Back in Groundhog land, Bonnie has returned with several items that Kai has requested. Kai makes it clear that Bonnie's magic, as well as his supposed element and whatever Damon was doing on May 10th, 1994 are the key to getting out of there. Damon threatens torture but Kai warns that if he is tortured, he will get angry and will not be in the mood to help, causing Bonnie to tell Damon to play nice. It turns out that Damon doesn't want to play nice because it would mean relating the worst thing he has ever done. Hmm, a serial killer and a rapist has something beyond that to be ashamed of?
Flashback time: Damon shows up at the Salvatore home and the door is answered by Stephan. When Damon tries to enter, he finds that he is barred from entrance. It seems that it's been fifty years since the brothers have seen each other and Stephan is not impressed by Damon's claim about wanting to change his ways. Putting flowers on Lexy's grave 17 years after killing her, doesn't hold much weight in Stephan's book but he is curious as to why Damon wants to make amends. Zack makes his appearance and Stephan introduces him to Damon. Zack invites Damon in and Stephan again queries Damon about starting over.
Elena and Stephan talk by phone about their search for Sarah. It seems that Sarah is not on any of the roads and so Stephan surmises that Sarah must be in Mystic Falls. Elena believes this is horrible because Sarah knows that she and Caroline are vampires. Stephan cuts the calls short and starts his bike up, only to be interrupted by Elena, who demands to know where the hell he is going. When Stephan replies home, Elena tells him that Savannah is not his home and that it is merely an escape. Stephan says that now that he can longer enter Mystic Falls, he has a new home. Stephan seems to be making perfect sense to me because there is a large world outside of Mystic Falls. It seems that Stephan plans to go to Savannah, pack up his things and start over because Enzo killed Ivy. Elena demands proof that Stephan is happy and if he fails to seem happy enough for her, she will harass him. Umm yeah Elena not believing to put this one horse town behind her seems far more problematic. It must be all of the brainwashing in those Founder's Day celebrations. Elena hops on Stephan's bike, saying that since she cannot enter Mystic Falls, it's up to Matt and Jeremy to get a handle on Sarah.
Jeremy is busy puking his brains out, while Matt and Alaric chat about Jeremy's drunkenness and the missing Sarah. Matt is on his way to Tripp's office to see if he can get Tripp to trust him enough to tell him what he knows. After ending his call, Alaric takes the time to flirt with Jo, saying that Jeremy needs a quick hangover cure, as well as an STD test.
Matt arrives at Tripp's office to find Tripp notifying Jay's parents that he found their son dead in the woods last night. Matt says that Jay was drunk and that he should have driven him home. Tripp decides to go and see the sheriff and Matt volunteers to go because he might be the last person to see Jay alive.
Flashback time to 1994, where the brother's wash Damon's car, as they watch Zack and the very pregnant Gail. Stephan is quick to advise Damon to stop thinking of Zack and Gail as prey because they are both on vervain. Hmm let's see, new Black character, yeah Gail is vampire food. In midst of the telling of Damon telling this story, Kai falls asleep, causing a grouchy Damon to snark. Kai's swears that he wasn't sleeping and sarcastically questions if Damon killed Gail. Damon tells Kai that the only reason he is still alive, is because Damon thought Kai could help them. Kai replies that they will harness the power of the eclipse, using a mystical relic called an ascendant. Kai slices his finger, adding that they need a locater spell.
Back in Savannah, Stephan shows Elena his paycheck for the week, which is a grand total of 206 dollars. Stephan questions if Elena wants to go and get drunk, to which Elena replies that she gets that the point is to live as human as possible. Elena then points out Stephan's expensive classic car and a sheepish Stephan admits that Damon isn't around to torture him about the car anymore. Elena snarks about Stephan working a dead end job but Stephan says that they get to decide who they want to be for the next thirty years.
