Ok let’s just get to it, Mayor Lockwood is dead! There I said it. Merry Christmas!  I myself had the surprise ruined by some tool on Twitter who just couldn’t wait to tell the world that Carol Lockwood bit it after four faithful seasons. But before all the mayhem ensued Klaus found time to paint snowflakes. He truly is a Renaissance Vampire.

I was still shocked, but the shock would have been more meaningful if I hadn’t seen it coming. I completely understand why Klaus did it. Killing Ty’s mom is worse than killing him.  I just hope Alpha Ty gets the point.

Klaus was rightfully pissed after Ty and the gang tried to have him killed. Hopefully no one will ever find out that Klaus is the killer so Caroline and the OV can have a chance. Yes, I am looking forward to a twisted Klaus/Caroline love affair. We need something to pine for now that Elena and Damon are finally kind of together.

Damon did try to send her away after they made a breakthrough with Jer not wanting to kill her anymore, but I don’t recall him telling her to stop loving him, so I have the feeling things will get heated again and hopefully soon.

The lake house scenes were innocent enough, Jer tries to kill Elena upon entering, but she counters with a sisterly head lock. Luckily Bonnie is there with the creepy cute Professor Shane, he’ll fix everything!

During  “The Jer loves Elena reprogramming,” Dr. Shane tells Damon and Elena that they do not need the sword to cure Elena. You see once upon a time there was witch of course who spelled someone with immortality. But there was some kind of love triangle involved and Silas got buried alive. But Dr. Shane somehow knows where to dig him up and if they do then he has the cure for vampirism or something like that, Damon and Elena seemed to believe it. I was like, eh, maybe. I was having a hard time following it.  And why didn’t Klaus know about this?

Back in town Haley and Ty are determined to go through with their crazy plan to kill Klaus, well at least Ty is. Stefan and Caroline want him to wait for Elena’s cure before killing Klaus and when Stefan tries to go all vamp on him, the wolf pack shows up and kidnaps them.  However, there is no plan to really kill Klaus because then half the cast of the show would be dead. They just need to put his soul into Tyler’s body and dagger him to keep him out of commission for a while.

Luckily Damon finds out in the nic of time that they do not need Klaus alive to find Elena’s cure.  He calls Stefan who was not tied up or de cell phoned during the kidnapping. These wolves are not pros at it yet. Stefan tells everyone the good news Klaus can be killed, yeah they are all on the same team again and the wolves let them go.

Caroline remembers that Rebekah has been daggered so why don’t they use her body instead of Tyler’s to stick Klaus in. Haley has bigger plans like knocking out Caroline in the ladies room at the Grille and sending the 12 hybrids off to their death at the hands of Klaus.

April finds Caroline in the ladies room dead from Haley’s neck snap. She awakens jumps on her cell phone and gives away all kinds of juicy vamp gossip right in front of shocked April.  She then tries to compel April, who walks out of the ladies room not compelled thanks to her vervain bracelet and heads  off to the tunnels to undagger her new BFF Rebekah.

However, the kill Klaus plan is still on, Klaus is lured from the town fundraiser to the woods where he catches on quick and starts ripping out hearts and tossing wolf heads.  Not even twelve hybrids could take on one Original.

Meanwhile Haley tells Ty the truth, that Klaus isn’t the target. She tells him to run, he decides to run right in to the battlefield where his pack has been slaughtered.

Caroline and Stefan are back at Salvatore Manor where Caroline spills the beans that Damon and Elena did the nasty all with her sad looks and silence. Stefan apparently reads sad looks and silence and starts throwing heirlooms around the room.

However, Damon is trying to do the right thing at the lake house and finally releases Elena. He tells her “You’re going to go home. I’m setting you free Elena. This is what I want. This is what will make me happy.”   Elena is clearly not happy and I do not think it worked since she had feelings for him before she was turned. Damon stays behind to help Jeremy with what I am unsure. It appears he will still be growing the mark, which makes no sense if Dr. Shane knows where Silas can be found.

Klaus arrives back at the Winter Wonderland Charity event all bloody and moody. Mayor Lockwood is there all by herself which was odd based on all this town has been through and how much she knows of it all.  Still with drink in head, she pleads with the Original, ”Klaus, please. Don’t hurt him. He’s my son. He’s all I have.” Klaus thinks for a bit then replies, “And you’re all he has. There’s a beautiful symmetry to that. Don’t you think?” Then he grabs Mrs. Lockwood by the throat and drowns her in the town fountain and just leaves her there, hanging in the fountain like a holiday decoration.

Then the Original stumbles off, he probably needed to finish painting his snowflake.

Lexi’s back, Tyler goes Alpha and Elena really is sired to Damon, kind of.  Even if it’s only in flashback we will take Lexi anyway we can get her and she looked fabulous in those 1940s duds. Lexi was once again the guiding light and voice of reason this time for Damon in this episode.

But before we get to the cool Bourbon Street flashbacks it turns out that after hot, hot vampire sex twice, Elena may be just a tad sired to Damon and Kim the hybrid that Haley and Tyler just unsired from Klaus  is taking her new freedom very seriously and starts going all Alpha on the wolf pack. She thinks Adrian has had enough of the unsiring for one day and against Tyler‘s wishes she takes him away.

And yes, these kids still have time for school.  Elena heads off to Mystic Falls High with her hair up which the girlfriends thought was odd. She apparently hadn’t showered after hours of sex with the evil Damon. Her best buds get over her bad hair day after she invites them to raid the Salvatore liquor cabinet. I did think it was odd that Vampire Caroline did not smell Damon all over Elena and puke in the hall.

Meanwhile Stefan comes back home to tell Damon the great news that Elena is sired to him and that’s the only reason she currently loves him which I‘m sure made Stefan feel better about the situation.

Damon denies it, because on the surface it’s ridiculous, Elena had feelings for Damon before she was turned. So Stefan being a vampire of facts, not just feelings tells him to convince Elena it’s okay for her to drink out of a blood bag. Damon isn’t buying it; he tells his little brother, “When her body rejects this blood, which it will, your apology had better be epic.”

