While Stefan and the Heretics aid in the birth of Caroline’s babies, Damon and Bonnie face off with the Huntress. Here is a recap of the Vampire Diaries episode “This Woman’s Work.”
Recap:
Louisiana, 1842. Camping out with her father, Rayna, the Huntress, demands that he teach her to fight. Fifteen years later, she’s an adequate fighter, but Dad still keeps her from his hunting life. It doesn’t work. After Julian compels her to kill her father, Rayna drinks a special potion for the strength and protection to avenge his death, then takes the Tribe’s lives so she may have many more. England, 1903. The heretics leave Rayna for dead and plan to flee the country. Back on her feet, Rayna comes after Julian. He stabs her, but she throws her sword into his chest anyway. Back in the present, Rayna runs through the glass cage Enzo tried to keep her in.
Damon sends his scantily clad lady friend away when Bonnie approaches. She inquires about Enzo’s whereabouts. Conveniently, Enzo calls, threatening to tell Bonnie about Elena’s incineration if Damon doesn’t hand over the Phoenix Sword, so Damon agrees to help. Damon and Bonnie find Enzo tied up. Rayna shoots an arrow into Bonnie to get her sword, which Damon throws out the window.
While Alaric speeds into town, Stefan and Valerie observe Caroline’s emergency C-section until the babies refuse to leave the womb. Caroline’s awake. Valerie, Mary Louise, and Nora try to channel enough magic outside her body to draw the babies out. Beau’s bleeding scar stops the process. Rayna’s coming for him first, then every other vampire in the way. Valerie takes over while the lovebirds flee with Beau. They don’t get far when Rayna stabs Beau and torches his body.
Getting in her head, Stefan gives Caroline a vision of the two of them eating fast food under the stars. It’s peaceful… and a distraction. Damon and Bonnie arrive at the hospital. Bonnie sends Stefan to help Damon confront Rayna, lurking in the hallway, while she combines her magic with Valerie’s. Stefan stops Rayna’s sword from hitting Damon by taking the mark himself. Stefan speeds off. Damon threatens to kill Enzo for ruining his day. Enzo informs Damon that Elena’s alive. Their mutual friends have real Elena in New York.
The babies are born, perfectly healthy. Alaric names them Josie, after Jo, and Elizabeth, after Sheriff Forbes. Three years from now. Caroline takes the twins to New Orleans to visit her friend.
Comments:
– “This Woman’s Work” is an odd hour of The Vampire Diaries in that it can best be described as awkward all around. Most episodes of this series that don’t receive high praise from me are the ones that tend to stall the story for no reason other than a twenty-two episode order. “This Woman’s Work” fell on the opposite end of the spectrum. It threw the story forward on several fronts, but the way in which the stories were handled seemed rushed and sloppy.
– It’s peculiar that a series with so many major characters chose not to open this episode on one of those interesting storylines. Instead, the viewer was forced to sit through several minutes with one character we’ve never seen and one character we barely know. Thus, the intended emotional resonance fell flat. I understand trying to humanize and justify the antagonist, but there are more subtle and effective means to weave it throughout the season.
– I kind of wish the Huntress had killed Enzo when she had the chance.
– This storyline with the Huntress feels as if they’re trying to pass off an old story as a new one. The Brotherhood of the Five was mentioned several times throughout “This Woman’s Work,” which didn’t help their case. Don’t get me wrong, I love that there’s another powerful woman wreaking havoc in the Salvatores’ lives, but I’m curious what prompted the writers to revisit an idea from one of the weaker seasons of The Vampire Diaries without veiling the similarities.
– Does Rayna have to mark the vampire victims before the sword can kill them or is the mark just part of her hunting fun? The mark seems to unnecessarily complicate the matter.
– Whether it was intentional or a misstep in casting, Damon’s lady friend looks a little too much like the Huntress. On another note, I appreciate how Bonnie was not judgmental of Damon continuing to live his life how he wanted to in Elena’s absence since Elena gave him the all clear to still enjoy life during their time apart.
– R.I.P. Beau, even though you weren’t all that developed or interesting. I was hoping we’d have the chance to get to know Beau a little more. He’s by far the least developed of the Heretics and without too much backstory or insight into his character, his death didn’t create a sense of loss.
– There was a similar lack of emotional weight with the reveal that Elena is still alive. As much as they showed the Salvatores convinced that she perished at Damon’s hand, the previous episodes created so much doubt surrounding her death that I wasn’t relieved when Enzo confessed the truth to Damon because I suspected it all along.
