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
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The Birthday is the forty-fifth episode of The Vampire Diaries and the Season Three premiere. It aired 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

Spoilers ahead

In Tennessee, an attractive young blonde is calling for her dog. Klaus shows up using a Southern accent to claim that his car broke down. The woman is understandably suspicious, but Klaus compels her to invite him in. The two meet her housemate and he asks for information about a "Ray Sutton." They claim he doesn't live there, but Klaus suggests that he must visit once a month - suggesting Ray is a werewolf. The blonde's housemate tries to run, but she is stopped at the door by Stefan. The girls give up Ray's location, but Klaus tells Stefan to kill the blonde quickly and make the runner suffer, before walking out. Stefan obliges, making Klaus smile at the screams as he walks away from the house.

Back in Mystic Falls, 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 .Over at the Salvatore house, Damon's drinking champagne in a bubble bath, Andie's hanging around too. Damon hears Elena arrive and gets out of the bathtub. Of course Elena is not too pleased to see Damon in the altogether and throws him a towel (after he drawls: "You should learn to knock. What if I was indecent?") 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 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.

At the Mystic Grill, where we find out that Bonnie's away with family but is staying in touch with Jeremy on the phone. But he hangs up when the lights start flickering, and then Vicki and Anna appear and disappear. Matt arrives in a bad mood to ask Jeremy to switch sections. He doesn't feel like waiting on Caroline and Tyler. Caroline also suggests that Tyler's mum kept eyeing her up when she was over. Over in Tennessee, Klaus and Stefan arrive at a bar to find Ray. Ray is suspicious 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". Then Klaus grins that "this is going to be fun", 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 which is ominous. Sure enough, they find blood all over the walls, and 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 on her leg and her head falls off. Damon wants to keep the vampire existents a secret, so he decides to burn the house down - but not before Alaric spots a trapdoor and discovers an underground room with chains and realises werewolves have been around. Back in the bar, Ray's being tortured, he's chained up and Stefan's throwing wolfsbane-soaked darts at him. he's still refusing to give up details of his pack. fortunately 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.

Over in Mystic Falls, Elena's annoyed with Damon for not looking for Stefan. Tyler is unhelpful by suggesting that Damon doesn't want to find Stefan because he has feelings for Elena, but Elena deals with it rather well. When she's gone, Tyler reveals that he's bringing a date to Elena's party - "Slutty Sophie", according to Caroline. Caroline's naturally a bit hurt by this but she pretends that she's cool, they both admit that they are very "horny" because of their supernatural states. Later, when it's time for the party, Damon goes to see Elena - and returns her necklace as a birthday gift. Elena is thrilled, They go downstairs to join the gathering, only to discover that it's a full-blown rave ruining Elena's idea of a quiet night. Matt and Jeremy are already smoking weed together.

Jeremy reveals that he has been seeing things, but doesn't quite tell Matt that his dead sister is one of those things. Meanwhile, Elena is not too happy to discover that Jeremy's getting high and tells Alaric to deal with it. And Caroline thinks Matt's "hatred" of her has driven him to drugs. Elsewhere, Andie's still at work - the last person in the studio. In a unnerving sequence, someone shines one of the big studio lights right at Andie. She moves out of its beam, but it follows her and then it turns off. In the dark, Andie runs for the exit but she trips and the light snaps back on again revealing someone standing in front of it. She turns, and Stefan's there. Andie's actually a little relieved and admonishes Stefan for being gone for so long. But Stefan shows vampire face.

Later, Damon gets a message that Andie wants him to pick her up, so he heads over to the studio. He meets Stefan, who tells him to stop causing problems. Damon, of course, claims that he doesn't care about Klaus, but Stefan tells him again to let him go. Damon warns that if Stefan carries on there'll be no saving him, but Stefan says he doesn't need that - though Damon points out that Elena thinks differently. Stefan at this point shows just how farhe has fallen. He calls out to Andie, who is up high on a beam in the studio roof. Terrified, she sobs that Stefan has compelled her and she can't move. Damon tells Stefan that it's "not cool" but Stefan chillingly replies: "Oh, come on. A little bit cool." And then he tells Andie that she can move, she falls and breaks her neck.

