The Vampire Diaries
Season 7 Episode 6: “Best Served Cold”
Directed by Darren Genet
Written by Caroline Dries
Created by Kevin Williamson and Julie Plec
Starring Paul Wesley, Iam Somerhalder, Kat Graham, Candice Accola, Zach Roerig, Matthew Davis, Michael Malarkey, Annie Wersching, Elizabeth Blackmore, Jodi Lyn O’Keefe, Todd Lasance, Scarlett Byrne, Teressa Liane
The CW
Air Date: Thursday, November 12, 2015, 8pm

Children. This episode is all about children. HERE’S YOUR CHANCE; IF YOU HAVEN’T WATCHED THE VAMPIRE DIARIES EPISODE 7.6 “Best Served Cold,” READ NO FURTHER!

But yeah. Lily’s (Annie Wersching) children (of all varieties). Alaric’s (Matthew Davis) children. Stefan (Paul Wesley) and Valerie’s (Elizabeth Blackmore) child. Damon (Ian Somerhalder) and Elena’s (Nina Dobrev) fantasy child. Caroline’s (Candice Accola King) fateful baby transference situation. More on that later.

As usual, an opening scene unfolds of three years from now. Children’s drawings are shown on Alaric’s fridge and Damon is grilling Alaric about the whereabouts of his fiancée. When we see a bloodied Caroline on the news broadcast saying she has “an urgent message for Stefan Salvatore,” it all clicks. Alaric is engaged to Caroline. WHAT?! This feels so beyond creepy to me. The writers are just messing with us!

I guess we now know the answer to the question I asked weeks ago: “Will Caroline somehow get pregnant this season” because of her real-life pregnancy? The answer is yes. Who would have thought? But this is what I like about the fantasy genre: anything is possible! Ever since Angel (David Boreanaz) and Darla (Julie Benz), I’ve had hopes for my little vampire friends across all fandoms. (Did I just write that sentence?)

Stefan has a flashback dream in which he teaches an 11-year-old version of his deceased son, “Jacob,” to shoot a gun before he disappears. He wakes up to his girlfriend, Caroline, asking if he is okay, but he still won’t tell her his secret. He tells Damon later that it’s not his secret to tell, but I think he’s avoiding it for multiple reasons. Of course, when Valerie strides across the living room in a towel, Caroline is in shock, and Stefan acts like this is totally normal and to trust him. I think he’s trying to keep his cool on the outside, but he’s actually freaking out on the inside. I also believe his feelings for Valerie are returning, although he wouldn’t admit it. It does come down to his deepest desires, which are to have true love and a family, but it’s still crappy for Caroline.

In a scene that looks like it was taken straight out of Darby O’Gill and the Little People, Julian (Todd Lasance) hops around like a leprechaun while fencing indoors (gasp!) with Beau (Jaiden Kaine). So silly, those two rambunctious kids! Onto the main event of the episode, a fancy party chez Salvatore in honor of Julian’s return. The soirée actually reminds me of earlier seasons (Miss Mystic Falls, anyone?) and I think this nostalgia is much needed in the currently depressing state of TVD’s hometown. Everyone is dressed fancy and Lily is completely delusional, but has some belief she can make enemies friends with some nice drinks and fancy clothes. Highlights of the party include: Lorenzo/Enzo (Michael Malarkey) and Bonnie (Kat Graham) have some meow-worthy chemistry when she pretends to fix his tie to make Lily jealous; Enzo overhears Julian saying he wants to find Oscar’s car for an unknown reason; Julian is manipulating everyone, including Nora (Scarlett Byrne), who has a sudden disinterest in Mary Louise (Teressa Liane). Once again, I find this relationship to be a snooze-fest. What else? Still spinning his web, Julian convinces a vulnerable Mary Louise to feed off of a guest, which gives her the power to be her sexy self (gross); Stefan wants to kill Julian tonight but Damon wants it to be six months from now to make the pain worse for Lily; after Stefan fails to kill said evil guy, Julian sits the brothers Salvatore down like they are children to describe his “hell” in the Phoenix Stone, where he thought he was killing Lily every day and somehow ends up going into a “blind rage” trying to kill her children. Lily is horrified by this (can she be this old AND this naive?) and Stefan and Damon later describe his behavior as similar to their dearly departed father, Giuseppe Salvatore. Later, Julian just doesn’t get why Lily has lost her touch. She’s changed! She used to abandon her kids and that’s what he liked! When he gets the idea that she will cut him out if this continues, he gets all sobby and says the hell world messed with his head and he needs help. And her naivety takes over. Is this realistic to anyone? I guess love is blind, though.

After a compelled waiter from the party tells Bonnie and Matt (Zach Roerig) that he has to go to the high school and he doesn’t know why, they follow him. I love that even now, it always goes back to the high school. It totally reminds me of Buffy…memories. Anyway, at the high school, the duo finds a classroom full of creepy compelled civilians hooked up to IV bags. Looks like a blood bank to me, and my guess is that the culprit is Julian. Can this guy be gone already? He’s just annoying.

After much anticipation, Stefan finally tells Damon the truth about his could-have-been child. He explains that he didn’t want Damon to make some “glib joke” about it being 150 years ago, but the elder Salvatore doesn’t look as if he wants to joke. After Stefan says his one regret in life is not being a father and Damon admits how much stock he put into the fantasy of having a family with Elena, Damon agrees to help Stefan kill Julian ASAP. I knew he would come around.

Finally, the Caroline, Jo (Jodi Lyn O’Keefe), and Alaric storyline. Alaric tries to help “Jo,” but it’s clear she is deteriorating. Valerie sort of appears out of nowhere and explains that a vampire soul can’t live in a human body. Valerie also makes a rude comment, but then feels guilty and sad when she finds out Jo lost her children when she died. As she lays dying, “Jo” says she remembers her name: Florence. Florence says that Jo would have been a lucky woman because Ric would have been an amazing husband. Rick thanks her for letting him say goodbye and says how great it has been to hear Jo’s voice again. Caroline is watching the whole time, and we begin to see how she might eventually fall for him.

In the end, Valerie is seen watching the chant at the conclusion of Ric and Jo’s grisly wedding video and reveals that the coven was instituting a failsafe to protect the Gemini twin babies. AND BOOM: we find out they were transferred to Caroline! CREEPY LOVE STORY COMMENCE!

Until next time, have a great week, little vamps!

Videos

The Vampire Diaries | Best Served Cold Trailer | The CW

The Vampire Diaries | Best Served Cold Scene | The CW