to Klaus, it doesn't mean he likes him. It affects how you act, not how you feel.They hear Caroline yell in the distance.Damon returns to Nandi's shop, busting her for being Val's daughter. (Flash back to the girl in 1942 writing out her name as Nandi.) She's 80 but doesn't look a day over 50, which means she's practicing.When Damon steps toward her, she uses magic to immobilize him. Stefan steps out, saying they don't want trouble.Nandi says there was no spell. Her mother made up the need for sacrifice so she could access magic so dark it's called "expression." A sire bond can't be broken with magic. A vampire only develops the bond when she has human feelings for her sire before she turns. Vampirisim only heightens those emotions.To free her, Damon has to tell her to live her life without him and never think of him again and then leave her.Back in Mystic Falls, Kim tortures Caroline in the barn, to "show Tyler who's in charge."When Tyler comes in and tells her to stop and says they're on the same team, she says they're not. Tyler and Elena are quickly surrounded by the other hybrids.When Kim picks up a stake to use on Caroline, Elena suggests they torture her instead if they want to upset Klaus. When Kim goes to grab Elena, Tyler grabs Kim and rams his hand through her chest, threatening to rip her heart out. He addresses his fellow hybrids."Kim put you all at risk today, but I'm not going to hurt her, I'm not Klaus. I don't kill and torture my own friends to get what I want. Now we broke the sire bond. But if you want to be free, we have to work together. No one can step out of line. Now you're either with me, or against me. Submit. Submit or you die," he tells Kim.She apologizes and he lets her live. The other hybrids kneel before him.Back in New Orleans, Damon tells Charlotte she has to forget about him.Damon meets Stefan on the street. Stefan immediately questions whether he'll be able to do the same for Elena, pointing out Damon's not known for his selflessness."Yea well, one of these days you're going to realize you don't know me half as well as you think," Damon says.1942Damon arrives at the train station in uniform, ready to ship out. Lexie is there. She tells him again he can't go overseas with Stefan. She knows he just killed 12 people. If Stefan finds out that Damon can do it without guilt, he'll become a ripper all over again.Damon says he's been on his own since 1919 and needs his little brother again. She says it'll destroy Stefan and for once, Damon has to put someone else first and let him go.Damon sees Stefan waiting for him by the train tracks, but he picks up his bag and leaves.PresentDamon tells Stefan what he did in 1942. Stefan says that even if Elena never feels the same way about him again, at least it'll be her choice. Damon knows what he has to do.At the Salvatores' house in the morning, Caroline hugs Elena and says she's sorry. Elena asks Caroline not to tell Stefan yet.Elena notes to Caroline that whatever Shane's teaching her seems to be working. He calls it "expression," Bonnie says.In Shane's office, Hayley tells him Adrian broke his bond. She asks where her parents are. They're dead.She warns him he just picked a fight with a werewolf, but he says just because they're dead, doesn't mean she can't see them again.Stefan tells Caroline he feels bad for Damon, knowing he really does love Elena. Stefan thinks he'll do what he says. Stefan trusts Damon because he thinks Damon loves her as much as he does. "He can't be selfish with her, not anymore," he says.Damon returns home to see Elena cleaning up. He says they need to talk, and she says she knows she's sired to him. She tells him what Tyler said about the bond not affecting her feelings. She knows what he's about to do and asks him not to.He knows that he's not the guy who does the right thing, but he has to do the right thing by her.She takes his hand and holds onto his face and asks if it feels wrong.
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Elena and Damon wake up in bed together -- fully clothed. "I was being a gentleman," Damon insists.She's not ready to let go of what she feels for him, even if it's because of the sire bond. Damon promised Stefan he'd let her go, but neither of them feel like following through. Elena has to meet with Bonnie, she's teaching Jeremy how not to kill Elena. She invites Damon. Klaus summons Adrian his hybrid to take the painting he just completed to the Grill for the Winter Fair. Adrian is annoyed to be bossed around. Stefan wants to find the cure more than ever now that Elena turns out to be sired to Damon, but they need Jeremy to keep killing vampires who are not his friends. Stefan asks for proof that Klaus brought the sword back from Italy. Klaus opens his safe and shows him. Down in the cave, Adrian vents to Kim and Tyler about having to pretend to do Klaus' bidding. Hayley brings news that she found the witch who will save them. "You guys did your part by breaking your sire bond, now Hayley and I are going to do ours," Tyler says. Caroline is not a fan of the plan when he explains to her that a witch will do the body transport spell on him and he'll be encased in concrete long enough to let the hybrids get away. Out at the cabin, Jeremy chops wood and holds onto his ax a little too tightly when Damon and Elena drive up. Bonnie tells him they're there to help.So is Professor Shane, Elena invited him. She waits outside the door for Jeremy to invite her in. He lets her in, but then immediately attacks her. She fends him off. Caroline calls Stefan, freaking out about Tyler. He explains that the sword decodes Jeremy's hunter mark. Caroline thinks they need to get their hands on the sword today, before the hybrids take out Klaus tonight. At the Winter Wonderland fair, Caroline admires Klaus' "lonely" snowflake painting. She accepts his offer of champagne and texts Stefan. Back at Klaus' gets Caroline's all clear and opens the safe, but the sword is gone. He finds old letters instead.He calls Damon for ideas, but all of his ideas involve killing Tyler or letting Klaus kill Tyler. When Stefan asks how Elena took it when Damon let her go, he doesn't mention he chickened out. In the cabin, Shane explains that reprogramming Jeremy's subconscious will help him fight the vampire-killing urge. He hypnotizes him, to help Jeremy's subconscious have time to make a choice when he sees Elena instead of instantly wanting to kill her. Shane encourages Elena to talk to him. She remembers coming to the lake cabin with their parents and says they would have wanted them to stick together. It doesn't appear to work on Jeremy. He says: "She ruined our lives. She's not even my real sister, she's just the reason that everyone I've ever loved has died. She means nothing to me, I will kill her." It didn't work. Stefan tells Caroline that Tyler needs to delay his Klaus plan so they can find the sword. Tyler shows up and is angry at Caroline for telling Stefan what he's been planning. Tyler doesn't owe Stefan anything. Stefan steps to Tyler and tells him he can't let him go forward with it. But then Caroline and Stefan see they're completely surrounded by hybrids. Damon brings Elena a drink on the dock. "I shouldn't have put so much hope into reprogramming someone's mind. If it were that easy then you and I wouldn't be in this situation, right?" she says. Damon has another suggestion. Tyler and the hybrids take Caroline to the cellar and prepare to lock them up if necessary. As a hybrid Tyler couldn't care less about the cure, since it would turn him back into a werewolf that turns every full moon. Back at the cabin, Damon presents an alternative. "Professor Shane has been dipping into the magical herbs a little too much if he thinks using a vampire to suppress the need to kill another one is going to work on a hunter. It's like dangling a cheeseburger in front of someone on a master cleanse," he says. He suggests Jeremy find someone else to attach his positive vibes to. Jeremy looks at Bonnie. Out on the dock, Shane tells Elena that his wife and young child died years ago. When Damon comes out threatening him with an ax, Shane also mentions he can tell them how to find the cure -- he's already been there. Back at the Winter Wonderland fair, Carol Lockwood gives April her Miss Mystic Falls duties. Tyler finds his mom and tells her his plan. She tells him his dad would be proud and he should do what he has to do. Shane shows Elena and Damon his really old rock and tells them the story of Silas the witch and his best friend witch who made themselves immortal. But then Silas' best friend got jealous and killed Silas' girlfriend. Silas found a way to reverse the immortality spell, but before he could take it, his best friend buried him, leaving him and the cure to rot. "You dig up Silas and you've got your cure," Shane says. In the cellar, the hybrids get jumpy when Stefan takes a call from Damon. "Don't ask how or why or who, but I just found the answer to your Tyler problem," Damon says.They don't need the sword. Shane explains the drawing of the hunter's mark, including the mark of the Five and a depiction of a murder of a girl by a witch. When the mark is complete it will have the spell to dig up Silas.Damon asks where it is. "You've threatened to kill me, what, three times already this week? The location's how I'm going to survive your bad moods," Shane says. Shane says he's just in it for the history of finding Silas. Caroline explains to Tyler again how dumb his plan is, and she has an alternative body for Klaus: Rebekah, currently staked in a coffin in the cellar.Tyler thinks it's brilliant, but Hayley senses a problem. She texts Shane that the plan is falling apart. He texts her to fix it. In the ladies room at the Grill, Caroline calls Bonnie to run the plan by her. She thinks it'll work. Bonnie mentions that Damon and Elena are both there. Caroline is annoyed, but doesn't have time to deal with it. Caroline relays Bonnie's message to Hayley, who promptly snaps Caroline's neck. At the cabin, Elena says she trusts Shane, so Damon tells her his theory that Shane was involved in the Pastor Young explosion. Shane says he was just counseling Young. Jeremy and Bonnie announce they've had a break-through. Bonnie tells Elena not to move. Jeremy is holding a stake.He pauses, then hands it over to Damon. Jeremy hugs Elena. Shane checks his phone. He has a text from Hayley saying she'll fix it and he'll get his 12. At the Winter Wonderland fair, Klaus asks Stefan what he's been up to. Stefan confesses he broke into the safe looking for the sword. Stefan says he found Klaus' letters. Klaus claims they're from his victims and relates to Stefan as a lonely killer. April Young goes into the ladies room and finds Caroline dead on the floor. Caroline pops up and leaves Stefan a message telling him Hayley has lost her mind and he needs to go check to make sure Rebekah's body is still in the cellar. Caroline compels April to forget what just happened. Back in the Grill, Matt tells Caroline that Stefan is looking for her; Adrian's leading Klaus to the cellar. She mentions April and Matt tells her April is wearing Jeremy's vervain bracelet and can't be compelled. Tyler goes back out into the fair and leaves his mom a message saying everything is going to be fine. He's surprised to see Hayley there, she's supposed to be leading the witch to the cellar. "There is no witch, Tyler. I made it up," she says. Hayley explains what's happening as it happens out in the woods. The hybrids wait for the witch. Adrian shows up, but his heart is promptly ripped out -- by Klaus. Hayley says she needed the hybrids for the sacrifice because she made a deal with someone who could help her find her family. Out in the woods, Klaus goes ninja commando hybrid and slaughters his hybrids one by one with his new sword. Kim runs away into the cellar but is trapped by the gate. Klaus asks where Tyler is. Kim doesn't know, so he cuts off her head. Back at the cabin, Jeremy, Elena and Bonnie go through their old Christmas decorations. Elena beckons Damon to join them and when he doesn't, she takes mistletoe out to him. But he says he can't. "Damon, you can't keep telling me that this isn't real. I know how I feel and that you feel it, too. So stop fighting it," Elena says. He wants her to have a normal life again. He feels guilty for not doing the right thing by her and Stefan. He tells her to go home, he'll help Jeremy complete the mark. "I'm setting you free Elena, this is what will make me happy," he says. Back at the Salvatores', Caroline reports that Matt can't find April and she can't reach Tyler. They both feel a little guilty for setting Klaus up to be killed. Stefan says they've all done horrible things, the only thing that makes them better than Klaus is that they have family they can trust. Caroline agrees that trust is everything and tells him Damon and Elena are together. "How together are they?" Stefan asks. When she doesn't answer, he understands what it means. At the cabin, Jeremy says good-bye to Bonnie and Damon says good-bye to Elena."I was ready to fight you on this, but suddenly every part of my body is telling me that I need to get in this car and leave you," Elena says. She kisses Damon and gets in the car. Stefan goes on an angry mini-rampage at home. Tyler checks out the hybrid carnage in the woods and cellar. April Young hides in the cellar, seeing everything, including the closed coffin. After Tyler leaves, she opens it and sees staked Rebekah inside. Carol Lockwood leaves Tyler a tipsy message. Klaus strolls up, covered in blood, also looking for Tyler. She begs him not to hurt Tyler since he's all she has."And you're all he has, there's a beautiful symmetry in that, don't you think?" Klaus says. Then he grabs hold of Carol and drowns her in the town fountain.
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Sheriff Forbes speaks at a service for Carol Lockwood in the high school gym, saying she died as the result of a "terrible accident."Tyler Lockwood gets fed up and leaves.Elena thinks she sees Rebekah across the gym and goes to investigate.Rudy Hopkins, Bonnie's dad, has been selected as interim mayor. In the high school hallway, Elena hears April crying. She says she's just upset about her dad."And I know you're a vampire," April says.Rebekah flashes out and snaps Elena's neck."Was that necessary?" April asks."No, but it was fun," says Rebekah. Caroline calls Stefan, who is drinking alone to drown his sorrows about Damon sleeping with Elena. Caroline informs him that Tyler gets dibs on spiraling out of control. Elena comes to in the library. April is angry and asks Elena how many times she compelled her. April knows Rebekah is an original. Rebekah compels Elena to stay put. Up at the lake house, Damon listens to a moony message from Elena; she misses him. Jeremy is sparring with Matt and winning. Jeremy says he's ready for more, so Damon tosses him a stake and dares him. Jeremy rushes him but Damon gets him by the neck.A cute pizza delivery girl drives up with their third double pepperoni in three days. Damon tips her big, telling her not to come back -- she's a distraction. Rebekah calls Stefan and informs him she's holding Elena hostage. He calls Caroline and leaves the Grill. At another table, Sheriff Forbes shows new mayor Hopkins the file on Carol's "accidental" death. He understands it was probably a vampire. Forbes leaves and Bonnie shows up to join her dad. He's ready to institute a few rules for the town. At the high school, Caroline carries the white oak stake and goes looking for Rebekah. Stefan checks another floor and finds Rebekah. He texts Caroline to come stake her, but Rebekah got to her first. Rebekah drags Stefan into her compelled truth circle with Elena and Caroline. She knows about the hunter's mark tattoos leading to the cure. She wants to know what happened to the plan to get it.Rebekah teases Stefan about planning to take it himself to grow old with Elena. Noting the weirdness, Caroline is forced to explain they broke up. Rebekah asks what happened. Stefan is forced to tell her that Elena slept with Damon. Elena didn't know he knew. At the lake, Damon drills Jeremy on hunting skills. Jeremy doesn't think he actually cares, he just wants him to develop the mark to cure Elena so he can find out if her feelings for him are real. Klaus strolls up, wanting to know how many vampires Jeremy has killed.Klaus wants the cure ASAP due to his hybrid shortage. Klaus asks how he can help.Damon shoots him in the chest."That's for Carol Lockwood," he says. Back in the library, Stefan tells Rebekah about Elena's sire bond. Rebekah thinks Elena isn't being forthcoming and compels her to confess."I didn't sleep with Damon because of the sire bond, I slept with Damon because I'm in love with him," Elena says, surprising everyone, including herself. Back on topic, they tell Rebekah about Professor Shane. Cut to Bonnie ranting about her dad to Shane. He says she doesn't need his help anymore. He gives her a necklace -- made of human bone. Legend says it was worn by the 2,000 year old witch. Bonnie leaves, passing a nice looking young man in the hallway. After he walks by, she realizes he's Kol. She runs to Shane's office but he's gone. Tyler answers a call from Caroline's phone. It's Rebekah, summoning him. Kol joins his sister's group in the library, dragging Shane. Back up at the lake at night, Damon whittles wooden bullets. Klaus joins him, wanting to turn someone for Jeremy to kill. He thinks Damon is trying to take the moral high road for Elena's sake. Klaus tells him he's taken the necessary steps. The cute pizza delivery girl knocks on the cabin door, saying she ran out of gas. Matt goes to get his phone, but she's stuck at the doorstep. Jeremy says hi and invites her in. Rebekah and Kol drag Shane to storage room. Compulsion won't work, so she tells Kol to beat him until he gives up the location of the cure. Back at truth table, Rebekah orchestrates compelled truth or dare, forcing Elena to tell Stefan how she feels with Damon: free and unpredictable. And lately, with Stefan she's felt like she was a problem that needs to be fixed. "I think I make him sad and I can't be with someone like that because when he looks at me all he sees is a broken toy," she says.She loves Stefan, but isn't in love with him anymore. Stefan admits it hurt to hear. Tyler joins them. Rebekah compels the vampires not to run and tells Tyler to turn. She knows he'll kill them if he does, she doesn't want competition looking for the cure. In the cabin, the pizza girl attacks Matt. Jeremy finds her and quickly stakes her. He watches his tattoo grow. Bonnie comes to the high school looking for Shane. April tells her what Rebekah's up to, thinking she's just getting at the truth. Bonnie does a protection spell for Shane. Meanwhile, Kol repeatedly dunks Shane in water to force him to talk. Shane doesn't care about the cure, he just wants to free Silas. As Shane is being drowned, April starts cough. As Shane's head is underwater, April spits up water. Kol relents. Rebekah doesn't think Silas is real. Shane says he knows where Silas is buried and soon they'll have the spell to raise him. He mentions dozens have to die in a blood sacrifice and says he's done it. Rebekah realizes he got the Council blown up.Shane says the sacrifices are temporary because once they raise Silas, he'll bring back everyone who died on his behalf. Kol gets angry and grabs a metal pipe. He jams it through Shane's stomach and he collapses on the ground. So does April, bleeding profusely from her stomach. In the library, Tyler tries to fight the compulsion to turn but it's not going well. He yells at his friends to leave. Tyler easily busts down the door and chases after them. Stefan bars a door with an ax but it's not enough to stop him. Werewolf Tyler fights and tries to break down the door until suddenly, he stops. Rebekah is mad at Kol for killing Shane, but he thinks he did her a favor since bringing Silas back would be "hell on earth." Kol reveals he has the white oak stake.They leave and Shane sits up. He pulls the rod out of his body. Stefan and Elena find Bonnie with April. Bonnie explains her protection spell for Shane accidentally linked him to April. She says it was different than usual, she didn't bleed or feel any pain. "This time I just felt more power," she says.Stefan feeds April his blood and April gets up. Bonnie takes her somewhere safe. Elena wants to talk about things with Stefan but Rebekah interrupts. Caroline finds Tyler, changed back to human form, in the gym. He breaks down, saying everything is his fault. Rebekah makes Elena an offer: she'll erase every memory of her from Stefan. Elena says no, but Stefan says yes.Rebekah laughs at him, saying it'd be too easy. She refuses. Elena tries to talk to Stefan, but he just walks away. Bonnie goes Shane for answers about "expression." He says it's a way of doing magic that isn't monitored by the spirits, it isn't good or bad."You are the key to everyone. I'm not going to let anything bad happen to you," he says. Back up at the lake house, Damon buries the pizza girl. Elena calls. She tells him Stefan knows. She says she has to tell him the most real thing she's ever felt in her life: she loves him.He tells her he's going to get the cure for her, even if it means doing things she doesn't like. Then he tells her to get in her car and come to him. Rebekah drops by Stefan's -- he called her. She wants the cure to turn Klaus mortal.Stefan tells Rebekah that Shane isn't dead. He admits he wants the cure to know how Elena really feels about Damon.Rebekah tells him about Shane's dark agenda: that he admitted to the council fire and probably was involved in Klaus killing 12 hybrids. Stefan recognizes this as expression. He suggests they team up. They both hate their brothers, Damon has Jeremy, Klaus has the sword and Shane has Bonnie. Whoever finds the cure first gets to decide what to do with it. April insists her dad had no reason to kill himself or those people. She tells Forbes and Hopkins that Shane orchestrated the whole thing. Matt, Damon and Jeremy show up at a bar in town to find Klaus at the bar and bodies everywhere. They're in transition, for Jeremy to kill."You said you were going to convince Klaus to do this another way," Jeremy says."Well, I thought about it. And then I realized: his idea was better," Damon says. The newborn vampires start to come to life.
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Matt runs through the forest, trying to get away from something -- a vampire grabs him and chomps on his neck. Jeremy runs up and pulls the vampire off. Back in the bar, Jeremy doesn't like the plan, so Klaus threatens to compel the vampires to kill Matt. He's offering a two minute head start. Damon can't talk Klaus out of it. They prepare to run. Back in the forest, Matt is OK, but wants a minute to regroup. They don't have it. Damon shows up to help, warning Jeremy he needs to be ready. Jeremy wants to get Matt to safety at the lake house first. Damon stays behind to slow down the vampires with a little heart ripping. Matt is running through the woods when another vampire jumps him. This time it's Elena who grabs the vampire and dispatches him. The run for the safety of the house. The next morning, the sun has driven the vampires away.Elena is angry at Damon for his cock-eyed plan, but Damon blames Jeremy for developing a conscience. Damon tries to focus on the fact that the vampires needed to be dealt with. He suggests Elena take Matt home, leaving him with Jeremy to finish them off. Back at the Salvatores, Rebekah drops in on Stefan. She remembers Shane mentioned he had Silas' headstone and wants to steal it, so that Team Shane (with Bonnie) will have to join Team Rebekah. With Shane, Bonnie worries that she won't be able to control Expression. He lightly hypnotizes her, telling her he's there with her and she's in complete control. Then Sheriff Forbes and a deputy come in and put Shane in cuffs. Back at the lake, Damon and Jeremy arm up. They go back to the bar where Stefan turned the vampires, expecting to find them. Instead, they find a bloody mess. "Something's not right," Damon says. They follow the thick trail of blood back to the cooler and find a pile of vampire bodies.Kol steps out, confessing to the killing. He cautions them about the risks of waking Silas. A few years back a group of Silas' worshippers told Kol that resurrecting him would lead to the end of the world, and he's against that. He killed them all. Jeremy isn't convinced. Since Kol can't kill Jeremy without suffering from the hunter's curse, he proposes to rip off his arms.Damon pins Kol and tells Jeremy to run. Kol quickly gets Damon in a headlock. Rebekah and Stefan tear through Shane's office. She sees he's pent up and angry and offers him "herbs." She remembers how much fun he was in the 20s. Rebekah assures Stefan that Shane won't be back any time soon. In the sheriff's station, Liz interrogates Shane, accusing him of orchestrating the death of the council members. Bonnie's dad says April Young told them what he did and Rebekah corroborated that he confessed.Bonnie wants to hear it for herself. She joins the interrogation and her dad and Liz leave. "Rebekah told them you confessed, I know she's lying," Bonnie says."You know the truth is: She's not," Shane says. Elena brings Matt back to town. He's angry and blaming Damon for everything. He can't believe she left Jeremy alone with him. Jeremy calls her, telling her Kol has Damon. Elena goes to Klaus for help. He calls Kol, who says he gave Damon "a good and proper beating, for old times' sake." Klaus warns Kol to stay away from Damon. Kol gives his word he won't touch him, then hangs up and compels Damon to stab himself. In the freezer, Kol guesses that Damon doesn't really want the cure for Elena because he likes her as she is. He thinks Damon really wants Jeremy dead. He compels Damon to find Jeremy and kill him and also to forget he was compelled. Back at their house, Jeremy is ready to go finish his mark, but he doesn't trust Damon's motives. He warns Elena to stay back, since he's in full hunter mode. Hanging out in Shane's office, Rebekah tells Stefan the reason she wouldn't compel memories of Elena out of him was because she wanted him to suffer. She thinks love and caring ruin vampires. They had fun in the 20s because they didn't care. She comes on to him, remembering how they just did what felt good. He remembers the sex was good because she's crazy and crazy sex is always good. They seem to be considering it. Later, a guy comes into Shane's office looking around for a secret compartment. He finds the headstone. Rebekah finds him. Damon comes by Elena's. She tells him Jeremy is at the Grill. Damon says he wants to go apologize. Back in interrogation, Bonnie turns off the camera and makes sure her dad isn't watching. Shane assures her he was always going to tell her the truth. He says killing the council was a ritual to raise Silas, and Silas will bring them back. "I'm not crazy, I'm just passionate," he says. Shane brings up Bonnie's Grams, asking if she wants to see her again. Damon shows up at the Grill with Elena, still looking for Jeremy. He vamps out the second he sees him, even though they're in a crowded public place. Elena's voice stops him. Jeremy sees the look in Damon's eyes and steps into the storage room to arm himself. Elena follows Damon into the storage room, asking what's wrong. He realizes Kol must have compelled him and follows Jeremy into the secret passage to the tunnels. Damon yells at Jeremy that he's been compelled and he's coming to kill him. "You need to go, now!" Damon says. In Shane's office, April tortures the man who came for the tombstone. He's full of vervane, so they don't know if he was compelled, but he's not talking. As they're figuring out what to do, the man bites off his own tongue. Then he grabs the knife from Rebekah and stabs himself in the throat. Guess he was compelled after all. But by whom? "Maybe there's another team in the race," Stefan says. In the station, Shane tells Bonnie that her Grams is being tortured on the other side. She yells at him to be quiet and when he won't, she uses Expression to break his hand. He sees that she can't stop. Her dad comes in to try to help and she creates a wall of fire to keep him away. They can't reason with her, so Shane speaks to her hypnotically again, snapping her out of it. The flames disappear and his hand is healed. She leaves and Shane addresses the mayor. "Your daughter is a prodigy. With my guidance, she can be one of the most powerful witches in the world. But without it, she's a time bomb," Shane says. Rebekah grabs Stefan's phone when Elena calls. She tells them about Kol compelling Jeremy in the hopes they care enough to save the way to the cure. Down in the tunnel, Jeremy cuts his hand to draw Damon to him. Damon finds him easily and attacks, biting his arm. Jeremy shoots him, but Damon tells him he has to shoot him in the heart because he won't be able to stop himself. Damon goads him until Jeremy pulls the trigger. Later, Damon wakes up and pulls the wooden bullet out of his head. He curses Jeremy as a "stupid, idiot, borderline brain dead moron." Rebekah confronts Kol, pointing out that Klaus won't be happy. She gets a dagger near his back and threatens to use it. He laments what their family has become, siblings daggering each other over every disagreement. He turns on her and reveals that he has the white oak dagger. Klaus intervenes before Kol can really kill Rebekah. Jeremy runs wounded and bleeding through the forest. He stops to rest and Damon catches up. Elena finds Damon and begs him to stop, saying he can resist the compulsion because he loves her. But he hears Jeremy's blood dripping and runs to it. Again, he confronts Jeremy, telling him to shoot. Jeremy pulls the trigger, but Stefan pushes Damon out of the way at the last second. Then he snaps Damon's neck. Damon wakes up in his cellar. Stefan bled him out to weaken him so he won't go after Jeremy. He won't let him see Elena because with her sire bond, he can tell her to let him out and she will. He plans to keep Damon locked up until they find the cure. Upstairs, Stefan explains to Elena why she can't see Damon. Elena reminds him Rebekah tried to kill her and asks why he's working with her. Damon tried to kill Jeremy twice, so nobody's perfect, he says. Elena tries to understand why he's acting this way. He explains that this is how he is when he's not in love with her. She leaves. Bonnie sits down to dinner with her dad at the Grill. He says he wants to get her help, but she doesn't think she needs it. Klaus knocks on the Gilberts' door, offering to protect Jeremy from Kol. Elena turns him away. "As for you, hunter, there's no shortage of people to turn or loved ones to threaten. So sleep well. We'll plan on finishing our work tomorrow," Klaus says. Stefan drops in on Rebekah. She thinks Kol has lost his mind. Stefan wants to know where headstone is, but she says she's keeping it safe. Given that he's betrayed her twice and she's betrayed him never, she thinks it's smart. She's trying to figure out why he's there."You even have to ask?" he says. She gets it. "No feelings, no attachments." They throw each other on the bed. Back at the house, Jeremy is desperate for a way out. Elena reminds him that killing one original will kill their entire line of vampires, thousands. So Jeremy will kill Kol.
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Stefan wakes up in bed with Rebekah draped over him. How do you sneak out on a vampire with super senses? Very quickly. He makes it to the door, where Klaus greets him. Rebekah is annoyed. Klaus is angry because Kol took his daggers, he wants Rebekah's dagger and white oak ash to go after Kol. She says no, she doesn't want to be left defenseless. Klaus makes a pitch to Stefan to get it so they can end Kol's compulsion of Damon and keep Jeremy safe. Bonnie calls Elena from dance prep. Elena's on lockdown at home with Jeremy and Matt. She tells Bonnie about her plan to have Jeremy kill Kol. Elena washes her hands and gets burned. Bonnie calls her dad the mayor, who says he put vervane in the water supply and is instituting a curfew and canceling all town events, including the dance. He calls her home for a family meeting. But before she makes it out of the high school, Kol attacks her. "No one can get to the cure if you're too dead to find it," he says as he throttles her. She turns on her expression powers and backs him off, forcing him to his knees as balloons pop and lockers fly open around her. She runs. Stefan checks on Damon in the dungeon. He's still weak from being bled. Stefan brings him a vial of blood and water. And Klaus, there to play babysitter to Damon.Klaus tells Damon about Stefan's hook up with Rebekah. Stefan leaves them to enjoy their "villain bonding time." Elena calls Stefan to tell him that Kol just tried to kill Bonnie. She tells him her Jeremy-Kol plan, which involves him getting the dagger from Rebekah to Matt so he can use it on her (because vampires can't dagger each other). Bonnie thinks she can take Klaus out of the picture. Stefan asks how she'll lure Kol in. Elena calls Kol from Jeremy's phone to call a truce, in the name of Silas. Before she's off the phone, Kol is on her doorstep. Matt and Jeremy grab weapons as Elena scribbles on a chalkboard, telling Matt to help Stefan find the dagger and Jeremy to get out and find Bonnie. But Jeremy points out he's the only one who can invite him inside. Jeremy does, then leaves. Elena sees that Kol has the white oak stake in his coat pocket. Stefan returns to Rebekah's. She's upset the dance is canceled, but Stefan suggests they can still go. Klaus tries to figure out the hold Damon has on Elena and how he got her to forgive him for all the stuff he's done. Damon thinks he's worried Caroline won't forgive him for killing Carol Lockwood. "If you're going to be bad, be bad with purpose, otherwise you're just not worth forgiving," Damon says. Back at her house, Elena offers to give up looking for the cure if he leaves Jeremy alone. Jeremy texts her to keep Kol there while he looks for Bonnie. He calls Bonnie but can't reach her. Matt searches through Rebekah's room for the dagger. Kol knew witches through the years who knew about Silas, that he needed to stay buried. They said if Silas rises, he'll unleash hell on earth. At Bonnie's, her dad has her phone and her keys and plans to make her stay and talk. Jeremy pounds on the door and tells Bonnie what's going on. When her dad forbids her from leaving, she bursts a lightbulb and heads for the door. Her mom, Abby the vampire, stops her. Abby tells Jeremy that Bonnie is done helping Elena. Jeremy takes out a stake to use on Abby, but Bonnie stops her. Jeremy leaves. Back at Elena's, she tries to convince Kol she really would stop looking for the cure. He wraps things up and leaves, warning her again about Silas. Stefan and Rebekah show up at the empty high school gym in full 80s mode. He plays The Cure. (Get it?) Jeremy comes home on Kol alert. Elena tells him Kol left, but then the doorbell rings. Kol is back, having rejected the truce. Bonnie tries to convince her parents she's fine. She tells her mom about the cure and that she needs expression to find it. "I'm not the one who needs to be saved, Bonnie. You are," Abby says as she knocks her daughter out with a powder. Back in the dungeon, Klaus is surprised Damon hasn't tried to escape. He figures it's best to stay put, since he's compelled to kill Jeremy. Klaus wonders how Elena felt about the fact Damon couldn't overcome his compulsion. "She's met me, she knows impulse control is not my strong suit," Damon says. Klaus remembers Stefan resisting his compulsion for Elena. Klaus thinks finding the cure will bring Stefan and Elena back together. Kol calls Klaus and tells him Elena and Jeremy are trying to kill him. Klaus leaves. At the Gilbert house, Elena hits Kol with an arrow, which barely fazes him. At the dance, Stefan finds booze and tells Rebekah about spending the fun 80s with Lexie. Rebekah reveals she has the dagger stuck in her boot. Stefan texts Matt about it. Back at Elena's, Kol tears through the house. Jeremy fires stake spears at him, but misses. Elena hits him with wooden bullets, but he nails her in the leg with a spear. Jeremy runs when she tells him to, but Kol catches up quickly and throws him down the stairs. He throws Elena off and stakes her with a staircase spire through the stomach. Kol drags Jeremy down the stairs. Stefan shows Rebekah "The Breakfast Club" slide in the hall. She tries in her boots, but skids. He tells her to take them off. Matt waits behind some lockers. Rebekah takes out the dagger and gives it to Stefan, knowing it's what he was after. She does care, she wants to be human. "So let Klaus put down my brother and lets go home," she says. Abby plans to keep Bonnie drugged long enough to get witches there to help cleanse her. But Bonnie wakes up and uses expression to incapacitate her mom. "I don't belong to the spirits anymore, I belong to myself," Bonnie says. Elena tries to get free from the spire in her side. Downstairs, Kol has Jeremy tied down on the table and prepares to hack off his arm with a butcher knife. But just then Elena runs downstairs and attacks Kol, freeing Jeremy. She drives the butcher knife into Kol's shoulder and Jeremy grabs the sink sprayer and blasts him with vervaned water. Elena grabs the white oak stake out of Kol's pocket and tosses it to Jeremy, who drives it into Kol's chest. They watch as he bursts into flames and stumbles, screaming, through their house. Klaus watches from the doorway, unable to come in. Elena explains that they didn't have a choice. Klaus rages, saying he's going to burn the house to the ground. He doesn't care about using them to get to the cure or about his hybrids, he was going to destroy the cure and kill them anyway, instead he'll just kill them now. They're trying to figure out their next move when Klaus drops to his knees. Bonnie has arrived. She tells Jeremy to invite Klaus in and when he does, Bonnie imprisons him in a field of magic in the living room. Jeremy takes the white oak stake out of Kol and he, Bonnie and Elena leave a screaming, frothing Klaus inside, hurling threats. Back home, Stefan tells Rebekah that Kol is dead. She cries over the news, but Stefan says he couldn't let the people he cares about get hurt. He wants to find the cure with her, for her. She tries to decide whether to trust him. Back at the Salvatores', Jeremy waits for his hunter's mark to show. Bonnie reminds him it takes time for the line of vampires to die off. Damon joins them from the basement. He's hugging Elena when Stefan comes in with the Silas headstone. Bonnie says she used the new moon to bind the spell keeping Klaus put, they have three days to find the cure. Stefan confesses he didn't dagger Rebekah because she's on their side. Elena can't believe Stefan would trust her. Damon mentions Stefan sleeping with Rebekah, enjoying spilling the beans. Stefan suggests Damon use his sire bond to tell Elena to calm down. Damon decks him. The Salvatores are about to go at it when Jeremy hulks out, ripping off his shirt as the mark reveals itself. They can see all see it."Here we go," Damon says.
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One Year AgoProfessor Shane runs through the woods, chased by a tribal looking man with face paint. Shane reaches a rocky cliff face and goes inside. He finds ancient writing on the walls and a deep, dark pit. Back in the present, the Silas-seeking party disembarks: Shane, Jeremy, Stefan, Damon, Elena, Rebekah and Bonnie. They're 200 miles off the Nova Scotia mainland. Shane tries to convince Rebekah to play nice with Elena, who responds by charging her and trying to stake her. Damon assures Elena that Stefan only brought Rebekah to show Elena he's moving on and to show Damon that he can't get under his skin. Damon's not ready to talk to Elena about what he might do when they find the cure. Bonnie takes photos of Jeremy's tattoos, which tell the story of Silas and the witch Qetsiyah, who was in love with him. She made him immortal, but he used it on another woman. Qetsiyah freaked out and murdered the other woman when she found out, then banished Silas to a hole in the ground. She also made a cure for immortality and buried it in the ground, hoping Silas would take it and die. But he didn't, just to spite her, so centuries later her descendants created the hunters to find him, cure him and kill him.The group sets out on their hike. Back in Mystic Falls, Tyler stops by the Gilbert house to taunt trapped Klaus. Tyler thinks curing him will break his sire line. Tyler's looking forward to killing Klaus.Klaus taunts him by suggesting drowning, the way he killed Tyler's mom. Shane explains that centuries after Qetsiyah died, miners digging in the area went crazy. They saw visions of their loved ones. Shane believes it was magic. His wife and child died within months of each other, so he tried the well, cutting his hand to bleed into it. He heard his wife Caitlin call to him and lowered himself down into the dark, scary rock pit. He heard voices all around him and freaked out and fell. At the bottom of the well, he saw his wife. As they trek through the woods at night, Shane tells everyone to stop. He triggers a "Return of the Jedi"-style booby trap and tells them to stick together. Jeremy pauses for a drink of water and from in the woods, a man draws back a bow aimed at Jeremy. Before he can react, the man falls dead from a hatchet thrown in his back. He doesn't know who threw it. Shane takes them to a place where, legend has it, a group of college kids were all drained of blood on spring break. Damon argues to keep going. "I'm shocked you even want the cure since you've got the most to lose once Elena's human," Shane tells him. Elena assures Damon that Shane doesn't know what he's talking about. She says her feelings for him won't change after she takes it. Caroline joins Tyler as he gloats over Klaus. Caroline gets to work cleaning up charred Kol. Klaus suggests that because they killed Kol and he killed Carol; they're even. Caroline gets worked up reciting all his other misdeeds, including killing Jenna. But she gets too close to the field trapping Klaus and he skewers her with a curtain rod, yanks her into his force field and chomps on her neck. Around a campfire, Rebekah asks Stefan if he's still planning to take the cure to get back with Elena. She would give anything to be a normal human."If I take the cure it wouldn't be for her; it would be for me," Stefan says. After studying Jeremy's tattoos, Bonnie comes to Shane because she doesn't see a spell in them. He assures her he'll help her access expression when she needs to and reminds her she needs him to help her stay in control of it. He reveals that his wife was a powerful witch who tried to raise their son after he was killed in a car accident. She died trying to use expression. "You taught me the same magic that killed your wife!" Bonnie says."Yea, but look, the upside is: I've learned the warning signs. I can keep expression from consuming you," Shane says."The downside is you turned her into a bomb that only you can dismantle," Damon says. Shane tells Damon he expects Damon to try and kill him when they get near the cure, but Bonnie has to keep him alive so he can keep her alive. In the middle of the night, Jeremy is awoken by a tribal man. Back at the Gilbert house, Caroline freaks out, knowing that she'll die if Klaus doesn't heal her. Tyler says he'll fix it, then begs Klaus to save her. When Klaus refuses, Tyler offers to be his slave again. Klaus refuses.Caroline asks Tyler to get her away from Klaus. Back on the island, they split up to search for Jeremy. Damon finds Shane going for his satellite phone, which he said earlier wasn't working. Damon demands to know where the cure is. Shane explains it's at the bottom of the well. Flash back to Shane with his wife Caitlin, realizing that his bleeding was keeping her there with him. She tells him about Silas and if Shane sets him free, he'll help those who helped him. She told him everything he had to do, including finding a descendant of Qetsiyah to perform the spell. Back at camp, Bonnie tries a locator spell for Jeremy. She lights a fire then follows its trail through the woods. The wind starts blowing and she hears voices all around her. Elena, Rebekah and Stefan walk through the woods, with the women bickering. Elena trips a trap, and Rebekah stops wooden spikes before they skewer Elena. Rebekah doesn't care of Elena dies, but says if she does it might as well be epic.Elena goes back to check on Bonnie. Damon reviews the plan with Shane, including the sacrifices. Back at the bottom of the well, Shane objects when his wife tells him all he has to do is convince someone that they can see a lost loved one again. "Which is how you convinced the pastor to blow up a farmhouse full of people," Damon concludes. But he needs three massacres and Damon only counts two, including Klaus's holiday hybrid slaughter. He wants to make Shane tell him more. Caroline gets worse. Tyler blames himself, but she tells him he's a great leader and people believe in him. He checks that she trust him, then takes her back and lays her at Klaus' feet, saying if he wants her to die, he'll have to watch. Tyler leaves. "Nothing personal, but if I cure you, that means victory for him. Don't worry, it won't be long now," Klaus tells her. Damon starts his interrogation of Shane, who taunts Damon about how Elena is going to leave him. Shane reminds him they need him alive to control Bonnie. "There is one flaw in your logic: I don't give a crap about Bonnie Bennett," Damon says, as he prepares to snap Shane's neck.Elena flies in and stops him. She tells Shane to stop messing with her friends. Elena follows Damon and he picks a fight with her. He asks what will happen if she takes the cure and he stays a vampire, he gets to watch her grow old and die.She thinks he's doing what he always does: pushing her away because he doesn't think he deserves her.She asks him to take the cure with her so they can grow old together. But Damon says that's what Stefan wants, not him. He can't think of anything more miserable than being human. Rebekah and Stefan tromp through the woods at night and trip another trap, ending up close together. They have a quick moment, and he asks if she's serious about a truce with Elena. Rebekah argues that they're being unfair to think of her as evil. Rebekah points out that she only ran Elena off the bridge to save her family, doing what they always do: protecting the people they love. And Elena has helped to kill two of Rebekah's brothers. Elena goes looking for Bonnie and finds both she and Shane are gone, as is his stuff. Rebekah and Stefan come back and find Elena. The headstone is gone. Back at the Gilbert house, Klaus tells Caroline that letting her die will teach Tyler a lesson. Caroline says he's doing it because he's hurt, which means there's a part of him that's human. She says she's seen it and has wished she could forget all the horrible things he's done. "I know that you're in love with me, and anybody capable of love is capable of being saved," she says.Klaus says she's hallucinating. She struggles for breath and goes limp. Klaus finally feeds her his blood. Back on the island, Rebekah freaks out thinking Stefan and Elena are behind the disappearance of the tombstone. Stefan says the cure is his only hope to end the constant pain and suffering of being a vampire. Elena is struck by how differently he and Damon view being a vampire. Elena offers Rebekah a stake as a peace offering, saying the three of them have to work together. Meanwhile, Shane runs through the woods with the tombstone. He meets up with a man who has Jeremy bound and gagged. Shane assumes he's the one who threw the hatchet to save Jeremy, but he didn't. Bonnie finds them and Shane introduces Massac, the witch, who will prevent her from leaving. Damon walks alone in the woods and gets hit by an arrow. Someone jumps out and attacks him. Damon gets the upperhand as they fight, then he sees the man's mark and realizes he's one of the five. The hunter regains the upperhand and snaps Damon's neck.
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In the woods, one of the five hunters has Damon tied to a tree. He knows all about the crew from Mystic Falls and what they're up to. His mark completed two days ago for no apparent reason, when they killed Kol.He doesn't appreciate Damon's glib approach, so he sticks a metal rod in Damon's neck. His name is Galen. Elena calls Caroline to update her on Shane's shenanigans and Damon's disappearance. Elena wants help translating Jeremy's tattoos and wants her to get the sword from Klaus. Caroline goes to look for it. Shane takes Jeremy, Bonnie and Massak the witch to the cave where Silas is. Massak bails, demanding his payment from Shane -- the tombstone, which is valuable in witch circles. Caroline and Tyler come back to the Gilbert's house to show Klaus they've found his sword. They're working on decoding the cryptex in the handle. Klaus says it's in Aramaic, which could take days or week to translate. Turns out, he speaks Aramaic. Back on the island, Elena is surprised that Stefan didn't tell her he wanted to take the cure. Galen leads Damon through the woods, bound by vervane-soaked ropes to hold him. Galen's planning to use Damon as leverage to make Bonnie open the crypt so he can get to Silas and kill him. Damon tries to explain Bonnie's going to open it anyway to get the cure. Caroline and Tyler use the internet to try to translate Jeremy's tattoo, but get nowhere. Klaus helps, saying they need a witch and a "hunter in full bloom." He translates the cryptex: "Silas rests on the far side, the means of his destruction at hand." Klaus sees something in the cryptex and tells Caroline how to open a secret compartment. Meanwhile, Galen explains to Damon that he needs to use the cure to kill Silas. Klaus and Galen explain: There is only one dose. Back in the cave, Bonnie slowly lowers down to join Jeremy. She falls and cuts her hand, bleeding on the stone floor. With Shane out of earshot, Bonnie promises Jeremy she won't let Shane raise Silas, even if it means killing Shane herself. Her blood seeps down to the crypt. Caroline sends Rebekah their translation. Rebekah can't believe Klaus helped. He tells her he hopes she gets her wish to be human then, before Caroline can hang up, he tells her there's only one dose. Damon asks Galen why he saved Jeremy, but Galen denies throwing the mystery hatchet. They come upon a dead body in the woods. (Could be Massak the witch, hard to tell.) Down at the bottom of the cave, Shane leads Bonnie to the door she needs to open, after reminding her that if anything happens to him, something worse will happen to her. Rebekah doesn't tell Elena and Stefan about the one dose. They come to a cliff above a pond, hundreds of feet up. Elena jumps first, then when she's alone with Stefan, Rebekah tells Stefan about the one dose. Shane supervises as Bonnie draws the power of Jeremy's mark, removing it from his skin. In the woods, Galen sees his tattoo disappear as well. The walls start to crumble at the bottom of the well. Rebekah guesses that Stefan would give the cure to Elena. "I'm sorry it couldn't work out the way we all wanted it to," she says. Then she breaks his neck. Elena is hundreds of feed below and helpless. In the cave, Bonnie has opened the way to Silas' crypt. She and Jeremy are unhurt by the falling rocks, but Shane's leg is broken. Bonnie leaves him. In another part of the cave, Galen realizes that if Bonnie already performed the spell to open the way to crypt, he has no need for Damon. He frees him to kill him, but Rebekah finds them. Elena rejoins Stefan, alive again, at the top of the cliff. She doesn't feel like she can take the cure for herself. "Even if I could be human again, I wouldn't be the person that I was," she says. They'll just have to figure out a way to break her sire bond to Damon when they get home.Elena realizes what's waiting for them at home: a trapped Klaus who isn't going to stay trapped much longer. They have to get the cure to him so they can kill him before he kills them all. Back in Mystic Falls, Tyler freaks out over the idea that Klaus will try to kill him with the first chance he gets. Caroline tries to calm him down and assures him she'll handle it. Back with Galen, Rebekah tries to take him on, but first he shoots her with wooden bullets, then he sticks her with a wooden spike grenade that blasts through her. Damon attacks him, but Galen shoots something that wraps him to a post. Stefan and Elena arrive and Galen jumps down a hole. Stefan tells Elena to go ahead while he tries to free Damon. Down in the tunnel, Bonnie sees her Grams, who tells her Silas can bring her back to life. "All you have to do is reach him and feed him," Grams says. Bonnie starts to walk blindly through the cave, but Jeremy stops her. He points out if her Grams was really there as a ghost, he'd be able to see her, too. It's a hallucination planted by Silas. They realize that's how Shane was tricked, too.Jeremy tells her to block Silas out and just focus on him. Back in Mystic Falls, Caroline makes the case to Klaus to spare Tyler. Klaus guesses correctly that Caroline doesn't want the cure, she prefers being a vampire. He thinks they're the same, so she suggests he prove it by showing compassion and mercy in sparing Tyler. He agrees to let Tyler leave town -- but then says it's only a head start before he kills him. Back in the cave, Stefan unbinds Damon, who is weak. He tells Stefan to go ahead and help Elena get the cure for herself because it's what she wants. Stefan leaves him. Alone in the cave, Elena hears noises and comes face to face with...someone she's not happy to see. In Mystic Falls, Caroline gets choked up saying good-bye again to Tyler. He assures her he'll see her again, but she tells him to try to live a happy life without her. They kiss good-bye. Stefan finds Shane and his broken leg. Shane didn't know about there only being one dose. Stefan leaves him.Shane sees his dead wife Caitlin again. She assures him everything will be fine. Bonnie and Jeremy reach Silas's tomb. Jeremy sees a small box in Silas's mummified hands and realizes it couldn't possibly cure every vampire. Silas's arms are fossilized around the box. Bonnie realizes that to get it out, they have to feed him their blood and wake him up. Back in the upper part of the cave, Damon pulls the wooden spikes out of Rebekah to revive her. He says he made peace with the idea he can't control everything and let Elena go for the cure. "You did something selfless, Damon. If I didn't know better, I'd say you were becoming a halfway decent person," she says. Back with Silas, Bonnie is telling Jeremy they'll find a way to the cure without raising Silas, when suddenly she's stabbed from behind -- by Galen. He tells Jeremy they have to raise Silas. Galen slices his hand and starts to bleed on Silas. Jeremy attacks him. They fight over what to do with the cure until Galen gets the upper hand. Galen is about to off Jeremy when Elena runs out and grabs Galen. She's ready to end him, but Jeremy reminds her about the hunter's curse, so she knocks him out instead. Back in Mystic Falls, Klaus walks out of the Gilbert's house. He assumes something happened to Bonnie. He tells Caroline he showed knidness, forgiveness and pity because of her. She's unmoved. He leaves. Stefan sees a trail of blood down in the cave and finds Elena, bleeding. "She's here," Elena says. Back with Silas, Katherine (not Elena) stalls when Jeremy asks her to feed Bonnie to save her. Instead, she gets fed up, cuts him and feeds his wrist to Silas. But Silas wants more, and chomps down on his neck. Katherine takes the cure and runs as Silas drains Jeremy and tosses him aside, not breathing. Dead?
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Back in the cave, Elena runs to Jeremy, who is dead on the ground. She waits for the ring to bring him back. Stefan and Damon don't know where Bonnie is. Stefan mentions to Damon that because Jeremy was one of the five, he's supernatural and the ring won't work anymore."She won't survive this. I'll find Bonnie, you get Elena off this island," Damon says. In Mystic Falls, Caroline tries to get Kol's burn mark out of the Gilbert kitchen floor. Stefan comes in carrying Jeremy's still lifeless body. Elena keeps waiting for the ring to work. On the island, Damon looks for Bonnie and something triggers his spidey sense. Rebekah finds him and Damon catches her up, including that they have to be on the lookout for Silas. Bonnie wakes up in the forest. Shane says he treated her with woodland herbs. Silas healed his broken leg. He's excited for Silas to bring back the dead he lost. He explains to Bonnie that Jeremy is now among them. At the Gilbert house, Caroline, too, understands that Jeremy isn't waking up. They think Elena's in denial. She comes downstairs and says she's not. She thinks that because his tattoo is gone, maybe he's not supernatural anymore and so the ring will work. She's clinging to hope. Caroline leaves Tyler a message. Stefan thinks Katherine stole the cure to bargain for her freedom from Klaus. Suddenly, both Caroline and Stefan can smell Jeremy's body starting to decompose. On the island, Damon uses Rebekah as a shield to stop an arrow from Galen, another hunter. Damon catches up to him and knocks him out. Bonnie has a hard time keeping it together, but Shane says Silas needs her and he'll bring Jeremy back. Meredith Fell checks on Jeremy in the Gilbert house. She gently tells Elena that he's past rigor mortis and soon his body will start to bloat. She wants to take him to a funeral home. Elena lashes out at her, crying for someone to get her Bonnie. Matt shows up and Elena keeps her happy face. Matt asks her to go somewhere with her. On the island, Damon holds a knife to Galen's throat, demanding info on Katherine. He says he found her in Colorado. She knew about Silas from Hayley, the werewolf, whom she met in New Orleans. Damon wants to find Bonnie for Elena, but Rebekah is set on finding the cure. In the woods, Shane explains to Bonnie that Silas lost the ability to do magic when he became immortal, so he'll need Bonnie to do his work for him, using the power of three massacres of 12. But they only have two massacres, so Shane says first they have to complete another.Bonnie objects, but Shane sticks with his "they'll come back" line of reasoning. Bonnie runs away and trips over a vision of Jeremy, who asks her to help him.She tells Shane she'll do whatever it takes. Damon calls Stefan with no news. Stefan thinks Damon needs to come back because the sire bond will keep Elena together; Stefan will go back to find Bonnie. Damon agrees and hangs up.Then Bonnie walks out of the woods. Shane showed her how to find Damon."I know what to do to bring Jeremy back," she says. In Mystic Falls, Matt takes Elena to the stoner pit to see graffiti of his sister Vicki's name. There's also a J+V that Jeremy painted. Matt tells her that it's OK to have hope.Stefan calls to say Damon is on the way with Bonnie. Back in the cave, Galen recommends Rebekah use the cure to kill Silas. Galen has Silas's mask in his bag."How do you hide from the devil when you don't know what he looks like?" Galen says. Caroline leaves Tyler another message. Bonnie and Damon show up. Damon and Stefan conference outside.Inside, Bonnie explains the "expression triangle" that requires 12 more deaths. Flash back to the island, Shane explaining to Bonnie that Quetsiyah her ancestor witch created a purgatory for supernatural beings and Bonnie can make it go away. He seems to have a sort of thrall over Bonnie. Damon tells Stefan he thinks Bonnie's nuts. If she drops the veil between purgatory, all supernatural beings come back. Caroline tells Bonnie she sounds crazy and they can't bring every monster back. April Young calls, looking for Jeremy. At first Elena says he can't come to the phone, then she announces that he's dead. Elena goes back upstairs to Jeremy's body. He's ashen and looks like death. Elena starts to freak out, realizing he's really dead. She can smell him. She asks Damon to carry him downstairs. Matt has taken Bonnie home. Elena goes downstairs and takes out lighter fluid, going a little batty, saying they need a cover story. She douses the house, saying she doesn't want to be there anymore."Every inch of this house is filled with memories of people that I loved who have died, my mom, my dad, Jeremy and Jenna and Alaric, even John. They're all dead, everyone is dead," Elena says.She's near hyperventilating. She collapses in tears sobbing.Stefan tells Damon to help her.He takes Elena in his arms and asks her to let him help her. Damon tells her to turn it off, saying it's what he wants. Not what Stefan had in mind. Elena pauses for a moment and is calm. Back home, Caroline leaves Tyler a message saying that Jeremy is dead. She begs him to call. Matt takes Bonnie home. She assures him it'll be Ok, she'll bring Jeremy back. Shane is waiting for Bonnie. She asks the particulars of who comes back and he says the 12 on the farm were a necessary sacrifice and have passed on. "We'll do this together, you and I. We are the beginning," Shane says in a super creepy way. Back on the island, Rebekah pokes around alone in the dark. She finds a body in the woods, it's Shane, with his leg still broken. She keeps walking, but he grabs her. "Silas," he says. Matt drives home, wracked with grief at the unfairness of it all. Back home, Elena looks at the photo of her and Jeremy, but is unmoved. Outside, Stefan tells Damon that having Elena turn off her humanity was a mistake."Humanity means nothing when you don't have anyone left to care about, Stefan," Damon says."She had you," Stefan says."She lost her brother. I'm not enough, not this time," Damon says. The Salvatore brothers make up. Inside, Elena lights another match. Damon tells her they can find another cover story. Stefan says she might want to come home again someday."I won't," Elena says as she drops the match. The Gilbert house slowly goes up in flames with Jeremy's body inside.
