The Vampire Diaries Review: It’s Been a Hell of a Ride (Season 8 Episode 14)

With The Vampire Diaries coming to an end, the show is returning to its roots by bringing back the original villain…the myth, the legend, the baddest bitch of all.

Yes, Katherine Pierce is about to make her triumphant return. No doubt she will bring all the literal hellfire she’s been surrounded by since, well since being trapped in hell.

A lot happens on The Vampire Diaries Season 8 Episode 14, titled “It’s Been a Hell of a Ride,” before the big Katherine reveal, so let’s dive into the downfall of Cade.

In the realm between life and death, Damon discovers Kai handed over Elena to Cade in exchange for staying out of hell. However, Cade is willing to return Damon back to the land of the living in exchange for an errand.

Cade will hand over Elena’s body if Damon delivers the weapon that can kill him. After his soul his restored to his body, Damon catches Stefan before he can leave town.

They find Kai at a bar singing karaoke because of course that’s where Kai would be hanging out. After stabbing Stefan in the hand with the weapon, Damon knocks him out.

Now here’s where we get into my favorite sequence of the installment. Stefan incapacitates Damon, and comes face to face with Cade.

I am a little confused how Alaric ringing the Maxwell bell affects Cade. By not being a Maxwell/Donovan, does that have an adverse effect on Cade?

After Alaric runs off to save his children (more on that in a bit), Cade gets the upper hand again on Stefan. Damon shows up just in time, but Cade presents him with the worst decision he could make: save his brother or save his love.

In a moment that shows just how far Damon has come since we first met him, he chooses to sacrifice himself. This is the Damon we love. This is the man he’s been working 8 seasons to become.

Damon’s suicide doesn’t seem very final especially when Bonnie shows up knowing something was terribly wrong with Elena’s body. Bonnie refuses to let Cade take Damon to hell, so a battle of psychic will begins.

I always knew Bonnie was powerful, but I never thought she could square off with the Devil and live to tell the tale. But that’s exactly what she does.

While Cade is distracted in his face-off with Bonnie, Stefan takes the opportunity to use the weapon and stab Cade in the heart. Cade looks stunned as his body burns from the inside out.

I’m not questioning that the weapon is powerful, but you would think the Devil would be nearly indestructible. It just seems far-fetched that one knife could destroy Cade… just saying.

Stefan and Damon sharing a brotherly moment afterward is what I love most about their relationship and their journey. Despite all their shared bad blood and history, they will stand by each other no matter what.

Their bond will need to be stronger than ever since Bonnie shares some important information courtesy of Kai, whom she has trapped in a brand new prison world.

Turns out hell wasn’t destroyed when they killed Cade. Nope, hell is still very much intact, just with a different ruler.

According to Kai, Katherine is now running the show down below, and this makes little sense to me. Don’t get me wrong, I am fine with the writers bringing back Katherine as the story wraps up, but is she really worse than the Devil?

Katherine may have been evil, but let’s be real, she was just a manipulative, murderous bitch. I guess we’ll find out how Katherine climbed her way up the food chain to be Cade’s replacement, but the whole thing just seems farfetched.

Leftover Thoughts

• Alaric going into protection mode as Kai tries to kill the twins is perfect. Despite my objections to a lot of what the writers have done to his character over the last two seasons, the role of “Dad” looks great on him.
• Is starting a school going to keep the girls’ magic in check? Also, how is Alaric going to find all these other magical children to fill his school. I think he has a long way to go before he creates the Hogwarts school of his dreams.
• After offing Cade, Stefan re-proposes to Caroline, and she says yes because DUH!
• Despite their reunion, there are still a lot of complications facing their future. Stefan will age while Caroline will stay as she is. But surrounding herself with loved ones who will perish is sort of what Caroline has been doing the last few years. She will have to watch Alaric, her daughters, and now Stefan grow old and die.

• As much as I love Bonenzo, Bonnie can’t possible keep Enzo stashed away in his own realm. Enzo died. It’s not healthy for her to hold onto him when they have no future. He either needs to somehow come back to life, or he needs to move on.
• Enzo urging Bonnie to forgive Stefan is pretty big on Enzo’s part. He knows what it’s like to be under the will of the Devil. It’s not fun. So it’s great to see that despite Stefan killing him, he doesn’t want Bonnie to hold onto her hatred of Stefan.
• There is something so deeply satisfying watching Kai realize he will have to listen to Spin Doctors for the rest of time in Bonnie’s prison world. If there’s one song Kai deserves to listen to on repeat for eternity it’s “Two Princes”.
• We’ll see how Katherine’s reappearance ties in with Elena waking up, but she better not ruin Stefan and Caroline’s wedding. Caroline deserves her June wedding!

What did you think of this episode of The Vampire Diaries? Share your thoughts in the comments below!

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The Vampire Diaries airs Fridays at 8/7c on The CW.

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