"One Way or Another"
This episode had a few qualities that sort of stopped me in my tracks and revealed how much Season 7 has improved over these last few installments. I actually can't even recognize an episode like this as coming from the same season which previously had us fighting sleep as Julian made another bid for power or the Heretics seemed doomed to never develop personalities or purpose. Now we have so many exciting and fun ingredients being thrown into the pot that it's actually hard to keep up, never mind feeling one's attention flag. That's pretty unlikely given the absolute gift of the Dalaric feels in this episode after the wonderful attention the Defan relationship got in the previous one. We also got more Bonnie/Enzo interactions and possibly the most jaw-droppingly intense moment yet between Bonnie and Damon. Yet somehow, there was also room for the continuing drama of Stefan reclaiming his body from Ambrose, and even a fascinating newish character like Rayna seemed crammed into a wonderfully overstuffed hour.
"I hate how good that felt." That was probably my favorite line of dialogue in this episode, and had me laughing out loud as Alaric finally admitted that he still likes to hunt evil supernatural beings, such as Ambrose, the dry-witted sociopath in Stefan's body. Despite Ric's hesitation to join Damon in getting Stefan's body back, once he and Damon hit the road, it was a delightful trip down bromantic memory lane as the two exchanged quips like it was the good old Season 2-3 days.
Welcome back, Stefan. After the surprisingly reasonable (well, you know, for a crazy serial killer) Ambrose agreed to return Stefan's body as long as Damon and the gang a) replaced it with another transitioning vampire, and b) turned over poor Rayna, (who everyone keeps fighting over like she's an object, not a person) it seemed like Stefan's troubles would be easily ended. But this plotline collided with Enzo's ongoing dilemma over the pills he gave to Bonnie that are probably killing her. So Enzo grabbed Rayna to learn more about that situation, leaving Damon without a bargaining chip.
After Ambrose revealed just how completely unreasonable he could be by trying to kill Marty's body/Stefan's soul, luckily the Dalaric Dream Team were able to knock the murderer out long enough for Valerie to perform the spell. She used this juncture as the perfect chance to have a little chat with Stefan in vampy-witchy-dream-world, letting him know (as the spell nearly killed her in real life) that she was going to let him go because she understands that he is still in love with Caroline. Since Stefan's getting another chance at life, Valerie wants him to live it to the fullest and find the happiness he doesn't think he deserves.
At the beginning of Season 7, Valerie was one of the only interesting Heretics, then she was totally amazing and badass when she helped Stefan kill Julian. Then, when she got together with Stefan and turned into a whining Debbie Downer, Valerie started to wear thin. In this scene, her graciousness and empathy for Stefan were touching, as was her selflessness. But I'm still happy to see Valerie go, as her relationship with Stefan was doing nothing for the show, and she's just an extra character we don't have room for at this point.
"Somebody I Used to Know"
Building on the concept of filling in Bonnie and Enzo's backstory from the past few years, while keeping up with Damon's desperate attempt to save Bonnie and gain her forgiveness, this episode was amazing and didn't skimp on the heavy emotions or intense moments either.
Worst apology tour ever. Damon didn't even bring Bonnie's favorite flowers and he still doesn't know her favorite drink (Bonnie cracks me up), but he was there to help her and Enzo find a way to stop the pills made from Rayna's blood from rapidly killing her. Poor everyone in this situation. Poor Bonnie, once again on death's door, and struggling with seeing Damon again; poor Enzo, horribly the one who gave Bonnie the pills in the first place, not realizing they would hurt her; and poor Damon, clearly torn up to see how Bonnie's whole life has changed and he is not a part of it due to his own choices. However, I can see by that sparkle that never really leaves Damon's eyes that he believes in his heart of hearts that Bonnie will come around to forgiving him. At least by the end of this episode, she was speaking to him again (not nice words, but still).
Another character worthy of our sympathy is Rayna, haunted by the souls of the released vampires (from the Phoenix stone) to the point of frantically trying to map out their locations in the hopes of killing them again to find some peace in her own mind. Somebody give that woman a beach and a cheeseburger! She agreed to consider a deal to give her last life to Bonnie in exchange for Damon and Enzo's help assembling a "death squad" to kill the escaped vampires. But Rayna's obsession is getting out of control, and the kill list isn't getting any shorter. I absolutely loved the sequences of ridiculously nonstop vampire killing as Damon got some help from Stefan and Ric, with the gang tossing heads and hearts left and right. Stefan's move with the tennis racket was enough to redeem his behavior elsewhere in this installment, which was less than fabulous (more to follow).
There was a lot of high tension between Damon, Bonnie, and Enzo in this episode. From that quietly melancholy first scene of Bonnie clearing out her dorm (Ms. Cuddles! The initials on the door! Sob!), to her habit of carrying Damon's letter around, and the explosion of anger she let loose upon seeing him, it's clear how much Damon's friendship meant to her and how much he hurt her (just like she told him he would right before he went into his coffin). Damon's strong attachment to Bonnie was also on display, despite his quick and characteristic switch in attitude from penitent to quippy, as he fought tooth and nail to find a way to save her, even warning Enzo that if anything happens to her, he will have Damon to answer to.
Alex offered to do "anything she can" to find a cure for Bonnie if she'll just agree to open that damn mysterious vault, but we've heard that song and dance from her before back when she used that phrase with Nora and then did nothing to save Mary Louise. Who's in the vault? Alex's other sister, sealed in there by Lucy Bennett, a cousin of Bonnie's who was then killed by Virginia. I've got a feeling that vault is getting opened soon, despite Alex's irritatingly transparent, manipulative treatment of everyone in her path.
Second worst apology tour ever. Stefan was significantly less than charming at a few points in this episode, which is unusual for him. I didn't care for the way he was so blasé about barging into Caroline's new life with Alaric to finally explain himself, and his nonchalant, almost cold attitude towards Ric was uncalled for. At least Damon is overtly and clearly, emotionally, apologetic for his neglect of Bonnie. It almost seems like Stefan thinks he can just waltz back into Caroline's life like he never left. And even though she ignored him at the end of this episode (when Stefan finally attempted to apologize to Alaric), it's obvious enough she probably still loves him, seeing as she and Alaric are sleeping in separate rooms and she's getting married by a justice of the peace (this is Caroline we are talking about, people). Ric's memories of how Caroline would drive off alone at night just to cry over Stefan after he first left, and the fact that he's been there for her, even though his affections for her are unrequited, were just so sad. Both Alaric and Caroline deserve better than an awkward, forced marriage, but I'm pretty sure the union will never happen (we'll see).
What did you think of these episodes? Share your thoughts in the comments! And don't forget to catch an all-new The Vampire Diaries, Friday at 8/7c on the CW.
