The Return: Of Katherine, HBIC

Poor Uncle John.

Lying in a pool of his own blood; in the kitchen of the family who's not too fond of him. And, Katherine, leaving him to suffer and die after she slices his fingers off like The Mafia. Well, that's one way to send a message...

And for the next 40 min we'll stay glued to the TV aching to watch our oh-so-missed Thursday night thriller reveal every cliff hanger of the Season One finale, including the infamous Katherine Pierce's diabolical plan in The Return.

Enter Elena and the revelation that Jeremy is....(hold your breath) still human. Phew! If Anna's blood didn't save him from his brooding, miserable life, it definitely cured him of an overdose. Now, if he will only take Stefan's advice and snap out of it! I must say, I love this take charge Stefan.

One cliff hanger down, we move to the hospital where we find Matt crushed over the potential fact that someone else may be tragically torn from his life. Then, Bonnie arrives and realizes that her decision not to disable the spell over the Gilbert device could be the reason Caroline dies. With thoughts of another death due to vampires (RIP Grams!), she encourages Damon to heal Caroline so that her friend's death wouldn't be on her hands. It's definitely not so that a truce could be made between Bonnie and Damon, that's for sure...

"Do It. [No truce], but you'll do it anyway, for Elena."

This is our hint at how Damon's vulnerability will allow him to be influenced, as well as solidifying Bonnie's growth as both a powerful witch and woman.

The next few moments are grit-your-teeth-while-you-watch-Damon-walk-into-a-train-wreck type of moments. Buddy, you've been hoodwinked- again. Elena has zero idea of the story you are recollecting and that could only mean one thing. Katherine. I love Ian Somerhalder's delivery of Damon's realization that his reason for existence is back.

"At least I fooled one of you."

Now that Stefan is in the loop about Katherine's modern day Mystic Falls appearance, Damon has a lot of explaining to do. How is Damon ever going to explain this one? Thank goodness for the masterminds of Kevin Williamson and Julie Plec, there's only one way he could...with the best one-liners!: "To risk another frown line encroaching on a very crowded forehead...we kissed." And, my personal fave: "You know, when to lips pucker and they go (smooch)." Well, Damon. If you didn't cause your brother to be a jealous boyfriend before, he's definitely a crazy jealous boyfriend now!!

I love how the writers didn't have Damon hesitate. Once again it shows us his commitment to his vulnerability. Also, what I loved is the almost absent brood of Stefan! Now, I'm not sure how long it'll last, but for one episode I'll take it!

Should we be worried about Uncle John? I still don't trust this guy, but he may have answers about why Katherine's back. Unfortunately, due to his disappointment in his vampire-loving daughter, he's not talkin'. That and Stefan's bloody wrist is shoved in his mouth concealing any opportunity to further state his case. Did I mention I love this non-brooding, take charge Stefan?

"No good deed goes unpunished."

The interaction between Bonnie and Damon at the Lockwood mansion is great. Again, showing his vulnerability, and her owned strength. Bonnie just proved herself HWIC after putting Damon in check and giving herself an upper hand. He may genuinely want a truce, but she's not having it. She tries to get away from vampires, and inadvertently runs right into Katherine. Attempting to embrace who she thinks is her best friend, Elena, she realizes her mistake and coyly excuses herself only to be followed and harassed by Katherine. Just as Bonnie was gaining confidence in her powers against the vamps, Katherine gives her a brutal wake up call.

"No rules, Stefan. Don't you remember? No rules."

The former Mystic couple takes a stroll out to back yard to catch up on old times. Actually, not really. Stefan clearly has no interest in Katherine and wants her gone. Unfortunately, Katherine doesn't want to leave and expresses this by throwing a tantrum as well as a candle holder through Stefan's 8 abdominal muscles. Apparently his playing hard to get is an invitation to begin a love story...

