This episode begins with Elena writing an email to Bonnie saying that she doesn't know how she is supposed to do the college thing without her. It's okay if you laughed. We all know damn well that Elena only went to school to attend a dance and not a class. While she is writing, we learn that Matt and Rebecca have been sending post cards but what we see is Rebecca kissing another woman. I do believe that this is the first same sex kiss on The Vampire Diaries. Caroline is busy packing for college and Tyler is helping a wolf pack in Tennessee. Bonnie is visiting with Jeremy.
Damon and Elena are in the tub and he is encouraging her to skip college and she asks him to be supportive while she seeks a normal college experience. We also learn that Stefan has been missing all summer.
Elena and Jeremy have a discussion about his cover story and Jeremy is apparently being left in Damon's care. Elena promises that she is only a few hours away. Elena asks Damon how their long distance relationship is going to work before kissing him and saying that she loves him. Elena and Caroline are walking on campus and Elena begins to wonder about Stefan again. Caroline informs Elena that she is experiencing guilt. Of course, Caroline believes that Elena made a horrible but fixable mistake. They both pause to express disbelief and excitement that they have made it to college. Yeah, I'm shocked that they had a GPA high enough to get in, given all of the distractions. What neither of them realize is that Bonnie is walking beside them. When they reach the supposed dorm room and I say supposed because dorm rooms don't look like that, they are surprised with the arrival of Megan, their new roommate.
Jeremy is in class and he reads Elena's email to Bonnie. Jeremy feels that she is just postponing the inevitable, when Bonnie asks him to tell Elena that she is at the Grand Canyon. He then asks about her father but Bonnie points out that she has sent him postcards and emails but her father has not deigned to call her. Jeremy asks about Elena and Bonnie says that she just saw Elena, who is genuinely happy and so she has decided not to take that away from her. Yes, Elena must come first, how could Bonnie be selfish and make herself a priority. Bonnie points out that they are lucky because she is dead and is still able to talk to her best friends. Jeremy asks how many best friends can't feel each other. The school bell goes off and Jeremy heads to class.
Elena calls Damon to talk about their new roommate and of course he suggests that Elena just compel Megan to leave. Elena says that there is no point in going to college if they are only going to recreate what happened in Mystic Falls. Elena says that them being apart could actually work, as Katherine appears in Damon's house. Damon quickly says that he has to go.
Matt and Rebecca are back and he points out that she was leaving town. Rebecca says that she was giving him one last chance to leave with her. Matt points out that now that he is in the real world again, he has to work. Notice how Matt is the only one who even pretends that little things like money matter. Apparently, the woman that they had a threesome with stole Jeremy's Gilbert ring. Rebecca tells Matt not to call, or write, and not to miss her and then kisses him passionately.
Lizz is having a meal when she is joined by Silas. Silas grabs her hand and cuts open, while Liz asks what's happening. Silas says that he is outing himself as not Stefan and reveals that they have met before, as he tips Liz's hand over a cup to gather the blood. Liz realises that she is talking to Silas and asks if he is appearing to her as Stefan. Silas says that this is true form and that Stefan is his doppelganger. Liz asks what's with the knife and points out that most vampires go straight for the neck. Silas reminds Liz that he came first and that vampires are nothing more than a perversion of him. Silas says that to function, he needs human blood and suggests that she never again call him a vampire. Silas takes a swig of the blood and tells Liz that all she needs to remember is that Stefan stopped by to say hello.
Megan, Elena and Caroline are walking and of course Elena wants relationship advice. Caroline sets down the ground rules for rooming with them and makes it clear she wants privacy and that Megan is not to go looking for her if she disappears for awhile.
Jeremy is getting the bully treatment at school. He doesn't take it lying down and beats up his bullies as a crowd watches in shock.
Katherine is drinking Damon's booze and he points out that she is unhappy because her hair is a mess and her nails are all chipped. He slashes his hand and offers her his blood, promising to kill her so that she can become a vampire again. Katherine refuses, saying that no one has ever taken the cure before and that if she dies, she might not wake up again. Katherine tells Damon that deep down there is a part of him that doesn't want her to die. The phone rings and Katherine pretends to be Elena. The call is from the principal to let Elena know that Jeremy has been expelled. Damon tells Katherine that when he gets back that he wants her gone. Katherine says that she is being followed and has enemies everywhere. Damon is not sympathetic and suggests that Katherine run. Katherine asks what happens when word gets out that she is a human and cannot protect herself. Katherine starts to beg for help.
