The Vampire Diaries 7×22 “Gods & Monsters” REVIEW

Outrunning Death, A Cure for a Vampire Huntress & Denzo Opens a Little Shop of Horrors… Only in a TVD Finale

On the finale of The Vampire Diaries 7×22 titled, “Gods & Monsters,” the race is on searching for a way to cure Bonnie’s (Kat Graham) vampire huntress ways as well as outrun her to stay alive. While Enzo (Michael Malarkey) pays Virginia (Aisha Duran) a visit at the psychiatric hospital to learn more about what was locked inside that vault and is now sealed inside the Armory, Damon (Ian Somerhalder) goes to the Armory to find a way inside. Meanwhile, Bonnie has taken Matt (Zach Roerig) captive and is quickly catching up to Stefan (Paul Wesley) and Caroline (Candice King). With a traffic jam up ahead, Stefan has no choice but to turn around and runs Bonnie and Matt off the road into a tree. Matt is trapped, but Bonnie is fine and has no choice than to follow her huntress instincts and she abandons Matt in the woods. Unable to find a way to break the spell sealing the Armory, Damon plans a trip to Dallas to kidnap Caroline and Alaric’s (Matt Davis) girls to use their magic siphoning powers to open the Armory, but Stefan stops him before Damon sees the plan through. Meanwhile, Enzo offers himself up as the bait and has Bonnie focus all her huntress visions on him, so the others are safe.

With no other options, Caroline and Alaric agree on using the girls’ powers to siphon the magic from the Armory sealing it shut. They all head to Armory and are able to unseal it allowing Damon and Stefan inside to search for the last everlasting, the body of one of the original shamans that sacrificed his life in the huntress spell. Once it’s destroyed, the huntress spell will be done and Bonnie will be back to normal. Damon insists that Stefan lets him go inside alone because he doesn’t want him to risk his life fixing his mess. Meanwhile, Bonnie catches up to Enzo, who stopped running from her, and finds him cooking dinner for them. He pleads her to try to suppress her huntress side and have dinner with him., but she can’t. Bonnie is just seconds from killing Enzo when Damon destroys the last everlasting and breaks the huntress spell.

Elsewhere, Matt is slowly dying and starts seeing Penny (Ana Nogueira). He desperately wants to give in to be with her, but she tells him there’s a better life for him out there. Matt then opens his eyes to see help is there to rescue him. He chooses then to leave Mystic Falls in search for the better life. Back at the Armory after Alaric sees Caroline’s reaction to Stefan’s safe return, he realizes her feelings for Stefan and decides he has to let her go but assures he she will always be a part of the twins’ lives. Caroline admits she forgives Stefan and they share a kiss. Still inside the Armory, Damon hears Elena’s (Nina Dobrev) voice inside the vault as he’s on the phone with Bonnie and Enzo. They warn him it’s not her,but is drawn inside and the door locks behind him. Enzo rushes to free him, but is also locked inside and they’re both overcome with a darkness. The others are not able to unlock the vault because only an Armory member can open it, but finally after finding a way to open it, Damon and Enzo aren’t inside. They are nowhere to be found and see a lot of people have been going missing. A disturbingly changed Damon and Enzo are shown adding to their collection of bodies hanging upside down in an abandoned warehouse. Wowzers! A lot went down in the finale this week. Let’s not waste any more time and discuss.

We All Love Salvatore Brother Bonding

Over the years, the Salvatore brothers have had more than their fair share of fights, but always had each other’s back no matter what a disagreement might be about. Despite being the younger brother, Stefan usually assumes the role of the big brother. He’s been the one to keep a cooler head, the voice of reason between the two and usually pays for Damon’s irrational behavior in some way or another. This episode viewers see the dynamic between Damon and Stefan shift. Damon takes the big brother role once he and Stefan are inside the Armory. He insists Stefan let him go in the vault himself and trust he will be alright. Both Ian Somerhalder and Paul Wesley are amazing as Damon and Stefan in this emotional moment between the Salvatore brothers. Viewers can feel the love between them as well as the evolution of Damon and Stefan’s relationship. Damon’s expression is earnest, eyes soft and his tone of voice is sincere illustrating his vulnerability. It’s apparent from Stefan’s reaction that he is completely against letting Damon go into that vault alone. His eyes widen at disbelief at what Damon is asking and Stefan’s expression shows that the thought of letting Damon go in there alone is entirely unacceptable.

“Over and over again you’ve helped me. And over and over again it’s screwed you and so, this time, I need a different kind of help, okay? I need you… to let me go. Let me succeed or let me fail, but left me to do it by myself ” - Damon.

