Well... I don't know, man. This episode just left me feeling kinda gross about some things, and generally "meh" about others. There were definitely some good elements, don't get me wrong, but it wasn't... it wasn't great.
Cons:
The premise is basically that Rayna, who is trapped by Enzo, has agreed to die and put her essence into Bonnie, thus saving her. But there's one catch: first, Damon, Enzo, and Bonnie have got to go around killing the vampires that got released from the Phoenix Stone. Damon calls Stefan to help out, and Stefan teams up with Alaric to take down more of the vampires.
The premise is okay, or whatever... but I have a couple of major problems. First of all, Alaric and Stefan's whole thing in this episode was to fight over Caroline. They were both reasonable and level-headed for most of the time, but in the end Stefan makes some crack about how Alaric and Caroline have separate bedrooms, and Alaric snaps. I understand that Caroline hasn't been around due to Candice Accola's pregnancy. But at the same time, I find myself really uncomfortable with a whole episode dedicated to talking about her and what she would want, when she's not even there to speak for herself. And beyond that, the Alaric/Caroline thing freaks me out. I still think the age difference is prohibitive, and I hate that nobody is bringing it up.
Over on the Bonnie/Enzo and tag-along Damon side of things, we get a lot of good material, which I'll talk about in a second. But we also get these flashbacks that show the story of Bonnie and Enzo falling in love. It's not awful or anything. It's really not. The actors have believable chemistry and it sure is nice to see somebody appreciate Bonnie's awesomeness. But it's still not all that great, and I still feel like this is just a rushed attempt to justify the shocker of seeing them kiss in the flash-forwards all those months ago. Hearing Bonnie tell Damon that she loves Enzo was a bit jarring. I get that they're together and it's all passionate and special or whatever... but it still feels weak. And not only that, but Bonnie fell in love with Enzo during a period of two years when she literally had nobody else's company. Sure, she texted with Caroline a bit, but doesn't that come across as a bit strange? Like, Enzo was literally the only one available. And he saved her life and all that. It makes it harder for me to think the feelings are genuine.
As I've said continuously since the Armory was introduced: it's lame. Alex shows up briefly to talk to her brother Enzo, explaining that she needs Bonnie because her other sister (not the crazy one in the mental institution) is trapped in the Armory's vault. A Bennett witch closed her in there, so she needs Bonnie to open it up. Ugh. Another freakin' Armory character? A sister who is still somehow mysteriously alive in a vault with no food, etc. for several years? I don't care about this. I just don't. And Alex offers a trade: if Bonnie helps the sister to go free, she'll do everything she can to save Bonnie's life. What kind of offer is that? Alex already did the same thing with Nora and Mary Louise, tricking Nora into helping her when she had no idea how to help Mary Louise at all. Lame and stupid.
Pros:
That being said, I did like the focus this episode placed on Bonnie, and how justified her anger towards Damon is. As I've complained about in previous reviews, I feel like Stefan and Alaric are blaming Damon for literally every bad thing ever, and the narrative is oddly supporting this extreme form of blame. But with Bonnie, her anger is justified. And it is real. And she is not letting Damon off the hook. That's delightful! Also, I just love how strong Bonnie is. She's not your typical "Strong Female Character" in the sense that she just kicks ass and looks hot. She's legitimately brave. She's scared of dying, and she admits to that, but she keeps going anyway. Go Bonnie. Love her.
Although I'm not entirely convinced by the Enzo/Bonnie romance, I did like a couple of their moments together. Oddly, the moment I liked the most was when they were bonding together over Damon. Enzo talks about what happened with Damon back when they were trapped together: "he left me, too." That was a really powerful moment, and it reminded me of the potential Enzo had as a character for a while there. Bonnie might save him from total pointlessness, but the Armory plot-line is not doing him any favors.
And then there are the Damon/Bonnie shippers out there who I am sure were thrilled with the material in this episode. I admit I'm on the fence about the two of them as a couple. On the one hand, I see. For sure, I see it. On the other hand, what about Elena? Like, just imagine that Damon and Bonnie are "endgame" in terms of the show, and then we're supposed to imagine that they ride off into the sunset together, and then Damon will have to simultaneously mourn the loss of Bonnie and celebrate the return of Elena sixty years from now? That's kind of messed up. But in any case, I love how romantic all of Damon's apologies are. I don't mean successfully romantic, but they're framed like a boyfriend apologizing to a girlfriend for mistakes he's made. Bonnie grumbles that Damon doesn't even know her favorite flowers or what drink she likes to order, and Damon keeps showing up at the door with flowers to beg her forgiveness. The wrong flowers, apparently, but still.
Then let's talk about Stefan and Damon. The two of them are not in a great place at the moment, admittedly, but they still have each other's backs. Damon calls Stefan to tell him about Bonnie and ask for his help, and even though Stefan is still pissed about everything, he agrees to help for Bonnie's sake. But then they talk on the phone again, literally just so that Damon can be distracted from the sight of Bonnie and Enzo being all couple-y. There's this sense that no matter what else is going on, they'll always be there for each other, if grudgingly.
One interesting little tidbit - Beau the Heretic came back, in another person's body. Bonnie wanted to save him, but Damon killed him straight away. I thought it was odd to include this little moment at first, but ultimately I enjoyed it because it was a subtle way of reminding us of what Damon went through in the Phoenix Stone. He knows exactly what sort of torment Beau has been suffering under, and he doesn't have time to mess around. He's a big picture kind of guy - Bonnie's life is in danger, so he needs to save her. Who cares who else gets hurt along the way? It's not a particularly sympathetic trait of Damon's, and I think it was good to be reminded of it here.
That's what I've got for this week. While I'm thrilled to get some focus on Bonnie, I'm disappointed to say that this episode didn't quite hit the spot.
7/10
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