Once Upon A Time 6.14 "Page 23" Review

                                              
Hook (Colin O'Donoghue) still wrestles with his conscience about telling Emma (Jennifer Morrison) the truth and Nemo (Faran Thair) finds him at the docks.  He tells Hook he needs to either tell her or suffer the guilt which can't be as hard, but still would be than actually not telling her.  He might get forgiveness which is easier to live with.  As he sees the past events in his dreamcatcher. Emma catches him trying to burn it and burn his memories along with it.  She finds out what he did and he admits he was ashamed and he already hurt his family and he didn't want to do the same to hers.  Not being able to sit across the table from them and conceal what he'd done.  Emma would've preferred to know cos as she said before she doesn't want any secrets between them.  Easier said than done.  She returns him the ring until he decides what he wants to do.  Emma having already told Snow (Ginnifer Goodwin) and the others about the ring too and being engaged.

The Evil Queen tells Robin (Sean Maguire) about herself and Regina (Lana Parilla) and he finds she too has a double like him.  Well, yes but far worse.  He wants to get out of here and head to New York and he thinks she should do the same.   However she kidnaps him and uses him in her plan to get revenge on Regina once and for all.  Also taking Henry's (Jared S Gilmore) quill pen so he can't write her into a happy ending or worse still, an ending befitting a villain.  He doesn't know what he wanted to write but he wants the pen back.  But she gives him a message for Regina instead.  Regina wants to tell them about the Queen and she's decided on what she's go to do but  Zelena (Rebecca Mader) notices the ring on Emma's finger detracting from Regina, who is truly happy for Emma. Yeah hugs and kisses all round.  The message is a page from the book depicting Regina and Robin's happy ending.

Evils keeps Robin tied up until Regina shows up for their showdown.  Then sends him away with a spell.  During this there are flashbacks to that same village again when Regina was hunting Snow, who was always not within her reach.  Her father tried to stop her but she wasn't listening to anyone and was hell bent on destroying Snow and anyone who got in her way and nothing could help.  Not even Tinkerbell (Rose McIver). Yes Regina's fave word, "destroy" uttered five times in this ep alone!! He tells Regina he can help her and he says he's got her mother's spell book.  Instead of a portal leading to darkness it's one of light and she senses Tinkerbell was at work here.  He shows her Cupid's arrow and it can help the person she loves.  Well that was only Daniel then and it won't exactly lead her to him.  Regina had a thang for these outdoorsy types didn't she.  First a stable hand and then a thief, not that there's anything wrong with a stable hand.  Her heart wanted what her heart wanted.

Instead she uses the spell book for a spell of her own since the lines between love and hate are so close.  She conjures up a spell which will lead her to the very thing she hates.  She follows the arrow to her wardrobe and the mirror inside shows her the very thing she hates is herself.  She breaks the mirror.  No wonder she had untold bad luck and this was her comeuppance for sparing Tinkerbell's life, who told her she'd find true love with the tattooed man at the tavern.

Regina and the Evils Queen go head to head with swords in her office and finally Regina gets the better of her.  Regina takes her heart and says she knows what she has to do, once again she sees her reflection in the mirror shards on the floor.  She takes her own heart and combines it with love before putting it back in both their bodies, respectively.  The Evil Queen is no more and apologizes for wrecking her furniture.  She sent Robin back to where he would be happy.  Regina calls quits on their battle and Evils decides she needs a fresh start which Henry will write for her.

She apologizes to Snow and everyone for the spell and Regina has information from her in trying to break the sleeping curse.  As Henry writes her away to somewhere she can be happy, still referring to her as the Evil Queen.  As well as well as calling her mother, twice and he's never done that before. Snow and Zelena aren't too happy about Evils being allowed just to vanish somewhere.
She ends up at that tavern again where Robin buys her a drink.  Seems sad that she got Regina's happy ending with Robin even if she was her 'double' in the sense of being a part of her.  Regina left alone once more, especially after Emma got her happy ending again with Hook - almost and she didn't bear any grudges against her.