Meanwhile on the Lockwood's porch, Damon confronts Elena about her reaction to the kiss, only to have his heart broken further by her response, "I'm surprised that you thought I'd kiss you back." Ouch! No wonder Damon remains a wounded soul. Throughout Season One and in this premiere, we always find Damon rolling through disappointment after disappointment. If he was trying to feel any sort of humanity, he better have some good news come his way quick or he's going to block out the pain the only way he knows how.

"Today's been a big day of sorries from people who really don't give a crap."

Finally, there's the resolution to Tyler's cliff hanger. Last we recall of him he was suffering from the Gilbert device with a migraine and running his car off the road. In addition, he learned of the loss of his not so pleasant father, Mayor Lockwood, and is currently dealing with it by nursing his wounds with a flask in the parlor. We haven't been introduced to a genuine role model in his life, but Uncle Good Looking..err Mason is obviously here for something. So far Uncle Mason hasn't shown any sadness over his older brother's death, until now, when he excuses Jeremy from the moment he and Tyler were having to join his nephew for a drink from his late brother's flask. Soon it will be revealed that the Lockwood's are under a curse that no anger management course can resolve. It's a battle that will unfold for Tyler in the weeks to come, and I'm more than excited to see Michael Trevino's acting chops bring this transition alive!

"Don't pout. It's not attractive on a woman your age."

This is when the downward spiral for Damon begins picking up momentum. In an attempt to say goodbye to Damon, Katherine visits the Broodinghouse after her stab and tantrum with Stefan. Trying to be clever about how she approaches Damon ("I'm better at the enigmatic one liners, Kathrine." Yes, Damon. The best are saved for you.), they end up in a hot and heavy tango-rendezvous. It's heartbreaking to see the hope in Damon's eyes as he's asking Katherine to confirm that his entire existence hasn't been a futile journey for the past 145 years. Only for him to hear:

"It was always Stefan."

And then hearts were breaking across the world as we watched Damon's heart and soul crack and crumble on our televisions. Every expression of every possible emotion was seen on Damon's face at that moment when Katherine spoke those words and walked out. Ian Somerhalder, you deserve an Emmy for your portrayal of Damon.

"You want to shut off the pain, it's the easiest thing in the world. The part of you that cares just goes away. All you have to do is flip the switch and snap!"

Just as we reach out to coddle Damon, Julie Plec and Kevin Williamson remind us what show we're watching. So, we're back on our toes as we witness a desperate and rejected Damon try to force Elena into showing more love for him. ("...that what we've been doing here, means something.") When she refuses and struggles against him, little brother Jeremy comes in to her aid. [Props to Nina Dobrev. Her portrayal of each character is more precise than just playing good girl, bad girl. She really developed Katherine well, and we see that now as the presence of the Elena we love is resurfacing- yah, Katherine kind of stole the show...]

We may have thought that Damon's apology to Jeremy about turning Vicki would have been a lesson to him as to what not to do to Elena's younger brother. But, hearing from Elena that she, too, only wants to be Stefan triggers him to find a way to stop the pain. And fast. I knew this was coming, just not by way of snapping Jeremy's neck! Uncalled for Damon. Your pain is so great that you want someone who's had a hand in causing that pain to suffer, too? No c'est bon!

"I.hate.him.Stefan."

I would feel the same way if my brother's neck was snapped right in front of me. Especially when I knew that the remnants of vampire blood were no longer present in his system. Thank goodness for that trusty ring Uncle John so preemptively gave to Jeremy, or Elena might take a stake to her Uncle/Dad's loathed rival after all.

"I was hoping you could give the Salvatore brothers a message for me: Game On."

Someone had to die this episode. Sorry Car, it had to be you! Katherine took advantage of Bonnie's shared knowledge that Damon's blood was in Caroline's system and smothered her to death. Oh dear, I hope she lasts longer than Vicky did, but how is this all going to play out? And poor Matt, with the loss of his sister and absent mom, he still can't catch a break!

Oh My Salvatore. God, I love this show!


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