"Hold Me, Thrill Me, Kiss Me, Kill Me"
Original Airdate: December 3, 2015
After last week’s wild ride of attempting to kill Julian, Lily finally coming to terms with the horrible monster that he is and agreeing to do whatever she can to help bring him down, so long as she’s the one to come up with a plan, I can only imagine what the residents of Mystic Falls have in store for us this week.
Damon sits under a spotlight, chained to a chair in the TV studio three years from now. A woman’s voice surrounds him and it sounds like — is that Lily? Is the woman who has everyone running scared in the future Lily? He asks the mystery guest to come into the light so he can see her and it really is Lily! We finally have an answer as to who has been on the hunt for Stefan: their mother. ... Or is it? Before passing out, Damon is as shocked as we all are and gives us the impression that they haven’t seen each other in quite some time. What could have possibly happened?
Back in the present, Stefan and Damon are explaining the plan to Enzo as he very clearly wants to see Julian dead as well. They need to employ one of the remaining heretics to unlink Lily and Julian, but Enzo doesn’t buy it. Valerie walks in and says that if they want them on their side, all she has to do is tell them the truth.
“Dear Elena, I’m pregnant.”Writing in her journal, Caroline still finds it hard to wrap her brain around the situation she has found herself in at the hands of the Gemini coven. Her entry is cut short as her phone rings. Matt tells her that the people Julian had in a trance have mysteriously vanished. That seems like a pretty big problem with a hint of foreshadowing.
Enzo finds Lily in the bookshop as she looks through the now dusty shelves for a gift for Nora and Mary-Louise. She’s looking for a specific poem, “The Nymph’s Reply to the Shepherd,” and as Enzo starts to recite it, Lily turns to him and the two share a sweet moment together. However, he remains unconvinced that finding this sentimental book of poetry won’t be nearly enough to sway them to side with her over Julian. Enzo offers to run away with her, but Lily knows that that’s not an option. He grabs her and they share an intense, albeit quick kiss for luck.
Blindfolded and entering what looks like Tyler Lockwood’s old home, Julian has Nora and Mary-Louise on his arms and as he removes the scarves, an explosion of confetti welcomes them to their anniversary party. One would expect nothing less for 133 years together. But it seems that the guests that are dancing about the room are the missing people Matt had mentioned earlier. Julian says that he’s been collecting them just for this party. Lily is clearly furious, but changes her tune when she sees the girls get upset with her.
Things between Stefan and Caroline are slightly awkward. She went to his house hoping to talk to him about her current predicament, but Lily has just texted their location and Damon and Valerie are ready to go. The Salvatore brothers can tell Caroline is hiding something, so to ease the tension, Valerie elects for her and Damon to go on ahead of them. What Paul Wesley does so well here is let the emotions Stefan is feeling play across his face. He’s shocked while sad and confused. Instead of continuing the conversation, Stefan says he needs to use this small window to kill Julian. Not exactly how the conversation should have gone, but that’s Mystic Falls for you.
At the party, Mary-Louise pulls Julian into a quiet room and presents a ring. While he’s excited for the couple, he knows that Nora won’t like how small the ring is and offers the ring of a French princess. Obviously this sort of gesture is going to stick with Mary-Louise and make it difficult for Lily to gain their allegiance. But outside on the deck, Lily presents Nora with the poetry book to show all that they have been through as a family just as Julian surprises her. The two go back inside to share a dance to a song that slightly stuns Beau. As he watches them dance, Lily says that Beau used to sing so beautifully. It still makes me wonder if we’ll ever find out what happened to him.
What seems like a lovely dance turns into a harsh speech about how Lily won’t engage in the real fun of the party, enjoying the compelled party guests, because she’s afraid she’ll go too far. He finds it absurd that she still holds out hope that Stefan and Damon will join them as one big, happy family but that won’t ever happen. Her hopes are causing unwanted friction and she needs to accept the love that surrounds her instead. Knowing she’s a ripper, he encourages her to drink from a guest and she obliges, only to quickly back out when she sees Damon walk in.
Lily runs down the white steps out front to a stoic Damon. She reminds him that the plan was to remain inconspicuous; she had no choice but to feed. He doesn’t buy it and postpones the plan. Desperately, Lily reaches for him and says that she can’t spend another moment with him. “Julian dies tonight,” he says finally. The two exchange heated words that result in Lily slapping him. It’s clear that no matter what happens, Damon will never forgive Lily for leaving them and allowing them to believe her dead for so long.
Nora finds Mary-Louise surrounded by flowers by the lake, each bearing the gift they were given to sway them. Nora accepts Mary-Louise’s proposal and as the two rejoice, Valerie offers her congratulations. The girls are shocked that she would even show her face during the best moment of their lives. “We need to talk about the worst moment of mine,” she says.
At the Grille, Matt finds Enzo feeding on someone and asks what his problem is. Enzo is still clearly reeling from the encounter with Lily and Matt’s extra sassiness clearly isn’t helping the situation. He walks out of the grill and is shot with vervaine by a group of men clad in black. As the rain soaks the ground, he’s tossed into the back of a black truck and driven off. Who are these people and how did they know Enzo was a vampire? Moreover, why are they looking for vampires?
