By Tegan O’Rourke

Rebekah has feelings, Stefan may still have feelings for Damon, Elena is getting the feeling that Stefan can be saved but not by her, by the love of his brother! There were a lot of feelings expressed in this mostly flashback episode chronicling the First Family of Vampiredom.

The episode kicks off with Alaric, Damon and Elena at the cave. Ric, who seems to be a history God, has somehow figured out how to read ancient Viking runes. He deciphers them has the names of the first family of vamps. Damon eloquently refers to the cave script as “It’s the Lockwood Diaries Pictionary style.” He had a lot of funny lines in this episode. It turns out that Rebekah put the family names on the wall before being turned.

Did anyone else fall off their couch when the opening song, Don’t Stop by Foster the People blasted right through the television set? Wow was that loud! And why is Ric still hanging out at his old apartment where Klaus can enter? Anyway I liked the sparring match between Elena and Damon as Ric looked over the cave pictures. I thought when he grabbed Elena by the neck and pretended to bite her that was going to be the hot Damon and Elena scene of the night, but luckily it wasn’t!

Alaric can’t make out some of the symbols so he logically lets Elena talk to sadistic Original Vamp Rebekah. Elena thinks she can somehow relate to Rebekah since she is after all still a teenage girl at heart. Elena confronts Rebekah at school and she freaks over the idea of Mikael coming back and runs off.

Meanwhile Damon shows up at the Vampire Torture Chamber to visit Stefan. Damon being Damon remarks that “It’s Family Day at Vampire Rehab.” And he has come to visit his brother. He lets Stefan loose and they head to an unknown bar where Damon offers up Callie the bartender as a snack to Stefan.

Most of the episode focused on flashbacks going back to pre America Viking peeps and their friendly werewolf neighbors. This all starts when Elena shows up at Salvatore Vampire Hotel Manor where Rebekah is the latest unwanted guest. Elena walks in on some bizarre fashion show where she remarks “You compelled your own runway show?” Rebekah threatens to kill one of the girls if Elena doesn’t pick a dress. She ironically picks the red one. Even the humans have blood on their mind at all times. She then tries to convince Rebekah to spill on the Originals’ history but Rebekah rather raid Stefan’s underwear drawer.

After a bit of girl bickering over Stefan, Rebekah surprisingly starts to tell the whole story. Long ago in a land far far away they were mortals and came to pre America for a life of health and peace, at least that’s what one of their witch friends told them would happen. Mikael or Daddy Original, Ya I knew that was coming, but I still like it, has a horrible temper and clashes with Klaus all the time. They live peacefully among their werewolf neighbors until Klaus accidentally gets his little brother killed while peeping on them.

Mikael asks their witch friend to help by making them stronger than the werewolves. She won’t do it. She must be related to Bonnie. Those Bennets are so ethical. But no worries the original witch is actually Esther, Klaus’s mama. That was a good surprise. She does a spell to make them all vamps except her; one can only be either a witch or a vamp. Mikael makes the kids drink wine laced with blood and then stabs them, but not gently, this was no gentle stabbing. Once they awaken he makes them drink human blood and the change begins. All seems well, until Klaus makes his first kill and triggers his werewolf lineage. Oops Mama had an affair.

These witch’s spells are never perfect. So she has to curse her son now so he can’t be a werewolf and then she shuns him, which made no sense since it’s her fault he’s a werewolf, oh and a vamp too. Mikael finds out about Klaus not really being his son and a werewolf to boot, so he kills Esther by ripping her heart out the way she metaphorically ripped out his. At least that’s what Rebekah believes because that’s the way Klaus tells the story.

She reveals life wasn’t perfect, they had weaknesses like daylight, vervain and the unquenchable blood lust. Elena believing all has been revealed heads back to Ric.

Back at the bar, Stefan is snacking hard on Bartender Callie until Damon steps in and tells him to “Ease up she’s giving us her employee discount.” That was funny. Damon tries to bond with Stefan in his heartfelt snarky way but by the time the subject of turning on Klaus is reached Mikael shows up.

Stefan tells him he has been compelled and can’t help him, so Mikael shoves his fist in Damon’s chest and threatens to pull out his heart. Stefan acts like he can’t help until the last second when he tells Mikael he can lure Klaus back. Amen I was getting nervous, that was the longest hand in the chest scene of my life. I didn’t understand why Mikael just couldn’t uncompel Stefan, I mean isn’t he just as powerful? He is an Original.

Ric explains to Elena that the symbols show that the Hybrid Klaus killed Esther not Mikael. Elena runs back to Rebekah to tell her and possibly throw it in her face like high school girls do. Rebekah gets mad, then starts to cry uncontrollably, her brother Klaus would never do this to her or would he? I felt bad for Rebekah even though Elena didn’t appear to, she just walks out on her as she cries all over the antique carpeting.

Outside the bar Damon asks Stefan why he saved him. Stefan acts like it was to his advantage. They taunt each other but things turn ugly when Stefan tells Damon his humanity is showing. That flips Damon’s switch and he gives Stefan a minor beat down and takes off to Elena’s bedroom.

He plops down on her bed and will not move as she struggles to get under to the covers. She tells him she is not mad at him for freeing Stefan and says of Rebekah, “She’s just a girl who lost her mother too young. She loves blindly and recklessly, even if it consumes her.” Any self-reflection there, Elena? She then goes on to tell Damon that she will not be the one to save Stefan alter all.  “You’re going to be the one to save him from himself. It won’t be because he loves me. It will be because he loves you.”

This all happens as they lay in bed together. Elena doesn’t put up a fuss and actually falls off to sleep next to him. Damon plays it cool and doesn’t grope. He knows his moment is coming.

Predictions for next week: Kat will hopefully be back, Jeremy and Bonnie will have odd moments of almost getting back together but won’t, that teen angst needs to go on for at least two more episodes. Tyler will be back to wipe away Rebekah’s tears. Caroline will most likely walk in and we will see one of the best catfights since Dynasty. Oh and Elena and Damon will wake up next to each and Ric will have a fit over it!