The Vampire Diaries 7×11 “Things We Lost in the Fire” REVIEW

The Salvatore Brothers Live in Their Own Hell on Earth!

On this week’s episode of The Vampire Diaries 7×11 titled. “Things We Lost in the Fire,” both the Salvatore Brothers continue to suffer the aftereffects of the Phoenix Stone. This week picks up right where we left off last week with Damon’s (Ian Somerhalder) attack on Stefan (Paul Wesley), Bonnie (Kat Graham), Caroline (Candice King) and Matt (Zach Roerig) thinking he is still trapped inside the Phoenix Stone. Damon realizes what he’s done and gives Matt and Bonnie his blood to heal them. Caroline comes to and vervains Damon to prevent him from harming anyone else. He wakes to find himself chained up inside the Lockwood Mansion and is surprised to hear Stefan understands what happened instead of a usual lecture about his behavior. Before freeing him, Stefan shares how the lasting effects from the Hellstone ruined he and Caroline’s first official date. Stefan then agrees to free Damon as long as he stays with him, but Damon fails to reveal that he’s still seeing Henry (Evan Gamble).

In an effort to to help Damon get re-acclimated to Mystic Falls since Julian (Todd Lasance) took over, Stefan and Damon head to the Mystic Grill. Outside Damon sees Henry again and tries to make him go away, but ends up killing one of Julian’s pals instead. This convinces Damon he needs to see Elena (Nina Dobrev) and insists Tyler (Michael Trevino) take him to where he hid her to keep her safe.  And while Stefan believes his brother is still with him, he continues to share his sufferings from the Phoenix Stone including how he even almost burned Damon’s body to make the hallucinations of him go away, He doesn’t realize he’s hallucinating again until an angry Julian confronts him about Damon killing his friend. In a panic to find his brother, Stefan rushes to Caroline’s baby shower to see if Damon has been. Almost everyone attends. Even Tyler returns for the bash and Bonnie invites Nora (Scarlett Byrne), There Stefan reveals it’s happening again and Caroline persuades him to tell her how he made them go away before. He confesses that he had to let his brother go, so he could truly be happy.

Meanwhile, Matt gets pulled over on his way home from the baby shower by a neighboring sheriff for driving erratically. He ends up in the drunk tank and some explaining to do about the arsenal of vampire hunting weapons found in his truck. Elsewhere, Tyler takes Damon to see Elena, but instead of her being inside the coffin. Damon sees Henry instead. He then believes Tyler pulls a gun on him and in a fit of rage, Damon slams Tyler’s head off the pavement. Determined to rid himself of Henry for good, Damon grabs a can of gasoline and sets Henry on fire, who he then thinks is Elena when Henry reappears behind him. Destroyed by his actions, Damon returns home and cannot even admit to Stefan what happened even after he just revealed he will never give up on him. And in this week’s three-year flash forward, we finally see Matt. He rescues Caroline at the news station in Dallas but also reveals he’s no longer helping his vampire friends. Such much happened in this week’s episode. Let’s not waste any more time and start discussing.

“Oh No, He Didn’t!” Or Did He?

Ian Somerhalder is great as Damon this week and does a fantastic job conveying to viewers the torment he is facing from being trapped inside the Phoenix Stone. As soon as he realizes he’s no longer instead the stone, the audience can see just how distraught he is that he harmed potentially killed his friends, especially humans Matt and Bonnie. His eyes are wide with fear as he looks around slowly in disbelief at what he’s done thinking he was still trapped in the Phoenix Stone in his own personal hell. We can see the exact moment reality hits Damon because panic sets in and he scrambles to heal Matt and then Bonnie with his blood and pleads for them to be alright. Throughout the episode, Damon is haunted by images of his buddy from his service in the Civil War, Henry, and viewers can see how much his reappearance is messing with his head. He wants so badly to rid himself of Henry that he goes a far to rip out the heart of an undeserving friend of Julian believing he;’s killing Henry instead. Damon’s face conveys to the audience just how much frightened he is that he’s losing his grip on reality,

“I promised you liberation. This was necessary, Damon. She held you back from being the monster you really are.”- Henry.

