NARRATOR: Previously on The Vampire Diaries...
Damon's gone. I want you to compel me to forget that I ever loved him.
-ALARIC: Who is Damon Salvatore? -He was a monster.
To get home, we'll harness the power of the eclipse using a mystical relic.
No!
(GRUNTS)
TRIPP: Vampires murdered my wife.
And I'm gonna get him to name all his vampire buddies.
-Need any help? -(DART GUN SHOTS)
If even just a small, little part of you came back to check on me,
then stay.
STEFAN: I'm not doing so great, Damon.
I'm lost, brother.
It's a hell of a long story, brother, but I'm back.
IVY: Please, just let me go.
I know this may seem a little barbaric, but I promise you, it's nothing personal.
Why are you doing this?
That's a longer story than we have time for, but trust me,
you don't want this life.
If you can even call it that.
(IVY SOBBING)
(COUNTRY MUSIC PLAYING OVER RADIO)
Come on.
Come on. Come on.
(GRUNTING)
Come on, come on, come on.
(GRUNTS)
What is that? What is that?!
What is happening?
(SCREAMS)
I missed you too, buddy.
I can't believe it.
I thought you were gone.
Well, you didn't think I was "gone" gone, huh?
I promised you an eternity of misery.
(CHUCKLES)
He's back?
How?
I don't know. Honestly, everything Stefan
said after "Damon's back" is kind of a blur.
What about Bonnie?
She sacrificed herself so I could come back.
I don't want anyone to know. No sense making this harder than it already is.
What are we gonna tell people?
He said that she wasn't over there.
Where is "there" exactly?
Mystic Falls, 1994?
I know. If witches were gonna get together and create some space-time purgatory...
...you think they'd pick a better year than when Kurt Cobain killed himself.
The whole thing was just very depressing.
So how did you get back?
Long story. Big flash of light, two decades worth of jet lag.
I will explain my adventures in that flannel hellscape,
but first, there's someone I gotta go see.
I don't wanna see him.
(SIGHS)
I get it. But that's how you feel now, Elena.
If you thought there was a chance you'd see Damon again,
you'd have never asked me to compel away your memories of loving him.
DAMON: She did what?
She had Alaric do it.
Damon is going to kill me.
You're unkillable.
Doesn't mean he won't try.
What is gonna happen when I do see him?
I just need to see her, Stefan.
Our eyes will meet, fireworks will go off,
and the balance of nature will be restored.
She loves me.
He's a psychotic killer.
You feel that way because I erased all the good parts.
I don't see anything that could balance out the bad.
Promise me you won't lift the compulsion.
(SIGHS)
-Promise me. -I won't, okay?
Not until you ask me to.
-Thank you. -But, Elena...
I hope you ask me.
I have to go. I have a shift at the hospital.
Since when?
Since Damon came back, and I'm trying to avoid him.
Fine. But if you're avoiding people, add Jo to your list.
I compelled her to forget our date, and it didn't take.
What do you mean?
Well, either she's on vervain or there's some other reason,
but she can't be compelled.
So see if you can find out why.
Okay.
Yeah, I will.
Will you call Jeremy?
I had to tell him about Bonnie over the phone.
And you can imagine how that went.
-Where you going? -Out.
You promised you'd help me track down my relatives.
Just... Later, okay?
Jeremy, you can't just say "Zach Salvatore was your dad,
"too bad he's dead." And then, "Peace out."
I can't do this right now.
What is so urgent to make you finally unglue your ass from the couch?
I know it's not school, it's not work. If it's another girl, I'd shower first.
I just need to get out of here.
Ah. Tripp's errand boy returns.
(CHUCKLES)
Oh. My bad.
Heh. That's all right, mate. Just lean in and I'll take it right from the tap.
I'll pass.
Ah. Come on. I'm gonna need my strength back
for when you help me escape.
Sorry. If Stefan turned you in, I'm guessing you deserved it.
When did Stefan's moral compass become the new true north?
Wasn't he the one who scurried off to some poxy little town
while he let everyone believe he was searching for his brother?
Not exactly a hero move, if you ask me.
Still, the general population is safer with you in here.
Yeah, probably right.
Well, except for Elena.
Stefan. Caroline. You.
What do you think would happen if I were to tell your boss about known vampires...
...and their, uh, groupies?
Well, Savannah was a waste of gas.
Minus a few blood bags, the house you told us about was empty.
Odd. Must have smelled you coming.
Mm. Would've been a total bust except I happened upon a girl
that fit the description that you gave me.
