Last night's "The Vampire Diaries" marked the return of something we haven't seen since the very first episodes of the show. No, not the graveyard fog machine from the pilot (thank goodness) — Elena's titular diary. Luckily, it wasn't because they've decided to go back to that "let's have a voiceover while Elena scribbles in a notebook" storytelling device — it was for something much more interesting.
Alaric decided to get all nosy and show Elena the paper Jeremy wrote about vampires in Mystic Falls. Elena casually asked her bro about it, but she couldn't get a read on what he actually believed. And later on, at the Lockwoods', Jer raised a very logical question about Vicki's death that the sheriff and Elena tried to ignore: If it was an overdose, why did someone bury her body? Elena did her best to dodge the conversation, but did a terrible job and Jeremy knew something was up.
When he got home (before Elena), he decided to snoop through her room for clues as to what she was hiding from him. And there it was, lodged behind the picture above her bed — a diary. And not just any diary — her VAMPIRE diary. Jeremy now knows that Elena knows.
As Ian Somerhalder's sexy voice alluded to in the voicemail at that number we called a few weeks ago, Stefan had a rough time suppressing his dark side last night. He could barely keep it together after ingesting Elena's blood, and human blood is a tough habit to kick — Stefan was on edge and headachey, and his unpredictable nature was scaring him. Elena was totally fine with it all because she was confident he wouldn't hurt her, but he wasn't so sure. Guess what remedy he chose to escape human blood withdrawal? Scotch.
Drunk Stefan didn't do so well. He got irrationally angry at people, compelled dudes for no reason, and his lack of inhibition caused him to taste human blood again instead of continuing in his detox. (Warning: I'm going to use the T-word. Avert your eyes if you're tired of the comparison.) The whole thing was very "Twilight"-y, to be honest. Stefan didn't trust himself to get intimate with Elena, his behavior was aggressive and uncontrollable, and his skin started to sparkle in the sunlight. OK, kidding about the last one, but you see what I mean, right?
Elsewhere at the Lockwoods' party:
Mrs. Donovan got her coug on a little too hard by making out with Tyler. Matt didn't take too kindly to his mom kissing his best friend (who proceeded to fight Matt in a — dare we say it — werewolf like way?), and kicked her out of their house. Sadly, this was Melinda Clarke's last episode (for the time being). We miss her bitchery already. But don't worry, another super-awesome guest star swooped into Mystic Falls last night to stir things up.
David Anders, a.k.a. Sark from "Alias," popped up as Uncle John Gilbert, ex-boyfriend of Aunt Jenna and brother of Jeremy and Elena's dad. Get this: not only did he know the tomb was opened, he knew Damon did it, and he DIDN'T DIE when Damon snapped his neck after confronting the vampire about what he knew. He has one of those handy rings that Alaric wears. Scandalous!
And, finally, a note to the writers: I am going to put Kat Graham's face on the back of a milk carton if we have one more Bonnie-less episode. Where is that girl? Bring back Bonnie, or else. (Or else...I will continue to be bummed and not actually do anything besides whine in my weekly "VD" recaps about how I miss her. But still.)
What did you think of last night's episode? How much crazier are things going to get now that Uncle John's in town? Will Jeremy and Elena finally talk about vampires together? Finally, what was up with the cold air Tyler was breathing out post-Matt fight?
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