THE VAMPIRE DIARIES RECAP: THE WORLD HAS TURNED AND LEFT ME HERE

Hi fellow TVD fans! It’s Halloween time and we had another great episode of The Vampire Diaries; although it wasn’t Halloween themed. I was hoping to see Stefan in a sexy costume but there was enough wicked goodness to forgive the lack of Halloween acknowledgement. Damon is back! Bonnie is not! Grab your broomsticks and let’s get down to it!

It is time for Whitmore’s Homecoming!  Alaric decided to share the history of Whitmore’s homecoming with his class (which gave us a little ghost story for the Halloween season). A Civil War soldier named Nathan Whitmore was terribly disfigured but survived and wanted to go home to his love. When he got there, he found his lady love in bed with his brother (sounds like some soap opera drama). So he did what any sane man would do in that situation (not); he killed his brother and chased his love into the corn fields. The legend is that every year on that night, Lady Whitmore is dressed in white with her lover’s blood all over her and she runs through the cornfields screaming for her life. Alaric said the moral of the story was not to fall in love-especially with your brother’s girl. He gave Elena a look when he said it. Yeah, Stefan and Damon did not live by that advice. After class Elena told Alaric to come to the corn maze that night and have some fun. He wasn’t into it but after pressuring him, he was going to show. Elena also, invited Liam to come with her to the corn maze. They flirted back and forth and it looked like she was going to have a date.

Vampire hunter Tripp called Stefan (which is weird, how did he get his number?). He said that Enzo has been helpful. Stefan was confused because he thought Tripp killed Enzo, and Tripp said he would in due time. Right now he was torturing Enzo (hasn’t he had enough torture in his life?) for information on his vampire friends in Mystic Falls. Enzo told Tripp to check out Savannah. Uh oh. Stefan’s little plan may have backfired. Tripp was on the hunt!

Ivy, Stefan’s new vamp girlfriend, was not happy about her new life. She was mad that Enzo turned her into a monster and that Stefan lied to her about who he really was. She told him that she killed his boss. Ivy felt like her life was ruined! She used to be a good person and now she is a murderer. Stefan tried to calm her down by explaining that her emotions were heightened since she was a vampire but it didn’t work. She resented him so much, her anger took over and she tried to attack him. He snapped her neck.

Damon and Bonnie were walking in the woods to meet Kai. Damon started to feel like they really were going to go home. They found the place where the eclipse would happen and Damon was supposed to dig into the tunnels underneath them so they could do the spell. Kai wouldn’t show Bonnie the spell yet so I am hoping that this whole thing isn’t a big load of crap.

Stefan put Ivy in a trunk and took her to see Caroline. He knew she would be the best person to teach Ivy Vampire 101. When they got there Caroline answered the door in a towel and Stefan didn’t even notice. Stefan asked Caroline to teach Ivy the basics while he went to get her a daylight ring from Luke. He told her if she did this for him, she would never have to see him again. She asked him if he thought that was what she wanted. C’mon Stefan that is definitely not what she wants. She agreed to vamp-sit Ivy and Stefan left.

Caroline kept Ivy in her room and Ivy was bored and ready to go out and party (and eat). Caroline wanted to wait until Stefan got back. Ivy told Caroline she needed to admit that she had feelings for Stefan. She saw how Caroline looked at him and how she acted toward him at the dinner from hell in Savannah. Ivy wanted to move on from Stefan. Still bored, Ivy suggested that they play a game. Caroline thought it was a good idea. Caroline walked over to get the games and boom! Ivy snapped her neck.

Ivy was on the prowl and found a guy to feed on. She had him up against his car and she stopped herself before killing him. Nice job Ivy! The only problem was she didn’t quite understand how to compel him to forget. She said, “erase” and it didn’t work. She told him to run and he did. Realizing that she still had a lot to learn, Ivy said “I suck at this.”

Caroline called Stefan to tell him that Ivy was on the loose and he was back to ignoring her calls. He got the day ring, and now he wanted Alaric to compel Ivy get away from him and have a good life. Alaric wouldn’t do it. He didn’t like how Stefan just forgot about Damon, so he didn’t want to help him. He told Stefan to leave before he compelled him to be the Stefan he used to know. Wow!

Back in the woods in 1994, Damon dug through to the tunnel and Kai returned with some suspicious supplies. Seeing what he brought, Bonnie realized that he didn’t know the spell. She told him to take her magic and do the spell himself. He started to and Damon questioned her motives. It looked like Kai was going to kill her, but he didn’t. She was right. He didn’t know the spell. She figured if he didn’t know the spell they didn’t need him. So she used magic to stab him with an axe in the chest. Damon was shocked.

Alaric showed at the corn maze and was looking for Elena. He found Jo, who was freaked out by a girl dressed up like Lady Whitmore. She was ready to leave the party and get a drink, but Alaric had a flask. She took it and they went into the maze.

