162 Candles

162 Candles is the eighth episode of the first season of The Vampire Diaries and the eighth episode of the series overall.
==Summary==
A HAPPY BIRTHDAY THAT WILL END IN TRAGEDY — On his birthday, Stefan is surprised by a visit from Lexi, one of his oldest and best friends. Damon compelled Caroline to throw a party at the Grill because it was part of his diabolical plan. He then invited Stefan and Lexi and eventually they both accepted. Still upset by the events at the Halloween haunted house, Elena does her best to stay away from Stefan, but for some reason Elena finds herself at the Salvatore Boarding House in search for Stefan. When looking for him, she meets his oldest friend Lexi in a towel. Lexi was shocked to see who Elena was for a certain reason who's name is "Katherine." Elena then left and went home. Later Stefan stops off at Elena's house before he heads to the Grill. They talk and he then asks if she is going to Caroline's party; she says no. Then Elena shows up at the Grill still not sure about the situation with Stefan, but Lexi gives her some unsolicited relationship advice. Elena and Jenna are surprised by a change in Jeremy's behavior which has changed for the better. At Damon's compulsive insistence, Caroline tries to get the amulet back from Bonnie. Finally, Damon's offer to help Sheriff Forbes has tragic results. Matt also appears.
==Plot==
While reading a book, Stefan gets the sensation that someone is near him. Rising, he looks around to see who's there. Still not seeing anyone, he turns around again to find his oldest and dearest friend Lexi Branson, a 350-year-old vampire who helped Stefan regain his humanity at least twice. Being as today is Stefan's 162nd birthday, she arrives in at his house, like she does every year, to help him celebrate.
Sheriff Forbes questions everyone about the disappearance of Vicki Donovan, but everyone has the same story to tell, that Vicki had left town and they have no idea when she was coming back. This seems to appease the Sheriff for now. Elena bumps into Stefan outside the station. Feeling completely stressed out about the whole situation, Elena tells Stefan that she can no longer see him and that he needs to stay away from her.
While upstairs resting, Lexi gets an unexpected visit from Damon. While talking, it is obvious that they both have a distaste for each other. Tired of his attitude, Lexi grabs Damon by the throat and demands that he "not" ruin her visit with Stefan. Agreeing but not completely happy about the confrontation, Damon decides to leave.
Bonnie decides to pack up at her grandmother's and go home, knowing that her father doesn't like her to be gone for long. Bonnie tries to give her grandmother the necklace back, but she says no and that it belongs to Bonnie. It is a talisman that has been passed down from generation to generation and it has found its way back to Bonnie. Bonnie decides her grandmother is right and leaves the necklace on.
At home, Aunt Jenna and Elena are in shock to see Jeremy studying. Usually he is brooding, drunk or getting high. They asked him about it, and he responds by saying, he has a lot of homework to catch up on. Aunt Jenna and Elena don't know what else to say. They are happy to see him taking life a little more serious now.
Damon stops by the sheriff's department to drop off a box of vervain. He's still trying to find out who's in the council that is hunting vampires. Still no luck but he does seem to be gaining the sheriff's trust a little more each time. She believes that his Uncle Zachary is out of town and that Damon himself is stepping in to help with the vervain supply.
Bonnie pays an early visit to Elena in her room. She apologizes to Elena for being an absentee friend these past few days. Feeling that she can trust Elena, Bonnie swears her to secrecy and shows some of the things her grandmother taught her. She rips open her feather pillow to Elena's surprise and proceeds to make the feathers fly up into the air. Elena is shocked but happy that Bonnie shared this with her.
Outside of school, Damon stops Caroline and using his powers of "persuasion", gets her to throw a party at the Mystic Grill that night. He also demands that she find a way to get the necklace back from Bonnie.
Elena stops by Stefan's but gets an eyeful when Lexi answers the door in a towel. Lexi is stunned and almost speechless when she sees Elena, noticing she is the splitting image of Katherine. Elena, however, doesn't know what to say to Lexi. She assumes that Stefan must have moved on from her and went straight to a relationship with Lexi. Elena turns around and leaves.
Lexi confronts Stefan and the resemblance between Elena and Katherine. He tells her that appearance is the only thing Elena and Katherine share. Lexi says that's good because Katherine was a bitch. Stefan informs her that Elena is a warm and generous person and that he loves her. This seems to make Lexi happy. She also convinces him to go to the Mystic Grill party with her.
Knowing that Elena misunderstood the relationship he has with Lexi, Stefan heads over to her house to explain. She seems to believe him but does decline his invitation to join him at the party. She says she wants to stay in for the evening.
At the Mystic Grill, Caroline spots Bonnie and asks her about the necklace. Bonnie refuses to give it back. When Caroline reaches out to grab the necklace, she gets a shock from the necklace. Bonnie senses that it isn't actually Caroline who wants the necklace but Damon. She tells Caroline to have Damon asked for it back himself. Upset and confused, Caroline walks off.
After finding out that Caroline could not get the necklace back, Damon steps out back of the Mystic Grill for some fresh air. Once out there, he overhears a couple heading off to a more private location to "make-out". Surprising them, the couple are shocked when Damon appears behind them. He grabs the man's neck and drains him of his blood. The girl begins to cry. Once he is finished, he erases her memory and plants a new one about the attack.
Back at the Mystic Grill, Damon comes across Elena spying on Stefan and Lexi. Knowing what she is thinking, he doesn't bother to try and clear up any misunderstanding she might have of their relationship. Elena does ask him about Jeremy. She wants to know what he did to Jeremy since Jeremy is acting different. He tells her that he did what she asked…"to take away his suffering". Elena knows deep down inside that Damon helped Jeremy out, but he won't admit it.
