Vampire Diaries: 'Blood Brothers'...a brotherhood that will never end

I know I am posting this recap much later than I always do, but this episode really threw me for a loop. It took me so long to actually process all the information the writers gave us in this episode. So let me first say this...WOW.

There is a reason that some of my favorite episodes of the season are those with flashbacks. And this is the one I've been looking forward to all season! How did Damon and Stefan die? And whoosh! The writers of this series were never ones to waste time. Now, as a lover of the books, I was slightly disappointed that Damon and Stefan did not in fact kill each other, but were shot trying to save Katherine. I thought it diminished quite a lot of what I believed the hate relationship was between them. However, my disappointment was mended when we find out that it was Daddy Salvatore that pulled the trigger.

Really? He killed his own sons. Not only does it confirm the feelings that Damon has had against his father all along, but it completely destroyed Stefan. Even led him to wish for his father's demise. Which indeed came, from the mouth of his own "good" son. For the first time, Stefan felt the betrayal against his father that Damon as always felt. Stefan loved and respected his father. And being the person he drink from to complete his change made the irony and Stefan's guilt all the greater.

I'm sure I'm not the only person that always assumed that it was Damon that completed the transformation into a vampire first. But to find that Damon was the one ready to die without Katherine at his side is beyond shocking. "They killed her, Stefan. She's gone." It's hard to believe a crying Damon. Or a Damon that truly does love someone. But in his way, Damon did truly love Katherine, especially after finding that Katherine never did have to compel him. Perhaps this is why I watched in horror as Stefan forced him to feed on human blood to complete his transformation into a vampire. Stefan to Damon: "You can turn that off too, you don't have to feel that pain anymore. I won't let you die." Damon: "No, I can't." All the while forcing Damon towards the girl he brought for him. It was as if we saw the Damon that can care and love turn into the Damon that hates change right before our eyes. I have never felt so much sympathy for Damon before. even if he has always been my favorite character.

I agree with one of my good twitter pals @IHeartTVD when she said Friday night that Stefan was being selfish, just like Katherine. He discovered a whole other life and wanted someone to share it with. And in forcing Damon to become a vampire, the weight of Stefan's guilt began.

Now being locked in the dungeon in the boardinghouse in the middle of intervention staged by Damon and Elena, Stefan cannot let go of the guilt that has been building up for 145 years. He has a habit of taking all the responsibility on his shoulders so no one else has to. Including the demons and guilt of his brother. Elena does all she can to make him drink animal blood, but he refuses. Because of the weight of his guilt, he is ready to die. Stefan: "I don't want to survive. I'm sorry Elena, no more. After what I've done it has to end. I just want it over." Stefan is no longer able to live with what he has done. Elena, refusing to take no as an answer, gives him an ultimatum: To stay in the cell and die, or put his ring back on and come to her upstairs, and she leaves the cell.

As a viewer that can sometimes be annoyed by Elena's control freak attitude, I was very happy with her in this episode. Although she knew none of this was okay, she knew Stefan still had the strength to walk away from this. She didn't make it okay, but she refused to let him blame himself for a monster that he can't control.

Damon and Alaric team up once again to track down a clue to Isobel. Alaric: "Can we not kill anyone tonight, please?" Damon: "You just brought me along for my company?" In a couple of my favorite scenes in the episode, Damon and Alaric raid a house that ends up being the residence of one of the tomb vampires whom Uncle John has been helping. Killing him easily, Alaric confesses that he his done spending his life trying to find Isobel, when he only ever comes to dead ends. In the scene that follows, Damon and Alaric have not only found something in common, but tease and poke each other like they've been friends for years. They have both been abandoned by the woman they loved. Although these are the last two that you would ever see as friends, they have reluctantly come together under similar circumstances because they are a great team. Could it get any better than this? (Ha!)

Upon Damon's return to the boardinghouse, Elena is instantly defensive, blaming Damon's taunting of his little brother for Stefan's demise. Damon doesn't take to kindly to her accusation and blames her for not hearing the rest of their story. When demanding to hear it, Elena is almost horrified to find out the truth of how they turned into vampires. And then, she finds Stefan's cell empty.

Fleeing to the quarry where his and Damon's lives changed forever, Stefan plans to let the sun rise and his life end. But not before reliving the last moments with his brother before Damon changed. After waking as a vampire, Damon doesn't plan to live eternity with his brother as Stefan wished, but instead, plans to making him suffer for eternity. Damon: "You got what you wanted. You and me for all eternity. But hear this, brother. I will make it an eternity of misery for you." Emily never wanted them to turn and share in Katherine's curse. One that is even more so for Stefan. Even after changing into a vampire, Stefan's heart is pure, and that will now remain his curse for eternity.

Elena finds him at the quarry, and has brought his ring with her. In a tone of understanding that I have never heard from her before, Elena proves that their guilt is much the same. Elena: "are actions are what sets things in motion. But we have to live with that." Even though Stefan doesn't want to hear it, he has no choice but to listen. "Please, don't make this all okay. It hurts me, knowing what I've done." Drinking human blood takes his pain away. That's why he changes, and that's why he knows he is dangerous. That's why he wants to die. Stefan doesn't want the monster inside him to be an excuse to get out of the misery he believes he deserves. However, Elena is able to convince him that he is strong and that he can fight his urges as he has done for 145 years. He doesn't have to let himself be a monster. That he can stand up from this and move forward. And although I don't think Stefan agrees with her, he decides to trust in her trust of him, and takes his ring back.

Damon, as snarky as ever, decides to rejoice in the "good" brother's return. Damon: "No, thank you. Stefan. You're back on Bambi blood and I'm the big bad-ass brother again. All is right in the world."Although we know Damon cares about Stefan, Damon makes sure he knows that that's not all he feels towards his brother. "You're not allowed to feel my guilt." Stefan has spent so much time running behind Damon and cleaning up his messes, that Damon makes sure his little brother knows he's had enough and that his feelings towards Stefan still haven't changed. "I hated you and I still do. Because she turned you. It was just supposed to be me, Stefan. Just me."

Even after everything that has happened, Damon still hates Stefan because Katherine chose him too. And if the TV series does stay true to the book, Katherine loved Stefan best. And not only will that be something that Damon holds against him forever, but also the fact that Stefan also has Elena. Whether what Damon said is true or not, I'm not sure everything will go back to the way it was. Too much has happened between the brothers this season. Not matter how much Damon tries to hide it, he does care what happens to Stefan and Elena. And no matter how hard Stefan tries not to, he will always be there to get Damon out of whatever mess he finds himself in. They may hate each other for one reason or another, but somehow, no matter what moves they make, their brotherhood never changes. They will never leave eachother's side again.

And as for the cliffhanger we always know is coming...considering the name of next week's episode, I'm pretty sure we all knew Isobel was going waltz in during the last few seconds.

As a side note, next week is the CW's Tweet Week. Nina Dobrev will be tweeting between 8-9pm ET and Kevin Williamson and Julie Plec will be tweeting for both the East Coast and the West Coast as we all watch the new episode of "The Vampire Diaries" next week.