Hook tells Nemo he's not going with him and will be sticking around after Snow talks to him about the engagement and is so happy for her.  Emma deserves happiness and she also tells him about the Evil Queen being vanquished by Regina.  As they get on the Nautilus, Gideon (Giles Matthey) appears and submerges the vessel since he can't them around, viz Hook, for what he's got in mind. Yeah as if Emma needs Hook around now to help her.  Should've known he'd be around since he was mentioned this episode.  Still up to his no good tricks again even after Rumples told him last ep he didn't want to be dark like him.

Turns out that page was mostly about Evils and Robin, at least it appeared to be, or maybe just Regina giving away her happy ending since she couldn't have it with her real Robin and being selfless.  As for Page 23, thought we were back in Alias territory again what with their Page 47 ep title!  ha.

Once Upon A Time 6.13 "Ill-Boding Patterns" Review

                                             
Another flashback to the Ogre Wars and another perspective on how this was fought and won, only it just leads back to the same thing over and over: Rumples (Robert Carlyle) and Bae (Brandon Spink). This time Beowulf (the ugly mug! ha.) thinks they can defeat them cos he's got a sword and talks the men into fighting the Ogres.  He does that but many are killed until he faces another ogre who knocks him out and goes for the kill, but he's saved by Rumples: The Dark One, who else. Emphasis on Dark One cos that's the theme running through the entire episode again.  Rumples used his magic to kill the ogres, all of them and instead of being hailed a hero at the tavern, Beowulf (Torstein Bjorkland) spoils his moment and fifteen minutes of fame by saying he used magic. Obviously Beowulf wanted to be the one to take the glory, but duh loser!  Bae is disappointed since he asked Rumples not to use magic.  However he returns home next day with mud on his face having been put through the ringer by the baker's son.
Only Ogre we liked was Milo Ventimiglia in Gotham!! ha.

The townspeople come knocking on Rumple's door begging for his help cos the Grendel is after them and they sent Beowulf after it a week ago.  Rumples and Bae head there but Bae makes Rumples promise he won't use his magic and can fight it like a man.  Cos he recalls how he didn't need crutches at one time.  Rumples give him the dagger so he doesn't see it as a temptation.  At the cave, Rumples finds the Grendel's horn and knows it's a trap.  Beowulf wanting to play hero again.  He wants to kill Rumples and he tells Bae to run.  However Rumples is threatened by him and Bae uses the dagger to summon the Dark One and make him obey.  Rumples wants to tell the villagers the truth but no one will listen to him.  He walks away when he's trying to strange Beowulf and Bae commands him to kill Beowulf.  Therein reinforcing Bae's dark side and his loss of soul.

Presently in Storybrooke, Rumples tries to save Gideon (Giles Matthey) from doing the same since he won't be any use against the Black Fairy even if he kills Emma (Jennifer Morrison) and becomes the Saviour.  Rumples ties him up in the clocktower and tells him Bae's story.  He won't let him do     the same as his first born son did.  Trying to give him memory potion in his tea to make him forget about the Black fairy (as he did with Bae).  However that won't work on him as Gideon tells Rumples.  He shows him Belle's (Emilie de Ravin) favourite book, Her Handsome Hero and he tried to be that and wants to be that to save his people.  You see Rumples found him breaking into the Sheriff's office to retrieve the broken sword, silly place to keep it, which will help Gideon.  He tells Rumples how he hid the book Belle gave him and used to read it every night.  It kept him going until the Black Fairy found it.  He wanted to save a boy there and he found his cell door open but didn't have the courage to help.

Gideon wants to change that now and commands Rumples with the dagger to tell him who forged the sword.  Of course it had to be the Blue Fairy (Keegan Connor Tracy) Gideon's fairy godmother.  He needs to take her blood and magic so the sword will be forged again.  She apologizes for not being able to help against the Black Fairy cos she was too powerful.  Rumples stops him from losing his soul and taking the blood of an innocent so he does it himself.  Later promising Belle that he will stop Gideon and will wake up the Blue Fairy and return her magic to her.  She's overjoyed that he thought of someone else and wouldn't let their son turn dark.  But isn't he that already as he keeps talking about killing no matter of they're innocent or not.  Thought Rumples would tell him he's got another way to help against the Black Fairy and what happened to their time travelling portals now so they could all go back and help Gideon.

