Vampire Diaries Epi 3:3 Recap

The End of the Affair (So ominous!)

The Least You Need To Know: Stefan’s all ripper, but Elena still wants to save him. Damon says he’ll help. Klaus’s plan to create his own army of hybrids has hit a snag, while Caroline is being held in a dark dungeon by her dad.

The Setup: INT. Salvatore Home. Ring, ring. Damon’s phone says Caller Unknown. Stefan? Nope, Katherine. Calling from a phone booth (where the hell are there still phones booths?). Reveals that Klaus is super-pissed over his failed army, so she’s keeping tabs on Klaus/Stefan. Why? Still pining over Stefan perhaps? Where is she? Damon asks. Wouldn’t he like to know.

Apparently they’re in Chicago. Stefan’s been here before, in the 1920s, but he was partying hard, has big memory gaps.

Flashback: Stefan’s groping some chick in the back of a Model T before ripping her throat out. He’s at a speakeasy. Inside, prohibited booze and dancing abound. A jazz chanteuse is singing. Everyone knows tuxed-out Mr. Salvatore. He spies a new blonde flapper—she’s a vamp. He’s intrigued.

Klaus has brought him to Chi-Town looking for a girl who can help him figure out why his hybrid making is a not going according to plan.

Sagging Middle: INT. Elena’s Room. She’s waking. She rolls over to find Damon in her bed. Relax—he’s fully clothed. Guess what he knows? Stefan’s whereabouts that’s what. Get dressed and packed, he tells her. Road trip!

 Dark torture chamber. Caroline’s chained up. Daddy? Gas spews into the air from vents. Dad enters. How do you walk in the light? She glances at her Bonnie-fied ring. Dear ol’ Dad slips it off her finger and tosses it to the ground. That was Vervaine gas he tells her. Also, look up: a sun light--it’s all very Interview w/ a Vampire. He holds a blood bag under her nose, she goes vamp. Don’t worry, D o’D’s going to fix her…he opens the sun light and burns the living crap outta her.

Damon and Elena are on the road. Damon offers her Stefan’s diary for some light reading. No, she can’t. Boundaries. Fine, he’ll read aloud. It’s not pretty. Hey, both hands on the wheel, she says, and takes it, but now that it’s open…

Flashback: Flapper vamp is British. Stefan wants her name, but she’s coy. He likes.

A hybrid and a ripper walk into an empty bar (which looks so much like The Grill). Except it’s not empty. It’s the chanteuse. She’s older, but not much. Cause she’s a witch. Chanteuse is Gloria and she knows Klaus is a hybrid because everyone knows. Why can’t he create his hybird army? Gloria says you gotta ask the witch who cursed him. But, she’s dead. No worries, Gloria can contact her, but she needs Rebecca. Who? Stefan is bartending and finds an old 20s photo…of him and Klaus. What? How? He doesn’t remember.

Back in Mystic Falls, Cop Mom is leaving a VM for Caroline—where is she? A worried Ty shows up. In the dundgeon, D o’D is working on “reprogramming” her by burning her so she’ll repress her desire for blood. (The irony here, of course, is that her father is gay.)

Dalena are walking up to a crappy apartment. Stefan’s old place. There’s a secret room behind the bookcase where he stashed his blood hooch, and kept a list of the names of his victims. The list is looooooong. Because Stefan was a cocky Ripper douche, says Damon. Where were you? Elena inquires. Hey, Chicago was big enough for the two of them. He leaves to track down li’l bro.

Stefan’s trying to get to the bottom of the pic. Oh, they met. Klaus hated him.

Flashback: Vamp threeway with Stefan, Flapper and some girl’s neck. Gasp!—that’s Elena’s vervaine necklace Flapper’s wearing. It’s from a witch, for protection. Klaus walks up. Hey, li’l sis, who’s your friend, he asks. So, she’s an original, too.

In some warehouse now, Klaus opens a coffin. There’s desicated Flapper vamp with a knife in her chest. Klaus pulls it out. Wakey, wakey. Her name’s Rebecca. Dundundun…

Flashback: Is Stefan worthy of Rebecca her big bro asks? Where’s the rest of the fam, Stefan wants to know. Mostly dead. Rebecca’s alive because she sided with Klaus. An angry husband stomps to their table to retrieve his wife (the neck). Stefan compels the man to watch while he bleeds her wrist into a champagne glass, then forces him to sip until the husband reveals his name. Stefan is a cocky-ripper douche (CRD). Klaus is impressed.

Klaus compels a security guard to watch over his li’l sis till she awakes and then be her food. He and Stefan are going to Stef’s old apart…where Elena is waiting!

Damon is at the empty bar and finds Gloria. He knew her, too. And, yes, she’s seen Stefan, but no, she won’t tell him where he is, so put away the baby blues, cause they’re not working.

