THE VAMPIRE DIARIES RECAP: CHRISTMAS THROUGH YOUR EYES

If you were looking for a jolly holiday episode this year, this was not it. Crazy Kai sucks the holiday spirit right out of this episode with his lunacy. Bonnie is all alone and Caroline is hit with a heartache that might not heal. It’s looking pretty grim this holiday season in Mystic Falls. Grab some egg nog and let’s get down to it.

We begin with Jo working at the hospital and a woman was brought in with an abdominal wound. Jo asked her what happened and she looked horrified. Kai came up behind Jo and it was all clear. He had stabbed the woman and she was right to be afraid of him, and Jo’s nightmare came true with the return of her twin.

Damon and Elena were looking through Alaric’s books for information on the Ascendant when Alaric called and asked if they had seen Jo. No one had heard from her since the night before when she along with one of the stabbed victims (Crazy Kai posing as a patient) went missing. Damon wanted to find Kai and kill him, simple as that.

Tyler had a different plan. He wanted Liv and Luke to help Kai so he would merge with Jo and they wouldn’t have to merge. Liv was cool with the plan because she felt it wasn’t fair that one of them had to die. Luke knew there was a bigger problem. If Kai merged with Jo, he would become the strongest witch in their coven and he would wreak havoc on the world.

Damon knew Kai was looking for the knife with Jo’s magic in it, but he wasn’t worried. He hid it and if Kai came close to it, he would kill him. He opened the back of a picture frame to show Alaric and Elena that the knife was safe, and “tah dah!” the knife was gone. Apparently Tyler talked Luke and Liv into helping Kai by doing a locater spell. Damon figured out that Tyler must have convinced Luke and Liv to help Kai. He called Tyler, and Tyler’s said he was just trying to keep his girlfriend alive and Damon should understand that.

At the dorm, Caroline wasn’t in the Christmas spirit since she couldn’t go home to Mystic Falls. Sheriff Forbes brought the Christmas decorations to Caroline. Along with her favorite ornaments, she also brought an elf, Stefan, to help hang lights in Caroline’s room (too bad Stefan wasn’t dressed up like an elf. That would have been cool). Caroline told Stefan anyone could be friends hanging Christmas lights, and it didn’t make up for how he treated her. Stefan was trying, but Caroline didn’t want him there. Right when he was leaving, Sheriff Forbes got light headed and passed out. Stefan caught her and they took her to the hospital.

Kai had Jo and stabbed her with the knife trying to get the magic in her, but it didn’t work. She had to choose to take the magic back. Luke was over it and bailed. Kai threatened to slit Liv’s throat if she didn’t figure out how to put the magic back into Jo. Ah, nothing like brotherly love. Jo taunted Kai by saying it would be funny if she bled out before the merge ceremony. Kai then realized he needed to stop her bleeding and looked for a bandage. Once Kai left, Jo thought Liv was going to let her go, but she didn’t. She told Jo to stop running away. Liv thinks Jo can beat Kai because of how much she accomplished without her magic. With her magic, she could be stronger than Kai (which would make the most sense because Kai doesn’t have any magic of his own, he has to borrow it). Kai came back and took some of Liv’s magic to torture her. Jo chose to take her magic back and help her sister.

Jeremy and Matt were plotting to kill Enzo and it was time to put the plan in motion. To bait Enzo, Matt told him he had a folder of information that Monique gave him about Stefan’s real niece. Enzo showed up to meet Matt, and Jeremy shot a stake at him from behind, which Enzo caught. He turned around to face Jeremy and Matt stabbed him in the neck. He tried to choke Matt but Jeremy shot another stake into his back and Matt kicked him to the ground. Nice teamwork guys.  Jeremy wanted to kill Enzo but Matt wanted him to suffer. Jeremy warned Matt that he was starting to sound like Tripp and Matt didn’t seem to think that was a problem.

At the hospital, Elena came to be with Caroline while they waited to hear what was wrong with Sheriff Forbes. When Caroline stepped away, Stefan told Elena that after Tripp’s group snatched Liz, they took her to the hospital to make sure she was alright. After running some tests, they discovered something was wrong. Elena then compelled a nurse to tell her they found a lesion on her brain and they think it may have metastasized to her spine. Elena was shocked, and the worst part is that Caroline has no idea. They agreed that Caroline should hear the news from a friend, and Elena said she would do it. Then Stefan said he should be the one to do it. He should be the friend to her now that he should have been all along.

