The title of the episode is especially true if you’re a vampire who’s suddenly become human and has a history of compelling people to forget your litany of violent crimes over the decades. There’s so many surrounding Stefan Salvatore that Matt makes a joke about Sherriff Forbes’ frequent recourse to animal attacks in years past to explain the horrors of living in and around Mystic Falls to souring a whole generation of young Virginians of ever going camping (good one, Matt!).
The one that matters to us this week, of course, is the fact that Dorian (Alaric’s assistant researcher, about whom we just found out he lost his family tragically) was one of those violent victims. He’s realized what Stefan did, and he’s kidnapped him in order to make him pay. As he asks quite reasonably, does Stefan’s redemption make up for the pain of murdering Dorian’s loved ones, or their pain at dying abruptly? He gets so angry while Stefan tries to talk him down (while literally digging his own grave) that he shoots him in the gut (to be fair, Stefan can be super patronizing). And then immediately freaks out, because wanting to kill someone and actually trying are two very different things (as Stefan knows).
Meanwhile, Caroline and Matt are trying to address the wrongs of Stefan’s local victims, who have been showing up at the police station to report old crimes. While protecting Stefan and using compulsion of course, but at least they have a sort of moral gray area in which to make reparations. Despite his dislike of vamps, Matt does still manage to see Caroline as a person, and she is really the best of all of them. She also actually has a life and children, as Alaric realizes finally when he turns to her because the girls (probably due to proximity to Cade) are energizer bunnies of heretic magic lately, and it’s getting dangerous to be around them.
This week, however, Cade is visiting his attentions on Bonnie, who despite her mother’s warning (and cleansing burning of Enzo’s body to get rid of his ghost) is still doing meditational candle spells to bring him back. Her psychic awareness has kicked up in the absence of her magic powers, so that the realizes when Damon is lying to her, and she is drawn back to the coffee shop when Cade wants to talk to her. He has a revelation for her: as he did when he created hell as he was being burned at the stake, Bonnie’s anguish at Enzo’s murder has created a pocket dimension, a world of her own creation to hide Enzo’s soul. And Cade wants in! That soul is his!
Enzo warns her not to trust Cade, and it’s clear that what the show has really set up here is a final battle between Bonnie and Cade, whether they be technical witches or not, and since she’s still alive I’m going to give her the edge. Plus, evil pocket dimensions are what used to be called the Other Side, where vampire souls found purgatory before their final fate, and if Bonnie could set that back up she could re-invigorate this show’s mythology just in time for the finale.
And oh yeah, Kai’s back, and he’s as fun as usual, basically the biggest plot device the show ever had with the added kick that he knows he’s a plot device and constantly meta-commentaries himself. He’s kind of the worst, but as played by Chris Wood (who is also on Supergirl and should probably just be on every CW show whenever they need a charming rogue) he’s never dull, and just as she stole the cliffhanger with his return last week, this week he steals Damon’s magic and Elena’s coffin for act 2!
Bonnie and Enzo are totally the best btw. It’s fitting that her hidden cubby hole for him looks like their love cabin that burned down. Stefan and Caroline are not the best, and have another fight on his recovery bed about how incompatible their goals always are. However, Alaric makes a few googly eyes when he brings the girls home to the only mommy they’ve ever known, and let’s face it, it’s not like he minds dating vampires.