S06.E16: The Downward Spiral

[Lisin]

After shutting off her humanity following the death of her mother, Caroline gives her friends an unexpected ultimatum. Not knowing how to handle the new Caroline, Stefan’s attempt to intervene sets off a dangerous chain of events, leaving him and Elena in a race against the clock. Meanwhile, after seeking answers from Kai about the prison world, Damon’s world is turned upside when he learns some devastating news about his mother Lily. Elsewhere, Enzo finds himself becoming increasingly intrigued by Sarah Salvatore, and Bonnie begins to struggle with the effects of being back in the real world.

[TigerLynx]

I was enjoying Caroline and Bonnie.  I do not want to see Ripper Stefan again.

 

Damon and Stefan's mother is a vampire who is a worse Ripper than Stefan?  Really?  {face palm}

[prospazzinator]

No more humanity switch flipping, show. I'm so over it. They really don't have too many stories to tell, do they? Same old crap always happening.

[Guest]

Was there an actual reason that Stefan shut off his humanity besides they thought that would make a cool episode for next week?

[Whitley Trillbert]

I think I'm going to enjoy Steroline aka Dru and Spike 2.0 

 

God bless Caroline for handing Elena her ass all episode. This Caro can  def stick around if we get more of that. 

[KittenPokerCheater]

Gob.  Smacked.

 

Bonnie and Clyde-style hijinks ensue.  Who turned Stefan back the last time he shut off his humanity?

 

That was cold of Bonnie to do that to Damon.

 

Also, Damon. His saint of a mother is actually a ripper.

 

Pretty shocking episode.  

[HunterHunted]

No more humanity switch flipping, show. I'm so over it. They really don't have too many stories to tell, do they? Same old crap always happening.

As am I. In the middle of Caroline's humanity switch ultimatum, I deleted the episode from my Tivo. And now this show is going to double down on dumb vampire shit: Stefan and Caroline deciding to Mickey and Mallory all over town and Mama Salvatore the super ripper. Yawn. I want a confrontation between Damon and Stefan about Sarah. About how much Sarah's "death" wrecked Damon and how malicious it was of Stefan to keep her secret. Stefan can claim he did it to keep her safe, but I'm sure part of him gets off on torturing and guilting Damon. I want a story about Bonnie trying to acclimate. She seemed overwhelmed at the rave.

Edited March 13, 2015 by HunterHunted

[AlliMo]

The only scenes I didn't end up fast forwarding through were the ones with Bonnie, Damon and Kai. The rest is just more retread I didn't care about the first time.

[Artsda]

I  guess Stefan got the ripping gene from mommy.

 

I loved no humanity Caroline calling out Elena for making everything about her. Line of the episode, line of the season. With Caroline calling her out.

 

Why didn't Elena and Stefan just leave her alone, they just made it so much worse. She wasn't going to kill anyone, she was in control. They forced her hand. 

 

I guess Elena now knows Stefan's secret about Sarah.

 

Since the day in the past kept repeating itself, why does Bonnie have a scar? Wouldn't it just go away the next day? When Bonnie was telling Damon to get out, wasn't that Damon's house?

 

Ian should direct every episode if it means we'll be Delena free for the episode. Great that they didn't interact!

Edited March 13, 2015 by Artsda

[Morrigan2575]

Wow, great episode. Loved everything Caroline did. I especially loved the scene of evil Caroline sitting in the bar, luring Sarah to her doom nicely framed and lit.

Loved the Bonnie/Damon stuff, totally on Bonnie's side. Damon was being to total selfish DBag.

Kai looked really good in the coat, great cut had amd European/Victorian look to it. Meanwhile Enzo's hair looked funny. I'm really over Enzo he's boring now, Kai is way more fun (villain wise).

Edited March 13, 2015 by Morrigan2575

[hcs]

I think my fav part of the episode was Stefan snarking at Elana at the beginning  and Caroline at the end, Was there ever a truer statement than " Way to make it about you Elana" if  steroline  means we get more hating on Elana then   count me in.

[Primetimer]

Also in this week's visit to upside-down land, Bonnie is on fire and Kai is semi-nice.

Read the story

[bettername2come]

Kat Graham and Ian Somerhalder rocked the Bonnie/Damon scene. I'm totally Team Bonnie on this one, but I get where Damon's coming from too and I didn't want to see him in pain when he wasn't actually intending to do harm. But, dammit, you idiot, you love Bonnie! And even if Kai is less evil and can help you find your mom, he hurt Bonnie! Badly! Don't you normally have a "you hurt the people I love, I stab you, break your neck, or eat you" policy?

