What a mess. As per usual, lots happened this episode of Vampire Diaries. But isn’t it better when it makes some kind of sense? Stefan and Damon are still plotting to kill Julian, which everyone knows, but all Julian can think to do is keep throwing parties, this time for Nora and Mary Louise’s anniversary. They’ve hardly been awake for a few months, after a century in near-starvation stasis, and they’ve not been allowed to fit into the modern world because they live in a deserted town. It’s just all too easy to dismiss them, and yet we’re supposed to care about their feelings? Show us some real character first, show.
They’ve managed to do it with Valerie, by giving her a tragedy, as she might have had Stefan’s baby if it didn’t interfere with Julian’s plans 150 years ago. Said baby would be long dead now of course anyway, but perhaps Stefan had plans to vamp him, too? Valerie became a vampire from trying to kill herself in despair, but the family dynamics of this heretic group remain far too murky.
Introducing six new characters (Beau, Julian, Nora, Mary Louise, Valerie, Oskar) to replace Elena seems more like a desperate move of distraction than a considered plan. Especially since all we know about the rest is that Oskar was fun-loving, Julian wouldn’t stand out among the faux-royalty Eurotrash over on the Originals’ sister show, Beau was once an opera singer, and Nora and Mary Louise would once have been killed for their elicit love.
Mary Louise takes the supposed party in their honor to propose now that she can, but it’s ill-timed as she doesn’t buy Valerie’s distraught confession of the need to kill Julian immediately. Nora and Beau chose Valerie, and thus is the “family” of vampire heretics riven forevermore.
Though the cracks were already there, since Lily chose her sons and their agenda over Julian’s after their intervention last week. Her sacrifice this week is powerful and dramatic, or it would be if it didn’t echo the very similar loss of Katherine’s daughter Nadia (not to mention Katherine herself) two seasons ago. Given the impossible Sophie’s choice of killing Damon or Valerie by Julian, Lily opts to kill herself. Why not just kill Julian, too?
Annie Wersching has been trying her best to find Lily’s core, and she’s adept at doing the ice queen, dead inside diva (too bad she never got a “flip her switch” story where these vampires disengage their consciences and go wild); but somehow off camera she’s gone from caring not a whit for her two long lost sons to loving them deeply, even though they’ve mostly treated her like crap since finding her again. When Stefan did throw himself at her feet, she trampled all over him, but not this season. And now, because splinters that even telekinetic witches can’t remove are embedded in her heart, she passes out of this world with finality. We hardly knew ye, Lily, but then neither did the writers.