THE VAMPIRE DIARIES RECAP: THE CELL

Holy Salvatore! We learned a lot about Damon’s dark past (and present) in this episode and man was I floored. Stefan and Katherine! Why am I shipping them now? After their steamy scene I am sold on them being together. We have a lot to cover so let’s get down to it!

It began with a flashback to 1953 and Damon was at the Salvatore Mansion to visit Joseph Salvatore. Joseph sold Damon out to Dr. Whitmore of the Augustines, but not before Damon stabbed him in the neck. Dr. Whitmore injected Damon with vervain and that was the end of it. Back in the present day Dr. Wes told Damon he would be replacing his test subject who died the night before (sexy Jesse and I’m still upset he died).

Katherine was writing in her journal (as Stefan suggested). Stefan has Katherine on suicide watch. Katherine decided to focus on Stefan’s panic attacks as something he needed to work on. She told him she can’t work with people who can’t give her 100 percent and that’s when Caroline entered with the safe Stefan was buried alive in.  

Elena paid Aaron a visit since she hadn’t heard from Damon since he went to see Dr. Wes. Aaron told her that Jesse (his roommate) killed himself the night before (according to the security guard). Elena looked awkward and apologized (because she knew she killed him). Aaron was upset because everyone around him keeps dying. After he realized she wasn’t there to talk about Jesse, he asked what was up. She asked him about Dr. Wes and told him that no one has seen Damon or Dr. Wes since Damon went to see him. Elena pointed out that it was strange that two of his friends “committed suicide” before the end of the first semester. She told him that Dr. Wes was a part of something bigger than they could imagine. She told Aaron that Dr. Wes forged Megan’s death certificate so Aaron wanted to find him and hear his side of the story.

Flashback scene where Dr. Whitmore had Damon tied down to a table. Damon tried to compel him, but it didn’t work because he had vervain. The evil Doctor knew vampire blood healed humans and vampires healed themselves after being injured. That’s when the torture began. He stabbed Damon in the eye (and I yelled at the TV NOT THOSE BABY BLUES!).

Aaron and Elena went to the Whitmore House and Elena was stuck outside. Aaron told her to come in and she was able to enter. Aaron said that he is a Whitmore and owns the building and the school thanks to the trust he inherited from his parents. Elena was checking the place out and saw her father in a picture. Dr. Wes came from another room and said her father (Grayson Gilbert) was one of the best doctors they ever had. Then he stabbed Elena in the neck with vervain and she fell to the floor. Aaron looked at Dr. Wes and said, “What the hell?” Dr. Wes told him about vampires and vervain. He told him that his father studied vampires and he learned everything from him. He said it was time for him to understand his legacy and what his family fought for.

Elena woke up in a cell next to Damon. Damon told Elena that he had been there before and explained that Dr. Whitmore would cut into him and take his organs and pieces of his eyes out to see how they would heal (eww! gross). Damon was back in the exact cell he was kept in for five years. Elena asked how he survived, and Damon told her that he made a friend named Enzo. Enzo had been there for 10 years and taught Damon how to survive on a shot glass of blood a day. Their friendship kept Damon alive and revenge was their motivation. Damon apologized for getting her involved and promised that he would get her out of there.

Caroline was reading about Prolonged Exposure Therapy to Stefan while he was in the safe. She wanted to help him deal with his PTSD. Katherine was also there to help out if needed. She asked Caroline if she and Stefan ever slept together and Caroline was grossed out by the question. Katherine told her that she was missing out because Stefan was great in bed (good to know). Stefan started panicking and passed out in the safe. Katherine and Caroline were still talking and Katherine came up with an idea. Since Stefan always comes through for everyone else, if saving someone else was his motivation he could overcome his PTSD.

Damon had another flashback. Enzo told him he had a lot of ladies, but there was one woman who was special to him. Her name was Maggie and she worked for Dr. Whitmore (she only took notes). Once she realized what was happening there, she couldn’t be a part of it and left. As they were talking, Dr. Whitmore came to take Damon for another torture session but Enzo said he was more energetic and went in Damon’s place. Aw! Enzo was a real friend. Damon could hear the painful screams in his cell as Enzo was being tortured.

