‘The Vampire Diaries’ 4.15 Episode Recap And Review: Stand By Me

Totally speechless. Not only did this weeks heart-wrenching episode of the Vampire Diaries show off some of the cast’s best performances, but it also brought in some intense game changers. While Silas is on the loose, the gang tries to deal with Jeremy’s (Steven McQueen) death. Denial at its finest.

The waiting game. Stefan (Paul Wesley) is the first to realize that Jeremy’s ring won’t be able to bring him back (seeing as he’s apart of The Five AKA a supernatural being). After telling this to Damon (Ian Somerhalder) they both decide that it’s best not to break the news to Elena (Nina Dobrev) just yet. Damon decides to stay behind on the island with Rebekah (Claire Holt) to look for Bonnie (Kat Graham), because she’s really their only hope in bringing Jerbear back. While they’re stuck on the island with a hunter and Silas, Stefan and Elena decide to bring Jeremy back to the Gilbert house and a stunned Caroline (Candice Accola). As time runs on, hope is wearing thin. Jeremy begins to decompose, but Elena still won’t accept the fact that he’s gone. Stefan, for some odd reason, felt that bringing Dr. Fell (Torrey Devitto) in to the Gilbert house to provide a medical opinion was a good idea. After pretty much telling Elena to make funeral plans, Dr. Fell ends up in a pretty dangerous position. Angry, grief stricken vampire and bad news does not mix! If all this wasn’t enough, Matt (Zach Roerig) joins the chaos.

Matt and Elena scenes are always my favorite. When Matt entered the room and saw Jeremy’s dead body, I couldn’t help but cry. Zach Roerig is a gem. He didn’t say a single word, and yet he portrayed a loss of true friendship in a matter of moments. Matt and Elena go off and discuss hope and tea, while Bonnie comes to terms with Jeremy being gone. Already in a vulnerable state, ‘Shane’ decides to take advantage of Bonnie and convince her to go along with killing twelve innocents. Once she returns to Mystic Falls with Damon, everyone can pretty much agree that she’s gone batshit crazy. Rambling on, she tries to convince her friends that by killing twelve people and performing a spell, she can bring back all of their lost loved ones… But with a price. By performing this spell she will not only bring back Jeremy, but she will also bring back every supernatural creature that has ever died. Major plot twist. With this shocking revelation, Elena finally cracks. To be honest, I could not believe how powerful this scene was. Nina Dobrev dominated and literally had me sobbing. As she’s breaking down on the floor, Stefan urges Damon to use his sire bond to help Elena, but what he does surprised us all. Damon tells Elena to turn off her humanity. This might very well be the best decision the TVD writers have made this season. Let’s face it, Elena has been a little unbearable this season, and it’ll be nice to see her unleash her fun side, as well as channel a bit of Katherine. Honestly, I cannot wait to see this unfold!

Lastly, the audience was left with one more surprise! Before, Vaughn brought up an excellent point stating that no one knows what Silas looks like… Well, now we have a bit of an idea. After Rebekah remained on the island, she ended up tripping over a body… Shane’s body. The audience was led to believe that Silas had healed him, but that’s definitely not the case anymore. My guess is that Silas has the ability to manipulate minds into seeing whatever he wants them to see. Or maybe he can change his appearance… I guess we won’t know until TVD returns after the hiatus!

This has to be one of the most well written, tear-jerking, fantastic episodes this season. Nina Dobrev delivered one of her best performances, there were so many amazing twists, and we got a slight idea of how power Silas really is. ‘Stand by Me’ made me grab my chest and sob, as well as had me jumping out of my seat! This is exactly what made me fall in love with TVD in the first place!

Rating:
A++++++++++

Questions:

  • Elena with her humanity turned off! Like the idea, or dreading it?
  • It’s obvious that the Shane with Bonnie isn’t the real Shane… Can Silas change his appearance?

Responses

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *