The Downward Spiral

The Vampire Diaries
Season 6, Episode 16 (16)
Air date	March 12, 2015
Written by	Brian Young & Caroline Dries
Directed by	Ian Somerhalder
Episode Guide(Transcript)
previous	Let Her Go
next	A Bird in a Gilded Cage

The Downward Spiral is the sixteenth episode of the sixth season of The Vampire Diaries and the one hundred and twenty-seventh episode of the series.

Summary

The Vampire Diaries 6x16 Extended Promo - The Downward Spiral HD

IAN SOMERHALDER MAKES HIS DIRECTORIAL DEBUT — After shutting off her humanity following the death of her mother, Caroline gives her friends an unexpected ultimatum. Not knowing how to handle the new Caroline, Stefan's attempt to intervene sets off a dangerous chain of events, leaving him and Elena in a race against the clock. Meanwhile, after seeking answers from Kai about the prison world, Damon's world is turned upside when he learns some devastating news about his mother Lily. Elsewhere, Enzo finds himself becoming increasingly intrigued by Sarah, and Bonnie begins to struggle with the effects of being back in the real world.

Plot

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Cast

Main Cast Nina Dobrev as Elena Gilbert Paul Wesley as Stefan Salvatore Ian Somerhalder as Damon Salvatore Kat Graham as Bonnie Bennett Candice Accola as Caroline Forbes Zach Roerig as Matt Donovan (credit only) Michael Trevino as Tyler Lockwood (credit only) Matt Davis as Alaric Saltzman (credit only) Michael Malarkey as Enzo

Recurring Cast Annie Wersching as Lily Salvatore Tristin Mays as Sarah Nelson Marco James as Liam Davis Chris Wood as Kai Parker

Trivia

• Antagonist: Caroline Forbes.
• The title refers to Caroline dealing with her mother's death with her humanity switch off.
• This is the first episode since Home that Bonnie has interacted with her friends.
• She will most likely learn the following things:
  • That Elena compelled away her memories and love for Damon.
  • That Jeremy has moved away to Santa Fe for art school.
  • That Liz has died and that Caroline has turned off her humanity as well as her possible relationship with Stefan.
• DEreal Feb 2 I'll take any scoop on Delena and Steroline #SpoilerChat #TVDGet ready to have your minds BLOWN, thanks to Ian Somerhalder's directing debut! "Ian directed some really cool stuff," Kat Graham says. "We're doing some stuff that, honestly, in the last six years we've never done on this show—at least I've never been a part of it. So, I'm super excited to show some for the really cool visuals to happen during the show."
• Caroline is spotted, getting a little crazy as she reveals that she's switched off her humanity switch to Elena and Bonnie. Caroline is seen, taking a huge bite out of some guy's neck. Damon jokes about Caroline's new crazy condition claiming he knew it would happen.
• In the promo Bonnie says to Elena about Caroline, "It's Caroline and yet it's not". She also feeds on Liam when Elena asks concerned what she did to him.
• Now that we've met Damon and Stefan's mother, what can you tease about the insanity she's going to bring? I think the key word you just used was insanity. Here's a woman they thought was long dead, having died a totally natural, human death. And there she is, what, 65 years later than they thought she died in prison world. Which means she's either wrongly victimized, or entirely deserving of her incarceration. So those are questions that are going to be asked and will start to be delivered next [episode] when we get to know more about her.
• How quickly will Damon loop in Stefan about their mother being in the prison world, and how is Stefan going to react to that? Damon has to ask himself, what do I need to learn about this person before I tell my poor little brother that has mourned her since he was 10 that she might be an evil, evil person trapped in bad places. He's got a bit of a struggle at the top of the next episode trying to figure that out.

Continuity

• Continues the trend of not featuring Tyler in the 16th episode of each season so far.
  • However, in Bring It On, Tyler did not appear but his voice was heard by a voice mail.
• Enzo & Sarah were last seen in Stay.
• Liam was last seen in Fade Into You.

Behind the Scenes

• This episode marks Ian Somerhalder's directorial debut in The Vampire Diaries.
  • He is the second cast member to direct an episode of TVD, the first being Paul Wesley in Season Five's Resident Evil and Season Six's Woke Up With a Monster.
  • According to Ericka Winchester a PA on the series this episode with Ian directing started filming January 22, 2015.
• There is a 3 weeks hiatus between this episode and the previous episode, Let Her Go.

Cultural References

• "The Downward Spiral" is a song by Nine Inch Nails released March 8, 1994, on their album of the same name.
• This term describes a depressive state where the person experiencing the downward spiral is getting more and more depressed, perhaps due to causes unknown. It is called a downward spiral because there is no way to stop it, it's just going to get worse and worse... until the person crashes.

Multimedia

Videos

The Vampire Dairies - The Downward Spiral Trailer

The Vampire Diaries 6x16 Extended Promo - The Downward Spiral HD

Pictures

• Promotional
• Screencaps
• Behind the Scenes

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See also

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