(S01E17) "I'm not gonna turn someone who learned everything he knows about vampires from Netflix." - Anna to Jeremy

There's a storm brewing, not only in the weather, but also those 25 cranky vampires in the farmhouse outside of town. By the end of this episode, there were a few less vampires there, not to mention the owner of the house.

Damon and Alaric made a great badass team, even if Alaric was ticked enough about the whole incident to slug Damon after it was all over. And everything that happened helped to further my fascination with (the still not-dead?) Frederick, especially after Pearl told him they can't live by revenge and need to have better control over their emotions. We can see how well that worked for him.

And speaking of badass Damon, he almost seems like a different vampire from the one who arrived in Mystic Falls at the beginning of this season. He's still a badass, but in this episode, he used his powers for good -- to save Stefan and comfort Elena. Yes, he actually comforted her, even as he was telling her to stay away from the farmhouse, so he wouldn't be distracted by her safety as he worked to get Stefan out of the torture chamber. All this, even if his ultimate goal is that Pearl will help him find Katherine (and I'm not totally convinced that's his ultimate goal at the moment).

Vicki must have had a bigger impact on Jeremy than I recall. I know she was sort of his port in the storm after everything that happened with his parents, but I didn't think he was enamored with her enough to want to be turned so he could be with her, as Anna implied. And her reasons for why a vampire would turn a human were telling:

1. The vampires need someone to do their dirty work.
2. Revenge.
3. Boredom.
4. "You love someone so much that you'd do anything to spend all of eternity with him."

"You don't fit any of those categories yet," said Anna. I'm sure I heard her say "yet." It made me think she has a little thing for him, especially how she keeps turning up in his room.

My image of Frederick as Nikolas Cassadine from 'General Hospital' was thwarted by this: "One hundred and forty-five years left starving in a tomb, thanks to Katherine's infatuation wtih you and your brother," he told Damon. "The first few weeks, every single nerve in your body screams with fire, the kind of pain that can drive a person mad. I thought your brother might want to get a taste of that before I kill him ... you have a nice day..."

Before Damon killed the woman who owned the house, he asked if she had any family who lived there. At first, I thought it was proof of the kinder, gentler Damon I was talking about earlier. But when he walked into the house, it occurred to me that he was just asking because then someone else would have to invite him in. So if the owner of the house is dead and she doesn't have any heirs or any family who lives there, can a vampire just walk right into the house without an invitation?

The scene where Elena comforted Matt was interesting. I figured, ok, it's an old friend, and he's just learned that his sister is dead. So of course she would comfort him. But after everything that happened with Stefan -- him drinking her blood to gain his strength back, then fighting Frederick in a frenzy and turning on Elena in a rage -- maybe she just wanted a normal human to connect with, and that human was Matt.

And that was certainly a telling scene at the end, where Damon found Stefan with blood on his face. Apparently, Stefan had gotten into Damon's "two liters of soccer mom in the fridge." Now that Stefan's had a taste of human blood, he'll have that hunger.

A Few Quotes:

"Teacher by day, vampire hunter by night." - Damon to Alaric

"Are you insane?" - Damon to Elena, after he sees her inside the farmhouse

"Jeremy knows. He likes it. And he likes me." - Anna to Pearl, who then slaps her

Damon, seeing all the vampires outside the farmhouse: "How many of those vervain darts have you got left?"
Alaric: "One."
Damon: "Not gonna be enough."

"If I had a good side, not a way to get on it." Damon to Pearl, whose vamps spent the day torturing Stefan

Stefan to Elena, after he went all psycho-vamp on Frederick: "I'm sorry that you had to see it."
Elena: "I've just never ... you were like this other person."
(I'm thinking this might be the thing that turns her towards Damon.)

What did you guys think of this episode? I can't wait to see how the rest of this season plays out.