Friday’s penultimate episode of The Vampire Diaries gave new meaning to the term “wedding bells.”
Let’s start with the biggest surprise of the episode: Against all odds, Stefan Salvatore and Caroline Forbes actually got married. Any number of potential disasters could have put a stop to the couple’s big day, including Katherine’s arrival (which was the whole reason the wedding was moved up in the first place). And yet, the vows were spoken, the rings were exchanged, and the couple officially became husband and wife. This is even more impressive when you consider that Stefan and Caroline were broken up, what, two episodes ago?
No one would have blamed Bonnie for not attending the wedding — I’m not sure I could put on a fake smile for a groom, ripper or not, who killed my boyfriend — but after a chat with St. Enzo’s ghost, she decided to stand by her best friend’s side (and look amazing while doing so).
Sadly, Alaric chose to keep his distance — which is a shame, because it meant Caroline wouldn’t get to hear these beautiful words that basically sum up the entire series: “We’ve all made terrible mistakes in our lives, done things that no apology can heal, but you just have to keep going, trying to find some new happiness — no matter how much you’ve lost. The strange thing is, losing those people is what brought us together. It’s how we found each other. It’s what made us family.”
If I’m being totally honest, the entire #SterolineJuneWedding felt a little bit like when Moonlight won the Academy Award for Best Picture. Because of the circumstances — Warren Beatty, duplicate cards, yadda yadda — most of the post-ceremony talk focused on the mix-up, rather than simply the celebration of a deserving win. With this wedding, beautiful as it was, the looming threat of Katherine’s interruption had me squirming in my seat.
Of course, no TV wedding would be complete without a few uninvited guests, both expected and unexpected. In this case, the “expected” crasher was Matt’s mom Kelly Donovan, who apparently died during one of the past few seasons’ countless time jumps, and is now in league with “the myth, the legend, the baddest bitch of all,” Ms. Katherine Pierce. This leads us to our “unexpected” guest, none other than Matt’s sister Vicki (aka the person in the promos we all thought was Katherine from behind. Well played, CW.)
But neither Kelly nor Vicki dropped by to offer their best wishes to the happy couple. Instead, Kelly went on a stabbing/exploding spree to keep her own murderous self from being sucked back into hell, while Vicki had but one goal: Ring that bell! And while Kelly’s efforts didn’t have much of an affect on the core crew — Bonnie still has magic, which kept her and the twins safe from the manor explosion — Vicki’s bell ringing was another matter. (It’s tim to cross our fingers for Bonnie… one last time.)
How are you holding up after this explosive hour? And what are your hopes for next week’s — gasp! — series finale? Whatever’s on your mind, drop it in a comment below.
