Gilbert Gables. All right, this is the beginning of the end of my fun. I enjoyed the heck out of this episode until I had to think about these parts of it in detail. I can't, in good conscience, make you all think about it, beat by beat, scene by scene, so you're getting the skinny, to save us both. I can understand why, despite his threat to the contrary, Kol doesn't want to kill Elena. He might want to anger Klaus and stop Klaus, but he wouldn't want to enrage Klaus as much killing the hybrid wet nurse might. Still, it makes no sense that Kol, a thousand year old vampire, doesn't have the presence of mind to snap Elena's neck. And, on a show that has made such a big deal about how the older a vampire is, the stronger he or she is, it makes no sense that baby vampire Elena is able to struggle as effectively as she does against Kol. Suffice it to say that despite being pinned to the wall by a section of her wooden bannister (and other injuries as well), Elena prevents Kol from tearing off Jeremy's arm, and eventually the boy is able to introduce the monster to the business end of the Perma-Son of White Oak stake. Kol dies a fiery death. Yes, I just telescoped some scenes, because really, does anyone want me to spend any more time on that?

School. Stefan is trying to teach Rebekah how to slide down the hallway, like they are in The Breakfast Club, which was so two episodes ago. It's all a ruse so that she'll be accessible to a good daggering from Matt. Rebekah doesn't realize Matt is waiting for her, but when Stefan tells her to take off her shoes, she takes out the dagger and willingly gives it to Stefan. She knows he's been setting her up all night; she just doesn't know how far he was planning to go. Then she opens her heart and unwittingly saves herself. After admitting she cares about koala corsages, and proms, and would love to have babies with a guy who'd pull a Lloyd Dobler in her front yard, she finally says it; she wants to be human. "So let Klaus put down my brother and let's go find the cure." It's then that Stefan does the most amazing thing and shakes Matt off. This is the kind of growing and learning we got in the '80s, you jaded Post-Moderns, and it was fantabulous.

Bennett Bungalow. Interim Dad wants to object as Abby Abandoner prepares some more herbs with which to drug their still unconscious Interim Daughter, but Abby explains she needs to keep Bonnie down until she can summon some witches to clean the girl's mind of Shane's poisonous Expression. Unfortunately, she's a little too slow with the mortar and pestle. Bonnie wakes, magically isables her mother and proclaims her freedom. "I don't belong to the spirits any more. I belong to myself," then heads out.