The Vampire Diaries: Prayer for the Dying Recap

Synopsis of 6×12: Caroline’s mother dies and comes back to life, while Kai finally gets to merge, killing Luke.

Rating: ★★★★☆

The best part of the first season of this show was how often it startled me – this episode made me startled-jump at least 3 times. The nostalgia is real.

So this week is the WonderWitchTwins’ birthday – meaning it’s time for The Merge!

Kai’s on a pentobarbital drip and out of commission while Jo keeps training. In the meantime, Damon and Elena plan their second first date, which is adorable. A little too adorable. Turns out Damon used that date idea before, so he’s just recycling the idea. I’d probably have to go to the ref for a ruling on this one, but if your girlfriend purposefully Eternal Sunshines her memories of your relationship, I think you get to reuse a good date idea or two.

In other news, I guess vampire blood can’t cure cancer after all. In twisted supernatural magic land, the thing that cures everything except cancer actually speeds up tumor growth. The cancer patient to whom Caroline fed her blood last week died, came back as a vampire, and now suffers agonizing eternal pain. As evidenced by his repeatedly trying to kill himself with an IV pole while screaming, “I can hear the tumors growing!” before Damon rips his heart out.

All in all, it’s not looking great for Team Caroline this week.

A new blood transfusion doesn’t slow down the cancer growth in the Sheriff, and all of Caroline’s friends are being pretty blunt in saying that she killed her mom. Caroline runs away to plan her mother’s memorial in true, event-planner Caroline-style, before Stefan (who is actually not a jerk for once this season) brings her back.

Liv and Luke’s dad is here to celebrate their Merge. Tyler breaks into Kai’s room and takes him off the drugs before Damon incapacitates Tyler. Damon then calls Liv’s dad and tells him that Kai is awake and he needs the blonde set of twins to merge as soon as possible.

In the meantime, Damon takes Kai to Sheriff Forbes’ bedside and has him suck all the vampire blood magic out of her. The Sheriff goes into cardiac arrest, and dies. We see a sequence of her packing her suitcase before walking out the door of her house, calling for Caroline to say goodbye before she leaves. Dream Caroline turns around from staring out the window and her face is covered in blood. Suddenly, the Sheriff wakes up, and Caroline and her mother are reunited for now.

Struck with the brevity of her immortal existence, Elena rushes to kiss Damon and pick up right where they left off.

Finally, outside the hospital, Kai tracks down Jo and the two start to merge, but Luke knocks Jo out before they can finish. He suggests that Kai and he merge instead so that Liv and Jo both survive. The two chant for a bit and both collapse. Luke wakes up for a moment before dying.

Turns out Kai won The Merge.