Good thing everyone in Mystic Falls is deaf, blind, and stupid; otherwise, someone would have noticed the fantastic success rate Dr. Meredith Fell has had with near-death cases. Or the insane number of animal attacks that suddenly started three years ago. Alas, just when it seemed that Caroline’s father was going to recover from Tyler’s werewolf tantrum, he gets stabbed in the gut in the supply room of the hospital. And the fun doesn’t stop there. The mysterious killer then goes after Alaric, who survives just long enough for Elena the Doppleganger to bestow him with a supernatural death by enormous kitchen knife, allowing him to be revived by his trusty anti-supernatural ring. Poor Matt had play shoulder-to-cry-on for both Elena and Caroline, even though we know all they’re really into is vampires and hybrids.
Meanwhile, Elijah and Damon made a pact, Klaus invited Damon and Stefan over for dinner, and Klaus’s brothers and sister awoke from a fairly long nap. There was some fairly boring talk of a truce, which no one was buying into, but did allow Klaus a chance to reminisce about the original Petrova doppleganger, Tatya. Apparently before there was Katherine and Elena, there was another “exquisite beauty” who pinned brothers against one another. Hers was the blood that Klaus’s mother served to her freshly made vampire spawn after their transformation. Odd, how such a well-adjusted individual, could have come from such a messed-up family.
While Damon and Stefan were busy entertaining Klaus, Bonnie and her mom finally managed to pry open the fourth coffin. Good timing considering Klaus was just getting ready to toss Stefan into the fire unless Damon handed over what was his. But wait! Elijah isn’t with Klaus. He’s with Damon. So the two co-conspirators de-speared the other Original siblings, who released the Salvatore brothers, pledging to handle their power-mad hybrid brother on their own. But that’s not all, because it turns out that the secret weapon hidden in the last coffin was none other than Mommy Dearest, the creator of the vampire line.
Although all the vampire action was the main source of tension for the episode, it was the quiet scene between Stefan and Damon in the woods that really resonated with me. Now that Stefan has regained his freedom and seemingly his sanity and Damon has turned into such a valiant hero, it’s not clear who Elena will choose. And it’s only season three! Maybe she’ll go the Sookie route (Ah, I miss you, True Blood!) and decide she just needs to be alone right now.