S06.E01: I'll Remember

[ElectricBoogaloo]

After spending the past four months coping with the loss of Damon in an unconventional and potentially dangerous way, Elena has returned to Whitmore College for the start of sophomore year. Unable to move on, Caroline is desperate to find a way to reverse the anti-magic spell the Travelers have put over Mystic Falls and grows frustrated when her calls to Stefan go unanswered. Tyler, who is human once again, has a run-in at a football tailgate that tests his ability to control his anger, while Matt worries that Jeremy is dealing with the loss of Bonnie in a self-destructive way. Alaric, who is struggling to adjust to his new life as a vampire, finds himself in an awkward situation when he meets Jo, a beautiful doctor at the university hospital. Last, while everyone believes Stefan is off tracking a lead to get Damon and Bonnie back, Elena is shocked when she learns the truth of what he has really been up to.

 

Promos:

http://youtu.be/tdF6N5vMGzI

 

http://youtu.be/0wAGGGOhgC0

 

Clips:

http://youtu.be/jZOvmNqo5Ec

 

http://youtu.be/V8euGDP2eb8

Edited September 25, 2014 by SilverStormm
Time Locked Topic

[tricknasty]

WTH at that ending? Definitely piqued my interest. Looks to be an interesting season...

[bettername2come]

Is Damon in plaid with Collective Soul playing as close as I'm going to get to the 90s grunge flashback I've wanted for five years? I think they have a good setup for the season.

[2Old2BAFangirl]

Damon in one of Dean Winchester's plaid shirts - good enough for me!

 

Okay episode - Elena bores me but I'm happy Alaric is back. 

[Cattitude]

I really liked it. The set-up was good.

 

Didn't like Alaric's nerdy short hair cut.

And where is Enzo?

[Amelie06]

I stopped watching this show last season. I got sick of the writers constantly massacring all the black characters in a few short episodes.  Last year's season finale sounded interesting so I checked out the premier. This wasn't bad. The show still takes itself way too seriously.

 

Why is it that everyone was blaming that blonde kid for keeping Damon dead? The "previously" indicated that their magical nonsense was killing his sister. Are all those people such assholes that they seriously think the blonde siblings should sacrifice their lives for Damon?

 

I'm so happy that Alaric is back!

 

Ugh to Jeremy and his drama. I guess he has decided to just be a bum for life. I want to feel for him, but he should be way more sanguine about this shit. Hasn't he been legit dead multiple times? Death should be totally demystified by now.  It should be like Bonnie moved to Djibouti and is in a dead spot for her phone.

 

I'm very intrigued by the Damon and Bonnie ending. I think it would be really interesting to change their frenemy dynamic. Imagine how freaked out everyone would be if they came back from wherever they are acting like best buds.

 

I really hope that this time around Tyler can manage to not kill someone. It may be difficult, but he should really look into not killing someone so he doesn't become a werewolf. I was convinced that werewolfing had few if any upsides by the few episodes that highlighted Tyler's wolfiness. He should definitely be working harder to not lose his temper.

[HunterHunted]

As stupid as Elena having her memories of Damon compelled from her is going to be when it all falls apart, I'm happy to be rid of Elena's self-centered wailing for now. Also couldn't we see anyone give more than lip-service to Bonnie's death.

I would love it Damon and Bonnie came back with no memory of these assholes and deliriously in love.

I've missed you so Alaric.

[ShadowSixx]

Elena annoys the living daylights out of me. Everything is always me, me, me, me, me. Emotionally blackmailing the guy. And blaming him for Damon's death when she's the one that needs to look in the mirror for why Damon is "dead". If she didn't go with Damon he probably would have made it to other side but she just had to go and put more strain on Bonnie.

I want to see Enzo.

[Cattitude]

I stopped watching this show last season. I got sick of the writers constantly massacring all the black characters in a few short episodes.  Last year's season finale sounded interesting so I checked out the premier. This wasn't bad. The show still takes itself way too seriously.

 

Why is it that everyone was blaming that blonde kid for keeping Damon dead? The "previously" indicated that their magical nonsense was killing his sister. Are all those people such assholes that they seriously think the blonde siblings should sacrifice their lives for Damon?

 

Damon killed himself to bring everyone back including "the blond kid"(Luke). Liv was doing the spell and started to get a nose bleed, please Bonnie had about 287584 nosebleeds. She wasn't dying but Luke freaked and stopped the magic early so yes it was Luke's fault Damon got stuck.

So while the MF group is definately selfish, Luke and Liv are too, so I don't cut them much slack.

 

I kind of like the Tyler/Liv dynamic. And I'd like to see Luke get a love interest too.

