It's Been a Hell of a Ride

It's Been a Hell of a Ride is the fourteenth episode of the eighth season of The Vampire Diaries and the one hundred and sixty-ninth episode of the series overall.
==Summary==
WHAT DOES THE FUTURE HOLD – Damon and Stefan must join forces against Cade in order to save Elena's casket. Meanwhile, Caroline and Alaric deal with their daughters' burgeoning magical powers.
==Plot==
Damon wakes out above his body. He is soon joined by Arcadius who reveals that Kai gave him Elena's coffin and that he'll give it back to Damon if he gets him the ashen dagger, which can kill him.
Meanwhile, Stefan visits Bonnie at the ruins of Enzo's safehouse. He asks Bonnie to forgive him for killing Enzo, but she tells him that she won't so he says that he's going to leave the town soon. Stefan finds Kai at the karaoke bar singing Knockin' On Heaven's Door. He him about the dagger, and Kai threatens him with it. Damon snaps Kai's neck, takes the dagger and traps him in the Armory.
Caroline tells the twins and Alaric that she and Stefan are having some issues, but also that the twins' powers are getting out of control. Kai offers to help them. He tells Caroline that the twins' out of control powers are caused by being at The Armory. By using his powers, he manages to escape.
Enzo tells Bonnie to try to forgive Stefan as he was under Cade's control when he killed him. Meanwhile, Stefan is planning on killing Cade. Damon tries to stop him, but Stefan injects him with vervain. Stefan and Cade meet in a cave at quarry. It's exactly 8 o'clock, so Alaric starts ringing the bell. This weakens Cade and Stefan is able to fight him. He tries to stab him with the dagger, but at that moment he loses the upper hand because Alaric stopped ringing the bell. The twins called him because they were scared of a man in the house. Damon arrives to the cave and Cade makes him choose between Stefan and Elena. He sets Elena's coffin on fire and Bonnie also feels pain. Damon thinks and eventually chooses himself. He stakes himself and dies, but Bonnie arrives and fights Cade. She offers Cade to fight for Damon's soul. While they're fighting, Stefan takes the dagger and kills Cade. Damon's soul returns to his body. Bonnie tells Stefan that she doesn't forgive him, but he says that he'll keep on trying.
Meanwhile, Kai calls Alaric to tell him that he plan on killing the twins. Kai chases the girls, but Alaric and Caroline arrive and overpower him. Alaric realizes that he wants to start a school for supernatural creatures with Caroline. Damon convinces Stefan to stay in Mystic Falls and he proposes to Caroline again and she accepts.
With Lizzie and Josie's help Bonnie traps Kai in another prison world . He tells her that Hell now has a new ruler: Katherine Pierce.
==Cast==
===Main Cast===
*Paul Wesley as Stefan Salvatore
*Ian Somerhalder as Damon Salvatore
*Kat Graham as Bonnie Bennett
*Candice King as Caroline Forbes
*Zach Roerig as Matt Donovan (credit only)
*Matt Davis as Alaric Saltzman
*Michael Malarkey as Enzo St. John (spirit)
===Special Guest Star===
*Chris Wood as Kai Parker
===Recurring Cast===
*Wolé Parks as Arcadius
===Co-Starring===
*Lily Rose Mumford as Josie
*Tierney Mumford as Lizzie
==Trivia==
*Antagonists: Malachai Parker and Arcadius.
*Kai was able to absorb magic from the Armory's walls similarly to how Lizzie and Josie were subconsciously absorbing it and levitating crayons in The Lies Will Catch Up To You.
*Alaric tells Caroline that he would like to start a school for children, like Josie and Lizzie, at the Armory.
*With Bonnie's help, Josie and Lizzie managed to create a new Prison World for Kai, there is no known way for him to escape.
*Bonnie tells Damon what Kai told her about Hell; that it was not destroyed after Arcadius' death and that someone they know is now in charge.
==Body Count==
*Damon Salvatore - Staked; killed by himself but was brought back indirectly though Arcadius' death
*Arcadius - Stabbed with his dagger; killed by Stefan Salvatore
==Locations==
*Mystic Falls, Virginia
**Mystic Falls Cemetery
**Salvatore Boarding House
**Steven's Quarry
*Enzo's Safehouse
*Grove Hill, Virginia
**The Armory
***The Vault
*Bar (present and Prison World)
==Continuity==
*Josette was mentioned. She was last seen as a corpse in Best Served Cold.
*Elena was briefly seen. She was last seen in Things We Lost in the Fire.
*Katherine was mentioned. She was last seen as a hallucination in While You Were Sleeping.
*The Gemini Coven was mentioned by Kai. They were last seen in I'm Thinking Of You All The While.
