“It’s a long story but I’m back… I’m back.”

Spoiler alert: If you haven’t seen this weeks brilliant TVD episode STOP READING RIGHT NOW.

 On this weeks episode, Whitmore college is celebrating homecoming… which is ironic cause Damon has a homecoming of his own. He is back. I repeat, he.is.back! And in possibly the best reunion the show has ever seen! I’ve never enjoyed an episode this much and I’m so glad this season is getting back to the way the first season was, with moments that pull on your heartstrings.

Throughout their time in the prison created by the Gemini Witches, Bonnie tried to remain positive and hopeful that they would get out and return to the ones they loved. Kai, the dude the prison was created for, was also shady and a liar. The day they were suppose to finally leave 1994 for the present, he wouldn’t even show Bonnie the spell. She finally got fed up and dared him to take her magic and do the spell without her. Kai wouldn’t and knowing that he served no further purpose for their escape, she killed him. Then she was left to figure out the spell to turn on the ascendant. After hours of studying the grimaure, while Damon got wasted and made funny faces, she figured it out. Kai always needed a Bennett witch because the spell holding this place together was made by a Bennett… Grams anyone? She was the key to leaving. When the time finally came, they went down into the hole Damon dug up to catch the solar eclipse and portal jump.

I was so nervous watching this scene and for good reason. Were we really to think they would return to the present day with no problems? That Kai wouldn’t stay dead? That he hadn’t tried killing himself over the course of the 15-years he was actually trapped here. After being stabbed by Bonnie, Kai only died temporarily… like a vamp whose neck has been snapped. As they were about to complete the spell and open the portal, Kai shot an arrow through Bonnie breaking the link. Damon tries to save his friend and keep Kai from reaching the ascendant, when Bonnie uses all of her remaining strength to grab the ascendant, pull Damon into the circle and send him through the portal. This is one of the most powerful moments in TVD history. These two people have been through hell and back together. They were in this together and despite always “hating each other” really grew to love each other like siblings. When Bonnie realized she wouldn’t make it out alive, she saved Damon. Her actions were so selfless. Tears streamed down my face as I watched this moment. Damon was free, but Bonnie was stuck with a psycho in this prison with no other way out. What if she didn’t die? You know she won’t. And despite being back in the present with everyone he truly cares about, Damon will be in mourning like all of his friends and family were when he died. He’s going to dedicate his time to finding a way to get Bonnie the hell out of there. After all, she is his best friend and that’s important to him because I don’t think he ever had a girl friend that he wasn’t romantically involved with.

Back in Mystic Falls present day, the town of wherever-the-hell-they-live-now was getting ready for Homecoming.. basically their version of Halloween complete with a murderous ghost story and a boozy corn-maze. Elena, still without her memories of Damon, was getting her flirt on with Liam inviting him to be her date to the annual celebrations. She even played matchmaker inviting Alaric and Jo so they could mingle and “live a little.” No pun intended. The night started off smoothly them, until Tyler, who was in quite the hurry and texting, swerved off the road to avoid hitting a guy, was knocked unconscious and drove through the whole maze at high speeds, injuring hundreds. Moral of this story: don’t text and drive because it will cause you to trigger your dreaded werewolf curse.

Tyler’s actions really put a damper on the night. Jo had to go into doctor mode, trying to save as many people as she possibly could, while Ric had to try to keep it together surrounded by a bunch of bleeding people. Blood-thirsty for real. No one has such problems controlling their need for blood as he does! Someone seriously needs to give him a lesson or two. Thankfully, this could be played off on the “squeamish” excuse so Jo didn’t really notice. Eventually, Alaric tries to compel Jo into thinking that they had a horrible time together and he’s a boring alcoholic, who she doesn’t want to kiss or see again but to his surprise, it doesn’t work. His compulsion has no affect on the high off of pain killers doctor who kisses him anyways and tells him that she actually does really like him. How could that be? He’s practically an original vampire? His compulsion even works on other vampires? Does Jo know something that we don’t? Did her drugs have an active ingredient of vervain? Who knows…

Elena and Liam also had to put to use their pre-med knowledge to save everyone…. well, more like Liam cause Elena just opted to give the dying humans some of her blood to heal them. The real hero was Liam who punctured a woman’s collapsed lungs to save her life. Elena was in awe and later kissed Liam to stop him from asking questions on how she healed a girl-near death and told him her type was the hero. Looks like Elena has a new boyfriend and just as Damon returns from the un-dead. Plus, she mentioned her dead ex to Liam, so now when he finally meets him, it’ll be super sketchy, weird and awkward.

 Tyler freaked out when he woke up to find his truck in a tree and a dude dying under it. What did he do? It was all an accident, but now if this guy dies, Tyler is eternally imprisoned by the full-moon… a fate he’s been trying so hard to avoid. He calls Elena desperate, hoping she could come and feed this guy some of her blood. She tells him that she can’t come to help him because there’s a whole field of people he ran over that are in critical condition. Her reason is legit, but the fact that she doesn’t go to help him kind of makes her a shitty friend. Liv comes to be by Tyler’s side when Elena calls and puts doctor Jo on the phone to at least talk Tyler through some life saving techniques. After assessing the man’s condition, she declares that he only has a few minutes to live and they should just hold his hand and make him feel safe and comfortable as he goes. This obviously doesn’t cut it for Tyler, who knows just how much is at stake. Seeing how panicked he is and knowing she has deep feelings for him, Liv puts her hands over the dying mans mouth and nose and suffocates him to death. That way the werewolf curse won’t be activated because Tyler never killed him… she did. This is another selfless and bold move from someone we least expected it. I guess it kind of makes up for that time she let Bonnie and Damon die.. kind of. 

