Remember when Caroline was completely superficial, and Elena’s biggest problem was that her boyfriend may or may not have confirmed the existence of supernatural creatures?

Yeah. I miss those days too.

This week’s episode, “I Could Never Love Like That,” gives us a bit of nostalgia. Maybe it’s all the talk about ex-boyfriends and pregnancies. Yeah. It was definitely just that.

On the forefront of the episode is Mama Salvatore and her drama. Because really, can any Salvatore be anything but dramatic? She confesses to Damon that she doesn’t really know if she can help flip Stefan’s humanity back, because – wait for it – she has fallen out of love with her real family.

As I watched Damon’s heart break, I remembered meeting Season 1 Damon in the pilot, yearning for Katherine, and wondered if maybe, Lilly was the reason he was so… broken and confused and hateful.

When he convinces her to act the part of Stefan’s mother, they see Care playing her humanity-off games with none other than Matt and Tyler, ending with Matt being staked in the stomach – again. Evil!

Caroline is fun for maybe about five seconds. I really want our Care back now, especially after she stabs Stefan in the back (literally). Lilly gives a beautiful speech to Stefan – one authored solely by Damon, and I can’t help but ask: why isn’t Damon Stefan’s humanity trigger? This show has proven again and again the bond between these two brothers; why couldn’t Damon have given a speech to Stefan?

Tyler brings Matt to the hospital, and Matt refuses Elena’s blood. I rolled my eyes at this, because I honestly thought Matt had gotten over his vampire hate and phobia. But maybe this speech about how ‘all vampires are just a switch away from being monsters’ is necessary, because it brings up pent up feelings about being human for Elena.

Okay, now that we know Nina Dobrev is leaving, I figured about a week and a half ago that they’d probably make her human again with the cure.

She becomes visibly jealous of any mention of human-like experiences, and you can see her try to wish her vampirism away. A small build up would have been nice and could have made this story arc a lot more believable and authentic, because this episode just does a complete 180 on Elena’s perspective.

What does seem authentic, though, is Damon’s reaction to even having the cure. His love and passion for Elena isn’t something small, and I completely understand how scared and nervous he is at the thought of losing her. The time Delena has been together isn’t even equivalent to the blink of an eye for a vampire.

As he refrained from telling her the truth, I could see it. I could see the season one Damon who did selfish things, but for a reason. A reason that usually ended up being love.

And lastly, we have Enzo. Was it weird that even though we get his origin story, Lilly is the star? She sired him – which, great. But then he was sad and lonely, and she abandoned him. So he set out to get revenge since then.

I mean, seriously Enzo, we already have one vampire with parental issues and an accent – and he’s in New Orleans.

But one thing that became clear? Maybe Lilly wasn’t imprisoned just because she was a Ripper. Because let’s face it, no coven has come after Stefan. No, Lilly mingled with a new big bad. A big bad that can be both vampire and witch.

Can’t seem to grasp the concept? Jo puts it into perspective pretty nicely as the last line of the episode:

Jo: Imagine Kai with the bloodlust of a vampire. Now imagine six of them.

Things to think about:

If Elena leaves, can Bamon be a thing?

Do The Originals know about this witch and vampire business? They’d benefit tremendously

Where was Bonnie in this episode?

What did you think of The Vampire Diaries Season 6 Episode 18, and where do you think the show is headed? Share your thoughts in the comments below!

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The Vampire Diaries airs Thursdays at 8/7c on The CW.