The Devil Inside (The Vampire Diaries)

Plot

The episode begins with Katherine, inhabiting Elena's body, meeting Matt. She reveals her identity and compels him to keep her secret. Earlier, Nadia worries that Elena will regain control and tells Katherine they must make the transfer permanent. Nadia chains Katherine to the bed and goes to the Salvatore house to retrieve Katherine's body.

Damon disposes of the body and tells Stefan that Katherine is where she should be. Nadia demands the corpse but Damon refuses, and she leaves empty-handed. While Nadia is gone, Elena takes over and frees herself, but Nadia returns and calls Katherine back. Katherine decides to attend Tyler's welcome party to learn where Damon buried the body.

Aaron searches for Elena but finds Caroline instead; he tells her he cut funding for the vampire experiments and apologizes for the Augustine company's actions. Enzo later attacks Aaron at his home.

Stefan enlists Caroline's help to reunite Damon and Elena, arguing that Elena makes Damon happy and prevents him from killing. Damon finds Enzo waiting with an unconscious Aaron. Enzo urges Damon to kill Aaron, but Damon breaks Enzo's neck and compels Aaron to leave town permanently.

Reception

In its original American broadcast, The Devil Inside was watched by 2.42 million viewers, a decrease of 0.30 from the previous episode. The episode received positive reviews. Stephanie Flasher from TV After Dark gave an A+ rate, describing it as great and noting it had a familiar feeling to memorable past episodes, with suspense, drama, family, friendship, and heartbreak. Carrie Raisler of The A.V. Club gave an A− rate, stating the episode explodes onto the screen with unfettered glee and is a good story told well, something missing for much of the season.

Raisler praised Katherine as a fabulous antagonist and Nina Dobrev's acting, adding that character moments mixed with twisty drama make the show snap back into focus. Matt Richenthal from TV Fanatic rated the episode 4.7/5, calling it his favorite of Katherine's nine lives and praising Dobrev's ability to toggle between Elena and Katherine. Stephanie Hall of K Site TV gave a good review, noting the episode turned a potential filler into a display of characters' true natures and commended the writers' daring stories and the strength of the other characters.