Age of Innocence

Age of Innocence is the third episode of the seventh season of The Vampire Diaries and the one hundred and thirty-sixth episode of the series overall.
==Summary==
FLASHBACKS TO 1863 — In the aftermath of a clever plan orchestrated by Lily, Damon sets off on a road trip with Bonnie and Alaric in search of leverage they can use against his mother. Meanwhile, Caroline, who is being held hostage by the Heretics, learns some shocking information about Valerie's past, while Stefan learns a few unexpected details about his own past from Lily. Finally, Alaric turns to Bonnie for her help after coming clean about a secret he's been keeping.
==Plot==
Damon sets off on a road trip with Bonnie and Alaric in search of leverage they can use against his mother. The trio search for and meet the last member of the heretics, Oscar, who defected from Lily's group. Damon asked for Oscar's help in siphoning magic from Bonnie who was getting horrible visions after touching the Phoenix Stone, but Oscar refuses when he finds out about the stone, knocking Alaric & Bonnie unconscious and breaking Damon's neck. The trio then capture Oscar and make a deal with Lily for Elena's coffin. Meanwhile, Caroline, still being held hostage by the Heretics, learns some information about Valerie's past. Flashbacks to 1863 show Valerie meeting Stefan for the first time and showing how they fell in love. In actual fact, Valerie was sent by Lily to watch out for her son but they fell in love. When Valerie planned to run away while pregnant, Julian beat her & brought her back to the ship. There, Valerie killed herself which turned her into the very first vampire-witch hybrid as she had died with Lily's blood in her system. At the same time, Stefan learns a few unexpected details about his own past from Lily about how she first met Valerie. Also, Alaric turns to Bonnie for her help after coming clean that he has the Phoenix Stone which can bring the dead back to life. Lily sets Caroline free out of admiration for Stefan's honesty with her.
Flashforward: Three years later, Tyler is seen driving around in New York City when he gets a call from a frantic Stefan, who tells him that his scar opened up and that he needs Tyler to get hold of Caroline to warn her as she's not taking his calls. Stefan is about to leave town and sets his beloved car on fire.
==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 (credit only)
===Special Guest Stars===
*Annie Wersching as Lily Salvatore
*Michael Trevino as Tyler Lockwood (flashforward)
===Recurring Cast===
*Elizabeth Blackmore as Valerie
===Guest Cast===
*Todd Lasance as Julian (flashback)
*Tim Kang as Oscar
==Trivia==
*This is the first episode to have both a flash forward and a flashback in the same episode.
*In 2016 New York City, Stefan is shown burning his car but before he sets the car on fire he removes his 1863 diary as he decides against burning it. He calls Tyler who doesn't want anything to do with Stefan's problems, but he tells him that his x shaped wound has opened up again and he needs Tyler to get hold of Caroline to warn her as she's not taking his calls.
*Oscar reveals that he met Damon in a bar near Gettysburg. PA at Lily's request to see how her sons were doing. Damon also reveals that it was this meeting that ultimately saved his life—during their conversation, Oscar encouraged him to take sick leave and return home, and the following day, Damon's entire regiment was killed in the battle.
*Damon's history as a Confederate soldier during the American Civil War was explored more in this episode. It was revealed that he had wanted to desert the Army as early as 1863 because he didn't agree with what they were fighting for, which was alluded to in the flashbacks in Lost Girls and Memory Lane. However, he didn't have the courage until his talk with Oscar, because he didn't want to let his father down. Damon also mentioned that he didn't like talking about this part of his life in front of his friends, suggesting that he has dark memories from this time.
*It is revealed that Valerie Tulle was the first love of Stefan and that she carried his child, who died after she was mercilessly beaten by Julian when he caught her trying to run away to Mystic Falls before they boarding the ship for Europe.
*Stefan told Valerie that his father was disappointed in him in that he didn't join his brother Damon in fighting for the South.
*Valerie was revealed to have been the first member of the Heretics Lily created. She unintentionally turned herself into a vampire-witch hybrid when she committed suicide in her grief following her beating from Julian and her miscarriage, as she still had Lily's blood in her system.
**She was a Siphoner when she first met and fell in love with Stefan. She was seen using her ability on a necklace she wore and then performing her coven's trademark, the cloaking spell, to prevent Julian from seeing them.