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Humanity-free Elena goes for a late night stroll. She lies down in the middle of a road. At the Salvatores', Stefan worries about her. A car rolls to a stop in the road in front of Elena. Stefan thinks they need to give Elena a reason to turn her humanity back on, a good reason so she's not overwhelmed with grief. A woman gets out of the car and checks on Elena, who goes full vamp on her and bites down. Damon makes her stop before she goes too far."I thought this was supposed to be fun," Elena pouts. Klaus finds Hayley the hybrid at a truck stop, fending off a vampire who comes after her. He knows Katherine is coming for Hayley and he promises to protect her in exchange for information about Katherine. Stefan plans to take Elena back to school as a distraction while Damon goes after Katherine. Caroline is over at the boys' house because their water filters are the only ones that keep the mayor's vervane-laced water out. Caroline mentions her mom needs help, so Stefan agrees. Caroline gets school duty. Damon uses his sire bond to urge Elena not to eat anyone at school. At school, Elena tears down a flyer about a memorial for Jeremy. Elena asks Caroline to get her back on the cheerleading team. Damon drops by Klaus' to confront him about conspiring with Hayley. Damon suggests his plan to give the cure to Elena helps Klaus because then Katherine can't force feed it to him. Damon wants info to track Katherine. Klaus mentions the vampire he bit last night protecting Hayley. But given that he was bitten by Klaus the hybrid, he probably doesn't have long. Sheriff Forbes updates Stefan: the hospital's entire blood supply is gone. She thinks the town's at a tipping point. She asks him who would be so careless to steal the whole supply. At a cheerleading competition, Elena sees a competitor leave to get her make-up bag off the bus. Elena follows her and attacks her on the bus, stealing her hair ribbon in the process. Caroline figures things out when Elena shows up with the other team's ribbon in her hair and her victim has a scarf around her neck. Caroline tells Stefan the sire bond directions didn't work. Stefan calls Damon explaining that because the sire bond was tied to her emotional attachment to him, and she has no emotions, the sire bond isn't in effect. At the truck stop looking for the wounded vampire, Damon runs into Rebekah instead. She's looking for Katherine, too. She brought Klaus' blood to convince the wounded vampire to talk, knowing it's the only thing that'll save him. Klaus hosts Hayley. She met Katherine in New Orleans when she was looking for her real parents and Katherine offered to help her. "An orphan? Well that does explain your charming bravado, abandonment issues will do it every time," Klaus says. Stefan asks Elena if she stole the town's blood. She says she prefers something warmer. He cautions her against falling into the ripper trap. Caroline tells Elena she can't perform, but Elena ignores her. The Lady Timberwolves perform and mid-routine, Elena steps away during a lift and lets Caroline fall to the mat. Later outside, Stefan injects Elena with vervane and knocks her out. Damon and Rebekah look for their wounded vampire in the local hospital, on the idea that he'd be hiding from the sun. Damon checks the blood supply and finds it's all missing, but he doesn't think their wounded vampire is responsible. At Klaus' house, Hayley continues to stall on providing information about Katherine to Klaus. She makes a pitch to him to let Tyler go free, but he's not inclined. Back at the Salvatore's house, Elena changes in front of Stefan. He compares her using sex to Katherine's tactics. She's cold about their past history together. She won't stop texting so he grabs her phone. They head downstairs to find the house full of people from the cheer competition. She was texting to bring the party to her. Caroline shows up. They can't compel the partiers to leave since the locals are all on vervane from the town water supply. Elena is dancing on a table top, having a blast. Caroline urges Stefan to join in, so he hoists her over his shoulder and takes her to the dance floor. Damon feeds on a nurse then compels her to walk to her car. He explains to Rebekah that the nurse is bait for the wounded, starving vampire. Damon finds the vampire. He knows him. His name is Will. Damon rips his heart out quickly, telling Rebekah he was too far gone. Back at Klaus', Hayley flirts with him. He goes for it. At the Salvatores', Elena's pouring booze for everyone. She sees Stefan and Caroline dancing and suggests Caroline "take him out for a spin." Sheriff Forbes shows up and asks what's going on."Just some underage drinking and drug use," Elena says. Sheriff Forbes goes to shut the party down and Elena is about to attack her. Caroline swoops in to save her mom. She's furious with Elena, but Elena takes off. Stefan and Caroline search the woods for Elena. Stefan realizes the party was a distraction for Elena to escape. He tells Caroline to snap Elena's neck if she finds her. Damon returns to the party in full swing at his house. Rebekah follows him and accuses him of killing Will to prevent her from finding Katherine and taking the cure. He questions what she'd get out of becoming human, equating it with mediocrity. Damon gets a text that Elena is loose. Caroline calls out to Elena in the woods. Elena jumps her and fights with her. Caroline yells at her to stop, saying she hurt her mom. Elena urges Caroline to try turning her humanity off, saying it might make her quit whining about Tyler leaving her and keep her from feeling guilty about her dirty thoughts about Klaus. They start fighting again and Elena skewers Caroline with a tree branch. Elena about to stab her again when Damon and Stefan show up and tear Elena off. Back at the Salvatores', Caroline leaves Tyler another voice mail about her crazy day. She gets a text from Matt to meet at Tyler's. Stefan tries to console Caroline about Elena. They vow not to give up on her. Damon keeps Elena on lockdown in his room as he goes through old photos. He finds one of him with Will. Elena assures Damon she feels great without emotions."Be honest, you like me better like this," she says. Caroline shows up at Tyler's but can't get in until Matt invites her. He got a package from Tyler including a letter for her. Tyler writes that the only way they can be safe from Klaus is if he never comes home. He gave Matt the deed to the house to protect her. He says he'll always love her and she realizes he's not coming back. As Hayley gets dressed after rolling around with Klaus, he sees a crescent moon mark on her shoulder. He recognizes it as belonging to a werewolf bloodline that lived in old Louisiana. He assures her he's not toying with her. Sheriff Forbes calls Stefan, saying they have a bigger problem. Stefan calls Damon: six other hospitals' blood supply is missing. He thinks Silas followed them home and is hoarding to gorge. "I'm really not in the mood to Scooby Doo our way through the case of the missing blood supply. So why don't you hold down the fort until I get back and I'll be in touch, brother?" Damon says. He hangs up on Stefan and we see he's driving down the road with Elena. Damon checks his picture with Will. They're on their way to New York.
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A young man and woman walk down an NYC street after dark and sees a body lying motionless on the sidewalk. In a blink, the body is gone and has been replaced by the young woman. Her boyfriend panics as Damon approaches -- and with good reason. Damon chomps on the man's neck. It's 1977. Fast forward to present day. Elena and Damon stroll down the bustling streets. "There's so much life that a little death goes unnoticed," Damon says. Stefan calls and, with Elena out exploring, Damon explains that he organized this little field trip to hunt down a lead in the search for the cure. Meanwhile, Caroline is cleaning up after a big party... and downing half empty plastic cops as she goes. Klaus enters and Caroline isn't happy. "Tyler made it his life's mission to kill me -- you can't hate me for driving him away," he says. Stefan enters, explaining he wants Klaus's help to track down Silas. Bonnie is speaking with Silas, who looks a lot like Shane, and imagines the entire scene is in her head. Silas assures the witch that it is not -- and tells her to complete the Triangle by killing 12 people. "Twelve people you can bring back," he continues. "Bonnie, you can do this -- for Jeremy." Later, Stefan explains to Klaus that Silas must be stopped from completing the final of three massacres lest all dead supernatural beings come back, including many that Klaus personally dispatched. "My interest is piqued," growls Klaus. We then flashback once again to Damon in 1970s New York City. He is in an underground club and spots a potential victim. Before he can feed on the punk, Lexi interrupts him. "You're going to feed on him right here?" Lexi asks. "You're getting sloppy." Back in the present day, Rebekah interrupts Damon's trip down memory lane by slamming his head onto bar table and smiling at Elena. It is revealed that Damon is looking for the cure, making Elena angry. Later, she confides in Rebekah that she knew all along that Damon is searching for the cure, and she is tagging along in hopes of finding it first to avoid taking it. "He's playing me, I'm just returning the favor," Elena says. Caroline, Stefan, and Klaus head to Shane's old lab to try to find a lead that will take them to Silas. Caroline finds an old book that depicts the Expression Triangle. Silas, in the meantime, has convinced Bonnie to kill the 12 witches. When Bonnie's dad comes home, the witch shows her frustration by blowing out the windows and sending flames shooting out of the fireplace. "I need you to call mom," Bonnie tells her dad. "We need witches. A lot of them." Back in NYC, Damon explains to Elena and Rebekah that Lexi believed that Damon could turn his emotions back on if he started enjoying his life again. His music playing and people dancing, Elena begins to feed on a young woman in the crowd, allowing Damon to sneak out of the club. Back at Shane's lab, Caroline uses the book to map out a triangle of massacres, revealing two points where the final one could take place. Stefan, meanwhile, talks to Bonnie's dad and figures out exactly where the trio needs to head. Damon enters his buddy's apartment and begins searching files on all runners. Unfortunately, the files are organized by birth date and he can't remember when Katherine came into the world. Stefan calls and provides a date in the 15th century. "And that's why you were the better boyfriend," Damon quips. Sure enough, he finds a file with all last known addresses, including a pair in the last few months. It's a hot lead. Back in the 70s, we see Damon and Lexi getting drunk. Lexi brings up Katherine because she knows Damon loves her -- and love is the strongest of all emotions. "Let me help you," she says. "Tell me about Katherine." Damon claims that he actually loves Lexi. The two kiss. In the present day, Damon tells Elena the story. She grabs a bottle and invites him to the roof so he can finish his story. On the way, Elena winks at Rebekah. Bonnie lies on the ground screaming. She is surrounded by witches, who believe they are there to help the girl. Stefan soon steps in and stops the ceremony. "She's working for Silas!" he warns. "He brainwashed her to kill you." The head witch decides to kill Bonnie, but is stopped at the last minute by Caroline. Caroline kills the head witch and -- because the woman is connected to the 11 witches surrounding her -- the third massacre has now happened. "The Triangle is complete," gasps Bonnie. Stefan and Klaus are horrified. On the roof, Elena puts the moves on Damon. The two kiss, mirroring the Lexi-Damon make-out session. Elena tries to sneak her hand into Damon's pocket to remove the file containing Katherine's addresses -- and he pushes her away. "Did you really think that was going to work?" Damon asks. "I invented that trick." Flashback to the 70s, where we find out that Damon faked turning his humanity back on just to get Lexi isolated on the roof when the sun came up. He just wanted to get Lexi off his back. In the present day, Damon warns Elena that she might do something in her current state that she can't take back -- like he did. Suddenly, Rebekah appears and knocks Damon to the ground. The next morning, Bonnie awakens and doesn't remember a thing about the previous night. Worse, she doesn't remember a thing past the moment when Jeremy was trying to take the cure from Silas. "I have something that you need to know about Jeremy," Stefan says sadly. Caroline, in the meantime, is feeling mighty guilty about murdering the 12 witches -- and possibly allowing Silas to unleash what Klaus calls "Hell on Earth." She runs away in tears, leaving Klaus alone in the woods. Moments later, Silas appears. Damon swims out of unconsciousness on the rooftop -- same place he once left Lexi -- and gets a call from Elena. She has teamed up with Rebekah to find Katherine. They have taken the file. As the episode ends, Silas stabs Klaus with a stake. "Just a little something to remember me by," Silas says. "I'll be in touch."
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Elena pulls over her stolen Porsche in their third city in their Katherine search. Elena announces she's hungry and goes to feed on a woman on the street. "Katherine, what are you doing?" the woman asks. She asked her to feed from her wrist, not her neck. "Conniving little bitch compelled the whole town," Rebekah announces.They found Katherine's hideout. The woman doesn't recognize Katherine's name when Rebekah says it. She compelled people to forget about her unless they were talking to her. "You said we could all be friends with you, as long as we kept your secret," the woman says, but she doesn't know what it is. Stefan and Damon collect Damon's abandoned car on the road. Sheriff Forbes has tracked the girls' stolen car to Willoughby, Penn.Damon is ready for the old Elena back. "Elena without humanity is a stone cold bitch," he says. Back home, Klaus tries to get the stake tip out of his back. Caroline arrives -- but she's Silas."Until you bring me the cure I will bring you nothing but misery," s/he says. Elena checks on her mail and the mailman says he saw her two minutes ago. Katherine jumps Elena in the parking lot and Rebekah pulls her off. They sit down for coffee in a diner, Rebekah keeps Katherine in place by jamming a fork through her hand. She's on vervane so Rebekah can't compel her to cough up the cure's location. She says she plans to give it to Klaus so he'll stop chasing her."You poor victim, where the part in your plan where you screw us over and somebody dies?" Elena asks. They check her phone and find an appointment to meet "em" at two. Caroline shows up at Klaus' house. He thinks she's Silas, but she mentions prom and he believes it's her. He points out if she dies, they all die, too. He wants her to cut the stake out. In Willoughby, the boys find the stolen car. Damon doesn't understand what Katherine is doing in the hick town. Stefan questions how they're supposed to go up against Rebekah the original as bodyguard. Damon is more determined than ever to get the old Elena back after having his neck snapped. Elena tries to dress up at Katherine, doing her hair and demanding all her jewelry, her jacket and her shoes. Elena as Katherine, waits to meet with "em." The boys find Rebekah and Katherine in the diner. "EM" shows up for his meeting with Katherine -- it's Elijah. He kisses her hello and asks if she has the cure with her. He sees her daylight ring and the jig is up -- he knows she's Elena. At the diner, Katherine tells them who "EM" is and Rebekah tells them where she is. They realize she plans to use Elijah to broker her deal with Klaus. Back in Mystic Falls, Caroline digs around in Klaus' back with a knife, trying to find the white oak stake tip. She jabs the knife around and hurts him then apologizes. She realizes what she's doing and takes it back then offers a bargain -- she'll help him if he allows Tyler to come back to town and promises not to hurt him. Stefan calls Elijah from Katherine's phone. They trade threats. Elena tells him he's an idiot to fall for Katherine and believe her. He can tell her humanity is off."My brother's dead, your girlfriend killed him," she says.He realizes Katherine lied to him. Katherine leads Damon and Rebekah to her place and says the cure isn't where she left it. They're not buying it. Damon looks around the tries to figure where she hid it. He tries the fish tank with no fish in it and finds it full of vervane water. She dunks his head in it and grabs it. Rebekah returns and stops her. Katherine tosses it and makes a break for it. Rebekah goes for the cure. Damon is too wounded from his vervane dunking to stop her. She thinks he doesn't really want Elena to take the cure and go running back to Stefan. Stefan appears in the doorway just in time to see her down it. She collapses on the couch. Back in Mystic Falls, Caroline waits out Klaus's screaming, trying to make him agree to release Tyler. They end up screaming at each other, with Caroline saying she should have turned her back on him ages ago. Suddenly, Klaus realizes the pain is gone. It was never there, Silas was in his head. Caroline took his mind off it. "You brought me back, Caroline," he says."If Silas can make you, of all people, believe that you're dying, what can he do to the rest of us?" Caroline wonders. Back in Willoughby, Stefan yells at Damon, thinking that he let Rebekah take the cure on purpose.Rebekah wakes up. Elijah offers his condolences to Elena for Jeremy's death. She can't believe he thinks that the Katherine he used to love is still in there somewhere. "You boys are all the same. Damon and Stefan still think the girl they love is somewhere in here, too," she says. "You can't blame them for having hope, Elena. It'd be a shame if the world lost a soul as compassionate as yours," Elijah says. She remembers what he wrote to her once about her compassion being a gift, but it felt good to watch that letter burn, along with her old life and Jeremy's body.Suddenly, Katherine appears and snaps Elena's neck. Rebekah wakes up feeling human. Damon points out it means he can kill her now and flings a letter opener at her head. Rebekah catches it instinctively with vampire speed. They watch as the cut on her hand heals quickly. She's still a vampire, the cure was a fake. With Katherine, Elijah brings up the fact that she killed Jeremy. She says it was necessary. She tells Elijah she loves him, but he doesn't believe her. He walks away, and with it her chance of a deal with Klaus. Katherine shows up on the doorstep of the woman from the street. She came to retrieve her secret package; the cure. Katherine stops Elijah on the street. She tells him he's right, that she's been on the run so long she's starting to believe her own lies. "I don't even remember who I was when we first met and I want to find out," she says. She shows Elijah the cure, saying she could give it to Klaus and kill him, but she knows she'd lose Elijah and she doesn't want that.She gives him the cure, hoping he'll trust her, then lets him decide what comes next. She walks away. Rebekah finds her brother and asks for the cure. She wants to live a simple life as a normal person. "You will always be my brother and I will never stop loving you, but now it's time for me to live and die the way that I choose, and not the way that you and Nic want me to. Please just give me the cure," Rebekah says. Klaus calls her and she hands the phone to Elijah. He tells Klaus he's bringing the cure back to Mystic Falls, they'll settle it like family. Klaus asks Caroline if they can be friends. She asks about Tyler. "You might have noticed I'm not exactly scouring the earth for him, am I?" Klaus says. Damon admits to Stefan that he let Rebekah take the cure, but then immediately realized it was a mistake. "I had a moment of weakness, Stefan -- it's my thing. Like you and I falling for the same girl -- it's our thing," Damon says. Stefan says them both loving Elena is like them both liking Katherine, they just keep repeating the same cycle. Once they get the cure for Elena, Stefan plans to go get a life of his own. They find Elena back at the diner. She tells them she doesn't want to take the cure and wants them to accept it, or there will be consequences.Stefan reminds her about her rescuing him from the brink when his emotions were off. The waitress comes to refill Elena's coffee and she rises up and snaps her neck, killing her -- the first consequence. She warns them if they keep at it, there will be more.
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Bonnie visits Jeremy's grave and says a tearful good-bye. Then she sees him standing behind her, shouting at her to wake up.She wakes up on her couch, surrounded by flames. She puts them out with a wave of her hand. At the Salvatores, it has been eight or nine days since Elena killed anyone. Plan A is to pull a Lexie and bombard Elena with emotions until one of them sticks, Plan B is to lock her up. Stefan plans to bail when she gets her humanity back. Rebekah and Klaus try to convince Elijah why each of them are worthy of the cure. Rebekah argues that Klaus having it means Silas could break down the veil to the other side. Elijah decides on Rebekah, then asks her to prove that she really wants it. Elijah tells her to live a day as a human, no vampire privileges, no strength, no compulsion. If she succeeds, she can have it. Elena and Rebekah go shopping for prom dresses. Elena thinks she'll fail. Bonnie tells Caroline about her dream and burning couch. Bonnie, Caroline and Matt are going together. Caroline makes tracks when Elena comes in. Later that night, Stefan and Damon pick Elena up for prom in a limo. She stole Caroline's prom dress. Caroline goes to Klaus, complaining about her stolen dress. She asks Klaus to raid his closet. At prom, Caroline has made a photo memory book of the senior class, including pictures of Elena with Jeremy. Rather than being moved by them, she announces she's going to get a seizure if she keeps staring at the screens. Damon smuggles a flask in and makes repeated references to Elena about being her boyfriend, but she calls him out for trying to stir up her emotions. She coldly tells him he means nothing to her.She unleashes similar nastiness on Bonnie and Matt when they check on her."I thought you were going to bring Jeremy back, but it turns out you were just a brain-washed crazy person, so technically, you're a walking reminder of all the horrible things that have happened to me," Elena tells Bonnie."Caroline's right, Elena's gone," Bonnie announces. Bonnie goes for air outside and sees a photo of her with Jeremy. Then she sees Jeremy. She doesn't care if it's real and goes to dance with him. Inside, Stefan grabs Elena for a dance. Rebekah asks Matt if he thinks she'd make a good human. He's never seen her do anything remotely good, so, no. Stefan tries to bring back old memories for Elena, as they dance, but she insists she feels nothing. Damon watches. Caroline arrives in a regal, beaded mermaid gown. Stefan keeps her from lashing into Elena over her stolen dress, reminding her to kill Elena with kindness. Stefan admits to Caroline that he's having a hard time moving on from Elena. She thinks one day he'll meet someone new and have moved on without realizing it. Rebekah tries to convince April Young to anoint her prom queen. Elena swoops in and threatens April unless she rigs it. Rebekah insists she wasn't going to use violence."Remember the time you tortured me until I told you how to find the cure, you ruined my relationship with Stefan and then you trapped us with a werewolf?" Elena asks."Yea, so?""So you're not a good person, you're not going to win this cure by being yourself. So just stand there and refrain from talking, OK?" Outside, Bonnie dances with Jeremy in the woods. He tells her her magic can bring her back for good, she has the power to do the spell now. She realizes she's dancing with Silas. He warns her if he doesn't help her, she'll kill herself, and asks about her waking up in flames. At Klaus', Elijah gives Klaus the white oak stake he got from Rebekah.Elijah asks him to spare Katherine, instead Klaus vows to enjoy he never knows a moment of happiness. Rebekah asks Matt to dance. She begs when he says no. As they dance, she tells him she aspires to be like him, honest and loyal. Caroline pouts over bad prom. Damon offers booze. Bonnie tells everyone about Silas' appearance. Elena explains to Rebekah that she doesn't want the barrier to the other side broken because Jeremy would work nonstop to get her to turn her humanity back on. If they can't kill Silas, Elena suggests they kill Bonnie instead.Bonnie and Matt are crowed prom queen and king. Caroline heads to Tyler's house to prep for the after party. Tyler is waiting for her. Outside the dance, Damon asks Stefan if he's really over Elena. Stefan goads Damon until he charges, then Stefan stakes him. He's Silas. Stefan is really in the woods, where Silas convinced him he was Damon. Silas warns Damon to stay away from Bonnie. At the dance, Rebekah warns Matt to protect Bonnie from Elena. Elena tries to attack Bonnie, but Bonnie easily incapacitates her, sending blasts of wind through the dance. She realizes she's about to meltdown and runs away. Matt watches in horror at Elena chomps into April for not making Rebekah prom queen. Matt calls Rebekah, who says she can't heal her because she wants to get the cure. Matt urges her to do the human thing and save her. Damon finds Stefan in the woods, also staked. Silas as Jeremy follows Bonnie, offering to help. She tells him to get away, setting off car alarms. He tells her he needs her help to control it. She screams at him to get away and he disappears.Elena picks that moment to attack, biting down on Bonnie's neck. Her blood is like poison to Elena, she gags on it and collapses. Bonnie continues punishing her, breaking her wrist. She's about to kill Elena when Stefan and Damon arrive and convince her to stop.Stefan injects Elena with vervane, on to Plan B. Matt thanks Rebekah for saving April and promises not to tell anyone she used her vampire powers. But Klaus strolls out, telling her she has to come clean to Elijah, but at least he doesn't have to worry about her whims anymore. Meanwhile, back at the house, Rebekah/Silas shows up, telling Elijah she passed his test. He realizes something is wrong when she walks away and the real Rebekah calls in tears, warning him Klaus is up to something. Tyler and Caroline finish up their dance, but he has to leave. Outside, Tyler runs into Klaus, who asks him if it was worth it. In their shared interest of giving Caroline the prom night of her dreams, Klaus gives Tyler a five second head start. Damon and Stefan lock unconscious Elena in the basement dungeon. Damon saw she was scared when Bonnie had her in her grips. Plan C will be to make Elena's life a living hell. Klaus returns home to a note from Katherine, telling him about a witch in New Orleans named Jane Anne Deveroux, who is plotting against him. She promises what she has to say will shake him to his core and he'll forget about chasing her. Bonnie finds Silas, in his real form, down in the cave. Quetsia scarred him, but Bonnie asks to see his face: it's hideous and misshapen.
