RECAP AND REVIEW – “THE VAMPIRE DIARIES” SEASON 3 EPISODE 7 – “GHOST WORLD” – ORIGINAL AIR DATE 10/27/2011
Recap: This episode focused on the balance of nature that Bonnie upset when she brought Bonnie back from the dead and the ghosts on “the other side” manifesting in the earthly plane and interacting (some violently) with the humans of Mystic Falls.
Key Plot Points:
Bonnie’s Magic: Bonnie upset the balance of nature when she brought Jeremy back from the dead. While working with Caroline to set up for Mystic Falls’ “Night of Illumination” festival, her grimoire falls out of her back and opens to a spell for “veiled matter.” Bonnie casts the spell and ends up opening the door for all of the ghosts to return from “the other side” to Mystic Falls. At this point, Grams appears to Bonnie and tells her about a witch on the other side who took advantage of what Bonnie did and gave a “free pass to anyone with unfinished business.” Grams tells her that it’s her duty to close that door and set it right. She needs the talisman necklace to cast the spell to set things right. She and Caroline search the Salvatore home to find it and are unsuccesful in doing so. Once they have the necklace, Bonnie casts the spell to set the balance back to the way that it should be and sends the ghosts back to where they came from. There is a very touching scene of Bonnie and Grams holding hands while they cast the necklace into a fire to destroy it. Once the spell is complete, the scene shifts to Bonnie’s outstretched hand to where Grams once stood with her. Afterward, there is an explosion in the fireplace and Bonnie finds the necklace fully in tact.
Anna & Jeremy: In the beginning of the episode, Anna continues to be visible only to Jeremy. After Bonnie casts a spell from her grimoire that magically appears (pardon the pun) when the it opens on its own, Anna and Jeremy are able to physically interact with one another and kiss. Anna’s presence really upsets Elena because she feels that Jeremy will be throwing away his chance for love with anyone else (including Bonnie) because of him being in love with a ghost for the rest of his live. She insists that he let Anna go (and vice-versa). Anna ends up producing the missing necklace, stating that she took it because she is holding on so tightly to Jeremy because she has no one on the other side and can’t find her mother. After Bonnie casts the spell to send the ghosts back, Anna is walking through the streets of Mystic Falls alone and sees her mother. They share a tearful embrace and reunite before vanishing back to the other side.
Stefan’s “Detox”: The return of the ghosts included Stefan’s best friend, Lexi. After smashing Stefan’s head into a car window, she chains him up in a basement to release him from “The Ripper” as she has done many times before. She gives Elena a crash course in “Vampire Detox 101” as she works to make him feel anything remotely human once again to break him of the bloodlust.
Mason Lockwood/Damon/Alaric: The manifestation of Mason Lockwood results in Damon being chained to a chair with his ring on the floor in front of him. Mason opens the curtains, letting the sun shine directly on Damon. After Damon is freed, he meets Alaric at the Grille and Mason appears. Mason tells them of a Lockwood family legend of how to kill the original vampires. After a half-assed apology from Damon, Mason agrees to take him to where it is believed to be. They meet at the cellar at the Lockwood property and find a cave. They reach a point in the cave where Damon is unable to enter. Mason enters and as he is about to tell Damon what he found, Mason’s ghost returns to the other side. Damon summons Alaric and they return to the cave. Alaric tells him that he found something and we see cave drawings all over the walls. When Damon asks him what he found, Alaric replies, “I have no idea.”
Other Spirits: Among the ghosts to return are the sadistic vampire Frederick and his cronies. They appear at the nighttime festival with a score to settle with the founding families. As Mayor Lockwood proclaims the festivities to begin, there’s a blood curdling scream and then a bloodied body appears up in a tree.
Relationships:
Bonnie/Jeremy: There wasn’t a lot of interaction between Bonnie and Jeremy until the end of the episode. Bonnie learned of Jeremy and Anna’s kiss and was very upset by it. Jeremy tried to give her an explanation, but she wouldn’t hear it. She just told him to go.
Caroline/Tyler: There wasn’t really much of anything regarding these two in this episode, other than Caroline fighting the vampire/ghosts set on killing the townspeople and sparing Mayor Lockwood’s life while she sat unconscious in her car after it was wrecked.
Elena/Stefan: Obviously, there was no progress on this front. During the detox, Stefan said many hurtful things to Elena to try to drive her away. He asked if Lexi gave her a good enough glimpse of her “tragic future” if she was with him. She told him that she “still [has] hope, but there is nothing [she] can do until [he] gets [his] back.” She tells him that if he doesn’t fight for his hope, he will lose her forever because she “won’t love a ghost for the rest of [her] life.”
Review:
I really enjoyed this episode, but it didn’t really do a lot to move the plotline along. We already knew that Bonnie and Jeremy wouldn’t work out once Anna’s ghost began appearing to him, so Bonnie sending him away was no big surprise. Stefan’s detox being incomplete was no surprise, but I did like seeing Elena make a statement that she wouldn’t wait forever for him. I think that the ghosts’ return was good for her in that respect to get a glimpse of her future after seeing Jeremy pining for Anna the way he was. I was also very glad to see Anna reunited with her mother. Perhaps that’s the sappy mama in me coming out, but it breaks my heart to think of anyone being separated from their family in the afterlife.