 

Really didn't care much for Alaric's new love interest. She seemed kind of flat and not much chemistry with them.

[no1skittishkitten]

Of all the places I imagined Damon and Bonnie would wind up post-zap, Damon wearing flannel and making smiley pancakes while Bonnie peruses the paper in a cozy kitchen wasn't one of them. Is it too much to hope Katherine pops up from time to time for afternoon tea and a rousing game of gin rummy?

 

I'm a bit rusty on my vampire-werewolf mythology, but couldn't Tyler just have someone turn him into  vampire? If his body is technically dead, so is the wolf gene and the anger issues, right?

[AlliMo]

The most ridiculous part of this entire episode was that not only was Elena actually a sophomore despite practically never being at college, but that she's premed.

[Cattitude]

I'm a bit rusty on my vampire-werewolf mythology, but couldn't Tyler just have someone turn him into  vampire? If his body is technically dead, so is the wolf gene and the anger issues, right?

 

As far as anyone know you can't make hybrid's anymore b/c Elena is dead. You needed her blood or the werewolf will die after being changed into a vampire. Since Hope has to be kept a secret on TO only Klaus, Hayley and Elijah know about Hope's power.

[Artsda]

Elena's still the most annoying and worst character they show could do without. They really need to keep Katherine and send Elena to die. Druggie Elena is even worse than all about me Elena. I really hope they don't have her lose her memories of Damon just to go back to being loving Stefan as a back-up. 

 

So Tyler's gone back to Tyler 1.0? Not a werewolf, not a vampire. Just waiting to kill someone for the gene to re-activate.

 

Alaric's great, loving having him back. 

 

Can Jeremy and Matt not ever leave Mystic Falls? Or is they just don't want too? Because that other human Elena bit, ran right across the lines. 

[festivus]

Oh Elena. I used to really feel for her but now I just want to slap her upside the head. I really hope next week will be all about Damon and Bonnie's excellent adventure.

[no1skittishkitten]

As far as anyone know you can't make hybrid's anymore b/c Elena is dead. You needed her blood or the werewolf will die after being changed into a vampire. Since Hope has to be kept a secret on TO only Klaus, Hayley and Elijah know about Hope's power.

 

I mean, not a hybrid but a regular old vampire? Would an inactive wolf gene preclude that?

[Cattitude]

I mean, not a hybrid but a regular old vampire? Would an inactive wolf gene preclude that?

 

I don't think a werewolf can be made a vampire. Even if the gene isn't active. Though I don't know that it has specifically ever been addressed.

[KatWay]

 

Damon killed himself to bring everyone back including "the blond kid"(Luke). Liv was doing the spell and started to get a nose bleed, please Bonnie had about 287584 nosebleeds. She wasn't dying but Luke freaked and stopped the magic early so yes it was Luke's fault Damon got stuck.

I'm not exactly a huge fan of either Liv or Luke or anything, but Luke is a witch himself, I think he knows when something starts to be too much and Liv looked very, very ill. Let's not forget Bonnie's grandmother died in a similar spell, so I don't think Liv dying was completely out of the question.

 

I still blame Elena. If she hadn't gone with them, there might have been enough time for them to get back. And the writers, because sheesh, plot contrivance. The plot contrivance fairy was working hard during the entire last season.

 

Damon/Bonnie looks intriguing and anything that spares me more Elena wailing is fine by me, but I'm sure that won't last. The first ep was good, but TVD has always been good at premieres (and finales, mostly), so I'm not holding my breath that the decline of the quality of writing is suddenly over.

[GaT]

Not sure how I feel about the episode. This whole missing people thing is really feeling redundant to me as is Elena having memories wiped. It's not that much different from when she took away her feelings because she was sooooo saaaaad. I can see that they're setting up ex-sheriff Carter to be something (not sure what) but if it's another Let's-kill-all-the-vampires guy, been there done that. I'm not even sure having Alaric back is all that great because Alaric with Damon is awesome, but Alaric without Damon is kind of boring. I guess I'll wait & see. 

[Murcielago]

 

I don't think a werewolf can be made a vampire. Even if the gene isn't active. Though I don't know that it has specifically ever been addressed.

 

But...wasn't that the case with Klaus? He was a normal human, then his mother did the vampire spell on the entire family, and after he killed someone as a vampire, that's when Klaus' werewolf gene was triggered. At least I think I remember that correctly. So, in theory, a human with an inactive werewolf gene could be turned into a vampire, but as soon as they made a kill, they'd become a hybrid. Which may or may not cause them to die. They'd stay a regular vampire if they somehow managed to keep themselves alive without murdering anyone (which, given the past five seasons of this show, not gonna happen).

