by Dianna Berrian
Did you ever just feel like…you were living someone else’s life? In someone else’s body? Or were you just watching this week’s “The Vampire Diaries”?
If you’re all caught up, you’ll remember that Katherine’s plan to commandeer Elena’s body was a success. Now she just needs to keep her at bay and get a Traveler to finish the job by giving her permanent control of Elena’s body. And in order to pull it off, she pays a little visit to a certain blue eyed blonde busboy. After ripping off his vervain bracelet, she now has full access to his brain and makes him her go-to reference for all things Elena Gilbert. Now, we jump back a little to where Katherine meets up with Nadia after first taking Elena’s body over and learn that Nadia’s Traveler friend needs Katherine’s corpse in order to finish the process. So to keep Elena from causing any ruckus if she returns to the surface, Nadia chains her mother to the bed. (Kinky.) But hey. If all goes as planned, Elena will be gone forever and the body will be Katherine’s for good!
In walks Damon to the boarding house, all chipper from burying Katherine’s body. He refuses to tel Nadia where it is, despite her plea to fulfill Katherine’s “wishes” to be buried with her family in Bulgaria. For the record, Stefan would oblige if he knew where the body was. At the Lockwood manor, Tyler’s sleeping off…whatever…while Matt tries to find his phone and not be late for work. When Tyler starts his early morning off with a shot, concerned friend Matt tries to fish around for details about New Orleans. And no, Tyler, that doesn’t include “witches, gumbo, and a few Originals.” But Tyler’s all for a fresh start, no drama. What better way to get going than with a ‘Welcome Back’ party?
At Whitmore, Caroline is stress cleaning her entire dorm. It’s a metaphor, you see. She’s trying to clean herself out of the mess she made by having sex with Klaus. Aaron interrupts, looking for Elena to apologize on Professor Nutso’s behalf. And when he goes back to his own room, Enzo is there to greet him. Caroline gets a call from Stefan asking if she’s seen Elena who seems to be avoiding Damon’s calls. He explains how he convinced Damon to get her back, which Caroline is totally not on board for.
Stefan: “How would you like to be judged solely based on who you’re attracted to? Come on.”
Caroline: “Why? Do you know something?”
Stefan: “Why? Should I know something?”
No. Not really. Just that Caroline boinked Klaus. Even if she wanted to help, Elena isn’t there. Which is weird because she told Stefan she was staying at Whitmore, and Caroline that she was with Stefan. Katherine, on the other hand, is going out of her mind with how obnoxious Elena’s phone is. But it’s soon drowned out by weird whispers and suddenly…Elena is back. Confused and struggling, and eventually remembers her vamp strength and breaks free. Just as she grabs her phone, Nadia’s there to put Katherine back in charge.
Meanwhile, Stefan is berating Damon for his mistreatment of Nadia and withholding of Katherine’s body, but Damon is still in his don’t-give-a-crap mood.
Damon: “Oh come on. Katherine is exactly where she should be. Quit giving me the pouty face.”
Stefan: “I’m not giving you a pouty face. This is my ‘you’re being a dick’ face.”
Stefan calls him out on being miserable that Elena won’t answer him and lectures on him running away from his problems than dealing with it. That’s when Caroline shows up, having agreed to help you get Elena back. Of course he doesn’t buy it and doesn’t want the babysitters. So Caroline tries to call Elena again. Since Katherine and Nadia can deduce from the texts and calls that the gang is getting suspicious, Katherine opts to go to the Lockwood party. And since she needs to brush up on her Elena facts to pull it off, she hires some help. That’s where this comes back full circle to where she compels Matt.
Apparently Damon left the house again because he walks back in to find Enzo there waiting for him. There’s also a suspiciously body shaped bag on the table. He’s very proud to hear that Damon stuck to his revenge plot and thinks, perhaps, he wrote his friend off too quickly. So as sort of a peace offering, he opens the bag to reveal the last living Whitmore inside – Aaron. Question is, will he kill him or not?
At the party, Katherine shows up, her once again vampire status stopping her from entering the house. But Matt’s quick to remedy it and she compels him off yonder. Instead, she waltzes up to Stefan putting on a good show of being Elena, that is until her inner vanity comes through a bit when she asks how he’s dealing with her death. When his answers don’t please her, she cuts to the chase asking where her body is. All he knows is Damon put her “where she was always meant to be.” Figured it out yet?
Enzo is still hell bent on killing Aaron to bring their friendship closure and a new beginning. Damon tries to charm his way out of it but Enzo knows him better. Isn’t his old friend still in there someplace? Cue interruption from Caroline on the phone demanding he get his butt over there to make amends with “Elena”. When he hangs up, Aaron starts to wake up. Enzo reiterates his “will you kill him or shall I?” decision but Damon picks option 3 and snaps Enzo’s neck. Then he compels Aaron to pack up his stuff at college and leave town. And don’t come back now, ya heard?
