Its not looking great.
Because not only did we lose Nora and Mary Louise, but Stefan is trapped in the Phoenix Stone.
But before we get to all that, lets backtrack to the start of the hour.
Credit: Richard Ducree/The CW
In present day a.k.a.
Just like that, Stefan escapes with Raynas sword, and Damon knocks her out.
(She also knocks him out but thats not important right now.)
(Stefans only interested in travel if it has a purpose.)
And you know who probably wishes theyd spent those years traveling?
Nora, who we find out has been trapped at the Armory all this time.
Because they believe hes the one who freed Rayna.
Spoiler: Theyre wrong!
It was also Matt who convinced the cops in Dallas not to respond when Rayna aired that emergency broadcast.
Turns out, Matt wants revenge on Stefan.
More on that later.
It turns out, its pretty easy to do that: Just mention Elena.
If Damon lets Valerie transfer Stefans scar, then Damons life will be linked to Rayna.
So is Damon willing to give up a future with Elena to save his brother?
I think we all know the answer to that one.
Like a couple women before her, Rayna seems to choose Stefan in the Salvatore equation.
Apparently when the Armory had her held captive, she would often close her eyes and spy on Stefan.
(Its a perk of the mystical scar connection.)
And what she saw mostly the hero hair made her Team Stefan.
But Stefans playing hard-to-get on this one.
Running out of gas, he throws Raynas sword into the side of a truck and turns around.
That way, he buys himself a little time as she chases after the sword.
He will return to Alex to help her get the antidote for Mary Louise (and clearly Bonnie).
Seriously, what did Stefan do?
Well, one thing Stefan did was kiss Valerie in the Philippines.
Well, first kiss in a long time.
By the time she wakes up, theyre both in the car on the way to the hostage exchange.
But as she sees it, she was protecting Stefan.
So Valerie chose to keep Stefan on the run and Damon in a coffin.
Once he gets Elena back in his life, hell be there for Stefan.
And all Damon can say is, I have a plan.
And yet, when Stefans scar opened up, he didnt call Valerie … or Caroline.
He raced right to Brooklyn giving Rayna more time to find him to wake up his brother.
As Stefan once said, Guess I just needed my brother.
Now, is Stefan ready to truly let his brother go?
He says yes, but we all know hes lying.
As Rayna screams, we get flashes of what comes off as Stefan?
Oh god, this is worse than having to watch him drown over and over again!!!
But the question remains: Has Damon finally learned his lesson?
Is there a way to save Stefan?
And can someone hey get me a tissue?
Oh, and one last thing.
Remember how Matt hates Stefan?
And its Pennys grave.
So I think we can assume Stefan killed Matts latest love?
Honestly, in the grand scheme of things, it doesnt seem like a big deal.
(Sorry, Matt.)
What did you all think of the hour?
Will this be the thing that finally changes Damon?