Back at the hospital, Alaric talks with Jo about Jeremy's drinking. Jo says that Jeremy will be fine, especially if Jeremy is anything like his sister and that this is something she treats every single night on campus. How is Elena, someone who clearly rarely attends class, suddenly a paragon of goodness? Over her shoulder, Alaric notices a kid with a massively bloody nose and so Jo snarks that when a moderately successful, beautiful doctor is flirting with him, Alaric should give her his full attention, before walking away.
Elena and Stephan have now hit the bar, where Stephan suggests that if Sarah "outs" her that she should start her life somewhere else. Why oh why equate vampirism with an GLBT identity? Stephan asks that Elena hand over her ring and then gets on one knee, before loudly starting to propose. Elena queries whether Stephan is proposing because she is pregnant. Stephan loudly proclaims that Elena has stood by his side during addiction, multiple accidents, including a bull fighting injury. Elena can barely stop herself from laughing, as she says yes, as the bar breaks out in applause.
Bonnie is having trouble getting the spell to work and Damon snarks that Bonnie sucks at magic now. Kai steps in to say that he grew up with tons of siblings and that Bonnie is to just ignore Damon. This gets Damon's nose out of whack and he tells Kai to back off and at least buy Bonnie a drink because Bonnie doesn't know him yet. Wait, since when is Damon Bonnie's protector. Oh I know, Bonnie might decide to use her body without a man's permission and we cannot have that happen.
Flashback time. Liz is showing Damon pictures of an infant Caroline, while Stephan pauses to take a picture of Zack and Gail. Zack excuses himself and Stephan notices a wound on Gail's hand that looks suspiciously like a bite mark. Why would Damon leave evidence behind when all he would have to do is use his blood to remove the mark? Stephan heads over to Damon, who is explaining to Liz how to use the viewer to see the eclipse. Damon calls the jig up and compels Liz to go home and forget that she ever met them. Stephan grabs Damon and again asks how he managed to feed on Gail. Damon explains that he swapped out Gail and Zack's vervain last week. Stephan tells Damon that Zack and Gail are like family and they both trust him. Damon makes it clear that he is only feeding inside the house and assures Stephan that this is a new start. When Damon turns to walk away, Stephan snaps his neck.
The locater spell is beginning to work and Bonnie finds the item in Kai's jacket pocket. Kai claims that he was checking to see if Bonnie's magic was precise enough for the spell.
Back in 1994, Damon wakes to find Stephan standing over him, asking why Damon insinuated himself back into his life, only to cheat, lie and break all of the rules. Umm because he is Damon duh. Damon tries to leave and discovers that Stephan has taken his daylight ring. Stephan makes it clear that Damon will not get his daylight ring back until he decides to behave. Damon claims that he came back because he missed his brother and wants to have a connection to his humanity. Damon suggests that the two of them hit the road and promises to get Stephan off of the vegan diet. Stephan snarks about drinking human blood and leaving a trail of bodies behind. It seems that Stephan holds Damon responsible for him become a ripper. Is anyone on this show big on personal responsibility? Stephan points out that now that he has a new life and doing well, Damon is back again trying to destroy everything he has built. Stephan walks away saying that the road trip is not happening.
Back in the present, Elena informs Stephan that not only is Sarah M.I.A., so is Enzo. Stephan snarks that Enzo is probably off killing someone else's girlfriend. Why exactly is it that Stephan should care about what is going on with Enzo? When Elena goes to take a drink, Stephan is quick to remind her that she is supposed to be pregnant. Elena calls it the worst lie she has ever told. They then discuss the myriad of professions that Stephan has held over the years. Elena calls all of the changes hard and then brings up Damon. If that is so hard, how exactly does Elena plan to live for an eternity? Stephan calls it weird to hear Elena refer to Damon as just his brother. Oh you just know that Elena is going to piss him off to the point where he tells her hypocritical ass about using a spell to forget Damon.
