Elena has been sitting in the basement of Vamp Villa all night, waiting for Elijah to revive now that he no longer has a dagger in his chest. When he finally does, he thinks Elena is Katherine.
1492: Elijah is in England for someone’s birthday. Trevor is also there, and he’s brought Katherine along as a birthday present. Elijah meets her for the first time.
Present: Elijah goes back and forth between memory and reality as Elena tries to keep him quiet so Stefan and Damon won’t find out she revived him.
1492: He stares at Katherine, then apologizes, explaining that she reminds him of someone. He’s smitten.
Present: Elijah briefly passes out, then starts writhing around. He tells Elena he can’t breathe. Something seems to pull him toward the door, and he says he can’t be in the house. Elena realizes that since she signed the deed to Vamp Villa, Elijah is no longer invited in and is being expelled from the house. He zooms out and she meets up with him on the porch. She tells him she’ll explain everything, but not there, where the Salvatores could overhear. She asks if she can trust him, and he repeats the question back to her. To prove he can, she gives him the dagger.
Upstairs, Stefan wakes up and goes looking for Elena. He finds Andie instead, and she and Damon tell him that they haven’t seen Elena. Damon asks if he can drink from Andie before she leaves, but she’s late for work and tells him to drink from a blood bag instead. Stefan leaves Elena a message and tries not to throw up as Damon and Andie kiss. He notices that the basement door is open, and he and Damon run down to discover that Elijah is gone.
At Alaric’s, Klaus sends Maddox to get his real body so he can ditch his disguise and its bad hair. The full moon is approaching, Klaus thinks he’s gotten rid of Bonnie, he has the moonstone, and Elena is standing by to play her part. Everything’s coming up Klaus!
Katherine wonders why he would do the sacrifice ritual in Mystic Falls, with so many people around who want to stop him. Klaus explains that it has to be done there because it’s Elena’s birthplace. He reminds Katherine that he found her birthplace once, and killed her family, so they’re basically even. He hopes Elena isn’t as dumb as Katherine was. She tells him Elena won’t run – she’ll die before she lets any of her loved ones get hurt. Klaus is counting on that. He compels Katherine to stay in the apartment until he tells her she can leave.
Elena drives Elijah to a neighborhood where they’ll have privacy. He’s curious about how she got her hands on the dagger. She promises to tell him everything, but first she wants his word that they’ll work together. Elijah notes that she’s not in much of a place to make demands. Elena says she’s offering her help, and she hopes for his in return. She knows he needs her to kill Klaus, and she needs Elijah for something, too.
Stefan calls and Elena tells him that she and Elijah are going to have a chat alone for a while. Stefan warns that Elijah will use her to get to Klaus. Elena says Elijah is noble and has a code of honor. She can trust him. She proved that he can trust her by removing his dagger, and she would be an idiot to betray him again. Stefan doesn’t want Elena to do this alone, but she says this is her decision and he needs to respect it. P.S. Stefan needs to babysit Damon so he doesn’t do anything stupid. Elena says she’ll be in touch, then hangs up. Elijah gets her to hand over her phone.
Damon tells Stefan that Elena’s lost it. Stefan isn’t sure, since Elena has a good shot at convincing Elijah to help them kill Klaus. Damon still thinks Bonnie is the best way to do that. Elena’s idea is going to get her killed, so they need to find her and stop her. Stefan tells him to back off. He doesn’t like Elena going off and doing this herself, but they need to trust her. Damon says that can be his plan, but he’ll come up with his own. Stefan stops him from leaving, telling him more sternly to back off.
Elena informs Elijah that Klaus is in Mystic Falls and is posing as Alaric. Elijah isn’t surprised; body-swapping is one of Klaus’ favorite tricks. She asks about his other tricks, since Elijah’s the only one who knows them.
1492: The birthday boy finally arrives at the party, and we get our first look at the real Klaus.
Present: Elena and Elijah go to Lockwood Landing, where his first order of business is getting a change of clothes. He compels Carol to get him one of Richard’s old suits, then tells Elena he got her off vervain a while ago.
Jenna calls Stefan for an update on her niece and nephew’s whereabouts. The only contact she’s had with them is messages from Elena telling her to stay away from “Alaric.” Stefan tells her she should stay away a little longer, but Jenna’s already home, and she has lunch plans with Alaric. Stefan repeats Elena’s order to stay away from him and says he’ll meet her there. Damon opts to sit this one out, since they wouldn’t want him to do anything stupid. After Stefan leaves, Damon takes Andie off somewhere telling her they’re going rogue.
