‘The Vampire Diaries’ season 7, episode 20 review: Rayna’s ‘gift’ for Bonnie

Sure, there were many different events that took place on “The Vampire Diaries” Friday night, but there is really one twist that has us excited far more than any of the others: The idea of seeing a dark side for Bonnie play out in a big way on the show. It’ll probably be polarizing, but that’s in part why we dig it. It’s bold.

Let’s backtrack somewhat. All of the vampires on Rayna’s list were taken out, and in some ways, the character could finally be at peace. At first, we were surprised to see that the Big Bad for the second half of this season was killed off two episodes before the finale, but that was before we heard her utter her final words, a curse that effectively means that Bonnie (who was just starting to be okay thanks to the actions of Damon and others) will have a deep hatred for all of them. Basically, she may have just turned her evil! It’s a game-changer for the character, and it certainly means that Kat Graham will have some fun stuff to play over the final episodes of the show.

Elsewhere, did anyone else feel like this episode was somewhat depressing? Sure, it was nice to see some of the love story for Matt and Penny play out, but there was still this sense of foreboding, given that we knew precisely where this is going to go. Also, Alaric’s relationship with Caroline really doesn’t seem right for this world, mostly because of the way that the Alaric character has gotten a little bit obsessive.

Oh, and there’s something terrible in the Armory. Maybe we’re annoyed that we don’t know what yet, but hey, Evil Bonnie! It’s a distraction! We’ll take it. Grade: B.

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