S06.E11: Woke Up With A Monster

[formerlyfreedom]

More powerful than ever, Kai holds Elena captive while he learns to control his newly acquired magic. At the Salvatore mansion, Liv and Alaric try to prepare Jo for the impending merge ceremony with Kai, but they quickly realize Jo is weaker than they thought. After bringing Sheriff Forbes home from the hospital, Caroline travels with Stefan to North Carolina in search of a cure for her mother's cancer. Meanwhile, Stefan, who has his own intentions for traveling to North Carolina, is caught off guard when Enzo shows up demanding to know what Stefan is hiding. Lastly, when Damon discovers Elena has been kidnapped by Kai, he is forced to rethink his strategy after an unexpected visitor throws a wrench into his plan.

 

[TigerLynx]

Can Liz and Damon get their own show?  Alaric and Bonnie can come to.

[Hook75]

I REALLY love this season. Kai is awesome! Please don't kill Sheriff Forbes.

[HunterHunted]

This Enzo nonsense is tedium given life. Ugh. Can't someone just actually kill him? Plus Stefan never killed him. Enzo killed himself and framed Stefan.

I cannot care about Damon and Elena. I've moved past hate to boredom.

I know the show sees potential in Liv and Tyler, but they're kinda boring. And The Originals has done great things with their gay characters. I wish this show would do more with Luke.

All of the sheriff Forbes stuff was fantastic.

Have they officially forgotten about Bonnie?

Edited January 23, 2015 by HunterHunted

[Like A Phoenix]

Good episode, and I'll happily admit that the Sherriff Forbes scenes just about broke my heart.

Love that it was the two humans who ended up taking out Kai. Supernaturals: so overrated. (though is it just me, or is leaving Kai with Alaric - someone Jo cares for, and therefore a perfect hostage for Kai to use to force Jo into doing the merge before she's ready - a reeeally bad idea?)

[Luciano]

While the actor is hot, Enzo is this annoying little gnat that hovers around Stefan's storylines, getting swatted off every coupe of episodes only to come back to do the same thing again. I keep forgetting he's on the show until he pops up yet again to bug Stefan.

Damn, the Bonnie thing really took a backseat to everything else. Why try to figure out another way to get our friend out when we could go on a date and reconnect!

Jo kind of reminds me of Cami over in The Originals. And, yeah, don't have the superwitch near the very human Alaric, that's just asking for trouble.

Edited January 23, 2015 by Luciano

[roctavia]

Though they didn't say it I'm going to pretend that saving Bonnie is still Damon's priority, but they have to get rid of Kai before they can do the go get Bonnie thing again... And maybe they also need that next celestial event?

They know Bonnie is alive, and she's actually safer where she is for the moment, so that's the story I'm gonna go with as opposed to thinking everybody just forgot about saving her. I give Caro a pass because she is focused on something else major right now.... But it would be nice if the others at least mentioned Bonnie.

I'm sad that Caroline didn't think it give her blood treatment a little more time before she pushed her mom into it.

I also agree that Enzo doesn't need to exist anymore... He is just annoying and pointless.

[truthaboutluv]

This Enzo nonsense is tedium given life. Ugh. Can't someone just actually kill him? Plus Stefan never killed him. Enzo killed himself and framed Stefan.

 

 

As I said in the media thread, at this point, I think Stefan has a more than legitimate case for filing a restraining order against Enzo for being a freaking annoying creepy ass stalker.

Edited January 23, 2015 by truthaboutluv

[Goldmoon]

Didn't like that they all forgot about Bonnie.  I was very bored by this ep, but I called it:  Luke would kill Liv if they battle.  I liked the wink Damon gave to Liz, the fact that Damon told Jo to get out and save herself when she nearly collapsed.  A few years ago if Bonnie had let him down like that he would have read her the riot act as if she was weakening on purpose, but he was considerate of Jo, probably for Ric's sake.  I liked Damon repairing his bond with Ric and all the comments about wrecking his house put me in mind of the very house-proud homemaker that Damon used to be!  Good times. 

 

Can Liz and Damon get their own show?  Alaric and Bonnie can come too.

My favorite characters!
 

I forgot to mention that when Caroline and Stefan were outside Casa Forbes, I knew, just knew that she would go into the house like Buffy and find her mother dead.  What a relief that I was wrong. They can still surprise me.  Liz just needs to turn vampire and spend eternity rafting with her daughter.

Edited January 23, 2015 by Goldmoon

[Amelie06]

 

This Enzo nonsense is tedium given life. Ugh. Can't someone just actually kill him? Plus Stefan never killed him. Enzo killed himself and framed Stefan.

I can't deal with Enzo. I dropped off watching this show last season before Enzo made his appearance. He is really killing the show for me now. Almost as much as Damon and Elena's endless bs.

 

I understand that Caroline is worried about her mother, but her recklessness is horrifying.  She treated that poor man like he was a guinea pig.  She didn't give a shit about cancer patients until her mother became one.  As if killing yet another black person in this town that seems to have a 98% death rate for that population was the reasonable choice.  I could almost have forgiven her for experimenting on that man if she had at least waited more than a few hours before convincing her mother to take the blood! Impatience.  All this complaining aside, I call bullshit on vampire blood not healing cancer.  That seems so random to me.  People routinely lose all the blood in their bodies and get healed by a mouthful of vampire juice on this show!

 

I love Matt, but that boy needs to move.  He seems truly miserable. He should write an op-ed piece in the local paper, encouraging everyone who isn't a crazy person to leave this town.

[CaughtOnTape]

I wonder if the janitor walks into Mystic Falls high school some mornings and is like "What.the.fuck?  I am NOT cleaning this up by myself."

