Alright, Valerie can stay. Of all the Heretics on Vampire Diaries, she has become the most interesting. Beau we’ve only seen precious little of so far, Victor was fun before they killed him and gave his body to someone else, and Mary Louise and Nora have one note between them besides being 19th century inverts. But connecting Valerie to Stefan’s past as a very believable puppy love interest (and then giving her a tragic story that impacts his history) were smart moves, and even better is her effortless putdown of our star brothers as they search a coffin emporium for a hidden vampire. “Did you clods think you were resurrecting Victor? All you did was revive his body and put a lost soul in it.”
Efficient, scathing, and in two sentences she not only ruins their plans for Lily, but also the good deed they thought they did for Ric. Because if Victor isn’t himself anymore, neither is Josette. And while “Victor” isn’t making much headway in figuring it out, Not-Jo is both lost and afraid. She does show some sort of medical knowledge (which gives Ric hope initially, since Josette was a doctor), but she’s very humorously no longer a vegetarian (“Why wouldn’t I eat meat?” she asks, incredulous) and nothing else Ric says sounds right to her.
Coming clean in a lot of ways is what this episode is about, as Caroline encourages Stefan to spend time with Valerie so they can air out all their “19th century drama!” as she tells Bonnie. Bonnie wonders if that plan makes her the most or least secure girlfriend ever, but opts for BFF support. Of course neither know that Valerie was pregnant, and was beaten by Julian until she miscarried. Things that are going to matter a lot to Stefan.
What matters to Damon is what he’s done with Elena now that he has her back, and safely hidden away. Is it time to turn over a new leaf? Not when he finds out that it was Lily who gave Kai the idea to slip Elena the 60 year mickey that leaves her comatose while Bonnie lives. Damon has made his peace with Bon-Bon (he’s all about the nicknames this week, teasing Care-Bear over the phone, too), but Lily deserves only his vengeance.
Which Stefan slightly talks him out of, as he has longer term plans for both Lily and Julian, who is resurrected quickly, apparently with the right soul this time? Enzo, having wrested the stone from Bonnie (who arrived to grill Victor about the Phoenix Stone before realizing he was now just a ravening animal), gave Lily the choice of himself or Julian, and lost all.
Does that explain how he comes to rescue Bonnie from a mental home in three years? The flash forwards still seem the most forced part of this season, though this one gives Kat Graham a chance to shine as a very depressed and forlorn version of Bonnie, one who has lost it all as well.