‘The Vampire Diaries’ recap: Can Enzo be trusted?

A theme running throughout this episode is Elena's disappointment in her friends — which is entirely valid, because seriously, how could they not tell Katherine had moved in and started calling the shots? Though Katherine made an attempt at imitating Elena, she didn't try all that hard — all too often she wanted to do something and simply whipped up a feeble excuse as to why Elena might blunder into it (gosh, Stefan, didn't mean to get all that oil on my shirt — oopsie, I'm naked in a hotel room with you!). Of course, only in Mystic Falls could  you even entertain the idea that a dying vampire had hopped into your friend's body without being institutionalized. Still, it's like getting a haircut that no one notices — wasn't anyone paying attention? 

I loved the interactive hallucinations in this episode — while they tortured Elena, especially when she kept bumping into Aaron, they were a vivid window into her mind in an episode in which she couldn't chat with Caroline or Bonnie about her angst (well, not much, anyway). 

Caroline and Bonnie were both pretty busy trying to find ways to help Elena, so it wasn't like they weren't doing their part for the greater good (which is, duh, always Elena). Caroline finds out from Enzo that he has the ripper virus — but of course, it's never so easy as “hey, here it is, enjoy!” Stefan has to get involved, because it's no fun unless someone is strapped in a chair, writhing in pain. Yes, Stefan has to offer himself up as a vampire magic ball, allowing the travelers to see that his doppelganger is working as a paramedic in Atlanta. It seems the travelers need to knock off Stefan's doppelganger — or Stefan, either way. One doppelganger's as good as another!

Enzo and Caroline promise the travelers they'll go get the doppelganger so that they don't need to kill Stefan, but I'm a little suspicious of Enzo's motives (as are Caroline and Stefan). I realize he's probably looking for something to do after having been a guinea pig for so many years, and maybe knitting isn't the right hobby for him, but I'm not sure why doing seemingly good deeds for Damon's friends holds any interest for him at all. 

Of course, if Enzo turns out to be bad news, he can join Liv and her brother on the Sneaky Bad Guys team (bet they'd be great at dodgeball!). Of course Liv seemed like trouble from the jump, even when she wasn't hitting on Jeremy, so this isn't that much of a surprise. They don't strike me as being very effective villains, as Liv seems to take too much pleasure in being annoying to be very serious, but who knows, maybe they'll surprise us.

We can't not discuss Elena and Damon's desperate need to see one another, then Damon's confession about Aaron, then their break-up, and then their hot moment of PG-rated sex (damn you, 8:00 p.m. time slot). I really think Elena has to give Damon a break on killing Aaron, as he just wanted to prove “her” right in condemning him as a bad, bad man. He didn't know it wasn't her! Okay, Elena's mad about that, too. So, fine, it's a toxic relationship, but that doesn't make their connection any less hot. So there. 

What did you think of Damon and Elena's reunion? Do you trust Enzo? Were you surprised about Liv? 

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