Valerie and the girls are joined in the greenhouse by Beau as he needs to hear the story as well. The girls suggest waiting for Julian, but Lily says he won’t be joining them. As he feeds on a helpless woman in the house, Stefan and Damon corner him. Valerie tells the group the truth as Julian asks what they’re doing there. The heretics refuse to believe Valerie, but Lily tells them that she would have never fled to Europe and abandoned her grandchild, something Julian knew. It was a calculated move and when Valerie took her own life, she became the first heretic. Julian saw the power of being a witch/vampire hybrid and created an army masked as a family. They ask Lily if it were true and although they’re shocked, Nora points out that they need to stick together.
Lily sits down and asks Beau to hold her hand. She’s bracing herself for the pain her sons are about to inflict on who she thought was the love of her life. When a dart hits his neck, Lily’s head rocks back and her neck starts to bleed. Mary-Louise points out that she’s bleeding and she says, “It’s only going to get worse.”
Stefan meets Lily outside to tell her that Damon is tying Julian up and that he has the dart with his blood on it. In a bit of a twist, he chooses that moment to confide in someone, strangely his mother, about the news of Caroline’s pregnancy. Like everyone else, Lily is confused as to how that’s possible but assumes he’s overwhelmed. He knows he didn’t handle it well, so he asks for advice. She gives sweet advice on making sure Caroline is okay and to understand what she’s going through, but she doesn’t think she’s the best person to be asking. Staring at the ground rather than her son, she says that so much time has been lost that she doesn’t know where to go after Julian. It’s clear that the two want to mend fences, especially with Damon.
A pinball whizzes across the board as Julian tries to egg Damon on. If he kills him now, Valerie points out as she walks in to hear these taunts, he’ll always be the man who killed his own mother. The shiny veneer that Julian had plastered on is clearly gone and references the unborn child. Valerie spits in his face as Mary-Louise comes in. Damon asks if she broke the bond yet, but she remains skeptical about the validity of Valerie’s ill-fated pregnancy. Before she can hear another word, she spells Damon and snaps Valerie’s neck. A tear rolls down her cheek as Julian laughs in the background. Is she upset about what she did or is she too confused to know what the right thing is to do?
Stefan calls Caroline to apologize for his behavior earlier in the day. Instead of saying anything or, more specifically, the wrong thing, he chose to say nothing and bailed. Of course Caroline is understanding and allows him a reprieve should this prove to be too much for him. Ever the white knight, Stefan reminds her he’s not going anywhere because he loves her. Did you read that? He loves her! He finally said it! In the midst of a very intense episode, their relationship proves to be a sweet spot.
The camera sweeps across the grand staircase as Nora chases Mary-Louise down the steps. When she catches up to her, she asks Mary-Louise why she’s been crying. Lily walks in to discover why. Julian has been set free and Damon and Valerie now sit chained and unconscious. He says he can’t let them go because he loves her and their family too much to let the cycle continue. Between the two chained, one can live and one must die; their fates are up to Lily. It’s time she understood the pain she’s put them all through. It’s time she chooses to be a Salvatore or a member of their family. She can no longer be both. He hands her a stake and demands that she choose.
Nora doesn’t understand the choice that Mary-Louise has made in helping Julian, but Mary-Louise stands firm. She thinks that Valerie is lying based on her previous lies and doesn’t understand why Nora won’t side with him. Nora doesn’t understand how she could side with someone who not only did that to Lily, but who stole the life of a child from its mother. It’s clear that Mary-Louise is on the wrong side and Nora removes the ring that doesn’t stand for their love but for the manipulation of Julian and quickly exits.
Lily tries to bring Julian back, to remind him that it was the shock of no longer being in that hell he was placed in that is making him this way. Damon stops them all and says she needs to stab him already. She chose the heretics before, so why wouldn’t she do it again? Lily walks over to Valerie and strokes her hair while saying she’s sorry she didn’t see how strong she was sooner. She asks for Damon’s forgiveness and turns to Julian to say that he was wrong, she can have them both. He doesn’t know what she means until she stabs herself in the chest, not knowing that they’re unlinked. Julian flees as the others rush in.
Enzo awakens in a dark cell. Matt opens the door and reveals that he knew he couldn’t protect Mystic Falls on his own, so he made some friends and slams the door. Nora flails over Lily as she tries to fix the wound, but she can’t. One by one, the group says their goodbyes. When Stefan sits down, she reminds him to use all of his time the right way. Julian smashes everything in his path as Mary-Louise walks in and asks what’s wrong. She realizes that it’s partially her fault that this is happening as she unlinked them.
Valerie says her goodbye and demands Damon make the most of Lily’s last moments. Lily sincerely apologizes to him and all he can do is stare. Instead of letting go of everything that has happened between them, Damon is cruel as her skin turns gray. Three years from now, Lily begins to release Damon from his chains and stops. She can’t save him. He’s been poisoned with werewolf toxin. It’s then that he apologizes to her.
But it’s not Lily! Of course it’s not! She just died. How could she have come back to life? He realizes it’s not her and sees a blurry image of this villain before she kicks him square in the face. So, if it’s not Lily, WHO IS IT THEN?
Will we find out who the mystery woman is in next week’s mid-season, Christmas-themed finale? Or will we be stuck mulling it over until new episodes return in the new year?
