The Vampire Diaries 7×01 “Day One of Twenty-Two Thousand, Give or Take” REVIEW

Cheers TVD is BACK and Here Come the Heretics

The season seven premiere of The Vampire Diaries 7×01 “Day One of Twenty-Two Thousand, Give or Take,” marks the arrival of the Heretics and life in Mystic Falls without Elena Gilbert (Nina Dobrev). Opening with an intriguing three year flash forward with Stefan (Paul Wesley) rushing to wake Damon (Ian Somerhalder), who is desiccating in a coffin waiting for Elena to wake up. Present day Mystic Falls, Caroline (Candice King) has taken up journaling to share all the things Elena has missed. Things with her and Stefan are a bit awkward, but agree to try move forward as friends. Meanwhile, Alaric (Matt Davis) and Damon are in Amsterdam drinking away their sorrows with Bonnie (Kat Graham) in tow as chaperone. However, Alaric has ulterior motives seeking an audience with his dead wife, Jo (Jodi Lyn O’Keefe), and has some sort of mystical stone that ironically Lily (Annie Wersching) is searching for. She summons Enzo (Michael Malarkey) to meet her and ask for his help in finding the stone, but he declines. She and her family of heretics have remained in Mystic Falls laying low until Valerie (Elizabeth Blackmore) is hit by a car and left for dead. Disregarding Lily’s wishes, Valerie, Mary Louise (Teressa Liane) and Nora (Scarlett Byrne) seek revenge leaving behind a bloody mess. Matt (Zach Roerig), who is about to graduate from the police cadet program, contacts Stefan for help and determine it must be Lily and the heretics.

Stefan, Caroline and Matt concoct a plan to blow up the house Lily and her family of heretics are residing thinking that would solve their problems. The plan backfires and the heretics lash out against the entire town by setting the police cadet graduation ceremony on fire. Lily is not happy! She agrees to a treaty to maintain the peace and Mystic Falls is evacuated. However, upon returning from Europe, Damon is not cool with the heretics living in his house and the current state of their town, so he and Bonnie decide to fight back. Bonnie encounters Malcolm (Justice Leak) feeding on a human and tries to take him on, but is no match. Luckily, as Malcolm siphons her magic Damon unexpectedly rips his heart out. Mama Salvatore does not take it well losing one of her precious heretics and perhaps she’s the mystery woman shown in the flash forward. So much went down this episode, so let’s not waste anymore time and dive right into discussing!

Meet the Badass Heretics

Mama Salvatore’s beloved family of heretics made it back to the present in the season six finale and viewers are finally able to put faces to those ominous vampire-witch hybrids. The ladies of the heretic clan are a breath of fresh air for viewers. Given last season’s delectable big bad, Kai (Chris Wood), left some mighty big shoes to fill and so far the devious heretics have not disappointed. Elizabeth Blackmore’s portrayal of Valerie is great. The mere tone of her voice in the voice over as she walks in town conveys to the audience she’s a no nonsense bitch. There’s a bitterness to her intriguing viewers about her backstory and what made her that way. Her cold expression gives off an emotionless vibe to viewers and the impression she’s not one to be messed with. Valarie is even somewhat withdrawal and closed off to her heretic family. She frequently rolls her eyes and snaps at Mary Louise and Nora , but truth be told, half the time they deserve it.

Both Teressa Liane and Scarlett Byrne are great as Mary Louise and Nora. The chemistry between the two is spot on. Viewers can easily see they’re a couple by the loving glances shared between them. Upon first meeting the ladies at Mama Salvatore’s blood ration tea, Nora and Mary Louise frequently look at one another with loving eyes and smile conveying to the audience they’re a couple. During the police cadet graduation ceremony as they’re standing in the back and Nora takes Mary Louise’s hand, but she pulls away. The audience can see by Mary Louise’s expression she is afraid of judgement. While Nora seems hurt by this according to her saddened eyes, viewers can see Nora believes her girlfriend is embarrassed to be with her. She reminds her that they’re living in the twenty first century now and the hold hands again.The audience can see both Mary Louise and Nora exude confidence. They hold their heads high and convey a sense of pride and relief that they are finally able to live free as a couple without having to hide anymore. Together Teressa Liane and Scarlett Byrne are great and bring an entire new dynamic to the show being the series’ first same sex couple. Finally.

