The Birthday

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The Vampire Diaries
Season 3, Episode 1 (45)
Air date	September 15, 2011
Written by	Kevin Williamson & Julie Plec
Directed by	John Behring
Episode Guide(Transcript)
previous	As I Lay Dying
next	The Hybrid

The Birthday is the forty-fifth episode of The Vampire Diaries and the Season Three premiere. It will air on September 15, 2011.

Synopsis

On the morning of Elena’s 18th birthday, Caroline is busy planning a party, but Elena is focused on searching for any clues that might help her discover where Stefan is. Damon is also searching for Stefan, while trying to protect Elena and keep her from doing anything that would draw Klaus’ attention.

Meanwhile, Klaus and Stefan are busy trailing a werewolf named Ray Sutton (guest star David Gallagher). Now working at the Mystic Grill along with Matt, Jeremy is struggling to understand why he keeps seeing the ghosts of Vicki (guest star Kayla Ewell) and Anna (guest star Malese Jow) since he was brought back to life by Bonnie’s magic. Meanwhile, Alaric does his best to watch over Elena and Jeremy, while dealing with his grief over Jenna’s death. Finally, Caroline and Tyler face a new and unexpected challenge.

Summary

We're in Tennessee, where an attractive young blonde in hotpants is calling her dog. Clearly, this is not going to end well for her. Klaus shows up - with a fun Southern accent - to claim that his car broke down. The woman is understandably suspicious, but it's nothing a little compulsion can't resolve. She invites him in, where he meets her housemate and asks for information about a "Ray Sutton". They claim he doesn't live there, but Klaus suggests that he must visit once a month - aha, so Ray is a werewolf. Anyway, the blonde's housemate is stupid enough to run, but she is stopped at the door by Stefan. Eee! He's got pretty black hair now, which does, funnily enough, help with the whole evil persona. Klaus, meanwhile, does seem more menacing than last season - "I love it when they run" is delivered with a perfect smirk. The girls do give up Ray's location, but that's not going to help anything. Klaus tells Stefan to kill the blonde quickly and make the runner suffer, before walking out. And, wonderfully, Stefan obliges, making Klaus smile at the screams as he walks away from the house.

Back in Mystic Falls, it's time for a little exposition stuff. We find out that Jeremy's working at the Mystic Grill now and it's also clear that some time has passed since the last season - Caroline calls Elena to chat about her 18th birthday party and it seems that Sheriff Forbes is helping them look for Stefan as she's passing on information about an animal attack in Memphis. We also discover that Alaric's been sleeping on Elena's couch for a while - I guess he's attempting to be a father figure. Over at the Salvatore house, Damon's drinking champagne in a bubble bath - isn't it nice to see him again? Andie's hanging around too, so that's still going on. Anyway, Damon hears Elena arrive and gets out all naked (unfortunately, there are strategically placed objects covering up anything we shouldn't be seeing). Of course Elena is not too pleased to see Damon in the altogether and throws him a towel (after he fabulously drawls: "You should learn to knock. What if I was indecent?") Anyway, Elena passes on the news about Memphis but Damon is dismissive, claiming it's just a dead end. He also bans Elena from checking it out, pointing out that Klaus still thinks she's dead. However, when Elena's gone we find out that Damon is looking for Stefan after all (hurrah!) And what's more, he's using Andie's news skills to help out. She thinks she can help with Memphis and promises to get him an address. Then it's time to head over to the Mystic Grill, where we find out that Bonnie's away with family but is in touch with Jeremy on the phone. But he hangs up when the lights start flickering, and there are proper jumpy moments when Vicki and Anna appear and disappear. Anyway, Matt's soon here - very grumpy - to ask Jeremy to switch sections. He doesn't feel like waiting on Caroline and Tyler (who are insisting that they're not dating, but the sexual tension is dripping off the screen). Caroline also suggests that Tyler's mum kept eyeing her up when she was over - but why? Over in Tennessee, Klaus and Stefan arrive at a bar to find Ray. He's pretty smart, Ray, and soon figures out that he's in the company of vampires (though Klaus takes great pleasure in announcing that he's a hybrid). Stefan's compelled everyone in the bar so Ray is all alone - and refusing to give up the location of his pack. Still, that doesn't bother Stefan, who menacingly suggests that they're going to play a drinking game - "truth or wolfsbane". If you don't shudder when Klaus grins that "this is going to be fun", then you're a braver person than I. The only problem is that Alaric and Damon are on their trail. They arrive at the house from the beginning of the episode and Damon can get inside without being invited - always ominous. Sure enough, they find blood all over the walls, and then (shudder again) the two girls dead and sitting up. Damon knows it's Stefan - it's his signature to pass out from drinking so much blood, wake up feeling remorseful, and then put the bodies back together again.