Hook (Colin O'Donoghue) drinks some more, oops better watch out for the pot belly ha!  And wallows some more as he tells Archie (Rapheal Sbarge) he's got a secret and he's the only one who knows about it.  If he told Emma she won't see him in the same way.  Archie tells him to keep it then but Hook says he's broken and has to own up.  He tries to tell Emma after not eating his burgers and chips!  But she thinks he wants to propose and accepts when she forces him to do it.  Cheap shot considering he wasn't ready to propose yet but she kinda forces his hand (in marriage!  Ha.  Sorry). So there goes his confession and so much for Emma saying she doesn't want any walls or secrets between them

Okay next story.  Robin (Sean Maguire) tells Zelena (Rebecca Mader) to whip up a magic potion to break the protection spell so he can leave this forsaken hamlet.  He knows she'll want to do the same.  She tries to do it but Regina (Lana Parilla) turns up at the sign.  She tried to change him and was wrong, Zelena being familiar with that.  She can't make him the Robin she knew, who had scruples after all, this one, well once a thief, always a thief.  Regina tells them the spell won't work cos if she could have done it, she would've removed the spell herself.  Of course it doesn't and Zelena was taking the serpent Evil Queen along with her too.  She later apologies to Regina and returns the serpent's cage, only it's empty.  Regina regretting she removed her evil self and wanting to take her back inside her body.  However the serpent's gone.  As the Evil Queen bites Robin as he still has some magic left in him and that's all she needed.  Cue her return when hopefully things should hot up again cos quite frankly, a lot of this season just appears to be repetition.

Once Upon A Time 6.12 "Murder Most Foul" Review

                                                   
Well this one was an eye-opener especially the end of the episode but if you really looked all the clues were always there with David (Josh Dallas) trying, determined to find who actually murdered his father, Robert (David Cubbit).  The flashback showing how they had to give away one of the twins at the behest and temptation of Rumples (Robert Carlyle) when they fall ill and need medicine. Only they could keep the one boy and Rumples chose James as the one who would be Prince James. They didn't even change his name when he became of regal lineage.  Later he finds that James has been kidnapped as King George (Alan Dale) enters the tavern where their worthless father is drinking, as usual, even the bar keep telling him he should go home and save the money for his family: cos family is everything.

However he goes in search of his son and finds him in a place called Pleasure Island which explained the Ferris wheel in the opening creds, so it was a kind of rougher Coney Island!  Ha.  After Rumples tells him where he is for a price: the hair on his head, well a strand, which he didn't really want after all.  But remarks on how big things grow from little ones.  Obviously he must've known what was going to happen.  Anyway here he chances upon a very wooden Pinocchio (who got around a lot!) and lies about knowing James, thus his nose grows.  He finds James and tries to take him home when he finds he ran away and he didn't want to become a knight.  However he's side tracked at the docks where the King offers to pay handsomely for the boy again.  However their father puts his foot down this time only to be taken away and ordered to be killed.

The kicker, that'll come later.  As presently David is determined to find the truth about his father as he sees him appearing as a ghost; meaning he needs to lay him to rest.  He asks Hook (Colin O'Donoghue) to help him as a pirate he'll know the best way.  Hook tries to talk him out of it cos vengeance is bad and all that.  After getting his own talk with Archie (Raphael Sbarge) who tells him he has to be honest with Emma (Jennifer Morrison) as he shows him the ring he wants to give her. Also that he should tell David how he feels about him not liking Hook and accepting him as part of the family.  Cos Hook is more than a pirate.  David convinces him to give him the shed keys so he can work magic and locate his father.  Hook reluctantly agrees and Emma turns up some gear. Where she's taking Henry.  Okay how does one forget the life jackets.

Hook must distract her and he tells her he's emotional after speaking with Archie who said no more secrets.  They kiss as David leaves.  The spell shows the location which Hook names as Pleasure Island: a horrible place.  Again he finds he needs to talk David out of it but again David reinforces Hook's pirate ways and he doesn't need a talk from a pirate.  He realizes who murdered his father and it turns out to be the King who's locked up.  Thought he died.  Anyway he confronts him and says even if he ordered the killing, he didn't actually do it.  Hook shuts him away in the cell and again stops David from making the biggest mistake in his life.  Take it from someone who's been there in more ways than one.

