US Television: Vampire Diaries, Episode 2.9 "Katerina"

Vampire Diaries
Season Two, Episode 2.9, Katerina
Original Air Date:  November 11, 2010

Katherine's past becomes clear when she tells Elena the story of how she became a vampire and why.  The involvement Trevor had with Katherine is revealed.  Rose and Damon travel to Richmond to meet the man who contacted Elijah for Rose.  Elijah is back and causing trouble again.  Two new faces show up in Mystic Falls.

In Bulgaria in 1490 a child is being born.  Katerina is the mother and the child is taken from her by her father moments after it is born, before she can even hold it just once.

After receiving a call from Stefan, Elena arrives at the Salvatore home.  Damon leads her in to where Stefan is waiting with Rose.  She tells them about Klaus, who is known to be the oldest of the vampires.  They believe Elijah to be dead.  Stefan suggests Klaus may not even be real but Rose is convinced he is.  Elena gets up to leave for school and, when Stefan tells her to wait while he grabs his stuff she tells him it's OK because she knows where school is.

Jeremy asks Bonnie to hang out at the Mystic Grill later and play a game of pool.  When she asks why because he's never asked her to play pool before he says he thought it would be fun.  Bonnie agrees to go but she feels a little strange because he is Elena's brother.  While they are talking, a new student named Luka (Bryton James) asks Jeremy for directions to the office.  Bonnie and Luka share a look with one another that Jeremy doesn't miss and he suggests Luka follow him since he's headed toward the office.

Elena has faked being sick to ditch school and goes with Caroline into the woods.  Elena wants Caroline to lie to Stefan for her to hide what she is doing from him.  They go down to the tomb because Elena wants to ask Katherine about Klaus since she is probably the only one who truly knows about him.  Caroline protests but Elena insists she has to know.

Caroline slides the stone covering the entrance back and Elena calls to Katherine.  At first, Katherine is no where to be seen but she eventually scuffles slowly to the entrance of the tomb.  Caroline is sent away after Elena assures her she will be fine.  Elena has brought some things to give to Katherine and asks her to tell her about Klaus.  She brought the Petrova family history book along as well as a bottle of blood.  Elena pours a bit into a cup and pushes to Katherine with a stick. 

Katherine starts the story of she and Klaus.  It starts in England in 1492 after she left
Bulgaria.  Her family disowned her because her indiscretions weren't tolerated in that time.  She tells her about the child she had out of wedlock.  She was banished to England and caught the eye of Klaus, a nobleman.  At first, she was taken by him but, once she found out what he was and what he wanted, she fled.  In 1492, she is pursued by men to take her back to Klaus but Trevor helps her escape.  He tells her to head east to a cottage where she will be safe.  Klaus wanted the same thing from Katherine that he wants from Elena:  to break the curse by sacrificing the Petrova doppelganger. 

Damon wants answers from Rose and finds her crying about the loss of Trevor.  She doesn't wish to shut her emotions off as coolly as he does.  He wants to know how to find Klaus but she tells him "you don't find Klaus, he finds you".  Rose was able to get in touch with Elijah through "a very low somebody on the totem pole", a man named Slater in Richmond. 

Stefan is leaving school to check on Elena who he believes is home sick.  Caroline catches up with him and she convinces him she needs to talk.  When he questions her about it, she tells him she might have done something.  She tells him about her telling Tyler she was a vampire. 

Katherine tells Elena the curse was bound by the sacrifice of Petrova blood.  The doppelganger was created as a way to undo the spell.  Again in 1492, Katherine arrives at the cottage and asks the woman who opens the door to help her.  The woman coldly says she does not invite strangers in but, when Katherine tells her Trevor sent her, Rose steps up behind the woman and complains about Trevor making promises she doesn't want to keep.  Rose compels the woman who answered the door to take Katherine water and something to eat. 

Katherine shows Rose the moonstone that she stole from Klaus.  Rose warns her that no one escapes from Klaus and throws her into a room telling her that at nightfall she will take her back to Klaus and beg him to show them both mercy. 

In Richmond, Rose and Damon arrive to see Slater.  Damon threatens to kill Rose if she is setting him up but she turns the tables on him as she is older and stronger than he is but assures him he can trust her.  They go into a cafe with double-paned glass that UV rays cannot penetrate and Rose meets and embraces a man, Slater (Trevor Peterson).  Slater knows who Damon is and his history before he even needs to be introduced. 

Rose never took Katherine back to Klaus but it wasn't because she had a change of heart.  In 1492, Rose finds Katherine bleeding heavily from a wound to her stomach.  Rose, knowing that if Katherine dies, Trevor dies with her, forces Katherine to drink some of her blood to save her life.  Trevor arrives and, when Rose goes to him to complain about sending Katherine to her, Trevor admits he couldn't let Klaus kill Katherine because he loves her.  Katherine hangs herself in the room where she has been kept.  Katherine's suicide shocked Elena and Katherine tells her that Klaus needed a human doppelganger not a vampire one.  But, she underestimated Klaus' penchant for vengeance.  Katherine sees that Elena doesn't want to die and tells her there is another way out.  She opens her wrist with a fingernail but Elena doesn't respond. 

In 1492, Katherine awakens.  Trevor would have helped her run forever to keep her alive.  Rose can see, however, that Katherine used Trevor to lead her to Rose to turn her.  The woman of the cottage is killed when Rose tries to stake Katherine.  Rose tells Katherine she has just signed their death sentence and Katherine coolly replies "better you than I" and leaves.  Katherine tells Elena she was only looking out for herself and that she will always look out for herself and that if Elena is smart, she'll do the same. 

