The Vampire Diaries 7×17 “I Went to the Woods” REVIEW

Damon Puts on His Hero Hair & Stefan Learns the Downside to Being Human

In this week’s episode of The Vampire Diaries 7×17, “I Went in the Woods,” we see the aftermath surrounding the destruction of the Phoenix Stone and sword with everyone left wondering what happened to Stefan’s (Paul Wesley) soul. Stefan wakes up disorientated in the middle of the road to find a burning bus full of screaming passengers, so he immediately he rushes to help. When the paramedics and police arrive they believe he is someone named Marty because that’s what the ID in his wallet says. He’s placed under arrest because they think he was the one driving the bus under the influence. In a panic, Stefan resists arrest and runs into the woods. At the airport outside Dallas, both Damon (Ian Somerhalder) and Valerie (Elizabeth Blackmore) sit in disbelief at the events that just transpired. Damon suggests they try to find Rayna (Leslie-Anne Huff) for answers about what happened to Stefan, but Valerie is still pissed he didn’t agree to take the scar sooner and disappears to find answers on her own. And with Stefan’s body missing, Damon assumes Valerie took it. He then finds his brother alongside the road and picks him up, but finds he’s having some memories issues. After stopping for a quick bite to eat he soon learns even though it looks like Stefan it’s not Stefan at all.

Meanwhile, Valerie finds Rayna using a locator spell. She reveals all the souls trapped inside the Phoenix Stone, which is some of the world’s most evil vampires, have been freed and because she burned all the original bodies, they’re able to inhabit any corpse, human or vampire. Matt (Zach Roerig) sends them to Alaric’s (Matt Davis), so they can work together to figure out where or who Stefan’s soul went into. With Stefan’s photo, Rayna is able to focus her visions on Stefan. Valerie uses her magic to see these visions and work on locating Stefan. In the woods, Stefan he breaks into a cabin he stumbles upon and there he’s able to get the handcuffs off. He realizes he’s inhabiting a human body with no food or running water and he’s suffering withdrawal. Once he turns on the electricity, on the news TV learns he’s been hunted. Stefan uses the mechanic skills to get the old truck outside working and sets out to find his brother but runs out of gas on the way. While Damon tries to keep fake Stefan close by so they have Stefan’s body to put the real Stefan back into it once they’re able to find him. Fake Stefan has other plans. He wants to go to Memphis and ditches him.

Meanwhile, Rayna has a difference of opinion than Valerie and Alaric regarding getting Stefan back into his real body before taking care of his body’s current occupant and escapes to go solo. Elsewhere Damon resorts to impersonating an officer and pretends to be Matt Donovan, so he can find his brother before it’s too late. After speaking with a lady, who saw Stefan when he asked to use her phone. Damon goes to find his brother before he slowly freezes to death while suffering withdrawal and is able to talk to him over the phone as he searches. The pair work on some of their differences as Stefan walks towards Damon and Damon drives to find him. Luckily, Damon is able to find him just in time, but their not officially out of the woods yet. Now to find Stefan’s vampire body, which happens to be inhabited by a serial killer, before it’s too late. A lot went down in this week’s episode. Let’s not waste any more time and discuss!

Double the Stefan, Double the Fun!

Paul Wesley is perfection this week in his portrayals of Stefan. In both the real soul of Stefan trapped inside of the body of a human addict and as the murderous serial killer inhabiting Stefan’s real body, Paul Wesley captures the each fantastically. Viewers cannot help but be reminded of Stefan’s infamous ‘Rippah’ side upon seeing Stefan go all ‘Hero hair, don’t care’ mode because of the old vampire that hijacked his real body. When Damon and Stefan stop at the bar for a bite to eat, Stefan’s over indulgence has the audience saying ‘uh oh.’ He drains the waitress of her blood killing her. Then looking up Stefan has a smile on his face giving the impression that he is proud of what he’s just done. His expression is happy and satisfied. Then he casually tosses her body aside with no regard to human life. Definitely not a Stefan trait. The audience then gets a glimmer of ‘human-free’ Stefan and maybe a slight hint of Silas during his readings of Stefan’s journal entries in the car. His tone of voice is taunting as he reads all Stefan’s hurtful entries about Damon to him. With a sly grin and the way he is so cavalier he reads the entries, viewers get the notion that he’s making fun of Damon and Stefan’s dysfunctional relationship. The smart-ass smug, comments and tone just come so naturally. Paul Wesley plays bad so well and viewers can’t help but love it.

