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Vampire Diaries 2012 ended with Klaus murdering Carol Lockwood as punishment for Tyler’s attempted coup d’etat. This second half season begins with a memorial service attended by most of Rosewood High, including Rebekah who has been undaggered. At the service an interim Mayor is introduced; Rudy Hopkins, Bonnie’s dad. (He’s also the alpha Vamp on Supernatural.)

When Elena goes walkabout in the hall she encounters April - who now knows of all the supernatural beings - then has her neck snapped by Bekah. She returns to life in the library and is joined by April, Caroline and Stefan who are all compelled.

For a change the safest place in a supernatural show is in the woods and that’s where Matt and Damon are training Jeremy to be a hunter. The training is interrupted by a pizza girl then by Klaus who wonders why Damon isn’t providing vampires for Jeremy to slaughter.

Back at the school library, Rebekah is having fun with her class of vampires. She forces them to bring her up to speed on why the cure hasn’t been found and learns Stefan broke up with his “epic love” because Elena “is sired to Damon”. But that may not be true when Elena, under the superior power of compulsion, confesses she slept with Damon “because I am in love with him” and not because of the sire bond.
Through Stefan she learns Professor Shane is now the only man who knows how to complete the cure so she has him abducted - by Kol - and brought before her. Tyler too is summoned. (I guess only with Klaus, underground tunnels and other such bullshit are found to rescue prisoners.)

Later that night an impatient Klaus tells Damon he knows he’s trying to be a good boy for Elena so he sped up the process. That turns out to be turning the pizza girl who is soon killed by Jeremy after she attacks Matt.

Meanwhile Kol is torturing Shane for information (He can’t be compelled. SMH at that.) and learns Shane’s plan is to resurrect Silas who will then resurrect the Council members and anyone else “who died on his behalf”. It scares Kol and he advises Rebekah that continuing on is more a death sentence than a cure. Rebekah believes Silas is more folklore than truth but Kol stakes him anyway. They believe Shane is dead but he survives because Bonnie had conjured a protection spell. (Fadder Lawd).
In doing so she somehow bonded April to Shane and April almost dies.

All of those compel are eventually free to leave the school though not before Bekah plays one more trick… forcing Tyler to turn and chase them for a bit.

The episode ends with Elena finally saying “I love you” to Damon (Or perhaps she did before, who cares.), Stefan and Rebekah forging an alliance to find the cure, and Klaus providing a bar room of vampires in transition for Jeremy to kill.