Vampire Diaries Recap EP308 “Ordinary People”. It’s All About Family.

We are just ONE episode away from the horrid mid-season finale (which I have no idea why the 9th episode of a 22 episode season would be a mid-season finale, but okay). How many of you, like me, were super excited for this episode? It wasn’t as great as I hoped it would be, but, as usual, I had major mythology boners! (Sorry, it was necessary). There was SO MUCH information jam-packed into this episode, my brain started smoking just trying to keep up with it. I do have to say, it was very well done!

Previously on The Vampire Diaries: Klaus made Stefan into a careless bloodaholic again and it wasn’t pretty. The necklace has magical powers and the Original Witch is basically a bamf. Katherine found Mikael and no one likes him because he might have killed her (show me the body!). Uncle Mason found some Viking script that seems pretty important and Alaric took credit for it. Rude.

Alaric, Elena, and Damon. In the cave. Guys, I am so glad Alaric is actually getting to do stuff in this episode! It was so refreshing to have useful characters for once! Plus, it seems like Alaric hasn’t fully made up with Damon, yet. Score! “The Lockwood Diaries: Pictionary Style”. (Ha, get it? “Vampire Diaries”? “Lockwood Diaries”? No? Yesh. Tough crowd). It’s times like these were I enjoy Damon talking. Doesn’t happen very often, so I tend to indulge in the moment.

Anyway, what we seemed to get from the caveman drawings, is that the Lockwood werewolves have been around basically since the Originals have. They’ve been native to Mystic Falls, so they lied to us when they told us the Lockwoods came with the original settlers. (I’m convinced the writers change stuff around to their convenience, but I’m not arguing. It’s a flashback episode and had major mythology stuff). Also, the names written on the wall- Niklaus, Rebekah, Elijah- were acting written in Viking script.

YES. This show wastes no time! Diving right into the flashbacks with Rebekah and Klaus. Turns out, Rebekah was the one to write their names on the cave. (I doubt this is even a language, too). Look at that hair. Why would anyone have that much hair, that long ago, when air conditioning wasn’t invented yet? These are the things I worry about. Anyway, “father” would not approve of Rebekah wielding a blade. She don’t curr’. Plus, it worries me that anyone would frighten Klaus. He must be some big bad to give the one and only Klaus the creeps. Rebekah is rude. But I love her.

Alaric must feel so happy and useful. Just look at his face when he explains the cave drawings have been there long before the founders got there, or the world, basically. Okay. Ric found one last name, which pretty confirmed this wasn’t some prank Klaus was playing on them (I personally would have found that hilarious): Mikael. Aaaannd, wait for it, Mikael is also Papa Original! Everyone on twitter now tweets: “I CALLED IT”. I was one of those people.

Back at the BatCave, Alaric tries to dig deeper into what all of these caveman drawings mean. While Ric was doing that, Damon was giving Elena more vampire slayer training. She majorly needs some practice, by the way. Thank the lord Ric did not follow Jeremy’s example of using Bing for practically everything (remember that one time where he went on a vampchat to find out how to kill a vampire? Good times). Elena decides to hassle Rebekah for some answers instead. The Gilbert family just loves getting themselves in trouble, or killed. Ya know.

Elena doesn’t waste any time either. She gets right into asking Rebekah about her past, the cave stuff, why Mikael wants to kill Klaus. Rebekah refuses to tell her anything, really, and she goes back to cheerleading practice.

YAY. More flashbacks! This is great. ELIJAH. And Klaus sword fighting. Sword. Fighting. And look at Elijah’s beauty of hair! It’s great to see these two just playing around, having a good time. But Grumpy over there does not approve of fun times. Especially since the Klaus we’ve come to know is not at all this playful. Well, not in an innocent “let’s play with swords” type of way, but more of a “let’s drain these people’s blood and kill everyone else” type of fun. Also, Papa Original is a MAJOR jerk. (But, Sebastian Roche kicks butt!)

More of Ric being useful! Yay!

Elena knows how to handle these Original folk. Surprisingly, she has good plans in this episode.

Aw, look at Damon visiting his bro. I bet Elena sent him. Anyway, the witty banter here is great. I’ve said it before, I love the old, good boy Stefan, but this ripper guy is freaking awesome, too. I nearly choked when Stefan made fun of Elena’s usual horrible plans. “Actually, this is my happy face”. At this point, I did choke. So, now, basically, Lexi’s whole de-douchify Stefan plan was a totally waste thanks to Damon, who just let his brother go free. (Hoping this sets up a new window for Lexi to come back again! I really miss her. Doubt it, though). Elena’s not going to be happy. Stefan didn’t seem too excited to be unchained, either.

Rebekah is the greatest you guys! Who even compels other women to try on homecoming dress options for her own runway? She’s my fav, y’all. Totally Team Rebekah. She has not about to just stand there and take Elena’s sassiness so she threatened to bite one of them. So funny how Elena just gave up and was sort of worried at the same time for this poor girl and said, “The red one!”. Awesome. “You will learn what I allow you to learn”. Also awesome.

Hey! It’s Bonnie! She went over to Ric’s home/gym to hand over the necklace that never dies. This is pretty much the only time we see Bonnie. Dang. But Alaric was so nice and sweet here. Never mind, he basically cut off the pep talk to tell us that the symbol on the necklace and on the wall means witch. Rude. I could have figured that out.

Highly amusing that Rebekah decides to go through Stefan’s undies, but very weird and bothersome that she’s even in his room. The only lady that should go in there should really just be Elena. Just like the only guy that should go in Elena’s room is Stefan. (Ahem, spoiler for later. Not about Stefan, though. I know, it’s a shame). And Stefan wears boxer briefs, FYI. Elena’s a party pooper and just wants more flashbacks. So, getting right into more mythology stuff, Rebekah’s homeland was struck with a plague so they had to move somewhere else to survive. They already lost a child from the plague. So, Rebekah’s mother knew a witch, Ayanna, who invited them to come live in the not yet discovered land of the America’s. And they lived among the friendly neighborhood werewolves. They lived in peace with them for about 20 years, in that time, their family grew.

FLASHBACK. Here’s the first time we see the necklace. Apparently, it can zap people! So, once a month, they would go into the caves for the night to keep away from the werewolves until morning came. But Klaus and his little bro, Henrick, snuck out to go watch them turn, and the poor kid came back dead. Klaus’ hair looks dirty. Didn’t they have rivers back then? Go wash that, boy!

And that, was the last time any of them would be human. I sort of thought the Original family had more family members. I swear I remember Elijah saying there was about nine of them, including him and Klaus. Or maybe it was seven. (Esther, Mikael, Henrick, Elijah, Rebekah, Klaus… ? That little boy that died in the plague…? I’m confused).

Damon took Stefan to a bar. Told you Elena would be mad, or just a little upset and give up. Damon offers Stefan a drink from the bartender. Scandalous! “No catch, brother. Drink up! It’s on me”. I miss the brother scenes. So much.

Damon and Stefan are playing coins! Never play coins with Stefan. You’ll for sure end up vomiting in an hour or so. But anyway, he has an awesome little monologue here. “Well the bunny diet gave me a lot of time to practice. Wallow in dispair, drown in guilt, regret my existence. It’s precision born out of tragic boredom. Drink up, brother.” He’s the greatest. If Damon’s way of bringing Stefan back from his dark works faster than Lexi’s plan, I’m gonna be a little bit upset. Only because Lexi is my favorite and her plan makes sense to me, actually. Anyway, Damon is right though. “Actually, I happen to like the edge, Stefan. Your problem is your inability to resist falling over it.” He should really check into a rehab center.

Back in Stefan’s room, a small argument of who knows their ex-boyfriend better was held. Rebekah was quickly put in her place. Elena has been so sassy in this episode, I like it! She should really be like this all the time. It’s the greatest. Along with Ponytail Elena. Rebekah somewhat almost begs for her to listen to the rest of her story. It’s a bit sad. I’ll be your friend, Rebekah. Anyway, she continues her story saying the necklace belonged to the Original Witch, and she was the one who turned them all into vampires.

