All I can say after last night's episode is wow. Wow! Major game changers in Mystic Falls! Jenna is recovering, Katherine enlists the help of a witch friend named Lucy to help her get the moonstone at the Masquerade Ball, Damon/Stefan/Bonnie/Jeremy plan to kill Katherine instead of handing over the stone and a heartbroken Elena decides to stay home rather than face Stefan.
Masquerade time! This may be the first Mystic Falls event that I'd actually want to attend. Katherine and Lucy arrive together. Katherine may have straightened her hair like Elena's, but her posture and expressions give her away. She immediately finds Matt, who thinks she's Elena (you dated the girl for ages and you think that tramp is her?), and reminds him of his task: get Tyler drunk, start a fight and don't stop until you’re dead. He heads off to do shots with Tyler and their female entourage—Amy and Sarah—in Mr. Lockwood’s study.
Jeremy and Bonnie head upstairs with their bag of supplies: Bonnie's spell book and enough weapons to kill a tombful of vampires. Bonnie confides that she doesn't like the responsibility of being a witch. Once things are "set up," they go join the party. Bonnie gets a strange feeling and is inexplicably drawn to Lucy, who has a "weird vibe."
Back at the Gilbert’s, Elena is surprised to find out from Alaric that Jeremy and Stefan are both at the ball. Keen to investigate, she says that she’s going to bed and silently slips out the door. (How are people still falling for the ol' "going to bed" trick? Don't they watch sitcoms in Mystic Falls?)
Stefan offers to retrieve the moonstone with Katherine, but she wants him to fetch it for her. She doesn't trust him. Amy compliments "Elena" on her dress, and Katherine kills her on the spot! "The moonstone, Stefan," she says with a laugh. "Tick tock." Stefan is freaked out and asks Damon to call everything off, but his brother swiftly calms him down. Damon as the voice of reason...how novel.
Jeremy gives Katherine a message: Meet the Salvatores at the lake to get the moonstone. On his way out, someone grabs Jeremy and pulls him into the bushes: a very confused and pissed off Elena!
Katherine corners Caroline and demands to know Damon and Stefan's plan. Being Caroline, she gives up all the info—or so we think. She leads Katherine right into Bonnie's bewitched room. We didn't think Caroline had it in her! Damon shoots Kat in the back with a stake, but outside, Elena's back starts bleeding as well. Then, Stefan stabs Katherine’s shoulder, and Elena's shoulder bleeds, too. WTF?! Jeremy realizes what's happening and runs to stop them, while Bonnie tries to help Elena.
Katherine composes herself and fights back. I say this every week, but damn, she’s so badass! "Something tells me my witch is better than your witch," Katherine teases. She threatens to stab herself, thus killing Elena, unless they hand over the stone. Stefan starts putting the pieces together. Katherine gave George Lockwood the moonstone, and in exchange, he helped fake her death. Stefan guesses that she's running from someone, since perhaps the stone wasn't hers to begin with.
Vamp break! Let's talk about werewolves for a sec. We totally saw this coming, right? Matt provokes Tyler, slaps him and punches him until Tyler can't help but fight back. Caroline overhears the ruckus and arrives just in time to knock Matt out cold. Monotonously, Sarah says, "If Matt fails, I can't." She stabs Tyler with a knife, who instinctively throws her off. Unfortunately, when she hits the floor, she's dead. No faking this time. Instantly, Tyler convulses and his eyes turn black. The curse has been activated! Once he calms down, Caroline lets on that she knows what's happening to him.
Bonnie catches Lucy on her way out. They challenge each other, and Lucy reveals that she owes her life to Katherine. She knows that Bonnie has the moonstone and asks for it. The two grab arms, and through a witchy connection, Bonnie senses that she can trust Lucy and hands over the stone.
Lucy enters Katherine's holding room and tells Katherine that the room spell has been broken, and when the stone is handed over, her debt is over, too. Kat hastily agrees, and when Lucy gives her the moonstone, Katherine gasps and collapses! Fooled once again!
Lucy leaves, but on the way out, Bonnie stops her and begs for information. Lucy reveals that they’re distant cousins! She also dispenses wisdom to a conflicted Bonnie: Don't hide from the drama—stay involved and use your power for good. She promises to return one day, then leaves as Jeremy arrives. When she expresses surprise that Jeremy has his drivers license, he delivers probably one of his best lines ever: "I'm not a kid anymore, Bonnie." Ooooohhhhhh!
Stefan finds Elena and assures her that Katherine's gone. She tells him she can't be with him, though, until she knows her loved ones are safe. At these words, he's heartbroken all over again.
Katherine wakes up in the tomb, moonstone in hand. Thanks to Bonnie's spell, she can't leave, and as Damon threatens to kill her, she blurts out that Elena's in danger. "She's the doppelganger," Katherine pleads. "She needs to be protected." Damon’s reply? "I'll protect her while you rot in hell."
Just when you think the episode's over...it's not! After all, it wouldn't be "The Vampire Diaries" without a cliffhanger, right? A masked stranger sneaks up behind Elena, covers her mouth and drags her away.
To be continued…
Do you think Bonnie and Jeremy make a cute couple? What's the significance of being Katherine's doppelganger? Who kidnapped Elena?
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