 

I'm glad Bonnie called Jeremy. Those two needed some kind of resolution, even if it was over the phone. I miss liking them.

 

Caroline humanity-less and still not killing people was actually really interesting. Until she decided to kill Sarah. Poor Sarah and Liam. Although Bonnie and Clyde hijinks with Stefan could be fun. I did kind of hope Stefan would fake turning his humanity off. Did he seriously not consider that?

[PinkRibbons]

I did kind of hope Stefan would fake turning his humanity off. Did he seriously not consider that?

 

Until further notice, I assume that's what he did. Just by personality alone, when compared with Damon, Stefan thinks with his head as opposed to his heart. He's capable of making very cold, rational decisions. I'm betting he's willing to play Clyde to Caroline's Bonnie to bring her back at whatever cost it takes. These people are infamous for only looking out for their own. So they may rack up the body count but I don't think he's switched off.

 

Meanwhile, I LOVE that ripperism is genetic. I always wondered about other rippers, since Stefan wasn't really referred to as the only one -- not to mention the term existed before he was turned since Lexi said it first.

 

I've been reading a book on the last Romanov Grand Duchesses, and reading about how tortured Alexandra was about passing Hemophilia on to her son, I wonder how Mama Salvatore will react to knowing she passed on Ripperiness to Stefan. (Btw, what was she eating in her prison world? She should be dessicated, right? They had no blood bags. Unless the spell allows her to survive a day repeating without blood. Maybe she's reformed in the time she's had to herself, off-blood.)

Edited March 13, 2015 by PinkRibbons

[Goldmoon]

I think Stefan is faking.  Loved Caro calling Elena out on making everything about her.  It's incredible that the writer's actually put that in the script and let it stand.  No, wait.  They probably felt that Care-Bear was being unreasonable.  Man I wish we could have kept control freak de-switched Caroline for a year.  She was awesome! So Mom Salvatore is around so that Bonne and Damon can have an obstacle to their friendship? I get why Bonnie felt betrayed.  For a minute there I thought Damon was going to give Bonnie over to Kai and leave (and I would be leaving TVD as he did) but he was right there in case of trouble. Then he apologized and I felt it was the most sincere apology he has ever given on this show.  I hope that Bonnie forgives him, but also warns him that it is the last time and that he had better put her ahead of his own selfish desires for the rest of their lives or she is truly done with him.  I think she means enough to him that he would agree to that.

[sking24450]

I really don't like Caroline.   Stefan is not wrong or bad for not returning Caroline's feelings and I hate that the show tried to imply he was a douchebag to her at her mom's funeral.  Not from what I saw.

 

I did like her plan for getting rid of Sarah.  It seemed the type of plan Caroline would come up with.

 

Stefan was an idiot from trying to get her to flip her switch back on.  They're vampires.  A year is nothing, at the very least he could have given her a little while.

 

Hated that they whole ep was wasted mostly on trying to get Caroline who is safe and technically fine to turn her switch back on when Bonnie just got back and not one person took the time to really think about how she was doing.  Damon was the closest and even he put his needs before her in the end.  It was telling that her reunion with Damon last ep was more heartfelt imo than her reunion with Elena.

 

Damon/Bonnie scenes were everything.  From the way he was going to back off initially when he heard what she said.  Their banter over the phone.  The look of rage she gave him when she realized he tricked her, and finally that last confrontation.  Damon deserved it because he saw some of what she went through and he knows what being their away from everyone did to him, but I loved that she let that rage out on him.  Mostly because I think he more than the others is able to recognize when he is wrong and not he's not going to hold it against Bonnie and Bonnie won't feel the need to self-flagellate herself because it's Damon.  I'm intrigued by this relationship.

 

Enzo is boring and tedious and I wish he would just go away.

 

Damon/Kai could have become a crazy snarky pairing but Kai makes BonBon sad and ragey so unfortunately not sure this will go far.

 

Not really interested in the RipperMama storyline.

 

Ripper Stefan is going to be a mess and if he kills anyone it's just going to be another shame spiral that I'm not interested in.

[GraceAnne]

Kai looked really good in the coat, great cut had amd European/Victorian look to it. Meanwhile Enzo's hair looked funny. I'm really over Enzo he's boring now, Kai is way more fun (villain wise).

I know!

I've always found the actor attractive but tonight I was all "Why hello there!"

