Just as quickly as the cure was reintroduced in The Vampire Diaries season 8, it was taken off the table, again.
We finally got Damon back in the last episode of The Vampire Diaries, but unfortunately, we got Cade back, too. With the devil, himself, wreaking havoc in Mystic Falls, the stakes were at an all time high in The Vampire Diaries season 8, episode 11, “You Made a Choice to Be Good.” Read on, for our review.
‘The Vampire Diaries’ 8×11 recap
At the beginning of The Vampire Diaries season 8, episode 11, it looked like they were setting us up for yet another episode featuring a Salvatore moral dilemma. The whole, “kill 100 people or Caroline,” ultimatum is exactly what so many classic Damon plot lines are made of. Yes, there was a bit of that, but the episode turned out to be much more than that. In fact, it turned into the second race for the cure!
When the cure for vampirism/immortality was first introduced in The Vampire Diaries season 4, everybody wanted it. Well, not everybody, but it was definitely a hot commodity. It was devastating when Elena was forced to feed the cure to Katherine, who was one of the very few vampires who was not interested in it, at all.
This time, it happened in almost the exact same way, but the recipient makes things so much more interesting! Stefan Salvatore, the brother who Katherine had to trick into drinking her blood, the ripper who has never been able to find peace in vampirism, and the man who has always longed for a human life, is human, again.
Aside from the fact that it literally messes up everyone else’s plans, this is kind of amazing. Unless something crazy happens between now, and then, Stefan will end The Vampire Diaries series as a mortal. This is what he’s always wanted, but it definitely isn’t how he would’ve chosen to get it. Will a human lifetime be long enough for Stefan to shed even a fraction of the guilt for the pain he’s caused? Knowing him, probably not.
Before Stefan was injected with the cure, there were many other eyes on it. Bonnie mentioned that Enzo should take the cure a few episodes ago, and at the time, I thought, “she can’t possibly mean the one in Elena’s blood.” Well, it turns out, that’s exactly what she meant.
I kind of couldn’t believe that Bonnie was just going to take the cure from Elena, without telling Damon. Caroline mentioned that the cure didn’t belong to him, but in my mind, at least, it pretty much did. Elena took that cure expecting Damon to take it with her. When she fell into her supernatural coma, that plan was only delayed.
When the entire plan was laid out on the table, however, it did make sense. If Enzo took the cure from Elena and lived out a human life with Bonnie, Damon could just take the cure from him when he and/or Bonnie died. That’s the same time he’d be taking it, anyway, as things stood before The Vampire Diaries season 8, episode 11.
That being said, the more bodies this cure passes through, the more risk they’re all taking. Like I said before, the cure is a hot commodity, and anyone who possesses it is going to be even more likely to die than Salvatore and co. already are. What if Enzo had taken the cure and then been killed (I’ll get to this)? The cure would be gone, forever.
Now, Damon could take the cure from Stefan after he’s lived a full, human life, and stay on his desired timeline. However, that scenario will probably get far more complicated before The Vampire Diaries comes to an end, in just a few weeks.
This also adds yet another complication in the Steroline relationship, as if things weren’t bad enough, already. Caroline’s “some people don’t regret it,” line to Matt and Dorian, regarding her vampirism, wasn’t thrown in just for fun. She likes being a vampire, so what’s going to happen now that her fiance (ex?) is a human?
Even if Caroline never had any plans to take the cure herself, she was still making plans for it, in The Vampire Diaries season 8, episode 11. Cade, conveniently enough, truly cannot be killed. His immortality surpasses even hybrid level. So, as Caroline pointed out, the only solution is to make him mortal.
I really loved the scenes between Caroline and Damon. After the events of last episode, they seem to have a whole new level to their relationship. They have come a ridiculously long way since season 1. It’s clear in their interactions how much they trust and appreciate each other, but they still butt heads on almost everything. They’re so fun to watch, and I hope these scenes don’t go away now that Stefan’s back.
Let’s not forget that there is, almost definitely, another cure in the 1903 prison world, if we can get there, so Caroline’s plan could still be an option. However, I’d much rather Salvatore and co. find another way around Cade, and have that cure up for grabs for anyone else who wants it.
One vampire who we won’t have to worry about saving a dose for, is Enzo. That beautiful, short lived, Bonenzo dream is officially over. Or, is it? It definitely looked like Bonnie got her powers back at the end of The Vampire Diaries season 8, episode 11. Would she make the mistake of bringing one of her boyfriends back, again, so soon after getting her magic back? For Enzo, absolutely.
For that reason, I’m not going to mourn him, just yet. If he is dead, though, they really know how to tug on the ole heartstrings with that whole bucket list thing. Between that, and Bonenzo making plans for their human life in their new house, I’m just not willing to accept that he’s dead. Bonnie’s life can’t really be that tragic, right?!
Speaking of tragic, Matt’s back to being his old, brooding self. His storyline was getting kind of cool, and still has potential, but he’s back to spouting the same old sob story about not wanting to be like the vampires. Hopefully, something with this cipher and the necklace with the Maxwell crest will turn things around for him, before the series ends!