US Television: Vampire Diaries, Episode 2.2 "Brave New World"

Vampire Diaries
Season Two, Episode 2.2, Brave New World
Original Air Date:  September 16, 2010

Caroline awakens with an appetite and a new life.  Bonnie and Elena talk about Katherine and Damon.  Stefan gives Jeremy a vial of vervain to protect him.  Damon has a meeting with Carol Lockwood where she asks him to spearhead the Council since she will be acting as interim mayor.  Mason quizzes Tyler about his anger.  More about the Lockwood "secret" comes to light.  Matt tells Caroline he loves her. 

When Caroline awakens, she's a bit foggy on what had happened, and she's hungry.  She goes into an adjoining room and looks at a bag of blood.  A nurse interrupts her and ushers her back to her own room but Caroline was able to steal a bag of blood.  She takes a drink and is at first repulsed by it and throws it to the floor.  A few seconds later, however, she grabs the bag and drinks from it no longer sickened by it.  The next morning, she tries putting her hand in sunlight from the window and finds it burns.  When she is getting dressed to leave the hospital, her silver necklace burns her skin.  As she's looking at herself in the mirror, her eyes change and her fangs grow.  She compels and attacks a nurse who comes in to check on her.  Once night arrives, Caroline leaves the hospital. 

Elena doesn't want to talk about Damon at all.  She doesn't want "the 'D' word" mentioned.  She wants to go about life as a "normal teenager".  We all know that in Mystic Falls, that won't be happening! 

While meeting with Carol Lockwood, Damon listens in on the conversation Mason and Tyler are having about Tyler's rage issues.  When Stefan questions Damon later about Katherine, Damon skirts the issue of her and brings up the Lockwood's.  Damon doesn't quite know what the Lockwood secret is but he knows something is odd there. 

At the carnival, Damon makes it clear to Jeremy that he's quite capable of killing him if he wants to.  Jeremy's threats of exposing Damon for what he really is are meaningless.  Damon is keeping an eye on Tyler and Mason Lockwood at the carnival.  The Lockwood's arm wrestle and Mason easily defeats his nephew.  Damon then volunteers Stefan to go against Mason.  Mason easily beats Stefan and, from his defeat, Stefan understands that there really is something strange about the Lockwood's. 

Damon compels a carnival worker to pick a fight with Tyler and not to back down no matter what Tyler does.  Stefan follows Tyler and watches as the carnie worker picks the fight.  As Damon predicted, Tyler blows up and Mason Lockwood comes to his aid.  Mason displays supernatural fighting skills.  When they return home from the Carnival, Tyler questions Mason about what happened during the fight.  Mason denies that his eyes glowed and explains his moves as "Brazilian martial arts".  Earlier that day, Mason searched his brothers home office for a family heirloom, a moonstone.  Tyler questioned him and, when asked about the stone, appeared to be unfamiliar with it.  That night, Tyler got into his father's safe and retrieved the stone.

Caroline accosts Damon in the school.  She is remembering everything he did to her.  She delivers Katherine's message to him then, in a surprising show of force, hurls him down the hall.  The first person Damon goes to is Elena.  She's not interested in what he has to say but he will not allow her to put him off.  She, Stefan and Damon go to an empty classroom where they discuss Katherine and her message and that Caroline is now a vampire.  Damon wants to kill Caroline but Stefan and Elena refuse.  Stefan knows Damon is right about how things will end up for Caroline but he vows to save her.

Caroline attacks and kills a carnival worker (the same one Damon compels to fight with Tyler).  Matt is worried about her because he feels she's somehow different.  Damon finds Caroline before Stefan and Elena and is armed with a stake to kill her.  Stefan arrives mere seconds before Damon is about to plunge a stake into Caroline's back.  He tries to kill her again but Elena puts herself between Damon and Caroline.  Of course, Damon backs off.  When Bonnie learns that Caroline is a vampire she's heartbroken.  She then unleashes her anger on Damon by dropping him to the ground and setting fire to him by using her powers.  Elena stops her from killing him.

I thought Caroline becoming a vampire would be kind of silly.  She's not exactly the most stable character on the show.  I've actually found it to be a bit sad.  She's obviously not dealing with her new life very well and she's going from tough to vicious to completely breaking down all within seconds.  It was nice to see that while she was hugging Matt she was able to control her vampire urges.  There might be hope for her yet.

Poor Stefan had his hands full.  It was left to him to clean up Katherine's mess, to deal with Damon and to keep the peace.  It is Stefan who takes Caroline aside, cleans the carnival workers blood from her and helps calm her down.  He promises her that he will not let anything happen to her.

Bonnie got on my nerves in this episode.  She blamed Damon for what happened to Caroline but obviously forgot that it was at her insistence that Elena agreed to let Damon save Caroline in the hospital.  I guess she doesn't feel she has any of the blame here?  Either that, or she does blame herself and feels that lashing out at Damon will somehow make her feel better.  Ever since Bonnie has been coming into her witchy powers she's gotten this massive attitude.  Sure, I'm a big Damon fan and perhaps a bit biased towards him but surely I'm not the only one who finds her a bit annoying at times.

For more information:
Official Site:  http://www.cwtv.com/shows/the-vampire-diaries
The Internet Movie Database:  http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1405406/
TV Rage:  http://www.tvrage.com/The_Vampire_Diaries