Another flashback shows how his father is tied to the carriage by some thugs who've been paid to kill him and make it look like an accident after he'd been boozing.  Cue Hook who doesn't save him but runs him through with his own sword.  Cos hey it's only a pirate's way and that's what Hook did in his past.  No surprises there or shock, he did kill his own father too so killing a stranger wasn't difficult. Seems Hook hasn't got his redemption at all or forgiveness cos that doesn't excuse what he did.  He didn't even appear remorseful.  Even after David's father's ghost vanishes as Hook tells him he did the right thing, cos his father did that too and tried to make amends by finding James.  Hook also asking David for Emma's hand in marriage.  David saying Hook has changed, well maybe not even if he is 200 years old, he'll still have that pirate in him, no matter how hard he tries to change.  He even didn't show the book pages and kept them, the ones August (Eion Bailey) gave him about Pleasure Island, August's read them himself, he did write them too.

Regina (Lana Parilla) tries to bond with Robin (Sean Maguire) which proves uneventful since he's not happy where he is or so he says.  He spots the Sheriff  (Wil Travel) after making his getaway through the window and tries to kill him, even if he isn't the same person in Storybrooke.  Regina having shown him the book.  She stops him by using her magic and takes him to the Crypt where he talks of her collecting hearts and not being good.  But she's changed and she hides away a powerful box from him.  Also telling him about his children and his daughter.  As Snow (Ginnifer Goodwin) told her this isn't her Robin even if she needs to find that out for herself, she shouldn't have brought him back. She was right as Robin steals her box.  Once a thief...just like the parallel story here; once a pirate...

Regina also finds she has no chemistry when she kisses Robin and they don't feel anything.  She was wrong about him and needs to find out why he really came.  Some sort of ulterior motive obviously. Also have to remember that Robin is a different version and is from a wish.  He won't be the same and is he really working with someone else.  Thought of Gideon here for some reason.  As for Hook he has a lot of explaining to do and the truth will out eventually about him, and there's no excuse that he didn't know who David's father was when he killed him. The apple doesn't seem to fall far from the tree in this show and Hook says David will be adding to the family by welcoming him into the fold of the black sheep.  Sorry sounds like a pun there with David being a shepherd!  Did Hook use his hook to break free of the handcuffs as I said he should! ha

Once Upon A Time 6.11 "Tougher Than The Rest" Review

                                               
Flashback to Minneapolis 1990 where little Emma sits with fairytale book pages that she's burning, when a teen approaches her and talks of The Ugly Duckling.  She feels she has no hope and won't find happiness but he tells her of the story and how the duckling became a swan cos he never gave up believing he could do it.  It was his fate.  The teem obviously being August.  He convinces her to go to the police where she adopts the last name of Swan.

In the wished for land, Emma (Jennifer Morrison) and Regina (Lana Parilla) need to find away to get back home and Robin (Sean Maguire) steals their jewellery and vanishes.  As Henry (Jared S Gilmore) approaches with guards in search of his mother and the Evil Queen.  They hide behind some driftwood and Emma then realizes she has an idea how she can get home: she thinks of August (Eion Bailey) who would be here too.  Yeah charming hey, think of a plank of wood and come up Pinocchio!!  He's still at his father's hut but his father has long since passed  As Regina goes off to find Robin.  Emma will realize it was August who convinced her to go to the police and he can't make the cupboard for her since there's no more magic left and he doesn't have magic.  But he has an idea what he can do.  As he takes Emma to the tree in the forest with his tools.  The chisel will help him carve it for her.  But before he can, Hook (Colin O'Donoghue) appears.  Aged, dishevelle, in need of personal hygiene and pot bellied!  Oh boy if ever there was anything or anyone so ugly (re the ugly duckling or ugly pirate ducky in this case) it was Hook!  ha.  He's here to rescue Emma, but more so he's after the reward her family's put up!

As they fight, the chisel breaks and Emma uses her magic to whisk him away to his ship.  Saying she'll have to cut down on his rum and dessert.  Not that we've seen Hook eating dessert, blame Granny's diner for that.  Maybe he binge ate ice cream for all the troubles and woes he went through. Or the implication the love of a good woman can keep your weight down!! ha.  Emma talks of the sword and how it is fated to kill her, but she won't give up her fate without a fight.  She convinces August to believe in himself and he manages to take the tree back to the hut and carve a portal for her.