*Valerie kills her fellow Heretic, Oscar, as he was going to tell Lily where Julian was living in exchange for his freedom from the family, as she still hated him for assaulting her, causing her miscarriage, and keeping her from being able to reunite with Stefan.This implies that the reason Lily wants to find the Phoenix Stone is that Julian is dead and she wants to use it to bring him back.
*Bonnie gets angry when she finds out that Alaric didn't destroy the Phoenix Stone but later she agrees to help Alaric to bring back his wife Jo with that stone.
==Body Count==
*Oscar - Heart extraction; killed by Valerie Tulle
==Continuity==
*Tyler Lockwood was last seen in I'm Thinking Of You All The While.
**This is Tyler's first appearance in Season Seven.
*Katherine Pierce was mentioned by Caroline. She was last seen in Gone Girl and While You Were Sleeping in Elena's hallucinations.
*Stefan's red 1963 Porsche 356B Kramann Coupe was first seen in Season 1's There Goes the Neighborhood. It was set on fire in this episode's flash forward in 2016.
==Locations==
*Brooklyn, New York
**Warehouse (flashforward)
**New York Harbor (flashback)
***Ship (flashback)
*McKinley, Virginia
**Alaric's apartmant
**Whitmore College
***Bonnie's Dorm Room
*Mystic Falls, Virginia
**Salvatore Boarding House
**Mystic Grill
**Woods (flashback)
**Mystic Falls Cemetery (flashback)
**Mystic Falls Hospital
*Myrtle Beach, South Carolina
**Hotel
==Behind the Scenes==
*This is the second episode of the series to feature two special guest stars; Annie Wersching as Lily and Michael Trevino as Tyler. The first was The Walking Dead, featuring Jasmine Guy as Grams and Matt Davis as Alaric.
*This episode had about 1.40 million viewers in the USA.
==Cultural References==
* is Edith Wharton's novel.
* is a drama/romance movie released in 1993 based on Edith Warton's novel.
*The is a pivotal battle of the American Civil War by Union & Confederate forces that took place in Gettysburg, PA over three days from July 1 to July 3, 1863.
* is a book by Dr. Seuss, which has been made into both a well-know cartoon television special and a live-action movie.
* is an American multi-camera television sitcom that premiered on February 19, 2015, on CBS. It is the sixth screen production based on the 1965 play written by Neil Simon, following the 1968 film, a 1970 television series, a 1975 Saturday morning cartoon, a 1982 reboot of the 1970 series, and The Odd Couple II, the 1998 sequel to the 1968 film.
* is a novel by Hunter S. Thompson that is based on autobiographical events in his life. It tells the story of a young man and his attorney who travel to Las Vegas and proceed to "chase the American Dream" in a drug-induced haze. The first book was released in 1971, and a movie adaptation starring Johnny Depp and Benicio del Toro was released in 1998.
==Quotes==
<tabber>
|-|Promo=
:Alaric (to Damon): "What's the plan?"
:Alaric: "The Phoenix Stone."
:Bonnie: "We have to destroy it."
:Oscar (to Damon): "A lot of people want the Phoenix Stone. Mess with it and you end up dead."
:Caroline (to Stefan): "Keep Damon from killing anymore Heretics."
:Damon (to Oscar): "I don't care about the stone. I'd like to case you in for something way better."
:Lily (to Damon): "You will not lay a hand on another member of my family."
:Damon: "Give me Elena. Maybe I won't kill him."
|-|Australian Promo=
:Valerie (to Stefan): "I'm Valerie Tulle."
:Stefan: "Stefan Salvatore."
:Caroline (to Valerie): "What was the deal with you and Stefan?"
:Valerie: "I was the first love of Stefan's life. I wasn't just some girl to him Caroline."
:Valerie (to Stefan): "I will find my way back to you. I promise."
|-|Webclip 1=
:Bonnie: "Please tell me I'm not interrupting something."
:Alaric: "Oh trust me, you're not. What's up?"
:Bonnie: "It's that Phoenix Stone I touched yesterday. You did destroy it like you promised me... correct?"
:Alaric: "Why? What happened?"
:Bonnie: "I just had another vision. A flash of horrified people with x-shaped wounds on their skin and when I opened my eyes, ten minutes had gone by."
:Alaric: "The stone's gone and.. I..you know...watch it...dissolve in hydrophobic acid."