[Luciano]

The most ridiculous part of this entire episode was that not only was Elena actually a sophomore despite practically never being at college, but that she's premed.

I like to believe that she's compelling her way through her classes.

But...wasn't that the case with Klaus? He was a normal human, then his mother did the vampire spell on the entire family, and after he killed someone as a vampire, that's when Klaus' werewolf gene was triggered. At least I think I remember that correctly. [snip]

Posting my guess in The World of TVD thread.

Edited October 3, 2014 by Luciano

[steelyis]

I really tried not to hate Elena, I did. I didn't roll my eyes when Sheriff Forbes said Elena mourned Bonnie for months, because, yeah, sure she did. I didn't once shout shut up, Elena after she started whining for what seemed like hours. But all that Zen shit went out the window when Elena asked Alaric how he was dealing with coming back and being an Original and in record time made it all about her. I almost turned the channel.

 

Elena’s selfishness has no end; it almost feels like parody at this point.

 

Those last thirty seconds tho!

[Big Bad Wolf]

I'm pretty sure that blood banks don't provide a takeout service even to staff members. Each bag is barcoded and tracked and only released for proper medical reasons. For some reason this particular piece of stupidity really irritated me.

 

And how on earth has Elena had the time to do the work to get good enough grades to be Pre-Med?

 

I like to believe that she's compelling her way through her classes.

 

LOL That's the only thing that makes sense, to be honest. Let's go with that.

 

I did enjoy Alaric being back, and Somerhalder still looks hot. I guess I'll stick around.

Edited October 3, 2014 by Big Bad Wolf

[ElectricBoogaloo]

Is Damon in plaid with Collective Soul playing as close as I'm going to get to the 90s grunge flashback I've wanted for five years?

That scene was so hilarious to me for multiple reasons: the music, Damon rocking the outdoorsy flannel, and OMG the vampire smiley face pancake! I would love if Damon and Bonnie are trapped in a cabin in the 90s and they're totally just chilling, getting along, and rocking out to like Soul Asylum, Lit, Live, Sugar Ray, and early Britney Spears because they have no access to music made after 1999. I bet Damon would have mandatory dance hour every afternoon and complain about what a poser Kurt Cobain was.

 

I am glad Alaric is back, but I feel sorry for him because he spent the entire episode chasing after the others like they were naughty second graders. You would think that since they're now 19-20 instead of 16, he wouldn't have to be the only grown up anymore. And he doesn't even get to drown his sorrows with Damon after a long day of supervising these dummies. Stop drinking blood in class! Quit smirking about me coming back to life! Stop disrupting my class with your tardiness! Maybe your underage drinking isn't appropriate given the risk you run of turning back into a werewolf!

 

Near the end of the episode, I thought FINALLY someone is addressing Alaric adjusting to life as a vampire and then it turned out that Elena was just using it as a segueway to ask him to compel her ane make her pain go away.

 

Matt was the only other person I recall trying to be responsible in this episode. Since the Mystic Grille burned ("To the ground!" TM George Costanza), is Matt not working anymore? I guess since and Jeremy can live rent free in Tyler's mansion, there's no huge rush to get a job right away but still. Did Jeremy drop out of school last year?

 

The one good thing Tyler did was remind Caroline that she is the one who hounded him for an entire year to go to college and then she was the one who dropped out. For some reason, that cracked me up.

 

So Tyler's gone back to Tyler 1.0? Not a werewolf, not a vampire. Just waiting to kill someone for the gene to re-activate.

And he's reverted back to being the jock asshole who bumps into someone because he's checking out a girl's ass and then has the gall to call the other person a dick.

 

I really don't care about Stefan's sexcapades with Ivy. I kind of wished he had compelled his dick boss after he got all pissy about his customer.

[ProneToCheerfulnes]

 

I'm very intrigued by the Damon and Bonnie ending. I think it would be really interesting to change their frenemy dynamic. Imagine how freaked out everyone would be if they came back from wherever they are acting like best buds.

 

Or ... lovers. Dun Dun Dunnnn.... they seemed very domestic in that scene.  (This is assuming they aren't pulling a Buffy here with the whole dying and going to heaven only to be wrenched back by friends business).

I would love it Damon and Bonnie came back with no memory of these assholes and deliriously in love.

 

So much this!  Would at least refresh and renew interest in love triangles on this show. 

 

And Tyler and Blonde Witch-no chemistry.  Don't even go there show.

