Vampire Diaries Season 3 Epi 2 Recap

The Hybrid – Summary and Review in 1474 words or less

The Least You Need to Know: Stefan bad. Damon good(er). Elena sad. Ric sadder. Jeremy sees dead people. Matt clueless, but cute. Tyler and Caroline luvahs. Ty’s mom (aka Mayor Lockwood) pissed. And where the eff is Bonnie?

The Set-up: Int. Damon’s room. Andie Starr’s long walk off a short bridge courtesy of Ripper Stefan is tonight’s top story. Damon is all broody. Enter Elena with questions about finding Stefan again and Damon fills her in on Andie’s demise. Give it up, Elena, he’s gone, Damon reminds. No, he’s not, she assures. She tells him about the heavy breather who called her—she knows it was Stefan, it came from TN.

Cut to a bed. Pounding on door. Rumpled Ric rolls out. (Where is he? Hotel? Or is he crashing at Damon’s? Can’t tell.) It’s Elena; she wants his help because she knows that whatever Damon knows then Ric knows, too, because of their bromance. He’s out of the vampire slayer game, he says. But, we know he can't turn his back on his dead gf’s dead sister’s kids.

Klaus and Stefan are hiking in the woods, werewolf Ray Sutton slung across Stefan’s shoulders. They find a camp—it’s Ray’s pack. Klaus introduces himself but apparently there’s no need because his hybrid rep precedes him.

Mayor Lockwood pulls out a syringe and empty’s into a sterling coffee urn. (Um, who still still serves coffee in an urn and has a breakfast buffet at home?) Ty comes in and pours a cup. Yuck, what’s in this? Mayor Mom deflects, saying something about making sure he takes out his trash. Hey, Caroline is not trash, he defends. By the way where is she? Mayor Mom shrugs, but makes a call to someone for help with the vamp infestation at her house.

The Sagging Middle: Int. The Grill. Wicked Hot Jeremy tells Matt he saw Dead Vicki again. Jere wants to hold a séance or something to contact her because she said she needs help. This tears up poor Matt. Okay, he’s in.

In a booth, Ty is downloading to Elena about werewolf habits and habitats. Does he know any packs in TN? Sure. He’ll tell her where to go. Cause it’s his fault Stefan’s in this mess, since he bit Damon and Stefan had save his big bro. By the way, has anyone seen Caroline? Ric’s at the bar. Elena tells him she’s going to TN to hunt werewolves. No way, he says, it’s a full moon tonight. She’s going with or without him, though. Fine. He’ll help, but with extreme prejudice.

Back at camp, Ray wakes up. Apparently Klaus has turned him into a hybrid and all he needs to complete the transition is to feed on a human. Luckily there’s one in the camp and the feast begins, but save some for the others. Hope one dude is enough to feed an army, cause that's what Klaus is planning.

Meanwhile, Tyler’s playing pool. Matt pours him another cup of coffee. They have a moment, but it’s brief cause, ya know, the Caroline thing. Yuck. What is with the coffee today? Ty wants to know. Vervaine is the special ingredient Matt tells him—to sniff out the vamps. Mom!

Mayor Mom answers the door. It’s a guy named Bill, maybe from the council? She’s conflicted about what to do with Caroline. That’s easy, he says. Vamp=monster=death.

In the mountains of Tennessee, Elena and former boy scout Ric are looking for the werepack on foot. Ric’s armed to the teeth (pun intended). E hands him her dead father’s ring (the one that protects humans against supernatural death), the one he used to wear because his dead wife gave it to him. No, it should stay in the family, he says. E says he can borrow it. Okay. Next thing Elena knows she’s in the drink without a paddle. What the… Heeeerrrrrre’s Damon. Ric sold her out.

By now, Klaus has bitten all the werewolves at camp. He’s wants loyal hybrid soldiers. But something’s wrong because Ray starts bleeding from the eyes ala that Angel episode from Season 5 where Harmony goes psycho on Spike during their nooner.

Elena accuses Damon of giving up on Stefan. So she refuses to get out of the water because he’ll make her go home. Damn skippy. No, she wants to find Stefan and bring him home. Damon thinks she’s nuts, but okay, he’ll do it on one condition: they head home before the full moon.

