The Simple Intimacy of the Near Touch

The Simple Intimacy of the Near Touch is the ninth episode of the eighth season of The Vampire Diaries and the one hundred and sixty-fourth episode of the series overall.
==Summary==
THE PAGEANT – Stefan and Damon return to Mystic Falls at Sybil's request as she is still in search of the historical artifact. Bonnie returns from Paris wearing a vial of Enzo's blood making Caroline, wonder if she will become a vampire. Stefan, Damon, Caroline, Bonnie and Enzo all attend the Miss Mystic Falls Pageant where Sybil continues to taunt Damon with memories of Elena.
==Plot==
Damon and Stefan are continuing with their killing spree. Sybil calls Damon and asks him to bring her a ball called the striker he'd stolen from Peter earlier.
Meanwhile, Bonnie and Enzo return from their trip to Paris. Enzo gifted her a necklace filled with his blood. Seline meets with Caroline and Bonnie and explains that there are three pieces of the bell: the bell itself in her possession, the tuning fork in Caroline's possession and the striker in Damon's possession. When it's assembled it can hurt the sirens.
Meanwhile, the Miss Mystic Falls Pageant takes place at the Founders' Hall and both Salvatore brothers and Sybil attend. Sybil asks Damon to give her the striker and he refuses. Bonnie and Enzo talk about his gift and if he expects her to turn into a vampire at some point. She argues that she can't turn because she's still linked to Elena and doesn't know what would happen if she does turn. She later return the necklace to him because it may be a symbol of something she does not want to promise. Caroline asks Damon to give her the striker, complete the bell and kill Sybil. Damon refuses this wanting Sybil to fix him first.
The pageant starts and Damon has fractions of memories of his time with Elena at their pageant in 2010. Caroline argues that he wants to remember Elena. The pageant is cut short when Caroline evacuates the people. The girls demand to say who won the pageant and Caroline says it's a six-way tie. They're not happy with the answer and want to stay because Stefan compelled them to do so.
Elsewhere, Dorian visits Seline indenting to avenge his friend Georgie and be a distraction while Matt looks for the bell, but Seline convinces him to team up against Sybil. She reveals that only a member of the Donovan family can ring the bell. At the same time Matt goes to Seline's home to look for the bell. A police officer is compelled to stop him, but Matt subdues him. He finds the bell, but another sheriff is guarding it. He disarms him and asks him to clear his way of the other police officers. He eventually brings the bell to Dorian and Seline.
Meanwhile, Damon knocks Sybil down. Stefan, still being loyal to Cade, knocks Damon down and takes the striker from him and gives it to Caroline. He threatens the contestants, but Caroline stakes him. She visits Violet, one of the contestants, and tells her she's won. She's also in transition as Stefan killed her earlier. Caroline comforts her by telling her about her experience of becoming a vampire. When Stefan wakes up, Caroline ends their engagement.
Elsewhere, Enzo admits that he gave Bonnie some blood so that she can heal herself if he's not there. He puts the necklace back on her neck. She asks him if he would consider taking The Cure and becoming human again.
Damon locks Sybil at the Salvatore cellar, but she uses her powers to turn his humanity back on so that he would feel guilt for everything he's done in the past several months.
==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 
*Matt Davis as Alaric Saltzman (credit only)
*Michael Malarkey as Enzo St. John
===Recurring Cast===
*Nathalie Kelley as Sybil
*Kristen Gutoskie as Seline
*Demetrius Bridges as Dorian Williams
*Sammi Hanratty as Violet Fell
===Co-Starring===
*Chris Greene as Deputy
*Jonathan Williams as Sheriff Jenkins
*Julia Vasi as Trudy
==Trivia==
*Antagonists: Stefan and Sybil.
*Stefan tells Sybil that this is where the future of Elena and Damon's relationship started with their dance together at the 2010 Miss Mystic Falls Pageant.
*One of the girls is named Trudy Sulez, which is a reference to a character from the books named Meredith Sulez.
*Although temporary, Caroline makes her first vampire kill: Stefan. 
*Bonnie admits that she would turn into a vampire for Enzo, but she can't since she is linked to Elena.
**She does, however, offer Enzo the Cure; so they can be together as humans.
*Caroline, along with Bonnie, accepts to meet with Seline so they hear her out about the weapon that can kill Sybil.
*Stefan tells Sybil that Damon stole Elena from him.
*Caroline helps Damon finally break free of Sybil for Elena and even Damon himself.
*Caroline broke off her engagement to Stefan because he told her that he didn't want to stop working for Cade.
*Stefan turns Violet Fell into a vampire (in transition) but is stopped by Caroline from turning the rest of the Miss Mystic Falls Hopefuls into vampires. He tells Caroline that becoming a vampire is a automatic ticket to Hell.
==Body Count==
*Unknown number of people in the bar - Blood loss; killed by Stefan
*Sybil - Smashed head; killed by Damon Salvatore but was brought back by Arcadius
*Damon Salvatore - Stabbed with a coat hanger; killed by Stefan but was brought back by Arcadius
*Violet - Broken neck; killed by Stefan
*Stefan Salvatore - Staked with a wooden chair piece; killed by Caroline Forbes but was brought back by Arcadius
==Locations==
*Mystic Falls, Virginia
**Sybil's house
**Salvatore Boarding House
**Mystic Grill
**Founders' Hall
**Mystic Falls Police Station
**Woods
*Grove Hill, Virginia
**The Armory
**House in Pond Estates
*Bar
==Continuity==
*Amber was mentioned. She was last seen in Miss Mystic Falls.