[ElectricBoogaloo]

I agree - I do not want to see Tyler and Liv hook up. Ugh. There is no there there. Why does Tyler think that Liv is obligated to talk to him? I hate when people act so entitled about stuff like that. She doesn't have to listen to you, let alone respond. She doesn't owe you anything so go hit on some stupid drunk freshman.

 

If this were S2, I probably would have hoped for Elena going all Dark Willow but since I already watched last season, I have no interest in that.

 

I kind of hope Katherine shows up at the House of Vampire Pancakes and they have their own Three's Company wacky sitcom type roommate situation. Maybe Jenna can take the Mr. Furley role.

[Kaboom 2.0]

For the first time since TVD started I did not stay up late to watch an episode, last year almost broke me with the ridiculous SLs but I still hung on, hoping for it to get better. Reading ya'll's posts now makes me watch to watch the premiere with an open mind although I'm sure I'll yell "shut UP, Elena" as much as I did last year!

 

And thanks to ElectricBoogaloo I'm now picturing Jenna wearing a so-polyester-it's-flammable leisure suit with massive collar and ascot. LOL

[Primetimer]

It's a grief-o-riffic season opener for just about everyone.

Read the story

[La Tortuga]

I am 5000% done with watching Elena cry. Nina Dobrev is good at it, but it's been so overused that I can't appreciate it anymore. So of course, this episode showed her crying every five damn minutes in between rationalizing her awful behavior. Thus, I was bored. It's not a good sign when the main character of what used to be my favorite show bores the crap out of me during the season premiere. I wish Nina Dobrev would find work somewhere else. I'm looking forward to seeing her on The Originals next week, hopefully as Katherine!

[TheHappinessHotel]

LOVE having Alaric back!  I truly missed him.  Annoyed me to no end that when someone finally asks how he is coping, it all goes back to Elena.

 

I cannot stand her.  Always about boring, silly, stupid Elena!  Enough of her and her stupid love with Damon.  I used to ship them too, but I am so over it.  Most of the background characters have better storylines that aren't given the proper time due to the love triangle.

 

Where was my Enzo!?!?  He is so lovely to look at.

 

Great to see Sheriff Carter!  He would make a great love interest for Sheriff Forbes.  I really hope they don't kill him off and give him a lot of airtime.  He is a great actor.  Le sigh...I miss Eureka.

Edited October 3, 2014 by TheHappinessHotel

[Goldmoon]

The only part of the ep I liked was the tag with Bonnie and Damon.  Why do you think Damon was doing the cooking?  Didn't he cook with Elena once?  Something about pasta sauce?  Every time the writers throw me a tiny bone on Bamon, they proceed to ignore them.  At this point I don't care if they are shipped (though that would be perfect).  I just want them in a lot of scenes together! It's great that the Bamon scene, such as it was, was the thing that stood out in a positive way for many posters here.  I was glad to have Alaric back at last!  I am so sick of Elena.  It's as if the showrunners have no idea how hated she really is.  Any one roll their eyes at Elena calling Jeremy out on not getting over Bonnie?   Stefan does nothing for me.  Oh, welcome Sheriff Carter!  Hope he gets a good story line.  Maybe he and Ric can go for a drink.

[Carrie Ann]

Stefan made the pasta sauce with Elena. I don't think we've ever seen Damon cook?

 

And yeah, that scene was really the only part of the ep that was worthwhile, and if I think about it I just get sad because I suspect everything will be status quo by midseason finale time. There's no way they'll let Damon and Bonnie stay happy in the '90s forever! Damon will somehow find out what's become of Elena (a pathetic, horrible shell of her former human self, honestly I cry to think about S1-3 Elena at this point), and abandon everything to fix her.

[fantique]

This wasn't as bad as I thought it would be... All the Elena stuff though, I kept thinking "Agh, if they hadn't overused this it would be brilliant but now it's pathetic". Although one acting moment I enjoyed was when you can see the crazy bitch slipping out when she wants her new fix, it reminded me of the beautiful days of Katherine.

I am sad Stefan is ignoring poor Caroline, they are friends. Aside from him and Alaric, she and Matt are also the only ones not wasting space or drowning in denial (yes, auditory pun intended). 

Tyler: why did they undo all the growth he accomplished? He is back to being a douche. What's up with his explosion at Liv? They didn't even freaking know each other long enough and he is pissed because she doesn't stay to hang? I mean I don't like girl but still...

Matt: I am happy for what little peace and order he gets to have before it all goes to shit.

Seeing Damon in that plaid shirt was disturbing... I was like who the fuck is that? He is aware of the existence of colour outside of black and dark grey O.o?! 