So Damon heads off to Mystic Falls High, to convince Elena to drink out of the blood bag, she does, she likes it after he told her she would.  She remarks it tastes good as opposed to the hot garbage it tasted like the first time she tried it. Damon realizes it may be true and he rushes back home to find a cure which leads him and Stefan to a witch in New Orleans who helped him unsire a lady friend once before, and thus the cool 1940s Bourbon Street flashbacks ensue.

Stefan dressed in an American Service Uniform shows up in New Orleans with Lexi.  Damon and Stefan somehow pick the same bar in New Orleans and a mini reunion begins. Stefan is going to join the war effort because he thinks it will help him kick the blood habit by being surrounded by it constantly and normally sane Lexi seems to agree. The reunion is cut short by Damon’s crazy girlfriend Charlotte.

Unfortunately Damon turned her and because she had feelings for him prior to being turned she unintentionally became sired to him. He realized this after he told her to give no mercy to anyone who touched his drink while he stepped away. Being sired she took this literally and killed a guy for moving Damon’s drink at the bar. That’s when Damon looked up a powerful New Orleans witch to break the sire bond.

In modern day New Orleans the brothers try to find the same witch and along the way they realize that poor Charlotte may still be counting every brick in New Orleans as Damon told her when he left her in 1942. They go to the corner of Bourbon and Dumant where as luck would have Charlotte is there. It was hard to tell if she was really still sired after all she did count every brick and even loves the song “Counting Bricks.”

Back in Mystic Falls Hayley warns Tyler that he needs to assert his authority and be the Alpha. She is right. After Ty attempts to assert his authority, Kim decides to pick a fight.

Over at the Salvatore House, Elena, Caroline and Bonnie are having a party of alcohol and witchy tea, they dance, they laugh; they end up in Damon’s bathroom. Caroline makes a snarky comment about Damon being a man whore and Elena finally throws it down and tells them she and Damon had sex and she liked it.  Bonnie seems to take it better than Caroline.  And Bonnie is normally the acting president of the I hate Damon Club. I did like how Elena called Caroline on the fact that she once dated Damon. And Caroline did not have much of comeback. Elena gets more upset and kicks her best buds out. But before they leave Kim and Adrian bust in and kidnap Caroline.

Meanwhile Damon and Stefan find the witch shop in New Orleans, but she is long dead and her great granddaughter lies to them and says all of Grandma’s spells got washed away with Katrina and no one practices magic like that anymore, she’s not even a practicing witch.  It turns out she is lying she is not the witch’s great granddaughter she is her daughter and a practicing witch. The guys find this out when they pay her a second mildly violent visit.

She tells them the only way to break the sire bond is to tell the sire not to think about him anymore and set them free. She also tells them the spell that Damon helped her great grandma with by killing twelve vampires is part of a form of dark magic called Expression. Which just happens to be the form of magic Bonnie is learning from the mysterious Dr. Shane.

Back in Mystic Falls Elena and Tyler are looking for Caroline and have a chat about sires. Ty tells her that being sired doesn’t change how you feel about someone, it just affects how you act. So Elena’s feelings are real!

Poor Caroline is being tortured by Kim, when Tyler and Elena bust in. Elena tells Kim to take her instead since she means more to Klaus than Caroline. Well time will tell on that one. But Ty has had enough and he goes all Alpha and pushes his fist into Kim’s chest and threatens to rip out her heart unless she submits to him. She takes him seriously and submits her will to him. Ty is now the new Alpha of a fierce wolf pack.

Back on Bourbon Street Damon releases Charlotte from the sire bond, which she is not happy about. And I do not think it worked. We may see Charlotte again. Damon also promises to let Elena go. Stefan doesn’t believe him until he tells him how back in 1942 he also was ready to join the war effort to be with his little bro, but Lexi stepped him and talked him out of it, since he wasn’t the best influence at the time.

The girls make up as well. Caroline and Elena hug and all seems well in hot chick Vampireland. Stefan even tells Caroline that he believes Damon will do the right thing and release Elena, because he loves her as much as he does.

Damon comes home and tries his hardest to break the news to Elena that he has to unsire her but she will not hear it. He tells her he is not the good guy, but he has to do right by her. Elena moves forward and grabs his face and the credits roll.

By Tegan O’Rourke,

Everyone has gone mad over Elena and Stefan breaking up on the sixth installment of the season. But a lot of people including Elena should have seen it coming.  And yes I am completely biased. I’ve been on Team Damon since before it became obvious he had feelings for Elena.

Just look at the history of the Salvatore Brothers, Damon was the one who pined for Katherine for over one hundred and fifty years not Stefan.  Oh and remember how Stefan was compelled to ignore Kat’s vamp side, but Damon wasn’t he just accepted her as a vampire.

Stefan just doesn’t do vamper chicks. And there’s nothing wrong with that, Bonnie doesn’t date vamps either, it’s just a preference. I like how Stefan has a lot of self loathing; Paul Wesley has made a very compelling character, a vampire who hates vampires, fabulous!

It was clear to me this couldn’t last due to innocent Elena now being the kind of vamp who can only take it from the vein. Maybe if she was able to eat bunnies like Caroline it could have worked, but I doubt it.

The one thing that does miff me about the relationship ending is how Elena stood by Stefan and still had hope for their love even when Klaus had compelled him back to his Ripper side. Oh and she never gave him shit about being a ripper to begin with. She knew he was a bloodoholic and stayed with him anyway.

I think Elena’s feelings for Damon are a convenient excuse for Stefan to end the relationship.  After all now he doesn’t have to admit to her that he just doesn’t love her unconditionally the way she loves or loved him. They grew apart, it happens.

And deep down Stefan knows the morbid truth about Elena, she is Katherine’s granddaughter and the apple doesn’t fall far from the tree. Elena has the Petrova fire as they say and lets face it even as a mortal she was getting quite ballsy near the end, killing Ric to save him, that memory comes to mind.

I would like to see Stefan get hot and heavy with some of the other hotties on the show like Caroline, for some reason I think he doesn’t mind her being a vampire, because she can eat bunnies with him. But alas this may not work either since Caroline has a bit of the cunning in her as well.

Caroline was very convincing when her and Tyler had that spat at the Lockwood Mansion in front of Klaus. Then she met up with him at the Grille to keep him occupied while Stefan tried to rescue Elena. The best part of it which I think will put a real divide in her relationship with Tyler was her decision that it was ok to let Jeremy kill a hybrid to save Elena even though he was friends with Tyler.

