Previously on The Vampire Diaries, it was revealed that Rayna has 12 lives. She is down to her last one. There had been a plan to kill her, but that would also kill anyone who she had marked — like Stefan. Nora and Mary Louise killed themselves in a fiery car crash destroying the Phoenix Stone. This released all of the trapped souls throwing them into random bodies. The gang was able to save Stefan, reuniting his soul and body before it was too late.
Bonnie was doing recon in a mental hospital to find out why the Armory is after her. She got one of the patients to explain there is a vault under the Armory that only a Bennett witch can open. Damon came to see her, and she slammed the door in his face — after finding out she’s dying from magic-blocking pills Enzo has been shoving down her throat.
This episode, “Somebody That I Used to Know,” is all about making amends, or at least attempting to make things right. Season seven has been full of flashbacks and flash forwards spanning three years. And it looks like all of the characters have spent these three years just hating each other.
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Three Years Ago
Bonnie is clearing out her dorm room. She is about to go down the stairs when an armed army starts to ascend. Enzo is able to use his vamp speed to push her out of sight. Then he does what he does best and drugs her.
Bonnie comes to in a cabin that’s off the grid. She tries to escape, but Enzo stops her at every turn. She tries to use magic to force him out of the way, but her magic is gone. Enzo tells her he isn’t keeping her hostage, but he’s keeping her safe. The Armory is after her, and he needs to know why. He forms a plan; Bonnie will stay at the cabin looking for clues while he plays double agent back at the Armory. When she’s not searching for answers she’ll be teaching herself how to play guitar and building fires!
Damon Strikes a Deal
Damon is a screw up. He is the opposite of Midas. Everything Damon touches turns to shit, and his relationships and friendships are no exception. Even when he is attempting to do the right thing, you just know he’s going to mess it up. He desiccated himself for three years to spare the people he loves from his mistakes. But really, all he was doing was running away from his problems leaving everyone else to deal with the aftermath.
He finds out that Bonnie is dying. He wants nothing more than to save her. Damon, Bonnie and Enzo have to work together. Enzo is keeping Rayna underneath his creepy cabin. Rayna is still having visions even though the Phoenix stone has been destroyed. Damon strikes a deal with her. He wants to take out her hit list of vampires in exchange for her life. The plan is to transfer Rayna’s final life into Bonnie, hoping that will cure her. Rayna is hesitant to agree. She is having so many visions it’s clouding her judgment. She asks that Damon get started on the list, and then they can revisit the whole death thing.
Rayna’s Hit List
Rayna is able to see what her victims see. She is trying to decipher the bits of information she’s getting to relay back to Damon, Enzo and Bonnie. The first target is in Richmond, VA. The trio make their way to a dentist office. Bonnie shoots the vampire in the leg, widely missing her target of his heart. She fires again and misses again. Damon is finally able to kill the vampire by decapitating him with a “Caution, Wet Floor” sign. It’s gruesome and awesome at the same time.
Damon is able to recruit Stefan and Alaric to help out with the list. Rayna sends them all on a vampire murder spree across the United States. Stefan rips out a vampire’s heart on a golf course in Oklahoma. Enzo rips out a heart in Charlotte, NC. Damon decapitates another vampire in North Carolina too. They kill one in Kansas and two in Georgia. It’s a whole montage of death.
Alex Reveals a Secret
Meanwhile, Alex has tracked down Enzo in Atlanta. She knows he is hiding Bonnie and that she was in the psych ward with her sister, Virginia. Alex says she had Virginia committed after she killed Lucy Bennett. Virginia had convinced Lucy to seal the vault underneath the armory. But there was a problem, their other sister, Yvette, was still inside when it was closed. Alex needs Bonnie to get Yvette out. Alex says that she can still hear her screaming for help. She wants Bonnie to open the vault, and in exchange, she will do whatever she can to save her life. Enzo seems to think she is being genuine.
One and a Half Years Ago
It’s New Years Eve. Bonnie is still staying in Enzo’s cabin and Enzo has planned a little holiday party for the two of them. She is starting to fall for him. (It’s all a little Stockholm Syndrome-esque to me. Maybe Enzo is a good guy, I don’t know. I just don’t trust him. I definitely don’t understand why it takes three years for them to figure out what the Armory is after, but maybe things just move slower with Damon out of the picture, or maybe Bonnie just needed to hone her guitar playing skills first.)
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Everyone Hates Everyone
The only two people not fighting in this episode are Bonnie and Enzo. They’re too busy groping each other to fight. Bonnie is mad at Damon. Damon is mad at Enzo. Stefan is mad at Damon. Alaric is mad at Stefan… It’s a vicious cycle of hatred and misplaced anger tonight on The Vampire Diaries. Everyone is mad for really dumb reasons. They all need to build a bridge and get over it. Alaric is holding onto some knight in shining armor complex trying to protect Caroline from Stefan. I forgot to mention, Caroline is really mad at Stefan. She won’t even look at him! For a second, I thought maybe there was a cloaking spell making Stefan not visible or something, but no, she is just full out pretending like he doesn’t exist.
Bonnie is mad at Damon for abandoning her. She isn’t able to see that he has tried to have her best interest in mind this whole time. His intention for leaving was to make things easier, not harder. And now he’s trying to save her life. Maybe she could just say thank you and move on?
While everyone is busy killing vampires and being mad at each other, Rayna is still having visions –lots of them. Damon finds her collapsed on the floor and the walls are filled with new victims. Of course, she’s agreed to the body transfer once the entire list has been marked off.
Good luck guys, you’re gonna need it!
What did you think of tonight’s episode? Sound off in the comments below. We’re getting close to the end; there are only three episodes left in Season 7.
The Vampire Diaries airs Friday’s at 7pm on The CW.
(Image courtesy of The CW)
Contributing Writer, BuddyTV
