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This Thursday saw the return of our favorite guilty pleasure: The Vampire Diaries. Steamier than Twilight but angst-ier than True Blood, this supernatural drama keeps us hooked week after week.
The premiere began as any episode would; whining Elena, skeptical Damon, and frustratingly moral Stefan resumed their roles in our favorite love triangle that will never be resolved, no matter how many ultimatums Elena is dealt. Stefan respected her wishes by saving Matt. Damon disagrees with his decision, because why would Damon ever agree with Stefan? And after three seasons of build up, Elena has finally become a vampire. Well, if someone gets her some blood.
The episode continues on with its usual drama, because it wouldn’t be the Vampire Diaries if at least three people didn’t face death each week. Elena, trapped in a cell after Mystic Falls’ pastor cracks down on its supernatural problem, fades quickly, having not yet fed and made the transition into an undead. Elena and Stefans’ goodbye left me teary-eyed, even knowing the episode was a season premiere rather than a finale. Though I know it is near impossible that Elena could ever be killed off (after all, a love triangle between just Stefan and Damon would be hard to maintain), I will continue to shed tears each time it seems a possibility.
This episode, though many characters have gone through radical changes, did not feel too different from those in past seasons. Sure, Elena is a vampire, and Jenna and Alaric are dead, but much of the same drama lives on. After making the transition, Elena is hit by a rush of memories that Damon had wiped from her mind, adding more fuel to Team Damon after Elena had proclaimed her allegiance to Stefan. Bonnie continues to have witchy troubles, and Jeremy watches in horror. Sure, they’re the same old problems, but they’re what keep us tuning in each week.