Summary:
"Fifry Shades of Grayson" received mixed reviews.
Cindy McLennan of Television Without Pity" gave an A- rate to the episode.
Thedude35 of Bitch Stole My Remote gave a good review to the episode saying that it was not bad for a midseason finale. "Besides a clever, laugh out loud title, ‘Fifty Shades of Grayson’ brings us some humour to break up the torture, death threats and broken hearts a-plenty."
Jen from TV Overmind said that the episode was a little bit "overwhelming" and "predictable" for a midseason finale. "I was expecting a bigger cliffhanger than just Katherine collapsing from a heart attack. That ending seemed less effective especially since we saw that she’ll be just barely hanging on in the hospital in the preview for the next episode in January. The little amount of time she’ll have left will probably be just enough time for Nadia, Matt, and Stefan (her only friends in Mystic Falls) to save her life. At least let’s hope they can save her, otherwise I’d be very disappointed."
Carrie Raisler from The A.V. Club gave a C- rate to the episode stating: "...it’s become readily apparent that the show is in the midst of a good, old-fashioned slump."
Matt Richenthal of TV Fanatic rated the episode with 2.1/5 saying that it was a little bit of disappointment. "The Vampire Diaries has become a victim of its own success. Especially on a midseason finale, fans expect violence. They expect shocks. They look forward to twists and turns and one doozy of a cliffhanger. But The Vampire Diaries Season 5 Episode 10 offered up none of the above."
Mike from No White Noise gave the episode 1.5/4 saying that the episode was not particularly awful but "it was sort of like, “Sure. That satisfied the requirements for one hour.”"
Summary:
Elena and Rose go to ask Slater about Klaus, but they find his staked corpse. Elena uses information from Slater's computer to get Klaus's attention, saying she wants to surrender. Caroline and Tyler discover Mason's journal and the video diary that he used to document his transformations. Bonnie plans to lift the spell from the tomb and incapacitate Katherine so that Stefan can grab the moonstone, but Jeremy goes ahead with the plan alone and is captured by Katherine, who feeds on him. Stefan saves Jeremy but is trapped himself. Three vampires confront Damon, Rose, and Elena. Elijah kills the three vampires and then departs. Back home, a trapped Stefan makes Damon promise to protect Elena. Elijah informs Luka's father that Damon and Stefan will protect Elena, which is Elijah's goal.
Summary:
Elena reads one of Jonathan Gilbert's journals about a night when Stefan attacked him and killed two of the Fells. Stefan admits that he had been brutal and inhuman until Lexi showed him the path of love and humanity. Damon invites Elijah to the boarding house for a dinner party, intending to kill him. Jonathan Gilbert's journal reveals that if a vampire uses the dagger to kill an Original, both will die. After Stefan sends a warning, Alaric stabs and kills Elijah, but the body later disappears. Elena reads in the journal that if the dagger is removed, the Original will come back to life. John blackmails Alaric into returning his ring. Elijah shows up at the lake house telling Elena that the deal is off, but Elena threatens to kill herself and become a vampire so that she will no longer be useful to him. Elijah calls her out on a bluff, but Elena stabs herself. Elijah begs Elena to let him heal her, and she agrees, but then stabs him with the dagger, killing him again. Damon returns home to find Katherine there. Elijah's compulsion on her has worn off with his death, and she says she intends to help them.
Summary:
Stefan and Elena spend a weekend at the Gilbert lakehouse, unaware that they've been followed by Tyler and Brady. Jenna worries that Alaric isn't being honest about his past. Jules and Brady explain the sun and moon curse to Tyler and lure him into helping them. Bonnie performs a hypnosis spell on Luka in order to get information. Luka reveals that Elijah plans to kill Klaus by making him vulnerable after he sacrifices Elena. He also reveals that Klaus has his sister, so he and his father are working for Elijah to help him kill Klaus. Jules and her friends torture Damon for information about the moonstone, but Elijah intervenes, kills most of the wolves, and saves Damon. Brady finds Stefan and shoots him with a wooden bullet, leaving Tyler to guard him. When Tyler learns that Elena has to die for the curse to be broken, he lets Stefan go. Stefan kills Brady to save Elena. Meanwhile, Jeremy and Bonnie confess their feelings for each other and kiss. Realising that Elena knew about Elijah's real plan for her, Stefan tells her that she is behaving like a martyr. Tyler tells Matt that he has feelings for Caroline but knows that Caroline loves Matt. The episode ends with Jules and Tyler leaving town.
Summary:
Tyler is furious that Caroline has kept Mason's death secret from him. Jenna becomes upset over the revelation that John is Elena's biological father. Jules meets her wolf-lover Brady and tells him she wants to leave town and take Tyler with them. Caroline asks Stefan to reason with Tyler, while Jules takes Caroline hostage. Jules tells Stefan to bring Tyler to her in exchange for Caroline. Stefan tries to make peace, but he fails, and Damon offers his "bloodier" method. Jules then calls on her wolf friends, and although Damon and Stefan are outnumbered, they kill most of the wolves. Tyler releases Caroline from the cage, but watches as Jules has Caroline at gunpoint. As Stefan and Damon are about to get staked, Jonas, on Elijah's behalf, incapacitates the remaining wolves. Tyler tries to apologize to Caroline, but she tells him they are no longer friends. Tyler tells Jules and Brady that Mason was probably killed because he found the moonstone. John says that he returned to protect Elena, and that the only way to kill an Original is with a dagger dipped in white ash wood. John is shown to be still working with Katherine and trying to get her out of the tomb.
Summary:
Stefan tries to contact Isobel and gets in touch with John Gilbert, who comes home. While Damon tries to get Jules to tell him how to cure the werewolf bite, he asks Elena to keep an eye on Rose, who becomes delirious and mistakes her for Katherine. Caroline and Matt confess their love for each other. Tyler’s reaction to Caroline's generosity surprises her. Rose escapes from the Salvatore house and goes on a killing spree. Damon finds her and stakes her, giving her a peaceful death. He confesses to a stranger that he misses being human. He lets her go, but bites her soon after. Jules informs Tyler that she knows that he and Mason are werewolves. She tells him that more werewolves are coming.
Summary:
As the full moon approaches, Caroline helps Tyler prepare for his transformation. Stefan asks Katherine to prove that there is good in her, and she advises him to ask Isobel for help in finding Klaus. Bonnie seeks Luka's help to destroy the moonstone; they cast a spell, but Luka gives the moonstone to his father. Jules, a friend of Mason, arrives in Mystic Falls looking for him. Damon and Alaric try to trick her into having a drink mixed with wolfsbane. She reveals that she is a werewolf and tells Damon that he has been marked. Elijah makes a deal with Elena: she has to keep herself safe from Klaus (so that Elijah can use her as bait to kill Klaus) and in return, Elijah will protect her friends and family and free Stefan from the tomb. Caroline reunites with Tyler. At the Salvatore mansion, Jules, in wolf form, tries to attack Damon but instead bites Rose's shoulder, which becomes infected.