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Stefan and Damon leave Elena to slowly desiccate in the dungeon, waiting for her to get desperate enough to beg for blood, showing feelings.Katherine saunters in with news that Hayley lured Klaus to New Orleans. She thinks he's out of their lives for good. New OrleansHayley hangs out in a bar where Jane Anne tends bar. She knows Hayley is a werewolf and shows her where to look for her family. She also snags some Hayley's hair. Jane Anne and her sister Sophie head to a graveyard with Hayley's hair to perform a spell to get Klaus. Sophie heads off for her part of the task. Late at night, Hayley pulls up to the part of the bayou where Jane anne told her to go.As Jane Anne begins the spell in the graveyard, Hayley's map bursts into flames and her car dies. She calls for a tow service, but gets a splitting headache instead and is quickly surrounded by Sophie and witches in the woods. Hayley passes out. Klaus shows up in New Orleans. Back in Mystic Falls, Rebekah hopes the witches can find a way to kill him. Elijah heads down, not sure if he'll help the witches kill Klaus or stop them. Klaus sits down with a fortune teller in the French quarter, recognizing her as a true witch. She knows he's a hybrid. But she's not talking -- that would mean breaking Marcelle's rules. Klaus finds Marcelle performing wicked karaoke in a nightclub. Marcelle remembers Klaus' father running Klaus out of town 100 years ago, leaving a trail of dead vampires in his wake. They stare each other down like enemies, but it's a front: they're old pals. Klaus sired Marcelle. Marcelle says he has the witches in New Orleans wrapped around his finger. Marcelle leads him to Jane Anne through a parade of vampires galavanting around the Quarter. A vampire brings Jane Anne to Marcelle, bound. He accuses her of violating his rules for witchcraft, surrounded by a circle of vampires. She denies doing anything and calls him a monster. He slits her throat to the cheers of the gathered vampires. Klaus is angry because he wanted to talk to her. Marcelle promises to find out what she was up to. Klaus asks Thierry if there are other Deveraux witches and then visits Sophie in her restaurant, wanting to know what's going on. Marcelle's vampires follow Klaus. Sophie refuses to talk to Klaus in front of them. Klaus tells them to quit following him. Sophie goes outside to a shrine to her sister. Marcelle's vampires follow her and interrogate her, wanting to know what Sophie was up to. As she's talking to them, one disappears and only his heart is left behind. Someone swiftly stakes the other. It's Elijah. Klaus wanders into a nightclub in the French Quarter and is surprised to see vampires feeding openly. He accosts a vampire, shouting for Marcelle.Marcelle tells him hurting his vampires is against his rules. Marcelle explains what he's been up to. He says he's taught the humans to look the other way and has a way to know when witches are practicing magic. He takes vervane to build up his immunity. They see a bartender walking alone, Marcelle swoops down to eat her. Elijah shows up and takes Klaus to the cemetery where Jane Anne was casting her spell. Sophie is waiting. She tells Klaus that Marcelle is out of control and she's going to stop him. "And you're going to help me," she says.He's not inclined to listen until they bring Hayley out.Sophie informs him Hayley is pregnant. That's impossible for vampires, but he was born a werewolf, so it's "one of nature's loopholes." Jane Anne sacrificed herself to perform the spell to confirm the baby is his, they now control Hayley. Unless he goes along with them, they threaten to kill her. They don't want to kill Marcelle outright; they have a plan for stopping him. "Kill her and the baby, what do I care?" Klaus says, storming off.Elijah follows, telling him it's their chance to be a family again. He asks Klaus to stay and save his child. Klaus says no. Elijah calls Rebekah, who doesn't think Klaus will come around. Katherine lurks and tells Rebekah that he will come around because he won't want to be alone. Klaus goes back to Marcelle for answers on the witches, but he refuses. Marcelle's vampires stop and watch as Marcelle puts Klaus in his place, taking credit for making New Orleans what it is today and saying he runs things. He reminds Klaus that anyone who breaks the rules dies and he demands respect. Klaus responds by attacking Thierry. He points out the vampire will be dead in the morning, meaning Klaus should be killed as punishment, but, he points out, he's immortal. Klaus sees Cami, the bartender Marcelle went after, standing in the French Quarter watching a street artist paint. She says the artist is lost, alone and wishes he could control his demons instead of having his demons control him. What she says hits home for Klaus. He goes off alone. Elijah finds him. Klaus is angry that Marcelle has power, loyalty and family -- all the things Klaus always wanted. "I want what he has, I want to be king," Klaus says."And what of Hayley and the baby?" Elijah asks"Every king needs an heir." Sophie lays out the plan to Elijah: Klaus has to cement his place in Marcelle's inner circle of daywalkers. Klaus shows up at Marcelle's, saying he's not his enemy. He gives Thierry his blood to heal him and tells Marcelle he'd like to stay. Klaus calls Caroline and leaves her a message, telling her he'd like to share New Orleans with her. Elijah goes back to Mystic Falls to convince Rebekah to move to New Orleans, presenting Klaus' baby as a chance to have the family she always wanted.Rebekah tells him she doesn't owe Klaus anything and wants to stay put. Katherine then tries to convince Elijah to abandon Klaus and go with her. Instead, he kisses her good-bye. Damon visits Elena in the dungeon. She's weak from hunger. He gives her a bag of blood, which she gulps down. It's laced with vervane. "How does that make you feel? Hurt, because I'd betray you? Angry, because I'd cause you pain? Or scared, because you know it's going to get a lot worse?" Damon says. "You boys want to play games, go ahead. Let's see you breaks first, me or you," Elena says.They lock her in.
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Elena comes to school, where Caroline is excited about graduating. Elena realizes something is off, they're in her head.They kept her weak to bring her to high school fantasy land. Elena says it won't work. Back in the cellar, Damon lets Elena out of the safe just long enough for her to tell him off. He shoves her back in. Damon and Stefan aren't stopping until she turns her humanity switch on. "I'm going to come back for you in a couple hours, or a couple years, because all we have is time," Damon says. Caroline comes to the house. Stefan explains they're just trying to provoke any emotion at all in her. Caroline tries talking to her. When Stefan leaves her alone, Caroline give Elena a little blood. She doesn't agree with the boys' approach. "This annoying clingy thing you're doing, did it ever occur to you that's why both your boyfriends skipped town?" Elena says, referring to Tyler and Klaus. Elena plies on, mocking her enthusiasm for graduation and calling her vicious names. Elena goes after her again and Caroline snaps her neck. Caroline tells Stefan to do whatever he needs to fix her. Matt talks to Rebekah at the bar. She's drowning her sorrows for losing the cure and breaking ties with Klaus and Elijah. She likes Elena the way she is. Matt suggests she leave town if she's so miserable, he's failing his classes and doesn't have much choice. Caroline tries to get Bonnie to come to the Salvatore house, but Bonnie isn't ready to forgive and forget after Elena tried to kill her. Bonnie meets secretly with Katherine, saying she has an offer she can't refuse. Back at the Salvatore house, the boys put Elena in front of a curtain and take off her daylight ring. Damon is armed with a fire extinguisher. "Even if I do manage to get my emotions back, I'll remember all this and I'll hate both of you for it," she says. Damon thinks it's worth the risk. They open the curtains and let the sun burn her. Elena is unmoved, so they go for round two. Caroline and Matt hang out outside. Rebekah drops by with food for Matt. She mentions that Matt is failing some classes. It's news to Caroline. She goes home to get her flashcard, but runs into Klaus outside. Bonnie asks Katherine for Silas' tombstone to drop the veil in two days on the full moon. "I said I'd help him and I've been hiding from him ever since, buying time," Bonnie says. She won't explain since Silas can read minds. Bonnie's the only one who can see his true face. Back at the house, Elena heals from her burns. Elena turns on Damon, saying being sired to him was awful and her love for him was fake. Her ropes burn off and Elena runs to the curtain and tears it down. She bursts into flames and they douse her with the extinguisher. "I'm the girl that you love, you wouldn't do anything to actually hurt me, you just proved that. So what do I have to be afraid of?" she asks. Outside, Damon and Stefan are frustrated they're not getting anywhere. Stefan suggests they get someone who really will hurt Elena: Katherine. She was just abandoned by Elijah and they think she'll enjoy the chance to torture Elena. Caroline talks to Klaus just long enough to realize he's Silas. He grabs her by the neck and demands to know where Bonnie is. He stakes her, as a message to Bonnie. Inside, Rebekah offers to compel Matt good grades and a scholarship. She's grateful he convinced her to save April's life at prom.Katherine interrupts their moment. Matt leaves to call Caroline to let her know. Caroline wakes up in the woods -- the stake is gone. She races back to the house and runs into Matt, but it's just Matt again. He threatens to kill her mother unless she finds Bonnie. Caroline runs for the house, but Klaus as Silas stops her and throws her down the stairs. Caroline gets in her car and calls her mom, telling her to get inside and lock all the doors. Downstairs, Katherine starts things off with Elena by digging her hand in her chest and squeezing her heart. Elena calls her a horrible person mocks her for Elijah leaving her. Katherine throws her back in the safe, but doesn't lock it. Back upstairs, they discover Elena is missing. Damon takes Matt and goes to look for her. Caroline goes home to her mom, calling her cell phone as she stands in front of her to verify it's her. Elena wanders weakly through the woods. She flags down an SUV, Matt gets out. She vamps and is about to attack. He tries talking to her, saying she's his oldest friend and he's the girl he's loved longer than he can remember."Deep down, that probably does mean something, but I am really hungry," she says as she bites down on his neck. Caroline waits for Bonnie's call. Bonnie shows up on her doorstep, but Caroline won't let her in. When Sheriff Forbes walks up behind Caroline, Bonnie sees that it's not really her. Bonnie breaks down the door and Caroline runs to check on her mom in the other room. She's lying on the floor. Caroline feeds her mom her blood. Bonnie promises Silas she'll help him as long as he doesn't hurt any of her friends. He warns her her promise is binding. In the woods, as Elena goes for seconds on Matt, Stefan pulls her off. Damon holds up a weak Matt and tells her he's done playing games, either she turns her emotions back on he'll kill Matt right in front of her. Stefan cautinons Damon to stop. Elena thinks he's bluffing.Damon snaps Matt's neck. "How about now? You feel anything now?" Damon taunts her, asking if she feels sad or anything at all. Guess it's a good thing he was wearing Jeremy's protection ring. Matt's not dead.Damon asks her if she can feel the weight lifting, it's relief, her emotions coming back. Elena's emotions come flooding back all at once and she's overwhelmed with guilt for killing the waitress. Stefan guides her to find the one thing inside that gives her hope and hold onto it. "I'm not OK, but I'll get better," she says. Back home with her mom, Caroline draws her blood and injects it into her mom's heart, trying to bring her back. She cries over her mom's body.Finally, Sheriff Forbes takes a breath. Matt comes back to life with a sore neck. Rebekah tells him it worked. He wanted to pay her back from saving him at the bottom of the river. Rebekah apologizes for the part she played in that and Elena becoming a vampire. She promises to spend every day until graduation trying to pay him back. Katherine meets with Bonnie again, guessing that with Quetsia's blood in the tombstone, maybe she doesn't need the full moon to drop the veil. Once she does, Bonnie says she can use Quetsia's spell to make Katherine truly immortal. Katherine agrees to give her the tombstone. Back at the house, Elena recovers from her emotional rollercoaster. Then she gets angry. The one thing she focused on was hating Katherine, the cause of all their problems and the one who killed Jeremy.Elena wants to kill her.
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Stefan tries to convince Elena to give up her "unwavering hatred for a ruthless vampire who's 500 years old," but she's set on killing Katherine. Everyone sends out graduation announcements, but Matt explains to Rebekah that he doesn't have any family to send them to. She's continuing to dote on him and he's thawing toward her. Caroline also tries, unsuccessfully, to make Elena let her hatred of Katherine go. Meanwhile, in the woods with Katherine, Bonnie works on drawing on the expression triangle of where the three massacres took place to lower the veil to reach Qetsiyah, using the power of the tombstone. Katherine gets impatient as she tries to understand how this leads to Bonnie making her immortal. Bonnie wants to ask Qetsiyah how to kill Silas. Katherine tries to leave, but Bonnie linked them so that Silas couldn't get in Katherine's head. Where ever Bonnie goes, Katherine goes, and whatever happens to Katherine, happens to them both. If Silas finds out that Bonnie doesn't need a full moon to do the spell, it's all over. Sheriff Forbes calls Damon and Stefan to the hospital. Five people have been almost completely drained of blood. They assume it's Silas, powering up before tomorrow night's full moon. Bonnie takes Katherine down to the Lockwood cellar to draw on the power of the 12 dead hybrids. At the Grill, Rebekah brings Elena a shot to check on her rage. She tells Rebekah their Thelma and Louise moment as pals has passed. Caroline is still hurt about the things Elena said to her when her humanity was off, but Elena won't apologize because if she does, she'll be overwhelmed with guilt, which she won't handle well. Suddenly, the power goes out throughout the town as a Bonnie-related weather system blows through. At the Young farm, Bonnie links the final massacre spot and is ready to drop the veil. With the sheriff, Damon and Stefan realize what Bonnie's up to. Forbes got a tip that someone just saw Bonnie with Elena, but they know she's with Caroline, so it must be Katherine. They head to the center of the expression triangle -- the high school. At the school, Damon tells Elena that Bonnie is with Katherine. Stefan and Caroline investigate noises in the kitchen and notice water draining through the floor. "I think we're at the right place, just the wrong elevation," Stefan says. Below, Katherine hands over the tombstone to Bonnie. Damon tells Elena to stay put. He doesn't want her killing Katherine to flood her with emotions and foul up stopping Bonnie. Elena thinks killing Katherine will help her get over her emotional hurdle. She stakes Damon to go try. In the cave under the high school, Bonnie channels the expression triangle, lowering the veil. Damon comes to and takes the stake out of his gut. Alaric strolls up and lends a hand. Damon is wary that he might be Silas, Alaric proves he's himself by opening a locker with hidden booze. He's flesh and blood inside the expression triangle. At the Grill, Rebekah is enjoying the candlelight time with Matt when her dead brother Kol shows up. He wants revenge for his death and since he can't kill dead Jeremy, he's after Elena. He throws a broken bottle into Matt's shoulder before he leaves. In the cave, Katherine goes to investigate a noise and runs into Elena. Elena stakes her and burns her, but because they're linked, the same things happen to Bonnie. Stefan and Caroline find Bonnie and she tells them to find Katherine. Stefan finds Elena moments before she can kill Katherine. He lets her go. Alone at the Grill, Rebekah offers to heal Matt, but he doesn't want to risk turning into a vampire. She goes to find a first aid kit and instead finds Caroline under a spell to repeatedly cut herself. Caroline isn't at the high school. With Bonnie, Caroline reveals herself to actually be Silas. He tells her he really can make her see whatever he wants. He poses as the monster, Stefan and Bonnie to taunt her for trying to betray him. Stefan tries to convince Elena to allow herself to feel grief, but she just rages at him instead. Matt calls Damon to warn him the real Caroline is with them and Kol is coming. She's hallucinating and thinks she has to keep cutting herself. Rebekah can't compel her because she's on vervane, so finally she slaps Caroline instead and breaks the spell. Silas turns into Alaric and makes Bonnie gasp for air, trying to force her to drop the veil so he can take the cure and die. Elena finds Jeremy's grave and breaks down in tears, saying she can't move on and can't handle him being gone. Kol finds her. In the cave, Bonnie's Grams finds her and helps her break free of Silas' spell. She tells Bonnie she's strong enough to defeat Silas using expression. Alaric (or Silas) finds Damon and tells him he called Stefan like he asked. Damon throws chains around his neck, knowing the real Alaric couldn't have made it from the school that fast. Bonnie finds them and begins working her magic. She drains Silas' blood and breaks his bones. Back at Jeremy's grave, Kol beats the crap out of Elena and is about to kill her when Jeremy shoots a stake at him. Kol stops it and is ready to turn on Jeremy when Stefan runs in and breaks his neck. Elena throws her arms around Jeremy. Damon, Stefan and Bonnie try to figure out what to do with Silas' stone body and decide to dump him in the ocean. Elena apologizes to Bonnie for how she acted with no emotions. Bonnie understands, knowing Elena wasn't herself. Jeremy hugs Bonnie and she promises to give them as much time as she can before she puts the veil back up. Elena takes turns apologizing (wordlessly, by way of meaningful stares) to Stefan and Damon, but Damon tells her to take time to say good bye to Jeremy instead. Stefan joins Caroline at the Grill, feeling morose. There was someone he thought he'd see today and he didn't. Then Lexie shows up to say hi. Damon and real Alaric put stone Silas in the trunk and share a flask. Alaric gives Damon the cure he found on Silas."Get the girl," Alaric tells him. Stefan and Lexi take a stroll and she teases him for replacing her with Caroline. Back in the cave, Bonnie waits to replace the veil, wanting to bring Jeremy back first. Her Gram tries to tell her it's against nature and there's no magic strong enough, but she won't listen. Bonnie channels everything, but collapses. Walking out of the Grill, Rebekah sees her dead ex-boyfriend Alexander, the vampire hunter. She turns to run, but is stopped by two other hunters, Connor and the guy from the island - all dead. Bonnie comes to in the cave. She sees her Grams, who tells her the spell was too much. Bonnie turns around and sees her own body lying on the ground. "Oh my god, I'm dead?" Bonnie says.
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With chairs set up on the high school football field for graduation, Kol addresses all the victims of the massacres who have risen with the veil dropped. Meanwhile, Lexie enjoys her return to the living by rocking out to 80s Bon Jovi with Stefan. Damon returns, wondering if they should do something about the "supernatural apocalypse." Stefan plans to drink. Dead-Arisen Bonnie calls Caroline explaining that she hit a "snag" putting the veil back up. She has to wait until the full moon tonight to have enough power to do it. Caroline makes her promise they won't let ghosties and ghoulies get in the way of graduation, another event that Caroline is hyping and clinging to with teenage fervor. When Bonnie gets off the phone, her Grams makes her promise to tell her friends that she has died and to say her good-byes. Grams will guard her body in the cave. Meanwhile, Elena hangs out with Alaric and Jeremy, who gorge on fast food while they can. With her humanity back on, Elena is feeling happy with her family. She gets a call from Matt's phone -- it's Connor at the Grille. Alexander holds Rebekah and Matt captive in a parking lot. Matt is standing on a pressure switch bomb, but Rebekah won't leave him. Galen Vaughn, the hunter from the island, shows up on Damon's doorstep and shoots him for good measure. Connor explains to Elena that they want Silas' body and the cure. Connor threatens all the families in the Grille in town for graduation if she doesn't do what he wants. At the Salvatore house, Vaughn explains to Damon that Qetsiyah found him in the bottom of the well Damon left him in and gave him the mission to find and kill Silas. Stefan comes up behind Vaughn and stabs him. Alaric finds Connor at the Grille. Connor is strapped in C4 but Alaric grabs him and rushes him to the back before it explodes. Back in the parking lot on, Rebekah contemplates whether she can get Matt off the switch to safety before he explodes. She tells him all the sights of the world she wants to show him. It's a date. At the high school, Katherine comes to Bonnie for the immortality she was promised. She threatens Elena if Bonnie doesn't deliver. Elena comes to Damon at his house, saying there are things they need to talk about. First, he tries to give her the cure. She wants it, but can't take it because the hunters will kill everyone in town if she does. She turns it down, which settles the sire bond question. Downstairs, Stefan tells Lexie that Elena is the love of his life and he'd go back to her in a heartbeat if she wants him. If not, he'll leave town. On the floor, dead Galen Vaughn gets up from the dead - again. Elena sees Damon flinch. The bullet Vaughn shot him with was laced with werewolf venom. Elena realizes it will kill Damon and urges him to take the cure. Instead, he goes downstairs and gives the cure to Galen and goes to dig up Silas to save the town. Damon takes Galen to the quarry he dumped Silas' calcified body in. Rebekah holds Matt in place on the pressure bomb. He reminds her he's wearing the Gilbert ring and can't be killed. She thinks exploding might trump that, but declares that the first rule of truly living is to do something you're afraid of. She kisses him and takes his place.She tells him to run; she can't be killed and he can't miss graduation. He runs, she steps off and explodes. Back at the house, Stefan tells Elena that Damon is really stalling -- he hasn't had time to bury Silas yet. Stefan will go to New Orleans to get Klaus' blood himself if he has to. Caroline leaves Klaus a message begging him to come back and cure Damon.Bonnie, Stefan, Matt, Caroline and Elena meet up before graduation. Bonnie soaks up the moment, but doesn't tell anyone her secret. Graduation begins, Bonnie's dad reads the graduates' names as they cross the stage. Bonnie thanks him and hugs him. One by one, they all cross the stage. Kol shows up at graduation and tells Bonnie he doesn't want the veil back up -- he wants it dropped completely so he and his friends can live. Bonnie takes Kol to her dead body and explains the situation and that she wants to stay, too. She traps him with a spell and tells him they can't always get what they want. At the lake, Galen realizes Damon was stalling. He sees that Damon is infected with werewolf venom and realizes Connor's bullets must have been laced. He shoots Damon in the leg and then in the chest to make him give up Silas' real location.Alaric swoops in and breaks Galen's neck, tossing him over the edge into the lake. He grabs the cure before he tosses Galen over. Alaric calls Stefan: Damon doesn't have long and they have to decide whether to force-feed Damon the cure. The gang is debating at graduation when witches paralyze them with a high pitched spell. Suddenly, one of the witches is decapitated. Klaus has returned and found a new use for a mortar board. Back at the house, Damon is back in one piece, all healed. Elena slaps him. She talks to Stefan alone. Lexie can't wait to see what happens. She hangs out with Alaric. She thinks there must be something better than where they are on the other side. Elena thanks Stefan for not giving up on her. She gives him the cure. "The only person worse at being a vampire than me is you... You deserve whatever you want out of live, you deserve this," she says. At the empty high school field, Caroline talks to Klaus. He was already on his way there having received her graduation announcement. He got her a graduation present: Tyler is free to return to Mystic Falls."He's your first love, I intend to be your last, however long it takes," he says, kissing her on the cheek. Damon refuses to apologize to Elena for not taking the cure, or for not wanting to be without her. There's not an apology big enough to encompass all the reasons that he's wrong for her. "Fine, then I'm not sorry either. I'm not sorry that I met you, I'm not sorry that knowing you has made me question everything, that in death you're the one who made me feel most alive. You've been a terrible person, you made all the wrong choices. And for all the choices I've made this will prove to be the worst one: but I am not sorry that I'm in love with you. I love you, Damon," she says. He realizes what she's saying and kisses her. Elsewhere in the house, Stefan listens in and reels. Lexie tries to comfort him. Later, Stefan loads Silas' wrapped stone body into the trunk. They plan to dump him in the quarry. Damon tries to talk to him but can't think of what to say.Stefan tells him he's not happy about Elena, but "I'm not not happy for you, either." Jeremy visits Bonnie in the cave to say good-bye. He left Elena a letter. Bonnie begins her spell. At the house, Alaric sees the moon is full. "You got the girl, now don't screw it up," Alaric tells Damon. Then he disappears. Stefan drives down the road with Lexie and tries to figure out where to move. She assures him there are multiple "ones" for vampires. Lexie disappears. Elena goes looking for Bonnie and Jeremy but finds Kol instead. He attacks her and is about to chomp down when he disappears. And then Katherine shows up. Back in the cave, Bonnie has nearly closed the veil. Jeremy tries to think of what to say to her, but kisses her instead. The spell ends. Jeremy gasps.Bonnie realizes her spell worked. Jeremy is alive.He can't feel her and realizes she's dead. She asks him to tell Elena and Caroline that she's spending the summer with her mom. "For the first time in forever my friends are OK, I don't want to take that from them. I'm going to be OK, I promise," she says as she walks off with her Grams, hand in hand. Rebekah shows up at Tyler's house to see Matt, giving him an out. He doesn't take it and agrees to go on the road with her. Back at the high school, Katherine throws Elena around, saying Elena stole her happiness. Elena starts fighting back, but Katherine gets the upperhand, throwing Elena into glass and breaking off a mop handle. She stabs Elena in the throat with it. Elena flashes back to her conversation with Stefan, in which he told her everything he did to get her the cure was so she would have the choice whether or not to be a vampire. On the floor of the high school, with Katherine on top of her, Elena takes out the cure, jams it in Katherine's mouth and forces her mouth shut. "Have a nice human life, Katherine," Elena says. At the quarry, Stefan takes Silas' body out of the back of his car. Except he finds it's not Silas, it's a bag of stones. Silas appears to him as Elena. He explains that the spell that turned him to stone was unbroken when the witch who created it died. Worse, since he created the immortality spell nature needed a balance and created a shadow self. It looks like Stefan.Silas-as-Stefan stabs Stefan, tosses him in a safe and drops the safe into the depths of the quarry. Stefan sinks below the water inside, with no one to hear his screams.
