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6:03 pm EDT, June 6, 2012

The Vampire Diaries – Season 3 Episode Guide

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3×01 “The Birthday”

Caroline throws Elena a party at the Salvatore house for her 18th birthday. At the party, Jeremy sees the ghost of Vicki. Stefan and Klaus are hunting werewolves so Klaus can feed them his blood to turn them into hybrids. They realize that Damon has been following them, so Stefan returns home and kills Damon’s girlfriend, Andie as a warning to him to stop following them. Caroline gets jealous that Tyler brings a date to the party, she compels her to leave and she and Tyler end up kissing and going to Tyler’s house together. In the morning, Tyler’s mom catches Caroline sneaking out and shoots her with vervain darts.

3×02 “The Hybrid”

Klaus attempts to turn an entire werewolf pack into hybrids.  However, it fails and they all die. Klaus is upset about this because he believes he did everything he was supposed to, however, the doppelganger (Elena) is still alive unbeknownst to him. Elena and Alaric to go to Tennessee in search of Stefan and Klaus in an attempt to bring Stefan bank.  Alaric calls Damon and he joins them reluctantly.  Damon is almost bitten by a werewolf again, but is saved by Stefan. Tyler learns that his mother has taken Caroline hostage and forces her to watch him transition into a werewolf so she realizes Caroline isn’t a monster.  Tyler’s mother calls her counterpart in the Caroline abduction Bill to let her go, but he won’t.  It is then revealed Bill is Caroline’s father.

3×03 “The End of the Affair”

Stefan and Klaus go to Chicago. While in Chicago, Stefan flashes back to the 1920s where it is revealed he was friends with Klaus and was in love with his sister, Rebekah. Katherine calls Damon and tells him that Stefan and Klaus are in Chicago.  Damon and Elena then follow them. Tyler enlists Sheriff Forbes help to rescue Caroline. It is revealed that Bill is trying to save her by making her fight her urges for blood.  Tyler and Sheriff Forbes are successful in rescuing Caroline from Bill. Stefan realizes that Klaus is running from someone who has been hunting him for a very long time.

3×04 “Disturbing Behavior”

Still in Chicago, Klaus and Stefan visit a witch to try to find out why Klaus’s attempts at making hybrids continue to fail. The witch tortures Stefan and finds out that the doppelganger is still alive. Katherine shows up and kills the witch to save Stefan. Katherine steals Elena’s necklace she received from Stefan when she finds out that it can contact the the Original Witch. Stefan learns Klaus and Rebekah are running from Mikael, a vampire hunter. Jeremy’s ghost ex-girlfriend Anna shows up to warn him about Vicki, saying that she is trouble. Bonnie returns to town and Jeremy fills her in on the fact that he is seeing his dead ex-girlfriends ghosts. Klaus brings Stefan back to Mystic Falls to see what Stefan is hiding.

3×05 “The Reckoning”

The seniors hold a prank night at the school and Klaus shows up infuriated that Elena is still alive. Klaus feeds Tyler his blood and kills him, threatening Bonnie that Tyler dies if she doesn’t find a way to make hybrids. Klaus then figures out he needs Elena’s blood to successfully create hybrids. Katherine and Stefan go on a road trip to try to find Mikael. Matt commits suicide so he can see his sister Vicki again. He is successful and Vicki tells him there is a way for her to come back for good. Bonnie saves his life. Klaus compels a nurse to drain Elena’s blood so he can create hybrids, but Damon shows up and tells him Mikael is coming so Klaus leaves and Damon saves Elena. Katherine finds Mikael in a cemetery.

3×06 “Smells Like Teen Spirit”

Jeremy and Bonnie’s relationship suffers because he is seeing Anna’s ghost a lot.  Matt continues to see the ghost of his sister, Vicki. She convinces him to perform the ritual that will allow her to come and go from their dimension as she pleases. Once the ritual is complete, she tells Matt a witch from the other side said she could make her come back for good if she kills Elena. At a bonfire, Alaric and Elena try to capture Stefan. Elena saves Stefan when Vicki attempts to kill Elena by setting Alaric’s van on fire. Bonnie then sends Vicki back to the other side for good, however, when Damon returns home he finds Mason Lockwood’s ghost at his house.

3×07 “Ghost World”

Mystic Falls is littered with ghosts of everyone’s pasts. Mason Lockwood appears to Damon telling him he knows of a tool that will kill Klaus and ends up showing Damon a cave that has the original’s story written on the walls. Lexi appears to Stefan and attempts to get him to regain his humanity. Bonnie is reunited with her grandmother. Jeremy can now touch Anna and Elena catches them kissing. The tomb vampires all reappear and attack founding families. Bonnie eventually sends all the ghosts back to the other side.

