The Vampire Diaries Review: Cold As Ice (Season 7 Episode 9)

Silent night indeed, for the Salvatore brothers.

The Vampire Diaries always give us lovely treats in the form of holiday episodes, and “Cold As Ice” is no exception.

While Stefan and Damon are off attempting to find and kill Julian (Stefan is, at least, as Damon is far more interested in the Santa Pub Crawl,) Bonnie and Nora strike up an expected friendship, and Caroline is struggling with being a pregnant vampire.

Don’t you worry, we’ll get to the cliffhanger ending involving the Salvatores in just a few moments.

Let’s talk about Nora, a character who has really come a long way since her introduction. Between Mary Louise and Nora, it’s often said that Nora is the more likable of the two, and that Nora deserves better than Mary Louise. That continues to be true in “Cold As Ice,” however, Nora takes two steps forward, followed immediately by three giant steps backward. (Oh, Nora…you’re so much better than this.)

Nora and Bonnie are such unlikely friends, for a number of reasons, but watching them work together and lay the groundwork for a lasting bond is nice. Nora sheds some of her rough exterior to let Bonnie in and shares her own dreams and passions with her, including her desire to attend college.

At a visit to a children’s cancer ward, Nora even encourages a young girl not to conform to society, and encourages her to take a toy meant for a boy. (No doubt, a commentary on the unisex toy debate which is currently taking over social media.)

Nora becomes a character I want to see good things happen to, she becomes someone who fits right in with the Salvatore gang, so to watch her ultimately turn on them for Mary Louise at the drop of a dime is upsetting. It does mean, however, that there’s hope for her reformation soon enough. Fingers crossed.

Another budding friendship that I find myself completely taken aback by is the one between Caroline and Alaric. Yes, she’s mystically pregnant with his and Jo’s twins and, naturally, that’s going to deepen their bond. But this deepening friendship is developing surprisingly nice.

Alaric has the perfect balance of maturity and wisdom to talk Caroline through her pregnancy bloodlust and mood swings. He can take any punch she throws at him, while also calming her down and making her see reason. What I’m seeing here, is that typical-type-A-not-pregnant Caroline also needs a man like this, especially given the tragic year she’s had.

I’m a fan of Steroline, and I want to see them work, but on the other hand, Alaric may just be the mature guy that Caroline needs, the one that isn’t draped in drama and exes at every corner of the world. (Sorry, Stefan, but it’s true.)

Candace King is also killing it with this pregnancy story line. It was something that I felt so hesitantly about going into it, but there’s something so “Caroline” about having crazy vampy pregnancy mood swings and eating blood and fluff.

And again, three years in the future, Caroline and Alaric are kind of living happily ever after, and shocker of all shockers, so are Stefan and Valerie. I’m guessing this means she’s sticking around for the long haul? Unless that mystery hunter gets to her first, that is.

Which brings us to the incredible cliffhanger ending. Julian (who suddenly is all, “Oh, Lily, I love her so much!” *vomit*) revealed to the brothers the big secret of the Phoenix Stone; when a vampire’s soul is placed inside of it, they are placed in a purgatory of sorts where they re-live everything bad they’ve done.

And after a fight gone awry with Julian, Stefan watches horrified as Damon ends up with his soul in the stone.

Speaking of which, has anyone ever made a super cut of Paul Wesley’s horrified “oh no!” face? You know the one. His eyebrow kind of goes up, and he looks like he’s thinking, “Oh no!”

Ah, here’s a gif of it, in case you’re not sure what I mean.

Seriously, Paul, it’s time for a new reaction face for Stefan. He’s been using this same shocked look for centuries now.

Damon will have a lot to atone for in his own purgatory. Damon has killed not only as a vampire, but also as a human in war, and he will no doubt will have a reunion with mommie dearest, Lily. Letting her die without forgiveness is a sin in itself.

And after Nora’s discovery that Mary Louise has been threatened by the Salvatores, Nora puts the Phoenix dagger into Stefan’s heart, which also sends him to his own purgatory. I don’t know about you, but I’m far more worried about what Stefan will atone for, being a ripper and all.

So what do we think about this new Phoenix Stone turn of events? Who will save them? Is this how Stefan gets his scar? What causes it to re-open three years in the future? How long will the brothers be out of commission? It’s definitely less than three years, based on what we know from the flashbacks, but I need to know more!

We’ll find out the answers to these questions, and more, when The Vampire Diaries returns on January 29th, with it’s new Friday night home!

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The Vampire Diaries moves to Fridays at 8/7c on January 29th on The CW.