 

I think my fav part of the episode was Stefan snarking at Elana at the beginning  and Caroline at the end, Was there ever a truer statement than " Way to make it about you Elana" if  steroline  means we get more hating on Elana then   count me in.

I too loved this!

Most of what she said was spot on and somehow absurdly reasonable....

 

Did anyone catch Stefan making a point about "him" being able to get through to Caroline ... and later he repeated to Elena to make sure " she" brought him back? Please let this not be foreshadowing for anything.  Dear lord I do not want to get back on THAT merry go round again.

[Artsda]

Yeah I noticed that Stefan was adamant on the phone  that Elena had to  bring him back. I'll take it over Delena.

[GaT]

Caroline with her humanity turned off
Stefan trying to fix Caroline
Sarah Salvatore
Anything to do with Enzo
The Salvatore mommy, in prison or out.
Bonnie & her PTSD
Kai

 

This show is apparently trying to kill me with plots I hate. Is the season over soon?

[immortalfrieza]

Most of what she said was spot on and somehow absurdly reasonable....

Yeah, I get the feeling that everybody in the group never bought that Caroline could actually avoid killing people at some point for a week, not to mention a whole year. If they were going to do this whole "vampire turns off their humanity and everybody tries to get them to turn it back on" I was so hoping that for once, FOR ONCE a vampire turning it off didn't mean they instantly become a complete psychopath and just act like they don't have any feelings like they should rather than that they've thrown their entire moral compass and rationality out of the window. If we had to go through that sort of plotline again at least it would seem fresher if they mixed it up a bit.

 

Caroline: "I turned off my humanity, that doesn't mean I'm stupid."

 

If only Caroline had lived up to that boast.

 

 

Stefan is not wrong or bad for not returning Caroline's feelings and I hate that the show tried to imply he was a douchebag to her at her mom's funeral.  Not from what I saw.

Yeah, unless Caroline was blind it should have been abundantly clear that Stefan was nowhere near ready to discuss his feelings towards her at this point, and even if she wasn't aware of that putting him on the spot to tell her exactly how he felt while at her mother's funeral and thus was one hell of guilt trip situation regardless of the answer was an epic dick move on her part.

 

Stefan was an idiot from trying to get her to flip her switch back on.  They're vampires.  A year is nothing, at the very least he could have given her a little while.

Agreed. Stefan, here's a tip, if a possibly unstable person tells you to leave them alone just LEAVE THEM ALONE already! You are not going to make things better by pushing someone you think might go on a murderous rampage any second. It's almost as if he wanted her to go nuts, but I guess that's in character for him. He was really possessive and controlling of Elena when they were together especially once she became a vampire so trying to control his new beau now too is to be expected.

Edited March 13, 2015 by immortalfrieza

[Moo]

I was really looking forward to Bonnie coming back, because I've actually grown to like her over the last year or two. But in this episode, it was hammered home why when she is around I don't care about her that much: she's not the best actress. I wish it wasn't true but I just can't take scene after scene of her talking through her teeth to show she's feeling feelings. Ugh.

 

I'm also not a huge fan of Damon being on his own little island. His character works best when he's interacting with everyone.

 

I got a little sick of the 'you can tell we're cool coz of the angry guitar riff' that appeared whenever Caro was doing her thing. But I can ignore that because I'm looking forward to seeing her totally overwhelmed by psycho Stefan in the coming eps. She's still controlled without her humanity, but he's like John Wayne Gacy lol. That'll be fun.

 

Finally, the only one in this episode who was actually acting sensibly and decently was Elena. She's kinda awesome when she's like this.

[immortalfrieza]

Finally, the only one in this episode who was actually acting sensibly and decently was Elena. She's kinda awesome when she's like this.

Yeah it is awesome, too bad Elena is almost never actually like that, to the point that I actually felt a little weird expecting her to act like a self centered idiot the entire episode and finding she didn't.

Edited March 13, 2015 by immortalfrieza

[ElectricBoogaloo]

Stefan is not wrong or bad for not returning Caroline's feelings and I hate that the show tried to imply he was a douchebag to her at her mom's funeral.  Not from what I saw.

 

 

Yeah, unless Caroline was blind it should have been abundantly clear that Stefan was nowhere near ready to discuss his feelings towards her at this point, and even if she wasn't aware of that putting him on the spot to tell her exactly how he felt while at her mother's funeral and thus was one hell of guilt trip situation regardless of the answer was an epic dick move on her part.

