(See what I did there??)
As with all things season 7, we have to start in the future.
Three years from now in Chicago, Stefan shares an apartment and a kiss with Valerie.
Credit: Eli Joshua Ade/The CW
(Steroline fans around the world just died a little bit inside.)
Back in the present, Damon, Stefan, Nora, and Valerie are burying Lily.
As Stefan lowers Lily into the ground, he promises to make things right.
And the way to do that?
Stefan and Damon have been tracking their dearly departed mothers ex-boyfriend all across the company.
I guess they found where Julians been hiding.
Theyre not in the bar too much longer when a very drunk Julian comes back.
He rambles an explanation of the season 7 MacGuffin, the Phoenix stone sword.
He said that living in that stone will make you go mad.
Lily helped him keep the madness at bay, but now that shes gone?
This was supposed to be intimidating to our two brothers.
But Damon just flash-torches the bar, and the Salvatores get away.
NEXT: This is why you dont piss off a heretic
So the brothers go their own ways.
Damon to drinking and burning his mothers clothes to make room in his reclaimed closet, as one does.
Stefan to partnering with Valerie to get to Julian.
All it does is draw out Julian and make Nora very, very angry.
This is problematic because shes been spending the day bonding with Bonnie.
But once Julian texts telling her that they took Mary Lou, Nora incapacitates poor BonBon.
We see his soul being sucked into the stone.
This cant be good.
He tells Caroline that the stone makes you re-live every bad thing youve done.
We see Damon wake up in Civil War flashbacks.
Nora, angry about Stefan taking Mary Lou, shows up.
She says that even if Damon gets out, hell be different.
And then she stabs Stefan with the Phoenix sword, too.
However, I am interested to see how Caroline and Bonnie can get them out of there all alone.
I want to hear your thoughts about tonights episode!
Share them below, or reach out to me on Twitter@realdalener.
And be sure to readJulies Diary for the showrunners thoughts on tonights episodebefore you go.