The Essence of Elena

While Nina Dobrev may not be a member of The Vampire Diaries cast, the presence of Elena is still very much a part of the show. She isn’t seen, but the audience can feel her presence kept alive through her friends. As Elena requested, Caroline has taken to journaling. When Caroline sits in the town square, the journaling voice over not only fills viewers in on what each character has been up to over the weeks that past, but also makes sure Elena doesn’t miss out on their lives as she remains under Kai’s ‘Sleeping Beauty’ spell. The presence of her or lack thereof is obvious to the audience through Damon. For the most part of the episode he is moody (more than usually) and turns to drinking his sorrows away. Even in the flash forward, the first thing he says when he wakes; “Is Elena awake?”

“I am sorry this happened, but I lost Elena too, Damon, and you’re one of the few reminders of her I have to hold on to, so you can resent me or love me…but you’re stuck with me.” - Bonnie.

There is an uneasiness between Damon and Bonnie because Elena remains spelled asleep as long as she is alive. Viewers can feel and see this during their time in Amsterdam. Damon has a bitter tone with her and is quick to remind her with smart ass, passive aggressive comments that Elena’s life is tied to hers, which again reminds viewers of Elena. Bonnie doesn’t take kindly to his resentment. She makes sure to point out that they’re stuck with one another like it or not. Viewers are reminded of Elena’s character when Bonnie finds Damon waiting for her at Whitmore. She poignantly tells him that Elena wanted him to live his life. And that doesn’t mean making her miserable the rest of her natural life by the way he’s been acting. Bonnie’s speech, which Kat Graham delivers with conviction and passion, also assures the audience that it okay for Damon to do Damon and still do right by Elena. Stefan does the same reminding him that she wouldn’t approve of the way he’s been living. In fact, throughout the episode there are nuances of Elena to remind viewers she is still very much a part of the show.

New Season, New Alliances

Needless to say Damon, Stefan, Caroline, Bonnie, Matt and Alaric are as always looking out for one another in one way or another. Stefan and Caroline are ride or die and so is Damon for Elena. While Stefan, Caroline and Matt remain a united force to keep the peace with Lily and the heretics and keeping casualties to a minimum. Bonnie and Damon have other plans. They go rogue and decide to fight back against Lily and the hellish heretics. Alaric seemingly has other matters on his mind and is a bit preoccupied with finding a way to bring Jo back to life. While he deceives Damon and Bonnie in Amsterdam, ditching them to perform a seance, it doubtful he’d betray his friends, but who knows. This is TVD. He has been possessed before and who knows what the hell powers the new rock possesses.

“I fought tirelessly to reunite us, found new ways to coexist in this new world, sacrificed everything to make us a family again. How dare you jeopardize that? All of you…the bloodshed ends now.” - Lily.

Mama Salvatore has her family of heretics on her side and had been living in peace with the residents of Mystic Falls at least until Valerie’s accident. She is quite upset with her little clan of misfits when she discovers their shenanigans at Matt’s cadet graduation in retribution for his, Stefan and Caroline’s attempt to kill them. Annie Wersching is exceptional here as Lily. Her facial expression illustrates Lily’s disappointment to viewers. There is a hurt in her eyes conveying exactly what she is feeling finding out her family went behind back and went against her wishes. Lily is able to reign in her family again honoring the treaty agreed upon with Stefan. And at first Enzo appears to steer clear of choosing a side giving us the assumption he’d ultimately end up standing by his murder buddy, Damon. The person the audience would least expect Enzo betraying other than Damon is Caroline aka Blondie to him. Last season there appeared to be a connection between him and Caroline and some viewers even rooted for a romance, But Enzo’s connection with Lily outweighs his friendship with both Damon and a suspected crush on Caroline putting him on Team Heretic. There is always hope for double agent status though. Let the games begin!

