Last week, I wrote my Vampire Diaries review as per usual—except the feedback wasn’t so usual. And by that, I mean that there were more comments than usual…and I have no idea why. I really appreciate that. A lot. You guys are boosting my ego too much. And I truly meant to respond to all of them, especially the ones arguing against me…but life happens. I’m thinking of writing a post where I analyze the triangle solely soon, before the finale. So I apologize about not responding to anyone. Those comments were absolutely great. Basically, what I mean to say is that I love you all. And if you’re still reading my reviews this week, well then I still love you. And if you’ve stopped, then I will always love you because once you love somebody you can’t simply just stop loving them. Y’know?

The aspect of tonight’s episode that stood out to me the most this week was that it was just, well, good. I was really, thoroughly entertained. I’m not much of a fan of the seventeen different love triangles on this show (and they were all on display at the dance), but for the most part, they were nicely executed and quite balanced this week. (Or am I just getting used to it?) Except for the lack of Delena.

This week, we got a more Stefan and Elena-centered episode — or rather, it was only Stelena-centric. This entire season, I’ve been watching with the knowledge that Elena will supposedly end this triangle once and for all in the finale. And I’ve truly thought that she was going to choose Damon (a part of me still thinks that) because the show has been very much stating that Damon is the much more thrilling, excitable choice.

But then Caroline comes in and tells Elena that Stefan is her “epic love.” By default, Caroline’s words mean an infinite amount more than Rose’s ever will. Besides the fact that I don’t truly agree with anything Rose said, Caroline definitely has more authority on the matter as someone who is Elena’s friend, has witnessed some of both sides of the relationship, and was even the first one to confront Elena about her feelings. But it’s mostly contradictory to Rose’s words. Rose’s speech seemed like a defining moment, but it just got trumped by Caroline’s one sentence. So what’s the deal, writers?

Stelena mostly showcased their history this episode. But it begs the question of where do we go from here? Will we have spent a season of Elena confronting her feelings for Damon for her to just choose Stefan? I don’t know, but here’s what I can say: the nervousness both of them portrayed in this episode prior to the dance was just endearing. Once again, I just feel the chemistry with these two in a way I don’t for the other two. That said, even though I like me some Stefan and Elena, I’m much more excited with Stefan’s one line this episode (at least I believe he mentioned something) about his humanity for his own sake. I don’t care for the characters trying to better themselves to be deserving of one another because no one here has the best moral compass to be another character’s justification for living up to them. I’m sorry, that’s a complicated sentence. In other words, at the end of the day, Elena wants Klaus dead (as she should) and technically everyone has darkness in them — so whenever Stefan or Damon think the bottom line for tapping into their humanity is to be good enough for Elena, it just irks me. It devalues their growth, for one, but it’s also contradictory to the theme of this season.

I will mention, however, that there is still this subtle difference between Damon and Stefan that keeps me sane when trying to differentiate the two of them. You can just see it in the way that they respectively apologized to Bonnie. And I will reiterate it as I have here plenty of times: Damon, to me, seems much more immediate; and Stefan, once again to me, is much more meticulous. I think those aspects of themselves transfer to the ways in which they love Elena, too. Like, I think for Damon, he truly didn’t think there was any other choice other than turning Bonnie’s mom into a vampire—to him, it was the only viable future. Stefan, there wasn’t a choice, either, but he can understand the choices that didn’t benefit his endgame. Damon would go to any length to keep Elena alive because he truly doesn’t see what’s wrong with that; Stefan sympathizes more with Elena’s wishes. I hope that makes some sort of sense.

Anyway, moving on, Bonnie gets screen time that isn’t devoted to just spells. And she has a freakin’ house! Who the hell knew? Honestly, it was insanely glaring to me that we still hadn’t seen the foyer to one of the most important characters of this show’s house at least. It’s important to give your plot device some characterization so that it doesn’t just seem lazy; there was some real progress this episode. (“Hey! We’re in a pickle!” “‘Kay let me just do some random spell and not be in the next episode!” —Bonnie all series long.) But I will say that there’s still a problem with threatening Jamie’s life. I’m truly glad that they at least tried to make me care for him this episode but I’m not that invested in his character, and yet Klaus still could not kill him. Who has he killed this season to keep me so terrified of him? A couple of extras?

The same “suspense” happened in a big way that was just truly noticeable in this episode for me. I know that I should just buy into it — verisimilitude, hello — and be scared for all the vampires’ lives because Esther wants to kill them all. But I know they won’t all die. And so the “war” doesn’t mean much to me. (Though, I will mention that the Evil Alaric and Esther pairing was another favorite of mine.) Personally, and I mentioned this on the Mystic Harbor podcast, I’m disappointed with Caroline and Tyler’s lack of passion to stop anyone’s plotting to kill Klaus. I think it’s noble that Tyler would sacrifice himself for the greater good, but at the same time I want a bit more struggle with this group, instead of them just uniting to fight off guest stars. It’s part of the reason I loved this Alaric ring story. And it’s part of the reason I think I’ll love the Bonnie and Evil Alaric story, bearing it goes anywhere past tonight. (It has such potential to be…well…epic if half the group were against each other, especially all-powerful plot device Bonnie. But it’s wishful thinking; she will always just be there to undo spells.)

Speaking of Evil Alaric, I know that a lot of people felt tricked with everyone mourning his death…only for him to live, but I’m very much a fan of it. Alaric’s fatherly role never made much sense, quite honestly, but the funeral-esque scenes helped everyone go through the emotions before they might have to, quite literally, kill him. They’ve said their goodbyes, and now the conflict isn’t not wanting to kill him because he’s Alaric — since they’ve made their peace and we know it’s not him, technically — but the issue remains with his prowess. That said, it’s still a crutch this show relies on: if you have a Big Bad, just create an even Bigger Bad. So, now, the Originals are just really useless…not that they ever were much of a threat to begin with.

And finally, we are still revisiting the dark debate and what it means to be human. Is murder really just murder, or is Esther justified in her actions? Would Damon be justified in his actions if he had mercifully kill Alaric? Also, will Esther ever just die? Does it matter if anyone dies since we can see them as ghosts now? And what does this mean for Elena remaining human going forward? I think, for now, the answer is “Who knows!? There are only two episodes left!” It’s clear this isn’t getting answered anytime soon… if at all. I will always be confused about good and evil on this show, methinks. But as I mentioned, I was able to sit through this hour and just be excited about it all. I was entertained, so thank you TVD writers!

And if I don’t stop here, I will be in the ballpark of a senior thesis.