Ugh... this show always does this. I swear off it, then I read positive feedback online, watch it and want to solve The (apparent) Mystery of the season. This is the first time we don't have a big bad cliffhanger so I am wondering where the story will go. I just want to know where Damon and Bonnie are, and damn if the idea of Katherine hanging around there is not an entertaining one. It would be hilarious.

 

ETA: I seriously hope they don't do romantic Bamon. Friendship Bamon? Yes. I want to see them be snippy with each other but without the mean undertones just commiserating on how ridiculous their life/death? is.

Edited October 3, 2014 by fantique

[gazebo]

Well, that was a pretty good first episode!  So good to see Alaric back and teaching students and mingling around.  I think he's going to be the voice of reason this season.  So far, I think he has a very good handle on being a vampire.  He seems to have alot more self control than most new vampires anyway.  He's one of the good things in this episode.  Matt looking all healthy and sexy and strong is another good thing too.

 

What I didn't like was Elena losing her mind over Damon.  And that stupid, stupid blonde witch giving her drugs so she can live in a fantasy world where Damon is still alive.  I hate that witch kid; I wanted so badly for Tyler to kick his skinny ass!  Elena is behaving like a foolish teenager.  I feel sorry for her, but she needs to go through a mourning process to get on with life.  I was also dismayed that she is so desperate that she wants Alaric to compel her to forget Damon.  She needs to cry alot and throw things and be comforted by Caroline and Matt.  Right now, she's just stuck.

 

What really pissed me off was seeing that Stefan had run away.  He probably tried to look for a way to get Damon and Bonnie back and he failed and he just gave up.  He abandoned everyone in Mystic Falls, including his BFF Caroline.  What a shitty thing to do! 

 

I love the way how the episode ended.  Where is Bonnie and Damon?  Looks like they're in a cozy domestic scene with Damon making pancakes (Damon can make pancakes????) and presenting it to his girlfriend Bonnie!  LOL!

[ladyrott]

The things that REALLY bugged me with the Damon/Elena drug thing was that he was JUST A HALLUCINATION!  I could buy her using some kind of witchy drug that would allow her to communicate/see her twu wuv on the other side (oh wait, that place doesn't exist anymore....is there another side that was on the other side of the other side?!)  but all she was doing was having conversations with herself, which even HalluciDamon pointed out, so how is that "not losing him".  GAH!  Girl needs to burn down another house and start moving on.

 

LOVE the end with Bonnie and Damon happily having pancakes together in what looked like a cozy cabin in the mountains.  I am intrigued to know where the heck they are (see my side note about other sides above).  When they inevitably come back, I want them to be friends like Caroline and Stefan are friends....REAL friends who have bonded.

 

Tyler was never my favorite character but, in just one episode, it has become abundantly clear he is going to snap and kill someone so he will be a werewolf again shortly.  Boy always did have a temper and he doesn't seem to care that alcohol lowers inhibitions.  Loved his interaction with Alaric though.  And speaking of good ole Ric....how come Tyler came back as a normal boy but he is still a vampire?  For that matter, why are Stefan and Elena vampires?  It's been too long since the end of last season...was this explained somehow?

[Luciano]

And speaking of good ole Ric....how come Tyler came back as a normal boy but he is still a vampire? For that matter, why are Stefan and Elena vampires? It's been too long since the end of last season...was this explained somehow?

Stefan, Ric, Elena, and Damon all died as vampires. Ric went down before the Traveler shenanigans, Stefan died vamp-style, and while D and E were within town limits and getting hit by the anti-magic spell, they died in the Mystic Grill explosion before the spell finished stripping them off their vampirism and killing them the way they originally died.

Tyler was thrown into the town limits, kept there and stripped of his magic entirely before dying of the broken neck that originally killed him.

[Cattitude]

Stefan made the pasta sauce with Elena. I don't think we've ever seen Damon cook?

 

Elena and Damon made chili together that time Alaric picked up on romantic vibe between them. Damon made fun of her for making the famous Gilbert chili b/c it wasn't that good.

 

I kind of had a different take on Elena's Damon grief after her talk with Alaric at the end.  Her grief isn't just losing Damon it is also coping with being stuck a vampire forever. She never wanted to be a vampire, but she was happy with Damon so it made being a vampire okay. Now that she lost him she is also grieving her human self that she never grieved before, so that is part of her not wanting to let Damon go too. Not just her love for him but coming to terms with being a vampire.

 

I think Stefan is in his own denial. When he wouldn't compel his boss it seems clear he is also trying to pretend he isn't a vampire. We never saw him drink blood, but all the other vampires did. He is trying to pretend he isn't himself and part of that is not hanging with other vampires. So I kind of got Stefan being where he was, though it was boring.