FLASHBACK. (Mythology boner). Mikael and Esther are asking Ayanna to help them. To make the stronger against the werewolves. But she refuses to help them. To them, vampirism was a means of protection. Since Mikael didn’t want to run from the wolves anymore, he’d much rather stay, become a vampire, and fight back. Survival of the fittest, basically. “Where they could bite, we had to bite harder. Where they had speed, we had to be faster. Agility. Strength. Senses.” In the flashback, Ayanna warns them that they’ll be consequences. There always is. “This is the makings of a plague, Esther. The spirits will turn on you.” She is so on point. But little did we know, Mama Original IS the Original Witch. Play on words! We ALL looked just as dumbfounded as Elena did. (At this moment, most of us tweeted “I CALLED THAT TOO.” I did, too).

**Here’s another reminder to go to the CW’s website and have some fun playing The Vampire Diaries Stakeout! Seriously, it’s super cool and distracting.**

More mythology! A witch is a servant of nature, and a vampire is an abomination to nature. So, it can either be one or the other. Never both. Mama Original remained a witch. And, the answer to the question we’ve been asking since mid-season 2, how did the Originals become vampires. Esther called on the sun for life, and the ancient white oak tree for immortality. Later that night, (back then), Mikael offered them wine that was laced with blood. Then, he basically just killed them. According to Rebecca, he was not a gentle person.

FLASHBACK. Klaus and Rebecca awaken, and Mikael comes in. He makes both of them drink from some girl he brought in to complete the process. Rebekah immediately liked it, but there were consequences. For every strength, there was a weakness. The sun was used to give them life, it now became their enemy. Their mother was the one who came up with the ring idea to keep the sun from burning them alive, too. Who would have thought, all of this was all Mama Original. Neighbors that have opened their homes to them, could keep them out. Hence needing to be invited in. The flowers that grew at the base of the white oak tree burned them, and prevented compulsion. Now we know where vervain came from! Plus, the white oak tree, that originally gave them life, can also take it away. So the only rational thing to do was to burn it down. And then there was that whole drinking problem. Since blood was what made them reborn (we should all know the process by now, but, you’re fed blood, you die, you awake, you fed again to complete the transition), it was blood that kept them alive, and what they craved the most. Now, with ALL of that, the vampires were born! Whew! That’s a lot of info!

At the mystery bar, Damon and Stefan were having some great bonding time. Damon was dancing on the bar while Stefan was busy having himself a big snack. Some lady was quite appalled by it. “Thought you could use a hug, Stefan”. He does. He kind of sucks. He’s whipped. And BAM. Guess who showed up. Mikael! “The Salvatore boys, I presume”. How did he even know about that bar? Where is that place? Where do the producers find these places? Okay.

Jesus. Christ. MORE mythology stuff! My brain hurts. I need a break. Now, Elena asks why Mikael is hunting Klaus an Rebekah says it was when he made his first human kill, which triggered his werewolf gene. Klaus became their father’s greatest shame. Dang. Tough love. Anyway, we all know what happened after that part. Esther had an affair with one of the werewolf neighbors and Klaus was never really Mikael’s son. Esther put the hybrid curse on him to surpress his werewolf side. As a human, Mikael’s greatest weakness was his pride. So, when he heard the news, he killed most of the village, and then killed their mother. Whoa. After that, everyone just scattered, and Rebekah stayed back to bury her, along with Klaus and Elijah. Then they made a pact to stick together forever. The Three Muskateers. “We’re vampires. Our emotions are heightened. I’m stubborn. Elijah moral. And Nik… Nik has no tolerance for those who disappoint him. Over a thousand years as a family, we’ve all made that mistake at least once. I’ve made it seven times”. “But, you still love him?” “He’s my brother. And I’m immortal. Should I spend an eternity alone instead?” In the end, through the nitty gritty, it all comes down to family. Family is what kept them together. Family is what keeps them together and family is what will continue to keep them together. No matter what is said or done against them, they’ll forgive each other, eventually, because they’re family, and they really don’t have anyone else. It’ll always come down to family. I guess that’s why Elijah never did kill Klaus in last season’s finale.

