[Warning: Major spoilers from Thursday's "Death and the Maiden."]
The Vampire Diaries continued on its quest to bring Bonnie back from the dead.
Thursday's episode also spotlighted the acting of Nina Dobrev (times three; Elena, Katherine and Amara) and Paul Wesley (times two; Silas and Stefan) in what will be called The Doppelganger Diaries in an hour that brought the doppelgangers front and center.
STORY: 'Vampire Diaries': Olga Fonda on Nadia's Past and Katherine's Motherly Connection
What becomes of Stefan, now that he has regained his memories -- thanks to Quetsiyah/Tessa? Will Elena and Damon's plan to bring back Bonnie from the dead be successful? Is Katherine dying? Will Nadia get her happy ending with Katherine? Will Silas be killed? The Hollywood Reporter breaks down the episode's biggest moments.
8:02 p.m.: Silas is entertaining himself by chatting up a couple at a bus stop while they wait for the bus to arrive. It’s very exposition-heavy, explaining exactly how they got to this point. “I’m in Philly? Ughhh god, that’s even worse,” Silas says, groaning. (Guess Philadelphia is worse than Delaware.)
8:07 p.m.: Amara, Silas’ true love, is still crazy.
8:09 p.m.: Jeremy is not saying goodbye to Bonnie ever. He also thanks her for sacrificing her life for his. Bonnie stops Jeremy before he says his third thing. "Will the gang successfully bring her back from the other side?
8:10 p.m.: Dr. Maxfield breaks the news that Katherine is aging. “What?!” she exclaims. Katherine can’t stop the aging process now (aka losing her teeth, etc.) that she’s become human. And all those years – centuries to be clear -- of Katherine being a vampire? They’re starting to catch up with her. “You have a few months,” Dr. Maxfield breaks the gloomy news to Katherine. Yikes.
STORY: 'Vampire Diaries' Recap: The Impossible Kill
8:14 p.m.: Silas wants Amara to die now. “Listen if you want to kill her and save me the trouble, by all means …,” Silas tells Damon on the phone. Guess he’s ready to break his promise to Damon, who is under the impression that he’ll help bring Bonnie back from the “other side.” That doesn’t bode well for Damon and Co., who are relying on Silas to keep true to his agreement.
8:17 p.m.: But Stefan wants to kill Silas, end of story.
8:18 p.m.: Amara can’t tell the difference between the living and the dead. Interestingly, Bonnie can touch Amara, which spawns an idea. Because Amara apparently exists in both sides, perhaps Bonnie can be the anchor. Unfortunately the person the gang will need to cast the spell is the one and only Tessa, and Damon’s not too happy about it.
8:20 p.m.: Tessa loves Chinese food, so she’s disappointed when Damon comes to smooth things over so she can help out with their grand plan of bringing Bonnie back. Damon proposes a deal with Tessa. Is this going to bite them in the butt later on? Turns out doppelganger blood is powerful enough to help Tessa cast the spell. Figures.
8:25 p.m.: Stefan needs to kill Silas to keep his humanity intact, or so he says.
8:28 p.m.: “I got doppelgängers coming out of my ears! How many you want?"
8:31 p.m.: Katherine wants Tessa to make something to stop her aging. Tessa agrees.
8:32 p.m.: Amara, Katherine and Elena come together to power up Tessa’s spell to help in their quest to bring Bonnie back. But Silas crashes the party when he daggers Tess. (Thankfully Elena comes to save her.)
8:37 p.m.: But Stefan, who has Amara, gives Silas 10 minutes to find Amara. When he does, it's a teary reunion between the two former lovers. "I can't live any longer," Amara says, crying. When she continues to insist that she's ready to die -- at Silas' blade -- Stefan breaks up the party: "Do you remember me?"
8:46 p.m.: Witch Silas is much more powerful than Stefan thought. As Silas continues to berate Stefan, Stefan uses this time to grab the blade and throws it right at Silas, killing him. Amara daggers herself right as Damon comes to take her away in a scene taken straight out of Romeo and Juliet. It's too late; she's dying.
8:49 p.m.: Jeremy and Bonnie revisit their conversation from before. The third thing Jeremy wanted to tell her? "I love you." As Amara dies, Jeremy and Bonnie are resigned to the fact that Bonnie will be forever gone. But, not so fast! She's not! Bonnie lives.
8:54 p.m.: Tessa breaks the cold truth that she's not going to save Katherine's life. Instead, Tessa killed herself so she can be with Silas forever on the other side.
8:55 p.m.: Now that Bonnie's the anchor, life isn't going to be very enjoyable. "Every supernatural being that will pass through the other side, will pass through you. ... Sorry, that's going to hurt like a bitch." Poor Bonnie.
8:58 p.m.: Nadia wants her mother Katherine to tag along on her trip to Prague. But Katherine shoots her down.
8:59 p.m.: Stefan starts to dig Silas' grave, but his flashbacks start flooding back. Things aren't adding up.
What are your thoughts on Thursday's episode?
The Vampire Diaries airs Thursdays at 8 p.m. on The CW.
Email: Philiana.Ng@THR.com
Twitter: @insidethetube
