We begin the episode with a flashback to when a very young Caroline first learned to ride her bike. She has fallen and her mother tends to her wounds. Her mom admits that she was amazingly proud of Caroline when she was riding the bike by herself for the first time and also amazingly scared when Caroline “bite the dust.” Ha. Caroline asks her mom is she is going to die from her bicycle wound. Cute. Her mom reassures her, but they continue to talk about dying in the future. “Everyone dies sometime,” says Sheriff Forbes. “But I won’t be dying for a long long time.” Young Caroline asks what will happen to her when her mom dies. Liz says that by then, Caroline will be all grown up and won’t need her mom anymore. Young Caroline says that she thinks she’ll always need her mom. Awwww. In the present, Caroline runs into Damon trying to write Liz’s eulogy. Caroline and Damon aren’t exactly on friendly terms at the moment and Damon tries to steel Caroline and toughen her up for the pain she’s about to go through, saying it will hurt for a while before it gets better.
Damon Flashback: Damon looks super-young! Possibly a teenager. He helps (roughly 10 yr old?) Stefan tie his tie in preparation for their mother’s funeral. Young Stefan mentions that he was visited by their mother’s “angel” the night before. In present, Damon is dressing up for Liz’s funeral. Stefan asks him for advice about Caroline. Damon suggests that Stefan break it off with her, since Damon thinks that Stefan isn’t truly in love with Caroline. However, Damon says Stefan should wait a few days before breaking it to her. Damon can’t finish his eulogy and doesn’t think he can do it because he’s not a nice person and so can’t say nice things. Elena tries to console him and kisses him on the cheek, saying he can be sort of nice. She tells him to write something that will cheer up Caroline. Flashback to Damon and young Stefan. Young Stefan is mad that Damon missed his speech. Damon says he didn’t know what to say. A sobbing Stefan says Damon could have just said “goodbye.” In present, Damon scribbles his speech. At the church, Caroline awkwardly talks to Stefan. Stefan says they should talk after she has mourned her mother. Elena holds Caroline’s hand as they are sitting and watching a squad of police officers honor Sheriff Forbes. When it comes time for Damon’s eulogy, he delivers a pretty decent one. He tells the gathering that Sheriff Forbes’ last wish was to let Caroline know that she was very proud of Caroline. That Caroline was extraordinary. Damon agrees that Caroline is extraordinary, listing a few of her positive traits. This seems to have made an impression on Stefan, making him think maybe he should be together with her. Damon ends the eulogy by saying Liz was a hero to the town, and she was a hero to him. She will be missed.
At the Mystic Grill, Matt tells Tyler that he has been inspired to join the police force. He has also picked up an application for Tyler. Will these two depart Mystic Falls in the coming eps? I’ve often thought that the show had too large of a supporting cast, but now it seems they may be going too far in the other direction. Luke has died, Liz is gone, Jeremy left last ep. But perhaps it will be good to keep focus on just the five main characters.
Damon and Stefan chat. Stefan thinks Damon is wrong about Stefan’s feelings toward Caroline. Damon says if that’s the case, Stefan should head over to Caroline’s that instant. At Caroline’s, Elena shows up. Caroline wanted to be alone and said she was okay, but Elena doesn’t believe her. Elena realized that Caroline planned to switching off her “humanity switch” to death with her mom dying. Elena hugs Caroline and holds her, saying she won’t let Caroline do it. Caroline snaps Elena’s neck, saying it’s not Elena’s decision to make.
Jo is throwing up because she got food poisoning from the meal Ric tried to make her the night before. Kai comes knocking on their door. He vomits blood. After merging with Luke, he is now “defective” because he merged with the wrong sibling. Jo might be vomiting as a twin sympathy thing. Kai is now possibly dying and if he dies, the entire Gemini coven dies with him. Jo examines Kai but says there is nothing medically wrong with him. Of course, says Kai, because he is suffering from a magic illness. Kai suggests that Jo relinquish her magic into a teddy bear or something so that he can absorb it. Jo hesitates. Kai reminds her that if he dies, the coven dies and the retro-worlds also collapse. Ric asks if there are multiple retro-worlds. The answer is yes, as we cut to Bonnie disappearing from Kai’s retro-prison into a snowy landscape. Jo and Ric discuss relinquishing her magic. He says he’ll still love her if she isn’t a witch. Jo relinquishes her magic and Kai is healed. A happy Kai leaves and casually mentions that Jo was sick that morning because she is pregnant. After Kai leaves, Ric proposes to Jo. At first, she rejects his “pity proposal” but he reveals that he has had a ring for a while. He wanted to propose that morning, but she got sick. Jo asks if Ric is sure, and he jokes that he is 92%. Jo says yes.
On Day 278 in Retroville, Bonnie has returned from Canadia after a few trials and tribulations. SHe has sucked all the magic out of Silas’ headstone and has regained magic abilities. She is awaiting the eclipse so she can return to her world. After Bonnie has unexpectedly traveled to the “snowy hell dimension,” she sees something in the sky that resembles the northern lights. (Is she in Alaska or something?) She makes it inside a cabin and a diary suggests that it is November 1st, 1903. The diary entry also mentions a celestial event. Bonnie finds two pictures, one each of Damon and Stefan. Then, as Jo in the real world is chanting and giving Kai her magic, Bonnie keeps jumping between Kai’s retro-prison and this snowy prison. She sees the eclipse and runs to the proper spot to use the ascendant. As she escapes, she sees a woman for a brief second. Is it Mama Salvatore?? Bonnie is waiting in the kitchen of the Salvatore Mansion when Damon walks in, very pleasantly surprised. She leaps into Damons arms. Later, Bonnie shows Damon the video of her in the snowy dimension. Her camera was on at the time she escaped. The camera caught an image of the woman for a brief second. Bonnie pauses the playback, and Damon recognizes his mother.
So that’s it. We get to digest that for the next three weeks as TVD goes on a brief hiatus.
Did anyone miss Enzo and his antics ? I didn’t, even though I am generally a fan of his character. It just seemed that for a person who claims to be best buds with Damon, he doesn’t really interact with Damon much this season. No visits, no phone calls, no texts? I mean, does Enzo still think Damon is stuck in Retroville or something?
It’s a shame that Caroline decides to go wild mostly (or entirely?) because Stefan seemed to have rejected her at the church. If only she had a tiny bit more patience! Or if only Stefan had made it to her house a bit sooner. Sigh. I guess this is what drama is made of. As a trivial observation: Bonnie’s camera must have a remarkable amount of memory and battery life for her to be making all those video diaries!