That was near Whitmore.
Five hundred miles from where you said she was gonna be.
Is this Ivy?
That's the one.
So I'm gonna give you today
to conjure up the location of your vampire friends,
or you and I are gonna go sightseeing in Mystic Falls.
(DOOR CLOSES)
Why didn't you tell us Enzo's been locked up?
-I didn't know anybody was missing him. -Matt.
I'm sorry. I was confused about which vampires we like and which ones we don't.
Okay. Well, what about Ivy? Is she there too?
Tripp drove her and two others across the border last night.
-Ugh, God. -Well, do you know where Tripp is now?
Running down another lead, but he didn't tell me what.
Can you find out? We need to know who his next target is.
If Enzo talks, it'll be you guys.
Well, that's not going to happen. Because we're busting him out, right?
If for no other reason than so I can kick his ass for getting caught.
-Any idea how he got his hands on him? -He didn't.
I turned him in.
(KNOCKING ON DOOR)
-Who is it? -DAMON: Hey, it's me.
I just... I just wanna talk.
I can't. Not now.
Look, I know why you did what you did.
It's not real.
You know what's real?
Is the way you felt for me.
You once told me that it was
the most real thing you ever felt in your life.
Those feelings are gone.
Oh, come on, Elena.
You've compelled enough people to know it's just...
It's just a way of covering the truth.
And no matter how badly you want it done,
it doesn't make it any less of a lie.
You know?
I hear you breathing.
You have no idea how long I've wanted to hear you breathe.
Just open the door, Elena.
And everything can go back to the way it was.
Just...
Just open the door, Elena, please.
Or at the very least, step aside because I'm gonna kick this door in.
(LOCK CLICKS)
STEFAN: Seriously? Jumped out of a window? What if somebody saw you?
I know, I know. I panicked. I don't know.
He's been trapped over there alone for months. He just wants to see you.
Look, I get how I'm supposed to feel, but I know how I actually feel,
and I'm happy now.
What if I look at him and my old feelings break through the compulsion?
They won't. But even if they did, is that such a bad thing?
(SIGHS)
Yeah. I started over, just like you did.
Okay? I made a smart choice for myself and for my future.
Stefan, I kissed Liam last night.
(GROANS)
Please forget that you told me that and definitely do not tell Damon that.
Because he's gonna kill him, right?
Just like he killed my brother.
I was gonna say because he'll be heartbroken.
What do you wanna do? You have to see him eventually.
I know,
but I don't think "eventually" can be today, all right? I'm not...
I'm just not...
Ready.
I gotta go.
-Elena. -Hi.
I didn't think you were here today.
-Yeah. I changed my schedule around. -Okay.
Follow me.
"No files found."
"Mystic Falls deaths."
(CHUCKLES)
-Sarah, what are you doing? -I could ask you the same question.
-You can't be in here. -From the look on your face,
either you're downloading porn, or you're not supposed to be here either.
What are you doing in Tripp's office?
-What do you want? -Information on some people
who used to live here.
-You know anything about the Salvatores? -Not really.
Well, according to Jeremy, Zach Salvatore was my dad.
He supposedly died from an animal attack, and coincidentally, so did my mom.
But I've been paying attention. I know what that's code for.
And your boss seems to know a lot about homicidal wildlife, so...
You thought breaking in here was a good idea?
Guess we have that in common.
Now, either you help me,
or start coming up with a good lie when I tell your boss you were snooping.
Animal attacks are filed over there.
Professor Saltzman.
What, you couldn't compel yourself a PhD?
I can't believe you're back.
I am. (CHUCKLES)
So how the hell are you?
Well, let's see, Ric. I clawed my way out of some retro pocket universe,
only to find that I needed to compel myself a new change of clothes,
because this "anti-magic" hamster ball is keeping me from going home.
Then I find out that my best friend,
rather than doing anything about it, decided that it was
the best use of his time to compel my beautiful and lovely girlfriend
to forget that she ever loved me.
I'm great, Ric. Thanks for asking.
Look, Damon...
I know she was a train wreck without me,
but a full mind-erase? Seriously?
She loved you too much.
And it was killing her.
Well, I'm flattered.
But I'm back.
So let's get this un-compulsion on the books, huh?
Fine. As soon as Elena tells me that's what she wants.
Right.
Here's the thing.
She's not gonna want to be uncompelled
if she can't remember why she'd wanna be uncompelled.
Chicken, egg.
