While the heretics torture Caroline, the Salvatores and Bonnie devise a dangerous plan to get her back. In addition, we get a glimpse of Caroline’s life three years from now. Here is a recap of The Vampire Diaries episode “Never Let Me Go.”
Recap:
Confident and commanding, Caroline runs around the set of a 2018 newscast. An assistant notifies her that her fiancé wants to visit Mystic Falls, even though he knows they can’t return. Back in the present, a desperate Alaric asks Bonnie about a Phoenix Stone that supposedly has resuscitative powers. It’s news to her. She examines the Stone for magic and flashes of brutal murders warn her of the Stone’s evil. Although Alaric agrees to destroy it, when it comes time to do so, a conveniently placed picture of him and Jo prevents Alaric from getting rid of the Phoenix Stone.
Caroline convinces Enzo to loosen her ropes, then strangles him with one. Her escape is cut short by the lovebirds. Now chained from the ceiling, Caroline learns from several projectiles to the abdomen not to laugh at Nora’s fashion choices. Running into Beau and Lily, Stefan learns that they took Caroline as retaliation for killing Malcolm, even though Stefan had nothing to do with it. Damon attempts to trade himself for Caroline, but he can’t enter his own home. Time for a plan. Stefan will sneak through the tunnels to grab Caroline as soon as Bonnie kills the guy who owns their house. It’s Matt. The heretics drained and compelled him after he tried to stop them from eating adventurous teens. He’s not thrilled about temporary death, but agrees to do it for Caroline.
Claiming to be the nicer one, Valerie gives Caroline a stepstool and complains that the lovebirds are the worst. Bonnie magically stops Matt’s heart. Damon steps through the doors and leaves upon Enzo mentioning that Lily’s burying Malcolm in the Salvatore crypt. Furious, Damon arrives to the crypt, where Lily says she put a cloaking spell over Elena. Lily’s the only one who knows the location. Trying to revive Matt, Bonnie sees the flashes from earlier, including “X” carvings on the victims. She passes out next to an unconscious Matt. Six minutes later, she wakes and revives him. Stefan unchains Caroline, but when he touches her skin, it burns him. Valerie put a vervain spell on her. The Earth shakes. Stefan flies through the window, while Caroline reels down the hallway. The housekeeper signed the deed. Enzo invites Caroline inside, and it’s back to normal.
Stefan blames Damon for their failed mission. Per Lily’s demand, Damon’s supposed to leave town. The brothers know she’s just trying to turn them against one another, and they won’t let her. There’s another member of her heretic family out there. All they have to do is capture him and trade for Caroline. Nora, convinced Valerie’s the worst, gives Caroline one of Stefan’s old diaries that Valerie adores. It includes a passage about them meeting at a county fair. Even though they barely spoke, Stefan found Valerie to be the most wonderful girl he’s ever met.
At the morgue, Alaric places the Phoenix Stone on a random corpse, which reanimates him until the stone is removed. Back in the future, the Assistant tells Caroline that Stefan called, but she never wants to hear his name again. He’s hit with a projectile to the neck, and Caroline gets one in the abdomen.
Comments:
– “Never Let Me Go” was another average episode of The Vampire Diaries; however, it improved over last week with its ability to create more of a complex mission for the characters to work on throughout the hour. There were a few twists and turns that kept the plan from being a shoe-in and kept it more entertaining. While it may be a stalling technique to prevent the Salvatores from rescuing Caroline on the first try, it makes their antagonists a stronger threat and took the unexpected route of failure.
– The big bad drama is slowly picking up momentum, but that means the regular characters are simultaneously losing focus. The greatest issue with this episode was the fact that so much of it was focused on the heretics. It’s important to develop these new characters early on, so I understand and appreciate what they’re trying to do by spotlighting them, yet Valerie, Nora, and Mary Louise still come across as three copies of the same character. The attempt at development has not been successful at the moment.
– The main characters we have spent six seasons with were weaved in and out of the heretics’ story, but they didn’t feel like the driving forces they should be. What’s odd about their storylines so far is that they have barely touched on what their lives are like outside of the problem with the heretics. The presence of teenage drama was not usually the most interesting aspect of The Vampire Diaries, but it was such a foundation that the series does not play like it used to.
– Even if this original group of friends feels like they occupy the background, their bonds are stronger than ever. I love how apparent the amount of trust between Matt and Bonnie is and the amount of loyalty between Matt and Caroline. No matter what they’ve been through, it’s nice to see these lasting friendships.
– Lily finally showed her deviant side by hiding Elena’s coffin from Damon in order to get what she wants; however, this was more manipulative than the downright evil person her sons paint her as.
– I’d have mixed feelings if the writers continued to bookend each episode with flash forwards of the characters drastically different lives three years from now. On the one hand, it’s a fascinating way to create mystery and intrigue and allows the audience to try to fill in the gaps in the timeline along the way. On the other hand, it reduces some of the tension created by the heretics’ presence in Mystic Falls. We’re pretty confident they weren’t going to kill off Caroline in the second episode of the season, but stranger things have happened. Now we know she makes it out alive.
– Although we only saw a glimpse of Caroline’s future, this normal, dare I say almost human, life worked well. Caroline working as a news director is perfectly fitting to her character, just enough responsibility, authority, and civic duties to keep her happy.
– Caroline’s flash forward seem to crush Steroline before it even started. Good or bad?
– It has only taken until the seventh season for the Salvatore Mansion Housekeeper to make it into an episode. Here’s hoping she makes it longer than Uncle Zack did.
– Damon likes having a nemesis as a distraction. He would.
– Ever the human voice of reason.
Matt: So Damon screws up. Caroline gets grabbed. And I end up dead. Doesn’t it ever feel like we’re fighting the wrong enemy?