Ivy’s victim was running down the street for help and ran in front of Tyler’s car. Tyler was reading a text from Liv (texting and driving is a big no no!) and didn’t see him. Tyler hit him and knocks himself out on the wheel. His truck went right into the corn maze and people started to run and scream. Once the car came to a stop, there were quite a few injured people. When Tyler woke up, he heard the guy he hit gasping for air. Tyler got out of the truck and tried to save his life. He needed this guy to live so his werewolf curse wouldn’t be triggered. He called Elena (who was tending to an injured girl) and told her he needed her to get there quick. Elena fed the girl her blood when Liam wasn’t looking to save her. She didn’t know where Tyler was but wanted to help him.

Alaric and Jo were both injured but Alaric healed quickly (he lied to Jo and said the blood on him wasn’t his to cover his vamp healing). Jo’s arm was cut so she tied cloth around it and started to help people. Elena found them and put Tyler on speaker with Jo. She asked Tyler questions about the guy’s condition and told him to hold his hand, because the guy didn’t have long to live. Tyler panicked and started doing CPR on the poor guy. Liv was there and told Tyler to stop the CPR because there was nothing he could do. Liv suffocated the guy so that his death would be on her and not Tyler. She saved him.

At the corn maze, Elena was totally impressed when Liam saved a girl with a deviated windpipe. His stock just went way up with her. Liam noticed the girl that Elena saved (who should have died), and couldn’t believe she was walking around like nothing happened.

Stefan found Caroline as she discovered Ivy’s victim’s car. She was furious with him because she realized he was just going to dump Ivy on her and leave town. He wanted to start over and having Ivy around was not going to let him do it. Stefan was being a selfish jerk. Caroline was done. She just wanted him to leave and he did. Ivy called Caroline and she was off to go rescue the newbie vamp.

Back in 1994, Damon was drinking Zima (I seriously have loved all of the 90’s references this season. The music, the drinks, all of it!). He gave Bonnie a hard time for turning Kai into a “douchekabob” (my new favorite word). Bonnie thought that the Gemini coven must have used a Bennett spell to create that place, and that is why Gram sent her there. The only thing they needed from Kai was the Ascendant, but Kai needed a Bennett witch to do the spell. That’s why he didn’t kill her!

Bonnie and Damon were in the tunnel and all set to go home. He said he knew there were probably a billion other people she would rather be with and she said, “Not exactly” (Bamon fans rejoice!). He put his hand under hers and said “Let’s go” and Boom! She was shot with an arrow. Kai said, “Forgetting someone?”Apparently he couldn’t die. Kai warned Damon if he went for the Ascendant, he would shoot an arrow at Bonnie’s heart. Damon went over to Bonnie to give her his blood, but she told him to stop Kai from grabbing the Ascendant.

Damon and Kai were fighting over the arrow Damon took from Bonnie’s chest. This gave Bonnie time to crawl over to the Ascendant. Damon wanted her to get out of there, but she told him she wasn’t going to make it. She told Damon he would make it and used her magic to get Kai off of Damon and get Damon to the light. She threw the Ascendant to Damon and he yelled “No!” before he disappeared. She sacrificed herself again. Bonnie is left on the ground in pain.

At the hospital, Jo told Alaric how fond she was of him (and that he was the most attractive man she had ever seen). She knows that she wants him. He responded by showering her with compliments (and I thought yay! Alaric is finally going to have love). He told her that he’d like to believe they were fated. Then he compelled her to think that night was a disaster, and that he was a borderline alcoholic she didn’t want to kiss. She told him he was right. That night was a disaster, he is an alcoholic, but then she kissed him! What? The compulsion didn’t work! Was she on vervain? Can Alaric only compel vampires now? I am not sure why it didn’t work, but I’m glad because I like Jo and Alaric together.

Ivy was waiting for Caroline when Tripp drove up behind her. She tried to bite him, but he shot her with vervain darts and she passed out. He put her in his white van and Caroline saw. If only Caroline got there a few minutes earlier.

At the dorm, Liam asked Elena how she saved that girls life. She tried to play it off like some things in life just can’t be explained. He didn’t buy it, so she changed the subject by telling him that he was a hero and she kissed him.

Tyler went to the bar to find Liv. He told her that he talked to Elena and everyone else who was injured at the maze lived. She hid her face from him because she was crying and didn’t want him to see. He told her that the guy was going to die anyway and there was nothing she could have done to save him, but she chose to save Tyler and he was grateful. He told her he wouldn’t waste it and he grabbed her hand to support her (just makeout already! Sheesh).

Stefan goes to the crypt, and admits he’s lost without Damon. He has tried to start over numerous times and hasn’t been successful. He grabs a bottle of bourbon and throws it and Damon appears and catches it! Stefan can’t believe his eyes and thinks it isn’t real. Damon told his brother that it was a long story, but he’s back! They had an emotional hug and it was one of the best Salvatore Brothers moments on the show.

What did you think of this episode? Where were Jeremy and Matt? Will Bonnie survive again? How will Elena react when she sees Damon? Will Caroline forgive Stefan? What is going to happen to Ivy? Let me know your thoughts in the comment section below!

Happy Halloween Vamps! Have fun and be safe!

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