Tyler made a good point Chris was their friend too why was it ok for him to die? Maybe Caroline needs a vamp that can make the hard decisions like oh I don’t know, Klaus!  Maybe she’ll figure that out on her date with him. I couldn’t tell what Tyler was more pissed about Chris being the latest sacrifice or Caroline dating Klaus.

As for Jeremy, it will be interesting to see how far he goes with his new calling as a Vampire Hunter, especially since his Big Sis is now the hottest new vamp in town.  And I thought the holidays with my family were rough. How are the Gilberts going to get through this one?

By Tegan O’Rourke,

This episode really hit me in the heart.  It’s beautiful how a mutual hatred can bring enemies together.

Stefan and Klaus are working together again almost like best buds except that Stefan still really hates him and all Klaus really wants his human blood bag Elena back, yet still it was fun to watch Stefan betray and lie to Elena even if it was for her own good.

The fun starts when Connor takes Matt, Jeremy and April hostage at the Grille. After four seasons I can’t believe this place is still standing and none of the customers seem to complain about the onslaught of violence that occurs on the premises. I guess the food must be killer.

Connor seems to think that a brigade of vampires is going to come running in like idiots to save the trio and if Damon were in charge he’d be right. However Klaus and Stefan are running this mission and Klaus has a better idea. Elena is over emotional about her brother being kidnapped and she wants to storm in there. But Stefan tries to talk her down and then vervains Damon to show he means business.

Meanwhile Caroline finds hot Haley at the Lockwood Mansion. However, they don’t have time for a cat fight due to the hostage crisis at the Grille.  Besides Caroline doesn’t know yet about Haley’s relationship with Tyler.

Klaus breaks up an argument between Tyler and Hybrid Dean and decides that Dean will go alone to the Grille to rescue Jer and the gang.

Damon awakens and Elena is still adamant about rescuing Jeremy and the gang. Damon tells her she has to kill Connor if given the chance. My first thought was, Ya right. Oh and Stefan took Damon’s daylight ring, what a Dic move!

At the Grille Jeremy realizes he was compelled to forget seeing Connor under chains at the Mikelson Mansion and he is not happy about it.

Dean comes through the front door of the Grille as Stefan sneaks in through a tunnel under the Grille. Luckily Matt and April were in the storage room alone trying to break into the same tunnel. Why Connor let them out of his sight was a question.

Of course Connor kills the hybrid the second he walks in. This hunter is one tough SOB, a lot tougher than, sweet serial killer Ric, may he rest in peace, never speak badly of the dead. Surprise, Elena walks in next and begs Connor to let Jer go. Connor refuses and Big Sis jumps him setting off another vampire killer explosion that misses her but hits little bro hard in the chest.  She saves Jeremy with her blood while Connor runs for it.

They all end up in the tunnel under the Grille, where Damon and Stefan get into it and Stefan finally admits why he is working with Klaus. It’s all to save Elena, stupid! But oh snap it’s too late

The hated, Vampire Hunter Connor finally got what was coming to him and at the hands of the sweet Elena. I must admit I went WTF when she snapped his neck so quickly and easily. I almost didn’t believe he was really dead.  But luckily I saw the next episode so I know he really is capute.  I think it was the line about Elena being the biggest monster that Jeremy would ever meet that put her over the top.

Elena feels terrible about being a killer and tries to bury Connor; she’s so distraught she forgets to wash the blood off of her face. You could tell Stefan didn’t find it attractive.

The whole time all of this going on Bonnie is with Professor Shane trying to get her witch on again. She was with him for seven hours of hypnosis and lighting candles. She seems to trust this guy a little too much too soon in my opinion, especially since he was the one who sent Connor to Mystic Falls. But Bonnie doesn’t know that, yet.

Back at Salvatore Manor, Damon and Stefan chit chat about why it’s so important to find this cure for Elena. It becomes obvious the cure is more for Stefan than Elena. He secretly can’t handle the thought of his sweet Elena being a vampire. He likes innocent high school girls and this dangerous vamp just doesn’t rev his motor.  Thankfully evil Damon announces he likes her either way.

Elena back at home in her bedroom left to her own devices after killing someone for the first time, this was questionable. Starts having hallucinations of seeing blood on her mirror that says, “Killer.” I don’t get why she is left alone with Jeremy after being turned let alone after her first kill. Shouldn’t Caroline at least being staying over for a few weeks?

By Tegan O’Rourke,

Instead of the usual play by play which you can get other places. I was interested in focusing on the love and heart ache some of our favorite characters faced in this episode.

Lets start with heartsick Rebekah, aka Sexy Bex.  After following her evil brother around for a thousand years you would think she would get more than just a stake in the heart from him, again! But alas, Rebekah is beautiful with a big loving and evil heart this is why she keeps getting staked literally and figuratively.

For being one of the most powerful  women/vampires in the world, her heart seems to get in her way a lot. I will give her kudos for not compelling anyone to love her. This vamp wants the real thing and I hope she gets it. It is sometimes painful to watch her pain. But then again, that just shows what a great job Claire Holt is doing of displaying Rebekah’s inner turmoil.  I also saw Claire Holt on Season 2 of Pretty Little Liars recently and I was blown away by the difference in the two characters of Samara and  Rebekah.

Anyway, I liked the history behind “The Five” and how Rebekah got her freak on with one of them before he tried to kill her.  Sadly of course Rebekah confessed to Stefan that she really loved the Vampire Hunter who tried to wipe out her whole family. She even buried his magic sword, which may lead to the only possible way to cure vampirism with him in the church cemetery in Italy where she thought they’d be married. She is such a romantic blood sucker!

And that’s all Klaus needed to hear. Rebekah’s was like oh snap, when she spilled to Stefan who then played it cool as Big Bro gave it to her in the heart. So Sexy Bex is out of commission at least for a few episodes. When she is awakened oh and I hope when she is its by her arch nemesis Elena, I do hope Rebekah will reflect on her unwarranted loyalty to Klaus and never go down that road again.

I think Matt would be a good love match for Sexy Bex but then again the writer’s of this show always have some interesting U turns to hit us with, so let’s see what new characters emerge as the season progresses.