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Elena writes an email to Bonnie, who is ostensibly spending the summer with her mother, to catch her up on the summer. She can't believe where the time has gone -- but Elena mostly spent it in bed with Damon. Caroline spent the summer picking the color palette for their dorm room while Tyler was off helping a wolf pack in Tennessee. Matt is traveling Europe with Rebekah, and we see that's involving some enthusiastic girl-on-girl threesomes. Bonnie writes back, using Jeremy as her medium. She dictates to him as Elena continues making out with Damon. Katherine struggles as a human, scared of everything.Bonnie asks if Elena has heard from Stefan, but she hasn't. Back in the real world, Damon tries to convince Elena not to head off to college. She debates calling Stefan, but doesn't. Meanwhile, at the bottom of the lake, Stefan drowns for the millionth time, comes back to life and drowns again. Jeremy practices his story for why he's had so much trouble, preparing to go back to school. He's going to stay with Damon while Elena heads off to Whitmore College. On campus, Bonnie assures Elena she's not to late to break things off with Damon and track Stefan down. They're excited to finally start college. Bonnie the ghost says she's starting with them. Liz Forbes helps Caroline settle in to her room.When she leaves, Elena and Caroline drink to being "functional vampires" and the next chapter in their lives. They're about to enjoy a blood bag, when their third roommate walks in. Back at high school, Bonnie dictates another message through Jeremy, who reminds her she's just postponing the inevitable and people will find out eventually that she's dead. As Damon checks in with Elena on the phone, he gets an unwelcome visitor: Katherine. Rebekah drops in on Matt while he's working a town picnic. They said no strings, he didn't expect to see her again, but she wanted to give him one last chance to come with her when she left town. They have a conversation in between making out against a tree. Something about Jeremy's Gilbert ring being stolen in Prague comes up. Liz Forbes sits down for a bite at a table and Stefan joins her. Except that it soon becomes completely clear that it's not Stefan, but Silas. He compels her to let him slit her wrist and drink from it and explains that Stefan is his doppelganger. He denies he's a vampire, even though he needs human blood to function -- he's psychic. When he hears that she can't help him, he tells her to only remember that Stefan stopped by. On campus, a hot guygives them a flyer for a party that night. At high school, two guys give Jeremy a hard time, knocking him around and knocking the phone out of his hand. He fights back -- hard, and everyone stares. Damon assesses disheveled Katherine and guesses that she wants him to turn her. He's happy to oblige to get her to leave, but she thinks since she's taken the cure, she might not wake up if she dies. The principal of Jeremy's school calls and Katherine answers. He's been expelled. Katherine begs Damon to help her. She has enemies everywhere and wants his help. At the bottom of the quarry, Stefan dies yet again and hallucinates talking to Damon, who urges him to turn off his humanity. But Stefan doesn't want to turn into a monster again. In their dorm room, Caroline goes through the stuff of their roommate Megan. Out of annoyance, she tries Megan's protein water in the fridge, but it burns her immediately. Vervane.Megan comes out of the shower, wondering what's going on. Caroline heals quickly and plays it off like the water just went down the wrong pipe. She hands it back to Megan and acts like everything is fine. When Megan is out of earshot, Caroline suggests they lock her up and compel her, but Elena is having none of it. She wants to pretend their normal. They head to the party and meet J.C., they guy with the flyers. Elena and Caroline get stuck at the door --they're not invited in. Megan sees them and wonders why they're standing there. At the Grill, Damon tells Jeremy he compelled the principal to give him a three day suspension instead of expulsion.Stefan comes in and gives Damon an awkward hello hug. Back on campus, Elena gets a frantic call from Megan. She begs for help, but Elena can't come inside the building. Elena tries to get megan to invite her inside but then they hear a scream and Megan comes plummeting out of the window above. She lands in front of them. She was attacked by a vampire. Damon and Silas-as-Stefan share a drink. Silas knows Katherine is staying at their place. Silas says hi to Jeremy, who seems to find him odd.When Silas leaves, Jeremy tells Damon that there was something wrong with Stefan. When not-Stefan touched him, he felt a chill in his tattoo, just like when Silas touched him. Bonnie pops up, telling Jeremy that when she died something must have happened to her spell. Damon is dismissive, but hunter Jeremy is sure that he just saw Silas, not Stefan. Meanwhile, back at the Salvatore house, Stefan/Silas (Stilas) drops in on Katherine who's in the tub. He comes on to her, then tries to drown her. She slices him with a straight razor and runs. Damon finds her downstairs and tells Jeremy to get her someone away and safe. He tells Stilas to drop the Stefan act. Back on campus, Diane Freeman, with the campus police, tells Elena and Caroline they think Megan committed suicide. They're incredulous. But Caroline swiped Megan's phone just in case, because she left her a message right before she died at the party. Back at the Salvatores, Stilas tries to explain the concept of "shadow self." Then he tells Damon that Stefan is somewhere suffering. He wants Katherine and Jeremy before he'll tell Damon where Stefan is. Damon calls Jeremy and tells him to bring Katherine back. Katherine freaks out over the prospect of being handed over to Silas and makes Jeremy crash the car. Matt gives Bonnie's dad a beer and tells her if he sees Bonnie, to say hi. He's not looking good. Matt sees a face in the crowd he recognizes. It's Nadia, the girl who stole Jeremy's Gilbert ring. She gives it back, saying it wasn't hers to take. As she's handing it over, someone comes up behind Matt and casts a spell on him. Caroline and Elena return to their dorm room, which has been broken into. Megan's laptop, with her supposed suicide note, has been stolen. Elena goes through her phone and finds a picture of Megan with Elena's father. After the crash, Katherine is able to walk away, but Jeremy is bloody and battered. He asks for help but she stumbles away. Ghost Bonnie finds Jeremy but can't help him. Then Damon pulls up and opens a vein for him. He feeds Jeremy his blood, threatening to kill him himself if he doesn't wake up. Caroline listens to a voicemail from Tyler, in which he explains he's deferring school to stay and help the wolf pack he's with. Meanwhile, at the bottom of the quarry, Stefan drowns again and hallucinates. He imagines seeing Damon, urging him to flip his humanity switch to put himself out of his misery. Stefan remembers how hard it was to turn it back on last time as Damon urges him to go. Then Elena appears before him, urging him not to let go of is humanity. Elena calls Damon to check in, she wants to stay to see what her dad has to do with her roommates death. Damon neglects to tell her Silas has returned, Stefan is missing and Jeremy got expelled. Bonnie's dad addresses the gathered throngs at the block party, but he's interrupted by Stlias, who uses mind control to get him to stop talking. Stilas starts explaining he used mind control and over the past summer he's consumed an immeasurable amount of blood and has begun to wonder about the limits of his powers. He tells everyone to be quiet and not to move a muscle. Then he walks over and slits Bonnie's dad's throat.She's the only one who reacts. She screams and runs to him, but can't do anything."Now that I have your attention, I need a favor. I need you to find someone. You all know Elena Gilbert. Well the girl I'm looking for looks exactly like her," he says.
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Ghost Bonnie tells Jeremy about Silas killing her father in front of the whole town, then making them forget about it. She could use a hug, but he can't give her one because she's dead. Silas is using his mind control to get the town to find Katherine."Whatever he wants with Katherine, we can't let him have it," Bonnie says. Katherine stumbles into the road following her car crash. The woman who pulls over to help her recognizes her from Silas' mind control. She maces Katherine, Katherine decks her and knocks her out. Matt comes out with a shotgun. Stefan imagines lying by the quarry with Elena in the brilliant sunlight, then she starts choking. He drowns yet again in his underwater tomb. On campus, the students have a memorial for Megan.Elena and Caroline go through Megan's things in their room. Her death certificate lists suicide, signed by Dr. Wesley Maxfield, the microbiology teacher. Elena signed them up for his class. At the quarry, Damon tries to convince Liz to dredge the quarry for drowning Stefan. Jeremy calls Damon to report on their capture of Katherine. He tells them to keep her out of sight. She realizes she's the leverage, the thing that everybody wants. "I'm the frickin' moonstone," she says. Caroline and Elena show up for Applied Microbiology, where Jesse flirts with Caroline and asks if she's going to the bonfire tonight. Dr. Maxfield comes in and busts the girls for being freshman who shouldn't be in his class. Later, Elena tells Damon about it and then runs into Stefan/Silas. Before she can hear Damon tell her it's not Stefan, Stilas uses his mind control to make her hang up. Stilas apologizes to her for disappearing, then tells her Jeremy got expelled and he's looking for her. Matt, Jeremy and Katherine pull over at a gas station. She claims she has to go to the bathroom and then asks them to get her something for her cold.With Matt inside and Jeremy pumping gas, Katherine tries to sneak out of the bathroom. The attendant sees her and his mind control kicks in. He goes for his shotgun and Matt disarms him just in time. Jeremy grabs Katherine before she gets away. Damon shows up on campus and gets Caroline to go look for Elena, explaining that Stefan is Silas. Caroline mentions the bad feeling Elena had all summer that something was wrong with Stefan. Walking across campus, Stefan tries to call Jeremy from Elena's phone and then holds onto it. Elena can't believe Damon didn't tell her about what's going on with Jeremy. Stefan gets a text about Katherine and asks where Jeremy could be going on Route 9. Elena mentions a campsite they used to go. Later, Damon finds Stilas, but he won't tell Damon what he did with Elena. That night at the bonfire, Caroline points out to Damon that if he'd told the truth, none of this would have happened. Jesse finds Elena at the keg and offers to tell her everything about Dr. Maxfield if she comes with him to get firewood. In a shed, he picks up a small piece of kindling, like a stake, and tells her Maxfield meets in a kind of secret society three times a week.Damon rushes in and knocks Jesse out. At a campfire in the woods, Katherine is extra grumpy about having a sinus infection. Jeremy takes pity on her and lends her a blanket. Matt creeps through the woods until Stilas finds him and uses his mind control to tell Matt not to scream. Matt screams at Jeremy to run. Stilas doesn't understand why he can't get in Matt's head, so he peers in and sees that someone already put a spell on him and is in there. Stilas calls him "Traveler."Stilas snaps Matt's neck. In the woods, Jeremy runs right by Matt. He sees Bonnie, who explains he's on the other side, the Gilbert ring brought him there. He'll stay there until he finds his body, but each time he dies, the ring puts him farther away from it. He asks why he can see her. Back at college, Elena takes Damon to her room and jumps on him. Then she pours the vervane-laced water down his throat and ties him to a chair. He realizes Silas got in her head. He told her to get Damon alone, weaken him, and then kill him. She pours more vervane water down his neck and he spits it on her. The burns momentarily snap her out of the mind control. Damon explains what's going on. Elena asks where Stefan is and gets madder and madder. Stilas's mind control kicks in again and Damon explains her anger must be triggering it. She tries to resist killing him, then stakes her own leg to immobilize herself. Back in the woodshed, Caroline holds a popsicle to Jesse's bruised face. They have a moment and Caroline blurts out that she has a boyfriend. He understands that people can change but still remain together even though they're apart. It just didn't work for him. In the woods, Jeremy gives Katherine the keys and then plans to go back for Matt. She encourages him to just leave him. "That's why people treat you as an object, not like a person," Jeremy says. Back on the other side, Bonnie talks to Matt about what it's been like. He tells her it's OK to be upset. He hugs her and she breaks down crying. In the woods, Stefan finds Matt's body and Stilas finds him. None of Stilas's abilities work on him. "I am a hunter, and I work out," Jeremy says as he throws a hatchet at Stilas and charges him. Jeremy beats on him until Stilas grabs his hands and head butts him. Jeremy gets Stilas in a headlock, so Stilas takes a pole and drives it through himself and into Jeremy's shoulder. Stilas picks up the hatchet to throw it at Jeremy, when a shot rings out -- it's Katherine with the shotgun, blasting Stilas. Back at college, Damon explains that Bonnie's dad died and Elena starts to get angry all over again at Damon for lying to her about Jeremy. "Stefan's been suffering for months while I've been rolling around with you," Elena says.She gets angrier and angrier, until she rips the line to the gas. Damon pleads with her to think about something stronger than her desire to kill him and prompts her to talk about what she feels about Stefan. She can feel that Stefan is scared and lonely and in a lot of pain. Elena realizes her rage is gone, Stilas's mind control is broken. Matt and Bonnie find Matt's body, with Jeremy and Katherine. Matt realizes he's going to forget that he saw Bonnie.Matt rejoins his body.Jeremy sees Ghost Bonnie walking away and goes to talk to her. "I'm not ready to be dead yet, Jeremy. I'm just not," she says. He says he'll tell people her dad's death was too much for her, but he's there for her, no matter what she needs. Stilas comes back to life and goes to the gas station with the mind controlled attendant, explaining he's hungry. He hands the man a knife and a cup and tells him to fill it up. The man slits his wrist and bleeds into it. The Travelers walk in the back door, a man and woman. The one who was in Matt's head pulls a knife on Stilas. The woman with him kills her companion and tells Stilas she has her own agenda. Elena packs up her car to leave college. Dr. Maxfield recognizes Elena as Grayson Gilbert's daughter. She asks her about the lie on Megan's death certificate. He invites her to office hours tomorrow, but she says she has other things to worry about. Damon joins her, bringing her Stefan's daylight ring. He tells her he's secure enough in their relationship that he's not bothered that she's having psychic dreams about her ex-boyfriend. She promises they'll find Stefan and she'll still love Damon. Liz Forbes calls. In the woods, she shows them the safe they found. Not in the quarry, but nearby. They open it up, but Stefan isn't inside, another dead man is. Stefan was hungry.
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Recently untombed Stefan stumbles into a bar and up to the bartender. He chomps down on her neck, then tells her to run. Bloody and still starving, he stumbles out into the sunlight, and slowly starts to crisp. Elena wakes up in a plush bed next to Damon and tells him about the very real dream she just had. He decides he's annoyed by her psychic connection to her ex. She describes what she saw, but doesn't know where it was. But Katherine does. She barges into their bedroom and tells them she had the exact same dream. Damon looks into the bars, but doesn't find any named Joe's, like Elena saw. Elena isn't thrilled about Katherine coming with them, but Damon says if Silas wants her, they have to keep her safe. Stilas calls Nadia the Traveler and questions whether she really killed Gregor. He tells her to find Matt, find out where Katherine is and kill Matt. Stefan wakes up somewhere and warns the woman who's there to get away so he doesn't rip her throat out. She hands him a blood bag. She saved him from the quarry and from outside the bar. She knows he's Silas's doppelganger. Stefan came very close to flipping his humanity switch, but knew he wanted to be himself when he killed Silas. She explains that she knew Silas 2,000 years ago in Ancient Rome, when they were both members of the Travelers, and he was her one true love and they wanted to always be together. He fooled Qetsiyah into making him an immortality spell, but when she found out he was using her he put him in a tomb and dumped him there, hoping he would die and end up in a super natural limbo when he took it. Then she explains she's Qetsiyah and Stefan's only heard the man's side of the story. She came back for Stefan. In the car on the way to where ever Stefan is, Katherine tries to sow discontent between Damon and Elena. Back at the Grill, Matt confronts Nadia. She tells him Silas still wants him dead and he'll have to trust her. She places her hands on his face and summons Gregor. She promises him she'll find a way to bring him back in Matt permanently, but they needed someone with the immortality ring. But first, "Matt" has to call Elena and find out where Katherine is. Out in the wood cabin, Stefan wants a phone, but Qetsiyah tells him there's no cell reception and he's not safe outside without his daylight ring. She came through when Bonnie lowered the veil.She tells Stefan she's going by Tessa.She tells Stefan about her wedding to Silas and the immortality spell she created for it. Silas drank it without her. She found him in the wilderness with the woman he chose over her -- her handmaiden. Flash back to Qetsiyah seeing Silas with Amara -- another Elena doppelganger. When they took the immortality spell, it created shadow selves -- Stefan, Elena and Katherine. Qetsiyah says she's making him a new daylight ring, then she wants Stefan's help to take down Silas once and for all. Damon pulls over to the bar that Elena saw in her dream. They go inside and the bartender tells them she was attacked, then the "sicko" told her to run. When she looked back, he was on fire. Then some woman shoved him in to a truck and drove away. She recognized the truck as belonging to a man with a cabin lives 10 miles down the road. The bartender pours Damon a shot. He downs it, but it's vervane. Out strolls Nadia. She compelled the bartender to serve him. Katherine runs in from the car and Nadia pulls a gun, but she doesn't know who to aim it at between Katherine and Elena. Elena tells Katherine to run. She and Damon take on Nadia, a "vampire bounty hunter." Damon thinks she's Silas's spy. Elena tells Damon to find Silas while she goes after Katherine. He tells her to bail on Katherine at the slightest sign of trouble, she's not worth a hair on Elena's head. Up at the cabin, Qetsiyah/Tessa tells Stefan about Silas's power. Flash back to thousands of years ago. Qetsiyah prepares him a chalice from which they were to drink at their wedding and a cure for immortality. She just used it on someone else immortal. Stefan sees blood everywhere and then Qetsiyah reveals a heart she says belongs to Amara.She cripples Stefan with magic, telling him to take the cure so they can live long human lives together. Qetsiyah created the other side then dropped Silas in a tomb, expecting him to take the cure to be with Amara, only to end up trapped with Qetsiyah instead for all eternity. Stefan realizes she's not making him a daylight ring."I have trust issues. I'm controlling and paranoid, and a little crazy," she says. Stefan drops to his knees as she cripples him. Elena finds Katherine in the woods. But as they're chatting, Nadia comes up and snaps Elena's neck. Damon finds Stefan chained to a chair in the cabin. But Qetsiyah is still there. She's casting a spell to cripple Silas's mental powers. But she expected Katherine to be with Damon.Damon realizes she planted the dreams. Nadia brings Katherine to her car and is surprised to find Silas waiting for her --thanks to GPS. Qetsiyah works on her spell. Meanwhile, back on the road, Silas uses his mind control to get Nadia to aim her gun at her own chest. He's telling her to pull the trigger when Qetsiyah's spell starts to take effect. Silas crumples to the ground and blood pours form his eyes -- and Stefan's. Qetsiyah gives Damon the rundown on dopplegangers, that they're always fated to be together, which leaves him nowhere.Damon tries to make a deal with Qetsiyah, but he double crosses her and tries to choke her. Damon wakes up to see Elena rushing in to see Stefan tied to the chair. Nadia walks in on Katherine going through her things. Silas calls, asking where Nadia is and promising to kill her if she doesn't live up to the deal. Silas realizes the fact he lost his abilities means Qetsiyah is alive -- and they both want the cure: Katherine's blood. Elena calls Matt back. He doesn't remember talking to her. Then he sees his boots are covered with mud and he has an old dagger. Back at the Salvatores', Elena slips Stefan's daylight ring back on his finger. She asks Damon what Qetsiyah said."She told me we don't stand a chance," Damon says, explaining that the universe programmed dopplegangers to fall in love with each other. Damon is not inclined to let the universe or some prehistoric witch tell him how to live because "you are my life," Damon says, kissing Elena.Stefan wakes up on the couch. "Stefan, we missed you," Elena says."I'm sorry, I have no idea who you people are," Stefan says.
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On the road with Damon, Stefan reads his old journals, trying to remember any of himself. The blood bags aren't doing it for him. He mocks Damon for driving like a grandma, guessing that he's the fun brother and Damon is the safe one. Damon yanks on the emergency brake at 100 mph, rolling and flipping the car."I got it, you're the fun brother," Stefan says in the wreckage. Elena calls Caroline at school. Caroline is brushing up on her biology to impress Dr. Maxfield, to learn why he covered up their roommate's murder-by-vampire. She goes to pick up Dr. Maxfield's TA, Jesse, to bring him to Remembrance Day back in Mystic Falls. She claims it's a "study date." At the Grill, Stefan lusts after the waitress's pulsing jugular. Damon tries to explain why the "ripper thing" is a bad idea.When Elena shows up, Damon hasn't quite gotten to explaining who she is yet. Bonnie drops in on Jeremy mid-workout. There's nothing she can do to get Stefan's memory back. He wants to tell everyone that she's dead. Matt calls Jeremy, freaking out. Jeremy goes to see him. Matt woke up last night with an ancient knife in his hand. He thinks something or someone is in his head. He wants Bonnie's help. Jeremy says she's in DC. Matt wonders why she hasn't responded to his 300 emails. He really needs Bonnie's help. Back at the Grill, Elena wants to call Bonnie for help with Stefan, but Damon has already called her 10 times. Damon wants to let Stefan enjoy himself, but Elena worries the blood addiction is hardwired into him. They notice Stefan is nowhere to be seen, nor is the waitress. Stefan compels the waitress to remain still in the back room and prepares to chomp down. Damon stops him. Damon and Elena takes Stefan to the crypt where people are celebrating Remembrance Day by honoring those they lost with boozing and bell ringing. Damon leaves when he gets a text from Jeremy. Stefan is puzzled that he doesn't remember Elena, because he's enchanted by her. She offers to show him where they met. Jeremy calls Damon to come to the house and he'll explains where Bonnie is. At the high school, Elena tries to recreate colliding with Stefan in the hall to jog his memory. When a wrestler comes out of practice bleeding, she distracts him by taking him outside and encouraging him to jump on the roof. Stefan deduces that they dated, because there had to be a reason he went back to high school. He thinks they broke up because he was a ripper, but she says he was the most compassionate person she'd ever met -- it was because becoming a vampire changed her. In the cemetery during Remembrance Day, Jesse quizzes Caroline on bio. He asks if she invited him to prove something to her boyfriend. "I don't know where my boyfriend is, that would require communication, and mutual interest and respect. And I invited you here because you're smart and you're nice and I just kind of wanted to hang out with you today," she says. He kisses her. When she balks, he goes back to quizzing her. Damon shows up back at his house. "I've been lying to everyone for months and I can't keep lying knowing that everyone's waiting for her to swoop in and save the day," Jeremy says. "I don't speak crazy person, Jeremy. You're going to have to translate for me," Damon says. Jeremy doesn't say it explicitly, but walks Damon through it, explaining that nature finds a balance. Damon begs Jeremy not to say it, since it'll change everything for Elena. Bonnie also begs him to not to go on, but he finally says Bonnie's dead. Damon hugs him fiercely. Elena takes Stefan to where she became a vampire and tells him the role he played, saving Matt instead. He tells her her distracting him is helping his urge to feed. She tells him she was never afraid of him and they have a moment. She nearly kisses him, then stops short and says she's with Damon. "Neither of you thought that was something I should know? And just like that, the hunger returns," he says. He disappears. Matt wakes up in his house with a cut on his hand. He checks the video cameras he has set up all over. He sees himself get up and answer the phone, then start speaking another language. He takes out the knife, then addresses the camera. "Hello, Matt Donovan. I am the passenger inside you. I know you have many questions, but all you need to know is that one day my friend will come looking for this blade," he says to himself. He cuts his hand, saying if Matt doesn't keep it safe, the next cut will be on his throat. Damon calls Elena to deliver the bad news, but she tells him about Stefan disappearing among all the people at the cemetery. Stefan runs into Caroline. He's drunk and jokes about descending into ripper oblivion. Jesse brings Caroline beer, but when Stefan says he can smell the paper cut on Jesse's hand, Caroline compels Jesse to hide. Caroline turns to go to her car to get Damon a blood bag, but he disappears. Jesse calls Caroline, bewildered, when he finds himself hiding in a crypt. But Stefan finds him and chomps down on his neck. He stops and talks to Jesse, pleased with himself for not killing him. Stefan ponders what he has to show for sublimating his ripper side, including an ex-girlfriend who's now with his brother. He chomps down on Jesse again. Jeremy shows up at Matt's house to break the news about Bonnie. Caroline finds Stefan and pulls him off Jesse, telling Stefan this isn't him. She feeds Jesse her blood to heal him. Back at the house, Damon and Elena find Stefan burning his journals. He doesn't want to be the person in them anymore. Caroline has promised to call him every hour to check on him, and he actually trusts her. "I think we just got dumped," Damon says. After Stefan leaves, Elena can't understand why they haven't heard from Bonnie. Damon breaks the news. Caroline checks in on Stefan in the tomb the next day. She tells him about Bonnie, but doesn't get in to details, which is easy with a guy who can't remember her. Caroline wonders how she's going to get through, but Stefan tells her to count on him. At the Salvatore house, Elena is mid-breakdown over Bonnie's death and Stefan's lost memories. That, and having nothing to wear for the funeral. Damon hugs her as Bonnie's ghost watches. Caroline, Elena, Damon, Jeremy and Matt gather in the woods to leave things that remind them of Bonnie in a tree stump. Matt leaves a swim whistle, Elena leaves white feathers (the way Bonnie first showed her her magic), Damon leaves her grimoire. Bonnie's ghost says they need it, and she does, too. Bonnie tells Jeremy to tell them that even though they couldn't see her, she's been there the whole time. She's watched them have the summer of their lives. She saw them happy. "I know you think now that you can't have a normal life, that you have to be here for everyone, but you don't. Everyone will find their way. You are going to repack your things, you're going to go back to college, and you're going to live it up," Bonnie tells Elena. She tells Matt he didn't do anything wrong and she would have sent 300 emails back if she could. "Caroline, I watched you decorate that dorm room like you're life depended on it," Bonnie says. But Bonnie feels like something's missing. She sees Tyler, Caroline runs to him. "This is good, this is what I wanted. I'll be OK, we'll all be OK," Bonnie says. She takes Jeremy's hand. Dr. Maxfield runs tests on Jesse back in his lab. He sees that Jesse has vampire blood in his system and guesses it was either because he was injured to the point of needing it to be healed, or because someone wants to turn him. He says the good news it's step one to turning him. Jesse has no idea what's going on. Dr. Maxfield proceeds with step two, and injects Jesse with something to kill him. Jesse flatlines.
