'The Vampire Diaries' Recap: 'Cold as Ice' Season 7 Episode 9, Mid-Season Finale

The time for CWTV's The Vampire Diaries mid-season finale arrived with a ton of action. In "Cold as Ice" episode nine of season seven, the Salvatore brothers are on a search for Julian but all they find is trouble.

Stefan and Damon are hunting Julian in a town near Mystic Falls in order to end him for good. Things start to go wrong when Stefan decides to pull a Damon and control the situation. What follows, is tragedy and the entire team finds themselves in a tough situation.

Bonnie and Nora have made friends with each other and oddly enough it looks as if things are going to continue to get strange for viewers. Though, the big surprise this season was Caroline's pregnancy and in the episode she is still going through the motions as a pregnant vampire.

Alaric also finds himself in a touchy situation.

The mid-season finale kicked off three years from the present day in Chicago. Valerie is trying to stop Stefan from going after Caroline and he tells her that he won't let the woman responsible for taking Caroline take her as well. Valerie says she will rain hell down on "her" if anything happens and Stefan kisses her before he leaves.

In present day, the Salvatore brothers are burying their mother with a small funeral party of just Nora and Valerie. Nora hasn't hear from Mary Louise and no one has heard from Julian.

Damon wants to get it over with but Stefan wants to say something.

Stefan and Nora step forward and she tells him a story about her childhood. She tells them all the story of finding a mother's love in Lily. She thanks her and steps back as Valerie steps forward. Valerie said that Lily always saw the light in her and that she would miss her.

Stefan notices that Valerie remembered the special flowers from his story and he thanks her. Stefan looks at Damon to deliver a more sentimental speech than his last.

Damon just said that Lily was a terrible mother when she was alive and a terrible mother when she is dead. He left Stefan who places a flower in the casket, apologizes and promises to make it right.

Caroline is planning a party and she is looking super pregnant. Stefan asks her if she needs him over there but she says his mission to find Julian is more important. Something strange happens and she asks how he is doing. As he replies so does Damon from behind him. Bonnie approaches Caroline about feeding and will be taking over the decorations from the party.

Alaric comes over and asks Caroline if she is ready to go to the birth class. Meanwhile, Damon is drunkenly making fun of Stefan's situation.

He tells him he's going to make a great not father. They bicker back and forth but Stefan tells Damon that he needs to act and stop talking.

Valerie walks around the house cautiously incase Julian is there. She is approached by Mary Louise who tells her Julian isn't there. Valerie just comes to get a few things she left. Mary Louise asks her if she has seen Nora. She then blames the entire ordeal on Valerie and says that Valerie only brought up the story when she was back around Stefan.

Valerie simple says she was wrong about Mary Louise and that Nora will blossom without her. Nora brings a toy for the drive and is pretty cautious about the Toy's For Tots program.

Bonnie is trying to ditch Nora but she won't leave. Nora flips the script an convinces Bonnie to let her get more involved.

The Salvatore brothers continue walking around the small town and Damon tells Stefan that his help is his Christmas present. They stop at a bar when Damon runs out of beer and all they find inside are a bunch of people in Santa outfits that look to be dead. Damon switches the sign from open to closed. Stefan starts blaming him for stopping all over and slowing them down.

Level-headed Damon comes out and says that Julian doesn't need to die if it means they have to die. Damon calls Bonnie who isn't too happy that she is only being called for a favor.

He asks her if there is a way she can pinpoint Julian rather than just giving them a general location. She says maybe there is something she can do.

Alaric and Caroline are at the birth class and she is being a total know-it-all about everything. She tells Alaric not to give her the look. She continues quoting books and is surprised when Alaric reveals he is also doing the required reading.

Caroline's hearing is heightened and notices a couple talking about her and Alaric in a negative way with him being her professor. She almost loses it and Alaric has to stop her from taking a bite out of them.

She tells him her hormones are going crazy and takes off.

Bonnie apologizes to Nora and offers some advice on college. She says a pity friend is still a friend but Nora knows Bonnie needs something. Bonnie asks her if she has ever heard of a town called Sunbury. Stefan and Damon are drinking up and arguing over his feelings towards their mother when a drunken Julian stumbles into the bar.

He says that he seems to have misplaced his cellphone and Damon says he feels stupid. They thought he had a maniacal plan but Julian is actually incredibly distraught over Lily's death.

He pulls out the sword and asks them if she remember it. He tells them about how the soul is transferred in the Phoenix Stone and how he was trapped inside over 100 years.