At the apartment, Elena is curled up with the diary, reading about how Dead Vamp Lexi saved Stefan from Ripperdom the last time around. Shite! Someone’s coming. She hides—in the friggin’ closet?!? Klaus and Stefan enter, Klaus reveals to Stefan why he asked for the angry husband’s name. So, he could add it to the victim list. To be able to relive the kill, Klaus says. Stefan walks in the closet and...their eyes meet. There’s a moment, a faint smile on Elena’s lips, some longing. Stefan grabs a bottle of blood-hooch and leads Klaus away.

Damon finally returns. With a dress? Weren’t you concerned, she demands. Klaus almost got me. Yes, but it’s over now. (I think we’re supposed to surmise that he was indeed overly concerned, but he just does his buggy eye thing, so I’m not for sure.) Are you okay? Yes, she says. Then let’s save Stefan.

Stefan and Klaus are back at the bar taking shots. Klaus learned to like Stefan he says...

Flashback: Klaus is brooding, but CRD Stefan tells him to embrace his bad vampire self. Thanks. You can have my li’l sis, my new bro. But careful, cause when she falls in love, she falls hard, Klaus warns Stefan.

A toast to friendship, then. Clink.

In the torture chamber, D o’D tells Caroline how he cried when he was told about her vampirism. I can’t be fixed, she cries. She has to, or he has to put her down. So, he’ll keep trying. Outside the door, Cop Mom’s drawn a bead on him with her gun. D o’D argues to let him continue, but she’s not having it. She fires a warning shot, and Tyler swoops in to save Caroline. And her all-important ring.

Drinking heavily, Stefan asks Klaus why he should stay friends with the dude that “killed” his girlfriend. (subtle, Stefan)…

Flashback: Stefan and Rebecca are dancing cheek-to-cheek. Machine gun is fired. It’s a police raid. Everyone ducks for cover. Wooden bullets? Oh, shite, the feds know! How? Klaus and Rebecca know. Klaus grabs her to run, and her necklace falls off. He compels Stefan to forget about them until they meet again.

No wonder Stef can’t remember things. But why? Who’s chasing him? Klaus clams up. Damon catches Stefan’s eye and motions him outside. Stefan excuses himself to throw his brother against a car. Didn’t I tell you to keep Elena at home? he growls. Klaus can’t know she’s alive and the witch is about to figure it out. She has to forget him! Tell her yourself, Damon says, cause there she is…and I don’t get the purpose of the ugly purple dress that Damon bought Elena. It’s hideous.

Damon belly’s up to the bar to distract Klaus. If you’ll give back Stefan I’ll leave. Klaus puts him in a chokehold instead.

Stefan and Elena stare longingly. What do you want? Come home, she pleads, hugging him to her. He struggles not to give in. She tries to stick him with a vervaine syringe, but he’s too quick.

Inside, Klaus is toothpicking Damon. D offers to be Klaus’s wingman instead of Stefan. Klaus throws him to the floor and prepares to stake him. Guess that’s a no? Luckily, Gloria steps in.

Why should Stefan come home? It’ll never be the same. Elena concedes, but reminds him that Lexi saved him before. Yes, but it took almost thirty years. That would be half Elena’s life. She won’t give up on him. Yes, you will, he argues, because it’s over. He doesn’t want to be with her anymore. So harsh! (also a lie, as we see from Stefan’s tortured visage as he walks away). Elena tears up. She can’t believe this.

(Aside—Summer’s Eve commerical has the funniest tagline ever!)

Final Act: Elena’s waiting in the car, caressing her/Rebecca’s necklace. Damon gets in. Okay? Just drive.

Cop Mom is tucking in Caroline. Daddy will come around, she promises. Ty comes in and snuggles in bed with her while she cries…and I’m actually thinking Matt would be better in this situation.

At the Chicago warehouse, re-awakened Rebecca is missing. Klaus looks around. Oompf. Stake to the chest. Revenge.

Flashback: Post-raid. It’s time to roll. No, Rebecca’s waiting for Stefan. Make a choice, li’l sis, him or me, Klaus says. Stefan, she chooses. He stakes her for it.

Enter Stefan. Now you may remember, Klaus compels him. Rebecca? A smile--which is more than Elena got. And Klaus. Buddy!

Klaus tells Rebecca that they need to contact the original witch who cast the curse. Okay, fine, but where’s the necklace? Becca tosses the coffin looking for it because she can’t get to the witch without the necklace…which is presently dangling from Elena’s neck back in Mystic Falls.

At Casa Salvatore, Damon’s throwing back a bourbon neat and talking to Katherine. Where is she, again? Still not telling. She exits the phone booth, a Chicago bus drives by…

Flashback: In the speakeasy after the raid. It’s Flapper Katherine (love the hair!!), she sees the necklace, but then Stefan’s there and she speeds to the shadows (so she really was keeping tabs on him all those years). Stefan kneels and retrieves the necklace. A Chicago policeman-detective-fed looking man asks him if he knows the two people in the drawing. It’s Klaus and Rebecca. Nope, never seen’em.

Commentary: Y'all, I love how the writers of this show manage not to forget any loose threads. And, the characters always stay true to character. Not many shows do either of these well. But, I did miss Hot Jeremy and Alaric this episode. I'm ready for a whole cast reunion. And some romance, damnit! What do y'all think of this season so far?