Edited October 3, 2014 by Cattitude

[GaT]

Stefan, Ric, Elena, and Damon all died as vampires. Ric went down before the Traveler shenanigans, Stefan died vamp-style, and while D and E were within town limits and getting hit by the anti-magic spell, they died in the Mystic Grill explosion before the spell finished stripping them off their vampirism and killing them the way they originally died.

Tyler was thrown into the town limits, kept there and stripped of his magic entirely before dying of the broken neck that originally killed him.

Even with this excellent explanation I can't keep who is dead, who is back from the dead, who is a vampire, who is a witch, & who is human straight. The show has gotten way too convoluted. 

[Like A Phoenix]

Hello! I'm new, and shy. Be gentle.

 

I am glad Alaric is back, but I feel sorry for him because he spent the entire episode chasing after the others like they were naughty second graders. You would think that since they're now 19-20 instead of 16, he wouldn't have to be the only grown up anymore. And he doesn't even get to drown his sorrows with Damon after a long day of supervising these dummies. Stop drinking blood in class! Quit smirking about me coming back to life! Stop disrupting my class with your tardiness! Maybe your underage drinking isn't appropriate given the risk you run of turning back into a werewolf!

 

Near the end of the episode, I thought FINALLY someone is addressing Alaric adjusting to life as a vampire and then it turned out that Elena was just using it as a segueway to ask him to compel her ane make her pain go away.

 

 

Poor Alaric - the bit that really tickled me was when Elena said along the lines of "it's been super busy so didn't get a chance to ask - how's being a vampire working out for you?" I have this vision of her spending four months dropping by his place, then saying "hey, can't stop to chat, got to go buy pens and sticky notes for college, bye!" whilst Ric nibbles on someone's artery.

 

Liv irritated with the "resurrection, tee hee!" comment in front of Alaric's entire class. Shush, you.

 

Elena and Damon made chili together that time Alaric picked up on romantic vibe between them. Damon made fun of her for making the famous Gilbert chili b/c it wasn't that good.

 

I have a vague memory of Damon cooking back in season 1, when he was invited over to the Gilbert house and spent the evening playing XBox with Jeremy (some things never change).

[DigitalCount]

Damon's always been the domestic one (Domestic!Damon is even a thing on tumblr if I'm not mistaken), while I can picture Bonnie not doing a whole bunch of cooking, so this is character continuity for me.

[ANEUMS]

In wondering if where Damon and Bonnie are have anything to do with in season 5 finale where Bonnie see's her grams and she says something like I made sacrifices to make sure your taken care of and when Bonnie asks what she means she says it's none of your concern... If it's a kind of a safe place that her grams made happen for her? I don't know just my thoughts.

[Anela]

I'm not really into this show anymore, but I watched the recording.

 

What was that that Matt said to that girl? Something about protecting people like them? I briefly wondered if he was going to turn on them (Elena and the others). Or did he take her to Caroline, so that she could be compelled to forget?

[roctavia]

I'm pretty sure that blood banks don't provide a takeout service even to staff members. Each bag is barcoded and tracked and only released for proper medical reasons. For some reason this particular piece of stupidity really irritated me.

 

And how on earth has Elena had the time to do the work to get good enough grades to be Pre-Med?

 

 

The thing is, she's only in her second year of college... being "pre-med" means nothing at that point in time. You still are taking basic classes, with some specific science classes, but nothing even remotely medical related at that point in time. And pre-med isn't actually a major either. You don't get a degree in 'pre med' before you go to medical school, you get a degree in biology or chemistry or art history if that's what you want... then you go to medical school, which is even more years of classroom before you go anywhere near a hospital, much less get asked some pimp question by a doctor.

 

College students can volunteer at the hospital, sure... but it's to like wash toys or candy stripe or other helpful but not at all medical tasks. So add that with the how easy it is to steal bags of blood... it really is very unrealistic... and frustrating, because it wouldn't really be hard to properly research the steps to becoming a doctor. I get that not everybody would know the difference, but still... how about making easy things actually realistic?

[roctavia]

Overall, the premiere was interesting, even though I could have done with just about everything Elena... she is so irritating with her me me me attitude... and I know Stefen is a good guy, for the most part- vampire badness aside, but for her to call him and go on and on about how much she loved Damon and will never be able to get over him and her life is over because Damon is dead.... that was some bullshit. She can feel those things, but don't say them to a man who still loves you, and who you claimed to love at one point in time. Talk about a knife to the heart!