3×08 “Ordinary People”

Rebekah reveals to Elena how her family became vampires. As humans, they lived next to a village of werewolves. One full moon Klaus and his brother Henrik snuck out to see the werewolves. Henrik ends up being killed, which enraged their father and he became obsessed with making his family safe from the wolves. The Original mother was a witch and ended up turning all of her children into vampires. Rebekah also reveals it was Mikael, their father, who killed their mother when he found out of her infidelity. However, the hieroglyphics Alaic finds in the cave tell them it was actually Klaus that killed their mother. Rebekah promptly decides to join forces to kill Klaus upon receiving this information. Damon finds a surprising ally in Mikael.

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3×09 “Homecoming”

Elena daggers Rebekah before the homecoming dance. Even though Rebekah claims to have joined forces to kill Klaus, the gang doesn’t trust her and need her out of the way for their plan to be successful. They convince Klaus that Mikael is dead. Because of this, Klaus has Tyler move the homecoming dance to his house. Mikael reveals a weapon that will kill an Original for good. A single steak that is left from the white oak tree. Damon enters into a dangerous alliance. At the party, Mikael shows up and threatens to kill Elena if Klaus does not come out of the house.  Klaus tells him to kill Elena, at which point Mikael stabs Elena but it turns out it is actually Katherine. Damon then tackles Klaus and tries to stake him but is tackled by Stefan before he can do so. Klaus then takes the stake and kills Mikael and releases Stefan from his compulsion. Stefan and Katherine leave town together where it is revealed Stefan went back on the plan to kill Klaus because his were compelled to kill Damon if Klaus was killed.  Stefan steals the coffins with Klaus’s siblings in them.

3×10 “The New Deal”

Stefan enlists Bonnie’s help to hide the coffins he stole from Klaus. They end up hiding them where the witches were burned. Klaus has one of his hybrids hit Jeremy with a car, however, Alaric knocks Jeremy out of the way and is hit instead. When his ring brings him back to life, it is revealed it isn’t working the same way it was and it does not fully heal him. He needs vampire blood to be healed. At the hospital, Alaric meets Dr. Fell who is extremely interested how he healed so quickly. Elena returns Rebekah’s body to Klaus, but not before revealing Rebekah wants him dead. Stefan tells Damon why he ruined the plan to kill Klaus, to save Damon. Elena has Damon compel Jeremy to leave town and move to Denver to attempt to get him away from all the danger in Mystic Falls.  Damon decides if he is going to feel guilty about something, it is going to be worth it, and he kisses Elena.

3×11 “Our Town”

It’s Caroline’s 18th birthday and Matt, Bonnie and Elena surprise her with a party to send off her human self. Alaric mets Dr. Fell again at a Founders’ meeting, where she is arguing with her boyfriend, who is later found dead in the woods. Klaus tells Tyler to bite Caroline and he refuses, but later accidentally bites her. Klaus saves Caroline by giving her his blood, and Jeremy leaves Mystic Falls after being compelled by Damon.

3×12 “The Ties That Bind”

Bonnie and Elena seek out Bonnie’s mother Abby, and meet Abby’s adopted son Jamie. Elena tells Stefan about kissing Damon, and Klaus uses Abby to get Bonnie to reveal the location of the coffins. However, Damon hides the sealed coffin and resurrects Elijah. Bill Forbes agrees to help Tyler break his sire bond to Klaus by torturing him, and Alaric discovers that Dr. Fell uses vampire blood to heal her patients.

3×13 “Bringing Out the Dead”

Bill is stabbed, and because he has vampire blood in his system he begins the transformation into a vampire. But to Caroline’s horror, he decides not to complete the transition. Damon, Stefan, Klaus and Elijah have a dinner party during which they agree to a truce, but Kol, Finn and Rebekah are resurrected and want revenge on Klaus. Alaric has also been stabbed, but Elena kills him and the ring brings him back to life. Bonnie and Abby open up the sealed coffin, and discover the mother of the Original vampires inside.

3×14 “Dangerous Liaisons”

Esther, the mother of the Originals, holds a ball at Klaus’ mansion and invites Elena, Caroline and Matt. Klaus confesses his feelings for Caroline, who is unimpressed, and Matt finds himself in danger when Kol and Rebekah get into a conflict. Esther reveals to Elena that she intends to kill her children by linking them together, with Finn’s help, and Damon sleeps with Rebekah.