Viewers not only see Paul Wesley crush it as a twisted serial killer inhabiting Stefan’s real body, he’s also amazing as the real Stefan trapped inside a human body trying to survive in the frigid wilderness. After running from the police and he falls in the woods, we can see the exact moment he realizes he’s human again. Stefan’s expression conveys the pain he’s experiencing falling face first in the woods. His face grimaces from the pain. Then as it’s as if he has an ‘Aha moment’ his eyes widen realizing he’s human again because he’s able to feel pain. Again in the shed when he manages to get out of the handcuffs, we can almost feel the pain he endures from the anguish on Stefan’s face and his body language. Once turning the electricity on inside the cabin, viewers begin to see the panic Stefan feels the way he scrambles around the cabin looking for food, water or anything useful to help him contact Damon and the others. Paul Wesley is great illustrating Stefan’s mental state at the cabin with exceptional use of facial expressions, body language and mannerisms making up for the absence of dialog. Bravo!

A Brotherly Lifeline

The phone conversation between Damon and Stefan as Damon drives to find his brother and Stefan walks the snowy roads to find him is brought to life beautifully by both Ian Somerhalder and Paul Wesley. The emotion of the scene is palpable and viewers can’t help, but shed a few tears seeing such a powerful moment between the Salvatore brothers. The audience can see that Stefan is still reeling from his brother’s decision to abandon him to desiccate in a coffin for three years only to wake up and then initially opt out of taking the scar. His expression as he sits in the snow is so sad and he appears like he’s given up, hopeless. Then when he hears Damon’s voice on the other end of the phone, he appears slightly relieved. We see despite everything that’s happened Stefan still very much wants his big brother to come save him. It’s obvious Stefan’s anger comes from a place of hurt and not hate. His brother’s abandoned and left him down so many times when he’s needed him most. When telling Damon about his anger, we see the hurt in Stefan’s eyes and hear the disappointment in his voice.

“You bailed on me when you decided you’d rather live in a coffin than own up to your mistakes.” - Stefan.

It’s just as hard for Damon to hear what his brother thinks of him. The audience can see the pain in his eyes as he hears such heartbreakingly truthful words from Stefan. Damon’s expression is somber as he didn’t think his choice to take a three-year nap through and believed he was protecting Stefan and the others from the chaos that follows him. But he doesn’t argue or try to explain his actions. Instead, the audience sees Damon just takes a deep breath and he stays focused on rescuing Stefan from the freezing to death. With a look of determination, he knows just what he needs to say what will spark a fire in Stefan to get him to use his anger towards him and give him the strength to get up and walk, Viewers’ hearts break along with Stefan and Damon when Stefan confesses to his brother that he doesn’t believe Damon will be there when he can no longer go on. It pains Stefan just as much to admit it as it does for Damon to hear it. Both have a somber expression and their eyes sad, which really starts to tug at our heartstrings. Both Ian Somerhalder and Paul Wesley do a wonderful job bringing this conversation to life.

“You want me to say what you already know. Fine. I’m selfish. I’m angry. I am impatient. And yes, until I met Elena, I wasn’t interested in doing the right thing for anybody… my brother included. You mad? You resent me? Good then get up and come kick my ass yourself.” - Damon.

The Heartbreaking Truth

Much like real life, over a three year time span some couples part ways and new romantic relationships emerge. Yes, Stefan left Caroline (Candice King) behind in an effort to protect and the twins, because he knows Rayna will stop at nothing to get to him. While Caroline decided to stay in Dallas because she couldn’t imagine not being a part of the twins’ lives even though they are Alaric and Jo’s (Jodi Lyn O’Keefe). She carried and gave birth to girls. Naturally, her and Alaric grew closer over time and become a family. And after a year traveling around the world together, Stefan and Valerie rekindle their relationship. But deep down both Valerie and Alaric know that their relationships with Stefan and Caroline are only a temporary distraction until Caroline and Stefan find their way back to one another. Sadly, Valerie and Alaric’s conversation at the diner reminds both them and viewers of this. We can see Alaric is saddened by Stefan’s reappearance and what that could mean for his little family. His expression is melancholy and eyes have a sadness to them as he admits he fell in love with Caroline, but knows she said yes to his proposal because it made sense for the girls.