Regina looks for Robin and ends up at that same tavern where she was told he was the love of her life and she should go for it, as she spies his tattoo again.  Everyone flees cos the Evil Queen has arrived and she tells him about himself and asks whether he's happy here.  Which he says he is and she leaves but he stops her.  Not for long since the Sheriff of Nottingham (Wil Travel) arrives, places a bracelet on her wrist preventing her from using magic and arrests them both.  As they sit in the dungeon carriage, she tells him about him and how in her other world he's actually dead.  He tells her he didn't have a chance with Marion cos she died before they could get together.  Rumples (Robert Carlyle) appears and gets them out but takes them to his castle dungeon too cos he found Belle's (Emilie de Ravin) bones!  Robin uses a nail from the bed to break out, that was too easy, wouldn't he have put some magic spell on the door.  She tells him how she lost him in her world and he shows her the feather, later at the hut.  The same one that Zelena was meant to give her but it got lost.  Though she doesn't tell him about his son and also his daughter, with another baby mama!  Her sister of all women!

Emma thinks Regina can take him with them cos he doesn't really have a happy life here.  He's Robin of Loxley: a thief who steals for himself and not to give to the poor and he agrees to go.  As they reach Storybrooke, Regina thinks Robin isn't coming since he takes a long time to get here.  Emma finds herself in her usual clothes and heads for town.  As Regina shows Robin the town and introduces it to him in her capacity as Mayor.

In the town square, Emma meets with Gideon (Giles Matthey) and they fight.  He needs to be the new Saviour to save his land from the Black Fairy.  But why can't they work together and why can't Emma help him.  Well as he said earlier to Belle and Rumples, he wants the power and he didn't have a good upbringing courtesy of the Black Fairy.  Rumples tries to reason with him cos he's been through all that, but it falls on deaf ears.  He even tells Gideon to hit him and take it out on him but he doesn't. Partly for being  a bad father, well he wasn't there for him.  Though he and Belle are equally at fault for that.  She could've kept him and raised him surrounded by her Friends.  Belle also pleads with Hook and Charming not to kill him until she's had a chance to reason with him as his mother.

However as they fight and the others turn up at the square, he freezes them all so they can't interfere and Emma's hand shakes again but she strikes up courage to fight him.  Saying if she's fated to die then it'll happen but not today and pushes him back, breaking the sword which he had gotten hold of. she picks up a piece and puts it to his neck, as Rumples pleads with her to not kill him.  However he vanishes saying he doesn't need his help.  Really so that's why he has to be the Saviour.  There's hugs and kisses with Emma and Charming (Josh Dallas) also telling Hook earlier that he won't wake up Snow (Ginnifer Goodwin) until he has helped his family.

Belle is at the well and Rumples asks her if she's making a wish.  As they talk about their failings and how he failed Baelfire, as well as each other.  Gideon climbs the clock tower and destroys that window again!  Huh how many times will that happen.  As Belle makes a wish and throws the coin into the well.

Emma headed to August's where he's typing a story and she shows him the pages of the book, she kept the Ugly Duckling stories.  Seems time and again whenever she needs confidence and courage it's usually been August who's given her that, even in the land of the wish.  As well as when he first arrived in Storybrooke.  We now know (again) that he always knew her when she was little and gave her the courage and hope back then as well to do the right thing, always.

Once Upon A Time 6.10 "Wish You Were Here" Review

                                                 
After finding out that the sword which can kill Emma (Jennifer Morrison) can also be used to kill the Evil Queen, they attempt to do this.  But wouldn't killing the Evil Queen also end Regina's (Lana Parilla) life too. However she gets hold of the lamp and uses Aladdin (Deniz Akdeniz) as the Genie to wish Emma away back to her past, where she was never the Saviour, but someone who was a flighty as ever and so good, it was a little sickening.  You know, use your brain and stop being an entitled princess.  As she sings, "some day my prince will come..." whilst picking flowers.  Hook (Colin O'Donoghue) Jasmine (Karen Shenaz David) and Charming (Josh Dallas) get a hold of the lamp and Jasmine and Aladdin leave for Agarabah.  Let's hope for good cos that storyline wasn't interesting at all.