He tells them that Lily was the only thing that kept him sane. Damon is surprised at what his definition of sane is. Julian seems a little unhinged and says that the days following Lily's death have been hell for him. Just then Damon gets a text from Bonnie telling him that Julian isn't alone and he should run.

Julian happens to have some friends and then, he had Damon and Stefan cornered. He introduces the Salvatores to his friends and reveals that he knew he was being followed.

Stefan doesn't backdown and Damon steps in and tries to make peace. When Stefan doesn't back down, Damon throws a distraction and whisks Stefan away.

Bonnie is continuously surprised by Nora's humanity and tells Nora that she needs to move on from Mary Louise. Speaking of the devil, Mary Louise walks up and asks Nora to talk. Caroline has to dig into a bag of blood but when while Alaric is there she begins to feel guilty about drinking blood while she is pregnant.

Alaric is very reassuring to her but somehow it drives her to snap and she almost attacks him. She tells him she has to go and takes off yet again.

Mary Louise wants to know if Nora is going to apologize and Nora says that Julian is the reason Lily is dead. Mary Louise says Julian is just as upset as them all but agrees to say that Julian is evil if they can stop fighting. Nora tells her it is over and they are no longer together.

Mary Louise begins telling Nora that she wanted that the whole time and that she was doing charity when she dated Nora. Stefan is mad at Damon for not letting them take Julian out when they had the chance because he wants Lily to suffer.

Stefan says that Damon acted like a little brat when he had the chance to make things right. He tells him that he still does but Damon says he is going home.

Stefan gives Valerie a call she wishes was a Julian is dead call. He tells her that he is headed home and Valerie says she is sick of everyone giving Julian a pass. Valerie said she should have went with him and ended things.

Stefan says she still can and asks if she has seen Mary Louise. He later on appears at a bar where Mary Louise is wading in her sorrows.

He distracts her while Valerie injects her with vervain. He tells Valerie to make sure she is unconscious until Julian is dead.

Bonnie walks in on Nora who is upset after being called a basket case. She describes the ways that Mary Louise made her feel and thanks Bonnie for being kind to her. Nora also tells her that she is beautiful. Then, Nora receives a text from Julian that says they have taken Mary Louise hostage. Nora retracts her words and attacks Bonnie.

Julian appears at the Salvatore mansion and tells Damon about the kidnapping but he had no idea about it. Julian doesn't buy it and threatens to put the sword with the Phoenix Stone into Damon.

Damon continues to denounce his mother but Julian sees right through him.

Julian tells him that Lily's love for Damon was the death of her. Just before Julian can drive the sword into Damon, Stefan rushes in and knocks him away.

Caroline visits her mother's grace and places a wreath. She realized that it would be her first Christmas without her mom but tells her that she is carrying twins. Caroline is incredibly emotional and said she knows the babies aren't hers but they are still her responsibility. She wants to do things right but she has no idea what she is doing. She wants to ask her mom so many questions and misses her very much.

Elsewhere, the Salvatore brothers and trying to take on Julian who is fueled by rage. Julian says he would have killed Damon on sight if it wasn't for Lily.

Stefan tries to jump in an help but he is stabbed.

When Damon tries to save his brother he is stabbed with the sword and his sword is transferred into the Phoenix Stone.

Stefan rushes over to his brother who is lying lifelessly on the floor and already has regret in his eyes.

Valerie is keeping an eye on Mary Louise when she hears the door open. She checks to see who is there but when she turns away Mary Louise's body is gone. Caroline walks in on Stefan who is sitting beside his brothers body. He tells her that Damon him wanted to let it go and she said she knows it's not easy to let it go. Caroline tells him that they need to figure out a way to save his brother. Caroline is calling Bonnie but she isn't answering.

Stefan doesn't believe that Damon will make it out of the stone. He doesn't want to imagine what his brother is going through. Damon is reliving his days in the war while his soul is captured.

There is nothing but violence and death around him.

Caroline tries to convince Stefan that Damon will survive. A cloaked Nora reveals herself and says even if he does, he'll be just like him, before driving the sword into Stefan, causing his soul to be trapped as well.

"Cold as Ice" was quite the impactful episode for The Vampire Diaries mid-season finale. It's becoming clearer what dangers may be awaiting the Salvatore's in the future but it is uncertain what the end results will be.

It's a dangerous game going on and Steroline doesn't look like it might survive it. Fans who can't get enough can head over to The CWTV main page for updates until the show returns at the end of January.

Photos that sum up tonight's episode.