One year ago, in Emerald Coast, Florida, Mason is leaving a bar. A friend of his named Jimmy follows him out and accuses Mason of hooking up with his girlfriend. Mason handles the confrontation calmly at first, thinking Jimmy’s just drunk, but when Jimmy gets more aggressive, Mason fights back. Jimmy hits and punches Mason a few times until Mason picks him up and slams him into the ground. Jimmy remains unresponsive even when Mason shakes him.
In the present, Mason is sharing this story with Tyler to explain how he triggered his werewolf curse. Mason got in one fight and killed one person in self-defense, and now he becomes an animal during every full moon. Without sedation, he’ll kill anyone he encounters. He impresses on Tyler how important it is to be careful, because one accidental death will change his life forever.
Since Mason answered Tyler’s questions, he wants Tyler to fulfill his end of the deal and give him the moonstone. Tyler pretends he’s not sure where it is, then checks Richard’s safe. Of course, it’s not there, since Tyler already took it. He asks again why it’s so important to Mason. Mason sticks to his story that it just has sentimental value. Tyler lies that he doesn’t know where it is.
Over at Gilbert Gables, Elena has filled Jeremy in on the Lockwood family’s werewolf curse. They know Mason is a werewolf but aren’t sure about Tyler. Elena doesn’t want Jeremy involved, though he thinks that being a Gilbert automatically makes him involved.
Stefan surprises Elena in her room, wanting a few minutes alone before they have to pretend they’ve broken up. Elena’s not looking forward to fake fighting with Stefan all day for Caroline’s benefit. Stefan thinks this is the best way to keep Katherine from hurting anyone. Elena asks him to promise that Katherine won’t actually tear them apart. They need to remember that this is all fake. Stefan says that when he tells her he can’t do this anymore, he’ll really means he loves her. Elena will mean the same when she says, “Fine, Stefan. Whatever.” CHEESY.
Liz surprises Caroline by announcing that she’s going to spend the day with her at the historical society’s volunteer picnic. Caroline isn’t thrilled. Liz asks why Elena stopped by so late the night before. Caroline starts to say that she wasn’t there, since her real visitor was Katherine, but she catches herself and says Elena needed to talk about relationship stuff. Liz comments that Caroline has seemed different lately. Caroline insists she’s fine, and besides, Liz has never been much of a mother to her, so she’s not going to open up now.
The volunteer picnic is part of a town-wide effort to clean up and open a new park. There’s a huge turnout, including Mason. He meets Stefan, who tries to apologize on Damon’s behalf. He doesn’t want anyone to get hurt because Damon and Mason can’t get along. Stefan suggests a truce and an end to “the whole alpha male fighting thing.”
Mason says he tried to accomplish that with Damon, who stabbed him, which doesn’t exactly say, “Yes, I would love to make peace.” Now Mason isn’t interested in getting along. He tells Stefan to warn Damon to watch his back. Stefan points out that Mason must only be super-strong during a full moon. If not, he would have killed Damon already. There are two Salvatores and one Mason, so who really needs to watch their back? Mason starts to say that if Damon comes after him, he’ll fight back. Stefan promises Damon will leave him alone. The two shake on it.
Damon sneaks up on Stefan after Mason walks away. Stefan says he negotiated peace, which makes Damon whine that he didn’t want peace. Stefan can’t really think that this will be the end of their problems with Mason. Stefan doesn’t – he’s pretty sure Mason will kill both of them the first chance he gets, since Damon made the first move. That’s just piling onto the problems the Salvatores already have.
Tyler and Jeremy are both at the Grill, but not sitting together. Aimee’s also there, playing pool with a girl named Sarah. Sarah comments that Jeremy’s gotten cute, but Aimee warns her to keep her distance, since he’s “damaged goods.” Stuff it, Aimee. Jeremy approaches Tyler and tries to be friendly, and though Tyler’s rude to him at first, he remembers how nice Jeremy was at Richard’s wake and apologizes. Sarah and Aimee join the guys, and Tyler invites them and Jeremy to hang out at Lockwood Landing.
At the picnic, Mason tells Liz that he knows about the Founder’s Council. She pretends that it doesn’t exist, but she also says she can’t talk to non-council members about it, which is just confirmation that it’s real. Mason says he only declined to join the council because he wanted a life outside of Mystic Falls, not because he’s not a believer. He knows for sure that vampires exist – and that there are two living in Mystic Falls, Stefan and Damon.
Liz won’t believe the accusation, since she’s close to Damon and has seen him kill vampires. Mason points out that Mystic Falls didn’t have vampire problems until the Salvatores showed up. Yes, they can go out in the sun, but they must have evolved somehow. Liz continues to deny the possibility, saying Damon’s her friend. Mason tells her he can prove it.
Elena and Caroline paint something together while Caroline complains about Liz, then admits she wasn’t nice to her mother this morning. She asks about Elena and Stefan, and Elena says he’s been pushing her away so Katherine won’t get jealous and hurt her. Caroline thinks that’s smart, if Katherine’s as dangerous as Stefan thinks. Elena says she feels like they’re giving up. She thought they were strong enough to fight something like this.