Cue the hooded figure from Emma's visions who turns up and his first act: to turn the Evil Queen into a serpent, er, wasn't that what Charming wished for her.  Regina gets back into the world where Emma is only she's seen as the Evil Queen there and no one listens to her.  No matter how she tries to convince them she's not from here.  Henry (Jared Gilmore) also takes an instrumental role in being the one with the sword and trying to be a Saviour, even if it's not really who he's meant to be. Though he does have the inherited genes to be one it's not how it works.  Regina resorts to all sorts of evil tricks to convince Emma she's the Saviour, but she just doesn't buy into it, even attacking Snow (Ginnifer Goodwin) and Charming.  However Henry strolls in, well I couldn't say rode in to save the day and play hero, he tries to kill Regina, causing Emma to have an epiphany, well a loose one for want of a better word and she realizes who Regina is.  Oh and Snow and Charming have aged!! ha.

The hooded figure also revealing himself to be none other than Gideon,  Belle (Emilie de Ravin) and Rumple's (Robert Carlyle) son.  See he was raised by the Black Fairy in her own evil form.  A good scene was when Regina found Rumples locked up in the Charming's dungeon all this time and he'd do anything to get out, including promising Regina a magic bean in order for her to get back to their world, a promise which he ends up keeping, for once, ha.  However as if nothing else could happen they get side tracked as who pops up, but none other than Robin Hood (Sean Maguire).  Gees mention hero and he shows up!

It appears Belle and Rumples were coming to their senses a little bit in asking how far they've come and how?  That's not love, it's sheer hate, resentment and is this something which led their son to be like this too.  If Rumples hadn't pushed for Belle to make him be a part of Gideon's life, then she would've raised himself herself in Storybrooke and his birth wouldn't have been sped up, nor would the Black Fairy got her hands on him.  How will they come to Emma's help and stop Gideon from killing her, at least how will Belle talk him round.  Does he blame her for his destiny and turning out the way he did?

As for Robin showing up, will this mean Regina will found true reconciliation with Zelena. Becoming sisters as they should be for good this time.  But how will this interfere when Robin wants to be a part of baby Robin's life and raise his daughter.  Regina was willing to go through plenty to cut herself open and save Emma, at least draw out the Saviour.  However her attempts to bring Emma out of her 'sleep' did show there is some darkness in her, a little at least, for her to go through these scenarios of 'evil' in order to get Emma to help resolve them.  I did enjoy the scene where she burst into the castle again and again, when they're having a celebration and to find that the Charming's have aged!

Hook and Charming bond some more in this episode as the two men in Emma's life and no as Hook says they don't sit around waiting for a genie to appear, or wish for one.  Yet they do work together in getting the lamp.  However there are aspects of James in David which he didn't think were there, that he can be dark when it comes to his family and will do anything for them.  Having Hook be there to save him from himself, in a way, again shows how far these two have come.  Well he will be his father-in-law one day!  Since Hook also reassured him that he isn't evil or dark and he is good, even if they're besieged by the sleeping curse and Snow won't be here he says to save him from the bad in him, Hook has shown he can help instead and Emma should be back too.

The Vampire Diaries 8.16 "I Was Feeling Epic" Review

                                          
As Stefan (Paul Wesley) and Caroline (Candace King) struggle to help Bonnie (Kat Graham) since she's fading away, she wakes to find herself with Elena (Nina Dobrev) who's lying on the bed and they both hug, but Elena says she shouldn't be here cos it's not her time.  Bonnie says it is and Enzo (Michael Malarkey) says it's not as he drags her away and back into her life, or should that be back to life.  Vicky (Kayla Ewell) must ring the Mystic Falls bell until it rains hellfire and Matt (Zach Roerig) wants to stop her but she won't let him.  As Damon (Ian Somerhalder) throws her out of the bell tower, but she still returns and then breaks her neck as an experiment and she returns again.  He says he's got to help Stefan and Bonnie find a way to stop Katherine so Matt must stop his sister.  Of course she's dead already as Damon said but she tells Matt she doesn't want to return to that hell and would rather just die for good and burn in the fire, which isn't really what he wants, but he can't stop her.

