The Vampire Diaries September 29 Episode Recap: Katherine Returns!

Stefan was devilishly handsome - and just plain demonic - back in the Roaring Twenties.

September 29 – In an episode full of glamorous flashbacks, The Vampire Diaries explored dysfunctional family dynamics as Caroline literally got some tough love from her father and we met Klaus’s twisted sister Rebecca. In the wake of his failed attempt to create a community of hybrids inTennessee, Klaus takes Stefan to their old haunts from the Roaring Twenties – Chicago – to get answers about why the curse wasn’t broken from a powerful witch named Gloria. Little does Stefan know that he’s going to find out a lot more about his past – and his relationship with Klaus – then he bargained for. Chicago was the site of some seriously bad vampire action for Stefan during his Ripper days. He was a dapper demon who enjoyed making his victims suffer and memorialized his victims by keeping a list of their names in a wine closet he kept in his apartment. Worse still, he and Klaus were friends back then! Also delving into Stefan’s colorful past are Damon and Elena, who are tipped off about Stefan’s location by Katherine. Klaus’s witch friend tells him she needs to speak with his sister Rebecca in order to make contact with the Original witch who could reveal why the hybrid transformations aren’t working. Are you still with me? This hybrid curse mythology is getting more and more convoluted. The problem is that Rebecca is dead. Klaus, who went by the name Nick in the Twenties, staked her after she had fallen for Stefan and chose him over remaining with her brother. Klaus finds Rebecca’s coffin and removes the stake, leaving a compelled guard to serve as her first meal upon her resurrection. Arriving in The Windy City, Damon and Elena check out Stefan’s old pad and Elena is spooked by the alarmingly long list of Stefan’s victims. Like Damon said, Stefan’s not in town to visit Oprah! While Damon drops in on Gloria at her bar, Klaus takes Stefan on a trip down memory lane by stopping by his apartment and nearly catches Elena hiding in the wine closet. Luckily, Stefan is the one to peek in and covers up for her. The Stefan she knows and loves is still there… for now, anyway. Outside Gloria’s bar, Stefan reads Damon the riot act about bringing Elena to Chicago and demands he get her out of town. Elena, however, tries to convince him to return to Mystic Falls with her. Not only does Stefan refuse, but he catches her trying to drug him with a tranquilizer. He’s over her, he lies. Elena is finally starting to believe him.

Will Gloria uncover the fact that Elena is still alive?

Inside, Damon distracts Klaus to give Elena time to rescue Stefan, but the ornery hybrid tires of their witty banter and tries to stake him but Gloria intervenes. She won’t have blood spilled in her establishment, she commands. I like that gal! Back in Mystic Falls, Caroline is having a very bad day. Her dad is hell-bent on curing her vampirism by giving her aversion therapy. He triggers her hunger by showing her blood bags then, after removing her protection ring, repeatedly exposes her to searing sunlight as she screams in agony. Luckily, Tyler enlists Sheriff Forbes’ help in finding Caroline and they rescue her from her deluded dad. Safe at home, Caroline breaks down while Tyler comforts her in his arms. When Rebecca finally wakes from the dead, she’s understandably peeved at her bro for staking her but she’s even more freaked out that a special necklace she needs to contact the Original witch is missing! Is there no single piece of jewelry on this show that doesn’t have a mystical purpose? Maybe Tiffany needs to get in on this vampire legend stuff. Elena, who has a growing collection of magical bling, is now in possession of the necklace, which of course gives Klaus and his growing band of merry monsters even more reason to be hot on her trail. Sure to complicate matters further is our favorite evil twin, Katherine, who is also in Chicago (big shock) and happened to be at the Cotton Club-style establishment that Klaus and Stefan frequented the night it was raided by the cops in the Twenties. The cops were shooting wooden bullets, revealing that somebody was hunting vamp siblings Klaus and Rebecca. Kat looked super cute in a flapper wig like the one Catherine Zeta-Jones wore in the musical Chicago. It’s a great look for Nina Dobrev. What’s Kat up to this time? Is she still chasing after Stefan? With Rebecca back in action, she’ll have to get in line.