Another week, another very fun, suspenseful, and entertaining episode of The Vampire Diaries! I'm still loving Season 6. A couple of the storylines (Hello, Delena. Hello, Steroline.) need to move forward soon and fast, but otherwise, and especially with regard to the intense reveal of Kai's backstory in detail this week, things are going very well indeed. Let's review and discuss!
Jo and Kai's not-so-heartwarming Thanksgiving memories: The flashbacks to the day Kai massacred a large portion of his family were absolutely chilling, and were scarier than the last few horror movies I've seen. Once more, Chris Wood's performance is one to look forward to every week. His smooth good looks (he looks rather like a 90's Paul Rudd, which is appropriate to the setting he's trapped in!) mask a dreadful and remorseless killer who was ready to kill two adorable children hiding under the bed with a young Jo(sette - what a pretty name) that terrible day. I also loved the actress who played the 22 year old Jo - she was steely about protecting her young siblings in a completely believable manner. As it turned out, those little munchkin twins were none other than Luke and Liv, who started out as somewhat annoying extra characters last season and have now officially evolved into legitimately relevant additions to the show who bring an interesting twist to the story. Their reunion with Jo in the present was both heartbreaking in its angst and confusion, and heartwarming at its sweet possibilities after the siblings had been apart for so long. Sadly, Liv's ongoing struggle against the coven's cruel rules wherein she and Luke must "merge" their powers, causing one of them to die while the other becomes the leader of the group, make it hard for her to accept any form of happiness.
The explanation of the Gemini Coven and the actions of Jo and Kai's father were also fascinating and unsettling. The man cares way too much more about the coven and its frankly ridiculous rules than his own children. While there can never be an excuse for Kai's horrible behavior, surely his parents' "put-the-coven-first" mentality damaged the whole family irreparably and is still impacting Liv and Luke (seriously, Luke, why are you so happy that it's your 22nd birthday?!).
"Ms. Cuddles: 1. Invisible creepy mansion: 0." Bromantic road trip FTW! I absolutely adored seeing Damon, Alaric, and Stefan head to Portland to investigate the roots of the Gemini Coven, just as Bonnie was given a grand tour of the old homestead by Kai in 1994-land. Damon and Alaric discussed Stefan's awkward situation with Caroline (Damon was too awesome, having Ms. Cuddles "say" she'd seen the Steroline situation from a mile away, and she has cotton for brains!). Stefan said he only sees Caroline as a friend. Once you did see her as just your friend, Stefan, but surely things have changed rather obviously now, right? This is taking ages to dawn on him.
Anyway, on their journey to Kai and Jo's childhood home, the trio also came across the father, who was predictably creepy. Damon was again too hilarious saying something like, "I wasn't gonna say anything because [Kai's] your son, but if he comes back, I'll just kill him!" Stefan and Alaric were not going to stand by as Damon fell victim to Kai's dad's witchy shenanigans, and it was terrific to see the guys working together, even discovering that Jo had hidden her magic in a knife on the family property. Unfortunately, this was also discovered by Kai, who figured the connection out once he realized that Bon Bon had hidden her own magic in my favorite very special guest star Ms. Cuddles. Ruh-roh. Now that Kai's decided he only needs Bennett witch blood to do the go-home spell, he's taken the car and ditched a wounded Bonnie. Urgh, I cannot wait to see Bonnie find a way to escape 1994 and hopefully, eventually defeat Kai as well.
Meanwhile, Damon compelled Alaric to get the Ascendent from Jo any way he can, which Ric doesn't want to do for fear of endangering Jo. Aw, I hate seeing more trouble in bromantic paradise for Dalaric. Sigh.
Elena and Damon's talk near the end of the episode was really sweet and felt like a nice little bit of progress, with Elena at least admitting that she certainly feels a hint of the feelings for Damon she's lost along with her memories. Yet she says she's still not sure if those potential feelings are worth throwing away her chance at a safe and happy life. Elena, you need to watch the season 4 finale again, mmkay? Anyway, maybe once Bonnie comes back, she can help Elena decide what to do, Elena muses. Alright, Elena, now you're just needlessly stalling! However, Damon recalling how he and Bonnie became friends in 1994-land was fantastic, and so was Elena and Caroline's joy at learning that Bonnie is still alive.
"They'll have to go through me." Oh my adorable. Tyler and Liv had the cute turned up high as they discussed her awful predicament and its seeming impossibility of having a happy ending. When Liv looks at Tyler, she sees everything she can never have, but Tyler is willing to stand up and help Liv fight the coven's ludicrous agenda. After all, there's no magic in Mystic Falls, so maybe that'll keep the Geminis at bay? Somehow, I doubt it, but "A" for effort, Ty. The part with Tyler and Liv cuddling under the blanket was oddly similar to a Caroline/Tyler scene from late season 2, but all the same, it was a lovely moment between the two.
What did you think of this episode? Share your thoughts in the comments! And don't forget to catch an all-new The Vampire Diaries, returning Thursday, 12/4 at 8/7c on The CW.