Bonnie finds the research that Alaric (Matt Davis) and Dorian (Demetrius Bridges) were doing where he had the idea to make hell implode, well not the right word, but you get the meaning and Bonnie thinks that the hellfire could be Mystic Falls saving grace if they can get Katherine in hell at the time the fire destroys the town.  That will be hard work but Stefan says he will do it.  Katherine meets with Damon who thinks it's Elena and Stefan stabs her with the bone weapon, but it only sends her to hell momentarily.  At least it shuts her up as Damon says, for a while.  Bonnie tells Stefan the plan: uh-oh another plan and the last one for the show which will of course backfire in some ways.  They search for Elena as her body's not in the coffin and Stefan finds her int he boiler room but he can't bring her out cos of the spell which Bonnie must also find away to break.
                                          
As said,Bonnie tells him about the fire in the tunnels and how she'll channel it there and he will be the one to keep Katherine there and go to hell with her, saying he's already there anyway and it's what he must do for his redemption.  Alaric leaves town with the twins to the Armoury and tells Caroline to come too.  She must help search for Elena and will join them later.  He tells her he knows what it's like for Caroline to lose a mother and he's not going to tell the girls the same thing.  She promises she'll be there.  Katherine shows up again like a bad smell from hell and torments Damon some more. He knows of the plan now and she tells him how if she were Elena, she'd chose Stefan cos he's the better man.  He always was the better brother too. Next time he sees Katherine she shows up in the tunnel and he tells her that the tunnels are only 7 miles as the crow flies so the fire will get here quicker than if it travels across the town.  That's where he'll be with her and they'll both wait for it in hell.
                                                 
Cue Stefan as he comes to rescue big brother and tells him he will be the one cos he has so much to live for and Elena too.  But Damon wants this to be his sacrifice since he's come a long way and must do this, eve if it means Elena will no longer be with him and vice versa. As Stefan's human now, Damon compels him and makes him go as he takes another flying stab at Katherine by throwing the bone in her back.  Stefan leaves and we're meant to think that he's gone, but obviously he hasn't, knew there'd be more to this than Damon getting killed.  Matt evacuates the town with another gas leak and he tells Peter (Joel Gretsch) about Vicky.  Peter's not here to talk her out of it but wants to say goodbye to his daughter.  She tells him he's 15 years too late.  Matt tells her Bonnie has a plan and they want her to ring the bell.

Bonnie chants the spell and as the bell strikes, her nose bleeds again and she says she can't do this alone and needs Grams help.  Enzo appears and tells her she is strong enough and that she's not alone and now is her moment to live!  As Grams (Jasmine Guy) joins her along with the other Bennett witches.  Driving the fire through the tunnel and finally it goes out, leaving a charred bell tower. Stefan sees Elena at the school, fitting as this is where they had some of their memorable moments and she tells him he shouldn't be here.  But he tells her about how as a human he didn't go without vervain and he wasn't compelled by Damon, returning to the tunnel, where he gave Damon the cure and he knew he would desiccate and would be in hell.  He whispers to Elena to tell Caroline something, Also telling her how he had to save Damon and for the first time in over 200 years he realized what he was really like as a person and how much he had changed.  He had to do this for him and wanted Damon to live for him too.  As he leaves in a flash of light and meets with Lexi (Arielle Kebbel) outside, telling her "it was epic!"  Stefan feeling a pang of guilt no doubt for turning Damon in the first place, now it was only fitting and apt that he return him to his human life.
                                                      
Alaric tells Caroline the plan when they're on the road and he says he had to do this and leave, thinking of his family but it doesn't mean he doesn't care about Damon or Elena.  Caroline calls Stefan and leaves a message telling him to call her and how he loves her forever.  Elena appears to Bonnie and she tells her she broke the spell so they're both going t o live.
Damon and Caroline say goodbye to Stefan
Brother - Husband - Friend
Born 1846
Now At Peace
                                            
He ask Caroline if she believes Stefan is at peace and she says yes.  One day they'll see him again     and will be together again.  Caroline and Bonnie have their moment with Elena as she tells Caroline that Stefan said to tell her he will love her forever.  So she replies he got her message and heard her. As Elena and Damon are finally reunited and kiss.