:Bonnie: "You're positive?"
:Alaric: "Honey, the stone's gone."
:Damon: "Who wants to go to Myrtle Beach?"
:Alaric: "I'm busy."
:Bonnie: "Pass."
:Damon: "Well, that's too bad because Lily made a bunch of phone calls that bounced off the cell towers there and something tells me she's not making plans for her spring break."
:Bonnie: "Why would Lily send one of her Heretics to Myrtle Beach?"
:Damon: "Tell you what. You ask him yourself after he's safe in my car's trunk."
|-|Webclip 2=
:Lily: "Good morning Stefan!"
:Stefan: "What are you doing?"
:Lily: "I was out... practicing my driving and saw an opportunity to work on my parallel parking. Must've run over a nail or something. The streets around here are a disgrace."
:Stefan: "Listen, you need to tell those spoiled brats living in my house to stop torturing Caroline."
:Lily: "Of course. As soon as you tell your brother to stop killing said spoiled brats. "
:Stefan: "Damon and I aren't speaking right now."
:Lily: "Really?"
:Stefan: "No idea where he is. Apparently, you did both of us a favor when you told him to leave town."
:Lily: "Then I will give a lecture to the girls on their manners."
:Stefan: "Is one of those girls named Valerie Toll?"
:Lily: "I was wondering when you might put those pieces together. I knew Valerie years before you did. She worked at my TB Ward. After I turned, I took her under my wing. If memory serves me, you didn't meet her until late 1863."
:Stefan: "How would you know that I met her?"
:Lily: "Because Stefan... I sent her to you."
|-|Inside Episode=
:Damon: "Where is she!?"
:Lily: "That's the fun of cloaking spells Damon. She could be right next to you. Or she could be a million miles away."
:Damon (to Bonnie and Alaric): "Anyone up for an old-fashioned hostage swap?"
:Alaric: "Does agreeing to go meaning you putting on pants?"
:Oscar (to Damon, Bonnie and Alaric): "I sense hostility and that's fine. All emotions are...are valid and welcome here."
:Caroline (to Stefan): "Who's Valerie Toll? You wrote about her in your journal from 1863."
:Valerie: "I wasn't just some girl to him Caroline."
:Valerie: "You have to move."
:Stefan: "Excuse me?"
:Valerie: "Your sad mood is spoiling the fun for everyone."
</tabber>
==Multimedia==
===Soundtrack===
===Videos===
The Vampire Diaries Age of Innocence Trailer The CW
The Vampire Diaries 7x03 Australian Promo - Age of Innocence
The Vampire Diaries 7x03 Webclip 1 - Age of Innocence HD
The Vampire Diaries 7x03 Webclip 2 - Age of Innocence HD
The Vampire Diaries - Inside Age of Innocence
===Pictures===
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|-|Behind the Scenes= 
2015-10-28_Tim_Kang_Annie_Wersching_Instagram.jpg|Tim Kang, Annie Wersching
2015-10-28_Todd_Lasance_Annie_Wersching_Instagram.jpg|Todd Lasance, Annie Wersching
2015-10-26_Elizabeth_Blackmore_Todd_Lasance_Annie_Wersching_Twitter.jpg|Elizabeth Blackmore, Todd Lasance
2015-10-18_Paul_Wesley_Michael_Malarkey_Instagram.jpg|Paul Wesley
2015-08_703_BTS.jpg|Kat Graham August, 2015
2015-08-11_Michael_Allowitz_Twitter.jpg|Ian Somerhalder August, 2015
2015-08-03_23-03_Annie_Wersching_Instagram.jpg|Annie Wersching, Geoff Shotz, Alan Cohen August 3, 2015
2015-08-03_16-57_Annie_Wersching_Instagram.jpg|©Annie Wersching August 3, 2015
2015-09-03_04-27_Annie_Wersching_Instagram.jpg|Todd Lasance, Annie Wersching September 3, 2015
2015-09-02_Annie_Wersching_Instagram.jpg|Elizabeth Blackmore, Annie Wersching September 2, 2015
Vervain_Pistol_Chad_Fiveash_Twitter.jpg|Vervain Pistol ©Chad Fiveash
</tabber>
==References==
==See also==
Category:The Vampire Diaries Episode Guide
Category:The Vampire Diaries Season Seven
Category:Flashback episodes
Category:Flashforward episodes