Back in Groundhog world, Bonnie points out that Kai could have shown them the Ascendant to begin with but Kai says that he wanted to feel Bonnie's hand on his chest. Yes, that's creepy. When Bonnie tells Damon that there is something not right about Kai, Damon of course snarks that Bonnie is just not used to guys hitting on her. Bonnie looks at the ground and sees an article in the newspaper about a family being slaughtered in Oregon and that the only one missing was the oldest boy - a 22 year old named Malachi. Kai turns and questions who names a kid Malachi and snarks that it's like they expected him to evil. Kai then adds that he had a soft spot for one of his sister's, otherwise he would have cut her lungs out and not just her spleen. Kai tells Bonnie that someone can survive without a spleen. Damon questions if Kai is speaking metaphorically and then Kai tells Bonnie and Damon in gruesome detail how he slaughtered his own family. Kai is completely matter of fact about the whole deal and when Bonnie again questions Kai killing his whole family, Kai clarifies and explains that he killed his coven. Damon questions Kai having Bonnie jump through hoops, when he is himself a witch and Kai admits to having no powers, after having been banished here by Gemini coven. Bonnie realises that Groundhog World is a prison which was created for Kai.
Jeremy and Alaric are sparring and Jeremy says that this is not a fair fight because Alaric is basically an Original vampire. Alaric gets Jeremy into a choke hold and reminds Jeremy that he has killed an Original before. Alaric advises Jeremy to get his head into the game and out of the bottle. Jeremy tosses Alaric over his shoulder and tells Alaric that his problem is that everyone thinks he shouldn't have a problem. Yeah, I am kind of with Jeremy on this one. Jeremy yells that Bonnie is dead and that she said goodbye over the phone, just so that Alaric, Stephan, Tyler, Enzo could be safe. Alaric then reminds Jeremy that his wife ran away because she preferred to be a vampire than stay married to him and to top it all off, Damon turned her, only later to kill her. Alaric calls it messed up that he misses the man who murdered his wife. Alaric goes on to list his grievances, adding that he cannot talk to a girl without fantasizing about biting into her neck. Alaric says that he has resentment for years and that he keeps finding a way to move forward because that is what people do. The two start to spar again. Since Alaric is alive again, with the chance to lead an immortal life while Bonnie is presumed dead, I'd wager that Alaric has the better end of this deal.
Elena puts her ring on again and asks if she and Stephan should pretend to be strangers, if they run into each other in some random town thirty years from now. How is that possible when Elena clearly plans on never leaving Mystic Falls? Stephan makes it clear that he is avoiding Mystic Falls and not her. Stephan promises that they can talk and visit. Elena hugs Stephan goodbye and leaves the bar. Stephan heads to the bar and asks the man there why he didn't celebrate his engagement. Stephan goads the man into kicking the crap out of him, causing Elena to speed back into the bar and compel the man to leave.
Bonnie marches into the house informing Damon that they are not letting Kai out of Groundhog Land because he is a serial killer. Umm isn't Damon a serial killer and a rapist? Shouldn't both men be locked away? Of course, Damon could give a shit and Bonnie snarks that Damon doesn't give a shit because of all of the horrible shit he has done. Bonnie says that killing a bunch of kids probably doesn't seem bad to someone who has murdered a pregnant woman. Oh why stop there Bonnie? She should have listed Damon's other crimes.
Flashback time. Stephan and Zack find the front door open and then find Damon surrounded by dead people, with his hands around Gail's throat. Damon snarks about hardly seeing the sun at all during the eclipse and Stephan forgetting how much stronger they are when they drink human blood. Zack begs Damon not to hurt Gail and Damon demands Stephan hand over his ring. Stephan tosses Damon his ring, saying that he is never going to be rid of Damon. Damon tells Stephan that he showed him who he was in 1912 and then suggests that he killed Lexy because it should have been Stephan there to help him. Damon then feeds on Gail (didn't I say Gail was going to be vampire food) and says that he is giving Stephan the eternity of misery that he promised.