[PinkRibbons]

I forgot to mention that when Caroline and Stefan were outside Casa Forbes, I knew, just knew that she would go into the house like Buffy and find her mother dead.  What a relief that I was wrong. They can still surprise me.  Liz just needs to turn vampire and spend eternity rafting with her daughter.

 

I had the exact same thought. Which frankly seems more merciful to Liz after watching that poor patient die such a horrible death (btw, where were the hospital staff? Seriously, that got absurd.)

 

I wouldn't be at all surprised if Stefan was keeping tabs on Caroline's guinea pig. I bet next week we see him getting some horrific pics on his phone from someone on the staff that he compelled.

 

Thought the shots of the episode were really interesting, and that Paul is knocking it out of the park, director-wise. I feel like he got some really good moments out of Nina and Ian -- I actually liked Elena again for a minute when she was messing with Damon.

[Artsda]

The fake out of Elena possibly dying was a mean thing to do, because she didn't die, mean fake out. The show does so much better without the Delena drama.

 

Caroline was just dumb, she didn't even stick around to see any long term ramifications of her actions.

[GaT]

I am over this whole which witch will lead the coven? crap, move on, I'm bored. Also over Enzo &  whatever story they think he has, end him already.

 

Have they officially forgotten about Bonnie?

Until I saw your comment, I did. Good job show, make me forget all about a series regular witch all the time boring me senseless with other witches. 

[ElectricBoogaloo]

Well, that is definitely going to come back to bite Caroline in the ass. What kind of an idiot says her full name to someone she is going to experiment on? Now he is going to die with her vampire blood in his system and wake up as a vampire. He will then be uncompelled and remember her name and the fact that she gave him her blood so it's just a matter of time before he shows up in Mystic Falls looking for her. Great job there, Caroline.

 

My dad died less than a year ago so I understand wanting to save your parent from an unnecessary death, but she was beyond reckless with the way she treated that guy. I'm sure she thought she was being so altruistic, saving him from dying but all she really did was give him false hope then give him an agonizingly painful death (as opposed to the fuzzy painless morphine haze he would have been in when he died if she had just left him alone).

 

Don't get me wrong - I love Liz and I want her to stick around. I just think that Caroline is going about this all wrong. Anyone who has ever read about drug studies knows that you can't just look at what happens immediately after treatment. Maybe stick around for ten more minutes before you decide he is totally definitely 100% cured and see if it's a temporary effect or if there are any side effects?

 

I did find it hilarious that Caroline is fine with both friends and total strangers drinking blood straight from her arm but her mom gets blood in a dainty teacup.

 

As soon as Jo got the Nosebleed of Too Much Magic, I was like crap, this is going to be like Bonnie's storyline from whatever season when she kept bleeding and fainting from doing magic. Then sure enough, Jo fainted.

 

I know Kai is the bad guy so I'm supposed to hate him, but he is just so gleefully unrepentant about everything which just cracks me up. I would much rather watch him cheerfully torture Elena than watch Enzo skulk and stalk and whine some more. Stefan was an idiot to tell Enzo the truth too. Did he really think that would make him go away?

 

I'm ready for Matt and Jeremy to get out their crossbows and take care of business.

 

I do not care about Liv and Tyler. I know I'm supposed to believe they have this great relationship and love story, but I don't see it. I would have been fine with Liv and Luke going back to Portland and taking Tyler with them. Similarly, it's hilarious that I am supposed to take Alaric's relationship with Jo so seriously, like he would do anything to save this chick he's known for, like, two weeks. I know that technically Tyler has known Liv longer than Alaric has known Jo, but considering that both couples started dating at the same time, I'm equally uninvested in all of their relationships.

Edited January 23, 2015 by ElectricBoogaloo

[Kaboom 2.0]

Was this the episode that PW directed? If so I thought he did a great job!

 

Bonnie? Bonnie who? Elena has been kidnapped, ain't nobody got no time for Bonnie. [/seething]

 

Still don't give a flying f*** about any of the Gemini coven witches except for the bright shining star named Kai. I could watch him torture Elena all day long and still clap in glee. Carving "K" on her cheek was gold. And is it wrong that I cheered when he showed that Damon that oh btw you didn't just stake me, you staked Elena. 'Cause I did. And clapped in glee. So how long will Kai have the Travelers' magic before it runs out?

 

As glad as I am that Stefan and Caroline have repaired their friendship I still wanted to throttle her for conducting her own experiment on that poor terminal cancer patient. I love, LOVE, Liz Forbes and do not want her to die but you just know that this will bite Caroline in the ass big time.

 

Stefan seriously needs to consider a restraining order on Enzo.

[2Old2BAFangirl]

I liked this episode but found myself getting a little bored while watching.  I could predict pretty much everything that was going to happen, there was zero mystery.  Did I predict the cancer guy throwing up blood and dying in the hospital hallway? No, but I knew he would die, so no real twist or surprise there.  Meh.

 

I did like the Damon and Liz scene - he spent the night in her hospital room, I love their friendship.  I hate that Liz is going to die - I'd be fine with making her a damn vampire too.  Why not?

 

Don't care about the damn Wonder Twins or Jo.  I keep trying to like Jo - cuz Alaric -  but I'm not having lots of luck so far.  Liv always has a sneer and a bad attitude and Luke couldn't be more annoying and whiny, IMO.  They can all go on back to Portland now.  Kai is fun though, I wish he would've clunked Elena with that tire iron again.

 

I don't know crap about directing but damn, Ian looked good in every scene so Yay, go Paul!  Everyone looked pretty damn good actually, Paul hearts his friends!

[Primetimer]

And Caroline is pretty sure Damon and Stefan don't know anything about this vampire blood thing, because she's painfully Caroline.