FINAL VERDICT:

The season seven premiere of The Vampire Diaries begins the journey of life in Mystic Falls without its beloved Elena Gilbert and sets the stage for a whole new battle brewing between mother and her sons. Caroline Dries penned an intriguing episode that sets the tone for the season. She introduces a new mystery surrounding a magical red stone, which Alaric has and is attempting to resurrect Jo and incidentally Lily is looking for as well. It is clever and quite fitting to bring back the diary entry voice overs from Caroline keeping Elena and the hope alive that one day she will wake up and be able to be a part of her friend’s lives again. This allows the characters as well as viewers to move forward in light of Elena’s absence while keeping her presence strong through her friends. It is called The Vampire Diaries. Director, Pascal Verschooris, makes sure to focus and zoom in on the journal when Caroline writes and also gives us a glimpse of the entry, specifically the ‘Dear Elena,’ which reinforces the importance of the journaling.

The dialog in the episode written by Dries is powerful in emotional scenes yet entertaining and fun in the more light-hearted scenes. The dynamic between Nora, Mary Louise and Valerie is sassy and badass giving off a vibe that is like a blend of Katherine Pierce and Rebekah Milkaelson. Verschooris makes great use of camera angles to capture the ladies’ facial expressions as they engage in snarky banter with one another or whoever they happen to be talking to. When Nora opts to take a selfie with her victim, the camera angle Verschooris uses makes viewers feel as if they’re actually taking the photo. And let’s not forget about the dialog between Damon and Bonnie. As usual, Ian Somerhalder and Kat Graham work wonderfully together. Verschooris captures the emotion on both their faces, whether Damon is making Bonnie feel like shit for being alive while Elena lays sleeping in a box or he assuring Bonnie he’d never let anything happen to her.

“In the first second, I thought how amazing it would feel to have Elena in my arms again. By second number two, I kissed her. And by the third, I remembered you’re my best friend, and that if anything ever happened to you, I would lose my mind. So yes, Bonnie, I do know how long three seconds are.” - Damon.

Again, Verschooris does an amazing job with camera angles in the scene between Stefan and Caroline at her house. He zooms in slowly just as their heads inch towards each other before passionately sharing a kiss. Showing then making out through the window with the sunshine coming in through the glass and Amy’s Stroup’s “Redeeming Love” playing in the background, which music supervisor, Chris Mollere, chose for the scene, makes it even more romantic. The soundtrack is a great fit for the entire episode. Unfortunately, Stefan wasn’t still around to help Caroline when Enzo betrayed her. At Lily’s request, he takes her captive as revenge for Damon and Bonnie killing her beloved Malcolm. Things are about to get a whole lot more interesting next episode judging by what transpired this week. Make sure to check back. Surely there will be much more to discuss and hopefully we will even get a few more clues to who is after the Salvatore brothers three years in the future.

Questions, Comments, Concerns:

• Damon is first seen in the flash forward desiccating in a coffin, Wonder what forced him to go to such an extreme measure. Did he something awful or is it because he fears he will do something unforgivable by Elena.
• If it’s Mama Salvatore is the Mystery woman after Damon and Stefan the storyline mirrors Mikael and Klaus and Bex in TVD season three.
• Let’s hope this new mysterious red rock isn’t the Moonstone round two.
• Glad to sew Matt changed his mind about having supernatural friends. Hello Deputy Donovan. Matt is a uniform = HOT!

THE VAMPIRE DIARIES 7×02 airs THURSDAY, OCTOBER 15 at 8|7c on the CW