Friday Nigh Bites

Friday Night Bites is the third episode of the first season of The Vampire Diaries and the third episode of the series.

Summary
MYSTIC FALLS IS ROCKED BY VIOLENCE — Elena tries to ignore ’s warnings about the disturbing vibes she gets from Stefan. tries to embarrass Stefan by throwing a football at him, but Stefan effortlessly catches and passes the ball back, impressing everyone with his skill. Mr. Tanner reluctantly lets Stefan join the football team. Elena decides to invites Stefan and Bonnie to dinner hoping that the two will bond, but the evening is disrupted by the unexpected and unwelcome arrival of Damon and Caroline. Finally, the town is shocked by an act of violence.

Main Cast

 * Nina Dobrev as Elena Gilbert
 * Paul Wesley as Stefan Salvatore
 * Ian Somerhalder as Damon Salvatore
 * Steven R. McQueen as Jeremy Gilbert
 * Katerina Graham as Bonnie Bennett
 * Candice Accola as Caroline Forbes
 * Zach Roerig as Matt Donovan
 * Kayla Ewell as Vicki Donovan
 * Michael Trevino as Tyler Lockwood

Recurring Cast

 * Benjamin Ayres as William Tanner

Co-Starring

 * Chris Thomas Hayes as Student

Uncredited

 * Caprice Cole as Quad Girl
 * Keith Allen Hayes as Football Fan
 * Carmen Matheny as Football Fan
 * Paulo Pascoal as Student
 * Ethan Patterson as Student
 * Cody Rowlett as Animal Control

Trivia

 * Antagonist: Damon Salvatore.
 * Caroline is shown to have a small star tattoo on the outside of her right foot.
 * It is the first appearance of one of Caroline's scarves, which are typically used to cover up the bite marks caused by Damon feeding on her.
 * This episode marks the first appearance of Elena's vervain necklace.
 * This necklace will be a major fixture in the first three seasons of the series.
 * Damon tries to compel Elena to kiss him, but the vervain in her necklace protects her.
 * However, it appears that she almost tries to kiss him of her own free will, until she snaps out of it and slaps him.
 * It is revealed in this episode that the school mascot of Mystic Falls High School are the Timberwolves.
 * The numbers Bonnie kept getting visions about—8, 14 and 22—are shown to be a building number (8), a license plate (14) and a parking space (22).
 * Specifically, these visions were a warning about the murder of Coach Tanner at the high school's first football game.
 * This is the first appearance of Damon's Camaro.
 * This episode marks the first time we see Damon's human side, as he stands beside Elena's bed and lightly caresses her cheek while she is sleeping.
 * The scene where Mr. Tanner "tests" Stefan with historical dates is similar and was possibly ripped from the movie Damien: Omen II, where the history teacher does the same thing to Damien.

Book References

 * When Elena brings up Bonnie's heritage as a witch to Stefan, he mentions a group of witches who are descended from Celtic Druids. Bonnie McCullough, the novel character that Bonnie Bennett is based on, is descended from the Druids.
 * Damon also kills Mr. Tanner in the novels, in the same manner as in this episode, to prove a point to Stefan.
 * Elena is a cheerleader in the books. In this episode, she quits the squad after a conversation with Damon led her to realize that she didn't enjoy it anymore.
 * She will later rejoin the Lady Timberwolves in Bring It On.

Locations

 * Mystic Falls High School

Body Count

 * William Tanner - drained of blood, killed by Damon Salvatore.

Production Notes

 * Jenna does not appear in this episode, and as a result, she isn't credited, either.
 * It's the first time that a series regular does not appear in an episode of the series.
 * The Lady Timberwolves are seen for the first time. However, the uniforms seen in this episode will be different in Bring It On.

Cultural References

 * , a book by Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist about the devotion to high school football in . It was subsequently adapted into a  and then a.
 * , a 19th century American philosopher, essayist, and poet, best known for his dedication to.
 * At the dinner, Bonnie mentions watching 9-0, as in 90210.
 * Friday Night Bites is the title of the second book in the Chicagoland Vampires series of books by Chloe Neill.
 * The scene where Stefan answers the history teacher's questions bears some similarities to a scene in Damien: Omen II (1978).

Continuity

 * Damon uses dream manipulation on Elena for the first time (as a human).
 * The second time will be in She's Come Undone when she's a vampire.
 * Elena's vervain necklace is revealed in Season Three as originally belonging to Esther 1,000 years ago and was last in the possession of Rebekah in Chicago in 1922.