Back at Lockwood Landing, Elena gives Elijah more updates: Luka and Jonas are both dead, and Katherine is out of the tomb. The gang thinks Klaus killed her, but Elijah doesn’t agree. Death would be too easy after her betrayal. Elena’s confused – Elijah says he wants Klaus dead, but he also punished Katherine for betraying him. Elijah explains that he has his own reasons for wanting revenge on her. Once upon a time, he would have done anything for Klaus.
1492: Klaus learns that Katherine is from Bulgaria and says, “Zdravei, Katerina,” the same way he greeted her when he saw her in Alaric’s apartment. He asks Elijah for a moment alone with her. Elijah approves, then says, “Happy birthday, brother.”
Present: Elena tries to process the fact that Klaus and Elijah are brothers. “I’m a little behind on the times, but I believe the term you’re searching for is OMG,” Elijah says.
At Alaric’s, Katherine is super-bored. At least she doesn’t have to stab herself in the leg anymore. Just as her day is looking up thanks to some bourbon she’s found, she hears Damon and Andie in the hallway. Katherine tries to open the door, but her compulsion prevents her from even touching it. Andie lets herself in, but Damon can’t enter since he hasn’t been invited.
Stefan makes it to Gilbert Gables, but he’s not the only guest there – Klaus has already arrived.
Elijah tells Elena that there’s a whole family of Originals. His father was a rich landowner in Eastern Europe. (This is a lie.) Elijah is one of seven children. (This is true.) The family was human, but they’re now the oldest vampires in the world. That means all vampires come from their bloodlines. Elena wants to go back to the part where Klaus is Elijah’s brother, and Elijah wants him dead. He suggests a walk so he can get some fresh air.
Andie tells Katherine that she and Damon are there to rescue her. Damon corrects that they’re there to see if she deserves to be rescued. He’d already guessed that she was still alive, since someone had to have helped Klaus get into character as Alaric. He’s brought her a vial of vervain, though Katherine notes that it won’t help her now. Damon says there’s always a loophole. Someone’s been watching Legacies!
He asks if Klaus said she had to stay put until he said she could leave. Katherine finds that she can’t answer, thanks to more compulsion. Damon notes that Klaus didn’t say she has to do everything he says until the end of time, so eventually she’ll get a chance to escape. With vervain, Klaus won’t be able to compel her again. Before Damon hands it over, though, he wants to know why Katherine double-crossed the gang with Isobel. Katherine replies that she didn’t think they could defeat Klaus. She was looking out for herself. “And where did that get ya?” Damon taunts. Katherine drinks the vervain, and he tells her she owes him.
Klaus chops some vegetables at Gilbert Gables, as if he, Jenna, and Stefan are just going to have a friendly lunch. He invites Stefan to answer any questions Jenna has. Then he asks her if she believes in vampires. Jenna’s very confused. Klaus says that they have a place in history, and as a history teacher, he’s interested in them. In fact, he’s obsessed with them.
He asks if Stefan’s a fan of vampires, too. Stefan says he likes reading about them. Klaus says they’re the oldest creatures of the night, except for werewolves. Jenna thinks this is all a big joke. Klaus brings up the sun/moon curse, and how some creatures are so intent on breaking it that they don’t care who dies in the process. Jenna starts getting worried.
On their walk on the grounds of Lockwood Landing, Elijah tells Elena that nothing will kill an Original except the wood from a white oak tree his family burned long ago. In order to maintain balance in nature, witches ensure that every supernatural creature has a weakness. Elena wonders why Klaus wants to break the sun/moon curse if the sun won’t kill him. Elijah smirks at her.
1492: Elijah shows Klaus a scroll he etched some time ago while drunk. Klaus is proud of his Aztec drawings, while Elijah admires how he included something about a shaman.
Present: Elijah explains that he and Klaus made up everything on the scroll. Their whole intention was to get every supernatural creature affected by the curse to look for the moonstone, which would in turn lead Klaus and Elijah to a Petrova doppelganger. The sun/moon curse doesn’t exist.
Klaus tries to continue his conversation with Jenna and Stefan, but she’s tired of hearing him talk about stuff that she doesn’t believe exists. She tell him to get out. Stefan backs her up, but Klaus won’t leave, so Jenna says she’ll go instead. Klaus picks up a knife and tells her to stay put. Stefan grabs the knife and throws Klaus against a wall, telling Jenna to leave.
