The titular rager comes courtesy of Rebekah, who returns to the show along with brother Klaus this week. Lost and alone as usual, she tries to court favour with those she’s previously wronged. This excludes Elena, and the two of them go at it like wild cats. With Elena newly undead and heightened in every possible way, she doesn’t handle the stress very well. Scrambling around for the white oak stake (which Damon reluctantly gives her), attempting to stab her with pencils in class and upstaging her at her own party, this is a new, more impulsive Elena. I have to say I like her, if only because the old Elena was become a bit of a drag. Connor is still around causing havoc, and the meaning of the mysterious tattoo Jeremy noticed last week is expanded upon a little. Apparently this mark can only be seen by potential hunters, making Jeremy a prime candidate to take over for Alaric in the future. It’d be a bit of a shame since his sister and most of his friends are already vampires, but does this mean that Jeremy could turn over to the dark side at some point? If he does, then it probably isn’t going to be any time soon, since he uses the connection this week to lure Connor into a trap set by Damon and Klaus. Here, we learn that Connor could be part of ‘the five’ (which, incidentally, is the title of next week’s episode), but Klaus doesn’t reveal much else about his intriguing proclamation. We also welcomed Secret Circle star Phoebe Tonkin to the show as Tyler’s old flame, Hayley, and the only thing to note about her right now is the trouble she’ll undoubtedly cause between Tyler and Caroline. Did we ask for a love square? I don’t think so, but I’m still optimistic about what Tonkin can bring to the series this year apart from her romantic entanglements. Even though this episode was slightly weaker than the two that came before, there’s plenty to ponder on for next week. Most importantly, will Elena feed under Damon’s tutelage? What does this mean for her relationship with Stefan? We’ll find out next week, which looks to be an interesting, twisty-turny, flashback episode. Read Caroline’s review of the previous episode, Memorial, here.