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Dr. Maxfield wakes up new-vampire Jesse by letting him smell a petri dish of blood. He records his findings, he's been studying Jesse for three days. Jesse keeps saying he's hungry, but he has no idea what's going on. Maxfield concludes that Jesse is the perfect candidate. Elena is back at college, like Bonnie wanted. Caroline is distracted by Tyler's return. Elena is determined to figure out why Maxfield covered up her roommate's vampire-caused death.Ghost Bonnie hovers over Elena reassuringly. Elena ignores Damon's call, but he walks up behind her. He's had one text from her in three days, inviting him to the costume ball tonight. Caroline and Tyler make up for lost time in bed. She's excited he'll be in school, majoring in sociology. She tells him about the Whitmore historical ball, they're going as Bonnie and Clyde. She's still miffed he ignored her for months, but he says he was helping a werewolf pack and didn't have cell reception. Walking across campus, Elena sees a boy at a shrine for her dead roommate Megan. He says he knew her growing up. He doesn't believe she killed herself. But he isn't exactly forthcoming with suggestions, or his name. Stilas calls Nadia, wanting her to turn over Katherine and saying he's learned how to track her cell phone. Nadia explains to Katherine that Silas needs all of her blood to cure himself of immortality. Damon talks to Jeremy and Ghost Bonnie about the beginnings of a plan. He happens to know a supernatural being that wants to die, and he doesn't think a perfectly good death like that should go to waste. Cut to Damon meeting with Silas-as-Stefan at the Grille. Damon wants to use Silas's death to bring Bonnie back. If he dies as a witch, he'll be stuck on the other side, so he must have a plan B. Bonnie theorizes that he wants to destroy the other side. At the Grille, Stilas explains that Qetsia/Tessa bound her spell to a "mystical anchor" -- he wants to destroy it, she wants to protect it. She's the only person who knows where it's hidden. But she'll be at the ball tonight. Damon asks Bonnie via Jeremy if it's "supernaturally possible" for Silas to swap himself for Bonnie when he's ready to kill himself. Bonnie thinks making a deal with him is a terrible idea, since he's ruthless. She says definitely not. Jeremy translates this as: "She's in!" At the Grille, Stilas lays out his terms for Damon: He wants Damon to kill Stefan. Over breakfast, Nadia tells Katherine she'll let her go in exchange for a few answers. Nadia had herself turned into a vampire to track Katherine. In Paris in 1645, her mother Lilia Toma took Katherine in, but when Klaus' minions came for her, she said Lilia was Katherine and they took her away. Katherine realizes Nadia was never going to let her go. When they get up to leave, Katherine grabs a man's cane, breaks it, stakes Nadia and runs. Bonnie tries to convince Jeremy that making a deal with Silas is a terrible idea, but he's tired of not being able to touch her. At the Whitmore ball, Stefan (dressed as James Dean), asks Caroline to dance. Elena is dressed as Anne Boleyn, with Damon as King Henry XIII. He asks what's up; she's feeling guilty about not realizing Bonnie was dead and spending a great summer with him. She's determined to make-up for it by solving the mystery of Megan's death. She sees Megan's mystery friend across the room and goes to talk to him. She compels some answers and learns that everyone around him dies. His name's Aaron. She compels him to forget her questions. Tessa comes in dressed as Cleopatra and introduces herself to Stefan, but Damon pulls him away to talk to Silas. Then Damon snaps Stefan's neck. He asks Silas why he just killed Stefan. Stilas takes Stefan's costume and explains that killing Stefan severed their psychic link, so now he has his powers back. He wants to go read Tessa's mind to find out where the mystical anchor is, all Damon has to do is keep Stefan dead. He thinks a woman never forgets her first love, no matter how badly it ended. He joins Tessa at the bar for shots and flirts her up. On the dance floor, Caroline suggests to Tyler that they get out of there. He has something he's trying to tell her, but can't seem to get it out. On the dance floor, Silas-as-Stefan reveals himself to Tessa and uses his powers to ask where the anchor is. She doesn't know, she's looking for it, too. The Travelers move it constantly. Her pendant is in one of the Whitmore displays and she needs it to increase her power so she can do a locator spell on the anchor. Stefan comes back to life with a crick in his neck, which Silas feels. Stefan accuses him of being desperate to prove to Elena that he's a worthy boyfriend. Damon happily snaps his neck again, buying Silas more time. Katherine finds Nadia in an alley with the cane stake lodged next to her heart. Katherine asks her why she made up the story about her mother -- Katherine knows Klaus's minions wouldn't have mistaken anyone for her. Nadia admits it was a test, but says Katherine really did kill her mother -- in 1492 in a cottage in England, where she had been exiled by her family. She put her neck in a noose and stepped off a chair. The story is all-too-familiar to Katherine, who recognizes it as the story of how she turned. She demands to know who Nadia is. She's Nadia Petrova, Katherine is her mother. Elena asks Dr. Maxfield to dance to talk with him. He tells her he thinks a vampire hunted Megan down and killed her. When she asks what he knows about vampires, he tells her it doesn't matter, because there are people watching her and her friends and she needs to drop out and return to Mystic Falls. Caroline finds Tyler drinking alone. He tells her he can't do "the college thing." He can't get over the fact that Klaus killed his mother and got away with it, and the only reason they're together is because Klaus allowed it. He wants to find a way to destroy Klaus' life like Klaus destroyed his. Caroline points out that Tyler sounds an awful lot like Klaus, and walks away. Tessa finds her pendant and Silas joins her. He's using his powers to learn the location of the anchor when Stefan wakes up again, crippling Silas. Except that Stefan plays dead so Damon can't tell if he's awake or not. Damon gets in close to inspect and Stefan takes the opportunity to spring up and snap Damon's neck. Tessa is wondering what's going on, when the real Stefan comes in and decks Silas. He takes his ring back and tells her he was working with Damon. Stefan leaves him there with Tessa, who reaches into his chest and wrings the blood from his heart, essentially freezing him in place. Dr. Maxfield, stops Aaron on the way out to take his keys. He's Aaron's legal guardian and manages his trust. He warns him to stay away from Elena. Nadia wakes up in a nice hotel room, with the stake removed. She's not worried about running from Silas until he finds the anchor, because he can't die for good until then, and has no use for her before that. She wants to know where Nadia was in 1498, when Nadia was eight and Katherine had escaped the people that were chasing her and searched Bulgaria for her. Nadia is surprised."It's nice to meet you," Katherine says. Caroline finds Tyler packing up. She asks him to stay. "Just love me more than you hate him," she says. Tyler says he can't and starts to leave. She tells him if he walks away, they're really done. Tyler walks out, leaving Caroline alone and crying. Elena and Damon regroup at his house, with desiccated Silas on the couch. The only way Silas to trade his life for Bonnie's is if he's a witch, but the only way to become a witch is to have the cure. There's a knock at the door, which Damon was expecting.It's Katherine, and she's very excited to see kinda dead Silas. At least until she realizes what Damon has planned. Damon bites her neck. She pleads with him, saying she doesn't want to die. "Good-bye, Katherine," he says.He holds her open neck to Silas's neck and watches as he slowly comes back to life. Katherine drops to the floor. But after a long minute, Katherine opens her eyes again."You've got to be kidding me," Elena says."Takes a licking, keeps on ticking," says Damon."Am I in hell?" asks Katherine.
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Over breakfast to celebrate the fact she's not dead, Katherine notices a strand of her hair has gone white. Cuddled in front of the fire at home, Damon waits for something to go wrong. Silas walks in, full of glee over the fact he finally gets to die. At the cabin, Tessa wakes up Stefan. They bonded over body shots last night. Tessa is jazzed because she saw a text to Stefan on his phone saying that Silas took the cure and is a witch again. She's excited to get to kill him. Back at Salvatore central, Silas is ready to destroy the other side so he doesn't get stuck there and he can die and reunite with his love Amara. He promises Elena he'll bring Bonnie, but first he has to find the anchor and destroy it. It's in a stockyard in New Jersey and is about to be shipped out. Jeremy joins the Silas scheming and has a hard time accepting Silas as an ally. Silas gets a little twitchy and uses his witchiness to suggest they all play nice, lighting the tips of his fingers on fire. Tessa explains to Stefan that the Travelers don't want the other side destroyed and have had the anchor for 2,000 years, constantly moving it. She's sure they won't let him near it, and even if they do, he won't be able to destroy it -- she won't say why not. As Damon, Jeremy and Silas are getting ready to leave, Silas tells Elena she can't come, because the fact she looks like his one true love kinda distracts him. Silas suggests they get moving since they only have til sundown. At the cabin, Tessa tries to walk out the door but finds it's spelled. She knows the spell means they can't leave til sundown; she taught Silas the spell. Caroline comes back to her dorm and starts packing, since Dr. Maxfield knows they're vampires. It takes her a second to realize Katherine isn't Elena. After she does, Katherine offers to help her with Dr. Maxfield in exchange for a place to stay and Elena's meal card. Elena calls Stefan to check in, but gets Tessa instead. Tessa implies they just had sex. Elena calls Damon on the road and Silas mentions what they did to Stefan, breaking his neck over and over again to break his psychic bond with Silas. Elena decides to go visit Stefan, suggesting maybe they can bond over their shared annoyance at Damon. Silas tries a joke: "Knock, knock. Who's there? Mayor. Mayor who? No one, because I killed the mayor!" Dr. Maxfield records his notes, but hears a noise in his lab. When he's sufficiently distracted, Caroline pops out -- and Katherine injects him with something that knocks him out. At the cabin, Tessa welcomes Elena in. Elena tries to apologize to Stefan. He says she has this annoying tendency to do whatever Damon says. "Do you really think that sleeping with Tessa is going to solve anything?" Elena says. Stefan stares at Tessa blankly. She admits she might have embellished. Feeling awkward, Elena tries to excuse herself. But she can't get out of the spelled cabin. Damon, Jeremy and Silas reach the stockyard. Silas suggests the universe is trying to bring his doppelganger together with Amara's, meaning Damon should be worried about Stefan with Elena. Silas admits he has no idea what the anchor looks like. Dr. Maxfield wakes up in his lab. Caroline explains they're trying to drain his vervaned blood so they can compel him to forget they're vampires. Maxfield tells Caroline and Katherine, who he thinks is Elena, that there's a meeting of his secret society today. They were going to invite Elena until they started to suspect her.All Katherine has to do to be accepted is convince them Elena isn't a vampire. Maxfield doesn't think she'll get past the threshold. Katherine likes her chances. In the warehouse, Damon and Silas go through crates looking for the anchor. Tessa calls Damon's phone, ordering him to kill Silas or she'll kill Elena. She mentions she lured Elena there using jealousy -- of Stefan. Katherine knocks on the door of the Whitmore house. She walks in without being invited and chows down at the buffet. Aaron says hi to her, but has no idea what she's talking about when she mentions the society. Katherine hacks a little and notices one of her teeth has fallen out. At the cabin, Elena feels trapped and angry. She seethes as Stefan laughs with Tessa over what to have for dinner. Elena is sure that Damon will kill Silas like Tessa ordered him to, and she's angry over what that means for Bonnie's chances of coming back. At the warehouse, Damon fills Jeremy in and tells him Bonnie can't come back. Jeremy is upset, but Bonnie appears and tells him it's OK. Back in the warehouse, Damon gets cornered by Travelers, who chant something that makes Damon's daylight ring useless. The sunlight coming in the windows burns him. Damon rushes over and rips the heart out of one, telling them he was about to do them the favor of killing Silas. The other says they don't want Silas dead yet. Damon flings a dagger through his chest. Back with Dr. Maxfield, Caroline has finished de-vervaning his blood. She compels him and asks about the secret society. He says it's called Augustine and includes people with extraordinary talents. His is being brilliant. He covered up Megan's death because she was killed by the Augustine vampire. She asks who that is, but his colleague Diane Freeman knocks on his door. Caroline quickly compels him to forget everything.Diane tells him he missed the Whitmore party, and she saw Elena walk through the door. He doesn't know why he thought she was a vampire. "I guess I was wrong," he says. Stefan cooks for Tessa, flirting with her. Elena hurts watching it and tells him that if he was himself, he wouldn't like Tessa much. Tessa walks over to the other side of the cabin to call Damon. Stefan whispers so only Elena can hear it. He tells her he doesn't hate her and he's got this. Damon tells Tessa that Silas isn't dead yet. He wants to know what the Traveler's motives are. They want Silas because he drank the cure, so now he's the cure. Tessa explains that she had to bind her spell to something that wouldn't die and would last. She leaves it to Damon to figure it out. When Tessa gets off the phone, Stefan stabs Tessa with a knife. With the sun setting, both Stefan and Elena are able to run out of the cabin. In the warehouse, Damon realizes what 2,000 years old and indestructible means. The anchor isn't a thing, it's Amara, she never killed her. Silas finds her, frozen like a statue, in one of the crates. He drags one of the Travelers over to feed her his blood. She slowly comes back to life. Silas tells Amara he took the cure to be with her. When she realizes he has the cure, she grabs a piece of glass and stabs him, then drinks his blood. "I can't live another day," she says. In his lab, Maxfield looks for his tape recorder. Katherine brings it back after having listened to it. She has lots of questions, including who the subject with the abnormal blood he was recording about is. She introduces herself as Katherine and shows him her tooth. "I think I'm dying and I need you to save my life," she says. Back at the warehouse, Amara stumbles around hearing voices. Damon finds her. Stefan brings Elena back to the house."Even with no memory, you're still you," she says. His instincts were always to protect her, and he's still doing it. Damon and Jeremy are waiting for her. Bonnie says the fact they couldn't bring her back was for the best. They lost Silas, but they now have to protect Amara because she's mortal. So the fate of the other side, where Bonnie is, rests on Amara.Damon introduces Elena to "Crazypants," Amara in his trunk. Stefan goes up to his bedroom and is surprised to find wounded Tessa waiting for him. She refuses his offer to heal her. She reminds him how she eased his pain when she found him. She brings him to his knees by flooding him with his bad memories, including drowning over and over again in the safe. She reminds him that she's the one who rescued him.
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Silas unburdens himself of his romantic woes to a couple at a bus stop."Just a couple days ago, I was psychic, I was immortal, I was in love. Now my neck hurts, my soul is crushed, I'm sitting in a bus stop in friggin' Delaware," Silas says."You're in Philly," says the woman.The man doubles over in pain. Silas freely confesses he's liquefying his organs because he's mad at the world. When he tells the woman she might be his next victim, she runs off. Silas bemoans the fickleness of love as he helps the man up.The bus comes. Stefan thrashes in bed, as bits of his memories come back. Elena wakes him up with coffee, saying she misses him. She wants to start fresh with him to rebuild their friendship.But he tells her his memories are back. Elena is thrilled. Later, Damon quizzes Stefan to see what he remembers. Stefan tells them getting his memories back wasn't all good -- he remembers repeatedly drowning in the safe. He remembers the bald man who opened the safe, and crushes his coffee cup. Stefan hears a banging and they explain they have a doppelganger situation. Down in the cellar, Amara is shouting at no one that she doesn't know. Damon explains they have to keep her mortal heart beating until Silas can do the spell to release Bonnie from the other side. But they're waiting for Silas to show up. Jeremy sits down with Bonnie with three things to tell her: the first is that he thinks no matter what happens, she'll be around somehow, the second is to thank her for giving her life for him. She prevents him from telling her the third, with the idea that it means there will be a next time. Dr. Maxfield gives Katherine the results of the tests he ran on her: She's aging. Her 500 years of living are catching up with her. There's no way to stop it, she probably has a few months. Silas finally answers when Damon calls. Silas has decided that Amara needs to die. He's also decided that he would enjoy messing with Damon's relationship with Stefan, to prove that dopplegangers belong together, and just to mess with him, so he's not going to help him with Bonnie after all. At college, Caroline leaves Jesse yet another voice mail, worried about him. Nadia shows up, looking for Katherine. When Katherine finds her, she lies about who Nadia is. Stefan, Damon and Elena try to figure out what to do about Silas. Stefan thinks Silas needs to die, but Elena is holding out hope he'll help them. Down in the cellar, Amara tries to get out of her bonds. Jeremy brings her a sandwich. Amara recognizes him as the hunter Silas killed. Amara can see Bonnie because she's the anchor to the other side. Bonnie discovers she can touch her. She has an idea. They realize Amara isn't crazy, she's constantly seeing dead people. Upstairs, Jeremy suggests they could try turning Bonnie into the anchor. All they need is someone who wants Amara to die. Damon goes to see Tessa. Back at the house, Elena tries to talk Stefan out of killing Silas. He tells her about the pain of slowly losing his humanity in the safe as he drowned over and over again. He needs to make that pain end by killing Silas, so he doesn't lose his humanity. Damon lays out his anchor swap idea to Tessa. She would need a massive amount of power to draw. She suggests dopplegangers. Nadia tries to connect with Katherine, accusing her of abandoning her. Katherine isn't feeling motherly. Caroline interrupts, saying that Katherine's doppelganger blood is needed. Damon brings Tessa to the mansion. Tessa goes down to the cellar to taunt Amara, who begs her to kill her. Amara promises she will, just as soon as she makes someone else the anchor. Then with Amara as a human, she'll pass on and Silas the supernatural being will be stuck on the other side and they'll spend eternity apart. Katherine arrives and lays out her terms to Tessa; she wants her to stop her rapid aging. Tessa agrees. Later, Tessa prepares to do the spell, using Bonnie's grimoire as a talisman and with the three dopplegangers: Katherine, Amara, and Elena. Tessa takes blood from each of their hands and lets it drip on the grimoire. She begins her spell and the blood forms a symbol, but Tessa can sense something is wrong. The lights blow out and Tessa yells at Silas to show himself. The electricity blows out in the whole house. Damon comes in and realizes Amara and Tessa are missing. Tessa finds Stefan. They fling angry words and glasses at each other. Silas skewers her with a fire poker, mocking her. Stefan calls Silas, telling him he has Amara and he's going to take her and keep her alive if he doesn't come find them. Caroline finds Katherine, whose hand won't stop bleeding. Caroline tries to feed Katherine her blood to heal her, but it just makes Katherine gag. Elena finds Tessa and yanks the poker from her arm, assuring her it's just a flesh wound. Silas finds Amara in the woods. She tells him she loves him, but she can't live any longer. He says he understands and takes out a knife. He holds it to her throat. He's trying to bring himself to kill her, when Stefan grabs him and throws him against a tree, strangling him. But Silas uses his witch powers to bring Stefan to his knees. But as Silas taunts him, Stefan gets his knife and jams it in Silas's chest. In the house, Tessa begins her spell again. Elena begs Damon to go find Stefan before he gets hurt taking on Stefan. In the woods, Amara watches Silas die and tells him their eternity starts now. She picks up the knife and stabs herself as Damon finds her. He tries to feed her his blood and begs her to hold on. Tessa continues the spell. Bonnie comes to Jeremy and tells him that Amara is dying and she's come to say good-bye. She asks him the third thing, he says he loves her.He reaches out to touch her -- and touches her.Elena and Caroline come in and see Bonnie. They can see her. They have a happy, squeally reunion. Later, Bonnie enjoys being alive again, including the warmth of the fire and kissing Jeremy. Katherine goes to see Tessa, wanting her spell to stop her aging. But Amara says that altering someone's lifespan is what got her into this mess in the first place."I won. Amara is gone. And Silas is waiting for me on the other side," she says. Katherine walks around in front of Tessa and sees blood pooling at her feet, her wrists slashed open with glass."True love prevails, the universe be damned," Tessa says. She dies, then appears by Bonnie. Since Bonnie is the anchor now, she's going to feel the death of every supernatural being as they pass through."Sorry, that's going to hurt like a bitch," Tessa says. Bonnie screams in pain. Out in the woods, Elena checks on Stefan. She tells him how guilty she feels about having the summer of her life while he suffered. He confesses that when the safe opened and someone finally found him, he wanted it to be Damon and Elena. Katherine goes to get her things from Caroline's room. Nadia finds her and invites her to come back to Bulgaria with her. Caroline hears her says she would rather rip her own heart out than do more mother-daughter bonding. Katherine takes her things and leaves. In the woods, Stefan buries Silas and, he hopes, his demons along with him. Instead, the memories continue to come flooding back, sending Stefan to his knees.
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Dr. Maxfield continues his experiment on Jesse, who has turned into a vampire over 14 days. Dr. Maxfield hooks a bag of blood into Jesse's arm and expects a positive response to the first bag of Augustine blood. Jesse is much stronger than he expects, however, and breaks free. Before Maxfield can initiate his emergency procedures, Jesse attacks him, vamping out times ten. Bonnie joins Caroline and Elena in their dorm room, and through awkward Windows phone product placement, we learn that she's not a witch anymore after coming back as the supernatural anchor. Elena and Caroline plan Bonnie a blow-out "welcome back from the dead" party. Bonnie makes a lame excuse to go meet Jeremy and make-out. Across the quad, Bonnie sees an old woman starting at her. Jeremy can't see her. When Bonnie leaves, the woman finds her and tells her she's ready. She touches Bonnie's arm and vanishes and Bonnie screams in pain. Elena calls Damon to come to her party, but pauses to hand Aaron a flyer inviting him. She accidentally mentions something she compelled out of him before and has to do it again, but makes him agree to come to the party. Elena suggests Damon invite Stefan to their party -- she bought bourbon. Damon tries to talk to Stefan, but he's freaking out, reliving his repeated drowning. Damon can tell something is wrong, but Stefan won't say what. At the Grille, Katherine trades Matt drinks for Czech translation of the video he took of himself. She explains he has a Traveler inside him. Katherine realizes Nadia was the girl who followed Matt back to the States. Jesse calls Caroline in a panic, begging her to come to his place. His roommate is about to come home. Caroline rushes over. Jesse's roommate arrives: It's Aaron. Jesse apologizes to him then attacks him. Caroline arrives and pulls Jesse off."Who the hell turned you into a vampire?" she asks. Jesse explains Maxfield's torturous conversion. Jesse left him locked in the lab. Elena arrives with blood bags. Caroline suggests Jesse be the one to heal Aaron. They start showing him the perks of being a vampire. At the Grille, Katherine convinces Stefan to join her for a pity drink. He tells her about his summer of safe flashbacks, which she thinks is PTSD. She thinks she can help, after he life of traumas and running, but she has a favor to ask. Nadia arrives, Katherine called her. She introduces Stefan to her daughter. At their college party, Bonnie waits for Jeremy to show. Caroline is teaching Jesse to sublimate his vampire urges through grain alcohol. Elena sent Damon to question Wes Maxfield, but Caroline is pretty sure that means Damon is going to kill him. Caroline's Damon hatred is not subtle. In Maxfield's lab, Damon pokes through his lab samples. He explains to Maxfield that he's going to inject him with a disease and he'll heal him with his vampire blood if Maxfield talks. At the Grille, Katherine, Nadia and Matt meet up in the walk-in fridge. Nadia calls on the Traveler in Matt, Gregor. He explains he's in Mystic Falls to find and kill Silas. He's also interested in an antique knife that Katherine now has. And after Silas is dead, he's supposed to kill Katherine -- which is news to Nadia. "Travelers are ruthless, manipulative, hypocrites. I know, because your grandfather was one," Katherine says. She stabs Matt in the side with the knife, expelling Gregor's spirit. The knife is the only way to kill a Traveler. Back in the lab, Maxfield says his experiments were for the greater good. Damon questions what that could possibly be and injects him with rabies. At the dorm party, Bonnie sees the old woman she helped over before. The woman was a witch, but is doing fine on the other side since Bonnie helped her transition over. Jeremy finds Bonnie. On the dance floor, Caroline cozies up to Jesse. In the lab, Maxfield explains he was trying to create a new kind of vampire that doesn't feed on human blood. Back on the dance floor, Caroline kisses Jesse. He bites down on her lip and fully vamps out. He hides it from her and rushes out. Aaron arrives at the party and bonds with Elena over Jell-o shots and stories of how their parents died. He was out camping when he was six when he woke up to his mom screaming. They were covered in bite marks and everyone said it was a bear. He got passed around among relatives until he ended up with Maxfield. Elena leaves to go call Damon and make sure he doesn't kill Maxfield. Back at the Grille, Stefan has another safe flashback. Katherine finds him and tries to help him through it by making him name the people he has killed, to remind him that he's in control and on solid ground. Nadia finds them, angry at Katherine for killing Gregor. She storms off. Damon tells Elena about Jesse feeding on vampires, and she makes him promise not to kill Maxfield. In the lab, Damon slices his wrist to heal Maxfield of the various diseases he's injected him with, but Jesse storms in, wanting answers from Maxfield. He sees Damon's bleeding wrist and attacks him. Damon isn't worried, since he's a much older vampire than Jesse, but he soon finds out the usual strength-age rules don't apply. Jesse tackles him out a door and into the hallway. Jesse overpowers Damon and begins to feed on him when Elena finds them. With Jesse attached to his neck, Damon tells her Jesse's about to rip his head off.Elena grabs a shard of the broken door and stakes Jesse, killing him, just as Caroline runs up in time to see it. Elena feels awful, but Damon tells Caroline she had no choice."The Elena I used to know would have given Jesse a chance," Caroline says. Stefan finds a note from Katherine to Nadia, apologizing for killing her boyfriend. Then Stefan realizes he's reading a suicide note. Katherine works up her nerves on the top of the clock tower, then finally falls over the side. As the ground rushes up beneath her, at the very last second Stefan swoops in and catches her. She tells him she's dying of advanced old age. "You're Katherine Pierce, suck it up," he says. Katherine savors the turn of events, and the glimmer of hope that Stefan might care about her. Finally alone, Bonnie struggles to light candles with a lighter. Jeremy joins her and she admits she misses magic. He helps her forget, by taking her to bed, but before they get very far, she sees Jesse standing in the room. She realizes Jesse is dead. He touches her and Jeremy watches as Bonnie screams in pain.After Jesse is gone, she explains that as the anchor, she's going to feel the death of every supernatural being. She says it's worth it to be there with him. Elena and Caroline clean up after their party. Caroline apologizes for what she said, but tells Elena again how dangerous she thinks Damon is. Back in the lab, Damon cleans up as Maxfield secretly works his way free from his restraints. Damon plans to compel the whole thing out of Maxfield's head. When he sees a bag of labeled blood in the fridge, the number jars his memory. Damon remembers his own number from trials 60 years ago. Maxfield realizes Damon was an Augustine vampire, too. Maxfield breaks free and Damon is unconcerned as he runs to the opposite side of the lab. But then Maxfield hits his "emergency procedures" button and atomized vervane fills the room, dropping Damon. "I'm sure Augustine will be thrilled to have you back," Maxfield says. Damon wakes up in a cell that is hauntingly familiar. His initials are scratched into the wall and memories of his time in captivity, being tortured, come rushing back.
