THE VAMPIRE DIARIES: WELCOME TO PARADISE RECAP

Vamptastic Stefan is back and I love it! It looks like Bonnie and Damon might have some hope, things aren’t looking good for Enzo and there are Vampire Hunters among us. Let’s get to it!

We begin with Stefan going to his job to ask his not-so-nice boss for a few days off. When his boss refused, Stefan grabbed him by the throat and then compelled him to give him the days off. Then he showed him Ivy’s dead body in the trunk and told his boss to drive his car into the woods, and bury his dead girlfriend. He was going home to kill the person (Enzo) who killed her. And then he told his boss he was getting a raise when he came back. Confident Stefan is the best! That is how you get it done!

At Whitmore, Elena and Caroline were in the dorms and Elena was trying to get Caroline to go to a party that night. It took some convincing but she finally agreed before she was off to have breakfast with Enzo. The strangest part about their conversation was that Elena referred to Damon as a “homicidal maniac.” She’s definitely not in love with him anymore. This annoyed Caroline. She wasn’t feeling the mind-erased version of Elena.

Stefan showed up on Campus and saw Elena (who just finished inviting her friend Liam to the party because she wants to hook him up with Caroline). She was happy to see him. They sat in a classroom and caught up on her medical classes and Stefan’s new girlfriend (he didn’t tell Elena that she was dead). He noticed that she talked about mourning Bonnie but not Damon. He told her that he wanted to find Caroline and apologize for his behavior but she wasn’t returning his calls (Karma much?). Elena invited him to the party since she would be there (I mean she is really the party pusher in this episode). Stefan wasn’t interested until she said Enzo would be there. Just the person he was looking for.

Bonnie and Damon were grocery shopping (“The Sign” by Ace of Base was playing in the background. Seriously they need to sell a Bonnie and Damon soundtrack. I would buy it!). Damon has pretty much given up on Bonnie’s ability to do magic, but Bonnie wasn’t giving up. They walked past a shelf and Bonnie noticed that the bag of pork rinds that has been there every day was gone. They heard music and went outside and saw a merry-go-round spinning with nobody in sight. That was all Bonnie needed to stay hopeful. Damon wasn’t convinced. He thought there was a short in the wiring or something. Bonnie thinks that someone is there with them, which means that Grams put them there (and it isn’t Damon’s personal hell) and that there is a way out.  Damon started going on about how annoying Bonnie was, but then she saw his car. He got mildly excited and Bonnie said, “You still think I’m useless?” He admitted that she might have had something to do with it. He told her that when he saw Elena again he would tell her that he loved her and he was sorry that he killed Bonnie. Aw! Before things got sappy, Bonnie saw something go by and then Damon saw it and said, “Let’s go meet our little friend.”

It was party time at the swimming hole and the gang was all there; Tyler, Elena, Matt, Caroline, Jeremy and Liam (Elena’s new friend). Matt brought his friend Jay from the training group. Jay started off on the wrong foot with Tyler. Jay said he didn’t believe Sarah (Jeremy’s girl) was bitten by a dog. Tyler said if that ‘s what she said happened, then that’s what happened. Jay tried to get all macho with Tyler and pick a fight. Matt shut it down quickly and Jay left to get drinks. I can already tell Jay is going to be a problem.

Elena wanted the whole gang to hang out and have fun, but it wasn’t working. It was obvious everyone was drifting apart. She just wanted it to be like old times, but it wasn’t. Caroline did a jello shot with her and then left, still annoyed that Elena’s mind was erased.

Damon and Bonnie’s little friend turned out to be a tarp. Damon’s little piece of hope was gone and Bonnie got frustrated with him. She told him that hope was all she had and if he was done then he should just take off his ring and end it right there. Bonnie stormed off and Damon went in the grocery store to get some alcohol (“I Swear” by All 4 One was playing in the background, Awesome). He heard a noise and saw a man sitting in a lawn chair eating pork rinds who knew Damon. He then introduced himself as Kai.

At the party, Elena apologized to Liam for not getting to meet Caroline. He was actually glad he didn’t meet her because he was all about Elena anyway. He kissed her, which caught her off guard but she did not seem to mind. Hot!