Read the story

[GraceAnne]

Mixed feelings about the episode… I mean it was good but maybe I’m starting to be a little over this show.

Visually it was beautiful, so kudos to  Paul… I did enjoy all the funny stuff- opening scene with Stefan,  Opinions vary line, Damon comment about Jeremy being there with a crossbow.

 

Loved the Caroline and Stefan interaction, but I just don’t see a romance between the two.  They have such a great friendship and have formed a support system for the other.   I just hope the powers that be don’t completely ruin it.

Marguerite Macintyre was soo good this episode. Poor Sheriff Forbes and poor Caroline. Although, would an extra day of observation real been too much to ask?

 

Liv/Tyler/Luke = Borrring

 

I spend most of Elena’s scenes zoning out thinking how can we trade her for Katherine who’s in hell.

 

Kai was totally awesome.. maybe that’s what this show needs… more crazy assholes.
AND he was the only one who even mentioned Bonnie this episode!

Edited January 23, 2015 by GraceAnne

[kmariee]

Really enjoyed what Paul Wesley did with the direction. The 2 episodes he's done have a very "him" feel to them and I like that. I enjoyed the opening sequence of Stefan being done with everyone destroying his house and drinking his coffee (how dare you Jeremy!) I also really liked the closing sequence because it's like watching a trainwreck but Candice and Marguerite really brought their A game.

 

I know a lot of people said why didn't Caroline stick around longer just to make sure but I thought that was really in tune with Caroline's character. She's an eternal optimist, the vampire blood worked as far as she was concerned so she HAD to get back to her Mom immediately. Besides I think whenever they use vampire blood to heal on this show it always works pretty instantly so she was just going by past experiences. Was she wrong to use that guy as her ginea pig, absolutely, but that's the whole problem with the MFG in general and mirrors exactly what Matt said in 609. Human lives will always come after their lives, Caroline selfishly put her mother's life above this guy. She read his chart saw he had no next of kin and decided his life didn't matter as much as her mothers. We've never really seen the darkside of Caroline and I think this storyline is going to show that.

 

Still love Kai and what a completely insane sociopath he truly is. Even Elena was like I have met some psychos in my day but you take the cake. I enjoyed magic camp and I really like Jo and I hope they don't kill her off with the envitable merge. Also really liked Luke's line about them not being their witch monkeys Amen! Still can't seem to care about Enzo. Stefan can be such a sweetheart sometimes and I'm glad him and Caroline patched up their friendship and I'm totally here for their budding romance.

 

I really loved Matt, Stefan and Damon's interactions around Liz. How much those three really care about her and it just shows how much of an impact the character of Liz Forbes has on so many characters. I don't think anyone wants Liz to die but when you see how close she is within the group (her first appearance was 1x04! that's crazy) it makes sense that the writers chose this storyline for her. We haven't had a really impactful death on this show since S4 because everyone keeps coming back to life, this one is going to have an impact.

[blixie]

The episode was beautiful shot, and Kai was fantastic and when he smacked down her attempt at finding the woobie inside. "I learned how  important it was to like yourself. I LIKE me." Hahaha.

 

But lord yes he's the only one to remember Bonnie, and Plec racks up another dead black person. I love that she seems to be twitter bestie's with Goffman on Sleepy Hollow, perfect pair those two.

 

As over Elena as I am I had to agree with Kai, Nina looked AMAZING tonight, that unfortunate thing she did to her bangs the last couple of season has worked itself out. I did like that small flash of old school Elena when she used her burning flesh to momentarily escape Kai, but then she had call a Salvatore and ......UGH.

[ElectricBoogaloo]

Kai made it a point to say that he had been hanging out in empty restaurants for 18 years and later Stefan said he had been keeping his secret (about Sarah) from Damon for 18 years, so is it safe to say that Sarah is going to play a role in the Gemini coven twin merging extravaganza? Her mom was black so she MUST be a witch, right? If you are black and in Mystic Falls, you are a witch and you wil die. It's a rule! Maybe Sarah's mom was part of the Gemini coven but she left Portland and ran off to Mystic Falls?

 

On a related note, when Caroline insisted that OF COURSE magic is easy and that's why vampire blood cures cancer, all I could think of was EVERY book/movie about magic ever made: there is always a price for magic (which is obvious since these scenes were juxtaposed with Jo getting a nosebleed and fainting. And let's not forget the price for magic in the Gemini coven - you are either killed by your twin or you get to kill your twin)! As a result, I was not at all surprised when that poor guy started spewing blood. What kind of horrible hospital do they have at Duke where a patient can lie on the floor in the hallway asking for help and no one hears him?

 

When Elena asked Damon if they could have dinner assuming that she didn't get kidnapped before then, I thought well, that IS a pretty big assumption given how often you manage to get kidnapped so, you know, maybe just pencil it in as a maybe.

 

I loved that Damon stayed in the hospital with Liz all night and that he was caring and supportive without being smothering and delusional (which he left to Caroline). One of the reasons I don't want Liz to die is that I love her friendship with Damon. I know Damon can be a murderous ass, but I'm starting to think that if he concentrated on his friendships with adults (like Alaric and Liz) instead of his romantic woobie feelings for Elena, he would be a lot happier (as would a lot of other people in Mystic Falls who wouldn't have to worry about him coming up with crazy schemes to sacrifice anyone and everyone in order to save Elena).

Edited January 23, 2015 by ElectricBoogaloo

[Cattitude]

I thought the episode was okay but not too exciting more of a set-up episode for this next segment. I thought everyone's hair was especially well done. Paul did a good job directing.

 

Sorry Alaric but Jo is just not interesting or lovable.

