Mystic Falls can add one more notch to its theoretical Vampire Population sign. Yep, Caroline's a vampire (game changer, indeed, Kevin!). Wow! When she awakes in the hospital after her Katherine attack she's feeling rather…hungry, and starts lusting after another patient's blood drip. Initially thwarted by a nurse, she finally secures a bag of the red stuff to quench her thirst.
Meanwhile, since Mystic Falls is always busy with cliché small town events, Elena is running a carnival. Bonnie questions her about Katherine (who was a complete no-show this episode), but Elena doesn't have answers and changes the subject. "I'm human, and I have to do human stuff,' Elena says. 'Otherwise I'll go crazy!'
Stefan and Elena promise to try to have a normal evening with "no 'D' word." Since cute Stelena moments are rare in drama-stricken Mystic Falls these days, it's pretty adorable to see them share a sweet moment.
Now that the mayor is gone and she's running the town, Carol Lockwood invites Damon over to the manor to ask him to spearhead the council. Uncle Mason and Tyler come bounding in just then all sweaty and shirtless from a run. Yum! Using his vamp-hearing, Damon overhears Tyler discussing his rage-induced blackouts with Mason. "I lose myself," Tyler admits. "I become something else and I hate it." Damon is intrigued.
Back at the hospital, Caroline's vampire symptoms worsen. Her skin burns when exposed to sunlight. Her eyes get that crazy, veiny thing going on, and then, pop! Her fangs extend! When the nurse comes to check on her, she just can't hold back any longer, sinking her fangs deep into the nurse's neck. Using her new-found mind controlling abilities, Caroline tells the nurse to forget what happened and discharge her.
At the carnival, Bonnie gives a great "Twilight" shout-out when she informs Elena that the ring toss is all out of Team Jacob T-shirts. Our favorite witch then meets a major cutie, and they walk away flirting.
The Lockwood boys rule the arm wrestling booth at the carnival, which prompts Damon to make Stefan challenge Mason, and when Mason wins, the Salvatore brothers are convinced that the Lockwood boys aren't quite human. To find out more, Damon compels Bonnie's cutie crush to pick a fight with Tyler.
In a darkened school hallway, where these things usually take place, Damon runs into Caroline, who informs him that she's a vampire and has a message from Katherine: "Game on." Damon sets off to find Elena, while Matt confides in Bonnie that he's worried about Caroline.
When Bonnie's cutie inevitably picks a fight with Tyler, the soon-to-be-werewolf tries to stay calm, but his anger gets the better of him, and he almost snaps when Mason jumps in. With yellow eyes and super-human jumping abilities, Mason shows Cutie who's boss before grabbing Tyler and fleeing. Later on, when Tyler questions his uncle about what happened, Mason is completely defensive and denies anything strange. Super suspicious.
Elena, Damon and Stefan rendezvous to discuss the Caroline situation. Damon wants to kill her—using the Vicki fiasco to illustrate his point—but Stefan and Elena refuse. Damon may have a point, though. Caroline happens upon Cutie, bleeding and alone in the dark. She apologizes, then feeds on him until he dies. Damon finds her, tells her he can help her, and is a split second from staking her, when Stefan comes to the rescue. (That's totally like his favorite hobby!)
Stefan takes Caroline into the bathroom to clean her up and starts teaching her how to control herself. Bonnie tries to set Damon on fire using her witch powers, but Elena snaps her out of it.
Matt climbs into Caroline's bedroom window and confesses that he's in love with her. They kiss, and when her eyes start to transform, she takes a few deep breaths, calms down and smiles. Caroline can definitely learn to handle being a vampire. Phew!
Since apparently the only way to enter a girl’s bedroom is through the window, Stefan creeps in and wakes up Elena. All she wanted was a "normal day," so he compels the carnival guard into taking a break (totally normal), flies Elena to the top of the Ferris wheel (completely normal), and they share a passionate kiss. "It's not going to get any easier, is it?" Elena asks. With a sigh, Stefan responds, "No, it's not."
Why does Mason want the moonstone? Will Matt and Caroline stay together? Do you wish Katherine had made an appearance in Episode 2? Did you know Stefan could fly?!?
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