Stefan found Enzo in the woods and they had a scuffle. Matt’s friend Jay was creeping up and threw a stake but Enzo turned it around on him. It turns out Jay was a vampire hunter (now a dead one).Now they had a problem. Stefan didn’t care. He was about to shoot Enzo (with Jay’s gun)when Caroline stepped in front of him. Simmer down Stefan!

Damon’s patience was running thin with Kai. He had been following Damon and Bonnie and found them quite entertaining. Damon threatened to rip his throat out if he didn’t tell him what was going on and how he fit in to the story. Kai told him to take a drink and relax. Damon took a drink and spit it out everywhere. Kai said he wanted to kill Damon and put a little vervain in his bourbon. He grabbed the wooden end of the patio umbrella and stabbed Damon in the hand. Then he knocked all the bottles of alcohol so Damon could be doused in more vervain. Kai raised the umbrella to stake Damon and Bonnie told him to stay away. Bonnie was right on time. Kai called her useless because she couldn’t do magic. Wrong Kai! She could and she lit fire all around his butt! Damon whacked him with an umbrella. Team work baby!

Caroline saw Stefan in the woods and apologized because she didn’t know Enzo killed Ivy. She told him that killing Enzo wouldn’t bring her back. He said it would stop Enzo from reminding him of Damon. He wanted to be able to start over. Caroline told him that she knew a part of him missed being there and seeing his friends. She told him she needed him and begged him to stay, but he just walked away. She broke out in tears. Elena saw the whole interaction and hugged Caroline.

At the party, the girl that Caroline compelled to get ice came back without ice. Jeremy thought it was weird and asked her about it. She said she was halfway to the store and came back once she realized how mean Caroline was too her. Jeremy figured out that if someone is compelled outside of Mystic Falls, once they cross the border into Mystic Falls their memories come back. Because compulsion is magic, it is null and void in Mystic Falls. That means Sarah, his lover, remembers that Elena attacked her and it wasn’t a dog bite.

Damon and Bonnie had Kai tied up so they could get answers. Kai said he did everything in the store to force Bonnie to get her magic back. He claims that he knew Bonnie would show up and he never was going to kill Damon. He just hoped Damon’s life would be enough motivation for her to get her magic back (I’m not sure where this is going but I don’t trust Kai) and it was. He said her magic was the key to getting them out of there.

Enzo walked over to Matt’s truck and drops Jay’s dead body on the back. Enzo filled Matt in that Jay was a vampire hunter. Matt was shocked. The whole time he thought he was training to help people of the town. He didn’t know what Tripp was up to, but he knows now.

Liv came to the party to pick up the kegs that she lent to Tyler. The sexual tension between those two was off the charts! She told him it would be easier for her if he was a prick, so she wouldn’t fall for him. It started to heat up and she left before they could kiss. They need to just go on and hookup and get it out of the way, because we all know it will happen.

Jeremy went to look for Sarah, but she was gone and she trashed the place. He told Elena so they could be on the lookout for her. Caroline decided that since there were vampire hunters on the loose it might be better for her to stay with Elena at Whitmore. They talked about how much they missed Bonnie. Elena asked her if she had feelings for Stefan and she admitted that she thought she did. Boom! There it is! Then Caroline brushed it off to find Sarah before she revealed them as the vamps they are.

Enzo went into a diner for some pie (code for a nibble of a waitress) and sat right next to Tripp Fell (that name still cracks me up). He stabbed Enzo in the neck with vervain. Enzo was strong. It didn’t affect him as quickly as most vampires. He grabbed Tripp by the neck and just as he was going to kill him he was shot in the chest twice from the back. It was Stefan with Jay’s gun. He told Tripp he was from a founding family as well. He told Tripp that he got the gun off of one his men that Enzo killed. He asked Tripp to make sure he died a painful death, and he walked out of the diner. Mission accomplished.

What did you think about this episode? Let me know your thoughts in the comment section below.

The Vampire Diaries airs Thursday nights at 8/7c on The CW.