 

I was slightly upset that Stefan didn't try to rein Caroline in a little more about the vampire blood. And if vampire blood speeds up cancer I think given how many vampires have tried to cure people I have no doubt someone would have known this before now. RME

 

I like Liv and Luke and I have always liked that they  doesn't do everything for the special snowflake gang just b/c. They help them some but will always choose themselves first. Kudos to them.

 

I thought the Delena stuff was adorable and just the right amount. It didn't overwhelm the episode but was cute and sweet.

[ElectricBoogaloo]

I just remembered a minor thing that I loved in this episode - the miniscule subplot where Jo burned Liv's shirt, prompting Liv to ask Stefan where she could get another shirt. Hilariously, he directed her to Damon's room, knowing how much Damon looooooooves this clothes (remember when Damon wouldn't even let Stefan borrow one of his ties for the homecoming dance a million years ago?). Then we got to hear Liv's conversation with Tyler about how Damon has THE BEST clothes and see how disturbed Tyler was at the thought of Liv in Damon's bedroom while shirtless (sidenote: if you are really concerned about keeping Liv training Jo a secret from Luke, maybe don't walk around the campus where Luke also goes to school saying things like, "Luke is going to kill you if he finds out you are secretly training Jo in magical stuff!"). And then we got the final payoff when Damon came home and immediately said, "Are you wearing my shirt?"

 

I know that all of this could have been cut from the episode without affecting the narrative, but it added some fun moments. I always appreciate the conversations and moments when the characters aren't obsessing about the latest big bad and hatching their latest plot to thrwart said villain.

[NorthstarATL]

If Caroline had done more at college than party she might have understood what conducting an experiment entails. I hate myself for rooting FOR Kai, but he's just so darn fun. Poor forgotten Bonnie.

[lion10]

Elena improvising a flamethrower was really really smart on her part. More this Elena please. And Kai using an illusion to make Elena look like him while he cloaked himself and move around the room was also really cool and showed using magic in a way we haven't seen before. The writers and Paul Wesley were on their A-game tonight. It was a dick move on Elena's part to make Damon think she was dying, but the scene was nicely acted by both Ian and Nina. Really good episode overall and it looked very nice too. Paul has a distinctive style. And Liv has fantastic boobs! Who knew?

[gazebo]

I wish Caroline would've stuck around a few more days at the hospital to see if that patient that she fed her blood to could be fully recovered from his cancer.  And I wish Stefan could've told Caroline to stick around a few days longer too.  Caroline can be too impulsive.

 

Nice directing of this episode by Paul Wesley!  I think I like this direction of this episode better than the last episode that he directed. 

 

The moments of Kai terrorizing Elena and Elena running away was well done.  I was on the edge of my seat with worry for Elena.  Kai is one helluva psychopath/sociopath!  Love that she used the sunlight and her hand to burn Kai.  I don't think she eventually would've made it out alive but I like that she tried so hard to fight for her life.  Kai is scary as fuck; even scarier than Klaus!

 

I think Sheriff Forbes is going to kick the bucket.  What a shame.  I really like her character.  She's been through so much yet she remains a very strong person.  Let's hope that she goes out in a heroic fashion.

 

I think it's so cool that it's Jeremy and Alaric that finally took down Kai.  I think Jeremy should've just shot Kai through the heart with the arrow and then Jo will be freed.  Ok, maybe that won't be so great for Liv (that pill of a witch) and Luke (that boring witch), but I don't care.  Liv and Luke should've just left Mystic Falls and confronted their dad that they're not going to play by his rules anymore.

 

I am mystified that there is not a scene between Jeremy and Elena with Elena thanking Jeremy for saving all their lives.  Jeremy seems to now be relegated to being scenery or unless they need his help in shooting somebody.  At least we got a nice shirtless scene from him earlier in the episode.

[Smug47]

Kai continues to be the best character on this show. His little fist pump after he broke Elena's neck gave me life. I also loved his "they're never in school" comment.

Sheriff Forbes broke my heart. How can that storyline feel like it has depth and every other storyline seems shallow and 2 dimensional? Go figure.

Edited January 23, 2015 by Smug47

[GaT]

Well, that is definitely going to come back to bite Caroline in the ass. What kind of an idiot says her full name to someone she is going to experiment on? Now he is going to die with her vampire blood in his system and wake up as a vampire. He will then be uncompelled and remember her name and the fact that she gave him her blood so it's just a matter of time before he shows up in Mystic Falls looking for her. Great job there, Caroline.

 

 

 

 

Kai made it a point to say that he had been hanging out in empty restaurants for 18 years and later Stefan said he had been keeping his secret (about Sarah) from Damon for 18 years, so is it safe to say that Sarah is going to play a role in the Gemini coven twin merging extravaganza? Her mom was black so she MUST be a witch, right? If you are black and in Mystic Falls, you are a witch and you wil die. It's a rule! Maybe Sarah's mom was part of the Gemini coven but she left Portland and ran off to Mystic Falls?

 

 

Two very good points that I hadn't thought about, and, really didn't want to LOL. I see two more boring plots in our future. 

[roctavia]

Despite how entertaining Kai is... i still think the gang should have killed him just to be done with it. Damon could have easily snapped his neck while they were cloaked in the school... or they could have killed him last episode instead of tying him to a gravestone etc...

 

I know that leaves a problem for the wonder twins, but surely the gang could then bring Bonnie back and focus on finding a way to stop the twin mergey thing and protect Luke and Live from each other and their dumb murder your sibling coven.