Lexi sees Elena and decides to clue her into what she is to Stefan. Once informed, Elena is visibly relieved. Lexi also helps her understand Stefan a bit more. She helps Elena see Stefan in a different light. Elena decides that she wants to be with Stefan, regardless of if he is a vampire.
Sheriff Forbes is informed by another officer that a new victim of the Vampire has been discovered. Once she is on the scene, she notices that the girl is still alive and crying in the dark. She goes over to her and asks if she knows who did this. The girl says yes, and she stands up to help them find the vampire.
Almost falling on Matt at his table, Caroline realizes too late that she has had too many drinks. Matt has her sit down and they begin to talk about each other's problems. Apparently, misery does love company. Seeing that she needs help, Matt decides to escort her home. They pass by Sheriff Forbes on the way out and Caroline informs her mother that she's "drunk as a skunk". Matt takes her home and lays her down on her bed. Seeing that he is leaving, Caroline asks him to stay. He agrees and lays down in the bed and holds her close.
At the bar, Lexi confronts Damon and asks what he is really doing in Mystic Falls. His only answer is that "it's all part of his diabolical plan". Not understanding what he's talking about, Lexi knows he won't tell her the truth. Sheriff Forbes appears at the front entrance with the surviving victim to have her point out the Vampire. She points directly at Lexi. Within seconds, Lexi feels a needle in her side and realizes too late that it is a needle full of Verbena. They drag Lexi out of the Mystic Grill without causing a scene.
Stefan and Elena follow and hide out to see what is going to happen. Once outside and at a safe distance, Lexi bares her fangs and attacks her captors. Sheriff Forbes begins to shoot but it does no good. All of a sudden out of nowhere, Damon appears and drives a wooden stake through Lexi's heart. Lexi stares at him and her final words are "why". He replies, "it was part of the plan". Sheriff Forbes comes over and thanks him for his help. She knows that if it wasn't for Damon, she would probably have been killed. Now, they think they have killed the Vampire everyone has been searching for.
Stefan and Elena look on helplessly. They can't do anything without fear of being caught. Stefan decides to confront Damon for the last time. Elena begs him to not go but Stefan warns her to stay away from him. He knows that he must destroy Damon, or he will keep on killing the people that he loves.
Stefan finds Damon and attacks him. Using all his strength, he tries to destroy Damon. He pulls out a wooden stake and plunges it into Damon's chest. He doesn't aim for his heart because he wants this to be a final warning for Damon to leave him alone. Stefan spares Damon's life but Damon tries to tell him that he did it to help him. Stefan wants nothing more to do with him and walks away. Damon tears the stake out of his chest and is left there alone.
==Cast==
===Starring===
* Nina Dobrev as Elena Gilbert
* Paul Wesley as Stefan Salvatore
* Ian Somerhalder as Damon Salvatore
* Steven R. McQueen as Jeremy Gilbert
* Sara Canning as Jenna Sommers
* Katerina Graham as Bonnie Bennett
* Candice Accola as Caroline Forbes
* Zach Roerig as Matt Donovan
* Kayla Ewell as Vicki Donovan (credit only)
* Michael Trevino as Tyler Lockwood (credit only)
===Guest Starring===
* Arielle Kebbel as Lexi Branson
* Marguerite MacIntyre as Liz Forbes
* Bianca Lawson as Emily Bennett (dream)
* Jasmine Guy as Sheila Bennett
===Co-Starring===
* Jasmine Burke as Birdie Mae (credit only)
* Bridget Evelyn as Girl
* John Gilbert as Guy
* Jason Giuliano as Deputy #2
* Kevin Nichols as Deputy
* John Michael Weatherly as Bartender
==Trivia==
* Antagonist: Damon Salvatore.
* This marks the first usage of blood bags as a form of nutrition for "ethically minded" vampires.
* Stefan's birthday is November 1, 1847, making him 162 years old.
==Body Count==
*Guy - Drained of blood; killed by Damon Salvatore
*Lexi Branson - Staked, killed by Damon
==Continuity==
==Locations==
*Mystic Falls, Virginia
**Salvatore Boarding House
**Mystic Falls Police Station
**Sheila's House
**Gilbert House
**Mystic Grill
**Forbes House
**Bonnie Bennett's House
==Behind the Scenes==
*This episode had about 4.09 million viewers in the US, which was 0.9 million less than the previous episode.
*Jasmine Burke's character, Birdie Mae, was previously spelled Birdy Mae in Lost Girls. Despite being credited, she doesn't appear.
*Lexi is introduced as Stefan's best and oldest friend, Remember the New Guy? Then it looked like they Dropped a Bridge on her, but she never became a Forgotten Fallen Friend.
==Cultural References==
*, a 1984 coming-of-age film starring and written and directed by .
*, is an American musician, songwriter, and actor, best known as the lead singer and founder of rock band , a song ("") is also mentioned.
*, a colossal statue in New York harbor.
*, a famous Baroque fountain in Rome, Italy.
==Quotes==
==Multimedia==
===Soundtrack===
===Pictures===
<tabber>
|-|Promotional=
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|-|Behind the Scenes=
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</tabber>
==References==
==See also==
fr:Episode 1x08 : 162 bougies
it:Ragazze Perdute
Category:The Vampire Diaries Episode Guide
Category:The Vampire Diaries Season One
Category:Birthday episodes