It’s a return to the past for Mystic falls as we begin to understand why so many vampires want the tomb open and why the Salvatore brothers are able to walk in daylight. Bonnie’s busy as well as she lusts after the bartender who peaked in high school.

Flashbacks provide the reason why the Salvatore brothers are always at odds. It seems that Stefan foolishly confides in his father Guiseppe (James Remar, “Dexter”) causing Katherine and her brethren to be captured. Watch for some interesting uses of verbane for this. We also discover how close Katherine and Elena are in personality; both are reckless and tend to heed warnings when it’s too late.

We then have the search for the journal as Jeremy then Alaric become the center of curiosity for the Salvatore brothers. It seems that Jeremy’s new vampire friend (unbeknownst to him) shares a past with Katherine and has her own reasons for wanting the journal. This leads to her stealing the journal from Alaric and having it taken from her by Damon. Still these are not the highlights of the episode. It’s the flashbacks and the behaviors of the townspeople that make this show fun to watch. When they find out who’s a vampire the shock looks on the faces of the men in town is priceless.

Returning to the present Bonnie and Elena are in serious danger as Bonnie’s vampire senses come on too late.

Which leads into “Fool Me Once” with the return of Grams (Jasmine Guy) to aid the Salvatore brothers in retrieving her granddaughter and Elena from Anna; the vampire with an agenda. We see that Damon’s charm won’t work on Bonnie’s grandmother as she gives him a migraine he won’t soon forget. Meanwhile the minor characters are there to completely slow down the momentum of the episode with teenage-“90201” unnecessary angst. Luckily these scenes are few.

Once again there is another gathering near the tomb no less – nothing like warm bodies for all those hungry vampires that are about to be set free. Or are they?

On a side note: The powers that be need to make Jasmine Guy a series regular if this show is to have any real depth to it. She brings a wealth of experience and her interaction with the cast elevates their acting.

As far as cliffhangers go this one packs a punch. Who will escape the tomb? And what will happen to our favorite witches? Tune in March 25 to find out.

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