[RachelKM]

 

Kai made it a point to say that he had been hanging out in empty restaurants for 18 years and later Stefan said he had been keeping his secret (about Sarah) from Damon for 18 years, so is it safe to say that Sarah is going to play a role in the Gemini coven twin merging extravaganza? Her mom was black so she MUST be a witch, right? If you are black and in Mystic Falls, you are a witch and you wil die. It's a rule! Maybe Sarah's mom was part of the Gemini coven but she left Portland and ran off to Mystic Falls?

 

EB, you I think the 18 years thing could be significant re: Sarah.  This entire season has revolved around one specific celestial event, the solar eclipse in 1994, which for the show was 18 years ago.  With the fake out of the date of the prison would being about Damon's big Eclipse Party Massacre at Salvator Manse (before we learned about Kai and the Gemini use of that same eclipse), we knew that Sarah would be born on or about the day of the of the eclipse, if she was alive at all.

 

So I assume her super specialness will somehow revolve around the eclipse and possibly by being literally "no [wo]man of woman born."

 

[Edited because I totally forgot to quote or reference the post to which I was responding.]

Edited January 23, 2015 by RachelKM

[Big Bad Wolf]

The friend with whom I watch this show has talked me down off the ceiling about Liz dying by pointing out that if she dies with vampire blood in her system, surely she still has to come back to life as a vampire, albeit as a vampire with cancer, but with the cancer stopped in its tracks for evermore going forward. I am just going to go ahead and believe she has this right, as I am so very unhappy about the thought of losing Liz from the show, I can't even say. This show needs MORE grown up characters, not fewer.

[miss-vanilla]

A really enjoyable episode for me. Fast paced, lots of plot mixed with very very character driven moments, a delicious mix of humour, deadpan, psychosis and pure emotion.

So many interactions that I loved.

Damon and Liz- He stayed with her all night! I swear that scene alone makes up for the 6 week hiatus!

Caroline and Liz- Beautifully acted scenes, packed with emotion.

Damon and Alaric- Back to basics with these two, bonding over their women and trying to save them, with the obligatory  glass of bourbon thrown in. Next stop, bonding at the bar in the Mystic Grill.

Damon and Elena- Apart from the Elena fake out thing, I enjoyed their scenes immensely! Again, it was back to basics, and that old DE chemistry was back in the game.

Elena and Kai- Just so good, I loved all those scenes. I am never truly scared for Elena, because she has lead character immunity, but I liked her badassness and quick thinking. Kai is just so fantastically evil, that it thrills me. The only thing that annoys me is when he eats and talks at the same time- Ewww! Boy, that kid loves food and noisy eating.

The Steroline scenes fell flat for me, as did the Enzo and Stefan scenes. I don't know whether Paul was distracted with directing this Ep that he forgot to act, but Stefan was just a non event, however, I really loved his directing effort. I think he has a really good handle on the characters, and for me the character interactions this episode were the stand out moments for me.

[ElectricBoogaloo]

The friend with whom I watch this show has talked me down off the ceiling about Liz dying by pointing out that if she dies with vampire blood in her system, surely she still has to come back to life as a vampire, albeit as a vampire with cancer, but with the cancer stopped in its tracks for evermore going forward. I am just going to go ahead and believe she has this right, as I am so very unhappy about the thought of losing Liz from the show, I can't even say. This show needs MORE grown up characters, not fewer.

Yes, like the cancer patient guinea pig, Liz will die with Caroline's vamp blood in her system but unlike the poor guy in the hospital, Liz will have Caroline and Stefan there when she wakes up and she will know that she is transitioning so she will have the ability to make a choice about whether to go through with feeding on a human to become a vampire or let herself die (I am not looking forward to another one of Caroline's guilt trip speeches).

It's one thing for Liz to agree to drink her blood to be cured and live the rest of her human life but it's another to become a vampire. If she chooses the latter, I think poor Matt is going to lose his mind. My guess is that, like Caroline's father, she will not want to complete the transition.

If she does become a vampire, I think that like Enzo's tuberculosis, her cancer will be halted which will be Caroline's big argument for going through with it.

The guy in the hospital, on the other hand, will wake up hungry and confused (just like Caroline did). He will probably attack someone out of instinct and not understand what is happening to him.

Edited January 24, 2015 by ElectricBoogaloo

[immortalfrieza]

Despite how entertaining Kai is... i still think the gang should have killed him just to be done with it. Damon could have easily snapped his neck while they were cloaked in the school... or they could have killed him last episode instead of tying him to a gravestone etc...

 

I know that leaves a problem for the wonder twins, but surely the gang could then bring Bonnie back and focus on finding a way to stop the twin mergey thing and protect Luke and Live from each other and their dumb murder your sibling coven.

Exactly. They do the same sort of crap with every villain on this show, the gang gets about 20 opportunities to kill or otherwise permanently incapacitate said villain but the writers keep on coming up with nonsense reasons why they don't so the villain can stick around LONG after they've overstayed their welcome and Kai is no exception. I was tired of the guy before he ever got out of his magical prison so if they drag this out much longer I'm going to become completely apathetic.

 

Yes, like the cancer patient guinea pig, Liz will die with Caroline's vamp blood in her system but unlike the poor guy in the hospital, Liz will have Caroline and Stefan there when she wakes up and she will know that she is transitioning so she will have the ability to make a choice about whether to go through with feeding on a human to become a vampire or let herself die (I am not looking forward to another one of Caroline's guilt trip speeches).

It's one thing for Liz to agree to drink her blood to be cured and live the rest of her human life but it's another to become a vampire. If she chooses the latter, I think poor Matt is going to lose his mind. My guess is that, like Caroline's father, she will not want to complete the transition.

If she does become a vampire, I think that like Enzo's tuberculosis, her cancer will be halted which will be Caroline's big argument for going through with it.