I know. And I'm sorry.
Sorry?
She won't even see me, Ric.
I get it, Damon.
But she's happy, and I'm not gonna take that away from her
until she asks me to.
It's not that I don't want Elena to be happy,
I just want her to be happy with me.
Right.
Enzo wasn't being careful, Tripp would've caught him.
And that meant danger for all of us.
Right. So you handed Enzo over so we wouldn't be targeted.
And now you're rescuing him so we won't be targeted.
-Way to go. -I thought Tripp was gonna kill him.
I didn't think he was gonna keep him alive for information.
Oh. Well, in that case, sounds like you were just being practical.
-So did you rat out Ivy too? -What?
You didn't wanna deal with her. You wanted her gone, and now she is.
You should write Tripp a thank-you note.
Hold on a sec. Enzo turns Ivy, right?
A hunter kills her, and yet I'm the bad guy?
I'm not the one threatening to turn in vampires to save his own skin.
The only one who's turned in other vampires is you, Stefan.
That's why you're helping.
Guilt for getting Damon's friend captured.
Yeah, Damon's my brother and I gave up on him first. Enzo didn't.
If rescuing his friend is gonna
make it up to him, that's what I'm gonna do.
Great. Let me know when you figure out how you're gonna make everything up to me.
Let's get in there.
Well, where the hell is he?
I like your bracelet. What is it made of?
No idea.
-Can I get your opinion on something? -Sure. Yeah.
Female patient. Blunt-force trauma to the head.
Massive internal hemorrhaging. Multiple bone fractures.
She was a victim at the corn maze.
Where is she?
Probably Freshman Lit.
I don't get it.
Neither do I.
See, the patient was never admitted, even with such extensive injuries.
Liam said you treated her at the scene.
That's a pretty good save for someone with half a semester of premed.
Yeah, you know, um, I think Liam was exaggerating how bad off she was.
It was dark. There was a lot of blood on...
Don't.
I know what Alaric is, I know what you are.
If any more blood bags go missing, I know who to come to.
Well, somebody was thorough.
No pictures of Damon anywhere.
Huh.
It's creepy, you just standing there all hulky and broody.
Says the freak who's stalking my sister.
Technically, I'm lying in wait.
Why didn't Bonnie come back?
Why didn't she come back?
Because she wasn't there.
It was just me.
You know, I paid her cell bills so I could call her phone
and hear her say the same six words every day.
Sounds good. I'll give it a call.
Why? She hated you.
Bonnie wasn't there with me, Jeremy,
because she found peace.
She's in a better place.
How did you know?
Besides not believing that you closed an abdominal trauma
without so much as a first-aid kit?
You weren't looking for stevia in my coffee.
With Alaric, I wasn't 100 percent certain he tried to compel me.
But then I remembered, I have crappy luck in my love life,
so of course my hot new teacher crush would be a vampire.
-So then what are you? -Busy.
If you wanna stick around, there's food trays that need clearing.
Uh, that's it? You're gonna let me stay?
You saved that girl instead of feeding on her. It's good enough for me.
But you're not even afraid.
Not even fazed, for that matter.
There's only one thing that can resist compulsion without needing vervain,
and that's a witch.
You're a witch.
How about I make a deal with you?
You don't ask questions about me, and I won't ask questions about you.
-Deal. -Oh, and you can tell Alaric
that if he wants to avoid a complicated relationship,
he doesn't have to hide behind compulsion to do it.
(SIGHS)
It was a good thing I didn't grow up here.
So where do you come from?
Give me the year, I'll give you the town and foster home.
Oh, good.
-I wonder what's in here. -It's locked.
Locked means important.
(CELL PHONE BUZZING)
-Hey, Care, did you get him? -No, Enzo's not here.
Any idea where Tripp might have taken him besides the very obvious one?
Hang on. Let me see that.
Uh, Caroline, we have another problem. Tripp has Ivy's phone.
Um, and? I mean, the guy's a murderer. Petty theft isn't much of a stretch.
Yeah, but your name's at the top of the recent-dialed list.
Oh, my God. He knows what I am.
And I'm guessing he knows where to find you.
BONNIE: (ON RECORDING) It's Bonnie. Leave me a message.
(PHONE BEEPS)
That's it?
That's your outgoing message? Really?
I mean, the one time I'm actively seeking the sound of your voice, that's all I get.
Perfect.
Hmm. Anyway...
I'm in your room,
which is a lot less weird than it sounds,
but I just wanted to say that
because of what you did for me,
today is the day that I get to see Elena.
