Tonight on the CW The Vampire Diaries starring Nina Dobrev, Ian Somerhalder and Paul Wesley continues with an all new Thursday October 22, season 7 episode 3 called “Age of Innocence,” and we have your weekly recap and spoilers below. On tonight’s episode, Damon (Ian Somerhalder) goes on a road trip with Bonnie (Kat Graham) and Alaric (Matthew Davis) to find something he can use against his mother.
On the last episode, Damon made an impulsive decision that threatened to unravel a carefully negotiated deal between Stefan and Lily, so Damon tried to make amends with his mother before things spiral further out of control. Meanwhile, Alaric obtained a mysterious artifact; Matt made a risky life or death decision; and Caroline uncovered a shocking detail about Stefan’s past. Did you watch the last episode? If you missed it, we recapped it all right here for you.
On tonight’s episode as per the CW synopsis, “Damon goes on a road trip with Bonnie and Alaric to find something he can use against his mother; Caroline, who is being held hostage by the Heretics, learns some shocking information about Valerie’s past; Stefan learns a few unexpected details about his own past from Lily; Alaric turns to Bonnie for her help after coming clean about a secret he’s been keeping.”
You’re not going to want to miss any of the action tonight, so tune in at 8PM EST to the CW to catch the latest. We’ll be live recapping the season 7 episode 3 for you right here and in the meantime, hit up our comments section and tell us your thoughts on this new season!
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#VampireDiaries starts three years from now in NYC. Tyler calls Stefan and says his scar opened up and they don’t have much time. He wants him to warn Caroline. Stefan pours gas on his classic sports car and sets it alight. His journal is in the trunk and he grabs it out at the last moment. He walks away. Now, Bonnie writes in her journal to Elena and says Lily has hidden her coffin somewhere. Bonnie has the weird visions again caused by the stone then comes to on the floor – she collapses again.
Alaric has the stone and tucks it away when Damon comes in – he’s crashing at his place. Alaric asks when he’s going to move out. Damon says it’s just until the hunt down the lone wolf heretic and swap it for Elena. Bonnie comes in and asks him about the phoenix stone and if he destroyed it. She says she had a vision of people with wounds on their skin and says she was knocked out for 10 minutes. Damon says they need to go to Myrtle Beach to see why Lily was calling there.
Alaric says he’ll go if Damon will put on pants. Caroline reads Stefan’s diary about Valerie. Nora and Mary Louise annoy her further then her cell vibrates. It’s Stefan. She says he must have dropped his phone. She says she’s spelled into his room and he says he’s trying to figure a way inside. She says just don’t let Damon kill any more heretics. She asks him about Valerie from his 1863 journal. She describes her and says she’s a heretic. Then Valerie is there and crushes the phone in her hand.
Valerie did not like the description. Lily tries to park her car behind Stefan’s at the Grill and bumps into it. He says take my house, destroy my town, but leave my car alone. He tells her to tell the brats to stop torturing Caroline. She says to tell Damon to leave her brats alone. He says he doesn’t know where Damon is and says they’re not talking. She seems pleased. He asks about Valerie and Lily says she sent her to him.
We see back in 1863, Valerie ran into Stefan who was scribbling in his journal. She tells him he needs to move and says his mood is spoiling everyone’s fun time. They make nice small talk. Now, Valerie asks how Caroline has the journal and she says Nora gave it to her. Valerie says she wasn’t just some girl to Stefan and says she was the first love of Stefan’s life. Now, Stefan changes his mom’s tire. She got a flat because of a nail in the road.
He asks why she sent Valerie and she says to check on him and says it took her a long time to get over losing him. She says she was going to Europe but wanted to know he was okay before she left. He asks with who and she says his name was Julian. He asks if he was a nebishy banker since her first husband shot one of their kids. She says Julian was a man not to fall for so she did. We see Julian watch Valerie flirting with Stefan.
She says Julian is not her father when Julian is introduced. He pulls Valerie away for a word then asks what he’s doing. Julian says Lily gave strict instructions that they were to keep their distance. Now, Valerie tells Caroline that she didn’t keep her distance and says he was sweet and handsome. Caroline thinks she compelled Stefan to write nice things but Valerie says she wasn’t a vampire then and couldn’t compel. She says she had an amulet with power she could siphon when she needs it.