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June 11, 1953Damon drops in on Joe at the house. Joe sent for both of them. The brothers haven't spoken since Damon left Stefan on the train platform in WWII.Joe stabs Damon with a vervane needle, saying the money was too good to pass up. Damon manages to stab Joe in the neck with his broken glass before he drops. Another man comes in and says he'll be Damon's doctor from now on. In the present, Damon wakes up in a cell with Wes Maxfield injecting him with vervane. He tells Damon that because he killed their test subject last night (Jesse), Damon's going to take his place. At the house, Stefan keeps watch over Katherine, trying to ensure she doesn't kill herself. She's pouty and angry about his hovering and thinks he can't help her until he deals with his own PTSD. She called in help. Caroline arrives as his sober coach -- with a giant safe. At college, Elena drops in on Aaron, who is reeling over the death of his roommate, Jesse. Even though Elena killed him, she pretends to be shocked. Aaron is overwhelmed by the fact that someone else close to him died. She asks about Wes, who became his legal guardian after his aunt Sarah died. She tells Aaron that Damon went to talk to Wes last night and no one has seen either of them since. She asks for his help finding Wes. Aaron thinks he knows a place. Wes checks in on Damon in his cell. Damon remembers the last time he was locked up, by Dr. Whitmore. Flash back to 1953, Whitmore has Damon strapped to a table. He plans to experiment on him, knowing that as a vampire he'll heal from all his wounds. He plans to cut out parts of Damon's internal organs so he'll regrow them. To begin, he stabs Damon in the eye. Maxfield tells Damon that after training Jesse to crave vampire blood, he's ready to take his research to his next level. On campus, Elena asks Aaron if he thinks it's weird that both his friends committed suicide in their first semester. Elena tells Aaron that Wes covered up Megan's murder. Aaron wants to find Wes to ask him about it. He takes Elena to the Whitmore House, which she knows she can't enter. But Wes invites her in and she's able to enter. He confesses that he owns the house as part of the Whitmore Trust he inherited when his parents died. His name's Aaron Whitmore. Elena looks at a picture and recognizes her father. Wes joins them, and says Grayson Gilbert was one of the best doctors the Augustines ever had. Then he injects Elena with vervane. Back at the house, Stefan questions whether the safe is a good idea for coping with his PTSD. Back at Whitmore, Aaron struggles to understand what Wes is doing. Wes tells him vampires exist and Elena is one of them. He opens his safe to reveal stacks of Whitmore files. Wes explains to Aaron that his father taught him everything he knows about vampires and research and the Whitmore Trust has been funding his research. He tells Aaron it's his legacy. Elena wakes up in a cell next to Damon. Damon confesses he's been there before and tells her about Whitmore's torture, including cutting up pieces of them every day. He was there for about five years. He made a friend, Enzo, a soldier in Europe during WWII, who was also a vampire. Whitmore was working in a battlefield hospital overseas when he discovered Enzo was a vampire and locked him in a coffin and shipped him overseas. He'd been locked up ten years. Enzo tried to teach Damon how to survive, including picturing exactly how he'd get his revenge. Elena tells Damon that her dad worked with Whitmore and was an Augustine. She doesn't want to believe he'd be part of a place that would cut Damon's eyes out. Back in Mystic Falls, Caroline reads up on PTSD while Stefan is in the safe. She's oblivious as Stefan starts to freak out inside. Outside, Katherine wonders how you help the guy who is always the hero for everyone else. She gets an idea. 1953Enzo keeps Damon going by talking to him about a girl named Maggie that he liked. Whitmore interrupts, asking who's next. He goes for Damon, but Enzo volunteers. Damon listens to him scream from in his cell until he's finally brought back in a bloody heap. Damon asks Whitmore why he's doing this and he explains he's trying to understand vampires on a cellular level to make use of them. Back in the present, Elena thinks Stefan will figure it out and come rescue them, but Damon never told him he was locked up -- he didn't want to give him more to feel guilty about. Damon explains how he escaped. They let the vampires out once a year for the Augustine's New Year's Eve party to show them off. They were weak from vervane and captivity. Whitmore demonstrates vampire blood's healing powers, using Mrs. Fell as a volunteer. She drinks vampire blood to heal her hand after he cuts it. Enzo comes up with a plan, suggesting one of them drink both of their daily rations of blood for a year so that when they're let out next New Year's Eve, one of them will have the strength to fight. They play rock paper scissors and Damon wins. Elena wants to know what happened, but Damon is not forthcoming with the details, saying only that it wasn't pretty. Wes gives Aaron his grandfather's watch, which he says is a precaution against vampires. Aaron sees news clips about his parents' death at a campground. Wes admits they were killed by vampires. Aaron decks Wes, knocking him to the ground. He takes the gun and bullets from the safe and the watch. Back in the safe, Stefan wakes up next to Katherine. She knows he gets anxious and violent when his PTSD kicks in. She also knows he wants to keep her alive, so she's counting on him not hurting her. Down in the cell, Elena prods Damon to tell her how he escaped. In 1958, he'd been drinking Enzo's rations for a year and he'd gotten stronger. When Whitmore opened the cage to take Damon out to show him off to the guests on New Year's, Damon broke his own hand to slip out of the chains. He gouged Whitmore's eyes out, then attacked as many people as he could in the room, knocking over a candelabra as he went. The fire raged with Enzo still in the cage. Damon tried to free him, but the bars were coated in vervane and the fire was advancing. Finally, he chose to save himself, but he turned off his emotions first so he could leave Enzo behind. He left Enzo there to die in the fire. Back at the house, in the safe Stefan hyperventilates, saying he feels like he's dying. Katherine tells Stefan she believes there is something to the doppelganger prophecy and Stefan wants to get far away from Damon and Elena and she's just the latest excuse to stay in town. Stefan starts choking her. She tells him she thinks he's choosing to focus on the physical pain of drowning in the safe instead of the emotional pain of Elena breaking his heart. She turns to offer Stefan her neck and urges him to fight it. She promises she's there with him. They are dangerously close to kissing when Caroline opens the safe, worried about how quiet it got. Out of the safe, Stefan seems to look at Katherine differently. Aaron comes down to the cells in the basement with his gun. He accuses Elena of killing Megan and possibly of killing his parents. Damon stops him, and says it was him. Damon explains that with Enzo dead, he had to carry out his revenge plan himself. He planned to kill all the Whitmores in a generation, except one, then let him grow up and start a family, and then kill all of them except one, and so on. And he did. Elena is disgusted and asks when the last one was. A few months ago, Sarah in Charleston. It was a weekend trip. Elena realizes they were together then.Aaron shoots Damon. Back at the house, Stefan tells Katherine he was right. He admits she knew what she was doing, and she admits sometimes she doesn't even know. She slides up close to him and runs her hands across his chest. She kisses him.He kisses her back. Caroline leaves Elena a message, saying she's going to stay at her mom's. She hears Stefan and Katherine making out and tells her to call. Back in his dorm room, Aaron calls Wes, angry about having been lied to his whole life. Wes tells him to live his life. Damon wakes up from his head wound in his cell. Elena is gone. Elena wakes up strapped to an exam table next to another vampire. He introduces himself. "My name is Enzo," he says.
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Down in the Whitmore cellar, Damon uses the last of his remaining strength to punch at the stone wall until a chunk falls out. He reaches through the grate for the bullet Aaron dropped when he came down. Damon puts the bullet in the lock and bashes at it with the rock, then kicks the door until it opens. Katherine wakes up in bed with Stefan, very pleased with herself. Then she notices a lock of her hair has fallen out. She grabs the blanket and tries to get away without Stefan seeing her. Katherine runs into Damon as shes leaving the house. She wastes no time in telling him she spent the night with Stefan. Elena wakes up on the surgical table in a familiar lab. Dr. Maxfield knocks her out to begin blood dialysis. At the house, Damon skips over being grossed out Stefan was with Katherine and tells him they have to go get Elena, but he doesnt know where she is, so they need leverage. Damon and Stefan find Aaron Whitmore. Elena struggles to get free as Maxfield asks her how she justifies Damon systematically killing off members of Aarons family tree. He justifies his torture in the name of science. He reads to her from a journal about electrocuting a vampire to see how much he could take. Shes horrified, then he tells her its her fathers journal. Everything Maxfield is doing, he learned from her dad. Damon and Stefan casually interrogate Aaron, who says he doesnt know where Elena is. Damon says Stefan is in the midst of a psychotic break because he got with Katherine. Damon tells Aaron to call his uncle to get Elena back, or next Wes gets to try to reattach Aarons arms. Elena realizes shes in her dads old clinic, which is now burned out from when the town tried to kill a bunch of vampires. Theyre back in Mystic Falls. Wes steps outside to take the call from Aaron. Wes agrees to meet them at his classroom. Wes goes back to the basement of the clinic and injects Enzo with something he calls his insurance policy. Hes giving Enzo a bag of blood so that he can have the day off to catch up with Damon. Out in the woods, Matt puts Katherine through a workout, which she hopes will help her get in shape to stave off death. She cant turn back into a vampire because her body rejects the blood.Nadia arrives (Matt called her), with the suicide note Katherine left. She slaps her mother for trying to kill herself without saying good-bye. Back on the Whitmore campus, Damon tells Stefan about his time getting sliced apart by the Augustines. Back at the house, Katherine says someone changed her mind about wanting to die. She asks Nadia if she believes she can be forgiven. Nadia does, and she has an idea that might keep Katherine alive longer. Down in the clinic, Elena remembers following a soccer ball down the stairs when she was a child and seeing her dads files and hearing the sounds of electricity. Elena asks Wes if her dad ever brought a vampire to his clinic. Wes tells her Enzo is on a daytrip. Back at Whitmore, the Salvatores arrive with Aaron at Wess classroom and find Enzo waiting for them. Damon tries to skip over introductions, but Enzo is eager to tell him how he survived the fire Damon left him to die in. Back with Wes, Elena figures out that Enzo is the Augustine vampire who killed her roommate Megan. Megan had a picture of Elenas parents because her parents funded Grayson Gilberts research. Wes is ready to start phase 2 on Elena. Wes says Megan got suspicious of the research so she enrolled in Whitmore and snooped around the Whitmore house, where Wes guesses she got too close to Enzo. Stefan calls Wes and they exchange threats. Stefan reports that Wes isnt going to do anything to save Aaron. Enzo is more concerned with telling the story of how Damon betrayed him, leaving him to die in the fire. One of the scientists spared him. Damon is ready to get on with killing Aaron, but Aaron mentions some files Wes gave him that are in his dorm room. Enzo tells Damon to stay with him as Stefan goes with Wes. Nadia suggests spirit transference to Katherine. Because Katherines father and grandfather were Travelers, she should be able to transfer her essence into someone else and keep living. Katherine mentions that Stefan likes the body shes in now, and Nadia realizes when Katherine was asking about forgiveness, she didnt mean her, Katherine meant Stefan. Nadia gets angry and storms out. Back in the classroom, Damon continues refusing to react to Enzos guilt trips. Enzo mentions that Wes poisoned him and he has to return for the antidote. Damon suggests they work together to save both Enzo and Elena. Instead, Enzo tells him that Wes said he couldnt return until Damon was dead. Then Enzo throws him out the window. Enzo keeps trying to come after Damon, but Damon refuses to fight him. Enzo is too weak from the poison to really attack. Damon tries to get him to tell him where Elena is, but Enzo desiccates before he can talk. In Aarons dorm room, he pretends to be getting files but really reaches for a gun. Stefan easily avoids him. Stefan is happy to kill him if thats what Aaron is going for. Aaron tells him the part of the Augustine story that Damon left out, about Damon killing off generations of Whitmores. Aaron tells him to kill him so Damon wont have the satisfaction. Stefan walks away, saying not all vampires are like Damon. Aaron turns over his family files. Elena remembers going down her dads clinic and hearing thrashing and screaming behind a door. Her dad found her and tells her everythings fine and todays a good day because hes going to save a little girls life. In the burned out clinic, Wes is pleased to see her sample cells mutated with his compound. He plans to condition her to crave vampire blood, like he did with Jesse. She begs him not to turn her into a ripper. He jabs the needle into her chest and she hears Stefans voice. She bashes Wes in the head and knocks him out and the needle falls from her chest. Stefan comes down and frees her. She grabs her dads journal on the way out. Nadia stops by Matt at the Grille. She wants to leave the Travelers knife with him, in case Katherine changes her mind about the spirit transfer. Nadia is upset to lose Katherine after spending 500 years searching for her. Matt knows what its like to have a crappy parent. He agrees to hold onto the knife. Enzo wakes up in a lab. Damon tells him he injected him with everything labeled antidote. Damon reaches inside Enzos chest and tells him he had to flip off his humanity to leave him. Enzo tells Damon hes just a monster and always will be. Back at the house, Damon finds Elena reading through her dads journal. She found a reference to Megan in her dads journal. He cured her from a congenital heart defect, which is why Megan had a picture of Grayson Gilbert in her phone. Damon isnt surprised Elena is able to find the one positive thing out of all the torture in the journal. He doesnt understand how Elena can keep looking past all the terrible things hes done himself. She says she loves him and accepts him, but he tells her hes freeing her of that. Im choosing to relieve you of every awful thing Ive ever done, Damon says. He shouts at her to stop defending him. I wont change who I am. I cant. But I refuse to change you, he says. Stefan comes up to his room to find Katherine examining her wrinkles. She walks to talk about last night. He says they got swept up in a moment. Katherine tells him shes dying, but he thinks shell find a way out of it.She asks what she has to do to get redemption. He tells her 147 years is a lot to forgive in one night. She doesnt think hell ever look at her the way he looks at Elena.He takes her hand and tells her hes sorry shes dying. Aaron goes down to the clinic and finds Wes passed out on the floor. He yells at his uncle for selling him out. He picks up the syringe Wes was going to inject Elena with, then tells his uncle he never wants to see him again. Back at the house, Elena reels from her break-up with Damon. She tosses her dads journal in the fire. Katherine calls her daughter, asking if shell help her find a Traveler to do the spell. Katherine thinks Stefan believes a part of her can still be redeemed. But suddenly she stops talking. Katherine grabs her arm, then her heart, and collapses down the stairs.
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Bulgaria, 1490 A pregnant Katarina Petrova goes into labor. In the present, dead Katherine gets shocked in a hospital to restart her heart. Katarina gives birth to a girl and her mother won't even let her hold her before his father takes her away. At the hospital, Stefan tells Nadia that Katherine a heart attack. The doctors are able to start her heart again but she's dying and isn't expected to last the day. Stefan compelled the doctors to let them take her home. Backat Whitmore, Caroline and Bonnie bring Elena a "break up breakfast." Caroline does not even try to pretend she's not happy about the break-up, she even memorized what Damon said to her. Matt and Jeremy find Damon passed out at the Grille. He wakes up and starts drinking again. Stefan calls them both with the Katherine news. Back at the house, Damon pours Matt and Jeremy shots for all the horrible things Katherine has done to them through the years. The girls arrive.Damon waits to see how Elena will react. She takes a shot. "If anybody is drinking to Katherine's last days, it's me. She impersonated me, repeatedly. She made Aunt Jenna stab herself in the stomach and she cut off Uncle John's fingers."They all pile on. Bonnie Gram's died tried to close a tomb Katherine wasn't in. Tyler's werewolf curse was triggered because of her. Miles followed her to Mystic Falls and because of that, they lost Jenna and Alaric. Matt goes for more booze. Upstairs, Stefan sits with Katherine. She worries she looks wrinkled and tells him if she starts to sag, anywhere, he should jab a knife into her carotid artery.He's being nice because she's dying. Down in the cellar, Matt is surprised to see Nadia. She knocks him out cold. Stefan comes downstairs to tell everyone they're being sensitive, but Damon warns him not to let the fact she's an Elena lookalike could the fact she's a manipulative psycho. Stefan mentions her seducing both him and Damon, turning them into vampires and starting a war with the town that got them killed. But he goes on to say that before that she was just a frightened girl shunned by her family, and she became a survivor, so that's what he'll drink to. Damon mocks Stefan for being so easy on her after one night of passion. It's news to Elena. Nadia arrives, she's also news to Elena. Nadia explains she has found a way to save her mother. Damon forbids anyone to help, which Nadia expected, which is why she buried Matt in the safe somewhere on the property, without his ring. Elena and Stefan volunteer to help, just as Nadia expected. She explains she needs a Traveler to teach Katherine how to transfer to another body. Elena doesn't understand why she wants to save Katherine given that she killed Nadia's boyfriend.Stefan defends her and he waits for Elena to lay into him for sleeping with Katherine. Nadia takes them to a boarded up house and tells them who she plans to transfer Katherine to: Herself. Back at the house, Caroline, Bonnie and Jeremy search for signs of digging. Caroline is ready to talk about Stefan sleeping with Katherine, but Jeremy dismisses it, saying they've all had their fair share of bad choices."No offense taken," Bonnie says, and Caroline figures out they slept together. Caroline is disappointed to be the only one not having "scandalous sex." On her death bed, Katherine remembers coming home in Bulgaria in 1492 to see her family slaughtered. Then Damon walks in to the Bulgarian cottage to rub it in, reminding her that Klaus only killed them because he was going to sacrifice her and she ran, so her family's death is her fault. Back in the bedroom, Damon picks up a pillow to smother an unconscious Katherine. But Liz Forbes comes in and stops him. "Every awful thing I've done is linked to her. She taught me how to kill, how to enjoy it. She ruined me and I can't take any of that back," he says. "Look at how much control she still has over you, Damon. Prove her wrong," Caroline says. Caroline is walking through the woods looking for Matt when she stops in her tracks. It's Klaus. In the abandoned house, Mia, the Traveler that Nadia paid off joins them. Nadia says the price was them, dopplegangers. Then both Nadia and Mia run, locking Stefan and Elena in the house. Dozens of Travelers come inside and surround the house, chanting and rendering their daylight rings useless. In the woods, Caroline tries to ignore Klaus. Damon told him Katherine, whom he's been hunting for 500 years, is on her death bed. He knows Caroline and Tyler broke up, but tells her Tyler is fine, he sent him off with "little more than a bruised ego." Caroline explains she told Tyler to chose between her and his revenge fantasy against Klaus, and he chose wrong. In Katherine's room, Liz brings sedatives from the hospital, but Katherine doesn't want them because they make her weak and let Damon into her head. Katherine mocks him for breaking up with Elena and Damon grabs a syringe and injects her anyway, knocking her out. Mystic Falls, 1864Katherine in on the road in her carriage heading to the Lockwood Plantation with Emily. She sees Stefan on the side of the road with a broken down carriage and takes a liking to him immediately. Damon is surprised to learn how they really met. Katherine thinks it seemed like fate, bringing the two doppplegangers together just like the prophesy said. Back in the abandoned house, Elena apologizes to Stefan for judging him. They are huddled in a corner to escape the sun's rays streaming through the dilapidated house. The Travelers continue chanting in the room and one approaches with two buckets. He slices both Elena and Stefan's wrists to drain their blood, but Elena realizes they aren't healing. Klaus finds Caroline again, and asks if she'd offer him the same choice, if he gave up his revenge fantasy against Katherine. Caroline is focused on finding Matt, but he assures her he's got it covered, he heard Matt's screams and "he'll be quite happy with his rescuer." Matt's safe opens in the woods and he gets out to see Rebekah standing there. On her death bed, Damon toys with Katherine. First she sees Jenna returning with a knife, which she uses to stab Katherine. Then John shows up with his own knife to hack off her fingers.Then Elijah appears to put a stop to it. She's happy and touched to see him, but then he turns into Damon, who informs her it wasn't real and no one is coming to see her because no one cares. But Nadia walks up behind Damon and snaps his neck, saying she cares. Mia the Traveler is with her. Back in the house, Stefan tells Elena that Katherine helped him with the Silas aftermath, but gives her permission to hate Katherine anyway. He knows he should hate Katherine, but he doesn't."Damon keeps pushing you away because he hates himself, who he is, what he's done. Just remember that you never gave up on me, so don't give up on him. Don't let him give up on you either, OK?" Stefan says. The Travelers stop chanting and Stefan and Elena heal. The sunlight doesn't burn them anymore. "So that's all you wanted was a bucket of our blood?" Elena says. They walk out of the house. Back at Katherine's bedside, Nadia is ready to become her mother's passenger, but Katherine isn't. She tells Nadia that letting her father take Nadia from her was the biggest regret her life and she vowed never to give up so easily again. She spent the next 500 years fighting for everything and lived a full life. She tells Nadia it's her turn to live. Damon wakes up on the floor but stays still and listens as Katherine tells Nadia that she's been selfish her whole life and just wants to do the right thing for once. She asks Nadia to let her go.Nadia is upset, and refuses to watch her mother die. She leaves. Katherine injects herself with another sedative. In the woods, Klaus tells Caroline he did come to gloat over Katherine's corpse-to-be, but he'll leave in exchange for Caroline's confession -- about him."As soon as we're done here, I'm going to walk away and I'm never coming back. You'll never again have to look me in the eye and cover our connection with hostility and revulsion. You'll never have to loathe the darkest parts of yourself that care for me, in spite of all I've done. I will be gone, and you will be free. I just want you to be honest with me," Klaus says. Caroline tells him she's in college and has a plan for her life that doesn't involve him, but if he promises to leave and never come back, she will be honest with him.He promises. She smiles, then steps close and kisses him. They tear each other's clothes off in the woods. Stefan comes up to Katherine's room to see Damon waking up from the floor. "In a shocking twist, Katherine's daughter's a psychopath," Damon explains. Stefan's about to chide Damon when he confesses to messing with Katherine's mind. "I know, I know. It's been a rough couple of days, I needed an outlet," Damon says. He leaves Stefan with Katherine. He tells her he came to say good-bye. She closes her eyes and sees herself back in the cottage with her murdered family. Stefan is there and she tells him it was the worst day of her life and Damon said it was all her fault.Stefan urges her to open her mind to him. Stefan makes the images of her dead family disappear as he tells her she was just a 17 year old girl, and none of it was her fault. "You deserve to feel at peace," he says. Katherine hears a baby cry and turns around to see Nadia as a baby in a crib. It's the last image that she sees. Stefan kisses her good-bye. When Elena comes in, he tells her Katherine isn't quite gone, but won't wake up again. Outside, sharing a drink, Stefan tells Damon that Katherine helped pull him out of a dark place. Stefan tells him to fix whatever is going on with him and Elena. Damon says he can't live without her, but he doesn't think he's any better than Katherine and Elena will be better off without him. He's trying to be selfless.Stefan gives him a look. Damon tells him when he gets Elena back and the whole universe freaks out for keeping the dopplegangers apart, Stefan should remember he's the one who talked Damon out of doing the right thing for all mankind. Caroline comes back to the house with leaves in her hair. She says she got lost. Matt asks Bonnie about being the anchor. He wants to know if she sees Vicki, who appears as he asks. Vicki tells him to tell Matt she watches over him, and he should stop hanging around with Rebekah. Then Tyler walks in. "Rebekah says to tell you I'm her parting gift," Tyler says. He and Matt hug. Everyone gathers in front of the fire, going through bourbon. Jeremy hears Alaric."Where the hell have you been? I thought you bailed on us to go find peace or something," Jeremy says. "Do you honestly think I'd leave Damon in charge and never look back?" Alaric says. Jeremy translates to Damon: "He says you're a dick." They toast. Suddenly, Bonnie sees Katherine's spirit. But only for a second. Katherine startles back alive in bed, with Elena sitting next to her. Katherine says she has unfinished business.Elena says she has a whole speech, but she skips to the end. "I forgive you. You weren't born evil, life made you that way," Elena says. Katherine asks Elena to give her the last sedative. "If anyone's going to plunge a needle in me one last time, it might as well be you. Symmetry and all that," Katherine says. Elena takes the needle and Katherine thanks her for her forgiveness. Elena plunges the sedative in, but before she takes her last breath, Katherine grabs Elena and recites the Traveler's incantation. Katherine transfers into Elena. A phone rings nearby, with Mia the Traveler calling to activate Katherine. Mia hands the phone to Nadia. "Talk to me, did it work?" Nadia asks. Katherine, now in Elena's body, checks her corpse's pulse and goes to assess herself.Katherine checks herself out and gets ready to be Elena.
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Katherine-as-Elena joins Matt on a bench at college. She checks his current vervane status and, after he reminds her he doesn't take it in case anyone needs his blood, she plucks off his vervane bracelet. She fills him in on the fact she's now Traveler Katherine, hitching a ride in Elena's body. She wants a crash course in all things Elena. When he objects, Nadia joins them and they compel him for the Elena 411, including fashion choices. "My final question, because I'm going to need it later, is: how did Elena Gilbert break up with you?" she asks. Earlier That DayNadia tells her mother that Mia the Traveler says they need her corpse. Until then, Katherine agrees to be chained to the hotel bed in case Elena's consciousness pops through. Damon keeps leaving Elena messages. Nadia goes to find Katherine's body. Back at the Salvatore's, Damon comes in with a dirt-covered shovel. He says he's been "out." He buried Katherine's body.Nadia is there to get it, ostensibly to take it back to Bulgaria, but Damon is only too happy to deny her dying request. At his house, Tyler is starting his day off by drinking. Matt sees he in a funk and, after Tyler won't talk about New Orleans except to say the drama is over, announces he's throwing Tyler a welcome back party. In her dorm room, Caroline works out her issues with obsessive cleaning. Aaron comes by the room to talk to Elena. He tells Caroline Wes won't be a problem anymore -- is family's trust money came through and he cut off all Augustine experiments. When he returns to his room, one of those experiments is waiting -- Enzo is there. Stefan calls Caroline because he thinks Elena is ignoring Damon's calls. Caroline doesn't want any part of getting them back together."How would you like to be judged solely based on who you're attracted to?" Stefan asks.Caroline thinks of her roll in the woods with Klaus. "Why? Do you know something?" Stefan thinks Elena is good for Damon because she makes him happy. They realize Elena told both of them she was at the other place. Locked to the bed in the hotel room, Elena's phone ringing annoys Katherine. Katherine starts to get the vapors and her eyes go black -- Elena comes to and finds herself chained to the bed. She immediately knows Katherine is behind it. With her vampire strength, Elena is able to break her chains. She rushes for her phone, but before she gets anywhere, Nadia comes back. She calls Katherine back, but they know it's a matter of time until Elena breaks through again. At the bar, Stefan tells Damon he's being a dick pouting over Elena. Caroline arrives, reporting that no one knows where Elena is, but she's there to help Damon get her back "This is what it's come to? You brought me love advice from prudy Trudy?" Damon asks Stefan."I can be unpredictable, and incredibly reckless," Caroline insists. Damon wanders off, saying he doesn't need their help. In the hotel room, Katherine suggests she go to Tyler's party to assuage everyone's suspicions about Elena and maybe find out where her body is buried. Nadia doesn't like the idea, pointing out that Katherine doesn't know anything about Elena. But Katherine knows just who to go to. Tyler and Matt get ready for the party at the Lockwood mansion. Tyler asks is Caroline is coming but won't admit to wanting her back. Damon comes home to find Enzo waiting for him on his couch with a body bag at his feet and blood on his lips. Enzo knows about Damon systematically killing off the Whitmores and is willing to reconsider his opinion of Damon. He brought Damon a present- Aaron Whitmore. "So do you want to kill him? Or shall I?" Enzo asks. At Tyler's party, Elena compels Matt to leave her alone and she finds Stefan. She tells Stefan she was "thinking, processing, trying to figure out this whole Damon thing." Katherine lays on the Elena sweetness thickly. She asks how he's handling Katherine's death then gets annoyed that he's fine. She is pushy suggesting they should have a funeral. She asks where Katherine is buried.Damon said she's where she was always meant to be. Back at the house, Enzo is getting itchy to kill Aaron. Damon struggles not to. Caroline calls Damon to tell him Elena is at Tyler's. Aaron wakes up and Enzo is ready to pounce, but Damon snaps Enzo's neck instead. He takes off Aaron's vervane watch and compels him to leave town. At Tyler's, Katherine tells Nadia that for 145 years, Damon thought she was buried in the tomb under the old church, so that must be where he buried her. Katherine prepares to leave, but back inside she runs into Caroline. Caroline tells Elena "I did a bad thing." Katherine is ready to blow her off, but Caroline insists. Caroline confesses to her Klaus tryst. Katherine is surprised, then when she sees Tyler within earshot, she asks for details. She makes a point of repeating "now that you've slept with Klaus" for Tyler's benefit. Tyler shoots Caroline the death stare of a thousand daggers. Katherine and Nadia join Mia and Katherine's body in the tomb. Mia needs some of Elena's blood, then she digs a knife into Katherine's dead body and recites a spell. Katherine's spirit temporarily leaves Elena's body and Elena plays it calm, realizing very quickly what's going on, and pretends to be Katherine. (So, if you're scoring at home, it's Elena in Elena's body pretending to be Katherine in Elena's body as she stands over Katherine's body.) Back at the Lockwood mansion, Caroline tries to talk to Tyler, but he's focused on the thousands of people that Klaus killed, including his mother. Tyler yells at her to leave, and when she tries to stay to talk to him, he hybrids out at her. Stefan comes to intervene and Tyler throws the Klaus news at him. After taking a moment to process it, Stefan decks Tyler, saying Caroline doesn't deserve to be treated that way. In the tomb, Nadia asks Elena where she wants to start their world tour. Mia the Traveler says she only needs a few more seconds to finish, so Elena shoves her into some rocks, knocking her out. Then she skewers Nadia with a torch. Damon arrives at Matt's but can't get in because he's not invited. Down in the tomb, Nadia wakes up and removes the skewer from her body. Mia is back on her feet, too, and resumes the spell. Out in the woods, Elena triest o call for help but finds there's a pin lock on her phone. She tries to run but Katherine works her way into her head as she runs. Mai continues chanting over Katherine's burning body as Elena loses more and more of herself. Elena reaches the edge of the party and runs into Damon's arms. She gets as far as "Damon, thank god," then Mia announces it's done. Elena's eyes gloss over black again and she seems to be Katherine again. Damon wants to talk and tells her she's the best person he's ever met and for him to assume that he could change her gives him way too much credit and her not nearly enough. "You're the best influence on me, I need you. You're the good and I need a little good in my life. Without it that's an awful lot of darkness," he says. Elena/Katherine tells him that's a lot of responsibility and she can't change who he is. She mentions him torturing Katherine as she lay dying and he's completely confused. She tells him they're over. She turns and walks away, smirking. Stefan hears it and Damon thinks he's enjoying it. Matt finds Tyler sulking and drinking on the couch, trying to figure out how to deal with the fact the girl he love just slept with his nemesis. Tyler tells Matt that Klaus "crushed" him in New Orleans and this comes just when he thought he couldn't do anything worse. In the tomb, Mia covers Katherine's burned body and tells her that Katherien has permanent control of Elena's body. Mia asks about her payment. Katherine rips out her heart from behind, saying she hates loose ends. "She gave me the creeps anyway," Nadia says."Cold, manipulative, good hair -- you really are my daughter," Katherine says. Nadia's ready to hit the road, but Katherine announces she's staying. "For the first time in the last 500 years, I'm in the clear. There's no one coming after me," Katherine says. She tells Nadia she should stay, too. Katherine tells Nadia she wants it all: her daughter, immortality and Stefan, her one true love. Stefan comes home to find Caroline sitting in front of his fire.She asks him if she's a horrible person. He asks her what she thought when she found out about him and Katherine."Honestly, I thought 'ew,'" she says. He points out that if he held it against her, she wouldn't be there. Then he tells her she's horrible and thoughtless and shallow and goes on and on, smiling until she starts laughing. On the way out of town, Aaron stops when he sees a body in the road. It's Enzo. And Damon is there, too. He tells Aaron his family deserved to be killed, and so does he. "Elena thinks I'm a monster, and you know what -- she's right," Damon says, as he vamps out and chomps into Aaron's neck, leaving him bleeding out on the pavement. "Now that's the Damon Salvatore I remember," Enzo says.