Behind the Scenes

 * This episode had about 3.81 million viewers in USA, which was 0.03 million more than the previous episode.
 * The title of this episode is a reference to the film, TV series and novel, Friday Night Lights, as Stefan joins the football team, also "Lights" is replaced with "Bites" to match it with the vampire-theme of the show.

Quotes
{{Scroll-1|
 * Stefan: "There must be a shred of humanity left inside my brother. Somewhere. I keep hoping, but how do I make him see it? And how do I protect her?"


 * Stefan: "I thought there was hope. That somewhere deep inside, something in Damon was still human, normal. But I was wrong. There's nothing human left in Damon. No good, no kindness, no love. Only a monster... who must be stopped."


 * Damon: "This could've gone a completely different way."


 * Bonnie: "I'm not saying don't date the guy, I'm just saying take it slow."
 * Elena: "Why the about-face?"
 * Bonnie: "You're single for the first time in your high school career. It's the perfect time to play the field."
 * Elena: "Oh, because I am so that girl."


 * Bonnie: "This is me expressing concern about my best friend's new boyfriend."


 * Jeremy: "Tell me something, was it the drugs? Were you sleeping with me because of the drugs?"


 * Tyler: "Oh look, there's Elena and her new boyfriend. And what are they doing? Oh they're walking, walking, walking... Yup, right into the sunset."
 * Matt: "You're a dick."
 * Tyler}: "While you're just standing there looking like one of those little yard trolls."
 * Matt: "Gnomes."


 * Matt: "What am I supposed to do, Ty? She made her choice."
 * Tyler: "Let her know she made the wrong one."


 * Stefan: "I love football, I think it's a great sport. In this case, I don't think football likes me."
 * Elena: "They don't know you. To them you're mysterious-loner-guy. Wouldn't hurt to be a part of, make some friends."
 * Stefan: "Says the girl who spends her alone time, writing in a cemetery."


 * Elena: "There's more to me than just gloomy-graveyard-girl. There's a whole other Elena that you have yet to meet. She was into everything-- very busy."
 * Stefan: "Well, I look forward to meeting her. And when will that be?"
 * Elena: "Soon. She's working on it."


 * Elena: "FYI, our team sucks. They could use you."
 * Stefan: "Can't. I'm a loner."


 * Mr. Tanner: "Miss Gilbert?"
 * Elena: "Hm?"
 * Mr. Tanner: "Pearl Harbor?"
 * Stefan: "December 7, 1941."
 * Mr. Tanner: "Thank you, Ms. Gilbert."
 * Stefan: "Anytime."


 * Stefan: "I'm good with dates, sir."
 * Mr. Tanner: "Are you? Keep it to the year. Civil Rights Act."
 * Stefan: "1964."
 * Mr. Tanner: "John F. Kennedy assassination."
 * Stefan: "1963."
 * Mr. Tanner: "Martin Luther King."
 * Stefan: "68."
 * Mr. Tanner: "Lincoln."
 * Stefan: "1865."
 * Mr. Tanner: "Roe vs. Wade."
 * Stefan: "1973."
 * Mr. Tanner: "Brown vs. Board."
 * Stefan: "1954."
 * Mr. Tanner: "The Battle of Gettysburg."
 * Stefan: "1863."
 * Mr. Tanner: "Korean War."
 * Stefan: "1950 to 1953."
 * Mr. Tanner: "Ha! It ended in '52."
 * Stefan: "Uh, actually sir, it was '53"
 * Mr. Tanner: "Look it up, somebody. Quickly!"
 * Student: "It was... 1953."


 * Elena: "How did you know all that?"
 * Stefan: "Years and years of crossword puzzles. It's a loner thing."


 * Mr. Tanner: "Mr. Lockwood, is there anything you're good at? Cause it isn't history and it sure as hell isn't defending the ball!"


 * Elena: "I can't be sad-girl forever. The only way to get things back to the way they were are to do things that were."


 * (Damon drives up with Caroline)
 * Bonnie: "That must be the mystery guy from the Grill."
 * Elena: "That's not a mystery guy. That's Damon Salvatore."
 * Bonnie: "Salvatore? As in Stefan?"
 * Caroline (to Elena): "I got the other brother. Hope you don't mind."


 * Stefan: "I'm not too versed, but I do know that there's a history of Celtic Druids that migrated here in the 1800's."
 * Bonnie: "My family came by way of Salem."
 * Stefan: "Really? Salem witches?"
 * Bonnie: "Yeah."
 * Stefan: "I'd say that's pretty cool."
 * Bonnie: "Really? Why?"
 * Stefan: "Salem witches are heroic examples of individualism and non-conformity."

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