Me three. I get that losing a parent is a terrible thing to go through (my dad died a year ago last week), but that doesn't mean that you get to force someone to confess his feelings for you or be a total bitch because he didn't think he wanted to be in a relationship with you. Just because you like someone doesn't mean they are obligated to like you back. And even if they do like you back, that doesn't mean that they are obligated to become your boyfriend or conform to whatever you want the relationship to be.

 

 

 

I think I'm going to enjoy Steroline aka Dru and Spike 2.0

Ha, while I was watching this episode, I thought that the show was trying to make Enzo into Spike but failing miserably.

 

My other Buffy note on this episode was that I felt like they were trying to make Caroline at the rave into Faith at the Bronze with the dancing and the naughty attitude and the clumpy faux mini dread hair (I'm sure there's a real name for what they did to her hair besides ugly).

 

 

 

Kai looked really good in the coat, great cut had amd European/Victorian look to it.

Totally! Until now, he has always had the look for a teenager to me and I have no interest in high school boys but tonight I was like whoa, when did that happen? He looks like an adult now! I really loved that coat on him. He is still cracking me up too. "Feelings are hard." And I liked that even though his apology to Bonnie didn't go as planned, he still kept looking into the 1903 prison world.

 

I don't know why Mama Salvatore got thrown in there but apparently Stefan's ripperism wasn't bad enough to warrant that. Damon needs to slow his roll. Kai just told you that your mom is a crazy killer who faked her death so she could go around murdering people and your response is, "But we need to get her out of prison!"?

 

So do all vampires do the eat and erase thing or feed on forest animals? Because if not, killing 3000 victims isn't really a lot. For example, that's one per day for less than a decade. If Mama Salvatore was turned in 1858 and imprisoned in 1903 then 3000 kills means that she was averaging about 66 people per year which is a little more than one per week. I'm not condoning murder or anything, but how were all of these other vampires living for hundreds of years without killing one person a week? Stefan killed a messload right after he turned and didn't Caroline kill two or three the first day she was turned? You can't tell me that all of these super old vampires were drinking bunny blood or stealing blood from hospitals hundreds of years ago!

 

My favorite Bonnie moment was when she burned that douchebag who was getting too handsy with her. If only all women had the power to protect themselves like that from presumptuous asshats at bars. How many times does a girl have to say "no thanks" before you actually listen and respect her boundaries?

Edited March 13, 2015 by ElectricBoogaloo

[Smug47]

This Enzo story is great, it's almost like a poor man's Elena and Stefan: mysterious brooder with lots of hair gel and ulterior motives sets up a meeting with the naive human girl with long straight hair, who figures out all dramatically that her attractive new friend is a vampire while some alt rock track wails in the background. It's like the snake who eats his own tail, only dumb.

[raytch]

I don't get what y'all are complaining about. This episode was awesome!

Ian did a great job directing this one.

Sure, the way the whole humanity switch story played out was pretty predictable (even the 'cliffhanger' ending with Stefan shutting it off). 

 

I thought Caroline calmly commanding Stefan to Shut.It.Off was a cool throwback to Klaus hysterically yelling and compelling Stefan to TURN IT OFFFF in season 3. 

 

My favorite part was Elena and Damon not interacting at all. I like that Elena and Stefan are now in such a comfortable place. I like Caroline calling Elena on her bullshit, and mostly I like how the writers seem to realize how annoying Elena has become in the past 2 seasons, and seem to be stepping her back a bit. It seems like she and Damon are finally 'together together' so no more drama on that end.

 

Enzo just bores me. Even the actor is annoyingly overdoing it all the time. The way he glares at everyone, and the way he drinks tea from a real china set is ridiculous. Is this how this place actually serves tea?

Sarah Salvatore is cute, but she's only been used as a plot device so far so I hope she gets to be more than that soon.

 

Bonnie is awesome. I liked her saying "I'm not the same person anymore, and I don't know if I like the new me or not". Her delivery was also spot on. She's still Bonnie but it's obvious that she won't be taking shit from anyone including her friends.

 

Kai and Damon were fun enough. I laughed when Damon said that Kai is now "a rather evil butterfly". The Salvatore mom storyline seems to be moving along and I'm looking forward to see where it goes.

 

Overall, it was a fun episode and it set the pieces for the bigger events that we'll be seeing from here. Stefan with no humanity is fun to watch.

 

Edited to add that my biggest problem with the episode was Stefan being convinced that Caroline shut it off for him. And moreover, that the overall tone of their interactions insinuates that he might be right. Caroline is a lot smarter than that and the fact that it's even an option that she flipped the switch not because her mother dies, but because stephan did no say he likes her is just degrading.

