to be going through the motions." Jim Halterman from TV Fanatic rated the episode with 3.5/5 saying: "While tonight’s episode wasn’t perfect by any means - and there was obviously plenty for me to be snarky about - I did enjoy it more than past outings mostly because I feel as though we’re finally heading somewhere and it could be really fun." Stephanie Hall of K Site TV gave a good review to the episode saying that it served as a setup for the remaining ones. "There were bits and pieces of the season’s overall mythology scattered throughout that prevents this from being a true filler episode, but much of the drama in "Man on Fire" felt drawn out. That’s not to say it wasn’t enjoyable, because it was, just on a more gratuitous level than the convoluted mythology-heavy episodes of the recent past." Caroline Preece from Den of Geek gave a good review to the episode saying that the strength of Vampire Diaries is in its male relationships and focused on the revenge story between Enzo, Damon and Stefan. "As do Enzo’s actions in 2014 (or whatever year we’re actually in), essentially framing Stefan for his murder and royally screwing up the brothers’ temporary truce. To have them fighting about a lost friendship rather than lost love is more refreshing than it maybe should be for a show essentially about supernatural romance [...] That’s exciting, and should inject future episodes with a bit of drama." Josie Kafka of Doux Reviews rated the episode with 2.5/4. "TVD has been hit or miss all season, and I wonder if that is just, as they say, the new normal. With some shows, we know to expect mythology episodes interspersed with standalones. With others, we know to expect comedy every now and again, usually right before the big sad. Maybe, with TVD, we can expect a constant 2:1 ratio of good:awkward. Those awkward episodes shift all the pieces on the board, and set us up for the fun and games of the stronger episodes." Jen of TV Over Mind gave a mixed review to the episode saying that overall it was a frustrating episode. "The Vampire Diaries is known for its complex storylines, but something about this season just feels tired to me. Yes, we learned of the Travelers’ true agenda but even that is still a bit confusing. Flashbacks to the past