On tonight’s episode of The Vampire Diaries, Tyler’s distrust of Nadia’s relationship with Matt puts Katherine’s secret in peril. Damon and Enzo plan to exact revenge on Dr. Wes but have to find him first and force Bonnie to help in their search. Katherine continues her relentless pursuit of Stefan. A new Traveler takes an interest in Dr. Wes’ work.
Girls’ Night
At last, we see Bonnie, Elena/Katherine and Caroline attending a class. I can’t see Katherine matriculating for long, just not her bag. Caroline is trying to get past her self-loathing for sleeping with Klaus, and Tyler’s subsequent reaction. What better way to get over a boy than to get under a new one? She urges her gal pals, including the “single-adjacent” Bonnie to Whitmore’s “Bitter Ball.” This party celebrates being a loser at love.
When Damon’s Bad, He’s Even Better
Stefan’s worst fears about Damon falling off the wagon are confirmed when he finds Aaron Whitmore’s dead body in the trunk of Damon’s car. Stefan calls his brother out for being predictable, but realizes that’s not completely the case when he discovers that Enzo and Damon are now “murder buddies.” Damon’s not interested in being saved. He and Enzo are in pursuit of the evil Dr. Wes. When Stefan tells his brother he’s better than this, Damon’s response is a confident “I’m better like this.”
An Elena Cheat Sheet
Katherine isn’t wasting any time trying to get Stefan back, and she’s using Matt to help her do it. In fact, she’s using Matt to help her pull off her ruse of being Elena Gilbert. She tells Nadia to keep an eye on him which mostly means compelling him to forget every conversation he has with her mother. Nadia is eager to please Katherine, but she’s growing bored being a barfly at the Mystic Grill.
The Doctor is Still In
Dr. Wes is continuing with his experiments despite losing Aaron as his benefactor. Like a cat, this guy continues to land on his feet. A woman named Sloan (Caitlin McHugh) enters the picture and offers to fund his work. She tells him she’s been tracking his Augustine experiments for months. Wow, a hot science groupie. Who knew such creatures existed. Sloan offers Wes money and protection if he will analyze some blood for her. You’d think he’d jump at the chance, but Wes says he’s done with mysterious benefactors, and that he doesn’t require protection. That’s when she breaks the news that Aaron’s car was found abandoned on the highway, and both assume he’s most likely dead.
A Not So Friendly Warning
Stefan has a chat with Enzo urging him to leave his emotionally fragile brother alone. He suspects that Enzo might be a bad influence. When Enzo basically calls him a drag, Stefan gets a bit more aggressive when it comes to getting Enzo to acquiesce to his request. Enzo, having suffered years of unspeakable torment, isn’t feeling too intimidated by Stefan, but Stefan promises that if Enzo doesn’t bugger off, the repercussions will be permanent.
Date Night
Stefan contacts Katherine and tells her he wants to talk about Enzo. She uses Stefan’s desire to see her as an excuse to invite him to the party. Caroline is a bit suspicious that Elena is downplaying her heartbreak over Damon for her benefit, but when she hears Katherine being flirtatious with the other Salvatore brother, it causes her to raise her eyebrows.
Like Mother, Like Daughter
Tyler shows up at the Grill to continue his binge drinking. He spots Nadia at the end of the bar who’s using the excuse of mourning her dead mother for bellying up herself. Matt warns Tyler she’s bad news and Katherine’s daughter, but this doesn’t stop the hybrid from offering to buy her a drink. The three wind up commiserating over who has, or in Tyler’s case, had the most embarrassing or least maternal mother. Tyler goes to find the nearest fire hydrant on which to relieve his bladder, and in his absence, Nadia gets the 411 on Enzo to pass along to a clueless Katherine. Little does she know, that Tyler witnesses the entire interaction, including her compelling the ex-quarterback to forget.
A Witch Hunt
Bonnie and Jeremy run into Damon en route to the Bitter Ball, and being oblivious to the fact that he’s all bad again, aren’t prepared when he recruits them to help him find Dr. Wes. Even though Bonnie’s no longer a witch, Damon’s convinced that she can locate one on campus. The fact that her grandmother taught occult studies being the basis for his logic. And just for good measure, her date’s being held hostage.
