5.1 I Know What You Did Last Summer Judging by this first episode, it’s a possibility, but part of that means that the show is simply continuing on in the same manner. The only fresh elements of the premiere either involve Elena and Damon’s relationship or the big college adventure with Elena and Caroline, but otherwise this is business as usual. That’s not necessarily a bad thing, of course, and a couple of the problems people had with season four have been improved upon over the break. We’ve lost the original family to their own spin-off series, but Mystic Falls doesn’t feel empty in the slightest. We begin the episode with Elena recounting who’s been sleeping with who over the summer in an email to Bonnie, who’s dictating her replies to corporeal boyfriend Jeremy so that no one notices she’s been dead for three months. Matt and Rebekah have been having threesomes (yes, really, on the CW) in Europe, Caroline has been packing for college and missing Tyler, and Katherine has been adjusting very badly to her newly human state. Who am I forgetting? Oh yes! Stefan’s still stuck in a box at the bottom of the lake and nobody cares. Poor Stefan. A better example of The Vampire Diaries subverting expectations was how long it took for Stefan’s friends and family to realise Silas was actually Silas – I honestly thought this was going to take us through until Christmas. The only mystery here is how long it will take Damon to find out what’s happened to his brother, and Elena and Caroline are being kept out of things for now. What I really want from this season is for the girls to have a separate adventure in college while Jeremy and Damon take care of Mystic Falls business, at least for a while. That, and Bonnie finally being written out, and I’d be a happy viewer. Because the prospect of Elena and Caroline as college students is a pretty exciting one. It doesn’t take long before a grand conspiracy rears its head, but there’s a lot of light humour to be milked from the troubles two vampires might have in a co-ed environment. If there’s one thing this show really needs, it’s a bit of lightness. And I can’t be the only one enjoying the Damon/Jeremy dynamic now that Elena isn’t around to be the nagging older sister. Elena has a dead roommate with a mysterious connection to deal with, and seeing Damon do his utmost to protect her from the latest town shenanigans is a nice little shift. A lot happened in this episode, but of course I can’t forget Matt. The producers have promised that Matt will actually have something to do this year, and we got started with a very strange encounter with one third of his previously mentioned threesome and her magic friend. They return his ring and then turn his eyes black. I have no idea what happened, but I’m just excited to see Matt have his own storyline. Is it related to the Silas’ big plan? Or will it involve Rebekah, who has now skipped over to New Orleans for her new show? I have absolutely no idea, and I like it. Next week will be all about Stefan and Damon’s insecurity over Elena’s concern for Stefan – another Thursday night with The Vampire Diaries in other words. Welcome back! Read Caroline’s review of the season four finale, Graduation, here. Follow our Twitter feed for faster news and bad jokes right here. And be our Facebook chum here.
