Recap of Episode 8 - "162 Candles"

November 06, 2009
By: Rene

On his birthday, Stefan (Paul Wesley) is surprised by a visit from Lexi, (guest star Arielle Kebble, "Gilmore Girls"), one of his oldest friends. Still upset by the events at the Halloween haunted house, Elena (Nina Dobrev) does her best to stay away from Stefan, but Lexi gives her some unsolicited relationship advice. Elena and Jenna (Sara Canning) are surprised by a change in Jeremy's (Steven R. McQueen) behavior. At Damon's (Ian Somerhalder) insistence, Caroline (Candice Accola) tries to get his medallion back from Bonnie (Katerina Graham). Finally, Damon's offer to help Sheriff Forbes (guest star Marguerite MacIntyre) has sudden and tragic results. Zach Roerig also stars. Rick Bota directed the episode written by Barbie Kligman & Gabrielle Stanton. - Source CW TV

After last week's gut wrenching death and Kevin Williamson's warning that no one on the show is safe, we were a little apprehensive about "162 Candles". Was another major death just around the corner? We were also left with a lot of questions, like what's the deal with Damon/Bonnie's necklace? "162 Candles" was definitely not one of those revealing episodes, but it was shocking, fun and emotional. It wasn't such a "happy" birthday for Stefan after all. Here's the low down on what happened.

We begin with Stefan asleep on his chair. He hears some strange noises that prompt him to look around the house. Clearly there's a visitor at the Salvatore home and sure enough Stefan gets knocked to the ground. It's good ol' Lexi dropping by to visit Stefan for his brithday. The two of them reminisce about old times (and when we say old, we mean like a hundred years). Lexi brings up Stefan's more wild days and in particular a Bon Jovi concert the two of them attended a long time ago. Stefan explains his situation with Elena and her overprotective side comes out. When Stefan reminds Lexi that she didn't even know Katherine, she replies, matter of factly, "Cause if I did, I'd kick her ass." He's quite happy she's come to town, even if it is only for one day. We also learn that Stefan and Damon seem to be the only vampires lucky enough to have those nifty rings. This means Lexi is stuck inside during the day.

Matt, Elena, Stefan and Jeremy all talk to the cops about the Vicki situation and her sudden dissappearance. All of them give the same story - that she was on drugs and they tried to help, but she took off. Afterward in the parking lot, Stefan tries to explain to Matt that he was only trying to help Vicki, but his plea falls on deaf ears. Elena talks to Stefan for short moment about the incident and kindly asks that he leave her alone.

Meanwhile, at the Salvatore home Lexi's nap is disrupted by Damon. The two of them obviously have issues as all they do is bicker. She has no tolerance for Damon's bad vampire behavior and demonstrates her power by choking him. She gives a harsh warning that if he ruins her time with Stefan, she will hurt him - badly.

Bonnie packs up to leave Gram's because her father doesn't approve her "witchy joo joo". Gram encourages Bonnie to keep the necklace Caroline gave her, as it belonged to one of her ancestors. It found its way to Bonnie, so she should hold onto it.

Jeremy's behaviour is surprisingly normal and his mood even seems happy. Elena and Jenna joke around that he's an alien.

Damon brings a gift to the sheriff - verveine. Because of his sweet gesture, the sheriff lets Damon in on the investigation of the vampires in Mystic Falls. She doesn't hold back any bit of info she has.

Bonnie stops over to visit Elena, who has been ignoring her phone calls. After finding out that Elena and Stefan broke up, she tries to get her mind off the situation. Bonnie picks up a pillow, rips it open and asks Elena to keep her secret. Of course Elena is a little confused as to what Bonnie is yapping about, but she complies. Bonnie demonstrates her powers by making the feathers from her pillow float around Elena. Bonnie confesses that while her Gram wanted her to keep this hidden, she can't keep secrets from her best friend.

Damon confronts Caroline, but she wants nothing to do with him. He uses his powers of persuasion to change her attitude and to also have her throw a party at the Mystic Grill that night. His reasoning for the gala? He wants Caroline to help him solve the town's "little vampire problem". He also warns her that she needs to get back his necklace.

