About:
Previously: Stefan agreed to become Ripper Stefan in exchange for NOT having to be Cade’s servant for all eternity, Alaric has taken the girls and gone into hiding, Enzo is taking Bonnie to Paris, and Caroline Forbes continues to run the world.
What Went Down
Sybil is the new history teacher and conocts a plan to get Intrepid Girl Reporter, Caroline Forbes to observe her class. I mean, as far as nefarious plots go this feels a bit thin, but she DOES threaten to kill her children later on the episode lest we begin to think that Sybil has gone soft. See, she’s determined to find this bell, claiming it’s for sentiment but we all know better than to believe that sirens just collect antique items that, ya know, RING. She compells her class to go on a field trip, only to have them tie each other up at stakes and douse one another in lighter fluid.
Matt Donovan and his Rolling Stone Papa run into each other at the Armory while the only living intern left gives them the low-down on the bell; specifically how the “tuning fork” is actually a piece of it. Oh, and it’s a Donovan (Maxwell) family heirloom. We get to sit through Matt and his dad be angry at not being given their due as original founding families. Huh. You know who would probably have a sympathetic ear for the pair of you? The Native Americans that your families murdered in order to live there. (Tolerance for Whiny White Dudes: Level Negative Eleventy.) Matt and his dad save the would-be French-fried highschoolers, and my eyes stop rolling. FOR NOW.
Sybil has forced Caroline to go along on her bell hunt, but it would seem that Selene is a bit craftier than we realized. She already took the bell and was nice enough to leave her sister a note. I do love a good passive-aggressive note.
Damon and Stefan are off siphoning souls for the Devil, and Stefan is rather enjoying playing mind games with his prey. He’s determined to make a nice, young doctor murder Damon by compelling her to believe that Damon was the drunk driver responsible for murdering her parents and OH MY GOD I MISS BONNIE AND ENZO.
*small cough*
ANYway. Stefan is all, “I can totes keep my ripper tendencies under control with this weird new ritual I’ve come up with”, and Damon is like, “Sure thing, bruh.” It totally doesn’t work, and Stefan is back to ripping off heads by the end of the episode.
Holy CRAP
- Stefan ate ALL of the people. ALL OF THEM.
- Damon having to murder that poor doctor/Elena doppelganger on the Wickery Bridge. LOW BLOW, STEFAN.
- All of this is coming down to a bell, y’all. A BELL.
Vamp of the Week: Damon Salvatore
Damon, I’m so glad you found inspiration by an inmate picking up rubbish on the side of the road while looking for Elena’s necklace. For real I was waiting for Morgan Freeman to start narrating at any moment, show. Come on.
Hero Hair/Nefarious Grin
Hero Hair: Matt Donovan managed to put his wounded heart aside, muss some mousse into his heroic mane, and save a bunch of high school kids.
Honorary Hair Pomade: Papa Donovan isn’t done apologizing by a long shot, but at least he’s started to try and mend things with his son. NAH, I’m kidding. Matty D. always has to suffer, so I give it two episodes AT MOST before our show kills off his old man.
Nefarious Grin: Ripper Stefan isn’t just murder-y, he’s SUPER MEAN to Damon, teasing and torturing him to prove that Elena doesn’t mean anything to him.
Sound Bites
Damon: Clarity over cleverness. That’s what I always say.
Stefan: You’ve literally never said that before.
Burning Questions
- When are Bonnie and Enzo coming back from Paris?
- How in the world is Seline transporting this antique bell?? I mean, that’s not something you can carry around in your gender-neutral body crossover.
- Can I get some Mikaelsens up in here? Please?
Did anyone else feel a bit underwhelmed by this episode, especially considering that we now only have EIGHT left?? Let’s convo below!
About the Contributor:
Amanda Reid is an East Coast girl living in California who will never stop missing a true autumn. She’s a bookseller who specializes in kid and teen lit, and she bakes a damn fine pie.