Edited March 13, 2015 by raytch

[penelope79]

I did kind of hope Stefan would fake turning his humanity off. Did he seriously not consider that?

 

 

Until further notice, I assume that's what he did. Just by personality alone, when compared with Damon, Stefan thinks with his head as opposed to his heart. He's capable of making very cold, rational decisions. I'm betting he's willing to play Clyde to Caroline's Bonnie to bring her back at whatever cost it takes.

 

I agree: the switch-off seemed too "fast" and Stefan playing a double-agent would not be the first time. Even if kind of predictable, I'd rather see him pretending than to actually switch off his humanity AGAIN!

Judging by next week promo their scenes will be fun, though. I just hope this all switch on and off will be done within next episode because, even if it's done quite well in this specific case, it's been done soooo many times that I can live without it.

[Jads]

I'm not sure Stefan is faking it but I don't think his switch is fully off. In Season 3, the first few episodes where he and Klaus were away from MF, he still seemed to be in control then finally flicked it off when they were in the gym with Elena. So I think of it more of a humanity dimmer instead.

I actually really liked no humanity Caroline and that she kept within character. I also liked Stefan and Elena

Working together. Elena was actually sensible tonight.

What did make me shout "Argh" was Stefan asking Elena to "bring me back". I used to like Stelena a lot but their story has been stamped on and ret conned so much that I don't want them together. Those 3 little words sent bad shivers up my spine.

[slayer2]

I don't get anybody who thinks KG is a weak actress at this point, she has been given nothing but heart-wrenching horror these past few episodes and has absolutely nailed it, conveying a thousand words with just one look. She's been adept at going from strength to heartbreaking vulnerability in mere seconds, but mileage varies I suppose.

All I cared about in this episode was Bamon and Kai and that was phenomenal as ever. Hey at least I'm consistent. I really enjoyed IS's style it was a wonderful debut IMO, there were some beautiful shots in there.

Edited March 13, 2015 by slayer2

[Timetoread]

I didn't mind Switched Off Caroline though I would have preferred less of Stefan and Elena moralizing all over the place.  How many have died at their hands?  And I think the off switch is played out.  The only thing that would work for me is if ALL the vampires realize that they are not human and begin to act like it.  Stop fake going to college and fake having jobs and fake caring about their victims.  Be what you are. 

 

Side note to say:  I am a grown ass woman - far older than the actor (I could have babysat him).  But, my God, my eyes enjoy watching Chris Wood.  I'm sorry he got picked up for another show because he makes THIS show worth watching.

 

As for Bamon.  I definitely think these two have chemistry but, and I don't usually say this, I find the platonic friendship relationship between them very very interesting.  Moreso than your usual hormonefest.  I think television in general is hard pressed to show what a REAL best friend is.  It isn't the casual, "we used to go to kindergarten together" stuff they show.  Your best friend is like family.  Your feelings for each other are deep and complicated and it is one of the pivotal, meaningful relationships in your life.  I think what we're seeing here is that Damon and Bonnie became BEST friends - even if they haven't spoken this aloud and labeled it.  They know and understand each other deeply and they LOVE each other.  Tonight Damon was wrong and he deserved what Bonnie gave him because it was betrayal even though that wasn't his intent.  Still the pain that she inflicted on him wasn't the physical reliving of her assaults from Kai, it was his knowing how deeply she is hurting and that he had added to that.  I don't think he'll forgive himself until she forgives him.  And she will because they love.  He can keep chasing Elena if he must (my eyes just rolled out of my head and onto the floor) but I adore this portrayal of friendship between him and Bonnie (which is outside of the sphere of their romantic relationships) and I hope the show doesn't mess it up.

[wingster55]

Stefan can claim he did it to keep her safe, but I'm sure part of him gets off on torturing and guilting Damon

 

About Sarah? How can that be when he never mentions her to Damon? 

[blixie]

 

All I cared about in this episode was Bamon and Kai and that was phenomenal as ever.

 

Yes Kai continues to be incredibly entertaining even though he's now tempered by pesky feelings, which are hard. He's very much in the S1 Damon role, allowed to say/do hilariously asshole things while still being weirdly compelled to help the "heroes".

 

I did not love Candace's take on humanity switch off Caroline, but I put that down to how generally stupid the humanity switch is in general. Same with the concept of "rippers", though that's slightly better developed than the damn switch. I was happy to see that she could for the most part control herself even in that state, and Stefan was dummy for testing the firm boundary she set, and while I hope he's faking, I'd be okay if he is not, the situation was such that he felt genuinely out of options and in keeping the TVD morality of protecting your own at the expense of every single other person, to save Sarah, he'd do it.

