The Vampire Diaries “I Know What You Did Last Summer” 

I’ve never been a fan of Katherine, and now that she’s human…still not a fan. We deal with her, Elena and Caroline at college where a cover up or two may be afoot, Damon being big brother to Jeremy, and Silas walking around looking like Stefan and generally menacing the townfolk.

We start with a a funny twist on the whole diary theme as Elena writes an e-mail to Bonnie and we see while she VOs that she’s spent the summer physically attached to Damon. Caroline and her mom have been prepping for college while Tyler was off helping a clan in Appalachia, and Jeremy kept Bonnie’s secret.

As the school year begins, Jeremy goes back with the cover story that he was an agry addicted teen who faked his death and burned his house down. Elena suggetss he emphasize that last part was accidental –the better to shade the degree of crazy.

Elena and Caroline are dropped off at school by Liz and an invisible Bonnie stands beside them surveying the scene and marveling that they actually made it. Once they get to their room, they find their third roommate is Megan and not Bonnie. While Caroline mulls compulsion, kidnapping, and worse to get rid of her, Elena suggests they make nice. It’s all for naught soon enough when Megan’s tossed from the roof a kegger with very obvious vampire wounds and then campus security curiously tells them it was a suicide.

The thot plickens when Elena searches her phone and finds a picture of Megan with Papa Gilbert. I couldn’t get a bead on how recent the pic with Megan was supposed to be, but I’m assuming the intent there was to imply he’s still alive? Also sidebar–earlier, when Caroline drank Megan’s “protein water,” it was laced with vervain. So, there’s that.

Jeremy goes back to school and that goes as well as you think it will and he’s expelled, But he gets to do something later when he’s the only one to realize Stefan isn’t Stefan because when he touches him, his tattoo tingles (not like that!).

Katherine shows up at Casa Salvatore and she looks ROUGH. It would seem humanity is a sh-tload of work. Damon offers to turn her to be done with her and she says no because she might not revive. Then Silas shows up and tries to kill her, Damon gets her out of house and away with Jeremy. When Silas dangles Stefan’s safety and whereabouts, Damon tells Jeremy to bring her back, so she wrecks the truck and nearly kills Little Gilbert again (but sadly walks away). Bonnie stays with Jeremy and begs him to hang on and then Damon arrives to feed him and revive him.

In the town square, Silas pops up and compels everyone to a standstill and slits Bonnie’s dad’s throat in front of them while Bonnie, who’s standing in the crowd, wails and wails before she rushes up to hold his head while he dies. Silas tells them to keep an eye out for Katherine. It’s unclear if his super powers include seeing Bonnie. Earlier, he opened a vein on Liz while he talked to her and scanned her brain. She lived because she knew nothing about Katherine. (Can I get an EWWWWWWW???)

Also–Matt and Rebekah wasted no time getting down to business in Europe but the mood was dampened when a three-way relieved him of hs magical undeading ring. Once back home, she smooches him goodbye and tells him not to miss her and not to call. Later, the three-way’s third party, Nadia, shows up in Mystic Falls, returns Matt’s ring to him and then her partner in crime grabs his head from behind and holds him until his eyes turn black (booooo!) Not sure if that was another situation where Matt will be worn by a baddie or Matt was just scanned and dropped. Either way–me no likey.

Tyler leaves Caroline a voicemail that he’s not coming to college and she cries and cries. Elena rolls over from the next bed and asks if she’s OK, and they tell each other they’re glad they’re together. What was missing there was that Elena didn’t get out of her bed and get in bed with Caroline (not like that). One of my favorite things about One Tree Hill was the early days friendship with Peyton and Brooke where they often spent the night together, talking and sleeping in Peyton’s bed, and were the sisters they both lacked (don’t get me started on how that was just disregarded at the end of the series). I felt like Caroline needed more from Elena than Elena gave so that scene fell short for me (but I can totally get where TPTB wanted to avoid any fanfic).

Back home, Damon keeps all the Katherine/Silas/Jeremy near-death shenanigans to himself when Elena checks in.

Down in the water, Stefan keeps rousing awake and dreamwalking with Damon, who tells him to turn himself off. He’s just about there when Elena (who’s had a spidey sense that Stefan is in trouble) pops in and tells him to stay human. So, he does and continues to drown and rouse and suffer (really hope that doesn’t drag out).

And that’s our premiere!

So, it didn’t necessarily feel like a premiere except for the return to school aspect. I was intrigued by the girls’ story at Whitmore that they might be covering up a vampire story. Not sure what to make of bringing Papa Gilbert into the mix now. I almost feel like that’s something Doc Fell would’ve known. But we’re into the 5th season now and they have to take the narrative somewhere new.

It was nice to see Elena be 18 again, and genuinely excited about college (even doing a happy little jig, not once, but twice) and to see her be more “roll with it” about things when Caroline had been that way of late. It was an interesting role reversal to see Caroline forgo the freshman aspect for the vampire angle when she’d been so hellbent on a true senior year experience.

I like the idea that Damon has to step up and juggle–that he was genuinely heartbroken when he thought Jeremy was a goner. His bond with him is beyond the “brother of his girlfriend” now. Like it or not, they’re family now, too.

Paul Wesley is obviously having a ball, but I’m ready for the Silas thing to wrap itself up. I was REALLY glad Jeremy was immediately “Danger, Will Robinson” about the whole thing. Silas can eat Katherine and move along as far as I’m concerned. But we have 22 episodes, so I’m sure it’s going to run a little more road.

The Vampire Diaries airs Thursdays at 8/c on The CW.