It Takes Three to Make a Love Triangle
Stefan shows up at the Bitter Ball, and Katherine cannot contain her glee. Again, causing suspicion that she’s taking this epic break up with Damon a little too well. Her happiness causes Stefan to rethink telling her about Aaron’s death and Damon’s bad attitude. She cozies up to him on the dance floor, and this doesn’t go unnoticed by Caroline. She warns her friend that making herself so available could confuse things. When Katherine/Elena asks Caroline if she thinks that she’s leading Stefan on, Caroline quickly backs down.
Caroline does confront Stefan and gets all the dirty deets on what’s up with Damon. He admits to her his concern that if Elena finds out about what her ex did to Aaron, she’ll give up on him forever. He’s at a loss to deal with his brother when he’s hell bent on confirming everyone’s lowest expectations of him.
A Plan in Peril
Tyler pulls Matt aside to tell him that Nadia is compelling him. Matt doesn’t believe it even though she buried him alive just days ago. To figure out what Nadia’s up to, Tyler suggests that Matt get some vervain in his system fast since he just realized his bracelet is missing.
Sibling Rivalry
Bonnie spots a possible witch candidate at the ball, a girl named Liv (Penelope Mitchell). They share a class, and Bonnie’s strictly going on intuition and a spinning pen. That’s enough for Damon. The two come across Caroline and Stefan with their furrowed brows, and Bonnie tells them about Damon’s plan. She has to find a witch who can perform a locator spell by midnight, so Damon and Enzo can kill Dr. Wes. If she fails, Enzo will kill Jeremy.
Katherine, pulled into the drama, calls Nadia to determine how committed Elena would be to saving her brother. After all, it would be much more convenient for her if Jeremy died, again. She’s even convinced she could score sympathy points and further her agenda when it comes to Stefan.
Works in Theory
Nadia tells her mother that if she doesn’t start to act like she cares, people are going to figure out she’s not Elena. Distracted by her obsession with Stefan, Katherine would rather have Nadia compel gossip out of Matt regarding Caroline and Stefan than rush to the aid of Jeremy. She has gone to a great deal of trouble to stay alive only to die saving someone she doesn’t care about.
Nadia does as her mother instructs, but this time, Matt remembers. Just as he’s about to spill everything about his latest conversation with Nadia to Tyler, she returns and snaps Tyler’s neck.
All’s Well That Ends
Bonnie approaches Liv, who after some persuasion from Caroline, agrees to try and help. With an impatient Damon lurking, Bonnie teaches the newbie witch the spell.
Enzo carries through on his threat and suffocates Jeremy with a plastic bag. Katherine and Stefan show up soon after, and a grossed out Katherine performs CPR on Jeremy while Stefan scuffles with Enzo.
Jeremy is successfully resuscitated, and Damon arrives to get Enzo after finding out where Wes is. As his brother leaves, Stefan tells him not to bother coming back. Damon claims he wasn’t planning on returning.
Tyler awakens to a BS story concocted by Matt. The fairly obtuse Tyler is dubious and warns his friend to stay away from her. After Tyler leaves, Matt confronts Nadia. He knows she was talking to someone other than Elena on the phone. Having been a victim of Traveler magic himself, Matt figures out that Katherine is inside Elena’s body. Matt’s knowledge leaves his future uncertain since Nadia threatens to kill him if he talks.
Enzo and Damon arrive to finish off Dr. Wes but are met by Sloan and a group of Travelers. Screwed over by Dr. Wes yet again. Only this time, it’s hard to muster up much sympathy for our anti-hero turned full-on villain. Dr. Wes has perfected his formula for tuning vampires into cannibals making Damon’s downward spiral that much more complicated.
Katherine doesn’t seem discouraged by Stefan’s bros before hoes outlook on their relationship, but Caroline better watch her back. It’s also looking more and more like Nadia may be instrumental in restoring Elena to her body if, or rather when, Katherine crosses her.
The Vampire Diaries airs Thursdays at 8pm on the CW.
(Image courtesy of the CW)
Contributing Writer, BuddyTV
Jennifer has worked as a freelance writer in the entertainment field since 2012. In addition to currently writing feature articles for Screen Rant, Jennifer has contributed content ranging from recaps to listicles to reviews for BuddyTV, PopMatters, TVRage, TVOvermind, and Tell-Tale TV. Links to some of Jennifer’s reviews can be found on Rotten Tomatoes.