As Damon continues his plea for Stefan to let him go inside the vault himself, both Stefan and the audience can see Damon’s need to see this through to prove to himself he can. Damon’s expression remains serious showing his conviction. He also apologizes to Stefan for abandoning him three years ago. His apology is genuine and Damon looks somewhat embarrassed admitting he was scared. With a somber expression, Stefan nods his head showing he understands and accepts his brother’s apology. They shake hands before sharing a heartwarming brotherly embrace viewers always love to see. Damon and Stefan’s expressions during their hug are bittersweet and their love for one another is evident. Both Ian Somerhalder and Paul Wesley do a fantastic job bringing to life the ups and downs and the special brotherly bond the Salvatore brothers share.

“I’m sorry I walked out on you that night. You’re right I was scared and I knew you’d be mad, but I also knew you’d be okay. I know my choices suck sometimes and you like to be there to head them off at the pass, but this time… I need you to believe in me.” - Damon.

Bonenzo’s Love Prevails

Michael Malarkey and Kat Graham are fantastic in their portrayals of Enzo and Bonnie again this week. They bring to life the emotional journey the couple is facing; Enzo a vampire and Bonnie a vampire huntress. After Bonnie finds Enzo waiting in the cabin cooking dinner and she’s unable to hold back the overwhelming urge to kill him, the pure agony of their circumstances is undeniable. Despite attacking and trying to kill Enzo, Bonnie’s expressions illustrate the last thing she wants. Her eyes are sad and the audience can hear the desperation in her voice as she begs for him to fight back. While Enzo’s expression shows his fear facing his huntress girlfriend and there’s a sense of sadness in his eyes knowing this could very well be their last interaction as well as the end of his life . And when he’s too hurt to fight any longer and he asks Bonnie not to remember this moment, but better times Enzo’s tone is bittersweet. Tears form in his eyes as he tells her one last time he loves her illustrating to viewers how deep his feelings run for Bonnie. While Bonnie continues to push the stake in Enzo, her expression is full of sadness and tearing run down her face showing viewers that killing Enzo isn’t what she truly wants to do. Her actions do not reflect what her heart wants. The raw emotion of this moment Bonnie and Enzo is palpable and overwhelms viewers with feels.

“ When this is over, don’t remember this moment. Remember the other ones: New Year’s Eve and champagne… and your terrible, terrible guitar playing that really never got any better even though I said it did. And remember that I had over a century of pain and loneliness before I found you and then three glorious years of love. I love you.” - Enzo.

Luckily, Damon comes through just in time ending the huntress spell and saving Bonnie from killing Enzo and viewers can see the sense of relief come over them. Both of their expressions soften and the left out a sigh. They smile at each other as Bonnie falls into Enzo’s arms and then share a passionate kiss showing how much they love each other and happy to be alive. Both Michael Malarkey and Kat Graham know just how to bring on viewers’ feels. The dynamic between the couple comes across to the audience as a modern day ‘Romeo and Juliette’ with a supernatural spin. Tragic yet beautiful. Luckily, Bonnie and Enzo’s story has a somewhat better outcome. At least they both survive even though Enzo has been overtaken whatever evil that was trapped inside that vault.

A Darker Mystery Unfolds

As usual, each season’s finale leaves viewers’ with their jaws on the floor in shock and wanting more, but facing an entire summer to wonder what the hell just happened. This episode, Elena’s voice calling Damon leads him back into the vault, where he’s overcome by some kind of mysterious darkness. And after Enzo goes back into the vault to bring out Damon, it’s obvious to viewers that Damon is different. He a maniacal look about him, There’s a sly smirk on his face and his voice conveys that he’s become unhinged when he tells Enzo it’s better. And we finally see another clue to what was locked in the vault when we see hands with creepy slender fingers and long fingers nails grab Enzo’s head and take him. The episode’s biggest shock to the audience comes seeing what Damon and Enzo have been during the three month time jump. It appears that they’ve been just killing people and collecting their bodies in a warehouse somewhere. Viewers are left wondering why Damon and Enzo are seemingly just killing people so they can drain the bodies of their blood and not feeding on them. Are the making some kind of zombies? Or an army possessed by whatever darkness was in the Armory’s vault? And for what? We’re left with one hell of a cliffhanger and months of withdrawal until the next new episode.

… it was three months before we heard the first rumor, a string of missing persons on the West Coast. It was encouraging. But then the numbers kept growing, 13, 20, 50, 60 people missing. It’s them. I know it. I don’t know what’s wrong with them or what they’re doing or why. But I promise you we’ll get them back. Just know that whatever happens between now and then, it’s not his fault.” - Stefan.

