The Vampire Diaries - Nostalgia's a Bitch - Review

Yay!  That's my review.

Just kidding.  But seriously, wow.  If it weren't for the continued presence of Sybil, Seline, and Cade, plus some boring scenes involving Matt and his dad, I would not even recognize this incarnation of TVD as being the same season we've been suffering through of late.  This episode resurrected the show like a vampy phoenix from the flames of really bad plotting.

Into Damon's Mind.  Sybil forced Damon's humanity switch back on (thank you for that, girl, but cut it out with the effing humming!), and it plunged him into a coma due to the insurmountable guilt of what he did under her thrall.  Bonnie's immediate reaction to the situation was to ask Caroline to bring them into Damon's head to help him. Right away, it was clear this was going to be a good episode.  Bonnie and Caroline working as a team, and Bonnie expressing her friendship for Damon, hooray!  Caroline's efforts were repulsed by the sheer awfulness of what Damon was enduring, but a little promise to deliver the bell helped Sybil to decide to lend a hand.

I found the portrayal of Damon's mind to be one of the better "going into a character's head" stories we've seen on the show.  His guilt was made up of so many fascinating layers, and Caroline and Bonnie had to dig through a lot of facades to find the real Damon.  However, awesomely, and displaying more subtlety than the writers have provided in ages, Damon did want them to find him and help him return to the real world, planting clues for Bonnie along the way.

Some old, dearly departed friends populated Damon's subconscious, representing different aspects of his guilt yet manifested in a fantasy where he remained human, the only way to protect those souls who fell prey to his violence.  Vicki's presence was the most direct reminder of the lows to which Damon has sunk in the past, since Tyler was only killed because of Sybil's influence.  It's always fabulous to see Vicki, one of the best too-soon-departed TVD characters.  Tyler's appearance was great, not only because of his beard (but that was definitely a factor) but also because his frank presence as gate-keeper for the real Damon revealed that his death is one of the worst memories and most dreadful facts keeping Damon trapped in his torturous coma.  Caroline got a fantastic scene with Liz, where she realized that it was Damon's love and caring for her mom that helped her to forgive him for all of his misdeeds and accept his presence in her life.  The acting and poignant emotions in that scene were beautiful and rewarding.  Caroline has such grace and integrity, and this conversation showed them on full display.  It doesn't matter if Damon should be forgiven, in a sense, but it matters that Caroline can forgive him for all the right reasons.

Only one person could gain access to Damon inside his mind, and that was Stefan.  When the cold, cruel, humanity-free version of his brother approached in a wonderfully evocative graveyard that yielded one-liner hilarity from Stefan, Damon told him that he was not going to ask for Stefan's forgiveness.  Instead, it was Damon who wanted to offer forgiveness to Stefan.  While Damon's heartfelt words of love and forgiveness to his brother in this scene were through-the-roof Defan-tastic and marvelous, I also liked how we saw Stefan rebelling violently against the suggestions of affection, warmth, and redemption Damon offered.  It says a lot about how affected Stefan was by Damon's words.  Even in the worst possible state of miserable affliction, Damon found a way to reach out to and try to help Stefan.  And Stefan was clearly well aware that his brother has the ability to bring him back into the light. Only a vehement rejection could keep him in Ripper mode.  When he came raging back to the real world intent on causing more trouble, Damon was there too, to halt his brother and assure him that Mystic Falls won't be harmed.

"You're right, little brother. I can forgive you for destroying our hometown because I'm not going to let it happen."

Yes!  Damon is back and so is the show!

Back out on an apology tour.  Damon had plenty of mea culpas to spread around town, and to my extreme surprise, actually had a really interesting scene with Matt that made the latter's presence not entirely annoying.  Quite the accomplishment!  Forced by Stefan's compulsion to either forgive Damon for killing Vicki or ring the bell, Matt begged his father to kill him to keep everyone safe, and his dad was about to tearfully oblige when Damon saved the day.  Outside, Damon assured Matt that he knows he cannot be forgiven for what he did to Vicki, but he is sorry, and has waited too long to tell Matt so.  Matt agreed that forgiveness may be impossible, but said redemption for Damon might not be, especially if he keeps up the good work.  Meanwhile, Matt's decided to become sheriff of Mystic Falls, and Damon told him wisely, "I always liked the Sheriffs in this town."  That line, and the moment between the two oft-enemies, was downright classy.

There was another very important person to whom an "I'm sorry" was overdue, and that was Bonnie.  In what was probably a lot of people's favorite scene (myself included!) in a very memorable episode packed with lovely moments, Damon recited his famed, never-before-perused letter, the one he wrote to Bonnie last season before giving up on life without Elena.  The letter was gorgeously written and conveyed so much about the touching and unique friendship between Damon and Bonnie.  The performances of both Kat Graham and Ian Somerhalder were so tear-jerkingly perfect and the Bamon hug delightfully well-earned.

Elsewhere in the episode, Bonnie reunited with a version of Grams in Damon's mind for a charming scene that found her telling her grandmother about the romantic happiness she's found.  Caroline found out from a gossipy Sybil that Bonnie is thinking about giving the cure to Enzo, and seemed weirded out, though aware the slippery siren was only trying to cause the utmost mischief.  

Stefan is now imprisoned at the Salvatore home, with Caroline telling him she knows that Damon can get through to him although she cannot, and assuring him that she has no problem ceding the job to Damon.  It'll be interesting to see what can get Stefan there, if this week's revelations weren't enough to do it.  A slightly frustrating delay, but the rest of the episode was too good for me to be bothered by it.

Cade showed up and seemingly "killed" the siren sisters, but does that mean we're really rid of their obnoxious presences?  Eh, I've been fooled before.

What did you think of this episode?  Share your thoughts in the comments, and be sure to catch an all-new The Vampire Diaries, Friday at 8/7c on the CW.

About the Author - Virginia Mae Fontana

Virginia is happy to be reviewing The Vampire Diaries for Spoiler TV. Fantasy, science fiction, mystery, and romance are her favorite genres, especially when they collide! Some of her favorite current shows aside from TVD include The Originals, The 100, The Flash, Supergirl, Legends of Tomorrow, Arrow, Blindspot, Quantico, Doctor Who, Killjoys, and Dark Matter.

You can find her blog, a night to remember, at http://helplessteenageheartilostthatnight.blogspot.com and her Twitter handle is @VMaeFontana

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