The Vampire Diaries
Season 7 Episode 4: “I Carry Your Heart With Me”
Directed by Jeffrey Hunt
Written by Neil Reynolds
Created by Kevin Williamson and Julie Plec
Starring Paul Wesley, Ian Somerhalder, Kat Graham, Candice Accola, Zach Roerig, Matthew Davis, Michael Malarkey, Annie Wersching, Elizabeth Blackmore, Tim Kang, Scarlett Byrne, Teressa Liane
The CW
Air Date: Thursday, October 29, 2015, 8pm

Warning: This is a recap of The Vampire Diaries 7.4, “I Carry Your Heart With Me,” so SPOILERS…

The Vampire Diaries Episode 7.4, “I Carry Your Heart With Me,” has a metaphorical and a literal meaning. My first thought was a very romantic one, of the poem by e.e. cummings, which was actually read on my wedding day. Then, throughout the episode, I saw different iterations of this sentiment: although Stefan (Paul Wesley) and Caroline (Candice Accola King) can’t touch, their hearts are connected; Alaric (Matthew Davis) and Jo (Jodi Lyn O’Keefe) are separated by death but united by love; same for Damon (Ian Somerhalder) and Elena (Nina Dobrev). But let’s not forget Oscar (Tim Kang): his actual heart was ripped out! And nobody’s carrying his heart, but he’s still alive. It’s so…heartwarming (I know, I might have overdone it there).

Due to the title and theme of this episode, I’m doing something a little different this week. Without further ado, here is my recap/review of each plotline by character and level of heart-warmth.

Mary Louise and Nora: Stone Cold
I cannot get into the Mary Louise (Teressa Liane) and Nora (Scarlett Byrne) relationship. Nora is fun and enjoying life outside of the prison world like a normal centuries-old vampire, but Mary Louise is jealous of anyone in Nora’s path. And they are both evil! With bad intentions! And annoying! After threatening to kill one Whittemore student per hour until they get their brother, Oscar, back (and following through on this promise), we have to follow their relationship and see how it is evolving in the new world. Ugh. It’s just not that interesting.

Alaric and Bonnie: Lukewarm
Alaric is seriously creeping me out this season. In his flashforward, we see he has gotten everything he has wanted (we don’t see Jo, but we do see he has twin girls). But, is it all he has wanted? Damon shows up and it’s clear they are not friends. Me no like. Damon threatens to change Alaric’s perfect reality in a moment if his old friend doesn’t do what he wants. In the present day, the mortician says that preserved bodies have an expiration date and this one is looming. When mortician guy says he won’t be part of Ric’s weird activities, the floppy-haired professors says, “You have no idea how weird it’s gonna get.” Really? This guy just has nothing to live for, which is quite sad. Still, Bonnie promises to help, and tells Caroline that her job is “to crush his dreams in the most gentle way possible.” Too bad she actually brings Jo back to life by the end of the episode. This is less romantic and more of a Frankenstein’s monster situation in the making.

Matt: Ice Cold
Matt (Zach Roerig) needs something else to do besides hopelessly trying to save innocent townspeople, and always being one step behind. He is very brave, though.

Enzo: A Sparking Fire
After interviewing Michael Malarkey (Enzo) last week, I was excited to see his role in this episode. He is definitely in it, but seems to be one step behind everyone similar to Matt. This is particularly interesting, because it appears the Heretics are running the town, and he really does not seem to fit in with them. Still, he does his own detective work and discovers that Valerie (Elizabeth Blackmore) is responsible for Oscar’s death. He also confronts Lily (Annie Wersching) about Julian (Todd Lasance) and she admits he was the love of her life. The problem is that she is delusional and believes “no one would dare say a bad thing about him” because he’s an angel of some sort. Enzo definitely has blinders on with this lady and pursues the destruction of Julian alongside Valerie (good riddance!). This comes after Valerie explains that Julian is “someone you want to keep as far away as possible assuming you want Lily to one day love you in the same way you love her.” Done and done.

Stefan and Caroline: Steaming
Caroline continues her worrying about what Valerie means to Stefan, and Stef goes back and forth between being dismissive and addressing the issues (hint: the dismissing will not work, especially with a girl like Caroline). Staroline are adorably like Mr. and Mrs. Smith in this episode, working together to control the Heretics under the guise of luring them to an angel and devil-themed Halloween dance. At the dance, the two have a light banter about wondering if this is their first date. Furthermore, they still can’t touch because of the spell Stefan’s ex, Valerie, did on Caroline, and this only adds to the intrigue and attraction between the two. Thankfully, Stefan and Caroline team up once again to outsmart and overpower Mary Louse and Nora, effectively forcing Nora to undo the curse. YAY – we then see some real chemistry between Stefan and Caroline as we see them embrace, kiss, and go back to her place.

Damon (and a little Oscar): Blazing as Usual
Damon has a real task before him this episode: he needs to hide Oscar’s body from the Heretics, who are harassing him and expecting to see Oscar alive. Additionally, he is searching for a way to bring Oscar back to life because he’s so desperate to learn the whereabouts of Elena’s body. He gets Bonnie to bring Oscar back to life with the Phoenix Stone, but not without consequences: Oscar is mad with bloodlust and can’t seem to string together a full, coherent sentence. He eats through a ghost tour, and though Lily tries to stop him from running away, it’s Damon who knocks him out and ensures that Lily has the cloaking spell removed from Elena’s coffin.

Hilariously and true to character, Damon is heard in a voiceover at the end, admitting that “hell has frozen over” because he’s writing in a diary. This is absolutely necessary, because this is a corny move for the elder Salvatore brother. After lingering on some of his mother’s words about knowing himself without Elena, he decides to separate himself from her. “You may be 100 miles away…but you are still right with me,” he says. I’m not sure where the coffin’s going, but I don’t really care. Do you? This feels like some nice closure to the Delena “˜ship.

General Observation:
In the future, we haven’t seen Bonnie, Matt, nor Enzo. This could mean nothing or everything.

Next week is looking to be similar to an episode of The Walking Dead! Vampire Diaries has officially been zombified, just in time for Halloween.

Video

The Vampire Diaries | I Carry Your Heart With Me Trailer | The CW