Caroline, in her effort to keep her promise to Elena, takes Stefan out to eat and continues to tell him about what she has and hasn't told Tyler.  Stefan promises he will not tell Damon about her confiding in Tyler prompting Caroline to ask him why he is such a good friend to her.  He admits she reminds him of someone, his best friend, Lexi.  Stefan starts to leave but Caroline stops him asking what they will do about Tyler as there is a full moon coming up and he's upset about it. 

Bonnie arrives at the Grill and Luka and his father, Dr. Jonas Martin are there.  Since Jeremy hasn't arrived yet, Bonnie accepts Dr. Martin's invitation to join he and his son.  Jonas questions Bonnie about her family and asks if she has any relatives from Salem.  Jeremy arrives and Bonnie excuses herself.

Rose asks Slater how they can get in touch with Klaus.  Surprisingly, he answers "Craigslist".  He responds to a personal ad that gets sent to somebody who knows somebody who knows Elijah who is dead.  His connection ends there.  Elijah drops a $100 bill into the guitar case of a street musician and takes out a handful of quarters and drops them from hand to hand while he stands and watches Damon, Rose and Slater talking inside the cafe. 

While Bonnie and Jeremy are playing pool, Luka walks up.  Bonnie doesn't seem to be too pleased to see him.  Caroline tries once again to stop Stefan from leaving and he tells her she has two seconds to come clean as he knows she has been "providing distraction upon demand".  He asks where Elena is and she replies that she can't tell him. 

Elena figures out that Katherine wanted to hand her over to Klaus herself.  She got Mason Lockwood to find the moonstone for her.  Elena asks what else is needed to break the curse knowing there is more to it than just her and the stone.  A werewolf is also necessary as is a witch to do the spell (Bonnie).  Another vampire is also needed (Caroline). 

Damon asks why Klaus wants to lift the curse since he knows about the day ring.  Slater explains that Klaus wants to keep the werewolves from lifting it first.  If the vampires break the sun curse, the werewolves are stuck with the moon curse forever.  Rose believes werewolves are extinct but Damon reveals they are alive and well and Mystic Falls.  Damon asks if they can stop the curse from being broken at all.  They can and Damon wants to know how.  Slater wants to walk in the sun and Damon says he can help that happen if he helps them.  Elijah, who has been listening to everything, throws the quarters he has been playing with against the windows of the cafe smashing them.  The sun streams in burning Rose and Slater.  Damon throws his jacket over Rose and carries her from the cafe and back to their car where she heals.  Rose knows it has to be Klaus behind everything and that they are all dead.

Bonnie and Jeremy smile at one another.  When she looks away, Luka sits down and apologizes to her for his father asking about the Bennett/Salem connection.  She tells him she felt something and Luka confesses that they both did.  He pours some salt on the table and, with his hand, levitates it.  Luka and his father both want to fit in. 

Stefan arrives at the tomb having figured out where Elena is.  Stefan insists that Katherine was telling her lies and that he will protect her.  Katherine steps out of the shadows and tells Stefan there is nothing he can do because she hasn't told them the best part of the story.  In Bulgaria, 1492, Katherine finds her entire family dead, having been murdered.  She tells them that Klaus will kill anyone they have ever loved just to get his vengeance.  Katherine holds up the moonstone.  Stefan says she wants to trade the moonstone for her freedom.  Katherine corrects him saying that when Klaus shows up to kill everyone, as he will, she will be safe in the tomb where no vampire will enter since they will not be able to leave. 

Damon vows to Rose that he will save Elena.  She tells him it might be time to turn off the switch on his emotions since caring can get him dead.  They end up kissing in front of the fireplace.  Jeremy sees Bonnie and Luka having a pleasant conversation and gets his coat and leaves the Grill.  Stefan walks Elena home and wants to talk about everything with her.  She wanted to know the truth and got it.  All of her friends are in danger, too and she blames herself for that.  In the tomb, Katherine looks through the Petrova family history book and finds a drawing of her and her parents. 

Rose gets a call from Slater.  He has done some digging.  They can destroy the curse but they need the moonstone.  He tells her to get the moonstone and a witch should be able to figure out the rest.  When Slater hangs up, he turns around and Elijah is standing behind him.  Elijah has compelled him to make the call.  Elijah then hands him a stake and tells him to drive it through his heart which he does.  Jonas Martin walks up behind Elijah to ask if Slater really had to die. 

When Luka first showed up I thought perhaps he was there to be a distraction for the Bonnie/Jeremy storyline but, after seeing his dad, I knew there was something off about Luka and his father.  Luka might be a good guy (I stress might) but his father just seemed weird.  And them showing up in Mystic Falls now, you know that couldn't have been a coincidence.  If the Martin's are witches, they certainly can't be good witches and work with the bad guys, can they?  Unless, Elijah is holding something over Jonas' head the same way Katherine held saving Lucy's life over hers.

I hated to see Slater die because he was pretty cool.  I wouldn't have minded seeing him show up in future episodes.  While he's a super bad guy, I've got to say I like Elijah, too.  Daniel Gillies plays a great bad guy and I love how super-strong and indestructible he is.  It kind of looks like everyone might need to start camping out in that tomb with Katherine, doesn't it?

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