Klaus reminds Stefan that he can’t kill him, and even if Stefan kills Alaric’s body, Klaus will just jump into someone else, maybe Jenna. Stefan again orders Jenna to go, and when she protests, he vamps out and yells at her to leave. This time, she does. Klaus tells Stefan that if Elena tries to stop him from breaking the curse, it won’t take much for him to get revenge. Stefan beats him up a little, then leaves.
Elijah tells Elena that, though the sun/moon curse is fake, there’s a real, much worse curse that only affects Klaus. Her phone starts buzzing in his pocket as he says Klaus has been trying to break the curse for 1,000 years, and Elena’s his only hope in succeeding. He lets her answer her call, which is from Stefan, telling her that Klaus has gone after Jenna. Elijah doesn’t want to let Elena go to her, since they’re not done with their business, but Elena promises that she’ll come back after she’s checked on her aunt. He replies that her word doesn’t mean anything until she’s shown she’s trustworthy.
1492: Katherine goofs around with Elijah, much like she’ll goof around with Stefan and Damon in 1864. She was supposed to spend the day with Klaus, but he was out all night. Elijah says he only lives by his own rules. Katherine thinks he’s charming and women must have a hard time resisting him. She’s not sure why he wants to court her, since he doesn’t actually seem interested in her. She wants a relationship with love.
Elijah asks if Katherine has that with Trevor. Katherine thinks Trevor believes he loves her, but since she doesn’t return his affections, it’s not true love. Elijah admits that he doesn’t believe in love. Katherine thinks that’s sad. Life is already hard enough – if you don’t believe in love, why would you want to live? Klaus joins them, his clothes covered in blood from what he says was a bar fight. He takes Katherine off somewhere, and she and Elijah are both clearly disappointed to be separated.
Present: Elena finds Jenna at Vamp Villa and apologizes for getting her in the middle of everything. Jenna says that when she was a kid, Miranda told her bedtime stories about vampires, but Jenna never really believed them. Elena regrets not telling her sooner. She thought Jenna would be safer in the dark. But everything she did to keep Jenna out of it all just blew up in Elena’s face.
Jenna asks who else knows. Uh, everyone. You’re literally the last person to find out. She’s upset that Elena and Jeremy kept her out of it to try to protect her, when she’s the one who’s supposed to protect them. Elena says there’s nothing she could have done. Jenna’s overwhelmed, and she admits that she’s scared. Elena comforts her, apologizing again. Stefan eavesdrops from outside the room, sad that Jenna now has to accept some hard realities.
Later, Elena tells Stefan that she tried to fill Jenna in on supernatural stuff, but it’s going to take a while to cover it all. Now she has to go meet Elijah again. Stefan’s not happy about that, but he knows that Elena has to keep her promise. As she’s leaving, Damon stops her. Stefan and Andie both tell him to let her go, and Stefan steps up, ready to fight if necessary. Damon notes that this is the second time today Stefan’s tried to stand in his way. He shouldn’t try again.
Katherine is having her own personal dance party at Alaric’s, blasting music and helping herself to his bourbon. Her vamp hearing gives her plenty of notice that Klaus is returning, so she’s pouting on the couch when he comes in. He tells her he’s done with Alaric’s body, so he’s grumpy. She offers him a drink, but he just wants her to sit down and shut up. (And that’s the last time anyone using Alaric’s body will turn down bourbon.) She obeys so he’ll think she’s still compellable.
Maddox arrives, accompanied by some minions bringing all of Klaus’ luggage. One of them is Greta, Jonas’ daughter/Luka’s sister. She calls Klaus “love,” and even though this started with her as a hostage, she’s certainly not being treated like one.
Elena goes back to Lockwood Landing for the rest of her conversation with Elijah. He tells her that though his family was close, Klaus and their father didn’t get along. Eventually the truth came out that Klaus was actually the product of an affair their mother had. Their father killed Klaus’ biological father and his whole family, sparking a war between species. Klaus’ father was a werewolf, making Klaus a vampire/werewolf hybrid.
That hybrid is more deadly than just a vampire or werewolf, and nature would never allow one person to have that much power. Witches cursed Klaus to never be able to bring forth his werewolf side. Klaus wants to break the curse so he can sire his own bloodline and create his own race, which would endanger all supernatural creatures. Originally, Elijah wanted to help him out of love, but now he needs to stop his brother.
