The Vampire Diaries 7.7 "Mommie Dearest" Review

                                         
Three Years From Now 
Alaric (Matt Davis) and Damon (Ian Somerhalder) are heading to the TV studio and Damon walks in to find Caroline (Candace King) repeating a message for Stefan Paul Wesley).

Today
Caroline takes a pregnancy test to find out she's not pregnant, dashing Alaric's hopes.  So he turns to the bottle, what else.  She's sorry but it's not her fault.  As Bonnie (Kat Graham) finds him that way, he doesn't want to talk.  Bonnie meanwhile hunts for Oscar's car and Enzo (Michael Malarkey) finds a sword which they believe will kill Julian (Todd Lasance).  Bonnie also handing Enzo dating advice like he should try flowers or dinner.  Why does she care anyway.

Matt (Zach Roerig) calls Caroline cos he can't find Bonnie and tells her about the people compelled at the school.  He then finds the same thing at the Grill.  Seems like someone's fattening them up for the kill, seeing as it's Thanksgiving the next day.  He found food in the dumpster, all protein foods, couldn't help laughing at that!  Caroline is sick and she tells him she got a bad blood bag.  He can't believe vampires would get food poisoning.  She thinks Valerie (Elizabeth Blackmore) can help with siphoning the compulsion and reluctantly calls her.  She turns up and asks about the babies, Caroline saying she's not pregnant since the test was negative.  Matt overhears and repeats he hasn't seen her get sick before.  She replies she's polite not to do it in public.  Valerie thinks the siphoning will take too long but does it anyway.  She's later confronted by Beau (Jaiden Kaine) who she tries to talk out of helping Julian, but he's not listening and tries to stop her, including attacking Caroline.  Valerie does an invisible spell and gets them out of there.

Caroline wants to know why Valerie knows so much about everything and is so sure she's pregnant. She finally tells Caroline about Julian and Stefan's baby.  Which is why Lily (Annie Wersching) came back to Mystic Falls.  Valerie tried all the spells to bring her baby back but it didn't work and she didn't have an entire coven to help.  Seems Caroline was more understanding about the secret. But we'll have to wait and see.  Also how will Stefan react to the news she's carrying Alaric's babies.

Stefan invites Lily over in the hopes of putting the dinner party and everything else behind them. Damon tells him it's too early to be celebrating Thanksgiving but he eats the pumpkin pie anyway. Stefan pours a drink for all three of them turning over a new leaf and hers is laced with vervain. She's tied up with vervain ropes as Caroline was and they try to explain how she's easily manipulated by a monster, just like their father Giuseppe (John Charles Meyer).  Stefan also tells her about the baby and what Julian did to Valerie.  She still think Valerie's a liar cos she lied to her for all those years.

Cue flashback to when Damon was 12 and their father forced him to kill his pet turkey and then made him eat it.  With Lily not stopping him from doing so.  As well as finding money missing, which he accuses one of the boys of stealing.  They each deny it, but he doesn't believe them, until finally Damon confesses and gets burned with his cigar.  He was protecting Stefan.  She tells them she knew what their father was like and wasn't manipulated by him.

As Enzo challenges Julian to a duel by swords (is there any other kind ha) for her honour.  He thinks the sword will kill him.  Bonnie finds Alaric drunk and in the book she finds the sword needs the Phoenix stone to wield any power.  Which both Enzo and Damon find out the hard way.  Damon still goes ahead and twists the blade in further, not caring that Julian and Lily have a link and if he dies, she dies.  Julian stabs them both and Stefan stops him from hurting Damon.  Who didn't care if she died cos he was getting revenge for what she did to him and how she left both of them and ran away. Got another family.  Stefan tries to explain she was saving up to run away and take them with her. But Giuseppe found the train tickets and beat her.  Typical Julian behaviour.  Julian says he never loses a sword fight and they were both playing, defending her honour.  As he apologizes, Lily has a flashback to Giuseppe apologizing too and she tells Damon and Stefan, she believes Julian is a monster.

Caroline has an ultrasound which shows she's not pregnant.  Valerie says the coven would've masked the twins to protect them and the ultrasound now reveals there are babies.  Parts of this looked like it was just a rehash of past stories.  Not much to say about this one.  We already knew everything that was happening so there weren't really any new developments.  Looks like Caroline and Valerie are bonding, as are Bonnie and Enzo, like when he buys her a drink.  So looks like by the time Lily wakes up to herself, he'll be with Bonnie.  ha.  Though it's clear Lily won't get through this in one piece, if at all.  Damon just goes all out ruthless again, so much for changing and admits he'll never change and neither will Lily.  Maybe it was my ears but I didn't hear the 'E' name mentioned this ep. Okay you're gonna make me spell it out for you, Elena!!  See the ep's so much better without the gruemsone twosome, Nora and Mary Lou.  Oh Julian schmoolian, can this story just get moving already!  Matt throwing a tanty over Bonnie not being there when he needed her and has gotten Jeremy and Tyler to help instead.