 

Bamon was everything this episode, the banter on the phone, her *sharing* her pain with him and no one else, I really am starting to wonder about how committed they are to Dalena or Steroline, because in season where Damon/Elena are essentially "together" we've only had to suffer seeing it in action like 3 times all season, and yeah Stefan's plea that Elena would have to bring him back makes it clear their still stoking the Stelena fire, and as much as the magic is gone if it's a way to avoid Dalena I"m good with it. 

 

I'd still prefer Elena turn human via...MAGICS or a WIZARD, and that we end with Bamon/Steroline and Elena back to herself and paired off with some nice cute human guy she could spend her life with or not.

 

Also per Enzo, weirdly this was the first episode all season that I liked him again, I still ship him with Caroline,and I love that wasn't interested in making out with her when it wasn't really HER. He's best as sardonic and charming rake, not a needlessly assy Damon wannabe.

[TigerLynx]

Katherine wasn't in the tomb.  Mommy isn't dead.  Enzo didn't die at Whitmore.  Damon is 0 for 3.

 

Caroline still having more control than the other vampires even with her switch flipped was nice.

 

I want Damon/Bonnie working together, not fighting.

[prospazzinator]

The preliminary rating for this episode is not good. If it stands, that's a series low.

[slayer2]

The preliminary rating for this episode is not good. If it stands, that's a series low.

I'm not trying to hear that.

[roctavia]

I don't know if I'm going to take much meaning from Stefan telling Elena to bring him back... it's not like he could call up Damon and tell him to bring him back or anybody else... there isn't a Lexi around etc. So I think it was more that Elena was the only person he could tell, to communicate to her what he was about to do... and to cast out a line so he can get back to himself.

 

I don't think Elena has that much power over his emotions anymore, and I also don't think romantic love is the only thing that can reach a switch flipped vamp... Elena and Stefan are just over... or at least they should be.

Caroline in her normal state is probably the one who could best bring Stefan back, or Damon. Their brotherly bond has always been a bigger deal to both of them, IMO, anyway.

[TigerLynx]

If this results in Damon and Bonnie working together to bring back Stefan, Caroline, and Damon's mother, I think I would like that.

[2Old2BAFangirl]

I loved this episode and I'm loving Season 6 in general.

 

I don't ship Bamon by any stretch but their friendship is made of all the wins for me.  I hope they make up quickly.

 

No problem for me with Steroline flipping their respective "switches".  I'm hoping it will be fun.

 

Best line in the episode, possibly the entire series, goes to Caroline with her "make everything about you, Elena.  You have a gift." line.  Just awesome.

[CaughtOnTape]

It's weird.  I don't get it.  But I TOTALLY LOVE Kai and Damon working together.  It reminds me of Damon and Alaric when they were first becoming friends and hated each other.  The snark and grudgingly having to do what the other wants is awesome.

 

And I don't think Stefan's switch is off.  He's doing what he needs to do to get Caroline where he wants her and then he'll trap her.

[Aeryn13]

 

I don't know if I'm going to take much meaning from Stefan telling Elena to bring him back... it's not like he could call up Damon and tell him to bring him back or anybody else... there isn't a Lexi around etc. So I think it was more that Elena was the only person he could tell, to communicate to her what he was about to do... and to cast out a line so he can get back to himself.

 

I agree. It was a very resigned "don`t forget to bring me back". He might as well have been saying "don`t forget to do the laundry". And Elena was the only person he could say it to in this moment. I got no romantic vibes from it whatsoever.

 

That said, now Stefan turning it off? Yeesh, really. I`m sure Paul is thrilled because he loves doing evil but still, yeesh. And Caroline basically blackmailed him to do it. Strikes me as familiar,. Hey, girl, if you got Klaus on your mind, just go and do him. I`m sure HE would even welcome a threesome with Stefan.

 

Also, they did the cliché thing of weird new hairdo and sluttier behaviour to signify a female character turning "evol". How amazingly novel. Caroline`s approach wasn`t even that new for the show. When Elena turned it off, she didn`t go all kill-crazy either. In fact, she pretty much tried to do what Caro stated in her ultimatum: live her life and have fun, drink blood etc. She only started with the ultimatums once it became clear that noone would allow her that. This was basically a repeat of that.