“Yeah, I proposed to Caroline because I fell in love with her. And she said yes because it made sense for the kids. So yeah… Stefan coming back might ruin my perfect little life. So what?” - Alaric.

While Valerie appears somewhat okay with the notion Stefan and her aren’t going to last. Her expression as she discusses it doesn’t seem to change too much, but the audience can hear a sad inflection to her tone. Viewers can tell that even though she might know that between Caroline and her Stefan would undoubtedly choose Caroline, it doesn’t hurt any less. She then tries to light the situation by making a joke that she’s rooting for Alaric and Caroline. But no matter what ship you might side with its heartbreaking for the audience to see Alaric facing another impending failed relationship. Can the man get a break?

“You see, I never fooled myself into thinking that what I had with Stefan would last. But you… you put a ring on it.” - Valerie.

FINAL VERDICT:

“I Went to the Woods,” is a suspense-filled episode the centers around finding and returning Stefan to his real body and Damon taking the first steps mending the relationship with his brother. Julie Plec and Neil Reynolds penned an episode that takes viewers on an emotional ride filled with a little something for everyone. The decision to have Stefan’s soul put into a human and Stefan’s real body inhabited by a sadistic serial killer turned murderous vampire sure makes for quite a compelling story. Paul Wesley does an outstanding job this week shining in both roles, Julie Plec, who pulls double duty this week as a writer and the episode’s director, makes exceptional use of camera angles throughout the episode. At the cabin, Plec zooms in on each item that Stefan struggles with to make sure viewers understand just what he’s trying to do. When he uses a vice to break free from the handcuffs, she makes sure to focus on the vice as well as his facial expression to convey the pain he’s enduring from doing this. Plec gives great direction to Paul Wesley throughout Stefan’s scenes at the cabin to hit home the fact that he really is out in the woods all alone during an impending snowstorm, as a human suffering withdrawal and only a few hours to survive until he succumbs to the elements.

“Because eventually I’m not gonna be able to go on and when that happens, I don’t believe you’ll be there.” - Stefan.

The phone conversation scene between Damon and Stefan is done beautifully from all aspects. Plec and Reynolds penned heartfelt and real dialog between the brothers. It’s honest and mirrors real life brother relationships with both good and bad times. Plec fully captures the seriousness of the situation allowing the audience to see the bigger picture. To emphasize how truly alone Stefan is she pans out to show the snow covered surroundings and empty roads. Both Ian Somerhalder and Paul Wesley are amazing during their conversation and Plec alternates close-up shots of their faces at just the right time to heightened the raw emotion of the scene. And when Stefan can’t go on anymore and falls to the ground, the heartfelt lyrics of Tom Odell’s ‘Heal,’ a selection from music supervisor, Chris Mollere, adds to such an emotional moment and brings tears to viewers eyes. We feel as if we are right there beside Stefan when Damon’s car pulls up just in time to help his brother. It’s not lost to that Plec focuses on Stefan as his face is illuminated by his headlights with flakes of snow glittering in the background. Such a pivotal moment in Damon and Stefan’s relationship that is done fantastically.

“You don’t need to see my badge because Matt Donovan is the finest, bravest, least stupid cop you’ve ever met. And if anyone asks, that is the lie that you tell them.” - Damon.

Reynolds and Plec make sure to throw in some humor to lighten such a heavy episode. Damon Salvatore impersonating an officer is a clever thought out plan to both add in humor and further the storyline. The irony that Damon pretending to be Matt Donovan is not lost, because we all know just how much Damon respects Matt authority. While having Stefan’s body inhabited by an ancient serial killer turned vamp is a clever twist thrown into the mix. But hey, that gives us another episode with fo-Stefan in all ‘Hero hair, don’t care’ mode and surely things are going to get quite interesting. We’ll have a lot to discuss next week.

Questions, Comments & Concerns:

• Where are Caroline and the girls now? Is she still looking for Klaus (Joseph Morgan)? We know he isn’t in New Orleans, so where’d they go after that?
• What the hell happened to Matty Blues Eyes to make him so sad and pissed off? We need to know ASAP!
• Anyone else catch Alaric’s fondness for the adorable stuffed unicorn? A unicorn?? Plec’s subtle reminder or Nina Dobrev, who loves unicorns. HAHA!
• Cheers to another upcoming episode with Paul Wesley playing a bad guy!

THE VAMPIRE DIARIES 7×18 airs FRIDAY, APRIL 15 at 8|7c. on The CW