The romance, the magic, the lies, the costumes! This week's episode of The Vampire Diaries manages to pack in a whole bunch of new surprises, while also tying up a few of those pesky cliffhangers, while also having everyone dress in fabulous costumes. Also, literally every woman character was given a reason to become majorly pissed off, which made for quite a dramatic episode. Hey, there's no fury quite like a woman scorned. Here's a few of the most surprising and entertaining moments from last night's Halloween themed episode, "Monster's Ball."
Couples Quarrel
Remember just two episodes back when Caroline was very into Jesse, and Tyler was not exactly the first thing on her mind? Well, now, Tyler is back, and having lots of make-up sex with Caroline, while her not-so-long-ago crush Jesse is starving/becoming a vampire in the dank and creepy office of Dr. Maxfield (Why has no one figured out that this poor guy is missing yet?). While Caroline is pillow talking with Tyler, she explains that he has to attend the Whitmore Historical Ball with her to make up for his MIA boyfriend ways. Oh, and it's a costume party, so they're going as Bonnie and Clyde (she already bought the costumes!).
Hello Aaron
While Caroline and Tyler are wrapped up in their lovey-dovey bliss, Elena sitting in the courtyard writing in her diary – basically being whiny and dramatic. Thankfully this ends soon when she looks over to Megan's (the dead roommate) makeshift memorial and sees a boy leaning down next to it. She approaches him, and though he won't directly answer her questions, he does seem to know that Megan did not commit suicide. When Elena asks him his name, he won't tell her (spoiler: it's Aaron). Soon, Damon shows up and the couple also decides to attend the Whitmore Ball.
Mystical Anchor
While the others are planning costume ideas, Nadia is still holding Katherine captive when she gets a phone call from Silas during which she informs him that she is not giving up Katherine quite yet. Nadia also explains to Katherine that Silas needs all her blood for the cure, and not just a drop as Katherine had originally believed. Meanwhile, Damon tells Jeremy that he wants to work with Silas to get Bonnie back. (Um, Damon, have you learned nothing, Silas is bad news). Anyway, Silas tells Damon that, when he takes the cure and becomes a witch on the other side, (wait, what?) he would swap his life for Bonnie's (natures balance and all that). The catch? The 'mystical anchor.' Although an angry Bonnie is very against working with Silas, she told Jeremy that Qetsiyah/Tessa most likely tied her spell (that Silas wants to break) to the other side with a 'mystical anchor' – something long-lasting and endurable – like the moon, a doppelgänger, or a stone. While this is confusing, it pretty much means that Silas wants to destroy whatever this anchor is so that he can destroy the other side (Bonnie's belief) and Tessa needs to find it and protect it. Also, Silas needs Damon to kill Stefan so he can have his mind powers back... after all a little neck snapping in Mystic Falls is really no big deal.
Breakfast Bombshell
When Nadia finally decides the feel the hungary and human Katherine, she also decides to tell her why she is holding her hostage. Nadia explains that in 1645 Paris, Katherine was seeking sanctuary from Klaus when a sympathetic woman let Katherine stay with her. When Klaus eventually caught up with Katherine, he killed the woman... Nadia's mother. Nadia then explains that she became a vampire in order to hunt down Katherine. At this point, Katherine knows that Nadia isn't letting her go anytime soon, so she grabs a wooden cane, and in the middle of the bustling diner, she stabs Nadia, narrowly missing her heart.
Kings and Criminals
At the Ball, Damon (dressed as Henry VIII) asks Elena (Anne Boleyn) to dance. Elena, however, has other plans. She explains that she felt guilt over not realizing Bonnie was dead, and that it is her responsibility to find out what happened to Megan. So, the noble Elena approaches Aaron and compels him to answer some questions. Did he kill Megan? No. Why is he avoiding her? Because it seems that everyone around him dies, sort of like a curse. He then digs in saying he is just trying to survive, and if she had any idea how that felt she would leave him alone. A guilty Elena compels him to forget about her questions and Aaron (who finally reveals his name- not under compulsion!) walks away. Meanwhile, Stefan (James Dean) approaches Tessa (Cleopatra) and she realizes he has no memory of her, so she explains who she is (which Stefan already knew) and jokes that she would like to buy him an "I'm sorry" drink. Damon then lures Stefan away, snaps his neck, and Silas steals his leather jacket and approaches Tessa back at the Ball. Jumping to Tyler and Caroline (Bonnie and Clyde), we get a small reprieve from all the mystical and have some no nonsense relationship drama. Tyler tells Caroline he's not staying at school (well, duh) and he is instead going to hunt down Klaus. Switching back to Silas (impersonating Stefan) and Tessa dancing, Silas uses his revived mind-control to get Tessa to explain where she hid the anchor. She says that the Travelers hid it after killing her, and they move it around constantly. As a result, Tessa is at the Ball to look for an old necklace of hers that will increase her power in order to do a locator spell and find the anchor. Silas then compels her to forget the conversation.
