Vampire Diaries Recap: Going Down in Flames

Elena returned to Mystic Falls on Thursday’s Vampire Diaries holding on to one last bit of hope in the wake of Jeremy’s fatal neck-snapping by Silas.

RELATED | Vampire Diaries Finds a New Witch

Much like viewers, E’s having trouble dealing with the shocking and unexpected turn of events. But she’s not giving up on the idea that the Gilbert ring will save her little bro. His tattoo is gone, so maybe he’s no longer a supernatural hunter, she reasons. However, the truth of her new situation soon sinks in. She’s lost her last remaining family member. All alone now, she takes a match and burns down her house with Jeremy in it.

Did we mention that Elena does this after Damon, via sire bond, tells her to turn off her humanity to make the pain stop? Are we about to finally see the true vampire side of the lone Gilbert?!

Let’s review the episode’s biggest shockers:

ELENA ON THE EDGE | Everyone’s in a panic when Elena refuses to accept that Jeremy is gone for good. The body is starting to – gulp – decompose and smell, but she just sits by Jer’s side, waiting for him to wake up. Reinforcements are called in. First, Dr. Fell arrives and scientifically spouts off what’s going to happen if Elena doesn’t release the remains to her. Then Matt walks in and, upon seeing his dead friend, begins to tear up. But Elena remains convinced that there’s a magical way to bring back Jeremy. They just need Damon to find Bonnie back on the island.

BONNIE DRINKS THE KOOL-AID | Yes, the witch has survived physically, but her sanity… well, that’s another issue altogether. Shane spills the beans that Jeremy’s dead and uses that as a way to convince Bonnie to bring back the dead. Silas can’t practice magic anymore, so that’s why the professor has been teaching Bonnie expression. To tap into that magic, there needs to be a third massacre of 12 people so Bonnie can feed off to the power and drop the veil to the other side, which would also bring back all the monsters that have died. Grief-stricken, she tells Shane she’ll do whatever it takes. After Damon finds her – “I could actually hug you right now,” he says upon seeing her, and then actually does embrace her! – they head home, where Bonnie unveils her crazy plan to her friends. Not surprisingly, they have some issue with it, and Elena finally starts to realize there’s no hope for Jeremy. And hey, Shane’s in Mystic Falls, except it’s not really him because he’s still lying near death on the island! So this Silas fellow can take on the appearance of other people? Interesting… “We’ll do this together, you and I,” fake Shane tells her. “We are the beginning.”

STAGE 4: DEPRESSION | It’s a phone call for Jeremy from April that finally gets Elena to drop the d-word: “Jeremy can’t come to the phone right now. He’s not… I’m sorry. He’s dead.” She decides to burn down the house and Jeremy’s body as cover story for his death. “I don’t want to live here anymore,” she cries, throwing around objects that remind her of all the loved ones she’s lost. No need for that bourbon now that Alaric is gone, sniff sniff! “There’s nothing here for me anymore.” After she starts sobbing uncontrollably, Damon tells her to turn off her humanity, and Elena’s eyes go void of emotion. It’s the only way she won’t lose it now that she has no one, he reasons. “She lost her brother,” he says to Stefan. “I’m not enough. Not this time.” Even the younger Salvatore can’t argue too much with what Damon did when it’s the only thing keeping Elena in one piece. But she still goes through with her plan and torches her home, declaring that she’ll never want to go back there, even when this is all over.

PARTNERS IN CRIME | The hunter Vaughn reveals to Damon and Rebekah that Katherine was up to speed on the cure because she had someone on the inside – Hayley!

Vampire Diaries fans, are you mourning Jeremy? Who wrecked you the most: Elena or an unusually emotional Matt? And were you surprised by the identity of Katherine’s mole?