Ep 22. As I Lay Dying

As I Lay Dying is the intense finale to the second season of The Vampire Diaries. The episode opens with Damon lying in the road, suffering from a werewolf bite that is slowly killing him. Stefan, Elena, and Bonnie have come to his aid, but they quickly realize that there's little they can do to save him. They try to comfort him as best they can, but Damon is largely resigned to his fate.

Meanwhile, Klaus is still on the hunt for the remaining doppelganger blood he needs to become invincible. He enlists the help of Katherine, who is still locked up in the tomb, to try to find it. But as they search, they realize that they're not the only ones looking for the blood: Elijah has returned, and he's determined to stop Klaus at any cost.

As the hours tick by, Damon's condition worsens, and he begins to hallucinate. He's visited by the ghost of his old flame Rose, who tries to convince him to let go and die peacefully. But Elena refuses to give up on him, and she and Stefan hatch a desperate plan to save his life: they'll feed him their blood, effectively turning him into a vampire.

Damon is initially resistant to the idea, but as his condition worsens, he realizes that it's his only chance. Stefan feeds him first, and then Elena – but as they do, they're interrupted by Klaus and Elijah. Klaus is furious that he's been thwarted again, and he lashes out at everyone in his path. He even manages to grab Elena as collateral, demanding that they turn her over to him in exchange for sparing Damon's life.

But Klaus is no match for the strength of the Salvatore brothers and their friends. With Bonnie's help, they're able to stop him and Elijah and rescue Elena. And in the end, Damon is revived – but at a cost. He's now a vampire, and he'll have to learn to live with the consequences of his new life.

As the episode comes to a close, the characters are left to pick up the pieces of their shattered lives. Damon is struggling to come to terms with his new existence as a vampire, while Stefan and Elena are left to navigate their complicated relationship. But one thing is certain: with Klaus still on the loose, and new enemies on the horizon, there's plenty of trouble ahead for the people of Mystic Falls.