The Vampire Diaries -- The Birthday Party

I think that's what they're called. As a total nerd that doesn't know the drug slang, I think that's what I heard pot called. Anyway, birthday girl Elena only has one thing on her mind, as usual..Stefan. She's got Caroline on finding leads for her; the latest one is in Tennessee. She goes to Damon to tell him and gets an eyeful as Damon's strutting around the house naked dripping bubbles all over the floor from his bubble bath.

In the months that have passed, Damon has gotten back together with Andie, but he doesn't seem to be compelling and feeding on her, any longer. Like Caroline is with Elena, Andie is giving Damon leads on Stefan. Damon doesn't act that interested in Elena's lead, but says he'll check it out.

In Tennessee, Klaus is looking for a werewolf named Ray Sutton. He wants Ray to lead him to the rest of his pack. Klaus has The Ripper kill Ray's women folk who offended Klaus because they didn't bow down and kiss his feet at being in the mere presence of Klaus. Apparently, Stefan has his own signature move like Damon has with the neck-snapping and Elijah with the double heart ripping; they call Stefan The Ripper, because he likes to rip the heads off his victims. Okay, I'm laughing as I typed that. The Ripper in ripping mode makes me laugh and not in a good way. There's more. After he rips their heads off, he apparently like to pose his victims on a couch, sitting up, with their decapitated head sitting back in place. I'm just not buying this Ripper nonsense.

Anyway, that's how Damon and Alaric find Stefan's latest victims. Damon knocks one of the girls heads on the floor. Then he sets the place on fire to cover Stefan and Klaus' tracks. After that, I see why Damon got the heck out of dodge back in 1864.

In other Mystic Falls news, Jeremy is still being haunted by his ghostly companions. Maybe to keep himself busy, Jeremy has taken a job at the Mystic Grille or maybe like Matt, he's doing it to pay the bills. God knows Princess E doesn't have a job. Her permanent job is to obsess over Stefan and to look for him. She can't be bothered to get a job and to help out. She can't even be bothered to parent her brother when she sees him smoking a joint and tries to pawn that duty off on Alaric, who wisely gets out of dodge, fast. Alaric has been bunking there for the past few months and tells Elena since she's a legal adult now, she can step up to the plate. But will she? Very doubtful.

Jeremy actually has developed a friendship with Matt and tells him about seeing Vicky since Bonnie brought him back from the dead. He neglects to mention he's seeing Anna, too. When Jeremy and Matt are high from their pot smoking party, one of Jeremy's ghostly companions stands in front of the car, and he decides it would be better to walk home. If only that happened to people who were about to drive drunk. There'd be a lot less accidents and deaths due to driving under the influence.

While The Ripper is torturing Ray with wolf bane, he supersonic hears Klaus learning Damon's getting closer on their trail and says something will have to be done about Damon. Stefan says to let him handle it so Damon will stop looking for him. Klaus isn't fooled; he knows Stefan is still trying to protect his brother. Klaus is pretty dumb. Stefan's being his slave because of the deal he made to save Damon's life; does this fool really think Stefan will keep being his slave if he kills Damon? And why does Klaus want Stefan? You're telling me any other vampire couldn't do what Stefan's doing for Klaus?

Anyway, Stefan pops back to Mystic Falls where he stalks Andie and sends a text message to Damon from Andie asking him to pick her up at the studio. When he does, Andie's nowhere in site, but Stefan is. He tells Damon to let him go, then orders Andie to jump to her death. Damon's still visibly upset when he gets back to the birthday party but none of the shallow superficial twits he's surrounded by even notices.

Caroline, who didn't even say thank you, for Damon taking a wolf bite for her and nearly dying, or even visit him when he was dying, gets in his face about not being there for the cutting of the cake. Then she goes off and jumps Tyler's bones. While she's sneaking out of the house, Mama Lockwood comes across her and shoots her full of vervain darts. Let's see if Vampire Barbie can actually save herself for once.

Earlier, Tyler suggested to Elena that Damon didn't want to find Stefan because she kissed Damon. Later, while in Damon's room, she finds a wall with all of The Ripper sightings, but she thinks its Klaus whose done all the killing. When Damon enters still visibly upset from his encounter with Stefan she doesn't notice and starts harping about no secrets. Damon tells her Stefan has done all the killings, and she refuses to believe it. He also tells her Stefan won't be back in her life time. Much later, Damon goes to Stefan's room and trashes it.

Klaus, getting no info from Ray, feeds Ray his blood and kills him to make him what he is. I'd laugh my head off if when Ray comes back to life he's a vampire, but he's no longer a werewolf. I still think Damon's going to end up being the hybrid Klaus is trying so hard to create. While Stefan is out in the parking lot calling up Elena in a schmoopy moment as he listens to her voice, and she just knows it's him and tells him it'll all be all right.

I can't say I really cared for this episode. It wasn't as good as The Return or the Pilot episode. All the characters just seems to be written superficially and without any depth. The only character that put some depth and feeling into the show was Damon when Stefan killed Andie before his eyes and his reaction in the aftermath.

I know Julie Plec, the Stefan obsessed writer on the show and believer that Stefan and Elena are the greatest love story every told thinks their the show, but in a very real way Damon has become the real heart and soul of the show.