Hello, Brother:The title of this episode comes from the pilot of the show.
In the pilot, Damons arrival was the worst thing Stefan could imagine.
And now, all he wants is to get his brother back from whatever it was that took him.
Credit: Bob Mahoney/The CW
before they somehow manage to swerve around Damon, whos standing in the middle of the road.
(His favorite trick.)
This scene definitely wins the award for most meta lines.
After all, it hurts.
(Enzo bites her.)
Welcome to season 8.
She tells her best friend theyre no closer to finding Damon and Enzo than they were months ago.
Its in her rant that we learn Ric is now running the Armory.
I gotta admit: Seeing Ric in a dark ancient tunnel just feels right.
Bonnie, on the other hand, is done with hope.
Meanwhile, Enzo returns to the slaughterhouse after dumping the womans body to find Damon readingFifty Shades of Grey.
(Hey, hes always been a lover oftrendy books.)
when Bonnie realizes the woman was strangled with a guitar string.
With that, Stefans off to check out the slaughterhouse that reportedly had drainage issues.
And behind said door is a bunch of ancient artifacts that are somehow perfectly preserved.
Or as Ric calls it, they find a geek gold mine.
Yeah, we will see how long that lasts.
Caroline then feeds Seline her blood and compels her to take the girls to get ice cream.
Caroline is back in her childhood home, which made me feel all the things.)
I mean, can we talk about this moment?
Talk about bringing things full circle.
I love seeing how far the brothers have come from that moment all those years ago.
And yet, they still have so far to go.
According to Damon, hes officially done with the illusion of a heroic life.
As he sees it, every bad decision hes ever made has sealed his fate.
At this point, his path and Elenas path are not the same.
Her great beyond is a decidedly happier one than mine, he says.
Stefan, realizing Damons not going to leave with him, stabs his brother.
But when Bonnie says shes not leaving without Enzo, she gives Enzo and Damon enough time to retaliate.
But before they leave, Damon gets in a jab in at his brother.
My life is over, Damon tells Stefan.
And now, it seems Damons opened an old, very deep wound.
With that one line, Bonnie and Stefan have swapped roles.
But as Stefan tells her, this time around, it feels like he may never forgive me.
After Stefan drops her off, Bonnie continues to put two and two together.
It was a story about sirens.
More on that in a moment.
And as far as Damons concerned, Enzo would be smart to flip his humanity switch.
(Translation: Damons decision to flip his switch was to save those he loved.)
That will put them both back in Mystic Falls and close to protect the girls.
And, naturally, Stefans game.
Writing to Elena, Stefan tells her hes worried hes lost his brother.
All he can hope is that theres one final sliver of humanity holding on within Damon.
And spoiler: There is.
As Damon tells her, I dont know how much longer I can fight.
Thankfully, Stefans not giving up on his brother yet.
As he puts it, maybe tomorrow will be better.
Okay, back to the evil thing.
After all, at this point, anything could be real.
So yeah, Enzo and Damon could be bewitched by a siren.
This siren is finally full … but now what?
Altogether, Im enjoying the Damon-Enzo dynamic, and Im a sucker for any and all nostalgia.
This episode is really just the beginning of whats to come, and Im along for the ride.