So thank you.
And I'm sorry.
And other than that, I don't know what to say,
or what I'm supposed to say, except that,
defying all possible global scenarios,
I might miss you a little bit.
(PHONE BEEPS)
Ooh, hey, I gotta go.
So you didn't forget my number. That's a good start.
Yeah. I figured I'd, uh, press the "Damon" button and see what happened.
And what is happening?
I don't know.
I don't even know what I'm doing. I just...
I'm thinking we should meet.
Face-to-face.
I can't run from you forever, so come by my dorm?
Yeah. Yeah, I'll be here.
There. I'll be there. Absolutely.
In a bit. I'll see you in a little bit.
-Okay. -Okay.
(DOOR OPENS)
That was fast.
(TRIPP GRUNTS)
Who are you?
(DART GUN FIRES)
(DAMON GRUNTS)
(GROANING)
ELENA: Damon?
Elena, calm down.
Just find Caroline and get to Old Miller Road. We'll get him back.
I had an interesting conversation with Elena.
I wanna hear about it, just not right now.
What's the rush? Occult Studies emergency?
Yeah, I have someplace I need to be, so if you don't mind...
Why don't you just compel me out of the way?
Look, don't you think it's about time we level with each other?
Okay. How's this?
My best friend, he just came back from the dead.
I have to save him from a vampire hunter
before he's driven across an anti-magic border and killed, again.
So here's some friendly advice.
It's probably a good idea to stay as far away from me as possible.
(SIGHS)
(DAMON GRUNTS)
Morning, sunshine.
Enzo?
Well, this brings back memories.
I'm glad you found a way back, mate.
Afraid it's a short reunion, though. We're headed to Mystic Falls.
Known for its bridges, quaint small-town charm,
and a really big vampire bug zapper.
Stefan could've told me there was a hunter in town.
Probably slipped his mind
because he's responsible for my return to incarceration.
And why would he do that?
Probably jealous of my accent.
Or he did it because I killed his new girlfriend.
Yep, that'll do it.
(TIRES SCREECHING)
Sorry, Mom. Elena's auditioning for Top Gear.
Yeah. Okay. Bye.
So my mom's shutting down Route 13.
Tripp will have to double back and there's only two other ways.
Do you have a tire preference?
Front? Back?
No? Okay.
I think this sells a spin-out.
What do you think?
Elena?
I want my memories back.
Wait, what?
I've made up my mind.
If Damon survives this, then I want Alaric to uncompel me.
I mean, I can't imagine ever loving him,
but I also can't
ignore the parts I don't like just to avoid the truth.
I mean, how could I make any decisions if I only know half the story?
You don't have to take apart the engine.
We just need to lure Tripp in so we can grab them.
You know, it's not your fault.
Pretty much is.
Look, you're not the only one who gave up.
You know, every second for the last four months, all I can think about
is when I'm gonna get my next sip of blood.
When am I gonna screw up and hurt somebody?
Why did I come back to life just to be this...
This thing?
I used to hunt vampires and suddenly I was one.
Searching for Damon was the only thing
that could take my mind off of it, you know...
(SIGHS)
But I was basically going through the motions as a distraction.
Because honestly, Stefan, I'd...
I'd given up too.
(VEHICLE APPROACHING)
There.
It's him.
Stay in the car. He knows what you look like.
-He thinks I'm on his side. -Yeah, unless Enzo told him different.
Go tell Elena he's here.
(ALARIC WHISTLES)
Evening.
I'm trying to get my buddy to a party
and our car just stopped. Think you can help us out?
Uh, don't know anything about cars.
Yeah. Uh, well, maybe you could give us a ride, then.
-Who's that? -Ric.
He's up to something.
It better be good. The bastard owes me.
Sorry. In a bit of a hurry.
Yeah. So are we.
(GROANING)
ELENA: (OVER PHONE) Stefan.
Stefan, what's happening?
Damon and Alaric are across the border. I gotta go.
Oh, my God.
(GRUNTING AND GROANING)
I came back for this?
Consumption. Wasn't much fun the first time around, either.
It's okay. I'm here.
-How? -I followed you. Like a crazy stalker.
Not one of my finer moments.
No, no, no. Get him.
You have to get me across the border.
It's stripping away the magic. I'll die.
You'll die if I move you. I have to stop the bleeding.
-You nicked your descending aorta. -I know. That's what killed me.
Well, you didn't have me back then, did you?
