The Vampire Diaries: The Next Time I Hurt Somebody, It Could Be You (8x07)

You know what's weird? I should really hate this development. I should, and I know it. And I... kind of do? I mean it's certainly repetitive, and it's certainly predictable. But for some reason, I'm actually still invested? I don't know why.

Cons:

It was of course insultingly obvious that Damon wasn't going to stay dead, but apparently his death was such a non-issue that they don't have to show his resurrection on screen; he can just come prancing in to the Salvatore house with Sybil, ready for a Christmas dinner. So. That's annoying.

Also, Christmas dinner? Really? Stefan tells Caroline that he wants to spend his final day with her by hosting a party with all of their friends. Seems weird. And like a really flimsy excuse to have another "event" based episode, which this show loves to do. It used to be a cool way for a midseason or finale episode. We could have school dances, town events, etc. etc. and things could be dramatic and suspenseful and all the characters could be together. This dinner party was just lame. It starts with Damon luring Stefan upstairs and killing him so that he can spend some time with Cade, their new boss. Okay... that's bound to shake things up, right? Nope! Caroline and everybody else just continue to sit around, drink egg nog, and pretend to be civil.

The fact that everybody was pretending to be nice with Sybil there is crazy. She's just as responsible for Tyler's death as Damon is, in a way! Why would they all sit there and ignore that? In fact, did anybody even bring up Tyler all episode? I'm getting more and more insulted by the way they ended things for that character, even if I never much cared for Tyler to begin with.

Essentially, I got the sense that we were supposed to feel nervous and tense throughout all the dinner party scenes, as Damon ominously declared he was going to kill somebody before the night was up. His eventual choice? Matt's dad, apparently. Although the B-plot shows up in time to stop him from killing the guy, so that's... good? I guess? We learn that Matt's dad is a piece of shit for leaving, and that he has no excuse. So... is that forward motion? I don't understand what Matt is doing back, honestly. His plot thread feels really flimsy, and he hasn't had much to do on this show for years, now. Wouldn't it have been better to bring him back in at the very end, as a nod to his character, instead of dragging along another uninteresting story with him? I actually really like Matt, so this is pissing me off.

Pros:

Surprisingly, I really liked the subplot, which involved Bonnie and Enzo tracking down the tuning fork, which Sybil has been keeping hidden. They find Seline, and learn that the twins are psychically linked to her, since she has been preparing them for Cade's service all this time. Ric agrees to allow Seline to come see the girls, to break the link, because they have been asking for her. Seline does so, saying goodbye to the girls in an oddly touching moment. Seline is obviously a bad guy, but I actually liked the little role-reversal thing that they've done with her and Sybil. At first you think Sybil is the worst, and then you think Seline must be the real criminal mastermind, but then you go back to realizing that Sybil is the crazy one and Seline was really just trying to do what she could to save her sister. Damon and Stefan have done a lot worse to protect the ones they love, after all.

Also, Bonnie and Enzo are too cute for words. Apparently Enzo is taking Bonnie to Paris for Christmas! Aww. I really want these two to get the happiness they deserve. I wonder if they're ever going to have the "hey I'm immortal and you're not" conversation. I'd be interested to see where that goes.

Over in the main plot, Stefan spends some time with Cade reliving some of his worst moments. (Thanks to Damon killing him, albeit temporarily). Apparently he once slaughtered a bunch of people on Christmas Eve. Seline actually made him forget about it so he would still believe himself worthy of a happy life. Cade tells Stefan that he admires him for his Ripper-like qualities. Stefan makes a deal with Cade: if he turns his humanity off, and goes full-on Ripper for one year, then after that Cade has to release Damon and Stefan from their deal. It's funny, because this pretty much makes no sense... and yet I still kind of like it. I get the sense that Cade is a man who appreciates true "artistry" in his evil-doers, if you will. He's not interested in a Stefan Salvatore who finds the thought of murdering people abhorrent, who only does it because it's his way of protecting the twins. The Ripper, however... that's something worth seeing.

The episode ends with Damon and Stefan riding out of town together, as Stefan flips his switch off. This is the part where I should be annoyed at how overplayed this whole thing is, but oddly I'm not. First of all, have we ever seen Stefan and Damon both embracing the darkness at the same time? Usually it's one of them trying to save the other. But Stefan and Damon going full-tilt psychopathically evil? That could be kind of fun to see. It seems a bit like what I thought we were getting with Enzo and Damon at the beginning of the season. Secondly, I love the idea of turning off the humanity switch temporarily. I mean, it's stupid, and Stefan should know better than to think that's going to work. But this idea that if they make it one year without totally losing sight of what's important... that's actually really compelling. Especially since we have evidence that Damon still cares about some things, even in the depths of his darkness impulses. That's another thing to be excited about: Damon might be more of a dick in general, but Stefan sans-humanity is way bigger of a threat than Damon sans-humanity. I can't wait to see how Damon handles his little brother in this state.

Ah, yes. We must talk about the most glorious part of this episode: Sybil is dead! (For the time being, I'm choosing to ignore the promo that shows her alive and well, because I want her out of the picture). Caroline gives Damon Elena's necklace as a Christmas present, the same one that Damon gave to Elena just as they were starting their romance. Damon gives it to Sybil, fastening it around her neck and then bam, he takes her heart out and places it next to her on a bench. YES! This is so brilliant, because it's Damon showing us that there's this little part of him who feels a connection to Elena. It's also him rejecting the control that Sybil has had over him for most of the season thus far. There's something interesting in the works here...

Caroline Forbes gets MVP for the episode, even if it was infuriating to try and watch her play good little hostess when there are a lot of more important things going on. Why does she get MVP? Well, she gives Damon that damn necklace. She also keeps her cool, even as her fiance lies dead upstairs, and Ric is squirreling her daughters away for who knows how long. She has a lot going on, and she handles it with typical Caroline-esque poise. Caroline can be a bit hit-and-miss as a character, but I actually admired the way she was handling things in this particular installment.

So... that's it. I'd be lying if I didn't admit that this was an unbalanced episode at best. The major conceit, that of a threatening dinner party, did not really work out all that well. And the flipping of the humanity switch, again... I mean, come on. I totally get that this is old and tired and very unoriginal. This show is definitely limping its way over the finish line. But that being said... I guess maybe I'm just still interested in seeing Stefan and Damon make their way over that finish line. I want these two to... I don't know... get some sense of closure? Of peace? For whatever reason, despite the fact that virtually everybody on this show is a horrible person, I still want them to be okay. That's enough for me.

7/10