==Behind the Scenes==
*"It's been a hell of a ride" is a line from Damon to Elena in season one's Blood Brothers.
*Hashtag during the airing was #KillTheDevil
==Cultural References==
*"Hello, Clarice" is a reference to , a film about the serial killer .
==Quotes==
<tabber>
|-|Promo=
:Stefan: "Cade is free... because of me. That's why I have to kill him."
:Damon: "You screw this up, we don't know what he'll do to Elena."
:Arcadius: "Your suffering is just beginning."
:Stefan: "No!"
|-|Trailer=
:Stefan: "Cade is free... because of me. That's why I have to kill him."
:Damon: "It's suicide!"
:Kai: "You kill the devil, Hell goes along with him."
:Bonnie: "Something's happening!"
:Damon: "You screw this up, we don't know what he'll do to Elena."
:Arcadius: "Your suffering is just beginning."
:Stefan: "No!"
|-|Sneak Peek=
:Caroline: "When were you going to tell me that the girls were asked to leave their preschool?"
:Alaric: "When I figured out how to stop it and could find them another school to go to. There's just nowhere for them to go."
:Caroline: "But you lied to me! You said that the magic and the siphoning was new."
:Alaric: "And I am sorry, but I'm not the only one keeping secrets here. I mean what's up with the flower girl dresses in the box here anyways?"
:Caroline: "Stefan and I are having some issues. I don't know what's going to happen, so I didn't want to be surrounded by all my wedding stuff."
:Alaric: "I'm really sorry to hear that. By why don't we just call someone? I mean, we're not equipped to handle this."
:Caroline: "Who are we going to call? They're not triggered by some magical development or Coven secret, or anything you're going to find in your books. It's probably just us."
:Alaric: "What do you mean?"
:Caroline: "Think about what we've put them through. Splitting up, moving around, everything that happened with Seline. The way they came into this world even. They're sensitive children."
:Alaric: "So we're bad parents?"
:Caroline: "No, but we could do better if we just start trying --"
:Damon: "Sorry, this place had the nearest holding cell. Little help?"
|-|Sneak Peek #2=
:Damon: "So, you just opted to help me with this homicidal lunatic instead of spending a moment with your fiancé? Care to elaborate?"
:Caroline: "Given what you've just dragged in, I think you should be the one explaining."
:Damon: "Sorry blondie, probably safer if you don't get involved."
:Caroline: "Great, another Salvatore brother freezing me out. Stefan told me that he needed to go on some spirit walk to God knows where to figure out id he wants to be with me."
:Damon: "Hmm. Well in his tiny human brain, I'm sure he thinks he's protecting you. he doesn't believe he's worthy of someone like you Caroline."
:Caroline: "You felt that way about Elena. I need Stefan just as much as she needed you. And Lizzie and Josie need him too."
:Kai: "Ughh... enough about Stefan already. What you guys need is someone who can explain to you what's going on with your Gemini Coven twins. Huh, I think there's someone around here who could help you with that, but I just can't quite put my finger on it. There he is! This guy."
</tabber>
==Multimedia==
===Soundtrack===
===Pictures===
<tabber>
|-|Promotional=
8x14 It's Been a Hell of a Ride 1.jpg
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|-|Screencaps=
814-001-Damon.png
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|-|Behind the Scenes=
2017-03-11_Doug_Harper-Instagram.jpg|©Doug Harper
2017-02-29_Brandi_lindsey-Instagram.jpg|©Brandi Lindsey
2017-02-25_Mary_Otto-Twitter.jpg|©Mary Otto
02-21-2017 Lily-Rose Mumford-Instagram.jpg|Lily Rose Mumford
2017-01-14_Colin_Duran_Instagram.jpg|©Colin Duran January 14, 2017
2017-01-13_Brandi_Lindsey_Instagram.jpg|©Brandi Lindsey January 13, 2017
2017-01-12_Pierre_OHalloran_Instagram.jpg|©Pierre O'Halloran January 11, 2017
2017-01-11_Brandi_Lindsey_Instagram.jpg|©Brandi Lindsey January 11, 2017
01-10-2017 John Tarro-Instagram.jpg|©John Tarro January 10, 2017
01-10-2017 Pascal Verschooris-Instagram.jpg|Pascal Verschooris January 10, 2017
2017-01-10_Secret_Harris_Instagram.jpg|©Secret Harris January 9, 2017
2016-12-10_Pierre_OHalloran_Instagram.jpg|©Pierre O'Halloran December 10, 2016
2016-12-09_Ian_Somerhalder_Twitter.jpg|Ian Somerhalder December 9, 2016
</tabber>
==References==
==See also==
Category:The Vampire Diaries Episode Guide
Category:The Vampire Diaries Season Eight