The Vampire Diaries: Nostalgia

By: Luke Joseph

We all know the quote “nostalgia is a…” Well, you know what. But I think that we can all agree that last Friday night’s episode of “The Vampire Diaries” was far from that. The nostalgia that it delivered ended up bringing fans of the show back in time – back to a time where an unsuspecting couple is bickering about a band only to have their car come to a screeching stop so that they can check on the stranger they’ve just hit. Sadly, for them, it wasn’t just a stranger they had hit – it was a vampire. And unfortunately for the couple, their time was up.

In the season eight premiere episode of “The Vampire Diaries,” we found ourselves with a bickering couple again. Only this time, it was over superheroes and rather than encountering one vampire they encountered two – a mister Enzo St. John (Michael Malarkey) and Damon Salvatore (Ian Somerhalder). This had a little bit of a twist to it because instead of meeting their untimely death, Damon and Enzo brings the couple to their (straight out of a horror film) warehouse where they proceeded to play a game of “You’re the Worst.” Contestant one confessed her worst sin had been sleeping with her best friend’s boyfriend not one, not two, but eight times. Winner right? Nope. That’s because the boyfriend ends up confessing to selling his mom’s cancer medicine for some quick cash and ding, ding, ding it seems we have a winner. Don’t worry though, the girlfriend doesn’t go home empty handed. In fact, she doesn’t go home at all because she’s killed before we can even blink. So, what’s the grand prize for the boyfriend? He gets hoisted up into the air and then dropped into a pool of blood. Only, this ride doesn’t bring him back up because he never comes out.

Is that enough nostalgia for you? Is your thirst quenched or do you need more? How about going back to when we were standing in Stefan Salvatore’s (Paul Wesley) room casting our attention to a man decked in black who supplied a sly smirk and then uttered those words that this episode honored “hello brother.”

Back in 2009 when fans first encountered the Salvatore brothers, Stefan had made it clear he hadn’t been all that thrilled by his brother’s reappearance. At the time, the youngest brother only viewed his eldest brother as nothing but a monster.

“I felt there was hope that somewhere deep inside… something in Damon was still human, normal. But I was wrong, there’s nothing human left in Damon. No good, no kindness, no love. Only a monster that must be stopped.”

Flash forward to the season eight premiere only this time we’re not standing in the Salvatore Boarding House. Instead, we’re at an abandoned warehouse with lifeless bodies hanging from the ceiling. Rather than Stefan fearing the sight of Damon, he fears what his brother is becoming. The reunion between the Salvatore brothers is just as cold as it was the last time and while Stefan tries to get a better insight on what has control of his brother, Damon continues to dodge the question stating, “It doesn’t matter what has me, only that I’ve been had.” It seems that Damon has given up completely with the switch flipped (or is it?) brushing Stefan off on how he can’t be saved and then deciding to cut the reunion short telling him, “You need to go. It doesn’t want you yet” (yet, yet is never good). Unfortunately, Stefan’s hero hair hasn’t taken a day off as Stefan breaks off the mop using it as a makeshift stake to stab Damon. Down for the count with a one…two…ah crap! Nope, no KO because Enzo has come in for the assist taking Stefan by surprise while Damon grabs Bonnie (Kat Graham) from behind not in a warm embrace but more so a chokehold. It was a good plan, but Damon and Enzo had the upper hand causing Stefan and Bonnie to take their leave.

That’s all folks! No. No, wait! There’s one other nostalgic thing that seems to be missing. There is something that in Season One had always been a fan favorite “Dear Diary.” Yup, that’s right. It looks like the “The Vampire Diaries” team is really pushing for us to feel it all. It seems that Elena’s (Nina Dobrev) loved ones are keeping with their promises of writing it all down. The closing of the episode ended with a defeated Stefan confessing his greatest fear to Elena.

“Dear Elena: It’s not my turn, but I wanted you to hear from me. I think I’ve lost him. All I can do is hope that there’s one small piece of his mind tucked away safe. One final sliver of humanity holding on for dear life buried deep inside. I won’t give up on him, but it’s hard to hold onto hope. Hope hurts. Maybe tomorrow will be better.”

It didn’t take tomorrow for Stefan’s day to get better because a second later after closing off his entry Caroline (Candice King) enters, resulting in them deciding to take the next step and play house together. Well, we know the good that Stefan holds onto, but what about Damon? Is he even holding on? It turns out that he is because it’s in the darkness of slumber where he finds his light again – where he ends up reminiscing about the first time he met Elena on a long and winding road in Mystic Falls; where two ships pass in the night and form a connection right from the start. This time is different though as he looks onto the memory and not seeing Katherine. He’s seeing Elena and it’s not just awe reflecting in his eyes at the sight of her – it’s love. She’s the solace that he seeks and she’s his very saving grace. So, it’s easy to understand why he’s clinging onto her for dear life. “Elena, I need you,” he says with his voice dripping with despair and showcasing the weight of the world heavy on his shoulders. “I don’t know how much longer I can fight,” Damon continues. There’s a beautiful irony to this memory because the first time Damon had met Elena he was still very much in a dark place yet his time on that road with her no monster was found only a man. It was in this night something had shifted in Damon his humanity had shown and perhaps he revists this memory in hopes that his light will be enough to keep away the darkness.

Can you believe that this is just the beginning? A big thanks to Julie Plec, Kevin Williamson and the entire “The Vampire Diaries” team for taking us on a first class trip to nostalgia. We’ve got a long journey ahead of us with twists and turns along the way so buckle up and join us next Friday!