Stefan and Lexi have the awkward sex conversation about Elena. Well, it's more like the lackthereof. Lexi encourages Stefan to go for it, that he'll rock her world so hard with his "vamp sex"! He explains that he wants Elena to want to be with him, and not because of his vampire charms. As Lexi jokes about Stefan's growing age, she whips out a blood pack and sticks a straw in it. Judging by Stefan's nervous expression, it's human blood. Lexi reassures him that she didn't kill anyone for it, but that a phlebotomist supplies her with it. While the two of them banter about the morality of drinking human blood, Damon drops in to invite them to Caroline's impromptu party that evening. Stefan is all but excited about the idea, but Lexi convinces him to go. While he gets ready for the night, Elena drops by. She's greeted by Lexi, who is only wearing a towel. Que awkward moment! Lexi is taken back by Elena's resemblance to Katherine while Elena is horrified/jealous. Elena storms off, regretful of her visit.

Lexi lays into Stefan about Elena, saying he has issues because of their uncanny resemblance. She also brings up a good question - are the two of them of the same bloodline? It only makes sense, right? Stefan explains that Elena is completely different from Katherine, "Elena is warm, she's kind, and she's caring, and she's selfless. And it's real. And, honestly, when I'm around her I completely forget where I am." He confesses that he's in love with her.

After he comes to this realization he stops by Elena's house. She immediately brings up Lexi and her lack of clothing when she came by earlier. Stefan explains that Lexi is his oldest friend (350 years old to be exact), and there's nothing romantic between the two of them. Elena seems to be more troubled by the fact that she can't talk to anyone about what has happened. Even though Stefan reassures her that she can talk to him anytime, she still asks him to leave. On his way out, he asks her if she's attending the party and if she needs a ride. He adds, "It's my birthday." Elena declines and says she will be spending the night in.

Over at the Mystic Grill, Damon has already gotten the party started by gluing himself to the bar. Caroline demands that Bonnie return the necklace to her, but she refuses. Once Caroline tries to grab it from Bonnie's neck, she gets shocked. When Damon finds this out, he calls Caroline "shallow and useless." Stefan finally gets a chance to explain himself to Matt and apologizes for her disappearance. Matt thanks him for trying to help her.

Lexi and Elena exchange a sweet conversation about Stefan. She encourages Elena to stick with him and assures her that he will open up to her more. She shares that the love of her life was human and it took some time for him to get used to her being a vampire. In the end, love conquered all. Elena thanks Lexi for the advice and Stefan thanks Lexi for putting a good word for him. He was spying on their conversation from across the room. Shortly after, Elena joins him at the pool table and says she couldn't miss his birthday.

Lexi confronts Damon about his intentions at Mystic Falls. He says he has a diabolical plan, but won't spill anything to her. Caroline gets completely hammered and falls into Matt's lap. The two of them have a little conversation about her being shallow and she regrets being that way. Matt offers to take her home and is met by Caroline's mother on the way out. He gets her home safely and puts her in bed. The two of them seem to be hitting it off and she asks him to stay with her for the night.

While outside, Damon hears a couple giggling and goes into predator mode. He attacks and kills the boy, but leaves the girl. When the cops show up, she tells them that she knows who killed her boyfriend. The sheriff locks down the bar, and takes the girl inside to have her point out the suspect. She pinpoints Lexi and they inject her with verveine. The other officers carry her out. Stefan tries desperately to chase after her, only to be stopped by the police. On the way to the cop car, Lexi pulls out the vampire fangs and goes nuts. The sheriff tries numerous times to shoot her down, but of course they are all failed attempts. Finally, Damon walks up to her and drives a stake through her heart, killing her. Before she fades, she asks himy why he did this. He replies, "It's part of the plan." The sheriff thanks him for his help and feels confident that the "nightmare" is over.

Infuriated by the death of his best friend, Stefan sets out to kill Damon. Elena tries to talk him out of it, but he instead tells her that she should stay away from him. He heads back to the house to confront Damon. "I told you I'd take care of it," is Damon's response to the situation. Stefan immediately attacks Damon and the two of them go into an epic battle. Stefan proves to be stronger than Damon and eventually puts a stake through his stomach. This wounds him, but doesn't kill him. "You saved my life, I'm sparing yours. We're even."

Bonnie has visions of running through the woods, trying to escape something. She's met by the ancestor that once wore the necklace. "It's coming," were her only words. Bonnie then wakes up in the cemetary.

This episode leaves us with even more questions. Did Stefan drink some of Lexi's left over blood to overpower Damon? What's going to happen with Bonnie now that she has this necklace?