The real Stefan is still under water and he continues to bang against the coffin. He has a dream about Damon. Damon suggest he turns off the humanity switch. Stefan asks what the point is if he gets out and is a monster again. The point is that bad Stefan is far more interesting.
Back in the dorm room, Caroline is complaining about Megan and she wants to know how Elena is okay with a third roommate. Elena points out that they are trying to be functional. Katherine points out the practicalities and asks what happens if they get hungry, or their blood bags go bad because they cannot store them in the fridge. When Caroline attempts to drink a bottle of Megan's protein water, she realises that it is laced with vervain. Megan comes rushing in to check on the noise and acts very innocent. When Megan leaves, Caroline says that Megan knows who they are because she drinks vervain water. Elena says that this doesn't mean that Megan knows who they are. Caroline asks what happens if Megan is a hunter, or if she steals their daylight rings while they asleep and they burst into flames in the morning. Elena suggests that if Megan were a hunter they would be dead by now. Caroline is not appeased and suggests that they lock Megan up until the Vervain is out of her system and then compel her to forget about them. Elena says that they are not kidnapping her and that the best way to convince Megan that they are normal, is to do normal human freshman stuff. Of course you know that does not mean going to class.
Caroline and Elena head to a frat party where they meet up with Jesse. Okay, how long before Caroline eats this guy? Caroline walks off and Elena asks her to be nice to Jesse. Caroline points out that she is with Tyler and Elena says that she shouldn't get her hopes up about Tyler joining them. In full snark mode, Caroline asks Elena if she told Damon that she was having dreams about Stefan. They try to enter the frat house and find out that they cannot. Megan asks why they are just standing there and Caroline and Elena pretend to be waiting for someone. Caroline then tells Elena that Megan knows.
Damon meets up with Jeremy and points out that he went all hunter in the middle of the hallway. Jeremy asks if this means he doesn't have to go back to school and Damon says that he compelled the principal into a three day suspension instead. Damon tells Jeremy that Elena does not need to know about this. Silas walks in and pretends to be Stefan. The two hug and Damon welcomes him home.
At the party, Elena calls Megan to say that she and Caroline are going home. Caroline feel that this settles the matter because Megan saw them stuck at the threshold, which is the equivalent of flashing her their fangs. Elena says that there is no way out and that it's odd that of the thousands of freshmen, they were randomly paired with someone who knows about vampires. Caroline suggests that this wasn't random. Megan then calls Elena begging for help, cause calling 911 is just too sensible. Elena says that they cannot get inside because the line is too long. Megan is then thrown at their feet with blood on her neck. Elena surmises that this was done by a vampire.Wow, isn't she just brilliant?
Silas and Damon are having a drink and Silas says that Katherine has moved in. Damon asks how he knows this. Silas jokes about reading Damon's mind and then says that Katherine called him first and that it has always been him first. Jeremy joins them and Silas taps him on the shoulder. When Silas walks away, Jeremy says that something is wrong and that when Silas touched him, he felt a chill where his tattoo was. Damon asks what he is talking about. Jeremy says that right before Silas died, he touched him and he felt the same thing. Damon replies that Silas is gone and that Bonnie turned him into a rock. Bonnie appears and tells Jeremy that she died and that when she died, the spell must have broken. Jeremy says that they weren't talking to Stefan but Silas. Damon says that it's impossible. Jeremy reminds Damon that he is a hunter and that his whole reason for existing is to Silas. Damon points out that Silas just walked through a crowd of people and suggests that Silas couldn't fool that many people at once.
Katherine is in the tub and she is joined by Silas, who says that human looks good on her. Silas then grabs Katherine and starts to choke her. Katherine grabs the razor she was using to shave her legs and slices Silas. She gets out of the tub and runs into Damon, who quickly hands her off to Jeremy. Damon confronts him and tells Silas to drop the Stefan look.
Caroline and Elena are talking, as the police clear up Megan's body. Caroline believes that they should get out of there because they don't know what Megan knew or who she told. Elena points out that she left a message on Megan's voice mail but there's nothing to worry about because Caroline stole Megan's phone. They are approached by Diane, head of campus security, who tells them that they found a note from Megan and have ruled what happened a suicide. Wow don't the police work fast and it's interesting that they told Megan's roommate before bothering with a little thing like notifying her family. Elena turns to Caroline and asks what is going on.
