‘The Vampire Diaries’ Recap: Damon’s Humanity Saves All Of Mystic Falls — & Maybe Stefan

Everybody leaves… but sometimes they come back. This week’s ‘Vampire Diaries’ brought back some of the most beloved characters ever on the show — but could they save Damon from himself?

This week kicked off with Sybil giving Damon back what he wanted: his humanity. That left him in a stoic state; in his mind, he was in hell, where he felt he belonged. According to Stefan, the only thing that could set him free would be forgiveness from everyone — so naturally, Bonnie and Caroline had to enter his subconscious to go back in time, find him, and tell him it would all be okay.

Photos: ‘The Vampire Diaries’ Season 8

Well, easier said than done. They headed inside his head, where we saw some Mystic Falls faces we’ve missed through the years — Vicki Donovan, Sheriff Forbes, and Grams, of course, who led Bonnie to . . . Tyler Lockwood! While he wasn’t so friendly and tried forcing her out, she realized she was at Damon’s grave. Why was he dead? Well in his head, he died a human, before Stefan turned him. So it was actually only Stefan that could bring Damon back.

Stefan V. Damon: Ring Any Bells?

No surprise here: when Stefan headed into his head, he was in a graveyard. However, Stefan made a mistake when heading into Damon’s mind: he told him he planned on ringing the bell, with the help of Seline, 12 times; with that, Hell’s fire would kill the entire town, bringing the souls to Cade. A Maxwell had to ring the bell, which is why he compelled Matt to do so. Matt, being a human, begged his dad to kill him so he wouldn’t take out the rest of the town. Luckily, Damon woke up to rip out Stefan’s heart and save Matt, after he rang the bell only 11 times.

Unfortunately for Sybil and Seline, their feud was over — as were their lives. Apparently Cade only needed to hear the bell ring 11 times, because he was able to enter. So he did. And the first thing he did was burn them both.

Welcome Back, Damon

With his humanity back on, Damon not only saved Matt, but he finally apologized for killing Vicki all those years ago. Plus, when Matt revealed he wanted to become the Mystic Falls Sheriff, Damon told him “I always did like the sheriffs in this town.” #RIPSheriffForbes

Damon also found Bonnie and revealed to her what that letter said when he ditched her, the one that she had ripped up before reading. It basically was another incredible speech; he told her he was a coward for leaving, but was leaving because he was afraid to let her down over and over again. And he didn’t say goodbye because he knew she’d talk him out of it. Naturally, it was perfect for Bamon fans.

Damon wasn’t the only sweet one here. We have to talk about Caroline real quick. Stefan was literally the worst to her throughout the entire episode, mocking their relationship. (I mean, when he told her planned to kill everyone in the town, he said, “This is what you wanted. ‘Til death do us part.”)

However, she clearly really loved him; at the end, she locked him in the cell in the basement, and said that even if they didn’t work, she wanted him back, the real him. She’d do whatever it took, which was clearly, more of Damon than it was her.

HollywoodLifers, did you love seeing so many familiar faces this week?