 

The scene between Bonnie and Damon hurt. I totally get her betrayal but I get his motivations too.

 

Mama Salvatore being a Ripper and that being genetic is groan-worthy. It made perfect sense that Stefan became a ripper due to his psychological issues. But nope, he inherited it like Damon did the blue eyes. Urgh. I find that needlessly whitewashing after the fact. It made the character a lot more interesting when his Ripperness was due to his issues. Now that it was in his genes, it makes it a lot more shallow. Thanks for ruining some good parts of the show.      

[Kaboom 2.0]

I am really not looking forward to having two switch-turned-off vampires AND Ripper Mama Salvatore around. The previous switch and ripper SLs pissed me off and although I heart Caroline, I quickly found myself wanting someone, anyone, to just stake her already. I'll admit I did love her telling Elena that Elena has a gift for making everything about her, though. 

 

Having said that, Bamon as friends is ALL win for me, as is Kai still being around and dealing with those pesky things called feelings. I thought IS did a great job directing this ep, KG's escalating reaction to Kai's apology, intercut with all of the ways that Kai had hurt her in the 1994 world, made me feel for Bonnie even more than I have been. Here's to hoping that Damon and Bon Bob make up soon!

[Terrafamilia]

I get that there were extenuating circumstances which led the Gemini coven to imprison Kai rather than kill him but what was their excuse with Mama Salvatore? I mean, compared to creating an entire doppelworld I would think killing a single crazed vampire would be child's play, especially if they were prepared for it. Even if they had some witchy rules about using magic to kill they could have immobilized her while someone else staked or beheaded her.

[LeafontheWind]

I get that there were extenuating circumstances which led the Gemini coven to imprison Kai rather than kill him but what was their excuse with Mama Salvatore? I mean, compared to creating an entire doppelworld I would think killing a single crazed vampire would be child's play, especially if they were prepared for it. Even if they had some witchy rules about using magic to kill they could have immobilized her while someone else staked or beheaded her.

Maybe TVD will continue its homage to Buffy/Angel and have Mama Salvatore be responsible for the death of a much loved member of their coven. Hence, a torturous prison set aside just for her to relive her crimes and suffer, rather than a quick, easy death?

[Carrie Ann]

Ugh, this was a tough one. I thought IS's direction was really showy, kinda choppy, and the ep as a whole didn't really work for me. I thought KG was great though, and I LOVE seeing her allowed to have feelings about things, and to actually give others consequences. It was heartbreaking to see Damon betray her like that, and for her to hurt him like she did, especially after their reunion last ep. But it's good drama, and I appreciate that.

 

I did think NoHumanity!Caroline was effective. It makes total sense to me that she would approach this practically, considering what causes the least amount of problems for her along the way. And she was mean and scary but fun (which NH!Elena was not), so that was great. But this Stefan thing...no. NO. I hope like hell that he's faking. It's the only thing that makes sense. He believes he can bring Caroline back; he knows how he is when his switch is "off," he knows how dangerous it is for everyone. I just can't believe he would risk that, even for Sarah. So I have to believe he's faking it, and in fact I'm counting on it, because the Steroline scenes from next week: *sobs* not like this, TVD. Not like this.

[lilithred]

Me three. I get that losing a parent is a terrible thing to go through (my dad died a year ago last week), but that doesn't mean that you get to force someone to confess his feelings for you or be a total bitch because he didn't think he wanted to be in a relationship with you. Just because you like someone doesn't mean they are obligated to like you back. And even if they do like you back, that doesn't mean that they are obligated to become your boyfriend or conform to whatever you want the relationship to be.

What a mess. Caroline wasn't trying to force him into doing or becoming anything. She just wanted an answer and he couldn't give her one. Caroline is a being a "total bitch" because her humanity is off, not because Stefan didn't want to go out with her. Stefan admitting to some kind of feelings for her would have given Caroline a reason not to flip her switch, but she did it because her mom died. No one is blaming Stefan except Stefan, because he is the type of man that wracks himself with guilt even when things aren't his fault. It's the type of character that he is and it's who he's always been. Why are people blaming Caroline for something Stefan is doing to himself? 

[immortalfrieza]

What a mess. Caroline wasn't trying to force him into doing or becoming anything. She just wanted an answer and he couldn't give her one. Caroline is a being a "total bitch" because her humanity is off, not because Stefan didn't want to go out with her. Stefan admitting to some kind of feelings for her would have given Caroline a reason not to flip her switch, but she did it because her mom died. No one is blaming Stefan except Stefan, because he is the type of man that wracks himself with guilt even when things aren't his fault. It's the type of character that he is and it's who he's always been. Why are people blaming Caroline for something Stefan is doing to himself? 