Damon’s convinced that if he just sees Elena everything will be ok because seeing her or the thought of seeing her again has always gotten him through tough times. But instead giving Damon the peace of mind viewers can see he desperately needs, it isn’t Elena that he sees inside the coffin. His expression quickly turns conveying complete anger to open Elena’s coffin and find Henry inside. He takes a slight step back with widened eyes and turns around hastily when he hears Tyler point a gun at him. The audience can see Damon’s reached his breaking point. Not only does he attack Tyler and slam his head off the pavement repeatedly, he pours gasoline on Elena’s coffin and sets it on fire thinking he is burning Henry. The audience’s can’t help but sympathize with Damon when Henry reappears behind him and he realizes it’s Elena in the coffin that he just set ablaze. His expression is heartbreaking. Damon’s eyes convey the anguish he’s feeling seeing the love of his life burning right in front of his eyes and being unable to save. His body language looks completely defeated. And worst of all it’s at his own doing. Damon’s entire demeanor illustrates to viewers just how crushed he is in this moment. And then back at the Lockwood Mansion when he’s sitting in front of the fire, he looks completely detached. His eyes are desolate and expression melancholy. Even when Stefan assures him no matter he does, he’ll always be there for him, Damon almost appears unphased. Viewers see he can’t even muster the courage to tell him the horrible thing he just did. Ian Somerhalder is phenomenal this week taking viewers through Damon’s struggle in the episode. Bravo!

Everyday He’s Strugglin’

Damon isn’t the only Salvatore that struggles with his grip on reality this week. Stefan also continues to suffer lasting effects from his time spent inside the Phoenix Stone. Paul Wesley does a great job illustrating the emotional journey Stefan faces in this week’s episode. When he shares with Damon about the trouble he encountered on he and Caroline’s first official date, the audience can easily see Stefan is not doing as well as he tries trying to put forth. As Caroline tells him a story, Stefan’s eyes turn from light and carefree to anxious as he begins to hallucinate. Showing just how much distress Stefan is in, his body tenses and fingers tremble as he attempts to make it through without Caroline noticing. Again when Stefan sits in his car outside the Grill and he believes he’s sharing another story with Damon about when he returned home from inside the Phoenix Stone, viewers can see the psychological torture he’s endured. In the memory as Stefan sleep on the couch, it’s obvious he isn’t sleeping soundly. His expression is distraught and then when he sees Damon again, he quickly becomes agitated. Afraid that Caroline is in harm’s way, he demands that she leave for her safety. Viewers can sense his fear from his tone of voice and his body language is rigid as if he’s ready for a fight. Stefan even goes as far as to hurl a vase at Damon thinking he is protecting Caroline.

“But you’re also my brother and I am not going to give up on you. Not now, not ever. You’re stuck with me, Damon. I need you to know that.” – Stefan.

At the Lockwood Mansion when Stefan approaches his brother, who is blankly staring into the fire, really tugs at viewers’ heartstrings., It’s evident to Stefan that Damon is struggling and is so sincere when he assures him that he will always be there for him. Stefan’s eyes are caring and compassionate while his expression is completely serious, but soft conveying how much he loves his brother and will always love him unconditionally. The audience can’t help but feel some type of way about a brother bonding moment between the Salvatore brothers. Paul Wesley is wonderful this week and really brings Stefan’s journey to life in the episode.

Wait. What?!?!

Each episode throughout season seven features a three-year flash forward that gives viewers a new piece to the puzzle of where each character is in the future. After worrying for weeks the fate of Mystic Falls’ beloved Matt Donovan and the show’s last remaining human, viewers minds are finally put at ease this week. While this week waited to save the flash forward until last, it definitely drops a bomb on viewers regarding Matt’s mindset in the future. It’s no secret Matt has struggled with his relationship with the supernatural over the years, but when push comes to shove he’s always had the back of his friends. Ultimately, Matt still seems to be looking out for Caroline, but for some reason, he no longer has Stefan’s back. In fact, Matt goes as far as to say he hopes the huntress looking for Stefan finds and kills him. Whoa Matt! But the audience can’t totally turn anti-Matt from his ill will towards the younger Salvatore. In fact, viewers can’t help but feel somewhat bad for Matt because he mentions he had a girlfriend and a family. Poor Matty Blue Eyes. The audience can’t help but wonder what happened to his girlfriend and family and if and Stefan had to do with it that would turn Matt against him. Another question the flash forward raises is if Matt is the reason behind why no one can return to home to Mystic Falls.

