The Vampire Diaries Rewatch -- The Descent

This is the episode where Damon got the most character development. This is also the episode Stefan earns the title Jerk Du Jour.

Rose is dying, and because Damon wasn't able to compel her like he does with his usual human women bed partners, Damon has done the unthinkable for Damon. He's actually started to care for her, even though he's trying to pretend he doesn't.

Damon asks Elena to look after Rose while he does out to find a cure. He goes to Jules to ask her if there's a cure. Can I say how happy I was when she got herself sacrificed in the ritual? God, I couldn't stand that witch with a B. She basically tells Damon to bite her. Don't do it, Damon. You might get rabies.

Meanwhile, a deranged Rose is playing a game of Catch the Doppelganger with Elena. And if Rose catches her, she's going to kill her. Don't worry. Elena is like Jason from Friday the 13th or Michael Myers from Halloween. You stick something in her, she'll just get back up all fine. Damon comes home, not really all the concerned about our plucky heroine, especially when he discovers Rose has gone out on the town hunting.

Damon finds her munching on a few unlucky souls and brings her home. Damon uses Katherine's favorite seduction ploy for Stefan, the fake dream trick, only he uses it in a good way. He gives Rose a beautiful dream of being home, sitting in the daylight, with her horses. As Damon's doing this, he drives a stake through her heart, putting her out of her misery.

Afterwards, Elena wants Damon to admit he cared for Rose, when he says he doesn't. I really wanted to smack her in this scene. She had this quality like she was talking to a dog, "You're so close. Come on, Damon. You can do it." It was just completely insensitive. So what if Damon felt something, it's his business if he did. Would you go up to someone who just lost someone they care about and do something like that?

Contrary to popular belief that everything emotional is all about Elena. Damon's existential crisis is about Rose dying. When she was dying, she admitted how much she misses being human. When Damon goes to munch down on some hapless woman he admits he misses being a human, as well, but he keeps it to himself, because admitting it won't change anything. Then he vamps out and kills the woman.

Or maybe it was about Elena. Maybe if she hadn't been pushing Damon to talk about his feelings, instead of letting Damon grieve in his own way, Damon wouldn't have felt the need to go and feed on a human to make himself feel better.

As for Stefan, I said he behaved like a jerk. He did. In the same breath he scorned Alaric for doing Damon's dirty work, then asked for a favor from him. Steffy, if you want a favor from someone you might try being nice, instead of expecting everyone to buy the credo that you're Stefan the good and true. Then he serve Damon a bad turn by bringing John back to town. You remember, John, the guy he shoved his blood down his throat and threatened to turn into a vampire? Would have loved to seen John's look of terror when Stefan showed up on his doorstep, but that happened off-camera. Probably a good thing, as the show couldn't continue to try and sell their malarkey of Stefan being one of the good ones. Or that it makes perfect sense for John to try and kill Damon, instead of the guy who threatened to turn him into what he hates most in the world. Who knows? Maybe Stefan compelled John to think, "I'm the Stefan. Gotta love me." As they seemed like buds when Stefan brings John to visit Elena.