(Image credit: The CW)
‘The Vampire Diaries’ 7×13, “This Woman’s Work”, aired February 19, 2016.
The latest episode of ‘The Vampire Diaries’ 7×13 is all about the vampire huntress, Rayna Cruz. We get an interesting backstory to how she became one of the most feared vampire hunters, and it does not surprise me that Julian is involved. *rolls eyes*
From the past to the present, Rayna is a machine and hell-bent to save the world from vampires. One thing I can say is if a group of heretics are petrified of her, it very well sets the standard to how scary she can be. Miss Cruz may look all cute and innocent, but when it comes to vampires, she is a badass mother f***er who will stop at nothing to fulfill her destiny (aka, destroying all vampires she crosses paths with).
Other than the news of the huntress, Caroline’s siphoning issue gets dealt with. By a little help from the heretics, Caroline’s delivery of the baby twins runs smoothly – yay! Did you notice how loved-up she became when she held Josie and Elizabeth? Yup, that’s the face of a mom seeing and holding her babies for the first time – how sweet! Also, shout out to Alaric for choosing the babies names as a beautiful reminder of his beloved wife, Jo, and Caroline’s mom, Liz.
What happened with the Salvatores? Damon finds out from Enzo that Elena is very much still alive (THANK GOD), and poor Stef is on the run after being targeted by Rayna. *sobs*
Now, let’s take a look at the story of Rayna Cruz in more detail.
It begins with a flashback to Saint Malo, Louisiana in 1842. There, we see a little girl sitting by a fire, alongside her father, while he shows her his hunter tattoos that he drew over allowing her to see them since they are invisible. Remember, when someone is a member of the Brotherhood of the Five, the hunters mark is only visible to them and other members – no one else can see it. With the girl being fascinated by her fathers tattoos, she hopes to follow in his footsteps and become a hunter, too, one day. The girl we witness here is in fact Rayna Cruz!
For over 15 years, Rayna trains with her father, allowing her to have the ability to fight off any evils she comes across. Finally, this training comes into use when her father battles against Julian. Her father is dying, so Rayna steps up to Julian and challenges him. She lets him on in the fact that her father is one of the five, so if he kills him, then Julian will obtain the hunters curse. You know, the one Elena faced after killing Connor?
After Julian realises what a bad idea that would be, he does an unimaginable action that would make anyone want revenge: He compels Rayna to kill her father (since he can’t). NO, Julian! Ugh, he’s almost as bad as Klaus at times. Despite Rayna’s effort to fight the compulsion, she simply cannot and stabs her father in the chest. His last words were, “carry on my legacy!” And that is exactly what Miss Cruz does.
Heartbroken from her father’s death, Rayna falls to the help of a group of shamans. They perform a ritual, entitling her to a long life, along with power. One by one, the shamans take their life, and now live on within her. Lastly, the top shaman hands Rayna a sword (the very one which can send a vampire to their own hell), and reveals to her that when this blade draws blood from a vampire, it will guide her in her path to destroying all vampires.
We finally see Rayna and the sword in action when she tracks down Julian and the heretics in 1903 England. First, she draws her blade and cuts through Beau’s throat (so this explains the no voice); then comes her next force of action: Julian. Rayna is here for revenge after her father’s death, and she finally gets to feel what it’s like to be on the winning side. Both her and Julian have a fight off, but it seems like Julian has taken her down. However, at the last moments, Rayna launches the sword mid-air and it impales Julian straight to the chest. This is the very reason how Julian gets trapped within the Phoenix Stone and sent to his very own hell. I would love to say I feel sorry for Julian at that moment, but I don’t. Did you?
In present day, Rayna uses Enzo to get Damon and Bonnie to bring her the sword. With that power, she is unstoppable to the vampires. Once you are marked by the huntress, she will not stop until she kills you. Sadly, Beau has been marked, and that means Rayna is on the hunt for him. She of course tracks him down and with one swift movement of the blade, he is dead! #RIPBeau!
Of course, she does not stop with him. Rayna has a run-in with Damon, and after some hilarious one liners about how she looks very similar to Elena and her doppelgangers, they fight! Before things turn nasty, Stef once again saves Damon. Stefan gets stabbed by the sword and is now marked by the huntess. This means, he is her next target and will not stop until he is dead, leaving Stefan no choice but to flea. OMG, NO! We cannot lose Stefan, can we?
Side note: We need to discuss Caroline and Klaus reuniting! Fast forward into the future, we see Caroline and her twins driving frantically off to somewhere. Guess where they are heading to? New Orleans. OMG, YASS!
That can only mean one thing: Klaus! Yes, I cannot wait for more #Klaroline scenes!
Share all your thoughts and feelings of Rayna Cruz’s origin story along with your predictions in the comment section below. Don’t forget to give us a tweet at@Pure_Fandom and @OhMyZinaa and keep up-to-date with all TVD news and posts here!
Love always,
Zina
The Vampire Diaries airs Fridays (new day of the week!) on January 29 at 8/7c on The CW.
