'Vampire Diaries' Recap: The Holidays Bring Death To Mystic Falls

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Plus, did Damon man-up and break his sire bond with Elena?

We all knew there’d be death on the Dec. 13 episode of The Vampire Diaries — and there really was so much death — but nothing could have prepared me for how truly sad it was to see a long-time Mystic Falls resident breathe her final breath.

I’m talking, of course, about Mrs. Lockwood (Susan Walters), who was drowned by Klaus (Joseph Morgan) because she was the only person Tyler (Michael Trevino) had left in the world. Tyler “Alpha” Lockwood planned to send Klaus into Rebekah’s (Claire Holt) body, then encase her in cement — a plan Klaus was, understandably, not on board with. As soon as Klaus was clued into Tyler’s plan, thanks to super-bitch Hayley (Phoebe Tonkin), he went all Kill Bill on Tyler’s hybrid army, conveniently giving Hayley the 12 un-sired bodies she’d been waiting for.

No more bondage for ‘Delena?’

OK, now that we’ve gotten this week’s biggest tragedy out of the way, let’s talk about the second biggest tragedy: After an intense game of emotional ping-pong, Damon (Ian Somerhalder) decided to break his bond with Elena (Nina Dobrev) — well, sort of. He didn’t give her same speech he gave to Charlotte (Madeline Zima). In fact, he really just told her to leave the cabin while he stayed behind with her little brother.

“This is what I want,” he told her. (Lies!) “This is what will make me happy.” (More lies!)

And because no TVD episode would be complete without a major dose of dramatic irony, Stefan (Paul Wesley) spent the hour believing Damon had broken the bond. Caroline (Candice Accola) spoiled his fun at the end by telling him Damon and Elena were “together,” which sent him into a furniture-destroying rage. Needless to say, if he lived in the Beauty and the Beast castle, he would have murdered many innocent people.

By the way, am I the only one feeling the love between Stefan and Caroline? I know she’s already locked into a love triangle with Klaus and Tyler, but I’ve always thought Caroline should at least see if she and Stefan could have something real.

…Real HOT!

The return of ‘Beremy’:

Despite all the death and heartbreak, some relationships actually improved this week. Not only was Jeremy (Steven R. McQueen) able to recognize Elena as his sister, and not just another blood-thirsty target, but he also totally rekindled his spark with Bonnie (Kat Graham)! She served as his emotional compass and their little hug at the end of the episode was pretty adorable.

Jeremy’s relationship with the stump outside the Gilbert cabin, however, did not improve. Did you see how hard he hit that thing?! I feel like his character should literally always be chopping wood in a tank-top. Think about it, writers! Work it into every script! I challenge you!

Other things worth discussing:

>> I know I always say April (Grace Phipps) is awful, but come on, she’s so awful. She discovered Caroline’s body in the ladies’ room at the Mystic Grill, and because she was wearing Jeremy’s vervain necklace, Caroline wasn’t able to compel her to forget. The episode ended with April opening Rebekah’s coffin. So, like I said… awful.

>> This episode needed so much more Matt (Zach Roerig), I can’t even handle it. Seriously, it was Christmas in Mystic Falls. And who loves Christmas more than humans?!

And now, for the weekly Delena/Stelena breakdown. And for the second week in a row, Team Stelena barely put up a fight:


Literally nothing this week, positive or negative, for “Stelena.” SOWWY!		Elena tells Damon to throw her back into his bed. (+15 points) Elena reflects on how she was in love with Stefan the last time she was at her lake house… and now she AIN’T! (+30 points) Elena tells Damon, “I know how I feel! Stop fighting it!” (+20 points) Damon sort of breaks the sire bond. (-50 points) But wait… Elena kisses him anyway! (+100 points)
TOTAL: 0 points		TOTAL: 115 points

What did you think of this week’s heartbreaking episode? Do you hate Klaus more than ever for killing Tyler’s mom? Do you think Damon will ever fully break his bond from Elena? And, seriously, how badly do you want Stefan and Caroline to get together? Drop me a million comments, because we won’t get any new episodes until 2013!

— Andy Swift

Follow @AndySwift

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Watched an entire season while laid up. Used to really like this show, but realize now that without a week between shows to forget most of the content this show is the same thing recycled over and over including the characters that are never gone… always brought back. Pretty hard to care about what might happen; or what is happening when the whole thing is always undone in the end anyway. This is what killed Heroes.

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Hi guyz am from kenya realy dyn hard wid vd series wish could jst see dem faceto face mob love stephan

I love damon….bt for me its stelena all d way,is it me or doesn’t sleeping with damon make her slutty afterall its her ex brother and dey just broke up a day or 2 ago

definitely slutty

When, Jeremy say Elaine not his sister. And, he wants kill her. He means it. Cause,one they do have different parents. Her mom was a vmpire.

Her Dad was her adopted dad brother remember.
And, he lost two girlfriends . And., he lost Alaric. That how his sister became a vampire.
Why shouldn’t Jeremy want to kill Elaine human or vampire. So please keep Elaine a vampire. It is in her jeans. Let her and Damon be happy for ones.

Even though Damon didn’t tell Elena to go away and never think about him again, if you think about it that wouldn’t have been fair to her either. One thing we do know about the sire bond is that it only happened because Elena had real feelings for Damon before she became a vampire. And also, it already looked like her and Stefan were having problem’s. In most every scene this season with the two of them she was crying or upset or he was guilt tripping her about something. She even said she was tired of crying all of the time. The trust and friendship she has with Damon built over time in the absence of Stefan. They were apart for a long time and Stefan did many things to break her heart even after he was no longer being compelled to by Klaus. Then all of a sudden he just wants to pick up where he left off without so much as an “I’m sorry”? So why should Damon use the sire bond to force Elena back to Stefan when it is not clear at this point if anyone but Stefan wants that? Elena didn’t just change after becoming a vampire. She had already changed. Stefan just hadn’t gotten a chance to fully comprehend that fact before he let her die. Damon was part of that evolution just as she has been a part of his. So although Damon didn’t send her back to Stefan and tell her to stop loving him, his careful choice of words when he said “I am setting you free” may have been even more important and selfless. After all, how can Stefan be so sure that Elena’s feelings toward him really haven’t changed? Therefore, why wouldn’t Damon and Elena deserve as much of a chance at happiness as her and Stefan? And from the looks of it her and Stefan haven’t been happy for a long time.

Ok when the other half of the season returns I bet everyone who diss approves of Delena that Delena will at least still be together when the show returns.

I really enjoyed this episode, though I was also surprised at how upset I was with Carol’s death. Her character had grown on me over the years and she was one of the only parent’s actively involved in her son’s life. A coworker at DISH and I are now trying to figure out what Tyler will do in retaliation against Klaus. He killed the last person that Tyler had, so I am sure their confrontation will not go over well. With all of the developments in this episode, the wait for the second half of the season is going to be tough. I am really glad that I can cope, by re-watching the first half of the season recorded on my DISH Hopper. I have been using the 2,000 hours of recording space to record all of the seasons of my favorite shows. It also helps that I can fast forward through the commercials on my recordings, getting me back to the action quicker. Though Klaus may have once again turned to the dark side, it was clear how upset he was at having to kill all of the hybrids and Carol. I really hope that Tyler doesn’t react too spontaneously when he finds out, because it seems Klaus is no longer keen on playing games.