Through the magic of flashbacks, we learned that Elena (Nina Dobrev) isn’t the first girl to have enjoyed a sire bond with Damon; that honor goes to Charlotte (Madeline Zima), who was one of D’s special lady friends back in his World War II days. And since their last encounter involved Damon telling her to count every single brick in New Orleans, she was still there when he and Stefan arrived in present day.
(Screw it, I’d spend 70 years counting bricks if Damon told me to, sire bond or no sire bond.)
Damon’s Decision:
The brothers met up with a lovely witch — I had a teeny tiny heart attack when I realized she was played by Adina Porter, Tara’s mom on True Blood — who explained there’s no magical way to break a sire bond between two vampires. (#Delena!) In fact, a vampire only bonds to another vampire if she had feelings for that vampire while she was still a human. (#Delena!!!)
Now Damon was presented with the “heartbreaking decision” we knew was coming: Would he set Elena free, or would he continue pounding her without really knowing if she wanted to be pounded? Because he’s far more noble than he’d ever give himself credit for, he began to give Elena the ‘you have to forget me’ speech, despite her literally begging him not to.
“My feelings for you haven’t changed,” she told him. “I’m happy. … It’s real. I know that it is. Please don’t do this to me.”
And because Julie Plec is a master of heartstring-tugging, that’s the scenario we were left with as the episode came to a close.
The Ballad Of King Tyler (All Hail):
Let’s backtrack a bit: While the Salvatores were swagging around New Orleans, Elena and her supernatural besties did a little bonding of their own. They danced, they laughed, they played with all the fancy new features on Bonnie’s (Kat Graham) totally non-sponsored cell phone. But most importantly, they fought. Caroline (Candice Accola) insisted that Elena’s feelings for Damon aren’t real, which promptly earned her a ‘GTFO outta my house!’
Their fun was interrupted by Kim — who’s pretty much the worst thing since April — along with a few other rogue hybrids, who snatched up Caroline and peaced out. Thankfully, Tyler (Michael Trevino) has a good relationship with his non-Vicki ex-girlfriends, so he rushed to save her from their dirty hybrid clutches.
“Submit or you die,” he told the hybrids his bitches, who promptly knelt before his awesomeness. I won’t lie, I wasn’t really invested in the hybrid story line until this week, but there’s just something about seeing Tyler in charge. You can bet I knelt down in my living room.
‘We Are The Beginning’:
Hayley (Phoebe Tonkin) and “Professor” Shane (Dave Alpay) continued their shady behavior this week, and we finally learned a little bit more about what they’re up to. It turns out Shane needed Hayley to bring him 12 unsired hybrids in exchange for him telling her where her parents are.
She did, and he did, but his answer wasn’t as satisfying as she’d hoped. Apparently Hayley’s parents are dead, and Shane merely told her where they’re buried, though he claimed she could still see them. Then he said, “We are the beginning,” which I’m just going to assume is a terrible thing that we should all be terrified about.
And now, for the weekly Delena/Stelena breakdown. Needless to say, Team Stelena has lots of catching up to do:
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Do you think Damon will go through with his plan and break the sire bond next week? What do you think Shane meant by ‘We are the beginning?’ And, real talk: How excited were you by the mere sight of Jeremy Gilbert chopping wood in the promo for next week’s winter finale? Drop me some comments!
— Andy Swift
Follow @AndySwift
More Vampire Diaries at HollywoodLife.com:
- Damon & Elena Vs. Edward & Bella — Who Had Hotter Vampire Sex?
- ‘Vampire Diaries’ Video: Damon Denies Sire-Bonding Elena
- ‘Vampire Diaries’ EP: There’s ‘More Hope Than Ever’ For Damon & Elena