Elaina wakes up in the hotel with Ben – who is sleeping with his fangs extended like some type of vampire morning wood—she tries to escape, but Anna comes home foiling the effort. Elaina is locked in the bathroom, where she finds Bonnie in the bathtub—and not in a good way. Later, Anna gives them the sob story about her mother being collateral damage in Katherine’s sexual deviance with the Salvatore brothers.
Anna leaves the blundering Ben alone with the girls again and in a keystone-cop like scene they try to set him on fire with a sip of water. Luckily Stefan has an IQ over 70 and saves the day by breaking down the door, whipping open the curtains and causing Ben to run for cover from the sun (something I’d been yelling for them to do the whole time). In his most menacing tone, Stefan threatens to kill Ben if he doesn’t leave town at sundown. Bonnie’s grandma agrees to open the tomb to free Katherine, if Stefan will kill the rest of the vampires.
In lesser plot lines, Caroline is whining as usual, but I wasn’t listening… something about a party. Then with the finesse of an 8th grader, she offers Matt an “escape clause” regarding their kiss; which he stupidly declines.
Jeremy catches up with Anna on her way to meet Damon. Now sniffing around her like a sick puppy, he asks her to the party – in the woods… by the old cemetery… of course. At their meeting, Anna threatens to kill Elaina if Damon doesn’t help her and he agrees to meet her after sundown. Looking for Bonnie, Damon goes to Grandma’s house. Grandma has no love for him and says so. Damon tries to get all macho and ends up with a witch migraine. Apparently, Grandma isn’t playing.
Elaina secretly goes to Damon to reason with him saying they have something between them—an understanding… If by “understanding” she means a secret desire for the D-man’s peenesé, then yes they do. Elaina says Bonnie will help him, taking off her vervain necklace to prove her truth. Damon gently puts it back on her, saying he trusts her and not to make him regret it. If by “trusts her” he means he wants to give Elaina his peenesé, than yes, he does.
Carowhine and Matt show up at the party, running into Elaina. Carowhine grabs Matt’s hand rendering her a level-five clinger in his eyes and causing him to rethink the whole escape clause offer. Anna finds Jeremy and they kiss; just before the mildly-retarded Ben knocks him out.
Meanwhile, back at the tomb, Bonnie and Grandma are doing something productive. The tomb opens and now Stefan decides to get a lamp; leaving Damon the chance to take Elaina with him for insurance. Back up top, Stefan sees Ben and Anna and has to choose to stop Anna or save Jeremy. In yet another bad decision, Ben attacks Stefan, who sets him on fire with a flame thrower.
Meanwhile, Damon totally ditches Elaina and like a schmuck she continues on instead of turning around. Stefan is pissed that she’s in there, but the seal will only let vampires in, not out. Anna finds Elaina and her mother; biting Elaina’s wrist to feed Mom. Elaina’s scream brings Stefan running into the tomb. Damon realizes that Katherine isn’t there and throws a unit of blood against the wall he‘d brought to feed her. Bonnie and Grandma are holding the spell to let them escape. Damon is distraught; Elaina gives him a hug as Stefan stands there with a “here we go again” look. Sadly, the spell took a lot out of Grandma and she dies later that night.
Damon is at the hotel waiting for Anna to find out about Katherine. Apparently, the night Katherine was taken, a fang-banging guard agreed to free her in exchange for being turned. Anna told Damon that she saw Katherine in Chicago in 1983 and Katherine knew where he was; she just didn’t care—devastating Damon even more.
Meanwhile, the blood pouch that Damon threw against the wall has awoken the prisoners and the tomb door is no longer sealed.
Next episode, March 25th.