While Stefan was helping Klaus manipulate Rebekah, Elena and Damon were feasting on college coeds at the “Murder House” at Whitmore College. And Elena liked it, she really liked it and Damon liked that she really liked it. I loved that they liked it. Elena needs to give in more to vampire impulses. After all it’s obvious she is more like Damon and Grandma Katherine then she wants to admit.

All was getting hot and steamy until blood blocker Bonnie showed up with her look of disdain that only she can give. She even made me feel dirty.  I want to see Bonnie go all “Willow Season Six of Buffy.” I really want to see that.

What’s wife Bonnie anyway, hanging out with this creepy cute Professor Shane, who is obviously up to no good. Is her witch radar off? I hope they have a tawdry affair, the sleazier the better.

There is no doubt in my mind that Elena and Damon are going to get together and Bonnie is going to hate it.  Can’t Wait!

By Tegan O’Rourke

What is going on in Mystic Falls? I understand Tyler had to go the hospital to avoid suspicion, but what was with the weird look on his face as he listened to his security guard get knocked out by Bad Ass Connor. And by the way Tyler is the mayor’s son, why wasn’t there more security for him? And where was his pose? Everyone has now witnessed how dangerous this new Vamp Hunter in town is, so where was the backup? Connor flew into his room, Tyler tried to surprise him and still got thrown down and venom jacked. Other than the fact that Michael Trevino’s contract probably isn’t up why didn’t Connor kill him?

Tyler comes home to find a bunch of hybrid bodyguards. Klaus has returned and isn’t going to let any hunter kill his first-born hybrid. Even though he is still pissed about the gang almost killing him.  Tyler has quite a few visitor’s, a new hottie named Hayley played by Phoebe Tonkin, shows up.  I love it already. Good casting.

Haley apparently helped Tyler through all those long lonely nights when he was trying to break his sire bond to Klaus, oh and that’s something Tyler forgot to tell Caroline about. But don’t worry she’ll find out because Klaus knows all about it. It took him one look at the girl and five minutes with Tyler to get to the bottom of it. The big giveaway was when Tyler tried to get rid of Caroline while Hayley waited in the study.

Over at Salvatore Manor Damon and Stefan have words. Damon is back to being his bitter first season self and Stefan is still pissed that Elena drank from Damon. When is Stefan going to get it. Elena and him are pretty much over in my opinion. Elena needs a vamp who can handle a good drink open vein style and that’s not Stefan, that’s Damon. Damon being the great anti-hero that he is decides to focus his anger on killing the new vampire hunter in town. Thank God someone is on the case. It didn’t seem like anyone else was up for the challenge.

Next Elena meets Matt in the school parking lot at their old make out spot. Really? Matt is quick to offer up a vein especially since he still feels guilty about Elena becoming a vamp. I think Matt also likes being needed by Elena and may be looking for way back to romantic bliss with her. He hates vampires unless his hot ex girlfriend becomes one. He is just your typical dude. Where was Stefan during Elena’s early morning snack? He is supposed to be schooling her in proper vampire decorum. Does he know Elena’s feeding on civilians, probably not!

Where was Bonnie the whole episode? She didn’t show up at school at all.

Stefan shows up in time for Ric’s history class, but sadly Ric is no longer with us, we don’t get to find out who the new history teacher is yet because Sexy Beks shows up and Elena for the first time in four seasons acts like a real high school girl and they get into a nasty high school girl argument reminiscent of a Lindsey Lohan movie,which no one in class seems to hear or see. I especially thought it was odd that no one saw Rebekah stake Elena with the pencil and even odder that Stefan didn’t jump to Elena’s defense and take it in the chest. Maybe he’s still bitter over her blood lust with Damon.

Connor shows up at school and tries to persuade Jeremy to out a vamp and he’ll train him as a hunter. What is up with Jeremy. His older sis is on team vamp now and doesn’t warn any of the vamps who saved their asses so many times that Conner is going to spike the keg at Rebekah’s party with Tyler’s werewolf venom. What if Elena had showed up at the part and drank it. Oh what she did! Jeremy  also decides to tell Connor that Dr. Fell has the big vamp hook up in town.

Connor also tries to get Matt to fess up on who the vamps are. He throws Rebekah under the bus since he has no plans to go to her party and she is mega bitch for making him drive off the road and kill Elena, even though she gave him a heart-felt apology. Wow does he hold a grudge.

Elena is also a grudger, she can’t let it go, that Beks killed her and now she gets to spend all of her eternity with two of the hottest vampires around. She hates that she hates Rebekah and acts like she has never hated anyone before. Really, she never hated Klaus? What about after he killed Aunt Jenna? Did she hate him then, I did. She resolves to go to Rebekah’s party, that’ll show her.

Damon somehow figures out where Connor’s trailer is and breaks in and gets arrowed which is rigged to a bomb. He calls Dr. Meredith Fell who rescues him and tells him what a good guy he is but don’t worry her opinion changes later when he blows up part of the hospital.

Before the party Elena rummages through Damon’s closets. He catches her and she tells him she needs some of his Bourbon. Stefan’s just isn’t good enough. What is that code for? Damon tells her to look in one of his drawers which of course is his underwear drawer as he starts to undress. He accuses her of looking for the White Oak Dagger, she leaves with the dagger in a huff at the first thought of getting a good look and what’s in those tight pants.

For some bad reason, Stefan takes Elena to the party. At the party Elena and April’s chat is interrupted in the kitchen by Beks who throws Elena’s daylight ring into the garbage disposal, Elena starts to burn and hides in the dark corner, but her rage propels her to show her arm down the garbage disposal and pull her ring out. Elena gets so enraged she pulls the dagger out of her stylish handbag, luckily Stefan stops her by telling her that she is not just killing Rebekah, she is killing every vampire she ever created.

Elena agrees and does a keg stand to show Rebekah up then leaves to do tricks on Stefan’s motorcycle, that scene was not one of the better ones I’ve seen on the show. I understand Elena needs to enjoy coming into her new powers, it just seemed trite and reminded me of Bella riding motorcycles in Twilight.

Rebekah falls ill at the party after drinking the spiked beer and hallucinates that she kills Matt. She falls asleep and April cleans up the house. Rebekah  feeling a camaraderie with April’s loneliness offers to help her find out what really happened to her father, the good Pastor Young.

