The Vampire Diaries finally caught up to the future with these episodes, after teasing the events of "three years from now" all season to that point. Let's review and discuss the exciting events of these two episodes!
"I Would for You"
Most issues that had been percolating in Season 7 came full circle in this episode. Stefan realized that Caroline's new life with the children cannot include him; Damon decided to take himself out of play until Elena's awakening, much to Bonnie's chagrin; and after we learned about the rules of killing (and not killing) Rayna, we jumped forward three years to stay.
Still running. Stefan and Valerie sought solutions to his mark from Rayna, which is keeping him in constant flight from the relentless hunter, and preventing him from being with Caroline. Although Stefan suggested that Caroline could join him on the road, she is too ingrained into her new life with the babies to leave them, creating an official impasse for Steroline. It's not that hard now, to see how Alaric and Caroline, and Stefan and Valerie, drifted into becoming couples.
The Armory captured Rayna, but even though Stefan seemed safe for the time being, Damon resolved to sleep in his coffin, as he didn't believe in his ability to make ethical decisions without Elena's presence in his life.
"I'm not okay with this decision. I’m not okay with you choosing yourself. And I’m not okay with never seeing you, my best friend, ever again. This hurts me. This hurts."
Chills!
Damon's decision to desiccate anyway was disappointing. It's not that I don't understand his feelings about Elena's absence and his own moral shortcomings, but he should work harder to surmount this and be strong enough to come into his own. He should care enough for Stefan and Bonnie, at the very least, to try a lot harder to be the best version of himself. And to be there for them!
Matt, you're why we can't have nice things. Matt decided to blackmail Stefan into leaving town, in his campaign for a vamp-free Mystic Falls that Penny has teamed up with him on. Penny, meanwhile, has gone from being cute in her first few episodes, to now being a female version of whining expert Matt. Stefan headed to see Caroline, but after seeing how happy and secure she seems with Ric and the babies, he left to travel with Valerie. Again, similarly to Damon's choice, I thought Stefan could have shown a little more belief in himself and gone in there to tell Caroline he wants to be with her. I'm no Steroline shipper, but his just looking in the window and leaving felt weak.
Three years from now is now. I liked the little recap of the events we have seen so far from the future before the episode jumped forward to three years from then. Rayna has Stefan held captive at the t.v. station, and offers to transfer his mark to Damon, since it ought to have been his mark anyway. Ruh-roh: what's a Salvatore to do?
"Days of Future Past"
While suffering very noticeably from the absence of both Bonnie and Caroline, this episode benefited from a cool flashback/flashforward format wherein the present had become the "three years from now" time and the previously "current" time had to be flashed back to. If anything, this creative concept reveals the appropriateness of the episode title!
Damon and Stefan: who would bear the mark? Although Damon offered to give Stefan the mark, Stefan just took advantage of Rayna being in a comparatively laid-back mood to get back out on the run from her. Afterwards, Damon and Rayna grappled violently and both passed out, their ironic embrace position reflecting the interesting connection their characters share. These two definitely "get" one another in an engaging and effective manner. Later, Rayna informed Damon that he can't take the mark from Stefan without ensuring that he himself will never get to see Elena again, since (as we might have guessed), when Rayna dies in fifty or sixty years, so will all bearers of the mark. I'm a little surprised that Damon didn't piece that together, but he was being impulsive, and at least he tried to take responsibility for the situation and protect his brother. Now though, he clearly wasn't so sure he was ready to do that.
We learned plenty about how Stefan and Valerie bonded and became romantic during their long road trip in search of a solution to his scar. I found their chemistry underwhelming, and wasn't charmed by Valerie's unhelpful haranguing of Damon later in the episode, accusing him of never being willing to do the right thing to save Stefan. Plus, even though I had my issues with Damon's choice to desiccate in his coffin, there's no point ever questioning his love for his brother. Accordingly, Damon finally made the decision to take the mark despite knowing that it might forever separate him from Elena. I loved the way he said, "I'm Damon Salvatore, I'll figure it out." Now that determined and badass demeanor is reflective of the Damon we love!
What I found much more interesting than anything Stefan/Valerie-related were Rayna's conversations with Stefan in this episode. Ironically, Stefan has more chemistry, even in a phone call with Rayna than he does with Valerie, and this makes me curious to see if the writers ever "go there" with Stefan and Rayna. She admitted to Stefan that she can see what her marked intended victims are up to whenever she wants, and that she grew oddly attached to him during her captivity with the Armory. Rayna claimed that without any other form of entertainment, watching Stefan was all she had to do, and now she clearly has a soft spot for him.
In her own strange way, Rayna thinks that the "wisdom" of the phoenix stone can really save Stefan, and that when he finally abandons his devotion to Damon, he will be free. Although Rayna finally catches and stabs Stefan by the end of the episode (meh!), sending him back to the hell world, she doesn't do it with satisfaction, but with grim dutifulness and the hope that letting go of Damon will liberate Stefan. Too sympathetic to be a full-out villain, and too dangerous to be considered otherwise, Rayna is just a fascinating character and one of the main assets of Season 7.
Pills and potions. Valerie might have been so irksome in this episode that I had to force myself to remember how she helped Stefan kill Julian to keep from hating her, but Alex definitely had her beat. I find Alex's methods unstable, messy, and ineffective. She went from her previous investment to getting to know her family member, Enzo, to lashing out at him while being truly cruel to Mary Louise and Nora. Also, where are the other members of the Armory, you know, like, ever?
Alex suspected that Enzo had stolen a whole lot of those terrible little witch-killing pills, but now he is desperate to find out what they do, making Alex -- and us -- suspect that he had given them to Bonnie for some reason. But why would he do that? I am dying for some answers here, especially since even the slightest hints of Bonenzo information are always exciting. Enzo's immediate concern and obsession with finding a way to solve the problem reflected his deep feelings for Bonnie. And of course, even the hint of our Bonnie being in danger is always terrifying.
Elsewhere in the episode, we learned of the extremely obvious fact that Penny is dead due to something Stefan did, and that is Matt's motivation for releasing Rayna and helping her to get Stefan. I am curious to know what Stefan did that may have led to Penny's demise, but that's as far as my interest in this part of the story goes.
What did you think of these episodes? Share your thoughts in the comments, and be sure to catch an all-new The Vampire Diaries, Friday at 8/7c on the CW.