The vampwolves are coming to. Ray makes a run for it. Stefan gives chase. Oh, shite, Ray takes a nip outta Stefan. This means curtains for our hero if Klaus doesn’t heal him. Wait, what sound down yonder mountain breaks? It’s his love and his big bro. He gets moving so Klaus doesn’t spy them, too. Klaus tells Stefan he won’t heal him with his hybrid blood unless Ray is brought back. Now, all the nascent vampwolves are crying blood, too.

Tyler confronts Mayor Mom: what’s with the vervaine in my latte. Well, since he’s sleeping with a vamp she thought maybe…No. He’s not. But there’s something she need to know (Methinks Ty’s going to come outta the were-closet.)

A vampire, a doppelganger and a history teacher go hiking in the woods. Ray finds them. He and Damon tussle. Elena throws a wolfsbane grenade and Ric hits him in the back with an arrow.That'll do for now.

Matt and Jeremy are digging through Dead Vicki’s things for the séance, but Matty’s having second thoughts. Jere understands; he’ll do it solo. But freaky things start happening around Matt. Vicki?

Ray is wrapped to a tree with chains. But the three hikers realize they won’t make it out of the forest before nightfall if they don’t get moving. Oh, no. Ray starts changing early. Run!

Nighttime. Bonfire. Klaus is having the vampwolves feed but it’s not working.

Everyone’s running through the dark forest. Elena falls horror-movie-blonde style and Damon tells her don’t move. Werewolf. Damon runs and the wolf chases. She doesn’t want to leave Damon behind, but Ric makes her go, cause someone has to be the adult here.

In the underground dungeon, Tyler’s all “show-don’t-tell” with his Mom. He locks her in the cell and puts on his were-chains so she can watch him while he transfigures. Look ma, canines!

Ray catches up with Damon and they fight. Ray is kicking ass. Good thing Stefan comes along to save his big brother. Again. He tells Damon to take Elena home and keep her there this time. His eyes plead with Damon to do this for him. Damon agrees.

Elena and Ric are hiding for their lives in the car. She takes the opportunity to have a heart to heart: he’s lost, she’s lost, Jeremy’s lost, so why can’t they be a lost family together, she asks? Fine. But if they're family, he’s keeping the ring. Damon comes out of the trees, she goes to him and he forces her back into the car. Time to get gone. Stefan stands in the shadows, watching her. She’s dejected they didn’t find him, but wait, what was that in the shadows? Nothing. He’s gone. (So close, sniff.)

Matt shows up at the Gilbert abode to help Jeremy with the séance. They bond. Dead Vicki shows up, but only Jeremy can see her. She needs help she tells him. Help coming back. What? But then the glass in the French door shatters, all Paranormal Activity-like, and she’s gone. Dead Anna appears instead and creepily tells Jeremy not to trust Dead Vicki. Sounds like ex-girlfriends don’t get along in the afterlife either.

Final Act: Stefan returns to camp, but all the vampwolves are dead. Klaus is pissed. He did everything right, he moans. The curse is broken and he should be able to make his hybrids because he killed a vampire, a werewolf and the doppelganger, right? Right?  (Damn, work on that poker face, Stefan. You don’t want Klaus to know Elena’s still alive, boyfriend.) Klaus heals Stefan cause he's all he's got.

Damon’s at Elena’s. He was wrong: Stefan can be saved. He knows this because even Ripper Stefan will save his big brother. So he’s going to save him back. But in a total douchebag move (IMHO), he makes Elena admit that the reason she wanted to leave the mountain in a such a hurry was because she was worried about him getting hurt, and he wants her to remember those feelings even after he brings Stefan back to her. Ric is moving back in. Yay!! But he questions all this what-the-what between Elena and Damon.

Ty wakes up, shirtless (yum), in were-chains. I am not a monster! Tearful Mayor Mom tells him she’ll fix the Caroline situation. But, wait. The wheels are already in motion. Caroline is also in chains in some dark cell. Someone’s coming. The door opens…Daddy? Dundundun.