When Stefan and Elena get back to Salvatore Manor it gets heated, but Elena starts visualizing Damon not her lover Stefan and realizes she is ill. Stefan somehow guesses right that she was infected with Tyler’s werewolf venom. He calls Klaus and begs for help, surprisingly Klaus gives it and tells Elena she is still useful to him. He’s a real team player this episode. I’m guessing he may not be the big bad anymore.

Jeremy leads Connor to the hospital. And he  follows a bandaged on the neck Dr. Fell into the storage room where is he trapped by Damon and Klaus, an unlikely duo. Klaus notices a mark on his weapon which tells him Conner is one of the Five. Then everything goes boom. Damon flies out into the hall. Dr. Fell gives him hell for blowing up part of the hospital and refuses to have drinks with him. It may take some time for her to become his new sidekick.

Somehow unknown to Damon, the hunter Connor survives. Klaus grills him on the Five. Connor has no clue what he is talking about. Klaus takes great joy in his ignorance of his heritage and tells him he just may be the most well protected vampire hunter in town.

Meanwhile back at the Gilbert House, Matt comes over to give Elena an evening snack and she loses control and almost kills him until Damon shows up and pushes her off of him. He quickly compels Matt to forget and he leaves. He then tells Elena he will help her. Finally Elena will get some real vampire training.

Predictions: Damon will eventually charm the pants off of Dr. Fell, maybe literally. Conner will be the most protected Vampire Hunter in town, I just don’t see him getting killed off anytime soon if ever. Stefan and Elena are going to grow further apart, yet Stefan and Caroline will get closer, maybe even become a couple. Hayley will seduce Tyler and other man she wants in Mystic Falls. Rebekah and April might actually become real friends. After all Rebekah is lonely and desperately wants one. Damon now has a new reason to stay in town help Elena this is going to get heated.

“The Memorial” Bringing Up the Blood and Bringing Out the Hotness

By Tegan O’Rourke,

Elena drinking Damon’s blood in the Grille’s bathroom was emotional porn; hot, hot, hot.

The title of this episode should have been called “Blood, Blood, Blood,” since Elena tossed up every drop she was given. Can the doppelgänger only drink from the vein? This is going to make for some awkward moments with Stefan.

I thought both of the Salvatore Brothers were going to have an emotional breakdown when she fed on Matt at Pastor Young’s funeral. Matt will be a good midnight snack for her once in a while, and this will definitely put a wedge in her relationship with Stefan. I agree with Damon, he just needs to let her go full on vamp and get it over with. Not everyone is a blood aholic like him.

The funniest line of the episode was when Sheriff Forbes accused Damon of killing the council members and he replied, “If I was going to kill twelve people I wouldn’t blow them up. I would throw a dinner party.”

Tyler had quite a hard few days, first getting vervained and shot by new hunter Connor, then at the Pastor’s funeral getting shot by Connor again. I wonder if Caroline will give him some more of that grief sex he likes so much. I mean come on he took a bunch of bullets to protect his friends.

This Connor is a hot badass, so far no redeemable qualities except for his hotness. Hopefully the writers will give him a good back story like his wife or daughter was killed by vamps and that’s why he is such a ruthless hunter. We need a reason to care about him and see through his violence toward our cute vampire favorites like they did with Ric. He started out as a hunter and remained a hunter, but he was a hunter with a conscience and that’s why the episode concluded with pissed off Damon giving Ric a soliloquy at his grave.

Predictions: Damon is going back to his old ways of harassing Stefan. Stefan will not be able to handle Vampire Elena, I think she may have a dark side and Stefan isn’t going to like it.  Klaus will find a way to stay in town after all fans love to hate him. Elena and Damon will have some more hot moments of blood drinking together and possibly some vamp sex.  I keep hearing rumors of major deaths this season, I can’t imagine who and I don’t want to.  However I am very excited about these new characters, especially Bad Ass Hunter Connor.

By Tegan O’Rourke

Klaus is a Gentleman! The most evil  Original Vampire ever stops Caroline from throwing herself at him. He totally outs himself to her about him and Tyler switching bodies. That was the biggest surprise of the evening for me.

Lets face it we all knew Elena was going to vamp out and Bonnie wouldn’t be able to spell her back to humanity. But I give Bon Bon kudos for trying.

Klaus leaves Rebecca in the hands of the Council when he could have quickly and easily saved her. What was that about? Rebecca gave her big bro the best one thousand years of her life and that’s the thanks she gets?  Then when she confronts him later he is a total douche and knocks her out. Maybe he can only handle one blonde vamp at a time.

After the way he treated his own sister, I am changing my opinion on a Klaus/Caroline hook up. Caroline would be better off with Damon.  Klaus is a great villain with an overactive emotional side, like Damon, but yet Klaus is darker, for all of Klaus’s heartfelt rambling about family he tends to keep them locked up while Damon has gotten over his brother issues and wants Stefan to be happy.

The third shocker was Rebecca being captured by the Council. She can outrun a pissed off vampire like Damon but not the new crazy pastor in town.  And what the hell was up with Pastor Young blowing up the Council? My theory is either Damon or Rebecca compelled him to kill everyone in order to keep their secret. Smart move.

I understand that the gang was up in arms about Elena becoming a vamp, but not one tear in the first episode for poor Ric? I’m sure it is to come it was just noticeably missing to me. After all he was Elena’s pseudo alcoholic serial killing guardian and he and Damon had an angst ridden bromance for three seasons.

Damon is quite an enigma. In Season 2 he was already to turn Elena to save her from Klaus, but when poor Matt has the misfortune of being the one who drives her off Wickery Bridge, he’s the bad guy for her being a Vamp?

Both Damon and Elena should be thrilled Elena is a vamp, now they have all of eternity to deny their passion for each other.

I am on West Coast time so I have not seen tonight’s episode yet. But my predictions are: Bonnie’s magic gets darker; Sheriff Forbes and the Mayor get their jobs back since the Council is probably now capote; Tyler and Caroline finally have “so glad you are not dead for reals sex” and Elena starts to have nasty vampy urges, it should be a hoot.

By Tegan O’Rourke

Finally after three seasons of wondering the writers and producers did it. Elena is a vampire just like in the book series.

