Hi all, this is Clarissa taking over for Mark, who rudely got his premiere episode of The Vampire Diaries interrupted.
As Stefan and Katherine leave the house, Jenna, Jeremy and Elena arrive at the Lockwood mansion. Elena spots a morose Damon on the porch. She insists that she cares about him and wants to know how he's doing. He denies being hurt, but she can see through him. She also says "I'm surprised you thought I would kiss you back", which, while true, is also kind of cruel. Bonnie rushes up to join them.
Jeremy spots Tyler sitting along in a room and expresses his condolences. He can relate as he also lost his parents, but Tyler thinks their situation isn't comparable because his father was a jerk. Uncle Mason comes by and off Jeremy goes. Looks like Mason's one of those cool uncles who shares a flash with his nephew.
Outside, on the grounds of the Lockwood estate, the confrontation between Stefan and Katherine continues. Stefan tells Katherine to stop flirting with him, because he's not obsessed with her like Damon is. He also tells her that he never loved her, that he was only compelled by her. He tells her to get on with her schemes and then leave town, otherwise he'll kill her. Katherine drops her bomb - she came back for Stefan because she loves him. Of course, she then proves she really is a bitch when she rams him through with a poker after he says he hates her. So one has to question her professed love.
Elena has joined Stefan after the commercial break and Damon comes by, trying to goad Stefan into fighting him over Elena. Ever the level-headed one, Stefan refuses to fight his brother, believing that they need to stand united against Katherine.
Back at home now, Jeremy finds John packing to leave town. While Jeremy isn't eager to talk to his uncle, John tries to explain that he was raised to hate vampires. Jeremy wants to know why John's magical ring didn't protect his father, but John says what happened to Jeremy's parents was an accident. John also tells Jeremy he needs to get with the program and start buying into the family legacy of protecting the town against vampires.
The Lockwood house has been emptied of all the guests at the wake and Tyler is getting increasingly angry over his father. When his mother confronts him about his outburst, he pushes her, only to be stopped by Mason, who pins him to the ground. Tyler is freaking out, but Mason manages to get him to calm down. Clearly Tyler's inner wolf is coming out, and I'm fairly certain Mason knows exactly what's going on.
With a backdrop of depressing music, Damon finds Katherine in his living room. She says that she's come to say goodbye and goads him into a short fight, which ends with him kissing her. The two get hot and heavy for a few minutes, but Damon puts a stop to it. He tells Katherine he needs to ask her a question - that her answer will define their relationship. He doesn't need to put it into words because Katherine says she knows what he wants to hear from her. But she calmly tells him that she's never loved him, that she's only ever loved Stefan.
Ouch.
Surprisingly, Katherine seems almost regretful as she delivers the news. Could it be that the bitch feels bad?
A short time later, Damon makes an unexpected visit to Elena's bedroom. She thanks him for his help and realizes he's been drowning his sorrows. He insists that there's something between the two of them and that she's hiding her feelings for him. He forces a kiss on her and she pushes him away. He continues to crowd her and, for one moment, I'm wondering whether this show is going to have him commit the terrible crime of forcing himself on Elena.
The moment is interrupted by Jeremy and Damon rushes him, pinning him to the wall. Damon tells him it's easy to be a vampire, that it will stop Jeremy from feeling. He breaks his neck, despite Elena screaming at him. Elena crashes to the floor next to her dead brother and....
I started freaking out. I didn't think they would go there.
Damon looks almost regretful as Elena starts to sob and he leaves. A second later, Elena spots John's magical ring on Jeremy's finger.
Back at the Lockwood house, Tyler says he hates acting angry like this, but Mason says it's the curse of being a Lockwood.
At the Gilbert house, Elena's holding Jeremy's body as Stefan looks on. He says that Katherine clearly got under Damon's skin and Elena tearfully says there's no good left in Damon. We see Damon arrive back at home, where he proceeds to throw his empty glass into the fireplace. Elena tells Stefan that she hates Damon and Jeremy wakes up a second later, panicked. Stefan looks troubled about how to deal with his brother now.
Caroline wakes up in the hospital and greets Elena...only it's not Elena, it's Katherine. She properly introduces herself and asks Caroline to give the Salvatore brothers a message: Game On. Then she suffocates Caroline with her pillow.
Oh. My. God.
Game on, Katherine. Game on, indeed.
Katherine calmly leaves the room and we'll have to wait until next week to learn whether Caroline is really dead.
Well, since Mark can't comment on the episode as a whole let me tell you what I think: one of the best premieres EVER! The pacing of this episode was brilliant. So many things happened, so many new possibilities were introduced. Nina Dobrev effortlessly slips between Elena and Katherine and plays both to perfection. Somerhalder still manages to play Damon as evil and tortured at the same time and I cannot wait to see how he'll react when Elena and Stefan inevitably push him away for his recent actions. And Stefan's street cred shot up 100% when he got all badass by threatening Uncle John.
I LOVE the addition of Katherine and I cannot wait to see what hijinks will ensue next. Check out promo photos and a trailer for next week's all new episode and check back again next week for Mark's recap. Hopefully his show won't be interrupted again.
WooHOOOOOO!! It's back!
Great recap, Mark and Clarissa…sorry that the stupid weather screwed over your viewing pleasure- hope you can get to see it today!