The Vampire Diaries “The Sun Also Rises” 

So I have to call bulsh-t right out of the gate that Elijah would screw up the plan he spent all these years intricately planning. But that’s the way it played out, and seriously, y’all. Not at ALL amused. Especially with Jenna finding out everything, finding her backbone, and then getting staked anyway. FAIL. I’m usually down with however the genius writers work it all out but this episode left me pissed off. That’s something, I guess. I also didn’t realize it was the last one before the finale, so I was doubly annoyed. That’s not say it wasn’t well done, because it was. I was just opposed to the actual plot developments.

We finally pick up with Bonnie and Jeremy but we’re not privvy to how they’ve spent their time.  Damon hashes out with Katherine that Klaus has gotten what he needs to break the curse, and she tries to make the case that her actions were for her own greater good and Damon really doesn’t care, or care to tell her goodbye if he is in fact dying. Over at mojo central, Jenna, Jules, and Elena are each confined to individual circles of fire and Elena tries to fast track Jenna on her abilities.

Back at WW101 in the Lockwood cellar, Matt and Caroline are watching the locks give on the door, so Matt takes a shot at Tyler, which slows him down, and then he and Caroline hightail it to the house. Matt comes clean that he’s been vervained and that he and Liz know all, and then Tyler comes home, human, and Caroline brings him inside. Later on we find out Matt has bailed on her for good and Tyler and Caroline have it out that she needs him to stay this time. He holds her (while he’s naked/covered in a blanket, I might add!) and they find some common ground as friends, for now.

At the Stevens Quarry (which is a random location that I can’t recall had been mentioned before), Klaus strips Jules of her heart (after she confesses to Elena that she was just trying to keep Tyler safe) and then sets his sights on Jenna. Stefan arrives and offers himself as an alternative vamp ingredient and Klaus declines, staking and binding him instead. Then he releases Jenna and she speeds to Greta and bites her before Klaus grabs and stakes her and she turns to ash while Elena can only watch. I wasn’t clear/they (thankfully) didn’t show if he did anything else to Jenna, but I have to assume he took her blood some way. Then he retrieves Elena, who tells him to go to hell but doesn’t fight him, and then it’s Stefan’s turn to watch as Klaus bites her and she dies.

At the witchy manor, Bonnie is fetched for mojoing but Alaric has to break the news to Jeremy that Jenna is likely dead. Meanwhile, John has arrived requesting a status update and offering a possible alternative to Vamp Elena that involves an old Emily spell that somehow or other will bind their souls so that he takes her death. Side bitch here–if it worked, woudn’t he become a vampire?

Alaric and Jeremy try to go with Damon and Bonnie but she keeps both of them confined to the house with John, who writes his goodbye letter to Elena. Bonnie and Damon arrive as Klaus begins to transform into a wolf. Bonnie starts Latinating with full fury, knocking Greta off her game and Damon steps in and breaks her neck. He frees Stefan and Stefan tells him to get Elena and go, which he does. Bonnie keeps pounding Klaus until he falls and then Elijah arrives to finish him.

He slams his fist inside Klaus’s chest and Klaus tells him the one thing that will change his mind–their family’s remains are safe and together; not scattered as he’d always told him.  If Elijah lets him live, Klaus will take him to them. And there’s the weak spot WE KNEW NOTHING ABOUT. Bonnie yells to Elijah that if he does it, she’ll kill both of them, and Elijah can only apologize as he whisks his brother out of the fire while Stefan and Bonnie scream.

Damon brings Elena to the witchy manor and John watches him set her down on the couch before he steps outside and takes in his last day. Damon whispers to Elena that if she comes back a vampire, he’ll stake her himself because he can’t have her hating him forever. She wakes up, and he asks how she feels, and she confirms she’s human. Outside, John falls dead.

Then we have a double funeral, preceded by a sweet scene with Jeremy and Elena, who, before the age of 18, are well and truly the only two Gilberts left. When they arrive at the cemetery, it’s a wordless scene, because really, what can you say? Elena lays roses on her parents’ graves, and then her parents’ grave, and it’s startling to realize we’re on a RT progression here and it’s been two years since they passed away and Elena’s life turned.

As everyone departs, Damon confesses to Stefan that he’s been bitten, and Stefan says they’ll find a way to save him. Damon’s not terribly concerned about that, he just doesn’t want Elena to know, to have someone else to mourn already.

So, Elijah and Klaus are loose in the world. Bonnie survived the spell. Damon may or may not survive his bite. Caroline and Tyler are on the ins again. Uncle Daddy and Aunt Jenna are in the ground. Alaric has lost Jenna when they were finally on equal footing (and we still don’t know if he’s caught up on Isobel). Elena and Jeremy get to start over again. Quite the setup for a finale.

My gripe about Elijah’s change of heart is that this is the first episode we hear anything about justifiability. He makes a passing reference to Klaus being killable in spite of their blood bond because he had discarded the rest of their family–he offers up this tidbit in a comment to Stefan when Stefan says he’ll offer himself instead of Jenna and they fall into a discussion of honor. Elijah commends Stefan as honorable for his sacrifice, and Stefan asks Elijah if he is also honorable. That discussion’s going to be revisited when Elijah resurfaces. I felt like it was a quick fix of sorts–I would have expected Elijah to mention this to Elena when he gave her the long backstory.

Kudos to Sara Canning for the awesome work in the last two episodes. I always felt she was so underused, and hopefully, she had enough of a heads up about being written out that she’s going to get onto another show this fall (if that’s what she wants) where they’ll use the hell out of her. I didn’t realize she’s only 23 IRL–she can do anything from here. Onward and upward, honey! First up, you can find her on on Twitter and blogging over at teen.com.