The third season finale begins with Elena waking up in her bedroom and it’s obvious she’s different. She’s the giddy cheerleader she used to be before her parents died and vampires came to Mystic Falls. Elena goes downstairs and is greeted by the lovely and very much alive Aunt Jenna and her mother, Miranda makes her first appearance.

Next Elena wakes up in the hospital she was bleeding from the nose the night before after all.  Dr. Meredith Fell tells Jeremy all is well, just a slight concussion so he calls The Salvatore Brothers to fill them in.

The Brothers unhappy that Elena is out in the open, decide that Stefan should go back to Mystic Falls and Damon will keep heading out of Mystic Falls with Klaus’s body in the trunk.

Ric shows up at the hospital and destroys the last of Dr. Fells vampire blood and tells her Elena will be released to his custody and he’s having her medical license yanked because of her use of vampire blood on patients. What a Dic!

Caroline, Tyler and Matt take Elena home before Ric can steal her away.  As she lies on the couch she looks at an old photo of her and the gang from happier days and another flashback ensues.

Elena tries to get out of the Bonfire at school since her Aunt Jenna is visiting, Matt her then boyfriend tells her she has to go. He says goodbye and tells her he loves her, she does not respond in kind and Bonnie calls her on it, letting her know she can’t string him along.

Our favorite doppel  ganger wakes up and Matt asks her what she was dreaming about. She then tells him she is sorry she strung him along when they were together. Now she realizes she is doing the same thing to Stefan and Damon. He asks which one she will pick as Stefan comes through the front door.

Matt asks “Wouldn’t it be smarter if we just got you the hell out of town?” Smart boy.  Elena refuses she does not want to go on the run for the rest of her life. The gang is startled when Elijah shows up at the front door.

Jeremy runs into Ric at the Grille.  He wants Jer to reveal where the Salvatores are keeping Klaus’s body.  Jeremy is unsure about helping him, but Ric assures him he will kill all the Originals and then no vampires will exist plus Jer can hen lock him up and let Elena live a long healthy life, then when Elena finally dies, he’ll die. Sounds like a plan.

Elijah has his own plan, he wants the stake Ric carries and he swears he and Rebekah will take Klaus’s body and run and not revive Klaus during Elena’s or her children’s lifetimes. Damon is not eager to make the deal. But Elena agrees after Elijah tells her Klaus is his brother and they should remain together. She’s sucker for family.

Jeremy tells Matt about Ric’s plan and Matt thinks it’s a good idea. But Jer admits even if he wanted to help Ric he doesn’t know where Klaus’s body is, luckily Matt does. Jeremy calls Ric and tells him Damon is on his way to bury him in the woods off of Route 12. He hangs up and oh snap he lied, Stefan and the gang are there and they have devised a plan or so they think to fool Ric.

Tyler and Caroline meet their mom’s at the Lockwood Mansion where they are warned that Ric outed them to the Council and they need to leave town or else wind up dead. They decide to run, but first Caroline has to help her friends and get a curling iron. Tyler agrees to meet her in two hours. Caroline is so excited, she wants to call Bonnie, but Tyler tells her he will call Bonnie and Vampire Barbie smiles and runs off to help her friends.

Damon and Bonnie meet up at a Storage Facility, where he shows her one beef jerkified Original. Bonnie wants a minute alone with Klaus and Damon obliges once she reminds him of the people she loved that Klaus hurt.

She looks down into his coffin and tells him,”You should burn in hell but if you die so do my friends, so does my mother, what am I supposed to do about that?”

Elena almost tells Stefan her decision but can’t do it after all they just aren’t in enough peril yet.  Stefan kisses her just in case there is no later has he puts it. As he pulls away you can tell he knew the kiss was not the passionate foreplay they used to have.

Back at the Gilbert House, Matt drugs Elena’s tea but first finds out that Stefan makes her glad to be alive, but Damon consumes her.  Not what most guys want to hear from their ex girlfriends.

She wishes her mom was there to give her advice on whom to choose and queue another flashback to pre vamp Mystic Falls. She calls Aunt Jenna from the Bonfire and asks if her parents can pick her up. She had a fight with Matt because he was talking about college and marriage and she’s afraid she’ll lose him if she breaks things off. Her mom tells her she is not going to lose him, she is setting him free.

Jeremy gives Ric the real address of Klaus’s whereabouts. Damon thinks “Sexy Beck’s has arrived at the storage facility but it’s just crazy vampire killing Ric.  While Ric is ripping the storage facility apart Rebekah shows up to get Klaus.

Ric hears her, but luckily Damon sneaks up behind her first. Ric finds the correct locker but it’s empty. Rebekah and Damon are wheeling Klaus away when Ric sneaks up behind them and attacks them and stakes Klaus’s body. He goes up in flames, which was hard to believe. They can’t really be killing off Klaus now or can they?

Ric chases after Rebekah so Damon has time to call Stefan with the bad news. Stefan tells him he feels ok but reminds him that it took Sage an hour to get sick. They agree Damon doesn’t have enough time to get back to Mystic Falls to say goodbye to Elena.

Jeremy confesses to Stefan that Elena isn’t at home, that he and Matt got her out of town. Stefan says it will be fine Klaus was lying and they will all be ok. Elijah and Caroline show up and ask what happened, for some reason they are all in the woods when this happens.

Elena awakens in Matt’s truck; he is driving her out of town away from the vampire’s .Jer calls Matt to let him know Klaus is dead. Elena begs Matt to take her home, Matt tells her he can take her home or he can take her to Damon, she has to decide.

She calls Damon and tells him she is going home to Stefan and Tyler and Caroline.  Damon asks, since he is possibly a dead man, if it was just down to him and Stefan who would get the goodbye.

She tells him, it’s Stefan, no matter what she feels for him–she never fell out of love with Stefan. He tells her he knows it’s always going to be Stefan.

She tells Damon, “I can’t think about always all I can think about is right now and I care for you Damon which is why I have to let you go.”  She adds “Maybe if you and I had met first…. His call is cut short by Ric’s return.

Caroline in tears runs to Tyler at the Lockwood cells to tell him Klaus died. He takes it quite well for a young man now on his death bed and tells her she’s strong and has a beautiful future ahead of her. Oh and tell his mother he left town like he was supposed to. Then he starts to get all wolfy and appears to be dying. He growls at her to run or he’ll make her run.

