By Tegan O’Rourke,

What the wolf! Uncle Mason is back and still hot.  So I guess this is the show where everyone dies, but no one really dies. I like it. The constant WTF moments and cast cuteness keep me coming back every week.

The show opens with Alaric training Elena on the art of vampire staking, which she should have learned in season one, but better late than never. I do hope Alaric gets a new love interest. He needs to channel all that vamp hating energy somewhere. Maybe it can be Bonnie’s mom. I heard they are casting for the role of Abby Bennet. Anyway the lesson doesn’t go well, Ric tells Elena to start working out.

The day at Salvatore Manor begins with Damon walking over dead girls bleeding all over the expensive rugs while Stefan plays Twister with his morning snack of young girls. Damon actually complains about the blood stains on the rug, which I thought was very adult of him. Rebekah crashes their morning banter by moving in, uninvited of course. She actually seems lonely and unnerved about Klaus leaving her.

Elena, Bonnie and Caroline arrive for the first day of their senior year which is clouded by the bad behavior of all of their boyfriends. Elena stands and wallows in the memory of her first year anniversary with Stefan, who has no intentions of missing the first day of school. Ric’s history class is full this year, even Rebekah takes a seat right up front, like a total nerd.  I think she’s going to ace Ric’s history class. After all she lived through most of what he’ll be teaching.

Bonnie and Jeremy bicker about his obsession with Ana, his dead vampire girlfriend.  I think it’s time Bonnie moved on to Matt, he seems lonely and he’s adorable.  Poor Matt is caught up in Vicki drama. Vicki convinces him to bring her back. She made a deal with the first witch on the other side so she can come back as long as she kills Elena. She forgot to tell Matt that part, before he sacrificed his blood for her.

During football practice Tyler compels the coach to let everyone go early so they can get drunk at the bonfire. Caroline warns him not to use his vampire powers like that but their chat is interrupted by the new cheerleading star Rebekah flipping and twisting all about for Tyler’s amusement.  When I was in high school vampires didn’t make the cheerleading squad, but then again they used to look gothic and scary.  I guess it’s ok if they are blonde and bubbly.

The gang is freaked out by Stefan taking history class so they devise a plan to capture him. I guess being called a human blood bag made Elena hit her limit. Damon, Ric, Elena and Caroline are all on board, but when they ask Tyler to get some vervain from his mom all of a sudden he shows his allegiance to Klaus. Damon realizes he has been sired. Ric tranquilizes him and tells Caroline to get a new boyfriend. Don’t Stefan and Damon have a cellar full of vervain? At least they did in season one.

The plan resumes, everyone is playing their part at the bonfire. Damon tries to seduce Rebekah with hot marsh mellows and I mean hot. So hot that Elena is caught glaring at Damon like a stalker by Stefan who really is a stalker.  Elena huffs off, while Rebekah, who is no Barbie Klaus, stabs Damon in the stomach. This scene was almost has hot as Damon pulling Elena towards him to show her how to stake a vampire. I hope she never has to use that move on him.

Stefan follows Elena to the bleachers in stalker like fashion. She acts drunk and pretends to slip off the top until she purposely slips and Stefan rushes to catch her—a little too fast for someone who doesn’t care.  Elena tells Stefan, that she knew he’d catch her just as Alaric tranquilizes him with vervain. They take him to Alaric’s SUV. Vicki is standing by enjoying a cigarette and gets the idea to set the car on fire. Elena is trapped inside, so she awakens Stefan who kicks off the back door and she escapes, and helps Stefan get out as well.

Vicki’s plot is foiled by Matt and Bonnie who cast a spell to stop her and bring her back to them. She begs Matt to let her stay but he knows she will always cause trouble so he sends her back to the other side. It looks like Bonnie may not be the only witch in town; Matt didn’t seem to have any trouble making Vicki corporeal again. Maybe they can start a coven.

But is Vicki really gone? Hells no, she can’t be. That girl has a lot more drama to deliver to Mystic Falls. I was actually surprised when they killed her in season one. Even then I felt as though there was so much more mayhem she could have caused.

Back at Salvatore Manor, Stefan asks Elena why she saved him. She tells him, “I know who you are better than anyone Stefan, and I’m not giving up,”  Stefan asks “Do you have any idea how pathetic that makes you?,”  “No Stefan, that makes me strong.” And then Elena stakes him in the stomach all Buffy style.

I saw pieces of the old Stefan in this episode, he may just be pretending to be compelled by Klaus or maybe somehow the compulsion has ended but he still thinks he has to play the game to protect Elena.

Damon seems hurt by the fact that Alaric can’t forgive him for killing him.  Plus he can’t really make a move on Elena. What torture, I hope the writers give him a new pal, maybe him and Michael will bond. He decides to deal with the blood stained rug when a vase is thrown at him by the dead werewolf, Mason Lockwood. This was the big WTF moment of the night for me. I had no clue he was coming back to the show and I like it. He may be the only one who can talk some sense into Tyler.

Tyler and Caroline make up when Tyler tells Caroline “Everything I like about you is me.” As a woman I had a moment of “Oh how sweet.” Then my thoughts lingered to I wonder when him and Rebekah are going to get it on.  Caroline exits and Rebekah arrives with a gift. Tyler tries to stand his ground, but his inner vamp and twisted dedication to Klaus propel him to feed.

Throughout the episode Kitty Kat is trying to get Michael to wake up. She finally succeeds with human blood, then he tells her he doesn’t drink human blood and he grabs a bite of her for dinner. I can’t wait to see this Michael the vampire, vampire hunter stir things up. I’m sure Damon has already made up the guest room for Michael. Why not Rebekah just moved in, I wonder if she and Katherine will share bunk beds. Damon is missing a major financial opportunity if he doesn’t start making all of these vamps pay rent. Didn’t their mansion used to be a boarding house?

And no, Katherine is not dead. The fans would revolt; there would literally be protests outside the CW studio if they killed her off for good.

There were a lot of cute lines in this episode, like Damon calling Rebekah “Barbie Klaus” and Stefan calling Elena “a human blood bag” ouch.

Predictions: Katherine is now tied to Michael, possibly sired. Jeremy and Bonnie will split and he will go back to Ana who is now in physical form.  Tyler and Caroline will not last long now that Rebekah has her red vamp eyes on him. Two blonde hot vampire girls are just too much even for a hybrid to handle. Klaus will return and he and Tyler will start a new bromance, it may get very deep and emotionally charged. I think Tyler can give Klaus what he needs emotionally in ways Stefan couldn’t.