The Vampire Diaries Season 8 Episode 10 Review: Nostalgia's a Bitch
Paul Dailly
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Woah! Where did that come from?
On The Vampire Diaries Season 8 Episode 10, we got to go deep into Damon Salvatore's mind to uncover what was really going on for him and it was fantastic.
Previously, episodes which have featured the return of deceased characters have been pretty dull, but there was just something about this particular episode that got everything so right.
Damon knew very well that some of his actions were horrible. That's why he wanted his mind to be free of the supernatural creatures. It was surprising that Stefan's humanity was not switched on after witnessing Damon's pain.
Clearly, Damon blamed Stefan for enticing him to drink the blood all those years ago. Had Stefan just let him die, he would never have become the person that would kill people without questioning it.
The scene between Damon and Bonnie was heartbreaking, but so great at the same time. These two were once sworn enemies. If you watch The Vampire Diaries online, you probably remember the days of Bonnie threatening to take Damon out when her magic was intensifying.
She thought he was a bad person because all of his crazy actions. There was a time when he was horrible, horrible person, but hopefully his return to the land of the sane will stick.
Calling Bonnie his best friend had me grinning from ear-to-ear. Kai was not the nicest of people, but he did bring these two much closer together, and I'm thankful for that.
Their friendly dynamic was pretty much over when Damon decided to disappear because he could not live without Elena, but his apology was just perfect and Bonnie could tell it was from the heart.
However, his apology to Matt just seemed so random. He killed Vicki almost a decade ago. Yes, Damon helped save the town from destruction, but he also murdered Tyler just weeks ago.
Maybe Matt realized that Damon being under Sybil's spell was similar to being under Stefan's. There was absolutely no way Matt would have made it all the way to twelve strikes on the bell.
It's crazy just how relevant Matt has been to the integral plot this time around. He's spent so many years on the sidelines as the token human that it was getting sad.
Hitting the police station to become the Sheriff was a great idea, but I can't be the only one hoping this does not mean his storyline will stall.
Out of all the characters, he has so much left to give because he has barely been given anything to work with over the years.
Stefan's plan to destroy the town was like something you expect from the likes of Melrose Place.
How could he realistically destroy Mystic Falls with six episodes left? That would make zero sense.
That said, the reveals about the bell were intriguing.
Somehow, Mystic Falls being destroyed would be going a bit too far... even if it happened in the series finale. It's not like there's a hellmouth below it, or anything.
Cade showing up and taking Sybil and Seline out of the equation was quite the surprise. While both characters were firing out witty one-liners, they served their purpose.
It's time to move on in the final few episodes and really focus on the core cast.
Cade is going to make things tougher. He was surprised about the bell being built and that the town was almost destroyed.
He knew Sybil and Seline were liabilities, but I'm cautious about what his next move will be. Stefan will not be spending a lot of time chained up in the basement of the Salvatore mansion. That's for sure.
"Nostalgia's a Bitch" was the best episode of The Vampire Diaries in years. It was full of throwbacks to the past, and I'm super excited to see how the end plays out for these characters.
Other tidbits from the episode:
- Surprisingly, Stefan was less annoying as the Ripper this week. His comment to Caroline about the wedding was just gold.
- Caroline finding out about Bonnie's plan to steal the cure for Enzo will surely cause a lot of drama. How will Damon react to it?
- It was sad that Caroline's reunion with her mother resulted in her mother trying to kill her.
- Can we please have a Katherine scene before the series comes to a close?
- Bonnie's meeting with Tyler seemed like it was just thrown in there to appease fans who were pissed about Tyler being killed for no reason.
Over to you, The Vampire Diaries fanatics! What did you think of the several character returns? Are you glad Damon tried to make amends for his actions? How do you feel about Cade taking out both Sybil and Seline?
Hit the comments below.
Note: The Vampire Diaries Season 8 Episode 11 airs Friday, February 3 on The CW.
Paul Dailly was an Associate Editor for TV Fanatic.Follow him on X.