 

Elena reminds me of someone who's just ended their first major relationship- the world is ending and there will never, ever be anybody else who can compare and she can't move on blah blah so dramatic.... I don't have a problem with her having a real love for Damon, but seriously... she knows first hand how quickly you can lose someone you love, there is never a guarantee of forever, even when you're immortal.

 

Tyler was annoying, but I was glad to see Alaric back... and back in the classroom. Hopefully his story will get more interesting.

 

Jeremy is doing nothing, which is kind of pathetic, but I guess he and Elena both suck at grieving after doing it so much.

 

I was expecting some sort of twist to Stefen's story... I don't know if I believe him when he told Elena he had said goodbye and given up. I don't think he'd ever really give up completely. He's definitely in his own little funk, which is understandable. For as much as he used to love Elena, Damon has always been far more important to him. Caroline was trying to reach out to him, but I wonder why he doesn't care/doesn't want to talk to her. Just trying to forget everything, maybe?

 

I do think Caroline is right, though... they do all need each other.

 

My favorite part was definitely the Damon/Bonnie at the end... it was interesting and left some intrigue and eagerness to find out more next week. It'd be nice to see them have a good friendship after all of the bad stuff that's happened between them.

[Luciano]

Caroline was trying to reach out to him, but I wonder why he doesn't care/doesn't want to talk to her. Just trying to forget everything, maybe?

I think because, out of all of them, she'd be the one who would be able to convince him to return. He doesn't want to give her that chance.

[fandomfatale]

Yeah, I'm a little confused about Stefan. One thing we saw in the season 2 finale is that he doesn't give up on trying to save Damon and that he'll pay any price. It's only been a few months - it seems a bit early to decide that it's hopeless, especially since nothing like this has ever happened before. They haven't even actually tried anything yet. His bi-weekly phone convos with Alaric seem to indicate that he is still following up some leads - and I took his phone conversation with Elena to be that he didn't want to give her any false hope, even though it was what she wanted. He would wait until he had something for sure to share that with her. But his semi-permanent situation - a girlfriend of 2 months, a job - and his avoidance of Caroline's phone call seem to indicate otherwise. Either he's playing Ivy, or he's in his own form of denial/fantasy world.

 

I think because, out of all of them, she'd be the one who would be able to convince him to return. He doesn't want to give her that chance.

 

I agree. Stefan is obviously avoiding Caroline quite specifically, most likely because of the affect she'll have on him. He's finding it easier not to grieve Damon by living some fake new life and if he talks to Caroline he's going to go running to her. 

[ElectricBoogaloo]

I kind of had a different take on Elena's Damon grief after her talk with Alaric at the end.  Her grief isn't just losing Damon it is also coping with being stuck a vampire forever. She never wanted to be a vampire, but she was happy with Damon so it made being a vampire okay. Now that she lost him she is also grieving her human self that she never grieved before, so that is part of her not wanting to let Damon go too. Not just her love for him but coming to terms with being a vampire.

I agree - her grief is twofold. She is obviously upset about losing Damon but now she is also dealing with the idea of eternal life without either of the people that she thought would always be around (Damon and Stefan). She was able to kind of put off thinking about living forever as a vampire when she was initially turned because she was so busy learning how to control her hunger (and then that whole stupid "I can't drink blood because I'm secretly sired to Damon" crap) and of course deal with the crisis of the week. But now she finally has to deal with losing her human life, and she's doing it without her support system of Damon, Stefan, and Bonnie (for the sake of argument, let's go along with the story that she and Bonnie are still BFFs, all evidence to the contrary). I think the main reason she hasn't turned to Caroline more since Damon died is that she didn't want Caroline to discover that she was taking witchy herbs to hallucinate Damon and feeding on humans (border lurker!).

[KatWay]

If that was the intention, they should have made this waaaaay clearer. Cause all I heard was Damon Damon Damon (oh, yeah, Bonnie's dead too. I guess that's sad as well). And this happens after last season where Elena basically announced that being a vampire was the awesomest thing ever. So I don't buy that she suddenly realised how precious her human life was. She mourned it in Season 4, she loved vampirism in Season 5, now suddenly she has to deal with this? Two seasons later?

No, this was pretty much all about Damon. Elena as a vampire has been all about Damon since early/mid Season 4 and that hasn't changed. She has no personality except for this consuming (blah blah) love she apparently has for this guy, because the writers are eternal teenagers at heart, and therefore this was the logical continuation of her "storyline" since getting turned.