Nadia crashes the party to find out if Katherine figured out where her body is yet. And she has. “Somewhere she was always meant to be” turns out to be the tomb, wayyyy back from season 1. But before she can run off, Caroline needs her friendly advice about a bad bad thing she did in the woods. Katherine’s more shocked and amused than anything. (Though I do wonder what Elena would say…) Still, Caroline is looking for justification in her guilt. Well, you won’t find it here honey.
Caroline: “I need you to tell me what an awful person I am.”
Katherine: “Actually you’re one of the least awful people I know.”
Aww. Did I just get Katherine/Caroline feels? They should totally be BFFs. Oops. Tyler was chilling on the stairs eavesdropping when Caroline spilled the beans. Perfect out for Katherine to run off, but not so perfect for Caroline. Put it this way. Tyler just looks P-I-S-S-E-D. And is that a gloss of tears? When she tries to confront him he just gets angrier, raffling off all of the horrible things Klaus did and throwing a liquor bottle against the wall. She tries to apologize but he just wants her to leave and when she doesn’t he goes hybrid on her! Stefan intervenes before it can go from bad to worse but Tyler lets the cat out of the bag. And for a second I swear Stefan looked a little hurt, or confused, but then he turns around to sucker punch Tyler. Cause “Drunk or not, she doesn’t deserve that.” Go Stefan!!
Nadia and Katherine find her body in the tomb and the Traveler is there to do the spell. In order to seal Kat’s spirit inside Elena’s body, she needs some of her blood. Then, she stabs into the corpse’s sternum and starts chanting. Not the most opportune time for Katherine to hear those whispers that mean Elena’s coming back. And when she does, she wisely keeps quiet and pulls off impersonating Katherine. While the spell continues, Elena weighs her options and finally attacks the Traveler and then Nadia, making a run for it. Why you little…
Damon shows up to the party late, and just as he walks up he has second thoughts and turns to leave. In the tomb, Nadia demands the Traveler finish the spell. Elena’s running through the woods and stops to take out her phone but there’s a PIN code on it. Atta girl, Katherine. She keeps trying to run out of the woods when memories of Katherine’s flash in her mind. The spell is almost done and Katherine’s corpse engulfs in flames while Elena keeps running, more and more memories flooding her. She makes it to the party and sees Damon and runs to hug him. But the spell is done and, in his embrace, she blinks and is suddenly, and permanently, Katherine. Can we just…can we let that sink in a minute? Elena is gone. Elena is gone!
Damon begs her to stay something and the talk they’ve been needing to have ensues. As well as epic speeches:
Damon: “Just hear me out. You’re literally the best person I’ve ever known. And for me to think I could ever change you gives me way too much credit and you not nearly enough. You are the best influence on me. I need you. You are the good, and I need a little good in my life. Cause without it, there’s an awful lot of darkness.”
She returns with a spiel about how she doesn’t want to be the only thing he lives for, or worry about what happens every time they fight or if they’ll break up again, and who he’ll take it out on. She brings up what he did to Katherine on her death bed, torturing her. And it’s not that it’s about Katherine at all.
Elena: “It’s about you. About the person I can’t change. And the person you really are. That person was right to let me go. I’m sorry, Damon. Its over. We’re over.”
Gotta say, I do feel a little bad for him. And damn, Katherine does a wonderful job of being Elena, because for a second I swear I had no idea it was really her until she turned away and smirked.
The party comes to a close and Matt starts cleaning while Tyler sulks. He’s all, “woe is me, my parents are dead, my girl slept with my enemy, I have no idea what to do with my eternal life, but hey I got a big ass house!” Matt suggests they just leave, go somewhere. But Tyler likes to mope about Klaus some more. Just when he thought he couldn’t do anything worse. Wah, wah, wah…
In the tomb, the Traveler confirms that the spell worked and that Katherine Pierce has permanent control of Elena’s body. As a form of payment, Katherine returns to rip her heart out and tie up loose ends. And instead of their worldwide adventure, Katherine decides she wants to stay. She’s in the clear for the first time in 500 years and she wants it all – her daughter, immortality, and Stefan Salvatore. Cause apparently he’s her one true love and Elijah Mikaelson was nothing. Pshaw.
Stefan finds Caroline at his house by the fire. She wants him to give it to her straight – is she a horrible person? He sits with her, obliging but teasingly:
Stefan: “Okay, somebody has to say it. So here it goes. Caroline, you are a horrible person, okay? You are thoughtless, you are shallow, completely undependable.”
Caroline: “Hey I am vulnerable! Don’t be mean.”
Stefan: “Now that I think about it, I have no idea what Klaus saw in you. What was he thinking?”
Caroline: “Shut up!”
They’re adorable. AS FRIENDS. You hear me, Julie Plec? Oh. Yeah. By the way, Damon and Enzo killed Aaron and Damon’s gone rogue again. In the interim, let’s hope that passenger killing dagger Matt’s keeping safe doesn’t apply to the current situation because Katherine in Elena’s body forever sounds like the perfect ending to this series!
Leave a Reply
Your email is safe with us.