This week’s flash-forward isn’t the only tease heightening viewers’ interest in the upcoming episodes. We learn a little bit more about the mysterious huntress after Stefan in the future. Nora finds a card with a cryptic red ‘X’ at Caroline and Alaric’s baby shower and presumes it’s some type of sick joke, so she questions Bonnie about it. Through this conversation viewers learn a few more details about the mythology surrounding the Phoenix Stone and why the huntress is searching for Stefan. Nora reveals the huntress’ ties to the Phoenix Stone and how she searches for those that have been trapped inside it giving the audience an ‘Aha Moment’ of sorts. It raises even more questions as to why the huntress is only after Stefan and not Damon. Whatever could he have done or, more importantly, how is Stefan going to escape the wrath of this mysterious new vampire huntress? Guess only time will tell.

FINAL VERDICT:

The eleventh episode of The Vampire Diaries season seven, ““Things We Lost in the Fire”” centers around the psychological torment the Salvatores endure after being trapped inside the Phoenix Stone. Melinda Hsu Taylor penned an episode that keeps viewers on their toes throughout the an episode as we try to determine what’s being seen is an actual event or all in either Damon or Stefan’s head.  Taylor offers a unique way to show viewers how Stefan has struggled after returning from inside the Phoenix Stone through him sharing his experiences with Damon.  While some of his conversations with Damon are hallucinated, which also cleverly shows how Stefan continues to battle with his grasp on reality despite presuming he’s made it through the worst of it. Not only is Paul Wesley great in his portrayal of Stefan this week, he also serves as this week’s episode director. Wesley does a great job through the use of camera filters to distinguish for the audience the flashback sequences. They have warmer hues and a slightly blurred effect to each scene giving it an antique-like appearance. He uses just the right camera angles to capture the range emotions Stefan faces as he and Caroline are on their dinner date. Focusing on Stefan’s shaking hand when he thinks the waiter is Damon re-enforces the emotional distress he is under.

Melinda Hsu Taylor doesn’t win any favor from avid Delena fans this week with Damon burning Elena’s body. However, it is an interesting way to convey the extent of extreme psychological torture the Phoenix Stone inflicts on someone, both inside and outside the stone. The only way for Damon to go off the deep end as alluded to in the next episode would be for him to believe that he and Elena had no chance of ever reuniting in the future. Let’s not forget in the season premiere Damon is shown desiccated in a coffin next to Elena’s, so of course, he didn’t actually burn Elena. He only thinks he did. In addition to a great performance from Ian Somerhalder, Wesley does a phenomenal job capturing the emotion of the scene. Showing Damon’s face through the fire after he realizes burned Elena in the coffin and not Henry enhances the raw emotion of the scene. Also, the scene between Damon is especially powerful as well and is shot beautifully by Wesley. The soft glow of the fireplace coupled with close up shots of both Damon and Stefan’s facial expressions captures the essence of the moment between them. Add in  The Album Leaf’s “Window,” a selection from music supervisor, Chris Mollere, softly playing in the background enhances the emotion of the scene even more. Taylor makes sure to the audience wanting more. She drops a bomb in the three-year flash forward with Matt. Who knew he’d no longer want his friends no longer living in Mystic Falls and be willing to sacrifice Stefan’s life. And with the mysterious red ‘X’ card it looks like we’re getting closer and closer to meeting this mysterious huntress. Make sure to check back next episode because well surely have lots to talk about!

Questions, Comments & Concerns:

• How adorable are Alaric, Matt and Tyler at the baby shower wearing the hooded animal towels during the diapering contest?
• Did anyone actually believe Caroline ‘control freak’ Forbes would carry a set of twins for nine months, pop them out and that’d be it? No contact or say in how they’re raised? Of course not!
• Nice to see Tyler back in Mystic Falls. Too bad we had to see him get his head smashed off the pavement in Damon’s hallucination.
• Julian is so annoying…..can he please go away and can we have Mama Salvatore (Annie Wersching) back please? #SorryNotSorry
• Definitely liking the whole friendship thing going on between Bonnie and Nora.
• Where is Enzo (Michael Malarkey)? And Mary Louise (Teressa Liane)? Or Valerie (Elizabeth Blackmore)? Valerie and Caroline seemed to be getting along okay. Why wasn’t she invited to the baby shower?
• Um did anyone else get a ‘Fast and the Furious’ vibe from the Mystic Falls street racing scene.

 THE VAMPIRE DIARIES 7×12 airs FRIDAY, FEB. 12 at 8|7c. on The CW