The Mama Drama
Flashing to an alley, we see Nadia crumpled on the ground with the stake in her chest. Katherine appears and says she is calling B.S. on her story about Klaus killing her mother. Nadia confirms that particular story was bogus, but Katherine did in fact kill her mother. Not in Paris in 1645, but rather in England in 1492. She explains that Katherine hung a noose around her mother's neck and pushed her off a chair…."My name is Nadia Petrova, and you are my mother." Um, shocker! Well, sort of. We knew that Katherine had killed herself and turned into a vampire, we just never knew she had a daughter.
Dancing Doctors
Back at the ball, Elena asked Dr. Maxfield (Dr. Hyde) to dance. While, yes Elena, it is inappropriate, Maxfield says she will never be one of his students so a dance is OK. Maxfield then gets right down to business and tells Elena his theory of how a vampire killed Megan and how he lied on her death certificate (which Elena already knew). Elena, who is confused by his openness about vampires, asks why he is telling her all this. Maxfield explains that he will never see her again, and advises her to pack her bags and go back to Mystic Falls. He then says that people around the school are watching Elena and her friends, and soon they will be asking her questions she won't be prepared to answer. (Wait, is the evil Doc. now helping Elena?)
Break-ups and Make-ups
When Tessa finds the necklace, she starts to do a spell to extract it's power (I'm assuming) but is interrupted by Stefan (Silas). When she realizes that she hadn't been talking to Stefan but rather Silas all night, Tessa becomes enraged and explains that he broke her heart, and now she's going to break his. Tessa reaches into Silas's chest and stops his heart from beating, making him go gray and hard as stone (though not killing him per se). Jumping back to Maxfield, we get another weird twist- he is Aaron's legal guardian. Though we don't get the full story, it is obvious that Aaron hates Maxfield. Then, in a hotel with reunited mother and daughter, Nadia wakes up without the stake in her chest. Then, in a moment of genuine emotion, Katherine asks Nadia where she was when Katherine went back to Bulgaria in search of her daughter. A tearful Nadia says she doesn't remember, as she was only eight at the time Katherine came back. Then, a choked-up Katherine reaches out her hand to her daughter and says, "It's nice to meet you." (Yes, there were tears in my eyes, don't lie, you cried too). The crying continued as Caroline and Tyler return to the dorms. There, Caroline begs Tyler to love her more than he hates Klaus. Unfortunately, Tyler clearly can't do that, so he walks out the door, effectively ending their relationship for good.
Cliffhanger
At the Salvatore house, Damon and Elena are recapping their nights to each other while a gray Silas lies 'dead' on the couch. Suddenly there's a knock at the door, and Katherine enters and sees Silas. Excited, she believes she has alluded death and will not have to die for the cure. Unfortunately for her, Damon still needs Silas to get Bonnie back, and he bites Katherine's neck as she begs him to stop. Damon then holds her down as Silas drinks her dry. Then, just as we think Katherine has died, her pulse beats, her breathe hitches and her eyes open, revealing that she has lived through the depletion of all her blood.
As usual, I have about a million questions. How did Katherine survive? Did someone do a spell, is the cure some sort of potion that can keep Katherine both human and immortal? Will Tyler go to New Orleans and find Klaus (TVD/The Originals crossover!)? What's the deal with Maxfield, Aaron, and the death of Megan? Will Silas actually get Bonnie back? And finally, where the hell is Matt? That boy should be included in every episode, please don't leave him out again TVD!
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