The guy in the hospital, on the other hand, will wake up hungry and confused (just like Caroline did). He will probably attack someone out of instinct and not understand what is happening to him.

If the preview is any indication cancer guy dies and stays dead instead of becoming a vampire and the same thing will probably happen with Liz. It's just as well anyway, as much as I like the character just like all the normal humans on both this and Originals she has basically zero purpose and just takes away screen time from the characters that actually do something.

[Athena5217]

I was all set to give Vampire Diaries for having an African-American character, te doctor, that didn't die 5 minuets after being introduced, but then the had to go and kill the African-American cancer patient. They might as well make all African-American characters wear red shirts.

[lilithred]

Enzo is such a useless character. This whole "single white female" thing he has going with Stefan just makes no sense to me. They couldn't come up with a better reason to keep him around? His beef with him is so petty and strange. What has he even done to deserve his hatred to the point where he's stalking his life? Do something better with this character, or just get rid of him.

 

Kai cracks me up. I loved that he mentioned "Ricki Lake" because it's so 90's and I'm glad that they're remembering the fact that he's never experienced anything outside of that decade. 

 

Caroline and Stefan are super cute. Pretty sure they're be making out soon, and I'm okay with it. I loved them as best friends, and I wasn't sure how they'd work out as an actual romance, but so far, I think the actors are selling it and playing well off of each other, and I don't get any awkward or squicky vibes, the kind you sometimes get when platonic TV friends turn romantic. It's probably because Stefan and Caroline have been eye-fucking since their prom and it seems like a natural progression.

 

They're really need to rescue Bonnie. It's sad that they didn't even mention her.

[ElectricBoogaloo]

If the preview is any indication cancer guy dies and stays dead instead of becoming a vampire and the same thing will probably happen with Liz.

I don't know if we are allowed to discuss the preview here since it's technically a spoiler so I will spoiler tag my interpretation:

In the preview for the next episode, Stefan says, "The blood didn't heal him. It sped up his cancer and killed him." But that is followed by a shot of the guy from the hospital dressed in street clothes looking into the window of a house, which I assumed meant he was either looking for a human to eat or trying to find Caroine Forbes, the genius who told him her first and last name before she fed him her blood, so I thought he had died of cancer with her blood in his system and then he turned into a vampire.

[Aeryn13]

I think the whole "cancer is impervious to vampire blood" - unless you are talking about becoming a vamp which heals EVERYTHING - comes a bit out of left field. Vamp blood has been used to cure everything so far. Damon shot Professor Wes up with quite a few nasty deseases and healed him up just fine, Elena`s Dad healed this Megan girl from her lethal condition just fine but as soon as a beloved recurring character gets a cancer-plot to pull out "well, then it`s time to pull "oh, we forgot to mention, everything but cancer" out of their asses, The contrivance fairy called and wants her money back.

 

But okay, they are clearly going there and with Caroline`s little experiment here it`s clearly setting Liz up for "the choice". Which would actually be fine but they did that already with Caroline`s other parent so pulling the same thing with Liz feels both redundant and mean.

 

I like that Liz is getting a bit of a story here and was especially pleased so see her friendship with Damon referenced so nicely in the episode. Yay. Helping her was actually the reason Damon spent too long in the spirit world in the Season 5 Finale and didn`t make it back in time. Well, he could have if everyone had acted efficently but it was part of the reason.

 

If THAT had been the impetus for Caroline mellowing out on him a bit btw, it would have felt more organic to me than what seems now like "I hated you when I wanted Elena and Stefan back together but now I would like Stefan for myself, Elena is welcome to you and I withdraw my previous objections". Huh? Seriously, that is what it comes across as. What Caroline felt for Damon, loathing or forgiveness or whatever, should always have been separated from whatever couple situation there was.

 

Then we have the witch twin palooza storyline. Luke is the stronger twin, called it. Liv acting so weak and cowardly recently marked her as the weaker one. Jo is a disaster at magic now and Kai a million times stronger than her? What a shocker. Luke was right on the money with that. 

 

Kai may be evil (delightfully psychotic even, I think it`s because he is always so cheerful about it) but he is actually not weak. Normally, the trope would be that the "good one" has the stronger character and will and the "evil one" is actually weaker. But Kai is genuinely the stronger person. He didn`t "fall" to evil, he just is. That`s at least novel. 

 

It`s of course stupid not to kill him. And if the show wants to keep him around for longer, they wil need to take away what makes him special and give him angst/mellow him out. He is a great character as he is but that brand of greatness can never work longterm.

 

Laughed about the "Jeremy and the crossbow" line. Laughed more when Jeremy and his crossbow saved the day in the end. Ahahahaha.

 

Nice to see Elena being a badass again. She always has it in her but lately you never see much of it. With three witches around, she should have a new daylight ring within the hour, though.

 

Enzo being obsessed with Stefan just seems so odd and pointless. Why is he not trying to reconnect with Damon at all for example? He clearly forgave him everything. Which even makes sense, Damon is someone he loves and Stefan is not but this single white female thing comes out of left field.      

[roctavia]

Thinking about this more... it's even stupider that they haven't already killed Kai given how dangerous he is... Prior to his return to the real world, Luke and Liv were already stuck in this twin merge requirement situation....  So they were either going to have to do the merge come their birthday or figure out away to avoid it no matter what was going on with Jo.

 

Yes, Kai vs Jo gave them an easy out, but from what we know about Kai, his presence seems far more dangerous. Especially when it's clear that Jo won't win the merge.

[immortalfrieza]

Thinking about this more... it's even stupider that they haven't already killed Kai given how dangerous he is... Prior to his return to the real world, Luke and Liv were already stuck in this twin merge requirement situation....  So they were either going to have to do the merge come their birthday or figure out away to avoid it no matter what was going on with Jo.