Elena says that since they have the dagger, they can take Klaus down. But Elijah reminds her that silver won’t harm a werewolf, and Originals can only be killed by white oak ash on a silver dagger, so the dagger won’t work on him. Only a witch can kill Klaus now, but Elena knows that’s only possible if the witch channels an amount of power that would kill them, too. Elijah continues that Klaus can only break the curse during a full moon, when he’s in transition. A witch with enough power could kill him then. Elena hesitantly tells Elijah that she knows a witch with that much power. Elijah replies that there’s something else she should know.
1492: Klaus is ready to break his curse during the full moon the next night. Elijah tells him he’s talked to some witches who think they can pull it off without Katherine having to die. Klaus doesn’t care about her; she’s just a means to an end. Elijah begs him to consider letting her live. Klaus realizes that Elijah’s in love with Katherine. He’s disappointed – love is a weakness, and they’re not weak. They don’t feel or care. Elijah reminds him that they did once. Klaus says that was too long ago for it to matter. He’ll do the sacrifice ritual the way he’s been planning to.
Present: Elijah confirms that there’s a way to do the ritual without Elena having to die. Maybe if Katherine had known about it, she wouldn’t have turned herself into a vampire. Elena thinks Elijah really did care about her. Elijah says he won’t make that mistake again.
Andie tries to sympathize with Damon over his fight with Stefan; they’re just worried about Elena. Damon’s done with her for now and sends her away. Stefan taunts that he’s tired of his toy already. Hey, why don’t you give her vervain so Damon can’t mess with her? Damon says Andie’s just a distraction. Stefan tells him to stop victimizing her, since she’s a person. Damon replies that he should be glad Damon has Andie around; she’s keeping him from going after what he really wants.
Stefan is almost relieved to hear Damon admit that he wants to be with Elena. He sarcastically thanks Damon for being in love with his girlfriend. He’s fine with it as long as it means Damon will protect her. But Stefan has what Damon never will: Elena’s respect. Damon punches his brother into a bookcase, and the two are trying to choke each other when Elena arrives with Elijah. The sight of two brothers fighting makes Elijah have a flashback about two other brothers fighting.
1492: Klaus has discovered that Katherine’s missing, and he thinks she ran away because Elijah told her about the sacrifice. Elijah says he didn’t and offers to find her. Klaus tells him that if he doesn’t, he’ll kill Elijah.
Present: Elena announces that she and Elijah have renewed their deal. He’ll leave the Salvatores alone as long as they apologize. Stefan guesses that he wants them to say they’re sorry for daggering him. He says he regrets his part in that, but he was just protecting Elena, something he’ll always do. Damon sneers and won’t say anything. Elena tells him she found a way to take down Klaus without anyone having to die. Damon doesn’t think she should trust that Elijah will help her carry out her new plan. He tells everyone to go to Hell. Stefan tries to get out ahead of anything Elijah might do to Damon by saying he’s angry with Stefan right now but will come around. Elijah isn’t so sure.
Damon goes to his room, where Andie has decided to stick around to show him support. She didn’t leave when he told her to since he didn’t compel her. He grabs her by the throat and tells her that he’s upset, and she knows what he does when he’s upset, so she needs to leave. Andie refuses – he needs to know that someone cares about him. Damon bites her neck and tosses her aside. Then he compels her to leave before he kills her.
At Alaric’s, Maddox and Greta are doing a spell. They take Klaus out of Alaric’s body and restore Alaric’s consciousness. He mistakes Katherine for Elena before passing out. Klaus emerges from the box his body was being kept in, happy to be back to himself.
Keep in mind: Klaus and Elijah are brothers (and they have more siblings).
The sun/moon curse is fake.
Klaus is a werewolf/vampire hybrid, but his werewolf side is dormant. The sacrifice ritual will allow him to bring out that side, become super-powerful, and sire more hybrids.
Etc.: Everything on this show has to be about brothers, doesn’t it?
Damon’s relationship, or whatever, with Andie is obviously super-gross, but at least he’s learning how to respect women a little. I mean, he asks before he bites her! He takes no for an answer! He understands boundaries now! If only he did that all the time.
In addition to my desired spin-offs about Katherine from 1864 through 2009 and Pearl in the 21st century, I want one about Elijah from the ’60s through right before he came to Mystic Falls. Like, what did he do in the ’80s? How did he dress? Did he like the Beatles as much as Klaus did? What does he think of the Internet?
It seems fitting that even though Damon and Alaric are friends now, Alaric has never had Damon over to his place. He knows better than to trust a vampire too much.
An Eternity of Misery 