Silas and Damon are chatting and Damon tells Silas to say out of his head and that he would know if his little brother had an evil twin. Silas says that when he became immortal, nature created a version of him that was kill able and that it's called a shadow self. Is this show ever going to get tired of doppelganger drama? Damon asks what Silas wants with Katherine, to which Silas says that it would be more fun if it were a surprise. Damon says that he is not getting Katherine. Silas asks how well Damon knows Stefan and if he deluded himself into believing that Stefan just left town without a phone call. Damon finally asks where Stefan is and learns that Stefan is suffering like Silas suffered. Silas instructs Damon to call Jeremy and have him bring Katherine, promising to then reveal where Stefan is.
Jeremy and Katherine are driving and she asks where they are going. Jeremy gets a phone call from Damon, who tells him to turn around and bring her back. Jeremy turns the car around, as Katherine begs him to stop. Katherine says that Silas must have gotten into Damon's head. In desperation, Katherine grabs for the wheel and the car crashes.
Matt is still working the beer tent when he sees the woman who stole the daylight ring. Matt approaches Nadia and asks who she knew how to find them. Nadia holds out the daylight ring and then places it on Matt's hand saying it looks better on him. Matt is grabbed from behind by a man, who says a spell, causing him to fall to the ground.
When Caroline and Elena get back to their dorm, they find the door open. Genius that Elena is, she realises that someone has been in the room. Caroline notices that Megan's tablet is missing and says that none of this makes any sense and wants to know who Megan was. Elena looks at Megan's phone and finds a picture of Megan with her father.
Jeremy is very injured from the crash and Katherine limps away into the night. Bonnie appears and tells Jeremy to hold on. Damon rushes over and force feeds Jeremy some of his blood. Jeremy tells Damon that Katherine is gone. It's okay because Damon doesn't care because he is just so happy to have saved Jeremy. Does anyone remember when Damon snapped Jeremy's neck in a fit of rage? Yeah best buddies until the end.
Caroline gets a message from Tyler, who says that he is deferring school for awhile because the werewolf pack that he is working with really needs him. Tyler adds that he did it over the phone, so she wouldn't kill him. Caroline tells Elena what happened and adds that she is really glad that Elena is there.Yes, Elena actually spent a few moment focusing on someone other than herself.
Stefan is still struggling under water and has yet another dream of talking to Damon, where they talk about flipping the switch. Stefan points out that he lost too much last time. Damon again suggests that Stefan should turn off the switch. Elena appears and asks Stefan to stay with her because his humanity is the one thing that makes him who he is. There we go angst....I was wondering how much longer we would have to wait.
In the real world, Damon calls Elena and says that he had car trouble and wonders if Elena wants to come home. Elena says that she cannot come home, especially if her dad is connected to this somehow. They get off the phone and Jeremy point out that Damon didn't tell Elena that Stefan is missing. Umm shouldn't she already know that given that Stefan has been missing all summer? Damon adds that he didn't mention Katherine, Silas or that Jeremy had been expelled. Jeremy points out that he lied and Damon says that he withheld the truth, so that Elena wouldn't come rushing home.
The mayor is giving a speech at the block party and says that Bonnie is off traveling the world. Silas steps up and asks to say a few words. Silas pushes the mayor out of the way and says that he used mind control to get the mayor out of the way. Silas says that he has started to wonder about the limits of his powers and so orders to the town square to stop talking. Bonnie looks on as Silas slits her father's throat. Bonnie rushes over to her father, who has dropped dead. Silas then tells the people that he needs to find a girl who looks exactly like Elena Gilbert.
Well that was the season opener of The Vampire Diaries. It wouldn't be the TVD if we didn't have at least one Black person die and I guess that is why Bonnie's dad had to be sacrificed. To be honest, I thought it was going to be Jesse. I am irritated that Bonnie spends the majority of this episode worried about Elena's fee fees; she is the one who is dead. When are they ever going to get around to having Bonnie give a shit about herself and the mess that she is in? Nope, oooh poor, poor Elena might be unhappy.
I think that they are going to try to make Damon and Jeremy into Damon and Alaric 2.0. I'm not buying the friendly relationship in the least. All they really have in common is Elena and let's not forget that Jeremy is just 17 years old. There's age differences and then there's ridiculous. There's also the little matter of Damon trying to kill Jeremy but hey, water under the bridge.
So, once again, all is not right in Mystic Falls. Clearly there is another force at work. I am curious about what this all has to do with Matt, a character who should long ago have been written out of the show. We will see if they can somehow make him relevant again.
This season opened with the first same sex kiss on the show. Of course it had to be part of a threesome. Nope, couldn't have a meaningful relationship between people of the same sex. I suppose it's a step forward from Caroline's born this way comments. It is also worth pointing out that it took five years for this to happen.