To prove his point, he gives one of the girls a bit of a kick and her head falls off. Oh my God. Anyway, Damon wants to keep the whole 'vampire' thing a secret, so he decides to burn the house down - but not before he spots a trapdoor and discovers an underground room with chains. He's a smart one, Damon, and realises werewolves have been around. Back in the bar, Ray's not having a great time - in fact, he's chained up and Stefan's throwing wolfsbane-soaked darts at him. Still, he's refusing to give up details of his pack, which is quite admirable. Luckily for Ray, he gets a slight reprieve when Klaus gets word that Damon has been sniffing around. Stefan promises to go and deal with it - and vows to return to Klaus.

Cast

Main Cast Nina Dobrev as Elena Gilbert Paul Wesley as Stefan Salvatore Ian Somerhalder as Damon Salvatore Steven R. McQueen as Jeremy Gilbert Kat Graham as Bonnie Bennett (only on cellphone) Zach Roerig as Matt Donovan Candice Accola as Caroline Forbes Michael Trevino as Tyler Lockwood Matt Davis as Alaric Saltzman Joseph Morgan as Klaus Guest Cast Dawn Olivieri as Andie Star Malese Jow as Anna David Gallagher as Ray Sutton Cherilyn Wilson as Blonde girl Kayla Ewell as Vicki Donovan

Co-Cast Susan Walters as Carol Lockwood Lilly Roberson as Sofie

Soundtrack

• Ingrid Michaelson “Are We There Yet”
• Two Door Cinema Club “What You Know”
• The Civil Wars “Barton Hollow”
• Trent Dabbs “Means To An End”
• Andrew Belle “Make It Without You”
• Martin Solveig and Dragonette “Hello”
• Mona “Shooting The Moon”
• The Kicks “Hawk Eyes”
• Walk The Moon “Anna Sun”
• Location Location “Starpusher”
• Cobra Starship “You Make Me Feel”
• Ron Pope “A Drop In The Ocean”

Notes

General

• There is a time jump from As I Lay Dying to this episode here, and therefore it will be Elena's birthday.
• Antagonists: Klaus and Stefan
• Template:Jeremy works at the Mystic Grill from this episode onwards.
• Stefan hasn't been seen by any of the Mystic Falls residents since As I Lay Dying.
• A photograph of Jenna and Alaric can be seen in the Gilbert House.
• The end of the episode ends with Carol Lockwood shooting Caroline Forbes with vervain darts.

Production Notes

• First episode since in which Sara Canning is not credited.
• Altought not the character's first absence , this is the first season premiere not to feature Jenna Sommers
• First season premiere to feature Alaric, Anna and Klaus.
• In behind the scenes photos for this episode, Stefan's appearance in clothing is similar to that of Damon in the start of season one as that he is wearing all black clothing.
• There have been talks that the episode would be named "Bloody," but Zap2It revealed on August 11, 2011 that the episode would be called "The Birthday".
• It was also revealed by Julie Plec and Kevin Williamson that Template:Jeremy hasn't told anyone about seeing Anna and Vicki.
• Lilly Roberson joins the cast as Sofie, a love interest for Tyler Lockwood.
• It is still currently unknown where Katherine is, or if Klaus and Stefan have caught her yet.
• From this episode onwards Joseph Morgan (Klaus) is a series regular.

Quotes

Alaric: Hey Elena happy bithday. Damon: Morning.
Elena: Hey, I was gonna-
Elena: OH! (sees Damon naked and she turns around)
Damon: Hey, you should learn to knock, what if I was... indecent.

---

Caroline: (to Elena) You have to admit you're letting your life pass you by.

Elena: Is that what you all want me to do? Get on with my life?

---

Elena: I'm not going to give up on finding Stefan.

---

Stefan: (to Damon) Let. Me. Go.

Gallery

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  Elena and Alaric

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Video:The Vampire Diaries ~ Whet Your Appetite.|Whet Your Appetite+stills Video:Season 3 Episode 1 - Damon & Elena Clip| Damon & Elena clip Video:The Vampire Diaries - Teen Choice Awards| TCA Promo Video:The Vampire Diaries Webclip 3x01 - The Birthday|The Vampire Diaries Webclip 3x01 - The Birthday Video:The Vampire Diaries - 3x01 The Birthday - Preview with EP Julie Plec| Julie Plec Preview Video:The Vampire Diaries Webclip (2) 3x01|Damon and Stefan Webclip </videogallery>

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