In the last season, Stefan traded himself to Klaus for a cure to save Damon from a lethal werewolf bite. This season begins with Klaus looking for Ray, a werewolf, and his pack to create more hybrids like himself. They compel a girl to invite them into her home, where her friend inside knew Ray’s whereabouts. Despite the help, Klaus commands Stefan to kill them, which he does in his signature way: blacking out during the feed and ripping victims a part.
Back in Mystic Falls, Elena continues to look for Stefan, while Damon secretly tracks his brother, following Stefan’s signature and without telling Elena. Jeremy sees the ghosts of his dead ex-vampire-girlfriends, Vicki and Anna, but can’t figure out what they want. He and Matt turn to drugs to cope with their problems. Caroline and Tyler claim to be “only friends,” but the flirting and fighting ends when they hookup at Elena’s birthday party.
Klaus and Stefan find Ray, who they torture with vervain coated darts into telling them where his pack is. Klaus senses Damon getting closer to finding them, so Stefan gives Damon a warning by compelling Andie, a reporter Damon was “dating,” to fall to her death. Stefan pins Damon against a wall to make him helplessly watch her die. Klaus also kills Ray after feeding him his own blood, which will transform Ray into a hybrid.
Damon returns to tell Elena the truth about Stefan, but she of course refuses to believe it. Stefan calls Elena, but doesn’t say a word. He holds back his tears, and even though Elena doesn’t know for sure that it is him calling (her phone says, “unknown number”), she tells him “ I love you Stefan. Hold on to that. Never let that go.”
The episode ends with Caroline running into Mrs. Lockwood while sneaking out of Tyler’s bedroom. Mrs. Lockwood shoots Caroline with vervain darts after she reaches for her purse. Caroline is tranquilized, Klaus is getting closer to creating his army and Damon feels like his brother is a lost cause.