Then, Stefan tells Valerie his mother died a long time ago. Valerie tells him there’s no shame in missing her mother. He says Julian is persistent and Valerie says they should elude him. She touches her amulet and whispers a chant and Julian walks right by them. He asks how it’s possible and she says magic then laughs. Caroline wants to hear more but Valerie quits talking. Caroline says she thinks Valerie put the anti-vamp spell on her so Stefan can’t touch her.
Valerie tells her more of the story and about her first kiss with Stefan. She made a move on him but he reveals he’s never been with anyone. They kiss again and they slowly undress each other. Now, Valerie says it was his first time then tells Caroline you know what it’s like when you’re someone’s first. Caroline says of course she knows. Valerie says that’s what she felt. Alaric asks Damon what’s the plan. He says they’ll swap the heretic for Elena’s coffin.
Bonnie wants to get the heretic to siphon off her visions. Damon knocks on the door and Oscar answers drunk then calls him old friend and hugs him. He laughs and tells them to come in. It’s not the dangerous welcome they were expecting. He tells them to come in and make themselves at home then asks Ric if he’ll holster the vervain. Bonnie asks how he knows Damon and he says he’s the hero soldier and he met him at a bar near Gettysburg in 1863.
Oscar says Lily was in a dark place and wanted to know he was happy. He says she loved them. Oscar offers them a drink then Damon asks if Lily knows he’s there. Oscar laughs drunkenly and says shh. Stefan gives his mom a driving lesson and she says Valerie never told her about their romance and only told her that he had moved on. Back then, we see Stefan and Valerie in bed and he tells her he has something to show her. He takes her to a cemetery and says it’s his mother’s grave.
He says he comes every day to put flowers on her grave. He says she’s been dead six years and he’s still trying to make up for his failure. He says she had consumption and her coughing got worse and his dad sent him for flowers so he could have her carted off to the sanitorium. He says she died in the TB ward and Valerie says he never got to say goodbye. He says he wonders what if he had run back faster. She says cream violets would not have saved her and he says that’s kind of her to say.
Valerie says she worked caring for TB patients and says cream violets have no medicinal value and his father sent him on a fool’s errand. She says he could not have saved his mother. She says her death is not his fault. Julian is there and tells Valerie they are leaving for New York now. He says come now and they will speak no more of it. Stefan asks when he’ll see her again and she promises to find her way back to him. She leaves.
Caroline says it’s kind of like The Notebook but Stefan forgot her. She says Julian convinced her to lie to Lily about Stefan. Oscar says Lily had a job for him so he volunteered. He says he doesn’t want to live among her children and be told what to do. He says he called a number on a card and got a GF – Bonnie says that was a hooker. He says he just wants freedom after the prison experience. Bonnie asks if he can siphon something. Damon says Bonnie was playing with mystical tools.
Oscar says he doesn’t like to do that and Damon says if he siphons the memories, they won’t mention to Lily that they saw him. Oscar touches her head and then the visions come. He takes his hands away and asks where’s the phoenix stone? He asks what they’re up to and uses magic to hold the three of them at bay. Damon says Oscar is gone once they all come to and Alaric says he took the stone. Bonnie says she thought he destroyed it. Bonnie asks if Damon knew he had it.
Damon says Ric lied and he just didn’t mention it. He says he’s going to find Oscar. Bonnie rants at Alaric. He says the two of them came back and Jo deserves a second chance too. She reminds him the other side doesn’t exist anymore. He says Jo is the love of his life and he’s ready to take the chance no matter what. He says without her, he wishes he had stayed dead. Stefan and Lily drive and she smiles at him. He tells her eyes on the road.
She asks if there’s anything else he’d like to know. Stefan says it was all a lie. He says Valerie was using him and Lily says that’s not true. Stefan says maybe Valerie doesn’t give a crap about anyone. He says she sent him a telegram telling him she was coming back. He says it came a few months after she left. Valerie reads about it from the journal to Caroline. He says he was to meet her Friday at noon and he came two hours early. Valerie reads that he waited and waited like an idiot hoping she would come.