Rebekah shows up at the cemetery to tell Elijah that Klaus is gone and there was nothing she could have done to stop it. He tells her that Tyler Lockwood is dead but since no one else is he knows something is up.   They converse about who created the bloodline, Rebekah swears it was Klaus. Elijah is curious as to why then are the Salvatores and their vamp buddies still alive.

Bonnie arrives at the Lockwood cells and Tyler appears! But Bonnie calls him Klaus. She found a way to keep him alive after all in Tyler’s body! She tells him she did it to save her friends and her mother not him. He reminds her the Spirits will not be happy with her. She responds “The Spirits don’t get to tell me what to do anymore; I’m done getting pushed around by all of you.”

Rebekah calls Stefan to tell him Matt and Elena will be arriving back in town any minute oh and her and the Original Brothers aren’t running anymore and the only way for them to survive is to kill Alaric and in turn kill Elena.

Caroline calls Elena to let her know the bad news about Tyler. Matt loses it. By the time he comes to his senses, Rebekah is standing in the middle of Wickery Bridge and Matt swerves to miss her. And thus his truck sinks into the waters of Mystic Falls which causes Elena to flashback to her parent’s car going off the bridge two years earlier.

Meanwhile Ric is kicking the crap out of Damon; he lies in his own blood and remembers himself back in Mystic Falls where he mistakes Elena for Katherine in the woods.

He approaches her as Katherine and she corrects him. Then they start conversing about her love life with Matt. She tells him she doesn’t know what she wants. He tells her that’s not true, she wants what everyone wants, a love that consumes her, then he compels her to forget they met as she goes off to meet her parents.

Damon snaps back to the present will his mojo back and he jumps back up to fight.

Elena is in two sinking cars at this point. She remembers being in the car with her parents who drowned and then flashes back to Matt where Stefan shows up and she demands he save Matt before her. Ironic since her father demanded that Stefan save her and thus he and his wife Miranda drowned.

Elena sits back in Matt’s truck and drifts off, meanwhile Ric grows weak as he fights Damon and falls to his death.

Back at the Gilbert House Jeremy runs into Ric as he is looking for Elena. He quickly realizes Ric is his old self and a ghost, which means….

Damon rushes to the hospital and asks Dr. Fell where Elena is, he is frantic. She tells him that when Elena had come in earlier her injuries were worse then she let on, Elena had a cerebral hemorrhage and she helped her, ya know what she means, Damon did and what a look of shock, it was almost as good as Elena awakening and gasping for air for the first time as a vampire!

Predictions: Next season Elena will struggle in her new life a s a vampire and all bets may be off on who she ends up with after all she has forever to decide now. Bonnie may go down the dark magic road like Willow did on Buffy. Caroline and Klaus will develop their relationship. Bonnie will definitely find a way to get him back in his own body. And I doubt Tyler is really dead.  But I can’t wait to find out.

By Tegan O’Rourke,

Is Klaus really dead? Doubt it.  It’s hard to kill an Original.

The episode opens at the school with shots of the Civil War and Ric sitting at his desk quietly waiting for his vengeance to begin. He hears Caroline in the hall talking to Tyler on the phone.

She runs into Rebecca in the cafeteria, who informs her she’s late for the clean up committee that no on else showed up for. Caroline apologizes for Rebecca’s mom and in turn Rebecca apologizes what happened to Ric. It seems like the two blondies might be bonding.

Rebecca heads to the gym but Ric stops her in the hall, she tells him you are supposed to be dead. He says I am  then the two start to throw down, luckily Caroline comes running out and they both stake him in the heart but it doesn’t work. They run, he comes up behind Caroline and bangs her head off her car and breaks her neck then drags her into the school as his skin burns since he doesn’t have a daylight ring.

At the Gilbert house, Jer and Elena are repainting Ric’s room green.  Stefan shows up and Jer asks him to give them just one day without vampires in it. The doorbell rings and Stefan answers to find Damon holding up Bonnie.

Rebecca runs home and tells Klaus about Ric. He tells her he’ll get Elena and  they’ll be on their way, Tyler’s even there already packing.  Rebecca tells him they don’t need the hybrids they have each other. He rather have the hybrids.  So she bolts.

Back at the Gilbert House, Bonnie, Damon and Stefan are in the kitchen trying to figure how to kill Ric. Bonnie  tells them she was led their by the witches they wanted Ric to feed so he’d turn. Stefan asks how Ric survived and looks at Damon.  Damon says,” Blame Bonnie the blood bank.”  She asks Damon why he gave her blood to save her and he says “I don’t know Bonnie I do stupid things like trying to let my friend die with dignity when I should have just killed him.”

Meanwhile Ric  calls Elena while painting. She thinks it’s a joke at first. Ric tells her he’s at the school and he has Caroline and she better get to the school right away. PS, If she tells anyone he will kill Caroline.

Klaus rings the Gilbert House doorbell expecting to pick up Elena. Wow is he naive. Jer and the Salvatore Bros aren’t having it and slam the door in his face.  He paces in the front yard then starts throwing things through the windows, including parts of a white picket fence.

Elena shows up at the school to find Caroline pinned to a desk with pencils through her hands.  When she tries to help, Alaric stops her and in his loud parental voice says, “How many times do I have to tell you Elena, Stop trusting vampires.”

While Jer, Bonnie and the Salvatore Brothers are ducking in the kitchen, Ric calls Stefan.  Klaus brings the propane onto the porch as Stefan comes out and tells him Ric has Elena.  They all decide to, as Stefan puts it figure out a way to put Alaric down. Bonnie realizes she can use the same spell her mom did to put down Mikael. But she needs time to contact Abby. She makes it clear even with the spell she’ll need a lot of vampire muscle to help, even Klaus’s muscle.

Over at Salvatore Manor, Damon doubts Abby will show and teases Bonnie that it’s just a Girl Scout at the door when she arrives.  Abby tries to warn Bonnie that her magic is pure and she cannot handle the dark places of temptation,  the magic will take her. Bonnie tells her, “ You turned your back on me for sixteen years you have no idea what I can handle.”Damon agrees with Bonnie, could there be a friendship brewing next season?