In Groundhog land, Damon explains that Stephan compelled Zack to forget about Gail and the baby but because the Founder's Council had been restarted and there was no way to cover up so many bodies, Stephan fled Mystic Falls, and did not return for fifteen years. Damon adds that it was a nice relief when he got to kill Zack because he could not look him in the eye knowing how much he had destroyed for him. Right, why apologize or even try to make ammends when you kill the man for feeling guilty about murdering his unborn child and wife in front of him.
Kai asks about returning and Damon pleads that he has to get back for his brother but Bonnie is not convinced. Gee, I don't know why the story about Zack and Gail didn't convince Bonnie to let Damon out of Groundhog prison. Kai leans into Bonnie and Damon slams Kai against the wall for his trouble, instructing him to never lay a hand on Bonnie. The sky outside is now clear and Kai calls it a non important issue because they have missed today's eclipse. Bonnie heads outside with her head down.
Matt and Trip are returning from seeing Liz and we learn that Tripp is a widower, whose wife Chris died in a car accident, causing him to leave Mystic Falls. Matt questions what Trip told Liz about Jay and Trip simply replies, "what I saw." Matt snarks about it being another animal attack and then adds that Jay told him he was tracking a vampire. Tripp tells Matt that he is going to show him something.
Stephan is cleaning up his wounds and Elena says that she came back because she forget her jacket. Elena questions why Stephan was having the crap beat out of him and Stephan explains that he has a system. Stephan tells Elena that she is the last person who should be lecturing him on coping mechanisms. Elena points out that she lost Bonnie when he lost Damon but she fought through it. Stephan asks if she did this by herself and Elena answers yes. Elena goes on to add that she knows Stephan is pushing her away because she never liked Damon but questions why Stephan is inflicting so much pain on himself, when Damon was such a hateful person. Elena adds that Damon does not deserve Stephan's grief and suggests that there is another way for Stephan to move on. Stephan replies that he cannot just forget Damon the way that Elena has. A confused Elena asserts that she is not forgetting Damon. Stephan then finally reveals that Elena is forgetting Damon because she had Alaric compel her to forget all about Damon and every good thing Damon every did. Wait, are all of Damon's good acts supposed to outweigh the serial murder and rape? Of course, Elena does not believe a word Stephan is saying and asks why she would do this. Finally, Stephan tells Elena that they were in love and when Damon died, a part of her died as well. Elena again questions how she could love Damon and Stephan says that Damon inspired her and pushed her to embrace the darkest part of herself and in return, Elena helped Damon connect with his humanity. Stephan adds that Elena loved Damon for the exact same reasons that he loved Damon, before excusing himself to grieve in his own way.
Tripp and Matt arrive at Tripp's secret cabin and Tripp admits that when he crossed the town border this summer, memories came flooding back and he realised that his wife was murdered right in front of him. Inside the cabin Enzo is chained up. Tripp tells Matt that vampires are real and that one murdered his wife. Tripp crouches down by Enzo and reveals that Enzo is the one who murdered Jay and adds that he now wants Enzo to give him the name of all of his vampire friends, starting with the one who bit Sarah.
Jeremy returns home to find Sarah waiting for him. Sarah warns that if Jeremy tries anything, she will call 911 and "out" Elena to the world. Yep, they are appropriating from the GLBT community again. Jeremy tells Sarah to calm down and asks what she wants. Sarah shows Jeremy a picture of Gail and Zack, calling Gail her mother. Sarah says that her mother was a Jane Doe, whose body was still warm when it was dumped at the hospital six months pregnant.
In a flashback, we see Stephan outside of Gail's room. Sarah says that though the nurses thought she was D.O.A. as well, a doctor did an emergency c-section and she survived. Sarah adds that they didn't know who her father was but then she found the picture of Zack and Gail together. Jeremy reveals that Sarah's father is Zack Salvatore.
