Brave New World
Brave New World is the second episode of the second season.
Written by: Brian Young
Directed by: John Dahl
Original Air Date: 09/16/10
Caroline wakes up in her hospital bed and finds that the only one around is a nurse. Caroline spots a blood bag in a nearby room and is drawn to it. The nurse takes her back to her room, and then Caroline takes a drink from the blood bag that she just stole. She's initially disgusted by it but then begins enjoying it.
Elena and Bonnie help set up the school carnival and Elena doesn't want to talk about vampire related issues. Stefan gives Jeremy vervain and tells him how to kill vampires. Jeremy, of course, wants revenge on Damon but Stefan tells him to not do anything about it for his own safety. He then expresses concern about what Damon might be up to now. Damon, meanwhile, is talking to Carol, who's now the mayor. She asks him to head up the council, which he agrees to. Tyler and Mason get back from a run and Damon listens in on their conversation. Tyler tells Mason that he seems to get angry for no reason and can't control it.
Still at the hospital, Caroline keeps putting her hand in the sun, seemingly testing the fact that it now causes pain. Matt comes by to visit her and opens the curtains, then Caroline yells at him to close them. He leaves, thinking she doesn't want to see him. Damon tells Stefan about his suspicions regarding something going on with the Lockwoods. Caroline tries to put on the necklace Elena gave her but it burns her. She drinks a little more blood and, looking in a mirror, notices her face change. Her fangs come out for the first time, which hurts her. The nurse walks in on her and Caroline unintentionally compels her to do what she says. Caroline then feeds on her. At the carnival, Bonnie enlists the help of a worker there, Carter, to get something working again. He openly flirts with her and Bonnie doesn't mind.
Mason looks through the office and Tyler catches him. Mason says he's looking for an heirloom, something called a moonstone. Damon walks up to Jeremy and Jeremy threatens him, feeling confident with his ring. Damon grabs him and takes the ring, showing how easy it is for Damon to take him if he wants to. He then gives the ring back to Jeremy.
Caroline leaves the hospital after compelling the nurse to tell a different story if anyone asks about the wound on her neck. Damon watches Tyler in an arm wrestling competition and Tyler is easily beating everyone--until Mason goes against him. Mason wins, and Damon volunteers Stefan to try. Stefan lets Mason win but realizes that Mason's strength is definitely superhuman. Damon compels Carter to pick a fight with Tyler and not back down no matter what. Damon goes off on his own, walking down one of the school hallways. Caroline comes up behind him and reveals that she can now remember everything he did to her. Damon thinks it's impossible, since you have to become a vampire to remember any compulsion, and then realizes what that means. Caroline delivers Katherine's "game on" message and then shoves him to the ground.
As Stefan watches from a distance, Carter starts a fight with Tyler and Tyler tries to walk away but is forced to fight back. Mason intervenes, showing that in addition to being unnaturally strong, he's also agile and can leap higher/farther than a normal human. Not only that, but Tyler notices his eyes change to gold/yellow, just like his own eyes did in Founder's Day. Mason and Tyler leave the area and Stefan checks on Carter. Caroline finds Matt and tries to do the ring toss, breaking one of the glasses. She hugs Matt and can smell the blood in his veins, which forces her to leave. Damon tells Elena and Stefan about Caroline. Damon says they have to kill her, remembering what happened with Vicki but Elena and Stefan disagree.
Caroline goes off by herself, crying, and then smells the blood from Carter's nose. She apologizes and then feeds on him, unable to stop herself from killing him. Matt talks to Bonnie about Caroline acting even more neurotic than usual. Damon goes to look for Caroline, as do Stefan and Elena. Tyler and Mason get home and Tyler tries to get him to tell the truth about what happened, but Mason denies what Tyler says he saw. Damon finds Caroline first, but Stefan and Elena arrive just before he kills her. Damon tries to stake her again but Elena gets in the way, which makes him back off. Bonnie arrives just at that moment and is extremely upset when she realizes what's happened. Stefan takes Caroline to the bathroom, helping her clean the blood off her face. He also shows her that she can control the blood lust if she's determined to.
Bonnie sets Damon on fire, blaming this on him, but Elena stops her. At the Lockwood house, Mason apologizes for earlier. Tyler heads into his dad's study and opens up a safe that's hidden in the floor. Inside are papers, some disks, and the moonstone Mason is looking for. He slips it into a pocket. Jeremy is at the Salvatore mansion when Damon walks into the living room. Damon is about to take a drink when Jeremy warns him that he laced it with vervain. Jeremy tells him that his uncle and father hated vampires but that he doesn't necessarily want to be like them. Damon tells Jeremy that his father also hated vampires. Matt sneaks into Caroline's room and confesses that he loves her. She kisses him and is able to control her blood lust.
Stefan wakes Elena up and takes her back to the carnival. He takes her to the top of the Ferris wheel, where they kiss and then wonder what's coming next.
Damon: "If you wanna tell people what I really am, go ahead and try. I will shove this ring so far up your ass, you'll really have something to choke on."
Soundtrack:
Neon Trees - Animal
Glasvegas - Geraldine
Silversun Pickups - Currency of Love
Andrew Belle - The Ladder
OneRepublic - All This Time