Abby tells Bonnie the spell requires her to stop the vampire’s heart but in order to do that she must also stop a human heart. Can Bon Bon handle that? For Elena you betcha! Jeremy’s heart is of course the logical choice.

At the school parking lot Klaus tells Stefan after they defeat Ric he is still taking Elena.  Stefan tells him he will accompany them.  Klaus asks what’s the catch?  Stefan tells him he’d turn his back on Mystic Falls to make sure Elena is safe. Klaus tells Stefan he thinks Elena is wasting her time with Damon and Stefan is the better option.  Klaus teases that maybe he should let Elena decide which Salvatore brother to bring along. Stefan tells him, “Go for it. Damon and I have been through a hell of a lot worse than you.”

Klaus, The Salvatores, Bonnie and Jer meet at the school parking lot to plot Ric’s take down. Bonnie gives them all her blood and tells them to drink it since they all need to be linked so when Bonnie stops Jer’s heart anyone of them will have the power to kill Ric if they pierce his heart. Klaus then decides to tell them they are all from his bloodline, so no one gets any funny ideas about killing him. Of course they don’t believe him.

Back at home room Alaric keeps torturing Caroline with rags soaked with vervain .  He tries to convince Elena to be the hunter he trained her to be and kill Caroline. Ric tells Elena that the council was her parents life’s work and it only took her six months to undue it all. Funny how did Ric know what Elena’s parents wanted?

He tells Elena to kill Caroline but she decides to go for Ric inside and after missing with the stake throws the vervain in his face.  Which gives her enough time to free Caroline who goes running into Klaus’s arms in the hallway.

It’s almost a heartfelt moment, Klaus tells her she’s safe and they’ll save Elena. He tells her to go home and stay inside. She looks almost lovingly into his dead vampire eyes and thanks him.

Elena isn’t so lucky. Ric throws her up against a locker and tells her she doesn’t deserve to live. She tells him to go ahead and kill her and she looks like she means it. He can sense it and he steps back as Damon and Stefan rush him. He of course snaps both of their necks, then Klaus goes for his heart and puts up a good fight, good enough that Bonnie knows contact has been made and starts to work her magic. But Ric prevails and tries to stake Klaus.

Elena tells him to stop. She knows that Esther tied her life to his and he has only life span to kill all vampires so if she dies, he dies and she threatens to slit her throat. Ric jumps up to stop Elena and Klaus gets the jump on Ric and kidnaps Elena.

Elena wakes up at The O Mansion having all her blood drained by a compelled nurse. Tyler walks in and Klaus tells him to go get more blood bags. Tyler almost forgets himself but decides to play along. But you just know he’ll be back to help in the last-minute. After all he’s a good hybrid.

Klaus tells her not to worry it’s going to be completely painless. She will just fall asleep as the last drop is drawn.

Damon awakens and asks why he’s still alive. Ric tells him to get up, Klaus is going to kill Elena and  Esther bound them together so if Elena dies his vamp hunting days are over. He lets the Salvatore Brothers do what they do best, save Elena. Which didn’t make much sense,why didn’t he just take one of their daylight rings while they were out cold?

Elena asks Klaus what about his hybrids he’ll need more than what he’s taking to make a hybrid army. He tells her it will do, he doesn’t need a lot of hybrids he has his family. She tells him he needs a backup family since his own doesn’t trust him anymore. Ouch!

He tells her Stefan tries to blame him for trying to tear him from his brother. But they both know who came between them, she did.  “You know once you pick a Salvatore you will destroy their bond. Once you are dead you won’t have to choose and their family will stay intact. Just between us girls who would you have picked?” Elena tells him to rot in hell, he replies you’re welcome and wishes her sweet dreams. Then like all Hollywood villains he  leaves her alone to die so someone can save her in the nic of time.

Tyler see his opportunity and rushes back in to save her. But Klaus comes back and asks him how he broke the sire bond. Tyler tells him he broke every bone in his body one hundred times for the girl he loves. Klaus says it’s impossible, but the look on his face shows his doubt.

Tyler tries to leave with Elena but Klaus throws her into a table and attacks him. Stefan comes up behind Klaus and puts his hand into his chest and grabs his heart. Bonnie starts her spell again and starts to get all veiny as Klaus slowly dies. This part made no sense to me. Wasn’t Stefan afraid that killing Klaus would kill him and all his vamp friends?

When the spell is done Jer doesn’t wake up right away and Bon Bon panics and starts pounding on his chest then finally he awakens.  I think there’s some spark left there.

The Brothers take Elena home but no one gave her any blood and she lost a ton, which also made no sense, especially after Damon gave Bonnie, one of his enemies blood earlier in the episode to save her.

Elena apologizes for stringing them along,  “If I choose one of you I lose the other and I’ve lost do many people I can’t bear the thought of losing either one of you.”

They appear to be unmoved, especially Stefan and  leave on their journey to dump Klaus’s body in the Atlantic. Elena walks into her kitchen to a victory party including Caroline, Bonnie, Jer ,Tyler and Matt. Elena thanks Tyler for standing up to Klaus and they all toast to a Klaus free life.

Meanwhile Sheriff Forbes rushes into Mayor Lockwood’s house for an emergency Council meeting. The Mayor informs her she didn’t call the Council meeting Ric did. He spills the beans that the Mayor and the Sheriff have supernatural kids. The Sheriff tries to leave, and Ric reveals his true colors. The Council is tramped! How many of them do you think will survive? Most likely the Sheriff and the Mayor will.

The Brothers agree they are a good team but Stefan wonders what will happen once Elena makes her decision. Stefan offers to leave town if she chooses Damon. Damon begrudgingly agrees to leave town too, but you know he won’t.

Elena and Jer commiserate about how much they hate the room they are painting.  They both almost died earlier that day, where do they get the energy to paint? Jer leaves the room and Elena picks up a paint brush but starts to feel pain in her neck and falls to the floor with blood coming out of her nose. Fade out.

Predictions: Elena will make her choice in the Season Finale because if she doesn’t fans will go nuts. Besides love triangles get boring after three seasons and the writer’s know that.  I can even see her not picking either of them,  and moving on. Then the show can grow into more of an ensemble driven series. Either way, I can’t wait to find out.