*Georgina was mentioned. She was killed in An Eternity of Misery.
*Malachai was mentioned. He was killed in I'm Thinking Of You All The While.
*Seline was last seen in The Next Time I Hurt Somebody, It Could Be You.
==Behind the Scenes==
*"The simple intimacy of the near touch" is a line of Carol Lockwood to participants of the dance rehearsal for the Miss Mystic Falls Pageant in season one's Miss Mystic Falls.
*Hashtag during the airing is #WhenDamonKnew
*With only 860.000 viewers this is the least watched episode of The Vampire Diaries.
**The least watched episode of The Originals had 680.000 viewers.
**As of 3x16, the least watched episode of Legacies had 410.000 viewers.
==Cultural References==
==Quotes==
<tabber>
|-|Promo=
:Damon: "He's ripping again Caroline. This time it's guilt free." 
:Stefan: "This place is the beginning of their vomit inducing love story."
:Damon: "Elena?" 
:Sybil: "You need to get a grip!"
|-|Trailer=
:Damon: "He's ripping again Caroline. This time it's guilt free." 
:Stefan: "This place is the beginning of their vomit inducing love story."
:Caroline: "A love that deep and real can win over anything."
:Damon: "Elena?" 
:Sybil: "You need to get a grip!"
|-|Scene=
:Caroline: "Hey."
:Bonnie: "Okay, those are the last names on the guest list."
:Caroline: "Perfect. Once the dance is underway, we can get out of here and find that striker. Hopefully Damon decides to answer his phone."
:Bonnie: "Or, we could ask him in person."
:Caroline: "What are you even doing here?" 
:Sybil: "I invited them. Don't worry, as long as I get what I want, I'll make sure they behave."
|-|Inside clip=
:Elena: "You seem to be in a good mood."
:Stefan: "That a bad thing? Would you prefer me brooding and tortured?"
:Elena: "Hey, yeah, I'm not complaining."
:Stefan: "Oh, no touching."
:Caroline: "What are you even doing here?" 
:Sybil: "I invited them. Don't worry, as long as I get what I want, I'll make sure they behave."
:Damon: "Elena?" 
:Sybil: "I don't know what's glitching here in your subconscious but you need to get a grip!"
</tabber>
==Multimedia==
===Soundtrack===
===Videos===
The Vampire Diaries 8x09 Promo "The Simple Intimacy of the Near Touch" (HD) Season 8 Episode 9 Promo
The Vampire Diaries The Simple Intimacy of the Near Touch Trailer The CW
The Vampire Diaries The Simple Intimacy of the Near Touch Scene The CW
The Vampire Diaries Inside TVD The Simple Intimacy of the Near Touch The CW
===Pictures===
<tabber>
|-|Promotional=
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|-|Screencaps=
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|-|Behind the Scenes=
2017-02-04_Geoff_Shotz-Michael_Malarkey-Pierre_OHalloran-Instagram.jpg|Geoff Shotz, Michael Malarkey
2017-02-04_Geoff_Shotz-Michael_Karasick-Pierre_OHalloran-Instagram.jpg|Geoff Shotz, Michael Karasick
2017-03-21_Nathalie_Kelley-Pierre_OHalloran-Instagram.jpg|Nathalie Kelley
2017-01-20-2_Nathalie_Kelley_Sammi_Hanratty_Twitter.jpeg|Nathalie Kelley, Sammi Hanratty
2017-01-20-1_Nathalie_Kelley_Sammi_Hanratty_Twitter.jpeg|Nathalie Kelley, Sammi Hanratty
2017-01-12_Candice_King_Instagram.jpg|Candice King
2016-10-22_Nichole_Castro_Colin_Duran_Brandi_Lindsey_Instagram.jpg|Nichole Castro, Colin Duran October 22, 2016
2016-10-20_Paul_Wesley_Pierre_OHalloran_Instagram.jpg|Paul Wesley ©Pierre O'Halloran October 20, 2016
2016-10-18_Pierre_OHalloran_Instagram.jpg|©Pierre O'Halloran October 18, 2016
2016-10-15_Ian_Somerhalder_Paul_Wesley.jpg|Ian Somerhalder, Paul Wesley October 15, 2016
2016-10-15_MFHS_The_Promise_of_YOUR_future.jpg|Mystic Falls High School' Event "The Promise of YOUR future" October 15, 2016
2016-10-14_Demetrius_Bridges_Lauren_Petzke_Kristen_Gutoskie_Instagram.jpg|Demetrius Bridges, Lauren Petzke, Kristen Gutoskie October 14, 2016
2016-10-14_Neil_Reynolds_Twitter.jpg|Lockwood Mansion ©Neil Reynolds October 14, 2016
2016-10-11_Demetrius_Bridges_Twitter.jpg|Demetrius Bridges October 11, 2016
</tabber>
==References==
==See also==
Category:The Vampire Diaries Episode Guide
Category:The Vampire Diaries Season Eight