He says he stayed until dark but she never showed up. He tells Lily he doesn’t know what the point is and Lily says he can’t still be angry. He says it was 150 years ago. Valerie reads the he accepted he’d been abandoned again and walked home under the cold and distant stars. Caroline asks how Valerie could do that to him. She says there was a change of plans then says she’s done talking to Caroline. She walks out but thinks back.
Valerie was on the docks and then Julian was there. He asks why she’s slipping away and she says she’s not going. He says she’s going because Lily won’t go anywhere without her orphans and says he must leave today. He says he can hear both of her hearts and asks if Stefan knows she’s pregnant with his child. Damon finds Oscar and tells him he does remember him. He says he lied. He says he was fighting for the South and doesn’t like to mention that to people.
Oscar says Damon wanted to desert then says Oscar compelled him to claim sick leave and his whole detachment was killed. Oscar says he couldn’t compel and just talked to him. Oscar says he doesn’t want to be with Lily and just wants to have fun. Oscar says he doesn’t want to mess with the stone and says people die. Damon says he doesn’t want the stone, he wants Oscar to cash him in for something better. They fight and Oscar is doing well until Bonnie shows up to pitch in.
He grabs up the stone that fell out of his pocket and hands it to Alaric then tells him never lie to her again. Damon says – aww my besties are buds again – then he says they need to make a deal. Lily shows up and asks Caroline about her mother. Caroline says she spent the day reliving Stefan’s first time and doesn’t want to talk about her dead mother with her kidnapper. Lily says she wants to know about how it’s possible to heal.
Caroline says Lily must have a mother then says even Mussolini did. Then she tells Lily that Stefan wrote about her all the time because he loved and missed her. Lily tells Nora to remove the barrier and says Caroline is no longer a prisoner. She says it’s a reward for Stefan’s honesty then says to go before she changes her mind. Caroline says she doesn’t know what made her heart grow four sizes but says thanks then zips away.
Valerie finds Stefan sitting near his mother’s grave. She says she came there every day to think in the prison world before they desiccated. She says it’s strange to be able to tell him the truth. Then, Valerie begged Julian not to tell Lily. He knocked her down and kicked her stomach. She tried to get away and says he beat her senseless until the baby was gone and says she woke on the ship on the way to England and says Julian told her that he found her robbed and beaten.
She says Lily would never have forgiven her for the affair with her son. She says she ran a bath laced with laudanum and tried to kill herself. But because she had Lily’s blood in her because she had healed her, she came back and says she came back as the first heretic by a tragic accident. She tells Stefan she’s sorry about everything and then she’s gone. Ah. It looks like she had worked her invisibility and silence spell so that she sat by him and confessed but he couldn’t hear a thing.
Bonnie and Alaric talk about the stone and he says he hasn’t found anything in the books that’s helpful. She says Jo’s spirit is not behind a veil and says this is necromancy. He says he needs to show her something. He takes her to the morgue and says he’s been paying off a tech to fake the logs and keep Jo in cold storage. He says he knows what he’s getting himself into but can’t do it alone. He asks if she’ll try. Bonnie says she will.
Lily gets a call from Damon and he says she should have come to Gettysburg instead of sending Oscar. She asks how he knows it and he says he found Oscar in Myrtle Beach. He says Oscar is vervain detoxing and says give him Elena and he won’t kill him. Damon says they need to end this mutual disdain. He says he’ll trade her son for Elena. Caroline is there but the no touch spell is still on her. She says Lily let her go and says today is full of Valerie sized surprises.
He says he was just a kid when he met her. He says he was a troubled boy in mourning and was human. She says she was young and human when they met and she remembers when she first saw him. She asks if he remembers the first time he saw her then says that was unfair. She says he was sitting next to Elena and only had eyes for her. He says times have changed. She asks if he wants Valerie now and he says he doesn’t care about the past, just that she’s there with him and safe.
He says she’s with him. She touches him and it stings. Oscar wakes and Valerie is there. He asks where he is and she says he’s in a college town near Mystic Falls. She says Lily has no idea where he is but she used a locator spell to find him. She asks if he did his duty to the family and found Julian. He says he found him months ago but didn’t want to report back because he wanted to have fun. Valerie says she knows eventually he’ll give up the location to get free of Lily. He says it’s a good idea.
She tells Oscar he has a sweet soul and has been good to her. She says Julian is the devil and she can’t let Lily bring him back. She rips out his heart.
THE END!