Each of them tells them what they did later as a diary entry.  With Matt becoming sheriff and remaining one, even getting a bench in his name.  Alaric and Caroline open their school for gifted children, calling it after Salvatore, cos Caroline said Stefan would've wanted it that way and had help from Dorian and Jeremy.  Caroline also getting a donation from Klaus with a letter, we knew it was from him.  As they'll probably meet up later on.  Alaric calling that another story.  (Maybe she'll end up with Klaus in The Originals.)  Hey everyone uses that ending, even I used it in one of my books.

Tyler (Michael Trevino) and Vicky walk away.  Bonnie says she will live her life and enjoy it until the day she's reunited with Enzo and as she packs she forgets her passport which he whispers to her and takes his necklace with her too, sensing him there for a moment.  Elena says she went to medical school and returned to Mystic Falls cos it's her home.  As she and Damon walk off together, thorough the years, she lets go of his hand and he vanishes, and she finds her family, all of them at home.

So that was Mystic Falls and this was The Vampire Diaries finale.  Don't know what you thought of it, a little rushed,a little more could've been made of it.  But one of the brothers had to die and it had to be Stefan, probably cos this is where the story started and how he was turned by Katherine and then turned Damon.  He was the one who went through it all, all the changes, meeting Elena, the love triangle, the Ripper years and he came round full circle to save the town and to end Katherine, even if hell was meant for him.  He made Damon change too and get his redemption and Caroline tells Damon she doesn't  believe he'll end up in hell.  As Damon and Stefan reunite at the end, "hello brother!"  How it all started and ended.  So what did Damon end up doing all the time Elena was studying.

Did you all cry, any tears, one tear.  Boy am going to miss this show, maybe the characters and actors more cos 8 years is a long time, it's like an eternity! Watching all the events unfold, heck now I'll have to write my own sequel: what happens next.  Though some may already be doing that right now. Just for my own satisfaction in my own mind!!  It was EPIC!!

A bit of a turning point in Katherine having Cade under her thumb as soon as she entered hell, which means she would've had some massive powers over him or was just one bitch, as Damon would say to have taken over!  Which is why he wanted Stefan and Damon, said that too considering Cade didn't really know them from Adam!!  Ha, sorry, but that means the sirens plan to deliver Stefan and Damon to Cade in exchange for the twins wasn't even their plan either!  It's also revealed that Kai's sleeping spell also had other means of waking Elena up and didn't involve magic.  However Bonnie succeeded in breaking it.  Matt also considers running for Mayor which was a nice touch cos it was his home, the only one he's known and he knows what's best for the town.  That was Matty Blue Eyes epic ending!

Though Damon and Elena were probably married, we don't know  if they had children.  Also they had a farewell memorial to Stefan in their usual spot in the woods which was a nice touch too in their final fond farewell to him, now he's truly at peace!  Then again...who knows.  Damon doesn't get to speak in this episode like the others telling us what he did!  Ahh miss that!  Also we don't know if hell being destroyed marked the end of monsters and the like, but it shouldn't cos that would make The Originals redundant!  Nor do we know what happened to Katherine, whether she was destroyed in hell like Cade.

Sheriff Forbes (Marguerite MacIntyre) makes an appearance for Caroline, as does John Gilbert, (David Anders) Jenna (Sara Canning) Miranda Gilbert (Erin Beute) Lucy (Natashia Williams) Jo (Jodi Lyn O'Keefe) Grayson Gilbert (Jason MacDonald).  Elena grows old which is what she wanted after all, "that's the promise of peace, that one day after a long life, we find each other again."  Yeah let's have a warm and cosy booze up with Damon and Stefan by the fire!

The epsiode title was said by Lexi in 1.8 162 Candles. Stefan says it here and elean makes reference ot it too.  The epsiode where Stefan turned 162 so it was an epic ep for him!  Some choice quotes in this ep too like Daom: "poor Sefan, persecuted through throughout eternity by his depraved brother." Which all changed now int he finale.  Bonnie telling Elena she's a witch and here she uses all ehr powers as that same withc ot save the town!