Last week on The Vampire Diaries, Rick helped Damon get Stefan back in his body and Valerie ended things with Stefan. This week, Damon tries to save Bonnie’s life and Rick blocks Stefan from having a heart-to-heart with Caroline.
Three years ago, Bonnie packs up her dorm room. On her way out, she hears Armory members coming up the stairs. Enzo hides and sedates her.
Today, Bonnie is packing to travel. She doesn’t feel sick. Damon knocks on the door. She tells him not to address her directly. Bonnie doesn’t forgive easily. Damon looks like a fool standing in the doorway with flowers.
Stefan knocks on Rick’s door to talk to Caroline. She’s not home, but Rick invites him in.
Enzo brings Bonnie to a cabin off the grid. He tells Damon that Rayna is in the storm cellar.
Bonnie flashes back three years to when she attacks Enzo for kidnapping her. He explains that he’s keeping her safe. In exchange, she’ll do research to find out why the Armory wants her.
In modern day, Bonnie pulls out the letter Damon left her.
Rayna is obsessively marking symbols on pages. She’s crazy from her visions of escaped vampires. Damon offers her help tracking them down in exchange for transferring her last mortal life to Bonnie. He and Enzo offer Rayna a peaceful death, knowing the renegade vampires have been taken care of. She gives them the locations of the vamps and tells them she’ll make a full decision when she can think clearer. Can we trust her?
Three years ago, Enzo tells Bonnie not to waste her time mourning Damon. He says she deserves better than Damon gave her.
Stefan sees a meeting with a JP in Rick’s planner. He asks for a drink.
Rayna says the place where the Phoenix stone exploded is the center of the ring of vampires. They spread out from there. She sends them to Richmond first. Damon asks why she’s cooperating. She says she wants one day without vampires.
Damon finds the first vampire from their list at a dentist’s office. Damon and Enzo try to hold him, while Bonnie shoots him with a stake gun. The vampire is big and evenly matched with our heroes, making it a nail-biting fight. Damon finally cuts off his head with a wet floor sign.
On New Year’s Eve three years ago, Enzo lights the whole cabin in white Christmas lights. He pours Bonnie champagne and puts on music. They talk and Bonnie says she’s starting to understand him. They dance and we can feel the sexual tension. Our hearts sing when he gives her a peck on the lips and wishes her a happy New Year.
Damon calls Stefan repeatedly, but he doesn’t answer. Rick asks Stefan why he never came back for Caroline. Rick accuses him of jumping in with his side of the story now that Caroline is getting married. He has a point.
Stefan’s phone won’t stop ringing. Rick gets angry and tells him to answer it. Damon tells Stefan he needs an arsenal to help Bonnie. Rick and Stefan help hunt down the vamps on Rayna’s list across several states.
Alex tracks down Enzo. If he hurts her, the Armory soldiers will storm the building. Damon hides Bonnie. Alex wants Bonnie to open a vault in the Armory basement and free her sister, Evette, who was inadvertently trapped. As usual, Enzo doesn’t trust Alex, but she offers to help save Bonnie’s life if she gets Evette out.
Bonnie is mad at Damon for taking her away. Enzo calls and says he thinks Alex may be sincere this time. He says he’ll get a car and meet them to take out more evil vampires. With fear and disgust, we notice Bonnie has an open sore on her hand. She asks Enzo how much time she has. He tells her about a week.
In the past, Enzo comes home to find Bonnie playing guitar, badly. They’ve figured out that Virginia, Alex’s other sister, is in a psychiatric ward. They make plans to get information from her. Enzo tries to help Bonnie with her fingering and our hearts explode when they finally have a proper kiss.
Today, Enzo finds Beau the heretic in another body. Bonnie is horrified when Damon kills him despite her orders not to. Remember, Beau helped Caroline with the babies.
Damon insists they had to take Beau out to get Rayna’s cooperation. Enzo is angry. Damon holds Enzo responsible for Bonnie’s illness. They get in each other’s faces. Bonnie stops them. She says she keeps Damon’s letter to remind her not to trust the wrong people. Enzo will always be there for her, even if she dies. She doesn’t blame Enzo, but we can certainly feel how furious she is at Damon.
Rick tells Stefan that helping to save Bonnie doesn’t earn him a place back in Caroline’s life. Stefan says that’s up to Caroline. We can feel the start of an argument. Rick tells him she used to park her car by the river every night and cry, but eventually, Rick and the girls saved her by becoming her life.
Stefan asks Rick who sleeps in the second bedroom. He says a Justice of the Peace doesn’t sound like Caroline. Will she start sleeping in his bed after they’re married? Rick says it’s none of Stefan’s business and hits him. He says all he can do is be worthy of Caroline like Stefan never was.
Bonnie and Enzo snuggle on the couch. Damon goes to Rayna for a new name.
Stefan goes to Rick’s house and finds Caroline. She kisses Rick hello and doesn’t want to talk to Stefan. Rick closes the door in Stefan’s face.
Damon finds Rayna in a room filled with symbols. She wants them all taken out before helping Bonnie. This could take a while. Will Bonnie survive long enough?
Check out the funny promo video for episode 19 below: