Mind.Blown and Surprised. Those are the only words which come to mind immediately following the conclusion of
The Vampire Diaries Season 7 Episode 6. That was one intense hour of TVD! Where do we even begin trying to break down everything that just transpired...Oh, right. The beginning.
Caroline and Alaric end up together in the future. I'm sure the flash forward where Alaric and Caroline are engaged has something to do with the final moments of the show where Valerie helped them figure out that Caroline is carrying Jo and Alaric's babies, but you guys, this is huge.
Some fans are going to hate this development all around, and to that I say wait and see. There's still plenty of story left to tell.
Knowing that Caroline and Alaric are together in the future doesn't mean that Stefan and Caroline aren't still end game. They're both still vampires, remember? There's still time for the time line to catch up, Alaric to die tragically trying to save his daughter and fiancee, and Stefan and Caroline to ride off into the Gemini Coven sunset raising the kids they've both always wanted because they're immortal. Right? Right.
I mean, that could totally happen. Yes, yes, Alaric killed Bill Forbes, Caroline's father, but Alaric was Alt-laric when he did that, having been taken over by the forces inside the Gilbert ring after dying and returning to life one too many times. Bygones, you know?
It's sort of weird to think about Caroline and Alaric being together romantically since he's always been a teacher-ish figure to her, but I'm willing to see where this goes. It makes sense that something about the pregnancy might somehow change the dynamic of their relationship.
Now about that surprise pregnancy..
Any time an actor is pregnant in real life, things get weird on screen. There are only so many flowy tops and giant bags and close-up shots one character can handle before it's obvious that something is going on. I'm never opposed to writers choosing to work with a real-world pregnancy and figure out how to fit it into the show because I think it can usually be done and well.
Maybe the character becomes pregnant. Maybe the character becomes a surrogate, much like Caroline's doing now. Either way, I'm totally okay with this. At least it's not a weird retcon where vampires can't get pregnant but something within Stefan and Caroline's DNA makes it possible. It also provided a nice angle for Valerie to be the one to suss out this information for Alaric. She was instantly moved when she learned that Alaric's wife died while pregnant, and from that place came her desire to help this man she just met find out about his family. She does have a heart, and as much as I don't want to, I sort of like her.
Alaric saying goodbye to Jo/Florence goes down as one of the single-most heartbreaking moments in TVD history for me. This man cannot find happiness in love and relationships and it is devastating. Matt Davis wins MVP for those tears tonight.
Now, to change gears entirely, let's jump to that peace party of Lily's.
It's always great to see a party in Mystic Falls, and I'll give Lily some props for trying to create a world where all of her children can peacefully co-exist with humans. She's trying really hard to do the whole "blend in" thing instead of that whole "ripper" thing that got her into so much trouble. Kudos.
She has no control over her family, Julian, her hormones, or herself. And who in that house is compelling randoms to go and sit in a Mystic Falls High School classroom hooked up to an IV? It has to be one of the Heretics, doesn't it? And how is this related to the weird X on Julian's chest and Beau's neck? And on Stefan's chest in the future?
Somebody has to be changing those IV bags, right? So creepy.
Stefan went into the party with one mission: kill Julian. Damon stopped him almost every step of the way and left the party a little beaten up and actually hating the man his mother supposedly loves. Prior to that scene in the kitchen (and learning about Stefan's reasons for hating Julian), Damon only wanted to kill him to get to Lily, which is reason enough considering her hand in Elena's slumber party.
Hearing Julian refer to them both as "son" in the tone of Giuseppe Salvatore? Oh man. It's on.
Julian is not a good man, and coming back from 100 years inside the Phoenix Stone has made him worse. I really want to know what it is he hopes Beau will find in Oscar's car, but what I want more than that is for Lily to learn just what kind of monster he really is.
Aside from Damon deciding to kill Julian on Stefan's timeline instead of his own after learning that his brother could've been a father, the second best thing to come out of the party was Bonnie and Enzo.
Those two are sizzling right now and it. is. wonderful. I never, ever pictured them together before, but now that I've seen the future, I'm all in.