 

Yes, Kai vs Jo gave them an easy out, but from what we know about Kai, his presence seems far more dangerous. Especially when it's clear that Jo won't win the merge.

The weird thing is, all the show had to do up to this point is state that A. if Kai dies Jo dies and B. Luke and Liv will magically perform the merge against their will no matter what when they get to their birthday to justify the coven trapping Kai instead of killing him, the gang's refusal to kill Kai over and over, and the necessity of making sure Jo and Kai do the merge instead all in one.

 Sure, the actions of the characters wouldn't be any less stupid and unnecessary with these justifications, but at least their actions would make some tiny infinitesimal amount of sense that way as opposed to none as we have it now.

[Mari]

I am over this whole which witch will lead the coven? crap, move on, I'm bored.

Yes.  I am beyond tired of the bizarre witch coven that has children, raises them to have one kill the other and become the group leader, and then is super surprised they ended up with psychopath Kai. Hey, if killing one sister gets you the crown, what's wrong with killing the others because they're annoying? 

 

And I don't care which of the wonder twins or Jo/Kai wins.  I'd be fine with all four of them merging into one giant superwitch in the next episode, provided we didn't have to hear any more about how upset they are that they'll have to merge.

 

Um. . . . How about not merging.  Tell your crazy family no, book a cruise, book another cruise, and put a notice-me-not spell on yourself before taking a bus tour around the country.  Don't merge.  It's simple.

 

Not that I'm tired of Kai, yet.  He's still entertaining.  it's the stupid twin coven merge plot that I'm over.

[RachelKM]

Um. . . . How about not merging.  Tell your crazy family no, book a cruise, book another cruise, and put a notice-me-not spell on yourself before taking a bus tour around the country.  Don't merge.  It's simple.

 

This is been bugging me for a while.  None of them, Jo, Live, Luke, or even Kai, has said what the consequence is of not doing the merge.  So far it seems like it would just piss people off including their dad.  At least on the Originals, as fucked up as the Harvest thing was with the sacrificing (and then resurrecting) teenagers, we were told that the coven would loose their magic if it wasn't done. 

Edited January 25, 2015 by RachelKM

[Mari]

  So far it seems like it would just piss people off including their dad.  At least on the Originals, as fucked up as the Harvest thing was with the sacrificing (and then resurrecting) teenagers, we were told that the coven would loose their magic if it wasn't done. 

I've been under the impression that the coven would break up, or something, but I can't pinpoint what makes me think that.  It could just be a passing comment I misinterpreted.

 

But even if the coven would lose their magic--the coven thinks killing their kids is a better solution than being magic-free?  What?  I can't buy a few people believing that, but it's straining my credulity when they ask me to buy that pairs of parents--generations of pairs of parents--are purposely having children so that they can put the kids through a death match before making the survivor their leader.

 

It's not like they've established this needs to be done so that all the other kids survive, or to appease the blood-hungry being that makes sure they're able to feed everyone.  Nope.  So far, they're doing it for tradition, and to be a slightly more powerful coven than the non-twin-merging coven.

 

It's not only boring, it's nonsensical, and I'm having trouble figuring out where the reasonable human motive is.  At least when the vampires do something that makes me shake my head and strain to find decent motive, I can tell myself it's because they're not human, and might have nonhuman reactions and obsessions.

 

The witches are supposed to be human.  Have them act like it, show.

 

(And if the Jo/Kai/othertwins do merge into a giant superwitch, I'd like that giant superwitch to march around squishing characters into pancakes before the giant superwitch is felled, never to be seen again.  Select characters can be inside some sort of safe bubble.  Can you tell how much I don't love this plot?  I can't even remember for sure the younger pair of twins names.)

Edited January 25, 2015 by Mari

[lion10]

I've been under the impression that the coven would break up, or something, but I can't pinpoint what makes me think that.  It could just be a passing comment I misinterpreted.

 

But even if the coven would lose their magic--the coven thinks killing their kids is a better solution than being magic-free?  What?  I can't buy a few people believing that, but it's straining my credulity when they ask me to buy that pairs of parents--generations of pairs of parents--are purposely having children so that they can put the kids through a death match before making the survivor their leader.

 

It's not like they've established this needs to be done so that all the other kids survive, or to appease the blood-hungry being that makes sure they're able to feed everyone.  Nope.  So far, they're doing it for tradition, and to be a slightly more powerful coven than the non-twin-merging coven.

 

It's not only boring, it's nonsensical, and I'm having trouble figuring out where the reasonable human motive is.  At least when the vampires do something that makes me shake my head and strain to find decent motive, I can tell myself it's because they're not human, and might have nonhuman reactions and obsessions.

 

The witches are supposed to be human.  Have them act like it, show.

 

Are they though?  Thinking back, most older witches seem to have a distinctly inhuman way of looking at the world and they seem to regard themselves as separate from humans.  And throughout history (especially in antiquity), humans have treated children with stunning cruelty so I can buy a coven deciding to sacrifice children so that they can retain their power.  And the girls do come back to life...eventually.

[RachelKM]

So the coven... disbands? That's the consequence?  Why and so what?  Do they have to disband... isn't a coven usually just together semi by choice,  part familial and part affinity?  Do those things disappear because they don't get their death match chosen 22 year old leader?

 

(And if the Jo/Kai/othertwins do merge into a giant superwitch, I'd like that giant superwitch to march around squishing characters into pancakes before the giant superwitch is felled, never to be seen again.  Select characters can be inside some sort of safe bubble.  Can you tell how much I don't love this plot?  I can't even remember for sure the younger pair of twins names.)

I now demand this happen.  I'm picturing something like a witch-shaped Godzilla/Stay Puft Marshmallow Man and of course, the Grill will be destroyed.... again... some more.

Edited January 25, 2015 by RachelKM

[Mari]

Are they though?  Thinking back, most older witches seem to have a distinctly inhuman way of looking at the world and they seem to regard themselves as separate from humans.  And throughout history (especially in antiquity), humans have treated children with stunning cruelty so I can buy a coven deciding to sacrifice children so that they can retain their power.  And the girls do come back to life...eventually.

True.  And I could buy the "human sacrifice for power mwhahaha" motive or the "we're desperately making this horrible choice" motive.  And absolutely, throughout history humans have a horrible track record when it comes to not damaging their children.  I just don't think the show has sold either one, when it comes to the Gemini coven. 

 

 I could buy them kidnapping kids off the street for a relatively minor power boost.  I could buy them having some sort of pact with an otherworldly super-being that demands this twin deathmatch to make sure that the rest of the kids in the coven survive.  But so far, the show hasn't pushed anything like that.  They've mostly had the pairs of twins complaining about how they'd have to merge, how mad their dad would be, and some comments that make it sound to me like the coven wouldn't have a leader if they chose not to merge. 

 

You weren't sure that the witches were truly human-are you thinking that the longer they use magic, the more disconnected they are from actual people?  That's the only thing that makes the current plot work at all, I guess.

 

So the coven... disbands? That's the consequence?  Why and so what?  Do they have to disband... isn't a coven usually just together semi by choice,  part familial and part affinity?  Do those things disappear because they don't get their death match chosen 22 year old leader?

 

I now demand this happen.  I'm picturing something like a witch-shaped Godzilla/Stay Puft Marshmallow Man and of course, the Grill will be destroyed.... again... some more.

Since the new leader of their coven would have been raised to love the person they just killed (see the witch twins I'm not interested in enough to remember their names), they've not only chosen a someone capable of killing to retain power, they've chosen someone who's likely traumatized as well.  How do good decisions come out of that?

 

Most of the witches we've seen so far haven't been in covens, and they've mostly done just fine without one.  I'm having trouble believing that this "generations of twin sacrifice" thing hasn't had a few more hiccups.  Because you not only would have to produce twins on demand, but you'd have to grow them willing to kill the other one, and still capable of being a reasonable person and leader.  Good luck with that.

 

(And, yes, I'd like the giant twin foursome witch to happen.      Oops, sorry, Tyler.  Should've moved faster.)

Edited January 25, 2015 by Mari

[Aeryn13]

 

None of them, Jo, Live, Luke, or even Kai, has said what the consequence is of no doing the merge.

 

It seems like they are all super-brainwashed. Even Kai who is completely psychotic and cares about nothing and noone wants to do that stupid merge. Sorry, I haven`t liked every major villain on the show but at least each had a goal I could logically follow, early!Damon wanted the tomb open, Katherine wanted to be free of Klaus, Klaus wanted to break the curse that kept his werewolf side dormant and then make a hybrid army to fight his Psycho!Dad, Silas wanted to die for real, Markos wanted to break the curse that kept the Travellers from settling down anywhere. I understood what they wanted and even why they wanted it.

 

Why does Kai wanna merge? "It is the way of our coven" is not an explanation btw. I mean, surely, he is not gonna be the leader then? Like seriously, they couldn`t reject him on account of being psycho? What I could understand is if he wanted to merge with another witch to have magical power himself for the rest of his life since any he siphons eventually runs out. But that is not what he says, that is seemingly not what he does, no he wants to do that uber-stupid twin-merger.

 

That makes no sense whatsoever which considerably weakens this story. The only explanation I can think of that everyone in this Gemini coven has been brainwashed since birth into this obsessive need to do the twin merge and believe in the twin merge. And one generation passes that on to the next. However, that is the flimsiest motivation for any goal on the show ever. And that is saying something. 

Edited January 25, 2015 by Aeryn13

[lion10]

Why does Kai wanna merge? "It is the way of our coven" is not an explanation btw. I mean, surely, he is not gonna be the leader then? Like seriously, they couldn`t reject him on account of being psycho? What I could understand is if he wanted to merge with another witch to have magical power himself for the rest of his life since any he siphons eventually runs out. But that is not what he says, that is seemingly not what he does, no he wants to do that uber-stupid twin-merger.

 

 

I honestly think that Kai wants to merge as the ultimate "fuck you" to his dad (canon) and in a weird way a way of confirming his place as part of the Gemini Coven (fanon) since he was abused and called an abomination due to his magic leech abilities.  The coven has some sort of long range ability given that they could migraine the twins from roughly 2,670 miles away so I think that if Kai became the leader of the coven, it wouldn't be a matter of telling him to go away, it would be a matter of "Kai's too strong to disobey him". 

[roctavia]

I honestly think that Kai wants to merge as the ultimate "fuck you" to his dad (canon) and in a weird way a way of confirming his place as part of the Gemini Coven (fanon) since he was abused and called an abomination due to his magic leech abilities.  The coven has some sort of long range ability given that they could migraine the twins from roughly 2,670 miles away so I think that if Kai became the leader of the coven, it wouldn't be a matter of telling him to go away, it would be a matter of "Kai's too strong to disobey him". 

 

 

I thought they had said somewhere along the way that if Kai and Jo had merged, he would win- killing Jo, but that also he'd then finally have his own witchy powers that wouldn't vanish away...

 

But the coven still thought he was all wrong and abomination-y, so having a second set of twins turned Kai even more psycho with the message the coven didn't want him as the leader, even if he had witch magic.