3×15 “All My Children”

Elena is taken by Elijah and Rebekah in an effort to get Stefan and Damon to stop Esther’s ritual. Bonnie and Abby are helping Esther complete the spell, but Damon turns Abby into a vampire, thereby making it impossible for Esther to carry out her plan, and she leaves town with Finn.

3×16 “1912”

In a flashback we are introduced to Sage, the vampire who taught Damon to enjoy his powers. Elena and Matt break into Meredith’s apartment to prove that she is the killer of the Council members, and they discover a Gilbert journal which details how Jonathan Gilbert’s granddaughter was possessed by her magical ring to carry out the same sort of killings in 1912. Meredith explains to Alaric that the same thing is happening to him, and it is in fact Alaric who has been killing people.

3×17 “Break on Through”

Sage shows up in the present day and helps Damon find white oak tree wood which can kill the Originals. But when Sage discovers that her love Finn will also be killed, she betrays Damon. Possessed, Alaric attacks Meredith, but she is saved by Stefan and Elena. Bonnie heals Alaric, and Abby (now a vampire) decides to leave town despite Bonnie begging her to stay.

3×18 “The Murder of One”

Rebekah abducts and tortures Damon, while Klaus convinces Bonnie to break Esther’s linking spell. Sage and Finn reunite, but Matt stakes and kills Finn with the white oak wood. Not only does Finn die, but Sage also dies, and the others realise that when an Original is killed, their entire bloodline goes with them. Bonnie chooses not to help Damon, but Stefan agrees to hand over all the stakes to Klaus in return for his brother. When Damon goes to retrieve the last stake from Alaric, they realise that his alter ego has hidden it.

3×19 “Heart of Darkness”

Stefan sends Elena and Damon to Denver to check on Jeremy and for Elena to figure out her feelings for both brothers. They discover that Kol has been keeping an eye on Jeremy for Klaus, but they manage to get him away, and Jeremy contacts Rose on the other side to find out which Original’s bloodline the Salvatores are a part of. However, the vampire who sired Rose, Mary, has been killed by Kol, and they don’t know who sired her. While staying at a motel, Elena and Damon share a steamy kiss, which is interrupted by Jeremy. Meanwhile, Stefan is torturing Alaric to bring out his alter ego, and discovers the location of the last stake. Tyler returns to Mystic Falls, but suspects that something is going on between Klaus and Caroline. Esther shows herself to Rebekah and seemingly dies, but it is revealed that Esther has taken over Rebekah’s body, and is teaming up with Alaric.

3×20 “Do Not Go Gentle”

At the 1920s Decade Dance, Bonnie asks Jamie to be her date while Elena asks Stefan. The vampires realise that they are trapped inside the high school, while Esther forces Elena to take part in a ritual which will turn Alaric into an Original vampire. Alaric kills Esther and decides not to complete the transition, but Esther manages to compel Bonnie to feed Alaric her blood, thus turning him into a vampire.

3×21 “Before Sunset”

Alaric captures Caroline and tortures her, and tries to force Elena to kill her. Klaus sets out to abduct Elena, but at the high school Alaric intervenes. As Alaric is about to kill Klaus, Elena realises that her life is linked to Alaric and threatens to kill herself. Klaus takes Elena to his mansion and starts tapping all her blood, but Tyler, Stefan and Damon manage to free her, and Bonnie stops Jeremy’s heart in order to put Klaus into his shrivelled state. Alaric outs Sheriff Forbes and Mayor Lockwood as the parents of a vampire and a hybrid before the Council, and having hit her head during her escape, Elena collapses at the end of the episode.

3×22 “The Departed”

A series of flashbacks show Elena’s life before Stefan and Damon came to town. Stefan and Damon leave town to dump Klaus in the ocean, but Stefan decides to go back to protect Elena. But Matt drugs Elena and begins driving her out of Mystic Falls. Although Matt and Jeremy refuse to help him, Alaric still finds Damon, Bonnie and Rebekah’s location, and puts the white oak stake through Klaus’ heart. Thinking that the Salvatores are dying, Elena makes the decision to return to be with Stefan, and tells Damon this during a heartbreaking phone call. It is also revealed that Elena in fact met Damon before Stefan, but he compelled her to forget. On the way back to town, Rebekah makes Matt and Elena drive off the Wickery Bridge, trying to kill both Elena and Alaric to save her family. As Matt and Elena are drowning, Stefan dives down to save them, but Elena makes him take Matt first, and dies. Caroline and Tyler prepare to leave town, but Tyler seems to be dying after Klaus has been staked. However, it is revealed that Bonnie has shifted Klaus’ consciousness to Tyler, thus saving the Original vampire. At the end of the episode, Meredith reveals that Elena had vampire blood in her system when she died, and is now in transition.

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