REVIEW: Vampire Diaries Season Premiere

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I finally caught up on my Vampire Diaries episodes for this season (all two of them), and I just have to say WOW. Season 1 introduced us to the characters of Mystic Falls, Virginia, and each episode revealed more depth to the storyline and the residents of the small town. Both past and present.

Last season, a clever invention allowed the members of the Council to weed out the vampires in the area, and many of the tomb vampires were killed, along with Jeremy Gilbert’s friend Anna. Mayor Lockwood also died, although he appeared to be something other than a vampire. My gut tells me he, and his male family members, are werewolves, but even Damon Salvatore says that werewolves don’t exist.

Looks like even vampires don’t know everything, if my guess proves correct.

The beautiful Katherine has returned from who-knows-where, since it turned out she was never trapped in the tomb as Damon had believed for so long. She claims she never loved Damon and has returned for Stefan. Damon, heartbroken over this revelation, tries to pursue Elena, but she, too, only has eyes for Stefan.

Damon does not take this well and acts out by snapping Jeremy’s neck. He certainly has some anger issues. Fortunately for Elena and family, Jeremy is saved by the magical ring he was wearing. Whether Damon knew he was wearing the ring or not can be debated.

Katherine attacks Uncle John/Elena’s father, and Stefan orders him to leave town as soon as possible. Damon continues to pretend to be a concerned citizen, and Mayor Lockwood’s widow asks him to lead the Council. He assures her that he will rid the town of vampires. Now that he has found his beloved Katherine and has also been rejected by her, who knows what game Damon will play next.

In a moment of kindness, however, he gives the critically wounded Caroline some of his blood, and she heals rapidly. Bonnie unwittingly tells Katherine (thinking she was Elena) about Damon’s help, and Katherine smothers Caroline with a hospital pillow, but not before passing along the message, “Game on.” Caroline regains consciousness and discovers that she now craves blood and decides to slurp some from an IV bag.

So, questions to be answered: Will Caroline be able to control her bloodthirst? What is Katherine’s true plan? What is the deal with the Lockwood family? How is Katherine’s presence going to affect things between the Salvatore brothers? Between Stefan and Elena?

I haven’t read the book series by L.J. Smith to see if any of the answers can be uncovered there, but I look forward to the remainder of this season. Vampire Diaries brings back a little of the old Buffy vampire magic and lacks the cheese whiz factor of Twilight.