Taking this to the relationship thread.

[ElectricBoogaloo]

What a mess. Caroline wasn't trying to force him into doing or becoming anything. She just wanted an answer and he couldn't give her one. Caroline is a being a "total bitch" because her humanity is off, not because Stefan didn't want to go out with her. Stefan admitting to some kind of feelings for her would have given Caroline a reason not to flip her switch, but she did it because her mom died. No one is blaming Stefan except Stefan, because he is the type of man that wracks himself with guilt even when things aren't his fault. It's the type of character that he is and it's who he's always been. Why are people blaming Caroline for something Stefan is doing to himself?

Caroline is the one who tried to force the issue by asking Stefan to have a talk about how he felt about her in the church while they were standing in front of her mother's open casket before the funeral.  Who else can we blame for that? That's all on Caroline for bringing it up. And it wasn't that he outright rejected her either. He just said they should talk about it after the funeral. I know that if I were in his position, even if I decided I were in love with the other person and wanted to be with him or her, I wouldn't want to have that conversation in front of the other person's dead parent right before they opened the doors for the funeral.

 

Also keep in mind that Elena specifically asked Caroline, "If Stefan had said the right thing earlier, would that have changed your mind?" and Caroline's response was to stare at Elena, look down, cry, and then finally say, "Well, he didn't so it doesn't really matter." Then Caroline later berated him at the rave for not telling her sooner that he liked her ("Wow, see that wasn't so hard, was it? It only took a couple years, cancer to devour my mom, me to flip my humanity off, but you finally spit it out."). Again, if you're not on Caroline's timetable then it's not good enough for Caroline.

 

Sidenote: I know we are always dealing with wonky time on this show (which is barely better than Pretty Little Liars about time passing), but has it really been a few years that Stefan and Caroline have liked each other? Wasn't Stefan dating Elena just over a year ago in TVD time? And when did Caroline and Tyler break up? The girls are starting their second year of college and IIRC, those two couples were together until somewhere near the end of their senior year of high school (I could be remembering the timeline incorrectly or when they all broke up for the final time). Plus Klaus was in the picture at some point so am I supposed to think that she and Stefan were secretly in love a few years ago while Klaus was giving her pony pictures and after he let Tyler come back to Mystic Falls?

 

I was cracking up that Bonnie was allegedly able to hear anything on her phone when Damon called her. I've been to bars that were less noisy and I couldn't hear a damn thing.

[Kathemy]

A "couple of years" clearly refers to the time that Caroline has been interested in Stefan. One could argue she's been into him since the pilot.

[TigerLynx]

Hey, girl, if you got Klaus on your mind, just go and do him. I`m sure HE would even welcome a threesome with Stefan.      

 

I think Klaus would be all over that idea.

 

 

Mama Salvatore being a Ripper and that being genetic is groan-worthy. It made perfect sense that Stefan became a ripper due to his psychological issues. But nope, he inherited it like Damon did the blue eyes. Urgh. I find that needlessly whitewashing after the fact. It made the character a lot more interesting when his Ripperness was due to his issues. Now that it was in his genes, it makes it a lot more shallow. Thanks for ruining some good parts of the show.

 

I've never liked the ripper idea.  I preferred Damon's explanation in Season One that because Stefan had never learned to control his urges they were now controlling him, and whenever he fell off the wagon, it was even worse than the danger a regular vampire poses especially since they used to reference how ALL vampires are eternally hungry and crave blood.

Edited March 15, 2015 by TigerLynx

[ByTor]

No one is blaming Stefan except Stefan, because he is the type of man that wracks himself with guilt even when things aren't his fault.

If I'm remembering this right, doesn't Elena blame Stefan as well?  She said she didn't, but Stefan did the "look me in the eye and tell me I couldn't have prevented this" thing, and Elena remained silent.

[immortalfrieza]

If I'm remembering this right, doesn't Elena blame Stefan as well?  She said she didn't, but Stefan did the "look me in the eye and tell me I couldn't have prevented this" thing, and Elena remained silent.

Of course. If she can't be certain she shouldn't say anything. The problem is nobody including Caroline could have known if anything Stefan could have done would have made a difference, and that includes us. Stefan would probably be blaming himself no matter what happened if Caroline turned off her switch one way or another anyway.

Edited March 15, 2015 by immortalfrieza