Liv is a mess after the murder. It’s not an easy feat to kill someone, even if your saving the person you love. Tyler comes to the bar to console Liv and thank her, knowing that he could never repay her but promising that he wouldn’t waste this second chance. I admit I was on the fence about this couple, but after this episode I’m on team Lyler? As passionate as his relationship was with Caroline, I don’t think there was every this self-less aspect, nor was there a connection deeper than lust and physical attraction. Tyler has really come into his own and turned into a man this season, so maybe that’s why this feels less like a high-school crush and more like the beginning of a real relationship. 

Caroline has also moved on, but with a version of Stefan that isn’t too like-able. Seriously, what happened to you dude? Stefan wakes up in the middle of the night to find blood-thirsty Ivy rummaging through his fridge and confessing to murdering his boss. She gets all crazy blaming Stefan for turning her into this uncontrollable killing machine. You know she was a decent person at one point… she had an Etsy shop! This just goes to show you never truly know someone until they turn into a vampire. All of their characteristics are heightened and Ivy was such a dumb, obnoxious, know-it-all vampire. She kind of reminded me of Vicki… and I hated Vicki. Good riddance. I speak of Ivy in the past-tense although she isn’t actually dead, just yet. Stefan brought his ex-gf to Caroline’s so she could watch her and show her the ropes, while he dealt with the realization that he gave Enzo to a vampire hunter whose now unleashed his wrath beyond Mystic Falls. Nice going. After a whole day together, Caroline refuses to let Ivy go to the party and the newbie snaps her neck. She goes on a feeding spree around town, attacking some poor guy. When she tries to erase his memory, simply looking into his eyes and saying “erase” doesn’t work. Clearly, she doesn’t have it all down. Spoiler: he later dies in the arms of Liv and Tyler… so I guess they saved their vampire friends from being exposed. Meanwhile, Caroline spends the rest of the night looking for Ivy after Stefan doesn’t pick up his phone. When he finally returns, he flips out on Caroline telling her he was halfway out of town when he listened to her voicemail. Yes… Stefan was going to dump all of his problems on sweet little Caroline and skip town. He’s officially lost it. Caroline tells him to beat it and goes to find Ivy herself, when she witnesses Tripp stab the girl and load her up into the truck.

I wasn’t worried when Tripp took Enzo because he’s an Augustine vampire and can handle torture. Ivy on the other hand will probably blab everything at the twist of an arm. Which means, Stefan is in huge danger because Tripp actually thinks the Salvatore is a decent human, hoping to put an end to the supernatural. 

After his confrontation with Caroline, Stefan realizes that losing his brother has really taken a toll on him– changed him. He goes to his family crypt, where all of his family is buried.. everyone except for Damon. He admits that he’s been trying to start over, but isn’t able to because he’s lost without him. He’s not doing so great without his big brother. In his anger and sadness, he takes his liquor bottle and throws it at the wall. Except it doesn’t shatter… Damon catches it! Stefan is in utter shock and disbelief. Is he imaging it? Is he really that drunk? “This stuff is good, but it’s not ‘i see dead people good'” Damon tells him. The whole moment is so surreal and emotional. The person you thought was dead for over 4-months appears out of nowhere, standing in front of you alive! “It’s kind of a long story brother, but I’m back,” Damon explains. “I’m back.” Then something so beautiful happens. They hug. I mean genuinely hug, like brothers that cannot live without each other hug. Like I’m never going to threaten to kill you again hug. Once again, tears in my eyes. Damon’s return couldn’t have been any more perfect. Forget Delena… It’s all about Defan! I’m so glad that Stefan is the first person he sees as he returns to the real world. Damon has changed a lot as a character, especially during his time in seclusion with Bonnie. He realized how much he really missed everyone. We haven’t seen Stefan really mourn the loss of his brother like we saw with Elena. Sure, he’s been affected but this was the first time we actually saw him open up, cry and admit he’s lost. So when he finally saw his brother again, we saw just how badly he was affected by his brothers “death.” It was a beautiful bonding moment. Bravo TVD. My standing ovation goes to you.

The episode gets a 10/10 for simply providing me with the moments that make all my time invested in this show, worth it. Thank you for the beautiful writing, the elaborate characters, the emotions and the feelings. I am so proud to be a fan of this show. But now what happens next? Obviously the Damon and Elena reunion won’t be as magical as we hoped because all of her memories are gone. From the previews it seems like she’s actually upset by the news. Will want Alaric to restore them? How will Damon feel after he finds this out? Will he also join in the fight to save Enzo? Will he try to help Bonnie and locate the Gemini coven? Till next week! 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Vi35XQjFV_A

The ending scene song of brothers reunited: M83-Outro