Elena and Stefan are so glued to each other they can’t tear themselves apart from one another, even with the threat of Katherine murdering anyone and everyone that Elena cares about. They decide being secretive and sneaky is the way to go. The only problem is they aren’t all that great at this. Katherine is extremely close to getting exactly what she wants. As Stefan suspected her being back in Mystic Falls doesn’t just have to do with her undying love for him, as always she has ulterior motives. She’s been toying with Mason and has actually gotten him to believe that she’s in love with him.
Of course, this couldn’t be farther from the truth. She was just manipulating him for her personal benefit. Mason believes she’ll release the Lockwood curse from him forever, enabling him to be in full form any night rather than just under a full moon. This would be a clear danger to all vampires, but especially the Salvatore brothers considering Mason is out for their death. Him having his powers every night rather than being restricted to one would drastically heighten his chances of succeeding in killing them.
The Salvatores and friends are catching on to Katherine’s plans at last and know the moonstone is the key thanks to Jeremy. Jeremy shows some definite guts in this episode and stands up for himself rather than letting Elena tell him how to live his life. They have a bit more trouble than anticipated since Tyler was the key to getting it and he now wants nothing to do with the moon stone or the Lockwood curse it brings. There are other ways as they learn through Bonnie who very reluctantly helps them. Her opposition to vampires has only grown, even towards Caroline.
Caroline’s mom warms up a little to her daughter being a vampire, trying to wrap her mind around the impossible. She knows vampires are very real, but loving what she always thought was nothing but pure monster is really the trick. There are some great moments between the two. Caroline’s character in particular really shines as she shows her many sides and just how much she has grown this season already. Ultimately, no matter how much she yearns for her mother’s love and acceptance she can’t deny what she is. She needs blood and she still desires it from live humans. Caroline knows keeping her mother in the dark from her world is really the best way to protect her.
This is where we really get the showdown between werewolf and vampire. Mason is not so smooth and Katherine is not the one in charge of things for once. This whole season Katherine has been there, taunting them. In this week’s episode the Salvatores actually go on the offensive rather than just reacting to whatever is being thrown at them. They become the tormentors for once to stop things from escalating. Damon has extra incentive to hurt Mason since he keeps healing, just giving him more of an excuse to really go crazy and brutally attack him. In the end he knows Mason is just another one of Katherine’s victims as he tells him, “Katherine will only rip your heart out. Let me do it for her”.
Of course, there is a bit of a twist at the end of the episode, targeting both Stefan and Elena in different but equally painful ways. Katherine shows she is a lot more than her daunting threats; she’s an instinctual beast who lives off of the pain and suffering of others. Giving her excuse to act on this is really just asking for trouble. Ask and you shall receive.