Back at the party, Caroline is downing alcohol at an alarming rate as she watches Tyler dance with Sophie. Matt appears, but it soon descends into a row and Tyler comes over to check everything's OK. Sophie compliments Caroline on the party, she compells Sophie to go home. Later, a furious Caroline lifts up a party goer who's in her way and dumps him at the side.

It's not long before Elena finds Caroline hiding out in a room. Elena admits she's not really feeling up for cake, but Caroline tells her she has to make a wish and get on with her life. Elena doesn't take too kindly to this - she doesn't want to give up on finding Stefan - but Caroline points out that her life is passing her by. Elena announces that her only wish is to know that Stefan is alive. She's soon distracted, though, when she spots Damon's cupboard full of maps and newspaper cuttings When Damon gets back, she accuses him of making her feel like an idiot for having hope. Heartbreakingly, Damon tells her that they were both idiots. He announces that the victims they were both trying to track were not Klaus', but Stefan's.

Elena refuses to believe it, but Damon confirms that Stefan has flipped a switch and is back to being a full-blown ripper. He tells Elena that Stefan's gone, and is not coming back in her lifetime. He leaves, Meanwhile, Jeremy offers to give a drunk and high Matt a ride home, but he suddenly sees Vicki in the car, asking him for help, he says: "Vicki", which confuses Matt. Jeremy tries to shake it off and turns on the headlights, but Anna is standing right there. Eventually, he decides it would be best to walk. When they get back, Matt asks Jeremy why he said Vicki's name - and realises that earlier Jeremy had been seeing things. Jeremy admits that he keeps seeing Vicki, but Matt shrugs it off, saying that he always sees Vicki because he misses her so much.

Stefan returns to Klaus, who has extracted the wolf pack information from Ray. Klaus announces that he now has to go through a three-stage process. First, he feeds Ray his blood, and then he swiftly breaks his neck. Klaus says he knew Stefan would come back, and Stefan, for his part, claims that he doesn't care about anything anymore. Interestingly, Klaus accuses him of putting on a "good show". He says Stefan will never stop caring about his family, but the blood makes it easier to let go.

Back in Mystic Falls, Damon's on a rampage, smashing up his room in anger and sadness. Meanwhile, Elena returns home and finds Alaric moving out. It seems that spending the evening at a party where a lot of underage kids were drinking and doing drugs made Alaric realise he's not a great role model, and Elena would be better off looking after herself. Elena goes to get ready for bed just as Stefan leaves the bar in Tennessee looking a bit sick. He calls Elena, but when she picks up he remains silent, Elena realises who is on the phone. She tells him he will be alright and tells him to hold on to the fact that she loves him. Stefan nods and begins to cry.

Back at the party, Tyler and Caroline argue about Tyler bringing a date. Tyler says he won't date anyone else if Caroline just tells him not to, Happily, Caroline makes it easy by giving him a kiss. They rush out of the party and are soon kissing again. The episode ends with Caroline sneaking out. Unfortunately, she doesn't get past Carol Lockwood. When Caroline touches her purse, her hand suddenly burns. And then Carol shoots her with what appears to be vervain until she passes out on the floor.

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

Recurring Cast

Co-Cast

Lilly Roberson as Sofie
Cherilyn Wilson as Blonde girl
Diany Rodriguez as Claudine
Sarah Cooper as Keisha

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”

Trivia

There is a time jump from As I Lay Dying to this episode, with 2 months having passed, as confirmed by Damon in the episode.
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.
Andie Dies in this episode
The end of the episode ends with Carol Lockwood shooting Caroline Forbes with vervain darts.
This is the second season premiere in a row to end the cliffhanger with something bad happening to Caroline.
First episode since in which Sara Canning is not credited.
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".
Template:Jeremy hasn't told anyone about seeing Anna and Vicki (he told matt that he have been seing Vicki, but he say it like if where just a crazy thing.)
From this episode onwards Joseph Morgan (Klaus) is a series regular.
In this episode Caroline and Tyler have sex for first time.
Tyler say that he is horny all the time.
Klaus crates his first hybrid in this episode.
Is still unknow when did Carol Lockwood discover that Caroline is a vampire.Does she know that her son is a werewolf?

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.

Elena: (on the phone) Stefan, if there's you, you'll be ok. I love you, Stefan. Hold on to that. Never let that go.

Gallery

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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