All the titles this season are quotes from past episodes, by the way, which sort of lets you know how the show is going about nailing its final season. Echoes, restatements, variations and final pronouncements are streaming by, as we’ve gotten to where we are now because of how we used to be. For example, the charmingly corrupt show hiding evil in a sleepy southern town still hasn’t worked out all its racial issues (though they have moved beyond having all witches be black women, or Bonnie choosing everyone else’s happiness over her own), because we finally get some back story on Sybil this week. She’s the most powerful villainess we’ve seen in some time, and she has a sister. And both are gifted psychics/witches demonized by ancient people for their gift.
But, it turns out they’re just the minions of an overlord named Arcadius (“Cade”), who was the first ever psychic! Until he knew way too much about the wrong people, and was burned at the stake. And yes, shades of mute heretic witch Luke, he’s a tall and handsome man of color. And when he died, his righteous rage conjured up an alternate psychic reality that Sybil is all too ready to call hell. Because it’s where Cade feasts on the souls of her victims. See, they only kill bad people. Which makes me a little less cheery about Tyler, who Damon just flat-out killed last week.
Let’s see, Silas and Amana created the Other Side because of their love that wouldn’t die. Which is where vamp souls went after death until the gypsies destroyed the other side, leaving Katherine and many other vamps to be sucked into the greater beyond of, I guess, Cade’s hell? And Damon and Stefan are of course both equally doomed, though Sybil takes her time trying to get Stefan to see it for himself.
The lost ancient girls (Silas was Roman era, but I’m guessing they’re pre-Greek, to judge from the ships they keep luring to crash on the rocks of their barren island) become cannibals to survive, though one did it purposefully and one was deceived. So, Sybil repeatedly asks Stefan “Which girl are you?” Meaning is he the voracious Ripper, not to mention the vampire that turned his older brother, or is he the victim? Not a question he gets very often, but he admits he’s both, he’s always been both, and it doesn’t matter because he and Damon have finally forgiven each other everything.
Might not mean so much to Cade, though. Unless Stefan can kill the devil. Which, I mean, as Big Bads go, certainly sounds like stakes are high. Also on the body count front this week: Alaric’s goofy assistant, almost Matt’s Dad (Matt shows up in time to save him, Hi Matt!), and Alaric’s ear drums. Which might be a smooth move since there are actually two sirens in town now.
In other news, Caroline was driving somewhere and Bonnie is healing Enzo off-screen. We had way too much exposition to have a full cast this week, and everybody got to trot out their central casting ancient tunics!