What could be more exciting than the annual Founders Illuminations Ceremony? A lot of things, but you know it’s just another excuse for horror to be unleashed on the repeatedly victimized citizens of Mystic Falls, who never learn not to hold any public gatherings. Our main cast of attractive teens and their families may have found the best way to survive, having become witches, hybrids, werewolves and vampires over the course of the series.
Being a ghost is not exactly a way to survive, as ghosts are all about unfinished business, looking for closure even if they don’t know it. Thanks to previous mystical hijinks, a lot of ghosts are back all at once. Including some of the interred vamps from the 19th century, Damon-victim wolf-boy Mason Lockwood, and best of all, someone who knows just how to help Elena get rid of the Ripper in Stefan: the beloved but gone-to-soon Lexi!
It’s a treat all by itself to have a Lexi encore, as she was direct and uncomplicated for a vampire and remains Elena’s best ally in understanding the many moods of Stefan. So it’s right to the torture chamber for Stefan (after bashing his head into a car window), for another round of toughening Elena up to just what it’s going to take to break Klaus’s hold on her boyfriend. It’s kind of cool that she gets what she wants (Stefan chained and unable to feed) from her ghostly BFF!
Though Mason is also torturing Damon, it’s for a much less lofty goal than redemption. Or, rather, it’s not Damon’s redemption he’s worried about, but his own. All Mason wants is an apology for Damon ripping out his heart, and then he has a tool for killing Klaus to show him in one of the many Mystic Falls catacombs. Or is it a trap? It’s so in-character to watch Damon grudgingly sputter: “Sometimes I do things I don’t have to do,” which is as close as he’ll ever come to an apology (and which he retracts later, naturally).
The dead vamps are having their vengeance on the Founders, one by one, which means Tyler’s mom Carol Lockwood is in trouble until “Vampire Barbie” swings into action. Caroline has seldom let being dead get her down, and uses her vamp-powers for good, even against original vamps. Though young, she’s clearly a survivor, just as we thought Lexi was (damn that Damon!), and just as is Rebekah (conveniently off-campus this week, but you almost don’t notice since so much else is going on).
This is the culmination of Jeremy’s haunted story arc (Matt opts out, having had enough of Ghost Vicky last week), causing conflict with Bonnie (who’s grandmother witch comes back) especially when Jeremy is caught kissing Anna by Elena. Things all seem to hinge on that damn locket (which can’t be destroyed). You’d think Rebekah would be involved in this angle, as she’s so enamored of the trinket. It seems to have something to do with the original witch and the initial curses on Klaus and his family (which also tie into what Damon finds in a cave he mysteriously can’t enter), which we’ll apparently get to next week. This week, the ghosts all get what they want (or get beat up by Caroline), just in time for Halloween.