'The Vampire Diaries' Recap: Episode 4.09 “O Come, All Ye Faithful”

“She ruined our lives.  She’s not even my real sister.  She’s just the reason everyone that I have ever loved has died.  She means nothing to me.  I will kill her even if that means I die myself.” ~ Jeremy

Elena and Damon join Bonnie, Jeremy, and Professor Shane at the Gilbert lake house.  Their plan?  To curb Jeremy’s urges to kill his sister.  Jeremy invites Elena into the house and then promptly attacks her.  Middle steps, detours, persuasion, thought altering – all tools to try to change Jeremy’s conditioned response to kill vamps.  A shady start but thanks to Damon’s suggestion that Jeremy uses Bonnie as his emotional grounding, there’s a shift in Jeremy’s sudden distaste towards his sister.  For the first time in ages, the siblings share a genuine heart felt hug void of the tension that has become the norm for them.

“I didn’t say I was looking for the cure. But I can tell you where to find it.” ~ Professor Shane

Professor Shane reveals to Damon and Elena that he knows where the cure is and that the sword isn’t needed to find the cure.  A cure for immortality. His explanation seems genuine, his actions sincere, but his secret phone chats with Haley, his need for twelve hybrids … something’s still off.

 “I know what it’s about for you, Stefan.  It’s about the cure.  You know what happens to a hybrid when he’s cured of being a vampire? We go back to being werewolves.  Turning on every full moon.  We couldn’t give a rat’s ass about the cure.” ~ Tyler

A pack of hybrids, lead by their alpha male, Tyler Lockwood, are plotting to kill Klaus.  They’ve broken their sire bonds and have a plan in place to rid Mystic Falls of Klaus by using a body jump spell.

Stefan’s protective instincts are triggered when he hears of Tyler’s plans through Caroline – he wants to save Klaus simply because Klaus has the sword that will lead him to the cure.  Caroline butters up Klaus at the Mystic Grill whilst Stefan raids Klaus’s house in search of the sword.  When Stefan comes up empty handed, he tries to stall Tyler.  A showdown occurs, hybrids outnumber the vampires, and Stefan and Caroline are ditched below ground until Tyler is able to carry out his plan.  Damon’s call to say they don’t need the sword anymore changes everything.

The plan starts falling apart when Stefan and Caroline break free once they hear that they don’t need Klaus or the sword.  Suddenly they’re game for Klaus to die.  They decide to use Rebekah, and not Tyler, in the body switch – a plan that rattles Haley and Professor Shane.  Haley breaks Caroline’s neck and shoves her body in the loo.  Naughty, naughty.  Needless to say, when Caroline wakes up, she’s spitting mad.

But Haley has a change of heart or an attack of conscience and comes clean with Tyler.  Klaus cottons on to Tyler’s plan and annihilates all eleven hybrids in a vicious attack in the woods.  Impressive fight for one vamp against so many hybrids, but gruesome and bloody – a contrast to the beautiful, lyrical Christmas music playing softly in the background.

“I’m setting you free, Elena.  This is what I want.  This is what will make me happy.” ~ Damon

Damon’s struggling to make the call to release Elena from the sire bond as well as the guilt of lying to his brother about his status quo with Elena.  Elena’s still convinced that her feelings are real but Damon’s doubtful.  Understandably so.  It takes a road trip to the Gilbert lake house and a sweet bonding moment between Elena and Jeremy for Damon to summon the courage to let her go.  And he does.

“Caroline, tell me, how together are they?” ~ Stefan

Thanks to a few clues from Caroline, Stefan puts the puzzle pieces of Damon and Elena’s relationship together and realizes that Damon has lied to him about being with Elena.  Seems like there’s more shaky ground on the horizon for the Salvatore brothers.

“And you’re all he has.” ~ Klaus

And finally, to the tune of Have Yourself A Very Merry Christmas, Klaus approaches Tyler’s mother at the town’s water fountain – and drowns her as a way to get back at Tyler for his evil plotting.  No.  No.  No!  Not Mayor Lockwood.  She’s so sweet.  Poor Mamma Lockwood.  Poor Tyler.

So…how will Tyler retaliate after his mother’s death?  Does this episode spell the end of the relationship between Caroline and Tyler? What will Stefan’s reaction be now that he knows that Elena and Damon have been together?  What’s up with Professor Shane?  Will Elena walk away from Damon?  So many questions but sadly, we have to wait a few weeks for the next episode of The Vampire Diaries.