Elena couldn’t believe what Damon had been through. She told him Stefan would realize they were gone and rescue them. There was just one problem with that, Stefan didn’t know where they were. Damon never told anyone about that place or that he was tortured. She was the first person he shared the story with. She asked how he escaped the first time, and he told her that they were let out of the basement once a year on New Year’s Eve. The Augustines would have a party and let the humans drink from the vampires to showcase Dr. Whitmore’s research that vampire blood can heal humans. So Enzo came up with a plan. If one vampire drank both portions of blood everyday for a year, they would be strong enough to fight the next New Year’s Eve. They played rock, paper, scissors and Damon won. He didn’t really want to go on with the rest of the story but Elena insisted. As he spoke, there was a flashback to the 1958 New Year’s Eve party. Dr. Whitmore took Damon out of a cage so the Augustines could drink his blood, but Damon flipped the script on them. He broke free from the shackle and shoved his fingers in Dr. Whitmore’s eyes. Then Damon went Vamp crazy in that place! He bit the doctor and started a killing spree. A candle knocked over that started a fire so Damon tried to set Enzo free but the bars on the cage had vervain on them. The fire got worse and he tried to break the bars but couldn’t (why didn’t he look for a key to the cage? Duh!). Damon knew he had to save himself. He said, “I’m sorry Enzo,” turned off his humanity switch and left Enzo there to die. Wow! That is really messed up.

Dr. Wes gave Aaron his great-grandfather’s watch and a folder from the safe; he saw the picture of his parents dead. Dr. Wes said he knew it wasn’t an animal attack that killed them and that motivated him to continue his father’s work. Surprisingly, Aaron punched Dr. Wes and grabbed a gun and bullets and took off.

Stefan woke up in the safe with Katherine locked in next to him. She told him that he had to get over his PTSD or he would get really upset and kill her. Since he wanted her alive, he needed to suck it up. Stefan was struggling and Katherine told him he needed to face the real issue. She said she thought he was still in love with Elena and he was hurt that she chose Damon over him. The safe wasn’t the problem he needed to deal with. Stefan grabbed Katherine’s neck and began to choke her. Katherine was about to let him feed on her and she told him, “I’m here… I’m with you. We’re together.” Their faces were so close together and they were about to kiss and Caroline opened the safe! She said she got worried because it was so quiet. Boo Caroline! Stefan hugged Caroline since her plan did help him overcome his PTSD, but he gave Katherine the sexy eye.

Aaron found the cell in the basement and saw Elena and Damon in there. He nervously pointed his gun at Elena and asked if she killed Megan and his parents. Elena said no. Damon chimed in and said he was the one who killed his parents. There was a flashback scene of Damon coming up with a revenge plan. After he killed all the Augustines, he would kill every member of the Whitmore family except for one person. Then he would let that person grow up and start a family, and then he’d kill that generation except for one. It would be a cycle that he would carry out and that is what he did. Damon admitted to killing many Whitmores since 1958. Elena was shocked and asked him when the last time he killed a Whitmore was. He said it was a few months ago in Charleston; a woman named Sara (OMG that was Aaron’s Aunt). Elena was with Damon at that time and knew nothing about it. Aaron pointed the gun and Damon and shot him in the head. Wow, we knew Damon was capable of bad things, but this revelation floored me (and I feel this revelation will send Elena right back to Stefan if she ever gets out of that cell).

At the Salvatore Mansion, Stefan was picking up pieces of the chair he’d broken earlier. Katherine sauntered in and he told her she was right about him focusing on the physical pain of dying instead of the emotional pain of his breakup with Elena. He didn’t know what he was doing.  She said sometimes she didn’t know what she was doing either. He looked at her and she walked closer to him and she said, “Like right now, for example,” and rubbed his chest (whew! did somebody turn up the heat? The chemistry between Stefan and Katherine was off the charts). After letting the moment build, they finally kissed and it was steamy goodness from that point on.

Meanwhile, Caroline was downstairs leaving Elena a voicemail when her vamp ears heard Stefan and Katherine breathing heavily and kissing. OMG! She told Elena to call her back immediately.  

Damon woke up in his cell with a headache from being shot. He started to talk to Elena but she was gone. He yelled for her with no answer.

Elena was restrained to a table and she looked terrified. There was another vampire restrained next to her. He looked at her and said “Welcome, My name is Enzo!” Holy Salvatore! (I was glad Enzo didn’t die, but to know he has been there being tortured since 1958! I can’t wait until Damon finds out he is alive).

Whew! What did you think of the episode? Are you shipping Katherine and Stefan like I am? What do you think about Damon? Where was Bonnie, Jeremy, and Matt this episode? What do you think about Aaron? How do you think Damon is going to react when he finds out Enzo is alive? Let me know your thoughts in the comment section below.

The Vampire Diaries airs Thursday nights at 8/7c on The CW.