At the bar, Mikael asks Stefan a bunch of questions that he can’t answer. So, he finds a way around that by using Damon. He literally has a hold on Damon’s heart, and will rip it out if he doesn’t hear something nice. And I guess this scene is a big deal since Stefan is compelled to not say anything about Klaus, so he finds a way around that to save Damon. I honestly was hoping Stefan wouldn’t say anything. But that never happens. Stefan tells Mikael that he’ll lure Klaus into town again, somehow. Good luck with that. Y’all know Klaus is a chicken. And no one in Mystic Falls ever sees anything that happens right in their face. What. Also, this is about the 5th time this season Stefan saves Damon. I have for sure counted this, but it’s very high for a possible span of about two weeks in TVD time.

Now Ric, Elena, and Bonnie are in the cave again. Alaric must have been really bored to make more sticky notes for the cave wall. Poor guy. He never had anything to do before this anyway. Don’t tell me that Elena just figured out some life altering meaning in one of these drawings. Did she? What parallel universe did I just fall into? Elena is smart y’all. She’s been useful, too. But, wait, if Rebekah was the one who wrote their names on the wall, who came back to draw the rest of this stuff? What the hell Vampire Diaries? Think like the fandom! Answer the other less important questions. It’ll help me sleep better.

Rebekah is so tired of Elena. She’s so blunt. But Rebekah was kind of naive about this one part of the story. “How do you know?” “I done heard it from someone who may or may not have been there. It’s cool though. I hate my daddy anyway”. Not the exact words but basically. Klaus lied to Rebekah and it was actually him that killed Esther. The hybrid killed the Original Witch. I guess Klaus hated her so much for putting the curse on him and leaving him to be the only one of his kind, that he killed her and devoted his entire life to breaking the curse. Rebekah was super upset about this; she almost killed Elena. I might have almost been okay with it. Then, she backed off and fell into tears. Poor child. Klaus sucks. Points for Clair Holt for making me cry.

Outside the bar, maybe, Damon was mocking Stefan on his “breakthrough”, but Stefan continued to deny any of that. And again, Stefan wanted to know why Damon was doing all of this. Trying to bring him back. AND, FINALLY, Damon says it’s because of him that Stefan is even in that mess with Klaus. That he owes him, basically, his life. Lord Jesus, the heavens have opened and Damon has seen the light! Thank you! It’s about time he realizes that his brother is the reason that he is alive and able. And then Stefan gets a bit of a beating. He kind of deserved that. He’s been a huge jerk, even though I’ve enjoyed every second of it. (And, to think I was super worried last season finale that I was not going enjoy any of this Ripper storyline!)

Elena’s so rude. She left Rebekah alone to ugly cry by herself without even offering a hug? That hoe! Rude!

Later that night, Elena wanted to get some much needed rest after a day filled with sassiness and mythology, only to fine that fool, Damon, in her bed yet again. He basically just tells her the plan is in motion, and she says that she might have gotten Rebekah on their side. Rebekah and Elena have just about the same life. Sort of. Not really. It made sense in my head! “When it’s all set and done, there’s nothing more important than the bond of family”. She goes on to tell Damon that he will be the one to save Stefan. Not because Stefan loves Elena, but more because Stefan loves Damon. Despite my original instincts with Damon and Elena scenes, I actually liked this one. Everything Elena said was true. This show was originally about the brothers, and we’ve strayed away from it for far too long. And, you know what, I really do hope Damon brings Stefan back, somehow.

Next week: HOMECOMING! Then, hiatus. Boo!

It should be obvious who MVP this week belongs to. And, if it isn’t, the award goes to Claire Holt! Her performance was phenomenal, honestly. She had the most work load this week, doing flashback voiceover, telling the Original story, tears and more tears. When Elena told Rebekah it was actually Klaus that killed her mother, that scene just broke me. I thought I would get a free pass on crying this week, flashback/mythology episode and all, but nope. She pulled the rug out from under me and forced me to grab a tissue. I hope she sticks around some more. She’s great. (Also, non-TVD related, I’m hoping she does something on Pretty Little Liars, but that show is almost done filming. Boo!)

Screencaps: VampireDiariesWeb