FINAL VERDICT

Much like The Vampire Diaries finales of seasons past the season seven finale, “Gods & Monsters,” definitely does not disappoint. Brian Young penned an episode that carefully blends drama, suspense, mystery, adventure and romance that viewers can’t take their eyes off the screen. The episode really does have a little something for everyone and in the long-standing TVD fashion leaves us asking ‘what the actual hell’ and jonesing for just a few minutes more. Young knows just how to get viewers feels going and does so penning the heartfelt moment between the Salvatore brothers inside the Armory. This serves as a clever way to showcase the evolution of their relationship as well as Damon’s personal growth. Both Paul Wesley and Ian Somerhalder bring the scene to life with so much passion and emotion that is captured beautifully by episode director, Michael Allowitz. Through great use of camera angles and alternating closeup shots of each of their faces, Allowitz enhances the emotion of scene even more. Showing a wide shot of Damon and Stefan with a vertical fluorescent light shining in the background directly between them is a clever way to reinforce the decision to split up. Damon going inside the vault and Stefan not Then zooming in on the brothers shaking hands shows a deal’s been made as well as their commitment to it. Allowitz captures the raw emotion of their embrace again by alternating close-up shots of their faces. The entire scene is truly perfection from all aspects.

“This time you walk out on me and don’t be afraid of what’ll happen. Trust I will be okay. one way or another… I will be okay.” - Damon.

Young doesn’t forget all the shippers in the finale and makes sure to weave in sweet little moments of romance throughout the episode for almost every ship. Matt and Penny share a bittersweet moment in the woods. Allowitz uses a special camera filter giving the scene a cooler hue to help viewers distinguish that Matt is having an out-of-body experience. And there’s nothing like going from one extreme to another with Bonenzo. One second, we’re sobbing from the painful goodbye between the two. The next we let out a sigh of relief that the huntress spell is over and Bonnie and Enzo share a kiss. A great method from Young and is captured wonderfully by Allowitz again with great camera angles. While Calaric fans face heartbreak along with Alaric as he chooses to let Caroline go and their relationship ends, it opens the door for a Steroline reunion. Allowitz first shows closeups of Stefan and Caroline kissing and then slowly pans out to capture the warm glow of the lights radiating through glass giving the scene a romantic ambiance. And music supervisor, Chris Mollere, heightens the emotion of their reunion adding the sweet melody of Aquilo’s “ Silhouette” playing in the background. Even Delena fans are pleasantly surprised by Young as he cleverly incorporates Elena’s ‘presence’ by using her voice as what triggers Damon to go back into the vault. Both Young and Allowitz dial up the emotional experience by alternating shots of Damon slowly walking towards the vault with a flood of significant moments in his and Elena’s relationship. And the feels flood in as well as “ Silhouette” continues in the background.

Brian Young does a fantastic job setting the stage for the next season. Him introducing the new problem they now face since Damon and Enzo entered the vault and have gone missing after being overcome by whatever fresh hell was in there. Young also cleverly uses the latest mystery to incorporate Elena’s presence again with Caroline, Matt and Stefan’s journal entries to her filling her in on the things she’s missed just as she asked. Allowitz adds to the audience’s anticipation of next season and deepening the mystery surrounding Damon and Enzo. He does so by focusing on several things in the warehouse. Beginning with the pool of blood then slowly transitioning to the lifeless body that Damon drags behind him as well as the hook that they fix the body to and his neck that Damon slashes just before raising the body up like the others. Allowitz gives viewers one last shot of both Damon and Enzo’s twisted facial expressions before panning out to shock and leave us all wondering WTF! It’s going to be a while until we find out what going on with Damon and Enzo and if there’s a way to bring them back from the dark side. Feel free to drop all your theories in the comments and have a wonderful summer!

Questions, Comments & Concerns:

• It’s awesome that Elena’s presence on the show is kept alive despite her physical absence. But she is going to have a lot of reading to do when she finally does wake up. Just saying…
• Zach Roerig is perfection in the scene between Matt and Penny in the woods. It’s sad he’s leaving Mystic Falls. Maybe he can join Alaric in Dallas and start another comedic spin-off with Alaric, Matt, and Tyler. ‘Three Hot Bachelors & Siphon Twins.’
• So sad again to see Alaric not get the girl, but glad to see this time it was his decision to let Caroline go.
• Chris Mollere’s entire song list for the episode is amazing and brings out even more feels in all the right spots. Bravo!

THE VAMPIRE DIARIES returns for SEASON 8 FALL 2016 on The CW