Elena goes to see Alaric to question how he could obliterate an entire chapter of her life and Alaric says that it's time they all stop pretending that he knows what's best and that he has his own issues to sort through. About time someone told Elena that the world doesn't revolve around her. Alaric hands Elena her journal, saying that it will explain it much better than he can. Elena reads the message that she left herself in case she found out that Damon was erased from her life. Of course, it's all angst. Elena looks at pictures of herself and Damon, as she reads that she needs to rediscover herself in the absence of the person who defined her. Dear Lord, can it get anymore twi?
Stephan takes the cover off of Damon's car.
Alaric asks Elena what she wants to do and Elena hands back her journal, asking him to hold onto it in case she ever needs to read it again.
Bonnie is eating pancakes and comments that Damon makes pancakes everyday and that Gail had a thing for pancakes. Bonnie points out that Damon calls this place his hell, which means that he is feeling remorse, which is what makes Damon different than Kai. Really? Making pancakes makes Damon's heinous actions more acceptable? This excuse is thin, even for The Vampire Diaries. Bonnie adds that there is hope for Damon. Damon points out that they can still escape from this place by stealing the Ascendant and finding out what Kai knows, before ditching him. Damon points out that Kai does not have any powers anyway. Kai interrupts to say that while he cannot perform magic, he can consume it from others temporarily. Kai then grabs Bonnie's hand and uses the magic on Damon, while fire blasts in the kitchen. Kai points out that this is why he didn't get along with his coven. Kai adds that if he consumes all of Bonnie's magic, he will just end up killing her, then suggests that they all go home as friends. Kai then adds that he can devour Bonnie's magic, kill the both of them and go home alone.
Stephan is working on Damon's car when someone looks through the blinds at him. He calls out hello, but no one answers. When Stephan hears a sound, he turns to find Ivy holding her head, saying that Enzo made her drink his blood and now she is so thirsty.
It seems that The Originals and The Vampires Diaries, this week were having a battle to see who could release the most ANGST filled episode. I will however say that I am glad that Stephan called the ever so sanctimonious Elena on using a spell to forget Damon. He's right, she has no business telling people how to deal with grief, when she turned off her humanity when Jeremy died and then, erased Damon from her memories when he did. This isn't a woman who deals with grief, she runs.
Alright, I know that we have written about this before but The Vampire Diaries attempt to continually retconn Stephan and Damon to make them just good men, who are simply misunderstood, is ridiculous. Bonnie juxtaposing Damon and Kai together only highlights the ridiculousness of this. Just by death count alone, Damon is inherently more dangerous and unstable, no matter what supposed guilt he now he feels, or how many damn pancakes he makes. This btw, does not even touch Damon's rape of Caroline. It's disgusting to romanticize violence this way.
I wonder if the show creators thought bringing back Ivy makes up for introducing Gail and killing her off in the same episode. How generous of them to let one WOC live. Yes, that's all snark btw. The minute I saw Gail, I knew she was dead woman walking. WOC don't tend to last too long on The Vampire Diaries and though Ivy is back, I'd wager that she doesn't last long on the show, given that the writers keep shifting between pairing Caroline and Enzo and Caroline and Stephan.
Let's talk about Alaric deciding to give Jeremy the talk as it were. First, Jeremy should not be drinking as much as he is, but Jeremy is certainly right to point out that he is the only one grieving. Caroline is obsessed with getting back into Mystic Falls (for God's knows what reason) and Elena has been too caught up in losing Damon, to even give a damn about Bonnie. Jeremy is the only one who seems to care that Bonnie is gone. When Alaric listed out his grievances, as a reason to suggest that Jeremy toughen up, it just had me shaking my head. Once again, Bonnie has sacrificed herself and here is yet another White character popping up to suggest that it's not a big deal. Bonnie is the most unappreciated character on the show and is little more than a tool.