Damon chats with Liz, noting that she was talking to Mason earlier. She’s a little off her game talking to Damon now that there’s a possibility he’s a vampire, but she covers by saying she’s still thinking about her clash with Caroline that morning. Damon is suspicious anyway.
Stefan and Elena exchange a look, and she decides to stage a fight that Caroline and Damon will overhear. Damon tells Caroline to be nicer to her mother, like, what are you, her dad? They both eavesdrop as Stefan and Elena “fight,” even though Stefan says he knows they’re listening. Elena asks how Stefan can love her but hate Katherine, who looks exactly like her. He says she’s reaching, and she has him confused with Damon. They use their stupid code to look like they’re arguing when they’re really saying they love each other.
Tyler, Jeremy, Aimee, and Sarah listen to music and drink at Lockwood Landing. Aimee apologizes for making a move on Tyler at the swimming hole, since she isn’t usually that forward. He assures her that they’re still friends. Sarah wants to look through Jeremy’s sketchpad, which is full of drawings of monsters, including a werewolf. He and Tyler exchange a glance, and Tyler invites Jeremy to look at his drawings in Richard’s office. In truth, he wants to confront Jeremy about his sketches. He does this with a hand around Jeremy’s throat, like, if you could ruin your life by accidentally killing someone, maybe don’t put your hands on people’s throats. Jeremy admits that he knows what Tyler is.
Mason and Damon make fake friendly talk, pretending everything’s fine between them. Damon asks Stefan what’s going on with Elena, since he knows they don’t normally fight, especially not about Damon. He gets some lemonade but immediately spits it out, whispering to Stefan that it has vervain in it. Liz watches from nearby as he chokes.
Caroline finds Elena moping by the falls and tries to comfort her over the apparent end of her relationship. She seems ready to admit that she’s been trying to drive a wedge between Elena and Stefan, but she gets distracted when she sees Liz leaving the park. Liz is summoning some deputies, so Caroline thinks she’s choosing work over the bonding experience they’re supposed to be having (for the record, they haven’t spoken once since arriving at the park). She tells Elena that something’s up.
After recovering from his unexpected vervain ingestion, Damon tells Stefan that he’s going to kill Mason. Stefan calms him down, then surprises him by agreeing that they need to get rid of Mason, since he could expose them. They spot Mason heading into the woods to pick up trash. Meanwhile, Caroline uses her vamp hearing to try to figure out what’s going on that has Liz so anxious.
Stefan and Damon ambush Mason and offer him a chance to run before they chase him down and kill him. Turns out he won’t need it – Liz’s deputies have arrived, and their wooden bullets will keep the Salvatores from running anywhere. Caroline hears the shots from elsewhere in the woods and tells Elena what’s going on as Liz injects the Salvatores with vervain.
Back at Lockwood Landing, Jeremy tells Tyler that he read about the Lockwoods’ werewolf curse in one of Johnathan Gilbert’s journals. He put it together himself that Mason was the one who attacked Matt. Tyler confirms that Mason’s a werewolf but says he’s not one yet. The thought that he could become a werewolf is crazy to him, but not Jeremy, who’s always had an open mind about supernatural stuff. Tyler tells him the curse is triggered when you kill someone. Mason only told him because Tyler made him. Tyler shows Jeremy the moonstone and says Mason came back to Mystic Falls to get it.
Mason, Liz, and the deputies take Damon and Stefan to the cellar of the old Lockwood estate. Liz tells Mason to leave so he’s not part of what comes next – the Salvatores’ deaths. Above ground, Caroline smells blood and determines that she and Elena are in a spot the group passed through.
Mason finds them, and Elena asks if he’s seen Stefan. He tells her he saw both brothers, and if she wants to find them, she should just ask Caroline to follow her nose. He asks Caroline if Liz knows what she is. He’d be happy to break the news to her. Caroline starts to rush Mason, but he grabs Elena and threatens to break her neck if Caroline attacks him. Caroline’s sure she can take him, though, and she’s right. She beats on him and tosses him around, then heads off with Elena to find the guys.
Damon’s coming around from the vervain, so Liz shoots him again, threatening to fire more bullets into him if he doesn’t answer her questions. She wants to know how many more vampires are in town. Damon begs her to stop, but she shoots him again. She asks how the Salvatores fooled everyone, and how they can walk in the sun. Damon doesn’t answer, so this time Liz shoots Stefan. “But you’re my friend,” Damon says. She tells him that friendship was a lie. If he answers her questions, she’ll kill him quickly and put him out of his misery.
The girls reach the steps to the cellar, and Caroline hears Liz telling a deputy to kill both Salvatores. Elena wants to go down and stop her, but Caroline’s worried that Liz will find out she’s a vampire, too. Elena ignores her and goes down into the cellar. She’s followed by Caroline, who zooms around for a little bit, then bites a deputy. She uses him as a human shield as the other deputy shoots him. Then she walks out of the shadows, bloody and vamped out, to show her mother what she is.
The Salvatores recover from the vervain and bullets, Damon with a little help from a deputy’s blood. He urges Stefan to drink, too, but Stefan declines. Damon turns his attention to Liz, whom he doesn’t think can be trusted to keep Caroline and the Salvatores’ secret, even though it would mean putting her daughter in danger. Liz doesn’t reveal whether or not she’ll keep quiet.
