The Vampire Diaries: Moonlight on the Bayou (7x14)

Klaus Klaus Klaus! Yessss! Let's just get straight to it. I cannot contain my excitement.

Cons:

Not to put a damper on things, but... there were some things to really annoy me about this episode.

First of all, I'm about to rant about how awesome it was to see Klaus, but I do have to admit one serious flaw here. Klaus and Caroline have a brief moment on the phone in this episode, and they had so much more chemistry in that one tiny moment than Stefan and Caroline have had all season. It doesn't bode well for my emotional investment in the Caroline/Stefan thing.

This episode also finally gave Enzo something to do, but unfortunately it brought in yet another mysterious organization with an "intriguing" and as yet unknown past. Apparently, Enzo's father founded something called the Armory, which is the name of the group that Tyler called in to take Enzo out all that time ago. Enzo has been working for the Armory in exchange for information about his real family. The people of the Armory are apparently the ones that wanted Enzo to free Rayna, and now they want Bonnie and Damon to bring Stefan to them, so that he can lure Rayna. I just could not be less interested in this whole Armory business. There are just two many mysterious happenings in this show. At some point, things always get too twisty and plotty, and it annoys me.

Pros:

One good thing about the Armory, though: Tyler's okay! Well, "okay" is a relative term. Apparently Damon's attack of him put him into a coma. Now, Enzo has locked Damon in a room with Tyler on the full moon, threatening that Tyler will kill him unless Damon gives up Stefan's location and allows Stefan to be Rayna-bait for the Armory. All of this stuff was pretty intense, despite my lack of interest in the Armory twist. Damon's loyalty to Stefan was of course awesome, as he refused to even contemplate turning on him. And he doesn't kill Tyler, either, although that would certainly save his life. He knows he has to try and do the right thing for Elena's sake. And then there's Bonnie, who tries as hard as she can to get Enzo to let Damon out, but eventually has to resort to some gruesome measures to make it happen: she cuts Enzo's hand off so she can use it to open the door! Tyler, newly transformed, attacks. Damon doesn't get bitten, but Bonnie does get injured! Even worse: Damon's blood can't heal her, because Enzo did something to make magic not work on her temporarily.

Damon and Bonnie's relationship got a lot of focus here, which I really loved. Enzo observes that despite all the horrible things Damon has done, Bonnie was willing to do whatever it takes to help him. Enzo is jealous of that, lacking a family of his own. I loved Bonnie going all hard-core and cutting off Enzo's hand... and then of course she makes a pun about Damon "needing a hand." I wasn't even mad about it. She totally earned that pun.

Tyler had some great things to say to Damon while they were both waiting for Tyler's inevitable transformation - he brought up that there was no way Damon could survive sixty years until Elena got back without royally screwing up. Tyler's words and Bonnie's injury, along with all of the trouble Stefan has been going through, all contribute to Damon's decision at the end of the episode. He promises that in order to protect Stefan and Bonnie both from sacrificing themselves and getting hurt on his behalf, Damon will remove himself from the picture.

Obviously, he's being a big baby. But I do appreciate the fact that Damon's love for Bonnie and Stefan is causing him serious pangs of grief. Stefan and Bonnie are the most self-sacrificing characters in the whole show, and Damon is right to notice that his own self-destructive behavior is also very damaging to the people he cares most about.

Meanwhile, Stefan is on the run from Rayna. I appreciate the fact that Rayna is a legitimate and immediate threat, and that Stefan literally cannot slow down if he wants to escape from her. It makes the whole thing feel a lot more real, and not like Rayna's going to show up in a climax down the road and nothing more. Basically, with Valerie's guidance, Stefan tries to make it to a place that cannot be tracked by magical means. He ends up in a certain bar in a certain New Orleans where a certain KLAUS is waiting for him. Basically, the two have a nice chat about all that Klaus has missed, until Klaus sees the X on Stefan's chest and kicks Stefan out, furious that he threatened the safety of Klaus' family by drawing Rayna towards them. After a phone call with Caroline, though, Klaus has a change of heart. He follows Stefan out of the bar and saves him from Rayna. He then says he knows a witch who might be able to help Stefan with his problem. (Cue crossover episode of The Originals here.)

Where to even begin with the Klaus and Stefan scenes? They were awesome! I appreciated the fact that Klaus actually seemed a bit happy to see Stefan. It's almost like he's missed the old Mystic Falls gang. He doesn't resent Stefan and Caroline's romance, either. He merely hopes that Stefan is the right one for her. When Stefan reveals that he got marked by Rayna because of Damon, Klaus points out that it seems Stefan will make every sacrifice for his brother, and not for his girlfriend. I love that we got an outsider to point out this fact, because it drives it home in a real way. Stefan was ready to high-tale it back to the danger zone and let Rayna get him, all because he found out that Damon might get attacked by Tyler. That's not exactly self-preservational behavior.

While all of this craziness is going on, Alaric is ready to leave town with his newborn daughters. He wants to bring a nurse with him to help with the craziness, but Caroline says that she should go instead. After all, her only other option is to sit around and worry about Stefan. While in a diner on their journey to Dallas, Caroline tries calling Stefan, but Klaus picks up the phone. They have a sweet little conversation, and Klaus makes Caroline realize that saying goodbye to these babies isn't going to be so simple. He also promises to make sure Stefan is safe. Caroline and Alaric make it to Alaric's new place, and Alaric tells Caroline she can stay as long as she likes.

I appreciate the slow buildup going on here with Caroline and the kids. Klaus being the one to realize that Caroline wouldn't want to give up the kids was a really nice touch, because it highlights how much Stefan has going on in his life right now that he forgot to think about that. The phone conversation between Caroline and Klaus was so sweet, as Klaus tries to ask Caroline if she's gotten what she wants out of life. In the flash-forward, we see Caroline arrive in New Orleans only to discover that nobody has heard from Klaus in three years! Uh oh! It looks like our Klaroline reunion is delayed once again.

Back in Mystic Falls, it looks like our favorite lesbian Heretics have patched things up. Just as Nora and Mary Louise prepare to flee and start a new life together, they are taken out by the lady from the Armory, Enzo's newly revealed relative. I really don't care that much about their latest perilous situation, but I did say "aww" when they formally reunited. So much of their family is now gone - Beau, Julian, Lily, Oscar, and Malcolm. It's just the two of them and Valerie left. I'm rooting for them to stick around.

No Matt again this week... where is he these days? I've got to say, while the Rayna stuff and the Armory stuff isn't really holding my attention, I do actually find myself enjoying this part of the season quite a bit. I think there's still a chance for them to ramp things up into an interesting finale. Especially now that it seems we have most things in place for a three year jump ahead in time. I'm thinking maybe that should come sooner rather than later?

7.5/10