Alaric was still pissed at Damon for compelling him, so they barely spoke at the cemetery looking for Kai. They found him and Damon tried to get him but he crossed the border into the “no magic” zone. Alaric whipped out a gun and was ready to shoot Kai right in his crazy head but Jo stopped him. What?? Why?? We need to get rid of this guy already. He is tap dancing on my last nerve at this point! I was yelling “Shoot him!” It didn’t happen. Jo told him if he killed Kai then Luke and Liv would have to merge and that wouldn’t be fair to them. Damon said to kill him (I’m totally with you Damon), but Alaric pistol whipped him and knocked him out instead. Now he was Jo’s hero and she rewarded him with a kiss. Boo! They should have taken him out when they had the chance.

Kai was bound to a gravestone at the cemetery and Damon threw rocks at him just for fun. Kai was talking his head off (as usual) when he realized it must have been a strong spell to keep magic out of Mystic Falls. He put his hands on the ground and started chanting. Wind started kicking up like there was a storm brewing and he kept chanting. Elena called Damon to tell him about Sheriff Forbes but he couldn’t hear her because of the wind, so he hung up. He realized that chatty Kai was quiet and he knew that meant trouble. Kai’s chains melted away from his hands and he was free. He used all the magic from the spell to strengthen himself and the spell was broken. Kai stoop up and with a flick of his wrist Alaric was thrown into a tree. Damon went after Kai but he disappeared. Damon helped Alaric up and they realized they crossed the border and nothing happened to Damon. Mystic Falls was no longer a “magic-free” zone.

Matt had Enzo in the back of the car and took him over the border assuming it would kill him. When Matt opened the back of the car, Surprise! Enzo was alive and well (because the spell was broken). Enzo grabbed him by the neck. I’m sure at that moment he regretted not killing Enzo when he had the chance to (like Jeremy said). Enzo didn’t kill him. He told Matt that he was right when he said Enzo was jealous of Stefan. Stefan had everything Enzo wanted and didn’t appreciate it. He told Matt he wanted his help making Stefan’s life a living hell, and after he helps him, Enzo will decide if Matt deserves to live. Then he told Matt “Happy Holidays!” and closed the van door.  Well at least Enzo is in the holiday spirit.

In 1994, Bonnie had a tree in the parking lot of the high school because she knew if she was at home, they would be decorating the town tree. She lit her Christmas tree and had a flashback to the town tree lighting in 2009. Sheriff Forbes was giving a speech and Caroline was not happy because Stefan gave her a snow globe key chain for a secret Santa gift. Bonnie got a nice bracelet from her Secret Santa (Caroline). Elena reminded Caroline what the holidays were really about; being with family, and friends. Bonnie was all alone and wished to be home with her friends. She lit the tree on fire and walked away.

At the hospital Stefan told Caroline they needed to talk. *sigh* here it comes. Stefan told her about her mother. She said they could just give her vampire blood, and Stefan told her it doesn’t cure cancer. Then she said they could remove the tumor, but he told her it was inoperable. Not willing to accept what Stefan was saying, she broke down in tears and he held her. I felt so sorry for Caroline.

Damon went home and Elena called him. She said she had a crappy day and wanted to see him. He told her he was at his mansion in Mystic Falls and the spell was broken so she could come over and she said she would.

Stefan came home and gave Damon his car that he fixed up (which explains why he was working as a mechanic) as a welcome back present. He teased Damon and told him not to die on him again!

There was a knock at the door and Damon answered it. It was Elena. She teased him about hanging mistletoe at the front door, and Damon said “Hello, is anyone there?” He couldn’t see or hear Elena even though she was right in front of him. She asked if he was going to let her in and he just looked around and shut the door. Weird! Not really, because crazy Kai was behind her and mentioned that he put a cloaking spell on them. Then he knocked her out with a pipe. Happy Holidays folks!

What did you think of this episode? Are you sick of Kai like I am? Will Damon save Elena? Will Bonnie ever get to come home? Let me know your thoughts in the comment section below and we will see you back here on January 22^nd!

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