If you haven’t watched “Oh Come All Ye Faithful” yet and don’t want know want happens, quick! Head back to our preview of tonight’s episode.
Wow – poor Tyler!
So the spoilers were true and Carol Lockwood, Tyler’s mom and the last family he has, met a brutal end.
Tonight’s episode opened not far from where we ended last time – Damon Salvatore and Elena Gilbert are still sired and the hybrids are ready to undertake their plan to finally be rid of Klaus. Tyler reveals to Carolone he plans to use himself to trap Klaus as Klaus tell to Stefan Salvatore that the Hunter’s sword is literally the key to finding the cure for vampirism. Later at the grill, Caroline continues to play a dangerous game by attempting to distract Klaus while Stefan tries to find the sword before the hybrids carry out their plan.
Meanwhile at the lakehouse, witch Bonnie Bennett and Professor Atticus Shane are working to stop Jeremy Gilbert from turning into a killing machine every time a vampire enters the room. Shane’s attempts to use Elena to break Jeremy’s hunting instinct fail. However, an intuitive Damon suggests using a non-vampire (and resident ex-girlfriend Bonnie) to help Jeremy refocus. Shane reveals to Damon and Elena that they don’t need Silas’ sword to find the cure and that it’s buried with Silas. Find Silas, find the cure to immortality. Shane promises to lead Damon and Elena to Silas’ body once Jeremy’s mark is complete. Damon’s idea works and Jeremy is able to be “normal” around his sister again. Damon, realizing he can’t keep betraying his obligation to Elena or his brother, releases Elena from the sire bond.
Back in town, Tyler challenges Stefan and Caroline’s plan to delay the attack on Klaus. Caroline regains Tyler’s trust when she suggests using Klaus’ sister Rebekah to trap his spirit. Hayley reveals her deeper plan with Shane after she attacks Caroline. Hayley then admits to Tyler that the witch was a lie and she was working with Klaus all along. “If you run now, you might be able to stay alive.” In the woods, we see what was meant by “mass casualties.” Klaus, using Silas’ sword, kills all the hybrids except Tyler. As Tyler walks through the remains of his friends, a bloodied Klaus finds a Carol Lockwood. Realizing the potential to hurt Tyler, Klaus drowns her in the town fountain.
Caroline and Stefan, oblivious of Klaus’ violence, begin to feel guilty for leading him to what they believed was a trap. Caroline also lets slip just “how together” Elena and Damon were. In a classically tragic TVD twist, Caroline manages to break Stefan’s heart just as Elena is no longer under the sire bond.
While there are still many questions, the most important one is: Would Elena cure herself of being a vampire? If she does, she returns to not only being vulnerable, but she would enable Klaus to create more hybrids. (And after tonight’s slaughter he seems to be in desperate needs of a few more friends.) What about those 12 souls? When Damon and Stefan returned to New Orleans, a witch revealed that his hunt to end the sire bond with 12 human sacrifices had nothing to do with breaking the connection but allowed the witch to access dark magic called “expression.” Hayley delivered 12 unsired hybrids to Klaus with the promise she would see her dead parents again and Shane is teaching Bonnie the same type of dark magic (unbeknownst to our favorite spellmaker). Is the cure really a cure? Or is this just another way to try and use our Mystic Falls gang for a more sinister plan (two words: moon stone)?
What did you think of tonight’s episode? Should Tyler’s mom have been killed? The Vampire Diaries returns to the CW on Thursday, Jan. 17.