Caroline tells Liz that if she doesn’t promise to keep the secret, Damon will kill her. Liz would rather have that happen than live with the knowledge that her daughter is a vampire. Damon says he’d love the opportunity to give Liz a slow, painful death like she was going to give him. The others freak out, but he’s just joking. He still considers Liz a friend, so he won’t kill her. They just have to find a different way to clean up this mess.
Jeremy studies the moonstone, which Tyler only knows has something to do with a supernatural legend. He hasn’t given it to Mason because he doesn’t trust his uncle. Sarah and Aimee find the guys, and Aimee grabs the moonstone so Tyler will chase her. Sarah gets it from her and runs through the house, wanting Jeremy to play around with her.
She’s on the stairs when Tyler tries to take the moonstone back from her. As she dodges out of his reach, she slips and falls down the steps. Tyler says that she fell, probably trying to convince himself that it was an accident and doesn’t count as an incident that would trigger his curse. Sarah’s not moving, so Tyler and Jeremy both quietly freak out. But she’s just messing around, and everything’s fine.
The Salvatores and Elena take Liz to Vamp Villa to keep her locked up in the basement until the vervain is out of her system and they can compel her to forget about the vampires right under her nose. Caroline brings over some of her things, and Liz calls in sick so she can disappear for a few days. Caroline overhears Liz asking Damon to keep Caroline away from her. She no longer considers Caroline her daughter – her daughter’s gone. Damon tells her she’s wrong.
Stefan contemplates the blood bags in Damon’s stash and comes up with an idea. He reminds Elena that Katherine built up a tolerance to vervain by taking a little every day. Maybe he can do the same with human blood, and learn to control himself. Elena says he doesn’t have to. Stefan knows he would have been stronger today if he drank human blood, and with his diet the way it is currently, he’ll never be strong enough to protect Elena from Katherine.
Elena wants to have this conversation later, and Stefan guesses that’s because Damon is nearby and can hear them. Stefan says that he can hear them wherever they are because human blood makes his vamp hearing sharper. Stefan is convinced that human blood is the only thing that will help him. Elena isn’t sure if he’s being serious or faking another fight. He tells her this is real. Elena isn’t ready to face that side of him again, so she leaves.
She meets up with Caroline, who admits that she’s scared to go home because Katherine will be there. She’s been spying on Elena for Katherine. Elena says she knows, and she was mad at Caroline, but then she realized that Katherine must have threatened someone to make Caroline do her bidding. Caroline confirms that she threatened Matt. Elena tells her she’s right to be scared of Katherine – they all should be, especially since they still don’t know what she wants.
Mason leaves a message for Liz, hoping for confirmation that Stefan and Damon have been killed. Tyler tells him that he almost killed someone today. It was an accident, and Sarah’s okay, but for a moment, Tyler actually hoped she wasn’t (I guess so he wouldn’t have the curse hanging over him anymore). He doesn’t want any part of the curse, and he doesn’t want to feel that way again. He gives Mason the moonstone.
As Elena’s leaving Vamp Villa after Caroline falls asleep on a couch, she tells Damon she’s pleased that he’s going to compel away Liz’s memories instead of killing her – that’s the Damon who used to be her friend. He assures her that Stefan didn’t drink any human blood. However, he needs to, and Damon knows Elena agrees.
Instead of going home, she goes back to Stefan and asks if he really thinks he can control himself while drinking human blood. He’s not sure, but he thinks he needs to try. He’ll just drink a few drops every day. Elena agrees that it’s a good idea, but she wants to help him through it. She cuts her hand and offers it to him, saying, “It’s you and me, Stefan. Always.” He drinks, vamping out, but he’s able to keep himself from drinking too much. She kisses him and his face returns to normal.
Mason heads back into the woods, where someone’s waiting for him. It’s Katherine. The flashback from the beginning of the episode continues with Katherine finding Mason after he killed Jimmy. The two of them already know each other. Judging from the look on Katherine’s face, she arranged the fight so Mason would kill Jimmy and trigger his curse.
In the present, Katherine asked Mason why he did what he did to Stefan and Damon. She told him to stay away from them. Mason asks why she cares. Katherine says she doesn’t want him to get distracted from finding the moonstone. He tells her he already got it, and they make out. So…I guess not all vampires and werewolves are enemies.
Significant item update: Mason has the moonstone.
Etc.: Sing it with me, Oklahoma! fans: Oh, the werewolf and the vampire should be friends…oh, the werewolf and the vampire should be friends…
A round of applause to Jeremy for pretending he learned about the Lockwoods’ curse from Johnathan’s journal instead of one of his sister’s vampire friends.
I could buy Mason as a harmless minion who gets caught up in a feud he shouldn’t really be part of, and who just wants to get rid of the Salvatores because they could expose his secret, but when he threatens to kill Elena, he becomes something else. Before that, he was like Stefan. After that, he’s more like Damon.
If only Caroline knew that Katherine totally has a crush on Matt and would never hurt him.
An Eternity of Misery 