[immortalfrieza]

I agree - her grief is twofold. She is obviously upset about losing Damon but now she is also dealing with the idea of eternal life without either of the people that she thought would always be around (Damon and Stefan). She was able to kind of put off thinking about living forever as a vampire when she was initially turned because she was so busy learning how to control her hunger (and then that whole stupid "I can't drink blood because I'm secretly sired to Damon" crap) and of course deal with the crisis of the week. But now she finally has to deal with losing her human life, and she's doing it without her support system of Damon, Stefan, and Bonnie (for the sake of argument, let's go along with the story that she and Bonnie are still BFFs, all evidence to the contrary). I think the main reason she hasn't turned to Caroline more since Damon died is that she didn't want Caroline to discover that she was taking witchy herbs to hallucinate Damon and feeding on humans (border lurker!).

Yes. One thing that's always been consistent about Elena is her positively MASSIVE loss and abandonment issues, and this episode shows just how deep that goes. Elena always completely loses it whenever someone she cares about dies and is desperate to get them back at any cost, and that's exactly what she ends up doing here. In fact, as she states the main reason she got so into Stefan to begin with was because being an immortal vampire he's something that she'd never have to worry about losing, as far as she knew at the time. This is just as much being in denial as turning her emotions off is, same thing, different method.

 

Why is it that everyone was blaming that blonde kid for keeping Damon dead? The "previously" indicated that their magical nonsense was killing his sister. Are all those people such assholes that they seriously think the blonde siblings should sacrifice their lives for Damon?

Another thing they're being consistent about. Those on Team Mystic Falls are the only ones that matter at all to Team Mystic Falls, the rest of the world can burn for all they care. They'll screw over and outright kill others if it will benefit their side, guilt tripping is the least of what they've done.

[Carrie Ann]

I agree that grief has always been a facet of Elena's character--we meet her after she's lost her parents and the whole storyline is about trying to figure out how to go on with life again. But she did. By caring about and holding onto the people she still had (Jeremy, Baroline, Jenna, Matt I guess), and by meeting new people and letting herself become attached to them (Stefan, Damon, Alaric). By living and letting go. That was who Elena was as a human.

 

This Elena? No. Vampire Elena doesn't know how to process difficult emotion at all, and has never allowed herself to do it properly. She distracts, deflects, turns off, tries to fix problems simply so that she can go back to only feeling positive emotions. She never tried to bring either set of her parents back to life, or Jenna. As a human, she accepted death. It's like she can't do that anymore, and she can't connect or empathize with other people the way she used to.

 

It's character regression on a level I'm not sure I've ever seen. And while that might be semi-interesting to explore on an academic level, it's frustrating as hell to watch, especially when it's 100% focused on Damon. Like, wow, yeah, look how great all-consuming love is! Drugs or suicide, take your pick. This was not a promising note to start this season on--especially if she is successfully compelled next week, because that's just another artificial move in the Delena relationship.

[lion10]

I agree that grief has always been a facet of Elena's character--we meet her after she's lost her parents and the whole storyline is about trying to figure out how to go on with life again. But she did. By caring about and holding onto the people she still had (Jeremy, Baroline, Jenna, Matt I guess), and by meeting new people and letting herself become attached to them (Stefan, Damon, Alaric). By living and letting go. That was who Elena was as a human.

 

This Elena? No. Vampire Elena doesn't know how to process difficult emotion at all, and has never allowed herself to do it properly. She distracts, deflects, turns off, tries to fix problems simply so that she can go back to only feeling positive emotions. She never tried to bring either set of her parents back to life, or Jenna. As a human, she accepted death. It's like she can't do that anymore, and she can't connect or empathize with other people the way she used to.

 

It's character regression on a level I'm not sure I've ever seen. And while that might be semi-interesting to explore on an academic level, it's frustrating as hell to watch, especially when it's 100% focused on Damon. Like, wow, yeah, look how great all-consuming love is! Drugs or suicide, take your pick. This was not a promising note to start this season on--especially if she is successfully compelled next week, because that's just another artificial move in the Delena relationship.

 

What if this is all intentional?  What if Julie Plec and Caroline Dries intended to give Elena this characterization once she became a vampire because this has always been lurking under the surface the same way Klaus' insecurity about his power has always been apart of him?  What if her inability to process difficult emotions and her emotional myopia is supposed to be her flaw the way Klaus' flaw is his default use of brute strength to get his way and lack of empathy driven by 1000 years of running away from Mikael, or Damon's flaw is his sadism and impulsive behavior, or Rebekah's flaw is her teenage-like fixation on "love", or Stefan's flaw is his inability to acknowledge that the brutal Ripper is a part of him and not some foreign consciousness that takes over his body?  

 

Maybe this is a way to showcase how vampires can become fixated on certain emotions in undeath and how it can make them drastically different from how they were as a human.