And you didn't have hemostatic gauze.
Get up. Come on, get up.
(ALL GRUNTING AND GROANING)
(ALL COUGHING AND PANTING)
ALARIC: What's happening?
You still with me?
While I'm sealing this wound, think about how you tried to compel
one of the smartest women on campus to forget her date.
The date where I single-handedly saved dozens of lives
without smearing my makeup.
Alaric? Hang on.
Stay with me.
(GASPING)
Come on, gotta get that heart pumping.
You don't get to have the last word with me.
Alaric.
Alaric!
Stay with me.
Come on.
(GASPS)
(SIGHS)
-Something's wrong. -Don't move.
No. Something's wrong.
I'm not supposed to be alive.
There's no reason you shouldn't be. I've sealed the wound.
We just have to get you to a hospital.
Yeah, I'll tell her. Thanks.
I was just at Route 9.
There was a crash, but they weren't there.
Yeah, I know. They had to get out of there.
What happened?
Uh, Stefan said that, um...
What, Caroline? What?
Alaric crossed the border,
but Jo was there and she saved him.
So he's okay?
-That means he's okay, right? -Yeah, Elena, he's okay.
Why do you have that look on your face?
-What happened, Caroline? -All the magic stripped away,
but Jo saved him just before he died.
What?
Okay, I don't know what that means, Caroline.
Alaric's not a vampire anymore, Elena.
He's human.
Thanks for the ride.
I thought I'd save you the trouble of having to boost another car.
That was almost funny.
Hope for you yet, Donovan.
If I told you I knew about your family,
promise you'll take a little friendly advice?
Hang on. You know who my family is?
Read any history book about this town's founding members.
The guys that live in this house are Damon and Stefan Salvatore.
Why are you just telling me this now?
Because...
They're vampires.
And wherever they go, death and pain always follow,
so if you're looking for family, you're not gonna find it here.
Do yourself a favor and get as far away from this place as you can.
JEREMY: Come on.
No.
Damn it!
Jer.
I keep trying to cancel Bonnie's phone, but I can't without her PIN.
Why can't I remember her PIN?
(GRUNTS)
Easy. Easy.
Hey, it's gonna be okay.
No, it's not!
She's gone.
Bonnie's gone.
Jo's a keeper.
How does it feel?
Oh, it hurts. A lot.
It's too bad there aren't any vampires in Mystic Falls to help heal you.
Well, I think they got me on a morphine drip.
It's the next best thing.
Elena.
-I'm so sorry. -No.
No, no, no, Alaric. I'm just glad that you're okay.
I mean, up until an hour ago, I didn't even want my memories to return.
I was the one who made the choice to lose them.
Now I have to live with the fact that you can't give them back to me.
I know you hated being a vampire,
so I'm just... I'm glad one of us got what we wanted.
And what is it that you want?
To be able to look Damon in the eye,
knowing all that I know, and all that I don't,
and see how I feel about him.
I want to trust how I feel.
I hope that you can.
Good luck, okay?
This hospital sucks. I can't believe anyone actually makes it out alive.
They usually don't.
I'm having you transferred to Whitmore, ASAP.
Thank you.
-Just doing my job. -Hey.
You did more than that.
You gave me back my life.
Thank you.
I was this close.
This close.
I know. I'm sorry.
Oh, I got it. Everybody's sorry. You're sorry you gave up on me.
Sorry you turned Enzo in to that hunter guy. Ric's sorry for the compulsion.
If Elena could remember anything, she'd be sorry too.
You gotta understand how hard it was for her.
I am so tired of hearing about how hard it was for her.
-It was hard for me as well. -At least you had a home to come back to.
She didn't have anything. To her, you were just gone.
I guess I still am.
Ric said she's happy without me since she's erased me.
You know what?
I don't want her to be happy.
I want her to be miserable, just like I am.
-You done? -Yeah, I'm done.
Good. Now, quit stalling.
There's a girl you need to go see.
What if it doesn't work?
What if what we had isn't strong enough to break the compulsion?
You're not gonna find out just sitting there, are you?
Here goes everything.
(SIGHS)
STEFAN: Hey.
So am I your last stop on the Stefan Salvatore apology tour?
(SCOFFS)
Can we just get past this, please?
I'm trying to.
Look, Caroline, what do you want me to do, huh?
Stop making me guess and tell me so we can go back to being friends again.
Yeah, well,
you know, that's the thing, Stefan. After all of this, I...
I don't wanna be friends anymore. . After all of this, I...