[Warning: Spoilers ahead from Thursday's episode, "True Lies."]
Silas is on a manhunt for Katherine, but how far will he go?
Turns out, very far.
The villain goes from the streets of Mystic Falls on The Vampire Diaries to nearby Whitmore College, where Elena (Nina Dobrev) and Caroline (Candice Accola) are attempting to begin their lives anew, to get answers. The episode smartly focused on the repercussions of Damon's secrets, notably that he didn't inform Elena about her brother Jeremy (Steven R. McQueen) getting expelled from high school and Stefan's true whereabouts.
STORY: 'Vampire Diaries': Kat Graham on Bonnie's Dilemma and Going Up Against Silas
The Hollywood Reporter highlights the top storylines from the Oct. 10 episode, "True Lies." (And, because the episode was ripe with memorable one-liners, a list of the top 5 quotes.)
Elena and Caroline, P.I.s: After the sudden death of their roommate Megan, Elena and Caroline put on their detective hats when they follow up on a lead they discovered in the crime report stating that Megan died of a suicide and not by vampire. Their thinking is whoever this Dr. Wesley Maxfield (Rick Cosnett) is -- who signed the report -- is in on the cover-up. After finding out that Dr. Maxfield teaches a super advanced microbiology class, the two enroll (naturally), what do you know? Jesse (Kendrick Sampson) is a student. How convenient. Dr. Maxfield makes matters worse when he calls them out for being freshmen. (Whoops!) They don't get very far in their mission to suss out what's going on at Whitmore, but Elena finds out an interesting tidbit: Dr. Maxfield was in awe of her father, Grayson, who was a legend and offered to fill Elena in. Meanwhile, Caroline learns that it's rumored that the professor may be a part of a secret society. Hmm. That particular arc will have to take a slight pause, because Elena has a much more pressing matter ...
STORY: 'Vampire Diaries' Premiere: Silas Takes Over Mystic Falls
Silas heads to college and ruffles feathers: After compelling Mystic Falls to forget that they witnessed him kill Bonnie's father, Silas (Paul Wesley) drops by Whitmore to get some intel. The first person he sees is Elena, who believes she's been reunited with Stefan. And this is when Silas does his damage, revealing the truth about Jeremy's expulsion, fracturing the trust Elena's built with Damon (Ian Somerhalder) over the past several months. It's through this that Silas gets into Elena's mind, turning her anger and rage at Damon over his failure to tell the truth about key situations. This causes a wrinkle between the two lovebirds: "I thought we were at a place where he wouldn't have to lie to me," Elena wonders aloud. So much so that when the two do come face to face, Elena is this close to killing Damon. She gets dangerously close, ready to light the room on fire (presumably) until Damon smartly tells her to think of Stefan -- the only thing that can override Silas' powerful compulsion.
Keeping Katherine hidden: Meanwhile, Matt (Zach Roerig) and Jeremy get the difficult job of keeping Katherine -- who can't be seen in public for fear that Silas and his followers will capture her -- in check. It's not easy. They come across some near run-ins, with Katherine having to fight her way out of getting phoned in.
STORY: 'Vampire Diaries': Candice Accola on 'Hell-Bent' Caroline, College Romance and Season 5
The search for Stefan begins: Well, not everyone, but close to it. Damon recruits the help of Sheriff Forbes (Marguerite MacIntyre) at the top of the episode to help him search for his brother. As he rightly puts it, Stefan's "been drowning over and over again, while I'm playing house with Elena." Meanwhile, Stefan's desperately losing it underwater as he continues to hallucinate the "good moments" (aka time with Elena), which keep him "from falling apart." Sheriff Forbes calls Damon to say she's found something. When they (as in Sheriff Forbes, Damon and Elena, back from college) open the box, Stefan isn't there -- instead, it's the body of a random man. The big question arises: How did he get out? Where did he go?
Bonnie comes to grips with her death: It takes Matt's temporary death -- at the hands of Silas (thanks for that), who finds out about the Travelers -- for Bonnie (Kat Graham) to finally accept her death. "It actually hasn't been so bad," Bonnie tells Matt. While Matt tries to get her to see that it's not OK that she's dead, that her father is dead, she takes another stance on the matter. "It has to be ... because there's nothing I can do about it ..." Something tells me Bonnie won't be on the "other side" for long. But she admits later, to Jeremy this time, that she's not ready for this -- at least not yet. "I'm not ready to be dead yet ...." Will she come back in some form?
Jeremy battles Silas after Matt "dies": More battle scenes between these two, please? Jeremy comes back for Matt, but of course, Silas is there. After Silas weakens Jeremy by using his own body to strike Jeremy (sick!), the young Gilbert tosses out a memorable one-liner: "Plus, I work out!" But who actually saves the day? Katherine, wielding a huge gun, shoots Silas to buy the group some time. The motley crew of Katherine, Matt and Jeremy may just be a new favorite trio.
Silas has a new partner in crime: After coming back to life after Katherine's gunshot, Silas bumps into a group of Travelers (including Nadia, the same girl whom Matt and Rebekah had a European fling with). While the Travelers are desperate to lock Silas away again, Nadia (Olga Fonda) goes rogue, killing her partner and partnering with Silas, who finds out her agenda.
Caroline and Jesse's couple status: Elena continues to push Caroline toward Jesse and it seems to have worked. After Damon unceremoniously pops Jesse in the back of the head (oops), Jesse and Caroline move one step forward in their burgeoning college relationship. Will they turn it into a full-fledged romance?
Where's Tyler? He's decided to defer college for a year. Guess we shouldn't expect to see him any time soon.
And as promised, the top 5 quotes:
- Silas: "What I don't get is why she likes you."
Damon: "It's because you haven't had sex with me." - Jeremy: "Plus, I work out."
- Caroline (after seeing her ruined dorm room): "I think we need to set some ground rules for when boyfriends come to visit."
- Caroline (in a towel): "Damon! Knock!"
Damon: "Caroline, no one cares!" - Damon: "How did the Donovan-Gilbert brain trust put that together? .... Nevermind."
What are your thoughts on the episode?
The Vampire Diaries airs Thursdays at 8 p.m. on The CW.
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