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Katherine journals as Elena, loving her life. She particularly loves that she's a vampire again. She goes through Elena's phone and deletes all the photos of her with Damon and makes one of her with Stefan her wallpaper. Caroline, Bonnie and Katherine settle into their seats in class, with Caroline vowing they're going to have fresh starts. She wants them to go to the "Bitter Ball," for singles.Bonnie notices her surly punked out seat neighbor twirling her pen, then continuing doing so without touching it, even changing direction. The girl stops when she sees Bonnie watching. Stefan comes home to see a BMW with blood leaking out of the truck crashed into the front of his house. He's not happy to see Aaron Whitmore's dead body instead. Inside, Damon is falling down hungover and the house is destroyed. "So Elena breaks up with you, and your first instinct is to go on a killing spree? Could you be any more predictable?" Stefan asks. Enzo introduces himself and Stefan wonders if he's Damon's "murder buddy." Dr. Wes Maxfield is next on their list. Damon kicks himself for being dumb enough to try to change for a girl. He tells Stefan to get a new hobby, because he doesn't want to be saved."Damon, you're better than this," Stefan says."On the contrary, I'm better like this," Damon says. Katherine calls Matt to try out her invitation to Stefan. Nadia is there to compel Matt to forget Katherine's queries -- she's using him like her "Elena Gilbert cheat sheet."Nadia cautions her mother that he's not a puppet and Katherine taunts her for liking him. In an abandoned building, Wes Maxfield has his next subject -- Joey, a hospital janitor. Maxfield has already turned him into a vampire, now he's turning him into an Augustine vampire, even though he has no funding. A hot woman wanders into his lab and introduces herself as Sloan. She offers to fund his research if he'll analyze some blood.She has Aaron's book bag and tells Wes that Aaron's car was found abandoned. She tells him he's next. Damon and Enzo go down to the basement where they have Diane, the head of Whitmore security, in the cellar. She pleads, saying she has two children.Once they determine the vervane is out of her system, they compel her to confess to helping cover up the vampire murders on campus as suicides. But she has no idea where Maxfield is. Enzo snaps her neck, Damon is unbothered. Later, Stefan finds Enzo out in the woods burying the body. Stefan suggests Enzo move on and find another buddy to blow off steam. When Enzo dismisses him flippantly, Stefan knocks him off his feet with the shovel and holds the handle over his chest. Enzo doesn't blink, and grabs the handle and pulls it into his chest, noting there's nothing Stefan can do to him that hasn't already been done to him 100 times. Stefan puts the shovel blade across Enzo's throat. "What I do to you, Enzo will be final, you got it? Make sure I never see you again," Stefan says, and leaves him there. When Caroline comes back to her dorm room, she finds it odd that Elena (Katherine) is focusing on accessories. She tells her she doesn't have to pretend she's OK about breaking up with Damon. Stefan calls, saying he needs to talk to Elena about Enzo. Katherine has no idea who he's talking about, but takes the opportunity to invite him to the dance. Caroline finds it a bit odd. Tyler strolls into the Grille and notices Nadia. Matt cautions him she's Katherine's daughter and the crazy doesn't fall far from the tree, but Tyler still suggests shots. Over drinks, they compare bad mothers. Tyler's once wrote an English paper for him, Nadia's compelled an entire town to be her friend, and Matt's hooked up with Tyler. When Tyler goes to the bathroom, Nadia compels Matt for information on Enzo. Tyler hears her. Damon shows up at Whitmore looking for Bonnie to do a locator spell on Maxfield, even though she doesn't have her powers anymore. He gets aggressive with Jeremy and points out the threat of Elena breaking up with him is moot. Enzo joins them and starts crushing Jeremy's skull until Bonnie agrees. At the dance, Katherine gets the Enzo 411 text from Nadia. Stefan finds her. She assures him she's doing great. He warns her he needs to talk to her about Damon and she talks about how he lashes out when he's hurt instead of trying to change. She tells Stefan she tried to change Damon but she thinks he ended up changing her. She asks Stefan if he likes who she is now, but then quickly changes the subject when it gets awkward. Caroline sees them on the dance floor and drags Katherine away. Back at the bar, Tyler tells Matt that Nadia is compelling him and points out his vervane watch is gone. As Nadia texts on the other side of the room, Matt goes to drink vervane-laced coffee. At the shredding station, Caroline shreds photos of Tyler and the drawing Klaus drew for her, saying she's done with both relationships. She starts to caution Elena not to rush into anything but backs off. Katherine immediately moves on. Bonnie brings Damon to the party to find the witch from her class since she can't do the locator spell. Stefan tells Caroline that Damon is off the deep end. He doesn't want to tell Elena what Damon did because he thinks she'll never forgive him and Damon couldn't rebound from that. Stefan thinks Damon acting badly is him trying to confirm everyone's lowest expectations of him. Damon interrupts with Bonnie and they explain that Enzo has Jeremy and if Bonnie doesn't find a witch to do the spell by midnight, Enzo will kill Jeremy, which Damon seems to be fine with. Katherine hears what's going on and looks panicked for Jeremy, but she's really just annoyed by the drama. Katherine goes outside to call Nadia, wondering if she could credibly let Jeremy die. Nadia chews her out, telling her Elena would do everything in her power to save him. Katherine recognized the Whitmore house in the photo of Jeremy -- she's the only one who's been there. Nadia tells her to go save Jeremy now, but also to find out from Matt if Caroline has feelings for Stefan. Matt comes outside and asks Nadia who she keeps talking to. She compels him for info on Caroline and Stefan and he goes along with it. When she leaves, Tyler comes out. He gets as far as "you're not going to believe what I'm about to tell you," before Nadia takes out Tyler. Stefan comes out to check on Katherine. She works up tears and begs Stefan to help her save him. Bonnie approaches Liz the witch. She insists she doesn't know what she's doing, but Caroline scares her into helping. Liz tries to get past the fact vampires are real as Bonnie walks her through the spell. Liz concentrates but only succeeds in bringing down the chandelier. She tells Bonnie she's brought down buildings and hurt people because she can't control her powers. Enzo calls, impatient. Damon suggests they need incentive, so Enzo promises to kill Jeremy soon. Caroline can't believe Damon is going along with it, but he just smirks. At the Whitmore house, Enzo picks up a fire poker and menaces Jeremy, who is tied to a chair. Finally, Enzo puts a plastic bag over Jeremy head until he stops breathing. Bonnie frantically tries to convince Liz to give it another shot. At the Whitmore house, Stefan and Katherine bust in. Katherine reluctantly starts CPR on Jeremy while Stefan takes on Enzo. Katherine starts pounding on Jeremy's chest, mostly out of frustration, until he finally starts breathing again. Katherine takes a piece of wood in the shoulder from Enzo right as Damon walks in. He announces the spell worked and Wes is in Richmond. Stefan looks at Damon in disgust and tells him not to bother coming back. "I wasn't planning on it," Damon says as he walks out. Katherine revels in the turn of events. Back outside the Grille, Tyler comes back from his broken neck. Matt explains that Nadia was compelling him because she wanted to talk about Katherine and knew he was mad at her. Tyler warns him to stay away from Nadia, and Matt agrees. Then when Tyler leaves, Matt gets in Nadia's car. He tells her he handled it but demands to know what's going on. He remembers his own experience hosting her boyfriend Gregor and guesses that Katherine didn't die and is inside Elena. Nadia threatens to kill him but says she hasn't decided what to do with him yet. First, she has to wait until the vervane is out of his system. Damon and Enzo arrive at Wes's makeshift lab. Damon says he was in Mystic Falls for Elena and now that that's over, he doesn't need to go back. He thinks Stefan is done with him, too. When they reach Wes's lab, they're greeted by half a dozen chanting Travelers, including Sloane. Wes introduces them as his back-up. Damon and Enzo are incapacitated with pain in their heads and Wes injects Damon with something. Back in her room, Katherine feigns pain and asks Stefan to get the splinter out of her back. She bares a sexy shoulder. Then she guesses that Damon killed Aaron -- because Damon was able to walk right past the threshold of the Whitmore house and Aaron was the owner. Katherine asks him why he wasn't honest with her. Stefan tells her that from the first moment she started falling for Damon he waited for Damon to screw up so badly she couldn't forgive him, but along the way he saw Damon be there for her in ways he never was and he started to like the person Damon was becoming. Katherine tells him she can't go back after Damon threatened Jeremy, but she'll help him save Damon -- for Stefan. She steps in close and hugs him. She's enjoying the moment when Caroline walks in. Damon wakes up in Wes's lab, worried that Wes injected him with something to make him an Augustine vampire. They hear medical noises and Damon finds Joey chained up. He lets Joey go but starts to vamp out when he sees Joey's blood. Joey asks what's happening. Damon realizes vampire blood is affecting him. "Karma. I'm gonna go ahead and say karma is happening to me," Damon says. Damon attacks Joey and kills him. Enzo calls him off, but doesn't like what he sees. "OK, I can see how this might be a problem," Enzo says.
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As Damon's behavior escalates from destructive to deadly, Stefan begins to regret their last conversation and decides to track Damon down and intervene. For reasons of her own, Elena volunteers to come along. Dr. Wes enlists the Travelers to set a trap that will once again test Damon's friendship with Enzo. After a heart-to-heart talk with Nadia, Matt enlists Caroline and Tyler's help to protect Elena, leading to a violent confrontation. Later, when Stefan tries to comfort a dejected Caroline, their conversation leads to a horrifying realization.
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While Nadia remembers her centuries-long search for her mother, Stefan, Caroline and Matt come up with a desperate new plan to save Elena's life. For the second time, Bonnie and Jeremy must turn to Liv for help. Damon baits Tyler into a nasty confrontation, then takes off to seek revenge on Dr. Wes. Caroline and Tyler come to a new understanding. Finally, Bonnie learns of a terrifying secret that will threaten the lives of all her friends.
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When Stefan tries to explain recent events to a very sick Elena, her first instinct is to call Damon. At the same time, Damon is trying to figure out how to make a disturbing confession to Elena. While going through Dr. Wes' files, Caroline discovers a frightening secret, and is surprised when Enzo (recurring guest star MICHAEL MALARKEY) appears, claiming to have the solution everyone is searching for. At Enzo's insistence, Caroline asks Stefan to meet her at a mysterious location where they are joined by a group of Travelers, including Sloan (recurring guest star CAITLIN McHUGH), who reveals new information on the importance of doppelgangers.
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In order to keep Stefan from being harmed by Sloan and the Travelers, Caroline and Enzo agree to make a trip to Atlanta to find a newly discovered doppleganger. Caroline is surprised when Enzo opens up to her about his past. Damon and Elena spend an awkward afternoon at Jeremy's parent-teacher conference, where they hear bad news about his behavior at school. Afterwards, Damon reluctantly tells Elena upsetting news about Jeremy's personal life. Bonnie has an unsettling encounter with Luke, and learns more about his family history. Liv fills Jeremy in on the rumors about the Travelers' next move and demonstrates her considerable power. Jeremy makes an unexpected deal with Liv, then makes a decision that is devastating to Elena. Stefan and Caroline share a special moment of friendship. Finally, a terrifying turn of events at the Travelers' camp leads to the appearance of their mysterious leader, Markos.
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Both Stefan and Elena are suddenly having unsettling dreams of an alternate version of the life they might have had together. Bonnie has a disturbing encounter with Grams, who warns her about frightening changes on the Other Side. Enzo gives Damon unwanted relationship advice, then admits he is searching for a woman he loved decades before while he was held captive by the Augustines. Liv enlists Matt, Jeremy and Tyler to help track the Travelers and keep them from taking control of Mystic Falls. Bonnie is hurt and angry when she learns that Jeremy is working with Liv behind her back. Luke shows up at the Salvatore house and explains what he knows about Markos and the Travelers to Damon, Elena and Enzo. Matt has a terrifying encounter with inhabitants of the Other Side. Finally, when Damon finds Markos, he is both relieved and disturbed by what Markos has to tell him.
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Enzo, through flashbacks to election night in 1960, learns what happened to his long-lost love; Elena obsesses over the state of her relationship with Damon; Markos enlists Sloan's help in a ritual designed to break an ancient curse against the Travelers.
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Damon and Caroline suspect Stefan and Elena of keeping a secret while they hide from the travelers, unaware of the dead man out for revenge. Meanwhile Matt, Jeremy and Bonnie help Tyler get rid of Julian. |
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When Stefan and Elena escape from Markos' control, only to find themselves Stranded in a remote location, Stefan gets philosophical with Elena about her relationship with Damon. After their attempt to protect the doppelgangers goes badly, Liv and Luke come up with a dangerous new strategy. Damon recruits Matt and Jeremy to help him set a trap for Markos, who turns out to have a devastating surprise of his own. Bonnie finally admits to Caroline that she's been keeping the truth about the Other Side from everyone. Finally, while Bonnie searches desperately for a way to stop Markos, Caroline is witness to an unthinkable act of violence by one of the Travelers.
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In the season finale, Damon's plan causes a huge explosion in Mystic Falls, and everyone is caught up in the confusion, leaving a trail of heroism, sacrifice, relief and despair. |
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Four months have gone by since the Other Side broke down and Bonnie and Damon were lost. Mystic Falls is still a supernatural-free area. Everyone is grieving in their own ways, and some worse than others. |
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Knowing she needs to come to terms with the loss of Damon, Elena turns to Alaric to help her move on with her life...
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In an attempt to bring some fun back into their lives, Elena persuades Caroline to meet her and Liam at the swimming hole where she plans to introduce her to Liam. Tyler asks Liv for a favor and is surprised when she makes an unexpected confession. Stefan arrives back in Mystic Falls and is caught off guard when he notices a strange change in Elena. Meanwhile, at the lake, Jeremy makes a discovery about the anti-magic spell that could potentially put Elena's life in danger. Elsewhere, Damon and Bonnie stumble upon clues that lead them to believe they're not alone.
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Damon is forced to relive one of the worst days of his life while he and Bonnie find clues to get home; Alaric tries to help Jeremy cope with the loss of Bonnie; Stefan shows Elena what it is like to create a new life; Tripp tells Matt a secret.
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Homecoming is around the corner! There is a party in a corn maze but a devastating accident turns things around quickly which makes things go from fun to bad in an instant.
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Now that Damon is back, Elana is deciding whether or not to have her memories of him back. Things so south very quickly. |
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Elena is forced to confront her problems; Liv and Tyler get closer; Damon finds a surprising clue that renews his hope. |
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Elena gets some hopeful news from Alaric and Stefan regarding the Gemini Coven; Tyler tries to help Liv and Luke after learning of disturbing plans the coven has for them; dinner takes a drastic turn for Jo; Kai makes a dangerous discovery.
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Matt figures out Enzo is still a threat. Joe and Alaric get closer, while Stefen and Caroline have their own issues.
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As Kai learns how to control his magic, he holds Elena captive; Caroline and Stefan go to North Carolina in search of a cure for Sheriff Forbes; Damon realizes Elena has been kidnapped.
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When Liv (recurring guest star PENELOPE MITCHELL) and Luke's (recurring guest star CHRIS BROCHU) father arrives to town to celebrate their birthday...
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Elena is determined to celebrate Bonnie's birthday; after learning Stefan's secret, Enzo wants to interfere in Sarah Salvatore's life; Caroline struggles to cope with everything going on around her. |
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Elena and Jeremy reminisce about their past; Caroline and Stefan grow closer; Sheriff Forbes asks Damon for help with a case involving Elena's parents; Enzo lures Matt and Sarah into his plan. |
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Stefan blames himself for Care turning off her emotions. Damon needs to tell his brother their mom's alive. Enzo starts having feelings for Sarah. |
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Damon is faced with a new reality without the love of his life; Bonnie decides to be Damon's moral compass, and look out for Alaric, who lost his fiancé. Stefan protects the town from Lily; Stefan protects the town from Lily; Enzo must decide Who he is loyal to.
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Damon makes a decision that could ruin Lily and Stefan's deal; Alraic needs Bonnie's help with an artifact; Caroline discovers a shocking secret. |
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Just as Damon thinks he's gained the upper hand in his fight against Lily, an unexpected turn of events leaves him scrambling for a plan B. |
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Bonnie, Damon, and Alaric go through a tough shock with the Phoenix stone, while Caroline sent Stefan to spend the day with his ex, Valerie.
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It's Nora and Mary Louise's anniversary and Julian has big plans for the night, however, Lily and her sons have even bigger plans for Julian.
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Caroline becomes obsessed with what is right and wrong for her babies, which causes sudden bouts of blood lust and anger. Damon and Stefan go on a killing spree after Julian, Damon thinks that they should stop, but Stefan insists to find him. Nora is broken from her breakup with Marie Louise and tries to pass the time by working in the Christmas charity with Bonnie. After Damon and Stefan find Julian and barely escaping from him, they decide to kidnap Marie Louise. Julian comes to take Marie Louise and informs Nora about the kidnapping, Nora is going to save Marie Louise. Julian stabs Damon with the Phoenix stone sword and leaves.A second later Nora shows up and stabs Stefans with the Phoenix stone sword. The Salvatore brothers are stuck in their own hells.
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After finding himself on the wrong end of Julians plan to avenge Lilys death, Damon awakens to find himself trapped inside the Phoenix stone, tormented by a traumatic experience from his time in the Civil War and forced to face his darkest demon in order to get out of his "Hell". On the outside, Bonnie is in a race against the clock to get Damon out before the effects of the Phoenix stone take over and leave him changed forever.
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Caroline throws a baby shower for Alaric's twins, and the Salavtore brothers face the hallucinations caused by the Phoniex Stone. |
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Vampire hunter Rayna Cruz is on the loose and Damon has to make things right when his actions inadvertently put his loved ones in her path. |
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Stefan goes to New Orleans to lure Rayna Cruz away from his friends and comes face to face with Klaus Mikaelson, who's suspicious of his old friend's arrival. |
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Tired of having everyone sacrifice themselves for him, Damon decides to leave the group. Meanwhile, Bonnie's new discovery threatens Damon's plans to stop Rayna. |
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Stefan will find himself with a choice to make and his decision will determine the fates of everyone he cares about, especially Damon. |
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In the aftermath of his brother's fateful decision, Stefan awakens to find himself thrown into a life or death situation with only his basic instincts to rely on. With time working against him, he sets off on a journey of survival while forced to confront a lifetime of irreversible damage Damon has done to their relationship. Meanwhile, desperate to save his brother, Damon follows an unusual lead he has come across, while Matt sends Valerie to Dallas to enlist Alaric's help in the search for Stefan. Finally, when Rayna discovers the emergence of a new threat, she sets off on her own mission to find Stefan before the others do.
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When Enzo's efforts to protect Bonnie end up putting her life in jeopardy, they learn that Rayna may hold the key to her survival. With time running out and Rayna at the reins, Enzo and Bonnie reluctantly team up with Damon, who is desperate to save Bonnie's life and to repair their broken friendship. Elsewhere, when Stefan travels to Dallas and comes face to face with Alaric, tensions escalate and they are forced to confront the fallout from Stefan's absence in Caroline's life. Finally, Enzo learns The Armory's true motives behind their search for Bonnie.
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With Bonnie's life at stake and an uphill battle ahead of them, Damon and Enzo lead the charge to save Bonnie before her condition worsens. Stefan reluctantly teams up with Matt for the sake of Bonnie and uncovers the truth behind Matt's anger towards him. Elsewhere, determined to help her best friend, Caroline joins Alaric on a mission and quickly realizes how much she's missed her former supernatural lifestyle. Finally, after their plan takes an unexpected turn, Damon makes a fateful decision that will forever change his relationship with Bonnie.
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When Damon's risky attempt to save Bonnie takes an unexpected turn, the consequences of his actions forces everyone to band together to help her pull through. Meanwhile, when a new threat leaves Caroline's life in jeopardy, Stefan makes a rash decision that ultimately forces them to face the fallout from their relationship. Elsewhere, Enzo tries to hold it together as he painfully watch Bonnie in the fight of her life, while Matt takes matters into his own hands to save one of his closest friends. Alaric also appears.
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Despite their best efforts to help Bonnie through the harrowing predicament she now faces, Damon, Enzo and Caroline realize their options are running out and drastic measures need to be taken. With their only chance of saving their friend lying inside the Armory, Stefan breaks the news to Caroline that they may need help from an unlikely source - her and Alaric's twin daughters. Elsewhere, Enzo keeps Bonnie preoccupied by bringing her back to their cabin but when his plan takes an unexpected turn, it'll be up to Damon to make the ultimate sacrifice to save his closest friends. Matt also appears.
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Months after Damon and Enzo mysteriously vanished from the Armory vault, Stefan tirelessly pushes forward with their search, while Bonnie struggles holding onto hope that they will be found. Meanwhile, a dangerous encounter with an unexpected visitor leaves Caroline and Alaric fearing that someone - or something - may be targeting their family. Finally, after following some mysterious clues, Stefan realizes that whatever has a hold of his brother may have a more damaging grip over him than he could have ever imagined.
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After learning someone from Stefan's past might be Damon and Enzo's next target, Stefan, Bonnie and Caroline head to North Carolina...
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Meanwhile Alaric and Stefan try to find out about the origins of what they are up to, Damon is searching for an artifact so he travels to Texas where he encounters Peter Maxwell who leads him to a new revelation. |
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Faced with the fallout from his interaction with Cade (guest star Wole Parks), Stefan (Paul Wesley) is determined to have one thing go right...
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Sybill puts Damon in a catatonic state for revenge. Caroline and Bonnie enter Damon's mind and realize Stefan is the key to his fate. Sybill competes with her sister for control of the bell. |
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In order to save Stefan's soul, Damon makes a deal with Cade to retrieve the Maxwell journal. Alaric and Matt refuse to hand the journal over as it may contain the key to destroy Cade. Caroline is trying desperately to connect with Stefan before Cade goes through with his plan
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Damon and Alaric come face to face with an old enemy after they obtain a weapon that may be able to destroy Cade. Stefan is held captive by a surprising acquaintance and is forced to confront a dark secret from his past. Meanwhile, Caroline and Matt try to keep Stefan's violent history from destroying him. Cade focuses his attention on Bonnie and digs deep into her mind
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Damon and Stefan join forces against Cade to protect Elena's casket, while Caroline and Alaric cope with their daughters' growing powers. |
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A wedding is quickly planned in order for Damon and Stefan to lure a dangerous enemy out into the open. |
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With the fate of Mystic Falls at stake, Stefan and Damon must fight their greatest enemy for one last battle. |
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